#and for good reason! jackie has been nothing but a piece of shit to everyone around her for ages at this point

[arolesbianism]

Sometimes I wonder if Jackie has favorite employees. Like obviously she has ones that she pays more mind to because they're more involved in the work she does specifically, but I also just think it'd be funny if there were random scientists she just gave the favorite treatment for reasons that absolutely no one can comprehend. Just her giving Devon their 50th pay raise this year and Ellie losing her mind because she's been working here way longer and even tho she's well paid she's still not payed half as well as this random guy and she has no fucking idea why they in particular are getting paid a fortune while also getting every single vacation request approved for seemingly no reason

[niksixx]

Plus One

FINALLY!!! After a few months’ hiatus, I am proud to announce the ending of Plus One. It has been a pleasure writing this for you. Please enjoy part 7, and don’t forget to leave feedback. 

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Pia’s POV

I take one look at Josh and Jackie, and I can feel the love on every level. It’s the kind of love that can make you shake with envy and question whether everyone can find it.

And when they kiss for the first time as husband and wife, the church erupts into applause from the guests, hoots and hollers from the wedding party. There’s a few tears sliding down the apples of my cheeks and before I can flick them away with my finger, I feel the gentle touch and warmth from Nikki’s finger brushing away the salty tears. He gives me a small smile before turning his attention back to the bride and groom.

He hasn’t spoken much to me today despite being my plus one to my own cousin’s wedding. I question whether he’s just in a mood, knowing I haven't done anything to cause this distance between us. It’s Josh and Jackie’s day after all. I don’t want to be preoccupied with my own drama, if that’s even what you could call it.

The reception hall gleams with silver, white, and gold for their Christmas wedding, and it looks like something out of a Hallmark movie. Cocktail hour, luckily, isn’t as awkward as I’d imagined it would be. I took the time to introduce Nikki to my distant relatives and close family, and he managed to charm each person he met. Whether his hand was entwined with mine or lightly resting on the small of my back, he sold our relationship, especially to Aunt Rita, who made Nikki promise her a dance.

We made small conversation at dinner, not as much as I would have liked. There was definitely something going on with Nikki, and I vowed to get to the bottom of it before the night ended. Even with his hand resting on my inner thigh under the table, I wasn’t satisfied.

After dancing with Aunt Rita, Nikki had found me and guided me to the dance floor. With his hands linked around my waist, my own entwined around his neck, we slowly swayed to the song. I should have kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the feeling of being safely tucked in Nikki’s arms, but the words came out before they’d registered in my brain.

“Are we okay?”

I wasn’t surprised by the confusion on his face. It was clear he didn’t want me to know something was wrong, so the confusion was quickly replaced by a look of neutrality. “Is there a reason we shouldn’t be?”

For some reason, I can’t look him in the eye. “Something is off with you, Nikki. You’ve barely spoken to me today. Actually, forget today. The past few months have been more awkward between us than anything I can remember, starting after Janielle’s party. So, I’m asking you, are we okay?”

“Pia--.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Pia,” Nikki says firmly, fingers digging into my back to grab my attention. His eyes bore into mine, and for only a split second my breath is caught in my throat. “Not now. Please.”

My jaw ticks angrily, and with as much subtlety as I can master, I break away from Nikki’s hold and excuse myself from the reception. Frustrated tears cloud my vision as I quickly race outside the reception venue into the dark night.

“Pia.” Heavy footsteps chase after me.

I bite my tongue and keep walking, not willing myself to answer him.

“Pia!”

“Fuck you!”

It stuns us both. Nikki retracts, mouth pressed together in a hard, thin line. My chest heaves with every strangled breath, and I will myself not to let the tears fall. There’s no chance I’ll let Nikki see me weak.

“What is your problem?” Nikki suddenly asks defensively.

“My problem?” I spit, crossing my arms. I look like a child, feel like a child, but hell if I’m not the angriest I’ve been in a long time. “My problem is that I don’t know what your problem is. For months, you’ve barely said a word to me. And then I confront you about it, and you have the nerve to try and shut me up?”

His jaw ticks, mirroring my anger. “I have a lot to say, but I don’t know where to start and I don’t want to do this here.” He grabs my hand and pulls me with him. I want to protest, but I’m finally getting some type of answer from him, so it’s best I keep my mouth shut.

The walk feels like forever, but when I finally glance up from my shoes, my brows furrow. We’re right smack in the middle of the garden behind the reception hall. It’s brightly lit and quiet with the exception of the soft drops from the fountain. It’s an oddly romantic setting for a somewhat hostile situation.

And he hasn’t let go of my hand yet. In fact, his grasp seems to have gotten tighter. Not that I mind. It’s the first genuine gesture he’s shown in weeks.

“Nikki, what are we doing here? I want to go inside.”

“Not yet,” he says softly, eyes dodging my gaze. “Just...not yet. I have so much going on inside my head right now, and there’s no starting point. Just scrambled thoughts that don’t make any damn sense to me.”

I sigh, pursing my lips together. “Then start with the most important thought.”

No hesitation, just honesty. “I’m in love with you.”

My spine straightens. Blood rushes to my cheeks, my ears, all the while my brain fails to process the words. “I--You...what?”

He laughs a little, dropping his hand from mine. It’s not followed by anything else, just silence. He stares at me instead, hoping I’ll say something, or do something, but the only thing I can do is channel all my pent up feelings into strength, and before either one of us realizes it, Nikki flies backward into the fountain.

I’m dazed myself, looking from one outstretched arm to the other as Nikki resurfaces from the icy water. He stands, teetering a bit, before flicking his hair from his eyes. “Part of me thinks I deserve that.” There’s a wicked gleam in his eyes. “And the other part thinks you’re entirely too dry.”

The cold water sloshes over me as I’m pulled into the fountain. I flail my arms wildly when I’m met with the cool December air, and I manage to push myself to a stand. Fists balled, I use my knuckles to wipe my eyes, no doubt resembling a drenched raccoon. “I could kill you!”

“You started it!” Nikki retorts, throwing his arms in the air. It’s the truth, so I say nothing back. All I can do is stare, and when I stare long enough, a smile breaks through. And a laugh falls from Nikki’s grin, and soon we’re laughing at each other, laughing at this fucked up situation we’ve found ourselves in.

And when the energy between us settles into calmness, I speak. “I remember the moment when I first knew I was in love with you.” Nikki’s eyes narrow, daring me to go on. “Junior year. When I first started making my own lipstick. You sat with me for hours and let me try them on you.”

The corners of his lips tilt slightly at the memory. “The purple one stained my mouth for days.”

I cringe. “Yeah, not my best formula. Sorry about that.”

Nikki laughs, and then it’s silent all over again. I tug my lip between my teeth anxiously. I wait and wait and wait for him to say something. Minutes later when I turn to step out of the fountain, I hear a strangled voice. “We should have been together from the start.”

“You never gave me a chance, Nikki.” I say, hurt. “And to this day, I don’t understand why. What did Charlotte, Viv, and Amanda have that I didn’t? What is so wrong with me that I wasn’t worthy of your love?”

He closes the space between us, chest just inches from mine as his hands cup my cheeks. “There has never been a damn thing wrong with you. I never thought I was worthy of you, so I settled for less. We come from two different worlds P, and I’ve always known you deserve everything good in this life, but I don’t know if I am capable of being the man that gives it to you.”

I reach out to hold his cheeks instinctively. He relaxes under my touch, but he can’t look at me. “It doesn’t hurt to try, right?”

“I wouldn’t know where to start,” he answers defeatedly.

“Well, you’ve been doing a damn good job over the last few months with the exception of ignoring me for the last few weeks,” I chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. I bite my lip nervously. “I know the fake dating was fake to you. But...it was real for me.”

“It was fake at first,” Nikki says truthfully, hands coming up to his face to cover mine. “And then when I started falling, shit I fell hard. And the only way I knew how to deal with it, was run, hide, and try to ignore what I felt. But I can’t do that anymore. I am in love with you, Pia Jane. I am so in love with every piece of you. And maybe if you’re up for it,” he nudges my nose with his, “We can try again. For real this time.”

We’re still in the fountain, standing in chilly knee deep water in the cold December air, but I can’t feel a thing except the warmth that comes from my heart that is so full of love.  

[trixie-pixie]

every perfect summer's eating me alive (until you're gone) - chapter two

ship: jankie (jan sport x jackie cox)

fic rating: teen and up audiences

warnings: no major archive warnings apply

“What’s up with you today, angel? You’re acting off,” Lagoona, the clear mother of the group, asks Jan. Lagoona has been the group-assigned mom friend since day one- equally as chaotic as the other two, but with a nurturing layer added on top of that.

“I’m fine,” Jan quickly responds. “Just hungover. Sorry.”

“Baby, please don’t apologize. But also, I know that excuse is bullshit. The Jan that I know would never be like this no matter how much she had to drink- and I know you didn’t drink more than you do any other night,” Rosé chimes in.

“Hey!” Jan playfully hits Rosé on the shoulder. “Excuse me, I’m not lying .”

“Jan, my love-” Lagoona grabs her hands. “Something is wrong- you don’t have to tell us what, but can you please just let us know if you’re okay? It worries me when you get like this.”

Jan immediately feels the guilt seep in- she knows that she’s being difficult. All day, she’s been quiet and distracted- constantly zoning in and out of the conversation, not answering questions, generally just being out of it. She hates worrying her friends- but how does she explain this? Oh, my best friend agreed to go on a date with a guy who I have absolutely nothing against, and now I’m so jealous it’s causing me physical pain . Sounds completely sane.

Jan sighs. “I’m sorry-”

“Stop apologizing baby, you’ve done nothing wrong.” Rosé reminds her. Her oldest friend has been trying to break Jan’s nervous habit for years- it never works, but Jan appreciates the sentiment.

“Jackie is out on a date with Cody.”

Jan digs her nails into the carpet- even the thought of what Jackie could be up to makes her upset. Her eyes begin to sting with tears prickling at them, and she feels her face flush with embarrassment. God, why is she even crying? She just feels so stupid -

“Oh, baby, come here. Don’t cry- what’s wrong?” Rosé comforts her, patting her lap. Jan hooks her legs over the pink haired girls lap, head on her shoulder. Seeking comfort in Rosé was nothing new for her- the older girl was incredibly physically affectionate, and an eternally touch starved Jan would always be grateful for that. Ros é wraps her arms around the blonde girl, who feels a few hot tears trail down her cheeks.

“I just- I don’t know!” Jan cries. Lagoona rubs her back as Rosé begins to stroke the smaller girl's hair. “It just makes me so jealous and angry and I hate it- it’s so stupid, I don’t even know why. I hate the idea of her liking someone else. It’s supposed to just be me and her- and now everything is gonna be weird because I’m making it weird and I just want her to choose me .” Her voice breaks on the last word and her friends just hold her tighter, but share a look over her head.

“Jan, sweetie-” Lagoona whispered sweetly. “Have you considered that you might like Jackie?”

It’s like Jan’s heart stops- actually, it feels like everything stops.

“I don’t- why would I like Jackie? I’m not even gay-” Jan trips over her words, her hands digging deeper into the carpet on Lagoona’s bedroom floor.

“Baby, you’re just about as straight as a rainbow- and you are definitely in love with Jackie.” Rosé teases. Jan curls in on herself. She just wants to hide.

“I can’t- I can’t be gay. Fuck, what would everyone say? I just can’t- and I definitely can’t be in love with Jackie- fuck, it would ruin everything, she’s gonna hate me forever, fuck, fuck, fuck -” Jan was spiralling. She couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t feel her hands, she could already feel her tears soaking Rosé’s shirt-

“Babe, please just breathe with me, okay? It’s okay- you aren’t ruining anything. You’re allowed to be gay, okay? You’re allowed to be whoever you are- you’re safe with us. Rosie and I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Lagoona tries to sooth the blonde, rubbing small circles on her back.

“No, I can’t- I’m sorry- I just-” Jan let out another sob. She could feel the waves of panic continue to rise in her, could taste bile in her throat. She felt like she was going crazy- was this what dying was like? Was Jan dying? She digs her nails into the first thing she can reach, which is unfortunately her own leg.

“Baby, baby, none of that-” Lagoona soothes, taking Jan’s hand in her own to stop her from hurting herself. “Breathe with me, alright? In, out. In, out. That’s it, you’re doing so good. Can you keep breathing like that for me?” Jan nods, shakily copying Lagoona’s breathing.

Jan rests her head back on Rosé’s shoulder, who just holds her tighter. “You’re doing okay, baby. You’re gonna be fine, it’s just a panic attack. Just keep breathing, that’s it.” The pink haired girl continues to comfort her, and Jan burrows her head deeper into her friends shoulder. She feels safe in her arms- shaken, but safe.

“Thank you guys-” Jan mumbles. “I’m sorry for freaking out like that-”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Rosé reminds her. “You’ve seen the two of us lose our shit more than enough times.”

Lagoona playfully shoves Rosé, and Jan softly chuckles into her shoulder.

“Are you gonna be okay, doll?” Lagoona asks.

Jan nods. “I’m okay- I think- I’m a lesbian. I’m gay. I like girls. I like Jackie .”

Jan lets out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding in, and is immediately enveloped in the tightest, most loving hug she’s ever had.

“I am so proud of you, baby-” Rosé says, kissing the top of Jan’s head.

Jan giggles into the embrace, feeling the weight lift off her shoulders. Jan is gay . Super gay. She likes women. This is both the scariest and the most wonderful revelation she’s ever had- but the acceptance from her friends makes it feel like coming home.

“Do you need anything?” Lagoona asks, ever the mother figure. “I can get you some water, or you can just rest if you want.”

“I’m gonna be honest, gorge, I’m completely fucking exhausted-” Jan laughs. “Can we watch a movie or something? Something happy, preferably.”

“Disney?” Rosé asks, and Jan’s face brightens.

“I think your girlfriend is starting to rub off on you there, Rosie-” Lagoona teases. “Are you trying to fuck cartoons as well?”

Jan laughs- genuinely laughs- and in this moment, she knows that everything is going to be okay.

--

Later in the evening, Jan is lying in her own bed, staring at her ugly popcorn ceiling. She likes Jackie . Her best friend, Jackie. Her straight best friend.

She lets out a heavy sigh. If it was going to happen to anyone, it was going to happen to her. Hopeless romantic Jan, falling in love with a girl who could never love her back. A girl who she could never confess her love to. Her head sinks further into her pillow at the thought.

As if on cue, her phone rings. As she sees the contact, the dread begins to rise in her throat- it’s Jackie. Jackie, who is going to call Jan and tell her about her date. Her date with Cody . Stupid fucking Cody.

Jan picks up. She can’t not.

“Jan! I just got back, I told you I’d call! Oh my god, I have so much to tell you-” Jackie begins to ramble, and Jan thanks the gods that Jackie didn’t try to FaceTime her, because there is no way she’d be able to fake a smile right now. Every word Jackie says feels like a stab to the chest.

“Tell me all about it, Jacks-” Jan forces the words out of her throat. And Jackie does- she tells her about how Cody bought her tea, how he offered her his jacket when she got cold. How she’s still wearing it. Jan has never felt so much resentment towards a piece of fabric in her life as she does now.

Jackie continues to gush, and Jan lets her for as long as she can handle. She tries not to let her voice get choked, showing the tears that threaten to fall from her eyes at any moment. She desperately tries to listen to Jackie- but at one point, she just can’t . She wants to throw up again, like she did when Jackie first announced her interest in Cody. She wants to disappear- to stop existing.

“I have to go.” She blurts out.

“Oh- okay. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, alright?” Jackie sounds hurt- Jan feels terrible. Just add that to reasons why she hates herself today.

“Yeah. I’ll see you. Congrats again- have a good night!” Jan says as quickly as possible, hating how badly she just wants to leave.

“See you,” Jackie responds. Jan notes the lack of an I love you tacked on at the end of her sentence.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Twice Bitten, Never Shy

A Stitched Story

JSE Fanfic

My mind is going blank for things to say about this part. Maybe I’m tired. Anyway, the boys have themselves a couple of new allies, and just in time to get attacked again! Timing! And that’s about all I can think of. Besides, I feel like my descriptions are getting long, so I’ll just stop. Hope you enjoy reading ^-^

Tagging @septic-dr-schneep for inspiring this AU with this post.

Read where it started: Stitched Together | Season One | Season Two

Previous Season Three story: Torn Apart | Tales to Tell | Threads

Taglist (finally): @bupine​ @violet--majesty​

“Sorry for dropping in on all of you like this. But we really need to talk.”

For a moment, everyone just stared at the person who’d just walked into the room. The same magician from...was it really just earlier that morning? One of the ones they’d fought with, the one named Delyth Mae. It took a moment to sink in. And then everything burst.

Schneep shot to his feet, wielding his scissors like a knife blade. JJ threw his hand in an arc, conjuring a shield right in front of Delyth, in case she tried to cast any spells. Chase cried out and tried to stand up but was dragged back down by Jackie still clinging to his arm. Jack scrambled backwards, tripping over the chair’s arm in an attempt to back away. “What are you doing here?!” Schneep snarled.

Delyth looked unfazed. She raised her hands like she was surrendering. “I said we need to talk,” she repeated calmly.

“You tried to kill us!” Chase squeaked.

“No,” Delyth emphasized. “That was never the plan. It wasn’t even the plan to fight you unless you were hostile. Tavish and Nairne were out of line, and I’ve removed them from this team. Now, I hope to approach this diplomatically.”

Schneep barked out a laugh. “You think we are going to trust you—”

JJ lowered the shield.

“Jay what the fuck?!” Chase shouted.

“Wait, what? What just happened?” Schneep asked, suddenly shifting his mood to confused.

“Your friend seems to be reasonable,” Delyth said, stepping further into the room. “I’m so sorry to impose on you, Mr. Akela.”

“Uh...no, it’s fine,” Malcolm said, remaining in the doorway. “I’m just...gonna...wait here.” He looked visibly awkward, standing in the entrance to his own commandeered living room.

“Hey, uh, JJ, I appreciate your...trusty-ness,” Jack said, warily edging around the room. “But is this a good idea?”

When the other two magicians were fighting us, she was trying to stop them, JJ remembered. I think she’s willing to talk it out, at least.

“She tried to stop the other two who were fighting us, huh?” Jack repeated. “I guess that makes sense.”

Schneep grumbled, but lowered his scissors. “Fine, but I will stay on my guard.”

Delyth walked yet further into the room, now standing in the center. She looked around, and her eyes landed on Jackie. “Oh hello.”

Jackie blinked. “Do I...? No, I definitely don’t know you.”

“Just say why you are here,” Schneep prompted.

“Well, last time, I told you about the unusually high levels of soul magic in the city.” Delyth folded her hands. “I believe you may know something about it. If you would give us information, I give you my promise, the ABIM will do everything we can to help you with any troubles you may have.”

“Huh...I guess that could be helpful,” Chase said reluctantly. “If you’re telling the truth.”

“Of course I am!” Delyth’s tone became suddenly impatient. “Look, we’ve been chasing this soul magic for a long time now, people above me want results. I’m sure we can help.”

“Uh...well I guess it might be good to have some magical knowledge when it comes to this.” Jack held up the water bottle with the duct-taped lid.

