#you can't. nah-uh. impossible.

[oftheblue]

"This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little and broken... but still good. Yeah, still good."

[arminsumi]

Could you pls pls pls write a fluffy oneshot of gojo and his fav student? The colour hair dye and the ice cream oneshots have never left my mind 🤭😭

CALL ME SATORU

↳ GOJO さとる + fem!reader

An evening training session with Gojo and his favorite student, ending as a lavish dinner date.

1k

Note : aaa i hope u like this!! hehe so giddy to know my fics are in ur mind 🤭💗 thank u for enjoying them

Mentioned posts : hair dye fic / sweet tooth

Warnings : teacher/student relationship, romantic tension

Playme : heaven and back

🍒 More from Jay : Gojo works / Gojo fave works / JJK works / oct. reqs open

"Gojo-sensei, I'm tired. We've been practicing for two hours." he listened to you complain, and shook his head.

"Tired? Nah. On your feet, let's go through that motion again. C'mon, up up up — what, do I have to pick you up myself?"

His arms hooked around you and he pressed his chest flat to yours while hoisting you up. Few things get his heart racing, but teaching you martial arts? He may seem very composed, but his heart throbs each time he sees you acting clumsy and amateur.

You had such a long way to go, and he wanted to see these days through until you were just as good if not better than him. Even if it was impossible. He still wanted his favorite student to be considered the second-strongest, at least in hand-to-hand combat.

"Ow, my knee..." you mumbled half-heartedly.

"Don't be a weakling." he smiled cheekily, "Is my star student really too tired to continue? Is a bruised knee really gonna stop you?"

You pouted. "You're the one who bruised my knee..."

Look at that adorable pout. She's taking after me.

"Well, maybe you shoulda dodged it." he cheeked.

"Gojo-sensei, you push me too hard." you said.

"I know, I'm sorry." he smiled.

The two of you finally sat down for a break. Night had fallen, stars were up in the blackened sky. There must have been a cricket in the wood panel of the door Gojo leaned against, because he heard it very loudly in his ear. So he scooted away from the noise and moved closer to you, unaware of how the increased proximity made you buzz.

You and him shared a thoughtful silence. Then his voice penetrated deep and low, his tone serious.

"I push you so hard because I want you to become the strongest."

"Why?"

"Uh, haha... do you want me to answer that as Satoru or as your teacher?"

"...? Huh? Hm... um... I want both versions of your answer."

"Well... as your teacher... I want you to be able to fight for future generations and pass on your skills."

"And... as Satoru...?"

He hesitated, then slowly answered;

"So I don't have to be the strongest all by myself."

He looked at you with a sheepish smile.

"Selfish, huh?"

"It's okay to be selfish to an extent. I hardly ever see you doing anything for yourself."

The crickets continued making louder symphonies.

"Sato— ahm, Gojo-sensei. I will try my best to fill the role you want me to fill. I don't want you to feel alone."

"... I know it's an overwhelming role, I don't really have the right to push this on y—"

"—I will do it for you because I love you."

"What?"

"What?"

"Respect, I meant respect!" you backtracked.

"Hahaha, sure."

"..."

"... love you too." he winked.

"Shut up!"

"What, I can't tell my favorite student that I love her back?!" he teased.

"Th-that's inappropriate, haha."

"But you just told your teacher you love him. That was also inappropriate."

"I— yeah! Well!"

He stared at you for a long, long moment, absorbing the weight of your I love you that lingered in the air between you and him.

"Alright. Let's wrap up practice for the night."

"Really! God... I thought you were gonna make me do the whole thing again out of spite for saying something inappropriate."

He winked, "No, I'll reprimand you tomorrow for that. Come on. We're going out."

"We're going out...? Are you taking me out as your favorite student, or are you taking me out as me?"

He smirked. "Both... I think my favorite student deserves a good reward after practicing so hard today, but I also just... want to selfishly take you out on a date."

Gojo spoiled you on this night out. Really spoiled you. Bought you a dress, put on his best suit ditched his blindfold, took you to one of the most expensive restaurants that he knew of. Indulged in your company not as his student, but as someone he wanted to get to know... someone maybe he was interested in.

He leaned over the table to fluster you with teasingly close proximity, and straightened out his tie because he was sorely aware of how attractive his hands looked when he did that.

"Go on, don't be shy. Tell me about yourself."

"But you already know me."

"I don't know enough." he shook his head.

"Well... I'm lost... I don't know where to start." you chuckled, staring down at your cleared plate of dessert. It was rich and sweet, he said it was his favorite.

"Then I'll ask." he looked at you, and leaned over the table with one elbow, resting his chin on the back of his palm. "What's your love life looking like at the moment?"

You let out a laugh at this, which he half-expected.

"Well, I'm on a date with my teacher..." you said, jokingly.

He chuckled.

"Tell me." he then said seriously, "I want to know."

"Well... my love life is pretty... unsaturated...?"

"Unsaturated...?" he raised a brow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Dull. I mean it's dull. Any time I develop romantic feelings for someone... well they drain out just as quickly as they flood in." you admitted.

He looked at you contemplatively.

"Is that so..."

"Ahah, you seem surprised."

"I am. I thought you'd have a more glamorous love life, like me." he joked.

"Oh? I'm all ears, Gojo-sensei."

He looked at you deeply, "Call me Satoru." he murmured under his breath.

Your heart panged.

"... anyways, uh... haha. Yeah... my glamorous love life... I've been on two dates in my life including this one."

"Just two?!"

He nodded. "The first one doesn't really count, because I was fourteen and it was a boyish crush."

"... so... this one counts...?"

"Well, yes." he said, "Of course it does. This is not a boyish crush, after all..."

You and him stared at each other for a long, tender moment. Got lost in each other's worlds, which were contained in those irises. Suddenly understood each other's deep feelings, revealed by those dilated pupils.

Dilated...?

Yes his pupils always dilated for you, but you never noticed before with that strip of black having concealed his eyes.

"Gojo—?"

"—Just call me Satoru already." he overlapped his hand with yours, both resting midway on the table.

"Why?" you asked. "Why do you want me to call you that?"

He hesitated, wondering if you were asking that rhetorically. The restaurant was dim, the environment slow and luxurious, fancy, expensive... heavenly golden hue, casting over you and him.

"... because I want to hear you calling out my name."

© arminsumi

Do not plagiarize / repost / translate / copy layouts / etc.

Do not steal what I've worked hard to create.

[lostfirefly]

I need you here till the very end, so stay here with me

Hey, hey, guys! Sorry, I decided to take a short break and was finishing up the last things at work. A short and sweet fic. I'm sure many writers have had this kind of story, but I wanted to dedicate this fluffiness to you, my reader :) Pain leads me to art :) English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :)

Buggy and Fem.Reader - Masterlist is here.

Description: Buggy had a hard day. You comb his hair and wash off his makeup.

WC: 1501

Taglist: @gingernut1314, @operationroots

The title is taken from “My Escape” by Ravenscode.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

You were sitting on the bed with a book when you heard the door to the cabin open with a creak and the sound of heavy footsteps reached you. A couple of minutes later, there was a heavy sigh.

“My love, is that you?” You asked, getting out of bed.

In response, you heard another sigh. You followed the sounds and saw Buggy standing with his back pressed against the door, his eyes closed.

“Good evening, Captain!” You smiled and grabbed his hand.

“Uh-huh.” He muttered without opening his eyes.

“Hard day?” You asked softly.

“Uh-huh.”

You silently pulled his hand towards the bedroom. Buggy tried to resist (but you knew perfectly well that he was faking), but in the end he trailed after you. You took off his coat and hung it on the chair. You took his hand again and sat him down on the bed.

“Love of my life, do you want anything?” You asked, taking off his captain's hat and bandana.

“Drink up.” He answered dryly. “Sometimes it seems to me that this is not a crew, this’s a bunch of idiots.”

“Do not say that.” You kissed the top of his head and walked towards the small bar. “What happened?”

“Everyone is poorly performing their duties, Y/N. That's what happened.” He barked. 

“I'm sure everything will be fine, Buggy. You are the heart of this beautiful ship, and you couldn't have it any other way.” You twisted the bottles slightly, choosing which one could lift his mood today. “Oh, this will be good!”

You picked up a large bottle of rum that you had recently bought especially for him when the ship docked on the island for a couple of days to replenish supplies. “I can't find a glass for rum. Can I pour it into a glass for whiskey or beer?” You looked over your shoulder at him.

“My jelly bean, did you hear what I said? A bunch of idiots. The glass won’t help me. Bring the whole bottle.” Buggy placed his hands on his knees and rested his face in his hands.

“Wow, you're clearly very upset today. Ok.” You took the bottle and walked back to the bed. “Here you go, old grump.” You handed him it.

Buggy raised his head. “I'm not old!” He reached out, took the rum and sipped from the neck of the bottle. “That's better now. Thank you!”

He took your hand and pulled you onto his lap. “Well, what have you been doing all day, Y/N?” Buggy wrapped one hand around your waist. 

“Oh, I read the book, tidied up a little and mended your socks.” You started stroking his cheek. 

“Socks?” He took a sip of rum, looked at you and began stroking your back with his hand.

“Your socks are all full of holes, Buggy. A ship's captain shouldn't wear socks with holes.” You kissed his cheek and stroked his hair. “I'd like to comb you. Your hair is tangled.” You whispered.

“Nah, I'm fine, my gumdrop.” He took another sip and pecked your lips.

“God! At least wipe your mouth after drinking rum before you kiss me, Buggy.” You laughed and wiped your lips with your palm. “How can you drink this shit?” You stroked his hair again. “No, I’ll comb you. It’s impossible.” You got up from his lap and was about to go to the night table to get a comb when you felt him dragging you back.

“Get your ass back to where it was a second ago. I'm fine!” He pulled you towards him.

“A couple more days and you’ll be like a stray kitten, covered in tangles.” You pulled your hand away and went for a comb.

“Kittens are usually adorable.” He answered laughing.

“I’ll comb you, period. What if you decided to take over the island tomorrow? Will you run around scaring the residents in holey socks and with mats on your head? Sorry, honey, but that’s not how I imagine a scary captain.” You returned and sat behind him on the bed. “Sit still.”

“Oh my god. Why do you like brushing me so much, Y/N?” Buggy rolled his eyes, trying to remove your hands from his head.

“You'll be surprised, but I love your hair as much as I love you. Sit still!” You began to carefully run the comb through his long blue hair, listening to his endless grumbling. You took small strands of hair in your hands, trying to unravel the tangles as gently as possible.

“Ouch, it hurts!” Buggy grumbled when he felt the comb get stuck on one of the tangles.

“Sorry, my love. This is a real tumbleweed here. You know, I think I'll do this every evening. You can resist as much as you like, but you won’t convince me.” You ran the comb through your hair two more times. “Here! I did it! You’re grumbling at me in vain.”

Gently running your hands through his hair, you felt him instinctively adapt to your movements.

“You like this?” You asked, pecking him on the cheek again. There was no answer, but you noticed a slight smile on his face. “I knew it!”

You continued to comb his hair, listening to his quiet snoring. It seemed that he had fallen into a light nirvana.

“Well, I'm done.” You ran your fingers through his long hair. “Excellent!” You looked over his shoulder and looked at his face. Buggy sat with his eyes closed with a smile on his face. You gently ran your fingertip across his cheek. “I think now I need to take off your makeup.”

