#i think mag is a boy

[britneyshakespeare]

i think one of our hens is actually a rooster

[chevvy-yates]

[NC_RES]-31102049-EUR-GER scharfenberg_g_portraits_043_1_CCR_HB_JP_HB.file ///core:_ryder_von_scharfenberg.file\\\

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⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

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[your-ne1ghbor]

Character conflict

Only thing I will say here is this:

The most terrifying villains

is them knowing they're in the wrong...

[theloveinc]

OKAY hear me out but touya WITH a job getting ready at your cute vanity and pink room. struggling to put up his cargo pants/ slacks with the belt, while running over to get his coat off of the fuzzy pink chair in the corner. he's forced to fix his hair and check if his face looks the least presentable in your mirror filled with polaroids before he goes out and it's SO funny to watch him do that omg. i'm gonna die

(pt. i!)

WAHHH mismatched socks, the elastic of his calvin kleins (that u bought him) peeking out at his backside; he nearly trips over his work bag that's waiting for him on the floor and practically slides right into your full-length mirror--you're really rooting for him and even though he wouldnt say it, he'd try to strangle himself if he lost his job for being late just one too many times--because he's rushing to get out the door.

you can hear him from the kitchen where you're putting together lunches (not for him specifically, but because you already make something for yourself, you might as well...you're welcome, touya), AND YES IT'S SO HARD not to laugh when the door bursts open and he's looking like a little fool with his black and white hair actually combed down and smudges around his eyes from trying + failing to get your eyeliner off of him.

(also, did he use your hairspray that was sitting on your vanity? maybe. okay, yes. though it's no surprise he knows where everything you own is lmfao)

he stills refuses to let you put things in a lunch box, but no way in HELL he's not shoving the wrapped sandwich and bento full of fruit into his bag before !!! kissing you goodbye!!!

it's truly like a dream come true 'coz even though part of him feels like a DOG having to work for the man, making you happy is what MAKES HIM HAPPY and being able to fill your (and now! his) room with more cute and pink things is his new favorite hobby...

(and even though he blushes like hell doing it, the next lunch date he's picking you up from, he's paying the whole table's bill in CASH and not taking no for an answer. makes him feel the best he has in a while. even though he's still eating everyone's leftovers lmao.)

slay the house down HOUSTON I'M DECEASED!!!!

[marvelousmawn]

thanks to that poll ive been reminded how much s3 jmart makes me insane. i haven't gone to tma since it ended but bruh. bruh. im truly just laying here thinking about how they had to have had a "when this is over we'll....talk" conversation pre-unknowing maybe even one kiss one single kiss because it makes the beginning of s4 and s4 itself make SO MUCH SENSE and makes it MORE DELICIOUS

you can't have s4 pining jmart without s3 pining jmart. s3 ran so s4 could also run

[meownotgood]

i agree that aki is the most vanilla man in the world. if you asked him to spank you he would get scared and shrivel up

yes. aki is the sweetest most vanilla man ever.

if you really wanted him to spank you he'd try but his idea of a spank is just the lightest tap in the world. like it's not even a smack. he just taps your ass with his palm a little. it doesn't even sting.

he can't be the slightest bit rough with you without asking constantly if you're okay or if he's hurting you. he's the kind of man who will fuck you in missionary every single time unless you suggest something different because he's just content with that. the kind of man who adamantly refuses to be mean to you in bed or call you rude names because he doesn't think you're any of those things at all.

[huffle-dork]

Glitch into the Hufflverse Chapter 15: Swapboys...? Again?

Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs | Read One Villain falls Another One Rises

Read SITCV | Read SATCV | GITHV Masterpost

When the boys all fall into the new world- it’s nothing like they’ve seen before. It’s a city street… but the buildings look like they’re falling apart. Like something out of a dystopian film. The city is strangely quiet. Except for this strange- glitch-like sound- tinkling like computerized wind chimes. Looking closer at the buildings- it seems like it’s not breaking apart normally… no- it’s breaking into computer code. Binary, ones and zeros, long swatches of words and letters that are completely unreadable.

And worst of all- Bro and Alt realize this… this place is familiar. Why is it familiar…?

“What… is all this?” Alt breathes in confusion.

"H-huh?" Jackie looks around. "Whaaaat the fuuuuck..."

I've never seen anything like this, JJ shakes his head in disbelief.

"What is that sound?" Schneep turns his head around, catching the noises. "It is all around us. It sounds like... some s-sort of... computer or static... glitches?"

"Schneep, you're not going to believe this," Jackie mutters. "But we're in a city. And all the buildings are turning into fucking binary."

"What?!"

What is this, some sort of... simulation world? JJ asks, frowning.

"How the fuck does that make sense?!" Jackie asks.

I don't know! I don't know what this is!

Bro pales and holds onto Alt. “Alt… d-doesn’t this… doesn’t this look like… like downtown? Like… o-our downtown?”

“What are you-“ Alt starts to say, then really looks and he seems to pale. “N-No… no way…”

Something is slinking behind in the shadows of some of the buildings- something,.. big and… cat like? But Alt and Bro don’t notice- too freaked out by this.

"Your downtown?" Jackie repeats. "So this is—this is Brighton?"

JJ shivers. What could have possibly happened to cause this?

Schneep gets out his cane and starts feeling around. His head turns wildly, trying to hear through the glitchy noises. "Is there anyone coming?"

"I don't see anyone, no," Jackie says, but he takes out his staff and extends it anyway. Something about this place is giving him the creeps.

Schneep frowns. "F-for a moment I thought I... sensed... something."

Suddenly the shadowy figure lashes out, trying to tackle down one of the boys.

Bro sees this and gets in front of the others- the thing is a big cat! Almost like a panther but… fluffier? It plows slightly into Jackie, throwing him off before it tackles Bro to the ground.

"Whoa!" Jackie spins and staggers before regaining his balance by pushing against the ground with his staff.

"What is that?!" Schneep gasps.

"Some sort of cat! Hey!" Jackie starts to run back over to attack but JJ grabs him, pulling him back. JJ then tries to cast a protective shield around Bro to push the cat back.

The shield pushes the cat back and it mrows slightly in distress then bends back down to the ground and snarls at the rest of them. Alt glitches over to be in front of Bro, holding out his hand with magic sparking in it. Then, he freezes, face going pale. “…Glitches…?” he whispers in disbelief.

"Glitches?" Jackie repeats, blinking in confusion.

Isn't that your cat? JJ asks.

A glitchy haunting laugh echoes across the empty city street, sending shivers down Bro and Alt’s spines. Why did it sound so… familiar too?

At the sound of the laughter, Schneep immediately pulls out his scissors and spins around, trying to figure out where it came from. "What was that?"

"Show yourself, coward!" Jackie shouts.

JJ looks at him like he's completely lost his mind. No! Let's get out of here!

Alt is frozen in place, staring at the cat like he’s seen a ghost. Glitches growls at him, but looks… confused. Conflicted. Alt almost tries to reach out before they hear the laugh and Bro pulls Alt back.

Something suddenly… glitches next to the cat. The same effect as Alt’s just… more purple and neon. The figure laughs more and pets Glitches head. He slowly lifts his head and…

It’s… Alt?

But this Alt is very different- his brown hair is overgrown and pulled into a small ponytail. He wears his old impulse jacket that’s dirty and ripped. He has purple branching scars on his cheek and across his nose. And his eyes… they look just like Magnificent’s.

“…no…” Alt breathes, looking beyond freaked out.

"H-huh?" Jackie stares with wide eyes. "Alt?!"

