#the world is crazy and wild and i love it

[airybcby]

જ⁀♡⊹｡° no, nothing good starts

♡ a/n — for my new F1 x Bllk series !

♡ word count — 1k

♡ content — bachira meguru x fem! reader, PR manager! reader, F1 racer! bachira, no established relationship, bachira is crazy, mentions of a car crash, reader slowly liking bachira, mentions of drinking (kinda) , bachira is a menace and loves bothering reader

♡ synopsis — Meguru Bachira was known for one thing in the F1 world, his insanity. You just hoped you could hold onto your own when living with him.

Bachira Meguru was chaos wrapped in charm.

His driving style was infamous in the world of Formula 1—wild, unorthodox, and borderline dangerous. Where others played it safe, he took every risk imaginable. He was the kind of driver who kept engineers up at night, wringing their hands over the longevity of car parts. Fans loved him for his unpredictability, but team managers hated him for the same reason. And now, thanks to his growing reputation for off-track antics, you had been saddled with the impossible task of taming him.

Your official title was PR Manager, but your actual job was more like a glorified babysitter. You’d been assigned to Bachira after an incident involving an unauthorized rooftop party in Monaco, complete with fireworks, which ended with him being escorted out by police.

The FIA had been furious.

The team had been livid.

And you? You were just trying to survive.

You met him on a Thursday afternoon, standing outside the team’s garage. He greeted you with a grin so wide it made your cheeks hurt just looking at it.

“Ohhh, you must be [Name]!” he exclaimed, practically bouncing on his feet. “They told me I was getting a PR babysitter. You’re cuter than I expected.”

You gave him a tight-lipped smile, refusing to rise to his bait. “I’m here to make sure you don’t singlehandedly ruin this team’s reputation. Let’s keep the compliments to a minimum, shall we?”

He gasped, dramatically clutching his chest. “So cold! I like you already.”

You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. This was going to be a long season.

For the first week, he tested every boundary you set.

He snuck out of meetings, ignored curfews, and somehow managed to get himself banned from an entire bar in Barcelona after an incident involving a mechanical bull. You spent more time cleaning up his messes than actually managing his public image.

And then there were the nights.

Bachira was a nocturnal creature, disappearing after dinner only to resurface hours later with stories of his latest escapades. You’d find him perched on rooftops, wandering city streets, or, on one memorable occasion, attempting to start a drum circle with strangers in the park.

“You’re impossible,” you told him one night, dragging him back to the hotel after finding him trying to climb a lamppost.

He just laughed, throwing an arm around your shoulders. “And you love it.”

Race day in Spa-Francorchamps was a nightmare.

The infamous Belgian track was wet from an earlier rainstorm, the slick surface making the already dangerous circuit even more treacherous. Everyone was on edge—the drivers, the engineers, the fans.

Everyone except Bachira.

He was practically vibrating with excitement as he climbed into his car, flashing you a grin through the visor of his helmet. “Don’t worry, [Name],” he said over the radio. “I’ll put on a good show for you.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” you muttered, watching as he pulled out of the garage.

The race started smoothly enough, but it didn’t take long for things to spiral. Bachira’s car darted through the pack like a predator hunting prey, taking corners at impossible angles and threading the needle between rival cars.

Your heart was in your throat as you watched him move into P4, his sights clearly set on the three cars ahead of him.

“Meguru, slow down,” you said into the headset, your voice tight with worry. “The track’s dangerous, and you’re pushing too hard.”

“Pushing is the fun part,” he replied, his tone light and teasing.

“Meguru, I’m serious,” you pressed. “Wait for an opening. Don’t force it.”

But he wasn’t listening.

You watched in horror as he tried to squeeze his car into a gap that didn’t exist, the tires screeching as he fought for control. And then, in an instant, it all went wrong.

The back end of his car clipped another, sending him spinning off the track and into the gravel. The sound of crunching metal filled your ears, followed by static as the radio cut out.

Your heart stopped.

“Meguru?” you said, your voice shaking. “Are you okay?”

For a moment, there was nothing. Then, through the crackling static, you heard it: laughter.

“Meguru!” you snapped, equal parts furious and terrified. “Answer me!”

“That was awesome!” he said, his voice crackling through the headset. “Did you see that drift?”

Your knees nearly buckled with relief, but it was quickly replaced by anger. “Awesome?! You could’ve been seriously hurt, you idiot!”

“Eh, I’m fine,” he said, still laughing. “A little gravel never hurt anyone.”

You ripped off the headset, turning away from the pit wall as your hands shook. He was fine, but you weren’t sure you’d survive working with him.

Later that night, you found him sprawled on the couch in your shared hotel suite, completely unbothered.

“Hey, [Name],” he said, waving at you with a chip in hand. “Want some?”

You stared at him, your anger simmering just beneath the surface. “Do you have any idea how close you came to disaster today?”

He shrugged, popping another chip into his mouth. “Close, but not quite.”

“That’s not the point!” you snapped, storming over to him. “You scared the hell out of me, Meguru!”

His grin faltered for a moment, replaced by something softer. “You were scared for me?”

“Of course I was scared for you, you maniac!” you shouted, throwing your hands up. “You could’ve died out there, and you’re sitting here eating chips like it’s no big deal!”

He sat up, tilting his head as he studied you. “You’re cute when you’re worried, you know that?”

“Meguru, I’m serious!”

“I know,” he said, his voice softer now. “And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

You sighed, sitting down beside him. “You can’t keep doing this, Meguru. One of these days, you’re not going to walk away from a crash, and then what?”

He leaned back, his grin returning. “Then I guess I’ll have to haunt you.”

You glared at him, but he just laughed, the sound warm and infectious. Despite your frustration, you couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re impossible,” you muttered, leaning back against the couch.

“And you love it,” he teased, nudging you with his elbow.

You rolled your eyes, but deep down, you knew he was right.

idk what happened recently but i hate everything i write, hope this was still good :)

likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated!

[firstkanaphans]

So there's going to be second round for both FK and JD. These are the first GMM ships right to have a second round in Rome?