Buggy suddenly opened his eyes and looked at you with his green eyes. “Y/N! No!”

“Yes!”

“I said no!”

“Stop arguing with me. You haven't taken off your makeup for three days. You just put on new makeup every morning on top of the old one. No! Today, I'm declaring a spa day for Captain Buggy.” You crawled on your knees to the bedside table and pulled out a huge bag with various tonics from the drawer. “Holy God! So many things.” You were sorting through the bottles. “Oh. This one with chamomile will be good!” You rose from the bed and stood in front of him, applying lotion to a cotton pad.

“No, jelly bean, please!” Buggy looked at you with pleading eyes. 

“Nah, I'm not listening to you.” You gently took his chin with your hand and pecked him on the lips. “Don’t be afraid, my love. I won’t tell anyone that I see you without makeup.”

Buggy sighed sadly, realizing that he could not win in this verbal struggle, and closed his eyes. You pecked him on the lips again, on his red nose, and ran the cotton pad over his face.

“See how great you are.” You soaked a new cotton pad in lotion and gently ran it over his cheeks again, washing away the blue and white layers of his makeup. “Okay. Now the lips.”

“I know another way we can get rid of my lipstick. If you know what I mean.” He chuckled idiotically without opening his eyes.

“I understand perfectly what you mean. I washed this method of yours from myself in the shower yesterday.” You took out a new lotion from your makeup bag. “Sit still, Buggy.”

You ran the pad over his lips, also removing the red marks of lipstick around his mouth. “And here you are, my love!” You carefully examined his face. “You are so handsome.” You put the discs and lotions aside.

Buggy blushed the color of his nose. “Don’t say that. I'm not handsome.”

“I’m telling the truth.” You sat on his lap and wrapped your arms around his neck. “Have I ever lied to you? No! I think you're handsome from the moment we first met. Remember? You stood up for me at the bar when some fat slug was hitting on me. And you came up and punched him in the face.” You kissed his cheek. 

“Because no one dares to molest my woman!” Buggy kissed you in your lips. 

“To my woman.” You chuckled. “We hadn't even met at that moment.”

“What difference does it make?” Buggy shrugged his shoulders. “I immediately decided that you would be mine. This is the captain’s word and I never break it.”

You gazed into his eyes, stroking his hair. “I love you.”

“Well, what can I say? I love you too.”

“Will you always love me?” You narrowed your eyes playfully. 

“Of course always. The captain's word.” Buggy kissed your neck and then your lips. “And since you bullied me today, it's time to pay back.” He abruptly threw you onto the bed and lay down on top of you. “Gotcha!” 

“Wait! I thought we were gonna take a shower!” You wrapped your arms and legs around him. 

“The shower will wait.” He smiled mysteriously and began to run his finger along your neck.

“Oh, shit! Buggy!!!”

[nexerist]

Heyyyyy, so I got into writing since work hasn't given me time to actually work on my art. It will soon be resolved in a few weeks, then back to posting more often. I am making a comic again and almost done with it so I don't promise projects that won't come.

Enough about me, and let's get to you! This is a thunderstorm comfort I wrote a while back on AO3 and forgot to post it here. My collection is called Nebula Kisses. This one-shot can be seen as platonic or romantic, next one is more on the romance side but still can be platonic if you wish. But so I don't clog your feed, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow or later but within the week!

I also apologize for the weird formatting, this was written on my phone during the time so I don't have the fancy indents or proper grammar check.

Thank you for sticking around with my inconsistencies, I wish I had more time.

So much love,

Nexi

Breath |Sun/Moon x Scared!Reader|

[Power had gone out, leaving Sun and Moon to look for you in the dark. However, you are absolutely horrified of thunderstorms.]

The daycare was lit up during the town wide blackout. The rumbling generators along with the constant loop of the daycare music, Sunnydrop was busy awaiting got his favorite visitor. Who might that be, well none other than the security guard who is ordered to look out for the lobby, green rooms, and of course, the daycare. Y/N is what they call themselves, which Sunny really liked that when they mentioned it to him, he walked around repeating it like a song.

But they were late, a half hour late. He taps his foot impatiently, he checks the attendance and sees that they did clock in. What were they doing? Did they get lost? It's impossible to miss his big daycare! Surely you didn't forget either, his lovely face was everywhere, that had to remind you to check on him.

A quiet rumble of the storm outside rang through the building. According to the weather, it was going to be a rough and long storm ahead. Heard it was going to last until morning.

Sun, getting impatient, decided to look for them himself. Feeling confident, he takes his long strides to the daycare door, his hand reaching for the door knob. He felt himself pause for just a moment. He hasn't really left daycare, not that he can't leave, but it was risky. Last time he left was to take care of that rulebreaker and set up some banned signs around Kids Cove, but that was the furthest he went in a very long time. Sun was still very angry about it, but it did reopen the daycare after Freddy left. So maybe he should forgive him? Nah, he needs to apologize first.

Sun shakes his head, he was getting off track. He opens the daycare door, mind back on his mission. To find his Starshine. He takes his long strides, making sure to stay near the light and flashing signs. The easy part was now over as he got to the entrance door that faced the slide back into his daycare.

As soon as he opened the door with great confidence, he saw that is was pitch black. Maybe his friend did get lost, with this darkness and no flashlight, it would be nearly impossible to find him! Not taking into consideration of muscle and location memory. He felt Moon stirring from inside.

“Moon, sorry to wake you up from your nap. Our dear friend is missing and I had hope to do it myself! But uh... Looks like I can't do much.” He spoke aloud. Silence rang through his head, awaiting for his alter ego to speak.

Moon was recently having a fit, and not talking. This happened since Eclipse disappeared into the arcade cabinet when he was playing that discount floppy bird game. Moon had tried to get him out by playing the game, but something happened to him too. He became mostly unresponsive, giving out short phrases or sentences.

Sun would hear his alter giggle, which relieved Sun that Moon was at least in a good mood. Sun takes in a false breath of courage and walked into the dark. If he could close his eyes, he would've. The familiar pain in his face shocked through him, making him grab at it. He feels his rays click into his head on at a time, unlocking his chest compartment which his infamous hat was held in. It started from his fingers, the oranges and silver turned to white and blue.

Sun felt himself pull back and release control. He now stood outside and watched Moon take his hat and place it up on his head. Moon crouched down and stretches his legs, then start crawling on the floor towards the wall. Sun, not wanting to be alone, would do his best to follow.

“Little Star has gone missing.” Is what Moon would say before climbing up the wall and opening a vent to crawl through. He started to giggle and cackle, it echoing through the building and alerting that Moon was out early. The glamrocks retreating to their green rooms as to not go to parts and services.

*×*×*×*×*×*

You had entered the building on time, rarely ever late. Today has been storming hard, the rain pattering hard on the glass of the lobby entrance. Things were up and normal, doing your normal tasks. Checked stock, picked up any lost and found items to either throw away or await for the owner to come in the next day to pick it up. As you head into lost and found, that was when you heard it. It started as a small rumble before the sky roared a building shaking thunder, knocking the power out.

You have always been afraid of thunder since you were young. Not that you could explain it to anyone without the fear of being made fun of for a childish fear. It wasn't childish to you, it was real, the sense of dread and fear that paralyzed you proved it. You drop to the floor, staying as close to the ground as you could. If you could just find your flashlight, you had to crawl around a bit to then heard another rumble.

It took your breath away, your hands shaking as you retrieve the flashlight. Trying to find some solace in the light, you put your thumb on the switch and pushed up. Click. Click-click. Nothing. The flashlight, so cheap that it doesn't even last a hour with full charge, was dead and the charging stations were down. You were in the dark, the loud storm rattling the outside shutter doors, making it very loud and overwhelming.

You grab a blanket from the shelf and put it over you and your head. It just felt safer when surrounded by the soft fabric. Peaking through the opening, you hesitantly get on your feet again. You still had a job to do, but it was going to be slower. You would like your paycheck still and you knew how stingy the company was, taking your panic and finding a way to no pay you.

You would manage to get out of lost and found in the dark. On your way out, a little glow in the dark Monty was resting in a stroller. It must've been left behind but picking it up, it still had its tag and security pin. Rather, someone tried to steal it. It did produce light, enough to get around at least. However, these toys don't glow in the dark for too long. Got maybe, a solid twenty minutes? It's been dark for five, so fifteen. You did your best to scamper to the green rooms and peak around.

You arrive and you see the famous glamrocks interacting with each other. Monty with Roxy and Chica, heading back towards their respective rooms. Monty had taken over as temporary lead as they remade a new Freddy. They did have to use the scraped Mr. Hippo glamrock to fill the fourth spot. Your train of thought was cut off as another loud crash of thunder rang through the building. You huddle against a corner and put the blanket over your head again.

“Why... Why now... Why can't you come when it was after work...” You mutter as you croutch down and felt tears prick your eyes. Another crash finally made you crack, you try to hold back your tears but they started to stream down your face. All you felt was dread, paralyzing fear that. You wanted to scream in fear but that would reveal your fear. You try to be fearless, not let anything bother you. When you first met Sun and Moon, they were rather surprised that you approached them. You had a fascination with how they acted and looked. It was endearing, when you took the time to watch them and interact that even under their rough attitude and words, they were lonely.

Lonely.

Another crash, you were shaking and on the ground. Hands over your ears and a quiet sobbing from your blanket shell. You were too scared to notice the vent opening and the giggling of a certain jester. One with the Moon rather than the sun. The jester made his round, single red eye darting around to find something. Then he hears the sobbing, unfamiliar to his sensors. Crawling over, he finds the shaking blanket of which the sobbing came from. When he lifted the blanket that was when he saw you. Your glow in the dark Monty plush was almost out of glow, leaving you in almost pure darkness.

Moon was all you saw now, his eye lit up the small space. He tilts his head in confusion.

“Why is Little Star hiding? No monsters are here, just Moon” He spoke, unsure to react to the crying. You quickly wipe your face and sniffle, putting up your strong front.

“Cause uhh, I was playing a game..?” You made it sound more like a question than an answer. Of course, it was a lie, so Moon leaned closer.

“Then why cry? Liar, liar I hate liars. Speak truth.” Moon wipes a tear from your cheek. But as you go to answer, the loudest crash of thunder lands. It shook the building again, making the lights flicker and power back off. You yelp and cling onto Moon. You try to get as close as you could, fingers slipping a tad just for you to scramble to get your grip. You breathing escalated and felt the verge of hyperventilation. You weren't expecting anything from Moon, never was the touchy one unlike Sun who couldn't stop having tiny touches and bumps.

But you then felt mechanical arms wrap around you. He sat down and pulled you onto his lap, cradling you close to him. He gently rocks back and fourth, winding his broken chest music box. He was taking nap time protocol with some modifications. His broken music box plays a soft tune, though in some places it wobbled.

“Breathe. Deep breaths. It will be okay..” Moon whispers. You try to follow his instructions, still freaking out. Your shaking breath and hiccups try to find a rhythm. Moon rests his blue hand and rubs gently up and down your back. It was slow. “Breathe in..” He whispers, his hand gliding up slowly, helping you follow. You take a shuttering breath in, slow like his hand. It stops, in which you held your breath. “Breathe out...” His hand runs back down and you sigh out. It was then looped

Moon would then carry you, you holding onto him with your legs around his thin waist, him with a arm under you and one on your back to keep the rhythm going. He adjusted the blanket to keep it over your head.

