#god I love being alt

[ahmnom]

Drew myself a soul eater sona (based on recent makeup look)

[mikaikaika]

CHAYANNE MY BELOVED

[tacit-semantics]

Alright lacemaking sonic the hedgehog fans let’s make some noise

[crimeronan]

the VAST MAJORITY of teenage girls are actually very nice and doing their best and even when they ARE mean, it's typically because of the stress of going through an incredibly transformational developmental period while having 6833487 responsibilities and no basic human rights. like now that i'm nearing 30 i have a great deal more love and understanding about this than i did as a kid, you will Never catch me dragging/demonizing teen girls for buying into harmful tiktok and instagram trends or whatever. They Are Doing Their Best .

with that said.

it WAS pretty funny going thru adolescence in the late aughts / early 10s when the most mainstream teen music was demi lovato's "who says i can't wear my converse with my dress" stuff.

because EVERY girl who was ever mean to me LOVED that "i'm a brave trendsetting individual who can Be Myself even if other people Don't Understand Me" pop music....

....while also being like "oh, that girl is CREEPY. don't you know she listens to METAL. and is UGLY. and doesn't TRY TO LOOK PRETTY. and is WEIRD. and UGLY. and SHE LISTENS TO METAL...."

[selcouth-vast-poet]

okay i tthink i did it YIPPEEEE

[artsybi]

"i would take what little revenge i could: i burned books, i covered leads."

bookburner

[image ID in alt text]

[thegreatyin]

"hey yin why do you call caeru a catboy-" because he is one. next question

[happyendingsong]

STARDOM ☆ 7.28.24 ☆ SAPPORO WORLD RENDEZVOUS mayu acts as wingman to help hanan pin tam

[mossy-rainfrog]

[Several drawings of Ahab, Starbuck, and Fedallah from Moby Dick reimagined as women. More detailed ID in ALT.]

hi everyone today i bring you. more women :)

a continuation of this last post, Ahab openly presents as a woman aboard her ship because she has enough job security at this point to do whatever she wants and her gender identity is essentially "call me sir, but beyond that who cares". Starbuck is still bigender as usual, so she initially went "undercover" as a man to get into the industry and then stuck with the disguise long term because she likes the way it feels to be Nathaniel. Meanwhile Fedallah is free balling tbh, she's under Ahab's protection on the Pequod and everyone's an asshole to her anyways so she truly could not give less of a fuck. All three use she/her, except for when Starbuck is undercover.

also *said through tears* ahab and fedallah are FRIENDS btw. they LOVE each other and she's FINE. melville when i GET you

also, side note because I don't think I ever mentioned it, but Starbuck is ID'd as "middle aged" in my art because (s)he is based on @pocketsizedquasar 's adaptation, where Starbuck's age has been interpreted to be around 40. <3 aging :)

anyways GIRLS! I've heard of them 👀

[lionbearfox]

inktober 4: of all the vibes sigewinne could've had i was Not expecting this one but also it's super funny and great so not complaining at all

[carbonateddrinks]

THEY ARE SO SILLAY

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 5: Shift AU

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

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

Alt feels that short fall, and arrives in a familiar location. This is a hospital hallway. But not the section of the hospital devoted to wards where patients stay. This is the part you visit if you need a checkup. There's a nice waiting room visible at one end of the hallway. The floor is covered in short gray carpet and the walls are painted white on the upper half and wooden wainscotting on the bottom half. 

Alt shudders a bit seeing the hospital- even if it looks nice. So does the lobby of Hope Water… in the brief moments he’s been in the lobby. 

Anti speaks from his phone. "I looked at the IRIS database. They call this world UA-1027019SF. I'm making a note of it in your Notes app in case you want to visit here some other time. Or in case you don't."

Alt blinks down at Anti and pulls out his phone to snicker, “Thanks, personal assistant, Anti.”

"Ha ha," Anti says in a deadpan tone.

Alt laughs, “C’mon man you gotta admit you sounded just like one!” 

The nearest door opens up, and a man walks out--walking backwards, still looking into the room. "Next time either of you come here, I'm knocking you out, strapping you to a gurney, and wheeling you down to a doctor who can actually help," the man snaps. 

"Oh, c'mon, don't be like that!" A voice says from the inside of the room. The man rolls his eyes. 

Alt blinks up at the conversation, chuckling at the playful violence of the doctors threat. “Woah-“ he whispers to himself.

The man glances at Alt, noticing he's there. "Hey." Then he looks away again--only to comically snap back to staring at Alt. "What the...?" This man is wearing a white coat over a black button-up shirt. He has brown hair that sticks up in natural spikes, blue eyes... and a faint white scar across his neck.

Alt stares back at the doctor as he does a double take and his eyes widen. “Oh woah-“

"Uh. You looking for someone?" The doctor turns to face him fully. Weird, the pupil of his right eye is shaped strangely. Like a keyhole, not a circle. 

"Someone show up?" Another man leans out of the doorway. He's wearing a red vest and a button-up with a popped collar and rolled up sleeves. There's a bruise forming on his face and a brace on his left wrist. "Oh, hullo. Are you one of Anti's relatives?"

 "I don't have family," the doctor says.

“Uhhh-“ Alt says- very weirded out. Never thought he’d find a world where’s he’s a doctor. “Not exactly? I’m uh- lost- trying to find my way around.”

"Right. D'you have an appointment with someone?" Dr. Anti asks. "I can probably point you in their general direction." 

The man in red walks out. "Don't be business as usual, Anti! This guy looks just like you! Except younger, and not permanently grumpy. Don't tell me you're going t'brush that off!" He smiles and waves. "Name's Jackie, Jackie West." 

Another man appears in the doorway, looking back and forth between Alt and Dr. Anti. He has neat brown hair and a mustache, and is wearing a blue t-shirt hoodie over a long-sleeved white shirt. 

Alt is- getting increasingly more weirded out. “uhhhhh- nice to meet ya? This is… so weird-“ He coughs then shakes his head, “Might as well just rip off the bandaid then- uh hi- I’m Alt Brody- but I’m also known as Anti… which is why I look like you. I’mmm from a parallel universe. One where I’m a magician.” He opens up his palm and lets a few green electric sparks rise into the air.

The other three all stare at him as he says this. 

"...huh." Dr. Anti blinks, unsure how to react to this. 

Jackie looks excited. "Oh that's wicked! You're like Chase! But you're Anti!" He reaches out to touch the sparks. 

"Hey. Don't be a moron." Dr. Anti grabs his hand before he can get too close. "That could be dangerous. And this could be a trick." 

The man with the mustache--oh, might as well call him by his name, he's obviously a Jameson--shakes his head slowly. I think he's telling the truth, he says in sign language. 

"Why?" Dr. Anti asks. 

Because if he was trying to trick us, he'd come up with something more believable. 

Alt barks out a laugh at Jameson’s reply. “yeah I- truly can’t make this shit up!”

Dr. Anti looks at Jameson. "You're serious, Jackson? You're really going to trust him?" 

Jameson nods. He looks at Alt and smiles. You can understand me? That makes this easy. Call me JJ.

Alt blinks at JJ and smiles, “Yeah I know sign! One of my best mates is deaf- another goes non-verbal sometimes. Nice to meet ya, JJ.”

Alt then looks down and processes, “…wait a second did you say like Chase?? When talking about my magic??” He emphasizes as he looks at Jackie with wide eyes. “…there’s no fucking way-“

"Yeah, Chase is a magic man!" Jackie says cheerfully. "It's fucking amazing, mate. He does all sorts of light shows." 

Dr. Anti nudges him. "Jackie. Seriously." 

Alt makes a concerned face, blinking slowly at Jackie. “…that is one of the most unbelievable things I’ve encountered so far… right up there with me being a doctor-“ 

"Heh." Dr. Anti smiles, a bit smugly. "I'm not just a doctor. I am an anesthesiologist. It's a highly specialized field." 

