#and with the alt colors too turns out i REALLY like it like that actually

[solaestial]

sorrow

[possum-fiend]

CHAT I ACTUALLY FINISHED :0

This took like way too long to finish, but it was fun and actually turned out kinda good?!?!? (for my art at least)

Anyways, hope y'all enjoy! For folks who may not have seen my previous post when this was unfinished, this was an AU where Wirt grows up to be like a HS English Teacher cause it just fits really well for him tbh (and I'm obsessed). I first got the AU idea from the fic "Will 'Cook' for Food" by @skimmingmilk and @sylwritesstuff (I thought it was a lot more popular of a headcanon like Writer!Dipper but alas it's only in like 3 fics).

so...yeah :p

TEXT UNDER THE CUT

**I typically go right to left then top to bottom like the Westerner I am

Top Left- Boxes:

Color Pallet (Title)

Skin and Hair (Sub Label)

Clothes (Sub Label)

Top Middle/Left- Full Body Wirt Doodle:

Homosexual Lookin' Ass

(/affectionate)

(/me too, king)

Expectation ->

Top Middle- Wirt stressed @ his desk

Reality ->

"How the hell do I turn a power point into a GOOGLE SLIDES!?!"

Top Right- Title Card

English Teacher AU

Top Right- Greg Doodle

Greg Cameo

Middle Left- Adult Dipper Doodle

"..."

Dipper.exe has stopped working

In my head, they are boyfriends or husbands

Middle Middle- Eepy Wirt

underpaid teacher-core

Middle Right- Dead Inside Wirt

me when the district won't fund the arts or classrooms but will drop a cool mil. on lawsuits to pray at meetings

Based on my childhood school district... in Southern Cali

[side bar as I'm making this alt text, no one I know uses the term "Cali", it's just So-Cal or California, but it didn't fit as nicely in that area. You didn't need to know that but I needed you to know that. I just hate that word for some reason.]

Bottom Left- Experienced, Older Wirt

"I'll wait"

Experienced Teacher (like 10 yrs (ish))

Bottom Middle/Right- Panicked, YA Wirt

"um-uh, please q-quiet *unintelligible whispers*"

1st year "fresh meat" Teacher

Bottom Right- just text

Empty Space :p

**If y'all have any concerns or advice on how to make my alt text better, please let me know. I'm trying to balance accessibility and my sanity, but I'm far more experienced in other realms of d.a. accessibility

[slowlysoluminary]

Still working on that chapter. Don't worry, it's coming along! Yesterday i was trapped at a party for 10 hours and, being the introvert i am, decided to take a break from drawing for an animatic by trying to draw for this au instead. don't know why i didn't just do artfight lol

FULL KING REFERENCE PACK + SIFFRIN DUO POSTGAME REFERENCES

Notes and details under the cut

sooooo howsabout postgame content?

the original post talking about postgame can be found here but it doesn't go into too much detail

So post-game resetfrin and gloop. they go with the party, kinda like a lot of twohats aus? resetfrin goes with the party because they know mirabelle and kinda know isabeau from when he would get apprenticed by the king (long story), but also because resetfrin acted so much like the old siffrin they used to know that it felt odd to leave him behind.

gloop, however, WAS the old siffrin! the party knows this, they found it out in the last loop, and they've formed such a bond with them that it's as natural as it is in the original game. the only issue is: gloop has changed SO much. physically, mentally, even a pronoun change - the party wants to help her out, but they want to explore who this New Siffrin is, too. Isn't it ironic that the new addition is the one you know far more of than the old addition?

resetfrin stays siffrin because... uh. because he's always been siffrin? there's no conflict there. gloop, after getting their memory back, ALSO goes back to siffrin, because that's who they really are and they acknowledge that loop is their own person. they don't want to be reminded of their time as gloop, either.

so... they're both Siffrin. And they're both technically the same person. do you see the issue?? the two of them didn't. the party did.

there's a comic I'm thinking about making to explore the processes and conversation that happened to initiate the name changes. the long and short of it is they can't BOTH be siffrin, but neither of them want to be siffrin if the other one can't also be siffrin, so they go on separate journeys to find a new name. they come back together with the party afterwords and they both ended up picking the same name so it's back to square one.

they talk to the party the second time and after a lot of brainstorming land on Orion for resetfrin and Lux for gloop. it helps the party distinguish between them and helps me establish the difference between postgame content and in-game content

(plug moment but these names were suggested by @the-bitter-ocean who gave me like. a whole list of things i could choose from. oh the life saver. i didn't even think about what names they would've picked until xe helped. and ohhh theyre so good. he also has some amazing aus including a miraloops au that you should go check out. pretty please)

the hair thing is SUPER IMPORTANT i originally only did it because they needed a way to separate themselves from eachother, but i realized they would also have done it to separate themselves from the old people they used to be. very poetic. 10/10 thank you brain for the excuse

the colors for orion's alt outfits are just a limited color pallete, they're not actually the colors afaik. (<- says the creator) but Lux's colors are 100% the colors, yes. their star body is different from loop's, where loop's body is solid black and lux's seems to glow on it's own. do you see where the name lux came from.

it's really dysphoric. imagine being turned into a ghost against your will and losing your memories, and them after gaining your memories back you turn into a completely different body AGAIN and it's STILL not the original body you had. i would cry.

gloop/lux's eye is still blind. even as a ghost they lacked depth perception. L. since resetfrin wasn't with the party to lose his eye they don't have any vision impairment

actually, about that. funny little thing. if siffrin wasn't there to protect bonnie, who did? haha hehe. hey why does odile have her arm in a cast...

KING TIME

okay i got a lot of questions about it so i double-checked on the original post and. yeah it DOES say the king's name. both in the text and on the image. but you'd be forgiven for missing it because it's pretty small on the image and there's a lot of text to read through

anyway pre-madness king's name is Lazare!! he originally looks like the lithe dude on the left. he's scholar-ish, came to vaugarde on vacation before losing his memory, yadda yadda... a lot of his information is on the original post so I won't repeat anything that's already been said

he picked Lazare a few days after losing his memory. he never told his name to anyone in the town he was staying so all he got was "travelling one" and he really genuinely thought that was his name for a hot second until he realized that Vaugarde really likes adding -one to titles

i made his hair curlier! after drawing the king for the chapter cg i realized i did NOT makw his hair curly enough when drawing Lazare. his hair type is almost exactly mine, though mine has more define curls, so drawing it is a BLAST!!

Defender arc Lazare! He bulked himself up to come off more physically and mentally strong. is this a trans allegory? is the King trans or was the body craft just to match his perception of himself? not sure. At this point in time he's already travelled with siffrin for a bit so i like to think he's a teensy bit protective. somewhere between friend snd father figure. cool guy

you know who's not cool? this guy vvv

this is where the King becomes the King :3 his hair is OBNOXIOUSLY long, almost rapunzel-like but nowhere near as bad. it always covers one eye but it doesn't really matter which one.

the crown happens like... VERY shortly before he makes the wish and starts freezing people in time. hes lonely and isolated and its something like coping with his delusions about everyone being out to get him

that's not the way he thought in the original loop, but after the reset his descent is much faster and harder than the last. when Siffrin starts climbing the tower, yearning becomes animosity as he thinks Siffrin finally betrayed him like he "always knew they would." or something.

hey 16yo sif jumpscare!!! wasn't he on the original post too?

.

anyway!!! that's it! that's all! i swear it's all. inevitably I'll have to make gloop and resetfrin full references but I'm happy with the ones i drew in the original post which I'll probably end up pointing people to if they want to draw either of them. the king was the one i worried about most because he's so different from canon, and same goes for the postgame designs. even coming up with new names was worrying because they're practically not even the same person from canon anymore

but that's the fun thing with aus, isn't it? lol

cya

[victoriansnakearts]

Sir Pentious redesign!!!! Original for comparison ( also lil ramble below)

For starters I actually like sir pentious’ original design a lot! He’s one of the designs that actually feels demonic, if that makes sense? ( I feel like a lot of the designs are sometimes too bland or just anthro animal)

The only things I didn’t like is the generic suit and the top hat being a bit too expressive, it got too distracting for me.

For my redesign I tried to lean more into steam punk inventor since that’s seems to be a huge part of his character.

Some notes

I gave him a more Victorian outfit to better match his time period (it’s not the best but it’s better than shoulder pads and bow ties 😭)

I changed his primary colors to green and purple ( mainly to reflect the sins of envy and pride) you know since he desires to be an overlord I imagine he’s pretty envious of those in power, also he does have a bit of inflated ego

I simplified the hat, it’s only has the eye now, the pupil can move around and dilate but it’s not as expressive (it’s mainly a me thing I just find it way to distracting that the hat makes so many expressions)

I thought it would be a neat idea if he’d put lil accessories on his tail ( like different ray guns or weapons) I thought it would be cute since it would be like a lil rattler, I’d like to think he switches it out often

And probably the biggest change is the robotic limbs, I really wanted the sinner forms to not only reflect a persons life and death but to also be a form of punishment for them. So when pentious first arrived in hell he had no arms, a punishment to prevent him from inventing , the thing he loves to do the most. It didn’t stop him tho as he managed to build himself some prosthetics later on.

Also egg bois confuse me so much so I just made them lil robots, also needed to fill up the page with a doodle lol

This is still in the works, I’m not 100% satisfied and my ideas are a bit scattered but I do like how it turned out! I’m considering doing an alt demon form for him as well as his heaven version too ( I hate how it’s just a palette swap) Let me know what you think! Input is appreciated!!

I’ll probably do an Alastor redesign next ( I have quite a bit to say about him) that or redesigning IMP, I’m open to suggestions!

[bloodibambiidoll]

American Idiot: King!Steve Harrington x Goth!reader.

Summary: Enemies (kinda?)to lovers, opposites attract, early 00s college AU. Steve Harrington had it all. Money, popularity, the perfect girlfriend. He had his whole life planned and laid out for him, and he accepted that. Working for his dad and marrying his collage sweetheart wouldn’t be so bad, right? That’s what he thought at least, until he got paired to do a project with you and you turned his world upside down. WK: 6.1k 18+ MINORS DNI

Warnings: angst with a happy ending, steve is still “king Steve” in the beginning, reader kissing someone other than Steve, oral(M&F receiving) unprotected sex(reader is on birth control), lil bit of daddy kink, Steve and reader kiss before he dumps his gf but he does it like right after though, reader smokes a lil weed. I think that’s it? Lmk if I missed any!! My masterlist

A/N: this was born from something I was tagged in where you saved the last character and song you listened to and I got Steve and American idiot and the fact that I have seen so many Eddie opposites attract fics and not enough about Steve with an alt GF. The reader is very much self indulgent for me but I left her description as vague as possible. I think the only thing I mentioned is the shirt she’s wearing and the fact that she’s wearing a skirt. Also I added “Dylan” because I really wanted to make him Eddie but I knew I’d end up involving him too much if he was in it at all lmao. I hope you guys like it!! I’d love feedback so much!✨

You aren’t exactly sure how you let Robin talk you into coming with her to this party but you are deeply regretting it. You were standing in a corner of the packed living room with a red solo cup that you took one sip of and then gagged because whoever made the punch was probably already wasted. Robin was dancing with Vickie, which made you smile. She told you all about how she had the biggest crush on her in highschool and when they both ended up at the same college she took it as a sign and finally made a move.

You glanced around the room and rolled your eyes at what you saw. You really thought by your third year of college the whole “clique” thing would be behind you. But no, for whatever reason the people here still wanted to abide by the conformity of the highschool food chain. You weren’t popular in highschool and you aren’t now, you made friends with Robin your freshman year when you were assigned each other as roommates but you honestly don’t have many other friends.

It’s not like people straight up bullied you like in highschool but the atmosphere was very much the same with the “popular” crowd. They all thought they were better than everyone else. You let your eyes wander to the cluster of people all dressed in the black, white, and green Chicago state colors and scoffed. At the center of it all was the bane of your existence, Steve Harrington.

He thinks the world revolves around him just because everyone in this stupid school kisses his ass. The teachers, all the students, even ROBIN is friends with him. She worked with him the summer before they left for college and she INSISTS that he isn’t actually as big of an asshole as he seems.

Steve Harrington had it all. Perfect car, perfect friends, perfect grades, he was the star of the Chicago state basketball team, and he had the perfect girl. Steve and Veronica had been together since freshman year. They met when he was leaving basketball practice and she was starting cheer practice and the rest was history. Yes Steve Harrington had it all, the perfect American life for the perfect American boy but apparently that wasn’t enough. He needed you too.

It started off when you had been partnered for a project in your English class and you spent some time together working on it. It was all going way more smoothly than you anticipated, you guys were getting along surprisingly well aside from you not being able to hold in your eye rolls and passive aggressive remarks towards him when he said something meat headed. But he would just laugh it off. On the last day of the project things changed drastically. One second you were finalizing your notes and the next thing you knew Steve’s lips were crashing into yours. You were so confused at first, frozen in place.

Then after a second you pushed him off “What the fuck are you doing Steve?? Is this some kind of joke to you? I think I’ve made it pretty fucking clear that I’m only toleranting you for this grade so I don’t understand where your wires got crossed thinking you could just kiss me?” He stared at you wide eyed before catching himself and scoffing “what? Don’t act like you didn’t want it, I could see how you were looking at me.” he gave you a smug look. “This is exactly why I didn’t want it, you ever thought not every single person wants to worship the ground you walk on? Has no one ever rejected you in your life? Get over yourself Harrington, I’ll see you tomorrow for the presentation” you grabbed your notes and swiftly exited the library after that.

That was two months ago, and since then Steve couldn’t let it go. You weren’t wrong, no one had ever rejected him and you continued to over and over again every time he would try and talk to you or approach you in any way and it was doing things to him. It kind of felt amazing, you couldn’t lie. The golden boy chasing after you like a little lost puppy. Especially since you were very much his opposite. You weren’t anywhere near rich, your car was an old piece of shit, and you definitely weren’t preppy in any sense of the word. So yeah, Steve Harrington pining after the quiet goth girl was kind of giving you an ego boost.

You watched him shotgun a beer while everyone around him cheered him on, tossing the can on the ground when he was done. He must’ve felt you looking at him because his eyes locked with yours and he smirked. As you were rolling your eyes Veronica’s arms shot around his neck and she started sloppily making out with him right there in front of everyone. It was honestly pretty gross to watch, you felt like you could hear their tongues and lips smacking from across the room, it made you want to gag.

Just as you were turning to head outside for a smoke break you felt a hand on your arm. When you looked up your breath hitched, because god damn this man was beautiful. It was like he was crafted with Peter Steele from Type O Negative in mind when they made him. “Hey, I like your shirt” he smiled sweetly at you. Suddenly you couldn’t remember your own name let alone what shirt you were wearing so you looked down and saw your Deftones baby tee before you looked back up at him and smiled “oh, thank you. I like yours too!” You pointed to his Korn shirt “their self titled album will always be one of my favorites of all time” he sent you another sweet smile “hell yeah, me too. I’m Dylan.” He held his hand out for you to shake and you took his much larger hand in yours and shook it for maybe a second too long before telling him your name.

“Pretty name for a pretty girl” you suddenly felt a little shy, it’s been a while since anyone (besides Steve, unfortunately) had really given you the time of day and this beautiful goth rock god just started chatting you up so you were a little nervous “do you smoke?” He pulled a joint out from behind his ear, offering it to you. “Yeah, totally, I’m down.” You tried your best to sound nonchalant but you were screaming inside. You decided right then that if this man wanted to take you home? You were fucking going.

You guys passed the joint back and forth and chatted for a bit, he was really cool, you had a lot in common and you enjoyed talking to him. When the joint was almost gone he held it up to you and raised his eyebrows “shotgun??” You bit your lip and nodded. He took the last large pull off the joint before cupping your cheek in his hand and leaning forward to let the smoke into your mouth. You inhaled and let a giggle out on the exhale, his face was still so close to yours, he smelled really good, and the weed was giving you confidence so you grabbed him by his shirt collar and brought his lips back to yours. His hands went to your hips as he kissed back passionately, pushing you up against the wall and deepening the kiss.