“Jack, please,” Schneep said, exasperated.

“Oh, sorry, Hen, I’m just talking about the strings,” Jack said.

“Well, I could get context clues, but still.” Schneep hummed. “I suppose you are right.”

“Well, I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement, then,” Delyth smiled. “Now. Can you please tell me what—wait, hold on a second.” She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small tape recorder. “I have to record this as a testimony. None of you mind, do you?”

I would like to point out that you can’t record me, JJ immediately said.

“Yeah, JJ uses sign language, how’s that gonna work?” Chase asked.

“Well I suppose one of you will have to translate,” Delyth said. “Other than that, is everything okay?” Everyone made sounds of agreement, though Schneep’s was a bit reluctant. “Great.” Delyth pressed a button on the recorder. “This is Delyth Mae, member of the Magi, Investigation Level 4. Case 3-10100703. Witness interview for information. Please state your names for the record.”

Uh...” Jack blinked, and glanced around at the others. “I’m, uh...Jack McLoughlin.”

“I’m Chase,” Chase says, now squirming to adjust positions while Jackie was still refusing to let go. “Chase Brody.”

“Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein,” Schneep states clearly. “And this is our friend Jameson Jackson, who unfortunately cannot talk for your recorder.” JJ waved.

“Thank you. Now, two of you, Mr. McLoughlin and Mr. Schneeplestein—”

“Doctor,” Schneep said tersely.

“Sorry, Dr. Schneeplestein.” Delyth paused. “Out of curiosity, what are you a doctor of?”

“I...was a surgeon,” Schneep said slowly.

“Well, the two of you give off distinct signatures of soul magic, is that correct?”

“Apparently,” Jack laughed nervously.

“And on that basis, I thought that you may know something about the high levels of soul magic in the city.” Delyth seems to be providing an explanation for the tape recorder. “Now, can you tell me what that is, that you know?”

Nobody really wanted to start. But after a moment of admittedly awkward silence, Chase said, “Well, I guess it started with this guy and his roommate.” Chase pointed to Jackie. “This is...well, he’s a friend of ours.”

“What’s your name, sir?” Delyth asked.

Jackie blinked. “I’m—we’re—I’m Jackie. But I think I—we—I have more names than that.”

“Look, it’s a long story,” Chase interrupted. “Just...don’t say anything until we’re done.” And he started to explain.

— — — — — — —

Someone was walking through the city streets. It was eleven o’clock in the morning, and a lot of people were out, pedestrians and drivers alike. But no one seemed to notice him. Which was unusual, you would think a man wearing half a mask, stained blue and shaped like a cat face, with green string stitching across his neck, eyes glimmering blue and green and occasionally red...you would think a man like that would be noticeable.

He was heading somewhere. He wasn’t sure where, but he could feel it tugging at him. Like a string pulling him to a destination. Though he didn’t know where he was going, he knew what would be on the other end of the string. More pieces of him. They were all together.

A woman was following him for a while. Until she noticed he was going in a straight line. Directly straight, cutting through alleyways and yards whenever he could. Puzzled, she opened up a map of the city on her phone, tracing a straight line in the direction he was heading. There wasn’t really anything important in that part of the city. Just a section of townhouses. But he might have been going to one of them. She hurried ahead, and halfway through running, poofed into a cloud of blue smoke. When it faded, she was gone.

The man hadn’t even noticed her disappearing. He hadn’t even noticed her following. All that was important were the missing pieces. And he was getting closer.

White noise flickered around his grinning face.

— — — — — — —

The silence after the explanation was deafening. Delyth didn’t say anything as she processed what had just happened. Chase had done most of the explaining, though naturally, there were parts he didn’t know and the others had to fill in. Malcolm had left halfway through, muttering something about stupid crazy magic shit. Jackie had stayed, but he’d stayed silent the whole time, and after a while closed his eyes. Nobody thought he was sleeping.

“This is...frankly unbelievable,” Delyth finally said.

“Don’t worry, we know,” Jack muttered.

“It’s just—” She couldn’t even come up with words to describe it. “The four of you—well, the five of you—you knew Marvin Moore?”

None of them had expected her to grab onto that, out of the whole series of events. “Well, Jameson didn’t,” Jack said. JJ shook his head, but said nothing, aware it wouldn’t be picked up on the recorder. “But yeah, we all did.”

“You know me,” Jackie said, giggling. His eyes stayed firmly closed. “You know me̶.”

The others stared at him for a moment. After a while, when it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything else, Schneep cleared his throat. “Why is that significant?” he asked.

“Marvin Moore was one of only two soul magicians in this city,” Delyth said. “Both of them, coincidentally, had a history of subverting ABIM regulations.”

Chase blinked. “I...never knew Marvin was part of this magical organization. Or, uh, going around it, whatever. Though to be fair, we didn’t think Marvin’s magic was actually magic until all this crazy shit started happening.”

“If what you say is true...” Delyth said slowly. “About this...together...fusion...thing...” She couldn’t help but give Jackie another wary glance. “Then this thing would probably have soul magic as well, thus accounting for the high amounts of trace soul magic in the city. Sounds like it was...active. Until recently.”

“Well, these string things might be...whatever’s left of him.” Jack shook the water bottle, hearing the faint sound of the strings inside. “And they’re very active.”

Delyth shook her head, visibly stunned. “Nothing like this has ever—ever—happened before. Not in all our records, and they go back quite a while. Influencing electricity, this intense hypnotism—opening the Nightmare, for god’s sake. ‘Black magic’ doesn’t even cover what this thing is. It’s—it is a magical abomination.”

Jackie’s eyes suddenly flew open. They seemed to flash red, and he growled, glaring at Delyth. She tensed, her eyes glowing a slight purple in return.

The tension was broken by the doorbell ringing. Malcolm, who’d been listening quietly, made a cry of frustration. “I swear, if it’s anyone else involved in this fucking stuff...” He muttered under his breath as he went to get the door.

“But even if you’ve never heard of something like this before, you can still...like, fix it, right?” Chase asked hopefully.

Delyth frowned. “That isn’t my area of expertise. I know some things about soul magic, but I haven’t studied it, exactly. We’d need to call in people who know more about experimental magic than I do, just to even figure out what we could do.”

“Okay,” Jack said. “So how do we do—”

“Hey!” Malcolm shouted.

Everyone looked towards the sound, just in time to see a young woman with purple and blue hair run into the room. “Mae! It is you!” she said, visibly relieved.

Malcolm ran into the room after her. “I’m sorry, she just pushed right past me, do any of you know her?”

Delyth blinked. She quickly turned off the tape recorder and stood up, shoving it in her pocket. “Yvonne Bell. What are you doing here?”

“It’s a long story, but basically—” Yvonne looked like she was starting with a conversation, but then she glanced around the room and stopped. She stared, wide-eyed, at the group. “Wait, who are you?��� 

“Bell, please,” Delyth said, exasperated. “You are on thin ice already—”

“Ohhhh no, wait, I get it now,” Yvonne covered her mouth with her hand. “You’re friends of his, right? Marvin.”

“Oh my god, how the fuck does everyone know Marvin?!” Schneep threw his hands in the air.

Are you a magician too? JJ asked.

“You—also—magician,” Yvonne said out loud, watching JJ’s hands move. “I’m assuming that’s what that is, I’m a bit rusty. Yes, I am.”

“Yvonne Bell is the second soul magician in the city,” Delyth explained. “It’s only natural that the two of them knew of each other.”

“Well, uh...yeah, you can say that,” Yvonne said, her voice slowly rising in pitch. “Hey, so uh, Mae, I ducked in here cause I thought it was a bit weird, sensing you in this area, I thought you might be able to help, but I think I ended up finding something more important. You are friends of Marv, right? I think I recognize you. Definitely recognize him.” She pointed at Jackie, who was now looking around as if searching for the source of a strange noise. 

“Yeah, we knew him—know him,” Jack said. “Uh...why?”

Yvonne laughed, a bit hysterically. “Well so long story short I ran into him and he’s pretty off his rocker! And also he was heading in this direction last I saw so I tried to find where he was going and that might end up being here.”

Silence fell instantly. It stayed for a few seconds, and then Malcolm immediately turned around and left, muttering something under his breath. Everyone in the living room heard the sound of the stairs creaking. “You know honestly I don’t blame him for that,” Chase sighed. “Uh...Yvonne, is it? What do you mean he’s off his rocker?”

“H-he showed up at my shop last night,” Yvonne started. “And he—well, he was bleeding from this wound on his neck, and at first I thought he was acting weird ‘cause of the blood loss, but it wasn’t that big. He didn’t know where he was or who I was or who he was, kept switching from I to we, saying stuff about puppets, it was all really weird. Then there were these green strings—” Everyone stiffened. “—that showed up, and he, like, it was creepy how he acted with them, and some of them reached him and—and he was all hostile, and he headed out, and it was like he was looking for something, but that must be you, right?”

Another few moments of silence. “Jesus,” Chase muttered, and stood up, managing to push Jackie away only because he seemed more concerned with...something. “You’re not joking, right?”

“Why the shit would I joke about that?!” Yvonne yelled. “It was freaky as fuck!”

“So when you say ‘green strings,’” Jack said, “do you mean this collection of green, slightly glowing, pieces of thread that crawled across the ground like creepy worms?”

Yvonne blinked. “Yeah, why?”

Jack held up the water bottle and tapped the side. “They showed up here, too. We caught them, but...Jackie reacted weirdly to them.”

“Clearly, these strings are somehow connected to the both of them,” Delyth said.

“Well no shit!” Schneep snapped. “Anti was held together by string, it is probably what is left of him!”

“Okay, look, we can discuss it later,” Yvonne said. “Right now we have to—”

Jameson happened to glance towards the window at just the right time. He stiffened, and threw out a shield. The window burst, glass flying inward. Most of it bounced off Jameson’s shield, which managed to cover Chase, Jack, and Jackie, all sitting close together. Schneep yelped, but was mostly blocked from the shards by Yvonne, who threw up her arms to try to protect herself. Delyth reacted as soon as she heard the sound, conjuring a personal shield of her own out of crystalline purple magic.

Strands of blue light started to crawl inside the broken window. Jackie suddenly snapped to attention and shot to his feet. Chase grabbed him, sure that this couldn’t be a good thing.

The blue light—blue strings—wrapped around Jameson’s shield, twisting along the edges. Jameson took a step back, the magic flickering. Without warning, the strings shot towards him, wrapping around his torso and pinning his arms to his side. The shield died.

“What is this?!” Delyth asked, scrambling to her feet.

“Watch out!” Yvonne shouted.

Something jumped through the broken window, moving too fast to be anything but a blur. Jack was suddenly knocked to the ground, dropping the water bottle, which rolled across the floor. He gasped, partly because the breath was knocked out of him, partly because of the sight before him. It was recognizably Marvin, but...at the same time, too strange. He was wearing a mask that looked rather like his old cat-shaped one...if it was blue instead of white and snapped in half. Behind that mask, his eyes flickered between blue and green, teeth clenched in a snarl. Green stitches crossed a line across his throat.

Jackie shouted something, and pushed Chase away. He only took two steps forward before Chase tackled him to the floor. “Marvin!” Yvonne shouted, and ran over to pull him off Jack. Delyth quickly joined her. While they were doing that, Schneep was by Jameson’s side. Trying to pull at the magic strings proved unsuccessful, so he took out his scissors and cut, managing to slice right through them, though he got very close to Jameson’s skin a couple times.

There was a burst of light, and Yvonne and Delyth got thrown back, covered in blue strings that stuck to the walls. Schneep spun around. “What is happening?!”

Jack sat up, Marvin suddenly gone. He looked around for where he went, and caught sight of him just as he grabbed the water bottle with the strings inside. “Don’t let him grab the bottle!” Jack shouted, lunging forward and landing on Marvin’s back. He managed to startle him enough to make him let go, but as the bottle rolled away, Marvin hissed, and reached for it. Jack grabbed his arm. “Chase, help?!”

“Sorry bro, bit busy!” Chase was dealing with a struggling Jackie, who kept trying to get closer to Marvin and the bottle.

Jameson shook off the last of the magic strings, and flung a disc of magic forward. It rolled across the floor and hit the bottle, knocking it across the room. Marvin and Jackie shouted in identical unison.

Schneep finished cutting Delyth and Yvonne out of the magic strings, and Delyth yelled something in a strange language. The ground quaked, and a purple spike shot out of the ground directly under the water bottle, sending it flying into the air, in a perfect arc right into Delyth’s hands. She wiggled it, as if taunting Marvin and Jackie, then threw it out the window.

Marvin screamed, and disappeared in a flurry of white noise. Jackie’s eyes flashed red, and Chase was thrown backward, staggering, bleeding from a cut that went straight from his shoulder to his navel. Not even looking back, Jackie ran forward and jumped out the window.

“Come on, outside!” Delyth said to the room. “There’ll be more room to maneuver!”

It took a few moments for everyone to get their bearings, but they knew time was of the essence so they hurried. As a group, they all ran out the front door onto the street.

Marvin had picked up the water bottle, and was struggling with the duct tape holding the lid closed. Jackie was standing a few feet in front of him, eyes fixed on his face. After a moment, Marvin seemed to notice, and looked up as well. The two of them were frozen.

Just long enough for Jameson to throw a shield up between them. Jackie stepped back, his surprised expression turning to anger. He cried out, and red light started slicing at the shield. Marvin was smarter, and whirled to look at Jameson. He threw out his hands, and more blue strings shot forward. Chase pushed Jameson out of the way, but got entangled himself. Schneep ran to him, and upon feeling the strings, started cutting at those as well.

“Get the bottle!” Jack shouted, running forward. Marvin turned to him and scowled. More strings burst out of the ground, wrapping around his legs and stopping him in his tracks.

Jameson’s shield flickered and died, and Jackie ran forward, latching onto Marvin’s side. Marvin seemed to relax a bit, his eyes starting to glow a softer green. Jackie’s eyes glowed as well, the exact same color.

“No no no no no.” Yvonne ran forward, stopping right behind Jackie. She pressed her hands to either side of her head. “Dor me sonum,” she whispered, and Jackie’s eyes rolled back in his head. He crumpled to the floor, but then Marvin’s eyes instantly locked on Yvonne. She didn’t even have time to react before she was sent flying backwards, landing heavily on the asphalt of the street, and not moving again.

“Fuck this!” Schneep hissed under his breath, turning towards Marvin. Marvin laughed, static crackling along with the sound, and threw out another wave of strings. But Schneep disappeared. And between one step and the next, he was behind Marvin, grabbing at the bottle he was holding. He managed to wrench it out of his grasp, then stepped backwards and disappeared again.

Delyth turned to Jameson. “Can you keep him busy?” she asked. He looked surprised, but nodded. “Good.” She took a deep breath, and started muttering something.

Jameson stepped forward, throwing a disc of light at Marvin, who seemed stunned at the fact that he was no longer holding the water bottle. He didn’t recover in time to avoid the disc splashing in his face. He gasped, and stumbled back, then immediately glared at Jameson. He raised his hand, and a few more strings curled around his arm and shot outward. Jameson ducked just in time to avoid them, but another few quickly wrapped around his arms, pulling him downward. “Useless f͡a͟͝ke magician,” Marvin hissed. “W̵or͠thle͟s͞ś replacement.”

“Leave him alone!” Chase shouted. In one swift motion, he pulled out his gun and BANG!

Marvin staggered backwards, more surprised than hurt. He glared at Chase and reached upward.

Delyth suddenly threw her hands out in front of her, eyes glowing bright purple. A wave of purple light flew out from her in a circle. Once it reached Marvin, pale lavender crystals started to grow out of the ground around his feet. He looked down, but the crystals accelerated, and soon they were covering him up to his armpits. There was only enough time for him to scream out in frustration before he was completely encased.

“We should hurry to get out of here,” Delyth said, not wasting any time. “That spell only lasts an hour at best. Quick, let’s all get in my car.”

“Your what?” Schneep asked.

“Yeah, what?” Chase repeated.

Delyth pointed to the side of the road. A blue car was parked there. “It should be a tight fit, but I think we can all squeeze in. Bring Bell and that...what was his name? Jackie?”

“Hang on!” Schneep had finished cutting Jack free of the strings, and was now standing up straight and glaring in Delyth’s general direction.

“I just pointed to it,” Delyth said, annoyed.

“I am fucking blind!” Schneep snapped. “Was that not obvious?!”

“...oh.” Delyth had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I suppose that would explain some things I noticed. I just thought that...nevermind. My apologies.”

“It’s okay, I’ll get you there,” Jack said to Schneep.

For his part, Schneep looked frustrated. “The first thing I am doing after everything settles down is getting one of those white canes. That way everyone will know and I can find what is around me without asking people.”

Where are we going? Jameson asked.

“Yeah, where are we going?” Chase repeated. “You’re a magician, are we going to some secret magic place?”

Delyth glanced uneasily at Marvin, still frozen. “I’ll explain on the way there.”

— — — — — — —

The car ride was short, which was lucky, since it was also very cramped. Delyth drove and Chase was in the front seat, which left the other three to fill the backseat. It wouldn’t have been a problem if they didn’t also have to fit in Jackie and Yvonne’s unconscious bodies. So they ended up having those two partly on top of them.

True to her word, Delyth explained while she drove. “Marvin clearly means you harm. We need a place with strong wards to protect you from him. And somewhere to keep those...strings safe. To study them, as well as what happened to your friend Jackie. I know a place that fits all those qualifications, near the center of town.”

After a while, Delyth parked in front of what looked like an old bookstore. The sign had fallen off and the windows were dusty, but through the clouded glass you could see lines of shelves and empty displays. They all piled out of the car, watching Delyth as she ran her hand along the edge of the building’s front door frame. It lit up with purple light, which faded to white before disappearing entirely. And without an explanation, she opened the door and stepped inside. Confused, the others quickly followed, with Chase and Jack carrying Yvonne and Jackie.

The interior wasn’t at all what it looked like it would be from the outside. In fact, it looked more like a hotel lobby than anything, decorated in white and gold colors. “Wait, what?!” Chase blinked in surprise.

We stepped into a TARDIS, JJ said succinctly.

“Fancy,” Jack commented. “Looks like the entrance to a hotel or something.” This last statement was probably for Schneep, clinging to his arm.

“This is an ABIM Sanctuary,” Delyth explained. She walked over to a desk with a computer and started typing something in. “It’s for any Magi agents or employed wizards to stay while in town.”

“I...cannot take the phrase ‘employed wizards’ seriously,” Chase said.

Delyth huffed. “‘Wizard’ just means they study magic. It’s an actual term with a long history—you know what, I can explain later. Or maybe Bell can, when she wakes up. We should probably get one of the healers here to look at her, make sure the damage from that blow wasn’t too severe.”

“What about Jackie?” Jack asked.

“It looked like Bell hit him with a sleep spell,” Delyth said. “He should wake up any minute now.” She backed away from the computer. “There. I’ve checked you all in, as my guests, now I’ll show you to your assigned rooms.” And she headed towards a set of elevator doors in the back of the room.

You said we needed strong wards, JJ asked. Does that mean Marvin can’t find us here? And what about these strings? You said we could study them. Jack translated the signs for Delyth.

