#red pitch vacillation

[cosmicchatterbox]

LMK homestucks do you see the vision????????

[etoilesbienne]

#a healthy kismesissitude vs a healthy matespritship

idont think thats what a healthy matespritship means but thank you ❤️

slimeriana and spiderbit are two sides of the same “you all have so many things wrong with you and its so much better this way” coin

[onesidedradiostatic]

I've seen multiple people relate Vox and Alastor's relationship to Batman and Joker's relationship (mainly from the Lego Batman movie)...and ngl, I do kinda get it and giggle at it. Maybe their relationship isn't exactly like Batman and Joker's, but I can definitely see their comparison...with Vox being Joker and obsessed with getting Batman (and this case Alastor's) attention, regardless if it's negative, positive, or even healthy to be so determined to get this one fucker's attention, no matter what kind it is. And with Batman/Alastor not reciprocating Vox/Joker's feelings, where Batman/Alastor don't crave the others attention all the time unlike Vox/Joker's obsession for it from them (I hope that made sense)

Makes me think of the term "Kismesissitude/pitch romance" I saw mentioned on another RadioStatic post and after looking it up and went "...huh, that actually kind fits them ngl"

LMAOOOO yeah I've seen those comparisons too and I think it fits yeah although I never actually watched it.

also people who haven't read homestuck discovering kismesissitude for the first time is so funny (I read it back in 2016. so let's just say I have known it for a while LMAO) but yes it was actually in fact one of my first thoughts when it came to this ship on vox's side. I refused to let the homestuck seep through but ultimately I just can't escape it can I. (I said it in one of my reblog tags once but if defined in homestuck terms: I'd say it started as red feelings then became black feelings that vacillate to red sometimes post-rejection BUT I REFUSE TO TALK ABOUT THIS IN HOMESTUCK TERMS AT LENGTH.)

[hottpinkpenguin]

The Way of Winter - Chapter 6

Joel Miller series Female reader insert

A/n: takes place at the end of episode 6 (spoilers if you haven't seen!). I took a few liberties with the location. Took a (suuuuper) long hiatus - but I'm back!

Taglist (Since it's been so long, if anyone doesn't want to be tagged anymore pls let me know!): @missdragon-1 @this--is--music @caravelofthesun @ishouldclean @mezmerwrites @babypeapoddd @ay0nha @tpwkstiles @one-sweet-gubler @coolninjavoid @ameliabs-world @superflymaterial @p-muffin @s1xthirty @flightlexsbird @nataliemdixon @krisviciousx @notsosecretspy @freerangesweets @partyofone3413 @angelfxll @bojana-aa04

Word count: 1,662 | Tags: slow burn | Warnings: graphic descriptions of gore, reader getting shot, cursing

Joel watched y/n as she methodically cut away the scales and took out the innards of the six fresh trout she’d caught for dinner. Her hands were red and raw from the ice cold water, but she moved with a confidence and dexterity that impressed Joel, against himself.

It had been three days since Joel had begrudgingly agreed to trust Ellie and let this stranger lead them deeper into the woods. She hadn’t spoken to either of them since. Joel vacillated between irritation, mistrust, and antipathy towards her. Ellie seemed more inclined towards pity. She’d attempted to speak to y/n on several occasions, but was never met with anything more than a contemptuous stare. The silent treatment was grating on his already haggard nerves. Between her self-indulgent petulance and the near-constant throbbing of his stitches, Joel was ready to snap. And tonight was as good as any for a fight, he thought darkly. 

“How long do you mean not to talk to us?” he demanded. Although she didn’t look up from her task, Joel didn’t miss the way her movements got sharper when he spoke. He was under her skin. Good, he thought. If I can bother her, I can break her.

“You’re not the only person who’s lost someone, you know.” Joel pressed forward. Ellie had stopped tending to the fire in favor of shooting him warning glances. Joel knew that Ellie saw y/n as their only shot at surviving in this wintry wasteland. She wasn’t wrong, of course. But Joel Miller was too proud to let anyone - especially y/n - lord that over him. 

“It’s pretty fucking pathetic, actually,” he went on, adding a little extra acid to his words. “Sounds like you didn’t even try and save your family that you apparently gave such a big shit about.”

Joel didn’t even see the knife leave her hand, didn’t see it streak through the air or bury itself in his foot. In fact, Joel found himself regarding the knife curiously for a heartbeat before his brain even registered pain. In that heartbeat, y/n had risen from her crouched position on the side of the icy mountain stream and was striding over towards him, murder in her eyes. 

“Jesus Christ, y/n, no!” Ellie was small compared to y/n - scrappy and tenacious, but too small. She flung herself impotently into y/n’s path, but y/n shoved her aside easily. 

“What the fuck did you say to me, you motherfucker!” Y/n’s scream was hoarse, like she’d been yelling for hours on end. In spite of himself, Joel laughed. At least she’s talking, he thought with glum satisfaction as he felt hot blood pooling in his boot from where her knife had sunk into his arch. The fire in her eyes blazed all the harder, and she threw herself down on top of Joel. Her hands closed around his throat like a vice, ice cold and deathly strong. Joel struck out with his fists, aiming for the sides of her head. He landed three heavy blows, and with each one her grip strength waned a bit. With the fourth slam, Joel felt her hands completely slack off his throat as she pitched sideways. Ellie had regained her footing and had climbed on y/n’s back, shrieking like a banshee as she tore at y/n’s hair, neck and shoulders. As if in slow motion, Joel watched as y/n turned 180 degrees and threw herself backwards against the ground, slamming Ellie’s back on the frozen earth. Ellie let out an ugly, strangled grunt, her eyes widening in pain and shock. Her arms went slack around y/n’s shoulders as she gasped silently, trying to force air back into her lungs.

Everything froze in suspended motion. Joel saw y/n’s expression soften as she surfaced from her rage-fueled outburst. She stared down at Ellie with a look of disbelief and horror as the girl writhed in the snow, her hands clawing futilely at her throat. Her face was turning a deep shade of crimson as she continued to fight for breath. 

“Fuck, no no no no no.” Y/n was kneeling next to Ellie, hands visibly shaking as they covered her mouth in horror. Joel’s mind felt like it ground to a halt, the satisfaction he’d felt moments before at successfully breaking y/n out of her reverie vanishing into smoke. Without thinking, Joel reached for the gun in his waistband, leveling it at y/n’s chest and squeezed the trigger. The gunshot ripped open the woods. It was still echoing off the trees when y/n collapsed on the ground and Ellie sucked in a greedy, gasping breath…

******

“Jesus fucking Christ, Joel, you killed her.” Your mind was fraying at the seams. The moments around you weren’t making sense. You couldn’t find the thread that tied them all together. 

You felt a blazing, fiery pain in your chest. It spread up one side of your neck, down one of your arms, and radiated throughout your torso. Each inhale and exhale made it worse, agony searing through your veins like wildfire.

Hands on you. Small hands on your cheeks. Warm hands. Your cheeks felt cold, your face felt cold. Clammy. 

Then, there were bigger hands. Meaty hands, pressing down on that fire-blasted hole in your chest. You shrieked at the pain, but you were surprised to find your voice choked and drowning. You gurgled in pain, begging. “Please please please please.”

“It’s alright, y/n, we’re here.” A young voice. Girl. Your eyes slipped in and out of focus.

Treetops, high above you. Dark, bare branches against a slate-gray sky. Snowflakes.

“She’s losing too much blood, Ellie. It’s no good.”

“We’ll fucking die out here, Joel!”

More pain, more pressure on your chest. The pain was white hot, but somehow fading at the edges. Like you were pulling away from it. 

“I can’t unfuck this, Ellie!”

“You fucking KILLED her!”

Your veins weren’t burning anymore. They were freezing. Ice in your body. Running through your arms, your neck, your eyes, your legs. Tiny, shallow breaths. In and out of your nose. The sky above you beginning to darken. 

