#luna shouts into the void

[thesilvergrove-if]

i'm having the MOST fun creating a secret society within wildingham 😈

a minor, optional fling/RO has arisen from said society and they are...a handful

[kjm126316]

ye olde fanfiction update

we've just hit 1.3K words on chapter 14 of caerule lunae, folks! still waiting on some comments to start editing chapter 13 proper, but it is being read!

and an update for you, dear readers:

[saintajax]

Blade and his team full of bulky or big pokemon vs his little princess umbreon who rides on his shoulders all the time

[huffle-dork]

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 7: PW Timeline

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read the PW Timeline

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Alt lands, by himself, in a bedroom. It's not a familiar bedroom. Small, and made even smaller by how crowded it is with knickknacks. The walls are pale green. There's a desk, a wardrobe, a bed, and a small table shoved in the corner by a big window. On that table are candles, some figurines, bowls, a wooden wand, a plate with a five-pointed star drawn on it--an altar of some kind, apparently. And there's a cat. A small black one. Standing on the desk and staring directly at Alt with big yellow eyes.

Alt looks around the room and almost immediately groans out loud. He whacks the TRVLR in his hands with a scowl. "What is wrong with you?? Why are you acting up now??" 

The TRVLR briefly shows the menu screen--and the code UF-0707019PW in the corner--before the low battery icon takes over.

Then, he notices the cat and he freezes. "Oh.. hi kitty?" He can't help but soften as he pockets the TRVLR and tries to get near it, holding out his hands for it to smell.

The cat immediately bolts, knocking down a water bottle and plastic cup of pencils as it jumps down from the desk and runs out the open bedroom door. No offense to Alt. Seems it just has the zoomies. 

Alt glitches back in surprise and watches the cat jump away and can't help but laugh as he watches. Oh... tiny kitty zoomies. He remembers when Glitches had those-

Down a hallway, someone shouts. "Luna Void, I swear to fuck if you knocked over something important--no pets for the rest of the day!" It's followed by an exasperated groan and approaching footsteps. 

Alt freezes at the voice. Shit! His mind blanks on something to do as he backs up- tries to think of something to say. He's broken into someone's house! ...completely on accident but! Still!

A man walks into the room, stopping in the doorway. He has long wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail, and is wearing a black sweatshirt with a design of a cresent moon made out of various-sized circles. He looks at Alt. His eyes widen and he backs away. "Wh-whoa, hey! Hey! I-I don't know how you got in here, b-but I'm calling the police!" He's reaching into the pocket of his jeans, probably going for his phone.

Alt jumps and glitches a bit to get closer, "Wait don't please I-I can explain!" He tries to say quickly. He searches the man's face, trying to see if he recognizes it. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you I just- d-don't know where I am-"

The man freezes the moment Alt glitches close to him. His eyes, somehow, go even wider. "What the--what the fuck?" He suddenly scrambles backwards. "How did--what--I--What the fuck?!" And then he turns and runs down the hallway.

"...shit-" Alt mutters and then tries to glitch after him. "Wait!"

The man reaches the living room, where there is another man standing. This one is wearing a blue button-up shirt and has a mustache. He clutches a phone in one hand like he's ready to dial.

"JJ!" the first man shouts. "I-I don't know what's going on, but--" 

Then Alt appears in the hallway entrance. The first man spins around, gasping, and the second one jumps in surprise.

Alt finds himself freezing once again and he very slowly puts up his hands. "H-Hang on... please- I... I can explain- I'm not gonna rob you- or hurt you... I just... g-gotta figure out where I am." He swallows thickly. "Please, just, hear me out?" 

He eyes the second man, taking in the signature look of JJ and feels himself start to relax. Okay- parallel again... so the first one must be... Marvin? Cuz cat? 

The two men stare at him in shock. Slowly, Marvin backs up towards the coffee table. Then he quickly grabs a small piece of candy from a bowl and gently throws it at Alt.

Alt blinks and goes to catch it, holding it in his hands. He blinks comically back at the two men. "...uh... thank you?"

"What the fuck?!" Marvin shouts again. "You're real?!"

"Y-Yes I'm real!" Alt shouts back. He shoves the candy in his pocket and then shakes his hands, "Okay let's just.. back up. You already think I'm insane so let's just run with it!" He stands up taller and with confidence as he says, "My name is Alt Brody. I'm from another universe- a parallel one. Where the same people exist in different places. So... I know people just like you two, Jameson and Marvin."

The two of them just gape at him. Marvin glances at JJ and asks in sign language, Do you think this is a trick? Is A-N-T-I back? 

He wouldn't do something that weird, JJ says. And if it was, he knows sign, you're not hiding anything. 

"Fuck," Marvin curses. 

"...I also know sign." Alt says sheepishly. His stomach drops at they seem scared once again of someone called Anti. Of course... at least the last one was kinda nice. "...I'm... technically a parallel of... your Anti. But, I'm not like.... evil or anything. I'm a magician."

Silence. "Okay. Yeah. Sure." Marvin laughs. "If this is a prank, it's not funny. Come on, where are the cameras? How did you do those weird effects?" 

JJ just frowns at him. You're my age. You're not Anti.

Alt knits his eyebrows at JJ and slowly nods, "Yeah... you're younger than my JJ... huh." He then turns to Marvin and sighs, "It's not an effect." He holds out his arm and lets its glitch, showing it splitting into different colors and pixels before snapping back into place. "I'm magic. And also a glitch. Technically." He stuffs his hands into his pockets and looks at them. "...someone in your group... has to be magic... right? ...someone always is... somehow."

JJ and Marvin stare at the glitching. They both look weirdly pale. Marvin folds his arms, hiding how unnerved he is. "Yeah, okay, ha ha. I'm not that kind of witch. I-I-I don't know--how you're doing that--but this is a really fucking cruel joke." 

I don't think he's joking, Marvin... JJ signs slowly. 

"He--he has to be," Marvin says a bit desperately. "I-I mean--that sort of 'magic'--like in the movies--it's not fucking real!"

Now it's Alt's turn to look pale as his eyes widen. "...magic doesn't exist here...?" He breathes. Then, he pushes back his hair and slowly starts to laugh. "...oh boy... Mag is not gonna be happy..." 

He looks back at them and opens up his palm, creating a ball of dancing electricity. He tosses it up into the air and as it hovers for a second, he glitches and then changes into a mostly black calico cat that stares at them up from the floor, his strange heterochromaic eyes practically glowing. Then, as the ball falls he glitches back and manages to catch it before it zaps away into the air. "...for me, magic is real." He says quietly. "I wouldn't lie about that."

Marvin and JJ watch all this silently, their faces an identical mix of awe and shock. Then Marvin slowly walks over to the sofa and collapses on it. 

Are you okay, Marvin? JJ asks. 

P-R-O-C-E-S-S-I-N-G. Marvin signs out the word letter by letter.

JJ nods. He leans back against the wall by the door. It's like... the many worlds theory. 

You sound like H-doctor. Clearly, Marvin means 'Henrik' by that. 

My point is, if it's true, then there are infinite possibilities. Including that magic is real somewhere. 

"Fucking bejesus hell," Marvin mutters.

Alt shuffles sheepishly. "...sorry- we... haven't traveled to a world without magic before. I'm... so used to just being able to do it." His form buzzes with static for a bit, pixels vibrating off him before he forces himself to snap back together. "I guess it makes sense... we've been to enough places- about time we ended up in a place with no magic." He sighs and leans up against the doorway, "But that creates a lot of problems on my end..." He starts to take out his phone, hoping he can contact Jackie or Chase.

"This is... gonna be a lot," Marvin says. "Mr. uh... What was your name? Anti?" 

He said 'Brody' too, JJ recalls. 

"So, what? He's from a magical alternate universe where Anti is Chase's brother instead of y--" 

JJ makes a shushing sound. 

"Oh. Sorry." 

Alt’s head snaps up at this, staring at Jj with wide eyes. “…you’re brothers with Anti…?” He asks quietly. He’s very quiet for a second, trying to imagine Dr. J being his sibling but… no. Too weird. 

JJ tenses a little bit. By blood, he says carefully. Our relationship is... bad. 

Marvin rolls his eyes. "Light way of putting it."

Alt nods in understanding. 

“…it’s uh Alt, by the way.” He corrects Marvin, “don’t really go by Anti anymore… only Chase calls me that.”

For once, cell service and WiFi work. The cell service is abysmally low, but it's there. 

Suddenly two cats run into the room. The small black one from before, chasing a fluffy ragdoll cat. The black one corners the ragdoll in and jumps on top of it, causing a "mrow!" 

"Stop, you two," Marvin says automatically. "Not near the terrarium."

Alt glitches at bit back as the cats rush in but then his eyes sparkle. He kneels down, just to look at them as he grins. “Oh… such pretty kitties…!” He softly coos.

The ragdoll cat pushes away the black one, who zooms away while the ragdoll licks his paw. 

Marvin grins. "That's Luna Void and Ragamuffin. They're my babies. Them and Salazar... though I wonder if I should change his name recently." 

Marvin points at a large terrarium nearby. Inside, curled up on the floor, is not a pile of purple rope, but a snake. "I'm biased for the kitties, to be honest, though." Seems the cat talk has helped him recover from his rattled state of mind. 

Alt giggles at their names. “Great names… I have a little void at home. Her name is Glitches. …you can probably guess why.”

Alt’s eyes wander to the terrarium and makes a slight Pog face as he almost glitches over- but he doesn’t want to scare the kitties or the snake. 

“Woahhh! A snake! What a cool color!” Alt winces a bit at the name and laughs, “Yeah… not a great time for anything named from Harry Potter, huh?”

“He’s a lavender corn snake,” Marvin says, grinning. “And yeah… I’m thinking of calling him Crowley now, after a character in this book called Good Omens.” 

Did you hear they’re making a series of that? JJ comments. 

“I did! Think it’s coming out in May.” 

Alt grins happily bouncing, “So cool- snakes are cool…”

Marvin takes a deep breath. “Okay. I think I’ve processed this whole… thing. Or at least I’m functional now. JJ? What about you?” 

The same, JJ says. 

“Alright. So.” Marvin looks at Alt. “If you’re… from an alternate universe… what are you doing here? How’d you get here?”

Once it seems like the others are settled he sighs and nods, “that’s the thing… we should be home. The first time we used this device, the TRVLR.” He pulls out the device to show them, “we didn’t know our code to get home but now we do and for some reason we keep ending somewhere different! Which might not be a problem if it was just me, my brother and Jackie… but we have a hitchhiker… a villain named Magnificent. He’s also magic… and very very dangerous. And everytime we jump- we end up separated… but pulled towards parallels we know in this universe.”

“Evil magicians,” Marvin mutters. “Ooookay. Great.” 

JJ frowns. Don’t you use ‘Magnificent’ as your username on a lot of games? 

“Wha—No!” Marvin says defensively. “It’s um… that… but in leetspeak. Whatever, are you saying I’m evil?” 

