#i hope whatever bug it is is solved by the time 5-6 pm when i have to post (currently 11:55) (sometimes im forward-looking)

[peachcitt]

for some reason my post announcing the chapter yesterday did not post even a little bit - one would think the goodwill bathroom would be perfect for that sort of thing.

anyway, because of that here's me telling you that both chapters 2 & 3 of my @ladrienjune fic greatest hits are now available!!

you can read them here

see y'all tomorrow!!<3

[mfackenthal]

The MFackenthal Show and @maxattack-powell!

banner by @whenyourheartskipsabeat

Hello all!  Welcome back to the MFackenthal Show!  I am so glad that you are here today.  If you’re new to the show, I encourage you to go here to find past episodes.  There are only a few.

The MFackenthal Show has officially been green lit for more episodes!  We used to only be able to afford to run the show every once in a while, but the people have spoken - they want to see the show more often!  The funding came through and we hope to give the people what they want!  Do you want to be on the show?  Do you have someone that you want to see on the show?  If so - reblog or comment or send a message to let MFackenthal know!  We’ll see what we can do!  We have this show and two others lined up for you!

I could not be more excited to bring you this next guest.  She has been with the fandom for quite a while.  She was one of the first people I started communicating with on a regular basis.  She has talked me up, supported me from the beginning and though she hasn’t written much lately - when she does drop a chapter - it’s long and it’s worth it!  Please welcome to the stage @maxattack-powell!!!!!  (Insert Cheering here!)

(Megs greets Max with a hug - which means that Megs essentially runs and leaps into Max’s arms.  Max is fairly tall and Megs is barely 5′3″) 

Megs:  Max, I am so happy that you are here!  Can you believe that you’re here today?

Max:  Haha, yes - I can.  But I am honored to be here.

Megs:  Max, sit with me.  For those in the audience who may not know you, tell us about when and why you joined the fandom.

Max: Yanno, I always made my best guess at this before, but I knew you were going to ask me this - so I looked it up.  Did you know that now there’s this Official Tumblr blog called @memories, and it knows down to the minute when someone joined? Let me go check it… *digs through the blogs posts* Okay, it was apparently 07/31/2017 at 1:17:15 PM, which means it must have been on the weekend because of the time of day haha.

As for why ... hmm, well… I found the Choices app one day, when it only had like… three series I think! Anyone else remember that time? 

Megs:  I do!  Because I was playing Hollywood University I think I downloaded choices the day the app came out.

Max: Awh!  Well, I fell in love with The Freshman Series. Mostly because of Chris Powell and Zack Zilberg, and a long time ago I was in another fandom that had tons of fan fiction/art… so I googled “Choices Chris Powell” and any other combination I could think of looking for possible fanfiction. The fandom was almost non existent at the time. There was actually one person, who has long since left the fandom due to fandom dramas - we all know the kinds I’m talking about - but a few others had started posting their works as well… and I got hooked. Eventually I felt the bug to write how I felt TF should play out as well, and here I am *looks back at the “joined tumblr timestamp”* uhh… 20ish months ago!  Haha!!

Megs:  LOL, when you put it that way it doesn’t sound like that long ago ... lets call a spade a spade - that was almost 2 years ago!  That’s amazing!  You have to have seen so much in this fandom!  What is it that keeps you around?

Max: There are so many awesome people in this fandom, in this world we’ve all created for our pixelated loves lol. Soooo many creative minds to follow and enjoy. The content people share, original or repost… it’s great. 

... Unfortunately it is also a double edge sword ... the drama, the jealousy, the rumors, the hate, etc. I’ve sadly seen far too much and it comes in so many forms… it’s unnecessary.

Megs:  I couldn’t agree more!  If you could tell the fandom one thing - what would it be?

Max: It would be that we’re all here because we want to have a good time. No one came here to get ridiculed, to be scrutinized or chastised for their opinions, their likes or dislikes. Real life has enough of that going on. We are all individuals - if you want to be treated nicely, fairly, etc. you must also do the same to others. There is no reason someone must agree with you or anyone else. Live and let live. Embrace our differences as it makes us who we are. Most of the issues I see stem from a simple difference in opinion. That is ridiculous. Everyone’s entitled to their own thoughts. We must build each other up, not tear one another down. No one here owes anyone anything, now go have some fun.

(The room stands up in applause!)

Megs:  You should definitely stand up and take a bow, Max! 

(Max does just as Megs suggests - but she also makes Megs stand up and do the same. Laughing, they both sit back down.)