"Alt..." Schneep breathes, feeling the similarities between their souls. But... "I-is that... dark magic?"

JJ looks horrified. He instinctively conjures a shield in front of them all.

The copy laughs wildly, “I thought I felt the rifts! It’s been so long… I thought they’d never come here again-“

“W-What is this?!” Bro snarls, “Is this some kind of s-sick joke? Who the hell are you? Cuz y-you- you’re not Alt!”

The copy finally looks properly at Bro and his other self- but his eyes widen as he sees Bro. He glitches past the shield to be right in Bro’s face. “C-Chase?” He whispers- like he’s just seen a ghost. Then he laughs wildly and grabs either side of Bro’s face, digging claws into his skin, “T-The universe brought you back!! The rifts brought you back!! F-Finally!! I can start to make things right- you’re not gonna leave me again are you, Chase?!”

Alt looks like he’s gonna be sick. Bro tries to shove the other Alt off him. “F-Fucking let go!! The fuck are you talking about?!”

"You know about the rifts?!" Jackie gasps. "You—what do you mean, 'they'd come here again'?"

"This is... some sort of... s-strange universe," Schneep whispers. His stomach sinks as he takes in the implications of the strange Alt's world. Brought Chase back...? "Some s-strange... tragedy must have happened..."

JJ cries out as the other Alt just glitches past his shield—he's got to remember he can do that! He hurries over to help Bro push the other Alt away. 

The strange Alt gets pushed away and he stumbles back. Then he grins and glitches to look at all the others properly. “Oh! So many familiar faces!! It’s been so long, friends~! I thought I was cut off from the other universes now but here you all are!!” He giggles, floating a bit off the ground.

Then, He glitches to grab Alt by his face- and his eyes flash with hatred. “…even you.”

Alt is trembling, staring at this- corrupted version of himself but not being able to move or do anything in response. Bro shoves the strange Alt away and growls. “Hands off!”

The weird Alt giggles and snatches Bro by his wrist. He then glitches the both of them over back by big cat Glitches and his eyes swirl as he looks into Bro’s eyes, floating so they’re the same height. “Come on Chase! Let’s quit all this mucking about! You know how much I need you… come home with me?” Bro struggles but then- seems to be slowly drawn into other Alt’s eyes. “I…I-“

"Oh no you fucking don't!" Jackie breaks into a run heading right for the other Alt.

"Jackie! Do not be a fool!" Schneep says. "Not by yourself!" He leaps towards Bro and the other Alt, aiming to knock Bro to the ground—or otherwise break his eye contact. Jackie arrives shortly after he does and immediately attacks the other Alt with his staff.

JJ grabs Alt's hand, squeezing it tight, and gets ready to throw magic at the first sign of trouble.

Alt squeezes tight on JJ’s hand, on the verge of a panic attack. This must all be just a terrible dream… right? This… this only happens in his absolutely worst nightmares.

Breathe, JJ signs to Alt. 

The staff hits the other Alt with a resounding clang and the spirals fade from his eyes. But then he grabs Bro before Schneep can and holds him possessively, claws digging into his neck. “Back off! You don’t get it! I need him- I won’t let you take him away again!”

“You’re out of your fucking mind, man!” Jackie says. “You’re gonna hurt him!”

“We do not want to fight you, but we will if we must!” Schneep adds, holding out his scissors.

JJ turns his attention back to the others, silently debating what to do. Maybe—if he distracts this strange Alt, the others can grab Bro? With that in mind, he draws back a hand and throws a bolt of magic towards the other Alt—something mostly harmless that will draw his attention.

Jackie notices this and takes the opportunity to try and pull Bro away.

The strange Alt makes a glitchy shield without even looking at JJ- but Jackie is strong enough to pull Bro away. Bro shakes out of the strange trance and clings to Jackie. “fuck- t-thanks…!”

The strange Alt growls and purple electricity sparks around him dangerously. “Enough! This fucking city and this world is fucking mine!” He laughs insanely and holds out a hand at Jackie, Schneep and Bro. The ground beneath them flickers and shifts like it might fade into pixels and code like the buildings. “I wanna hear you all go s̷̨̅p̶̩̍l̸̤͗ȃ̶̮t̴̨̓!” he giggles.

Schneep yelps upon feeling the ground under his feet shift. Jackie tries running, dragging Bro with him, but it's hard to find his footing to do so.

The other Alt glitches a bit in place and starts to close his hand-then… it’s like a pause button has been pressed, capturing him mid laugh and mid glitch.

Someone whistles from an alleyway nearby and then an arm gestures for them to follow. “Hurry! Over here!”

JJ's head snaps towards the voice and immediately books it towards the gesturing arm, taking Alt with him. He whistles sharply, drawing the other two's attention. Schneep and Jackie break into a run as well, taking Bro. Bro is able to run pretty soon with them and hurries over. Alt tries his best to keep up-

The dark alley makes it hard to see but soon there’s a tealish ring of light that appears and a shadowy figure jumps through- followed by something that looks like a… dog? “In here! Quickly! My spell will not last long-“

"Coming!" Jackie gasps, running as fast as he can. "Schneep, you're going to have to jump!"

"Tell me when!" Schneep says.

Jackie heads through first. "Now!"

Schneep stumbles a bit as he goes through the ring but manages to land well enough.

JJ goes through next, still holding onto Alt's hand.

"I-is this���who I think it is?" Schneep asks, recognizing the feel of the person's soul.

“I-It sounds like…!” Bro pants as he jumps in with the others.

They all land in a warmly lit but still somewhat dim room. It’s slightly cold in here… stone walls? Maybe underground? It’s jammed to the brim with a couple beds, a desk with med kits, water and packs of food. Bags of dog food line the wall and big duffle bags. One of the beds is filled with open spell books and notebooks with writing in them. Various suitcases lie around the beds, in different degrees of usage.

And standing before them is- it’s Henny and Sahne. Henny looks like he’s seen hell- his usual bright sunny face haggard and dirty- deep bags under his eyes. His glasses are cracked- he’s in a dark dingy trench coat. Sahne sits obediently at his feet. But she looks to see the others and her tail starts to wag.

“That was very very close- are you all alright? This place should be safe from-“ he starts to say.

“H…Henny?” Alt interrupts.

Henny looks up now and his eyes widen. “…my.. mein gott-“ he whispers. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. “Chase- you’re … you’re alive…!” Henny laughs in teary eyed disbelief and runs at Bro and hugs him tightly.

Bro blinks and pats Henny’s back. “Y-Yeah I’m… h-hi Hen?”

Henny laughs wetly and then goes to grab Alt too and hugs him with Bro, pressing his head onto both of their shoulders, “Oh! And… Alt… Alt, my friend… is it actually you…! Not that… that glitched Ungeheuerlichkeit!” Alt is frozen in his hug, still trembling.

Sahne starts to bark happily- though definitely more quiet barks as she dances around everyone, pressing her noses against hands and legs and rubbing up against them, tail wagging wildly.

JJ stares, stunned, at this other version of Henny. What... happened to him? He probably should have expected that this wouldn't be a good place to live, given the glitchy state of everything outside, but it's another thing to see someone who was so smiley look so tired.

Jackie is just as stunned. But he zeroes in on one thing in particular. "...'alive'?" he whispers. "What the... what the fuck happened in this world...?"

Schneep inches away from Sahne and starts getting the lay of things with his cane. "Wh-where are we? What... what happened to the Alt is this world?"

And what about the others? JJ says, worried.

"Um... also, uh... hi?" Jackie raises a hand.