“She almost killed you-”

“Joel, if she fucking dies out here so do we!”

Quiet. Three sets of breathing. Two ragged and deep with rage. One - yours - panting. 

“Christ…”

A face above you. Dark eyes, salt and pepper hair. You recognized it.

“Y/n?! Can you hear me?” 

Your vision began to drift. You couldn’t keep your eyes focused on the face. 

Footsteps. Moving away from you. 

“What are you doing?”

Silence.

“Ellie, goddamnit, wha-”

“She’s bleeding out. We need to cauterize the wound.”

“The bullet’s still in there.”

More quiet. Darkness pulling in over you like a curtain. Your lips felt cold.

“If you cauterize the wound with the bu-”

“You got any fucking better ideas?!”

Inhale. Quiet. 

******

Joel’s heart made a sickening twist in his chest as he watched y/n’s eyes loll back in her head. The dark stains of blood on face and neck contrasted garishly with the whitish-blue tint of her skin. Joel had seen plenty of people die, and more than a few of those had died by his hands. But y/n was going down hard. Stubborn bitch, he thought to himself with nauseous guilt. Can’t even die easy. 

Behind him, Ellie rose from the campfire, striding over with a frying pan. For a moment, Joel didn’t comprehend what she was doing. He just stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Pull her jacket back for fuck’s sake!” 

“A frying pan, Ellie, are you serious?” 

“It’s the only thing that’s hot enough, just fucking do it!” Joel’s hands shook as he lifted his hands off y/n’s bullet wound, a fresh torrent of blood seeping out without the pressure of his body weight to staunch the opening. That’s a good sign, he thought idly as his hands ripped back the layers of dirty clothing to reveal y/n’s bare, bloody chest. Heart hasn’t stopped pumping yet.

Ellie hesitated only momentarily, her face turning green before she laid the sidewall of the frying pan against y/n’s wound with a gut-wrenching sizzle. Joel swallowed down a wave of vomit as the horrid smell of burning flesh ripped through his nostrils. Y/n stirred only slightly at first, but after a moment her eyes popped open and she convulsed, letting out a weak wail of confused pain. Joel was quick enough to grab her hands before they reflexively batted away the hot frying pan. She mewled in protest, eyes rolling aimlessly, not seeing anything. 

“That’s enough, Ellie.” Ellie pulled the frying pan off, tossing it aside and bending over to empty the contents of her stomach on the snow. Y/n went slack under him, and Joel felt himself come down from the adrenaline high with a vicious crash. His breathing was heavy, chest heaving with each inhale. He hung his head, weak with dying fury and bone-crushing guilt. Ellie crumpled into a seat on the snow beside him. 

Joel didn’t know how long the three of them stayed there in that clearing. Y/n was unconscious, but alive. The barely-there rise and fall of her blood-coated chest confirmed that much. How she’d survived, Joel had no idea. He could only guess that the bullet had missed the lungs and the heart by mere millimeters. Maybe, with all the tussling she’d been doing with Ellie, she’d moved just enough to throw off his aim. Try as he might to deny it, Joel had been aiming to kill. Acting on reflex. Protecting Ellie.

Or maybe he’d flinched at the last moment. Maybe, even though his reflexes said kill, some part of him said save. Because one thing became clear as day to Joel Miller as he sat in that bloody snowbank, twilight sinking over the frozen forest:

If y/n died, Joel Miller would never get over it.

**more chapters coming soon! let me know if you'd like to be tagged (or untagged) if you like this series, check out my Last of Us masterlist for other works

[davekat-sucks]

I'm going to probably misinterpret Homestuck^2 and interpret Kanaya as having gone pitched for Jade (and maybe having some quadrant vacillation with Rose, too). Makes me wonder if Rose is going to try to auspisticize the two at some point. Pitched Jade and Kanaya (with Rose possibly acting as auspistice) is more interesting than red Dave and Karkat.

It would also be like a bit of callback to how Kanaya would be the mediator for Vriska and Tavros. Or perhaps like how Kanaya would be the one to interrupt Murderstuck. Whichever it may be, it all involves someone meddling in the middle.

But now the roles are vastly different. I wonder if that was the intent for that to show both Space Players (both Kanaya and Jade) are forever alone. Destined to never get what they desire and the only one who gets some semblance of breaking out of that fate, is only for the Cherub because she is more special than the others. Just like how Caliborn was special in his own way and would become an omnipotent being that transcends beyond time and space.

[disabled-stuck]

could i maybe get sollux with chronic severe migraines, with his vacillating pale/flush/pitch karkat (who is nonverbal/selectively mute and uses sign language) comforting them?

(he/they/tech for sollux who is bigender, and he/it for karkat who is transmasc)

[id: a flat colour drawing of sollux captor and karkat vantas. sollux, a thin troll with acne and half bleached locs, holds their head and grimaces. his glasses are pushed up on techs forehead. sollux wears a black t shirt, dark ripped jeans, and mismatched black and white converse. they have a red and black checkered bracelet thingy. karkat sits next to him. karkat is a fat troll with freckles and short curly hair. he looks concerned as he sets a hand on sollux's arm. karkat wears a grey sweater, cuffed jeans, and nearly black converse. between the two of them are a diamond, a spade, and a heart icon. end id]

been a while since i've done something in my more. Easier art style but !!! i might do more requests in this style it's fun

[yanderes-galore]

Oh I forgot to mention for Vriska headcanons, I was thinking red romance but could sway pitch ig? Feel free to do what you like better

I can do a Vriska concept, sure!

Yandere! Vriska Serket Concept

Pairing: Matesprit (Flushed)❤️/Kismesis (Pitch)♠️

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Possessive behavior, Clingy behavior, Kidnapping, Selfish behavior, Manipulation, Mind control mention, Violent, Trauma, Murder, Forced relationship.

Vriska does seem like she'd vacillate between flushed and pitch feelings towards her obsession.

Sort of like how she felt towards Tavros in a way?

She's a manipulator who ends up hurting those close to her.

This would explain why most others are hesitant around her/don't like her.

She's capable of being soft and benevolent and does want to protect her friends...

But she seems to struggle on personal connections at times.

Y'know... due to feeding her peers to Spider Mom.

Which is what makes her so volatile towards her obsession.

Her obsession/crush towards you jumps around the idea of flushed and pitched.

Which is why her actions seem dubious towards you.

You can't tell if she's trying to make you hate or love her.

There's moments she's kind/wants to rely on you.

Yet there's moments she's just cruel towards you and those you love.

Possibly out of jealousy?

Vriska seems like she'd be possessive in her obsession and while her feelings are mixed... she doesn't like hurting you all that much.

Vriska is overly ambitious and probably wants to help her dearest in some ways.

She doesn't want to hurt you but her actions end up doing it anyways.

Which can cause a hostile relationship between you.

Vriska wants above all else to be validated.

She searches for relevancy in her obsession with you.

She wants to prove yourself to you even if it requires hurting those around you.

Her behavior most likely also stems from her upbringing, forced into a "Kill or Be Killed" mindset.

Vriska craves being in the spotlight, to be relevant.

Which is what she tries to farm from her beloved no matter her intentions.

She's naturally violent in her actions/rough with her love.

To the point she wants to break off all other relationships her darling has.

After all, all of your attention must be on her, right?

If her darling is a Lowblood Troll, she could control them with mind control.

If you're human, the most she can do is knock you out or wake you up.

Highblood Trolls are immune to her powers unless she gets Lowbloods to help her on something with her powers.

Despite this she prefers to not use her powers often on you.

She wants to try and cultivate feelings in you without her powers.

However, if she can use them, she may use them eventually to control you.

Vriska certainly comes off as cruel, but will soften her attitude at times.

She's controlling but very conflicted in her obsession.

She isn't sure what she feels towards you or how to pursue it.

Which ends up in messy displays of her obsession.