You guys had just started really making out, his knee pushed in between your legs under your skirt, his hand groping your chest over the shirt and your fingers tangled in his hair, not even caring that you’re in the middle of a packed party. Then he was suddenly ripped off of you. “What the!?” You opened your eyes in confusion and were met with Steve, shoving Dylan away from you “can we talk??” You scoffed “are you fucking serious right now Steve? I’m obviously busy, so you can get lost now. Dylan? Let’s go.” You started to walk past him but he grabbed your wrist “I want to talk to you. Alone. Please?” His demor changed by the end of the sentence and you saw a softness in his eyes you’d only ever seen a few times when you worked together on your project “Dude. She literally said she was busy, why don’t you just back off?” Dylan came over and stood next to you again glaring at Steve.

“Okay?? And I said I want to talk to her so you can get fucking lost before I make you” Steve got in Dylan’s face and basically growled at him before he shoved him against the wall and grabbed your arm, dragging you through the party and into one of the empty rooms and shutting the door behind you. You ripped your arm out of his grasp “What the fuck do you want Harrington!? You are being a serious cock block!! Did you SEE him?? I could slap you right now!”

“I didn’t like it. Seeing him kissing you like that when I want to be the one kissing you like that! I honestly couldn’t fucking stand it!!” He ran his hands through his hair and dragged them down his face in frustration.

“Okay Steve, I don’t know what your sudden fucking obsession with me is. If you’re just trying to prove a point to yourself that you can have any girl or if this is some kind of bet you have going with your stupid fucking friends but it has GOT to stop!! This is TOO FAR!! You’re keeping me from getting dicked down now and for what? Just let it go, you better hope he’s still out there or I’m going to track you back down and murder you!!” you go to walk past him and leave the room but he grabs your hand, making you turn to face him.

When you look at him you see that same look you saw a few minutes ago, the normally smug look on his face replaced with something softer. “Wait, please? Please just hear me out and then I’ll never bother you again.” You ripped your hand from his grasp and rolled your eyes. “Oh my god. Okay, you have two minutes, that’s it.”

He sighed deeply “Okay. I’m sorry, I know I’ve been bugging you a little-“

“PFT!! A little?” You rolled your eyes again, you honestly think if you have to talk to him much longer they’re going to get stuck in the back of your head.

“Oh my god. Can you just let me talk without interrupting me for two seconds?”

“Okay, yeah, sorry. Continue”

“Anyways… I know I’ve been bothering you a lot since we finished our project… and it’s not just because you rejected me, yeah that didn’t help, it just made me want you more but I wanted you before that. When we were working on our project together I just.. I started to fall for you. You were just so real compared to everyone around me. You made me feel like a person, you didn’t treat me like ‘king Steve’ or just do things how you thought I’d want you to. You told me like it is, and that was so refreshing to me.” He let out the deep breath he felt had been holding since you were still working together and waited for you to respond.

But you didn’t right away, you just stared at him with wide eyes stunned at his confession. “Please… say something, anything.” He gave you that pleading puppy dog look again.

“I… Steve you don’t mean that. You have everything. You’re popular, rich, you’re the star of the basketball team, you probably have some fancy office job lined up with your dad for after you graduate, and you have Veronica. I definitely don’t fit into that equation in the slightest.” You looked at him confused, searching for any kind of explanation that would make this make sense.

“Okay? Yeah I have all those things but I don’t WANT them. Most of those things are what my parents want for me, what my DAD wants. Basketball is fine, I’m good at it so it’s cool I guess, but did I really want to spend all these years just doing that? Not necessarily. And yeah if I work for my dad’s company I’ll be financially stable for the rest of my life but is that what I want to spend my life doing? No, it’s not. And Veronica? We may seem perfect to you but we aren’t. We fight all the fucking time and she’s honestly only with me because of who I am, because I’m king Steve. She doesn’t love ME, she loves the basketball star, she loves daddy’s money, she loves the extravagant wedding, white picket fence, and 2.5 children that we don’t know how to love because no one ever showed us so we just fill that void by showering them with material things. I had that life growing up, and I hated it. But you? You’re different. You’re free. You don’t care what anyone thinks and if you do, you don’t let it change who you are. You’re true to yourself, you don’t treat me like I’m some kind of god, you treat me like a person. THAT'S why I want you.” He took a step closer to you and grabbed your hands, ducking down so you’re forced to look him in the eyes “also you’re so beautiful, like so beautiful I feel like I can’t even breathe when I look at you.”

You looked into his eyes, searching for any kind of falsehood in his words but you didn’t find any. Instead he was looking at you adoring, hopeful. “Steve, I…” you didn’t really know what to say, you had never really entertained the idea that he might actually like you. You didn’t want to even have an ounce of hope in that aspect, because of course you thought Steve was hot. You also couldn’t deny that you did sort of like the side of him you saw during your project, and you liked what you saw now. Maybe you liked HIM and you didn’t even realize it. Maybe you did see the real Steve and maybe you liked that person. Before you could truly think about it you put your arms around his neck and pulled his lips to yours.

You had never had a kiss like this one, Steve’s lips were so soft, and he brought his hands to your face and cradled it like you were something precious. You got lost in the kiss for a moment but soon pulled away from him entirely, bringing your hand to your mouth and staring at him wide eyed “we shouldn’t… we shouldn’t have done that. This is a bad idea. I have to go find Robin.” You turned to leave and once again you were stopped by his hand in yours. “I honestly think this is the only good idea I’ve ever had actually” is all he said before putting his hands around your waist and pulling you into another kiss. Rationally you knew you should pull away, but your heart and body had other ideas.

Suddenly you absolutely needed him to touch you, anywhere and everywhere. You wrapped your arms around his neck and licked into his mouth, deepening the kiss. You went on standing there making out until you were both pulling away breathless “Fuck. You are so amazing.” He pushed some of your hair that fell in your face over your shoulder and left a soft kiss on your jaw. You tried to hold in the little whimper that escaped, but you couldn’t and just hoped Steve didn’t hear it. But he did, and he looked into your eyes again and gave you a mischievous smile before ducking his head to place more little kisses along your jaw.

You let out more little breathy whines and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. You grabbed his face, pulling it from your neck so he would look at you “I think… since you DID totally ruin what I had going with that guy out there, you kind of owe me now” you smirked at him and bit your lip.

“Yeah? You want me to make it up to you baby? Bet I can make you feel better than he ever could.” He ran his hands down your shoulders and around your back, sliding them down until he had two handfuls of your ass, your skirt riding up. “Yeah? I bet I fuck way better than Veronica. What’s she into? Missionary and reluctant blow jobs? Girls like that never like giving head” you smirked at him, not even feeling bad for shit talking his girlfriend. She didn’t deserve him anyways, Steve was yours now, you weren’t giving him back after this.

You were more spot on then Steve liked to admit but he can’t deny hearing you say those things was doing something for him. “Yeah? You like doing it then? You wanna get on your knees for me, pretty girl? Is that what you’re saying?” That’s exactly what you were saying, so instead of responding you dropped to your knees and looked up at him through your lashes while you reached for the button on his jeans, pausing before actually unbuttoning them “I’m going to give you the best blow job and fuck of your life, but only on ONE CONDITION”

“Okay, anything, whatever you want honey, it’s yours.” The nickname sent chills down your spine, you wanted to hear him call you every pet name under the sun. “You’re gonna go out there, and you’re gonna fucking DUMP Veronica, and then when you come back to me, I’m going to blow your mind Steve Harrington.” You stood up from the ground and booped his nose “Can you do that? Or were you bluffing when you said ‘anything?”

He meant it. He would quite literally do anything for you, not only in this moment but just in general. “Okay, I’ll do it.” Was all he said before he walked out the bedroom door, closing it behind him. You stood there stunned for a moment, mouth hanging open, staring at the closed door. You couldn’t believe that actually worked, Steve Harrington was about to throw away his “picture perfect” life for YOU of all people. If he even wanted to be seen with you. If he even did it, if he even came back.. His friends would never approve... God, his PARENTS would never approve of you. Before you could start to fully spiral you heard yelling coming from the other room.

“YOU CANNOT BE FUCKING SERIOUS!!!!?? THIS IS A JOKE RIGHT!!???” Veronica. You walked closer to the door to try and get a better listen but all you could hear after that were jumbled voices. So you decided fuck it, and walked out of the room into the crowded living area. Except people weren’t partying like they were before, pretty much everyone was silent, gawking at the couple they all thought were perfect. When you pushed through some of the bodies and were able to see them your breath caught in your throat. Veronica looked fucking pissed, she had her hands balled into fists and she stomped her foot on the ground several times like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“What the fuck are you talking about THERES SOMEONE ELSE!? Are you serious right now? Who is she? Some other bitch on the cheer team? Swim team?” She scoffs and then makes a gagging noise “oh god, is she in the DRAMA club? Or some nerdy girl you tricked into doing your homework since you can’t do it for yourself?” That last comment had you seathing, giving you insight into how she probably talks to him all the time.

“God Veronica, can you be any more shallow? Not everything is about popularity or some fucking club. We aren’t in highschool anymore, grow up.” You looked over at Steve who honestly looked like he would rather be doing anything but having this conversation right now. “That’s rich, coming from you, KING STEVE!!! Since when do you not care about all those things? I thought that was our whole thing?” She let out a dry laugh “you think anyone else really wants to deal with you? I only dealt with you because of all the perks that came with having a life with you. You think I actually loved you? You think anyone will really love you and your pathetic, whiny, daddy issues bullshit??” Steve looked stunned, he knew she felt that way but hearing it coming out of her mouth hurt a little. He never really loved her but there was a point when he did at least actually like her.

You couldn’t take it, between what she said to him and the look on his face you snapped. You walked over there without even caring about the consequences and got directly in her face. “You’re. Wrong.” You snarled at her.

“Excuse me, what? And what the fuck does it matter to you, mistress of the dark??” She looked you up and down with disgust.

“It matters a whole lot to me actually, because I DO like Steve. I don’t give a fuck about his popularity, or basketball, or how much money he has. I don’t need any of those things because he’s so much more than that!” You thought back to when you worked on the project together, at the time you hadn’t really allowed yourself to notice how different Steve was with you but he was. He told dumb jokes, he smiled sweetly at you and fumbled over his words. When you would tell him like it was, or act annoyed by him he didn’t say anything, just took it. You guys would talk sometimes for an hour or more after you had already finished working, and In that moment you realized that he let you see parts of him he probably didn’t show to anyone, you were just too dumb to see it. “He’s funny, like the stupid kind of dad funny that’s kind of embarrassing but down right endearing at its core. He’s sweet, caring, and listens to me when I talk. He’s not stupid, he’s incredibly smart. You just never took the time to see him and you’re the biggest fucking idiot for it!!” You didn’t move, stayed directly in her face, staring into her eyes daring her to do something.

Her eyes widened and then slanted into a glare “HA!!! Oh my god!!! You’re dumping me for this freak!? You’re even more of a joke than I thought Harrington! Talk about a downgrade, you really think your parents would ever approve of HER? Your dad would cut you off as soon as he saw her, your mom would-“

“THAT'S ENOUGH!!! Just SHUT. UP. For once in your fucking life Veronica stop talking! Don’t talk to her like that, you don’t know anything about her. Or me for that matter. Stay the fuck away from us.” Steve grabbed your hand and started dragging you away towards the front door “come on baby, we are leaving” you let him drag you to the door but before you walked out you turned around and flipped Veronica off “I win, you lose! Dumb bitch!” You stuck her tongue out at her and started cracking up at her stunned face on the way out.

•

Steve took you back to his apartment, your immediate reaction was to feel uncomfortable because of course even his apartment was way nicer than yours. But before you could even really get a look around he was on you. Kissing you in a way that made you feel like you were going to melt into a puddle on his carpet. You pulled away from him and smirked at him before dropping down on your knees in front of him and he felt himself starting to get hard instantly. “I believe I promised you the best blow job of your life, did I not?”

He reached down and caressed your cheek “Yeah you did pretty girl, but honestly you don’t have to, we can just watch a movie or cuddle or something. I wanna do this right with you. I don’t want you to think that’s all I want, ya know?”

“Hey Steve?” You smiled up at him sweetly “yeah sweetie?” You reached for the button on his jeans and popped it open before pulling his zipper down, placing a gentle kiss on the small sliver of skin exposed where his shirt rode up “Stop talking. I want to, I like doing it. If I’m being honest I wanna suck your cock so so bad Stevie” he groaned at that “fuck, yeah, okay baby. Whatever you want.” You smiled at him triumphantly before grabbing his pants and boxers and pulling them down in one swift motion.

His cock sprang out and you forgot how to talk for a moment because holy shit it was the biggest and most beautiful cock you’ve ever seen. “Wow…” was all you could manage, spitting on your hand and wrapping your hand around his girth, giving him a few strokes before leaning up to kitten lick the salty precum from his tip. “Oh shiiit that feels so good” you gave him a few more licks before abruptly taking as much of him as you could at once. He involuntarily jerked forward sending his cock further down your throat, causing you to gag before he pulled back “oh shit, I’m so sorry”

“Don’t be, I like it” you said before you took him back down your throat as far as you could, causing yourself to gag again before pulling back and repeating the action causing spit to drip down your chin and all over Steve’s cock. Steve was a mess, he was making whining sounds he’s never heard from himself and he seriously needed you to stop soon or he was going to bust before he even got to fuck you.

You pulled off and looked up at him “I want you to fuck my face, daddy” that was it, he was obsessed with you. “Oh god, I want that too baby girl but I will seriously cum if I do that right now and I really really want to fuck you.” He pulled his pants up before pulling you up on your feet grabbing your hand and walking towards the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and turned to place a gentle kiss on your lips when he pulled back you pulled your shirt over your head and his eyes nearly popped out when he saw you weren’t wearing a bra “holy shit honey… these are the best fucking tits I’ve ever seen” he grabbed them in his large hands, squeezing them before he leaned down to take an already hardened nipple in his mouth. “Mmm daddy, your mouth feels so good.” He groaned at the sound of you calling him daddy again. He’s always wanted a girl to call him that, it’s just no one he’s been with has been into it and you calling him that in your own accord was making him crazy.

“I know where it’ll feel even better.” He said before pushing you back until you were laying on his mattress with your legs hanging off. You propped yourself up on your hands so you could look at him. “God, you are so fucking gorgeous I’m not sure how you’re real. Sitting all pretty on my bed with those beautiful tits out. I can’t wait to see the rest of you” He pulled his shirt over his head and you didn’t even have time to properly ogle him before he got down on his knees in front of the bed and ran his hands up your legs until he was at the bottom of your skirt. He looked to you for permission, and you nodded excitedly. That was all he needed before he was pushing the front of your skirt up to reveal your red lace thong that had a very obvious wet patch.

“Look at these pretty little panties… too bad they have to go.” He looped his fingers in the band and ripped them off, throwing them over his shoulder. “This pussys is waaaay prettier than those panties anyways, god damn.” He started kissing your calves and the inside of your knees, leaving soft kisses and little bites as he made his way up to your thighs. He bit into the meat of your thigh before soothing it with his tongue and repeating the action on the other side. He left little kisses and licks down your inner thighs until he reached the spot you wanted him most. He kissed the top of your mound and then held his mouth over your clit for a minute letting his breath hit you while he looked you in the eyes “I’m going to fucking devour you”

He licked a stripe all the way up your entrance and to your clit, circling it a few times before sucking on it. Your hands reached down and tangled in his hair and your back arched immediately. “Jesus Christ Steve, your mouth feels so fucking good.” You whined.

He unlatched from your clit to look up at you “Steve? There’s no Steve here right now, only daddy.” You outright moaned at that and he smirked, circling a finger around your entrance before pushing it inside you. “Fuuuck daddy, that feels so fucking good. Put your mouth back on me, please?” You looked down at him with big round eyes and he felt like he was actually going to cum in his pants this time. His tongue started circling and sucking on your sensitive clit, he slid a second finger inside you and that was it for you.

You came so hard, probably the hardest you’ve ever cum in your life. Your grip on his hair tightened and you rocked your hips against his face “oh f-fuckkkk fuck, holy shit.” You pushed his face away “s-sensitive, come here” you reached your arms out for him and he put his arms on either side of your head, looking down at you adoringly. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him into a heated kiss, groaning when you tasted yourself on his tongue. “Please please fuck me now, I want you so bad” you couldn’t even believe you thought you hated him just a few hours ago and now you were laying under him begging for his cock. He stood up and took his still unbuttoned pants off, now standing completely naked before you.