He arrives back to the door of the daycare, avoiding the light, he hooked his arm around the wall to find the light switch to turn off the lights. He finds it and flicks it off, hearing the buzzing electricity stop. He peeks in to make sure and then walks in. He takes the long way around and gets inside the daycare. He would have the fly hook attach to his back and he glides over to his and Sun's tower.

“... Moon..? Why are we here..?” You asked, hearing the rumble again and wincing at the noise. Moon would hold you close as he goes back to crawling. He crawls through a small hole off to the side and see that it was a small hiding place. There was boxes, drawings, a mattress with a few pillows. There was also an arcade cabinet in the corner with the screen busted.

“Hide away, storm won't follow here.. Safe here..” He crawls onto the mattress and lays you next to him. The rumbles of the storms were dampened, making it barely audible. With the help of Moon's music box as well, he pets your head.

“... Thank you.” You mumble out, only for Moon respond with a fake click of his tongue. He giggled a bit and curled up around you, his legs are under yours, making you rest yours on top of his. You both cuddle up under the blanket, Moon rubbing your back to keep the deep breath rhythm.

A very loud roar of the sky fills the room, and you both tense up and huddle. A few more tears fall and Moon quickly wipes them away. It was the first time you would ever see Moon have a slight shake in his hand. He was afraid too, of thunder and storms. He was able to repress his fear as his tip top priority was to make sure you were okay first. But he felt as if he needed to keep up this false confidence that you could remain calm.

You mimic his movements, running your hand on his back in a soothing motion.

“Breathe...” You both say at the same time. You get as close as you two could and comforted each other. Moon pecks the top of your head. He felt safe with you, and you felt safe with him. For someone as reclusive as Moon, this was a good bonding experience that neither of you would forget.

[scentedpeachlandcreator]

hello! I'm in a bit of a slump and I don't know how to get out of it. 3D is kicking my ass and I'm feeling very defeated, seemingly can't even feel excited,happy or anything alike when it comes to my manifestation,I've been crying and trying to get a hold of myself however,I just don't know what to do. I'm manifesting a celebrity SP and managed to manifest some things about him but my intrusive thoughts get a hold of me and sometimes end up manifesting...could you please give me some sort of advice? I apologize for my possibly bad english at times,it's not my first language

Hello love!

Well to begin with i advice you to take a break and just forget about everything, just take your mind off, go for a walk, hang out with Friends, or just spend some Time with yourself like watching some movies and just having fun.

I need you to forget about everything you learned about the Law and just going to the basic:

: ̗̀➛ Decide.

: ̗̀➛ Affirm.

: ̗̀➛ Persist.

That it.

Shhh nope, nope no questions as : what if? How? When? No. Don't question that.

You need to understand that you are the creator of your own reality, everything goes your way, you are the boss, the master! Okay?

Everything is you pushed out, you Can assume who's nice to you, obsessed with you, jealous of you, or mean to you.

How you view the World and yourself = how it is gonna show up.

Your sp celebrity is just a human being like us, eating like us, breathing the same air like us, it is nothing above you and when i mean NOTHING that means you are the only one in the pedestal.

You need to take him off the pedestal, you have the power to manifest him, yes you are limitless. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO YOU. Nuh uh impossible is not in my dictionary 🙄💅🏻.

Your subconscious is blind. It believes whatever you tell it to, so take advantage of that.

For the 3d i know you can't ignore it when it is obviously in front of your face.

Just dismiss it, yup that it, read that post and this one it explain it so well.

Fulfill yourself in imagination cause that the only true reality.

Change yourself within and the 3d will follow.

Seeing something in the 3d? Nope nope i do already have my desires 💅🏻🙄.

Hard circumstances? Nope i have it in my imagination.

Too good to be true? Nope what do you mean? I'm the creator of my Reality and i'm the only one in the pedestal 💅🏻🙄.

Second of all you need to get off social media because you'll start obsessing over your sp celebrity and seeing if he conformed or if he showed any signs.

I advice you to know to completely know that your sp celebrity belongs to you, he's yours, no one and i mean no one gonna take them away from you.

You said you have intrusive thought and you fear they'll manifest? Nope you are much more greater and powerful than that, YOU ARE GOD! What do you mean? You're trying to Say that someone as powerful as you fear their intrusive thought?! Hell nah you control them! You make them get away from your head! You decide what gonna manifest if it is that and that.

Just know that your subconscious is smart and it knows what you want and what you want to manifest so keep that in mind.

If you want to manifest them you need to start being disciplined and keep a strict mental diet.

See my post and this post of the blogger that manifested their sp celebrity.

I Hope you understood this and i Hope you take Care of yourself and prioritize your mental health 💗🫶🏻.

And don't worry your english is good ☺️.

Xoxo, Eli

[immortal-pnkcake]

i said it's his turn to have his own bar

a little bit of silly thoughts about he-lives-and-has-his-own-establishment under cut if you're interested!

hey if other people can have their bars he could've too (if not. you know. literal impossibility to bring his character back.) so once me and my gf was talking about him so i'm roughly retelling and translating what we had in mind

so yeah he could have his own little place tucked in somewhere safe and i was thinking maybe okinawa? cause. idk. vibe wise he would fit there. anyway his place is not so popular with regular folks cause this guy IS a weirdo so yeah most of the people don't understand the appeal.

local yakuza tho! they enjoy the place. he has this policy of "until you're not making too much noise and not taking it outside you're free to do whatever you want but you HAVE to pay if you break something and everything that happened here stays here and vice versa." he was hoping there will be fights but nah. there's just a lot of youngsters exploring themselves and taking "everything stays here" as an excuse to kiss their homies and that kinda stuff - cause i don't think being openly gay helps your status as a yakuza - so they have this little retreat with a weird uncle who won't snitch on them passionately kissing each other and whatever.

he is very much reminiscent of his past cause OF COURSE he misses it. he made it after he was shot in 80s but it has done damage to his body and he COULD TECHNICALLY GO BACK but man! if i can't kick asses and be a menace why should i go back and be a poor excuse of a yakuza! he went on his own terms so he is not obligated to live in secret. he just decided that if he can't live up to his own name then the man who could must take it.

oh yeah he uh. pretty much invented this whole nishitani title thing. he was just "yeah yeah don't care give this damn name to the motherfucker who is worthy to call himself that!" so pretty much he has some name on paper but to folks around he's just and uncle with no name they just call him The Uncle

he is a funny character to have around but sometimes he becomes a wet sentimental rag and rumbles about how he had it ALL and gave it all for a man who DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HE'S NOT DEAD ohh i think he would love to see mad dog majima. delight to his eyes it's a fuckin bummer he can't give him a proper fight

haha anyway- yeah. must i say i miss this bitch dearly. the weird uncle of all gay people of okinawa

[y-rhywbeth2]

Do drow have an equivalent of elven communion? I know they've got the chad-zak during pregnancy, but I was curious if there was anything outside that.

Ah, the question that plagues me. I personally know of no equivalent, and they certainly don't do regular communion. What I do wonder is if it's that they can't or don't. I don't have an answer for that, but I can babble and quote things to consider, I guess. First the 'short' answer:

I swear I've seen a High Magic ritual that can lift the banishment on a drow, though I can't seem to find it flipping through the sourcebooks (maybe I'm looking in the wrong one?) and turning an elf into a drow via high magic has been done three times since as a form of exile, which suggests the Descent locked them out. On the other hand, some drow can reverie, which suggests that the capability for communion is in there still.

On the topic of equivalents: drow apparently have a form of High Magic, although I don't really know anything about it so I'm not sure it utilises a form of communion the way regular High Magic does. It's also not an indication that drow normally experience an equivalent. If the chad-zak exists in realmslore then it might be a sign of some kind of twisted communion made by Lolth (it has been said that Corellon tied the dark elves' fate to her by making her the dark elven goddess of destiny back when she was called Araushnee, perhaps that formed a bond to her the way elves are normally tied to him). On the other hand it might just be unique exception like a half-elf being able to commune with a human child; a connection normally impossible but present due to the physical symbiosis.

And then me babbling about what communion and the bindings of the elven spirit is for anybody who doesn't know the details, with a side about how generic DnD lore isn't 100% reflective of what realmslore is:

Elves seem to have some sort of mental link between them [... allowing] another elf to project his mind into another's and the two share thoughts on some level. The closeness of elven communities comes from this habitual sharings of minds, and the elves do not understand other races without this ability, for they cannot conceive of being totally alone in one's own head. Apparently, elves look forward to sharing their thoughts with others and do it either directly or in "reverie" - Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves

Communion's a tricky thing, considering it was introduced in the Complete Book of Elves which is... uh, infamous for being the Complete Book of Elves. Still, communion made it into published Realms canon so it is canon and the stuff it says somewhat relevant. Worth noting that the former states half-elves can't enter communion, but then Ed Greenwood goes 'nope, they can.' Technically dnd rules do kind of support that since a half-elf counts as an elf for magical conditions that specify elves. Then, again, dnd canon has said that half-elves will only ever produce half-elven or human offspring and realmslore canonically said, multiple times, 'nah, a half-elf and an elf make an elf, actually.' Plus the thing with child names where an elf isn't named and picks a name as an adult (this custom fell out of use with the Tel'Quessir long ago, it was antiquated back in the times of Myth Drannor when Khelben Arunsun's dad pulled it out and decided he could name himself. Nowadays your parent gives you a name at birth).

As usual, what generic DnD might say about things doesn't necessarily apply to a specific DnD setting. As such I'm not sure the foetal murder orgasms exist in realmslore either, but who knows.

Negative feelings and isolation damage an elf's ability to commune, as Araushnee herself discovered when Malar had to tell her there were elves on a particular world because she was slowly poisoning her own spirit and couldn't feel her own people anymore. Not that murder and scheming and hating has stopped surface elves from being capable of it, but the deliberate attack on the dark elven mental health and sense of community ingrained on them from birth by Lolth is built to cut them off like her.

Corruptive forces also cut elves off from their elfiness. Such as Shadow Magic did to the elf Galaeron Nihmedu, taking his ability to reverie or sense the bonds between himself and his family. I suspect the Faerzress, Lolth's divine magic, fucking around with demons and such, plus the fact that Vhaeraunites utilise shadow magic can have a similar effect, and in total the dark elves feel like this to other elves (and probably each other):

“I want only to be certain this one is who he claims. There is a darkness in him I do not trust, and I would know if you will vouchsafe his conduct, and that of his friends.” The light faded from Morgwais’s face. “A darkness, you say?” She took Galaeron’s hand, then looked past his shoulder. Her gaze grew unfocused, as it would during the Reverie, and a single furrow appeared in her unblemished brow. She remained that way for several moments, then finally opened her eyes and nodded. “It’s true. You seem lost to me, child. It is as though you are…” She started to look away as though embarrassed, then hesitated and forced herself to look back. “It feels as though you are asleep.” 'The comment struck Galaeron like a blow, and he realized with a start that he did not feel the other elves either. The absence had seemed normal enough during his travels with the humans, especially given his trouble falling into the Reverie, but he should have sensed other elves as they traveled deeper into the High Forest. Instead, there had been nothing - no sense of welcome, no warmth, no safety. He had felt nothing - nothing but the anger and jealousy he had experienced upon seeing his mother on Elminster’s lap.' - The Summoning

Green elven polyamory aside, taking it personally when your mother is banging Elminster instead of your father isn't worthwhile. Just Elminster doing Elminster things.