I’m saying if they appear towards parallels of people they know, that’s a big coincidence. 

Alt tries to hide his laugh about Marvin’s username. 

“Okay whatever, moving on,” Marvin says hurriedly. “So we have to help you find this guy and the two others you came with? Jackie and… your brother? Chase, right?” 

We know two people with those names, JJ says. If your friends appeared near them, we can contact them. 

Alt sinks into his jacket and hides his hands in its pockets. “…you don’t have to help if you don’t want to- but… yeah they’ve most likely appeared by one of them.” 

“Is Anti an option for people you appear by?” Marvin asks. “Since you’re like him? Because if that’s the case, they could be fucking anywhere, Anti skipped town a while ago.” 

Let’s hope they don’t appear near Anti, JJ says. He would take advantage of that. 

Alt stiffens as he hears about Anti and looks up in slight fear, “h-He skipped town? Oh… fuck. Yeah they… they might end up next to him- we’ve ended up in separate countries before… fuck!”

Please don’t panic, JJ says. If your friends have powers like you they can handle him easily. 

“Can you call them or something?” Marvin asks. “Do phones work in other universes? If they don’t, we can at least check with Chase and Jackie.” 

"Y-Yeah lemme see who I can call... I think I saw I had some bars..." Alt mumbles, taking out his phone. He dials Chase's number-

————— 

Bro lands in a small, dark space that smells like cleaning supplies. What is this? A closet? Nearby, Jackie lands in an empty waiting room, with rows of chairs and a couple different hallways branching off. There’s a directory on the wall listing things that sound very hospital-like. He hears a clatter inside a doorway labeled ‘Janitor.’ 

Bro oofs and then feels around the room, laughing nervously. "H-Hey! Who turned off the lights?? Hello??" 

Jackie rubs his head and shakes off the disorientation and then perks up when he hears Bro's voice. He laughs and goes to see if he can open the door- "H-Hang on Bro-!"

As Jackie goes over to open the doorway—which isn’t locked so he’s easily able to—another doorway opens. The front glass doors leading into this waiting room get pulled open and in walks a man in a snapback cap and gray jacket. He sees Jackie right away and grins. “I don’t think you’re allowed to go in there, bro.”

Jackie jumps slightly and whips around, looking at the man that entered. "Uhh-" 

Bro peeks his head out of the closet, his own gray cap on backwards. "Yooo! Haven't ran straight into another me right away in hot minute! Sup?" He grins wide, going to shut the door to the closet behind him. 

"You and Alt are wayyy too casual about all this jumping business, dude." Jackie mumbles. 

"Eh its starts to feel less and less crazy with each jump."

The other Chase stops walking, taking in the sight of another him popping out of the closet. “Uh—What the—huh?” He stammers. 

"See dude, you freaked him out!" Jackie says, nudging Bro. 

Bro shrugs, "It gets all the weirdness out of the way!" 

And then someone else appears, walking down one of those hallways. A man with shoulder length hair and round glasses, pulling on a red jacket. “Man, fuck that paperwork,” he mutters. “Hey Chase. Hey… wait a minute.” He glances between Jackie and Bro and Chase. “Uhhhhh…”

Jackieboy and Bro both blink at the new man that enters and Bro grins, pointing, "Eyyy two for one! Lets goooo!" 

Jackie hits him again.

The other Jackie and Chase just stare at them. Then Jackie quickly walks over to Chase, giving the two a wide berth. 

“Chase, what the fuck is going on?” he whisper-shouts. 

“I dunno, I just got here! Isn’t there supposed to be a receptionist or nurse or something?” 

“I think the desk guy is on break and I ditched the nurse.”

"Hi! Totally can still hear you by the way," Bro says cheerily. "Sorry to freak you out- we're you guys! From a parallel universe!" He beams. "Don't know where the hell we are though- hospital? I guess?" 

"Probably- I've been in enough to recognize the smell." Jackie nods. "Uh sorry- to be honest I'm just as fucking lost as you two must be. But, I'm Jackie Mann- This is Chase Brody, also known as Bro Fantastic." 

Bro waves.

The two of them just stare. Chase stiffens slightly as his name is mentioned, but they’re otherwise quiet for a while. 

“Riiiight,” Jackie says slowly, clearly not believing them. “Well… good luck then. We’ve uh, actually got a thing to go to so we’ll be leaving now.” 

“We do?” Chase says, confused. 

Jackie nudges him. “Yeah. We do. So let’s go.” He looks more than a little freaked out. 

“Yeah that’s a fair reaction-“ Jackieboy sighs. 

“Oh- okay. No worries,” Bro says, letting his happy demeanor drop, “Guess you all don’t see this kinda stuff often here. Before you go though, can you tell us what city this is? Or I guess what hospital this is?” He shrugs, “We need to find some other people so it’d be nice to know. I think my cell should work here-“ 

Jackie pulls out his and nods, “Yeah I think we got bars.”

"Um... y-yeah, sure," Chase says uncertainly. "This is Southpoint General Hospital in Corrigale." 

Jackie looks at him like he's crazy but he ignores him. "Um... m-meeting up with friends?"

"...kinda yes kinda no-" Bro laughs, "I gotta find my little bro, Alt. Then- well... we gotta find a really bad guy before he... does something... bad." 

"wayyy to sugarcoat it, bro," Jackie mutters. 

"They're already freaked out I don't wanna freak em out more!!" Bro whisper-shouts.

Chase and Jackie glance at each other. "Um... one second, please," Chase says, pulling Jackie to the side. 

They're out of earshot for Jackieboy and his normal range of hearing, but Bro can still hear them whispering. 

"Okay so they're not crazy fans of mine. They'd know I don't have a brother." 

"Why do they look like us? What sort of bit is this? Are we on a fucking prank show? Who does that in a hospital?" 

"I-I don't know! But, I... I don't think they're with Anti." 

"Only Anti would be able to make makeup that real-looking, though." 

"Maybe they really just look like us? Look, can you really see Anti pairing up with someone to fuck with us?" 

"...No. I don't think he'd risk coming back into the city to do something so weird."

"...Chase I know you can probably hear them but can we just try to approach this like we're nor- okay yeah no you're not listening to me." Jackie tries to whisper to Bro but can already see his friend's eyes locked onto the other two. 

In a quick zip, Bro comes a bit closer to them- not too close but definitely closer than he was. He blinks at them and tilts his head, "You guys mentioned a guy named Anti? That's technically who we're looking for! Well- my Anti- not yours, I'm guessing. Looks like this guy has you all kinda spooked. Is he a bad guy here?"

Jackie's head whips over to Bro. His face blanches and he suddenly bolts for the front door. 

"Jackie!" Chase shouts. He glances at Bro. "I-I'm so sorry, he's--he's gone through some stuff. Jackie!" And he hurries after him.

Bro's face falls and he looks apologetic. He's frozen for a second before he rushes out after them. 

“Wait- Chase!" Jackie yells out. He then sighs loudly before rushing after him. 

Outside is a cloudy afternoon sky. Jackie presses his back against a lamp post, hands over his mouth and breathing heavily. Chase is trying to comfort him. "They said it's not the same guy, they're not with him, it's okay, nothing's gonna happen. It's okay, it's okay."

Bro slows down and tries to approach, "I-I'm so so sorry...! It's just... my brother- he's called Anti too. R-Really only by me but... I... I didn't know it would make you react like that... I promise my brother isn't anyone who would hurt you. He's... a really good guy- and magic! So... um... im... im really sorry..."

“F-funny name, hah…” Jackie leans his head back against the lamp post, moving his hands from his mouth to his chest. “I-it’s not your fault. It’s okay. This is just… really weird.” 

“Do you need a moment?” Chase asks him. 

“I’m good now. Promise.” Jackie rubs his eyes under his glasses. “S-so… your brother. His name is Anti? A-and he does magic tricks? Th-that’s cool.”

Bro looks sheepish as he nods, "Yeah... he goes by Alt now though. I call him Anti- but only sometimes. Cuz that's the name he wanted when he grew up." 

"He can do more than just magic tricks- he's a magician. He can glitch and shit-" Jackie adds. 

Chase blinks. “…glitch? More than tricks? What do you…” He trails off, realizing this isn’t the time for questions. 

Bro looks really concerned, "... You don't have to say anything you don't want to but... I'm guessing your Anti... he hurt you? I just... we might run into him... knowing our track records. I wanna know what we might be getting into. ...my brother could be with him."

“Yeah, he… hurt me,” Jackie mutters. “Our friends, too. Y-you, uh, your brother probably won’t run into him. We think he left town to avoid the police.”

Bro nods solemnly, "...I'd be more inclined to believe that normally but... one time we ended up in other countries and... and he got really hurt there so I..." He looks terrified for a second and grips his hands into fists, "..police- so he's a criminal. Okay... I... I just hope Alt didn't end up with him." He looks back at Chase and Jackie and smiles slightly. "...I'm sorry for all the trouble. We can... get out of your hair- thank you for answering our questions."

"It's okay, really." Jackie nods slowly. 

"Yeah, uh... nice to meet you. If a little weird." Chase laughs a little. 

Jackieboy laughs, “Yeah it’s a bit strange. Thanks for humoring us.” 

And then Bro's phone starts ringing.

Jackieboy and Bro seem like they’re ready to head out when Bro blinks and digs out his phone. “Oh! It’s Alt!” He quickly answers.

"Oh good!" Chase smiles a little. "Glad to hear he's alright--" And then his phone gives off a text tone. He blinks, answering it. "Uh... huh." He shows Jackie what he just received. 

A messages from a contact labeled Double J. Weird question but have you run into anyone claiming to be from an alternate universe? 

Jackie blinks. "What the hell...?"

“Chase! Are you okay?” Alt’s voice asks frantically on the other end. “Where are you?” 

Bro looks relived, “We’re okay, are you?” 

“Yeah I’m fine- I ended up with Marvin and jj- did you know there’s no magic here??” 

Bro’s eyes widen, “Really? None at all?” 

“No- they were really freaked when I got here - then they told me about the Anti here and I got scared that you were-” 

“We’re not with him. I’m with Jackie actually- and we found both of our doppelgängers. But we’re okay- we’re actually right outside a hospital. Southpoint general.” 

“Okay… it’s probably best for us to keep a low profile so- maybe we can see if someone can… drive us…?” Alt’s voice sounds disgusted at the thought. 

Bro laughs. “Yeah maybe- I can ask.” 

“And we’ll need to keep out for signs of Mag… I dunno how he’s gonna react to a world like this.” 

“…Right. Okay bro bro we’ll keep you updated…”

Meanwhile, Chase is having a text conversation with JJ. Yeah how did you know? 

Some guy showed up in Marvin's house. And I know it sounds crazy, but we believe he's telling the truth about the different world thing. 

Jackie glances at Bro and Jackieboy. "What the fuck?" he whispers. 

Chase keeps texting. How do you know for sure? 