“Oh- so I’m a smug ass here too-“ Alt makes a face at Dr. Anti. 

"It's a deserved smugness, though," Dr. Anti says, unbothered. 

JJ rolls his eyes and shoves him lightly, then looks at Alt and smiles. Don't mind him. He's always like this. Do you need help with anything? We're happy to help... even Anti here.

Alt blinks at JJ then smiles, “Uh well- I need to look for something here… our multiverse traveling device got broken and one of the pieces fell into this universe. I have a way to find it just- gonna be kinda hard not knowing where stuff is.”

"Huh." Jackie blinks. "A world traveling device? That's fucking wild." He looks around. "Do, uh, those exist?" 

Not that I know of, not in here. JJ frowns, thinking. 

"Well, you're in Blue Lake Hospital right now," Anti says. "City's called Mirton. The hospital's near the center. Jackson knows the city really well, if that'll help." 

JJ nods. Like the back of my hand.

Alt grins, “Convenient! Sick- here lemme check where it could be…” He pulls out the tracker and touches the pupil quickly.

In this world, the TRVLR piece is in a building at the address 223 South Project Street. 

"Oh, more magic!" Jackie gasps. "That's a glass eye of some kind, right?"

“It’s a tracker actually- kinda like a scrying orb.” Alt replies before stuffing it back in his pocket. “You all know what’s at 223 South Project Street?”

Dr. Anti stiffens and narrows his eyes. "Why do you want to know?" 

Obviously because the thing he's looking for is there, JJ says. But he also looks troubled. 

A moment passes, and Dr. Anti slowly says, "That's an old office building. It used to be owned by PUPIL. But not anymore. They cleared it out. You're not going to find whatever you're fucking looking for there."

Alt narrows his eyes back at Dr. Anti, “PUPIL huh? Dealing with a lot of SCLERA shit aren’t we?” He mutters to himself then shakes his head. “well this thing hasn’t steered me wrong- I know it’s there. So if you wanna be all pissy about it- I’ll just go find it on my own. I gotta find my brother anyways-“ He snorts, glaring a bit at Dr. Anti before he starts to glitch further down the hall. This guy was even worse then eyepatch Anti was when they first met! Just being around him made his skin prickle.

Jackie gasps and hurries after Alt. "Wait! Hang on! Oh, that's amazing." 

JJ gives Dr. Anti a disapproving glare and also runs to catch up. 

After a moment, Anti goes as well, trailing behind. 

They reach the waiting room, and Jackie reaches out, putting a hand on Alt's shoulder. "If you're looking for something, we can totally help! We're quite tough, you know? Skin thick as steel." He grins. 

Alt blinks as the others follow him. He turns to look at Jackie properly, though he does roll his shoulder to get Jackie off. Not unkindly though- just a little nudge. “I mean- only if you wanna. Don’t wanna interrupt… whatever it is you were doing.” 

You have a brother?" JJ asks, curious.

Alt looks at JJ then smiles, “Yeah, my older brother, Chase Brody. Back home though, he’s a superhero called Bro Fantastic. He came here with me- we usually travel to other worlds together.”

JJ blinks. He smiles. A superhero, you say? Sounds fun. Do you have any way of contacting him? Or knowing where he would be?

Alt blinks at JJ then pulls out his phone, “oh yeah lemme see if I can call him… it’s really hit or miss if our phones work sometimes-“

JJ chuckles. Yes, calling would be a good idea. 

"Oh, also you aren’t interrupting! I was just getting my wrist checked out by the doc here." Jackie points at his wrist brace. "It's been feeling weird for a couple days, must've yanked something out of place during the last shoot. I'm up for anything!" 

"S'long as you don't sprain your wrist some more," Dr. Anti mutters, standing a bit apart from the group. 

“A shoot? Oh! Do you do YouTube?? That’s just like my Jackie!” Alt grins. “Ha he’s pretty clumsy too-“ 

"YouTube? Ah, so you have that video webbedsite where you're from too!" Jackie laughs. "No, I do small films, mostly independent studios, mostly local stuff. I'm no actor, but I can do the stunts." 

“…oooh! You’re like Henny!” Alt grins, “Neat-! God- he’d love to meet you.” He says as he puts the phone up to his ear.

The other end of the phone is ringing... 

 —————

Bro feels that slight jolt, and when the darkness clears he's standing in an apartment living room. There's a kitchenette by the front door, pale wood and white appliances. Three doors to the left of that, all ajar to show glimpses of a closet, a tiny bathroom, and a bedroom. The walls are painted an off-yellow, and the carpet is short and gray. But there's a nice fuzzy white rug to make up for the carpet's shortcomings. 

"What the hell?" 

"Whoa!" 

There are two men in the room. Bro has appeared right between the two of them, next to a coffee table. One of them was sitting on the sagging sofa in the living room and now shoots to his feet. "Where did you come from?! I thought my wards were good!" He's wearing a long-sleeved pale yellow shirt (sort of matching the walls), a pair of ripped jeans, and a snapback cap. 

"Uh--don't--please leave?" the other man stammers. He's standing in front of one of those wheel-able cork boards, which seems to have been pulled in front of a TV stand. His long wavy hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail, and he's wearing a brown leather jacket over a blue t-shirt.

Bro blinks at the bright setting then yells in surprise as the two men exclaim, jumping into and then floating in the air. He blinks rapidly then waves at them from above, “uhhh hi! Didn’t mean to intrude on… whatever this is-! Didn’t meannn to come here at all actually! Total accident! Sorry!!”

The man in the cap blinks. He points. "Wait a moment! You're—you look like me! But you're flying?!" 

"The fuck is this?!" the other man shouts, looking a bit freaked out. "Are you trying to trick us?!" 

"Y'know, I don't think we know anyone who can both imitate people and fly," the first one comments. "But—but—I thought the wards were good???" He leans over to the coffee table and picks something up. A white mask in the shape of some sort of animal with pointed ears—not a cat, the snout is too long. There are green and yellow designs on it, and a drawing of a sun in the middle of the forehead.

Bro blinks even more, “Ohhh! Other me!!” He quickly lands next to the man in the cap and tilts his head, “…wards? Ha- you’re talking like you’re a magician or something-“ he laughs like that’s the craziest thing he’s ever heard.

The other him blinks. “I… am? Are you not? You just fucking flew into the air!” 

“Chaaase, what’s happening?” The other man says, looking at Bro warily. 

“I dunno Marv, but I don’t think it’s him.” The other Chase tilts his head back, eyes flashing yellow for a moment. “He doesn’t have that weird signature.”

“I’m not magic- no matter what Alt tries to tell me,” Bro huffs, crossing his arms, “I’m a superhero! And also- I’m you from another universe, surprise!” He grins. 

“ …From another universe?” Chase says slowly. 

“Is that possible?” asks the other man—a Marvin, evidently. 

Then, Bro lets his expression fall to something more serious, “…who did you guys think I was?”

“I don’t know for sure. But I guess it’s not the weirdest thing we’ve seen?” Chase shakes his head. “I’d ask for proof but I don’t think that’s easy to come up with.

As for who we though you were… could be a couple things. Some PUPIL shit, the Magic Circle looking for me… I still haven’t ruled either of those things out, but at least you’re not Shattered.” 

“Unless he decided to pull someone else out of time,” Marvin grumbles.

Bro blinks at the two of them and tilts his head, “…PUPIL..? Shattered? …god everything is all shifted around here huh…?” Then he laughs. “I think the proof is kinda staring at you in the face, dude. But alright- To prove it- I’m Chase Brody, also known as Bro Fantastic. I can show you my ID if you’d like,” he jokes. 

“An ID wouldn’t be that helpful, actually, that could be faked,” Chase says. “But you offering is a good sign.” 

“Unless he’s just really prepared for this deception,” Marvin says. 

“For fuck’s sake, Marv, you’re being paranoid. Honestly, you’re less trusting than Anti lately.” 