Such as a forceful kiss where she finds herself nipping your lips.

She hates others around you, troll or human.

She's used to others leaving her, but she refuses to lose you.

She fears others will steal her spot in your heart.

As a result she pushes them away.

If you're both trolls and this is pre SGRUB maybe she'll feed those you know to Spider Mom.

Again, comes off cruel, but it stems from her fear of being abandoned.

She's used to being controlled, so she controls you.

She doesn't care if you love or hate her.

To her, any form of attention will do.

You may try to push her away when she kisses you or holds you tightly... but she'll take it.

She may lock you away in her home/hive... yet she does it out of a desire for your attention

In a way, under her cruel behavior, Vriska is a very sad yandere.

She torments you just to keep your attention... even if it hurts you both.

She simply can't thrive without you with her.

[losergendered]

ID: a set of 48 images in 24 pairs. each has one image of the listed homestuck character, with a white outline in front of their corresponding flags, and a second image which is a blank flag splice. END ID

Pre-Scratch Damara Megido is a trans pan straight lesbian who's hyperacespec. She's in a flitch relationship with Kankri Vantas, a plush relationship with Meulin Leijon, and a human romantic relationship with Cronus Ampora!

Post-Scratch Damara Megido is transmascject and anroance and rejects the concepts of both gender and quadrants!

Pre-Scratch Rufioh Nitram is a bi gay aromantic twunk!

Post-Scratch Rufioh Nitram is a transhet/heteroqueerplatonic asexual!

Pre-Scratch Mituna Captor is a bipan straight cisnonbinary guy who's in a flush relationship with Latula Pyrope!

Post-Scratch Mituna Captor is a traumatizedromantic straight heteroflexible man! He's in a pale relationship with Kankri Vantas!

Pre-Scratch Kankri Vantas is a bisexual demiromantic bihet veldarcian man with a female lean! He's has a semi-requited flush crush on Latula Pyrope, and somewhat returns Cronus Ampora's human romantic feelings!

Post-Scratch Kankri Vantas is an asexual darcian otter! He's in a flush relationship with Meulin Leijon and a pale relationship with Mituna Captor!

Pre-Scratch Meulin Leijon is a bilesbihet trisgender transfem who's in a plush relationship with Damara Megido and a human semi-platonic relationship with Cronus Ampora!

Post-Scratch Meulin Leijon is a violeian intersex woman who's in a flush relationship with Kankri Vantas!

Pre-Scratch Porrim Maryam is a high femme transsexual bipan biply plypan biomni lesbennetian who's in casual unquadranted relationships (that occasionally vacillate red) with Latula Pyrope and Aranea Serket, and a flitch relationship that tends to lean flush with Cronus Ampora!

Post-Scratch Porrim Maryam is a cassrose allofamilial lesbian! She used to harbor flitch feelings for Meenah Peixes, but now no longer does!

Pre-Scratch Latula Pyrope is an aubrian lancian omniromantic bisexual polysexual trans girl who's in a flush relationship with Mituna Captor! She's also in a casual unquadranted relationship with Porrim Maryam and partially returns Kankri Vantas' red feelings!

Post-Scratch Latula Pyrope is an amatespritic lesbian who's in a pitch situationship with Aranea Serket!

Pre-Scratch Aranea Serket is a homoflexible femlesboy who's in a flush relationship with Meenah Peixes! She's also in a casual unquadranted relationship with Porrim Maryam, and has a fluctuating crush on Cronus Ampora!

Post-Scratch Aranea Serket is an intersex lesbian who's in a pitch situationship with Latula Pyrope!

Pre-Scratch Horuss Zahhak is a gay borderromantic mascturigirl whose two FTs (favorite trolls, haha) are Rufioh Nitram and Cronus Ampora!

Post-Scratch Horuss Zahhak is a gay repressexual heteromoirallegic caedoman who has unrequited pale feelings for Meulin Leijon!

Pre-Scratch Kurloz Makara is an agender anattractional straight presquoy!

Post-Scratch Kurloz Makara is a ply gay alloaro orchidsexual bear!

Pre-Scratch Cronus Ampora is a bisexual veldarcian trans man! He doesn't use quadrants, as he's humankin, but he doesn't mind if his partners see their relationship as quadranted! He's in a semi-platonic relationship with Meulin Leijon, and is romantically dating with Damara Megido and Porrim Maryam! He also has feelings for Kankri Vantas and Aranea Serket!

Post-Scratch Cronus Ampora is a lithromantic frayromantic polysexual orchidsexual man!

Pre-Scratch Meenah Peixes is a butch lesboy, and she's in a flush relationship with Aranea Serket!

Post-Scratch Meenah Peixes is a narcinlecebra aromantic lesbian! She doesn't feel flushed for Porrim Maryam, exactly, but she does have some sort of concupiscient attraction towards her!

[shit-solkat]

ik (or at least im pretty sure) you like all quadrants of solkat but whats ur fav (if you have one)? personally im a huge fan of vacillating pitch/red solkat :3

Yup, I love them in all quadrants! Also I love them in ALL quadrants (literally, vacillating). Also ABOVE quadrants (Signless and Disciple style). Also like just besties :D

My favorite though has to be pale solkat, because it just make too much sense!!! In two essays I can't post here (because they're 18+), I analyzed Karkat's patterns and crushes, and he tends to push to conciliatory quadrants anyone he pitch flirts with (exception John, but only because John said before "I'm not homosexual").

THEY WOULD BE SUCH AWFUL MOIRAILS AAAA!! Because Karkat would probably vent everything to Sollux and Sollux would say "stfu" and then resolve the problem without Karkat knowing (if he can). And Karkat would stalk Sollux because he fucking won't say his problems at all and KK would try to solve them and make more problems in the end [KK: DO YOU LOVE (flushed) AA?, SOL: no, 2hut up, KK: I'M GONNA TELL HER YOU DO] STUFF LIKE THAT!

I did make an essay about solkat to analyze what quadrant they would be most probably in (in my now banned account — I should revision that essay and post it again omg), and the pale quadrant, or a mix between pale/pitch (not vacillation) would've been the most probable! I LOVE THEM!!!!

Anyhow good morning I just woke up.

[idontevenlikehim]

What quadrant do you like your Erisol in? I'm curious. Personally I really only go for kismesissitude, though I do like the idea of them being pitch/pale vacillating if it's written right.

To me peak Erisol is them vacillating quadrants lol (black and red), but them hoarding each other’s every quadrant is very on brand™️ me thinks.

To be honest I like them in every single quadrant, over the years I’ve read quite a few stories where they are either moirails or someone mediates between them which can also be fun.

Although my personal favorite is definitely red Erisol!

[hskinhome]

hi .. tealswapped daraya jonjet here . could i get pendulums on 1 if i was in a red / pitch vacillating relationship with a mallek adalov 2 if he was cerulean / not swapped ?? im kind of blurry about my tl , but think these might have been the case .. thank you much

Signless said you were in that type of relationship and that he wasn't bloodswapped!

-Mod Nepeta

[ultimateplaylistmaker]

What're the rest of the Homestuck AU Protags like?

Makoto Naegi is the Knight of Hope Prospit Dreamer Bronze Blood, who upon entering the game is taken to the Land of Dreams and Angels, his quadrants are ♦️Kyoko ♥️Sayaka ♠️Junko though he is also a ♣️Middle Leaf ex to Ishimaru and Mondo (they vacillated to red and awkwardly had to let him down)

Hajizuru is the Muse of Void and a dual dreamer, while originally a rust blood, horrific experimentation has turned his blood into pitch horror terror black blood and a seemingly entirely new personality and abilities who upon entering the game is taken to the Land of Abyss and Fluorescent, before his abduction and transformation his quadrants were ♦️Souda ♥️Chiaki ♠️Nagito ♣️Middle Leaf Fuyuhiko Mahiru

Komaru is the Heir of Space and a Derse Dreamer Bronze Blood who upon entering the game is taken to Land of Ruins and Frogs, her quadrants are ♦️Toko

Kaede is the Sylph of Time and a Derse Dreamer Rust Blood who upon entering the game is taken to the Land of Melody and Rhyme, her quadrants are ♦️Kirumi ♥️Shuchi ♠️Maki

Shuichi is the Mage of Mind and a Derse Dreamer Teal Blood who upon entering the game is taken to the Land of Eyes and Lines, his quadrants are ♦️Kaito♥️Kaede ♠️Kirumi

[quadrant-query]

I think my moirail pities someone else. The weird thing is... I'm happy about it?