“God damn.. you are so fucking HOT holy shiiiiit, get over here and fuck me right now.” You pulled your skirt off and scooted up to the head of his bed and spread your legs wide open “how do you want me, daddy?” You giggled a little, feeling high on him. “Fuck, baby, will you ride me?” He walked over to the side of the bed and looked at your naked form, biting his lip. You grabbed his wrists pulling him down on the bed, pushing him on his back and climbing on top of him. You ground down on his dick, sliding your pussy easily up and down his length with your wetness. “Condom?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at you. “I’m on the pill, I wanna feel you, I want you to fill me up.” His eyes rolled in the back of his head “oh goddd, fuck. Yeah? You want me to fuck you full of my cum?” You didn’t even answer, just raised yourself up so you could line his cock up with your entrance and began to sink down on it.

“Holy fuuuck baby, that feels so good.” You were still holding his cock, sliding the head in and out of you slowly adding more of him inside you with each thrust until he was fully inside you and you could feel his hair at the base rubbing against your clit. You just sat there for a second, adjusting to his size. “Oh shit, you are so fucking tight oh my god.” You move back and forth, just the slightest rock of your hips. “Fuck daddy, you’re so big. I feel so full.” You whimpered. You raised up until you reached the head of his cock and then slammed back down out of nowhere and he let out a moan that you wanted to record and use as your fucking alarm clock. That egged you on, you started riding him hard and fast after that, sitting up fully with your hands on his chest to stabilize you. His hands were on your hips, head thrown back, he felt like all he could do was moan. He was pretty sure you were sucking his soul out of his dick and he had never felt this good in his entire life.

“Jesus Christ, you are such a good girl. You look so fucking beautiful riding my cock.” He moved his hands to your ass and slammed up into you, quite literally fucking the shit out of you. He moved his thumb up to your lips “Suck.” You took it in your mouth and swirled your tongue around it a few times before he pulled it out with a ‘pop!��� And brought it to your clit. Rubbing tight slow circles on the bud. “F-fuck, I’m g-gonna I’m gonna cum” he started fucking you faster, the circles on your clit got quicker “cum for me, cum on my cock like a good girl” your orgasm hit you hard, falling forward on Steve’s chest, letting out loud moans and pulling on his hair. That combined with the feeling of you clenching around him had Steve cumming right after you, filling you up just as promised. “Holy shit, holy fuck, I’m fucking cumming! God baby you feel so fucking good!”

You both just laid there for a moment, catching your breath and coming back into your bodies. You placed a soft kiss on his chest and sat up to look at him. “Wow Stevie. That was amazing, seriously.” He gave you a huge smile “Yeah it was. Holy shit. I’m obsessed with you.” You sent him a shy smile and tried to hide your face on your shoulder but he put his hand on your chin and made you look at him “Hey” he said your name softly “I mean it, I really fucking like you. I really do think you’re beautiful, you literally ruined me for any other woman ever. I’ve never met anyone like you. I’d really like to take you on a real date, like you deserve. If you’ll let me.” He gave you the most bashful adorable smile ever but you couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped you “Steve. You’re literally still inside me right now and you think I don’t want to go on a date with you?” He shrugged and chuckled, “I just wanted to make sure, I didn’t want to assume anything, ya know?”

You rolled off of him to lay next to him, resting your chin on his chest. “Of course I want to go on a date with you silly. It took me a minute to realize it, but I think I’m kind of obsessed with you too, Steve Harrington.” You tilted your head up to kiss him, soft and sweet, different from all the other kisses. “I just hope I didn’t ruin everything for you. I feel like you threw everything away for me.” You sighed and looked down at his chest, running your fingers through the hair there. He said your name more sternly than you were expecting “Look at me.” You looked up into his eyes and suddenly felt extremely shy under his intense gaze. “You didn’t ruin anything, you made everything better, you saved me from a life I was miserable in. I’ve never been more happy than I am at this moment. I don’t give a fuck what my so called “friends” or my parents think anymore. I did it for you, of course, but also for the first time in my life I did something for myself too. I’m not sure what exactly my life is going to look like now, but I know if you’re in it, it’s going to be beautiful.”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes at that, no one had ever said anything like the things Steve had said to you tonight. He kept talking so much about how you see him that you didn’t even realize how much he saw you too. “I think so too Stevie.” He saw you and you saw him, and the rest you would figure out together.

[helticks]

this is a certified sideswipe moment

HE'S HERE!! HE'S COMPLETE!! and he only took .... six hours. (: .

idk what it was about this dude but he was giving me far too much trouble 😭majority of that time was honestly spent trying to get his alt mode working. for whatever reason the animations broke when i made a copy n it was an actual, physical pain, to get it working again

other than that, i loved working on him!! im really happy w how his colors turned out (:

bonus nyah

as always, if you have questions abt the model, lmk !!

also psssst if you liked this model you should definitely reblog it. i will love u till the edns of the earht

[anonymouscheeses]

Big fckn redesigns here. Well mostly Charlie but Vaggie somewhat too 🥰🥰

Blue fits Charlie soooo much and I cease to see that many redesigns with this color. I still want red to be used in most of their designs because well. They are in hell, but not too present so to make way for other unique colors. Charlie has several physical traits from her parents but also she has some details in her clothes that match with them. When I uhh, introduce their designs you'll see lmao. I also tried to make her have a more roundish design, I jst LOVE those typ of designs omg. I just want the characters with not too many sharp corners pls Viv bro... 😔 oh yeah she's mixed cuz her mom's are darker in their redesigns. Alot of their genetics went down to Charlie so she doesn't look like an exact copy of Lucifer, I kind of hate that trend with hh and hb characters, like did the moxxies dad give birth to him bro 😭 also I kept her bow because it looks so cute and silly on her it just fits, I wish they made it bigger in her show design because it would fit her silliness so much. She has a cape with stars because morningSTAR smh why didnt they do something fun with that, missed potential but whatevs yknow I still love og designs no matter what anyone sayss. Did you know I love Charlie, I could ramble for days. I think I love Charlie guys. Maybe jst a hunch idk... also... s-snake fangs.. jeepers anddd..... snake tongue.... shiver me timberz

The wife ever. I had animation in mind more when I designed her, not like in a "How easy or hard would this be to animate" way. But I like to imagine when she's shocked her hair kind of fluffs out plus her actual fluff, when she's mad her bow turns into kind of horns and then her jacket expands like wings. Gave her a more hotel like outfit, she likes to work for fun (ew). Her socks are socks but she has some fluff under them she just tries to cover it up because she hates herself 🤪 (she doesn't hate her bigger body she actually feels much more comfortable chubby than when she was skinny with Adam. She was burdened with the weight of Adam's image of women... In this sorta rewrite she gained weight when she goes to the hotel because she's more happy. I'm dying I love chub Vaggie so much guys please) headcanon: she kind of likes fashion, it's like a fun hobby of hers to stitch together clothing and go out and buy clothes she'll never wear. She taught Charlie how to stitch and she SUCKS so you can jst see it on Charlie's pants.

Second outfits! Charlie's hotel uniform for. Well. Hotel stuff. She usually only wears it when new people come to the hotel, which.... isn't often, if at all. She still likes to keep it just in case. Also she goes really cartoonish when it happens, she does the looney tunes run and changes into her clothes in like 2 seconds. Can you see my vision? 😭😭

Vaggie's is in her armor. She has several pairs of armor lying around in the hotel in completely hidden spots. It's kind of surprising uhh. Yeah she wears it alot more than Charlie wears her alt uniform but still rare to find her in it. I don't get the whole thing with the exterminators and them not being able to fight according to Carmilla. Which is kinda stupid, I'm not gonna lie. So, instead of that, Vaggie has just let her guard down and has gotten much more comfortable in her surroundings so she feels like she doesn't need to fight anymore, she's just gotten rusty 's what I'm sayin. I have no idea how to draw armor. You can tell...

Extra below cut vvvv

BABY CHARLIE!!! With the heads of my redesigns for Luci, Eve, and Lillith. Haha you still cant see them. Uhh, ill definitely finish the thing one day. Its not even that big of a project thing, i think i jst keep going to other drawings so im like not focusing on one thing lmao. Lucifer has heterochromia because he was cursed to forever be reminded of his betrayal. I only explained that because Charlie has it too, it's kind of a curse on the entire blood line where at least one eye is red. This is like. Slightly older Charlie than the baby Charlie in show? I jst wanted to put her in overalls cuz omg that's jst so cute ughhh 😭😭

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: The Maritime Finale

This is definitely the last one of these, as it's rounding up a bunch of sea creatures I've missed. I assume by this point everyone who sees this knows what it's about, but just in case: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. (I'll get the rest of the entries on there soon.)

The entry people are working from is here:

The one for next week does not exist. (Also I apologize if I seem rushed, this is a busy week for me.)

Art below the cut!

@pomrania (link to post here) has us off on a weird start with their interpretation of the Fatrihrukh. I don't have any particular nostalgia for rage-face comics (I was online during that era, just not in circles where they were common), but honestly this made me smile. Also I like imagining some fisherman on a dock, still sitting in a normal pose and holding his fishing rod, just full-throat screaming at the sky, apparently apropos of nothing in particular. This is a fun one, is what I'm saying.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has an uncanny ability to make me think, "sure, that looks like an animal that could be real" even when they're drawing something like Fish With Tentacles, which I am 99% sure is not a thing. Though if fish did have tentacles, they would look like that. This is of course also the Fatrihrukh; apparently people like that one.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has done the whole set. A lot of these turned out really well -- I think the Ormlalaehr is stealing the show here, but the Bursgaenga is pretty darn cute. The linked post has details on each of them, which I recommend checking out. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) continues to impress with their delightful art style. Love the little space-invader Magtlegyegs, and the Lungyoggeas are just... wild. Extremely cool looking. (Also, thank you for providing alt text.)

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) joins the broad consensus that if you're only drawing one of these, it's the Fatrihrukh. I love the (medieval-art-appropriate) choice to give it human-like parts since the entry doesn't say otherwise. The colors are also really pretty; I like the effect on the background.

Okay. Aberdeen Bestiary. No illustrations for this one -- this whole section is just blocks of text.

Ahrmegyaeb

The wording is ambiguous as to whether whales and dolphins also do this -- but the creature in question is the seal. I have no idea how this works; either baby seals are way smaller than I think or I have completely the wrong idea about how seal mouths look.

Bursgaenga

This one is of course the scarus or escarius, which does not exist. Bestiary.ca notes that Scarus is a genus of parrotfish in modern taxonomy, and that the Rackham translation of Pliny the Elder has decided they are wrasse. No idea how well that reflects medieval understanding.

Chraekhret

Another one that doesn't exist, the echenais. Apparently Pliny has heard of some magical applications in love-charms, litigation, and obstetrics. The fish that anchors ships is a good addition to a fantasy setting, I think.

Dhrakyetor

Naturally the fish that looks like a serpent is the eel. More spontaneous generation, too, which is always nice. I swear I've heard that "giant eels in the Ganges" line somewhere before, but can't place it.

Eavbechtgi

Here we have the lamprey. I kind of wonder if this "head vs. tail" thing has something to do with its unusual head shape?

Fatrihrukh

Honestly I probably should have redacted the "many-footed" thing, because the name given is polippus, which... yeah, that actually tracks. I thought maybe this was the result of someone not bothering to actually count the limbs on an octopus, but it's apparently an obsolete umbrella term for octopus, squid, cuttlefish... all manner of tentacled cephalopod.

Griggkhraz

This is the torpedo, which is some fun etymology. The modern usage of torpedo is inherited from non-self-propelled naval mines, which were named after this torpedo, an electric ray. (Presumably they named mines after it because it hides itself & zaps you if you accidentally step on it.) The rays were named for their effect on people whom they zap: torpidus, 'numb'. This is of course cognate with English torpid. Which is a strange word to be cognate with the thing you shoot at boats.

Also:

...if a torpedo from the Indian sea is touched by a spear or rod, even from a considerable distance, the muscles of the fisherman's arms, even if they are very strong, grow numb...

Would that work if it were a metal rod?

Hretchngin

This is the crab. I did not know all of that about crabs, especially the basil thing.

Khaboghrad

Meet the sea urchin. That's why it specifies "the maritime kind" -- the other kind of urchin is a hedgehog. I don't know why the author calls it "worthless and contemptible", especially since they go on to say it can do this really cool thing. Just seems unnecessarily mean.

Lungyoggea

This one is just shellfish. All of them, apparently. The words given are conca and concle -- Latin concha covers shellfish in general.

Magtlegyeg

Naturally the pearl-bearing shellfish is the oyster, but I love the imagery of oysters going ashore to be fertilized by dew from heaven. The idea of going out at night to watch the oysters migrate onto land and catch the dew is another thing I'm taking note of for a fantasy setting.

Nolthrigyo

Someone probably clocked this one: it's the murex snail, source of the famous "tyrian purple" dye.

Ormlalaehr

Really pushing the definition of "fish" here is... the tortoise. Technically also the turtle, I guess, since the author specifies that this includes land and sea varieties. This is, I think, one that makes total sense once you know what it is, so we're moving on to our last one, which is also really pushing the "what is a fish" envelope...

Riggmungku

This is the frog, also obvious once you see it. The fact that it's being called a fish really throws you off, though, I think.

And that's the whole lot. This has been fun, but I'm also glad to have it completed. (Well, completed with the exception of any responses to this one I've missed or that came in late.) Thanks to everyone who's been looking in on this project -- thanks doubly to everyone who contributed -- and thanks triply to the handful of people who drew something practically every week.

[yanderes-galore]

Yandere (TFA) Swindle with a human mechanic darling that tries to fix him up after a run in with the autobots? Darling has no idea he's a robot and just thinks hes a neat, beat up, car

Sure! Using his alt-mode without the huge gun because... well... that gives it away, doesn't it? As always I hope I get the character right ^^

Note: I struggled with the ending yet I think it turned out okay despite that :)

Yandere! TFA! Swindle Concept

Yandere! TFA! Swindle with Human! Mechanic! Darling

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Transformer/Human, Forced partnership, Kidnapping, Stalking, Manipulation/Threats, Violence, Attempted murder/implied murder.

As a mechanic the opportunity to see different models of cars always excites you.

It's not everyday you see an armored vehicle to fix up.

Let alone one in such strange colors.

Do these types of cars typically have purple windows?

You assume it must be a custom.

Even then, the vehicle looks so beat when you come across it.

What's even weirder was it was just left for you to find at your mechanic shop (or house if you decide to work from home).

There was no owner in sight.

Just a broken down car, sitting in front of you, as though it was waiting.

You had no idea about the concept of Cybertronians.

To you this was just a rare armored vehicle custom model.

One that you were excited to attempt to fix.

You have no idea that this car is a Cybertronian Decepticon named Swindle.

Swindle thought there might be a chance to use a human like you to fix his scuffed armor plating.

Those Autobots really dinged him up.

When Swindle saw you in his vehicle mode he thought you were such a small thing.

All humans were small and weak yet part of him found it cute.

He tucks away this thought as his only concern was using you to help himself.

He didn't think a human like you would know what to do at first.

He can tell you've worked with vehicles yet he hoped you didn't notice much of his Cybertronian biology-

Swindle also wasn't sure if he should feel disgusted or think it's funny at your excitement with fixing him.

He isn't entirely put off by humans touching him.

The thought of disgust actually starts to fade when he notices how soft you are with fixing his parts.

It actually feels... pleasant when you study his parts and try to find new ones to fix them.

You get rid of the dents, swatch some paint colors, and crawl over him to look for any other damage.

It... tickles, honestly!

It only takes you a few days to fix him up.

Although you nearly get suspicious a few times at the strange tech he's armed with.

This vehicle doesn't feel normal....

You expect it to disappear after you've fixed it, just like how it's mysteriously appeared before you.

As you expect, the car's gone the next day.

Meanwhile Swindle marks the location of your business/home for later events.

If he's injured again then he'll come to you.

As long as it isn't anything too serious as of now.

This meet up kick starts a strange series of growing thoughts in Swindle.

Out of every human he's met you're probably one of the most useful.

He actually feels pretty good after your work.

The new paint job feels nice, too.

He actually wants to go back.

In fact, he does!

He goes back many times, much to your confusion.

It's not even just to get fixed up, either.

He just... pops by, sometimes.

Maybe he circles around the block at times...

Maybe he sends you letters he gets other humans to write by making a deal (he would do it himself if he could).

He shows gratitude for what you do for him.

He actually enjoys you checking up on him.