“Oh really?! Hmm I wonder if there’s a reason for that, hmm?!” Marvin stares at Chase with wide eyes. Actually, he looks a bit frazzled, with some dark shadows under his eyes. 

Chase sighs, and softens. “Sorry.” 

Bro looks between Marvin and Chase with wide eyes, “…are you all in trouble? Or someone giving you trouble? This.. shattered guy? Which must not be Anti since you guys said his name like that-“

“Anti’s fine, a bit,uh… abrasive but good when you get to know him,” Marvin says. “You’re right, it’s the Shattered guy who’s clearly to blame. He—” Before Marvin can continue, Bro’s phone starts to ring.

Bro jumps a bit and blinks in confusion, “Oh uh sorry mate- it’s my brother… he’s also here-“ he answers the phone and puts it on speaker. “Yello?” 

“Oh my god you nerd,” Alt snickers. “But good to know our phones work! Who did you end up by?” 

“A Marvin and other me- dude he’s a magician??” Bro stage whispers, like Chase can’t hear him. 

“I heard- super weird. Almost as weird as other me here being a doctor-“ Alt replies. 

“What the hell?!” 

“Anyways I’m at the hospital with bizzaro me, a JJ and a Jackie- …not sure what their deals are exactly but Jackie is giving off Henny vibes-“

“Henny vibes?” Jackie repeats, loud enough that Bro can hear him through the other end of the phone line. “What’s that?” 

Dr. Anti nudges him. “Volume control. This is a hospital.” 

“Oh sorry,” Jackie whispers. 

“Oh Henny’s our friend-“ Alt says before giving Anti a look.

“I can hear you, by the way,” Chase says to Bro. 

“So you’re this other Chase’s brother?” Marvin asks. “You sound like Anti with more life in his voice.” 

Alt barks out a laugh at Marvin’s comment. “Ha! I’ll take that as a compliment~” he giggles. 

“He used to sound more dead inside,” Bro snickers. 

“Hey! …anyways, Yeah I’m Alt, where you at bro?” 

“I think it’s one of these guys’ house…?” Bro says looking around. 

"Yeah, this is my flat," Chase says, gesturing around. 

“How ‘bout you?” Bro continues. 

“Hospital, called Blue Lake. The TRVLR piece is at 223 South Project Street. The guys here say that this… PUPIL company used to be there.” Alt says. 

“Hmm… PUPIL seems like this world’s IRIS or SCLERA-“ Bro muses. 

“Seems like it- what’s with all these creepy companies calling themselves stuff after eyes?? Real TMA shit if I’ve ever seen it-“ Alt mumbles. 

“You can’t make that reference with me alt I haven’t listened yet-“ 

“Well you should! Jay and I loved it!” 

Marvin inhales sharply. "What's a TRVLR piece? Why do you have to go to a PUPIL place to find it?" He looks visibly nervous.

“That’s why we’re here actually,” Bro explains, “We used to go to other worlds with the TRVLR- it’s like this little iPhone thing that helps us travel around. But it got broken and the pieces were scattered across other dimensions so now we gotta find them.” 

Alt sighs, “Believe me if we could just skip going to this obviously sketchy science bullshit we would but… not getting these pieces could cause… so many more problems down the line.”

"Hey, uh..." Dr. Anti clears his throat. "If Marvin's freaking out, tell him that PUPIL isn't there anymore. That should help reassure him." 

JJ nods. I can imagine why that would cause problems... well, like I said, we'd love to help. 

"Yeah!" Jackie grins. "These PUPIL guys are huge arseholes, anything we can do to fuck them up will be grand." 

Alt blinks at Dr. Anti then smiles, “Yeah… can do. Hey Marvin, Anti says don’t worry- PUPIL isn’t there anymore.” 

“Oh! Well that’s good,” Bro says. 

Alt grins at Jackie and Jj, “Jackie and JJ say they wanna help too.” 

“Sick!”

Marvin visibly relaxes. "Oh... good." 

Chase pats his shoulder sympathetically. "Yeah, we can help, too," Chase says. "I can, uh, use my magic. It's of some help." 

"Some help?! You're a great magician!" Marvin reassures him. "It'll be a big help!" 

"Hah." Chase smiles a little. "And you can help, too." 

"I can?" 

"Yeah. You can drive us." Marvin rolls his eyes. "Oh ha ha. Okay fine. If your brother and our friends can get here, I can drive everyone to this... address."

Alt looks at JJ, Jackie and Dr. Anti, “Have you guys been to Chase’s flat before.” 

All three of them nod. All the time, JJ adds. 

Alt grins wickedly. “We’ll be right there, Chase,” and hangs up. 

After Alt hangs up Bro sighs and puts his phone away- “You guys might wanna brace yourselves.” He tells Chase and Marvin. 

“Lemme guess—he’s gonna appear out of nowhere just like you did,” Marvin says. 

“Sounds like it,” Chase agrees. 

At the Hospital, Alt offers his hand to Jackie and Jj, and glances at Dr. Anti. “If you all wanna come with- grab on. I can take us to his flat-“ 

Jackie immediately takes hold of Alt’s hand. “More magic?” He says excitedly. 

One second, I left my backpack in the room, JJ says, hurrying back towards the room. 

“Is your—” Dr. Anti glances at Alt, “—spare set of clothes in there?” JJ nods before going down the hall. 

“Seems important to keep that with you, then,” Jackie comments. 

Luckily, JJ soon returns, a dark blue backpack sling over his shoulder. 

Thanks for waiting, he says, and then takes Alt’s other hand. Dr. Anti quickly grabs onto Jackie, looking a bit hesitant about all this.

Alt nods, “Yup!” He smirks. He blinks after JJ and tilts his head a bit. Then he shrugs. Honestly he’d do the same. He raises an eyebrow a bit at Dr. Anti joining up but- heh. It’ll be fun to see him react to this. “Alright, picture the flat for me please!” 

In the meantime, back at the flat, Bro blinks at Marvin, “…what do you do Marvin? The Marvin’s we know… usually are magic somehow-“

"Oh, I mean... I do magic tricks," Marvin says. "In a way. I have this YouTube channel, I-I post videos where I use editing to make stuff look magic. You know... I, uh... don't know how to describe it. But that's how we met Chase, actually. Magic interests. Relatable."

“Oooh! That’s neat! And just like how I met my mate Jackie! He does superhero moves for his parkour channel- almost broke his neck but I saved him.” Bro grins. 

Then in a sharp burst of pixels and light- Alt glitches all 4 of them into Chase’s flat. Glitching feels like- pop rocks under their skin and makes their blood feel electric. The ones actually holding onto Alt feel him break into a bunch of pixels that snap back together like magnets as they appear in the flat in a burst of green light.

“Whoa!” Dr. Anti let’s go, shaking his head. “Fucking weird.” He looks around. “Handy, though.” 

“Oh hey!” Chase laughs. “Yep, appearing out of nowhere!” 

Alt smirks and waves at Marvin and Chase, “Hey there!”

"Sup?" Chase waves. 

Jackie does a little bounce on his heels. “That felt like breaking apart, but better.”

Bro laughs, “Kinda yeah!” He waves at the new people. “I’m Chase by the way but you all can call me Bro! Less confusing!” He grins. 

Alt grins at Jackie and nods, “Technically I do when I glitch- but I don’t think you all do though? Something about what happened to me when I became a Glitch-“ He shrugs.

"A glitch?" Jackie blinks. "Huh?" 

"That's a sort of mistake in a digital thing," Marvin explains. "Or when it doesn't work right, yknow? Never heard it applied to a person, though." Marvin looks at Alt. "Well... nice to meet you, then." 

Alt blinks and tilts his head at Jackie, “…ohhh you’re really like Henny huh? Like.. out of time.”