First and Khaotung also got a second round the first time they went, but yes! Them and JoongDunk are the only ones. Which is just crazy to me. I know we talk a lot about how some pairs are popular in Thailand and some pairs are popular internationally, but it's still wild to see it demonstrated so explicitly. And even for this second fan meet, they've already had to close the waiting list a day early because so many people were signing up.

Good for them! They deserve all the love in the world. I hope that if GMMTV sends them on a world tour after THK, they make it to the US, Mexico, and Brazil because I know they'll find a lot of love there as well.

[silkysluts]

Isnt this just so exciting and incredible , my love..!!?? We've come so far since we was in the rut of our marriage and we almost ended our life together...I adore you and your gifts are so beautiful and you had the unbelievable courage to try and trust me that I was certain that I could get everything back and beyond the way I have believed that you are more than you ever could have thought about you and making that first step wearing my panties...I have been nothing but the most happiest woman ever each step further and deeper into my dreams to be able to have the silkyslut superbabe sexual and hot fucktoy gurly slut that was inside of you and the best of everything I ever dreamed about in our lives. You're the best husband and I am totally lost in how incredibly sexy and hot and sexy and feminine and the entire superbabe whore begging for the sexual world to be the completely owned and hot silkyslut superbabe whore begging for sharing the best of being a wild and crazy cockcraving fucktoy gurly slut together with me...!!!

[comas-are-for-sleeping]

i love things that happen because of a specific thing

[epicfirestormer]

What I love about Hellboy and Abe Sapien's dynamic in the comics is that, if you came into this blind, you'd expect Abe to be the voice of reason or the straight man to Hellboy's impulsive and hotheaded personality. But no, Abe is more often than not the crazy one. Hellboy would deal with fighting evil monsters and bad guys by just sighing and getting it over with, while Abe is going rabid over tearing the creature apart when he does get into a fight. Hellboy acts like it's a 9-to-5 job and will reasonably talk things out with a guy that had nearly killed him before, Abe acts like a madman in a slaughter house and his first instinct is to shoot first kill second and ask third. They're both insane, but on completely different levels.

[hplonesomeart]

Guys call me crazy but I think the crazy robots would get along swimmingly. The tragic fact that these two don’t have more art interacting is an offense in my rule book and I have come to remedy that. They say you must manifest what you want to see in the world and this is me doing that jskjsksp. I will take initiative! Enjoy a smidgen of Mr. Puzzles and Mettaton art then. Although I think the only reason they initially decided to co-host collaborate together here was the prospect of getting more stars/ratings- because that’s show business babyyyy leverage off of famous people for viewssss/j

Also here is version without the speech/dialogue bubbles! Just two gay bots being fabulous and gossiping or something (platonically. Or you could lean into this being a ship I don’t really care lol). Maybe they’ll exchange some advice about the logistics of incorporating musical numbers in the boardcasts without losing too much revenue on the budget idk. Because if you think about it Mettaton did a musical number in a dress with Frisk and then Mr. Puzzles had his whole Creative Control moment. And both where marvelous performances by the way absolutely slay ✨

My “toxic trait” is supporting the theatrical livelihoods of fictional computers who have committed atrocities, and they both will probably never make an apology video for the attempted murders and trauma inflicting. Wow so girlboss of them :))

[queenlucythevaliant]

We see him come and know him ours

Russia: "Carol of the Russian Children," traditional // Kenya: The Nativity, Elima Njau // France: "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella," Nicolas Saboly // Haiti: Madonna and Child, Ismael Saincilus // Australia: "The Three Drovers," William James // China: Tryptic by Lu Hongnian // Canadian/Algonquian: "Huron Carol," Jean de Brébeuf

[seyaryminamoto]

Scenes of a Peaceful World: Sokkla Saturdays 2024

Day Eight - Intuition

Rated: T

On FF.net//On AO3

"Do you ever get the feeling that mom and dad haven't told us everything?"

"Everything? What do you mean, Shun?"

"Well, it's just… I don't know. They have a lot of big friends, and they're all important people. Isn't it weird? Most my friends in school… their parents aren't like that. Ah, and all their parents know our parents, but our parents don't know theirs. Does that make sense?"

"I mean, our parents are famous. That's obvious, right?"

"But why?"

Hotaru bit her lip. She had no answers for that particular question… none that made sense, anyway. Shun pouted, sitting beside her by the fire, as Yuuna worked on some mysterious sculpture with a pile of ice, by Hotaru's other side.

"Dad's from the Southern Water Tribe," Shun said, glancing about himself, at the ornate, beautiful igloos, the strong ice walls, and of course, the beautiful fireplace they sat by. "This is where he was born. So why did he ever marry… w-well, someone from Fire Nation royalty?"

"Because they fell in love," Hotaru responded, simply.

"But how? Why? Are you sure it makes sense that they just…?"

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Hotaru asked, with a wicked smile. Shun tensed up, cheeks heating up at once.

"B-because…! They're going to get all mushy and make fun of me for asking about that kind of thing," he grumbled. Hotaru chuckled. "See? You're making fun of me already!"

"You know, there's nothing wrong with admitting you're curious about romance," Hotaru said. Shun pouted, cheeks redder still. "If that's what you want to know…"

"That's not it! I've heard more than just… well, weird stories that make no sense about their relationship!" Shun exclaimed. "It's also about… how the war ended. Have you learned about that in school, Hotaru? B-because…!"

She had learned some things about it, certainly, but… not that much. Not at length. Hotaru frowned, eyeing her brother warily. He knelt by her now, careless to sink his knees in the snow.

"I don't know much about it. And everything I hear… doesn't sound real," Shun said, softly.

"I know," Hotaru sighed. "The Fire Nation lost and surrendered… Fire Lord Ozai was defeated. Our grandfather…"

"Mom doesn't talk about him much," Shun mumbled. "Everyone else says he was, uh, well…"

"A son of a bitch," Yuuna interjected: both her siblings winced.

"D-don't just blurt that out like that, Yuuna!" Hotaru said.

"We're not supposed to curse…" Shun swallowed hard.

"Nobody's listening. Doesn't matter," Yunna continued: the ice sculpture she worked on only continued to grow in size… though its shape still made no sense to her siblings.

"Either way…" Shun sighed, shaking his head. "I just don't think any of the stories we hear make much sense, you know? They're so… ridiculous?"

