#there's a reason they get on so well with cellbit

[tomfrogisblue]

and YOU KNOW that roier and quackitys streams are gonna be depressing as shit too

they ain't gonna waste the opportunity to be dramatic little shits

[atthebell]

richas asking how many times cellbit was in solitary in prison + cellbit telling him to never ever eat people

[shikai-the-storyteller]

I adore Luzu, so it really warms my heart that when he was mentioned today when Phil was asking about La Velada, not only did PHIL get super excited and emphasize his support for Luzu, but Chat also got excited and hyped him up. All us crows love him so much, even though we only saw him interact with Phil once :') I hope that now his training is over, he can log back in and they can hang out again

[royalarchivist]

Phil briefly talks about QSMP, the admin situation, Quackity, the new team, and the harassment both Quackity and the admins have been receiving.

Please listen to the clip and read the transcript in its entirety. Keep in mind that things can easily be taken out of context (even this clip, though I did try to include everything he said).

If you'd like to see the full unedited conversation, Phil started talking about last week's interactions with YD and Bad ~1h 57m into today's VOD, which led into this conversation about QSMP.

[ Complete Transcript ↓ ]

—

Phil: Yeah, she's great. Another- another reason why QSMP is just like... fuckin' incredible. That was like, not even ever going to happen without QSMP. Like, obviously it's had its problems, it's go– it's had its problems. Those problems are being rectified. All the people that were wrong'uns have been fired [Laughs] And Quackity's put a new team together. So like, I'm so happy that I'm like– that Q is doing everything he can right now to make it like, right.

But I am still just sad that Chayanne and Tallulah are just asleep, that is just making me real sad. So I've been like, logging on whenever I can to just like, hang out and stuff and just, you know, be around. But I am- I am just sad boy now. [Laughs] I've like– throwing all those penguins into the- the Spawn area was like, my limit. And the like, laughing with YD and Bad kind of cheered me up a bit.

But yeah, I'm sure most of you can agree. It's like, once- once you've been making content on a server a certain way, it's- it's been like, 6 - 8 months of like, the same like type of content I've been making on that server. It's been very lore-heavy, it's been very Egg hanging out with the Eggs and just chilling. Like, not even like doing anything crazy. We would just hang out. But yeah, I'm sure everyone's in the same boat. Like, we all just like, miss that, you know?

So... just gotta wait around. Just gotta wait. Wait for things to get better. Trust in Big Q.

But yeah, moments- moments like the other day, Chat, where me, Bad, and YD were just hanging out just like kind of... you know, it just kind of like... What's the word I'm looking for? Like, drills home how important the QSMP is and can be for connecting people. Not just now, but in the future. And like, that- I feel like that is something that's definitely worth protecting, or something that's worth like, seeing happen in the future with other people. Not even thinking about like, if I'm gonna be interacting with anyone like, thinking about like other people interacting with other people in the future. It's fucking- It's so cool.

Like, imagine seeing like, brand new streamers that you might've not have heard of interacting with people that you know right now. Not necessarily me or people that I know, but like– like, the connections that we've all made.

Dude, Me and Kristin went to fuckin' Switzer-France to hang out with these people! [Laughs] Cellbit and Lore traveled from fucking Brazil to Switzer-France to hang out! The- these connections are like, mental. Just never would have happened without the server, and that's definitely something worth protecting. And like, ensuring it is done the correct way in the future.

That means a lot to us Chat, it does– [Briefly responds to Chat] It means a lot to us and like, obviously the admins being well-taken care of is like, at the fore-front.

And Quackity speaks very highly of this new team. He's like- he's chatted to us like, in calls and stuff. He's been keeping us up to date on everything that's been going on behind the scenes, everything that he can tell us anyways. And like, he is very happy with this new team. He pretty much said that they are like, very passionate about the project, and we can like, trust that he trusts them to do a very good job. So...

Yeah, I'm excited but like, we just have to kind of like, wait. Like, there's a lot being changed around, there's a lot of plans. But the good thing to know is that the people that caused harm have been removed. And now the people that are like, in charge are like, very passionate about the project and just want to see everyone happy and succeed and be taken care of. But these things take time. So we just have to hang about, we have to wait.

[Responding to someone asking about what happened with QSMP and the Admin situation] I'm not going to go into too much detail, you can find out exactly what has gone on, and it's not as simple as black and white. It's- there's a lot of gray areas in there, and it's like very complicated, so you can go look it up yourself, but ultimately, all you need to know is that the initial admin team, the like, head people at the top that Quackity put in charge like ages ago when the server first started were making decisions that were like, not good for the health and also the well-being of the actors, and like, admins and like, the staff. So like, some staff were fine, other staff had a shit fucking time, and it was unfair and terrible and went unnoticed for a while, and then it all came out and Quackity's been like, fixing it since.

Most recently, he stepped down from the team because of like, how serious shit was getting. Like, people online have been fucking awful. And it's very dangerous at the minute for like the ex- like, members of the team, and also him. It's like- it's terrible.

So it's very heated, very– it's– again— and it's not as simple as just like "This- this is– this is right, this is wrong." It's like- it's very- there's a lot of muddled areas, and it's not as easy as just saying "This is exactly what happened." I'm summarizing. I'm literally just summarizing. But all you need to know right now, the latest update is that the team that are in charge are very passionate about the projects and are like, much, much better and will take care of the new people and the admins and all the actors and stuff a lot better than the last fucking team because the initial problem was that Quackity kind of like, took a bit more of a step back and he wasn't like, overseeing every single thing that was going on behind the scenes, but now he's had to- he's had to take a step back, he's been forced to take a step back, but he's left it in the hands of a team that he truly trusts this time. Like, he's actually fully-vetted.

So HOPEFULLY– again: there's more things that need to be done behind the scenes, and I'm not an official spokesperson, I'm just a person playing on the fucking server that my friend has made, and I'm very happy to support him, and I trust that he will do and continue to do the right thing.

But yeah. Not as simple as just [Snaps fingers] "This is this." It's like– there's so much fucking like, middle ground and shit that's gone on. And that's all I'm gonna say on it! 'Cuz otherwise it's just gonna go on and on and on, and people are gonna be like, "What do you know?" and be like "I don't know shit!" And the stuff that I do know, I probably can't talk about right now. There's like, certain things that like, can't be said, for legal reasons and stuff.

[yb-cringe]

addendum to my whole alignment conversation; but I think the reason Foolish and Jaiden get along so well is BECAUSE they're both very Neutral or True Neutral aligned.

Long time qJaiden viewers remember that jaiden was like. REALLY okay with anything qroier or bobby would do. Roier tells her that he's got a basement to kill and torture people and she's fine with it! He's got a plot for vengence? Cool! Bobby just killed a villager? That's so funny! (Hell even roier was put off by that one)

She doesn't Care, it's inconsequential not in a purposeful or malicious way but because it literally just does not affect her or cross her mind. Why? because it's not hurting anyone she loves.

which is why we'll see her not bat an eye at things like Roier trying to kill people or cellbit's rancid reputation or foolish arresting tazercraft BUT when cellbit hurts roier's feelings at Festa Junina, she's extremely up in arms and eager to threaten him not once but TWICE and also just as willing to let it go as long as ROIER says it's okay.

if it doesn't bother jaiden's little family or the kids, she could care Less about what someone's done/about to do. She HAS strong morals (something Cellbit has noted before) but they're skewered to things that would affect her or her loved ones.