My moirail and I have been in a quadrant since we were very young (we have been dating for almost seven sweeps) and have never broken up or separated in that time. Of course we have had ups and downs, but never anything that threatened our relationship. His other quadrants have always been very messy, and I've given up on trying to help with them, lest we just flip ash or something.

Recently, he's started talking to someone online, and it seems to go between red, pitch, and pale. I know I should be jealous, but I'm not. Everytime I see his face light up while texting this person, I feel the same butterflies of squirmy happiness I get when he's smiling about a project or hobby. He talks about wanting to help this person and how badly he feels for them, as well as tease them, and really, I'm just happy for him. I don't feel replaced or upset at all.

And I'm not sure why. Shouldn't I be mad? Do I not really pity him as much as I thought? People in my situation usually fight for their beloved, and I just... don't feel a need to. What's wrong with me? Should I break up with him or tell him to stop talking to the other person? Any advice would be helpful. I don't understand my own feelings. - 🌺

This is kind of tooth-rottingly wholesome.

Honestly, if you don't want to break up then I don't really see a reason to. Yes, poly-quadrant relationships are extremely controversial, but it sounds like this troll already cannot sort their quadrants out at all, so keeping you in the mix is not going to do any extra harm.

On top of that, it sounds like he's vacillating like crazy; it's possible he'll land in the pitch or flushed quadrant with the other troll in the end, and you won't need to break up at all.

You seem to just be happy about this situation, so why do anything to change it?

As their moirail, you could also open up a conversation with them to figure out how they're feeling about the relationship. If they don't feel like you need to break up, then you probably don't.

It could also be helpful to look back on how you've felt for them and try to decode whether or not you pity them the same way you used to. This is notoriously difficult, though, but unfortunately there's not really anybody who can know besides you.

[en8y]

I saw the stuff you did for ply/poly quadrant and I forgor what the quadrants were so would you mind explaining them?

yup yup :D

they're all from homestuck and are the trolls' ways of approaching romance/relationships. red romances are more positive feelings, while black romances are more negative feelings. people can also vacillate between quadrants; feeling multiple types of romance towards one person.

flushed attraction/matespritship - most similar to earth's idea of romantic attraction; primarily positive feelings towards someone. traditionally including sexual attraction, but isn't necessary! one of the two red romances.

pale attraction/moirallegience - not canonically described as such, but i see it as most similar to earth's idea of queerplatonic attraction; positive feelings but not necessarily romantic, and different than platonic attraction. doesn't typically include sexual attraction, but still can! the second of the red romances.

pitch attraction/kismesissitude - this quadrant is strongly rooted in hate, and is one of the quadrants that is traditionally associated with sexual attraction, but isn't necessary. usually seen as a very strong rivalry, sometimes including small feelings of appreciation towards your kismesis; the hate shouldn't be strong enough to want to kill the other person, because that would end the rivalry and the relationship (and their life lmfao). one of the two black romances.

ashen attraction/auspisticism - best described as wanting to be a sort of a peace keeper between two people. ive seen it both described as wanting to keep the two from turning into a kismesissitude, or wanting to mediate an existing kismessitude to keep it from turning unhealthy/murderous. isn't typically associated with sexual attraction, but could be a factor. the second of the black romances.

im kinda summarizing them but the mspa wiki has way more detailed definitions!

[lunarsands]

Empires SMP Fanfic: Thou, O Kings, Fair Be You All Pt 1

Afterlife SMP and Empires SMP S1 and S2 crossover super combo!!! (again noted here to save the title field, but Empires SMP S2 inspired the idea so I’m filing it under Empires)

Characters: MythicalSausage, Scott Smajor, Sausage Supreme, along with MythicalSausage, and MythicalSausage, featuring MythicalSausage, as well as MythicalSausage, plus MythicalSausage

Relationships: MythicalSausage/Scott Smajor

Tags: action, a bit of fluff WARNINGS: Violence, Injury, Death (of the villain), body horror

Summary: The Tyrant King arrives in Sanctuary, and another battle for the safety of the future begins. Sausage vows to stand his ground and do everything he can, which includes calling for aid from some very familiar faces...

Takes place after: Along the Roads to Sanctuary, Hellbent, The Future Foretold, and Who’s The Unfairest Of Us All, and includes characters from Night of the Winter Stars.

(Also available on Ao3!)

[A/N: @cynthrey and I took one look at Sausage’s Empires SMP S2 season finale and heard the question: how many AUs can you fit into one fic? Us: Yes

If it wasn’t obvious by the character list, there are multiple versions of MythicalSausage in this, so get ready for a lot of epithets in order to tell them apart! Full guide available in the end notes, although it does contain a spoiler!| Look, if CC!Sausage himself is going to keep handing me openings for a fic idea, I'm gonna run with it! XD]

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Part One

 Afterlife, DFY Variant

The vision gripped Sausage the Seraph like none before – save for one, and this time the dire feeling that came with it was as strong as that one had been. He was in Sanctuary again, and an evil presence was riling all of his instincts. He put out his hand and summoned his flaming sword, then sought for the source of the presence.

He didn’t stop to think why it was that sword, and not the broadsword he had wielded while he had lived the life of Sausage of Sanctuary. It seemed like some time had passed since he was last there, but the streets were still familiar. He hurried along. The terrible aura wasn’t moving away. The fear that he hadn’t done enough to ensure this world’s future sat in the pit of his stomach.

He heard a call that compelled him to move faster; it wasn’t Pearl’s voice, but it tugged at his very soul. With a beat of his wings he launched up over the rooftops. He could find it faster this way…

The call that compelled him was in the same direction. Perhaps it was the version of him that he had shared a body with, and that’s why there was such a strong connection, much like with Pearl. Perhaps the danger was just that great, and had given the other him the power to summon an angel. He swooped around a tall tree and scanned the street below.

He pulled up short and hovered in the air. A miasma of sickly yellow that gave off an air of envious greed blocked part of the road, while the pale blue sphere of the soul belonging to his double in this world floated on one side.

On the other side were three other soul orbs: one was red with ropes of yellow filigree around it; another was black as pitch with only faint traces of yellow at the edges; and the third constantly vacillated between ten different colors, but seemed to have a blue center. Sausage rubbed his eyes. Why was he seeing souls instead of the actual figures? And why was there a cloud instead of a soul where the apparent enemy was?

Well, it was still the enemy, he was certain. Maybe there just needed to be a little holy fire to burn it away and reveal the target. He pulled in his wings and dived downward, sword leading. Maybe this is what he had been needed for. He could aid Sanctuary one more time.

As his sword cut through the middle of the miasma, he turned his head to smile at the three others, intending to give a nod in thanks for them also coming to help. He ended up gasping instead.

The center of all of them was also pale blue – and in the shape of sunrays.

.

“Sausage! Wake up!”

…That was Scott’s voice. “Huh? Hm – wha? What do you mean, wake up? I don’t—”

“You fell asleep!” The starborne was staring down at him, violet eyes wide. “We were talking, and then you practically keeled over! What happened??”