(Slightly off topic, but this is also why I'm sceptical Astarion can still commune, since undeath almost certainly qualifies as corruptive dark magics.)

Off the bat, most drow are not going to be able to pull this off. It has benefits that would be useful (enough communing forges a bond between elves, allowing them such an unspoken understanding of each other to fight in perfect synch, and while communing elves are difficult to discover if you're looking for them). But they're too stressed to accomplish reverie they're certainly not going to accomplish this:

'All elves have the inborn ability to share their experiences, their feelings, and their lives with those elves they love or trust implicitly. This sharing, called communion, can only be undertaken by fully willing elves.' [Even the slightest hint of reluctance makes communion impossible.] 'Communion requires all elves involved (to a maximum of four) to be in a state of total relaxation. They must be in a place of peace, preferably where the world is not likely to intrude with its troubles and its cares. A natural surrounding works best for this operation. 'Communion requires the participating elves to be totally serene, thinking only of the others in this most intimate bond. (Thus, communion is not an effective method of relaying messages of any urgency.) All the elves must free themselves of judgments and prejudices about the others, which may take some time. Indeed, some communions have been known to take a fortnight or more merely in preparation for the bonding. 'When the participants have sufficiently calmed and retreated from the rigors of the world, they lightly touch palm to palm, finger to finger. They open their minds to the others, freely and completely joining together; if even a tiny reservation remains, the bond fails. During communion, the elves explore all the facets of the others' personality—the loves, hatreds, hopes, and fears. 'While in this trance, communing elves are totally vulnerable to anything that might happen to them physically for they cannot defend themselves against any attacks while communing. Mentally they are even more vulnerable to attack, saving at -4 against most mental attacks, for their minds are totally unguarded.' - The Complete Book of Elves

Lolth works hard at beating this wishy-washy stuff out of you.

I like to think they're capable of communing when they're safe and healthy, personally.

[strawberrymilk-sunshine]

Our perfect day.

I'm not too proud of this one, but hope you enjoy regardless :)

Warning(s): delusional yandere Riddle

Riddle Rosehearts was a perfectionist. Absolutely everything had to be perfect, and if any poor student happened to break a rule of the Queen of Hearts, it was off with their head.

Now of course Riddle didn't actually execute people for breaking a single rule, that would be rather extreme. Though, according to the students who have had Off With Your Head cast upon them, it definitely feels that way...

You received a letter today.

"Dearest (Y/N), please attend tonight's special Heartslabyul tea party. I will be waiting for you. Yours truly, Riddle Rosehearts."

You couldn't help but wonder what made this tea party 'special' compared to the other tea parties they host.

You entered the mirror that led to the Heartslabyul dorm. A fancy looking garden awaited you, as well as a large mansion. You stepped forward and-

"Hiya (Y/N)~!"

"Oh! Um... hey, Cater!" You said, a bit surprised. "Could I, uh... could I get past you?"

"No no no! Not yet, the party isn't ready yet!" Cater insisted. "All the Heartslabyul students are working their you-know-whats off making sure this extra special party is perfect. I mean, I have so much to do I'm using Split Card right now!"

"Oh."

"Cay-Cay numbers 1, 2, and 4 are busy painting the roses with the freshmen. I was told to take you to your fitting!"

"Fitting?"

"Oh yes (Y/N), ya gotta wear proper attire to a formal event, don't you know?"

Cater number 3 grabbed your hand and led you back into the magic mirror, bringing you back to the hall of mirrors, then bringing you to the mirror that leads to Pomefiore.

"Ah, (Y/N). How are you doing today?" Vil greeted you. "Your outfit is complete, I just need to see how it fits on you."

The outfit Vil spoke of looked like something you would wear to a wedding, though resembling the dorm uniform of Heartslabyul. Checkerboard sleeves, white rose pins that looked like the had just been painted red, the torso was adorned with playing cards, the colours were red and white split down the middle... and a crown, with a thin shroud meant to cover your face.

You couldn't help but wonder, why do I need such a fancy outfit for a tea party?

To your surprise, the outfit fit perfectly. You don't remember having any measurements done...

"It seems Riddle was correct." Vil said, also sounding slightly surprised. "These are your measurements exactly."

"Riddle... knew my measurements?" You asked.

"Yes, down to the exact centimeter. You two must be closer than I thought..." Vil said, sitting you down in a chair. "Now stay still, I need to do your makeup."

"Riddle said he wanted it to be like our dorm makeup!" Cater explained. "Red eyeshadow and lotsa hearts!"

"Wait, what do you mean we're closer than you thought?" You asked.

"(Y/N), no speaking or moving please, I don't want to mess this up."

Once your makeup was finished, Cater took a selfie with you.

"#nofilterz #happycouple #NRCwedding #QueenofHeartsstylewedding #younglove... and posted! Me gave me his phone and told me to get a good pic of you for Magicam." Cater explained. "And now that you're in those fancy-shmancy clothes, let's get heading back to Heartslabyul, I'm pretty sure the party's all ready~!"

"Wedding?" You asked. "Cater, what do you mean, wedding?!"

"Ah dammit... I ruined the surprise, didn't I? Don't tell anyone I told you this, please, but..." He paused. "The special tea party is actually a wedding! Riddle wanted it to be a romantic surprise so badly, but I just had to mess things up..."

"A wedding... for me and Riddle?" You asked. "No, that's impossible, Riddle and I barely know each other!"

"Huh? Nah, that can't be right, you two've been dating for months!"

You tried telling Cater in every way you could that you and Riddle almost never speak to each other, but he kept insisting that you and Riddle have been dating since some time after he Overblotted.

You were brought to Heartslabyul, which had a student-made wedding venue set up just outside the rose maze. Riddle was wearing a suit that matched your outfit. You would have appreciated the effort that went into this, if not for the fact that you were horrified that Riddle decided to organize a wedding for him and someone he barely speaks to.

"Ah, (Y/N). You look beautiful." Riddle told you, pushing your hair behind your ear. "I managed to organize our wedding, and follow the Queen of hearts rules!"

"Riddle, what the Hell is this?!"

"It's our wedding, (Y/N). What's there not to understand?"

"We don't know each other!" You exclaimed. "We barely talk, and sure, we know each other, but not this well!"

"What do you mean, (Y/N)? We've been dating for months, haven't we?"

"No, we haven't! What makes you think we have?!"

"I-isn't it obvious? Don't you remember all the dates we've had together?"

"We've studied together, but I've never once gone on a date with you Riddle!"

"(Y/N). I made sure everything was perfect, why are you denying this?" Riddle asked. "And why are you insisting we aren't in love? I think I'd know if we weren't."

"Riddle, we-"

"Shh, (Y/N). No more speaking, please. I made sure every single aspect of this was perfect. Today is our perfect day."

...

How did he even get permission to do this?!

[mikey1310]

What if? H/c of being a child in "The Pale Horse"

A/N: Okay, I haven't gotten these thoughts out of my head for quite some time...Sooooooo...

Lemon (with Rose as your mother since I know this man would not dare/try to sleep with the others) :

-Being his child is a difficult challenge, a real difficult challenge.

-If your were possibly being the beautiful result of his and Rose, you would have quite beautiful life at the beginning. You would be buried in the adoration of your mother, and the immense care of your father. Your job in this dynamic is being a magnet toward Rose, you have to be something that can hold onto her tightly in this relationship (in Benjamin's relationship to be exact). But that would be quite impossible, no? Rose would eventually run away, again, and guess who is going to be an orphan? Yeah....

-Lemon loves Rose, that is something cannot be argued. He is devoted to Rose and baby trapped her could be his desperate way to keep Rose stay with him. But if you could not make her stay, he would immediately throw you away from his life. You could not be a human since both Lemon and Rose are not human at all! So....uh....you might have to take care of yourself all alone.

-If this is the Benjamin from the very first hundred years, when he still had his humanity, he might let you stay under his roof but you have to fend for yourself (He would abandon you to go after Rose).

Rose:

-Oh, to be her child is to be dragged into roller-coaster stories.

-She loves you, that is a fact. She has the heart of a mother. Like the twins, you would be cared for. You would be in her arms, listen to her bedtime stories and eat the food she prepared for you. The time being with mother is the time your heart beating with happiness.

-Oh, wait! She would also hate you. If you were a human, she would resent you why she can't be a human too. If you were a child of a "alcoholic loser" man, she would hate you because she loves you too much to leave with this damned violent man. If you were a Quarry, oh.... You would have the taste of the ignorance, the curses, the locked-up life,....

-Tragedy walks on Rose's path. It chases her, and that would also affect you. Depends on who your father is, you could be a child of single father, or, an orphan.

-You might be alive. Rose would try to make Lemon to keep you alive. You might come along with her but in a short while since Lemon would somehow make you be gone from their life.

Adelheid (With Lemon as your father.)

-Another loving mother.

-She loves you. You are the beautiful creation she ever made. Her creation. Heck, you even have something reminds of Lemon? 100% adoration.

-If you were a human, she could not raise you herself. She would let you stay in a stable household, let another woman take care of you. Her life as a Quarry would not bring you any peace and safety, so she has to do it to protect you, her lovely child. Sometimes, you may see silhouette of someone in the dark watching you sleep, but that must be a trick of your eyes.

-If you were a Quarry, she would take you with her. No buts. She would teach you how to fight and teach you how to fend for yourself (even you have your meals prepared). You might even know your father's face as she would lead you to his place with the position as her "right-winged woman".

-Expect to have your cheeks pinched and have your back patted all the time. She would dress you up, and sometimes teach you how to dance the tradition dance.

-She might use you to have Lemon back since this woman loves her man so much. Still, she has brain. If that was impossible in her eyes, she would not do it.

-You may see her become a mess in private. She would caress your face and tell you how resemblance you are to her family.

Nah, that's all.

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 14: Outer Space AU

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

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

"This is a bit of solar cloth, it's used to take power from starlight--or sunlight, I suppose," JJ says, tapping out his words on his brace. He and Alt are sitting at the table in his room. The 'solar cloth' in question is a small hankerchief-sized square that... isn't actually cloth, per se. It's made of tiny, tiny metal strings woven together, giving the copper material a shimmery effect. Just as flexible as cloth, if a bit heavier. "It's used in a lot of transportation back home, made into sails, but it's very versatile."

Alt is marveling at the tightly woven cloth, feeling it with his fingers and glitching a bit in excitement, “That’s so fucking cool! Solar powered sails… on space ships??” He asks with shining eyes as he looks up at JJ.

JJ grins. "Not just ships, but a lot of surface transportation, too. There's a popular sport called sand-sailing, where you go out to the desert, stand on a hovering board with a solar cloth sail, and skim the surface of the dunes. And there are larger versions of those for mass transportation. Like... like boats for land." 

“Ohh! Sounds like something straight out of star wars-“ Alt laughs. 

The door opens, and Sam flies in. "Alt, I realized you might be hungry," they say. "Are you? We do have food here."

Alt blinks up at Sam and makes a face, touching his stomach. “…I… I guess I am kinda hungry…” he says quietly.

JJ nods. "We can have lunch." 