“Yes, the wards here are very strong,” Delyth said, pressing the Up button next to the lift. “Tracking spells shouldn’t be able to break through them. And we’ll have to talk to some of the wizards here about the strings, I’m sure they can help. If not, I’ll call in for backup. Now come on.” The elevator doors dinged open.

Surprisingly, there were seven floors to the building, which had been just a single story from the outside. Delyth led them to the third floor and down a series of corridors, all lined with doors, until they reached one labelled 314. “I have two extra rooms, they all have two beds and a sleeper sofa. Bell can stay with me. You five can work out who stays in 312 and 313. Don’t worry, the doors aren’t locked to any of us; I put your names on the registry.”

“Uh...I’m gonna assume that’s some type of magic and say ‘thanks,’” Chase said. “Uh...well, if Jackie’s gonna wake up, I think I should stay with him? I-I don’t know, he might get upset if I don’t.”

“Okay, yes, but Jackie also became...aggressive,” Schneep said. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah...” Chase said, sighing.

I can stay with you, Chase, JJ offered. That way, if Jackie does try to attack, I can protect you.

“Oh.” Chase blinked. “Um...thanks.”

“So it’s you three, then me and Schneep,” Jack summarized. “I guess we’ll take 312 then.”

“Excellent,” Delyth said. “Now can you please hand me Miss Bell so I can take her inside?”

“Oh yeah, sure.” Jack handed her off to Delyth in an awkward transition, and Delyth quickly went inside her room. “I guess we should just...check out our rooms, then.”

They all dispersed. Chase was mildly surprised when the door to room 313 opened without resistance; that didn’t seem very secure, but then again, it could be magic. He flipped on the lights, revealing what looked like a hotel suite, with a living room and kitchenette in view, two open doors showing the bathroom and bedroom. There were a pair of thick curtains on the opposite wall, no doubt hiding a window. Like the lobby downstairs, the room was mostly decorated in white with hints of gold. Chase walked over to the sofa and set Jackie down, breathing out slowly. He turned back to JJ, who was looking through the kitchenette’s cabinets. “I, uh...don’t know if they have food, bro.”

Well, it can’t hurt to look, JJ said.

“Haha, yeah...” Chase trailed off. He shifted awkwardly. “Hey can I uh...talk to you about something?”

Jameson stopped his investigation, and looked over at Chase curiously. He nodded.

“So, uh...about that...comment I made,” Chase said. “It was, like, a couple days ago. About you not having friends before we met you. I, uh, know I sorta apologized but it was really awkward, and...just, are you still mad about that? You probably are.”

It did sting, to say the least, JJ said. His expression was hard to read, but that might have been because he still had the scarf covering the lower half of his face.

Chase winced. “Yeah...look, I really didn’t mean it. I said it in the heat of the moment, I was frustrated about...just stuff, I guess. It was horrible and I’m really sorry, I...”

Chase, it’s okay, I’ve forgiven you, JJ interrupted.

“R-really?” Chase breathed.

Like you said, it was in the heat of the moment, JJ said. You were upset about the possibility of never seeing Jackie or Marvin again. And, well...you’re not technically wrong. I wasn’t too good at getting to know people. I’m still not, really.

“Yeah, but that didn’t mean I had to say it,” Chase said. “Really, I’m so, so sorry, a-and I really appreciate that you’re staying with me to protect me even though I said it—”

Of course I am, we’re still friends, right? JJ asked.

“Yeah, of course.”

One fight isn’t going to change that. JJ’s eyes crinkled like he was smiling under the scarf.

Chase chuckled. “Well, yeah. I’ve fought all the time with Schneep and Jack, and we still hang out.” He sighed. “It was still just...a bad thing to say.”

It’s water under the bridge, JJ assured him. 

After a moment, Chase reached forward and grabbed JJ’s hand, squeezing it. “Thanks.”

There was the sound of rustling fabric, and a groan. Chase and Jameson looked around, and saw Jackie sitting up. He seemed confused as he glanced around. The confusion soon gave way to some sort of frantic panicking. “Where am I? Where am I?!”

“Whoa, hey, Jackie, it’s fine.” Chase ran on over. “You’re in a safe place, okay? It’s fine.”

“But where am I?!” Jackie insisted, scrambling to his feet. “Where is the rest of me?! We were here, all of me, and now not anymore. Where is the other me?!”

Chase felt his heart sinking. “It’s fine,” he repeated. “We’ll...figure it out.”

Jackie’s eyes locked onto him. “Chase! Do you know where I am?”

“Uh...no, but we’ll figure it out.” He didn’t have much else to say.

“Figure it out, out, out,” Jackie muttered. He started walking around the perimeter of the room. Aimlessly, automatically, like he was just looking for something to do. “We’ll find me, we’ll find me.”

“Um...yeah.” Chase glanced at JJ, who gave him an uneasy look in return. “For now, let’s just...relax. It’s been a long day, and it’s only noon.”

Sounds good, JJ said, and turned back to the cabinets, looking through them again.

Chase collapsed on the sofa, and watched as Jackie continued to walk, walk, walk. Hopefully these magic people could figure out what to do about him And those strings. True, Delyth had said that nothing like this had ever happened before, but he believed there was a solution. One that would save everyone. And he did mean everyone.

He had to keep believing that. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he stopped believing.

[inkribbon796]

Like a House of Cards Ch. 7: Something Precious, Something Gained

Summary: As the dominos fall in the opposite direction, time ticks on.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

After the blast hit and Dark fell backwards, their form flicking and convulsing, the chaos around them froze in time.

Brody broke free of the magic pushing him away and both he and Wil raced over to Dark.

Wil took out his revolver and fired in the Guildmaster’s direction, screaming in a rage before leaping to Dark’s side.

“No! No!” Brody screamed as he raced over to Dark, tears starting to stream from his eyes. “She wasn’t supposed ta hit yeh.”[1]

“Darkling!” Wil knelt by Dark’s other side.

Brody began drawing up as much aura as he could muster as started trying to seep it into Dark’s battered body as carefully as he could so he didn’t worsen the damage. He looked up at Wil, “Make yerself fookin’ useful, will yeh Bubbles?”[2]

“Ohh, right,” Wil realized and placed his hands ever so gently on Dark’s chest, the touch gentle as the two of them began slowly seeping aura into Dark’s chest and tentatively their aura fused the horrid cracks up again.

The Entity’s souls, no longer screaming in agony, began to rouse again from their dazed state and Dark saw Wil and Brody leaning over him.

“Dark, sweet mother ‘a[3] Mary, yer[4] alive,” Brody gasped, setting his head on Dark’s chest as another round of sobs ripped their way out of his chest. “I thought yeh were gonna die.”[5]

The hunters all suddenly disappeared into a massive portal as a person in a long brown trench coat and blood stained bandages over his eyes. The blood from his bandages was starting to roll down his cheeks.

The entire group looked at this new Host, and the one who was still standing by Illinois.

“The fook[6]?” Marvin said, looking between the two Hosts.

The Dealer walked towards Dark, who was starting to settle in exhausted unconsciousness instead of imminent death, Wil looking up and frowned at the fact that he was now seeing double of one of his boys. Both he and Brody felt drained.

“Huh, I don’t recall getting drunk,” Wil commented.

“He’s not gonna[7] die, right?” Brody growled.

“Of course not, why would the Host want such a thing?” The Dealer scoffed. “The Entity should be fortunate that it will take another three years for the Guildmaster to amass that kind of magic again and by then the Entity will be more than fully recharged due to the vast empire he has accrued that he can get aura from.”

“Holy fuck, he’s still alive?”

J.J and Hearts appeared out of thin air.

Illinois and his siblings, except for the Host, braced for another attack.

“Hey, hey,” Hearts held his hands up in surrender. “We’re done, besides there’s no point in wearing the suits again now that Wilford’s alive.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bim demanded.

“Well, we,” Hearts began patting his pocket in confusion, before groaning and rolling his eyes. “Logan’s still got the video, awww, shit, we were gonna[7] use that.”

Hearts looked up at the beanstalk not too far from them. A huge sunflower platform starting to bud and flower at the top. “Hold up, we’ll get Tech Avery and the Hulking Croak down and we’ll do the whole spiel then, when we’re—”

The Suit dodged as Ethan came out of nowhere to try and punch Hearts in the face. Hearts deflecting or dodging most of the strikes.

“What did you do to my dog!” Ethan demanded in an angry fury. “Stop wearing my fucking face.”

Then one of Ethan’s fists phased through Hearts’s face before he completely disappeared. Then he was swiftly kicked in the back so he toppled forward onto his face.

“We’re done,” Hearts told Ethan, parts of him materializing first before others. “I can kick your ass, but I really don’t want to.”

“You’ve killed dozens of people already,” Ethan spat, “why stop now?”

“Well maybe I like existing,” Hearts told him, “you ever think of that?”

“Why would that matter?” Ethan demanded, picking himself back up.

“I can’t tell if you’re being obnoxious or just plain stupid,” Hearts rolled his eyes, and looked around.

J.J casually snapped his fingers and a magical barrier sprung up and a wall of red and gold magic hit it. “Right on time, it seems,” the false J.J smiled.

“Yeah, I’d hate to tell the story twice,” Hearts smiled. “Hey Princey, are the others with you?”

“Odious scoundrel!” Roman shouted. He was standing with all the other Sides. All of them in their superhero outfits. Other heroes and villains began showing up since they’d been called over by the cracking dome and the burst of magic.

J.J dissipated the barrier.

Nate let out a sigh of relief as he counted all seven Sides. None of them had tried to kill each other for power or to get more of themselves back. He’d need to have a long chat with all of them, but right now there were other things to worry about.

“Where is that face stealing monster?” Roman demanded.

“Seeing as I still have my face, I think we are merely dealing with imposters,” Logan explained.

“Logic, now is not the time for semantics,” Janus hissed.

Logan fell silent, but he was looking at the two Suits. Hearts smiled at him in return.

“Hey, glad to see you’re all still doing well,” Hearts still had a huge smile.

Janus hissed at him in fury at the same time Logan yelled out, “FALSEHOOD!”

“Yikes, but that’s a discussion to have with our Logan,” Hearts smiled.

“That was nothing like Logic!” Roman shouted. “How dare you?”

“Well yeah, he’s not our Logic yet, give him about fifteen years and he’ll get there,” Nestor explained. “We’re from the future.”

There was a beat of silence before Roman began laughing, pointing his sword down at them, “Your tricks will not fool me, thou cretinous wretched. Tell them Deceit.”

All the other Sides had already been looking at Janus, who was staring at the two doppelgängers in a mixture of shock and apprehension.

“Deceit,” Roman growled, “now is not the time to play devil’s advocate.”

“That would explain the nanite technology and the fact that they know who we are,” Logan reasoned, a pit forming in his gut. Because if that Logan had been capable of that much sadism and outright, malicious violence . . .

“No. No!” Roman spat angrily at Janus,. “We are not even considering this.”

“Wait you guys are even thinking of considering this?” Ethan shouted. “It’s absolute horseshit!”

“Deceit’s a living lie detector,” Illinois called out. “He just also happens to be a really good illusionist.”

“It’s true,” Joan pushed three way past Janus and Remus and jumped down from a piece of rubble.

“So they’re telling the truth?” Joan looked at Janus.

“Unfortunately, it seems so,” Janus answered through gritted teeth.

Heart looked over at Brody, “Come on, Chase, if we can’t cheat with Logan’s video, we gotta do it together. I only want to do this once a round.”

“I’m not fookin’ leavin’ him ta get shot again!”[8] Brody shouted. “I don’t care if Host says it’s clear or not. I didn’t put up with all this bullshite[9] ta[10] watch him die.”

“Come on, he’s literally in the middle of what amounts to an army of magic, he’s not going anywhere,” Hearts tried to reason.

“Leave it,” J.J told him, his voice still grainy with whatever was helping him speak. “We need to get Logan back and it’s best to have this farce dealt with sooner rather than later.”

“Fine,” Hearts let out a frustrated groan, before pointing to J.J and then Brody. “This is J.J he’s a tactical advisor. This is Brody, part time hit man, and fulltime emotional crutch for an unstable eldritch demon.”

“And I am the Police Commissioner of the Egoton PD,” Hearts introduced, gesturing to himself, CP Nestor flashed a badge on his wallet that was usually carried around by Abe and reached around and grabbed a disk at the back of his neck and handed it over to the Dealer. “I’ll spare my name since it makes younger me a bit antsy despite half of the league already knowing who we are and where you live because you’ve been playing hero since you were fourteen.”

“The hell, you’re not me, you’ve killed people,” Ethan argued.

“Trust me, we’ve been targeting people who have killed or at the single rumor of an order from their Guildmaster they would kill. I have killed far better people, and I’m not claiming we’re saints but we did this town a favor.”

“You could have just told us upfront,” Logan grumbled. “It would have saved us all this trouble and bloodshed.”

Hearts started letting out an amused chuckle, J.J and Brody were decidedly not laughing, “Oh that’s funny, and you always say you don’t have a sense of humor. Did you know that you always ask that, every single time? Nah, you see, we tried that. A lot. So we’ve just been trying whatever sticks.”

“This is the tenth reset,” Brody frowned. “Thanks ta the anomaly an’ J.J here, we’ve been able ta remember all ‘a ‘em so we could make changes as we needed.”[11]

“We had to remove your J.J this time around because he refused to help,” Diamonds explained. “Speaking of which.”

He stepped to the side and snapped his fingers, a bubble of distorted time rippled out and J.J tripped through. He looked confused and bewildered, until he saw future J.J and jumped up to attack him.

Then there was another ripple of time and both J.J were standing there, the real one looking furious as Diamonds just stared back. “See? No one’s died, you should have just trusted me from the start.”

J.J looked around at everyone and he froze when he saw Jackie, who was standing next to Chase.

“Jackie?” J.J gave a shaky sign as he took a couple steps forward. The mute hero then raced over and hit Jackie with a hug, he was shaking in relief.

“Hey, Jay, you okay now?” Jackie asked in concern.

J.J nodded and held onto Jackie even tighter.

Hearts had the wherewithal to wait for the moment to pass before he pointed up to the beanstalk, “And our Logic just peaced out up there. He motioned to the beanstalk. “He’s got the drive we need where we explain everything and have actual video evidence to prove it. So you all can either wait in here, or we can send someone up to get him.”

Roman looked up at the beanstalk, finally sheathing his sword. “Fine, besides, we have unfinished business with him.”

“Excellent the Core Sides will be able to accomplish the mission with little to no bloodshed,” the Dealer smiled.

“They good or should we send someone else?” Nestor asked J.J and the Dealer.

“The Core Sides should be fine,” the Host asked for the two of them. “The Sides should not worry, the Host will not allow the Suits to escape. Especially since there’s a town to clean up.”

“I’m going with them,” Nestor decided. “Someone needs to help power him down afterwards and he won’t let that happen if he thinks the other Sides are still in danger.”

That caused a little bit of an argument but after a while everyone came to an agreement. Core Sides would go up with Nestor to retrieve their Logan and Patton. The three Dark Sides would stay down with the others and help clean up or wait for Dark to recover.

Janus did walk over to the beanstalk with them, halting Logan a ways away to talk. Mostly to plan in case Nestor double crossed them.

“I’ll keep an eye on things down here,” Janus decided, a small albino python sliding out of his sleeve and moving towards Logan. The logical Side letting the serpent crawl up his body until it was delicately wrapped around his wrist and then turned into a bracelet.

“Are you certain that you do not wish to join us?” Logan asked.

“If I go up there, I will strangle him with my own hands,” Janus warned.

“Alright,” Logan responded in understanding and walked back towards the spot the other Core Sides were standing with Nestor. Roman set his hand on the tree-like stem of the beanstalk and a rounded elevator carriage made of woven plants and flowers.

“Is that even safe, Princey,” Virgil looked at the carriage nervously.

“Of course why wouldn’t it be?” Roman leaned against the carriage with a huge smile.

Virgil frowned, “Are you serious?”

After some magic from Patton they all got into the carriage and it started to move up. The ride was quiet for a bit as the carriage began moving up.

“Why are you even coming up, don’t you have a future to hover over?” Virgil spat. “We can’t be that important.”

Nestor frowned, leaning forward in his seat, “Hey look, I’ve regretted many, many of the things I’ve done in my life but the time I spent with you guys was not one of them.”

Nestor pointed to Logan, “You’re not our Logan yet, but even at this point I owe you a lot. You fixed my crappy homemade suit into something that would protect me. You and Silver and Jackie helped give me a structure while I was still in school and doing hero work. I still hold those days in a special place in my heart, and regardless of what happens next that won’t change. But even after I still owe Logan a lot for really helping me out. I might have mentioned it but this city hates me. Dark dropped the police department in my lap and basically told me: “keep order in my city, bitch” and walked off to keep looking for Wil. Logan was there to help me. He helped me when no one else did or could.”

“Sounds like hell,” Virgil commented.

“For five years it was,” Nestor told him, “a lot of people who didn’t need to die, died. Hunters were killing anyone they thought could be a demon vessel after they found out how many demons were actually in the city. And while all that was going on, I had to stand up in front of the news and try and keep the peace in a city that was turning itself inside out. My mission was to save as many people as I could, and if a couple scumbags who were going to kill children and people who have nothing to do with heroes or villains then who cares?”

Logan’s brain was already going to dangerous places. He could see a logical chain of events that brought the Side from where he was sitting in-between Patton and Virgil, to wherever Spade was in his life. It was a dangerous slippery slope.

His future self had already been telling him things. And if these doppelgängers were truly from the future then he had to acknowledge that his other self’s warnings were true. That Virgil and Roman had died. That Patton had been hurt and needed protecting. That Deceit had to be trusted when he couldn’t trust anyone else.

And that the hunters were to blame.

These thoughts swirled his head as he evaluated them:

Did Patton deserve to be attacked for things he could not control? No!

Did a young man who was barely old enough to drink deserve to have the metaphorical weight of a city dropped upon his shoulders and left to run the police force on his own? No!

Did the people who callously murdered Virgil deserve to be left to walk free . . .

Logan hesitated. Apparently most of those people were now dead before they could kill Virgil and others like him. They also hadn’t yet done anything.

Objectively his head spun with the paradox. Given the chance they would have killed him. But they were too dead to actually carry out the deed anymore. We’re they still guilty of the crime?

The logical Side’s battered heart cried “Yes” but now Logan couldn’t be sure that was his mind and heart deciding those things anymore.

His future self had clearly been trying to make Logan think and act like him. If not for Ethan and Chase, he would have succeeded.

“Not sure how much I should keep telling you, either way, Lo’s gonna be pissed,” Nestor shrugged as the flower car continued to take them up. “Logan works kinda with Google these days. Patton started going full demon and got scared so he worked with Dark for aura to help sooth Pat, and then he worked with Google and Bing for safety.”

“Because he’s inorganic?” Logan commented, roused from his rather venomous thoughts.

“Yeah took a good five years for Lo to want to work with him, Google had been making offers for a long time before that,” Nestor scratched some rubble out of the back of his scalp. “We were all going through a lot and I kinda lost track of him for a couple of years since we were all so busy. Then he just showed up in Dark’s office one day a glitchy and angry mess.”