Awh, Max ... okay, let’s get back to you.  We know that you’d fight anyone for the position of The Chris Powell Appreciation/Fan Club.  And for those who don’t know, Max has been retelling the full The Freshman series, interweaving dialogue and plot from PB but also adding much of her own content.  MC and Chris get a backstory.  Chris gets best friends from back home.  What is your favorite piece that you have written?

Max: Oh geez hahaha. Um… can I just say The Freshman Chronicles as a whole? I’ve written for different fandoms, and I have original WIPs but I’ll stick to the Choices fandom for this answer. I’ve put a lot of time into TFC. Tons of additional story work, research on characters and their backgrounds, PBs and my own OCs. You should see my file folder setup haha. It’s crazy… I have so many docs, pictures and gifs. Most organized by location (Hartfeld, Boston, New Haven, Cherryfield, etc.), then by character… and on some I get more detailed and split them by emotion and situation.

Megs: By what again?

Max:  Emotion and Situation ... Yeah. I warned you it was crazy! *laughs* TFC was the reason I joined tumblr really. Instead of staying a Nonny and only reading others posted works. I wanted to comment, like and reblog what I enjoyed, while I also worked on my own contribution to the fandom. I had a vision for Chris and MC that had more than the game could give, and I wanted to see if i was still any good at writing since it had been years and years… it’s funny to see how different my current posts are from my first over a year ago. Makes me want to go update a few because they could use a little help *awkward laugh*

Megs:  I’m sure we can all relate to that!  Hmmm ... I’m starting to get a feel for this, I think, but what is your writing process?

Max:  Lots of planning, mostly in my head. When I feel like I have a decent concept I might type out some notes or work it into my outline (another crazy thing I have going for TFC because it’s so big haha). But usually, once I hatch out a basic plan on where I’m going… I just start typing. Keeping the general plot and main points I want to hit in mind, I simply start typing… keeping it as organic as possible. It usually works out well. 

Megs:  Do you have any advice for other writers?

Max: First, and most importantly… do it because you enjoy it. Don’t do it for likes, reblogs, popularity, etc. If you’re having a good time dreaming things up and typing them out, that’s what’s important. The rest is just an extra bonus. Also, don’t give up. It’s easy to become discouraged, frustrated, distracted and more… but remember - your creative cells can’t be running all the time. They need to rest just like your body. Take breaks… go read, play games, hang out with friends/family, watch a movie… whatever. Just do something to help you relax, to reset and you’ll very probably find inspiration and/or motivation to continue. Remember, this is for fun. *wink and finger guns*

Megs: So what do you do for fun?

Max: I actually have a few things I do regularly. A big one is making costumes/props for conventions, small productions, etc. I also train and show horses. I do the same with my dogs, but more for competitions and not really any shows. I’ve always drawn, sculpted, painted since I was old enough to hold things with my hands… and about a year ago I started learning how to do it digitally as well. I run (not at all for fun haha) and play hockey (totally for fun), follow comics and watch anime. I've restored houses, cars and old furniture. I like to read as much as I can - that’s an important one. I also play video games. Something I’ve done since I was young… I've even competed, and won, a few gaming tournaments.

Megs:  You don’t know how to be bored do you?

Max: LOL, Megs.  Yeah, um, so there’s a “few” *makes air quotes* of my never ending list of interests haha. Gives me a lot to talk about with people, eh?

Megs: Not that I can understand how you’d have time for this ... but what do you do to help pay for your many activities?

Max:  Oh like, my job? Well that can be a simple answer… like “I work in software” but the more interesting way to say it is I use my MBA, experience in business, the financial industry and technology to improve and stabilize my customers environment through technological solutions that fit their specific needs. *presses lips together* I solve problems by designing solutions. Bored yet? Hahaha.

Megs:  No!  That sounds wonderful!  Who doesn’t want their stuff to be designed better?  Any chance you could start working for tumblr?  Some of us have a few complaints ... tags ... mobile losing our work ...

Max:  I’m not sure they could pay me enough to help them with all of their problems!  But, tumblr, feel free to send me an offer!

Megs:  Seriously - send her a 6 figure offer!

Max:  Okay, Megs, well now I have a question for you.

Megs: Uhhhh, Max, that’s not exactly how this is supposed to go. 

Max:  Yeah, don’t care.  Your fans need to know ... Hoooow do you find the time to read and review so much?! And I know that’s just in this fandom.  I know you read books and you may read for other fandoms!?  Seriously, it’s awesome. We need to clock your page flipping speed haha.

Megs:  *blushes* Oh my gosh, you have to stop!  Here’s the key to how I do it ... I wake up at 5:30am and read for about 30 minutes.  Then I workout and start my day.  I read in line at the grocery stores.  I read on my breaks at work. 