Sausage tried to get his bearings. Scott was holding onto him, but he was also seated on the ground and leaning against the wall of the farmhouse beside the garden. “Asleep? I don’t sleep…” He tried to puzzle it out. “Why would I…” He suddenly grabbed Scott’s arm. “Sleep! Dream! That was a— dream vision! I was back in Sanctuary! There’s – There’s something evil there! They needed me! The… other mes needed me!”

“The other… you?”

“There was more than one!”

“Okay, that was definitely just a dream, then, because how would more than only the one who belongs there even be there? That would have to break some rules, wouldn’t it?”

“No, no, I think it was just that bad.” Sausage stared at the ground in worry.

“But… what are we supposed to do about it? If it was real and you were needed, wouldn’t that higher deity person put you there again?” Scott squeezed the seraph’s arm, not keen on the idea of Sausage being whisked away to another world yet again.

“I don’t know, but… I saw all of their souls. They were different, like – well, remember that time I pulled Myth’s soul out? Like that, but they were all the exact same at the core.” He pointed to the center of his chest with his thumb. “Like mine.”

“Do you want to go ask Pearl?” Scott asked reluctantly. He helped the seraph get back on his feet.

“Maybe,” Sausage said, his tone a bit numb. “I’m not sure if I really want to know how many other versions of me she knows of…”

“Better we find out from her about what might be going on, than some deity we’ve never heard of before.”

~*~

Mythland, Champions Variant

“Papa! Falling asleep in the middle of the day is for babies!”

Lord Sausage of Mythland lifted his head to see a pair of indigo eyes gazing at him. Despite the teasing tone, there was something akin to concern within the young elven face.  “I guess I got tired from all the running around, Liana. You kids have more energy than me.” He reached out with his prosthetic right hand to lightly pat her on the head.

“Yeah, well, I only seen Mariposa fall asleep that fast before. But somebody’s always holding her, so she doesn’t land in the bushes!”

That was when Sausage realized he was seated amongst some now slightly-mangled flowering hedges. The metal of his right arm had prevented a scratch from one of the branches that was now close to his face as he shifted to start getting up. “I think… you might have a point. Let’s go find Dad so he can take over playing and I’ll lay down in the crib – I mean, my bed.” He smiled as she giggled at his joke.

However, as he watched her skip ahead of him into the castle, he frowned in thought. Something strange had just happened, but he couldn’t put a finger on it…

He still had a troubled look when he absently followed Liana into the dining room, where Scott was attempting to feed Mariposa at least one spoonful of mashed carrots as the human infant sat in her highchair. The elf turned with a weary expression. “Perfect timing. Maybe you can get little miss fussy over here to eat something? She didn’t want a bottle so I thought maybe something different would work.”

“I can try, but…” Sausage lowered his voice as he stepped close to begin reaching for the spoon. “I’ve got something that might be a little more worrying…” Then he turned to smile at their other daughter. “Liana, could you go see if you can find one of your big brothers? Mariposa always cooperates for them.”

“Okay! Cop’erate, Mariposa! You need to eat and get big so you can play with us!” Liana waved a finger at the baby, then skipped out of the room.

Sausage waited half a second, then set the spoon down in the small bowl. Mariposa babbled and made grabby hands at it as if she intended to feed herself. Knowing that would only end in a mess, Sausage lifted her out of the highchair and gently cradled her – out of reach of the bowl. She emitted a giggle and patted her hands against his beard instead.

He smiled down at her and kissed her little fingers, then sighed. “Something just happened in the garden. Liana claims I fell asleep, but I don’t think it was that I actually dozed off. One second we were playing catch, then the next I was sitting in the hedges. I think I might have blacked out for just that second… but I don’t know what would have caused it.”

The dread that filled Scott’s face made Sausage regret his wording. The elf put both hands on his prosthetic arm. Sausage quickly shook his head. “Nothing like that, don’t worry. I’m pretty sure that is something I would recognize. This was… I don’t know. Maybe I was meant to have a dream vision right that second? But I wasn’t asleep long enough.”

“So, do you think you should go lay down, and see if a dream comes to you? I would prefer we put mystical portends behind us…” Scott looked at Mariposa, the other unspoken worry now showing on his face.

“Well, maybe. It still could be nothing. I haven’t touched any magic in all this time, I mean aside from—” He nodded toward his prosthetic. “But, like, that thing has never acted up before, so I doubt it’s that.”

“Or maybe it was?” Scott suggested. “Honestly, I would feel better if it was just a little fluke of a magic surge. Take it off for a while, and have a nap, and see if you feel anything strange later.”

“All right, I’ll try it.” Sausage gave a small smile, then held Mariposa up and tickled her with his beard before peppering her with tiny kisses. She squealed and giggled again. “Not so fussy now, are you? You just wanted kisses from Papa, didn’t you? But you should be nice to Dad and eat for him, okay?” He lowered her back into the highchair, where she promptly slapped a hand down into the bowl and sent mashed carrots flying everywhere.

Her two adoptive parents could only laughed helplessly.

~*~

Afterlife, x10 Variant

“Get back here, vampire! I’ll see you brought to justice yet!” Sausage the Gravital bounded after Scott, knowing he had enough gravi in reserve to keep up, even if the vampire could leap higher.

“Keep talking, superhero. I’ll keep proving you wrong,” came the amused response. Red eyes glanced back at him, a smirk on the pale face. Scott angled toward the top of a tree and leapt again – then his eyes flashed.

Sausage uttered a frustrated noise as the edges of his vision went red, then suddenly he was the one sailing over that particular tree while Scott was behind now, laughing before turning into a bat and flying away in the opposite direction. He couldn’t disorient Sausage to make him fall from on high after a swap, but he could re-orient him, and make him have to adjust his own altered gravity at the last second to avoid crashing into a tree trunk, or cliff face, or the side of a building.

Sausage would end up harmlessly bouncing off each of the obstacles, but in the meantime Scott would make his escape.

And meanwhile, the gravital was hesitant to try to bring a permanent stop to the vampire’s threat. Scott’s good side still had to be there; he merely needed to choose to come back to the light. Yet, for some reason – one that Sausage had been unable to find – Scott chose the darkness.

As he directed a cushion of gravi downward so he could return to solid ground, Sausage sighed. This chase was starting to seem pointless… But maybe he just needed to think of some other way to reach the person who had once been his friend…

His legs unexpectedly buckled the moment he dismissed the pocket of gravi. Then his head spun as well, and he grasped for the nearest tree to steady himself. For half a second the image of a building seen through a stand of bamboo swam before his eyes, then he blinked and his vision cleared.

Well, that was incredibly odd. Was this some new trick of Scott’s, projecting an image of where he might swap places, stranding Sausage in a random, unfamiliar place? He wouldn’t put it past him. Of course, such an attempt wouldn’t actually be very effective. The gravital’s senses extended to the magnetic poles and ley lines of the planet, so he would be able to figure out which direction to go with minimal trouble. Maybe some minor inconvenience, though, in the form of time lost while travelling.

When nothing else occurred, he tested his step to make sure his legs would no longer wobble. He decided against bouncing his way home and settled for a small boost to make his stride faster.

~*~

Mythland Adjacent, Unmasked Variant

The Angel of Aeor looked up as something prickled at his senses. The forest was peaceful as always, with sunlight filtering through the leaves and birds chirping just out of sight. The animals of this world didn’t fear the two specters that were the only humanoid life forms around, regardless of how one was an indistinct figure made of a glowing golden light with the shape of two wings behind it, while the other was a somber figure hidden by a black cloak.

The Angel then glanced at The Wither of Mythland, who drifted in a sudden unsteady lurch over the stream they had been following on their daily walk. He saw a bony hand raise to touch the side of its head. “Is everything well, my love? Are you also sensing something strange?”

“I… think I am,” The Wither rasped in reply. “Something is… pulling on the threads of reality.”

“Not that misguided fool Sausage again,” The Angel said with dismay, leaving off the usual honorific out of spite.

“No, not… quite? I believe it is something more powerful.”