"But we have seen some of it ourselves," Hotaru pointed out. "Mom told us about the Spicy Ramen Challenge…"

"That's the only believable one."

"And the Spirit Library?"

"W-well, that's…! Very cool. I suppose. B-but do you seriously think our parents singlehandedly convinced a scary spirit owl that humanity wasn't that far gone and deserved a second chance?" Shun said, eyeing Hotaru skeptically. "We're talking about our parents here, you know? Just this morning they had an argument about the right way to pronounce 'leisure'… for twenty minutes!"

"They can take nonsense really far, that is true," Hotaru conceded. "But… they're really respected at their jobs, you know? People look up to them."

"That's what I don't understand. That's why… well, I want to know, but at the same time, I don't know if I do," Shun sighed, glancing towards the mountains. "Whenever we come here to visit grandfather… they always go on their own for a while and leave us here. Why… why do you think they do that? Are they keeping some big secret from us until they decide we're ready to hear it?"

"Thing is, Shun…" Hotaru sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "I have the feeling we've been hearing the truth since ages ago. You know… those bedtime stories they always tell us?"

"Oh, Princess Jing and her champion, Wentai?" Shun asked. Hotaru bit her lip. "What about that?"

"Don't you think it's weird how most people haven't heard of them? No one in school told us about those two great heroes of old…"

"U-uh, I guess not, but… I kind of figured mom and dad made them up?"

"They didn't!" Yuuna exclaimed, frowning. "Princess Jing and Wentai are a real legend!"

"That's what I think too," Hotaru said, with an awkward smile. "But… I just think their actual names aren't Jing and Wentai. And maybe they are hiding a thing or two anyway besides that, maybe they don't tell us the full story anyhow, but I think…"

"Heh? Heh?!" Shun's eyes widened, glancing between his sisters. "Y-you're not saying… Princess Jing is mom, and Wentai is dad? T-that's…! That's impossible!"

"You know, the more you believe it's impossible, the harder it will be for you to accept those secrets you're so worried about," Hotaru pointed out: Shun, however, was entirely beyond being reasoned with now.

"Wentai is so cool! He's like… the coolest non-bender ever! He fights and kicks so much, u-uh…"

"Ass!"

"Thank you, Yuuna, but… I mean, there's no way our goofball dad could be him! And Jing, w-well, she's nice, and she's the best firebender of her age, but I'm sure mom's cooler than her!"

"Well, I think they're both awesome," Hotaru smiled. Shun shuddered, shaking his head.

"There's just no way. There's just no way…!"

Hakoda smirked, witnessing the children's discussion from a safe distance – he supposed he'd have to report on Yuuna's curses to her parents, but he doubted it would make a difference, considering how the child tended to disregard any scolding that lacked logical, solid reasoning she could accept.

"So much intuition… and yet, always stopping just short of an uncomfortable truth. Sokka's son, that's for sure," he chuckled, dropping his head against the frame of his igloo's front door.

Should the kids sneak off now, following the tracks their parents left behind, they would be certain to find them in a whole different light right now. In the ruins of an old building, long demolished, by the bay where a dangerous battle had been won by the Southern Water Tribe…

"Still don't think this is the right way to go about this tradition of ours, love. We didn't have swords back then, remember?" Sokka smirked. Azula scoffed, raising her white blade in his direction.

"Humor your wife. What's the point of coming all this way without a rematch?" she smirked. Sokka laughed.

"I really shouldn't have put that thought in your head, all those years ago," he concluded. Azula chuckled, as he unsheathed his sword as well. "But it always feels right… coming back to where it all began with you."

"Just how far have we come this time, Wentai?" Azula asked, teasingly.

"Let's figure that out, Princess Jing," Sokka smirked. Azula huffed, twirling her sword in a teasing flourish before diving forth.

Their duels were never truly dangerous, if simply because they knew each other all too well, so used to sparring together that they would always be effortlessly synched. They moved smoothly, almost as though they danced, as though they were fire and water swirling side by side, never snuffing each other out, never clashing fully, only brushing together so lightly, causing sizzling electricity to bloom between them in consequence.

Their outcomes were seldom predictable, but this time, it was Sokka who found himself disarmed, with a blade by his throat. He smiled, raising his hands in surrender.

"Now… don't you dare yield," Azula teased him, stepping closer to him, without setting aside her sword. Sokka chuckled, basking in the tenderness and danger alike. "That would be no fun."

"I can think of a better way to settle this, then," Sokka teased her: Azula smirked as his arms slid around her body.

Her sword clattered over his once she dropped it, fully enticed into his embrace, kissing him deeply as the pale sunlight of the South Pole bathed them. Sokka pressed their brows together, nose gently nudging hers.

"Still think this is the right way to finish any arguments," he said. Azula scoffed.

"You're still pronouncing 'leisure' wrong."

"Am not!"

"Oh, please…!"

He dove in again, as though to prove his earlier words correct: Azula laughed, hands cupping his face first, then slipping around his neck so she could hug him tightly. Their careless laughter echoed across the pristine landscape, the place where so much had begun for the two of them, and where their ever-growing love never failed to find renewal and strength, providing the best warmth in a frigid landscape… highlighting the beautiful balance between fire and ice that the two lovers had long discovered by each other's side.

[bongosinferno]

Interesting thing with the Bethesda fallouts (I've been playing a bit of Fallout 4 recently) is that they, at least in my opinion, misunderstand the fun parts of the first 2 games. I don't think think the setting is a very important part in those games, it's a part of it but it's just set-dressing for the gameplay and fun quest stories and how the players interact with them. I think there's some potential in say Fallout 4 for interesting quests or stories (I've done a couple of quests but a lot of my knowledge is from the Joseph Andersson video), but the solutions to any story just leads back into the shooting gameplay loop. This is, I think, antithetical to the format of the originals, which were based a lot more in having the format of a TTRPG. If your TTRPG sessions all boiled down to shooting people with basically no alternative solutions to quests I think your players would get bored. Since it's got shooter mechanics this kind of salvages it, it becomes it's very different own thing. But the wonderful gameplay loop of those first two games is lost, and I kind of miss it. Man, I need to replay Fallout 2.