He could do impossible things. Like teleport and transform. I'm not fucking with you when I say this. 

No yeah youre not the type Sounds like the guy is talking with his friends on the phone now. Something about meeting up. Chase and Jackie glance at Bro again. 

I think were on the other end of that conversation Ask the guys for proof about being from another world. they might do something strange. 

Kk 

"You guys... weren't being serious about the parallel world thing... were you?" Jackie asks slowly. 

Bro and Alt end their conversation for now and the hero blinks back at Jackie. “Oh no I’m completely serious.” He says, not missing a beat. He then grins mischievously. “Want me to prove it?” 

“Bro didn’t Alt just say-“ Jackie tries to warn. 

“I’m! From a world! Where Chase Brody is a superhero~” Bro laughs and then steps back into the air, hovering a little bit off the ground. He beams.

Chase's mouth drops open. The phone falls from his hand. 

Jackie just stares blankly. "I'm not... I'm not hallucinating, right, Chase?" he mutters. 

Chase shakes his head slowly. Then he suddenly bursts into laughter. "Man. Why couldn't I be born in the universe where I'm a superhero?" 

"I mean... technically... you were, I guess. And this is... you?" Jackie gestures at Bro. 

"Yeah. Yeah." He bends down and picks his phone up again. "Well. Uh. You probably don't want to fly like that for too long. Or else you're gonna end up all over the internet."

“Yeah Chase get down you’re not even wearing your mask!” Jackieboy scolds as he grabs Bro by the jacket and pulls him down. 

Bro laughs and touches down quickly, messing with his hair. “Yeahhh that’d be bad for you… don’t want that. Not being able to fly around is gonna suck ass though-“ 

“Oh boo hoo- you’ll have to be normal like the rest of us for a bit-“ Jackieboy grumbles. 

Bro shrugs, “So Alt is actually with your friends Marvin and Jj! So he’s safe- for now at least…. But that only leaves the issue of Magnificent…”

“Magni…what?” Chase asks. 

“Isn’t that Marvin’s name on Minecraft?” Jackie asks. 

“Oh my god- that’s amazing.” Jackieboy laughs.

“I don’t know, I don’t play Minecraft.” Chase says.

“You should ask JJ to add you to his server, it’s really cool, there’s a mushroom biome at spawn—” Jackie starts to ramble. 

“God- we should get back into minecraft-“ Jackie blog says to Bro. 

“Maybe if I didn’t have to keep catching this damned cat.” Bro grumbles. 

“We’re getting off topic.” Chase shakes his head. “Okay. Remembering what you guys said, Magnificent is probably the guy you’re looking for. The bad guy you have to stop. Am I right? Do you have any idea where he could be?”

Bro shakes his head, “I have no idea. We have ways to track each other- but no way to track Mag. Usually… he ends up finding his way back to us. And if this place has no magic… he’s probably gonna try to find Alt. He has the device we use to travel between worlds.”

Jackie sighs. "This is... so much." 

"W-well, uh... I can at least give you guys a ride?" Chase suggests. "Jackie can't drive, and I don't know if you guys know the bus system here."

“Yeah if you don’t mind that’d be great,” Jackieboy replies with a smile. “I know it’s a lot- a have a hard time following along when it’s stuff just in our universe-“ 

“Oh but- you guys were going into the hospital for something right? We don’t want to get in the way of that.” Bro adds.

"Oh, Chase was picking me up," Jackie explains. "I was, uh, in there for a while. But I'm good to go now." 

"I kinda wanted to stop by and check on Jack," Chase mutters. "But this feels more important. I'm sure he'd understand." 

"The question is, would he believe us?" 

Chase opens up the camera on his phone. "That's what photographic evidence is for. Hey, other me? You wanna take a picture together?" 

"Oh my god." Jackie rolls his eyes, but still smiles.

Bro’s eyes light up and he bounces slightly. “Yeah! Let’s do it!” He rushes over to stand next to Chase. 

“Dork!” Jackie calls with a grin.

"God, the dork-ness transcends universes, doesn't it?" Jackie agrees.

“Yeah- but unfortunately he’s my dork.” Jackieboy laughs. 

"Alright, say cheese." Chase holds the camera up high and does a peace sign as he takes the picture. Bro copies the gesture with a big ol’grin. 

"And we're good." Chase puts his phone away. "We can do more later. I think we should head out now. I want to meet your brother. Oh! Wait a minute. He must be an alternate version of Anti, then? A... nice one?" 

"Now that is hard to believe," Jackie says. "Oh, uh, I'm sure your brother is great, though."

Bro beams and nods. Then he messes with his hair. “Yeah- Alt’s a good guy. He’s not like a lot of Antis we meet. You’ll see. I uh- I think Alt said they’re at Marvin’s house?”

Jackie pauses. "I'm looking forward to meething him, then." "Great, that's not too far," Chase says. "Come on. I'm parked over here." 

----------- 

Magnificent lands on a carpeted floor. This is a long hallway of some kind, lined with doors that have numbers printed on them. Probably in a hotel. ...No, not a hotel. It's too... clinical for that. The magic ice holding his arms to his sides is gone. Not melted, just disappeared like it was never there, leaving only a lingering chill. 

Magnificent pushes himself up, suppressing the chill that the ice left behind. He looks around the hallway curiously. He, of course, tries to look around for any sign of magic nearby. Surely there must be something?

... Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Usually he's able to sense at least some distant magic, but not this time. In fact, he almost feels his own magic more drained than normal. What the fuck? 

Magnificent's stomach drops dramatically. There's no magic here? ...oh no.

There are voices coming from around a corner. They're coming closer.

He hears voices coming and he curses, quickly using his power to change him into his Jack the Magnificent disguise. But- less showman-y and more... business like. He tries to casually look like he belongs.

A group of three people round the corner. There's a short woman with black hair, wearing a white coat, a taller man in some sort of beige uniform that kind of looks like nurse's scrubs, and a man with brown hair wearing an off-white sweater, holding a notebook and pencil bag. 

"--really glad it's been working out," the woman is saying. "I'd love to see what you're working on some time, but you don't have to share if you don't want to." 

"No, I know, thank you," the brown-haired man says. "I feel like I should show you, yes? I mean, there is the therapy in art therapy--" He's the first to notice Magnificent. And he stops short, staring at him, confused. "...Marvin?" 

The woman and other man also notice.

Magnificent stiffens. ...he knows that accent. He waves timidly, trying to seem friendly. "H-Hey! Whats up?" 

...he's so fucked-

"Um... how did you get in here?" the woman asks. She looks at the tall man. "Oliver?" 

"What? I didn't let anyone in." 

The woman sighs. She gives Magnificent--under the impression that it's Marvin--a stern look. "You know we have security cameras, right? You can't just break in whenever you want. Aren't you still paying that fine?" She's close enough that Magnificent can see she has a name tag: Dr. Rya Laurens. 

Magnificent tries his best to process this all quickly and sticks his hands in his pockets, shrugging. "What? I can't visit my good friend Schneep? Seems your security is a little lax so- you can thank me for showing you its flaws." He tries to laugh. 

Schneep blinks. "When did you cut your hair...?"

Mag blinks at Schneep and pats his hair, "Oh uh- recently. It was getting in the way... you know?"

"Oh. I thought you liked it long." Schneep looks confused, but he accepts this. 

Dr. Laurens still looks a bit annoyed. "Well... you still can't just do that. We're all on edge after what happened with Anti. You'll have to go." 

"Ah right... the Anti thing." Mag says, nodding like he understands. "Dunno why that just... slipped my mind.”

"Um... w-well, he came all this way, we can... talk for a little bit," Schneep stammers. "I-I can show him my room." 

"I don't know if we can allow that..." Laurens says slowly. "But... we can go down to the visitor's room, if you want." 

“It's alright, Henrik- I can just come back and visit another time. Properly, of course." Mag tries to smile charmingly. "Though- i turned myself around so- maybe you can least help me find the way back out?"

Schneep chuckles. "Your sense of direction is still terrible, then?" 

Laurens also smiles a bit. "Okay. Sure. Schneep, you want to come with?" 

"Yes, yes, of course." 

"Alright, then. Oliver, do you mind?" 

Oliver shrugs. "Nah." 

"Very professional sounding of you," Schneep mutters. 

"It's this way, we'll take the stairs," Laurens says, hurriedly turning around back the way they came.

"Ah thanks- 'ppericate it." Mag smiles and follows after them. 

As they walk Magnificent lingers behind, trying to see if he can probe into any of their minds... just to see what universe they're dealing with. He tries to look through Schneep's mind first.

There is absolutely no resistance to Magnificent's probing, but what he sees doesn't really make much sense. Schneep's thoughts and memories are in scattered fragments, interspersed with things that look incredible--bleeding shadows moving on the walls, eyes dangling from the ceiling, the feeling of things crawling beneath the skin--but aren't... consistent in the way real things are. The figure of a man with two-colored eyes loom large in his memories, half his face terribly scarred. Fear is linked to this figure and his cruel grins. Magnificent sees a man in a red hood screaming, arm bent at an awkward angle, and flashes of dead people's faces. There's a man with a mustache and gentle smile whose face sometimes flickers into the scarred man's, there's one with a snapback cap who's smiling at him, one with green-dyed hair who has the memory of sickness and guilt attached to him, one with a long wavy ponytail--ah, that's his other-world counterpart. The more recent memories are the most stable, many of them involving hour-long conversations with this Laurens woman, all of them taking place in this building. A hospital. But not the normal kind of hospital.

Hmm... so Schneeplestein is in a mental institution. Fascinating. But, not helpful. It seems there's no mysterious power or anything to harness here. The two-colored eyed man seems interesting but not in a way that captures his attention. Sure, he could conquer these guys minds and maybe suck their life forces if he's desperate. But... what is there to gain? Boring... hm... what to do...

They reach the first floor, winding through some hallways towards the front of the building. 

"You know they say I will be able to leave soon," Schneep says. "Not on my own, a-and not... permanently, I mean. I'm not ready for that. But for small trips into the city. Maybe we could... do something when that happens." He trails off. 

"That'd be nice, Henrik." Mag replies shortly, still caught up in his head. 

Something has been bothering Schneep about Marvin during this short trip. He's trying to ignore the paranoia, but it's hard. Is this... really Marvin?

...He doesn't think it is. There's something in the way that he walks that's off. He's too... confident. In a way that almost reminds him of... him. 

"Schneep, are you okay?" Laurens asks. "Remember to breathe. You're not breathing." 

"I-I-I am f-fine," Schneep says. "Um... Marvin has been in this area before, h-he should know where to go from here." 

Magnificent pauses as he realizes Schneep seems to be more wary all of sudden. His right eye burns bright green as he tilts his head at Schneep. "Is something the matter, Hen? You don't want to lead me to the door?"

Schneep gasps as his eye starts to glow. He staggers backwards, dropping his notebook and pencil bag. 

"Hey, be careful," Oliver says, crouching down to get those for him. 