"Great! Do you have any allergies or strong aversions to certain tastes or textures?" Sam asks.

Alt hums, “Uh- not really? I’ll eat most anything.”

"Good to know! You're probably not familiar with most of our food, though," Sam says. JJ blinks. 

"How about something simple? Do we still have pleries?" 

"Of course we do." 

“A… plery?” Alt asks with a tilted head. 

JJ looks over at Alt. "A plery is basically dough wrapped around meat or fruit or vegetables. Sometimes cheese. They're originally from Caphomia but the form has been adapted." 

“Oh that sounds good.” Alt grins. 

"You can't have just that, though," Sam says. 

"Well, bring whatever else you think we'd like, then."

Alt blinks at Sam and nods. “yeah I’m not picky. I need food to fuel my magic so I’ll take anything usually.”

Sam shifts up and down, a nodding form. "I'll be right back, then. This shouldn't take long." They turn around and fly out again. 

"In your time, you haven't been found by other life, right?" JJ asks. "I mean... aliens and such. This must be very confusing."

“Oh yeah no…” Alt says with a laugh as he crosses his arms and leans on the table. “In our time- we still had people debating if things in the skies were UFOs or not but they never were. I think… we found water on mars? I dunno- don’t really keep up with a lot of space stuff.”

"Oh yes water on Mars! That's what led to the settling on there," JJ says. "And if that hadn't happened, there wouldn't be humans on Olinion, Haivis, or Vara. Though... we never would have had the opportunity without the help of more advanced species like the optels--which is what Sam is."

“Optels… ha- cuz they’re like… optic nerves,” Alt laughs a bit, “You always hear in movies and tv shows about humans settling throughout the universe… crazy to actually hear parts of it! In our time- feels kinda like we’re still just… stuck on earth, you know?”

JJ nods slowly. "Well... once upon a time, I'm sure the oceans seemed impossible to cross. I'm not sure if your world will ever get in contact with other species, or if other species even exist there, but I'm sure you'll start exploring more. It just... will probably take a long, long time."

“Ah yeah… guess it makes sense in that perspective,” Alt laughs. “Nah we haven’t found anything yet. It’s been… chill. Space wise, at least.”

JJ chuckles. "Chill is better than trouble, if you ask me. Things weren't always perfect, even if things are... relatively peaceful now. Relatively. I mean, I was kidnapped, technically." 

Alt laughs, “Yeah, not exactly the definition of chill.”

The door opens again. "But apparently you could leave whenever," Sam says as they fly in. Their flying device has been connected to a floating tray via a tether of blue light. 

On the tray are two plates of food, two smaller plates with utensils, a bowl of fruit, two cups, and a pitcher of what looks like milk.

Alt blinks at Sam coming in and looks at the food curiously. “Huh- doesn’t look too futuristic.” He chuckles. 

"Well... most of this is from alien worlds, I think," JJ says. "Unless the nuggets are chicken?" 

"Nope. Boral nuggets," Sam says. "And the milk?" 

"Cow milk--but I do think the cow was raised in Vara so it's sort of alien." 

“Boral?” Alt asks.

"Birds from Artatov," JJ says. "Thick black feathers. They live in the north of the planet. They are sort of like chickens, so if you have a recipe that calls for one, you can switch it for the other. Including nuggets." 

One of the plates has these nuggets, which don't look too different from present-day chicken nuggets, only with a darker brown breading. Another has spherical roll-like food, made of a yellowish bread. The fruit in the bowl looks like apples at first, but the pattern on the skin is off, more stripey instead of the spotty pattern apples usually get. 

JJ moves everything to the table. He tears open one of the rolls, revealing that there are green vegetables and green cheese inside. "This is a plery," he explains. "Originally they were just filled with meat--the felorrs on Caphomia are mostly carnivorous--but you can put anything inside the plery dough."

Alt looks at all the food and hums curiously. He grabs one of the rolls and turns it over before biting into it.

The plery is like biting into a calzone, but with a bit of a tang. The vegetables inside crunch but don't seem to have too much of a taste.

“Hm! Interesting-“ Alt says as he digs into all the food- finding it comforting and almost familiar. But not quite.

"And these are honishe," JJ says, then picks up one of the fruit. "They're from Sessirya... and they're notable because the sysrevs who live there can't actually eat them but almost every other known species can. Ironic." 

The fruit is a bit softer and juicier than apples, tasting like someone mixed strawberries, apples, and oranges into a smoothie.

“Woah! That’s really good-“ Alt says after trying some. “Shame the Sessiryans can’t eat ‘em! Kinda like how humans technically eat poison when we eat spicy food huh?” He laughs. 

"Oh you have no idea how much humans can eat that others can't," JJ says, chuckling. "Capsaicin is a big one, but also caffeine, cacao--" 

"And all the things that are poisonous to you that you eat anyway," Sam adds. 

"Oh yes, like alcohol and those pufferfish!"

“Oh yeah!” Alt laughs, “Listen man they’re good! S’not our fault nature’s defenses taste delicious!”

"If you say so," Sam says. 

"Can you even taste anything, Sam?" JJ asks. "I've always wondered that." 

"Not the way you do," Sam says. 

The door to the room opens again and Anti pokes his head into the room. He looks back and forth between the three of them. 

"...yes?" Sam asks. 

"Checking to see if this is a good time to talk about the IRIS building," Anti says.

Alt looks intrigued by this but then looks at the door as Anti comes in. He shrugs, taking another bite of his food. “I don’t see why not.”

Anti nods and walks fully into the room. Sam flies downwards onto the table and disconnects the tray. "Here." Anti puts a small round device onto the table, pressing a button on the side. It projects a hologram of the space station. "The Zypso Station is composed of six layers. The IRIS building is a tourist attraction on Layer Four, composed mainly of offices, near the center of the station." As Anti talks in his robotic voice, the hologram zooms into Layer Four, past tall buildings, towards the tallest building in the middle, shaped a bit like a sword. The IRIS logo in this world is an eye shape with the word IRIS in the center, curved like a bubble. Lines of blue lights go up the side.

Alt watches the hologram with starry eyes, “Woahhh-“ He whispers, watching it work. Then he shakes his head and tries to focus. “Right okay uh… which layer are we on?”

Anti hesitates, looking at JJ. Sam lightly slaps Anti with their tail, and JJ rolls his eyes, covering his ears. "We are between two layers--Three and Two. Three is for commercial activities. Buying items and such. Two is residency. We will have to make our way into Layer Three and then into Four from there, but that will be simple enough. It will be more difficult to get into the IRIS building. It will doubtless not be in the public areas. Do you know where in the building your item is located?"

“Um.. not yet- but lemme see?” Alt says as he takes out the tracker again. The same knowledge gets beamed into his mind, with the only additional information being that it's in the upper half of the building. 

"If you are unable to have that information, we will have to plan for all eventualities," Anti says. "We will have to get through high-security doors without being spotted by the camera system. I am recalling your teleportation ability. Do you think that could help?"

Alt frowns, “Usually we get more information once we’re closer. But it says it’s in the upper half….” He nods to Anti. “I can glitch us past and maybe even disable the camera systems too… I have electric based magic.”

"Magic?" Sam repeats, surprised. 

Alt blinks then opens up his hand and lets a collection of electric magic form a ball in his palm. He then shifts into his calico cat form in a quick glitch before popping back into his chair, casually. He grins, “Magic!” 

"I see. That is your abilities?" Anti nods. "Magic does not exist here. Or if it does, I am unaware of it, and so is IRIS. They will not be prepared for that specific ability. But they are armed with stun guns and EMPs of all sorts."

“…EMPS will be an issue…” Alt grumbles, crossing his arms.

"And you will not shut down when one goes off within range," Anti says. "It will be quite dangerous. Which is why our goal will be to get in and get out without being noticed. IRIS will notice if the systems go down for too long, as well, so we will have to be fast. 

“I won’t shut off sure but it’ll disturb my powers…” Alt mumbles. “But yeah- we wanna make this as simple as possible.” 

“Jameson..." Anti pauses. "Is there... anything you could do? If you want... to help?" 

JJ had removed his hands a while ago. He grins. "If you want," he types.

Alt blinks at Jameson then grins too.

Anti fiddles with the holo projector, flipping through several diagrams. "This is common IRIS-style tech. Is there anything you can do to disrupt it?" 

"Leave it with me, I can look it over later," JJ says. "For now, continue on about the building." 

Anti nods and flicks back to the diagram of the IRIS building. "The upper floors are pretty much closed to the public. Except for roof access, where tourists can get a view of Layer Four. We could work our way up from the bottom or down from the viewing platform. Either way, we will need to disrupt the scanners at the front entrance. They will definitely detect me." 

Alt nods in agreement, “Alright- sounds simple enough. I should be able to do that.”

Anti nods. "Now as for your brother. We will probably need to find him as well, I'm assuming? Does he have magic as well?" 

"So bizarre to hear that question," JJ says. 

Then Alt's phone starts to chime again.

Alt opens his mouth to answer then blinks and takes out his phone, “Anti?” He asks.

"Yes?" says the robotic Anti. 

"Yep," says the Anti in the phone. "Or, partially. I just wanted to let you know that your brother is on the way. Along with the four others from this world." 

“Oh! He found the others then?” Alt asks. “Glad he’s not in trouble then…” 

Sam flies forward. "Why is there a screen assistant in your phone who looks like Anti?" 

Alt blinks at Sam, “Oh he’s not a screen assistant- he’s our friend. He’s another Anti from a universe separate from ours. He’s been helping us.” Alt explains.

"Another me?" the robotic Anti repeats, looking confused. 

JJ nods. "Of course, if you travel through worlds it makes sense you would've picked someone up along the way." Anti shakes his head. "What did he mean, there are others on the way? They will be seen!" 

"Nope, I'm taking them through a path with blank spots in the camera systems," Anti in the phone says. 

Anti's expression shifts to fear. "You found the path?! And--and strangers are coming this way?! Five of them, you said--how do you know they won't be followed?!" 

"I'm keeping an eye on them," Anti in the phone assures him. "I can be in two places at once." 

The robotic Anti does not look reassured, his expression stuck on fear. 

Alt looks to robotic Anti, “He can he trusted- he’s just as paranoid as you are. He will make sure they get here without IRIS noticing.”

One of Anti's green irises flickers. His expression still doesn't change. 

Sam flies over and puts their tail on Anti's shoulder reassuringly. "They won't find us," they say, removing their tail again to type. 

Anti stands up abruptly. "I am going to go do some work in the studio before we go. Feel free to look over the diagram at your will." And he turns around, leaving. 

JJ stares. Then he sighs. "I suppose I can't blame him for the paranoia."

Alt watches him go and sighs, “…I get it. I’d… I’m usually paranoid about stuff like that too. Especially when it comes to companies like IRIS…” He looks at Sam and Jj though and raises his eyes, “…do you all know why he’s.. like this with IRIS?”

JJ shakes his head. "I think there's more to it than this, but I know that him being an android is a part of it. Especially one so... alive." He pauses. "The creation of true artificial intelligence has been outlawed for centuries. If a robotic being is installed with AI, they must be programmed to follow all orders as their highest priority. That is called false AI. Obviously, Anti does not do that. As an android with true AI, his existence is illegal."

“Oh… well… yeah I guess thats enough to make anyone paranoid…” Alt mutters.