“I fail to see how if you were genuine that we would turn your assistance down,” Logan grumbled.

“Yeah, we’ll you weren’t the difficult one,” Nestor scoffed, looking out the window in thought for a couple seconds before looking back. “Look, Lo’s really protective of Pat, so just be careful, okay? Pat’s been through a lot.”

“Our anger and frustration is with your Logan, not your Patton, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The cart finally came to a stop at the top of the beanstalk and opened into a lush and verdant garden entryway. Beautiful petals and pastel colored insects fluttering in the breeze.

There were the light sounds of conversation that the Sides and Nestor could hear coming from the next room.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations

1. She wasn’t supposed to hit you

2. Make yourself fucking useful, will you Bubbles?

3. of

4. you’re

5. I thought you were going to die

6. Fuck

7. going to

8. I’m not fucking leaving him to get shot again!

9. bullshit

10. to

11. Thanks to the anomaly and J.J here, we’ve been able to remember all of them so we could make changes as we needed.

[lizwontcry]

So. I’ve been trying to write a Succession thing for months now. I thought I’d share what I have here in Tumblr-land and you can all tell me if it sucks or if it’s worth continuing. Rock on.

*****

"So we're actually lucky this situation happened so soon after the Cruises scandal. It's giving us time to figure out what to do next. Obviously we still need some time to come up with a solid solution, but we're working on it."

"Yes, Frank, we are lucky that a deadly virus is keeping us out of the news cycle. Great observation," Roman says petulantly. Everyone on the call laughs nervously.

It's yet another Waystar Royco Zoom meeting, and Frank is again droning on and on about the status of the company. Usually Gerri is able to focus, take notes, add her valued opinion to the conversation, but on this particular day, she is unusually distracted. And then she gets a text from Roman, whom she notices on the Zoom chat is not paying attention. As usual. She glances at the text and can't help but grin a little.

When this is all over, I can't wait to get u alone

Oh, yeah? And what is it you think will happen at that time?

so many dirty things, just you wait

Gee, I'm counting the days...

Although Gerri absolutely knows what is coming next (Roman is not that creative or unpredictable), she's still sort of shocked to see the dick pic that Roman obnoxiously sends her. However, she doesn't delete it right away. Maybe it's because they've all been in quarantine for a month now, but she's a little more intrigued than usual by Roman's weird attempt at flirting.

"Excuse me for a moment," Gerri mutters to the chat, and moves away from the computer. First, she makes sure her door is locked. Then, just to stir things up a bit, Gerri unbuttons her shirt to reveal a lacy blue bra (just because she's not in the office doesn't mean she doesn't dress up to work at home). Although she feels like a lunatic, she takes a tasteful and artistic picture of her bra and sends it to him before losing her nerve. As she returns her attention back to the screen, she sees Roman glance away to look at his phone. She does not miss his eyes light up, even with the shitty composition on the screen. Roman's reply comes quickly (much like he does in person, she can't help but recall), obviously.

Holy shit. I cant wait to see those things in person

Only if you're a good boy. Now leave me alone so I can focus.

Well, thanks 2 you I now have something to focus on...

Gerri chuckles, and then takes a deep breath to collect herself. Just during this brief text exchange with Roman, she's gotten 12 more emails in her never-empty in-box, even during the Zoom call. Somehow, everyone needs her even more now out of the office.

Thankfully, the meeting ends soon after, with barely anything resolved, as usual.

There's a knock at her door. Gerri clears her throat and makes sure her shirt is properly buttoned. She gets up and answers the door.

"Why in the world did you lock the door?" Her daughter Jennifer asks.

"Habit, I guess," Gerri says, and chuckles. Jennifer looks suspicious. Jacqueline, Gerri's other daughter, comes up behind them.

"Why are we all loitering in Mom's office?" Jacqueline asks.

"She locked the door for some reason," Jennifer tattles on Gerri.

"Mom! Are you sexting Roman Roy again? Gross. He's, like, half your age."

Jennifer looks at Gerri in horror. "You're doing WHAT? Mother, that's disgusting. You know he was my first kiss, right?"

Somehow Gerri had forgotten that important piece of information over the years. She tries changing the subject since that is not something she wants to think about at the moment.

"Come on, girls. There has to be something more important to discuss. Such as, what are we having for dinner?"

Jennifer and Jacqueline look like they still have something to say on the subject of their mom having relations with Roman Roy, but also, they are both hungry.

"How about pasta?" Gerri says, because it's literally the only thing she knows how to make.

"Only if Jackie makes that heavenly garlic sauce again," Jennifer says.

"Deal. But we have to learn how to make something other than pasta at some point, you know."

"Do we really?" The girls laugh, and follow each other to the kitchen.

The Great Waystar RoyCo Migration of 2020 happened about six weeks ago. Once the virus started getting more serious and the news did nothing but report thousands of new cases a day, the Roy family made their escape to all their various country homes as far away as possible. Shiv and Tom bought a cozy place in Vermont, hoping it might help bandage their bruised marriage; Kendall and Naomi flocked to one of the Pierce's huge estates in Martha's Vineyard, where Roman joined them after realizing he had nowhere else to go. Logan actually went to Canada to be with his brother; they wearily agreed to at least try to put the past behind them since apparently the apocalypse was on the horizon. Gerri convinced the girls to join her at the lovely, quaint cottage she and Baird bought in Connecticut a few years after they got married.

The break in routine has actually been nice, Gerri would have to admit. Having both her daughters with her for an extended amount of time feels like exactly what she needs after so many years of dealing with Logan and his never-ending legal hassles and scandals. Of course she's still putting out all the company fires, but being what feels like a million miles away is doing wonders for her soul.

[beerecordings]

If Anti was like usual, manipulating little thing who hurts others, but there is one of the egos he does not necessarily hurt, maybe manipulates but like, treats well kinda like how a normal relationship between the other egos. Who would it be and how would everyone feel about it? Like, what would be the difference between treatment and like, if Anti did it for a good reason what would it be? Like he actually kinda cares for that one ego.

oh my gosh!!! this is a great question yes!! it’s so interesting because i feel like i have so many ideas for it like i could come up with hundreds of different aus and fics and stuff just based on the idea of Anti sort of maybe liking one ego and not the others. because no matter who you choose or why or how Anti sees them it’s such a unique perspective every time and completely different! like maybe JJ is the obvious choice, right? he’s the one we know Anti actually does have his hands on, but does that mean he’s just a meatsuit or does Anti kind of like having him around? he got JJ when he was so young. he must have been so naive to everything that Anti was and he wouldn’t expect anyone to save him. that makes him unique to Anti, makes him his in a way none of the others could ever be. or maybe he’s obsessed with JJ’s time powers, doting over his puppet because he’s so powerful, so valuable, so important!

Jameson fights like hell at first, but he doesn’t know anything but Anti, and after Anti’s used him to kill a few times, the fight is really going out of him. he’s so tired of being terrified and locked up all the time!! he do anything for a few minutes out of this box! Anti starts letting him out a little if he promises to be good, training JJ to follow his rules, and suddenly he’s actually coming to heel, actually doing what Anti tells him to, and oh, oh, Anti LOVES being the only one Jameson has in the world, the one he has to come to when he’s upset or hurting. he loves that. Jameson gets more and more reliant on Anti’s affection and companionship to keep him company. he feels a need to repay it. he has stockholm syndrome. he loves Anti. he loves Anti. Anti is delighted. he’s being so good!! he’s so affectionate and obedient these days! the others can be Jack’s, fine, but JJ? JJ is HIS. and Jameson learns that as time goes on. Eventually he’s totally devoted to Anti, understands now that his place was always beside him. the others think it’s a fucking tragedy, but he’s probably past saving now. they never even got a chance to know him…

or maybe after nine months Anti just thinks of Henrik as his and it doesn’t really mean anything at first, you know, it’s just fun to torture him. but Anti’s getting bored of it so eventually he just lets Henrik out of his cell to wander, knowing he’s well-trained enough now to not try and escape. but Henrik is still his snarling, sarcastic, sassy self, which Anti still finds really entertaining, and if he gets the craving he can beat him anytime. Henrik’s random attempts at killing him and funny insults really keep life interesting for Anti and he’s glad for it. he was getting so bored, so despondent. nothing entertained him anymore. but Henrik’s still his snarky self, it really makes Anti laugh. there’s an angry sort of camraderie between them now that Henrik is realizing Anti’s never going to kill him. wait, is Anti kind of fond of him? he slaps Henrik just to check and geez, yeah, watching him stagger away and try to hold back tears and sniffle and clutch at his face isn’t half as fun as it used to be. this sucks. Henrik goes running off back to his room - cell - and Anti decides he wants to try something new. he starts actually… giving Henrik the things he needs?? like feeding him more than spam and canned corn? letting him have water? giving him a MATTRESS?? what is this? Henrik is so fucking confused but you know what, he’s not going to complain, not even if the mattress is next to Anti’s work space and the food’s probably poisoned and he knows this won’t last, right? but it does, Anti keeps feeding him and even giving him presents and stuff, giving him warm clothes and even books, books, Henrik has had nothing to focus on for months and now he devours his reading so vigorously it makes Anti laugh. he’s been trying to survive for so fucking long and now gratitude wells up inside of him and he can’t stop it no matter how hard he tries, especially because Anti isn’t even holding it over him or crowing about how he’s broken him or anything. he just kind of lets Henrik be. makes him sleep next to him and sometimes has him work on projects - physics shit, time travel or whatever, and Henrik is happy to do it, delighted to do it, to have something to work on. he’s still so fucking snarky, keeps making sly remarks at Anti, but now Anti just jokes back at him, and they snipe at each other all day and try to hide the fact that they’re laughing. Anti calls Henrik the biggest disaster of a man he’s ever met and Henrik, before he knows what he’s doing, is playing with Anti like he used to with his other brothers, pushing on his shoulder in vengeance, and then, when that only makes Anti smile, fussing over him and reprimanding him when he comes home hurt, stitching him up gently, making sure his caretaker is taken care of. Anti thinks he probably loves him and it stops him short. he gets Henrik lots of presents, loves picking weird shit out for him. Henrik becomes his greatest secret because he’s so territorial of him. no one can know he’s here. no one will take him away. Henrik is his now and he’s happy to be here. his head is so messed up after months of torture he can barely dream of freedom anymore anyway. he doesn’t really remember much of his life before this, like his head decided it was too painful not to have it. This is the only thing Anti regrets - Henrik’s fragility. He went too far with him for months on end and now his puppet is weak in both body and mind, often shivering through illnesses at Anti’s side on his mattress in the workspace, letting Anti stroke his hair.

or hey, maybe Jackie, right, the hero, the protector, the big brother. see some of them Anti thinks are just pathetic, but Jackie? alright, he has a respect for Jackie even from afar. and he hates him more than anyone else, because Jackie, more than anyone else’s, is Jack’s, Jack’s perfect defender. fuck, but Anti wants to squash that. Anti wants to see him crumple into a million pieces. Anti wants to turn him into everything he is not, just to mock Jack. the others start to get scared as they see Anti’s focus intensify on Jackie, warning him to stop going out so much, begging him to be more careful, terrified of what’s going to happen, but he just flashes a smile and promises he’ll be fine, don’t worry - and then, one day, he’s just gone, and Anti has him, and they can’t get him back, can’t find him. Anti’s hatred upon him is terrible, worse torture than Henrik’s, because it’s more personal than simple entertainment. and Jackie, fuck, who can blame him when he shatters? human beings aren’t meant to bear treatment like that. he starts begging, he starts crying, he starts throwing himself on the ground when Anti comes into his cell and sobbing for mercy, half out of his mind, frantic and spitting blood, staring up at him with pupils blown wide with terror, and Anti thinks it’s the most incredible thing he’s ever seen, almost too much power for him to bear. Jackie gives up secrets, gives up his brothers, gives up everything, partly delirious but mostly just desperate and dying, and Anti lets him drop to the ground once he sees that he’s broken him as much as it’s possible for him to be broken. and then, after that, oh - now he can be Anti’s instead of Jack’s! Anti’s protector, Anti’s attack dog! he builds Jackie back up careful, careful, gentle, gentle, disciplining him every step of the way to make sure that hero’s ferocity never comes back to bite him. look, it’s easy, there’s a method to the madness now! don’t talk without being asked a question and he won’t get shocked! don’t cry too loudly and he won’t get burned! be obedient and he can have food and sleep! oh, fuck, he catches a sight of himself in a puddle of water and feels horror, but Anti triggers his shock collar and he yelps and it’s gone again. he gets wilder and wilder, except for Anti - for Anti he is calm, trained to be protective and obedient, trained to be quiet and patient and waiting for orders. pretty soon he’s doing what he’s told, going where he’s taken, and killing whoever Anti points him at. he’s missed the thrill of a fight so fucking much and he’s being good!! he’s being rewarded!! it’s okay! who’s blood is this? was that JJ he just chased through the streets of a city like a hound after a fox, was Marvin the person he beat into unconsciousness last night while he screamed for Jackie to remember who he was, is it Chase he can hear crying? doesn’t matter! Anti’s happy with him. he laughs hysterically and goes crawling back to his master, and Anti is SO happy with him. Anti doesn’t love Jackie in the slightest, but he’s hugely affectionate for the idea of him broken like this. he buys him chew toys and brings him people to fight with so he has something to entertain him. Jackie becomes ferociously, wildly over-protective of Anti, growling at anyone who gets close.

or Marvin, Marvin! he’s so interesting, he’s bold and flashy and clever and talented and magical. maybe Anti just thinks he’s fun to play with, or maybe he’s interested in controlling that power. but Marvin isn’t like the others, he isn’t going to go down like that, isn’t going to respond well to flattering and comforting and syrup no matter what Anti does to wear him down. DON’T touch him, DON’T try to warm him up, DON’T call him your fucking brother!! doesn’t matter how much Anti does to him, Marvin will spit up blood and shove presents back at him, Marvin will curse him out and kick at him, Marvin DOES NOT WANT anything Anti has to give. he knows more than the others about how these things go and he knows the SLIGHTEST kindness he thanks Anti for is an irreversible foot in the door for the demon to get deeper in his head. Anti tries to tell him, “I just want to be friends, I want to be brothers, I just want - ” NO. FUCK. YOU. NO. NO. NO. HE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE. well, says Anti, that’s fine. he has other ways. Marvin ends up hypnotized so far out of his mind he forgets his own name. in days of world-spinning, complete confusion and amnesia, Anti preys on every single one of his own insecurities. You’re like me. You know you are. You never belonged with the others. You’re like me and you’re going to do what I tell you because you want to, not because I subdue you. Marvin begins to come around, though he fights for weeks and weeks against even this. Anti is fascinated. look at how he fights! nothing wears him down! nothing breaks him! his strength is… fuck, does Anti admire him? he wants Marvin more than any of the others now. it’s a power play, but he also just likes his spunk, his courage, his strength! eventually Marvin is so warped he’s just this furious, hateful thing, not even sure where all the anger comes from, just blindly dedicated to Anti, who lets him do whatever he wants as long as he stays loyal. Marvin dresses up every night and never looks anything less than perfectly put together and totally in control, to make up for the fact that his head is a whirlwind. he doesn’t have anything but Anti and he tells him absolutely everything, ranting and sobbing, trying to cope with the confusion and the loss inside him. Anti strokes his hair and promises him everything he needs. he worries, sometimes, that he took it too far, but it had to be done, it had to be done. eventually Marvin starts engaging in really self-destructive behaviors and it’s only then that Anti realizes how attached he’s become to him. he starts controlling Marvin more to take care of him, treating him like a fussy little kid, and Marvin is too sick and exhausted to fight anymore, just presses his face into Anti’s chest and lets him take away his knives and alcohol. he doesn’t remember anything but Anti and he hates himself, so he lets Anti’s darkness devour him whole.

or maybe plain Chase, the protagonist. i’ve always felt that Anti would have a certain disgust for Chase - childish, suffering, tearful Chase. Jack’s friend, ugh! but he can’t just kill him, no, no, no. that’s far too easy. he stalks Chase instead - stares at him from the backseat of the car, imitates him in the mirror just imperfectly enough that it makes the hair on Chase’s arms rise, sitting at his kitchen table and making him scream just before he disappears. it’s so fucking funny, at first, it’s the funniest thing Anti’s ever done, and he’s living for it, driving Chase absolutely out of his mind with terror. but then Chase just… Anti doesn’t know, he… really wants to die. it’s kind of… scary, actually. Anti retreats a little, starting to feel nervous when Chase screams and throws things and wails for the monster to leave him alone, leave him alone, leave him alone! oh, fuck, he can’t fucking take it anymore! eventually Anti stops thinking it’s funny. he’s tired of the games. he appears in full force and this time, doesn’t glitch away or disappear, just grabs Chase and drags him away. Chase screams the whole time, but his neighbors are used to it, so nobody comes. nobody is coming. nobody is watching. he ran far away from Jackie and Marvin and Henrik. they don’t know he’s here and won’t notice he’s gone. Chase is terrified out of his mind, hysterical, and he thrashes like he’s rabid for days, concussing himself against the wall he’s chained to, bruising himself black on the chains, and Anti’s just like you know what?? this is fucking horrible. i should just put this thing out of its goddamn misery. but he can’t quite do it… he’s watched Chase so long now, sometimes just in the quiet, staring at Chase while he slept or invisible beside him while he sat on the couch and drank. Chase is like a feral animal to Anti, and he’s fascinated by the way he acts. so okay he brings him a snack.

Chase is like what the fuck my withdrawal hallucination just brought me Cheetos

honestly… it’s easy after that. Chase is so, so tired, and Anti takes care of him. he doesn’t know why this is happening and he doesn’t care. it’s kind of ideal, he figures! everybody will assume he’s dead! no more responsibilities and complete absolution for dropping them! the demon starts to sit down with him sometimes and feed him himself, grinning when Chase says please and thank you. his smile is too big but his eyes are nice… really nice… really, really nice… Chase is so sleepy. he falls asleep on Anti’s chest and the demon rocks him and it makes him cry, because no one’s held him that gently in a long time and he’s well past caring about things like “dignity” and “being trapped in a bunker of some kind by a supernatural creature.” Anti only talks to him for the first time after several weeks of teaching Chase to be quiet and docile, and even then, Anti’s voice is very gentle and pleasant, and Chase feels sleepy and comfy and safe. eventually he’s let off his chains and he can move around a little if he’s quiet. Anti renames him and dresses him the way he wants, cutting his hair and giving him tattoos and stuff, and Chase just sits quiet, dozing against his thigh. Anti never once hurts him - Chase, he finds, can be disciplined just fine through isolation and stern warnings. he’s simple like that. Anti gets to be incredibly fond of him. he thinks of Chase as very stupid but likes him very much. sometimes Chase gets really upset as memories come rushing back to him and he realizes just how far he’s fallen, but it’s easy for Anti to just draw him back in, use a little hypnotism, soothe the worries away…. Chase hugs him and feels grateful Anti stole him. he understands by now that Anti is a very bad person - he’s seen him do horrible things - but he doesn’t care. Anti loves him and no one else, Chase believes, is going to do that. eventually Anti lets him have hobbies like cooking and gardening and stuff! Chase knows he’s a pet but he doesn’t have the willpower or a strong enough sense of alarm to try running away. it will probably be years before the others find him at all… whether or not they get him back, they’ll be heart-broken by what he’s become and completely confused as to why he’s so unscarred and healthy and apparently loved by Anti, and Chase won’t want to go back to them.