Henny let’s go and wipes at his eyes. He laughs and looks back over Bro and Alt, “oh… you both look so young…” He says, gently cupping their cheeks. The others can notice this Henny does seem a bit older than the one they knew- though maybe the slight salt and pepper hair is from stress.

He smiles tiredly at the others. “Yes hallo.. it is… good to see friendly faces… I.. you all must be so confused. Please- sit and I… I will try to explain.”

“Yes explaining is good cuz what?!” Bro exclaims, throwing up his hands, “I… the me from this universe, he’s dead?”

Alt and Henny seem to wince at this. “I… I will explain Chase… please just…I-I am sorry it is tight in here-“

“If I’m dead then- w-what about Jackie and Jay? Henrik what-“

“They are safe.” Henny says firmly, gripping his hands into fists. “Z-Zara got them out of the city…on a boat. The children… Zara, Jackie and Jewel. They are all fine… all of this s-seems to be contained to Brighton… b-but I do not know for how much longer.”

"They're not even here?" Jackie's eyes widen. "It's that bad? Holy shit." He shakes his head and sits down on one of the beds. "Okay. Jeez."

Something must have happened to Alt in this world, JJ says. Something that gave him incredible power, but made him... unstable. He looks a bit haunted for a moment as he remembers what happened in the last world, but quickly pushes that away. Clearly, this is much worse, probably not even comparable.

"Yes, Jamie, I agree, that must be it," Schneep says. "Do not worry about the space, ah, Henrik, it is fine. Why are you still here, if the others have all left?"

“…someone needs to continue what… what Chase could not.” Henny says quietly, hugging his arms. “…I did not have nearly as much power as Alt or Bro Fantastic did but… I-I could do something. I stay to… to help anyone else who is left. It… it isn’t much now. I try to get people out to safety. But just in case I… I stay.” He smiles weakly. “Is good I did, ja?”

“Hen what…” Alt voice cracks, “what happened…?”

Henny is silent for a beat. “…it was supposed to be a victory. We had… finally defeated Magnificent. He was… he was dead. But s-something happened… the lingering black magic it… it found a way to claw itself into Alt’s- our Alt’s soul. Or body or… mind- maybe all 3. All we know is after that… it all changed. Alt tried to fight it but it just- consumed him. He started to tear the city apart- started doing things Magnificent would have done. He left us alone though… but it was hard to watch him… hurt innocents. Chase he-he could not stand it. He tried to confront Alt and-“ Henny grips his fingers tighter into his arms. “…he killed him. That fucking Glitch- he killed him!”

Bro and Alt go white as a sheet. Alt’s stomach lurches and he scrambles to find a trash can to retch into. Sahne carefully paws over to sit by him.

"...holy shit," Jackie whispers, his stomach sinking. "That... that's what...? I-I can't believe..." He shakes his head. He can't blame Alt for his reaction.

"Black magic always finds a way to linger, yes?" Schneep mutters darkly. "Even when... it should not." He shudders a bit.

He... couldn't have meant to do it... JJ signs slowly. Alt would never... and that version of him out there... maybe he regretted it? He leans heavily against the wall.

"Are you okay, Alt?" Jackie says softly. "I mean... I get it. I really, really get it."

Alt is bracing himself against the floor, shaking like a leaf as tears fall down his face, “T-t-this is a n-nightmare right? This… t-this can’t be r-real…! I-I w-wouldn’t… I-I would never-!”

Bro hurries over to kneel down by Alt and rub his back, “Breathe, Anti… it’s…”

“It’s okay, Alt,” Schneep says softly. “Black magic can do terrible things to people. It is not because of you that this is happening in this world.”

Alt doesn’t respond to Schneep, holding his arms and shaking wildly as he curls up to cover his mouth. Trying not to get sick again. He feels like he’s disconnecting from all of this- hardly able to grab onto any thoughts to ground him. 

“I-I am sorry for my emotions,” Henny says, looking regretful for his anger, “… the wound is s-still fresh… but that is why the city is in the state it is in. After the Glitch-or our Alt got corrupted… he gained so much more power- insight into other worlds he did not have before. He believes himself a… a god almost. Claiming that this world and all worlds are his. But he never got the ability to travel to other worlds again… so he’s been- tearing our reality apart- trying to find some universe where… where he can get Chase back. And he does not care who he hurts to get there.”

“Insight into other worlds, huh?” Jackie mutters. “Seems like that’s something Antis are prone to get.”

Wait, if he’s looking for a world where he can get his Chase back, then—we just walked right into his hands, didn’t we? JJ says, eyes wide. No wonder he went straight for Chase. He’s probably going to keep going for him as long as we’re here.

Bro pales at JJ’s realization and gets to his feet, “F-Fuck J, you’re right!”

“You all are safe here for now,” Henny says softly. “I have learned wards to hide this place. He had not found it yet.”

“Even so, we had better try to think about some way to get out of here,” Schneep decides. “I know the rifts may show up, but we should not count on them.”

“Great idea, except we have no idea how to do that,” Jackie comments.

JJ frowns. Alt, Chase, how did you two show up to our world before? You didn’t have the TRVLR yet—you got it from our world. I don’t remember if you told us how you got there.

Bro blinks at JJ and then hums, thinking about it. “Oh right! Um… the arch! Mag found an archway thing we’ve seen one other time before in a SCLERA basement. He used Alt’s magic and his to open up the gate and then… we wound up in your world!”

Henny frowns, “hm… SCLERA has been… destroyed by the Glitch… but if it was underground like this… maybe? But if Alt knew of this… he might have already tried to get to that.”

"He destroyed SCLERA?!" Jackie gasps. "Well—I guess that makes sense. If I was an all-powerful glitch being, I would destroy them too. They might get in the way."

Schneep stands up. "It is the only lead we have, yes? I think we should at least try to go find it."

It would probably feel better to take action rather than just wait here for a rift to come, JJ agrees.

Henny nods, “Destroying SCLERA was the one good thing the Glitch has done… but I worry- he has eyes all over the city. Magnificent’s cats… the Glitch uses them and he has a few puppets lingering around the city I could not save…”

Bro sighs and crosses his arms, “I agree it’s dangerous… but we can’t just sit here. We can’t afford to wait for another rift… maybe if the arch is destroyed we can repair it somehow?”

JJ nods slowly. Perhaps my magic could help. What does this arch look like?

"Oh, I've seen ours before," Jackie says. " I'm gonna assume it's similar here. It's a freestanding doorway. One side of it is made of black rock, like obsidian or something, and the other side is regular stone that's been carved with a bunch of designs."

Runes, presumably. I've been learning some alphabets to help Marvin with his card magic, I might... know some? JJ guesses.

“Yes! It’s just like the one from your world, Jackie!” Bro says with a smile. 

"That is the best chance we have, I think," Schneep mutters. "Alt. Are you...?" He trails off. Clearly, Alt is not okay. Asking probably wouldn't help.

Henny looks over at Alt with worry. And- a bit of fear. He knows this isn’t the Glitch- it helps that Alt looks so much younger but… he keeps his distance.

Which doesn’t help Alt at all. Everyone sounds like they’re underwater- the room is tilting and he feels- lost. Just staring at the floor, as he curls up as small as he can. It’s hard to tell if he’s ever registered anything they’ve been saying.

JJ winces. He's not doing well.

"No, really?" Jackie drawls.

This isn't the time for sarcasm, Jackie. JJ shoots him a disapproving look.