Max:  Oh my gosh - you’re such a nerd and I love that!  Okay, nerd, what is your favorite thing to do, besides reading all the things of course?

Megs: This show, of course!  And, of course, getting people to do silly things on this show with me.  For instance - with as athletic as you are, I hear you can’t jump? 

Max:  Megs, shhhhh.  You told me you weren’t going to bring that up.

Megs:  I did no such thing! (Meg says while laughing) I said I might not bring it up.

Max:  Uh huh.

(Kris Kross’s “Jump” starts playing in the studio)

Megs:  Come on - show me what you’ve got! 

(Megs starts “singing” along and jumping along with the song. Max stays seated.  Megs finally pulls Max up into a standing position. Max plays along and “jumps” next to Megs - getting no air at all.)

Oh, come on Max - put some real strength in to it.  Jump! Jump! Jump!

(Max jumps and gets the smallest amount of air time.)

Max:  *laughing* Megs - I’m tall!  I don’t need to jump to reach things!

Megs:  *laughing* That must be nice.  I got good at this type of jumping because I had to learn to jump up and gently grab things from the grocery so I didn’t knock everything down.

*continuing to jump around the audience - getting everyone to join her* And that’s all for the show today today, folks!  Thank you for watching!!  Have a great night!

[awed-frog]

tl;dr: nope

I got a couple of anon asks about this, and I’m also tagging @twist-shout-and-shells because they asked me to, but I have to say - I don’t know anything about comics, I don’t know Marvel at all, so this review is just a meaningless rant. Like, I know so little about this universe that the first superhero movie I ever saw in my life was Thor, and the only reason they got me was because my mythology-loving ass assumed this would be about the actual god, you know?, so that was a very confusing two hours. Anyway - after this, I’m done with them. The ridiculous hype campaign they created around Infinity War actually activated my crow brain, which means I rushed to the theater because I was sort of expecting this would be a shocking masterpiece and any spoiler would ruin it for me, and - yeah. Never doing that again. Because, whatever - they do manage to come up with some good writing from time to time, and Black Panther’s success had made me hope they’d finally recognize that a solid, coherent and meaningful story is really the first thing you need, but apparently not? 

Ugh.

Anyway, here are main reasons why I didn’t like Infinity War.

1) No, we don’t need a new plague

Problem number one with this movie is that it fails to take into account that our IQ as a people has dropped about twenty points over the last thirty years (and I’m not even joking) and that means even a guy nicknamed ‘Mad Titan’ is actually given the benefit of the doubt (I don’t remember anyone thinking Hela might have had a point, but then again, women are known to be emotionally compromised at all times, right, so all that rage was probably PMS and crazy bitches, amirite?, can’t live with them, can’t live without them). And here, predictably, is the result:

I even checked Breitbart so you wouldn’t have to and while they seem confused as to whether they should support this movie or not (don’t watch because Captain America is played by ‘Comrade Communism’, do watch because Chris Pratt is a Good Christian Man), it’s still clear to everybody over there that Thanos, “an environmentalist wacko obsessed with salvaging the natural resources of the universe” is “espousing liberal jibberish”.

So, I’m going to keep it short and mostly sourceless because I saw a lot of people discussing this, but just to be clear: yeah, it is worrying that human population has basically tripled in thirty years, but the correlation ‘more people = more damage & fewer resources’ isn’t as clear-cut as some like to think. Also, research shows that women being recognized as human beings - that’s the actual way to solve this problem (see also x, x), which means that if Thanos had meant business, he could have used those frwaking stones to build schools and family planning centres. 

2) Your plan against evil can’t be just saying no

This is probably what bugs me the most both in fiction and IRL: saying ‘Trump is a moron’, ‘capitalism is bad’ or ‘genocide is wrong’ is not a political program. It’s a moral stance, and kudos to you, but if you want to make the world a better place, you need a lot more than that. But, nope - IW fell into this trap with such relish I can actually believe no one saw this as a problem - at all. When Thanos pointed out, rather smugly, that decimating Gamora’s planet had led to a new era of happiness and prosperity, she didn’t react in any way. We never saw Tony or Shuri mentioning the outlandish, extravagant idea that better and greener technology could actually save us all. We never saw anyone point out that when the richest 1% own half the world’s wealth, wiping out half of a Nairobi slum isn’t likely to do much for the environment. I guess it wasn’t relevant to the plot?