"Schneep?" Laurens follows Schneep's line of sight--and sees Magnificent's eye glowing green. Her jaw drops. "...what?"

Magnificent starts to laugh, "Oh- did I give something away?" He chuckles a bit more and shakes his head and as he raises his head again, you can see the scars around his left eye. "Oh well... cat's out of the bag, now, isn't it~?" 

A bloom of spiraled magic appears behind him as he laughs, "Don't know what I'll do in such a pathetic world but... a puppet is a puppet~!" 

"Wh-what is--th-this is not possible--" Schneep stammers, backing up. 

Laurens reaches for the pager on her belt, about to call for security. 

Oliver pops up and pushes his way to the front, protecting the other two. 

Mag starts to approach them slowly, grinning sinisterly as he puts a finger to his lips. 

"Hush now, kittens. Don't want to alert the other normies to my magnificence just yet~" 

The effects are instant. They don't know how to pull away. They don't know what Magnificent is even trying to do. The moment their eyes land on the magic, all of them are instantly under his spell. Schneep lets out a final squeak of protest before the magic completely takes over his mind.

"Mmmm excellent job, kittens.... don't fight it now." He giggles and prowls closer. He goes straight to Schneep and lifts up his chin. He hums, "Oh... I missed seeing this face under my power~! You know, Schneeplestein... I think you can aid me quite well..." He looks at Laurens and Oliver and tilts his head. He then snaps and shoos them off. "You two. I have no need of you. Lock yourself in one of these rooms and forget me and Henrik were ever here, won't you?"

Laurens and Oliver nod. They walk over to the nearest room, with Laurens dropping her keycard on the ground before closing the door on them. 

"What will we do now?" Henrik asks quietly.

"Hm... what will we do indeed?" Mag giggles. He looks around and then hums. "We should get away from the cameras... we have a naughty cub to find." He grabs Henrik and in a snap, him and Schneep disappear in a flicker of static out of the hospital.

[princesspastel8]

Chapter 41

Trigger warning: Su*c*de/Self Harm/SA

Third POV

A few days pass, now Thursday of next week. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Most are excited, sharing memes and such about family gatherings for the holidays. Eboni, unfortunately, isn't one of them. Everyday after school, she would spend her nights cutting the pain away. As soothing as it may be, Eboni's foster parents took notice of the many bandages wrapped around her arms and thighs.

At the realization of Eboni's self-harm, she offered to put the child back into therapy, which Eboni refused. She openly told them that they'll be wasting her money since they can't force her. So, taking matters into their own hands, they locked away all knives and sharp objects. This frustrated Eboni to no end. What is she supposed to do now? She HAS to relieve her pain. She can't face it. It'll be a losing battle.

So Eboni decides to starve herself. This has already begun two weeks ago, cutting her meal intake severely - only eating chips or gummy candy. But now, Eboni only drinks water. Her weight lost has become noticeable to her foster parents, but they decided not to speak on it. Iris and Luna also noticed, but nothing they said could make Eboni eat food.

Eboni is now behind the school, standing still as Alex has his way with her. He moves his hands under her hoodie, raising a brow. He can feel a difference. He looks down at Eboni, tilting his head.

"....you haven't been eating."

Eboni shrugs, head resting against the wall, not daring to look at him. He moves to pull her sweatpants down, noticing bandages wrapped around her thighs. "....and you've been cutting yourself." He states.

Eboni nods again, wanting him to get this over with - but Alex wants to press further. "First you become a pothead, then a alcoholic, now you're starving and cutting yourself? The fuck is your problem?!"

She slowly turns to look at Alex, face stoic and eyes voided. "You....you're my problem. You've always been the problem.."

Alex frowns, grabbing her neck, and grips it tightly. "Me? ME?! Oh, Ebs, I'm the greatest thing that has EVER happened to you. When will you finally understand that!?" He shouts into her face.

Eboni stares at him, her face still stoic, though she's struggling to breathe. "N...Never.."

Alex clicks his tongue, nails digging into the skin of her throat. He yanks her panties down, looking down before shoving his fingers inside. He pauses, noticing the cravings just above her lining. His eyes widen, filling with fury.

"That...that killer still has this much hold on you!? Fuck Ebs, you're really pissing me off today!"

"I...I will always belong to Jeff. Nothing you do or say will change that." She said faintly, feeling lightheaded from lack of oxygen.

Alex stares at her, clicking his tongue and stepping away. "The month is nearly over Ebs. That smiling freak wants nothing to do with you. I mean, come on, what man wants another one's sloppy seconds?"

"You did. Jeff was my first Alex. You know that. He took all my first. There's nothing you've done that he hasn't. Except for drugging and raping me."

Alex punches Eboni, the back of her head slamming against the brink wall. She whimpers, quickly fixing her clothes and shielding herself with her arms and hands.

"All this back talk...you really forgotten your place, huh?"

Eboni shakes her head, but Alex doesn't bother. He grabs her wrist and pins it behind her back, shoving her body against the wall. He unbuckles his pants and yanks her sweatpants & panties down. He leans forward, lining himself to her entrance.

"No worries, Ebs, I'll be more than happy to remind you."

And so he did - in such a brutal, demoralizing, and demeaning way. Eboni takes it, the pain and humiliation. What else can she do? She's too weak to fight back, to drain to cry out. Why bother? Every person Eboni has begged to believe her has turned their backs and ignored it all - at least the ones that had the power to do something about it.

"See, Ebs? This is where you belong. Stuck to me - guled to me. You should be leeching from me, begging and pleading for more. That doesn't sound so bad now, does it?"

It does. It's horrible. She can never love him. She can never allow herself to fall for him, to be his mindless doll to toy and play with - to command as much as he wants. Each forceful and painful thrust causes her body to rub against the brink wall, causing an unpleasant burning sensation.

"I...I hate you." Eboni finally said, voice dry and horse.

Alex pauses, a sorrow look filling his eyes. He grabs her hair and yanks her head back. He leans forward, a frown edged on his face. "Oh Ebs...that really hurt my feelings...your pussy will makeup for it."

So he continues. One round is never enough. He continued up until the sun finally began to set. Alex pulls out, Eboni slumping to the ground with shaky legs - struggling to fix her clothes. She lowers her head in shame, not bothering to look at Alex anymore. Once he fixes his clothes, he leans down, grabbing her jaw, and forces her to look at him.

"You'll regret that, Ebs. That hope you're still holding onto so desperately for that killer...I'll destory it - one way or another." Alex declares, kissing Eboni. He pulls away, smiling brightly. "Get home safe!" He waves before walking off.

After a few minutes of recovery, she slowly stands up. Eboni begins her slow walk back home, limping most of the way there. When there Eboni notices the empty driveway. The girl remembers Tiffany mentioning date night during breakfast. She sighs, unlocking the door, and stumbles inside, gripping the handrail for support on her way up the stares.

She unlocks the door to her room, closing it behind herself. She notices the bottle of birth control on her nightstand. She opens it, taking one pill dry. Then she goes into the bathroom, taking a burning hot shower - her cuts and wall scrapings stinging.

Eboni didn't bother washing her hair. She hasn't in about three weeks. Once her body is dry, she throws on Jeff's hoodie and curls into bed, holding her bunny plush close to her chest. She grabs her phone, opening her text chat with Jeff to send him another message.

Eboni: He raped me again. Said I forgot my place. He was so angry when he saw the craving of your name where it belongs. I stood up to him... told him no matter what he does to me - I'll always be yours. But...he told me you want nothing to do with me. I don't believe him. I don't wanna. You'll come for me, I know you will, Jeff. I...I miss you so much. Please come back already.."

After sending the text, the girl slips into another sleepless filled night. The night went by quickly, and Eboni got little sleep. Her phone is oddly silent today. Normally, Alex would blow up her phone with disturbing morning text. Besides that, Eboni also has a sickly feeling in her stomach, meaning the last day before Thanksgiving break won't be a sweet one.

Nevertheless, the girl stands from her bed, taking off Jeff's hoodie and hides it away. She puts on a different set of sweatpants and a hoodie, leaving her hair in a messy afro. She takes her bike to school, being a few minutes late. Tiffany & Daniel never returned home last night - leaving a message stating they had to leave on urgent business, meaning Eboni will be spending yet another Thanksgiving alone.

Upon entering the school, Eboni is greeted by eyes filled with disgust and judgment. Eboni is used to this, but the atmosphere seems different. To her horror, she figures out why once she gets to her locker. There tapped to it is a printed out screenshot of her dazed out face. The day Alex took advantage of her. Her bag drops from her shoulder as her body freezes - laughter, teasing, and tormenting names filling her ears.

With shaky hands, she moves to rip the picture off, opening her locker only to be greeted by green slime spraying all over her and thumbtacks falling to her feet. More laughter erupts around her, filling throughout the halls. The humiliation hits her as she realizes her mistake. Telling Alex she hates him is the biggest mistake. He leaked the recording.

Feeling her stomach bubble, she rushes to the restroom through the heavy crowd. She rushes into the first stall and gags, throwing up the only contents in her stomach - water. A girl notices and grins, sneaks up behind Eboni, and pushes her face into the toilet. The girl laughs, flushing the toilet while keeping Eboni head inside.

Eboni tries to fight out of her hold, but she's far too malnourish to do a thing. Once the girl has her fun, she pulls away, Eboni quickly lifting her head to breathe - coughing and gagging.

"Must've been what you sound like choking on his cock. Gross to be honest. He should've stayed with me." She huffs, walking out the bathroom.

Eboni didn't get a good look at the girl, but she'll never forget that snarky voice. She stands to her feet, whipping the slime as best as she can with paper towels and rings out her wet hair with her hands. She stays behind until the first bell rings, singling that she's late.

She gulps nervously, slowly making her way to her first period. She pushes open the door, earning a few whispers and laughs. The teacher eyes Eboni, knowing about the video as well but decides not to comment on it. They send Eboni to her desk when a surprise is waiting for her.

Slut.

Whore.

Bitch.

Dick Rider.

Pothead.

Alcoholic.

Cutter.

Attention seeker.

Desperate loster.

Sloppy Degenerate.

And many, many more. There are so many hateful words written all over her desk. The students burst into a fit of laughter, all pointing their fingers at her. Just then, the intercom sounds throughout the whole school.

"Eboni Brown report to the principal's office - now."

Body shaking, the girl quickly rushes out of the room and straight towards the principal's office. She slowly pushes open the door, greeted by the sounds of grunts and her barely audible whimpers. Principal Webb scrunches up his face at the sight of Eboni, haute-ing her from sitting down.

"This will be quick. This video was posted on the school's website under your account. Do you have any idea the amount of trouble I'm in because of your incompetence!?"

"I-I didn't...I didn't post that! It was -"

"I don't want to hear another word out of you. You are hereby expelled! You've been nothing but trouble and a distraction to the other students the moment you step foot into my school. Now begone. Your parents will handle the paperwor-"

"Foster...parents."