[theprinceandthewitch]

Hmm... it's interesting how they made Luz wear a witch's cloak in Hunting Palisman - the episode where she introduces Flapjack to Hunter. This is also the episode where Hunter defies Belos by choosing Luz over him. He goes back to his palace empty-handed and he doesn't hand over Flapjack to Belos. Unbeknownst to Hunter, he is following Caleb's footsteps.

But then, in Hollow Mind, they made the choice to have Luz not wear her witches cloak - instead they made Luz wear a jacket with a giant "E" on it. They could have given Luz a completely different outfit like they did in Hunting Palisman. But they don't... they make her wear this specific jacket...

...They also make Hunter wear Caleb's symbol in Hollow Mind... an episode where Luz and Hunter are trapped in Philip's mind... where we can see paintings of the two most important characters in Philip's life - his brother and a witch from another world.

But I'm sure this is all unintentional.

You know, like this is:

oh, nbd, just a painting being paralleled with the scene happening right before our eyes

here's a more high def image of the painting

Oh, hmm, okay, this is a painting of Caleb standing next to a witch with short dark brown hair and who just so happens to be a witch from another world. Both of them are startled by Philip...

Hunter, the Grimwalker who looks the most like Caleb, is standing next to someone who ALSO just so happens to be a witch from another world with short dark brown hair... both are startled by Philip's monster form...

Hmm, must be unintentional I guess.

there's also this:

Mhm, okay, I see... I see, very interesting. Here we have Caleb being lead away from Philip by a witch from another world after the brother's have a fall out. This fall out marks the point of no return for them, as Philip later kills Caleb out of anger.

Hunter and Philip's relationship completely deteriorates because of Luz, which leads to Philip's decision to kill Hunter. She shows Hunter Belos' true nature and she offers Hunter sanctuary at The Owl House right after he finds out Belos has been lying to him his whole life... Luz saves Hunter's life and changes it forever.

Hmmm... very interesting

But I'm sure this is unintentional [I'm being sarcastic]

[forlorn-plushie]

One thing I'd love to see Magpie lean into for the FLTTRPG is the opportunity deck. They mostly do PbtA and should continue in that genre, but the idea of having a deck of custom one-shot moves local to each region goes hard.

I do have high hopes for it, FB seems likely to be involved deep in the development compared to the Avatar game so it'll probably be strong.

[skitskatdacat63]

This is my personal crossover event of the century

[frolicksome]

I got bored... So, decided to draw these two!

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 8: Banished Fae

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

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

The town really isn't all that big. The group leads Bro and Alt back in the direction of Chase's cottage--which, from the outside, has white walls and a yellow roof that's missing some shingles. They go in between the cottages out here on the edge, through their gardens, and into the wilderness. The north forest is pretty close to the edge of town. There's just a short stretch of empty grass and flowers, maybe about half a basketball court in length. This is where Jackie gets out of the pocket and starts zipping around.

Alt and Bro brighten once they see Jackie start flying around. Bro stretches and then falls back- letting himself hover in the air kind he’s laying in a hammock. “Ahhh! That’s better!”

Schneep whistles. "You were not kidding about that flight. I only see sylphs floating in the air like that." 

You never see sylphs doing anything, they're invisible, Jameson says jokingly. 

"Nearly invisible!" 

Jackie flies over next to Bro, hovering by his head. "Wow. No wings or anything!" He laughs. "That must be pretty helpful." 

Bro grins, “Yeah! It’s amazing!” He rights himself then flies around in circles over the clearing and zipping through trees before he joins the others again. 

They start going into the forest. This isn't a thick woods. Sunlight easily pierces the canopy, sending ripples across the floor. 

Marvin climbs into a tree, hopping up to the nearest branch, and walks along next to the others, effortlessly balancing on branches that look like they should break under his weight. 

Alt watches Marvin climb into the tree. He thinks then in a flurry of glitches he’s on a branch by Marvin- in the shape of black calico cat. He hops and glitches along the branches.

"Oooo!" Chase's eyes light up. "Double cat!" 

Marvin meows, sounding delighted. Alt meows loudly and sticks his chest out proudly.

Jackie laughs. "Schneep, you do something, make it an animal party!" 

Schneep frowns. "I cannot become a cat, though. Mammals are hard for me." 

"No no no, do something!" Chase encourages. 

"Hmm... I can do one mammal," Schneep says slowly. He walks around the trunk of a tree--and a small, furry animal trots out, low to the ground, brown on its back and cream on its belly. It's about three feet long.

Alt blinks and glitches down by Schneep and sniffs at him. Then he grins and in a quick zip becomes the same animal as him, running around him in circles and making chittering noises. 

Bro laughs, touching down to walk with the others. “…he doesn’t show this one off as much- I can tell he’s having fun.” He says quietly with a fond smile. 

Jameson chuckles. What is that animal? I've never seen it before. 

"I think it's an otter of some kind?" Chase says. "I remember seeing some in the aquarium back in Cali. But this one is darker, I think, and its head is somehow different." 

Schneep raises up onto his hind legs and bobs his head. 

"An otter? Huh." 

Must be a different type than the ones you saw in the New World, Jameson says. 

"Oh that makes sense!" Jackie says. "It's another river animal." 

Alt chatters and tries raising onto his hind legs too but wobbles a bit. He makes a laughing type noise then in another quick glitch he’s now a brown wolf that sits down and barks slightly at them.

"Ohhh wolf!" Jackie says excitedly. "Fell yeah! They're so cool. Elves and goblins sometimes ride them into battle, you know." 

And piskies sometimes ride squirrels, Jameson says jokingly. 

"No, they're too small. A house cat, though? That could work." Jackie flies up to Marvin in the trees, landing on his back. "Even Marvin could work!" 

Marvin mrows and shakes himself, throwing Jackie off. Jackie, luckily, manages to catch himself and start flying again before he hit the ground. 

Alt makes a laughing like sound then whistles and glitches himself back into his cat form and walks up to Jackie, shaking himself off and showing off his back.

Jackie's eyes light up. He lands on Alt's back, right behind his head. "Onward!"

Alt meows and then charges ahead, even adding some speed with his magic- making bits of green sparks curl off his fur. 

Bro covers his mouth with his hand to hide his laugh. “Oh my god- that’s amazing!”