3) Turning your audience against the good guys = dick move

That said, our planet is objectively in bad shape, and writers and artists who are (or like to think of themselves as) engagés are more than welcome to discuss this - for all her faults, JK Rowling did that to perfection in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, focusing on the importance of conservation and taking a clear stance against animal trafficking. Other movies, of course, went a lot farther than that: my movie rec of the day is Okja, a masterful and soulwrenching look at how capitalism manages food production. But IW, on top of everything else, manages to be an anti-green movement movie? As if that was needed in any way? Apparently comic!Thanos’ goal was to impress Lady Death or something, and maybe they should have gone with that, because to me, movie!Thanos’ plan sounds like an ill-conceived and unfortunate parody of the green movement. In fact, eminent biologist E. O. Wilson’s Half-Earth explores this exact possibility - which is not about killing off 50% of the population, thank you very much, but about improving agriculture and urban structures so we can leave 50% of the world to the rest of the ecosystem. And maybe it’s just me, but isn’t it a bit weird the book came out at about the same time when IW’s script was being written? I try not to be a paranoid nutcase, but come on. Because what the movie does is that it turns Thanos into a sort of green Hitler whose only focus is the environment (“But he was a vegetarian!”), cue the creepy final shot of him going all ‘Schwarzy in the forest’ surrounded by clean-water creeks and happy animals while we are left counting our dead. The metaphor couldn’t be more obvious, and to be honest it is most unwelcome. Time and place, guys? I really haven’t seen something so revolting since I got to the end of the Da Vinci Code and realized atheists were the true monsters all along.

4) Being a hero doesn’t mean saving your friends

So this is starting to become a trend, and seriously, enough. If you’re a hero, then you need to think of something greater than yourself, and this is why your life will suck and suck and suck until your untimely death. Deal with it? And I can understand Loki giving up the Tesseract for his brother, because he’s always been more of an anti-hero than a hero, and his morals are shot to hell in any case, and I’ll forgive Dr Strange because he clearly saw something we didn’t, but what the hell was Steve thinking? Seriously, I keep seeing posts about how Pure and Noble Steve is, and guys, did we even see the same movie? Bringing Vision to Wakanda meant endangering an entire nation, and thousands of people there paid for that choice with their lives. It’s because Steve insisted in not seeing the big picture - or accepting Vision’s own wishes - that Thanos even succeeded in the first place. If they’d destroyed the stone, Thanos would never have gotten his hands on it, and Wakanda would not have been attacked by a horde of alien demons. Sacrificing hundreds or thousands of nameless (black, African) warriors to keep one (white) man safe is not heroism - it’s cowardice. It’s assuming your own feelings and your friends’ lives count more than the lives of strangers, and this is the exact opposite of how a hero should think. Not that I’m surprised, since Steve already condoned the destruction of half of Bucharest to save Bucky, but whatever. Compare and contrast with Tony, by the way, who first tried to destroy the Time stone, then chose to sacrifice himself to save someone he didn’t even like? Yeah, that’s more like it. #TeamStark

5) Every single woman is defined by her relationship to a man

With the caveat that no emotion, connection or motivation is throroughly explored in IW because it’s an action-packed movie during which people never speak an honest word to each other (relying instead on posturing, movie quotes and sarcastic remarks), here is basically what happens: men have things, and women have men. Tony’s journey is mostly about saving Peter and also sacrificing himself for the world. Steve is all about his friends and various heroics. Dr Strange is a sort of ascetic monk playing the long game. Thanos wants to save the universe or something. And Vision is on a quest towards humanity? Maybe? But the women - Gamora is important because she’s Thanos’ daughter. Scarlet Witch is important because she loves Vision. Natasha (I think she’s in the movie? I don’t actually remember if we hear her speak) is on Cap’s side because Cap. Pepper only appears to remind us of what Tony has to lose. Exceptions to this rule include Shuri, whom IW didn’t quite manage to destroy; Loki, who was always female- and queer-coded, so I’m not surprised he ends up dying for the handsome and suitably Aryan hero; and arguably Starlord, who mostly fights for Gamora (what is a virtue in a woman, however, is a weakness in a man, because Starlord ends up fucking up the plan because of his love for her). And I know they probably tried to compensate for the complete lack of women in the movie by highlighting how powerful Scarlet Witch is and focusing so much on Gamora, but I’m an annoying person, so that didn’t work for me. Because, again, Scarlet Witch is a 2D character plucked directly from a Victorian dictionary’s definition of ‘woman’ (while the menfolk around her worry about the possible demise of the Entire Earth, there she is, channelling all her energy in being a good and loyal companion to her robot husband) and Gamora has no more control over her life in this movie than she had as a child? Her main narrative purpose in IW is to make us feel bad for her boyfriend and father, who’re both driven to kill her (for very different reasons) and suffer for her death (and don’t get me started on Thanos suddenly loving someone and what a stroke of luck, the one person in the universe he gives a damn about just happens to be standing next to him on top of a cliff when he needs to kill her). Seriously, why is it that female characters’ concerns still begin and end with romantic love? This trope that romance is the most important thing for every single woman needed to die, like, yesterday.