You, on the other hand, are beyond confused and a bit frightened.

The more you work on him, the more you notice things you shouldn't.

Why is this vehicle so armed with weapons?

Is it military?

Who does this belong to?

Why did they choose YOU to fix it up?

You may be thinking, are you doing this all for free?

At first you were just out of interest... but now money just shows up at your damn door.

Swindle respects you and gives you currency to pay for his repairs.

He is one for deals, after all.

There will come a point you get suspicious of the car to the point you try to call the cops about a suspicious vehicle.

Swindle realizes he needs to rush his obsession over you at this point.

For the past few, what is it on Earth, months...?

For the past few months he's been watching what you do.

At first he planned on taking you with him because you're so useful.

Now he wonders if his intrigue is more about keeping you as a human pet than your useful traits.

Which is why when he has human cop cars following him everywhere he realizes he should probably hurry.

As much as he hates the idea of it.

The cops can't stop Swindle.

He'd most likely blow them up with one of his many weapons.

Again, humans are weak to him, it's funny how they TRY to be a threat.

His next stop is picking you up.

Which occurs when he drives into your shop, making a disgruntled you come out to take a look.

Just who is this guy!?

Then he snatches you up like a toy, shoving you into his vehicle mode and speeding off.

His seat belts ensnare you into his seats as you cry and scream.

Finally, it is done.

"I know it's jarring, trust me I was going to properly introduce myself later but you forced my hand." He'd say to you, tracking a location to bring you.

"The name's Swindle, the armored vehicle you've been working on? Got to tell you... you do some nice work. I feel great whenever you finish. So great I thought I'd take you with me!"

"What the hell!? What are you? Where are you taking me!?"

"So many questions, let's take this slow. I'm a Decepticon, an alien to you. As for where I'm taking you..."

The belts squeeze you tighter when you try to reach around the vehicle for a chance to escape.

"I'm taking you to my ship. Out of all the fleshy humans here, you're the most useful in my eyes. An arms dealer such as me gets into trouble at times. Plus... you could say you've grown on me."

"Let me out!"

"Or what? You'll call more of those cops? They didn't help you before."

"I have a family, please..."

"Let's make a deal..." The Decepticon says bitterly. "You come with me willingly and I promise to leave your family be! It should only be just us anyway. Haven't you spent more time working on me than with your family anyways? I thought I made you excited, dear!"

You stay silent at that, tears pricking your eyes as your breathing grows uneven.

"Don't cry, baby... I promise you'll get much richer with me. I'll even provide you great company...!"

Swindle can try to comfort you all he wants but it most likely won't work.

Even when he takes you onto a ship he managed to barter for and shows you his robot form, you still close yourself off.

Swindle is willing to wait for you to open up.

Sometimes you have to be patient when making a deal, right?

Swindle thinks with time you'll be happy with him.

Why stick to such a boring human life when you can stay beside him...

Business awaits, dear... quite possibly in more ways than one.

[gaycrittercentral]

They're done!! also fuck you tumblr how dare you eat ALL THE INFO I JUST PUT IN HERE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

sigh. Anyhow here they are!! My first stab at drawing the seven heavenly virtues AU, which was actually going to be a set of references for a different drawing of them, but then I ended up coloring these instead. Lmao I'll finish the other drawing another time. All that's missing here is Max drooling over them all fjkdsljgslk;fhsh

Also, my handwriting fuckin' sucks so feel free to check the alt text/image description if you need a translation! Anyhow I'm boutta ramble about them a LOT so the rest is under the cut hehe

I'll be the first to say that color is not my strong suit, or at least that I'm not confident in my color choices, but I'm honestly pretty happy with how most of these turned out! probably my favorites are Chastity, Patience and Kindness, just because they get to be a bit unique (and also because conceptually I like them a lot hehe). I almost feel bad giving my favorite color to Diligence bc he's a loser, but whatever, somebody had to get it and he fit the vibe best lmao. Also, funnily enough, he and Temperance are the only ones who ended up having the same hue as their vice counterparts! Weird, huh? Oh actually there's Humility and pikaflute's Pride, they're both indigo teehee. But yeah, I wanted to match colors with the vibe of each virtue, so it didn't end up being a one to one thing with the vices.

Btw I kinda based Patience on that one episode of the cartoon where Sam passed out for fifteen years and woke up a monk, lol. But also I just reeeeally wanted to put him in that bathrobe, also from the cartoon, because um. Well. um. open bathrobe Sam....I don't even like men but like.......

Also there's a roll of toilet paper behind Humility because he's locked in the bathroom, poor baby. Oh and it didn't come out all that clear but that's a trowel Kindness has in his hand, he's helping with about a million things at once fjkdlsgjdlskh. I'm love him

Oh and tbh while I like most everybody, I really think I need to give sin Sam a more original design. Like, let's be honest, if he had some five o' clock shadow, no hat, and his tie back, then he's just noir Sam. And that's great I guess because we all know noir Sam was hot, but like, I don't wanna just ride his coattails. For that matter, if anybody has ideas for potential redesign elements, I'd be interested in hearing them! Can't promise I'll go with them because I'm horrifically picky but I'd love to hear anyhow hhhhfkdlsjfldshfs

ummm and that's it I can't think of anything else to say and I've kept myself up entirely too late doing this so hope y'all enjoy byeeeeee

[sheeperzzz]

gonna spam u some boops rq but what are your personal thoughts about the alternate bens?? I love hearing others opinions and etc. About them 😼 also happy halloween!!

RAUGGGG I JUST SAW THIS??? Tumblr be eating my asks 😭😭

IVE ACTUALLY GOT A LOT OF THOUGHTS ON THE ALTS. I love AUs so much, so it's fantastic to just go crazy with rambling. Here you go!!

Bad Ben: Bad Ben is actually very, very interesting to me!! I love it when a good character becomes a bad character in terms of like their role. I would have LOVED to see more about him! I don't know, there's something about heros becoming villains that just makes me go bonkers. I feel like they COULD have added a slightly different color scheme, though, instead of just making him mint. By different I mean literally keeping him looking the same but inverting the white/black on him. I feel like it would have been a subtle change that could represent him deeper as a flipped version of Ben.

Ben 23: MY MUNCHKIN. I LOVE 23 SO MUCH HE'S MY SON. So I actually really do enjoy the concept of him! Someone without guidance, just doing whatever their teenage mind tells them is right at the time. I quite like him! I do think he could have been a bit more out of character, though, since Max did play a huge part in Prime Ben's life (and Max couldn't in Ben 23's). Maybe a bit more careless, but who is Ben if not careless in his actions? 23 could have been significantly more moody, at least in my opinion, because I don't think he would have gotten over Max's death and he's got the teenage brain, but otherwise, I adore him! I really wish we could have seen more of him.

Mad Ben: SEE NOW MAD IS MY SECOND FAVORITE BECAUSE I LOVE ME SOME APOCOLYPSE SHIT. The only reason he doesn't surpass Zarro Ben is because he is not a zombie. But anyway, I do like Mad! Again with the "good-guy-turned-bad-guy" trope, but also because we have confirmation that he went crazy with power and was trained under the unforgiving fist of Vilgax. It makes me INSANE and I do love him. I do think he'd find a way to break out after Mad!Rook put him in chains, though, since- y'know. He's a Ben. Ben's are known for being little bastards. Mad totally has some tricks under his sleeves.

No Watch Ben: See I'm not the biggest fan of No Watch, but I do adore him!! The only Ben in millions of Universes to have never gotten an Omnitrix? Hot DAMN. He is so very unique. I actually love him so bad, even if I don't talk about him or mention him a lot. He's always in the back of my mind just chilling out. I do believe that he is skilled when it comes to weapons, especially guns and artillery! He's just a little guy to me.

Benzarro: BENZARRO. ZARRO. ZEE. ZARRO BEN. BEN OF THE ZARRO. I LOVE HIM. SOSOSOSOSOOSOSSOSOSOSO MUCH. I LOVE ZOMBIES. Dude, if you could see 8 year old me, he'd be tweaken out so bad because ZOMBIES!! I LOVEEEE Apocalyptic Zombie Outbreak things. Benzarro is not the exception. Benzarro holds a special place in my heart as the mandatory undead character that makes a show good (jk, but I do love him so bad if you can't tell XD). Honestly, I don't have anything too bad to critic about him! I only will say that I wish his body was a little more decayed, especially on the side without the Zombitrix. I draw him with more decayed flesh and missing chunks because of it. But otherwise, I adore him SO much.

Eon: He counts, right? I actually really like Eon! Blah blah blah "Good guy is now a bad guy" shtick, but I actually do quite enjoy him! I imagine him as another version of Bad Ben instead of Prime. I think he used to have an Omnitrix, did bad things with it, and it broke along the way during one of his biggest heists. No longer having that power he relied so heavily on drove him insane, and now he wanders the Universe in search for a power just like it- not realizing he has achieved something far, far greater. I think he's cool :)

Gwen 10: I say she counts since she has an Omnitrix and would be considered an "Alt Ben" even though she's literally Gwen. But I think the concept of her is super cool! I like to imagine that she knows about her Spark, but never got too connected to it because she has the Omnitrix. She totally uses her aliens in every day life, and as a typical pre-teen, she also goes bonkers with them at times. She gets the zoomies as a Vulpimancer and denies it ever happened XD

Prime Ben: What can I say about him that everyone else already hasn't? He's the original wieldier, and I think he's chill. He's the base for all of the other Universes. Nothing could've happened without him :) THANK YOU FOR CHECKING OUT MY RAMBLE IT MEANS A LOT THAT SOMEONE ASKED EHAEHAHEAHEEE. I'm not including Albedo in this one because I do not believe he is an alternative of Ben! I think he's more-so a brother of Ben, since they've got the same DNA now (save for a few changes that made Albedo white and red), just send another ask for Bedo boy if you want that ramble too >:)

[huffle-dork]

Long Live the King

Chapter 8: Under Elder Wings

Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3

The first day on the ship passes without much fuss.

Until, that is, the time the Swaps sat with the Phantoms to make their masks late on the first day. 

It was a bit chaotic, trying to hold a bucket of water still on a shifting and ever swaying deck. But that’s how you make the plaster, after all. Mixing the dried plaster with water, The boys all take turns holding the bucket still. 

The Swaps wanted to be a bit more unique with their masks, but also stick with the Phantoms’ rules. Dr. J ends up making a dove mask, though he uses a base from the Phantom’s to do so. It’s plain and simple, which suits him just fine. 

Jackieboy thinks back to his childhood in Ireland and decides to make pine marten- or how his mam used to call them ‘cat crainn’. He remembers begging his mam to have one as a kid! 

Henny decides to get very creative and makes a hedgehog- mostly because Alt and Bro had shown him that hedgehog game they loved so much and he thought they were adorable! And his friends thought he was too! 

There was a scary moment where Henny thought to mold the masks to fit their faces he’d need to squeeze the wet plaster onto his own face. Luckily, everyone rushed to stop him and they all had a great laugh, much to Henny’s embarrassment. 

Bro watches and helps his friends make their masks, but can’t help feeling a bit sad. Alt really would have enjoyed this… 

Once the masks are dry, the fantasy boys tell the Swaps what their symbols mean. Marvin encourages Henny to put the magician suits on his mask for his magic. Dr. J, already sticking with a bird to fit the theme the doctors had, is proud to add the healer symbol to his mask. And Jackieboy adds the fighter symbol, like his other self and Bro. He might not be the best fighter yet- but he had time to learn. 

The second day passes by with even more ease.

Until, about two hours before sunset, the sound of a bell rings out. 

"Land ho!" one of the crew members shouts. In the distance there are tall cliffs overlooking a slight pebbly beach. Waves lap at the shore and the rocks surrounding the cliffs. And perched on the top is a camp made of many, many canvas tents of varying colors. It stays about fifty to a hundred feet away from the edge, but as beautiful as the location is, it still seems a bit risky.

Jackieboy looks from where he was lounging on some of the rigging and then excitedly stands up and looks out. “Yahoo!” He says and then scales down to join his friends. He’s had a lot of practice the past few days. 

Henny had run over the look out the side of the ship and grins wide as he sees the landscape. “Oh wow! So pretty!!” 

“…and dangerous- why are the tents so close to the cliff??” Dr. J mutters in confusion. 

"They're not that close," Jackie says defensively. 

"They're pretty close," Chase says. 

Jackie hesitates. "Look, I wasn't actually there when they decided where the camp would go. Me and Henrik were sort of... wandering through the foothills... heading here slowly." 

Bro looks up from where he was training, as he’s been doing most days. Then, Jackieboy lands beside him and Bro grins. “You’re getting pretty good at that!” 

Jackieboy laughs, “I gotta see if I can rent a boat back home and do some videos on one man- it’s been so much fun!”

Marvin comes up from below deck. He looks a bit pale, but not really sick. "I heard the bell. Are we there?" 

"Yes," Jackie says. 

"Finally!" 

Are you okay, Marvin? Jameson asks. 

"I just... still don't like ships, I think," Marvin mutters. "Not like some people." He looks at Jackieboy. 

Henny tries to give Marvin a gentle smile. “It’s good to see you though!” 

Dr. J nods with Marvin, “The tonic made it easier but yeah… I think I much prefer dry land… or at least easier waters…”

"I think if you were from this world, Vsevna would be begging you to join his crew." Marvin tells Jackieboy. 

Jackieboy grins wide at Marvin and laughs, “If I was from this world, I’d probably join! Maybe I was meant to be a sailor in another life!” 

"Where are he and Henrik, anyway?" Jackie asks. 

"Cabin," Chase says. When Jackie and Marvin laugh, he shakes his head. "Don't think like that. I think it's something serious." 

Jackie becomes serious in turn. "Maybe he's telling Vsevna about his curse." 

"Hope that goes well," Marvin mutters. "If it doesn't, I'm going to hex Vsevna."

Dr. J looks towards the cabin with concern, “Oh yes… his curse. …Vsenva is a good man, I’m sure he’ll understand.” 

Henny agrees, nodding. “Yes! And he cares for other me so much! I see it in his eyes- it is very sweet!”

Jackie chuckles. "Yea, Henrik probably has nothing to worry about with Vsevna. He just... worries too much." 

"Well, let's give him time," Marvin says. 

Is there anything we can do to help the crew? Jameson asks. 

"I don't think I've learned much about all the ship stuff," Chase says slowly. "Not enough to help." 

"Have you actually learned anything about the ship while climbing all over it, Jackieboy?" Jackie asks. "Or do you just like climbing?"

Jackieboy beams, “Actually! I learned a ton! The lads working up there taught me a bunch! Like the ropes that hold each mast up are called the shrouds- and the ladders hung between shrouds are called rat lines! And you should try to have a least 3 parts of your body touching or you could fall- and you go up there to either tie the gaskets or pack it up! Or use the crow’s nest to see land!” 

Dr. J stares, his mouth a bit agape. “you learned all that in two days?!” 

“Wasn't hard! And it was interesting!” 

“That is so cool, Jackie!!” Henny says excitedly. 

“That was way too many words for me to process but proud of you, man!” Bro laughs. 

As the crew runs around unloading things and preparing the rowboats, the guys from this world listen, impressed, to Jackieboy. 

"He's like you," Jackie says, nudging Marvin. 

"Huh? He's literally you." 

"No, I mean, you can learn so fast about magic and stuff." 

"You can learn so fast about combat and stuff." 

"Okay, okay, fine." 

Jackieboy laughs, “I can learn lots of things if I hyperfixate! The downside is I usually can’t focus on anything else.”

“And yet you got C’s in college-“ JJ says with a laugh and shake of his head, “Jackie Mann, you are a wonder.” 

Jackie grins, “I try!” 

Chase tilts his head. "What's, um... 'kahlledsh'?" 

I don't think that's how you say it at all, Jameson says, grinning.

Dr. J blinks then hides his laugh behind his hand, “College” he repeats slowly, “Usually we call it university or uni. It’s a school, typically for younger adults who go to learn about things they wanna pursue later in life. Bro, Jackie and I all went to the same one.” 

“That’s how we met!” Jackieboy smiles, “Though- I didn’t become good friends with Bro until he saved me from a bad fall.” 

Bro grins and brings Jackieboy in to noogie him. “You’re so lucky you didn’t break your neck!” 

At that very moment, Henrik appears seemingly out of nowhere. "I've heard there are higher schools like that all across the southern continent." 