Schneep in his otter form bounds after the two of them. Marvin does not, but his tail does flick excitedly. 

Chase laughs. He takes his phone out of his pocket and films a video of all this. Bro follows Chase’s lead to get a video too. Why has he never thought of that? …Maybe cuz Alt might kill him. 

After a while, something happens. At first, it's bits of litter on the forest floor. Sad, but not too worrying. Until they notice that it's not exactly normal litter. It's broken phones and wires, and the occasional microchip. Marvin hops out of the trees as cables start to appear, draped across the branches. The mood seems to fall a little. 

We're getting close, Jameson says, frowning.

Alt starts to slow down as he notices the litter. His hackles raise slightly as he anxiously looks around the path and at the trees. 

Bro shudders, “… never thought seeing these kinda things in a forest would feel so… creepy.” He mutters.

Jackie takes to the air again. "Imagine if it was something that hurt you by touching it," he mutters. 

Schneep becomes human again--though he looks slightly different, his skin and hair tinted a bit green, his teeth a bit sharper. "This is where we start being careful," he says. 

Alt glitches back into his human form too, a serious expression on his face. His pupils look a bit slitted- but he’s able to blink that away pretty fast. 

"I'm guessing we shouldn't touch anything?" Chase says. 

Probably for the best, Jameson agrees, looking vaguely troubled. 

More and more junk shows up. Most of it is related to computers: laptops with keys missing from their boards, old boxy monitors with cracked screens, CPUs that have casing missing. But just about any technology is represented. TVs both flatscreen and boxy, kitchen appliances, projectors and speakers and car radios. 

Marvin starts doing that careful cat walk as he steps in spaces where wires don't cover the ground. Jameson starts veering to the side.

Alt glitches around to the objects and frowns. “…listen I used to collect stuff like this- but this is excessive…” 

“I’ll say… this feels like a fire hazard just waiting to happen… somehow-“ Bro comments. 

Alt pulls out his tracker to try to see his close they are… and if the piece is actually in the hands on the iron-mad Prince or just nearby. If they can avoid his other self… he thinks that’d be best.

The piece is deeper into the domain, in the center, sat in a little nest of steel wool. Alt relaxes a bit, at least it’s not literally in his hands. 

"Jameson, you good?" Chase asks. 

Jameson doesn't answer. He's making a beeline for a tree... a tree with autumnal leaves, out of place in the green forest.

Alt’s about to tell the others when he looks up and sees Jameson heading towards the autumn tree. Alt glitches up next to him and tries to get his attention. “Hey! Jay! You okay?”

Jameson blinks in surprise. Then he nods. I just wanted to check on it. He's standing in front of the autumn tree. Its branches are draped in cables like all the others, but those branches seem abnormally weighed down. 

Chase hurries over. "Check on what? Is everything fine?" 

In the next moment, Marvin is in his human form again. "Um... I can explain if you want, Jems?" 

Jameson nods, reaching out to touch the bark of the tree. 

"Okay," Marvin says softly. "Um... have you all heard of dryads? They're from Greece. They're guardian spirits of nature, tied to a tree. Jameson is... sort of like that. This is his tree."

“Oh!” Alt says with wide eyes, “A dyrad! That makes so much sense-“ he glitches around and frowns in concern at the cables. “…is he hurting your tree…?”

Jameson sighs. Not on purpose, he says. But... yes. His domain has been slowly getting bigger over the decades, and one day it reached here. 

Chase frowns. "Being, uh... 'tied to a tree'... that's not... normal, is it?" 

Jameson shook his head. 

"Do you... want to talk about it?" Chase asks softly. 

If you all want to hear.

Bro comes up and looks at Jameson, “Yeah I… if you’re willing, dude.” Alt looks concerned and tilts his head.

Jameson still hesitates. But then he slowly starts to sign. My family is gentry, one of the rulers of fairies. They did not like humans much... not as equals, at least. But I thought humans were very clever. I started messing with some of their ideas. 

"Clockwork, right?" Marvin says. 

Yes. But not made of iron, of course. When my family found out, they sent me here, and tied my life to the tree so I couldn't return to Faehome if I wanted. 

"Pricks," Marvin mutters, ears dropping back. 

"They were part of the Green Court, like me," Jackie says. "The king overrode Jameson's banishment, since you know... it wasn't fair. But even he couldn't undo this. Only the ones who cast the spell can do that, and uh..." 

"Fucking pricks," Marvin says again, making a growling sound in his throat.

Alt and Bro look horrified and heartbroken. “That’s… that’s awful,” Bro whispers. 

Electricity zips around Alt angrily as he bares his teeth, “All because you were a little curious?! That’s… what the fuck?!” 

"The Fair Folk aren't actually that fair," Marvin says. 

Jameson sighs. I've had a lot of time to adjust to that. This happened back in... one of the 1920s. I like this small town and all the people in it. I'm happy here. He rubs his eyes. But the iron in the area IS bringing the mood down.

Alt snorts, still feeling anger for how unfair this is all is. “…I’m glad you found a way to be happy… despite all that.” 

"I'm so sorry, Jameson," Chase says quietly.

Jameson looks back at him and smiles. It's fine, really. Henrik has it worse. 

"We do not compare suffering here," Schneep says firmly. "It does not mean yours doesn't count."

“…what happened with Henrik?” Bro asks quietly, looking back towards him.

Schneep sighs. "As Chase briefly said, I got 'super kicked out' of my home. But I do not mind. Because I got kicked out for, oh you know, not wanting to kill people." 

"It's still pretty shitty, dude," Chase says. "You like... can't go anywhere in Europe. I mean, Ireland is Europe, but you know what I mean. Like, the mainland area. That's a lot of place you can't go."

“You’re banished from all of Europe???” Bro exclaims, his jaw dropping. “For not wanting to kill people?!” 

Alt looks equally as disturbed by this. “…how does that even work?? …wait I don’t even know what kind of fae you are-“

Schneep laughs. "I am not technically a fairy, because fairies are from these two islands. But I am something else. A nix. We are... water spirits, of sorts. And many of us tend to be... not kind. You are probably more familiar with sirens? Imagine that, but in a river." 

"It was more that you were healing people, right?" Jackie asks. 