“Who else but the guardian of realities could be doing so? …A deity, perhaps?” There was a frown in The Angel’s voice. “We know no such deity. And I refuse to accept the merest suggestion that he might have ascended.”

The Wither chuckled dryly. “I believe you should have no fears of that occurring. However, that is still the type of energy that I am…” it trailed off. Its hood turned as it looked aside into the forest.

“That is not all, is it?” The Angel asked. He could now sense The Wither’s troubled air.

“It is pulling on the threads of souls, but from beyond realities…”

“My love, should you even be sensing that type of energy from here? We are cut off from any mortal souls, as well as the realm where those souls end up at rest.”

The Wither brought a hand up in front of its chest. Nothing materialized, but it seemed to be looking down in concern. “My love, I can feel it pulling on me…”

Glittering white eyes gazed out from under the hood at The Angel; he saw worry within them.

~*~

Sanctuary, Prime Variant

Sausage the Protector gripped the hilt of his broadsword as he searched through the streets of Sanctuary. The warning had come, and all his magical senses were alert. The Tyrant King had finally found him, and would likely be seeking out the best place to drain the magic from both him and the land around them.

Not this time, Sausage promised. Today, it would end. Today, he would stand, and no longer run. And he would use everything at his disposal to make sure of it.

Bubbles trotted at his side, sniffing the air. She let out a bark the same moment Sausage paused and asked, “Do you feel that…?”

It was as if Sanctuary itself was balking at the intrusion of such evil. He hurried toward the next street – and saw the shrouded figure stalking toward him.

���I’ve been searching a long time for you…” came the gravelly voice.

“I know,” Sausage replied, keeping his head held high. “I couldn’t miss the assassins. But they missed me. As you can see, I’ve had plenty of time to build up something that you couldn’t destroy even if you wanted to.”

“Right into the bravado, I see.” The Tyrant King turned his head back and forth as if taking in the detail of the buildings around them. “I did not come to destroy anything. I came to speak. The reason I had you chased – not by assassins, mere trackers – was to bring you back so we could have this very conversation. About the truth!”

Sausage kept his broadsword at the ready. “I would prefer if you just leave, but let’s hear this supposed ‘truth’ of yours.” He shifted on his feet, anticipating a trick – he could see the golden bracer on the King’s arm, almost hidden by his gray sleeve, but Sausage knew he would not have left it behind even if this talk was genuine. His own sense for magic told him the bracer was still quite full of the power the King had taken from others. Who knew how much more he had wrung out of the people he had caught during the passing years.

The King proceeded to spin a tale that sent ice through Sausage’s heart. He claimed it was the truth, but the Protector of Sanctuary heard layers of lies. And then came the enticement of offered power, which made Sausage smirk to himself. Oh, the King knew nothing of real power.

The King did not know of the reincarnated soul that had come to reside in his son upon birth, a soul with more power than what this world alone would have granted the child.

Sausage feigned interest, then smirked outwardly. “Hmm, no, that old trick isn’t going to work. Been there, done that, becoming a warlock ended up being my downfall.”

“What are you talking about? You successfully contracted with demons?!”

“Just one in particular. It became this big thing where I banished part of myself to a pocket dimension, he broke out of it later, he ended up coming here, I had a big fight with him, and he lost pretty badly because I have the power of love on my side! I reabsorbed that guy about a week and a half ago, so technically I have all of my power and his in one place.”

The King scoffed. “How fanciful. If other such dimensions existed, I would have gained access to them by now. Yet, perhaps, if what you say is true, then we should ally ourselves. If you are as powerful as you claim, then why settle for this tiny spit of land, when you could hold sway over an even bigger empire!”

“Because I have absolutely no interest in anything like that. I just want a nice home where my friends and my people can feel safe, and Sanctuary is perfect for us.”

“So, do you feel that you have such an untapped wellspring of magic that you could defeat even me?”

Sausage smiled wryly. “There it is. Testing the waters now, are you? You’re not here to just talk, and you’re not here to win me over. You’re here to see what you can take – what’s available to take. Sorry, Sanctuary isn’t giving anything up to you.”

“We’ll see about that…” The King’s tone darkened. He raised his arm, letting the bracer glint in the sunlight. “I can either summon my army and capture all of your dear friends, then bring this whole place down, or you and I can battle here and now, and then I will claim every drop of magic in this pitiful ‘sanctuary’ of yours!”

The bracer sparked and crackled. Sausage frowned. He could sense the magic within it was protesting being used by someone who lacked the natural aptitude for it. He wondered if the King had actually mastered any of the abilities he just claimed to have, or if he could only twist them through the device. This might not be a very controlled battle. Sausage looked down at his broadsword and then grinned nervously. He wouldn’t yet risk taking out the Staff of Sanctuary, in case the King could steal the magic out of it, too.

“You wish to duel with mundane weapons instead?” the King taunted. “Very well.” He placed his other hand against the bracer and pulled a sword made of crackling yellow light out of it; the light faded to reveal a curved saber. Then a blank shield of burnt metal formed over the bracer itself.

Oh… So he had learned a few things…

Sausage leapt forward to do a quick test of the king’s reflexes, jabbing the blade of his broadsword between the shield and his opponent’s side. The crackling sword angled down to block, then the King parried. Sausage hopped backward and took his own shield from pocketspace.

“Not exactly a fair fight,” the King mocked, “But let’s see what you’ve got, son.”

.

Whether he struck sword or shield, Sausage soon found there was an extra barrier around both of the King’s weapons that prevented him from doing enough damage. He was certain that he was physically stronger, but he would have to dispel the magic to gain any ground. In the back of his mind he was remembering what Bubbles had told him to do. He was still reluctant; he didn’t want to cause any other fractures in reality, and didn’t want to weaken himself if he should happen to need his own magical strength when physical strength failed.

However, he couldn’t risk losing Sanctuary now, either. He didn’t have Hermes as back up this time… but he knew who he could count on for help. All he needed to do was trigger his own innate ability that ran soul-deep.

He caught the King’s saber on his shield then shoved him a step back – unable to do much more to deter the magically-reinforced weapon. Sausage then laughed.

“It’s not a stalemate yet, you fool! I am far from done with you! You are stubborn, but you will lose in the end! You are wasting your time!”

“No, I’m just laughing at your futility. You’ve got all the magic of the kingdom that you stole, but I’ve got all the power of the multiverse! And I don’t even need some fancy bracelet to use it!”

~*~

Afterlife, DFY Variant

Sausage shrugged all six of his wings in exasperation. “Why is it so easy for Pearl to keep track of me, but when I need her, she manages to be busy somewhere?” He and Scott had been walking along the path from their house to the center of the realm, but had yet to find the goddess along the way.

“Why don’t you fly ahead? I’ll catch up.” Scott smiled with a bit of a tired look. Daytime occasionally took some energy out of him since the sun overrode the rest of the stars, and today happened to be one of them, so they couldn’t both take to the air to search faster.

“Well, I kind of want you to be there, in case she’s like, ‘No time to explain, off you go!’ like last time.”

Scott chuckled weakly. He reached out to squeeze Sausage’s hand. “If there is danger in Sanctuary, I could come help, too.”

“You weren’t in my vision, though,” Sausage pouted sullenly. “It was whatever the presence was, and more than one of me. Well, and Bubbles. She must have been there.” He then stopped and put a finger to his chin. “I wonder where those other versions of me even came from. The only other one we know is Myth, and… Ohgod.”

“What?”

“Um… he might… have been there, too. There was a black soul with yellow in it. His was gray the last time I saw it, but with the shape he’s in now, I wouldn’t be surprised it changed. I mean, ours changed, as we went along, but the core usually stays the same, as I remember things.” He laughed awkwardly. “I mean, it’s been a long time since I was a wither.”

Scott clasped his chin in thought. “Well, if you saw his soul separate from that presence, at least it means you weren’t there to fight him.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean it would have devolved into a fight to see who was the One True Sausage, oh no.”