Jackie winces. "No. You're right. It's not." After a moment, he gets up and walks over to Alt. He hesitates, then puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hey." His voice is quiet. "I know. It sucks. Sucks to know what could happen. What you could do. But you're different, right? You're trying to be better, right? Doesn't mean it's not hard to hear about all this, I know. But that's not you. I know you're a good person, Alt. This... mess in this world... Don't let it break you down."

Alt jolts as Jackie touches him and finally looks up at him with red rimmed eyes. He listens but then whispers brokenly, “…what if this i-is my future…?”

“Hey Alt don’t say-“ Bro tries to say.

“No! What if?! The other me- he- he knows about the rifts- Hen says he travelled though worlds too. He’s o-older than me- what if this is just what happens to me?!” He pushes himself out of Jackie’s grip and pulls at his hair, eyes blown wide in panic as glitches break apart at his body. “T-This isn’t like s-seeing other Antis and knowing I’m different! T-That’s me! it doesn’t matter if I know I’m a good person- it doesn’t matter if I’m different now! This… this could be what I become!! It could mean e-everything I’ve learned about myself- everything I’ve fought for means fucking nothing!” he screeches at the end, his voice loud enough to make the room shake with vibrations as his magic whips around him wildly.

"And do you think the future is set in stone?" Schneep suddenly snaps. "Do you believe you are so powerless in the face of what will come? Are you going to just lie down and accept that you are some evil glitch, or are you going to get up and tell the world that you will not be like him? I have not known you for very long, Alt, but I know you have a fighting spirit in you. And yet, whenever the universe tells you that you will become something you don't wish to be, you accept it. Are you going to let the world do that to you? Are you going to believe that disaster is inevitable? Or are you going to take back your life on your terms? Are you going to look fate in the eye and tell it to go fuck itself when it says there is no other way? You have fought for your life, Alt! Do you really think you will give up so easily?"

Alt bursts into ugly sobbing, curling up to hold his head against his knees. “I-I don’t know! I don’t know!!”   

“Anti…” Bro tries to say, trying to get closer. Alt flinches and glitches to the very back wall and wails, “I-I always thought I-I-I wouldn’t ever d-do something like this! That I’d never hurt Chase- my friends…! T-They’ve always saved me before- why was this time different?! I don’t want this- but if even the m-me from here fought so hard then? Does it even fucking matter?!”

JJ clears his throat and signs weakly, And this Henrik said that it started when you all killed Magnificent, right? So... you know how to... prevent it...

Luckily- Alt always tries to look at JJ when he demands attention for his signs. He quiets down a bit.

Henny nods, “Yes.. I do believe if we found another way to stop Magnificent… then this may have never happened.”

“JJ is right Alt… w-we can make sure this doesn’t happen! Now we know…” Bro says gently, “You and me can work to make sure this future never ever comes to pass. But you can’t give up now… we gotta get to a better future together, okay?”

"It always matters, Alt," Jackie says firmly. "Every single little bit of effort matters. Even if it feels like it doesn't. You know, my Chase told me how you saved him. How Jameson tried to get in your head about this same thing. H-he doesn't remember it all too well, but he remembers that you got him out of there. If you hadn't pushed through Jameson's taunting back then, Chase would still be there. If you hadn't decided that you were going to get him out of here despite everything that happened the first time you visited our world, he would still be there. Even if it feels like it doesn't matter to you, it means the world to others when you fight against these—these claims that you're evil."

Alt looks up at Jackie with surprise. “He… he remembered all of that…?” He swallows shakily. “I-I couldn’t just leave him…”

“That’s where the differences lies, Alt. No matter what, no what how many Antis are different you have a kind heart…” Bro says with a sad smile.

Henny smiles sadly too, “yes… that sounds more like the Alt I knew… I think deep down… you are still the same, Alt. But you know how… invasive black magic in. Perhaps that is another reason I stay… I want to see if there’s still a way to save my friend… even after everything he has done.”

"And now that you are warned, it will be easier, yes?" Schneep says. "The future is never set in stone, even if it feels like it is. You have been to many worlds now. Surely you have seen worlds where even the worst can be reversed. We were there in one, weren't we? That second underwater world. Everything seemed so bleak there, but we changed it a little, did we not? I do believe things will be able to change even somewhere like that. So your world will also be able to change."

Alt thinks about both the Schneep’s words and eventually he nods, “we… we did help it get better…. Didn’t we? For other me and Marvin…” He’s quiet again before he glitches up to his feet and wipes at his face with his sleeve. “okay… l-let’s just… g-get out of here then… a-as quickly as we can…” 

JJ nods. We’ll probably have to move fast. And Alt? He pauses. Let us know if… there’s anything we can do.

“I… yeah I… I will.” Alt says quietly. 

“Yes, please do,” Jackie adds. “For now, uh… we gotta go find a SCLERA place, I guess? They have that weird eye symbol, right?”

“Other me, is there anything we will need for going out?” Schneep asks.

Henny hums in thought, “I would recommend some way to hide Chase… he will be the biggest target. Do any of you know invisibility spells?”

Jackie and Schneep immediately look over at JJ.

JJ frowns. I know one. But I've never cast it before, just read about it.

"Might as well try," Jackie says.

Yes, of course. JJ walks over to Bro. Hold still. That will make it easier, I think.

Bro looks a bit nervous but gives JJ a thumbs up. “I trust you, bro!” He quickly puts his hand back by his side and closes his eyes so he’s not too tempted to move.

JJ nods, and takes a deep breath. He's a little nervous about this. But he tries to hide it, adjusting his mask. A blue glow envelops his hands as he places them both on Bro's shoulders and concentrates. The blue magic ripples over Bro's form from the point of contact. He feels a little chilly for a moment as the invisibility slowly spreads across him, following the magic. Then JJ pulls his hands back and Bro is gone. Or, kind of. There's a person-shaped distortion in the air, like Bro has been turned into a pure glass statue that casts no shadow.

Alt blinks in surprise and glitches over. He tilts his head then tries poking at the distortion.

Bro yelps a bit and jumps, "Hey! ...shit did it not work??"

"No! It... it worked-" Alt laughs a bit breathlessly. "You're... still a bit noticeable but? from a far... I think you should be good."

"Whoa, that's trippy." Jackie leans side to side, staring at Bro. "It's like uh... that effect when you put a straw in a glass of water and it looks like it breaks."

Bro blinks and looks at himself, “woahhh!” 

"Oh? Interesting," Schneep says. "Jamie, can you keep that up?"

It should last an hour, JJ says. After that, I'll need to renew it.

Henny smiles and nods. "That should be good. ...outside- try to avoid anything glitching or- anything slinking in the shadows. Those are most likely the Glitch's eyes... but I can try my best to lead you to where SCLERA is."

“An hour should be plenty of time.” Henny says with a nod. He looks to Sahne, “You will keep an ear out too, right, Sahne?” Sahne barks in response. Henny smiles then opens up his hand and another teal ring of light forms. “I cannot go very long distances but this should help cut our journey.” He jumps through, Sahne close by.

Bro feels a bit nervous but he jumps through next. Alt hesitates.

"Gonna have to climb through again, Schneep," Jackie says.

"Very well." Schneep reaches out, feeling the edge of the ring, and hops through.

JJ notices Alt lingering back. He looks back and smiles at him. Ready to come? We'll need your help, I think.

Alt looks at JJ with a bit of fear but then closes his eyes before nodding. “y-Yeah I’m… I’m coming.” He eyes the ring then glitches through.

Jackie looks after Alt, a bit worried, and then hops through. JJ jumps through last.