"Yes." Schneep nods. "They said it was ruining their fun." He sighs. "I am glad to be far from the rest of them, to be honest."

Alt bares his teeth, “…that’s messed up.” 

Bro nods, “…guess it’s probably good to be away- even if you’re … stuck in Ireland. And I say that as someone who grew up here-“

"Heh." Schneep smiles. "Yes, that place was... not good. I like this town much better." 

Bro smiles and claps Schneep on the shoulder. Schneep smiles back.

Jameson takes a deep breath, and removes his hand from the tree. Alright. I'm ready to move on now. Where are we going specifically?

Alt looks back out into the forest, “The tracker said it’s in the center… in a nest of steel wool.” 

“Eck- steel wool? Don’t like that stuff-“ Bro stays, sticking out his tongue. “Bad sensory shit-“

Chase frowns. "And steel is made of iron. So... it's like he's protecting it even more against any other fairies who come this way." 

Alt makes a face, “huh… I wonder if… he knows what it is then…” why else would he be protecting it from other fae? 

"We won't let that deter us though!" Jackie says, determined. 

Marvin is in cat form again. He meows at the others, indicating they should follow him. 

Onward, Jameson says, following him. The others trail after.

Bro hurries after the others. Alt trails behind, cautiously watching the trees.

More and more old technology shows up as they go further into the forest. Grass and bushes are replaced by dirt and piles of metal. Cables wrap around the tree trunks, snaking between them, sometimes forming something like a spiderweb between trees. They almost seem to be coming from one direction. The ground crunches beneath their feet as stepping on small bits of tech becomes basically unavoidable. 

Marvin returns to his human form--boots are better than walking on all this iron with his bare paws. 

Once it seems like it’s hard to avoid the debris, Bro starts to hover a bit but tries his best to stay out of the way.

They have not reached the center when, suddenly, an old iPad with a cracked screen turns on, showing pixelly squares of color. Other screens follow: computer monitors, televisions, even regular displays, like on microwaves and digital clocks. 

Alt startles slightly as the electronics start to turn on. He builds up magic in his hands, trying not to shiver as he hears the voice. He bares his teeth and growls, eyes flitting around to look for any sign of trouble.

"I can seeeee you," says a voice on the wind.

The others all whirl around. Jackie conjures up his small sword again. 

"Wh--where are you?" Chase calls out hesitantly. 

"All over, everywhere!" the voice says, seemingly echoing from all around them. "What do we have here? Three humans, a sidhe, a pisky, a cait sith, and something I don't know that smells like river water. Strange! Strange strange strange." 

“Show yourself, fucking coward!” Alt snaps out, lightning snapping around his hands. “You have something that belongs to us!” 

“Alttt I’m not sure it’s a good idea to antagonize this guy-“ Bro mutters, but he gets into a fighting stance regardless.

"I'm already there, though!" the voice says. "Look up!" And a blackbird dives down from a higher branch, flying at Alt.

It smacks against his face, talons making small scratches.Alt yells out in surprise and pain, trying to throw the bird off and glitch backwards. “S-Son of a bitch?!”

The bird spins backwards, tumbling through the air. As it hit the grounds it suddenly bursts into feathers that fly into the air, and a man is standing where it just was. The resemblance to Alt is clear, though this man has one blue eye and one green eye. Both of them are bloodshot. The man is pale and thin, hair wild and entangled with wires and leaves, pointed ears sticking out to either side. His clothes are fine, somewhat medieval in style, black with hints of green and silver. Cables are tied around his arms like makeshift bracelets. Random microchips and other computer parts are tied to his belt with silver wire. "Welcome!" the man spreads his arms wide and grins. "Welcome, welcome!" 

"So, you're this prince guy, then," Chase says. "The Iron-Mad Prince."

Alt staggers back, momentarily thrown off guard by the prince’s appearance. But then he glares, magic sparking in his eyes as he bares his teeth. 

Bro looks unnerved- “…yeah I get where the uh ‘mad’ comes from-“ he mutters.

“Mad? But I’m not mad! In fact I’m so very glad to see you all!” The Prince smiles wider. “It’s been so long since I’ve had visitors, especially humans. Do you want to stay?” 

“Leave them alone!” Jackie flies out in front of everyone, brandishing his sword. 

The Prince blinks in surprise. “One of my brother’s knights? But where is your crest?” 

“We’re not here to visit,” Marvin says. “We’re here for something.”

Bro shudders at this then gets into a fighting stance, “We’re not humans you wanna mess with, dude!” 

“You have something that belongs to us,” Alt growls.

“If it’s here, it doesn’t belong to you at all.” The Prince folds his arms. “I’m no thief. I take only what’s been left behind.” 

“Then there must have been a mistake,”Schneep says. 

Do you know every part of your domain? Jameson asks. If we said that what we’re looking for is in a nest of steel wool, would you know what we mean? 

“Oh! The one that fell from the sky!” The Prince’s eyes light up. “But—that one is so special. I haven’t seen anything like it, so intricate and unknown.” His fingers twitch. “That is so, so special. I couldn’t part with it for nothing.”

Alt glitches a bit in anger. Bro looks at him warily then steps up, “This thing is part of a larger thing that’s ours! It fell into different worlds and we need to collect all the parts or your world could be in danger. …what would you want in exchange?” Bro says slowly. 

Alt looks at Bro with wide eyes, “Chase! We can’t negotiate with him!”

“Oh! It would have to be special as well,” the Prince says, ignoring Alt’s outburst. “Hmm… I don’t even know who you are. Can I have your names?” 

“Well I’m—” Chase starts to say, but Marvin’s hand shoots out and covers his mouth.

"You can't have our names," Bro says firmly, remembering what his aunts taught him. "But you can call me Chase- or Bro... I guess. Weird for you to call me that..." He gestures to Alt, who is bristling like a cat, "And you can call him Alt. ...how special are we talking here? cuz uh- we're from like... super out of town? We could have something that interests you."

"Chase and Alt," the Prince repeats, fascinated. "And the rest of you?" 

We've met before, Jameson says. "We have? Ohhhh, you're the one worried about the trees." The Prince pauses. "Jems?" Jameson sighs and nods. 