AND IT JUST GETS SO INTERESTING CAUSE THEN YOU CAN PUT DIFFERENT BOYS TOGETHER AND HAVE DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPEN AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH ANTI AND EACH OTHER ARE ALL DIFFERENT AND EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT AND INTERESTING AND AHHHH I LOVE PUPPET BOYS SO MUCCHHHHHH

[angryhausfrau-writes]

I Travel Troubled Oceans: Chapter 10 - In Which Jack Hosts A Fashion Show

Jack is finally ready for his first runway show, after months of work and agonizing over every small detail and making sure he keeps up appearances as a flighty party boy with enough money that he doesn't need to have talent or ambition.

But he's honestly quite proud of how everything has turned out. He's tailored the runway fashions for the trendy, upscale gallery that's hosting the show, of course, so everything is very modern and very stark. There are a lot of geometric shapes, structured collars, plunging triangular necklines and sideslits, things like that. Lots of metallic black fabrics.

It's all very cyberpunk dystopia - but chic. Because the upper echelons of society will commodify and romanticize everything, including the surveillance state.

It does appear to be a successful strategy, however. Mary has been taking pictures of his work throughout the process. Pictures that are framed to hint, to tantalize, but not to actually reveal anything. And there's been significant hype building around the show. Some of the backstage photos from the runway rehearsal have even appeared in the society sections of various newspapers. Which nobody really reads anymore, but Jack's Instagram account has simultaneously blown up, so that's probably a better indication that he's on the right track with this designer nonsense.

And he's had no trouble filling seats at the show itself. Since it's all rich assholes in attendance, they'd never do anything so gauche as to charge admission, but there's an understanding that everyone who attends the event will provide a hefty (and tax deductible, after some creative accounting) donation to both the art gallery and Jack's little design company. And Kaylen has used her extensive network of snooty art acquaintances to make sure there are plenty of critics in the audience, which should help get his name out there in the fashion world so he can start broadening their field of influence.

So the last thing that remains to be done is to personally invite the Councilor to the show. Not only because Jack is trying to develop a deeper friendship with him (and thereby cement his influence over any and all planning decisions) but also because Max wants to form another sort of relationship with Councilor Featherstone. Ie. she wants one of her girls to start “dating” the esteemed Councilor and whispering sweet nothings about their competitors into his ear instead of pillow talk. Which is also why Jack's throwing an after party at his house where the invitees can mingle with the models, get to know them a little better.

Jack had initially been rather uncomfortable with this plan. Mostly because he doesn't like people in his house messing up his things. But also because this feels just slightly skeevy in a way he hasn't been before. He's a con and a killer and a dealer, but he's not a pimp.

But when he'd talked to the girls about this plan, they'd seemed surprised at his reservations. One girl - Jackie – had even asked if the Councilor was, quote, wicked and seemed disappointed when Jack told her he had the sexual charisma of a bowl of lukewarm oatmeal. And Jack supposes it's their job, so they know what they're getting themselves into.

So he finds himself at the office building downtown (a pricey piece of real estate if Jack's ever seen one) to personally extend the glossy black invitation to both fashion show and after party to Councilor Featherstone. Who apparently has not yet grasped e-vites as a concept. And anyway, it's the personal touch that leaves a lasting impression.

And Charles has elected to accompany Jack, for whatever reason. He seems familiar with desk security and the building layout at least. Which is, perhaps, suspicious. As are the wary glances Councilor Featherstone's second in command – a man who's doing much what Max wants them to do in terms of filtering exactly what proposals actually reach the Councilor's desk, although his criteria for acceptance is more in line with being rich and titled and not a dirty foreigner - keeps giving Charles through Featherstone's glass door.

Charles's self satisfied smirk is not particularly encouraging either.

But he'd rather have any potential adversaries cowed as apposed to actively antagonistic. And Counselor Featherstone is more than happy to receive an invitation to his good friend Jack's debut fashion show. With front row seats to ensure that he gets a good look at all the models as they parade past on the catwalk. And Max's second sitting next to him - because Featherstone doesn't seem like the sort to approach a woman of his own volition and they'll need some indication of who to throw at him later tonight.

Jack's stupid fashion show is giving Anne a bitch of a headache. He's running around backstage in a fucking tizzy, because someone's makeup isn't quite right or they're wearing the wrong style of jewelry or a dozen other fucking things. And Anne's supposed to be coordinating this mess – as if that's fucking possible.

At least she's good at glaring and rude hand gestures. That appears to be all that's required to get the DJs – some poor fucks Max has by the balls – to get their shit set up and now there's some pumping electronic shit going as all the rich fucks mingle and drink cocktails, waiting for the show to start.

Fortunately, Eme'd been the one to recommend the caterers and other than pointing towards the kitchen and telling them when the show starts, she hasn't had to deal with them. And Mary's running around taking pictures of all the models and dresses and shit but she spares Anne a quick smile whenever they cross paths. So it could be worse.

And then Anne's pressed into lining up all the models in order and cuing when they're supposed to go out, so she's too busy to hear Jack's little speech at the start of the show. But by the polite applause he gets, it's a pretty good one – always been silver tongued, Jack has, and that ain't changed any with this new venture.

And it turns out he's pretty good at the whole designer thing too, which had been a surprise. Anne doesn't think much of the outfits – completely impracticable and all ugly weird dresses - but all these posh idiots are eating this shit up, if you take into account the fact that rich people excitement is a lot less loud than normal people excitement. The after party is sure to loosen them up, at least.

Jack slumps against the wall, absolutely exhausted. The fashion show had gone well, with several of the critics and many of the various high society invitees coming up to congratulate him afterwards. He's the darling of the upper crust for a night.

And in order to cement that for the future, he's in the process of throwing the mother of all parties – champagne, blow, stupid finger foods with gold leaf on them. The sort of club music that keeps coked up partiers on the dancefloor all night. And it's all getting to be a bit much.

Anne and Mary have already disappeared upstairs to bed, and Jack dearly wishes he could join them. Or at least meander in their general direction – he doubts they want him in their bed. Particularly because they're probably not even attempting to sleep what with all the noise downstairs.

And Jack doesn't really feel like laying awake for hours in his empty bed while Anne and Mary fuck down the hall, even if he wasn't bound by his persona to stay until the party ended or the sun rose. And it's starting to look like sunup will be the earlier of the two conditions, so it's just as well he's a jobless layabout who can sleep all day tomorrow.

At least Counselor Featherstone looks to be having fun with Idelle, all tucked into a sort of quiet corner with her and staring shamelessly at her tits. Which are quite noticeable in the dress she's wearing, to be fair. But Jack doesn't particularly want to spend his night thinking about that either.

So he turns on his heel and weaves through the crowd until he's reached the French doors leading to the little patio out back. He needs a minute – just one minute – of quiet and calm. Just a minute to catch his breath before he heads back into the heaving throng.

He walks out to the edge of the lawn and lets out a long sigh, head tipped towards the heavens.

“Get sick of the party, Jack?”

Charles emerges from the dark, only the glowing cherry of his cigar lighting his face, making his eyes gleam in a way that would be terrifying if Jack didn't know him so well.

But he does know Charles, so he just turns toward him, slumps against him in exhaustion. “I'll admit, it's a little harder to make it through these things without enough blow to keep an entire 80's office building supplied.”

Charles grins. “Or you're just getting old.”

“And what does that say about you, Chaz?” Jack leans back to look him in the eye. “You're the one out here in the dark all by yourself. Maybe you're the one getting too old for this shit.”

Charles eyes the house and all the guests making a disgusting mess all over Jack's fancy furniture. It's unbelievable, and he's spent his whole life, minus the last few months, living on the streets or in derelict drug dens.

“Don't know that I was ever young enough for this particular shit. Want to pretend to be desperate for a fuck and go hide upstairs?”

Jack considers it for a long moment, torn between responsibility to Max and his desire to escape the party. But fear of Max wins out – she can make is life awfully difficult. And that's without Anne giving him unimpressed looks on her behalf.

“Want to pretend to make out on the dancefloor instead?”

Charles grins. “Ok, but don't get pissy at me for grabbing your ass.” And he proceeds to steer Jack into the house and out into the middle of the dancefloor by doing just that, to the cheers and wolf whistles of everyone close enough to understand what he's doing.

Which is a fair number, because Charles is not exactly known for being subtle. And then he sticks his tongue down Jack's throat.

“I hope you know this means I'm spending tomorrow braiding your hair in retaliation,” Jack growls at him, when he's finally let up for air. “And I will give you pigtails.”

Charles just laughs, so apparently it's not a enough of a threat. Jack will find something truly menacing at some point. He swears.

[bxnesof92]

Don’t Look Over Your Shoulder (2/?)

A Ralbert mulitchapter

Chapter 2: Good Mythical Manhattan

Read on Ao3!

Chapter 1!

The red-haired boy stared into Race’s eyes for a second longer, flicked his gaze back to the sun dipping below the horizon, and looked back to the city once again. He tapped his fingers contemplatively and took a heavy breath. He turned back to Race and nodded once, quick and with finality. “Yea, I could use a little more than survival at this rate.”

Race, in a gesture of peace, outstretched his hand. His new partner warily accepted his help down and quickly gathered his possessions.

Race grabbed his hand once again when the boy seemed ready to leave and yanked him into a run, “It’s not too far from here, and I can’t tell you where we’re going out here, but we have to hurry before the bulls come out.”

“The… bulls?”

“Those mean fuckers with the scary masks and the bikes? Man, where did you come from?” Race was incredulous, and couldn’t discern a reasonable explanation as to how this kid looked and acted the way he did, and yet still hadn’t a clue as to who the bulls were. Meanwhile, this “kid” allowed himself to be pulled further into the desert in silence while he thought Oh… That’s what they call them…

– –

“Ah, shit. Hey Red, you got a light by chance?” Race called into the darkness. One of Manhattan’s entrances wasn’t far from where they stood, and yet, Race was clueless. This side of their base was rarely used for commute, and he doubted that the hatches were very well marked.

Red, he liked that name, shook his head, still unsure of what they were looking for. “What exactly are you bringing me to?”, he asked. He looked around himself before deciding that any plans to escape would be useless, Race knew the area too well.

“Why-” Race paused to turn his head as a handheld flare roared to life “Only Manhattan, the finest piece of rebellion on this side of the… Well, on this side of anywhere, really. It’s got lots going on down there, I think you’ll appreciate what we’re all about.” As he spoke, Red’s face lit up in childlike wonder,

“You guys are real? I thought Manhattan was just a myth!”

“Hold this, one sec.” Race passed off the sparking flare and bent down. He yanked at what Red had assumed scrap metal. Frustrated, Race yanked off multiple protective layers to get a more comfortable grip on the door in the ground. With a final pull, Race slammed open a hatch in the sand, subsequently inhaling it. He kneeled over to cough out, and then gestured Red down the revealed stairs. “Well, welcome to the myth.”

– –

Inside Manhattan was a flurry of activity. Everywhere Red looked there were scrappy boys as old as he moving and working seamlessly in what seemed to be a metal bunker. Race had taken the liberty of removing the rest of his gear as he descended the stairs, giving Red his first look at a complete person in months. Race was long and muscular, curly haired, bright eyed, and still somehow pale despite the desert’s rays. Race laughed loud and high, spreading his arms as if presenting the world’s happiest place on Earth: “Welcome to Manhattan!” With the joy in that single sentence, Red wondered if maybe this was Race’s happiest place on Earth.

Race walked in with a confident, yet courteous, air. He sidestepped around girls with boxes, smiled at boys behind control desks, and turned to nod at Red behind him, “You comin’? There’s someone I think you really need to meet.”

With that, Race had turned back and proceeded to a circular lower level in the room and left no choice but for Red to follow.

Race had headed straight toward the man in the center, who clearly held authority. The man looked busy and Red feared that his new friend would face consequences for interrupting him, but instead jumped on his back with a wide smile and shouted, “Jackie!”

“Jackie” spun around and threw him off, only to turn around and hug him with the same ferocity. Red stood a few paces away, fixed on his place a few stairs from the floor. Race and the older boy spoke in hushed voices, their faces betraying nothing of their conversation. Red watched on, and failed to notice another boy zipping down the stairs behind him. The newcomer had a youthful grin and a small package, and nudged shoulders with Red by accident. The boy let out a hearty laugh as he continued his way down the stairs,

“Hey! Sorry about that, wasn’t watching myself! Hey, we haven’t gotten a new kid our age in a while, I’m Finch, what do they call ya?” With that short greeting, Finch had inadvertently drawn the eyes of everyone in the room to the two of them. Race paused his conversation and raised an eyebrow at his new friend.

“Well,” he started, “Race has been callin’ me Red.” Finch spat in his free hand and held it out to Red with a smile as conversations resumed. As Red did the same he announced that he was

“Charmed to meet ya, Red!” and continued on his way.

Race and his friend walked up to where Red was watching Finch walk away, and he snapped his attention back to the matter at hand. Even though Red easily had six inches on the older boy, his intimidating presence made him want to shrink into himself. Despite that, he placed one hand on the blade he had previously threatened Race with and straightened his back, ready on the defense.

The leader looked him up and down, scrutinizing Racer’s find, before finally offering a hand, “Jack Kelly. Heard you needed somewhere to go,”

“It was die out there or die wherever Blondie was leading me, so I’d say need is a bit of a stretch.”

Jack turned, dropping his hand, “Racer, you always gotta be bringin’ home the feisty ones. Can’t you make a guy’s life a little easier every once in a while? Bring home some bright-eyed, bushy-tailed marksman who actually wants to be here?”

“Ahhh, Jackie, send me out on shitty job, reap the consequences,” Race replied, playfully elbowing Jack in the ribs before throwing an arm around his shoulder, “Red, meet Jack, big brother extraordinaire and leader of this scrappy little rebellion we’ve got going on. Jack, meet Red. Don’t know shit about him ‘cept he hates the city and knows his way around a knife.”

Jack held silent for a moment. “Is Red your real name?”

“Is Jack yours?”

Jack pulled his shoulders back and tilted his head, not enthused by the newcomers’ lack of cooperation.

“Okay! I‌ think we’re done here!” Race interjected, sensing obvious tension between the two. He turned Jack around by his shoulders and pushed him back towards the direction he came. “C’mon, you,” he said back to Red, “I think I’m gonna give you the run down, let you get cleaned up, and we’ll getcha registered in the system. Sound good?” Red let his shoulders drop a fraction, eyes conflicted. Getting cleaned up sounded really nice, and Manhattan in the stories he grew up hearing sounded perfect right now. Race must’ve sensed his hesitation. He let his voice get softer and moved to put a hand on Red’s shoulder, but thought better of it. “You don’t have to decide now, it’s okay if you don’t want to stay here but believe me when I say that we’re the safest and strongest section. We’re gonna do big things, but we can keep you safe and alive in the meantime.”

“… Alright. Show me around.”

[thanksjro]

Eugenesis, Part Four Scene Three: We Haven’t Invented Concussive Medicine Yet

Wheeljack, Mainframe, Centurion, and Sygnet are still wandering in the general direction of the Sonic Canyons. Centurion has been asking a LOT of questions- y’know, because he’s like eight years old- and it’s starting to wear on Mainframe’s sanity. I feel your pain, Mainframe, I’m the oldest of six.

This time, he’s asking about Wheeljack and Sygnet. They’re awfully chummy, and that doesn’t really track with what Centurion’s been told about the relations between the Autobots and Decepticons. Mainframe tells him to use his critical thinking skills, and Centurion makes some good points about them now having a common enemy, and how everyone should be fighting for the freedom of the planet instead of being at each others’ throats.

Mainframe, don’t tease Centurion like that, he’s just a little baby.

Turns out Sygnet was Wheeljack’s apprentice way back when, and originally an Autobot. He only defected to the Decepticons because he kept getting shown up by Wheeljack with grant money and prizes.

I’m sorry, Skywarp w h a t.

Right after Mainframe drops that bomb, the boys run into a ship crash. Looks like one of the prison ships didn’t quite make it to Kledji. They check it out, just to make sure nothing’s still alive, and are rewarded for their thoroughness with the knowledge that the second pilot lived and currently has the communication equipment.

Mainframe you horse’s ass, what was that? Why are you being such an ice queen? Is it because you’re the third-dumbest person in the wasteland right now? Got some small-dick energy going? Or whatever the Transformers-equivalent that would be?

(Don’t fucking message me about the fanon terminology for robo-genitals, I’m already painfully aware.)

It’s a little too late though, because the dead guy’s already called for backup, and a sci-fi biker gang is on the way to wreck shop.

Meanwhile, in hyperspace, the Ark’s in danger, as the stowaway Quintesson makes his way to the bridge to kill everyone. Death’s Head, still locked in the lab, isn’t thrilled with this development; not because he cares what happens to the Autobots, but because he’s planning on selling the Ark, and the Quintesson seems hellbent on destroying the resale value of the damn thing.

He decides it’s time to stop pretending like mere locks can hold him, and quickly breaks out, by way of futuristic lock-picking.

Lot of people just deciding that they’re done being imprisoned in this last little bit. Galvatron, Raindance, and now Death’s Head.

While this is happening, Quantax is receiving word that the Matrix has been retrieved and is in their possession.

…So you’re saying the birth of the Antichrist is still on the table. Fantastic.

Then we finally get to go to the Sonic Canyons, where Siren’s found Raindance, who’d crashed. He’s worn out, more from the Chip’s influence than any real form of exertion. Just so they don’t think he’s crazy, he turns into a cassette, loaded with all the top hits from the concentration camp.

Back on the Ark, Death’s Head is on the bridge, trying his hand at a little medical care.

His bedside manner could use a little work, but it looks like we’ll have our replacement for First Aid in a jiffy!

He’s stopped from further violence by our good friend and doctor, Ratchet. He didn’t go into voluntary shutdown, seeing as he was passed out in the normal fashion while everyone else was bedding down for the sleepover. And people say running yourself into the ground doesn’t get results!

Since there’s no way to wake the rest of the Autobots up, it’s up to these two to buddy-cop it up and save the day. It’s the peacekeeper and Ratchet the Hatchet against some nobody Quintesson cannon-fodder.

Odds seem about even.

Back with Wheeljack and the boys, the Quintesson hoverbike gang has arrived, and they’re packing heat.

Wheeljack’s been shot several times. There’s Quintessons everywhere. It’s all going to hell, and the real cherry on top of this terrible sundae is that Jacky-boy’s begun to hallucinate from the pain- there’s two familiar figures coming up over the ridge, but it couldn’t possibly be-

Next thing you know, Swerve’ll be collecting the curdled body-fluids of cybercrosis victims to squirrel away for reasons that will never be explained in-canon.

Roberts writes a weird Swerve, and always in a surprisingly subtle way.

So Optimus and Nightbeat are here, and Optimus swiftly starts kicking as much ass as he possibly can, in a way that will make all the robots swoon.