"That I'm sure are very disappointed that they're housing a future adult entertainer. Now, GET OUT!" Principal Webb shouts, which makes Eboni rush out.

She leans against the wall, trying to control her breathing. This can't be happening. There's just no way. One tiny slip up with Alex has retorted in her whole future being destroyed. Even if Eboni wanted to possibly go to college or make something out of her life , she'll never be given an opportunity to, all because of -

"I warned you, Ebs." Alex said, leaning against the hall wall across from her. "I warned you, Ebs. I didn't want to do this, but you made me. All you had to do was stick by me, glue yourself to me. But instead, you just couldn't let go of your first, huh? How pathetic really, but no matter! Just take this as a lesson learn. Always do as I say or face the consequences. Now come here and -"

Eboni runs. She runs straight towards the exit, not bothering to look back. She jumps on her bike and rushes to the nearest corner store. She parks her bike, walking inside, and places her hood over her head. She goes into the alcohol section, grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniel's. She only ever drank wine, but she'll need something stronger for what she has in mind.

"Jack Daniel's, huh? Ah, don't mind me, miss you look like you need it." The cashier shrugs, pretending he didn't see the girl stuff the drink into her hoodie. Ironically enough, he also feels a sense of deja vu.

Eboni hops onto her bike, pedaling to her home. She drops her bike on the front lawn, opening the front door, not caring to lock the door behind herself. She rushes into her room, locking the door. She sets the bottle to the side and process to destory everything in her room this time.

"I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. I DON'T DESERVE ANYTHING!"

Death.

Eboni pauses, staring at her ceiling with a smile on her face. Alex was right about one thing - Jeff no longer cares for her at all. All the text messages, all of this time - he made no effort to even try and help her - to save her. Ah, but serial killers aren't savers nor protectors. They're just killers. They aren't capable of caring, of loving - no sympathy nor empathy. Why did she hold so much hope in a man only capable of causing pain and misery - of murder.

Eboni laughs loudly, tears flowing from her face. It's strange. The girl thought she ran out of tears. Yet here she is, crying and laughing at her despair. Eboni glances around her messy room, noticing a pair of scissors and her birth control pills. She moves to grab both as well as Jack Daniel's alcoholic drink.

She walks into her bathroom, hooking up her phone to the bluetooth speaker - the only thing she doesn't destroy. The girl goes to her tub and turns on the ice cold water, filling the tub to the brim. She goes back into her room and takes off her clothes, staying in her undergarments and slips on Jeff's hoodie.

Eboni steps into the tub, a smile still on her face. First, she takes the remaining pills that she remembers Luna telling her not to take more than one. She tosses the empty case to the ground, popping open Jack Daniel's and chugs it down in one go. She coughs a bit once she's done, tossing the glass bottle to the ground. Eboni hums a bit, reaching for her phone to send Jeff one last message.

Eboni: I waited... and waited and WAITED. Alex released the video...under my account. It's all over the internet, I'm sure of it and I got expelled because of it. I kept my hope for you. I tried to endure it all....hoping you'll come back. But I realized something: Why would I hope in someone who's only capable of killing? I was just a toy... you would've gotten tired of me. The day you left - you didn't want to fuck a girl that's stupid enough to fall into the arms of someone else right? That's ok though....I'm finally going to end the pain Jeff. I can't - keep living like this. I just can't. I give up. But thank you....for making me think I finally meant something to someone.

Eboni did try to call Iris and Luna, but neither of them would pick up their phones. They must've been disgusted with her, too. She grabs the scissors, smiling at how oddly sharp they are. She cuts down her left wrist vertically, crying out at the pain, but she doesn't stop - continuing to do the same to her right wrist, blood gushing out, and filling the tub water.

Eboni feels the effects of the pills and alcohol, mixing with her rapid blood loss. She leans further down against the tub, humming to the song playing loudly on repeat. Death... finally. But alone. That's fine. The pain can finally stop. The nightmares can finally end. It can all be over. The battle of life has won.

"Everything...will be fine.."

[dujour13]

WOOHOO Owlcatober begins! It’s my Tumblr birthday! 🎉 I signed up on October 1st 2022 just so I could send a cheeky ask out of nowhere to @starlightcleric for some Owlcatober prompts, and she very graciously put some together overnight even though she wasn’t planning on it. Thank you so so much Luna ❤️

I will forever be grateful for stumbling on this community. You people are the best 🥰

This time I’m not even going to try to hit the prompts in order. Instead I wrote three mini-series, so I’ll keep them in their own logical order regardless of prompt number.

The first series is titled “The Prodigal Tiefling” and it’s in four parts, starting with

26. Fear

(cw: canon-typical violence, swooping)

Woljif Jefto never had been blessed with nice dreams much, at night anyway, but this crusade business put all kinds of addled visions in his sleeping mind.

Facing down Minagho and her demons with no pants on. Babaus in Eagle Watch tabards grinning as they locked him up and swallowed the key. Kerismei pursuing him through the streets of a flaming city and his legs like jelly. The Prelate lighting him on fire and tossing him into a crevasse that went all the way down to the Abyss. Falling endlessly through a purple void.

The Knight-Commander’s musical hands caressing his neck.

It was one of those rare nice ones this time, sadly, that was interrupted by disaster.

A full-throated scream, not two meters outside his tent. A crash.

He jerked upright so fast stars sparked behind his eyes.

Another more distant crash. An explosion. Shouting. Screaming. Inhuman shrieks.

Lucky he was smart enough to sleep in his trousers, just in case opportunity knocked. Or this happened, whatever it was. He groped about for his tunic and belt with frantic hands.

An orange glow through one side of the tent shed enough light for him to get his belt and boots on, but orange glows weren’t generally a good sign when accompanied by the sounds of explosions and panic on all sides, not to mention the acrid, oily smell of something burning he reckoned was not a nice, comfy campfire. A slithery thump made him start and stare around, but it was just his agitated tail slapping against the tent flap.

Mostly dressed, he crawled out of the tent on his hands and knees, and stayed low among the crates stacked between his tent and the quartermaster’s. People were running, and not purposefully in the same direction. Just running.

A gnome crusader careened past, not looking where she was going but at the sky instead for some reason, which drew his own eyes up to the starless Worldwound night—just in time to spy a horrible slate-black demonic shape glide past, turn and dive somewhere beyond the next tent.

Wide-eyed he peered over the crates.

Sure enough, a portion of the Eagle Watch camp was on fire. There were bodies on the ground. The clashing of swords just out of view.

Through a gap in the crates Woljif saw that rookie Andoren priest Sosiel run to the side of a downed crusader and kneel, healing light flooding from his hands.

Aright. There’s been an ambush, but it’s under control. The healers are on it.

Woljif breathed a sigh of relief. He’d hunker down here until Sosiel and his lot could get things sorted, and then maybe he’d sneak out and stab something if anything still needed stabbing.

He watched the wounded crusader cough and roll to one side. Sosiel said something to her. She nodded. Froze suddenly. Looked over the priest’s shoulder and threw her hands over her face. Screamed.

Before he could blink Woljif watched one of those flying whatevers—bat-winged monsters with dangling claws and leering teeth—dive out of the fiery darkness and seize Sosiel in its talons and take to the sky again, beating wings fanning the flames, the priest pounding his fists in vain against its flank.

shit shit shit

Huddling with both hands over his head probably wasn’t going to help.

think think think

The Knight-Commander. There would be help at the command tent. The chief would know what to do. He would smile and say “It’ll be fine,” and somehow it would be.

The problem was making it to the command tent without getting swiped up by one of those—what were they, anyway? Like the grotesque gargoyles that perched on the cornices of the temple of Iomedae back in Kenabres.

He tried to gauge the distance to the command tent and pick out some likely cover along the way, but he’d have to avoid swooping demons, panicked crusaders barreling about blindly, and patches of fire that had begun exploding at random all about the crusade camp.

He made it to the first cover position, the blacksmith’s lean-to behind Wilcer’s tent. From here he could spy the Knight-Commander’s pavilion. Between here and there, however, lay fallen crusaders, flaming timber and precious little cover.

A series of bowstring twangs told him the crusaders were putting up some resistance, but the arrows clattered uselessly to the ground, and it seemed now like more and more of the winged demons crisscrossed the sky overhead.

Worse, across the camp in the light of the flaming tents a fierce battle was unfolding between one of the creatures and a half-dozen crusaders, the crusaders’ swords clanging against its skin as if it were made of stone. They were losing. In a bloody way. He cringed.

“I can promise you you’ll regret this!” suddenly shrieked a man’s voice from overhead. “You pestilent, senseless, drooling, shit-eating insect. Release me this instant!”

The Count. Whew, he could almost hold his own against Gran. Woljif cringed again as his howling receded into the night sky.

It made his horns itch to think of talons locking around them and dragging him up kicking into the air after the Count. He shuddered all over, all the way down to the tip of his tail.

Anything but that.

Get to the chief.

Cautiously, eyes to the sky and head scrunched down between his shoulders as if that would somehow protect it, Woljif took a tentative couple of steps out of the blacksmith’s shed and prepared to sprint—

—when a whistling, roaring clamor overhead grew in volume with ominous speed, and he ducked back just in time to avoid a fully armored paladin hurtling out of the sky and landing with an extremely painful crunch on the ground at Woljif’s feet, inches from what would have been an extremely painful crunch atop Woljif’s head.

shit shit shit

He was still staring in horror when at last the chief appeared. Through the smoke and flame Woljif could see his silhouette just across the assembly yard, Lann and a handful of crusaders at his side.

Woljif scanned the sky and tried to breathe. Make a break for the chief. It’ll be fine.

He was just getting ready to step over the dead paladin, squeezing his eyes shut so that the image of the man’s face wouldn’t be burned into his memory forever, when a gust of hot wind raised a whirlwind of dust and flame in the middle of the assembly yard before him, and right between him and the chief landed one of the flying demons. A big one.

Its winged, stone-gray back was turned to Woljif as it faced off against the chief.

The next moment haunted him often, later. It was a coin toss. Adrenaline shot fire into his legs as his muscles coiled to sneak up and stab the thing in the back, or zap it, or better—both.

An arrow from Lann skittered off the thing’s stony hide. Woljif hesitated. His dagger hand felt clammy on the hilt. He blinked sweat from his eyes.

Of course, at the Gray Garrison he never thought they could have won against Minagho either, but that time some kind of divine power had come out of nowhere to give them the victory.

We got this. Right?

But then—a chill against his breastbone, a whisper, a shadow deep in the back of his mind: Have your horns grown into your brain? You absolute idiot. Attacking that thing would be suicide.

Run!

Run! Survive! You don’t want to be there when the chief’s luck dries up.

His breath hitched. The point of his dagger danced as his hand shook. A shame to think he’d have to give up all those nice dreams, the ones about a partner in crime. Music. Laughter.

But—

You think you’ll have nice dreams when you’re dead?

But the chief—

The chief doesn’t give a rat’s ass for a scrawny, two-bit demonspawn like you, and you know it.