"Call me Jackie," Jackie says. "And these all are called Henrik, Marvin, and Chase." 

"Two Chases! Interesting." The Prince grins, then looks back at Bro. "Well, I won't know if it interests me until I see it, will I?"

Bro makes a face and pats down his pockets and utility belt. “Uhhhhhh-“ he scrambles to think of something. He can’t give him his phone- or Alt’s phone. It looks like Alt will bite this guy’s head off for trying to take any of this things.

Chase looks at Bro, eyes wide. He doesn't want these two to lose any of their stuff." Um--look, all your stuff is broken, right? Maybe you want a fully functional one?" He pulls his phone out of his pocket, showing it to the Prince. "Here, see, i-it lights up, and I can give you the code to open it--" 

"What's that?" Suddenly the Prince is right in front of Chase, and Chase takes a step back. "It's a phone?" 

"No, on the screen," the Prince says. "That woman and child. They look familiar." 

Chase goes white as a sheet. "...what?" he whispers, the word barely a breath.

Bro tries to protest, “Hey no dude- what the hell??” Then he cuts himself off and stares wide eyed between the two. “…shit- is that…?” 

Alt glitches closer, eyes wide. “…do you have a family, Chase…?” 

“Y-You said you didn’t have one…” Bro whispers.

"I-I don't... not anymore," Chase says quietly. "They... disappeared. E-everyone back home thought I... But I would never!" He looks at the screen. The woman has curly pale brown hair, smiling at the camera wide with a bit of paint on her cheek. The boy is young, with darker hair, hands covered in paint as well. 

The Prince blinks. "Yes... they were in... the Wilds." 

"The Wilds?!" Marvin repeats, alarmed. 

"So you're probably not going to see them again," the Prince continues.

"What?!" Bro gasps, "T-That can't be true... there has to be a way past these wilds- right?" He looks to the others with wide eyes.

"It's um... not that easy," Jackie says slowly. "The Wilds are a Fairy World. And a really big one, too." 

"Like... a pocket dimension?" Chase whispers. 

"Yes, exactly like that." 

Bro looks very worried at this, looking back at Chase with concern. "M-Maybe we could-" 

The Prince's eyes light up. He leans closer to Chase, and Schneep reaches out and pushes him back. The Prince doesn't even seem to notice. "Is she an artist?" 

Chase blinks. "My... my wife? Y-yeah, she did--does paintings." 

"Do you have pictures of them? Can I have them?"

"Why would you want a painting?" Alt asks, narrowing his eyes at the Prince. "You're called the 'Iron-Mad Prince'- paintings don't really go with that..."

All fairies appreciate art, Jameson says. Because art... is unique. 

"No no no, not a painting, a picture of it," the Prince corrects. "Made of pixels. A-and electricity." He laughs a little. "I have screens you can transfer them to." 

"You mean... I wouldn't have pictures of her art anymore?" Chase asks quietly. 

"I think that's a fair trade." 

"Surely you have the originals, Chase," Schneep says, glancing at him. 

Chase shakes his head slowly. "She... she sold a lot of them..."

Alt blinks at this then hurries to grab out his iPad. “Don’t do that Chase- I have like, a million pictures of my art. Especially digital art, I can part with something.” 

“Yeah!! Alt’s art coming in clutch!!” Bro cheers.

"Oh, you're an artist?" Chase says, looking at Alt, barely managing to hide his relief. "That's cool." 

Alt smiles, “Yeah I dabble. Graffiti, some cartoon stuff. Things like that~” 

The Prince grins. "Yes, that would work! Here, come come come, I'll take you to my screen and your piece." 

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Jackie asks, narrowing his eyes. 

The Prince takes a step back and bows. "I promise you, that as long as you do not try to harm me, and you provide the art as promised, you will leave here unharmed and with the iron piece you're looking for."

Bro blinks then hums with a nod. “Seems fair enough to me!” 

Alt looks a bit skeptical and holds his iPad close to his chest but he approaches the Prince. “Alright… how’re we doing this?”

"That's your device?" The Prince leans to the side, looking at Alt's iPad. "Cable, cable, cable." He sticks an arm out to the side, untying one of the makeshift bracelets. "This should fit. We'll plug it into a screen." He laughs excitedly. "This way!" There's another flurry of feathers and the blackbird is back, flying through the air deeper into the forest, tilting back and forth to the side. 

Marvin narrows his eyes. "That is not how birds are supposed to fly--but in any case, do we trust this?" 

Schneep shrugs. "Clearly he is not going to bring their piece here, so we must go farther anyway." 

I can find the way out, Jameson says. I'm familiar with the area.

Alt makes a face, “…I’m not sure I do. But- I dunno. My stuff is backed up back home so if he fries something it won’t be… the worst thing I guess.” He quickly glitches after the bird. 

Bro sighs and ruffles his hair, “Alright- time to follow the crazy bird Prince then.” He says, following after Alt.

They don't have much farther to go. The pieces of technology turn into piles. Leaves litter the ground, knocked down from the trees by the heavy cables. Bits of non-tech metal sprinkle the ground. Pots and pans, metal figurines, picture frames. 

"You can smell the iron," Jackie comments, sitting down on Chase's shoulder and riding the rest of the way. They eventually reach a clearing, a spot of blue sky clear of branches or cables. Metal bookcases line the area, forming rough walls, their shelves overflowing with old computer parts. There's a table set up with a new-looking flatscreen TV and a laptop that looks pretty functional except for some missing screws. And there's a bed with a metal bedframe and a comforter meant to look like a desktop screen. Some more computer parts litter the folds of the blanket. The bird dives down onto the bed, bursting into feathers again and reforming into the Prince.

Alt looks around the space with a tilted head, “…uh- nice place you got here…” 

“Kinda looks like your room, Alt,” Bro laughs.

 Alt flushes and hits Bro, “Hey! It does not?!” 

“When you’re working on a project it does!” Bro laughs more, covering himself from Alt’s rage.

Marvin shudders slightly. "Gods. This place reeks." 

Schneep frowns. "I-I am not as susceptible as the rest of you, but... yes, yes it does." 

"Are you all okay?" Chase asks, concerned. Jackie is leaning against his neck, looking exhausted. 

Bro looks at the others with concern. 