That won’t do a whole heck of a lot against a tractor beam, though, as it picks him up. The others take refuge in the downed shuttle, though, again, tractor beam.

The pilot really covered all his bases, because now there’s a ship taking care of the Autobots (and Sygnet). Luckily, they’ve got a flying baby boy on their side.

Centurion, using the power of his jet boots, slams against the floor of the shuttle, pushing down hard enough to override the beam and send them crashing back down. Good job, Centurion.

Meanwhile, Quantax is having just the best time staring into the Matrix like one would a lover’s eyes. He knows he’ll never be Prime, but it doesn’t stop him from trying it out.

The Matrix is a classist piece of tin foil, and you can tell it I said that.

Having embarrassed himself enough, Quantax turns his attention to the corpse- yes, corpse, we have confirmation- of Rodimus Prime.

Roberts actually did it, the bastard. He killed Rodimus Prime. I didn’t think he would, but clearly I’ve been made a fool.

Xenon calls, as Quantax has been expecting. He wants the Matrix.

Everyone does, Xenon, you aren’t special.

He shoots over a teleport trooper and demands it be loaded into his armor for safekeeping. Quantax does as he’s told, though he’s starting to get a little Gollum over the thing. The trooper is shot back, and he thoroughly cooked by the two teleport trips back to back. No one gives a shit about his wellbeing, though. Why would they? He’s just cannon-fodder, and they’ve got what they want.

The Quintessons are about overdue for some good old-fashioned unionization.

Xenon asks if all the Cybertronians have been accounted for. Quantax lies through his frigging teeth and says yes.

Meanwhile, with the unaccounted-for Autobots, it’s time to go to college.

The boys have ended up at the Institute of Higher Programming, thanks to the utility ducts. Kup’s still knocked out, by the way. He probably has a concussion.

Are you telling me that the Headmasters are a frat? Do they have keggers at their rental on campus and catcall the three female robots on the planet?

Chromedome leads everyone around and they start setting up for the long-range comm to Siren at the Sonic Canyons.

Prowl decides to let Kup sleep for a bit. Prowl isn’t a medical professional, so he really shouldn’t be making that call, but with every medic being either dead or locked up in hyperspace, things have gotten a little funky in that regard.

[asherranceoftheheart]

Masks - JSE Drabble

Character/s: Chase Brody, Marvin the Magnificent Warnings: Angst, Anti Masterpost of my Stories AO3 edition of the Post

Tag List: @the-rampaige @iris-the-asparagus @sqxxddygremlin @awkward-bullshit @jaysflight @assbutt-of-the-readers  AN: Chase why u gotta be so rude @egopocalypse I blame you for how bad he got oh my god

Flick on… Flick off…

“How do you think you’re gonna die, Marv?” Blue eyes glowed with the light of the flame coming from the lighter that Chase had been playing with for the past minutes of silence he and his prisoner found themselves in.

The magician didn’t reply. He merely glowered at Chase, body heaving with the efforts he made earlier of trying to escape the chains that were wrapped around him. His eyes and hands began to glow green as he attempted to use his magic to break his bonds but a massive shock went through him; electric shocks shooting up and down his spine until he let his magic dissipate and he slumped in his position on the floor, body twitching and shaking occasionally from what it just suffered. Faint wheezing breaths escaped him and was the only sound that disturbed the silence of the room.

Chase just watched his squirming with a serene smile. The father patiently waited for the other man to lose all of his energy and didn’t react to any of the magician’s goading or taunts. He kept flicking the lighter on and off and the sharp sound grated itself against Marvin’s ears and felt like needles scratching inside his head. He watched with cold eyes as Marvin’s irritation started to give way to desperation and panic as the truth of his situation finally started to sink in.

“You know Marv, you’re right! Magic really is a neat trick. Thanks for teaching me the basics and giving me access to all of your books,” Chase’s smile widened into a toothy grin as his eyes sparkled with devious delight. “It was really enlightening.”

Marvin swallowed around the lump in his throat as Chase finally dropped all pretenses and the shield binding his magic down, and the older ego could see the corruption and dark magic practically oozing out of the pores of the other.

“Y-You were supposed to use that magic to help protect yourself from Him not join Him! Did you become another one of his loyal, mindless little puppe—” Marvin jerked back, heart hammering against his chest when Chase jumped off the table he had been sitting on and started walking towards him. “Stay away from m— Don’t touch me!”

He flinched away from Chase’s fingers as it reached out to his face. He closed his eyes tightly and waited for the pain.

Seconds passed by but…

Nothing.

“Huh. Anti was right. You really are a scaredy-cat without your mask.” Chase snickered.

Even without opening his eyes, Marvin could see the boyish grin lighting up the younger ego’s face. In the past, it would have been an endearing sight coming from his normally down brother but now…

A finger hooked itself underneath his mask. His breath hitched when Chase started taking off his last line of defense. His eyes snapped open and pleading turquoise eyes met cruelly glinting baby blue eyes.

“Please, no.” He begged, his pride and haughty mask completely tossed aside.

Chase merely smiled down at him and then plucked off the mask from his face. Marvin could feel his breath quickening and tears burning at the corner of his eyes the longer he felt the cold air sting the bare skin of his scarred face.

The younger man looked down at the mask, turning it over in his hands before dropping it to the ground where it made a loud clack. Chase slowly raised his feet on top of it as if taunting him, and Marvin immediately knew what he was about to do.

“Wait—!” Marvin screamed but Chase’s smile just gained a cruel edge to it before he stomped down on the magician’s most prized possession with all his strength.

It shattered within contact, making that loud cracking sound that broke a part of Marvin on the inside. He stared unseeingly at the shattered pieces of his mask.

“Oops. Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” But there was no hint of remorse or apology in Chase’s voice. There was only condescending amusement at seeing him break so easily. “I still don’t get why you’re so attached to that thing, Marv. It looks like it belongs to one of those cheap masks section in the grocery.”

He was numb. He couldn’t muster up any strength to make another sound.

“... You’re so pathetic. Breaking over such a little thing? No wonder Jack didn’t think much of you from the start,” Marvin could only watch as Chase grinded his foot against the remaining pieces of the mask until they turned to dust. “Hey Marv, you were about to ask me before if I joined Anti as one of his own right?”

A hand grabbed the unresponsive man’s chin and forced him to meet Chase’s eyes which had flickered over to a familiar green color.

“Yeah, you’re right. I did join him. But there’s one thing you got wrong though,” Chase tilted his head to the side and poked Marvin’s nose. “I’m loyal, sure. I’m also his puppet, there’s no doubt about that. But Anti prefers a puppet who could think for himself as his General, you know?”

Marvin felt his heart stop at those words. Jackie had been complaining about another magic using villain who called himself General was manipulating the minds of the people in the city with some of the darkest magics he has ever seen. They had some suspicions that the General was working together with Anti since the glitch didn’t seem to bothered by the villain infringing on his territory.

“You were the one who hurt Jackie to the point he was unconscious for an entire week.” It was whispered with the same hollowness that Marvin could feel in his heart. Horror and disgust tasted bitter in his tongue as he remembered Chase being so devastated at Jackie’s horrid injuries.

But that had all just been faked.

Chase giggled and allowed him to drop his chin back to his chest. The younger ego made a tiny spin in front of him  and practically chirped, “I’m quite the good actor, aren’t I?”

And he is… No one suspected that he would be completely on Anti’s side, not when he expressed complete disgust and hatred at the mere mention of the glitch in their presence. He kept their spirits up as much as he was also swamped with stress and having to fight back Anti’s attempts of taking the channel.

“Why?” was all Marvin could ask. He wanted to understand. He needed to understand.

Chase clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his head to the side.

“Why?” Chase mused, he paced in front of Marvin as he thought of his answer. “Well, I’m sick of being weak, Marvin. I’m sick of being treated like I’ll shatter any second now just because a small breeze passed through me. So when Anti came to me, telling me that he can teach me, can help me grow stronger, can stop me from feeling like utter shit every single day while the rest of you are off, hiding away from him while I’m trying to keep the channel up, I decided to take his offer.”

He crouched down so that they were face to face and the smile Chase had on earlier had faded away into a blank mask.

“While all of you weren’t there, he came and then he took. Simple and easy,” Chase simply said before straightening up again. “I’d love to chat more with you but I still got videos to edit, people to brainwash, and maybe a certain doctor to hunt down for my King.”

Marvin jerked at those words, he has to find a way to warn the others about Chase turning his back on them. They don’t even have a single idea—

“Oh and Marv? Feel free to try using your magic. This beautiful room was made by mine and my King’s ideas. I asked you how do you think you’re going to die earlier right? Well… Since you didn’t answer, I guess I should tell you now.” Chase patted Marvin’s hair before entangling the strands around his fingers and yanking the magician’s face up to meet his smiling eyes. “You’re going to die here, all alone and completely forgotten by everyone. Every second that you spend in this room, you’ll feel your magic being sapped out until you’re nothing but a cold, empty shell of yourself. You’ll die here, in the dark, and no matter how loud you scream or beg, nobody will come to save you. Not the hero, not the doc, not the mute, and most definitely, not the community.”

“Wait—! Chase, fuck—” The chains clattered as Marvin attempted to reach out to Chase when he started walking away. He didn’t even know why he was trying to get the other to reach reason not when he knows now just how tightly Anti’s strings strung around his little brother. “You don’t have to do this!”

“On the contrary, of course I do! Once you’re down, Jackie’s gonna be too busy trying to hunt outside for you to pay attention to what’s happening on the inside. Then I can take down the Doc and Jamie so that Jackster would be completely helpless.” Chase cheerily said, walking with a skip on his steps. “Once we got you guys down well… I can lay down the world on my King’s feet. Happy twenty-two million subscribers, right?”

The door opened and Chase paused before he completely exited the room. He looked back, his eyes completely green much like His at this point, and gave Marvin that happy smile that previously filled him with contentment and now only incited feelings of disgust at himself and the other, remorse for not seeing and preventing the other’s fall, and hopelessness when he sees the shadows grin victoriously behind Chase.

“Goodnight, big brother. You’ll see the others soon enough.”

With those last words, the door closed behind Chase and Marvin was swallowed up by the darkness.

[smallgayblanket]

5 and 11 for the apocalypse squad? 👀

Guilty pleasures

Jackie:

Obviously, he feels guilty having any time/day off..so to have a day where he can lounge around is always kinda a guilty pleasure to him..I feel like something he often avoids is alcohol, and its usually a depression or a guilty pleasure to have a glass of something hard and rough to burn his throat.

Also if anyone makes a fruit cake he may quietly ask for a piece..

Marvin:

I totally see Marvin kinda guilty for being into hypnosis. Being the magician I think it ironic that he’d sit there and watch spirals just to unwind and chill out y’know? I also think he has a small pet shapeshifter that he hasn’t told anyone about and he secretly takes care of it in return for comfort.  aaand maybe collects candles and gems in various sizes and shapes and gets excited when he buys new ones but does it alone?

Really likes lavander scented stuff.

Also loves bubble baths with a face mask, buts that only if hes really needing a self spoil day. 

Henrik:

This man is a sucker for touches..someone come play with his hair and he’d melt, he’s in dire need of it but won’t admit it. He also sings in his office alone, but god forbid anyone caught him singing “ive been working on the rail road” while he files his papers..

He’s also a sucker for mint flavoured stuff. Those mint shell coated chocolate balls are his favourite. 

Chase:

I actually think Chase is secretly really fucking good at like comic book style art. Sketching in his spare alone times.

Course chilling out with a video game and some pizza is a huge pleasure but he’s not always guilty about it XD  

Lemon tarts are a special treat of his. 

Anti:

Well, asides pain..

He likes to listen to like 8bit sounding music and stuff, like the undertale theme and game themes, stuff like that. 

He also has a fondness for sour foods/green apple flavoured stuff and he’s never been sure why but it makes him happy.

Knives are always good.

Dumb but I think Jumper is one of his favourite movies just??..cause.. idk. 

Shawn:

A guilty pleasure for him is a bottle of whiskey and a walk out in the night. No work, no people just him and his bottle and his whistling tunes. 

Also one of his guilty pleasures is coming to Jameson’s bar for a drink..just to watch the other manhandle the bottles and do his magic. A small stupid thing, but for some reason Shawn holds it dear. 

Also I feel like he likes to bake? Breads and stuff, nothing sweet, but just making a nice fresh loaf would be a nice stress relief and fresh bread always tasted great, especially with his famous stews/broths. 

Jameson:

Jameson likes to read and do puzzles, but I also think he’s a sucker for dancing.  Its hard to get him on the dancefloor with anyone around but alone he has some very nice moves.

I also think he really likes cartoons, but because they’re childish feels silyl for watching them..however he loves the vibrant colours and that the characters are alot easier to read.  Plus he likes the escapism. (Though he does enjoy those old classics like Mary poppins and chitty chitty bang bang) As well as some detective shows. 

Liquorice has been a fav, despite some of the others thinking it gross. 

Robbie:

Robbie has a whole fucking stash of soft items and adores every one of them- its no secret really since everyone buys them and usually finds him buried in them but he loves making nests with all his soft stuff.

Sometimes he’ll also get embarrassed about his outfits too..some very soft and small and even a little feminine that he gets shy about. 

Also he mumbles n fidgets and likes to stim so playing with slime or toys or watching stim vids is a huge pleasure of his. Hes also just a huge cuddle slut. 

Robbie loves foam squishes the most.

Bad or petty habits

Jackie:

He tries really hard to stay even on everything, but often his sleep can fall out of whack being a hero and all. Sometimes he also gets more injured in fights then he should. Because hes kinda intoit .He also struggles with poor self-image on rare occasions. Also, he pushes himself hard- He’ll just push and push until he finally crumbles and he has no energy left. Which takes alot because he has a fuck ton of energy.

Marvin:

Dealing with dangerous magic and getting hurt is a big number one..also he doesn’t always take proper care of himself and occasionally dabbles in self-harm. Both for the thrill and the fear of not being able to feel anything during the waves when feels unwanted n ignored. 

Henrik:

Horrid diet and absurd amount of coffee drinking..his sleeping has never quite been enough and hes just ti red..

Also, he bites the edges of his glasses whenever he’s taken them off his face for closer inspection/idel thought when not looking at anything important. 

And he has some serious OCD for stuff. Hence why his office is so neat yet specifically organized and why hes extra stressed when its cluttered and messy… 

Chase:

Drinking obviously..and the bad thoughts that he should off himself..toying with guns and drowning in bottles of alcohol- sometimes questioning whether to down any bottles from the medicine cabinet..He also forgets to eat sometimes, and his chronic sleep condition paired with migraines can be a bitch to deal with and alot of his poor drinking and sleep habits make them worse. 

Anti:

Oof huh..Anti is a mess. He has a huge habit of isolating himself and not sharing or dealing with his emotions as he should. Also he toys with knifes which, yknow aint safe so he ends up with odd lil knicks and cuts. He bottles up alot of shit and none of its good for him but he struggles to open up to anyone about it.

He often feels alone and empty and that hurts.. 

Shawn:

Shawn man..He also tends to bury himself in work of making toys and ignoring everyone. Hard lad who doesn’t talk much about feelings and does get touchy easily at all which results in kinda being highly touch starved. He too drinks, forgets to eat and usually only sleeps when his body is at it’s limit and he cant keep his eyes open enough to work. 

Jameson

My lad Jameson here seriously seriously struggles with eating. He has anorexia, his ribs are far too viable, he’s very much like a twig, but it all stems from the pain in his throat.

Not to mention he talks despite his broken vocal cords- which is painful, but he doesn’t want to burden people with his sign language.

He also has an awful habit of being unable to say no, defiantly quite the passive polite Pisces. 

Robbie

Robbie, hes a pretty good boy..though he can struggle to listen. Sometimes he bites things he really should..eats things he shouldn’t and also tends to overindulge in foods which usually means a stomach ache. 

Other than that the others usually keep a good eye on him so he never struggles too bad, but he does sometimes wish he wasn’t so childlike n helpless. he tries his best to be helpful but he can get really lonely when the others are busy.. 

He’s also a wee bit clumsy and that’s meant some nasty bruises.

Oh and he chews his sleeves alot. 

[singledadhamilton]

STORYTIME: The Scissors Incident Pt 2

Part 2

John POV

It’s storytime!!! Hello, our lovable and adoring fans who have been waiting for part 2 of the scissors. As usually, we upload our storytime here on the ask blog. Every Saturdays or Tuesday depending on our schedules. So grab your drinks, snack, your homie. Cause the drama is about to start where I spill the tea.

In the last storytime. I told y'all that Angie has smacked me across the face which left a mark on my face. Which I snitch on Angelica little ass where my dad smacks her in the face to teach her a little lesson. As I said before, my dad isn't a violent person and he is not abusive. My dad just doesn't like it when us getting physically violent with one another. Which I can understand he would smack us on the face every once in a while. But anyway though after the after all and when dad discipline Angelica and yadda yadda.

I think about 2 months has pass cause I know it was in the middle of August and it was about two weeks before school started. Things went back to normal as if nothing happens. Like Angelica just didn't slap me across the face anyway. But still, our summer vacation was still fun and got to make more memories with each other and our dad. Before I continue with the story, I just give you the layout of the old apartment which we use to live in. It was one of that two-story apartment where there only three bedrooms, two bathrooms, the kitchen, and the sala of course.

But this apartment had like really old carpet floors which I assume that they put it over an old wood floor. And the floor would make a high squeaking sound. So basically us, younger quadruplets made a game out of it. Like we check to see which part of the floor made the creak and which one didn't. Which we wanted to sneak some candies or pieces of cake into our bedroom. Haha, good old memories. But that's not the point though. And I remember each one from top to bottom fresh within my mind. And I still remember that pattern till this day. Well, the floor creaking didn't matter during the daytime. But at night it's a difference since you don't want to wake your whole family up just because you needed a glass of water or do your business. Also, we didn't want dad bringing the Chancla while our fatasses are munching off the candies and cakes.

Oof! Memories of the Chancla still buried beneath but those stories are for any time. Hehe, anyway on with the story.

I remember this one night where Tia Peggy was spending the night with us since Papa had the night shift at the diner. So she was always us and I guess I wanted to sleep with her cause she’s my favorite Tia. So yeah, this particular night I know Peggy spend the night with us cause her condo floors were being remodeled at the time where this incident took place. I just remember us going to bed very earlier. Since we were about to start school in two weeks.

I decided to sleep with Tia Peggy in Papa bedroom in my little Spiderman pajamas. Waited for everybody else to go asleep for the night. And I think I waited for about two or three hours since I remember getting off the bed at midnight. I climb off the bed very steady and slowly without waking Tia up. Silently made my way to Dad office where he kept many of his fabric scissors. The reason he had those cause he does a little sewing and mending our clothes. These scissors were big, very long and very sharp. Just barely touching the tip of it with your finger would automatically make it bled. I pull those scissors out of his sewing kit that was underneath the desk.