6) None of that actually means anything

Look, I’m a sucker of time-travel of any description, but I also think time-travel must be done honestly or not at all. Movies like Back to the Future or Arrival both use time bending to great effect, because the stakes are real and painful and there are all sort of complex decisions facing our heroes. But IW doesn’t care about any of that. The existence of the Time stone is not about ethical dilemmas or even turning up the drama to eleven - the one purpose of that thing is to make us hope that our personal fave is not dead after all, so we’ll keep watching this stupid franchise until the end of times. That finale could have been innovative and heartwrenching, and instead we already know it wasn’t. Samuel L. Jackson is apparently confirmed in Captain Marvel, which will be released next year, and we also know they’re working on Spider-Man 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Black Panther 2 and Doctor Strange 2. Capitalism has very nearly killed the possibility of creating a well-written and gutting story, because the rule is, If it makes money, it goes the fuck on. Hence TV shows which no longer make any kind of sense but we all keep watching out of nostalgia, affection for the characters or dissatisfaction with our own lives, and also franchises which stretch the plot to new and boring limits (for instance, it beggars belief that Tony and Steve didn’t even meet in IW, and their fight never came up at all: I guess we’ll have to wait for IW 2, or Avengers 37: The One with The Talk). And here, again, studios are so greedy that they willingly disregard the fact audiences will reward ‘complete’ stories: for instance, Logan was critically acclaimed and made tons of money, but the risk of ‘permanently’ killing off a beloved character is still considered too high. And playing it safe actually works: IW costed $320 million, which is about 5% of the studio’s budget, and that investment has already been repaid in full (the movie made double that in the first two weeks).  

(Meanwhile, 21st Century Fox gained more than one billion dollars from Trump’s TAX REFORM THAT WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN - probably a disappointing amount of money for owner Richard Murdoch, who has a net worth of 15 billion and is known to use some of that hard-earned cash to support laudable & important causes such as the privatization of public education, but hey, we all need to make do and move on, right? Right.)

So this is mostly it. To be fair, IW was mildly entertaining, and I thought they sort of did a good job in juggling twenty leads - we got no character development at all and no meaningful dialogue, but we saw everybody at least once and their lines were funny? Some moments were genuinely good despite a couple of bizarre plot points (I’m still unclear on why Strange didn’t create a circle of fire around Thanos’ arm, and very tired of the overused ‘Yeah, let’s save the most powerful weapons for last’ trope), so I wouldn’t say this was the worst movie ever made, but as I said, I’m done. I’ve given more than enough money to this franchise, so when IW 2 comes out, I think I’ll be a boring adult and watch it on TV as I’m doing my ironing or something. Good times.

[romanssippycup]

Undeniably Important Chapter 12: At the Wrong Time

AUTHOR’S NOTE Part 1: (Hey everybody!! Finally got this part out. It was very difficult to write just because this is where Everything goes down for real. It gets super crazy in this chapter. There is way too much to explain in this story all at once, so everyone might be left confused for a little while. I didn’t get to the parts I badly wanted to write for this chapter, which I’m really sad about, hopefully they will make an appearance in the next chapter though. So look forward to that. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. As always, if you have any questions or I just didnt explain something well enough, please leave your questions in the comments below. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this crazy ride!! Thank you for reading! :D)

(WARNING: Angst and Puking)

Chapter 1 – Chapter 2 – Chapter 3 – Chapter 4 – Chapter 5 – Chapter 6 – Chapter 7 – Chapter 8 – Chapter 9 – Chapter 10 - Chapter 11

5:08 p.m.

THUD! Anxiety’s chair fell over backwards, startling the people around the seemingly empty table. Thomas watched the whole predicament from the corner of his eyes, badly wanting to go over and make sure his sides were okay, but knew he would just make matters worse for his anxious side. He did not understand why Anxiety fell when the waitress bumped into him, or what was even going on at the sides’ table. But if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was he felt sick to his stomach. His insides twisted as if it were trying to fight off a nasty bug, but no parasite or vicious virus had called his body it’s home. So…why then did he feel like he was going to throw up all of a sudden?

5:08 p.m.

THUD! Anxiety’s chair fell over backwards, startling the people around the seemingly empty table.