"Oh, so you know!" Jackie says. "Yeah, it was bloody confusing. One minute the year was 1927, the next it was 2017! I've been here four years now and I still find it overwhelming sometimes." 

"I can't believe you've never heard the word 'glitch' in all those four years," Dr. Anti mutters.

 "Maybe I have, but I don't remember." Jackie shrugs. 

Alt blinks then smiles knowingly, “Our friend Henrik was pulled out of time by our villain Magnificent… around the same time as you I think. About 90 years. He’s been adapting well though! I think he likes the future a lot.” 

"I really gotta double-check my wards if everyone can just fucking... teleport through them." Chase sighs.

If these two are really from another world, they might have abilities that surpass that, JJ says. Don't put yourself down too much.

Alt smiles softly at Chase, “Yeah- JJ is right. My magic is different and my ability as a Glitch also makes things a bit fucky. Like… how there’s a mistake in tech… I’m like a mistake in our world? Kinda? I broke some boundaries and now can… glitch and stuff.” He shrugs. 

"Ah." Chase nods slowly, laughing a bit. "Yeah, that does make me feel a bit better." 

JJ smiles at Bro. So... I heard you're a superhero?

Bro grins more and nods, hopping into the air to hover a bit. “Sure am!”

JJ looks up at Bro excitedly. Impressive! I've never seen anyone who can fly! 

"Well... some magicians can hover, I think," Chase says. "But that's not the same." 

Bro lands and grins, “I can do other stuff too but they’re a bit more dangerous. The usual like super speed, super strength and I can kinda shoot lightning?” 

There’s a slight pause.

"Sssso," Marvin says slowly. "We... have to go to an old PUPIL place, then?"

Alt blinks at Marvin then shrugs, “You guys don’t need to join us if you’re worried- we have a way to find these things pretty easily.” 

“But It’d be nice to learn more about you all though, if you’re open to share!” Bro says. 

"No no, it's fine, I--I want to help," Marvin says. "But we should... probably explain some things. Other Chase--Bro was asking about that before you called." 

Dr. Anti stares at the corkboard. "What fucking... conspiracy nut stuff is this?" 

"It's justified conspiracy nut stuff!" Marvin says defensively. 

"Not saying it's not." 

JJ walks over to the board and pulls off a sticky note, holding it up to Bro and Alt. On it is a drawing of an eye with a symbol in the center that sort of looks like the club suit in cards, but without the stem. This is the symbol of PUPIL. They've been causing trouble around town lately. Marvin got caught up with them. 

Marvin nods slowly.

Alt and Bro look at the symbol and both of their eyes widen. Then, Alt’s eyes darken and spark dangerously. “…just like SCLERA.” Alt looks to Marvin with sympathy, “…we get it, Marvin. We’ve been caught by our own company, SCLERA. And… others-“ He shudders.

"Hah... thanks." Marvin smiles weakly. "SCLERA, huh? What's that?" 

"It's the white part of your eye." Dr. Anti indicates his own eye, holding open the eyelids of his right eye and drawing attention to the misshapen pupil. "The protective tissue that covers everything but the cornea." 

"Eye symbolism persists between universes, then," Chase says. 

“Seems like it- freaking weird and creepy…” Bro mumbles.

"Um... course, it's not just PUPIL we're dealing with," Marvin continues hesitantly. "There's also the Magic Circle--Chase can tell you about that--and the shattered man. Normally we just call him Shattered, for convenience." He points at the corkboard again, where there's a series of blurry photographs.

Alt tilts his head and furrows his eyebrows, “mmm the magic circle is no fun to deal with sure… but the shattered man…?” He glitches over to look at the photos.

All the pictures are out of focus, like either the photographer or the subject are moving too much to get a good shot. The details are hard to see, but it's clearly a man, with bright blue glowing eyes, wearing some sort of long coat. One picture shows something metallic shining as well, thin and spindly. 

"He doesn't photograph well," Jackie comments.

Alt looks confused but… those eyes and the coat… the only one missing here is… “o-oh god…” he whispers, covering his mouth. 

Bro comes over and puts a hand on Alt’s shoulder. “Alt what-?” 

Alt grabs him and whispers into his ear, “Their villain is Schneep-!” 

Bro’s eyes widen. 

"None of us know what his deal is, but he's been harassing us for a couple years now," Marvin says while the brothers whisper. "And... recently, he--" his voice cracks, so he clears his throat. "He... I-I don't know this for sure, but he has to be the one who--" 

JJ takes something else off the corkboard. Another photograph, folded and crinkled like it's been held often. It's a picture of Marvin... and a little girl with curly brown hair and big brown eyes. She... looks a lot like him.

The brothers look at JJ and Alt takes the picture. His stomach drops. He looks up at Marvin with a heartbroken expression, “… you have a daughter…?”

Marvin nods slowly. "Her name is Skyler. She's eight. And she... went missing a while ago. S-some of the police think I..." 

They're wrong, JJ signs fiercely. And they're not very good at their jobs anyway. 

That makes Marvin laugh for a bit, but he quickly becomes serious again. "It... must have been Shattered. He's been after me in particular for a while. And then, when PUPIL took me, he fucking showed up and--got me out of there? But wouldn't explain anything about Skyler when I-I shouted at him about it." 

"My tracking spells aren't working," Chase mutters. "She has to be somewhere protected."

Alt’s eyes flash brightly with green and blue light as he grits his teeth. “…fuck finding the piece.” He growls. 

“What??” Bro gasps. 

“Fuck finding the piece!” Alt shouts, whirling around, “We’re helping find Skylar!” He says fiercely, determination burning in his eyes. “We have magic and knowledge this Shattered can’t be prepared for I'm sure- I’m not leaving a child here in danger…!”

Marvin blinks. "You... you guys would do that?" 

"Hey well--if you all have knowledge to help find where she is, we'll take you up on that anytime," Chase says. "Skyler's great, she's the sweetest little girl." 

"Shattered has this little pocket world, but we're not sure how to get there," Jackie says, running a hand through his hair. "He seems t'be the only one with a handle on it. If he has her, she's got to be in there."

Bro slowly nods, “…as much as I’m worried we’re getting in too deep into this… I couldn’t leave when a kid is lost with some dangerous villain…” 

Alt pulls out his phone and taps the screen, “Anti! Do you think there’s a way I can get into a pocket dimension? Or can you?”

The guys from this world all cluster around Alt's phone. 

"...what the fuck?" Dr. Anti whispers. 

Anti nods at him. "Long story. I'm also from another world, but a different one than these guys. But onto the question. All pocket dimensions have to connect to a world somehow. The entrance might shift, but there has to be at least one place. Or at least, that's how it works in this branch of the multiverse. There's guaranteed to be a place where this Shattered's world branches off from the main universe. I... might be able to sense where it is, but with my powers reduced like this we'd need to get close." 

"So... what, do I just drive you all around the city?" Marvin looks at the others.

“…maybe-“ Alt says, “Or… I could try glitching around but I could drain myself really fast that way…” 

Bro sighs and ruffles his hair before replacing his hat, “I take it flying isn’t a common occurrence here? So I couldn’t just.. fly Anti around-“

JJ blinks. Well... it wouldn't be the strangest thing the citizens see everyday, he signs. 

"But it still might not be the best idea," Dr. Anti says. 

Bro sighs heavily, “Yeahhhh probably. Damn.”

"Hey, uh... phone version of me.” Dr. Anti continues. “Would there be any other signs of a pocket dimension thing? Something detectable?" 

"I don't know your technology capabilities here," Anti states. 

If you're going to ask if Shawn can help, he's already looking, JJ says. He already knows it's a pocket dimension. I don't see how anything this Anti knows would help.

Alt tilts his head at JJ, “Who’s Shawn? …our J has a brother named that but- I’m assuming this guy is someone different.” 

JJ blinks. Then laughs. No, actually! Shawn is my brother--or, half-brother. 

"He's JJ's guy in the chair," Chase says. "Helps out with a lot of tech stuff. Good artist, too."