As I said, I remember the pattern of the hallway knowing which part of the floor creaking. In the dark, carrying some big ass scissors in my hand as I March myself down to Angie room that she shared with Philip, James, and AJ. Luckily, their bedroom was left open for a reason I don't know. Which meant I didn't have to attempt opening the door in silently. Making my way through their bedroom in the dark while still carrying the fabric scissors in my hand. I avoid all the books, pencil, origami papers typically preteen stuff. As I pass through both AJ and James as I stood between Philip and Angie bed.

I just stare at Angie who was in a deep sleep at the moment. And her hair was tied up in a long Rapunzel-like hairstyle. If she would turn facing toward me and wake up at that moment. All that girl would've seen is her little brother carrying some very sharp scissors. I grabbed her braided hair which still surprises me that she hadn't woken up by it. I place the scissors where the braid starts at the very beginning against her scalp and snip!

I chop all her hair off with just one cut snip, snip!! So I quietly crept my little ass back to my dad putting the scissors away before returning to bed with my Tia. Next thing, I know I felt peacefully for the rest of the night feeling nothing.

Next morning comes around and Eliza is waking me up. Letting know me just to wash my face and brush my teeth since Tia is making breakfast. I just groan and did the typical morning stuff. Change out of my Spiderman pajamas into a regular white T-shirt and jeans short. We were eating breakfast just eggs, beans, bacon, and potatoes. Philip, AJ, and James came downstairs acting as if nothing happens. Until we heard Angelica screaming bloody murder which made everybody jump including me actually. Tia Peggy was about to rush out of the kitchen but instead. All we saw was Angelica with very short hair while carrying the braided hair that I cut off.

Everyone gasped in horror and in short but I wasn't fazed at all, not even one. Like, I already knew who cut Angie hair cause I'm the one that did it. Philip leads her to sit down on the chair while still having a shock expression on his face. Tia Peggy rushes toward Angie, who was balling her eyes while carrying the chopped braid in her arms.

“Oh my gosh, Angie!! Mija, what happens?! Who done it?!”

“I don't know, Tia. I just woke up and saw my hair on my bed realizing my hair is now all short. Like, what I'm gonna do, school is gonna start in two weeks...I look so ugly with my hair short...Everyone is gonna make fun of me...Tia”

While Angie is balling her eyes out in Tia Peggy arms as the rest are trying to figuring out who had done it. While I'm just eating my eggs as if everything was normal. As I'm chewing my breakfast William just stares at me. With a suspicious look on his face before starting at Angie. Then he looks at me with a shocked look on his face. With a hint of fear in his eyes, he quietly asks me.

“Did you do it?”

“Yeah”

“What the heck?”

While Tia Peggy and everyone is figuring out who cut Angie hair off last night. Williams rushes up to Philip tugging at his jeans quickly.

“Pip!! Pip, John did it. Jackie did it”

“No, he didn't. John isn't capable doing such thing”

“ John just literally told me. He cut Angie hair off”

Everyone just stares at me with a shock expression on their faces. I’m still eating my eggs like this whole situation was basically nothing to me.

“John, did you cut her hair”

“Yea, no big deal”

Philip, AJ, and James gasps after hearing that their nine-year-old little brother cutting Angie hair off. William and Tia were frozen not knowing what to do.  PJ and Eliza looked at me all scared while everyone is in still. Here you got, Angie staring at me like “Boy I know you did not...you did not just cut my hair off”.  Tia Peggy automatically called my dad with a stern expression on her as she hands me the phone.

“You’re gonna tell your father what you did to your sister”

Next thing you know I heard talking on the other line all confuse wondering what happening while he’s at work.

“Hey John, bebe. Que Paso? Your tia Peggy told me that you wanted to me something. So what’s wrong?”

“Nothing wrong, Papi? She just mad at me right now”

“Why is she mat you?”

“Because I just cut Angie off. Basically just her braid off”

I just confess my crime with a nonchalant attitude and that terrified not only my father but also my Tia since you don’t expect a nine-year-old speaking like that. Let alone admitting cutting their older sister hair in the middle of the night with some big ass scissors. My father went all quiet and ask me to give the phone to Tia Peggy. So I did and went back eating my breakfast knowing that I might get the chancla later on once my dad gets out of work. I play by myself throughout the entire day with my Spiderman action figures until dad got home. He picked me up from the apartment and just wanted me and him to go out to Basket Robin. Their ice creams are the bomb so we went to Basket Robin and I’m eating my Mississippi Mud River all happy like any kid would after getting ice cream.

Soon my dad began driving me just around New York just to talk as he usually does whenever he felt something was wrong with us. Or we did things out of characters which this was the situation.

“Jackie, mijo. Why did you cut her sister hair off?”

“Because she smacks me on the face”

“There was a long ago, bebe. I handle that situation, remember. I smack her back for you so she doesn’t hit you again. So why are you still mad?”

“Well you got her back but I didn’t. I just wanted to teach her lesson”

“But Jackie mijo. If your sister turns a second too late. You could’ve her eye out. Ok, those scissors you use to cut Angie hair are not to be mess around with. They’re the longest and sharpest scissors in the house. You could’ve really hurt your sister and might cause her to end up in the hospital. You could’ve stabbed her eye out ok. You don’t do stupid shit like that. Do I make myself clear?”

The lecture my dad given to me during the car ride really got to me real deeply. I didn’t realize that I put Angie in real danger if she had moved closer to the scissors. It made me feel really sick down to the pit of the stomach just imagine if I did manage to stab Angie eye out instead of cutting her hair. I was automatically grounded for three months with no tv, no video games, and no more spiderman action figures. Dad has to spend a large mouth of money for wig just only for Angie since you got girls back then like their hair is everything to them. Their looks are everything to them especially their hair. I immediately took that self-confident away from Angie.

Remember Angie is only starting middle school in New York and you know how stupid and wannabe tough they are. I understand why my dad did to buy a wig for Angie so yeah. After the incident, my siblings started to treat me a bit differently as if they were scared of me for about three or four years. Philip remind of me of this incident and now I think about it...now I understand why they were scared of me but yeah now you know the full story of The Scissors Incident

We hope to see you again, Bye Bye

[mangled-dreams]

Jameson is all depressed, and for a few weeks he barely acknowledges anyone. Jack and Anti decide to take static measures and calm Mark and his egos over. JJ and Wilford almost immediately run over to one another, JJ is suddenly all happy again. Turns out Wilford and Jameson are soul mates, and because they spent too long apart, they both started getting depressed. :3

Jameson and Wilford find out they're soul mates, much to Anti's displeasure. Anti be very protective of the egos, especially the younger ones. Dark doesn't really care tbh. But hey, at lease Wilford and Jameson are happy.

Okay, so this is another two for one. Two prompts that I felt went together fairly well and I combined into one story so i hope this satisfies both requests.

Distance

It'd been a blessing not to hide their relationship. Despite the displeasure of a certain family member on one of the sides, they find their coupling is celebrated by both sides. Of course they already understood not everyone would be very accepting even though they have zero control over the powers that be.

"How can ya sit there and cuddle that pink haired idiot?" Anti snarks angrily.

Jameson ignores his older brother's harsh words. Just because Anti hasn't found his soulmate doesn't mean he can let the air out of other people's relationships. Rolling his eyes with his back to Anti, Jameson focuses on the TV.

Wilford will be out of the state for a few weeks for work with Mark and a few others so Jameson just plans on vegging out a little before getting things ready for the big move after Wilford comes home. They'd finally found a place of their own a few minutes drive down the road.

Jameson had insisted on staying close to his family's home for Anti's sake. His glitching older brother may not be the easiest to win over, but he does love his family really fiercely. It'd taken a few discussions before Wilford signed off on the place.

It's already been made known that he'll be moving out soon and it hasn't set well with Anti since the news was announced. Jameson had anticipated his brother's reaction and assured him that they'd just be a few minutes down the road by car or by walking. This seemed to ease Anti just a little, but not enough to keep him quiet.

For the next few weeks intermediately Anti gives Jameson shit about moving out. In his mind it's playful teasing but as the weeks slowly roll by Anti notices a change in Jameson and backs off. He worries his teasing may have been to much.

The other notice their normally bubbly younger brother is slowly withdrawing from them, spending long hours alone in his room or outside of the house without explanation. Everyone assumes it's because of Anti and immediately order him to apologize to Jameson for being so callous in his judgement of Wilford.

Three days has passes since that conversations, well more like ambush had happened. Anti had been expecting someone to talk to him, but not the whole clan just cornering him and ordering that he apologize. Waiting on the couch for Jameson to arrive home Anti flicks through the channels.

One an entertainment channel Anti pauses to watch the pink haired buffoon and his lot laughing on stage. Wilford sits on the end of the like looking constipated, or upset, it's hard for Anti to tell the difference.

"Wilford? Are you alright?" The hostess asks as the camera pans over to Wilford for a close up.

"Oh, ah yes, sorry, I'm just feeling under the weather. This is our last appearance before we can rest. It's been a long month." Wilford responds rather maturely for his normal attitude. It's quite alarming to Anti to see Wilford so sober.

Before he can dwell on it any further Jameson enters the mostly empty house, the door slamming shut behind him. Clicking the OFF button on the remote Anti jumps to his feet locating Jameson in the kitchen with a bag of groceries. It's mainly junk food, which isn't something normal to Jameson. He's more of a health nut than anyone else.

"James, can we talk?" Anti asks standing opposite of Jameson.

"Anti, I don't want to talk to you." Jameson says putting away ice cream and some other frozen treats before gathering up the bag into his arms again and leaves the room without anymore acknowledgement to Anti.

Frowning Anti does something he never thought he'd do. Pulling out his cell phone Anti goes back to the TV and turns it on with his powers. The buffoon is still on the broadcast but that's about to change.

Anti knows Wilford doesn't leave his phone on silent just in case of scoops or emergencies. Now is no different. Within a few seconds his phone begins to ring and he answers it immediately despite the cameras and disapproving looks from his family.

"Anit, it is a surprise having you call me." Wilford says the camera catching the curious looks of the others and the hostess.

"Jameson needs you, otherwise I wouldn't call you." Anti informs the man and promptly hangs up. He's actually quite impressed by the look of worry and fear on WIlford's face at his words. Maybe the idiot is good for his brother.

"I  have to go." Wilford says ripping off the small mic, shedding the equipment on his body as he walks off camera.

"Will? Is everything okay?" Mark asks following after with just as much urgency. He knows Anti would never call for just some prank. Jameson would never forgive him for that.

Dark looks at the camera, compelling the camera operator to focus on him rather than the others as they leave the stage. "Anti, this best not be a joke or we will have words."

Anti chuckles already anticipating a fight, he quickly shoves that feeling away. He's not doing this to rile up Dark or the others, he's doing this for his brother. So, he rolls his eyes and the TV flicks off again.

Sean is the first to call Anti and question what he think he's doing calling Wilford while at an interview. Anti lets Sean know about the interaction with Jameson and the drastic change in their normally full of life brother.

Sean promises to be home shortly and the conversation is simply repeated as one by one he gets phone calls or personal inquires from the others. Soon everyone is gathered in the living room waiting for Wilford to arrive.

Mark called Sean shortly after Sean'd talked with Anti and explained that Wilford's been on edge and unusually calm for the past few weeks. They discussed whether it had to do with the long separation between him and Jameson, and Sean in turn explained how different Jameson seemed to become.

After the pair talked in detail it made more sense. Soulmates experience separation in different ways. Apparently with Wilford and Jameson there separation is like taking a piece of their personality and making it completely disappear. Neither Mark nor Sean would have ever wished this kind of SOULMATE EFFECT on anyone, much less their own family.

Nearly six long hours passed since Sean and Mark spoke and Jameson has yet to make an appearance from his room. It worries everyone to think about how this could have been different if Jameson was in his own apartment alone. They fear what could have happened if no one was there to completely notice his change in personality and normal habits.

"You don't think he'd hurt himself do you?" Jackie asks in his off-duty clothing.

Eyes shift uncomfortably at the question. Everyone had been thinking it but no one dared to say it out loud. The don't beleive Jameson, with his vast love for life and joy, would ever do anything to harm himself, but... even the brightest smile and most infectious laughter can hide a severely broken soul.

Marvin jumps to his feet quickly. "I'm just going to go check on Jameson, be back." He says nearly jogging to the stairs with a very real worry. Wilford is just an hour--maybe two hours away from being back again and he doesn't like the idea of not knowing if Jameson is in his room alive an well, or laying dead on the bed.

Knocking quickly Marvin calls out to Jameson and opens the door without waiting. Relief sweeps through him when he finds Jameson sleeping on his bed. There's no blood, no bandages, or anything that he can see that would indicate he's been hurting himself.

Jameson's eyes flutter open with effort. He didn't remember falling asleep but then again he's been sleeping more lately too. Nothing seems to hold his attention and he can see it annoys his family.

"Marvin? What's wrong?" Jameson asks sitting up running a hand through his hair.

Pausing a minute Marvin thinks quickly. "We're buying BLACK PANTHER, thought you'd like to come watch with us." Marvin says watching Jameson look at his clock then at him.

"Sure, I'll be down shortly." Jameson says watching Marvin nod his head and leave the room not closing the door behind him. Blinking a few times Jameson runs his hands over his face. He doesn't want to go down stairs and watch a movie, he'd rather stay in his room and count down the hours until Wilford is back, but he has been avoiding his family and his conversation with Anti earlier still hits a sore spot. He'd never been so rude to his brother before.

He knows Anti is just trying to protect him from pain and heartache, but Jameson just wants to have that freedom... And Anti has been respecting that for the most part. There are a few snarky remarks about leaving but Anti's been pretty calm about it all.

Sighing Jameson stands up, fixes his bed and clothing, then leaves his room. Below he can hear his brothers talking in hushed tones, a few laughing at something Jackie said. It bothers Jameson for a reason he can't quite understand or explain, but he descends the stairs anyways.

Mark sits next to Wilford as the only one willing to share a seat with him right now. His leg has been bouncing relentlessly and he's been muttering to himself about what could be going on. Mark tried to explain it to him but nothing seems to be making it through.

"We'll be there in a few minutes, Wilford, take a few deep breaths." Mark says as they finally turn on Sean's street. Wilford lifts his head from his mobile phone zeroing in on the familiar house. No one wanted to be dropped off at their house before heading over to the Septic residence, everyone worried for Wilford.

"Whoa! Wil, your seat belt." Mark says shoving at Wilford when he attempts to stand up without unbuckling his belt. Wilford fights for a moment before sitting down and slams his hand against the release button over powering it. Within seconds of the vehicle stopping Wilford is out the door and rushing up the sidewalk.

"Wil, calm down! Don't knock their door down!" Dr. Iplier shouts as one of the first after Wilford.

He seems to take Dr. Iplier's words to heart and instead of knocking the door down knocks loudly. Within seconds the others are standing behind Wilford as Henrik answers the door. He steps to the side and Wilford barrels into the house calling out to Jameson.

For the first time since they left everyone can see the immediate change in their respective brothers. Jameson's smile brightens by ten fold and Wilford's goofy grin is finally back in place. Wrapping each other in their embrace Jameson and Wilford grip each other tightly.

It's father dramatic and emotional, but the others remain in silence as allow the pair to finally feel normal again. Mark and Sean talk and order pizza while Marvin and Anti pop out to get some spirits to celebrate the couple's reunion.

Jameson walks over to Anti after a few spirits and more than enough veggie pizza. "Wilford said you called him." He says smiling shyly. "You didn't have to..."

"I've been hard on you and Wilford, James. He's good for you. I approve." Anti says giving Jameson an awkward hug before shooing the youngest off. Jameson walks away but feel happier about Anti now.

Walking over To Wilford, Jameson takes his hand. "You've made peace with someone today." Jameson says earning a confused look from Wilford. He nods to Anti sitting at the breakfast bar talking with Dark. Wilford follows Jameson's nod and spots Anti .

"Really?" Wilford asks smiling. Jameson nods his head. With a big goofy grin Wilford quickly marches over to Anti and bear hugs him, lifting him off the stool. Anti flails in Wilford's larger arms shouting to be put down and to be left alone all while everyone, including Wilford and Jameson laugh.

Dark chuckles. He feels it’s poetic justice for Anti considering his apprehension against Jameson and Wilford. He’d been happy for the pair since the beginning, so it’s only fair the last to accept the pair would be subjected to this kind of scene.

Not to mention on a more personal level it makes Dark’s black heart lighten just a little.

[oldsoldixrsnevxrdie-blog]

Character sheet/Get to know Jack/76

(Super long fyi)

Full Name: Jack Morrison Nickname: Jackie, Boy Scout, Sunshine, Farm Boy Meaning: “God is gracious, he who supplants” Origin: Old English and Hebrew Title: Colonel (former), Captain (former), Commander (former), Strike Commander (former)

Signature:

Gender: Male Orientation: Bi Birthday: January 23, 2020 “Death” day: June 22nd, 2065 Birthplace: Bloomington, Indiana Astrological Sign: Aquarius Immediate Family:

Mother- Scarlet Morrison

Father- Theodore (Teddy) Morrison Parenting: His mother seemed to coddle him a lot seeing how he was their only child. His father was a bit tougher on him though, claiming that he needed to grow up and be a man.

Picture:

Preferred Hand: Right handed

Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Blonde (Jack), White/gray (76) Hairstyle: Short, clean cut hair that’s spiked up ever so slightly in the front. Height: 6’1 Birthmarks/scars: One, long scar across his face running from just above his left eyebrow down and across the bridge of his nose to his right cheekbone and another smaller scar running along the left side of his lips. Health: When he decides to take care of himself, he is fairly healthy. He does have bad habits like, he doesn’t sleep as much as he should and he’ll sometimes miss meals. Energy: He starts out the day with a little bit of energy till gets his coffee which then gives him a boost of energy. About halfway through the day, he’ll get another cup of coffee to keep up the high energy but it quickly depletes as the day continues on till the wee hours of the morning where he just crashes wherever he is. It could his desk, his bed, a couch, if he crashes there, he stays there till he wakes up or someone wakes him. Memory: Very good memory. “I’ve got a long memory” Senses: His hearing is a bit spotty due to being in a war, and an explosion. As he gets older, his vision starts to worsen due to using Tactical visor so much, and wearing the visor (76) so he wears glasses now and then, especially when reading. Allergies: Dust, sensitive to pollen Phobias:

- Bad Storms (They just freak him out)

- Being in crowded areas for long periods of time (Slowly getting over this (76 is especially freaked out by this)) Mental Disorders:

- Depression

- Paranoia

- PTSD (obviously)

Posture:

Jack- Very inviting. He stands tall with his back straight but he looks like he would joke with you and if you’ve known him for a while, he probably will. When he’s concentrating on something or he’s helping with a mission, he looks very serious and stern.

76- Stern, serious looking, and scary to some. He still stands tall but now, he looks less inviting and more closed off. He tries to seem as big and intimidating as possible, his shoulders always tense while his hands are almost always clenched into fists. Scent:

Jack- Outdoorsy, like a campfire with just a hint of honeysuckle mixed in.