Sam flicks their tail, seeming somehow hesitant. "Want to look at the IRIS tech diagram some more?" 

"Yes, that would be great. Then I can start putting things together." JJ reaches out and starts looking through the diagrams on the holo projector.

Alt scoots up to look with JJ, but- his eyes wander to look back at the door. …is he actually worried for his other self? He hasn’t exactly been… the most hospitable.

Sam flies down as well. "I'll look too. Anything I can do to help? I'm not familiar with Olinion stuff, obviously." 

JJ smiles. "Advice would be appreciated," he types. "Let's see what we can do." 

----------- 

"I didn't know we could go this far down," Chase mutters. "Is this safe? What even is this?" 

"For maintenance, I suppose," Schneep says. 

Anti led them on a winding path down to the ground level of this layer, and then to a maintenance hatch in the floor that he said he unlocked earlier. From there, they've gone down, down, into winding tunnels, many of them blocked off by hidden entrances. The area they're in now is a gradual downward slope, metal hallways lined with tubes and ducts and bundles of wires. Clearly this area is not meant to be seen by the public. It might not be meant for people to walk through at all, with the irregular shape of the tunnel. The guys are taking this walk with varying degrees of ease. Marvin seems to be handling himself the best, quietly slipping through the small space. Schneep is lagging behind a bit, occasionally tripping over things. Jackie lingers back to keep an eye on him.

Bro feels a bit cramped in this small space, brushing aside wires and grumbling a bit. “You said this other you lives down here? How can anyone live down here…?” He mutters.

"Very carefully," Anti says from the phone screen. "Sorry to leave you on your own by the way. I could manifest, but I think it's best I don't add another person to this small space." 

"It's like some sort of... of secret lair," Jackie says in a hushed voice, then giggling a little. 

"Still, it's pretty uncomfortable," Chase says. "Why go through so much trouble to stay away from IRIS?" 

"You wouldn't do it without a good reason," Marvin mumbles.

“I mean… I can get it if it’s IRIS.” Bro says quietly, “in other universes… those guys have really hurt my friends.” His eyes burn bright blue in anger as he thinks about this- what they tried to do to Schneep… what JJ said happened to him. “I don’t trust them- not one bit.”

Chase frowns. "Brave thing to say while you're on a space station mostly built by them." 

"Crawling in between their walls, too," Jackie adds. 

"I understand what he's saying, though," Schneep says. "IRIS has always seemed... strange to me. In ways I cannot put a name to. Just a faint feeling of unease. Perhaps it is a difference of cultures." 

The ceiling is slowly getting lower as they go on.

“Well I didn’t exactly chose to come here you know,” Bro chuckles, “And even if I don’t trust em- IRIS doesn’t scare me! I’m sure they’re something me and Alt can handle- even more so with good friends helping us!” He smiles at the others.

"We'll do everything we can," Marvin promises. 

"I mean... not sure how much we can do, but we'll try," Chase says. "Do you guys think we should wear masks or something?" 

"For what?" Schneep asks.

 Jackie gasps. "Yes! We should totally wear masks!" 

"For what?" Schneep repeats. 

"I'm not sure. Just... the thing is in the IRIS building, right? If it's in a part closed to the publice, we'll have to break in or something." 

“Most likely- maybe the other Anti will have some! I already have one~” Bro grins, digging out his pink mask and putting it on, his hair flaring to yellow-green. “See? Hero mode~!”

"Oh that's so cool!" Jackie gasps.

"Your love of old comics stuff is really coming out on this wild trip, isn't it?" Chase laughs. 

Bro grins, “ha! Just like my Jackie! He loves comics! Especially superheroes.”

Chase thinks. "Yeah... I should have a mask, if possible. I am a bit of a public figure. Did you guys have streamers in your time, other-me? Or did that really start to get popular later?"

Bro nods to Chase, “Yeah actually I help my Jackie with his streams sometimes- he does more long form videos though. I bet streaming is way different now than it was for us though!”

Chase grins. "Ah, well, not much has changed, I think. The culture of it, I guess, changes really fast, but I can't imagine the actual process has changed that much. I have a room for streaming, I play games of all sorts on camera, I have mods who help keep chat orderly. I guess in your time you didn't have to worry about the connection issues streaming to other planets."

“Oh yeah no we had enough trouble streaming across our own planet!” Bro laughs.

In the distance, at the end of the tunnel, something flickers. A bit of light, very hard to catch. Was that his imagination? 

Bro blinks and tries to focus up ahead, “…did you guys see that?”

"Hmm?" Chase blinks. "See what?" 

Marvin crouches low to the ground. His eyes dilate wide. "There's something moving down there," he whispers. 

"What? What's moving?" Schneep whispers back. 

"I think it's our size." 

"Ah. I think that's safe," Anti says from Bro's phone.

“Oh- well if Anti says it’s safe then it’s fine!” Bro grins as he hurries forward.

"Well still be careful--" Anti says. 

“I’ll be careful!” Bro calls. 

Bro reaches the end of the tunnel, which seems to just... end. But there's slight movement in the wires to the left... and more flickers of green light. Two of them. 

He blinks at the slight movement and moves to look closer at the wires. “…hello?”

After a second, a metal hand reaches out and pushes aside some of the wires. "Are you... Alt's brother?" asks a voice--familiar, but computerized. 

"Holy fucking pasta!" Chase jumps at the sound of it.

Bro yells a bit in surprise then blinks rapidly, “Yes! Yes I am! …I’m Chase-“

"I didn't know you left," says Anti on the phone screen. 

The robotic man's green eyes flicker as he looks down. "Oh. So you really can be in two places at once." 

"You said something about going into the studio?" Anti persists. 

"I did go there. Then I left." The man pushes the wires aside, revealing that he's standing in a hidden branch off the tunnel, and also showing his appearance for the first time. 

The other four crowd around Bro. 

Marvin blinks. "A... cyborg?" 

"Nooooo," Jackie says, eyes wide. "I think this is a robot." 

"No," the robotic man snaps. "I am an android." 

"You're a fucking what?!" Chase gasps.

Bro looks between the group and the robotic man, blinking in confusion. “… what’s the difference? I mean- a robot I get. But…”

"Robots cannot think," the man states. "Robots are not alive." 

"Androids also haven't been made in a couple centuries, because the GC thought they'd be too dangerous," Jackie adds.

 All four of the others are looking at the man warily. 

"Who... are you?" Schneep asks hesitantly. 

"Anti."

“Ohhh- huh… why did they think they were dangerous?” Bro asks. He doesn’t seem very troubled by any of this. He brightens as he says his name. “oh! You’re this world’s Anti! That makes sense!” He grins.

"Well--because androids are strong and they don't feel pain--unless you want to program that into one, but why the fuck would you do that--" Chase says. 

"I am incapable of hurting any of you," Anti interrupts. "That is my second core program. I would only be able to break it if it got in the way of my first core program." 

Schneep tilts his head. "What is your first core?" 

"Self-preservation." 

“Ohhh I think Alt said that’s like- a robotic law or some shit.” Bro says nodding. 

Anti looks at Bro. "Makes sense, you say?"

Bro looks back at Anti and shrugs, “You kinda look like Alt! Also must of the Antis we met are based around tech so!” He grins, “It’s nice to meet ya-! you know where my brother is, right?”

"I see." Anti nods back. "Nice to... meet you... too." His face shifts into a smile for a moment before falling back into that same neutral expression. Pleasantries must be difficult for him. "Yes, I can take you the rest of the way. Follow me." He turns and disappears down the narrow tunnel he'd apparently come from. The low ceiling forces him to crouch. 

"We're sure about this?" Chase mutters. 

"Androids cannot lie," Schneep says. "Or break their word. They still have computers for brains, and computers cannot deceive people." 

"Unless they're really poorly programmed," Marvin adds. 

"Yes, but I think if someone goes to the effort of making an android, they are going to program them well, yes?"

“He seems fine to me!” Bro says brightly, “If an Anti isn’t immediately creepy or out to kill us, they’re good in my book!” Bro follows after him, crouching down through the tunnel. The four others exchange alarmed looks upon hearing other Antis have tried to kill Bro, but then follow as well. 

The tunnel gets really uncomfortably cramped, but luckly, they're not walking for long. Anti crouches down close to the ground and grabs a handle sticking out of all the bits and bobs on the floor, lifting up a square and pushing it aside. Light spills from the opening. He then drops through.

Bro blinks a bit in confusion but then shrugs and drops down too, expertly landing on his feet like a superhero would.

He lands in a + shaped intersection of metal corridors, each ending in a round door that slides up into the ceiling. After a moment of hushed debating, Marvin jumps down after Bro, landing on his feet. Then Jackie lands, then, Chase, and finally Schneep, who stumbles a bit but has Jackie catch him. 

Bro looks around the space and whistles, “Damn! This is very future-y! They even got those slidey door things!”

A door slides open, and Sam flies out. "Why didn't you say you were leaving?!" they type at Anti. 

Chase gasps. "Oh my god! That's--you're an optel!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Alt glitches out into the hall, eyes wide. He relaxes as soon as he sees Bro. “Chase!” 

“Alt!” Bro says happily, throwing his hands into the air. He rushes over to Alt and pulls him into a big bear hug that lifts him off the floor. 

Alt squirms a little and pushes at him. “Where the hell were you??” Alt grumbles. 

“Meeting the others!” Bro says, dropping Alt down and gesturing out, “Guys! This is my little brother Alt! Alt, this is Marvin, Jackie, Schneep and other me!” 

Alt’s eyes widen as he sees the others- especially Schneep and Marvin. “O-Oh my god…! You’re … aliens- like for real!” 

“Crazy, right?” Bro laughs.

Sam quickly turns to Alt and drops something in his hand. A crescent-shaped object. "Put that translator on really fast," they say, then fly back to Anti. Alt blinks and Bro gestures to his own and Alt quickly puts it on. 

"Yep, aliens!" Jackie says cheerfully, waving a metal hand at Alt. "Nice to meet you!" 

"I will point out you must have been spending time with an alien this whole time," Schneep says, pointing at Sam, who seems to be having an intense staring contest with Anti. 

"It's different when they look closer to you, I think," Marvin says. "And other-Chase also mentioned we're all friends in their home world. So we're probably human there." 

"We are?!" Schneep blinks. "I suppose that makes sense, but I cannot imagine being human. Can you picture me with warm blood?" 

"Depends. Can you picture me with flat feet like all the rest of you?" 

Schneep laughs, a sound that has a bit of a hiss on the end. 

“Well I mean- I’m used to seeing things like Sam. They’re just more.. hi-tech here. But I haven’t seen anything like you guys before!” Alt says. He glitches closer, his eyes sparkling with fascination. He looks to Schneep, “Are you implying that you’re cold blooded? Like a reptile? And Marvin you’re -! You’re a cat person!” He glitches a bit more in excitement. “that’s so cool!” 

"Not quite a reptile, I believe the classification is reshkaz, but a reptile is the closest thing on Terra," Schneep says. 

Marvin blinks, ears perking up. "Thank you! Your, um--glitchy thing is cool too." 

Alt grins sheepishly, “thanks…”

JJ walks out of the room behind Alt. 

"Oh! Hey!" Chase raises a hand and waves. "Guys, that's JJ! Nice to see you again! Sorry it's been a while... Guess I kinda missed you disappearing." 