Alt and Bro blinks then Bro grins, “Yooo! It’s rare we actually get that right!” 

Alt purses his lips, “Guy in the chair? Ha- are you saying JJ is like… James Bond or something? A spy?” He laughs.

The others all look over at JJ. "Up to you," Dr. Anti says. "I wouldn't, but I'm not you." 

JJ grins widely. He takes his backpack off and reaches inside, pulling something out. And he slips it over his face. A purple hero mask--just like Bro's.

Bro makes a Pog face and points wildly at JJ, “YOOOOO?!?!?” He digs into his utility belt and pulls out his pink mask, putting it on so his hair flares to yellow green. “Same hat! Or… mask!! But instead of a hero- you’re a spy?!? That’s metal as fuck!!!”

JJ laughs. I don't know if it really counts as being a "spy" when it's just me and Shawn. But yes, I'm good at getting into places and finding information. 

"He has powers, too!" Chase says excitedly. 

"Why are you so excited? You have fucking magic!" Marvin laughs. 

It's nothing flashy, JJ says. And it's hard to demonstrate, too. Think of it like... ESP.

“Oh!! You can just like pick up on stuff!? That’s so cool! Sometimes that’s more useful than being good at punching stuff like me.” Bro laughs. 

Exactly! JJ nods. I pick up on the ~vibes~ The others smile. 

Alt grins, “That’s so fucking cool.” Then he shakes out his head, “Okay- focusing on Skyler though… you guys haven’t found anything yet so- I guess driving around is our best bet. I’m sure me or Anti can pick up something right?”

"Yep, sounds like it." Marvin nods. "I know it might take a while, but it's the best bet we have. To the van, then!" 

"Great." Chase takes off his cap and puts on his mask instead. "JJ, wanna put on your suit?" 

Can I change in your bathroom? 

"Of course." 

JJ nods. I'll just be a minute, then. And he heads to the bathroom, closing the door.

“Supersuit!! Nice!!” Bro grins, “Man- kinda wish I brought mine!” 

Alt rolls his eyes, “You’d just be showing off more than you already are-“ 

“Heyyy! I’m not showing off!” Bro pouts.

Jackie laughs. "Hey, I think it's wicked, man. Show off all you want!" 

JJ changes quickly, coming out of the bathroom in a purple-and-blue suit. The outfit is sort of reminiscent of an old-fashioned suit, but more practical, something of a classic superhero suit in its design. There's a brace-like thing on his wrist with a keyboard sort of device on it. 

"There's the Dapper Man!" Marivn says cheerfully.

 JJ rolls his eyes. I didn't choose that name, you know. 

"But it's so fitting!" 

“I can’t deny you do look very Dapper!” Bro laughs.

 Alt grins, “Looking Slick dude- we all good to go?”

"Yep." Chase nods. "Marvin?" 

"I've never been more glad that I got that van," Marvin says. "It'll make transporting you all so much easier. Good deal." 

"Great." Chase walks over to the apartment front door and opens it up. "And I've never been more glad that my flat is next to the stairwell. C'mon." 

The group goes down two sets of stairs--Chase's apartment is on the third floor from the ground, the second floor according to the numbering--and out into an attached car lot. Marvin leads the whole group to a parked van, silver in color, a little bit of rust around the edges but it's clearly taken care of.

Bro whistles as they see the van. “Nice ride! I keep telling Jackie he should get a van but he said it would make him an old man.” He laughs.

Alt glitches a bit, frowning at the car. “…this is gonna be rough-“ He grumbles to himself.

"I'm pretty sure you can all fit," Marvin says, opening up the driver's side door. "Who's getting the front seat?" 

It should probably be Alt, since he has the phone with that other Anti, JJ says. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Anti slides open the back door. "First three in have to go in the back."

Alt nods and glitches into the front seat. “Don’t mind Alt- he hates driving around- finds it’s too slow.” Bro chuckles, as he climbs into the van, okay with taking the back.

"I mean--that's fair," Chase says. 

"You all have to appreciate your autos more," Jackie says as he climbs in after Bro. "I'm all for a good walk, but it's so much easier to get everyone around." 

“Okay, grandpa,” Bro snickers. “We appreciate them! But when you can fly and glitch a car seems way slower.”

JJ climbs in next, taking the final spot, wedging in between Bro and Jackie. Then Dr. Anti gets in, and finally Chase. 

"Buckle up everyone," Marvin says, starting the car and pulling out into the street. 

As they drive, Jackie leans forward, looking at Bro and Alt. "So--what's your world like? Anything really odd out here to you?"

Alt blinks back at Jackie then laughs, “Oh… just everything is odd here for us. Like back home? Our Jackie is a dad- has 3 kids. Sweetest things in the world. He also runs a YouTube channel where he does superhero moves but like parkour. It’s pretty cool. Our Jameson is a hypnotherapist but is taking some time to learn some nursing things. And uh- we have a fellow actor friend- Henny, he’s from…1933? 90ish years. And he’s deaf which is how we know sign. And our …villain. His name is Magnificent.” He trails off after this, squeezing his necklace. 

"Oh, that is very odd." Jackie nods. "I can't picture myself raising kids or making short films like that--well, it is what I do now, but I don't do any of the filming." 

I've never heard of that hypnosis therapy, JJ says, interested. 

"It's pretty fascinating, if you ask me," Dr. Anti says. "Supposedly it can help people with sleep problems like insomnia." 

Bro nods, “Yeah Dr. J helps Jackie with his insomnia! That’s actually how they got back into each others lives! We all were in uni together-“ 

"We don't know anyone named Henny, I think," Chase says. "Unless you guys do and I don't." 

"Nope." Marvin shakes his head. 

Bro smiles sadly, “Yeah uh… I’m not sure you guys would- his full name is Henrik von Schneeplestein. Henny is his nickname.” 

"Oh? Interesting name," Dr. Anti says. "German or something, right?" 

“Yup! German and British- but he spoke more German as a lad so he still has a bit of an accent.” Bro says. 

Marvin looks a bit troubled. "Magnificent, huh...? That's uh... what my channel is called. MagnificentMagics."

Alt nods slowly, “…he used to be a Marvin… Marvin Mcloughlin… he’s not anymore. He’s been corrupted by black magic to become a… a monster. An evil puppet master who tries to steal as much magic as he can.” 

"...that's...fun," Marvin says slowly. He's gripping the steering wheel tightly. 

“I’m sorry-“ Alt says quickly to Marvin, “…it’s awful finding out you’re … so far from how you think you are in other universes. I know… just- trust me… the evil Marvin’s out there are far fewer than the evil Mes…” he sighs and curls up his legs a bit in the seat. “… but we’re different. We’re all different people. I don’t see Mag in you at all- and through all this? I think me and Chase have become pretty good judges of character.” He laughs a bit bitterly, “…that probably doesn’t mean much.. I just… I get it. God… I get it.” 

Marvin relaxes slightly. "Yeah... It's... weird to hear about. I mean, I-I can't even picture it, you know?" He glances at him and smiles. "Thanks. I... It's good to hear that." 

Dr. Anti leans forward a bit at the mention of evil Antis, but doesn't say anything. He only looks vaguely troubled. 

Alt smiles tightly, “I’m glad…” he glances back at Dr. Anti and looks- troubled too. He’s not sure he wants to get too into it. He shakes his head. “…we just have to remember we’re our own people… we write our own stories.” 

Chase shudders. "Black magic. I-I don't like that shit at all. Reminds me of the Magic Circle--though I don't think they would steal people's magic."

Bro nods to his other self, “Yeah it’s real freaky shit. Burns like hell too- made him all… not human. He’s a freaky motherfucker and I’m sooo glad he’s been leaving these last trips alone.” 

"You mean he's come with you to other worlds before?!" Chase blinks. "I sure hope he never shows up here!"