He shrank back into the shadow of the smithy. Flames reflected in his yellow eyes, but he felt cold.

That’s right. You’re on your own.

Must have been the smoke inhalation that made his chest ache.

Think.

Fight? Yeah, right.

Hide? Nope. Not with the explosions. The quatermaster’s tent could easily be next, and he’d almost rather be torn to shreds than burned to death if it came down to it.

Run it was.

No time for regrets. Let it never be said Woljif Jefto was not a survivor.

In a crouch he scampered back past his tent and huddled next to it, planning his escape route, his pounding heart about to jump out of his mouth.

The stables. Horses had no business making terrifying noises like that, but at least nothing that direction seemed to be on fire. Yet. He only had to cross some ground to get there, but luckily it was dark enough he reckoned he could make it without being seen. Then through the stables and over the palisade and along the ditch for cover until he could round the camp on the river side and slink among the brush and rocks until he was far enough away to abscond like the wind.

In the midst of planning Woljif became aware of a voice, distant and mostly drowned out by the horses and the screaming: the chief’s voice, rallying the troops. It was a brave voice, even though it really didn’t look to Woljif like there was anything to be brave or hopeful about at this point, when half the crusade was on fire and the other half fighting for their lives against flying demons and losing.

For the briefest of moments he pictured the chief, probably as terrified as he was, putting on a brave face and desperately trying to regain control of the situation, and for some reason the mental image seemed to grab his heart and give it a nasty pinch.

Sorry chief.

I am not gonna die here.

Woljif scanned the sky, kissed the Moon of the Abyss, and sprinted.

also on AO3

[newidentity]

Hai^3

I’m Rayni, mostly prefer They/Them but I’m fine with She/Her. Here to write fanfiction, meet new people, and ask questions, and explore thoughts!

What fandoms I am in: Harry Potter, Keeper of the Lost Cities, These Violent Delights

You can call me: Rayn/Ray/Rayni

Books: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Giver, Romeo and Juliet

Feel free to dm me or send a fanfiction or short story request! I accept almost everything!

Interests and hobbies: Reading, writing, acting (I used to do this), drawing, meet new people, gardening, anime (I used to binge watch amine and draw them afterwards)

Other accounts I have: Wattpad (ThoughtsOfPast, display name is Ryni), Quotev (CyrahSkyleneRay, display name is Ryni Harper)

These are my main accounts I use.

Well, I only have one friend on Tumblr. Her blog is @the-purple-void .

Please check it out! It is so awesome.

Sometimes I might be posting some stories that I am inspired by a TikTok short or video. For example, What is trending is “Do you remember the rain” Harry Potter videos. Especially actress Emma Watson and Tom Felton posing together!

I might do some Slytherin boys oneshots as well, let’s see how it goes.

Fake friends - Have never seen you cry

Real friends - Cry with you

Fake friends - Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back

Real friends - Keep your stuff for so long they forget it's yours

Fake friends - Know few things about you

Real friends - Could write a book about you

Fake friends - Would knock on your front door

Real friends- Walk right in and say, "I'M HOME!"

Fake friends - Will help you when you fall over

Real friends - Will jump on top of you and shout "Doggy pile"

Fake friends - Are for a while

Real friends - Are for life

Fake friends -Will read this

Real friends - Will copy and paste this, just like I did

Fake friends - Say, “love ya” jokingly

Real Friends - Say, "I love you" and mean it

Fake Friends - Will sit with you after a breakup and say, "I'm sorry."

Real Friends - Will call them and ask what their problem is before devising a plan to destroy them

Fake Friends - Will read this

Real Friends - Will steal this. There are some people who are getting too fake here on Quotev. They only want posts, comments, or see how many friends they can get. So let's see who actually reposts this. This is a test to see who's paying attention. This is a test to see how many people in my friends list actually pay attention. Copy and repost this in your bulletin, just like I did. It occurs to me that for each and every one of you on my followers list, I catch myself looking at your pictures, sharing jokes and news, as well as giving support during good and bad times. I am also happy to have you among my friends. We will see who will take the time to read this message until the end. If you appreciate your friends from all over the world, go ahead and copy this into your status too, even if it's just for a minute. I'm going to be watching to see who takes care of the friendship, just like me. Thank you all for being a part of my life. Copy and paste, please. Tag as many people that you think would repost this because they are good friends. Well, truth be told, I don't know if these people can say the same for me but we'll see. At times we can be angry, but anger is normal. If no one was ever angry, mad, or sad, we wouldn't be human, so swear this oath...

I swear,

We will be kind,

We will be friendly,

We will be friends,

We will be us,

We will be humans,

We will be friends.

REPOSTED (Please repost this)

We found courage with Neville, we laughed with Fred and George,

we were unique with Luna, we fought our demons with Remus,

we learned from Hermione, we found confidence with Ron, and we stuck until the end with Harry. Together we saved the world.

Spread the word. We are the Harry Potter Generation.

I promise to remember Harry

When someone grows up with no love.

I promise to remember Ron

When I feel overshadowed.

I promise to remember Hermione

When I meet someone with wisdom beyond their years.

I promise to remember James and Lily

When someone dies before their time.

I promise to remember Dumbledore

At the thought of the greater good.

I promise to "Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good"

for Gred, Forge, and Padfoot, of course.

I promise to remember Moony

And fight for human rights.

I promise to remember Narcissa

When I'd do anything for family.

I promise to remember Tonks

When I feel hyper and cheery.

I promise to remember Hedwig

Who lived and died soaring.

I promise to remember Ginny

When I must face my fears.

I promise to remember Percy

When ambition gets the best of me.

I promise to have constant vigilance

For Mad-Eye's sake, of course.

I promise to remember Hagrid

When one is wrongly accused.

I promise to remember Neville

When I stand up for what is right.

I promise to remember the Marauders

When a friend says, "Call me, and I'll be there."

I promise to remember Dobby

When asked the price of freedom.

I promise to remember Luna

When I don't care what other people think of me.

I promise to remember Seamus

When things go wrong, I still persevere.

I promise to remember Oliver

When I soar to great heights.

I promise to remember the Dursleys

When my parents still keep denying that they hid my Hogwarts acceptance letter.

I promise to remember Gilderoy Lockhart

Whenever I chance upon narcissistic people.

I promise to remember Snape

When asked the true meaning of love, and not given in return.

I promise to remember Draco

When I have to make hard choices between good and evil.

I promise to remember Grindelwald

When I think someone is redeemable.

I promise to remember Tom Riddle

When I am tempted by what I know is wrong.

I promise to remember J.K. Rowling

When I value the power of imagination.

And when they ask "After all this time?" I'll say, "Always."

Yes, I promise that I will Remember Harry Potter.

If you're a Harry Potter Fan copy and paste this to your profile.

You Know You're a Book Nerd If

You can randomly open a page and know exactly what's going on.

Just about everything you do revolves around reading.

If you're not reading, you're probably on wattpad, fanfiction.net or quotev, drawing fan art, etc.

You try to get all of your friends to read your favorite books. (Make deals that you'll read their favorite if they read yours)

Everything reminds you of the book.

You quote random lines all the time.

You try to do things that the characters do, even though you know you can't.

You've gotten incredibly bored in class, and debated on doing something your favorite character can do to escape the class.

You have pictures of your favorite characters on your computer.

You've got a book memorized.

You've read a specific book more than five times.

You've read a book with 400 pages in less than two days.

You've planned and prepared a siege on a writer's house because he/she killed a character you like.

You blatantly deny it when someone calls a character fictional.

IF YOU ARE A BOOK NERD AND PROUD OF IT, COPY AND PASTE THIS INTO YOUR PROFILE!

Now, I’m done with my intro!

Please feel free to drop by and say hi!

-Rayni

[synthy-sizer]

The shuttle moves much more smoothly than the rocket. You glide cleanly out of the hangar and out into the void. It's a vast difference from your previous launches. Suddenly, you feel gravity once again assert itself on you. “Artificial gravity engaged. And look at that view!” You eagerly look out of the window, trying to see what Lust is talking about. Behind you, the huge rocket you came in slowly fades out of view. The thrusters ramp up, the bright blue glow creating an aura around the back. And behind all of it, you can see what you once knew as Otherside, now as Earth. There's lush greens, but equal amounts of earthy browns and grays across the land. “You could see the light from the moon, once,” Jordan sags behind you. “Back before the world ended you could see the outlines of all the cities on the planet that way. But now the only lights are in our little society. You can't see it from space anymore.” So that's what a dead world looks like. “Is there any way anyone survived outside of there?” “Maybe. But it's probably in small groups. The only reason we were able to survive with such a large group is because of our powers. And the Apollo bunkers, I guess.”

Now that you think about it, you've always been so busy and invested in questions about Jordan's beliefs that you don't know much about Apollo. “What exactly is Apollo, anyway? What did they do?” Violence chimes in. “Apollo is what we call a mega-corporation. It was only a hypothetical premise before they existed, though. Turned America into a corporatocracy.” You look at him, confused. He sighs and tries to rephrase. “So a corporation is a big business. They make and sell things. And sometimes they get so big, and so powerful, that they buy a country. Used to be called the united states. Now they're just sectors.” You're still a little confused. “How do they sell things?” “God, to live in a communist place like Luna…” Jordan pats your shoulder. “On Earth, things of value cost money. You need to earn money to buy things. That's what Apollo does, at its basic.” You frown. “It's like a parasite.” All 3 applaud and start shouting in unison, all affirming your words. “Exactly,” Lust yells! “Like I said, she's a smart kid! She knows what questions to ask!” Violence shouts back. “They kick and scream about communism and make a communist town for their own! Fucking hypocrites!” Seems like your questions struck a nerve. Amidst all the noise, though, something else catches your eye. “Uh….guys…?” Everyone peers out of the windows. “It's a parasite…”

The dark side of Luna has been completely overrun by a gargantuan mass of black-silver cables. They grow and spread across the surface as if growing and infesting it like a tumor. Your eyes go wide and you press your face against the cold glass. “Son of a bitch. It's even more out of control than we thought.” You look around wildly. “What is that?” Your voice trembles. “What is that fucking thing?!” “It's the megastructure we told you about. But we didn't know it would look like that.” “I thought you knew what you were doing!” Your heart races and you feel faint. Lust flicks a few buttons and gets up from her chair, holding you tight. “We had our guesses. But it's hard to know when we're not on ground zero and when all the Apollo infrastructure is gone.”