"Holy Elders' flame!" Jackie gasps, hand instinctively going to his sword before he quickly lets go. "Where did you come from?!" 

"Somewhere else," Henrik says vaguely. If they look closely, they might notice that his eyes are a bit red. 

"Everything... doing fine?" Chase asks. 

Henrik smiles. "Yes, everything is fine, thank you. Great, in fact." 

Marvin relaxes. "Good to hear. So... there are these kallesh--k-kollesh--kolledzh--schools on other continents?" 

"Yes, I hear there are some in Saelas too," Henrik says. "Though Saelas is fond of its philosophy and such, so all the schools there will be devoted to that. In the south you can have a great time learning about whatever knowledge you want. History, art, medicine, maths, magic. They are very well-learned down there. Nemet told me once that they have a great library in her home country of Kha'Nephthys, one where a copy of every book is stored. Not sure how true that can be, but it is what she claimed." 

“Ah like the library of Alexandria!” Dr. J says with sparkling eyes, “Oh… that would be a sight to see…” But, he looks back to the others and smiles, “But yes, the southern schools Henrik described are like our universities. There’s a lot of different subjects to study- which is how the three of us ended up at the same school despite our different life paths.” 

Henny sighs, “I wish I could have studied at university! We could not afford it in my time.” 

"That would be a nice place to go," Marvin says, eyes lighting up. 

"Sounds boring," Jackie says. 

"I'd be a bit curious..." Chase says. 

I always wanted to learn more music, do you think I could learn music there? Jameson wonders. 

Henrik chuckles. "Yes, you could learn music there. You could learn just about anything." 

Meanwhile, the crew is lowering one of the boats into the water. Vsevna approaches the group. "Would you all like to row out first, again?" he asks the swaps. "Ankhi and Felicia would be happy to help." 

It's obvious that he starts holding Henrik's hand as soon as he walks over, their pinkies hooked together. Literally everyone notices. 

Henny sees them holding hands and he gasps lightly, putting his hands on his cheeks in exaggerated glee. Jackieboy notices Henny getting too excited and drags him over, “Yeah, that sounds good! Wouldn’t wanna get in the way!” 

Bro blinks, “I can help unload if you all need again-“

"Your help was greatly appreciated, if you would like," Vsevna says to Bro. 

Bro grins, “It’s no problem!” He hurries off to go help. 

“And the rest of you." Vsevna gestures at the boat. "I suggest you get in a rowboat now if you are afraid of heights and do not want to climb down the side." 

Marvin raises his hand. "Can I--" 

Let's help unload, Marvin, Jameson interrupts, then starts pulling him off. 

"Oh! Alright, Jair, fine."

The other swaps laugh a bit at Marvin being dragged away. “We’ll head to the rowboats then, see you all on land!” Dr. J says cheerfully. 

"I'll come with you guys," Chase says. "Make sure they know you're all friendly." 

Jackieboy looks at the rigging sadly and pats some of the ropes. “It was fun while it lasted-“ 

“Oh don’t be dramatic, Jackie, c’mon-“ JJ sighs and starts dragging Jackieboy towards the rowboats. Henny giggles and waves to the others before following after them. 

The two sailors, Ankhi and Felicia, greet them warmly, and soon the group is in the rowboat and heading towards the cliffs. It's a bit more of a rocky ride than the one coming to the ship, but still tolerable. They touch down on the pebbly beach and Felicia points out a steep path up to the tops. "We'll stay until we see you reach there," she says.

Dr. J smiles, “Thank you!” He’s so thankful to be back on dry land but when they step off- he and Henny seem to wobble- like they can still feel the waves. They unfortunately cling to Jackieboy, who tries to help them up the path towards the top of the cliff.

Henny seems to get his land legs back pretty quickly, much to his relief. But, after a near face plant and tons of intense swaying, Dr. J is practically plastered to Jackie’s side as they make their way up.

Chase isn't doing much better than JJ, clinging to the rock wall of the cliffs. "Oh thank the Elders," he breathes once they reach the top.

 A woman in a bear mask walks over. "Who--oh, Chase!" 

"Hey Holly." Chase gives her a weak smile. 

"Still on your sea legs, I see?" Holly chuckles. "Who're these guys?" 

"Visitors. The me from another world is here, too, but he's still on the boat. These are his friends." Chase gestures at them. "Jackieboy, JJ, and Henny." 

"Dyakibadh, Dayday, Henni?" Holly shakes her head. "I'll get used to those names eventually." She smiles at them. "Welcome to the Cliffs of Feall, boys."

Henny smiles wide at Holly, “Hello Miss Holly! Thank you for the warm welcome!” 

Dr. J wobbles in Jackieboy’s grip and he has to grab the doctor before he falls, “Careful doc- not so fast…” 

“I am never going on a boat again…” JJ moans, looking nauseous.

Holly chuckles. "Not a fan of them myself. I'm guessing they're unloading right now. Here, come sit down. We have a central fire up." 

It is a bit chilly out here, with the wind from the sea. 

“Ah… thank you…” Dr. J breathes, suppressing a shiver from the cold air. Jackieboy also tries not to show he’s cold as they eagerly head towards the fire. 

As the first group closes the distance to camp, the rowboats back at the ship set off. Henrik stays on deck for a moment, then quickly joins Bro and the others in the boat, his face very red. Back on deck there's an audible "Oooooo!" like a sitcom laugh track, followed by Vsevna yelling defensively. Henrik's face gets more red. 

"Let's not say anything for once," Marvin mutters to Jackie, who nods. Jameson gives Henrik a supportive smile.

Bro looks back at that boat and Henrik’s expression before he grins. But he doesn’t poke fun, just claps Henrik on the shoulder.

"Um... does the rest of the camp know about our... quest?" Chase asks as they walk, Jackieboy and Dr. J just slightly ahead. 

"Marvin told everyone. Or, he told some of us and it spread from there. And we've had bags of supplies packed for you all when you return, in case you wanted to head out immediately." 

Chase smiles. "Thank you. But I think we'll need some time. And these four are coming with us, too, so we'll need more than whatever you've already packed." 

Holly nods. "Got it. I'll tell Ana and her guys."

Henny stays closer to Chase in case he needs help over to the fire- but also to talk more with Holly. “You are all so prepared! But I guess that does make sense since this is an important quest you are going on.” 

Holly nods. "Indeed! I've never heard of anything like this happening out of stories." 

"Me neither," Chase mutters. "I can't believe King Samuel and the Elder Horned One have gotten together to get me into the Wyldwood." 

"It's wild, isn't it? You, from the other worlds, have you learned about our King Samuel?" 

Henny blinks, “King Samuel? I do not believe we have heard anything about him yet…” He looks to JJ to confirm. Dr. J shakes his head, then regrets it. 

"Oh, I can take it from here," Chase says to Holly. "King Samuel the Green-Eyed was the first King of Glasúil. A long time ago, there were seven clans on the island. Samuel was of the Seipteach clan. He became its leader and then, through both combat and negotiation, he united all the others. The kingdom is called Glasúil because it means 'green eyes' in an older version of our language." He laughs. "And that man's ghost wants to see me." 

Dr. J chuckles, “I did wonder where the name Glasuil came from… now I know!” 

Henny seems enthralled by the story, “Oh! His ghost is still around?? He must want to help you with that spirit!” 

Chase laughs a bit. “I guess so. We didn’t even know he was a ghost until he appeared to Marvin. Maybe this spirit is making such a mess of things that he returned from after life.” 

As he explains, the group arrives in the camp. It's bustling, with people rushing about, all of them having a white Phantom mask somewhere on their person. They glance at the swaps as they appear, but dismiss them when they see they have masks as well. 

Jackieboy glances at everyone as he helps lead Dr. J in and then grins, flicking the pine marten mask around his neck. “Man- these things are handy~!”

“Only if you don’t have glasses to wear-“ Dr. J mutters, his own dove mask clipped to his belt. 

“Well it sure beats all the stares we got when we first got onto the Serpent’s Wake!” 

Soon they reach a central fire. Flat stones have been piled up in a low wall around a large fire. A cauldron hands on a spit nearby ready for dinnertime. Chests and boxes serve as seats.

Jackie helps Dr. J to sit down before sitting down next to him on a larger chest. JJ lightly lays his head against him. “My mask is very cute… but yes the glasses do make it tricky…” Henny says with a light frown, fidgeting with his hedgehog mask as he takes a seat by his friends. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the rowboats have finally landed. Jackie gets out first, looks at the steep path, and shakes his head. “Even with us leaving some supplies behind, I don’t know how we’re getting everything back up. I don’t know how we got it down in the first place.” 

“Very carefully,” Henrik says. “And with some lightening charms.”

Bro looks at the cliff and then scoffs with a sly grin. He looks to the others and points his thumb at himself, "Also before- you didn't have Bro Fantastic to help! This is no big~!" 

Jackie laughs. "That's true. If you're able to fly some stuff up the side of the cliffs, that would be great." 

"We can carry the stuff we took down in the first place," Marvin says, securing the straps on his bag.

Bro grins wide and give a two fingered salute to the others, "No problem!" He flies off to start grabbing the heavy stuff to fly up to the cliff side.

“Thank you!” Jackie shouts. He turns back to the others. “Everyone else, grab at least one thing.” 

Bro grabs as much as he can carry and flies up to the edge of the cliff, looking around to find a good empty place to put them. He’s balancing things a bit precariously in his arms.

“Bro! There!” Jackie gestures to a clear spot—looking like one of those airline workers with the glowing stick. Marvin grabs his focus and prepares a levitation spell to help out Bro. 

Bro laughs at the sight of Jackie and then hurries to place the stuff where he pointed. Then, he dives back down to get any more supplies and repeats as many time as they need.

Some time later, everything is up on the top of the cliffs. I can’t wait to see the others, Jameson says. It feels like it’s been forever. 

“Let’s go to it, then!” Henrik says cheerfully. Him and Jameson start to make their way up to camp as Bro lands once more by Jackie and Marvin. 

"Thank you so much, Bro," Jackie says. "We can bring this all closer later. For now, I want to catch up with the others." 

"You know we'll probably be making the others move the supplies," Marvin says. "After all, we were planning on going to the Wyldwood as soon as we can." 

"Eh, we'll work something out."

Bro grins and nods, "Yeah- you all have been away for a while huh? I really only remember properly meeting Anna... but i wonder if anyone else remembers me!" He laughs and floats back up, "I'll catch you guys up there!" 

Back at camp, Holly begins talking to other Phantoms, asking them to gather more supplies. As she does, a dark-skinned woman with a long-beaked bird mask runs up to the fire. “Hen—! Oh.” She stops, confused, looking between Henny and JJ. “I’m sorry. I thought one of you was someone else.” 

Henny jumps slightly as the dark-skinned woman runs up, and Dr. J blinks a bit in surprise. Then, Henny laughs and waves his hand, "It is okay! I am sure seeing me and expecting the other-me would be confusing! I am also Henrik- but you can call me Henny!" 

“Hey Nemet!” Chase brightens. “You’re okay! Henrik’s on another row boat, he’ll be so glad to see you! Guys, this is Nemet, she’s one of our doctors.” 

“Good to meet you,” she says, smiling.

Dr. J smiles, "Nice to meet you, Nemet." 

Jackieboy waves a hand, "Yo~!" 

"Hanny--no, Henny," Nemet repeats, giving a small laugh. "I have it. And you two?" 

"That's JJ and that's Jackieboy," Chase explains. "Jameson and Jackie from this other world. The other me is here, too." 

"Jaijai, Jahkiboh--Jahkiboi." Nemet nods. "Have those, too. I see you have masks already. They're very nice. I think we still have other Chase's, too. Holly?!" She turns back towards her. "It might be in storage!" 

Holly shouts back. "Have it!" 

"Oh 'cool,' so Bro will have his mask again, soon!" Chase says cheerfully. 

Henny claps with a bright smile, "Oh yay! He will be so happy to hear that!" 

Jackieboy giggles, "Listening to everyone try to say our names is kinda entertaining-" 

"Don't be rude!" Dr. J whispers to Jackie, hitting him slightly. Jackieboy just laughs some more. 

Nemet laughs. “It is fine, don’t worry. I speak many languages, I know how silly it can sound to try and say something from one with the sounds of another. Not everyone will be such good spirits, though.” 

“We’re extremely lucky we have the opportunity to understand and speak with you all, despite our language barriers,” Dr. J says with a kind smile. 

“Yea, that translation spell is really helpful,” Chase agrees. 

“Oh, does it work on any language?” Nemet wonders. The guys then perceive her switching languages, but still hear it in English. “Can you understand me right now?”

Dr. J laughs and nods, “Yes! It’s very handy. Alt really did his research.” Henny looks thoughtful, “Does it work in reverse for you all? I wonder if you would understand if I spoke German…” he thinks of something to say and then looks to Nemet, “Ich mag deine Maske! Es ist sehr schön. genau wie du bist!” he gives Nemet a little wink after saying this. …which would be lost if it doesn’t translate...

Nemet grins. "Yes, I can understand that!" She laughs a little. "And thank you. This is an ibis, it is a river bird from my home." 

"I still wonder if the beak gets in the way," Chase mutters. 

"Not enough to change it. And look at your antlers." 

"That's fair." 

The swaps laugh at this exchange. 

Dr. J shakes his head, "I wonder how you're able to walk around with that on... I feel like they would catch on so many things!" 

At that moment, there's a shout. Henrik rushes over and immediately tackles Nemet in a hug--an uncharacteristic gesture that shows just how joyful he is. "You're alright! Nemet, you're alright! I cannot believe it! Thank the stars, thank the sun and moon!" 

Nemet stumbles backwards from the force of it and then laughs. "Good to see you, Henrik!" 

The swaps all jump at Henrik rushing and then look at each other and smile. Henny awws and holds his cheeks. 

"Yes, it has been a while," Henrik says, letting go of Nemet. "Last I saw you you were fighting Thalia Tinechroi. I-I was so worried something had happened." 

"Well, it was not an easy fight." Nemet shakes her head. "I have some scars from it. But I am glad Holly was around to get me here and help treat the wounds." Is there a little bit of a blush beneath her mask? 

Dr. J tilts his head at the bit of blush beneath Nemet's mask. Hm... 

And then, Bro is landing by the fire pit, wiping sweat off his brow and grinning at the others, "Hey! What'd I miss?"

”Oh!" Henrik jumps in surprise. "Hello, Bro! Y-you scared me a little, hah." 

"Sorry!" Bro laughs timidly, messing with the back of his hair.

"Hello, other Chase," Nemet says. 

In the distance, Holly shouts out a greeting and waves at Bro. "Hi!" Chase waves. "You didn't miss much. We were testing the translation spell and its limits." 

Hello, Bro, JJ says, who's been standing quietly in the background while Henrik reunites with Nemet. 

Bro brightens up as he sees the others greeting him and waves at them, "Hey! uh... what was it...? Oh! Hwaet!"

Henrik, Jameson, and Chase all chuckle hearing Bro say their greeting. 

"You're getting very good at that," Chase says, smiling. 

"Though it was strange, you were speaking Glasish for a while before you regained your memories," Henrik says. "Wonder why that is." 

While we wait for Jackie and Marvin, let's warm up a bit, it's chilly, Jameson says, sitting down on one of the boxes. 

"Yes, we should rest a while before we head out again."

Bro blinks in surprise, "I was??" He looks shocked and tries to search through his memories, "...that's so weird...! I was just- racking my brain to try to remember that one but... I-I guess it did come easier to me then I thought it would..." 

"I thought the way you and Alt were talking was weird!" Jackieboy says, connecting the dots, "I mean- we still heard it in English but you were all talking so- fancy-like... or something." 

"Just like a royal knight in a fairytale," Henny agrees. 

Bro frowns at this and goes to sit by the fire, "Hm... I guess... that has to do with the TRVLR messing with my memories too then...? I mean... if I believed I was from here... I'd have to speak the language too...?" He laughs bitterly, "But now I... I don't think I could speak Glasish if I wanted to..." 

Dr. J hums, "Maybe it had something to do with Alt's magic from the translation spell too...? But- I wouldn't know... magic is already strange to me and this whole situation just makes it all the more confusing." 

"You're telling me..." Bro mutters with another bitter laugh.

The world is confusing, Jameson agrees. Let alone all the collections of other worlds as well. But Marvin knows a lot about magic, maybe he has some ideas? Let's wait for him. 