[54625]

You wake up from a very long and exhausting dream. It's late November, 2023. QSMP is alive and well, it seems. The server is full of life every single day, at least 15 separate people logging in per week. Mariana, Rubius, Felps, Lenay, German, Carre and Kameto all play often if not full time. Wilbur and Forever were never even part of the server, and Lullah was only added because the admins thought it would be funny to make Phil take care of two children instead of one. Cellbit's murdering fed workers arc is in full swing, perfectly incorporating the storylines of so many people like Bagi, Roier, Pac, and Foolish, tying them all together. Slimecicle's code corruption arc is building too, and it looks like the story will be having its climax soon. There are cultural events all the time still, and so many more that are planned for the future have already been announced. Fit and Pac are still in slow burn mode, and really hard selling it.

"What?" You say, lost. "What happened to purgatory, wasn't that in November?" You ask.

"What are you talking about? Do you mean the competitive QSMP adjacent series that happens every couple of months, involving tons of international creators, completely unrelated to QSMP lore, that QSMP creators can choose to take part in if they want to?" Says the community.

Well that's strange. Not quite how I remember it, you think. "What about the workers? Their mistreatment?" You worry.

"Mistreatment? Of workers?" The QSMP fans laugh, "most of the QSMP admins have come out on their public social media accounts that they're allowed to have about how fun it is to work for Quackity Studios; how easy the workload is, how reasonable the pay is, and how appreciated they feel! Communication between all admins, CCs, and management is apparently really streamlined, and they address all problems so efficiently! Did you know that recently they realised that they didn't have enough French speaking admins, and so immediately went and sought more to hire?"

"Okay..." You're more than a little confused, "what about the eggs?"

"The eggs? You mean the dragons?" You get a figurative nudge and a wink. "Did you really never see? It was big news and happened a couple of months back; the eggs all went missing for a short while - about a fortnight - but it was then revealed that they went away to find somewhere to hide so they could hatch! The players all went to find them and they had all hatched into little dragons (unique models and all) and it was quite emotional. Now there are no tasks and they can't die, and they aren't around all of the time, but they visit often!"

Huh, you think. Maybe it was all just a bad dream.

[apollos-boyfriend]

anyways this session has really solidified the reason quackity chose the people he did for me. because i remember connor getting an ask a while back complaining about how they wanted quackity to add people who would actually play instead of his friends (ie wilbur) who may not be active as often and. it rubbed me the wrong way for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it's clear quackity didn't choose just his friends. sure, it was a bonus that he was close to them, but quackity's first priority has never been "who can minmax the server and stream every day?" it's been "who is a good storyteller/who can tell a good story?"

because that's the core of it. the qsmp isn't about streaming or playtime, not necessarily. it's about the story. during the first announcement, people were surprised to see dantdm and jaidenanimations on the cast, because dan isn't really in quackity's circle and jaiden is barely an mcyt even if you push it. but you know what they were? storytellers. dan was a part of so many people's childhoods with his mod showcases and miscellaneous videos, all of which had lore. jaiden creates entire stories from video games! games with pre-determined stories that she has to spin into something new, something of her own.

and then the brazilians were added. some of them still did minecraft content, sure, but not all of them. but they were still storytellers. cellbit has his entire rpg. pac and mike have multiple roleplay series. and when you get to the french, the pattern repeats. baghera, for example, with her gta roleplay. not all of them are minecrafters at their core, but they are storytellers, and for most of them, improvisational ones at that. the same, of course, goes for the newest batch. pol is a filmmaker. vshojo has insane, deeply complex lore for all their vtubers. bagi is adept at ttrpg. sure, people being able to log on often is a necessity, but what good would that be if it ended up sacrificing quality for quantity?

this session really nailed it for me because you could see their expertise shine through. i feel like, even still, a lot of mcrp is seen as "lesser" because of its medium, or because of how it can switch between roleplay and just creators hanging out. roleplay is only typically praised and called to attention when it's highly emotional, and the same goes for the storytelling, with a heavier focus on how well creators can utilize angst as opposed to other moments. but this was treated differently. the silliness of minecraft was gone. what was previously disregarded came into light, like how fucking smart foolish is when writing characters and how well quackity is able to play into the story while staying true to his character, among other things! i just think quackity's brilliance in selecting his server members isn't talked about enough, because holy shit has he done a fantastic job

[anonymous-dentist]

Or: Cellbit runs an alchemy shop with his family, and he's also the lost prince of the Gato Kingdom, but he isn't, but he really really isn't, you've gotta believe him, he isn't, really, he isn't, you've gotta-

For day seven of @smallchaoscryptid's Spiderbit Week - Royalty/Family

-

The day starts off normally:

Cellbit wakes up to find himself alone in bed, Roier having already gone to work downstairs in the store.

He lazes beneath the covers before hearing his son shouting in the other room. Grudgingly, he gets up, slides on his slippers and his bathrobe, and he goes to get Richarlyson settled with a new coloring book because, according to Richarlyson, Pepito ate the last one.

(Pepito did not eat the last one.)

Cellbit goes back into his bedroom to change, and then he goes to the wash basin in the hallway to brush his teeth and wash his face. He goes to the kitchen, shoves a singe slice of bread in his mouth for breakfast, tells the kids to behave, decides to live in ignorance and believe that they actually listened to him, and then, finally, he goes downstairs to help Roier with the shop.

That's when things get weird because, instead of the normal dozen or so customers they usually get in the mornings before things get busy, there are a handful of people in shiny armor with pointy swords, and there's a woman with cat ears leaning against the counter talking at an indifferent Roier.

Cellbit freezes on the stairs. Absently, his hands raise to his own ears, thankfully pinned down today with his alchemical goggles. He tends to have them out more days than not now, but. Well. Old habits die hard.

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Roier casually say. He isn't even looking at the woman, he's, instead, inspecting his nails- recently painted by Jaiden and absolutely adorable, just like he is. "But we do have a sale on luck potions if you wanna try one of those."

The woman's eyebrow twitches, and, for whatever reason, Cellbit doesn't think that she's here to buy something. Between the fine quality of her clothes and the literal knights with her and her entire aura, she just screams royalty, and that's a bad thing.

That's a really bad thing.

But Roier seems to have it under control, so, silently, Cellbit starts sneaking back up the stairs. If Roier needs him, he'll scream, and then Cellbit will rush down and kill everybody in the room and blame it on a sudden alchemical reaction gone wrong. Easy.

Except:

The door to the living quarters slams open and Pepito comes rushing out of it with tears streaming down his face.

"Apa!" he cries, leaping into Cellbit's arms and nearly sending him stumbling back down the stairs. "Richarlyson ate my crayons and now he's dying!"

(Richarlyson is not dying.)

Cellbit can practically smell the irritation coming off of Roier, even if he can't see him with his back turned to both him and the store and the really annoying royalty inside.

And, sure, Cellbit is annoyed, too, but he's also a father. So he just sighs and holds his son and lets him cry into his shoulder.

"Who's there?" one of the knights asks.

There's the sound of a sword being drawn, and then there's the sound of another sword being drawn and, really, is a peaceful retirement too much to ask for? Pac and Mike got one. Bad got one. Even Etoiles has some sort of retirement plan he's supposedly following between father-daughter dungeon-busting field trips.

The way Pepito is being held has him looking down the stairs and at the very rude people about to kill his parents, so Cellbit turns around so that Pepito is facing the door instead. He's always preferred looking danger in the face, anyway; it's much easier to be stabbed in the back than the front, after all.

Cellbit passively looks from one knight to another. He skips his eyes over the woman entirely. He catches Roier's eye, subtly rolls his own eyes, adjusts his hold on Pepito.

"Sorry," Cellbit says, "but my son is dying. I'll be right back."

"He's dead!" Pepito wails, ever-helpful. He's such a good kid.

The woman frowns. Cellbit doesn't think he likes her face. It's too... uncanny, like a doll come to life. Or, rather, like an image escaped from the mirror above the wash basin, and Cellbit does not like the implications of that, thanks.