Let's just get out of here as soon as possible, Jameson says. 

The Prince stands up again and walks over to the laptop. It turns on before he even gets there. "Plug plug plug plug plug," he mutters, putting the cable into the USB port. It takes him a couple tries, as his hands are shaking, but then he gets it and he grins, looking back over at Alt. "Well?"

Alt jumps a bit but then goes to kneels down by the laptop, plugging in the cable. On his iPad is a combined photo of a couple pieces of graffiti he did. “There’s multiple here- should be more than enough.” He mutters.

The Prince leans uncomfortably close to Alt. "I've never seen art like that!" Multiple PNG icons show up on the laptop's desktop as Alt's drawings are copied to its hard drive. "Oh, that's fascinating!"

Alt flushes, “Uh yeah it’s… modern. It’s stuff humans do on like… buildings and stuff.” 

Bro marvels at how well kept the laptop and flat screen are. “…bro how are you even powering all this?” He asks the Prince.

The Prince looks back at him. "Most gentry have the power to do things like make their plants look better. I decided to put that power into the cables instead. Lightning in rubber, isn't that clever?" He giggles. 

Bro blinks, “Well… that is how electricity works-“

Chase glances at Jameson. "Is that true? About the plants thing?" 

Yes, actually, Jameson says. Though mine has been reduced since the iron surrounded my tree.

Alt unplugs the iPad quickly and glitches back, hugging it to his chest. “Okay that’s… that’s it then right? We can get our piece?”

The Prince gets distracted for a moment, opening up Alt's downloaded art and looking at it. Then Jameson coughs for attention and he snaps back to the others. "Piece, right? Yes yes yes." He nods and walks over to one of the metal bookcases... where, right in the middle of the shelf, displayed prominently, is a pile of steel wool. He brushes it aside and picks up a small item. A microchip the size of an American quarter, black and intricate. Some ribbon wires trail from the top and bottom. "This, right?"

Alt brightens up and glitches closer, “Yes! That’s it!”

"Here it is, then." The Prince holds it out, dropping it into Alt's hand. 

"That was... easy," Chase says slowly. 

"Yeah," Marvin mutters. "But he did promise we'd be unharmed... and that's not something fairies do lightly."

Alt stares at it, expecting some trick. Then he quickly puts it in the black bag and glitches back. “Uh… t-thank you.” 

Bro looks worriedly at the others. “We should… go then. Since this place is… a lot for the other guys.”

"You get used to it," the Prince says, picking up an old motherboard from a shelf and turning it over. His head twitches erratically as he seems immediately drawn into staring at it. 

"...riiiight," Chase says, backing away and pushing Schneep, Marvin, and Jameson behind him. "Let's head on out." 

Alt's phone crackles. "You know, you two could technically leave right now. But I know you won't yet, right?"

Alt jumps a bit at Anti’s voice then takes his phone out to shake his head. “I want to make sure the others are okay first-“ He says. He glitches over to the others. “if you guys want I- I can get us back to the pub.. or one of your houses?”

"I think I'm the only one with an actual house," Chase says. "Unless you count Schneep's clinic. But yeah, if you can do that..." His eyes dart down to his shoulder, where Jackie is sitting. "That would probably be good." 

The Prince's head suddenly snaps up. He looks up into the sky. "There's lightning in the air," he whispers.

Alt looks back to The Prince with wide eyes. “W-What?” 

“The fuck does that mean? A storm?” Bro asks, squinting up at the sky.

"Something's coming," the Prince says. His eyes widen. 

"Wait a second--!" Anti shouts. "There's--" 

Then the sky explodes into a wave of red light. The Prince shrieks, and throws up a hand, and a shield of yellow lightning appears above the clearing, rebuking the shockwave that follows. 

As the sky explodes, Bro grabs Alt and as many of the others as he can and covers them up with his body. He blinks in confusion as the shield gets made. 

A figure forms in the center of the clearing, hovering a bit over the ground. A figure made of red light. "Did you miss me?"

Bro and Alt gasp and stare up with wide eyes. “No…! No- why are you here?!” Alt shouts, bristling as magic sparks in his eyes.

"Wh-who the fuck is this guy?!" Chase gasps. 

"Did you think you could escape me?" Red Anti laughs. "Even if that eyeball thing was able to toss me out of the last world, I know everywhere you go. And I'll continue to know." He reaches out. "Let's see if I can use this." And a bit of purple energy pulls out the black bag with all the TRVLR parts in it.

“NO!” Alt shouts and tries to grab the bag and hold it back.

But it's too fast. The bag zooms up into the air, and red Anti's image mimes grabbing hold of it. "Courtesy of your friend Mag's magic!" he says, grinning. "Hope you like this world! You should get used to it." 

A bit of the air rips open, a rift unfolding. And red Anti tosses the black bag towards it.

Alt screams in anger and doesn’t even think about it- he glitches to try to go after the bag- diving into the rift. “ALT!” Bro screams, and bursts into the air to try to follow him.

"Oh no you don't!" Red Anti growls. Lightning charges in the air, a bolt shooting for the two of them-- --but a bolt of bright white lightning intercepts before it can reach them. 

"What the fell?!" Marvin gasps, and all the others turn to look at the Prince. "I promised they'd be unharmed, didn't I?" he says in response to their looks. 

"Fine!" Red Anti snaps. "Go after it! You won't like that world at all!" He laughs, and his image disappears. 

"Be careful!" Chase shouts after Bro and Alt.

Bro grabs Alt before he gets too far and holds onto him and they both manage to look back towards the Prince defending them. 

Bro smiles and shouts, “You too!! Thank you for your help!!” Alt nods back to the others with a slight smile before he focuses on glitching after the bag, falling into the rift.

Chase and the other fairies watch the two of them disappear into the rift, grim hope in all their eyes.

[junk-culture]

hooooooooooooo bastille are doing some small "candelight" intimate gigs including one 20 mins away from me in october ............. but i kind of don't care as much for what they're doing right now so i don't knowwww......but it would still be nice to see dan in this kind of capacity regardless......i guess ill see what the ticket prices are and ponder

[linagram]

all bday illustrations! i feel like something changed in my art style but it's probably just the lineart (+ shading and lighting)