Not long after, Marvin and Jackie appear. The others, except Bro, all look up and smile at Jackie and Marvin's return. Bro is staring at the fire, lost in thought. 

"Nemet!" Jackie gasps. "Hey!" He drops the bag he's carrying and rushes over, giving her a side hug. 

"Nemet!" Marvin gives an uncharacteristic smile. "They were worried about you! I was too, of course, but I didn't see what happened--" 

Nemet laughs. "I will explain later. The others have questions about magic." 

"Yea, do you remember how Bro and Alt were speaking Glasish before?" Chase says. "Why do you think that is?" 

Marvin frowns. "It could be that when Magnificent attacked them the magic from whatever translation spell they're using got mixed up in the magic suppressing their memories. Or maybe when they appeared with no memories, the world's magic flowed in to fill in the empty spots. Or maybe it's something we can't know about, something from the other worlds."

Bro comes back from his thoughts when he hears his name and listens to Marvin's explanation. He shrugs, "... yeah... Any of those makes sense..." He sighs and rubs the back of his neck before laughing quietly, but its a sad laugh. "... I don't know why cuz I won't like... use it regularly but... I'm bummed that I can't still speak it... I barely even remember being able to!" 

"Well- it seems to remember some words..." Dr. J says gently, "That's something." 

Bro chuckles and nods, "Yeah I do... there's Hwaet- which is like hey- um... dia duhai- means good day, and Duhai is just hello... anddd-" 

For a second, Bro seems to stiffen, the slightest flicker of green in his eyes as he whispers, "...mu Rith-"

The guys from this world all stiffen in unison. 

"That's, um... not a phrase most people use..." Marvin says slowly. 

"It's pretty much only used by those serving the crown in some way," Jackie mutters. "When I was a royal warrior everyone referred to the King by that." 

I suppose he would have made sure that stuck, Jameson says slowly. 

The swaps also stiffen, looking at Bro with apprehension. 

Bro, for a second, is unresponsive, a dazed look in his eyes. Then, he shakes it off and holds his head, suddenly feeling dizzy. "...he... he also called us... a-a klaíoh.... my knight..." 

"Chase..." Jackieboy says quietly, slowly going to put his hand on his friend's shoulder. 

Bro jolts a bit at first but then he seems to relax and come back to himself, gently putting his hand on top of Jackie's. He gives him a weak smile, "I-I'm okay... sorry..." 

"W-well, um, we can teach you guys some new words in addition to that!" Chase hurriedly says. "Like, um--I'm not sure if the translation will pick this up, but I think intent matters--like, um, 'friend' is 'kara.' A-and 'brother' is 'deathár' but 'sister' is 'deirthúr' and 'sibling' is 'daefor' and '[sibling]' is 'deifára'--they all sound kind of similar so it's hard..."

Bro smiles at Chase trying to teach them new words, looking grateful. "...t-thanks Chase..." 

Henny brightens, "Kara...! We are all Kara! I like that word very much!"

Jackie laughs a little. "Y-yes, we're all 'kara'--or 'kairde', to use the plural." 

"Ka-ir-de!" Henny tries out, beaming. "We are all Kairde!" 

Jackie’s smile fades a bit as he looks at Bro. "Don't worry, It's probably hard to shake off. And... you want to know something interesting? Warriors in squads together sometimes call each other 'klaídafár.'" 

"Sword sibling," Henrik mutters, translating. 

"It's not something that us Phantoms often do, since not all of us are warriors," Jackie continues. "But... I think you and Alt could be our klaídafárea. If that helps at all."

Bro looks up at Jackie and actually feels slight tears brimming in his eyes. He smiles, touched, as he grips over his heart. "...klaídafárea... y-yeah..." He chokes a bit and hides his face, "...i... I really like that, Jackie... thank you..."

Jackie smiles. He reaches over to give Bro a side hug. “Not a problem.” Bro leans into Jackie's hug and smiles, wiping at his face.

“Speaking of Alt, when are we leaving to find him?” Chase asks. 

Bro's expression falls to something serious as his eyes shine with blue light. "As soon as possible." 

The other swaps exchange looks but then they nod. "We shouldn't delay if we can help it... who knows what Magnificent has done to him by now..." Dr. J says quietly.

“We have supplies ready for you,” Nemet says.

Jackie nods, eyes shining with determination. "Alright, then. Nemet, where are those supplies?" 

"Anna has them outside the storage tent," she says, pointing. "Holly also asked to see if Bro's mask was in there, so if it is, he will be able to grab it then. I hope we packed enough." 

Bro lights up slightly at the mention of his mask, "Y-You guys still have it?" He looks touched again and he smiles, getting to his feet. 

"We need lots of food and water, that's the most important thing," Marvin says. "The plants growing in the Wyldwood aren't all safe to eat. Then we need weapons, and then anything that you think might help with magical creatures." 

Jackieboy comes up besides him and knocks his shoulder and grins at him. "We'll be able to put all our training to test, huh?" 

"Yeah I guess so," Bro chuckles. 

Nemet nods. "You all should go check it, then. To be sure." 

Chase takes a deep breath. "Let's go, then." He stands up and starts walking in that direction. The others quickly follow. Henny helps Dr. J up, but the good doctor seems to have recovered. He smiles warmly at his friend. Then, all the swaps follow after the others to storage.

They do, indeed, still have Bro’s mask. “Here you go, other me,” Chase says, handing it to him.” 

Bro smiles wide at seeing the mask and takes it gently, swiping his finger over the surface. Then, he puts it on, wearing it proudly. 

"You look just like Sahne, Chase!!" Henny gasps in delight. 

The others laugh. 

“Alright, there’s a bag for everyone, it looks like,” Jackie says, picking up one of them. “Marvin, any advice on how to carry them? Is it okay to keep everything in the bag or will we need easy access to anything?” 

The swaps grab their weapons, Henny and Dr. J grab bows, Jackie grabs a knife and Bro grabs a sword and a bow, just in case.

Marvin pauses, thinking. “Weapons should be in easy reach. So you might want to keep your other sword on your hip instead of back. No need to hang the lanterns on the outside like usual, it’s always light enough to see in there, even during night. Keep flasks in easy reach for if you get thirsty. Though you probably won’t. I didn’t, only hungry, but that could have been some magic thing. Other than all that, up to you.” 

Where are we going again? Jameson asks. The direction? 

“That way.” Henrik points. “It’s a short walk to a normal forest, then through that for two hours before we reach the border. Supposedly. Few have gone there.” 

“Guess we’ll join the few, then.” Chase pulls on his bag. “Let’s go.” 

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈ 

The two hours pass as Henrik said it would. They reach the forest quickly. It’s normal and gloomy, with the faint sound of birdsong and animals rustling through the leaves. But that slowly fades over the course of the next couple hours. And up ahead, there’s a faint glow through the trees.

Bro looks around cautiously as the birdsong fades, "...why is it so... quiet?" 

"Look! There is glowys up ahead! I do not think it is our firebug friends?" Henny says, pointing.

"That's the Wyldwood," Marvin confirms in answer to both Bro and Henny's reactions. "Normal animals tend to avoid it, so you won't hear any sounds of them nearby. And there are so many glowing things in the Wyldwood. Plants, usually. Or bugs." 

Chase swallows a nervous lump in his throat. "Let's hurry up then." 

It's strange how solid of a border there is between the normal forest and the Wyldwood. Like an invisible wall is dividing them. Soon the guys come across a solid line where the regular grass and underbrush stops, replaced by waist-high ferns. Bell-shaped yellow flowers give off an interior glow and red mushrooms, fitting the white-spotted stereotype, also help light up the area. The trees are somehow more... swirly, bending and twisting in exaggerated shapes. Their bark resembles aspen trees, but the saturation is brought up so the white bark is whiter and the dark stripes are darker.

Bro gapes at the sight of the forest as they reach the border. “woahhh… this place is insane looking-“ 

“But it’s also so pretty!” Henny laughs, looking at all the glowing flowers and mushrooms. 

“Looks can be deceiving…” Dr. J mutters, holding his bag and shuffling nervously. 

“Welp- can’t find out much just- standing here.” Jackieboy says, cracking his neck- and he tries to cross into the border between the forests.

Jackieboy is able to step over the line without any issue. And with him going first, everyone else follows. 

"Try not to investigate anything too strange," Marvin says, eyes darting around. "You don't know what it could be." 

Draco walks around his ankles and strides confidently forward into the woods. 

"Yea, yea," Marvin mutters, following him. 

"Do we know where we are going?" Henrik asks. 

Marvin's eyes narrow as he stares through the forest. "I think forward. I think we follow Draco until I begin to recognize stuff. But again, we're not just looking for that blasted heath King Sam showed me. We're looking for Alt, too. And I don't know where he could be." 

Around them, the forest rustles, leaves moving despite the lack of wind. 

Bro nods, scanning the area as he keeps his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Could we use our bracelets...?" 

"No... Magnificent managed to cut Alt's off when they escaped..." Dr. J sighs. 

"Fuck-" Bro bites out, eyes glowing in anger. 

"M-Maybe the forest will be nice to us...? Because it must know we are nice... yes? And maybe it will help us!" Henny tries to say hopefully. 

"I dunno if a forest cares about moralities, Hen..." Jackie mutters.

Draco circles back around and rubs his face against Henny's legs. 

The rustling sound in the forest gets louder, a ripple of leaves coming from the distance towards the group. It seems to be coming from almost straight ahead; there's a slight diagonal to the right. 

Jameson laughs silently. I think Henny is right, actually. 

Henny brightens and gives the others a big smile. "See!! The forest and magic can also be our 'Kara' too!!" 

Jackieboy blinks then chuckles, "Well I'll be-" 

"This forest has a mind of its own, and it wants us here," Marvin says. "We just have to worry about all the things in the forest." 

"Like what?" Henrik asks. 

"Probably all the creatures from the stories," Chase says. "Kelpies, banshees, dullahans, pookas, dearg due--not to mention any Fair Folk who might have stayed behind. Oo, have you guys heard the story of Lasta and Caba? It's said that if you see two strange people playing a card game in the woods, you can try to win a prize by joining in. But watch out, because time around you will pass more quickly than time in the game."

Dr. J nervously fidgets with his pocket watch, but seems interested in Chase's story, "Huh... that seems to happen a lot of time in stories- time passing by so fast." 

"Wonder if they give out any good prizes," Bro mumbles. 

"In the stories the prizes are always minor boons," Chase explains as they want. "Things that you don't think would be helpful, but in the stories they always come in to help at the last moment. Lasta and Caba are a leprechaun and bodacha, so they can be tricky, but they reward you with minor wealth or things like luck and guidance."

 "I've never heard of a bodacha before..." Dr. J muses, "But... sounds frightening. 

"I thought bodachaed were like the bogeymen," Henrik says slowly. "Haunting you at night." 

"They seem scarier than they are," Chase says. 

Jackie raises an eyebrow. "My parents told me they had no faces. Is that true?" 

Chase hesitates for a bit too long. "Well they have hoods and long hair so it doesn't really matter. The point is they're sort of a 'scare you straight' type of creature, while leprechauns are in it for mischief and fun."

"I've at least heard of Leprechauns...." Bro says.

"How do you know so much about all these different creatures, Chase?" Henny asks with a tilt of his head, "Is that what you like to learn? Like Marvin with his magic? Or Jackie with his- rope swinging?" 

"Yeah I don't know what to call it either," Jackieboy laughs. 

Chase grins. "I guess so. My parents loved to tell me stories, and so I like to tell them to my kids. I also had a lot of time on my hands while hunting in the woods. Hunting is much more waiting than action. So I... keep note of the stories I hear." 

Like the ones about leprechauns? Jameson asks, jerking his head towards Bro's mention about them. 

"Among others, yes. Do you have those in your world, too? They're very small Fair Folk, about tthe size of an eight year old. And if you manage to trick them instead of letting them trick you, it's said they reward you with gold that shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow."

"Oh, that's fancy. Our are just on like... cereal boxes and stuff." Jackieboy laughs. 

Bro smirks, "My aunts had stories like that. Emmy was deeply Irish- she loved the folklore and telling me and Alt about them. Mostly like... stories about Changelings or... there was a guy with a magic harp I think...? But for leprechauns... I think there was a story about... someone catching one and trying to dig up his treasure but he didn't have a shovel- so he marked the spot on the tree with... something red? And when he returned the next day- every tree had that red thing." He fluffs up the back of his hair and grins bashfully, "It's been a while since I've heard the stories... so- I don't remember them too well..." 

"Oh! That actually sounds familiar- I think my mam used to tell us a story like that," Jackieboy grins. Bro and him high five.

Chase's eyes widen and he nods. "Yes! We have a story like that too! The red marks on the trees! My mom told me that one, and I told Quinten. He loved it." 

"Whoa, really?" Jackie laughs. "I suppose some things are consistent between worlds." 

Bro looks surprised by this but smiles, "Damn- maybe... the magic between our worlds is like- linked somehow- in some ways." Then he makes a face before laughing to himself quietly. "ha... I sound like Alt."

As they continue to walk, the Wyldwood dims, but it doesn't fully go dark. Small moths appear, their wings glowing a gentle yellow-green. It's much easier to walk through the Wyldwood than a normal forest since it has no undergrowth, just grass and flowers, and somehow the roots are never in their way. 

Henny is enamored by all the moths and flowers and looks around curiously. 

The sound of running water comes from up ahead, and Marvin stops, holding up a hand. "I think we should stop here," he says. "I don't think it's a good idea to get too close to water. Things might be there."

"Things as in... creatures?" Dr. J asks quietly. 

Jackieboy tilts his head, "...I'm no survivalist- but i thought travelling towards water was like- a good thing. Leads you places... or something- or is that moss?" 

"No, you're right, water is... usually a good idea..." Chase looks at Marvin worriedly. 

Marvin glances back at the others. "Last time I was here, I saw some sort of... reptilian face in the water. Like a lizard, but this big." He holds his hands about two feet apart from each other. "I don't really want to find that again. It didn't notice me last time, but something like that might notice if there's more of us." 

Henrik goes a bit pale. "We can camp here for the night, then," he says, taking off his bag. "One or two of us should keep watch." 

"I'll take the first watch, then," Marvin says.

"I'll take a watch," Bro says almost immediately after. "Won't really be able to sleep anyways..." 

"Alright- it has been a long day...." Jackieboy yawns, sitting down and putting his bag down too. 

Henny looks out at the forest with a concerned look but eventually sighs and starts to settle in. 

Dr. J anxiously bounces on his feet, looking around. "It is... safe to camp here... right?" 

Marvin looks at Draco. He is making biscuits on a patch of flowers. Then he curls up. "Yes, I think so," Marvin says slowly. 

"So we're trusting the cat, then," Jackie mutters. 

A cat made of magic, Jameson adds. 

"I know, it just seems absurd." 

"Animals have very good instincts, actually," Chase says.

Dr. J looks equally skeptical but eventually he's tugged down to sit by Henny and he relents. "I trust Draco!" Henny laughs, "I know our friends back home are very sensitive to danger. Sahne saved me from Magnificent once!" 

"Don't worry, Doc, we won't let the scary forest getcha~" Jackieboy grins. 

Dr. J makes a face at him. 

As they all talk, they sit down on the ground and start getting ready to eat and rest. The earth is surprisingly soft.

Bro smiles lightly before sitting against a tree and watching the surroundings... there had to be some sign of Alt around... right? ... but it was a big forest... he just hopes he's okay.

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

The King, Magnificent, and Alt are woken up by the sound of the forest groaning once again. They had been walking through the Wyldwood for a fully day and night. During that walk, they had seen and heard things, mostly things that the King explained were illusions. More fear-causing screams, distant lights, the sound of a party that wouldn't get closer no matter how much they walked in that direction. But no actual creatures. Not since Lasta and Caba. Even so, the forest itself has not given up on occasionally blocking their way with roots or branches. 

This morning, as they wake up in a section of the forest with red-barked trees and purple glowing flowers, Magnificent finds a vine wrapped around his ankle.

Magnificent startles awake at the vine wrapping around him and growls, trying to flick a flame at it to get to go away, "Fuck off!" 

At Mag's exclamation, Alt startles awake, looking around for danger.

The vine catches quickly and withdraws, flailing, into the ground. Another vine starts to sprout up but Aneirin lunges forward and grabs it, throwing it to the side where it withers and dies. "It's getting desperate," he mutters. "We might have to start taking watches." By which he means Alt will, of course.