As the knights start to advance, the woman holds up a hand to stop them.

"Hurry up," she says.

"Yeah," Roier agrees. "Tell Richas to die quicker, we have company."

Pepito screeches right into Cellbit's ear, making him wince very angrily in Roier's direction; all Roier does is wink and motion with his fingers for Cellbit to hurry up.

Cellbit quickly takes Pepito back into their living quarters and puts him down on the sofa.

Richarlyson is on the floor, very calm, very much not dying, and very much using Pepito's crayons in his own coloring book.

Pepito gasps, tears gone and replaced with wide, shocked eyes.

"But you ate them!" he exclaims.

Cellbit sighs, "Your brother is a magician, now can you two please behave for ten minutes while Roier and I deal with those people downstairs?"

Richarlyson's head perks up. "There are people downstairs?"

Cellbit nods. "Bad people, probably. If you hear glass breaking, you know what to do."

It's Richarlyson's turn to nod.

They have a plan. If things go down in the shop, Richarlyson and Pepito stay upstairs and hide until either Cellbit or Roier goes to get them. If the kids hear glass breaking, they are to escape out their bedroom window and climb down the tree outside and run to their Uncle Bad's house until Cellbit and Roier can get rid of the bad guys and save the day.

(Roier's words, not Cellbit's. Apparently, calling unruly customers or the police "the enemy" is bad. Go figure.)

Cellbit makes the kids both pinky promise him to follow the plan before letting out a long, stressed-out breath and starting back downstairs.

First, though, he dips into the kitchen and grabs his favorite butcher knife from off of the counter and tucks it into the custom-made sheath hidden beneath his jacket. Just in case.

Once downstairs, he's immediately manhandled by the knights until he's pushed up against the counter. Unfortunately, he isn't pushed behind the counter. But at least he can act as a shield... just in case.

On instinct, Cellbit reaches behind himself and takes Roier's hand. Roier takes it and squeezes gently, his thumb rubbing little circles into the skin by his thumb.

"Well," Cellbit says, looking from the knights to the woman, "you want something. What is it."

It isn't a question. It's more of a demand, really, and maybe he's stupid for demanding answers of royalty, but, like. Fuck the monarchy. What have they ever done for him?

The woman speaks: "We're looking for whichever one of you is Cellbit."

If they weren't already pinned down, Cellbit's ears would be flattening themselves to the top of his head. He bites back a hiss and instead just squeezes Roier's hand.

The woman continues with, "I'd like to bring him back with us to-"

"Yeah, okay," Roier casually says. "I'm Cellbit, hello."

Out of the corner of his eye, Cellbit can see Roier waving; he stifles a smile. He's so stupid...

Cellbit turns around and gasps dramatically. "Gatinho, no! You can't leave us!"

Roier bites his lip and looks away, turning his head to the side.

"But guapito," he says, dropping his voice an octave just for effect, "if I don't go, then... what about you and the children? They might-" (He moans and bows his head.) "-kill you. And then what would I do with myself?"

"Oh, don't worry!" the woman quickly says. "We won't hurt your family! That's why we're here, actually, to bring you and your family with us."

Cellbit ignores her. He reaches across the counter and cups Roier's cheek with his free hand, gently nudges his face until he raises his head and looks Cellbit in the eye; Roier's eyes are already wet with unshed tears, wow, he's good.

"But what will I do without you?" Cellbit demands, pitching his voice up just slightly. "Don't be stupid! I love you, pendejo!"

(They do this a lot, believe it or not. It drives Richarlyson crazy every time they do it because it somehow always ends up with them kissing until they're out of breath and shaky in the knees.)

"Não!" Roier cries. He squeezes his eyes shut and rips himself away from Cellbit entirely, staggering back and leaning against a display shelf full of anti-gravity potions. "Don't say that!"

"Say what?" Cellbit asks. "I love you!"

Roier screams and flinches against the case. "Não!"

Cellbit leans over the counter. "I love you."

Roier moans his time, his hands flying out wildly and grasping onto seemingly-random bottles on the shelf. "Não!!"

Cellbit extends a hand. "I. Love. You. Te amo, guapito."

One of the knights asks, "What the fuck is going on?"

And then the knights all start shouting as Roier opens his eyes and lunges to shove a potion into Cellbit's hands.

Cellbit grins and yanks the cork out of the bottle and chugs the potion and slams the empty bottle against the floor. It shatters, and he jumps.

"What the fuck?" the woman demands.

Cellbit twists mid-air and lands on the ceiling. He waves down at Roier, blows him a kiss, and takes off running for the back potion room. The door is closed, but the ventilation window above the door is open because he was supposed to be making potions right now. Silver linings.

He dives through the window, just barely managing to squirm through. He grunts, frowns, regrets getting this old, makes it through.

His goggles are nudged off of his head, though, leaving his ears on full display as he escapes into the potion room.

The woman gasps, "Get back here! Cellbit!"

But Roier just cheers, "Corre, gatinho!"

The potion room's door thuds and shakes in its hinges as the knights all slam against it. But, like, fuck those guys.

Cellbit runs down the length of the ceiling until he's reached the wall facing the alley behind the shop. He steps onto the wall, and then he runs down that until he's by the window. Again, ventilation, he should be working right now, but no, he can never know a moment of peace.

The potion starts running out just as Cellbit crawls through the window and lands on the shop's outside wall. He wrinkles his nose at the smell, but it's fine. Just trash, it's fine.

There's shouting from the front of the shop and the sounds of more bottles shattering. Roier sounds fine, though. He's even laughing, of course he is. He's badass, and Cellbit loves him, and Cellbit just wishes he was there to watch Roier swing his sword around like the sexy piece of shit he is.

The potion's effects wear off as Cellbit's feet touch the ground; two minutes, just as he'd made it to be.

He can see Richarlyson and Pepito running for it at the far end of the alley. Good, they actually followed directions for once.

Cellbit turns to run after them and get Bad's help, but he's stopped by a firm hand grabbing his shoulder from behind.

He snarls and pulls his knife out of his coat, spinning and slashing and just narrowly missing the woman's throat.

"Cellbit!" she shouts. "Calm down, it's just me!"

Cellbit responds by lunging at her with his teeth bared. He's been filing his teeth down for years, but he knows that he still cuts an intimidating figure when he's pissed enough.

The woman doesn't seem afraid, though. If anything, she just seems angry. And sad. Mostly angry.

She easily sidesteps his attack and yells, "It's me! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Oh, that's cute. Royalty asking why someone would want to hurt them, that's funny. They have the self-awareness of a walnut, all of them.

"Stop shouting 'it's me'!" Cellbit snaps. "Why should I care who you are?"

The woman's face starts turning red from frustration. "Because I'm your sister!"

Oh, that's rich.

"I don't have a sister," Cellbit sneers.

He swipes at her. Of course he does, he doesn't have a sister. He didn't have a family before he and the others found Richarlyson, and he only has one now that he has his kids and his husband.

"Then why do we have the same ears?" the woman demands.

She ducks under his knife and sweeps his legs out from under him. He falls and hisses and growls and does all sorts of things that princes might do because he isn't royalty. He knows that for certain. His first memory was him eating the corpse of a soldier on an empty battlefield, and it's with that image in mind that he snaps his teeth at the woman's throat.

"Only the royal family of the Gato Kingdom is born with feline features," the woman snaps. "Idiot!"

"Fuck the Gato Kingdom," Cellbit spits. "Your war destroyed everything I had!"

The woman's eyes turn sad. "It destroyed everything I had, too. It took my family from me. My friends. My home. We're just now starting to rebuild, and-"

She shrieks as Cellbit manages to flip their positions so that she's the one being pinned to the ground.