[daisychainsandbowties]

started a new dnd campaign tonight. put the players in a hole in the ground at the start and it took them 30 minutes to climb out. 😌😌 success

[spindash]

it is funny 22 yr old snb pickles looks older than 28 yr old dethklok pickles but i suppose a shave and cutting off your deep fried hair will do that for you

[dallonwrites]

doing this never heard of before revolutionary writing process where i write the thing i want to write and have fun

[thornvault]

Some more Kali backstory

Kali lived on the street in a war-torn land for several years of their life. After a while they formed a group with a few other homeless people of all ages. One boy, who'd been a sailor once upon a time, would tell them stories of Rosas, a place where everyone is safe and happy, protected with magic by a great king who will grant your greatest wish.

Kali never believed him, they thought it was only a story he told to give the younger kids hope. They too loved to hear of it, but wrote it off as nothing but a fairytale. Something that wonderful could never truly exist.

Until they themself wound up at the shores of Rosas, and it was everything they'd dreamed and more, just as he'd described. This is why it takes them a while to be normal around Magnifico. They basically just Met God and need to reevaluate a lot of their beliefs before they can even remotely begin to function again. Give them a minute.

[thumbalinabarbie]

progress on my wax sculpture!!

[perenlop]

have no real desire to replay star allies’s main story mode but i do wanna rewatch some cutscenes to refresh myself on the mage sisters dynamic and hyness bc ive been thinking about my “magolor was also raised by hyness alongside the mage sisters” hc/au

[faking-god]

i will look back on my life at awkward things that happened and instead of cringing at them, i will think "this would happen to harry wouldnt it" and end up making stuff like this

image description in alt text

[meownotgood]

mwah

the black hair brothers. not a thought behind any of their eyes

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 15: Fantasy Masks

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix 

Read Swapboys | Read Fantasy Masks | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT | Septicheroes | Fantasy Masks

Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata  

It's remarkably hard to stay asleep after the sun rises when you're sleeping outside. Of course, the King didn't sleep at all, but he doesn't let Magnificent know that. He sits up and stretches like he's just waking up, then glances at the spot where Mag fell asleep.

Mag hisses as the sun invades his vision and tries to curl his tail over it. But, then he remembers where he is. And who’s with him. He quickly shifts back into his human form and coughs, trying to save some dignity. Even if his cheeks are glowing red.

Luckily, the King does not care about Mag being a cat or acting like one—aside from a general fascination with how he’s able to do it so easily. “Good news,” he says. “I believe I figured out where we are while trying to sleep last night. Generally, of course. Specifics are difficult in the wild.” He points through the trees to the mountains. “Judging by how close the Dragon’s Teeth are and the general terrain, we might be in the Killiyearn Woods, or at least on the edge of them. And if we head the right direction, we may find Killithair. There will be no people, but there will be a road, and traveling down that is easier than trekking through the undergrowth.”

Mag's eyes brighten a bit at this but he does school his expression as he stretches out and nods. "Alright. That does sound better than trampsing through here."

“Get up, then.” The King glances around. “I believe we should keep the mountains to our left. Head north. If we don’t come out of these trees by noon the I suppose we should start heading towards the mountains.”

Mag does a little mocking gesture of the king's 'get up' behind his back before teleporting to his feet in a flicker of static. He brushes himself off and nods his head towards the king, "Lead the way then."

"Very well."

They start walking. "Killithair, by the way, was a small town that housed a... I believe the term is summer palace? For the royal family. I thought it was a waste to maintain it so I made sure everyone left." He wonders if they abandoned the food stores in their compulsion to leave.

Mag follows afterwards, studying the woods again and feeling the magic in the air. He nods, "Ah right- I heard of royals having vacation homes in other parts of a kingdom. But, of course, they can't be without their luxury."

The King snorts and rolls his eyes. "I agree with you about that. Why do you think I abandoned it? The old King and Queen said something about connecting with nature. If you wanted to do that, why have such a large palace?"

Mag laughs, "Indeed. Seems contradictory."

“Heh.” The King grins. “It does, doesn’t it? In any case, the palace was built sturdy enough that it should still be standing, even if the rest of the town is in disrepair. So we are guaranteed one night of sleep that is not out in the open.”

Magnificent stretches and nods, "That sounds like a worthy goal." It felt strange to just be... surviving. But, he had no way of searching for the annoyances now... and trying to get the king now wouldn't do much for him... they needed to be in a more public place. Patience... he could be patient.

"Indeed." The King nods. Once they reached somewhere more defensible, they could resume their.... previous encounter. No doubt Magnificent was already planning on how to get the advantage. He would have to be prepared. "I hope you're ready for more walking."

-----------

"Draco? Draco?"

In Bro and Alt's tent, Draco uncurls himself, stretching. He kneads Alt's tunic for a while before slinking off and slipping back outside.

Alt blinks awake at the kneading and smiles down at the cat before blinking and realizing it's not his own. He sits up and watches Draco slink out.

"There you are!" Marvin's voice says. "You little traitor. You must really like those two. More than me, your wizard? I'm hurt."

"He is a cat, I am not sure what you were expecting." That's Henrik.

"Shhhh. I know."

Bro turns over with blearily eyes, "wazzit?" He slurs, still blinking sleep from his eyes.

Alt laughs and stretches, patting Bro on the shoulder. "Mornin' to you too." He checks himself over then heads out of the tent, smiling shyly. "Didn't mean to steal your cat, Marvin-"

“Oh you’re awake!” Marvin gasps, then smiles. “Don’t worry about it. Draco does his own stuff a lot of the time. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s magic or because he’s a cat.”

“Perhaps both,” Henrik mutters. “Good morning, Alt. How did you sleep?”

Alt laughs then smiles at Henrik, "umm... surprisingly well. I think Draco helped with that." He bends down to give the cat many pets.

“I’m glad he helped you,” Marvin says, smiling. “Maybe he sensed something was wrong. Do you have familiars where you come from? Hmm… probably not, because you don’t have wizards. Basically, they are magical animals we can summon.”

"Dude I wish!" Alt laughs, "Glitches is... basically my shadow though. We do everything together... it's... weird not to have her around."

Marvin smiles. “I understand. It’s the same with Draco and me. Which is why I can’t believe he BETRAYED me—“ He laughs and pets Draco.

Bro stumbles out of the tent, messing up his hair and yawning loudly. "g'morning-"

“Good morning!” Henrik says brightly. Clearly people in this universe are much more used to waking up early. “We were going to wake you up for breakfast.”

"mmm yes- breakfast good," Bro mumbles, rubbing at his eyes. He's usually a morning person- but the last day of running around has definitely caught up to him.

“Come come, back to the fire,” Henrik says. “And do not worry, I’m sure you will be home soon. We already sent messages to other camps to look out for that other man.”

Bro whoops quietly and starts to head towards the fire. Alt chuckles and gets up to follow, "... did we even give you a description of what to look for...? I mean... it might not matter actually... knowing him he's probably in a disguise...."

“You did not, but we told them to look for strangers with unusual magic,” Henrik says. “We did assume he may disguise himself as well. It is fairly easy to do here, if you have the right charm.”

"Yeah, his magic will probably give him away... I've noticed ours is very different than what's around here." Alt replies.

Like last night, the fire is roaring and surrounded by people. The food appears to be more meat, some baked potatoes, and oatmeal—which is unfortunately blander than in Alt and Bro’s world since it appears the Phantoms don’t have sugar or other spices. There is honey, though. That helps.

Bro gets into line and seems more peppy as he digs into his food. The oatmeal is weird but- eh he's had worse. Alt avoids it altogether.

It's not long before Jackie, Chase, and Jameson all join the group.