Magnificent growls, "Fucking... fine. I'm not letting this shitty ass forest best us." 

Alt sinks back to where he was resting, his eyes wanting to shut again. He's so tired... resting doesn't even feel like it helps. But, it won't be long until he's ordered to move again... maybe a few more seconds will help.

Aneirin reaches for the food bag and rummages through it. He takes some bread and meat, then finds the fruit and berries from the day before. Somehow still fresh. "A klaíoh," he says, getting Alt's attention. He throws half the food he took towards him. "Eat. Then we'll head on out."

Alt slowly blinks open his eyes, wincing slightly as he takes in the command. But, he pushes himself up and starts to eat tiredly. 

Magnificent walks along the perimeter of their camp, stomping and blasting magic at anything else that tries to sprout, cursing quietly to himself.

Luckily for Magnificent, the forest seems to get the point quickly, and the vines and roots stop appearing. In fact, it seems like the grass and flowers lean a bit away from him. Magnificent snorts at the sight of this, smirking. 

Soon, Aneirin stands up. He walks around for a bit, reminding himself of the terrain. "I believe we're out of the foothills," he says. "I've been trying to remember what the Wyldwood looked like around our destination, and I believe the trees were light-colored, thin as a man's arm. Though that last part may be memory's exaggeration." He looks around, taking note of any direction that feels more promising. "What do you think of that way?" He points in a direction where the red bark of the trees seems to pale.

Mag looks towards the King and then studies the landscape. He eventually hums and shrugs, "Seems a good place to start at least- if you remember the trees being lighter."

"A good place to start indeed," Aneirin says. "Come on. Let's go." And he starts off, leading the way. 

The trees do get lighter in color, a dusty brown, but their trunks remain wide and their leaves and branches droop downwards. The glowing purple flowers are replaces by bushes of roses that glow in every color imaginable. It's stunning.

Alt dazedly walks behind Mag and the King, just as he's done for the past few days. But, slowly he takes in the gorgeous scene around them and looks around with slight wonder. Magnificent doesn't seem phased, pushing leaves and branches out of his way as they walk.

But as Magnificent steadily pushes past, he hears something. There is a movement in the corner of his vision.

Magnificent stills, glancing quickly towards the movement, magic bright and ready in his hand.

And when he turns towards it, he sees... someone. Is that... Jackie? He looks so young. That's impossible, isn't it? He grins and waves. 

Magnificent growls- about ready to shoot first and ask questions later when he pauses. His eyes widen. "...Jackie...?" He breathes. He looks like how he did in their uni days. Before... everything. 

Mag isn't quite sure when he started moving but- he's moving towards him. He wants to see him. He starts to run-

Aneirin's head snaps towards him. "Mag--!" he shouts, reaching out. And then he stops. Because there's another figure in the trees. Someone wearing a green cloak with a sword by his side. 

Aneirin's face darkens. "You," he growls, and rushes after the figure. It turns and heads off. 

Jackie meanwhile, beckons for Magnificent to come closer. Magnificent doesn't understand the feeling in his chest- or why it hurts- or why he feels so desperate. It's a feeling that he hasn't felt in years. But, seeing his friend again... exactly how he remembers him... happy to see him... Magnificent needs to be there- if only for a moment. Pretending everything was different. He reaches out, wanting to pull Jackie closer to him. 

Alt looks back, seeing the King and Mag running in opposite directions. His eyes widen as he tries to call out after them, "M-Magnificent! Mu Rith!" He then backs up, shakily putting his hand on his weapon, looking around with frantic eyes.

And yet, when he reaches for his weapon, his hand brushes against leaves. Before he can really process this, the trees move, the trunks themselves bending down as the roots and branches wrap together in a wall blocking Alt from the other two.

Once Alt has realized what has happened he panics and throws himself at the wall, “No!!” He tries to find a way through- but it’s solid. He takes shaky steps back away from the wall and sucks in breath after anxious breath. He- he doesn’t know where to go- he has no one to lead him. 

He’s… alone.

And then there's a sound--a chirping sort of call. Something brown swoops right past Alt--feathers just an inch from his face--and lands on the side of the new tree wall, clinging to the vertical surface. 

It's a bird. 

A swift.

Alt cries out and glitches away from the feathers, landing in a crouched position on the ground like a cat. Alt blinks up and feels his breath leave him The swift…! His eyes flicker with green as he struggles to remember why this bird suddenly felt so important. 

And… in its beak is the leafy thing Alt felt near his weapon--the twig he won in that game with the Fair Folk. And then the swift launches off the wall and flies away.

His eyes widen. “H-Hey!” He shouts after it and when it flies off, he quickly goes to follow it, half-glitching, half-running.

The swift is fast, and yet through his glitching he's able to keep up well enough. It helps that there's barely any undergrowth, and the trees are spreading out, though the canopy overhead remains thick with the branches interwoven. The trees get taller, as well, until--between how far the trees are from each other and how high the canopy is above--it almost feels like the Wyldwood is fading away. 

And the bird itself... looks different. Is its color changing? 

Alt glances at the changing landscape briefly as he follows the swift. He feels like- like he has to follow it. But.,, what was happening to the woods…? And the swift… its colors felt… Trying to think about that drives a heavy spike of pain into his head.

forget forget forget. 

He stumbles for a second, having to catch himself on a tree to shake off the pain. Then he panics, bursting to start running again, worried he’s fallen behind.

The ground slopes slightly. The swift moves a bit faster, lightning and squares of harsh light trailing from the ends of its wings. 

Alt uses the slope to try to slide down, gaining speed. He sees the swift flying with harsh light and he glitches more to meet its speed, even if spots start to dance in his vision.

And then the trees fall back a bit. The branches still form a ceiling high above, but natural sunlight leaks through holes in the canopy. There's a depression in the ground. In it is an old, gnarled tree with a lattice of roots that crosses over a hole in the earth. The swift flies towards the tree and drops the twig a few feet away from it. Then it circles the trunk a couple times before landing, clinging, on the vertical surface of the trunk. Its colors have definitely shifted, now shades of blue with the tinge of sunset orange and pinks on the edge of its feathers. 

As Alt enters the clearing, he winces a bit at the sunlight shining through, so used to the dim light of the woods. Once he’s adjusted he takes in the scene before him. And his breath hitches, his eyes widening. 

This is all so familiar...He… he’s seen this be- 

More bursts of pain assault his head as he crashes to his knees, crying out. He grips tightly at his head as agony pulses through his mind, his eyes trying to fill with green light. 

forget forget forget f o r g e t

The swift cocks it’s head, watching Alt with… well it’s hard to read emotions in its bird face, but it almost seems concerned. It lets out another call, like a beckon for Alt to come closer. The sound is beautiful, cutting through the noise in his head. The swift’s call feels like fresh water against the knight’s burning mind. 

The twig is still on the ground. It’s moving slightly down the faint slope towards the tree.

Alt looks up and gasps slightly at the twig moving- he can’t lose that! He shakily pushes himself up and rushes to try to grab the stick. In his desperation he glitches then crashes to the ground right by the lattice of roots, blinking spots and pain back from his eyes. 

He can remember the twig was important- 

it was for his masters-! 

no no- it was his…! He won it! 

The twig slides right up to the edge of the roots before Alt can grab it. He winces at the conflicting thoughts in his head, His fingers just touching the twig’s surface. 

The moment he does, voices seem to come from it, far away and echoey. 

“The arrogance of Hunger has no bounds it seems.” 

Alt blinks blearily and looks at the stick with wide eyes, "...Lasta and Caba...?" He whispers. 

“Indeed! Did we say that the one holding the twig would be guided? No!” 

“No indeed! It was for the young lad, not for anyone else!” 

“Did they think they could take a blessing?” 

“Seems so!” 

“Seems so. Now, where has he reached?” 

“Where indeed?” The voices fade away. 

Alt feels a sense of warmth from listening to their voices. Then, he senses movement beneath the roots of the tree He pushes to look through, but he shudders as a faint sense of dread flows through him.

And beneath the roots he sees himself. Caught in the middle of a glitch, purple wrapped around his wrists. 

Suddenly, memory returns. The dream! 

How could he have forgotten?!

Alt’s eyes widen and he almost pushes himself away- until he winces as his mind is cleared. 

That dream…! ….The king made him forget it. Why? This… this seemed important. 

Alt hardly hesitates this time- he reaches through the roots towards the other him, offering his hand.

His other self reaches up and grasps his hand, looking grateful. 

The moment the contact is made, the other Alt disappears, turning into lightning that races up Alt’s arm and into his core. He gasps, the sound soon becoming a yell. 

Memories and images flash in his head. Impossibly tall buildings, glowing squares of metal and glass, people who look like those rebels from the boat, a cat, more people—they all feel so familiar. Has he… been here before? Does he know these people? 

Why, when Magnificent flashes through his memories, does he feel dread?

Alt curls up, gripping at his heart. His eyes flash with a mixture of colors: green, purple, colored static, green-blue. 

Over and over in a confusing array as images flash painfully through his head. 

What… are all these things? The- the rebels… they’re similar- but different. They’re so… warm, in these images. Their presence feels comforting. 

Why? Why- when he sees Magnificent, his liege- does he feel… fear? Dread? …anger? 

He gasps and pants, trembling on the ground as he tries to make sense through the pain. 

What… what does all of this mean…?

As he falls to the ground he notices… the tree is gone. So are its roots and the hole in the ground. There is a tree, but it’s not the gnarled black one, just a normal one. Maybe… it was never there in the first place? 

But the swift is still there. It clings to the side of the tree, then pushes off and circles around the tree. Lightning trails from its wings and it glows brighter and brighter—until it lands on one of the tree’s branches. 

Pushing through the pulsing pain, Alt pushes himself up just enough to see the swift circle the new tree before him. His eyes widen. 

it’s not a swift anymore. It’s a larger bird. An eagle, maybe. 

<Concern. A warm worry directed at him.> 

<Empathy. The knowledge of confusion, the shared feeling of his pain.> 

<Reassurance. This is supposed to happen. It will be better soon.>

As those new feelings wash over him, Alt tries to stagger to his feet, approaching the mighty bird. “…who… are you…?” He asks in a quiet voice. 

The eagle ruffles it’s feathers. There’s a sound like distant thunder. 

<Knowledge. You know already.> 

A memory comes to Alt. Conjuring wings of green lightning, his new friends in awe, saying it was like he was blessed by the Winged Elder One themself. 

Alt’s eyes for a second flood with white as the memory comes. He stumbles back slightly, “…t-the Winged Elder…!” 

<Kinship. Though we are distant, we are the same while you are close.> 

<Sadness. Empathy for your loss.> 

<Hope. Will this be enough for you to regain what was mistakenly buried?>

Another memory plays in his head, Alt’s own voice echoing angrily- staring down at the terrified face of the his King. 

“You and every other fucking Anti out there has hurt me- hurt my friends- hurt my brother… for the last f̶̧̏u̶͙͐c̸͚̽k̶͙͊ì̸̧n̷͍͐g̶͘ TIME!”

Alt gasps again and then shuts his eyes in pain, digging fingers into his hair. These memories are so clear- unlike everything else he can remember. Why? 

None of those words made sense…! 

The king hasn’t hurt him! 

Yes he has! He stole so much from me!

Who’s Anti?

I am! I Chose that name before this one! 

who’s his brother? 

Chase chase chase! 

His brother… betrayed them… didn’t he? 

no no no! He’s coming- he’s coming to save me. I know it! 

Alt crashes back down to his knees, crying out as his mind burns more and more. 

What did he lose? Why… did he need to be saved? His mind still feels so- empty. So lost… like he was. Everything is buzzing, deafening white noise. 

The eagle swoops down from the branch and lands in front of him. 

Alt struggles to open his flickering eyes as the eagle lands in front of him. It’s all such a strong haze of confusing emotions and feelings he doesn’t even feel shocked at seeing it so close. 

Its eyes are the color of storm clouds as it stares up into his. 

<Sympathy. A deep sadness that this is happening to him.> It leans closer to him. 

<An offer. Tentative comfort.>

Alt stares at it and then at its offer, he shakily reaches out a hand.

The eagle presses its head into his hand. It’s feathers are soft, but also give off this buzzing feeling. Like holding your hand to an old CRT television… whatever that is. 

Alt relaxes as the eagle presses its head against his hand. It's so warm... He closes his eyes, a vision forming. 

<A group of birds swoops through the sky. Riding the winds, soaring through the clouds, dancing around each other in joy. Each one is different but they are all the same, too. They speak in chirps and calls, a song they all know and join in on.> 

<Two of the birds fall suddenly. The wind stops supporting them and then arrows pierce their wings. They are hurtling towards the ground. But immediately the other birds dive after them. There is not a moment where they hesitate. They dive the instant they notice. They seek to reach their falling flock members.> 

<One is caught from its fall, the arrow disappearing from its wing. Though it is still hurt, the others support it, and it joins them in the dive towards the last bird. Even as clouds cover the sky, they continue to dive, reaching out.> 

<And soon they will catch up. Soon they will dance around their fallen flock member, soon they will remove the arrow. The clouds rumble with lightning but the wind blows them away, just as the wind reaches up to support the hurt bird, to push it back to the flock that dances around it in joy. They will dance together, and ride the wind on to their home.>

Alt feels tears falling down his face as he opens his eyes. He touches his cheek and then studies his hand in slight confusion. He lets out a shuddery breath and whispers, "...my... my friends-" 

The images of the not-rebels flood his head again, circling in a dance like the birds. 

Henny. Jackie. Jay. Chase. 

When his eyes start to flicker and their names seem enveloped by static, he furrows his brow and thinks harder, willing the names to become solid. 

Henny. Jackie. Jay. Chase. 

Blue-green swirls bright and powerful in his eyes and he chokes on a quiet sob, the relief of remembering overwhelming him. 

His flock... His friends. His family. 

He looks back towards the eagle and whispers through choked breaths, "m...my friends... a-are they here...?"

The eagle tilts its head. It turns around and does a funny little hop away from Alt before launching itself into the air. It’s a swift again. 

<Guidance. A direction to follow.>

It flies into the trees to the left, expertly weaving around them.

Alt watches for a second before shakily pushing himself up. His eyes glow with determination. 

He starts to run after it.

[anticomedygarden]

for AI-less whumptober....

WHITE ROOM for alt list. If you wanna.

(literally any pairing bc I trust your ship judgment skills the maximum amount tbt)

😁 love it! no ships but i think you'll like this...i really hope

tw slight blood and gore, mentioned suicide

Luke Castellan and how he realized the fight he got wasn't the fight he wanted.

@ailesswhumptober ao3 link

-

Luke never meant for more demigods to be killed. It's actually the reason he started on this journey. No more dead kids. No more neglected kids. No more abused kids. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Wrong. Turns out when both sides' main fighters are child soldiers, kids die, especially when their parents are deadbeat gods. Maybe that shoulda been obvious, but hey. When a mysterious all powerful voice tells you he can stop the murder of your people, sometimes you listen. Especially when your supposed 'all powerful' parents can't step off their thrones for two seconds to see if their kids are still kicking. Every side has its drawbacks. It just sucks that demigods are always the ones to pay the price.

-

It's around this time that Kronos starts taking major control of the mind. Luke has gone through the horrible ordeal of piecing Kronos out of Tartarus, nearly killing Percy (wow, another one), poisoning Thalia's tree, etc., etc., but now that the grisly parts are over, Kronos wants the mind and body all to himself.

It must have been a test. See how far he's willing to go for the cause. Well, apparently pretty damn far, for all the lies Kronos told him. Fatal tests of will just to pass inspection, like a car. Like Agamemnon. Like Odysseus. While he let Kronos hand pick his sacrifices. Like Artemis. Like Zeus. Like-

-

Annabeth is kidnapped. Bianca dies. The best of them, being held against her will. One of the newest, body lying broken in the gods' garbage while a 13 year old wonders how to tell her ten year old brother that his sister isn't coming back. The metaphor writes itself.

-

(Was Bianca killed by the infamous pettiness and laziness of the gods, or was she killed by a quest she was only on because of choices Luke made?)

-

Everyone keeps threatening Annabeth. If he could just get her to see, to see how terrible the gods are, that he is fighting for demigods and only demigods, that Kronos can help them-

-

"Is that what you want? To go back to your dad in triumph?"