Bro laughs, “I hope so too! He’s a pain in the ass to deal with in these worlds! Gotta make sure in the future he can’t hitchhike with us- but… when we’re dealing with these rifts… he hasn’t been around.” 

“Maybe we finally found something he’s scared of,” Alt smirks.

Anti's voice comes from the phone. "Well, there's also the fact that I don't think Sam's rifts can be tracked as easily as your TRVLR use can be--to Magnificent, at least. That other me, the one following us, is probably able to detect both. Speaking of the TRVLR, by the way, I'm getting a feeling. I think it's from the next street over." 

Marvin blinks. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes. Something wrong with that?" 

"Well... we're approaching Project Street."

Alt pulls out his phone to look at Anti and furrows his eyebrows together. “You feel the TRVLR piece or the pocket world?” He asks.

"The pocket dimension," Anti confirms. "I can't sense the TRVLR piece, not by itself. It'd need to be the whole device, powered." 

JJ frowns. Perhaps... it's no coincidence. 

"We do suspect that the Shattered man has some... at the very least, some fascination with PUPIL," Dr. Anti says. "Maybe he linked up his dimension to this old building of theirs."

“…maybe both of them are in the same place,” Alt says quietly. 

Bro blinks, “That would very convenient-“

"Well, it would mean we spend less time in one world, and that's better if you ask me," Anti says. 

“Yeah… I want to save Skyler but I don’t want to lead the other Anti here..,” Alt mumbles.

Marvin turns onto Project Street, driving for a while. This area is filled with taller office buildings for various businesses. And... there's one with that symbol, the PUPIL logo. 

"...well, I think you guys are right, it is very convenient," Anti says. "Because I'm definitely getting a pocket dimension feeling from that building with the eye logo."

 Bro blinks then throws up his hands, “awesome! We save the kid and get the piece! Let’s go!” 

Alt pulls out the tracker- maybe he can see if the piece is in that building or… whatever is in this pocket dimension.The tracker tells him that the TRVLR piece is on the fifth floor of the building. 

Marvin pulls to the side of the street in front of the building. "I don't like seeing that logo again," he mutters. 

"Me neither," Dr. Anti agrees, quickly getting out of the car. "Let's get this over with."

Alt glitches out of the car and squints at the building. “Tracker says the piece is on the 5th floor. …Skyler comes first though.”

Chase gets out of the car next, and then JJ and Jackie. "well, if we know where your thing is, we can stop by after we find her," Chase says. 

Bro climbs out last and nods, “Sounds good.” 

"JJ, can you like... sense anything?" Chase asks.

JJ pauses, closing his eyes for a moment. We'll have to be careful. I think Shattered is already here. 

Dr. Anti walks up to the front door and tries it, but it's locked. There's a small card reader next to it. "Other me, Alt. Can your glitches get you in to unlock it from the inside?"

Alt looks at the key reader and hums, “if PUPIL left… why is this still on?” 

"Shattered probably has something to do with it," Jackie says, frowning. "He's smart like that." 

Alt puts a hand on the card reader and pumps it full of electricity.

The red light on the card reader suddenly disappears. Dr. Anti blinks. "I was thinking that you'd teleport to the other side and open it from there, but that works." 

Alt shrugs, “This seemed easier!” 

Dr. Anti tries the door again, and it opens up. The interior of the building is dim, lit only by the light coming in through windows. They walk into a small lobby, with a bland corporate-looking waiting area with a reception desk. Behind the desk is a directory, but many letters are missing, making it impossible to tell what departments were originally here. There's a hallway that branches off to the back and a glass door to an office-looking space to the left. 

Alt glitches inside, looking around.

"Hang on." Marvin darts back to his car, grabs something, and returns. It's a small handgun. 

Where did you get that?! JJ asks in surprise. 

"Picked it up from the PUPIL compound I got stuck in."

Bro jumps a bit as Marvin shows the gun, “Oh woah! …I mean- this is your daughter in there… I guess this is justified.” He laughs a bit nervously. 

Marvin nods. "Honestly, I think this won't do much damage to Shattered anyway. But better safe than sorry." 

The inside is quiet. The rest of the group files in, looking around. Chase holds out his hand and conjures an orb of golden light, a miniature sun the size of a golf ball. "Creepy," he mutters. 

JJ nods in agreement. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a collapsible staff, which he extends to its full length. 

Looks like down the hallway is an elevator and set of stairs, along with a couple ajar doors that seem to be storage for files and cleaning supplies. 

Alt holds out his phone, “Anti… can you tell what floor the pocket world is on or is it just.. a general feeling?” He asks quietly, eyes darting around.

Anti pauses, static crackling from the phone speaker. "Upstairs, I think. I can't tell you specifically, though." 

"Lift or stairs, then?" Jackie asks. 

Never take the lift in an emergency, JJ says.

Alt nods, “Stairs then-“ He’s gotten pretty serious now as he glitches on and off- towards the stairs. 

“Oh Jesus- Alt! You gotta wait for the rest of us!” Bro hisses after him, quickly moving to follow.The others run after Bro as well. 

The staircase here is U-shaped, steps going up to a landing, and then another set of steps turning around and going up to another landing, that one having a door with the number 1 painted on the wall next to it--the entrance to the first floor after the ground. As the group heads up the staircase, the door swings shut behind them... and there's a strange cracking sound. Like ice in warm water. 

Jackie's eyes widen. "Watch ou--!" 

Then the wall seems to break, shards of a glass-like material flying out towards everyone. A figure lunges towards Marvin.

JJ throws his arms out, blocking the glass from Jackie and Anti but getting cut himself, one bit lodging in his shoulder. Chase tries to throw up a magical shield but the glass is too fast and slices past him, making him gasp in pain. Alt glitches quickly and slides back away from the wall, eyes wide. Bro dodges the glass with a hint of his super speed then looks bewildered. “the fuck was that?!” 

Marvin cries out as the figure grabs onto him, pushing him up against the bannister of the stairs. "You came! I knew you would come find her!" a voice says, a strange crackling sound underneath every word, like someone using a bad microphone on a video call.

“Marvin!” Alt calls and quickly glitches to try to tackle the figure away from him.

Alt hits the figure and knocks him to the side, down onto the first landing. He's looking down at a familiar face, now distorted. The figure has messy brown hair and pale skin. His irises glow bright blue, and the sclera of his right eye is black. They stare at Alt from behind a set of glasses with shattered lenses. And... the face is... cracked. Like it's made of porcelain that was broken and clumsily put back together. 

Alt growls dangerously at first as he pushes the man to the ground, lightning and magic sparking around him. Then, he takes in his face and he can’t help but gasp. It’s… awful- seeing his friend’s face distorted and cracked and full of madness. Reminding him both of Henny and stitched Schneep.

The man grins madly. "Oh? Who are you? You're not supposed to be here." He laughs. "Get off me." Something grabs onto Alt's left shoulder, squeezing tight. 

"Alt, watch out for his hand!" Chase shouts.

Alt feels the thing grabbing his shoulder become sharp, piercing through his hoodie into his skin. He’s so unnerved that he doesn’t fully process Chase’s warning until it’s too late. He screams and crashes somewhat to his side as he tries to process what the hell just happened. 

“Alt!” Bro cries out and then bares his teeth and flies down to try to punch the new man in the face.

The stranger starts to sit up, only to have his head snapped back again as Bro punches him solidly. There's a loud, disturbing CRAK! sound, like the handle snapping off a ceramic mug. The Shattered man laughs again. "You're not supposed to be here, either." 

Bro recoils back in horror at the sound, looking scared. 

There's another one of those cracking sounds, and suddenly the man is standing at the top of the other staircase, on the second landing. He's wearing a long black cloak over a blue shirt and pants, with tall black boots. The cracks on his face seem deeper now, and more cracks cover the rest of his body. In fact, his right shoulder ends in shards, a broken-off piece. His right arm has been replaced by a skeletal metal prosthetic. The fingers of the hand are long, thin, and sharp at the end... dripping with Alt's blood. "You cannot bring more people, that is not how this should be! No, no." 