“They probably all have different responsibilities to go home to, anyway.” Scott tried to offer a smile, since both of them knew what type of responsibility Myth had. Then dismay crossed his face. “Um, Sausage…” He pointed at the seraph, who looked down at himself to see a glow surrounding his body. “I’ll tell Pearl,” the starborne said solemnly. “We’ll find you.”

Sausage nodded, then drew his flaming sword from thin air, followed by his shield. He might as well be prepared ahead of time, since he already knew he was heading into a potential fight.

~*~

Mythland, Champions Variant

The nap hadn’t brought any insight, and as Sausage reattached his prosthetic, he could still feel a sense of uneasiness inside.  As the redstone signals activated, he curled the fingers of the hand, then reached for his sword belt. There were plenty of guards around the castle, and even his eldest son, Azahar, was being trained to use a blade, so no one would go unprotected, but the uncertainty of what might be coming was eating at him.

He drew in a breath then headed for the treasury. Scott and their other son, Elowen, had ice magic for defense. Then there was Ilan, who had a promising grasp of beginner magic, but was still too young, and Sausage wouldn’t want them to have to stand between danger and their even-younger sisters. He tried to distract himself with the amusing thought of Liana – half a year older than Ilan, as she would insist – defeating foes with the sheer power of sass, but it didn’t alleviate his worry for long.

He threw open the doors to the treasury and strode directly over to a glass case high on the wall, which held the Staff of Mythland. He was surprised that Bubbles hadn’t already appeared to dissuade him; then he wondered if that was another sign. He removed the Staff and held it gingerly as he left. He would speak to Scott before beginning any kind of patrol, even though he could guess what the elf’s reaction would be.

That reaction came in the form of books hitting the floor as Scott was about to enter the library, probably intending to set some of them aside for the children’s lessons, except he had seen what Sausage held.

The human quickly cradled the Staff with his left hand and raised his right to stop an expected protest. “I don’t really want to use it, I’ve just still got a feeling – I don’t know how to explain it, but—”

Scott reached to try to take the Staff from him. “Sausage… I’m sorry, I can’t let you use this.”

“Please, Scott… I would only use it in an emergency – to protect the children! No offensive spells, just – just a shielding spell. Please. I know we’re safe, I know we have your magic. But I can’t shake the thought that I need to be prepared for something—”

At that moment a glow surrounded both him and the Staff. Sausage looked at Scott in panic. “Teleport spell… I didn’t activate it!! I swear!”

“I believe you.” Scott kept his hands held out toward him, his expression one of open fear. “Sausage… Hold onto it. Be safe. I’ll find you!”

~*~

Afterlife, x10 Variant

The world abruptly spun, and Sausage felt a tug on his personal wavelength of gravi. There was no red tinge to his vision, so this had nothing to do with Scott… Unless he had enlisted another gravital to mess with him.

Sausage wasn’t sensing anyone else, though. He would have felt the disruption they caused in the ambient gravity. But there was definitely something strange happening.

He uttered an angry noise as a glow sprung up around his body. Well, gravitals definitely couldn’t do that. He tried to think of someone who might be able to, as he turned left and right in an effort to spot them. “Show yourself! I’m in no mood to mess around right now!”

He felt the pull again, and realized it was a teleport – though still not the same as the vampire’s swap ability.

~*~

Mythland Adjacent, Unmasked Variant

The Angel whipped around as he heard the sound of a breath drawn through a straining windpipe. He hadn’t heard The Wither make that noise since the time when they first walked the mortal world. He saw a glowing light surrounding the former reaper. “Impossible,” he murmured. “Nothing can breach this reality, except for…”

Then he lunged as the cloaked form began to turn translucent. His attempt to grasp hold of even one of The Wither’s hands was met with empty air. “No!! Do not leave me!!”

~*~

Sanctuary, Prime Variant

“And what is that supposed to mean? ‘Multiverse’? Is this some more nonsense about other dimensions—” The King was then stunned to silence as someone in gleaming silver armor with gold trim appeared to his right – someone with six silvery-white wings, a flaming sword and shield in his hands, and a face that looked exactly like that of the Protector of Sanctuary – although with a stony, determined expression.

Then, to his left, a figure in royal robes with a bright red and gold crown on his head appeared. He had a scepter of some sort in his hands, and his right arm looked like it was covered by golden-hued armor. He was startled… and his face matched with those of the angel and the Protector.

Behind the King a third figure materialized; he was covered head to toe in blue and gray armor, with what looked like a bright green jewel in the center of his chest. He appeared angry, while sharing the same face as the others.

In front of the King, a specter of death appeared, with a skeletal visage just barely visible within the hood. The eyes went from glittering white to the same shade of blue as all the other faces around him – and as the group began to exchange glances with each other, they could all hazard a guess as to what the specter might have looked like in life.

The Protector joined this circle around the King. “Say hello to my army – the Seraph, the Lord of Mythland, the Superhero, and The Wither. And these are not the only ones out there, but we’re enough to put a stop to you once and for all!”

The King began to chuckle. His tone was now completely different from the doubtful mockery of a moment ago as he replied, “Now that happens to be a fact I know all too well.”

The Protector tilted his head slightly. “Didn’t you… say you didn’t believe other dimensions existed? So, how would you even know—”

“I lied,” the King gloated. “I have lied about a great many things, and that includes this life of mine, as well!” He laughed loudly, and his voice started to take on a strange resonance.

Three out of the five recognized the sound from recent memory. “No!” cried the Protector and the Seraph at the same time.

“We already defeated you!” the latter protested. “How could—”

“Impossible!” The Wither rasped with rage, interrupting. It pointed a bony finger at the King. “You should no longer exist!”

The King’s voice continued to shift until it came to sound just like the rest of them – minus The Wither – while retaining the resonance. “That’s right, you wretch. Your golden other half saw that coward gut me with the Rune Blade and try to banish my soul again!  But the fool didn’t realize I’m forever anchored to him. Parts of my soul were still scattered throughout reality, but only that banished piece was ‘reborn’ in this magic-deadzone of a body, sharing it with some other imbecile king. I awoke in him a hunger for power, and after he had stolen enough, the demon I had consumed – along with my own power – emerged once again. Thanks to you.” He turned to point his sword at the Protector. “When you absorbed that other piece of me, it gave me a beacon to follow and finally find you. So, thank you. …Even though you were the one to cause the entire mess in the first place!”

“Um…hey, guys?” the Superhero attempted to interject. “Um…” The four-way staring contest continued, however.

Lord Sausage sidled over to him and whispered, “You think he’s monologuing too, huh?”

“Yeah, classic villain stuff. Do you think we should...?” The gravital glanced him over, trying to figure out what was so special about him when all he appeared to be was some ordinary medieval ruler with a paltry amount of armor. Why wear plate only on one arm?

“We should take advantage of the distraction,” Lord Sausage said quietly as he drew his sword with his left hand. “Wish I had somewhere else to put this thing, though…” He looked down at the Staff of Mythland. “Can’t be helped. You ready?” He glanced at the Superhero. “You, uh, got any weapons there?”

“Don’t need them.” The gravital grinned. “I’ve got an idea, Your Highness – you go in and pretend to strike, then I’ll yeet him to the other end of the road. Maybe that will get our other counterparts to pay attention.”

Lord Sausage nodded. “Not sure what ‘yeet’ means, but let’s go for it!” He held the sword in position for a cross slash, keeping his right arm nearly behind him as if to hide the Staff. Then he rushed forward with a resolute smirk.

Of course he remembered his warlock self during another timeline of his own, but he knew that self didn’t exist for him this time around, so the one standing before them belonged to someone else.