He gets pushed off a cliff for his efforts, and Annabeth still goes back to Camp with Thalia and Percy.

It hurts.

-

Must these be their only two options? Death or losing their identities to a cause that was never about them? Losing their identities as they become soldiers? Gods, he hopes not. This can't have all been for nothing.

(In the back of his mind, he thinks there's another metaphor in there somewhere. He's traded a coffin for white room torture.)

Coffin for white room torture. Coffin for white room torture.

Coffin or white room torture.

Coffin or white room-

-

After Annabeth rejects him, there's not many options. He can't go back to Camp. He can't live on the run. He has no home. That's it. He's completely isolated. Kronos is all he has left.

It's a life of threats and ultimatums, impossible tasks and even worse commands. He bathes in the River Styx. It hurts. It always hurts.

Somehow, he knows: this is the beginning of the end.

-

The white walls are nearly constant now, and that's a new torture in and of itself. Every second he spends in here is another second Kronos is out there wreaking havoc with what was once Luke's body. The regret is over flowing now, too, boiling over the sides of the pot that is his mind, scorching the bright white and bringing color into his miserable life. His people are dead. His people are dying and it's the gods' faults. It's his fault. It's Kronos' fault. It's his fault. It's the goddamn system's fault for never changing.

It's his goddamn fault.

-

White walls.

Neon lights.

No shadows. Of all the things about the little room in Kronos' mind that Luke's been granted, he never thought the absence of shadows would be what bothered him most, but of course it's another fucking metaphor.

Nothing's real. Was it ever? This whole path started with a voice in his dreams. Who was he to decide between one dictator and the next? He's a husk of a person carved out to house a monster. His life is a joke. What's next? Will anyone even live to see it?

He's never getting out of the web of his own mistakes. His legacy is nothing. There's no hope, only the harsh white light of marching time.

His goddamn fault.

-

There's a voice in the cell. This hasn't happened in-

He doesn't know. Time isn't real.

It's Annabeth.

Annabeth-

It's Annabeth.

"Luke. I understand now. You have to trust me."

There wasn't a world in which he didn't trust her.

"Your mother. She saw your fate."

His - mother? Who-

May.

There's a brief flash in his mind's eye, blonde hair - no, white - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, burned cookies. A bitter, bitter feeling. He can't tell if it's Annabeth's voice or the images or the feelings that choke him.

"Not the end, Luke. The prophecy - she saw what you would do. It applies to you!"

Annabeth's voice is so clear - so thick and heavy with tears - that he wishes he could reach out to her and wipe away all the sadness and hurt like he did when she was little.

But nothing can fix what he broke.

"You promised. You're holding Kronos back even now."

Was he? It sure as Hades didn't feel like it - but demigods were survivors.

Maybe this box was his preservation, not his prison.

He could pound on the walls, knock the blinding panels down. He could let the neon lights fall and shatter beneath his feet - he could get out. He could run from the filthy recesses of Kronos' mind and fucking fix something for once in hisgoddamn miserable, wasted life.

He is in the throne room. His father's chair sits nearby, with its rams' horns and gray rock and goatskin. It's almost enough to send him back to the box.

But beneath him is Annabeth, and she looks terrible. Just awful. Terrified of the sword that Kronos - no, Luke - has raised above her, ready to strike. Her knife is in her non broken hand. And not even as old as Luke was on his quest that started it all.

His goddamn fault.

Then she just has to deliver the exact words that will ruin him, tears and snot on her young, pale face, looking for all the world like that seven year old he found behind that dumpster all those years ago - except, it wasn't even a decade ago. How are they still so young?

"Family, Luke. You promised."

Even though he feels it, he doesn't think he actually shudders, but within moments, he is back in his own body, nearly out of practice, like steering with video game controls. "Promise," he whispers. Family. Someone else - Thalia. Dear gods, don't let her be dead.

He looks forward again, through his own blurry eyes, and sees red. "Annabeth, you're bleeding."

Finally within reach, he stumbles toward her, unsteady on unfamiliar feet. He's grown since he was last in control.

She doesn't shy away, just mumbles, "My knife." Her arm twitches, unable to lift against Kronos' power. "Percy, please."

Vaguely, he's aware of Percy knocking Backbiter out of his hands with Annabeth's dagger. So quickly, Kronos is back in power as just the son of the sea sends anger and panic bolting through him.

Luke's barely gone for any time at all this round, and he understands what he has to do. There is nothing else. "He's changing. Help. He's - he's almost ready. He won't need my body anymore. Please-"

Another flash, and the next thing he knows, he's on the ground, hands burning, smoking, pain pain pain that he doesn't feel. All he cares about now is the knife in Percy's hand and all the demigods he let down. "Please, Percy."

The boy in question staggers over to where Luke lays on the ground, and the blond nearly groans when he hesitates. "You can't...can't do it yourself," he warns, and trips through a couple of sentences that he hopes get his point across.

It doesn't matter; Percy still looks at Annabeth for her nod of approval in the end, and Luke mourns the loss of a life where he gets to tease them for that, his little sister and the other boy she clearly has wrapped around her finger in what is surely becoming a codependent relationship. Finally, he has the knife.

"Percy? Are you..." someone else nearby says. Luke doesn't have time to care about that, or to ruminate on all the ways he's screwed over the owner of that voice. He has to hit his weak spot before Kronos can take over again, and that's exactly what he does.

It hurts. Gods, it hurts so bad. He got to choose between the coffin and the white room and somehow he got both. Somehow, he dragged dozens of others with him just to send them to the coffin. He has so many regrets and only seconds to settle them all.

Annabeth's - Hal's, originally - knife in his hands, and Annabeth, Grover, and Percy surround him, barely able to stand yet still holding on. He coughs. "Good blade." He looks at Annabeth first. "You knew. I almost killed you, but you knew."

"Shh," Annabeth says immediately. "You were a hero at the end, Luke. You'll go to Elysium."

It's got to be a pipe dream, but he's also got to trust her. "Think...rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of the Blest." Maybe with two more tries, he'll finally get it right.

That makes Annabeth smile. "You always pushed yourself too hard." She presses her fingertips to his as he coughs blood.

"Did you love me?" he asks, surprising himself, even though it is a question that he would like answered before he dies.

"There was a time I thought...well I thought..." As she looks at Percy, it hits him that she thinks he means romantically, and he can't bear the idea that he allowed Kronos to twist his mind so far. "You were like a brother to me Luke, but I didn't love you."

That's all he needs to hear.

Just then, a wave of pain hits him, and he coughs more blood.

Grover - wonderful, kind Grover - says, "We can get ambrosia. We can-"

"Grover," Luke chokes out. There's no time for this, and more importantly, Luke can't bear to hear it. "You're the bravest satyr I ever knew. But no. There's no healing-" he coughs again, more blood flooding over his lips. He doesn't have much more time.

He turns to Percy, gripping his sleeve. "Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it happen again." Don't let the gods slip back into their bullshit while their children go dead and ignored. Don't let this vicious cycle start until both sides are destroyed. Give them better choices than the coffin or torture. If this is to be his legacy, he is damn well making it last.

"I won't," Percy agrees. Luke knew he would. He always saw how things should be. "I promise."

It's enough. It's a pact between a dying man and a boy with more power than anyone will ever know what to do with. It's a promise to protect their people. It's a promise to never let things get so bad that a child turns countless ruined childhoods, lost lives, and horrors into a near massacre of all the wrong people. It's enough.

I'm sorry, mom, Annabeth, Thalia, young me. I tried so hard, and I still got the coffin.

He takes one last look around, and he closes his eyes for the last time, no Kronos bubbling beneath his skin or gods watching his failures, just three people that somehow still believe in him. It's enough.

-

all dialogue goes to either the titan's curse or the last olympian

[hazbinhazbinhazbinreblog]

Actually, on the subject of pilot Vox and how he is more confident and collected.

That weirdly reminded me, I was, at one point, humoring my own 2P stuff with Alastor and Vox. I remember in the AU, I called Alastor Apricot (because his color scheme is orange) and he was a lot more tech savvy than canon Alastor as he has and had the habit of breaking things down because he was curious on how everything worked. His radio tower in the hotel is filled with broken machines and weird organic stuff too, like jars with embalming fluid with weird stuff (eyes, plants, organs, etc) in them and bones and skulls littering his selves. The reason he ended up in hell was because he legit tried to create disturbing human and radio hybrids/cyborgs in the name of science and his radio show, when alive, was like a Sci-Fi horror thing (think the Twilight Zone). He was a lot more bubbly and chaotic, semi forgetful. He is realistic yes, but he does believe in Charlie's dream. Also know he wasn't a cannibal, not for good moral reasons, but because it be a waste of materials.

As for Vox, I remember painting him as more cold and distant. The literal embodiment of lifeless TV. Basically like, the greed behind major studios and tech companies. You know, like the embodiment of how robotic a lot of things have become. He rarely emotes or even expresses emotions, besides maybe a grimace. I think I remember Val and Velvet being very put off by him? I think. I do remember his color scheme was very grey and silver, modern but like in the cold robotic way. I think also maybe he had a human head and the TV head was something he could put on? Idk remember that well as Apricot stood out to me more, but I know for the fact this 2P Vox had like hair (i think). You can tell I barely remember him as I didnt bother giving him an alt name.

I think their dynamic was a smidge different. I think. I vaguely remember Vox being annoyed at Apricot more because he saw him as destructive and childish, while Apricot saw him as more stuck up and assholeish. I think something about their dynamic was about living here the present while remembering the past vs being blindsided by the future and forgetting what you have currently.

Other Details I remember -Apricot is missing limbs, he has a steampunk prosthetic arm and leg. -I actually can't remember if Apricot was an overlord or not, I know he was feared as the Radio Demon still so I think he was? -Apricot is the only one who manages to piss off 2P!Vox -Apricot would build this radio bot things for his shadows to posses and move around with. He could also just turn into a deer and would do so to escape if in danger -2P!Vox's lair was a lot more grey and silver and very clinical lookin compared to canon

And that's really all. Thought I share this weird chaotic idea of a 2P AU and now I shall //goes back to focusing on Radio Guard

-⚔️ anon

Apricot is amazing and I love everything about him, how does your brain come up with so much amazing and creative stuff I'm legitimately in awe

[kimsuyeon]

hi if its alright with you can I please ask your stage gif process 🩵 (I don't mind if its not too detailed but if you use vapoursynth or topaz or anything)

hiii! omg thank u for wanting to know 🥺🥺 i actually use two methods, depending on the source file (and how lazy i feel). either vapoursynth or mpv. i'll show u both!

long, the example gif has a flashy background, somewhat clear. i hope.

i source from .ts files on k24hr or twitter, fancams, and then the youtube version (which i then run through handbrake before vs or mpv) if there's absolutely no other choice. i try to avoid show music core because its backgrounds make sharpening hard, but i'm using one from there for this tutorial :) i will also use beyond live / blu-ray files when available (i.e. 4th world tour gifs i did of twice)

vapoursynth:

-> only use the deinterlace (60 slow) when it's 1080i 30fps! i use this on files from k24hrs. if the file is already 60 fps (i.e. those from srghkqud on twitter), i don't deinterlace or preprocess. i use finesharp on .7 any time i use vs!

this gif is 268 x 520 px! i leave the delay at .02 and set frame rate to 60fps. on the left, it is just changed to 60fps and run through vs with the above settings. the gif on the right is sharpened!

i change my sharpening settings on every stage (and most other sets as well)! i use an action, and then adjust by the background and quality of the source! this is using my stage sharpening - but i have removed a smart sharpen and reduced opacity of other filters i use on different (clearer) files!

show music core has these really visible leds in their background, so sharpening it tends to be harder! i avoid using my 500px smart sharpens when it looks like this, and use high pass and bigger radius smaller amount smart sharpens!

sharpening settings for above: 8.0 high pass on soft light blending (40% opacity), 241 .2 smart sharpen (60% opacity), 15 15 smart sharpen (50% opacity) i should also note that on really really pale stages, i use camera raw filter to fix whites / highlights before i add the other sharpening! this does really slow down export time and can be frustrating, so i reserve it for then!

then i color! sometimes i use ezgif (which hasn't lowered quality that i've noticed) to adjust the speed, if i feel it needs it! this gif has a fine speed so i've left it as is, but i normally speed up gifs by 120% on their speed feature to make the choreo look a little faster!

left: unsharpened except vs finesharp, colored right: sharpened, colored

my coloring focus is always restoring skin, everything else is pretty much purely stylistic. i try to leave colors in the background the same! i do really like making blonde hair pinker or more toned (since they're often yellow, i always make a point of essentially toning their hair for them - i.e. tsuki in dang! set)

when i color the rest of the set, i keep the first gif open next to it to make sure everything matches! i normally copy and paste the coloring group and adjust as needed :D

also, i check how it looks in tumblr on desktop + mobile, since web safe colors adjust the look of your gifs a lot (the ones with the little dots in the middle are web safe, everything else isn't) and try to fix what doesn't look quite right. i also ask my friends if something is wrong but i'm not sure what (mainly nini (@withyouth) so shout out to her for putting up w/ me, a big part of the stage gif process)!

mpv: -> i press 'd' and make sure it is deinterlacing (again, only 1080i ones get deinterlaced)! and then i screencap. i followed this guide on setting up mpv, and always use minimal compression settings for everything i screencap.

-> i turn my files into dicom files (you can just rename them on mac, on windows it is multistep) and then scipt->load multiple dicom files (faster than loading image into stack and, in my opinion, clearer too)!

for windows: -> alt+d in your screencap folder, cmd. enter. type ren *.* *.dcm into the window. enter. close the command window!

i make my frame animation + frames to layers. once it is on the timeline, i go ahead and crop before i do anything else. i tried to make the cropping like the vs gif, but it's not identical!

sharpening: since i didn't use finesharp, i can add more in ps. this is my normal stage sharpening with nothing added or removed!

left: deinterlaced, screencapped, cropped right: deinterlaced, screencapped, cropped, sharpened -> 8.0 high pass (soft light, 65%), 500 .3 smart sharpen, 241 .2 smart sharpen (60% opacity), 15 15 smart sharpen (50% opacity)

coloring: same one as the vs gifs!

comparison:

left: vapoursynth, fully complete right: dicom, fully complete

i normally use mpv, but sometimes i don't feel like waiting on the screencaps, or i think finesharp will add texture + depth that the original doesn't have (too smooth of a filter, whatever) so i use vs! my taeyeon mr. mr. and le sserafim rock ver. sets were both done via vapoursynth, though the sharpenings are different from each other and what it shown here (i change sharpening a lot, and sometimes by set... sorry.. KJHDFGJKH)!

anyways i hope this was helpful!!! thank u for asking it means a lot u want to know!! if u want more stuff answered or shown, u can always ask :D and i hope it's clear 😭😭 i know i ramble a lot

[thelegendofstella]

you have to wake up.

how?

you turn on the light.

(click/tap for better quality. closeups, notes, etc. under cut)

EDIT 4/9/2023: Image alts updated with IDs as per asking/request! I was way too tired to even think about doing them when I first posted this, lol, my bad

Closeups:

I CAN'T BELIEVE I MANAGED TO FINISH THIS IN TIME FOR THE FINALE. OH MY GOD

I've been working on this for ages (read: procrastinated until the last few days) and I can't believe how good this turned out in the end. For my standards, anyway. I just had to get this out somehow before the finale aired and I actually made it,,, Yay ;u; (1:30 AM on the day of is close enough, man fgyusdgshfsddsf)

This is basically kind of a redraw of one of the scenes in the WaD trailer we got a couple of weeks back that implied Amity and co. were attacking Luz because they thought she was Belos, because wow that was sure something. But I really have to give credit to this post for being my main inspiration and reference—that combined with the analysis posts of the trailer that have come out since then just really got my drive going.

I surprisingly don't have much to say about the process of this other than oh my god it was so hard to get all of their base colors??? Especially Willow's eye color, can you believe they've never shown her open eyes without glasses in natural light. I can, I looked. Besides that I am woefully unpracticed in shading so I just kinda winged it as best as I could here fdhjsdf.

(Please appreciate Belos' hands here, it took me fucking ages to get them right in the sketch. Perspective hands SUCK)

This came out to 3000px width by 1200px height, the largest canvas I've ever done so far. The .kra file of this has 981 layers, including folders (of which there were a lot because I am stupidly organized like that), and more filter layers than I know what to do with lol.