You feel betrayed right now. Your home is being swallowed whole by metal tentacles and no one told you. “I promise, we didn't know it would be this bad. We would have told you otherwise.” “Not when you wouldn't listen to me about it, you wouldn't!” Jordan shouts across the cockpit and walks over. “Don't worry Sofia, once we're done here we'll handle the megastructure. Everything will be ok.” Normally you would be less certain about Jordan's reassurances, but you need it now. You nod shakily. “Ok…” There's a long pause, then you realize something. “Wait, that's the megastructure?” Violence speaks now. “Yeah. They called it a megastructure, but it's more alive than it sounds. They planted it like a seed with a particular directive; Make Luna habitable. And it did. Despite everything, I've gotta admit it's damn impressive.” “And what, now it's growing?” He nods. “Basically. We're going to handle it, though, just like Heresy said.” Somehow, you think you remember something about this. “When I was on Luna, there was an option on a computer…the euthanasia protocol…” He shakes his head. “I'm not sure about that. It might have killed the megastructure before this, but now it might just piss it off. And even then, the megastructure is part of Luna's core. If we kill it we might collapse the moon itself.” You stare down at your home hopelessly. There must be a way….

“Just try to relax, Sofia. There's no sense in panicking about it now. We'll have to try and find a solution when we get down there.” You slowly nod. He's right. “Long trip ahead of us. You might want to try and get some sleep in the crew quarters,” Lust says. “I'll make sure you get woken up for the landing.” You quietly nod and walk back to the quarters, for what is sure to be a restless sleep…

NEXT

PREVIOUS

[ghostblazewrites]

Melodies Of The Sky Intro

BASIC

genre: young adult, magical realism

status: working on 2nd draft, posting on wattpad

key themes: art, poetry, descriptive writing challenge, celestial symbolism, nature, mental health, sun & moon mythology, music, unlikely friendship, romanticizing life

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.♫⋆⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.♫⋆⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.♫⋆⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅

STORY

In the heart of an unassuming town, Lavender embarks on a personal journey of self-healing, only to find herself entangled in a myth that spans centuries and generations. Everything begins with an encounter with an enigmatic boy, setting in motion a celestial narrative that may connect to them more than they thought.

CHARACTERS

Lavender (she/her)

Lavender let out a sudden laugh. She was like a princess. She felt like one. Her kingdom was this never-ending field of mayflowers, and her crown was made with her own hands.

age: 15

Kind, unique, and a daydreamer, Lavender finds beauty and joy everywhere she goes. While not having many friends, she loves being around people and she adores deep connections. She’s very creative and expresses herself with art, music, and poetry.

quick facts

INFP

bad ukelele player, but is great at piano

has a gray tabby cat named willow!

morning bird, she loves waking up to the sunrise

favourite colour is blue

Eli (he/him

"You- you have to feel it. The story. You have to play with your soul and your body and your heart and your mind. You have to love each chord." He picked up his guitar. "You have to immerse yourself in a story and forget mistakes." 

age: 15

Quiet, gentle, and compassionate, Eli is a soft-spoken individual who has a talent for music and a passion for poetic words. He is dramatic like Lavender, always looking to make metaphors and poetry from mundane situations. While he seems aloof or shy on the outside, Eli quickly gets adventurous, excited and spontaneous about the things he cares the most about.

quick facts

INFJ

obsessed with the Lakelily myth of 'Eclipse'

has a dog named Luna

loves playing electric guitar

favourite colour is green

trans boy

night owl- loves midnight walks

AESTHETIC

moodboard

FACTS

☾𖤓 i started this book in may 2023, the absolute low of my mental health- it was supposed to be a quick descriptive writing prompt exercise to get my mind off of things...and quickly became this beautiful story.

☾𖤓 music is a huge part of mots- every chapter has a lyric :D

☾𖤓 the plot is pretty vague, i'll probably go into detail about it more in another post but the mystery is why it's so fun!

☾𖤓 third person, in lavender's pov (except for the prologue)

☾𖤓 the story is set in Lakelily, Ontario (no, i'm not just making every story set in canada whattt)

LINKS

pinboard

spotify playlist

wattpad

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.♫⋆⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.♫⋆⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.♫⋆⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅

hope you enjoyed, if anyone reads this lol!! i'm so happy and proud of melodies of the sky and hope to post the 2nd draft to wattpad more often. if you want to hear more, please tell me idk whether i'm shouting to the void anymore

[talesfromtheasterism]

WITNESS (III/VIII)

cw: horror, violence, abuse. Read from the beginning here.

It felt like an hour had passed in the dark, but it was hard to gauge time in a realm without sunlight. The passage had veered upwards enough to leave the black sky exposed within clambering distance. The adventurer heaved herself onto the surface above, and the scenery startled her. Rolling hills of weathered rock and dust, shattered by vast cracks to the same abyss below. A jigsaw of interlocking plates. In the centre of some, stagnant pools of strange, cloudy water, surrounded by saturated sand and alien flora that seemed a tad greener than the rest. The echoes were almost absent here, but every few seconds, another called unnervingly across the landscape. They were different. Almost like breathing, or shouting. This was the place. But it felt… wrong.

She was exposed, and isolated. It was hundreds of metres to the nearest hill for a vantage. She glanced back at the ravine. Maybe she could find another entrance to the area? No. The sighting happened around here. Disjointed plains an hour’s Moon-fore passage from the Commune. Her walk began quickly. The hill had some sharper outcrops around the edges. It would be some cover, at least. A little faster. As fast as she could move without clattering the metal of her equipment. Fast and silent, that was the way. That was the way… the ground. Why was the ground lit?

The lantern!

Wrenched from her belt with a gasp. The blood still burned! Extinguished almost violently. How long had she been walking? A minute or two? Best efforts to collect herself. Without realising, she had been slowing her breathing to quiet herself, leaving her suddenly short of breath. But they were drawn to light even more than sound. That was over now. Further on. Maybe two hundred metres left.

The sighting had to be genuine. She had seen many vagabonds and smugglers from the other realms trying to pass themselves as Voidwalkers, but even a native her age knew one when they saw one; compulsively fluid motions, leather and metal everything, and they never boasted about what they had seen or where they had gone. The Deep Void humbled all. One hundred metres. She stepped over a crevice with great care, regarding the starless absence below.

Moving without sound was slow, and exhausting, but she had time to check her messenger bag, flipping the strap with utmost care. Within, a wooden box with brass braces and copper dials. She didn’t need smugglers for a camera. Fifty metres. She had built it over months, piece by piece, acid-treating metal sheets and aligning light-stealing crystals. What better way to record her jaunts than with photographic images? But there was only so much to see in the Commune. She wanted something worthy of capture.

Her hand touched the porous cliff. But it was wrong as well. It was… shimmering. Just barely, like a gentle heat haze. She had never seen the outlands for herself, but it felt wrong. Wrong meant she was close. Creeping along the boundary of the outcrop, nearing the hill’s crest. Now, the lightest of the ground’s dust was raising slightly in the air. Her head felt heavy. She was exposed. But she would not be deterred from her only shot. The camera was risen slowly out of the bag. Even with the weight in her hands to anchor her, her arms trembled. There wasn’t time for fear.

Her masked face and camera lens peeked over at once. The landscape here was yet more broken, with less ground and more space between it. The Moon was hard to avert her gaze from, but she had no time to let it take hold. Even out of the corner of her eye, though – it was shifting and blurring. The downward slope into a shallow basin was violently distorted, like the air was superheated. But the air above the basin’s floor was truly wrong. It flowed. It crashed. It whined and it boiled and it cried and it melted.

The Witness was here.

This is it, Luna.

Part 3 of 8. Next. Previous.

[talesfromsigil]

Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/74124/theseus/chapter/1349671/something-unnerving

The void. I felt its comfort surrounding me. Safety. Familiarity. It was the nothingness that I came from. It was where I belonged. And it was where I would stay. I always returned to it, and this was no different. That beautiful emptiness waited for me. A canvas for my thoughts.

But then, in the beautiful nothing, I saw it. A swirling darkness that edged slowly toward me. It came from the horizon and only swallowed more of it the more I watched. It came closer and closer by the moment, demonstrating a terrible power as it consumed the light. I was afraid. I was so afraid that it would catch up to me and make me forget. That it would plunge me into its own distressing darkness. Another familiar emptiness that made me want to flee this time. One that offered no joy or freedom. But it was coming anyway, and there didn’t seem like there was anything I could do to stop it.

The darkness approached and I heard its terrifying din screeching in my ears, the weight of the world crushing my shoulders, the pain… it was an all-consuming sensory overload that ripped everything away from me. And as it inched ever closer, I felt it lurch toward me, and in an instant, I was consumed.

—

I awoke with a shout, throwing my blanket aside as I scanned the room for the darkness, but only found the familiar low lights of my heart in the evening. I took note of my heavy breathing and my shaking hands. I watched the door like a hawk, as if expecting something dangerous to turn the corner and walk in at a moment’s notice. But nothing came.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. A nightmare. It had just been a bad dream. I clicked my tongue, laying back down and staring up at the ceiling as I calmed myself. It had been so long since I had proper sleep where I’d been able to dream. After all, I’d spent so much time inside the core module where I barely needed to sleep at all, followed by an anesthetized knockout and then a drunken blackout. Maybe dreaming was becoming such a foreign thing to me that it was becoming hostile.

I closed my eyes and checked the system clock. I still had about another 20 hours before Doc would clear me to get back into the void. I wondered if maybe I could get away with staying up until then, but with my physical frailty, that seemed like an impossibility. I’d just have to spend some more time training in the sims for the day, and then risk having another dream like that. I convinced myself that it had just been a dream, not something that I should expect to happen again, frightening as it was.

I heard a gentle knocking sound against metal from outside the door. Opening my eyes, I turned to see Doc standing there “Hey.” He waved at me “You screamed. Are you okay?”

“Just a bad dream.” I mumbled “Sorry if I woke you.”

“No, I was already awake, just… browsing the colony’s network. It’s almost morning anyway” He sounded concerned as he walked in “Say, how do you spell Arthausen?”

I spelled it out letter by letter for him before I asked “Why? I didn’t think it would be that hard to look up.”

“Neither did I.” He mumbled, taking my spelling down “But that’s what I searched for already. Nothing.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow “It’s not exactly a new condition, I don’t know why Luna wouldn’t have mention of it.”

“That’s the thing…” he mumbled “I called in a favor so I could access to a scholarly relay, get a hold of information from the outer colonies. I only found one public file about Arthausen Syndrome. A Foundation file, actually. And it’s only related to the matter of port security.

“Oh, yeah.” I shook my head, figuring I was done dealing with that chore now “You know those scanners they have us go through at most ports before you travel by ferry? The ones that detect contraband and illegal cyberware and stuff? They also pick up on psionic resonance. There’s this whole procedure I had to go through with showing security a medical card and everything, it was stupid. Like they couldn’t tell I wasn’t a regular ship core just by looking at me.” I chuckled “Bunch of corporate red tape I guess.”

Doc nodded along “Yeah, that’s the procedure. It’s an odd one. They just say to scan the card and put them through when it happens. No contingencies for if they don’t have this card with them or anything either.

“I dunno, I never worked in a position like that myself. I guess they just call their supervisor or something if they don’t know what to do?” I shrugged. I’d never really thought about what the rules behind the scenes for the ridiculous procedure.