Bro looks behind him quickly as Shattered appears on the other staircase with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. “H-Hen…!” He whispers in terror.

Shattered tilts his head. "Hen? Like a chicken? You are so funny, stranger!" 

"Where the hell is my daughter?!" Marvin demands, aiming his handgun at Shattered.

Alt bites back groans of pain as he pushes himself up and stares up, “W-what the hell…?” He breathes. He then grits his teeth and glitches up, getting behind Shattered and building up a giant ball of electricity to throw at him.

But then Shattered notices how Alt disappears, and he quickly vanishes from sight, barely dodging the magic blast. He reappears even higher in the stairwell, leaning over the bannister to look down at all the others. "I was expecting you to bring friends, Marvin, but not strangers! In any case, I am only opening it up for you. Don't you want to see her?" 

"O-of course I do!" Marvin stammers. 

Chase adjusts the mask on his face and throws something up into the air--a cloud of glowing gold magic. The cloud reaches Shattered and suddenly solidifies and pulls him down over the edge of the banister. He shrieks in surprise as he falls, landing on the banister around the landing Alt's on with another CRAK! But he quickly recovers and slides smoothly to his feet. "Much more vicious than last I saw you, Magician!"

Bro staggers back, eyes wide. Alt yells in rage and glitches to try to grab Shattered again, “I can show you fucking vicious!” He snarls, building up more electric magic in his hand.

Shattered's eyes widen as he's grabbed, and then he yelps, shocked, as the magic hits him. But then he laughs. "Another Magician! How unexpected! And so angry, too." His metal hand grabs onto Alt's wrist, and the smile disappears. "Be careful, Magician. If I do not clear the way, the way will not be found." 

"H-he's right, Alt!" Jackie shouts. "He's the only one who can get people in and out of his pocket world!" 

"Hmm?" Shattered's head rolls over to look at Jackie. "Ah, how have you been, Doll?" 

Jackie flinches. "Sh-shut your fucking mouth!"

Alt bares his teeth at Shattered, his skin prickling wildly with glitches. But, Jackie’s warning does get him to loosen up a bit- until Shattered calls Jackie a doll. He yells and goes to cup his hand over Shattered’s mouth, magic sparking like he’s threatening to zap him, “S̸h̶u̴t̵ ̷u̵p̵!” He spits, “You wanna be a bitch? I’ll make you open the way then! I’m pretty good at finding what makes things like you scared.” 

“A-Alt!” Bro cries out, worried to see Alt so angry. “L-Listen to everyone else!” 

"Y-yeah!" Marvin shouts, voice cracking. "I-if something happens--w-we won't get her back!"

The Shattered man doesn't look scared as Alt threatens him. If anything, he looks fascinated. 

Alt’s eyes spark with even more anger as he recognizes the look in Shattered’s eyes. He bends down so all he can see is his furious face and sparking eyes. “I hate things like you- tearing everything apart to try to see how it works- I know that fucking look in your eyes-! You only did this to find more fucking subjects didn’t you? I’ll tear you f̷u̷c̵k̴i̷n̶g̷ ̷a̸p̴a̴r̴t̴-̵!̶” 

“ALT!” Bro yells and zips over to grab Alt off of Shattered and pull him away, breathing heavy and looking down at him with wide eyes. 

Alt screeches in protest and tries to fight out of Bro’s grip- but the older brother holds firm. “Let me go, C̸h̷a̴s̸e̶!̵” 

“Listen man I know this is fucked up but you gotta calm down!” Bro pleads. 

Alt just lets out a glitchy cry of anger, any words he’s saying crackling incoherently. 

As soon as Alt has let go of him, Shattered disappears and reappears farther up the staircase, accompanied by that same cracking sound. He doesn't say anything, just sits on a stair and looks down at the others. 

The rest of the group rushes up the stairs, joining Bro's side. JJ steps in front of Alt so he can see his signs. A-L-T, please, I know this must be hitting a nerve, but take a step back. We can't fight him now. Not while he has Marvin's daughter.

Alt breathes heavily through gritted teeth, magic sparking wildly around him as he glares at Shattered. 

Bro holds him tight and mutters calming words to him, his arms shaking, “I know… I know little bro… just- we need to find Skyler first…!” 

"We'll kill him after," Dr. Anti promises, glaring up at Shattered. 

Marvin looks up at him as well. "W-where is she?" he asks again, voice cracking. 

"Where do you think?" Shattered says in a quieter voice.

“Just answer the f̶u̵c̶k̴i̴n̷g̸ ̸ question!” Alt screeches out to Shattered. “Stop playing with us, you fuck!”

"She's in my workplace," Shattered says calmly. "Doll called it my pocket world. But I was not planning on letting anyone through but Marvin. Not Doctor, not Hero, not Magician, not Doll, and not an angry Magician and his less angry Hero." 

Marvin frowns. "I-I'm not going to be stupid enough to walk into your pocket dimension by myself." 

"Then maybe I can be convinced to let one or two others come. Not the angry Magician, though."

“B̶a̵s̷t̷a̷r̷d̶!” Alt bites out, fighting in Bro’s grip again, “Is it cuz you’re fucking scared, pussy?!”

“Alt, c-c’mon dude! Breathe!” Bro hisses, surprised he’s been able to hold back Alt this long.

"I don't like angry people," Shattered says, frowning at Alt. "They get upset and break things and things are fragile enough in there." 

"L-let's think about this calmly," Chase says. "I-if Marvin goes in there alone, h-he might not come out again. We need a couple people to go in and make sure everything works out." 

Jackie shakes his head. "I... I-I'll stay out here." 

"Aw." Shattered frowns, looking vaguely disappointed. "But I miss you." 

"It's not mutual," Jackie hisses. 

“I’ll break your F̶U̶C̷K̷I̸N̸G̵ ̴F̴A̴C̷E̸-” Alt screams, “You’re a sick psychopath for kidnapping a little girl!! I don’t care if you look like my friend I̸’̶L̸L̷ ̸K̴I̴L̵L̴ ̵Y̵O̴U̶!̸” 

“ANTI!!” Bro raises his voice then lets him go for long enough to grab his shoulders and turn him around. “Anti please- listen to me.” He says quietly, trying to meet Alt’s furious eyes, “I know this is hard- I know this is bringing up bad memories and you’re feeling so angry right now- but y-you don’t want Skyler getting hurt right? Your anger isn’t gonna save her- not with this guy.” 

Alt looks away, fists balled up so tight he’s shaking. “…I-I can’t sit here and do nothing-“ 

“You’re gonna have to now- cuz you can’t hold back your emotions.” Bro says sternly. “I know why… but now you g-gotta stay out here.. with Jackie, okay?” 

Alt opens his mouth to argue, but Bro’s eyes spark with anger too as he growls, “Okay?”

"You're not going to be doing nothing," Dr. Anti says. "We're going to find your TRVLR piece so we can get out of here as soon as possible." 

Jackie raises an eyebrow. "You're staying out here, too?" 

"I'm not leaving you al--I mean, this is clearly the most efficient way to go about it," Dr. Anti says.

Marvin laughs. "Right. Sure." 

Alt still looks furious about this and rips his arm away from Bro, anger still bright in his eyes as the brothers glare each other down. He spares one more glance at everyone else before he glitches away into the upper floors in a burst of power like a lightning bolt. 

“Alt!” Bro yells after him then he growls under his breath, “Goddamnit!” 

Marvin nods at Dr. Anti. "You go be efficient, then. I'm guessing Bro is coming with me, what about you, Chase? JJ?" 

Well of course we're going with you, JJ says. 

"Ah, three with Marvin is pushing it." Shattered stands up. "So will you choose two Heroes or a Hero and Magician?"