“It was me Logan. I stole your notepad.” Virgil stood there watching the complexions of his fellow sides change with the confessions he had made. Roman and Logan’s eyebrows both raised in surprise while the moral aspect’s whole face drained of what color was left.

   Through the awkward silence, Patton coughed in his tears. “K-kiddo…you didn’t…you didn’t have too-”

   “Yes. Patton. I did. Now before ANY of you decide to talk or accuse me, let me accuse myself!” His voice slightly raised as he dried his eyes of what could have been tears had he let his emotions spill over. “Logan, Patton took it upon himself to lie to you for me and I didn’t say anything. I hoped it would blow over, but now that I know that something is happening to the copy I-”

   “Copy?” Logan’s head slightly cocked, now more confused than ever.

Anxiety rubbed his nose in irritation at being interrupted by the logical side. “Look. I can duplicate things ok? I stole your notepad because you had told me during the Outfit war that I…that I represented more than just my job. I didn’t believe your words, so I stole the notepad that held all your notes and theories, to see if you were actually telling the truth. I copied it, gave the fake one back to you and kept the real to myself.” Logan glanced down at the real notebook on the table then back up at the anxious aspect, keeping silent so he could continue to speak.

“And…you were telling the truth. I didn’t trust you, because I’ve been told by all of you at one point that I only was Anxiety. And nothing more. Why the sudden change Logan?! Why?” Logan’s neutral expression transformed itself into frown, but the darker aspect gave him no time to speak. “You know what!? Don’t. Don’t answer that. I don’t need to know and I don’t wanna know. Just take the real notebook and toss the copy in the garbage. I’m sorry I lied, just…keep talking about me behind my back like I’m the villain still. It’s better than being accepted as a friend.”

Patton choked back a sob. “Anxiety…”

“No dad. Just make up with Logan and slap some sense into the prince of ignorance over there. I’ve got better things to do than stay here. Night.” He sank out, before Logan or Patton could have convinced him to do otherwise.

5:10 pm

Anxiety rematerialized in his room, collapsing on his bed sheets overwhelmed by the amount of self-hate and anger he had placed upon himself. He was not sure if it was true, but it was felt by the owner of the feelings regardless what the others thought. The sigh that protruded from his mouth was strained and raw reflecting the emotions that hung over him like a black cloud returning to haunt him once more.

He lay there unable to move painstricken by sorrow and weighed down by his own hopelessness. No matter how he tried to suppress it however, there lay a tiny spark of trust that time will pass and this whole situation would be dealt with soon.

He gave a tiny grieved smile as the thought passed through his mind. The ticking of the clock was the one thing he could always count on to solve his problems. He did hear Logan say once that time was the best healer and in many ways it cleanses problems, pushes away past mistakes, and puts distance between those who are unhappy with their earlier versions of themselves. Because of these facts all Anxiety deduced he had to do was let time pass then perhaps his mistake would be fixed.

He grinned wider as he let his grasp on time slip, the ticking of the clock soon quickening before his own eyes and ears. His body remained as his consciousness phazed through time itself, refusing to pay attention to the ever slight shifting of his room as time flew by. For the most part it remained the same, save for the imaginary spider he thought he saw running across the room or the sped up knocks of most likely Patton or any of the other sides trying to check on him.

He took a second out of his processes to thank the lucky stars that he locked his room door, but it was in that second that he heard a tiny knock. One that hadn’t rang in his ears for a long time. Not as steady as Logan’s. Not as boisterous as Roman’s. One that resembled Patton’s sweet knock, but higher pitched and placed closer to the floor. For a moment, Virgil believed he was hearing things. From past experience, he knew time-travelling had it’s side-effects on him and illusions were quite common things to experience, but after hearing it for a second time, there was no mistaking it.

He relapsed slightly, rewinding his position to a minute before he first heard the knock, and then stabilized his mind back into the mindscape. His consciousness suddenly existing in the future time he had picked and in the same position that he had laid down in. Eyeing the clock on the wall, the hands told it’s reader everything he needed to know.

7:08 pm

It was a little later than he had wanted, but he knew for a matter of fact that Thomas would be home from the Sushi place, or at least getting home if nothing else. Anxiety arose from his bed and rubbed his eyes, already feeling the spark of hope begin to nag at the back of his mind again as he slumped towards the door. He brushed it aside knowing full well that it was the last thing he had wanted to think about. At least he knew the knock would distract him.

7:09 pm

The small knock sounded, cutting through the silence and in turn his thoughts. He turned the knob and peeked out slightly, his breath caught in his throat as he saw who was standing outside his door.