"So you show up and try kidnapping someone to fill in for your lost prince?" he snarls. "You people haven't changed."

The woman's mouth thins into an angry line. "I'm not trying to kidnap you! I just want to bring you home!"

"I don't have a home! This is my home!"

"You really don't remember, do you?" she asks, voice low. She isn't even struggling any more, not really. "It's me, your sister. Bagi."

The name stings Cellbit's brain in a way he doesn't like.

"I don't know you," he firmly says. "You don't know me. Leave my family alone."

He stands, hands shaking, head spinning. He doesn't like this.

Roier calls his name from the front of the building.

Cellbit, sure that this Bagi won't do anything while she's busy crying, turns and starts running towards the store.

He doesn't make it three steps before getting thwacked in the back of the head with something large and heavy and metal.

"Sorry," Bagi flatly says.

As he falls to the ground, his knife falls from his hand and ends up just out of reach.

He lands on his stomach and immediately tries standing again.

But he's stopped by a foot on his back pressing him down.

"I'll be sure to bring your family with us," Bagi tells him. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Could have fooled me," Cellbit mutters.

Darkness takes him at last as Bagi smacks him again with her weapon, and all Cellbit can think is that he hopes that the kids ended up making it to Bad's after all.

[ramons-elevator]

This has been rattling in my mind for a minute and i need to scream about it.

The significance of the item display of the backpacks and how much that defines the QSMP characters.

If you dont know, Leo found out you can display an item in your backpack and show it off. Kinda like a little charm or a keychain. Ever since then, a bunch of people have been displaying items.

Lets start off with the trend setter.

Leo:

Her item is a totem. Obviously this is about Foolish. She spends the most time with Foolish and adores him. They are super close and are super similar. Another reason could be showing off her wealth. Also, a joke that she is immortal (she isnt) and its a bit of a hint to that.

Foolish:

His item is the player head that Leo always wears. Obviously, like Leo, it represents how much he loves Leo and the time they spent together. It also looks like Leo is in his backpack and showing that they are always together (Siempre juntos) no matter what.

Philza:

His item is a skull you can wear on your head. Now theres a lot to interpet here. The obvious one is that this represents Missa. Either that he always chooses Missa or that Missa is with him and Chayanne even if hes away. Again theres a lot to talk about.

Another reason is that death isnt scary for him / death is always there. Philza in general is associated with death (his irl wife's lore is being the goddess of death). With his son on one life for so long and now his granddaughter, he has come to terms with death. He isnt scared of the Code Monster. He will fight until the death no matter what.

Tallulah:

Her item is a poppy. I believe she gives poppies to people she meets for the first time. For me, it represents her innocence. In the way she views the world and how the world views her. Everyone sees her as a sweet girl and is super kind. Majority, if not everyone, always loves her. For her, she always views the world with love. She is told by Wilbur and Phil that her kindness and love is necessary. In a world full of terror and fear, there needs to be love and gentleness

Chayanne:

His item is a potato. For anyone who doesnt know, Chayanne is deeply inspired by Techoblade. Technoblade is known for being a incredible warrior and a great Potato farmer. Please look up his videos. Philza told Chayanne about Techno and again is deeply inspired by him. The potato is a reminder of Chayanne's goals. To help everyone and to protect everyone.

Richarlyson:

His item is a heart container, one used to get an extra heart of health. I have so many emotions about this. I think the main one is that Richarlyson is the heart of the Brazilians / Favela Five. He is the core, for better or for worse. He always loves all his dads. Even recently with how scary everything is, he still loves and trusts his dads.

Forever:

His item is a Nether star. I honestly feel like this defines his character so well. An item that takes a lot of time, resources, and strength to get. Forever has put in that time and effort. His strength shines in his armor and how persistent he is. Also, the nether star is needed to make the highest level of the block reinforcer. Its needed to make everything safe. Forever has shown that over and over again. He wants to make everything safe.

(Update, Richarlyson changed his to a nether star so him and Forever are matching!)

Cellbit:

His item is the universal block remover. I dont know how recent this change is, but I noticed it when he was in his federation office. Just like Forever, this defines his character so well. He is there to break something, either the Enigma or the Federation. He is trying to get inside.

BadBoyHalo:

His item is a Scythe. For anyone who doesnt know, Bad said he is the grim reaper. Either coming to people to remind them to drink water or that he helps guide people to the afterlife. A lot of people thinks that why he cares so much about the eggs. He is the one to transport them to the afterlife.

Mike:

As im making this post, Tazercraft went live and I noticed Mike has a red block in his item display. I dont know a lot of Tazercraft/ Mike's lore. I do know that in tazercraft's game of hide and seek, a red block is represented to show who is the seeker/killer. Maybe it relates to that?

This is everyone I can think of off the top of my head. Theres probably more people who have it, but yeah.

[enderwoah]

forever and pac are actually the most goated characters and ccs that ive ever had the pleasure of knowing. honestly.

they've been carrying most of the emotional weight on the server for the past few days, which is incredible considering the way they've chosen to go about it. pretending to be on cloud none for multiple hours at a time is utterly exhausting, even moreso with the fact that they were both scattering in sections of lucidity which means they couldn't just be happy for the whole time. it was a very delicate balance of being utterly insane and being trapped in their own "happiness," and it was a balance that they both pulled off rather flawlessly.

i think the choice to make the drug feel more like a suppressor of negative emotions and less like a stimulant of happy ones was an utterly brilliant one. it forced them to still have to be aware of the situation they are in (ie, their child is missing (among other things)) even while being all happy and wild and cheerful, and that just added to the deep unsettling feeling that came along with interacting with them. the fact that any small amount of pushing could make the facade crack was incredible; not only did that give us a plethora of awful, awful angst to have to deal with, it also gave other ccs a chance (if they so pleased) to pry out those fun interactions- 'fun' meaning 'awful and miserable and sad and heartwrenching,' of course.

and. of course. their performances tonight were incredible. you don't even have to say it. cellbit obviously was amazing too, and everyone else played their part well, but, i mean, come on. the two of them showed their terror and anger and fear in the most. just. impressive but also gut-punching way possible. forever deeply in denial of the reality he was being faced with, trying to fall back on the drug as time passed and it wore off more and more, finally snapping due to his panic and thinking that cellbit is cucurucho (which, OW, what the hell), shouting at him to leave his family alone and giving us a window into things that might have actually happened and/or the suppressed thoughts he's been having. pac being terribly, horribly, awfully quiet, sobbing in his prison in the background as forever and cellbit screamed at each other. him only getting more afraid when cellbit started shouting. the reason he started taking the drug in the first place was expertly crafted, honestly, and making him the one that developed the cure was just. a delicious character choice. absolutely perfect. PERFECT. he's so good at portraying emotion and so is forever and AUGHGH. today was perfect. today was so good. i love these guys so much.

[tomfrogisblue]

thinking about tubbo yelling "THEY SHOULDNT HAVE WON!" about bolas today during the qsmp awards and, ya know, a major reason they won was simply mind games against everyone else:

cellbit and foolishs massive fuck off lava sandcastle for the egg war that the other teams got frustrated and downright gave up on by the end

the entire team running with the idea of gradually fucking up their skins, yelling nonsense and never taking off the gas masks

tubbo talking about how he had genuine nightmares about the murder husbands despite the fact they are his actual irl good friends

cellbit breaking out fucking "queridinho" at pac during the flag event (cellbit pls get less good at acting, this shit was actually terrifying)

the whole teams' demeanor during the entire event of: "why would we do that? WELL, WE'RE FUCKING C R A Z Y THAT'S WHY!"

- also that they had the combo of fucking good coordinaters and builders and fighters but also were so destroyed by the event that some of them had physical reactions to the stress *IRL* - making them Impossible To Predict

ending in tubbo losing the 1v1 with phil (and therefore the event) because he was simply too psyched out

Bolas Rojas was pure psychological warfare.