"Oh good you're still here!" Chase says, laughing. "I was half-wondering if you'd disappear and leave only gold behind. But no, you're clearly here to stay."

"Don't bring up gold, they might feel bad that they can't give us any!" Jackie says. "Oh wait, do you even have that in your world? Is it still valuable or do you use something else for currency? People here sometimes still use jasper--that's a sort of rock--but we've mostly started to use coins. I don't think you'd need to use currency of any kind though since you've been here the whole time." Clearly, Jackie is full of energy this morning.

“Why would we leave gold behind? Is that what the ‘fair folks’ were known for? Turning things to gold?” Bro asks between bites.

Alt rolls his eyes with a laugh, “I think he means like money, Chase. For hospitality? But to answer your question Jackie we have gold but it’s mostly for jewelry now. We have established currency in our world. It’s mostly… ugh- fuck how do I explain digital- powered by… lightning? Now?”

Jackie's eyes widen. "Wow. I-I don't think I can even imagine what that would be like. Lightning money."

"It sounds like your world uses lightning the way ours uses magic," Marvin says.

“Yeah in a way,” Alt laughs.

"As for the gold, I mean--there are some stories where the Fair Folk would do things like that," Chase says. "I know one where a man was challenged by a stranger on a red horse to a race, which he couldn't have possibly won. So he got clever and tied the stranger's horse to a tree. The stranger, impressed by this, killed a deer and gave it to the man, but he could only take some of it home. When he arrived there, he found the meat had turned into gold."

That's why you must be smart and respectful to the strange, Jameson says. You never know what you could win.

Bro and Alt listen to Chase’s story, pretty captured by his storytelling. Bro grins, “That sounds just like the fables our aunts would tell us! Always a moral~ Neat!”

Chase grins. "My kids always loved my stories. I'm glad it holds true for adults, too."

"You're a great storyteller, Chase," Jackie says. "You could've made a living that way if you didn't have to be a hunter."

"Well I like hunting too, even if I'm only an average marksman."

"You're better than any of us in this group," Henrik says. Then glances at Bro and Alt. "Ah, sorry, I should not make assumptions."

Bro grins and points at himself. “I’m a pretty good shot! …though I haven’t used a bow since… oh- maybe it’s been a while.” He laughs. “But I can shoot lightning and I’m pretty accurate with that!”

Alt shrugs, “I’m just happy when I hit something. Probably can’t hunt worth shit.”

"I could... try to teach you, if you like," Chase says haltingly. "I know you two have your magic, but it could always be good to have some other skills in this world," Jackie suggests. "Ooh! Or I could teach you swordfighting, Or, start to, at least, it takes longer than you expect."

Marvin rolls his eyes. "I get along fine with just my magic," he mutters.

"Oh, do not be so sour, Marvin," Henrik says. "It is your choice like it is their choice."

Bro stims excitedly, “I WANNA LEARN TO SWORD FIGHT!!” He probably shouts too loudly. Alt pulls on Bro’s arm to drag him back with a laugh.

Jackie smiles wide and flaps his hands. "Well I want to teach you so that works out!"

Henrik laughs. "I have not seen you this excited in a while, Jackie."

"It's not every day you get to teach a man from another world how to wield a blade," Jackie looks at him and grins.

Alt studies Chase and grins. “While I do have my magic… it could be fun to learn. Just in case-“

"Ha, I-I guess we should all head over to the combat field after breakfast, then," Chase says, smiling shyly. "Jameson, you're coming too, I'm going to continue our lessons from yesterday."

Jameson shrugs. Fine by me.

Alt smiles at Jameson, “Hey at least we don’t have to learn alone right?”

Jameson smiles back. True, there's that. I'm sure I'll make a fool of myself with the arrows regardless but that does make me feel better.

"Well if the rest of you are going I might as well too," Marvin mutters.

"I did not say I was going," Henrik says.

"But you are, aren't you?"

"It'll be fun to see."

Bro hovers a bit in the air, his excitement palpable. “Whoo!! This is gonna be so fun!!”

Alt wrangles his brother back down to earth, “You’re gonna float away if you’re not careful, Chase!” He laughs.

"Everyone finish up," Jackie says, voice muffled as he starts shoving food into his mouth.

"Jackie, manners!" Marvin gasps.

"Damn the manners! Go fast!"

“You heard the man!” Bro says, following Jackie’s example to shove the rest of his food in his mouth.

“Oh my god-“ Alt mumbles in exasperation.

Marvin looks at Alt, matching his exasperated expression.

"If you two choke I will say 'I told you so' as I save you," Henrik declares.

Luckily, neither of them choke, and it's not long before they're heading over to the combat fields. Jackie asks for some space, and manages to clear out a section between the dragon wing bones. This is a perfect spot for everything to happen at once, as Chase sets up some distant targets while Jackie finds a pair of wooden practice swords. Henrik and Marvin sit down on the bones to watch.

"Make sure everyone picks up something that's the right size," Jackie says. "Other Chase, you're taller than me, so you can probably handle a sword with more reach. And elders and sisters, Jameson, don't try using a longbow again."

Bro bounces on his heels before looking for the right practice sword. He tests out the grip and weight before playfully striking at it at Alt, who tries to block it with his arm. “Alt! Doesn’t this remind you of us playing knights as kids??”

“You were the knight, I was the dragon!” Alt grins, playfully batting Bro away with a spare shock of electricity.

Bro hops away, laughing. “Ah yes! My fearsome baby brother! The 3 foot terrifying dragon I had to defend the biscuits from!”

“Nuh-uh! If anything I was defending them cuz you’d eat them all!” Alt pushes at his brother before glitching over to find the right bow.

Jackie smiles fondly. "I played warrior with my siblings, too. It got me so excited to train on Fiornear Field with all the rest of the warriors."

"He was so excited that he ran away at twelve to go do that," Marvin calls from the sidelines.

"And I was great for my age!" Jackie picks up a pair of practice swords, looks at them both, then puts one down.

"I think this'll be a good one for you, Alt," Chase suggests, pointing one out. "It's already strung so you won't have to worry about that. Jameson, though, you should try, so here." He hands an unstrung bow to Jameson, who looks at it curiously and then starts trying to loop the string around the ends of the wood.

Alt nods and studies the bow. He tries to hold it experimentally, drawing back the string to see how hard it was to do. Chase had a big medieval phase when they were boys so their aunts got them some lessons. But it’s been years…

The string of the bow is surprisingly really hard to draw back. "Oh damn, wait, I almost forgot our arm guards!" Chase rushes over to the other side of the weapons rack and grabs three pieces of leather. "Stupid. Here, put that on the forearm that's not drawing the string. Ah, and double check which eye is dominant, hold the bow with the opposite hand." As he says that, Jameson closes one eye after the other, then hurriedly switches which hand he's holding the bow in while Chase isn't looking.

Alt pauses and blinks then starts to follow Chase’s instructions. He puts the guard on his left forearm after checking to make sure which eye is dominant. His right is, so he holds the bow with his left. “Alright- I think I got it.”

"Great job!" Chase says, checking both of them. "Okay, now footwork is very important. Keep them shoulder-length apart, like this." He demonstrates. "You're turned sideways relative to the target. The same foot you're holding the bow with should be in front. Jair, move a bit to the left, you want to be directly in front of the target." Jameson nods, taking a few steps left, making sure where he is by tracing a line with his hand.

Alt puts his left foot forward and draws his sight towards the target. He’s pretty good at judging distance, considering he’s an artist. He lines himself up.