“Hey Virge. Dad’s freaking out for some reason. Mind if we hide in here with you?”

5:09 pm

It took the logical aspect one whole minute to let the situation sink in. He was unable to move as he processed all the events that had led up to this point. He now realized his words to the moral aspect were much more insensitive than he had intended. Especially if he was just trying to protect Anxiety, from whatever harsh words Logan was going to give him. But, that was just it. Logan felt no anger at the anxious aspect for stealing his notebook. Maybe embarrassed since his small crush on Patton had been exploited, but even that bit of information in itself meant Patton hadn’t exactly seen his drawings anyway. But Anxiety had only wanted to confirm the words he had said during the Outfit War, but was too embarrassed to ask him to his face, which was understandable, considering how he and Roman had treated him in the past.

Logan felt his body relax slightly, as the miscommunication laid out clearly in front of him. He really did wish Anxiety had stayed so Logan could explain his thoughts on the matter. Instead, Anxiety just had to jump to conclusions once again, thinking everyone hated him for this simple act of mistrust. However, Logan couldn’t have been angry even if he wanted too. By taking his notepad, Anxiety had most likely gone through the other theories in his notepad and now he had another person to converse with about his thoughts. This whole ordeal was most likely just a rocky start to a companionship that should have been established ages ago.

Shaking himself back into the real world, Logan crept a hand cautiously towards his notepad, checking for any slight differences between the copy and the real sitting in front of him. Grasping it quickly, he flipped through it, pulled out a pen, and drew a small heart on a random page. To his relief, the ink came out of the pen and wrote like it should. This meant that only the copy was having issues performing it’s primary function. He shoved the pad inside his pocket before analyzing his surroundings.

Anxiety’s outburst had done more than surprise Logan, Patton, and Roman. Three other groups of people were now currently staring towards the sides’ seemingly empty table, but this was not what Logan was mostly concerned about. Turning towards the table where Thomas’s friends sat, everyone was talking normally, but Thomas himself had vanished. The logical facet gave a thorough scan of the restaurant, but could find no trace of their human anywhere. He blew a sigh of slight relief as Roman and Patton began to understand the gravity of the situation.

Speaking of the moral trait, Patton had broken down into even more tears after seeing Anxiety leave on such a sour note. Roman had been doing his best at comfort, but he didn’t seem too keen on how to properly help him.

“Logan! A little help over here!” Logan instantly turned to Morality and laid a gentle hand on Patton’s shoulder.

“Patton? I am sorry for what I said. I realize now you were only protecting Anxiety from my anger, but I assure you I am not in the slightest bit. It was wrong for my words to attack your ability to perform your occupation as Thomas’s morality, but you were not acting so far out of a range that Thomas wouldn’t decidedly do for his friends. Will you accept my apology?”

The moral aspect turned to Logan and threw his arms around the logical aspect’s neck, much to Roman and his own surprise. “Oh yes Logan! I forgive you. I knew you didn’t know what happened, but we need to go after Anxiety. He can’t just sit in his room thinking this is all his fault for a long period of time. We’ve let him do that enough.”

Logan nodded in acknowledgement, thankful as the moral aspect dried his tears and withdrew his arms. “Yes, I for one agree, however Anxiety’s absence is not our only problem. Thomas is gone and nowhere to be found. We might have to split up and solve both problems at once. Roman!” The fanciful aspect had been surprisingly listening to him, his phone away and eyes attentive.

“I’m awake with my so called head out of the clouds, nerd. You don’t need to shout at me. I’m staying here and looking for Thomas, though. You two can go look for Anxiety.”

Patton frowned. “He needs your apology too, Princey.”

“Yes I know. I’ll give it to him when I’m ready.” The reluctant face Roman portrayed told both bespectacled aspects that he didn’t plan on apologizing to him anytime soon. Before Logan could do so much as frown or rebuke the prince for this, the same waiter that Anxiety had bumped into began to make her way over to their table after seeing Anxiety’s fallen chair. Logan quickly drew in a breath about to reset it with his gravity powers, when he was restrained by Roman. A quick shake of his head brought Logan back to the reality of the situation. Anxiety had interacted directly with Thomas’s plane of existence unintentionally. Heaven knew if Logan’s forces could do the same.

Time seemed to stop as she sauntered over to the table and slowly set the chair upright, her face suddenly snapping to stare at the facets in front of her as all four chair legs hit the ground. Logan started, beginning to feel a sense of dread overcome him as her eyes swept along the exact position of all three of them. For a moment he feared as if she could see them sitting there directly in front of her. Movement caught his eye beyond her hair however as he spotted the same exact waitress three tables down. His eyes widened further, taking in the positions of the two identical waitresses. The one glaring at them from Anxiety’s seat, and the other who was currently walking back to the kitchen.