[miscellaneoussmp]

I can see the Forever and Bad wedding now, actually. And it goes something like this (Edit: This fic was made before January 5th 2024.):

It's decorated in black and white, straight down the middle. Those in bright smiles sit in the bright white! What a happy wedding this is! It's perfect! Those without smiles sit in the darkness. This isn't a wedding at all. It's going to end up a funeral.

Cellbit stands on Bad's side, even if he's supposed to be Forever's best man. He can't bring himself to stand in the blinding white. They aren't his friends. Those aren't their smiles. He misses their actual smiles. He wishes he could stand with them. He's wearing almost all black. This feels like a funeral.

Jaiden stands at the altar. She's the officiant. Her smile is small, and she hates the fact that she feels like she's almost forcing it. She is wearing grey, a mix of the happy couple's colors. It's a happy occasion, a wedding. Why are people crying like it's a funeral?

Foolish stands next to Cellbit. He's wearing black at Bad's request, afterall he's Bad's best man. He doesn't like that it feels like a funeral. This is his idea, but he doesn't like how sad it feels. He wishes he could stand in the white. He wishes he could pretend this is a happy wedding. He knows it's a funeral.

Pac stands next to Forever, where Cellbit is supposed to be. It's not perfect, but it's fine! He gets it! He really does! Cellbit just wants to support Bad, one of his oldest friends! His nails are digging into his palm. Why is that? Everything is fine! It's Forever's special day! His wedding! That's why he's wearing a different shade of white, to not outshine his friend. What a happy wedding!

Tina stands at the end of the aisle. She doesn't like wearing black. It's not typically her color. Mouse stands at the end of the aisle. She doesn't usually wear all black. She prefers black as an accent color. Tina is holding a wicker basket of flower petals. Mouse is holding a pillow with two rings atop it. Tina pretends not to notice the tears running down Mouse's face. Mouse pretends not to notice how Tina's smile looks so terrified. They're in the roles found at a wedding, yet they're dressed for a funeral.

Phil walks up the aisle with Bad in tow. He decided to be the one to walk their friend up the aisle. He's not used to wearing black, but he thinks it fits. He noticed how Bad hadn't talked all day. It's fine, he doesn't have to be happy. If it all goes well, this will become a funeral, not stay a wedding.

Forever stands at the altar, in front of Bad. He can't believe it! They're getting married! How perfect! It's perfect! Bad isn't smiling, though. That's okay! He'll start smiling when they're officially married! They didn't even stop the clock joke for his wedding, how rude. Jaiden's voice is really nice! He's so happy she agreed to be the officiant!

"If there is any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Etoiles stands from his seat, sword already drawn. He ignores the sound of other weapons being drawn and gasps and cries and sounds of people grabbing explosives. This wedding will become a funeral, it doesn't matter how. It's not truly a funeral if the end goal is almost like a rebirth, is it?

Quesadilla Island wedding tradition states that there should be at least one death and explosion at a wedding. Sometimes, people outdo their own traditions.

[arianjpeg]

There were A LOT of good interactions between Pac, Cell and JV regarding their past in prison and since most of them are in portuguese, here's a transcript and the timestamps for them, highly recommend looking at it

Timestamps from Pac's vod "PURGATÓRIO 2 - EGG WARS"

[06:16:27, when they noticed Cellbit logged in]

Pac: I wanna go home I don't wanna be here. Jotinha, he killed you once-

JV: Pac, Pac- I let him kill me, Pac. So you guys could escape. So you would have a reason to escape

Pac: But now he's gonna kill me!

JV: But why? I will- I'm here, it's gonna happen again. I'm gonna get in front [of you] and you won't die

Pac: I- Like-

JV: You're with me! Are you with me or not with me? I'm gonna end him, you have no idea dude. I trained my whole life for this, Pac

[06:37:51, going away on the boat]

JV: Pac if Cellbit comes I'm gonna leave the boat and it's gonna be me and him, then you run

Pac: Thanks. Thank you

JV: The same way that it happened-

[06:53:38, the encounter]

[00:49:08 on Cellbit]

Cell: Baghera leave this one for me, leave this one for me.

Pac: No! Jotinha, for the love of god

Jv: Do it, do it!

Pac: Queridinho (Sweetie/Darling), calm down! Not him, not him

Cell : Jotinha! Remember me? Remember me?

Pac: No no no no

JV: Uhhh bolas? Bolas right?

Cell: How are you here you son of a bitch? Hey sweeties, let's talk

JV: Let's talk, let's talk! We can negotiate

Cell: We can negotiate? Do you remember-

Pac: Cellbit that's crazy how he's here right, look at the scar on his chest. I.. I-

Cell: Hey Jotinha, how are you even here?

JV: How you wouldn't end up here? It's purgatory my friend. I'm gonna get you my darling! I'm gonna get you

Cell: Do you remember what I did? Remember what I did to you?

JV: I do, I do. I'm gonna get you back. You're thinking life is a joke, my dear? You think I'm joking?

Cell: Oh you're gonna get me back? Do you wanna try?

JV: Look into my eyes, look at my eyes. Now with a sword you're a lion

Cell: Your face reminds me of someone I like a lot. And the feeling of killing you also brings me a good feeling. I will give you one chance to redeem yourself, if you tell me where and who is your leader. I'll let you live

JV: You can kill me. I already died once for him, I will do it again

Cell: ... Is it you Pac? Is it Pac?

JV: No no no-

Cell: Hey Pac

JV, while getting in front of Pac with a shield: Yeah yeah it's Pac, you can kill him. It's Pac yes

Pac: Sweetie... what a funny story right we're here at purgatory again and he's back too-

Cell, overlapped: I already killed him in front of you once

Pac: No...

Cell: Are you willing to die for him?

Pac: Not a second time, not a second one! Jotinha, please don't! No

JV: I'm okay, I'm okay. Guys I have to say it, I'm the leader. You can kill me

Cell: Hey, Jota, Jotinha-

JV: I'm the leader, I'm the leader

Cell: [Laughs] You two have one choice. Pac-

JV: The times is up! You can leave

Cell: There's no time in purgatory. Hey, Jotinha, Pac. Remember how you left me stuck in that island?

Pac: I didn't leave anyone stuck, for the love of god it was Guaxinim's thing, he's here too-

[...]

Cell: You have one choice Pac, if you don't wanna die, kill JV in front of me. Right now

Pac: No, no, no-

Cell: The only way for you to survive is if you kill JV

Pac: I don't want to, I don't want to. No no, please not this

Cell: Do you prefer to die in his place?

Pac: I don't want to in no one's place, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die-

Cell: I think the choice was already made for me [Laughs]

Pactw was slain by Cellbit

[...]

Pac: One more scar for my body, are you serious...

[06:58:22, argument]

Pac: Jotinha... I didn't leave him at the island

JV: Well that's up to anyone

Pac: I didn't... I didn't leave him at the island. Or did I?

JV: But even if you did there's no issue, each with their own problems

Pac: You know, I shouldn't have left him in the island. I shouldn't be- I shouldn't had left him there. Jotinha, he's gonna follow us for the rest of our lives

JV: Pac you're with me dude, I'm gonna get him. Relax, you're with me

Pac: You were gonna train for fucking purgatory by fishing, how are gonna kill the fucking boss? Are you gonna fucking fish him?

JV: I got arrested arrested for that remember, in the lobby of-

Pac: Look! The guy is jacked, wearing a tank top and being strong

JV: Trust me Pac, trust me. Are you scared of what? Are you scared? Do you want to call for Mike? Are you scared? Deal with it on your own, man

[07:01:05]

[Batista talking about being an angel and living multiple lives, all of them ending badly for him]

Batista: [...] I think everyone in here is already dead

Pac: Hopefully, then. At least Cell is also dead alongside me. And Fit is alive, so it's alright.