“Right, Foundation and their access levels.” He nodded “But what I find most strange is the lack of scholarly information. This sounds like the kind of condition that’s just begging for a slew of theses, and even just anecdotal notes like the ones I’ve been taking, but… nothing. It’s as if, medically, Arthausen Syndrome doesn’t exist.”

I had to laugh “That’s impossible, I grew up with it. They made a big deal out of scanning my brain and everything at a hospital when I was younger.” I paused “Do you have access to medical records, maybe?”

He laughed this time “You crazy? You can’t just get someone’s medical records, that’s private.”

I rolled my eyes “Gimme here. We’re pirates, I’ve worked on system security more than a couple times. You learn the other side of it easy enough.” I motioned to his pad.

He handed it over reluctantly “Are you saying that you’re a hacker?”

I shrugged my shoulders and began tapping away at the computer “System security and hacker are the same job if you flip it around. Besides, I know what it’s like to be a computer now, I’ve never felt more confident that I could crack anything.”

“Oh, I see, it’s a sort of… takes one to know one approach.” I nodded as he continued “But that must be heavily encrypted.”

“Not if you know exactly what information you’re looking for. I’ve got my medical ID memorized.” I began typing it in, injecting the fifteen digit code into a server query. I shifted several variables to make it look like the terminal was coming from a legitimate doctor’s office. I got rejected twice, but the third query I tried brought up my file, and I was in. I handed the tablet back to him and folded my arms in triumph.

“They can’t trace this, can they?” he asked.

“They might trace it to a doctor.” I mumbled, hoping that I wouldn’t cause some random stranger too much grief with this.

He perused my file slowly “Right. It says here, Arthausen Syndrome. But the file for the condition itself is locked. Some kind of corporate clearance.” I leaned over to look as he thumbed through the file.

“That’s… weird. Why would corpos have a hold on the file for a genetic condition?” I asked.

“See the identifier for it? Medical condition codes have all these different codes for identifying things at a glance, there’s a certain structure to them. Neurology starts with a ‘NB’ for instance. The one for Arthausen Syndrome isn’t something they use for genetic conditions. Or neurological conditions.”

“Huh…? So where would you categorize it?” I asked, starting to get curious about where this was going.

He shook his head “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen a code without an identifier like this. I’m going to save a copy of all of this, if you don’t mind me stealing your medical data?” he asked.

“Go right ahead, I’m dead, remember?” I tried to laugh casually at the gesture, but I was concerned now. What did all of that mean?

There was a long silence as he stared at the data pad. “Meryll.” He sounded serious as he asked “What other medical conditions have you had?”

I shrugged “I… don’t really think I have anything else going on, why?”

He nodded “You’re very healthy I suppose. Don’t worry about it. I’ll… keep looking into this. Thank you for your help.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the one looking into me, it’s the least I could do.” I eyed the data pad, but after a moment, decided it was time to get up instead. I was hungry.

As I stepped out into the hallway though, I had an unsettling feeling. Doc was looking directly at my file. Why would he want to know if I had any other conditions from me instead of just looking himself. I looked back to see him staring intensely at the data pad. What had he found so unusual, and why wasn’t he just telling me about it? I wanted to ask him, but I knew he didn’t like people prying into his secrets already. I was sure that he would tell me if something was really wrong, so I just quietly slipped away and hoped he found what he was looking for.

[gadandzooksooc]

Gad found himself in a stark, featureless white void. He blinked. Hadn’t he just been trying to help Nox? Was he in a fear coma again? The sword was supposed to wake both of them up, if only temporarily, right?

“Hello?” He heard from behind. It was the hoarse voice of a creature who had lost hope. Other than that, it sounded just like…

“Nox!” Gad shouted as he turned. Sure enough, there she was, getting up from the ground.

“I’m here to-” Gad began saying, but he was interrupted by Nox ramming into his chest and enclosing him with a ravenous hug. He felt tears pour down his feathers.

“Don’t leave.” Nox said. “I can’t stand it, Being alone. I’m so afraid…”

Gad, unsure what to do, eventually placed a comforting claw on Nox’s neck. In the brief time he’d known her, Nox had never acted this way before; She was always so confident; strong. Nothing was beyond her abilities; Or so it seemed.

And here she was, crying, and just taking comfort in the presence of another creature.

“Nox…” Gad began, “What is it that you’re afraid of?”

Nox sniffled. She clung tighter. After a few deep breaths, she began speaking.

“Once, a long time ago, my mother, Luna, put me to sleep for… a long time. She promised me she’d be there when I woke up, but… something went wrong. I started waking up before my time, and dreaming of myself, here, in the void, with nopony to talk to. It was just me, alone, for hundreds of years.”

Gad kept silent long enough to digest what Nox was saying.

“I’m sorry,” He said. “That must have been terrible.”

Nox said nothing.

“I think I might need to let go, soon,” Gad said. There had to be some way to get out of this mindscape, right?

Nox pulled tighter.

“You can’t leave. What if you can’t come back? What if… you don’t want to?”

Gad sat, stunned, for a few moments.

“I, uh… what?”

Nox loosened her grip.

“No… I’m sorry. Of course you need to go… what was I thinking? There are more important things than keeping me company. You need to… find a way out. You can’t stay here. I’ll be fine, just… make sure everyone else is okay.”

Gad’s mind swirled with conflict. On the one claw, there were probably things happening in the real world right now that needed his help. On the other… Nox was here, right now, and needed his help. He just wasn’t exactly sure how to give it.

Zooks said we need to stop being afraid. Gad thought. How do you stop being afraid of loneliness?

Silence reigned for a moment. Gad’s thoughts drifted to his own fears.

How can I stop being afraid? At least Nox’s fear is somewhat reasonable; I’m scared of Pony Prom of all things! I bet Nox wouldn’t be scared; she’s like, the bravest person I know. She stands out wherever she goes and is proud of who she is no matter what…

“Do you want to go to Pony Prom with me?” Gad said. It just sorta slipped out when he was thinking about Nox going there.

“What?” Nox said, confused.

“I uh… was wondering if you’d want to go to pony prom.” Gad replied. “They’re, uh… having it in Griffonstone this year, and… Maybe I could show you around?”

Nox made a confused expression.

“Do you really think now is the best time to ask?” she said.

“Well… let’s just say I’m facing down one of my fears.” Gad replied.

Nox seemed to give the question genuine thought, then.

“I think I’d love to.” Nox said. “I’d love to go with you.”

Gad smiled. Well, that was easy. I can’t believe I’ve never done it before!

Before he had the chance to say anything else, however, he noticed that the dream was getting less defined; more blurry. In another instant, Both of them woke up.

In Nox’s fearscape

@ask-gadzooks Nox found herself alone In an endless expanse of a white void stretching in every direction. She felt disoriented.

“Where am I?, some sort of pocket dimension?, where is Gad and Zooks?, what was I doing last?, why can’t I remember?”

She decided that worrying about that could wait, she should get back to her own universe first. However, though she attempted many ways of getting out of said void ,from teleportation, ripping a tear in the veil of the spirit realm with her scythe, to creating a portal with her magic, Nothing seemed to work; as if the realm itself was preventing any sort of escape.  Desperate, she then tried calling out to her companions.

“Gad, Zooks?”

However, she got no response. just an empty silence. She slowly began to panic, fear setting in as this void brought up memories of when she was trapped in stasis and within her own mind as a filly.

in her panic, she felt she had to go in a direction, any direction, she had to find her companions!

She ran, terrified of being isolated and alone once again called out in a frightened voice.

“Gad? Zooks? Where are you!?” She kept running and running till her legs grew tired and she collapsed onto the ground, tumbling as she was not able to slow herself down.

She knew not how far she had run, but she still had not seen or heard any sign of her companions. She then laying down curled up in a ball began crying, hopelessness settitting in and the realisation of her current situation fueled by her fears began to take control.

“No this can’t be happening again! last time it took nearly a millennium for me to get out, and I was only a filly then! my friends, my family… almost all of them will be gone and.. with everyone who will be still alive..will they forget about me again? Will I forget them? Mom… Aunt Celestia, I can’t forget you again! Not again… I don’t want to be alone again!”

[n3onguts]

this is kamal. he goes to my uni and sits behind me in french. i watch him play soccer and let him borrow all my pens. i'd tell him i love him but he's unfortunately my best friend.

[wuobio]

I haven't posted any of my art before, but I really like some of these soo... There's more under the cut! These range from ages 8 to 13 in that order, bc I'm not gonna post my teen and adult stuff.

Ta-da! I really am happy with these, and they'll probably go in my portfolio for college.

[transaurus]

mum: *walks in on me curled up in the exact centre of my bed, cuddling my book with my eyes closed* what...?

me: *not moving at all* it helps me think

[mjolnrr]

Their respite is broken by a chill in the air as a snowstorm harkens the start of the new round. A new foe seems to phase into view; Ishtar squints,the  snow collecting on her waterline and eyelashes makes it hard to see their enemy. It seems to be some sort of spirit floating before them, made of the ice surrounding it. Is this what had brought the storm? 

ISHTAR is hit by SNOWSTORM. ISHTAR loses 1 HP (9/10 HP).

A weight lifts from her arms; Ishtar looks down at her hands to see that they have returned, much to her relief. The armor she had been wearing in their last battle vanishes, too, seemingly into thin air. It is replaced by a familiar rush of blood, a hotness in her chest, the sensation of something coalescing at her fingertips. She flexes her fingers, expecting the smell of something burning, the popping of electricity, for sparks to fly between them, but a black fog swirls around her outstretched hands instead. It is heavy, almost like the talons that had been her armaments in the last battle. Inexplicably, something like dread pools in her heart. Nails dig into her palms as Ishtar clenches her fist to keep the fog from spreading. Unfamiliar magic, but it is magic. Her talent is boundless, she thinks. She will be the one to control this new power, not the other way around.

There is the glint of something gold upon Eirika’s arms, glowing with a sort of warmth through the amidst the falling flakes. She shouts encouragement, that they will best this new foe together. Her conviction makes Ishtar feel warm in spite of the weather. 

Eirika is quick to prove herself able, too. Her fists flash, gold reflected against the blinding white of their surroundings, and quickly smashes through the spirit’s defenses, leaving it immobile and battered in the blink of an eye. 

“Allow me!” Ishtar throws out her hands. Her brand glows red, and the heaviness returns.

ISHTAR attacks the SYLPH with LUNA. (roll 1d20 — 5 + 6 = 11) hit! SYLPH loses 1.5 HP. SYLPH cannot counterattack! POISON STRIKE activates! SYLPH loses 1 HP (3.5/16 HP).

Something silvery manifests in the air, above the head of the sylph, blending in with the falling snow. It takes Ishtar a moment to realize she has summoned the moon into their midst, which hovers there for a moment before becoming a gaping black void. The earth trembles, pulled into the dark maw above the sylph’s head.

“Almost…! Just one strike more and we’ve defeated it!”

Iron Round 100% Glitchless Speedrun