"Alright, other Chase, we'll start with two-handed fighting since that's easier, but I usually fight one-handed. And with two swords. Heh, they never see it coming..."

Bro grins and nods, “oh yeah you can just call me Bro if you want! That way it’s less confusing~! But sounds good!” He tries to flip the sword and fumbles with it a bit before catching it.

"Brá... no, Bro," Jackie tests it out, then laughs. "It's so strange." He laughs harder when Bro fumbles with the sword. "You have to be careful, Bro! If that was a real sword it would really hurt to drop it on your foot. Here, steady your grip, like this." Jackie demonstrates. "No fancy tricks yet, as tempting as it is."

Bro grins sheepishly, “Right. Focusing- I can do that! Whatcha got first for me, teach?”

"Well, my own teachers made me spend a long time just holding the sword and practicing lifting it and all that. To build up the muscle. But I think we can skip that with you since you definitely seem strong enough." Jackie pauses. "Iiiiin that case... okay, I'm curious. I'm going to attack with mine and you block. No specific moves, just do what you think. Then we'll reverse."

Bro grabs into the hilt of his sword with both of his hands and grins. “Lay it on me!”

Jackie grins. "Alright, if you insist." And he goes in for the attack.

Meanwhile, Chase is demonstrating how to nock an arrow. Unlike arrows in the modern world, there's no plastic part at the end that neatly fits on the string, only a small divet on the end of the shaft clearly made by a knife. "There are three vanes--that's the individual fletching bits--and you need to line it up so that a single one points away... elders, they're really going at it already?"

Bro shouts out and gets hits on his leg on the first swing, jumping back. But then as he tries to block the second one he gets hit on his arm. “Jesus!!”

Alt laughs, trying to notch the arrow, “that sounds about right-“

Jackie backs off quickly, smiling triumphantly. "Hey, you almost got it! You are pretty fast."

"You still beat him, Jackie!" Henrik calls.

"Hey, I'm trying to be encouraging!" Jackie shouts back. "Okay, okay, now you go for me."

Bro grins and nods, slipping back his foot and then trying to hit a couple blows on Jackie.

"Whoa!" Jackie takes a step back and defends himself, blocking all of Bro's attacks. "You have the energy, I see! That'll go a long way, but not all the way." He lowers the practice sword, smiling. "Alright, you're doing what a lot of beginners do while attacking, which is focusing on your opponent's front torso area. It's an instinctive thing, I think, to go for the center of mass, but, as you remember from what I did, a lot of sword attacks come for your sides and legs--because people tend to also focus on their own front torso area while protecting. You need to be aware of your whole body."

Bro thinks this over and then nods, grinning, "Makes sense! Guess its opposite of fighting with your fists- there you try to go for knocking someone off balance, usually from the center!"

"Makes sense!" Jackie nods. "With fists you have to get up close. Swords have reach. It's a sort of balancing act with them. Your opponent needs to be far enough so that their whole blade doesn't just slam into you, but you need to be close enough to land your own blows. Here, let's go slow so I can show you some blocking. Defense is most important when dealing with sharp metal."

"Okay!" Bro exclaims excitedly, getting into a fighting stance with his sword. "Yeah, I'm probably better at defending than anything- but usually I focus on dodging!"

"Dodging is also good! That's why there's always such a focus on footwork in swordplay. But defense comes first. Just in case your opponent is faster." Jackie raises his sword again. "Alright. There are three basic moves: block, parry, and sweep. For blocking, move your sword to meet mine." He moves in slow-motion, making to slash at Bro's torso.

Bro nods, trying his best to pay attention, ADHD be damned. When Jackie moves he moves his sword to block the slash before it hits his stomach.

"Perfect," Jackie says. "A parry is similar, but you have to wait until the last moment. What you did just now, with moving your sword up, would be too soon for a parry. The difference is that parries will often throw your opponent off-balance so you can attack. Here, try again." Jackie makes another slash attack.

Bro nods and tries to wait until the last moment then blocks and tries to push Jackie’s sword back, “like that?”

Jackie grins. "Pretty good, but it could be better. You're a bit eager, I can tell. Here, lemme move faster, that might help." Jackie repeats it again, going just a bit quicker.

Bro nods and dances in place slightly, like someone trying to get warmed up on the sidelines before trying to parry again, maybe going a bit fast still.

"You're still going a bit fast, but let's move on for now," Jackie says. "The sweep is when you use the flat part of the blade to knock the opponent's sword aside." Jackie demonstrates. "See how you twist your arm? Timing is most important here; you don't want to miss entirely. Okay? Let's try it." Jackie goes for the same slash attack.

Bro's eyes brighten and he grins, nodding. He waits then twists his arm to sweep at Jackie's blade, side stepping and bending low to give it more power.

"Whoa!" Jackie takes a step back from the force of the swing. He cracks a grin. "That was probably too much force for this speed, but it would be perfect for an actual fight."

Bro beams, proud of himself, "Fuck yeah, progress!" He does a little fist pump.

"Progress!" Jackie repeats cheerfully. They get back to practicing.

Jameson watches the two of them. I'm glad I chose the long range.

"Don't be glad until we see your aim," Chase says. "Here, there's a knot in the string, nock the arrow so it's just above that."

Alt follows Chase's advice and nocks the arrow and then pulls back the string. "Okay- i think I got it!"

"Great form, Alt!" Chase compliments. "Jameson, make sure you're holding the bow upwards." Jameson nods and raises it a bit. "And both of you make sure your elbow is parallel to the ground. Once you think you're ready, line up the point of the arrow with the target and loose."

Alt nods and lines up his shot, trying to take a deep breath and follow Chase's advice. His aim is a bit shaky and it drifts slightly but he does manage to hit the target at least!

"Great job, Alt!" Chase says. "I know that might sound unbelievable, but hey--you hit the target."

Yes, congratulations, Jameson says. His own arrow went very wide. I don't understand how I missed entirely.

"I was watching, you're both shaking a little. There was probably also some instinctive flinching when the bow string snaps."

Alt flushes and then tests out the string, "The string is hard to pull for me I think... the tension makes my arm wanna shake."

"Let me see if it's too tight," Chase offers, taking Alt's bow temporarily. He draws and releases it a couple times without arrows. "Hmm... there is a bit of tension, but this is pretty normal in my experience. Don't worry, people are always surprised by how much force it takes to draw the bow. I'll never understand how Lukas can handle that huge longbow of his when shortbows are this difficult."

Alt laughs, “I’m probably just out of shape- arm muscle wise at least. Magic doesn’t take a lot of muscle. I bet I can aim better at the target with a spell than an arrow.” He attempts to notch another arrow, fumbling for a second before drawing back again, trying to control how his arm shakes.

Don't worry, Alt, Marvin is the same way, Jameson says.

"Hey! I have muscle!" Marvin says defensively.

"He doesn't," Chase whispers to Alt playfully. "Yeah, in that case, you might just need to practice more. Here, both of you try again. I'll go too so you can watch me for reference." He moves to a target and nocks an arrow of his own.

Alt laughs, “Maybe we need to have a spell off!” He chuckles, only half joking. That could be fun… but this was equally as fun- even if his arms hurt. He nods and aims at the target again- breathes then let’s the arrow fly.

Alt's arrow flies and gets a bit closer to the target this time and he grins wide.

"Whoo!" Chase throws his hands in the air in celebration. "Great, Alt! Jameson! You both got closer!"

I still missed, Jameson points out.

"Closer is still good. Look, I've been doing this for years, and I'm still not an expert. See?" Chase's own arrow hit the middle ring of the target. "But the thing about hunting is that any hit is better than none."