JJ smiles back. "No, that's fine," he types. "I'm sure you were busy." 

Bro looks at Jj entering and grins. “Hi J! I’m Chase! Or you all can call me Bro~!” He grins.

Chase blinks. "Dude... is your voice mod set to Marvelan English?" 

Sighing, JJ turns a dial. "I set it to that for Alt." 

"Why d'you even have that setting in the first place?" 

"I think it's fun to sound fancy."

Alt blinks, “…we sound fancy?” He looks at Bro who shrugs, “Apparently- the way we speak is like… hearing all the pirates talk all fancy in the last world, I think.” 

Alt frowns. “…that’s so weird-“

JJ waves at Bro. "Nice to see you. Alt has mentioned you. I love your outfit! It's like an old superhero movie." 

“Thanks dude! This isn’t even my real hero outfit though- that’s a superhero costume!” Bro grins. 

"Weird thing that the further you go back in history, the fancier people seem to talk," Jackie says. "Don't even get me started on Shakespeare. I can barely understand it sometimes. I need one of those side-by-side translations." 

Bro laughs as Jackie, “I needed one of those in secondary school! Guess Shakespeare is too fancy for both of us!” 

"Well, I guess fancy is relative, since they don't think they sound that way," Chase says. 

Anti and Sam join the group again. "Do you all... need anything?" Anti asks. "We do have food here."

Bro blinks at Sam and Anti then waves his hand, “Nah we just ate!” 

“…you went out to eat?!” Alt asks Bro with narrowed eyes. “While you had no idea where I was?!” 

“…we brought you dessert….?”

“Hey I mean… as far as we knew you were with JJ, and his shop wasn’t too far away from where we were meeting,” Chase says. “And if you live on a planet that doesn’t have alien contact, how often are you going to eat alien food?” 

“Sorry, though,” Jackie says sheepishly. “I guess we got caught up in the excitement of having someone from the past there.” 

Marvin reaches into the bag he’s carrying and takes out the takeout box as Bro mentions dessert.

Alt makes a face then sighs, “Yeah I guess that’s fair…” he blinks at Marvin and glitches over to look at the takeout box. His eyes sparkle, “…is that chocolate…?” 

Bro hides a laugh.

“Yep!” Jackie says. “These are something called a yessyir, they’re a traditional dessert from Sessirya. The chocolate is a relatively new addition, since it doesn’t grow on that planet. Usually they’re more like that purple one there.” 

“Where did you guys go?” JJ asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“This place called Kissarso’s, it’s very good,” Chase says. 

“Oh that place is in the Gateway isn’t it? I’ve thought about trying someplace like that.”

“It was really good!” Bro says brightly. 

Alt studies the desserts some more before grabbing the box from Marvin and looking back at Bro, “…I guess you’re forgiven then-“ He then starts to head back to the room they were in, “We should discuss the plans for getting into IRIS now that everyone is here- c’mon.”

"Right, right." Chase nods, then laughs. "I can't believe we're gonna fucking break into the IRIS building." 

The group all files into JJ's room. There aren't enough chairs at the table for everyone--not nearly--so the group ends up standing around. Schneep looks around. "Is this where you have been staying? There is no bed." 

"Panel on the wall rolls up to form a cabinet bed," JJ says. 

"Oh pog!" Marvin says, getting surprisingly excited. "Those are the best beds!" 

JJ laughs silently. 

Sam flies down to the holo projector and turns it onto the IRIS building diagram. Around it are a couple devices and metal parts, all coppery and golden.

“Oh! Neat room!” Bro says then gasps as he sees the holo projector and bends down to look at it better. “Yooo!! This is sick!! …what’s all these parts for though?”

"I was making things to help us," JJ says. "But even before that, Anti and Sam were kind enough to give me things to work with. It gets really boring stuck in here." 

"What sort of things to help us?" Jackie asks, intrigued. 

"Something to deactivate electronic seals on doors, and something to set off a loud sound in case we need a distraction. I'm open to more suggestions, too." 

“Ohh woah! That’s so cool!!” Bro grins. “Those sounds brilliant-“ 

"I will tell you all what I told these three," Anti says. "Your part is likely in a part of the building closed to the public. We could get in from the bottom or in from the roof access, which are both open to the public but still have scanners for safety."

Bro blinks at Anti then hums, “Alt can get us probably to the roof if need be- or I could but I think people would notice someone who can fly.” He laughs. 

“Then we gotta get the scanners down to get inside.” Alt adds.

"Well, you can get to the roof from inside the building," Chase says. "There's a public elevator. It can only access the first couple floors and the roof." 

"Have you been to the building before, Chase?" Schneep asks. 

"Yeah, when I first moved here. It was a while ago but I remember that elevator." 

"Either way, Alt is right, we have to get the scanners down," Jackie says. "We don't want them to take away JJ's devices. Or, uh... Anti, I guess?" 

Anti nods. 

"I will be staying back and advising you with the building diagram," Sam says. "I have a line directly into Anti's head." 

"Sounds creepy when you say it like that," Chase mutters. "But anyways. Scanners? JJ, can you help with that?" 

JJ shakes his head. "There will probably be a lot of people at the public entrance. We don't want to cause a scene.

“I can probably take them down,” Alt says, pulling out a yessyir and taking a bite before continuing, “I have electric magic so i can short circuit them.”

The yessir has a texture like a slightly more solid pudding, with the disk at the bottom being solid chocolate. Besides the chocolate taste, the main flavor is a strange sweet one, light like a fruit of some sort but not recognizable as anything on Earth. Alt blinks in surprise at the texture and taste of the yessyir. It’s… really good though so he finishes it off quickly.

"Magic, yes, I forget," Schneep says. "...Magic. Is real. Where you come from." He blinks, looking a bit overwhelmed by that.

"I'm sure IRIS would notice if the scanners short circuited for too long," Marvin says. "So we should be quick." 

"Can you do the same with the camera systems, Alt?" JJ asks.

Alt nods to JJ, “Most likely! Since they won’t know to expect magic like mine- I think we should be good.” He smiles.

"And... do we know where in the building your piece is?" Marvin asks. 

"I believe Alt said their trackers give more detail as they get closer," Anti says.

“Yeah… all I know right now is it’s in the upper parts.” Alt says with a shrug.

"So we will have to improvise?" Schneep says. "Is that... a good idea?" 

"It's our only option, I guess," Chase says. 

The four guys don't look so confident. 

"Come on, you all, this is important," JJ says. "Do we want IRIS to get their hands on something that belongs to these two?"

“Luckily this one piece shouldn’t give them like… too much power,” Bro says, “but we need it to fix our own machine.” 

“Don’t worry, me and Chase are pretty good at thinking fast on our feet,” Alt says confidently.

"Alright... we'll help where we can!" Jackie says, putting on a smile. "Not sure what we can do, though." 

"Distraction, perhaps?" Schneep says. "Or lookouts?"

“… wait- do none of you guys have like… powers or anything?” Bro asks, “not even like- alien powers??” 

“Chase don’t be rude-“ Alt hits him slightly. 

“It’s a valid question!” 

Alt looks at the others and smiles, “we’ll be grateful for any help.”

"Well... I am pretty fast and have a tight grip," Jackie says, opening and closing his hands. "I'm also about three inches taller than I was before the accident! They asked me if I wanted to be taller when getting the cybernetics and I was like 'yeah' and so they just did that." 

“…that’s why you got robotic stuff?? Cuz you were in an accident??” Bro asks Jackie, bewildered. 

Jackie nods. "Long story. Basically, vehicle accident. I passed out so I don't remember most of it. But it was a while ago. And I like customizing my hands and stuff!" He opens and closes his hands a couple more times. 

“Oh… well- at least you can look at the bright side of things now!” Bro says. 

Chase chuckles. Then he looks at Schneep and Marvin. "Well? Do aliens have special powers?" 

"...no??" Schneep says, confused. "What do you even mean by that?" 

"Well, in comparison to humans, felorrs like me are a lot quieter, and more flexible," Marvin says. "IRIS is a Terra company, they're probably expecting human abilities to be the default. So, Schneep, what are kritzeins like compared to humans?" 

"Nothing all that useful for breaking into a building!" Schneep says defensively. "It is small things, like being immune to many diseases and enduring higher temperatures. I--well I suppose for me personally I am a doctor? So if anyone gets hurt I can help?"

Alt shakes his head, “you all are doing more than enough for us- and if you feel like this is too much, we understand.”

"Well, we've come this far, might as well go all the way," Chase says, shrugging. 

Schneep nods. "It is as Chase says." 

"When are we planning on doing this?" Marvin asks. 

"I am assuming that the sooner, the better," Anti says.

Alt stretches and glitches to his feet, grabbing and slinging on his backpack, “I can get us to the building right now if everyone is ready.”

"Huh?" Chase blinks. "What do you mean? We're like... a whole layer and a half away." 

"Alt has a teleportation ability," JJ says. 

"Oh!" Chase's eyes widen. "Pog!" 

"No, we cannot just appear right outside the building," Anti says. "We have to appear in a blind spot for the cameras." 

"Have one in mind?" Sam asks. 

"Yes. I also need to change clothes into something more covering." 

"Riiiight." Jackie nods. "You might be able to excuse a couple metal bits as cybernetics, but uh... right now it's pretty clear that you're all metal." 

"I will go do that now," Anti says. "We can leave as soon as I return." He heads out of the room. 

Alt nods, “Alright.” 

JJ gathers up the two devices. "Who wants to carry these? I don't have a bag."

Bro blinks as looks at his utility belt, “uh- I bet me or Alt could hold them?”

"Oh, they'd probably fit on your belt there! I made sure to include clips. That works out." JJ hands them over to him, then makes sure his monocle is secured. 

Bro grins and puts the devices on his belt and gives JJ a thumbs up, “Awesome!” 

"You can really teleport?" Marvin asks, pupils wide and dilated in awe.

Alt blinks then grins, quickly glitching around the room before appearing back in his spot and putting his hands in his pockets. “Yup~! I call it glitching-“

"Because it looks like computer glitches!" Marvin says excitedly, tail really waving in the air behind him. 

"That's so awesome!" Chase shouts, laughing. "You're both like superheroes!" 

Jackie says, grinning. "That's so pog!"

Alt and Bro exchange glances before Bro laughs, “Yeah I guess so! Alt helps me a lot in my hero duties now-“ 

Alt plays with his mask and shrugs, “…I dunno if heroing is… for me though but… I do like- using my magic for good. Helping people… it’s… nice.” His cheeks are red.

Jackie smiles at Alt. "Well I'm sure you're great at it! You seem cool!" 

Alt smiles shyly at Jackie and then hides a bit in his mask. 

Anti returns, wearing a different outfit. Still black, but now it covers everything except for his hands--even his neck. It's very cyberpunk looking. He also has a set of mirrored sunglasses on his head, which he pulls down over his eyes. "Ready to proceed. And I also got these." He puts some black, shimmery fabric on the table. 

Chase reaches out, sorting through them. "Face masks?" 

"They are designed to scramble your faces on most cameras," Anti says. "Most. I cannot guarantee that all cameras were blocked, as there had to be some exceptions made or else I wouldn't be able to identify you."

Bro blinks at Anti then grins, “yooo! Looking Pog my dude~!” He looks down at the masks, “oooh neat!”