[susie-dreemurr]

Translating the “Property of Captain Cellbit” books, aka young Cellbit’s diaries, for English speakers. This was from, I think, 28/10/2023.

Translations of all the books are under the read more.

— Day 34 of exploring!!!

After a week carefully examining the dangerous territory denominated as the “Mystery Lands,” me, Captain Cellbit and my sister, Sargent Bagi, found the perfect place

For our base of operations!

A vegetal species of oak with a similar size to our inicial base (house). We believe that together we can make a headquarters for all the secrets that can be found on this “Land.”

Sargent Bagi says she wants to have a swing in one of the branches of the house. A fantastic idea! If we reach enough strength and high on the swing, we’ll get to see the whole terrain around us!

— Day 45 of exploring!!!

On future days, important achievements will be accomplished, where we will win against all our enemies, but before that, me and Bagi need to practice our defenses.

For this reason today we will start the “Special Training For Explorers!” With mama’s help I was able to build two wooden swords. Mommy didn’t let them be sharp, even through a lot of pleading, but I think this is enough for now!

We’ll practice a lot against each other until we’re ready!

— Day 46 of exploring!!!

Today I want to leave this entry here as a reminder on what to do in case something like this repeats.

On our training yesterday, an accident occurred, and Sargent Bagi was hit

With too much strength by my sword, so at the moment she’s mad at me. To be fair in this situation, she could have dodged better from my attacks, but I admit I may have been a tad too harsh on her. She refuses to look at me

And hasn’t been speaking with me since yesterday.

So today I’ll try to make her forgive me, because exploring The Mystery Lands isn’t the same without her. I tried, it wasn’t fun. I’ll do the biggest surprise for her.

I was able to get together all Bagi’s favorite flowers, all my candy, and I’ll give it all in a big present to apologize. I hope it works, I don’t wanna live with her ignoring me forever.

— Day 167 of exploring!!!

Today, great progress was made in the conquest of the Mystery Lands. Not only was our base completed, but it seems we’re finding out more and more of what surrounds us.

Strange creatures and secrets that seem to slip through our fingers, all around us. It’s like trying to look behind the curtain of a spectacle. I know there’s something bigger behind the show, I just need to look for it better.

I’ll make sure the investigation has a better place to be organized, now that we’re sure another big hole from our base’s floor won’t fall.

— Day 490 of exploring!!!

After observing the workers of the area a lot, I managed to figure out their patterns. They get out of a “tent” each morning, but there are way too many of them to live on a terrain so small.

Tomorrow I’ll investigate this to the best of my abilities.

Unfortunately Sargent Bagi won’t be able to come with me. Yesterday on our training she broke one of the vases mommy made, so she’s grounded until next week.

But this can’t wait. I’ll report everything I find there. She doesn’t know about my plan, I want it to be a surprise for when I come back and are able to show all that I could do without her knowing. It’ll be a great surprise that will cheer her up a lot.

— To Bagi

Bagi, I’m sorry. I can’t come back. I can’t bring you with me or try to warn you. I have to go.

If everything goes well, you’ll be able to find this and know everything. But don’t trust the workers. Don’t trust the cops, don’t trust anyone.

I saw everything inside, they were doing all this beneath our very feet… it’s horrible, Bagi. You don’t deserve this, I don’t want you to have to live with these guys. So meet me on the other side of this ocean Bagi. I’ll be going now, I don’t care if I have to swim until

luck, I’ll swim a few kilometers and stop at some other island and then swim again.

But I won’t come back. Never will I come back to this terrain.

[theperksofbeingstupid]

spiderbit fluff or fright day 7. dawn of the final day. prompt: blood !!!! this is from an old au of mine from like? over a year ago now yayyy yippeee

Cell's hands were red.

He was in Alcatraz. He could hear yelling, the alarms blaring. The guards hadn't come for him yet, but it wouldn't be long now. And then he'd get thrown in solitary for a day before he was let out again. And then he'd be back to trying to escape this god forsaken place.

Cell kept licking the back of his teeth. He couldn't taste any blood. Which was- it was fine wasn't it? He'd gone to therapy, he wasn't eating people anymore. Not since. Not since-

Cell's hands were red.

He was staring at them. There was no blood in his mouth. He couldn't feel the weight of his phone in his pocket; that wasn't good. It was the only reason he had a name, it was his identity, it had been deactivated and stored in a box after he and his therapist had decided it probably wasn't healthy-

He needed to find his phone. It was imperative. It was of the utmost importance, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from his hands. He couldn't taste blood but he could see it. One of his ears flicked as the alarms shut off, not that it mattered much with the way he could still hear ringing. Strange though, that the guards hadn't restrained him before shutting off the alarm. They liked to leave it on for longer than necessary to fuck with the prisoners, and he couldn't hear any boots stomping his way. Or maybe that was the ringing drowning everything out still.

Cell's hands were red.

Cell's hands were being held by someone else and gently being tugged down from in front of his face.

The contact made him give a full-bodied flinch. He could feel his lips curl in a pitiful attempt at a snarl, but nothing came out. He couldn't make himself look away. The ringing felt more like blood rushing in his ears, but there was blood on his hands, and now it was on the hands of the stranger.

The stranger that was holding him so gently. Almost reverently.

Nothing was gentle in prison.

"-bit. ¿Cellbit?" There was a voice breaking through to him. A voice he didn't recognize. "��Me escuchas?" Hm. That wasn't portuguese.

"Cellbit, tenemos que irnos." The stranger tightened their grip on his hands, but it was still oh so gentle. Whoever it was didn't seem to mind the blood, which was just as well considering they were now both covered in it, and there was nothing Cell could do to ever get his hands clean again. Cell was pulled forward far enough that his legs moved on their own to stop him from falling flat on his face. He stumbled a couple of steps, legs numb and hands freezing.

The stranger let go of one of his hands and started dragging him farther along. He didn't walk forward as much as trip over his own feet that he could barely feel and hope the blood wouldn't end up on the concrete to become something else for them to punish him for. "Move, gatinho," they said, and then louder, "Baghera! Is the warp plate ready?"

Another voice replied from farther away, "Yeah, it's over here. Is he okay?"

They were yelling. Why were they yelling? The guards didn't like it much when the inmates yelled, and he had the scars to prove it. But he hadn't heard any guards. He had barely heard anything apart from his own heart thundering in his ears and the stranger talking.

They had a nice voice. It was- it sounded kind. He hadn't had anyone talk to him like that without an ulterior motive in years. Did they have an ulterior motive? Was that why they were dragging him somewhere he didn't know? He could listen to them talk for hours. He wished the guards wouldn't shove him in solitary for whatever he did to get his hands so covered in blood.

He'd been walking this entire time, tugged along by the (gentle) hand in his while the other was still up in front of his face, fingers half curled and knuckles crusted with red-turning-brown and slowly flaking off as he straightened them as far as they would go. It was so red.

Cell's hands were red.

And Cell was so hungry. Maybe he could just-

"Okay Cellbit, tienes que ayudarme. No puedo hacer todo yo, pendejo." The stranger had stopped moving, the flat ground leading way to what looked like stairs from Cell's limited view beyond his stained fingers.

The stranger pulled Cell close to them, taking his other hand in theirs again. What did this gentle stranger look like, Cell wondered, maybe if he could just manage to tear his eyes away for a glimpse. "Oye," they said, and then there were fingers on his fingers and fingers on his face and the stranger was touching him so softly that Cell thought he could cry. Well- not really. Crying meant weakness, and weakness meant death in prison. Cell couldn't afford that. No matter how much he wanted to turn his face to the palm resting on his cheek and press a kiss to the skin of the stranger.