76- The smell after it rains, smoke, and still just that hint of honeysuckle Mood: Jack tries to stay positive. See things from an optimistic point of view with a smile on his face, no matter how tired he is! 76 on the other hand seems to be very grumpy, hardly ever smiling anymore. He’s become very pessimistic. Attitude: Depending on who it is depends on who he acts. Expressiveness: Having to be a commander, Jack tries to show his emotions a lot. He’s found that it’s easier for others to understand that what their doing matters. 76 keeps his emotions bottled up, usually only letting rage and ever so often sadness through the wall that keeps them locked away.

Friends: Gabe and Ana Enemies: Talon, Reaper (76) Bosses: U.S. Army/The UN (Jack) Followers: Almost everyone in Overwatch. Now if they choose to listen, that’s up to them. Pets:

Jack- A Lab/Pit mix named Chaos (she will rip through almost anything she can get her teeth into)

Lovers: A girl in 10th grade named Lucy totally doesn’t have a crush on a certain, brooding commander Marital Status: Single Virginity: Lost it in high school Occupation: Strike Commander Work Ethnic: He works himself a bit to hard, saying that work is the most important thing. This is the biggest reason why he doesn’t get enough sleep. Organizations/Affiliations: Overwatch IQ: 130 Education: He may have been raised a farm boy but he has a bachelors degree Social Stereotype: Geek?? Religion: Agnostic Crime Record: He stole a pack of gum once. It was awesome Motivation: Fear of failure Priorities: Others safety and well being, keeping peace in the world one fight at a time Traditions: Big fan of Halloween not nearly as big as Gabe though, every year he will celebrate his parents birthdays by going and visiting their graves, leaving something that they favored while alive Superstitions: He’s very superstitious

- If he entered a building/home/whatever through the front door, he will refused to exit through any other door Don’t know if anyone else has heard of this one but I was always told you’d get ten years of bad luck if you did this

- Spilling salt, he’ll promptly throw it over his shoulder

- Walking under ladders is a bit no for him

- You’ll never see him go outside after three AM

Accomplishments: Becoming the Strike Commander for Overwatch though honestly he didn’t really want it Greatest Achievement: Winning the Omnic Crisis Biggest Failure: Not noticing the warnings of an attack at the Swiss HQ Regrets: Not believing Gabe when he said that he had nothing to do with the attack and leaving him to die in the rubble Worries: Everythiiing Best Dream:  He doesn’t have to hide from anyone or fight anymore wars Worst Nightmare: Having to watch his friends die and he can’t do anything to stop it Best Memories:

- Meeting Gabe for the first time He’s never laughed that much for that long before

- The birth of Fareeha And anything to do with her after that really

- Celebrating the victory on Kings Row

- Getting Chaos

- Finding out that both Ana and Gabe were alive Worst Memories: There’s to many. Way to many

Pet Peeves: Tapping of fingers or feet irritates him he is sensitive to certain sounds due to his hearing, people butting into conversations that they aren’t a part of Closet Hobby: He likes to sing, granted he’s not any good at it but it doesn’t stop him from trying he usually just sticks to humming Guilty Pleasure: *finger guns* Strengths:

- Good listener

- Good leader

- Courageous

- Wont back down from a fight

- Protective Flaws:

- Head strong

- Stubborn

- Doesn’t like asking for help Perception: Even if evil seems to be ruling the world, there will always be good that will try and save those from the darkness and bring them into the light, even if it’s the person creating the evil Languages: English, Spanish (learning), French (learning), German (learning), Arabic (learning) just so he can understand everyone in case they’re talking about him Accent: If he gets really mad or overly emotional in general, he will slip into a southern accent. It’s not nearly as bad as McCree’s but, it’s noticeable when it happens Voice: Honestly just going to make Jack sound like Chris Evans and 76 will still sound the same =_= Compliment:

- Good work/job!

- Nice going

- Keep up the good work! Insult:

- You idiot!

- You’re being an ass Laughter: I don’t know, look up Chris Evans laughing Reputation: “What a great man.” First Impressions: “Oh god, he’s handsomely scary.” Stranger Impressions: “He sounds like Captain America.” Friendly Impressions: “What a boy scout.” Enemy Impressions: “Pain in the ass piece of shit goody two-shoes.” Self-Impression: “I am trash who doesn’t deserve the nice things that I have.”

Vice: Pride, Envy Virtue: Patience, Humility

[inkribbon796]

The Heart and Soul of Egoton Ch 2

Summary: Looking for clues, the heroes hold a meeting to trade information and meet a couple friendly faces they haven’t met in a while.

A/N: Continuation of chapter 1.

Chapter 2: Meeting in the Middle

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Inside the meeting room everyone was talking, Virgil felt a little nervous. Dr. Iplier helped Virgil get a chair at the edge of the table. Silver and Jackie had been friendly to him but they tended to get more than a bit loud and Virgil was glad he wasn’t seated between even people he knew. Even if Patton was trying to save a seat for him.

Silver walked out to take a call before coming back in. “Okay, so Amy isn’t coming in, she wants to take care of something in town, but told me to take notes for her.”

“That’s fair,” Jack shrugged. “She sure she doesn’t need help.”

“I offered, she said she had enough hands on deck,” Silver reported.

“Well at least we’re all not here letting Egoton tear itself apart,” Abe yelled, he was at a large cork board putting stuff up all over it with Bing and Joan. There were pictures and papers all over the cork board, dozens of colored string connecting them.

“We picked a slow day for a reason,” Silver reminded. “Wil’s out of town and Nate seems to have taken his doppelganger with him. This is the best chance we’ve got to do this.”

“Doesn’t mean I like it,” Abe responded. “I should be out there chasing Warfstache, hell only knows what he’s up to.”

“Fookin’ married folk and killin’ people,” Chase answered. “Exactly the same thin’ he’s always doin’.”

Abe motioned with his hands to Chase and gave Mark one of his wide-eyed expectant stares.

“We’ll make it short and you can start chasing him,” Mark promised.

“I better get out of here ASAP,” Abe decided.

“Hey, wise guy,” Marvin walked in with Robbie who immediately hobbled over excitedly to Henrik who, much like a mother hen, frantically checked to see if he was still all in one piece. The German doctor glared at Marvin when he saw that his ear was in danger of falling off. “We all got shit ta do.”

“Vhat did you do to him?” Henrik barked.

“Calm yer shit, mom,” Marvin rolled his eyes, even if no one could really see it through the mask, it could almost be heard in his voice. “He came to me like that, don’t know what he was up to.”

“I help Marv,” Robbie smiled.

Marvin glared at the zombie, sighing, “When ye say it like that, it’s like I’m the bad guy.”

Henrik was still glaring at him.

“I didn’t do anythin’ to him,” Marv defended, taking a seat that let him put the table in-between the magician and the two doctors. “I wouldn’t.”

“I do good?” Robbie asked as Henrik directed him to sit next to him.

“Ja, ja,” Henrik sighed and started stitching his ear back on. “Sit still vill you?”

“I tried,” Marvin told Henrik. Then he leaned back in his chair to look up and down the table. Even standing up a bit to get another good luck at everyone at the table.

The magician’s eyes couldn’t be seen that well, but Virgil knew a hostile stance when he saw one.

“What’s up Marv?” Chase asked, he and J.J were directly across the table from him. J.J’s pocket watch in his hand, as if braced for something to happen.

“S’nothin’,” Marvin decided, sitting back down, watching J.J intently. “Prolly just my imagination.”

J.J was still turning the pocket watch around. Marvin did pass him a message under the table that read, “Do that again, and I’ll eat all your cheetos, you arse”.

J.J snickered to himself in amusement, pocketing the note so even Chase didn’t have the opportunity to read.”

“What?” Chase asked.

“Nothing,” J.J sighed. “Marvin is funny.”

After about fifteen minutes, Logan came in looking like he’d been running at a full sprint and was frantically trying not to show it. The Host followed at a much slower pace.

“The Host said we would be on time,” the Host smiled.

“Inexcusable,” Logan straightened his tie and glasses. “We are late. I am not a tardy person.”

Marvin leaned back in his chair, Virgil noticed that he looked like he wanted to say something but kept quiet.

“If it eases Logic’s conscious, he can blame the Host, he was distracted and did not keep travel time in mind,” the Host talked as he  walked over to the end of the table where King was. Taking his usual seat directly across from Dr. Iplier. He was muttering narrations as he went. Most of his comments were listing off people who were muttering under their breath or looking at him and Logan.

“Lo, it wasn’t that long, we haven’t even started yet,” Patton tried to calm Logan.

“One minute is tardy, the Host and I are inexcusably late,” Logan corrected. “This meeting should have begun without us.”

“Too bad,” Marvin finally spoke up, his tone firm and a bit hostile.

  Logan gave him a questioning and confused look as he went to sit in-between Host and King.

“Alright, so we’re all here?” Abe finally said. “Good, sooner we get all this done, the better. First order of business is this eyesore.”

The detective stomped over to point at Bing’s picture on the wall. He was close to the center of the mess on the cork board. It looked like a theater head shot. “This little asshole is part of the League, and Dark is covering for him to keep him from being identified.”

“How sure are we that he’s the Dorm 5 Killer?” Jack asked. “Cause the sooner we put that bastard away the better.”

“If it’s not him, it’s Dark and Wilford combined and the D5’s M.O is nowhere close to theirs. They’d just announce themselves and be done with it and we’d know.”

“What do we need to actually put this guy behind bars? Cause the last time we tried to take someone in on what we thought was enough evidence, they got to walk.” Ethan reminded, picking at his lip. “I don’t want that again.”

“As gruesome as it sounds?” Mark intervened. “A body? A murder weapon? We need something other than they just ran away. A case can be made for two of the guys, but we’ve got four people who are just gone that their families and their friends swear up and down that they would never run away. Something happened to them, they have too much to run away from.”

“What exactly do we know about this guy?” Bob asked. “I leave for a couple months and suddenly we’ve got a serial killer on our hands?”

“As far as the news an’ public know he’s been operatin’ fer about five months,” Jackie answered. “But he’s probably been at this fer longer. We don’t know how long.”

“Five bucks said he’s been preying on the homeless and transient people in the city,” King agreed. “Not even I know how many people come and go unnoticed in the city. And I’ve only been at my job for two years. Anyone could be killing or taking advantage of them and people would never know.”

“Ugh, that’s depressin’,” Jack took a steadying breath. All the heroes looking varying mixes of guilty and uncomfortable.

“Is there anyone who would have tabs on this trimmer guy Trimmer?” Wade asked.

“Warfstache,” Abe proposed. “He’s under the same media umbrella as Wil, but he probably wouldn’t be able to tell us anything before stabbing us. Plus, if he is his kid and under Dark’s protection, the last thing we want to do is alert Dark that we’re tailing the kid.”

“That’s still wild,” Ethan rubbed at his face. “I can’t see him with a kid.”

“Damn right,” Abe agreed. “Look, I’ve been chasing Wil’s ass since I joined the force, an’ let me tell you, the man’s not the fatherly type. It amazes me that this kid even survived to adulthood.”

“Probably no credit to that maniac,” Wade scoffed.

King actively bit his tongue and glared at his hands.

“Dark is most likely the reason he’s alive,” Dr. Iplier spoke up. “He’s anal-retentive enough to step on Wilford’s toes if he does something he doesn’t like.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me if this kid isn’t the end of it, Wil’s got other kids and for some reason Dark cares about this one,” Abe leaned over the table. “Probably has some superpower and the others just don’t.”

“They might not know, or something could have happened to them,” Roman answered.

“Could be,” Joan agreed. “Not much we can do about the kid until we can get a hold of him to answer him? Have we been able to get a hold of him?”

“Every time we’ve tried he’s either been on set or absolutely nowhere, cause we can’t find him,” Marvin groaned. “His aura dead ends mid-room. Prolly Dark portin’ him out.”

“Ye know,” Chase began. “We might be able ta get a backdoor if we can catch Wilford with Damien. Still need to find a way to check in on that one. If he’s not drumin’ ta Dark’s beat, we can at least have that off the table.”

“How are we going to prove that?” Mark shouted.

“I could do it,” Ethan offered. “If I’ve got time to brace even Dark can’t see me. So there’s no reason why Wilford should spot me.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” King asked.

“The Host agrees with King,” Host interjected. “What Crank suggests can only lead to a violent confrontation.”

“Come on, it’s Damien, what have I got to be afraid of?” Ethan scoffed.

“Here, we can come up with some kind of a shield he can break out if he’s caught by one of them,” Marvin spoke up. “I want some loose ends tied off.”

The Host’s mouth became a thin line, his bandages starting to dark with blood. “That . . . might just be enough.”

“Okay, so I’ve got Damien, what are we going to do about Ed?” Ethan asked. “Cause I’m not comfortable with the fact that I used to live by a child trafficking ring. Like, at all.”

“Run us through exactly what Ed said,” Mark looked at Patton.

“To wash the site, and some of his guys didn’t like that,” Patton answered. “Ed ordered them to do it because Dark wanted it taken care of, even if it was an L.O site. Whatever that is.”

“Okay,” Mark seemed to thinking through something in his head. “Was there any clue about what that meant?”

Patton shook his head.

“Mean love?” Robbie inquired, looking at Bing.

“If it does, I’ll eat my entire microprocessor, dude,” Bing answered.

“Hey, hot shot,” Joan looked over at King, their head tilting. “Do you remember anything in the books you used to manage about a L.O?”

“Unless it’s a name, no?” The animal magnet answered. “Cause those are the types of books I worked. I did inventory and reports on people, but I only know them by their initials, not by their faces or actual names. Dark never worked like that. At best, he used code names and hell I never learned what some of those meant, I just had to track what resources they had.”

“How many do you remember?” Ethan drumming his fingers once or twice.

“Probably about five names, but it sounds like you’re looking for an it, not a who.” King looked at the board full of papers and strings. “Maybe it’s a designation. You guys said That Ed was there, maybe it just part of his absolutely awful trafficking ring and less to do with Dark.”

“Then why would Dark order the site destroyed if it was disturbed,” Bob asked. “Dark doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him. I know, I used to get into fights with him and Warfstache. Wil and Anti are impulsive, Dark isn’t.”

“Perhaps there’s some book that could be traced back to him in the building or in an underground basement,” Logan suggested. “If Ed’s network could be traced back to specific areas Dark owns it gives us and the police grounds to have the place searched.”

“As if we don’t already,” Roman refuted. “He launders money and moves illegal firearms through the city and to the rest of the country. What difference does child trafficking make in the face of all the people he’s killed and the children he’s left orphaned. Dark and his cronies are enough of scumbags?”

“Well there must be some reason,” Logan looked back at Roman, the creative Side’s eyes scrutinizing him. “Dark is a creature of habit, he is observed doing and being at places on a daily basis. There must be some greater reason. The influencing needs must be either: emotional, physical, or monetary. We know he is an enemy of the public, so he must have ordered the site’s termination for some reason.”

“Dark’s only known emotions are rage and spite,” Mark scoffed.

“There must be some reason,” Logan seemed to get frustrated with something. “There has to be.”

Then Logan seemed to think on it, “Why would Dark take in a child and cultivate that child to adulthood? Perhaps we are asking the wrong question.”

“Well, I’ve got a crackpot theory that might mean nothing, but I’ll shoot,” Iplier answered. “I’ve been talking with the Detective and he might be doing it to have more control over Wilford and the town.”

“Vhy?” Henrik looked at his colleague. “Doesn’t he have zat zrough nepotism already.”

“If the paper trail’s wrong, nothing changes,” Iplier sighed. “If it’s right, Dark could sweep up even more of Egoton, so long as Trimmer is Wil’s kid, and Wil is a Barnum.”

“Fuck!” Mark swore, cradling his head in his hands. “No! Tell me you’re joking me.”

Iplier looked at Abe. Ethan, Bob, and Wade seemed equally distressed.

“Okay, is this an Egoton thing because that name’s not ringing any bells,” Patton smiled.

“Alright, long story,” Mark warned. “There’s three big rich families that all kinda disappeared about the same time. Barnum, Doomstrum, and Iplier.”

“Iplier?” Logan looked over at Dr. Iplier.

The American doctor shrugged dismissively, “My dad married in. Iplier might as well be a dead name.”

“So, the Doomstrums, the ones who owned the lake, were practicing some really shady stuff,” Mark relayed. “They might have even been the ones to bring Dark to Egoton in the first place. But they took all their wealth, and all the Barnum’s wealth and kinda time capsuled it with blood magic. Don’t know why, maybe because they knew Dark was on his way? But if a Barnum could access it, that combined wealth is a ridiculous amount of money, enough to buy up whatever parts of the city Dark doesn’t already have, and probably parts of the rest of all the other sectors with little resistance.”

Jack paled at that, “I can already think of three gangs who would jump ship at that.”

King looked over at Host, whispering, “Did you know about this?”

“The Author did not,” Host answered. “The Host does.”

“Why the wait?” Logan leaped out of his chair, as if he couldn’t stand being contained by it anymore. “If his aim is more accrued wealth, why not have Warfstache access it decades ago?”

“Don’t know,” Iplier asked. “We just found this out. Maybe the person who unlocks it has to be a Doomstrum too, maybe that’s why Dark kept this kid and not any other and Dark bought the mom off?”

Suddenly, Patton had an idea. He could almost audibly hear the light bulb going off in his head. “It’s Celine.”

Everyone snapped to look at him.

“What?” Jack asked.

“Think about it,” Patton began to ramble. “If Celine’s the mom that explains why she was here a couple months ago instead of when her kid was plastered all over the news. How Damien could be involved without Dark having to pay him off. He’s not being bribed, he’s probably being threatened. Because if, like the Doc said and he needs a Doomstrum too, then he needs the mom close enough to give him the kiddo in the first place, but easy to push out of the way.”

“That’s a lot of ifs,” Mark reminded.

“Celine is working with Dark, I don’t know how to prove it but she is,” Patton began to spiral. “Call it intuition or gut, but I can feel it.”

“Okay, well, feelings aren’t going to arrest someone who is, by all accounts, not in town anymore,” Mark said.

“I could find out,” Logan blurted out.

The room went quiet.

“How?” Marvin hyper focused on the logical Side.

“I’m probably the only one who could figure out,” Logan began to ramble under his breath, as if he didn’t hear the magician. “My position would certainly help me look, even if it is 

A risky venture.”

“Hey, genius, what’s that supposed ta mean?” Marvin demanded.

J.J set his pocket watch on the table, loudly knocking to get everyone attention. Then he started signing where everyone could see. “We need to end the meeting. I don’t want to have this meeting a third time.”

“Third time?” Joan repeated in confusion and concern.

“Come on,” Marvin argued. “Ye can’t be serious.”

J.J stood up and signed something at Logan, Chase needing to translate it when it was clear Logan couldn’t understand it. “Return to work. Be careful.”

Logan stopped his rambling, and signed one of the few things he actually knew in sign language. “Thank you.”

Then he seemed to collect himself, speaking, “Your right, I’m probably just tired.”

Finally Logan left, Patton racing after him. “Lo, wait up.”

Roman stood up, “We have anything else to talk about?”

“We’re probably good enough,” Mark looked over at Abe and scanned the rest of the room. “Inheritance scheme or not, we need to get back to work.”

“Yeah, that bubblegum maniac won’t catch himself,” Abe agreed. “We can leave this up for everyone else.

Slowly the room began to pack up except for the cork board. The tension in the room between Marvin and the Host almost palpable.