Alt smiles at Jameson, "If it helps I did do some of this as a kid- Chase had a big knights phase so our aunts signed us up for lots of stuff."

That does help, actually, Jameson says, nodding.

"Didn't your parents ever make you take self-defense classes?" Marvin asks from the sidelines.

They did, that did not include bows. Did your parents ever make YOU take self-defense classes?

"They did until I threw a fit about it."

"That explains so much about you, actually," Henrik mutters.

Alt bursts out laughing, hiding it behind his sleeve. "Cut the guy some slack, magic is faster than a sword- maybe not an arrow though.. definitely not faster than a bullet though."

"I'm guessing a 'bulhet' is a type of weapon," Chase says. "Hey Marvin? Is magic faster than arrows?"

Marvin pauses for a moment, thinking about that. He mimes that grabbing-light gesture with his amulet a couple times. "Probably not," he concludes.

"Well then it has its advantages and disadvantages then!" Alt adds, "And yeah- it's a nasty one... not one you guys will have to worry about though."

"I'm glad of that, then," Chase says. "Alright you two. It's practice time. It'll be boring and hard, but it's how you get better."

After a bit more blows Jackie says "Alright, you have a choice now. Do you want to spend the next while doing the same thing over and over like I did when I was learning, or do you want to move on even if you only started here?"

"Hmmm-" Bro thinks, "that's a tough choice... I wanna learn more things!" He grins.

Jackie grins back. "How did I know you'd say that?”

"He's predictable like that!" Alt calls over. Bro sticks his tongue out at him.

“Alright, let's get to it then." Jackie says.

The rest of the morning passes with the group at the combat field, learning and practicing until hunger drove them to get lunch.

The Brody brothers enjoy their practice even if Bro has way more bruises and Alt's arms feel like jelly. But, Lunch is a relief.

-----------

The trees are finally starting to thin out. The King brushes some low-hanging branches aside and sees a rolling field. Beyond the next couple hills he can see the peak of a tower. He smiles. "Success."

"Thank the goddess-" Magnificent moans as he comes up behind the King. "Yes nature is beautiful and blah blah blah but- civilization even if it is primitive..."

The King can't help but laugh. "Ah, so true." Even if he knew how to survive in the wild it didn't mean he wanted to. "We must hurry. I wonder what will be waiting for us."

Eventually, as they get closer, some buildings come into view. Typical for this area, they are white plaster supported with wood, their roofs made of thatch. They are surrounded by a short wall, chest-high. In the center of the cluster of buildings is the palace, tall towers reaching high.

Magnificent follows after the King and studies the buildings as they pass. So different from what he was used to... little glass in sight. Which makes sense but- still weird. It's almost charming. But, like the King, he sets his eyes on the palace.

Some of the buildings' walls have collapsed due to neglect. Many are missing thatch from their roofs. The King glances at them, but ignores them. Instead he heads straight for the palace. There's a large set of heavy-looking front doors. He stares at them for a moment, then bends down and pulls a loose stone from the street. And quickly throws it through one of the glass windows.

Magnificent jumps and then hisses to the king, "The hell are you doing??"

"Saving my strength. I know you can appear through walls, but I would have to open those doors, and I don't feel like straining myself after a hike through the wild." The King walks up to the window, clears the broken glass, and climbs through.

Magnificent blinks and then chuckles slightly at the sight of the King scurrying through the window. He teleports through with little effort.

The interior of the palace is dusty and faded, a tattered green carpet underfoot and large tapestries on the walls. The King takes a moment to stare at one featuring a man with green eyes holding a sword. Then he looks away. "I suppose we explore now."

Magnificent studies the tapestry and the king's reaction and gestures towards it, "There a story behind this one?"

"There's stories behind most of them," the King says, glancing back at that one. "The royal family was big on history. That is a work honoring Samuel the Green-Eyed. The first King." He pauses. "My legacy." His voice is tinged with bitterness. Without another word, he starts walking down the hall.

Magnificent raises an eyebrow at this, and starts following after the King. But, that doesn't mean he won't push some buttons. "So- sounds like this isn't a legacy you- particularly enjoy, hm? The bitterness is your voice was palpable."

The King laughs darkly. "How shall I put this...?" He taps his fingers against his chin, stroking the beard. "We could have been so much more. But Samuel simply settled."

"Oh? How so?" Magnificent presses. "Wasn't ambitious enough? Didn't conquer enough land?"

"Exactly." The King smiles. "Why settle for half the island? Why not sail to the other kingdoms, or settle the Wyldwood beyond the Dragon's Teeth? Even back then, they would have been able to do both those things. But no. And here we have stayed."

He pushes open a door. "Oh good, the kitchen."

"Ah- I see. Do you plan to expand your territory then? Out do what your ancestors did?" Magnificent asks.

"Exactly." His smile widens as he walks across the room. "Once that annoying rebellion is squashed, all our efforts will go to the army... and the navy we do not yet have. That always seemed foolish, for an island."

"Sounds like a sound plan. Rebels are always troublesome though. Humans and their 'hope' and 'caring for others' bullshit." The mad magician snorts.

The King chuckles and looks at Magnificent. "I have never met someone else who spoke as I believed." It's a shame the magician is definitely planning to betray him.

Magnificent chuckles too and hops up to sit on the closest counter, curling his arm under his chin as he watches the King. "Well- I'm not sure you'll ever meet someone else like me, Aodhan, dear~ I'm one-of-a-kind, you know."

"I thought the same about myself before I met you," the King mutters.He reaches another door and pushes it open. The pantry is stocked, the spell used to preserve everything still intact. Good. "Would you look at that. We could have whatever we wanted tonight."

Mag eyes the pantry and smirks. "Oh good."

The King walks into the pantry and starts picking out items. Amazing that this spell even kept the fruit fresh.

He leans against the wall and bites into an apple, looking thoughtful. "I propose we stay here for the day and night. Then in the morning we stock up and head down the road."

Magnificent flops back onto the counter and lets himself lay down, even if its dusty. Feels good on his weary body. "Good enough for me."

The King nods. "In which case, we'll look around for some more. Unless you're comfortable right there."

"Oh yes the dust is very comfortable- like a warm fuzzy blanket." Mag deadpans before teleporting back to be by the king wiping himself off.

The King laughs. "Well let's see if there are some actual blankets still in here. Even moth eaten ones would be an improvement."

Magnificent sneezes from all the dust and wipes at his nose as he follows after the King as he heads back out.

As they leave the pantry and the kitchen, a bird sitting on a hall windowsill suddenly flaps off and flies away. The King stops, staring at the spot it was with narrowed eyes.

Mag blinks and follows the bird's path before raising an eyebrow at the King. "... grudge against birds or...?"

"That was a searcher pigeon," he mutters. "It could have stopped here while on its way somewhere else. We could have scared it off right now. Or... it could have found what it was looking for."

"...who would know we were here though?" Magnificent narrows his eyes after the bird now. "I mean... unless it your knights or whatever. Bet they're going crazy that their King is missing."

"They wouldn't have known we were here. But they would know now." The King pauses for a moment. "It could be from Suilthair. The warriors or some nobles could have gotten concerned about my absence. Or..." He pauses again. "Well, it's best to be prepared. Rest and food. Leave in the morning."

"Who else would just have a random pigeon searching or waiting at an abandoned palace?" Mag grumbles.

"Well, I'm not sure of the resources of those rebels I mentioned, but... it's possible," the King says, slowly walking down the hallway again.

"Hm..." Magnificent looks out the window for a second before following after the King.