"¿Estás bien?" he was asked. Or, at least he thought he was. Everything sounded dull and muffled and he wasn't sure if the alarms were still ringing over the ocean in his ears.

The hand on his cheek moved gently to cup the back of his neck and the next thing Cell knew was- bring his leg around to kick out the (stranger's) threat's knee, use his body weight to roll them both onto the dirt below, his legs holding both of theirs down, pin their arms to the ground, a forearm on their neck and pressure on their windpipe.

The ocean was drowning everything else out now, his lips were finally curled up in a snarl, his teeth bared and inches from the threat's face. They were staring up at him, all six of their eyes open wide.

They didn't try to move. Good. There was a growl building in Cell's chest. His teeth were sharp, and no matter that they'd declawed him when he'd first arrived in prison, he'd spent a very long time learning to compensate. He'd never needed a weapon to dismember someone, not when he was his own greatest weapon.

"Cellbit, what are you doing?" A new voice. Close, but not close enough. The second they got any closer he could shift his focus, not that he could hear it if they did. He'd have to rely on gut instinct. He was out of practice for years. Cell could snap the threat's neck, it wouldn't be satisfying but it would be clean, and then he could turn and knock down the new threat quick enough, he'd have to size them up a bit first.

He didn't take his eyes off the threat below him. How strange, their pulse wasn't thundering in their veins, and their breathing was even. And their eyes.

They'd closed their four lower eyes, the top two hadn't looked away from him once. No one had looked him in the eye with anything other than disgust or fear in so long. The threat wasn't scared, Cell couldn't smell their fear. Why couldn't he smell their fear? Why weren't they afraid of him? The growl was rattling in his teeth now, and still the threat merely watched him with total trust in their eyes. They didn't flinch when Cell tensed and tightened the pressure on their neck when he felt them start to move slowly. But instead of attempting to free themself, all they did was carefully raise a hand back up to his face, resting a palm on his jaw and swiping their thumb softly across the skin under his eye.

When had he started crying?

"No llores, gatinho," he said. And his eyes were so damn trusting as he stared up at Cell and there was a foreign something in Cell's chest yearning to protect this man warring with his survival instincts burning in the back of his head to protect himself and-

He wasn't conscious of his own actions when he leant forward to try and tear the threat's throat out with his teeth.

There was a sword to his neck holding him back from biting into inviting flesh and he could feel his own blood slicking the metal as it was held flat to his skin instead of the edge of the blade slicing his head clean off and someone was barking out orders from somewhere behind him and- That was probably the guards wasn't it. About damn time. He was ready to go back to solitary, anything to get him away from the kind stranger with the trusting eyes.

It was those same eyes he was staring into as he heard glass shatter at his feet, where his limbs grew weak and he succumbed to the effects of the potion.

[anonymous-dentist]

Bleeding Heart Part Four

Part One | Previous Part

-

Cellbit is in the shower when his son comes bursting into the bathroom shouting, "Pai! Some guy wants to talk to you!"

Thank God for the shower curtain.

Grumbling, Cellbit sticks a hand out for his phone. Richarlyson dutifully hands it over before running out of the bathroom, forgetting to close the door behind him. Ugh.

Turning the shower off momentarily, Cellbit holds the phone up to his ear and says, "Hello?"

"Hi! Cellbit?"

He blinks.

"Roier?" he asks. "Hi? Can I help you with something?"

"Well, yeah, actually but shut up for a moment, how are you? Good? Done bleeding?"

Cellbit hasn't really talked to Roier since the hospital. He hasn't even thought about him beyond a few glancing thoughts of Roier's cheekbones. And his jawline. And his eyes. And his voice. And his arms.

He hasn't thought about him at all.

It's been a few weeks since they last saw each other, almost a month. Honestly, Cellbit wasn't sure he would ever hear from Roier again. But here he is... and Cellbit is talking to him. In the shower.

"Uh," says Cellbit, realizing that he is, in fact, naked and on the phone with the guy who saved his life. "Yeah."

But it's fine, right? Yeah, it's fine. Roier doesn't know that he interrupted Cellbit's shower. It's fine!

Roier lets out a dramatic sigh of relief. "Phew! I was worried, you know? That was a lot of blood."

"It's been a month. I'm fine."

"Okay, good. Good."

There's a pause as Roier audibly rummages around on his end of the line. Papers rustle, something wooden slams shut.

"Hold on, I'm getting my notes," Roier says.

Cellbit raises an eyebrow. "Okay...?"

"I called you for a reason, it's because- AHA!" Roier cheers so loudly that Cellbit winces and pulls his phone away from his ear slightly. "Okay, found them. So. You're a photographer, right?"

Oh. Of course. Roier saw the camera, he and Cellbit talked a little while waiting for Bagi to show up.

"I am," Cellbit confirms, trying not to sound too disappointed.

Why does it always come down to his work? He met Pac and Mike and Felps because he was Enigma. Bad and Phil and Max all started talking to him because he was Enigma. Baghera was interested in his private investigation work. Slime wanted Cellbit to take his wedding pictures.

"Cool," Roier says. "So I own a restaurant, right?"

"Mhmm."

"Well, we need some new promotional stuff done, and I was like, 'Hey! I know a guy!'"

"And I'm the guy?"

"Well, if you want to. I'll pay you, obviously, but we just need some pictures of the inside and one of the sign or something. Jaiden left some notes, I can show you when you get here."

Jaiden... a partner, presumably. Cellbit thinks he remembers hearing Roier mention a Jaiden in the hospital.

"Uhhh, let me call you back," Cellbit says, trying to think through his calendar and getting distracted by how cold he's getting. "I need to check my calendar."

"Ay, man, no worries!" Roier assures him. "Call whenever, it's my day off."

"Give me an hour," Cellbit tells him. "I might even be able to squeeze you in today."

"Oh? Who's squeezing what?"

He can hear the smile in Roier's voice, and that smile is infectious. No wonder he met Roier in a hospital.

Cellbit finds himself smiling back as he ends the call. The final thing he hears is Roier's laughter.

...

Cellbit shivers and quickly reaches out to rest his phone on the bathroom counter. He turns the shower back on and cranks the heat up until the water is steaming and his skin is red.

-

There's a superhero in the subway. She's with another hero, and they're both signing autographs by the stairs.

"Bluebird, Bluebird!" a little girl shouts, waving a glittery pink notebook around over her head.

One of the heroes takes the notebook and scribbles her signature down.

Cellbit watches from by the platform with disdain.

Bluebird is one of the newer heroes on the scene. She's only been active for a few weeks, but she's already made waves, partially due to her appearing at around the same time as Hombre Misterioso; they've already been labeled nemeses by the media despite them never having even seen each other, and it's just a little funny.

Bluebird signs a few more autographs. Her face is hidden by her beak-like mask, but she has got to be tired. (That's the thing about the hero business, you're always in customer service mode, even when you're literally fighting for your life.)

The hero next to her is Lavagirl, a veteran hero, and the former partner of Sharkboy. She's more or less become Bluebird's partner in the field, which the Federation is using as their newest diversity win: The Federation of Heroes is an equal-opportunity organization! Heroes of all genders can save the day!

Cellbit adjusts his equipment bag as his train starts to pull into the station.

Once upon a time, he would have slit Bluebird's throat with her own blood. He would have painted her name on the walls with her own dismembered hand, and he would have made her watch.

Now, he has a meeting with a new client to photograph his restaurant. It'll pay for a new pair of shoes for Richarlyson and maybe a lunch with Bagi later in the week when she's less busy.

That's just life, he supposes.