Two waitresses. Two Notebooks. Logan felt himself gulp and saw out of the corner of his eye the other sides had already noticed the impossible occurrence standing before them. In no way could two of the same person exist in the same time, but from the research he had gathered it said nothing about the same person existing in different dimensions at the same time.

It hit him like a truck rushing a building at full speed. The copy waiter standing before them did not exist in the dimensions of the real world, but the dimensions of their world. She smiled, seemingly noting the look of total shock on their faces as Patton and Roman glanced at Logan, trying to make sense of the situation.

“You know its not necessarily nice to take food without paying for it.” The waiter gestured to their empty plates. “How about I take you to see my manager so they can sort this predicament out?” In a flash, she reached out grabbing Roman by the wrist. The royal yelped in surprise, but it quickly turned into a scream of anguish as she gripped him. This version of the waiter was clearly stronger and more agile than other ladies her same age.

Logan acted quickly, jumping out of his seat to rush to Roman’s aid, but found himself being death gripped by the waitress as well. At first, it hurt and he could feel a wave of paralysis overtake his body, causing his body to freeze in it’s awkward position. And then a similar scream to Roman’s forced itself out of his mouth as an excruciating pain was felt traveling up his arm. He whipped his head over to Roman and then to his arm finding the same thing happening. His body was becoming transparent, leaving only the outlines of his clothing and body visible. He watched with horror as Roman’s screams continued and his own transparency spread, leaving Roman’s body looking more like a suspended, lined drawing by the second.

Before Patton could do so much as yell or scream or react to the situation at hand, Roman fell. He fell through the floor, as if it didn’t even exist under his feet. Logan stared mortified and soon after felt his body losing it’s solidity, the floor’s stability vanishing suddenly from under his feet. His stomach jumped to his throat as he felt himself follow suit of Roman, sinking down with a speed more forceful than anything Thomas had ever experienced. He plummeted down, only catching another glimpse of the outline of Roman’s body, before all consciousness slipped from him.

Patton froze with mortal terror as he watched all of this happen, unable to explain, breathe or save them from whatever was happening. His mouth opened, but no sound came out, watching the transparent forms of Roman and Logan just plunge through the floor as if it didn’t exist. Through this, no one around seemed to notice. Not Thomas’s friends, Nor people around them. Just them and the copy waitress who had power beyond any of their comprehension. As Logan fell, she retreated her hand and smiled coldly towards Patton, giving him a heartless wave, before turning transparent herself and falling through the floor.

The room grew quiet. Quiet in Patton’s dimension. People chattered all around him, but he couldn’t hear any of it. He hardly even felt the tears as they dripped off his cheeks, finally understanding the meaning of numb. He subconsciously sunk back into the mindscape, landing on his stomach which forced some of his food he ate to resurface into his mouth. He spit, a strained sound protruding from his mouth as all physical and mental pain hit him at the same time. Anxiety. He had to find Anxiety.

Patton staggered to his feet and stumbled to Anxiety’s room door. He pounded, fist after fist, the tears becoming a shower of rain, followed by strangled sound of shear sorrow, as he continued to beat, begging him to open up. After five minutes of constant beating, Patton threw himself on the ground, wailing for someone to help. Thomas. Anxiety. The Others. Anyone. Just someone, so he didn’t feel so alone.

His strangled cries soon began to dwindle into softer whimpers as he curled up on himself, in the middle of the hallway. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he had picked himself up and crawled to the darkest corner of the mindscape, choosing there to sob the rest of his overloading emotions away.

5:10 pm

Thomas puked into the toilet for the fifth time, panting, whining, and wishing his stomach would just stop being upset so he could join his friends again. He felt the pain rise in his throat as he gagged and coughed up the bile once again. He knew there were people in the restroom with him, listening to him make these pathetic sounds and it caused his stomach to wrench even more with embarrassment.

Suddenly though, from within the depths of his soul and within the depths of his mind, he could feel a pain searing grasp stripping away two sides of his very being. He screamed. A blood curling scream, enough to frighten all the other men inside the bathroom with him. It was too much. It hurt too much. Thomas felt his body begin to pass out with pain, only vaguely hearing the stall door being broken into behind him. The two voices behind him gasping with extreme disturbance at what they saw. Thomas only barely heard a voice, before he too lost all consciousness, his head plunging into the murky depths of the toilet.

“…oh my god….”

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