Bro blinks at Shattered’s ultimatum and smiles sadly at Marvin, “…it’s up to you dude- I’ll help if I can but… you all know Skyler better.”

Marvin stares back at Bro and nods. "Chase? Do you mind?" 

"Oh! Y-yeah, of course, anything to help." Chase says. He glances at JJ. "Is that okay?" 

It's fine. JJ looks up towards the upper floors. I get the feeling I'll be more helpful here right now. 

"Excellent!" Shattered grins. He moves to the side, and the air behind him seems to... well, shatter. Like it was a pane of glass the whole time, and now a hole has opened up in it, big enough for a person to walk through. The other side of the new hole is hard to see, but it's definitely black, blue, and chrome. "Careful of the sharp edges of space!" 

Marvin goes a bit pale, but his grip on his gun tightens. He takes a deep breath. "Well... let's go, then."

Bro watches this with wide eyes. He glances upwards with worry for a second before he shuts his eyes and smiles with determination at Marvin. “Let’s go save your daughter.”

Marvin nods at him. "L-let's all go together." 

"No, it's not big enough," Chase says. "I'll go first." He braces himself, and walks forward through the portal. As soon as Marvin and Bro are through, Shattered grins at the others and steps through as well. The opening immediately snaps shut. 

JJ, Jackie, and Dr. Anti all look at each other. "Well... let's go find Alt, then," Jackie says. 

I think I know where he is, JJ says, and starts up the stairs.

[butterflieswhisper]

‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

they're so cool. they are so cool. testament guilty gear my beloved they're so cool. I love love love this art specifically it's so good. the way the most vibrant part is the blood that forms their staff but only the part that pools under them. something something weight of their actions etc etc. they are also non binary and so cool forever and ever

[thefandomcassandra]

"Stop! Halt! Cease!" Even as he cried out, the prosecution and judge remained eerily silent, as if they were waiting to see where this all went.

Phoenix gave the man on the witness stand a dry, cutting smile and began to speak, prompting Maya to continue to echo him.

"Those names and more are all on record in the Fey & Co. Law Office. There's also clearly recorded links between scandals, sudden loss in funds, suicides, and Bluecorp's sudden influence in their lives."

"How—?!"

"You might have taken and destroyed the evidence in the Thinker—the ones with your name directly on them—but you didn't get everything. Mia had been building this case for years. She had more evidence than you could have expected."

He looked like an insect pinned to a board. "Please—!"

"I won't release these names to the press because I don't have to. The court stenographer has already noted them down. The public gallery has heard me speak them out loud. Everyone saw you fold like a bad hand of poker. You can't hide that from anyone now."

"I'll do anything—how much?!"

"For what?" Maya asked, the first thing she said herself since Phoenix began listing the names he'd memorized.

"Defend me. You're clever, you've proven it today. Defend me in court when—"

She cut him off. "And you'll give me anything I want?"

"Anything!" The world seemed to narrow in, focusing on her and him and no one else in the world. No Prosecutor Edgeworth, no judge, no Phoenix, no gallery. Just Maya Fey and Redd White.

Just Maya Fey and her justice.

"I want my sister back, you son of a bitch."

hallowed be thy unknown Ch. 3

I like this scene a lot so I drew it as a series of panels comic. Sorry my handwriting is a little bad. Redd White is surprisingly fun to draw. Didn't expect to like it.

[karinyosa]

i could make a massive essaypost about it, or i could just show you all the genius lyrics annotations i made about clown bible judas

[stupid-and-cute-are-enough]

cough. here's a little super short fic i wrote bc i make those too. be sure to check out the silly extra details i added in the tags!

@get-rammed

Monty lets out a heavy sigh, sitting on the much too small couch in his room, his handler close by his side, messing around with wires in the open compartment on his arm. Something went wrong with his claws again, and management is convinced that it’s the programming or the wiring that’s the problem, sicking his handler on the problem again and again. Monty doesn’t think it’s either of those things.

He huffs again and drops his head onto his free hand, boredom clawing at his... shell. His handler bumps with a small clank.

“Sit still, you big baby. I’ll be done in a minute.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’ve never been one to sit still, sweets.”

“Yeah, well, you’re gonna today.”

He rolls his eyes again, resisting the urge to let out another huff. He knows fusing over this is only gonna make it take longer. That and… he can see the bags under his handler’s eyes. It’s late. Far later than any other employee stays, except those working the graveyard shift. It seems like even the other animatronic handlers have gone home for the day. He can tell that they’re tired, but they never bring it up to him. They probably don’t want to worry him, all things considered, but that just makes Monty even more anxious. They look half asleep already, so Monty decides to occupy them with the most meaningless conversation he can muster.

“Hey, so, like…” Monty trails off, rolling his free hand at the wrist. “I barely saw any, uh, human staff around today, even though it was super fuckin’ busy. Why’s that?”

His handler stops, blinking for a second. “Oh, it’s, uh, Labor Day. It’s like a national holiday about unions or something, and people usually get the day off.”

Monty raises a brow. “Why didn’t you get the day off?”

They snort. “You don’t get the day off, so I don’t get the day off.”

Monty hums. “... That’s pretty shitty for us then, huh?”

They laugh, patting his arm. “Yeah. It is. Hey, I just finished up re-wiring everything. Give me a test and see if everything works right?”

Monty obliges, clenching his fists and spinning them around at the wrist. He mimics plenty of movements he makes while playing on stage, and nothing stutters, nothing stalls, or makes any weird noises. His internal diagnostics show no issues, either. All seems well, so he leans back and gives a smug, shit-eating smile. One that’s familiar.

“All’s workin’,” he replies, keeping up his smile when he sees the weight lifted off his handler by the news. They don’t like being comforted. Not directly, anyway.

“Great,” they sigh, slouching into a more relaxed position. They close up the compartment on Monty’s arm, giving it one last, solid pat.

“You good to recharge and everything?” They ask, packing up their small tool bag and tossing it in some random corner of the room. They barely put it away anymore, but management hasn’t caught on yet. Or maybe his handler just doesn’t care that they’re supposed to put it away. Either is possible. “Do you want me to lay with you?”

Monty thinks as they bustle around the room, turning down the lights and doing a cursory glance at his recharge station. He does want them to lay with him. He always does. But Monty sees the exhaustion in their shoulders and feels some kind of misplaced guilt. They’re this tired because he’s a Glamrock now, not just a side attraction. He became more of a handful. He broke more. He needed them more at all hours of the day. They’re his handler. He’s tired, and he’s not even human.

“Naw,” he says, tilting his head and smiling. “I’m good.”

“Alrighty then,” his handler puts on a brave smile, grabbing their oversized Monty jacket and slinging it over their shoulders. Before, Monty would’ve teased them about being such a simp, how they don’t need his merch because they already wear his face all day, or how they could literally just zip up their uniform, but he lets it go for tonight.

“Se you tomorrow, big guy.”

Monty doesn’t comment on how today is already tomorrow.

“Goodnight, cher.”

His handler leaves, muttering about how they’ll probably need to catch a bus because they “don’t think they can drive like this,” and Monty wants nothing more than to invite them back. To give them the whole couch and let them sleep. But for all the crazy hours Fazbear Entertainment expects of them, they’re not allowed to stay overnight. No one is allowed to stay overnight, except for the night shift workers, who all had to sign crazy amounts of paperwork, and they both know it.

So, instead, Monty watches them make their way to the entrance. He watches as they struggle with their ID until the heavy metal doors rise, and they can slip out the door. He strains his eyes to see them disappear into the dark until the metal doors obscure them from view and hopes for all it’s worth that tomorrow will be easier.

___

please ignore any silly typos im p sure i got them all but its super late. i wanna post this tho so im posting it. i may or may not repost this later but like. as a better version lmao ram pls tell me if monty is OOC i was punching AIR trying to write this guy 😭 i thought i knew him well and then BAM no the fuck i dont