-

Roier's restaurant is, unfortunately, only a block away from the Federation's headquarters. It's a three-minute walk away from the place where Cellbit first met Hombre Misterioso, which makes sense. It all makes sense, Roier was walking home from work when he found Cellbit bleeding out.

El Loro Loco is a small little building nestled between two skyscrapers with the De Luque Enterprises name branded across them. It almost looks like a little house, complete with a pointed roof and a fence separating the outdoor dining space from the sidewalk. It's brick, but the bricks are all painted various shades of blue. The sign above the door reads the restaurant's name in fancy cursive, and the letters sit above a cute little cartoon parrot.

It's cute. It's charming. It's probably expensive as Hell.

Roier is sitting at a table outside of the restaurant waiting. When he sees Cellbit approaching, he stands and waves, setting down his newspaper on the table.

"Hola, hola!" Roier calls. "I got Jaiden's notes!"

"Good," Cellbit responds. He walks up to the table, glances down at the newspaper. Hombre Misterioso again, ugh. When will the press learn that they just encourage this kind of stuff by giving it attention?

Roier reaches into his hoodie's pocket and pulls out a rumpled-up sheet of notebook paper. It's stained with... something, and the handwriting is so heavy that Cellbit can see it through the back of the paper.

"So she's actually on vacation," Roier says, "I think I already said that."

"Yeah. This was her idea, right?"

"Mhmm. But we're co-owners, so I'm gonna do this and surprise her for when she comes back."

Roier looks up from the paper and finally seems to notice Cellbit's equipment. His eyes widen, and he pulls a chair out from under the table.

"Jesus, man! Put that down! We still need to talk about some stuff first!"

Cellbit rolls his eyes, but he sets his equipment down. He keeps his camera bag on, though; it's his baby, he isn't setting it down until he gets home.

"First, pricing," he says. "I charge 550 for outdoor shots, 450 for indoor. My commercial fee is negotiable. Since this is just for your website, it shouldn't be more than 200 per photo."

He's already prepared for the negotiation stage. He usually gets that even though people should know by now that photography is not cheap. He's gotten to events only to leave when his clients try dropping the price day of. (Bagi always says that he should make them sign a contract before he actually shows up to take the pictures, but he does. People are just stupid.)

Roier signed the contract electronically within minutes of Cellbit sending it to him. That doesn't mean much, unfortunately.

But Roier just nods seriously. "Sounds fair. Are you gonna need help setting your stuff up?"

Cellbit... is maybe just a little taken aback. But he quickly composes himself and shakes his head.

"Just tell me what you're wanting," he says.

Roier just smiles and holds out the paper.

Cellbit takes it and looks it over, nodding as he does so. Okay, outdoor dining, sign, indoor dining... easy enough.

"We'll start out here," he declares, handing the paper back to Roier and turning to his equipment bag. "It'll take me a bit to set up, so you can, like, clean up or whatever. Get that newspaper out of here, fix the chairs a little."

Normally, Cellbit has Richarlyson to help with shoots. Sometimes he even has Felps and Richarlyson, but Felps is sick (again) and Richarlyson is at home still super grounded after his stunt at the aquarium three weeks ago.

It's bad manners to ask the client to do anything, apparently, but Roier just gets to work tidying the space up and talking.

And talking.

Even as Cellbit is taking the actual photos, Roier is by his side talking.

Cellbit doesn't like silence. It makes him think too much, so he always appreciates the noise he gets to deal with as a photographer. It's a lot for some people, but it's easy for Cellbit to lose himself in his own thoughts if he's left alone with them.

Of course, Cellbit talks back. He doesn't really know what they're talking about, he's too focused on his work to really be paying attention, but it's fun enough. Keeps his mind off of the tower in the distance glaring at him.

Once it's time to take the picture of the sign, Cellbit first crosses the street. But, even with the zoom, it doesn't look right. So he goes back to the restaurant and tries a shot from sort of-below, sort of-diagonal. But... no.

Frowning, Cellbit takes a step back. And another. And another, all while staring down the screen of his camera. He's close with the sort-ofs, but-

His foot goes out from under him as he hits the curb. He shouts and falls backwards, cradling his camera to his chest protectively, eyes instinctively squeezing shut because he can hear a car coming, he can fucking hear it, he's in the middle of the goddamn city, oh, Bagi is going to kill him-

But he's yanked upright at the last second and pulled against a sturdy chest. He can hear blood rushing beneath him, but it's... cold? It sounds almost crunchy in a way, like Felps' blood when he uses his powers too much.

"Fuck!" Roier swears, stumbling back from the road and pulling Cellbit with him. "Watch where you're going, Jesus! I don't wanna have to take you back to the hospital, man!"

So his muscles aren't just for show. He's fast, fast enough to have gotten to Cellbit from all the way by the restaurant's front door before the car could get to him.

Cellbit opens his eyes and, first, checks his camera. He looks it over, stepping back from Roier and hurrying towards the outdoor dining area and his stuff so he can find his lens wipes.

Roier lingers behind him, out of sight and out of mind.

Cellbit's camera...!

Cellbit sags with relief as he determines that his baby is, in fact, completely fine.

And then he feels his mouth curl up into a pleased grin as he sees that he accidentally hit the shutter button and got the perfect picture of the sign. It's framed perfectly between the two De Luque buildings, and the parrot almost looks like it's flying in the sky.

"I'm going inside, now!" he calls, grabbing his stand from where he left it by a table and heading inside of the restaurant for the first time.

After a few moments, Roier joins him, pale-faced and almost sick-looking.

He stumbles to a table and sits with a groan, putting his head in his hands.

Cellbit frowns. He finishes setting his camera up on the stand and goes to Roier and just... sort of stands there. Awkwardly.

"Sorry?" he tries. "I'm, uh... a little accident prone. In case you couldn't tell."

Must have been terrible to almost watch a dude get his head squished like a watermelon by a moving car. Cellbit remembers the first time he saw it as a kid; the sound was almost worse than the sight.

Roier shakes his head. "Nah, you're fine. I do dumb shit, too. I'm just gonna... get some water. Want any?"

He sits up, bringing his head with him. He already looks better, good. Cellbit can't afford an ambulance call, even if Roier can.

"I'd appreciate it," Cellbit answers.

Roier shoots him a thumbs-up before standing and heading into the kitchen, leaving Cellbit alone in the restaurant.

It's... cozy. The walls are all an eggshell color, but the floors are blue-painted hardwood that barely look painted at all. There are obvious footsteps in some places- lighter sections of the paint in the shape of little shoes.

...Very little shoes.

Cellbit looks along the walls and sees lots of paint. Artworks above every table on the wall, little birds painted near the ceiling. There are painted hand prints by the cash register. Green vines and red roses around the kitchen's service window. Clouds on the ceiling matching the cloud-shaped hanging lights.

And above the cash register, hanging right next to the Health Board's certificate of approval, is a photo. There's Roier and a woman- Jaiden? And there's a little boy in blue overalls flipping the camera off and laughing, held in between the two of them.

Cellbit doesn't think that Roier and Jaiden are, like, together. Nothing about the way Roier talked about her made Cellbit think that they were.

But the little boy looks a lot like Roier, from the hair color right down to the dimples in his smile.

Silently, Cellbit goes back to his camera. He points it towards a set of tables, tilts it slightly towards the ceiling so he can get the clouds and birds in view.

When Roier comes out a few minutes later with the waters, Cellbit shows him the pictures he's got so far.

As he looks at the photo of the sign, Roier smiles: soft, and sad.

"It's perfect," he quietly says.

And that's all Cellbit could ever ask for.

-

A/N: Let me know what you think in the tags or in my inbox! I want to hear your theories, thoughts, opinions, everything!