Without a word he swung his sword – but then danced back a step, the blade neatly missing the shrouded King’s body. Then there was a sort of tug upon the air. The feeling only grazed Lord Sausage, but the King was yanked off his feet. He flew backward over the ground, sailing past the Superhero, who had his hands posed as if he had been pulling on a rope. His expression was smug – but then it turned troubled as the King simply landed right back on his feet, seeming unbothered, in the exact spot the gravital had intended to yeet him to, except he had been expecting the King to be staggering around in confusion.

“It will take more than that, hero.” Now all of them had their attention drawn by the surge of magical energy that appeared around the King. It took the form of crackling yellow light, which then shifted in hue to red, and it seemed a wind had arisen with it, tossing his shroud aside to reveal blue eyes the same as theirs – passed from father to son, but not quite the same face – yet then they turned red as small cracks glowing with purple and magenta formed at the corners of his eyes. He bared fangs in a grin. “Since you’re so fond of titles, you can call me Sausage Supreme!!”

The Protector froze, struck by a long-buried memory that had not been among those that resurfaced when he and the Seraph had gone their separate ways.

The Superhero snorted. “Oh, like you’re the One True Mythical Sausage, or something? Get off your high horse. You sound like just another bad guy to me!” He flung his hands upward, fingers curled.

The entire section of the street beneath Sausage Supreme broke off from the ground and rapidly lifted up, hurling him into the air along with it. However, he looked nonplussed, and as the bits of brick began to fall back to earth, he halted his own momentum. “You’re not going to be able to throw me very far that way. And now look what you’ve done – I’m out of reach of half of you!”

The Seraph beat his wings then took off like a streak toward Sausage Supreme. “Then let’s even the playing field!” He struck out with his sword, clashing with the sparking saber. The Superhero bounded across the distance then ricocheted off the nearby buildings to gain enough height to boost himself above the villain. Then he released a blast of gravi downward just as the Seraph was pulling back, intending to knock Sausage Supreme back toward the ground where the others could actually reach him.

The bracer sparked, and corrupted magic counteracted the gravi, stopping him from dropping too far. Now with a red, crackling sphere around him, Sausage Supreme was able to block both the flaming sword and any further attempts to yeet him. The Superhero boosted himself toward the nearest balcony to reconsider his strategy.

The Wither uttered a determined sound, then flew upward and grasped the bottom of the sphere with both hands. The color drained out of the sphere, then the energy began to fork off in ever-weakening strands of unraveling magic. The Seraph dived back in. He exchanged blows with sword and shield for several minutes; however, his flames were deterred by little bursts of the magic still shielding Sausage Supreme’s weapons.

Lord Sausage sheathed his sword and went over to the Protector, trying to read into his haunted look. “Hey, um… Maybe you should snap out of it? What’s the big idea, bringing us here like this? I mean, those guys all have pretty cool things going on, so that makes sense, but why me? I know about other realities so this isn’t a shock or anything, but I don’t do magic anymore. I want nothing to do with that guy. I got a second chance, and I’m not messing with anything that powerful ever again. Hey, are you listening to me?”

The Protector turned a horrified look toward him. “I… I sent this piece of him here. I caused the King to go on a purge of everyone who had magic in them…”

“Oh boy. Um. Okay, listen to me.” Lord Sausage placed his right hand on the Protector’s shoulder. “We take responsibility for our actions, and we can hang onto the guilt if we need to, but we can’t let that stop us from protecting the people still with us. We make amends by making sure the future is safe for them. For the next generation. And we do what we can when our head is finally clear.” He lightly squeezed the other’s shoulder.

The Protector looked at the hand on his shoulder and noticed that the details were too intricate to be mere armor, then he followed the line of the entire metal arm, seeing where it was connected halfway below his shoulder. Lord Sausage gave him a solemn smile. “The cost of getting my head clear. But it was worth it. I have a family to get home to, so let’s get in there and stop this guy. How are you with magic? I might be able to lend you something to help out.” He now smiled ruefully and nodded to the Staff of Mythland in his other hand.

The Protector looked at it as well. “I haven’t seen that thing in centuries…” He chuckled wryly. “And the last time I did was right after I broke it in half.”

“I’m going to be honest, that sounds like a terrible idea. Please don’t break mine.”

“Sorry. I was on a desperate quest to save someone. I needed all the magic I could get. I promise I’ll give this back.” The Protector grinned. “Sounds like you have someone special to look out for, too.”

“Eight someones, and thanks.”

“Eight…?”

Lord Sausage flashed the wedding ring on his left hand. “We’ve got seven kids.”

“Seven?? I only have three, and technically one is a robot…”

“Let’s discuss that later. Bigger concerns here. One question, real quick – can you place a barrier around this, like the one that guy’s using?” Lord Sausage held out his right arm.

Their attention was pulled upward and further along the road as Sausage Supreme released an energy burst that propelled his current two assailants away from him, both giving frustrated cries. Even the Superhero had to cover his face to block the malignant gust, but he quickly leapt from the railing of the balcony when it looked like The Wither wasn’t going to avoid a hard collision with the ground.

In barely the blink of an eye, the gravital leveled himself horizontal with the cloaked figure then boosted forward with surprising speed to catch it and get it out of range of the downward pressure from the energy burst. The Superhero was startled at how lightweight The Wither’s body felt, as if there wasn’t really a body there at all.

The Seraph beat his wings to stop his backward movement. With a need to adjust his plan of attack, he took a moment to assess everyone present. One of them must be able to cancel out this insane level of magic… He also tried to get a read on their auras to compare them to what he had seen in his dream. The Protector was obvious. The yellow filigree seemed fitting for a royal lord… The ten colors reminded him of his own time cycling through different powers, which could be a match for what the Superhero had and would experience over time. So, it seemed he had been wrong about Myth. The black orb, then, obviously was a match with—

But, no.

When he focused in on it, he saw that the hooded figure didn’t… have a black aura.

It had a void where one should have been.

 [To Be Continued in Part Two]

[alternian-relationship-advice]

<o>kay s<o> <o> (eight sweep nb teal) have had this friend (eight sweep f indig<o>) f<o>r ab<o>ut f<o>ur sweeps, thr<o>ugh<o>ut sch<o><o>lfeeding and such

in that way grubs d<o> when y<o>u d<o>n't kn<o>w a l<o>t ab<o>ut the w<o>rld we'd call <o>urselves rivals since we met even th<o>ugh we definitely weren't ready f<o>r quadrants back then, but the em<o>ti<o>nal rush felt really g<o><o>d

fast f<o>rward t<o> six and a half sweeps, we're very cl<o>se and while we've st<o>pped playing hatemarriage we still get int<o> arguments and scuffles while spending m<o>re and m<o>re time t<o>gether

then <o>ne day i tell her i have feelings f<o>r her, and we eventually settle... in the red at her request

this surprises me but i h<o>nestly wasn't that against the idea! so i agree t<o> it and we bec<o>me incredibly clingy matesprits

...until ab<o>ut a sweep ag<o>, where during my <o>wn relati<o>nship drama in trying f<o>r <o>ther quadrants i realize i've been drifting wayyy further apart fr<o>m her (she's rarely active <o>n tr<o>llian, and getting t<o> her hive is a pain) and rarely see her anym<o>re

she has a m<o>irail wh<o> i haven't met and a hatefling that's being auspisticized because she d<o>esn't want t<o> "jump headfirst int<o> pitch" but she talks ab<o>ut them ALL the time even th<o>ugh she d<o>esn't make time f<o>r me

in sh<o>rt, here we are n<o>w, i'm m<o>re detached fr<o>m her than ever, and i <o>nly see <o>ne way <o>ut, which is t<o> declare hate f<o>r her and vacilate t<o> try and bring <o>ur <o>ld spark back int<o> it, despite her reservati<o>ns against pitch

still i th<o>ught it'd be a g<o><o>d idea t<o> <o>uts<o>urce <o>pini<o>ns ab<o>ut this, s<o> i'd l<o>ve to hear pe<o>ple's takes! <o>u<o>