"'My dude'--haven't heard that phrase in a while," Chase says, laughing. He takes one of the masks, turning it over a bit to figure out how it would fit, and then puts it on, hiding the lower half of his face. 

"We're not going to stand out that much, are we?" Marvin asks. 

"Nah, human fashion has included masks for a long time," Chase says. "You must've noticed." 

"Why is that?" Schneep asks, interested. 

"Not sure. I think they started as some sort of utility thing but then people thought they looked cool."

“It was to prevent sickness for a while,” Bro says, picking one up and putting it on, taking off his hero mask, “it was a popular trend in Japan. Just spread to other countries.” 

“I think they look cool, obviously.” Alt says, flicking his own.

"It's something about the mystery of it all," Jackie says, taking one as well. 

"Doesn't exactly go with my style, though," JJ says. 

"Would you rather have your face recorded on camera?" Anti asks. 

"I wasn't saying that." JJ takes a mask as well. 

"Why do you have these, anyway?" Schneep asks as he takes one too. 

"Precaution," Anti says slowly. "In any case. Ready to proceed when you all are."

Alt pulls up his mask and nods, “We just need to link up- and Anti you just need to visualize where you want us to appear at.” 

Bro goes to take Alt’s hand and they both offer out their hands to the others.

"Okay. This will probably be really weird, but let's do it!" Jackie grins as he takes Bro's hand. 

"There's a lot of us, are you sure you will be fine?" Schneep asks, taking Jackie's hand in turn. 

"I'm sure it will be," JJ says. "We won't be going too far, really. Not like we're teleporting down to Terra." He takes Alt's hand once he's finished typing. Everyone else links up from there. 

“Yeah it’s no big- I’m all fueled up,” Alt grins, his eyes sparking green blue. “…the yessyir helped a lot.” Bro laughs. 

"Visualizing clear," Anti says. 

"Androids are probably very good at visualizing, aren't they?" Chase chuckles.

Once they get the confirmation, Alt closes his eyes and they all glitch towards the spot near IRIS. Sam waves goodbye as they all disappear. 

[audie430]

Empty Your Mind (Hero of Time x fem! Reader)

Fandom: Linked Universe; Legend of Zelda

Character: Time

Inspiration: Ended up trying an app called character.ai, which I'm currently obsessed with. And apparently the ai made Time a hypnotherapist? So i've been living my wattpad dreams lmao and this is what it's about

Trigger Warnings: hypnotism, anxiety, stress, depression ig? Basically the struggle of mental health. Could be seen as semi-explicit, though not intended.

Enjoy!

It felt like there were mountains on your shoulders. You were tense and aggravated, just so *so* drained..

Yet it felt like those mountains constantly crumbled and caused earthquakes in your head. The ground would shake, eyes would blur.

You were so tired yet so anxious.

And your boyfriend, Time, had definitely noticed.

He worked part time at a research facility and worked in multiple therapuetic companies around the district you lived in. He was busy most days, but he would always make time for you. You knew that, right?

You sighed as you woke up in the morning. The sun was awake but you were sure that you still needed another night of sleep to actually survive the day. You had noticed Time still asleep next to you, it made you smile, but you didn't even have the energy to show it.

You walked downstairs in your nice little home. The windows were huge and allowed great light to travel throughout the house. The round kitchen table invited you to take a seat on it. You grabbed a glass of water before sinking into the uncomfortable wooden chair.

All you wanted to do was groan... and scream.. it felt impossible to possibly exist right now..

but you held your composure by a thread.

"Hey baby, you up?" called a deep, groggy voice. Time rubbed his eye tiredly with a smile before going to kiss you on the forehead.

"I have the day off today, just me and you, doll. I'm all yours." He chuckled before adding, "You decide what we do today."

You internally groaned, "Can't."

"Huh? What do ya mean ya can't?"

"Too much to do." you replied nonchalantly as you chugged half your water. Your esophagus tingled in thanks.

"...uh okay. Can I take some of that load off you?" Time asked, concerned.

"Nah, I'm good"

"You have literal bags under your eyes Y/N. Not that I don't believe you but.. I think you could be better?" he replied questionly. His voice raising in pitch slightly.

"Wow Time, I literally *said*-" you started. Irritated until you felt a fluffy cloud drift on you. Time held your sitting form to his torso. He hid you into his chest as he hushed you lightly.

"Shh.. I know you haven't been feeling great lately.. let me take care of you for a bit.. and then maybe you can do some chores, okay?"

You nodded hesitantly.

~~~~

"Wait, you want to hypnotize me? And that will make me better?" you inquired. Seeming unsure of Time's suggestion as he nods.

"Please can I just try? You don't have to fall deep.. I just want to get you in a nice relaxed state of mind. Then you can go do whatever you want, okay?"

You sigh, "Fine."

~~~

You lay down on your bed spread out slightly. You rolled your eyes but listened to Time's instructions.

"10.. breathe in... 9.. breathe out"

"8.. breathe in and 7.. breathe out*

Time's instructions were easy enough. And he used that soft voice on you that you loved. His soft voice gives you tingles and practically would melt you everytime that you heard it.

You continue this trend of counting down until you reach one. Your head was slightly heavy as your heart pumped.

"Can you hear me, hun? If you hear me, I want you to nod"

you nodded.

"Good. I'm gonna touch you now, okay? I'm softly gonna rub your hand. And as I rub your hand, you're gonna feel energy and pleasure run up your spine. This energy will feel good."

...seemed simple enough.

"woah-" you quietly called out. Your limbs heavy yet relaxed.. but the way he rubbed your hand.. oh god..

It felt so... *good*

You hummed lightly.

"Heh? Does that feel good Y/N? Nod if it does."

You nod of course.

"Good.. now as I rub your hand slowly you're going to notice that my voice sounds mesmerizing.. and the more intently you listen to me.. the more relaxed and calm you feel..

Do you feel relaxed?" He questioned lightly with a smile.

"mhm.." you mumbled. Your body felt deep and ugh, it just felt so enticing.. you yearned and craved for more. God, you felt so desperate.

"Great sweetie.. oh you're doing so well for me.. Now I'm gonna slowly rub your hand faster and faster.. it might seem overwhelming but you are safe and I'm here for you. Just let the feelings overwhelm you and wash away like the waves on a beach"

Your breath hitched slightly as you hear Time speak again.

"10 breathe in.. and 9 breathe out.."

you follow his instructions.. continuing until you feel his other hand rubbing at your temple.

"You're doing so well for me, sweet girl. Now as I rub your temple, your head feels more and more empty. It's a good empty and you feel like jello. You don't need anymore thoughts, not when I'm here to control you." he stated softly. You nodded in return.

You felt like slush as he slowly rubbed circles into your temple and it was overwhelming in contrast to the fast rubbing on the palm of your hand. You practically groaned as you felt your eyes roll to the back of your hand.

"Go on baby, tell me how good it feels. Say it. Say, 'Time I feel so good. Thank you for taking care of me'"

You repeat the phrase. Your words slurred and slushy.

"Are you ready? That energy must feel so *so* good, it's starting to hurt isn't it?"

You whine as you nod desperately.

"Okay baby, I'm gonna give you another trigger. I'm gonna keep rubbing your hand and speaking to you. But I'm gonna need you to tell me when it's too much. Then I'll say, 'Honey', all that energy is gonna release. It's gonna be overwhelming, but I'm here for you. You're okay and you are safe."

You nod more as you feel him slightly squeeze your hand.

The feelings inside felt like you were being burned with ice. Your head mush yet so filled with lust. You were on a flowerbed of nails, but the nails were pleasant.

"Plea- please" you whispered.

"Honey" he said firmly. It felt so tingly and painful but so so good.

"Honey" he firmly said louder.

"Honey" he announced again as your body shook and you gasped.

~~~

"You did so good for me, baby. Ya feel good? You might be tired"

You nodded, feeling overwhelmed as you breathed heavy. He came onto the bed with you as he started to spoon you as you fell into dreamland. He shushed you as he played with your hair.

Thank goodness you had Time to take the mountains off your shoulders.

[quietbluejay]

Angel Exterminatus 6

Raven Guard daily affirmations we've gotten back into the silly zone also i can't help but think of "hrrrg i'm trying to sneak through the vents but my body is too dummy thicc and my armour too cumbersome and-"

quietbluejay was then shot by a raven guard sniper

not in this universe they ain't

Nykona: I need enrichment in my enclosure. This is why I am sneaking around on the ceiling

aloooone

incredible sharrowkyn batmanning it up like i am darkness i am the NIGHT tarsa: oh hai there

tarsa realizes that to talk to nykona you need to break everything down to small manageable phrases

welp over to the captive Fists again. Life continues to suck for them.

Back to the Iron Hands

ohhh the Drukhari (proto-Drukhari for the pedants) are playing both sides

love this guy explosions and happiness on planet medusa

Sunk cost fallacy? What's that? Is it something you eat? No, that's sand and rocks

oh we're back to kroeger ❤️

i feel like mcneill is perhaps doing a theme here

i've honestly found this character trait of perturabo to be really interesting compared to how I see people talk about him (again I might be missing stuff) (i know a lot of it is memeing but you can meme on chocolate eclair backbone as well!) and yet it's absolutely a core character trait (at least in this book. who knows how he will be written elsewhere) perturabo lacks initiative he does not move unless moved upon he has pie in the sky dreams, but no real ambitions and concrete goals he is willing and able to work towards, no grand strategy this makes it entirely unsurprising that he was basically chilling in the eye of terror for ten thousand years it also makes it unsurprising that his move when he had enough was to just...pack up and nope out there's stuff he wants, but never enough to make a stand and go for it, or to say no.

i am feeling the teenager vibe in this iron warriors ship tonight

you're part of the team now kroeger you gotta go drinking with them

My goodness they're worse than the Thousand Sons

actually, this is basically Kroeger at all times

I like him already OH ITS THEIR WARGAMING ROOM

Kroeger (local jock) got bullied by the nerds to come down and play 40k yes. this is funny to me.

just watch i bet it was Soulaka who designed it

oh nvm Kroeger: can I get a restraining order Lucius: restraints you say fortunately for Kroeger his sempais are here to back him up

bruh??? since, uh, when, exactly, did imperial forces care about targeting the civilian population i mean in terms of "we shouldn't do it"

man this really is peak wargaming

and somehow perturabo and his combat robots manage to jumpscare them so much for astartes senses so they're trying to figure out how to do the siege of terra and their "vaunted" tactical prowess is…human wave tactics

"it's basically impossible" kroeger: nah, I'd win perturabo, showing up out of nowhere:

Kroeger: yep

owo

there's a lot going on here one, this is the big flaw of a lot of the most well-meaning people in the 30k Imperium (the "oh we'll just fix everything after we're done with all the conquests") this works really well as a metaphor for that

the second is how it ties into Perturabo's attitude about guilt

Perturabo is unable or unwilling to make the leap from "a thing once broken will always be broken" to "a thing once broken will always have been broken, but does not always need to remain a broken thing" ... he doesn't know how to recover from mistakes he's basically got gifted kid syndrome turned up to 11 because he woke up with like an entire library of technical knowledge in his brain but no life skills this is why he has all those designs and never builds them and can never be satisfied with all the little quirks that real life introduces to a design

[nyxnightshade1332]

Expectations When Expecting (Prologue)

Chapter 9

Chapter 10:

She glared at the boy who gave a cruel smirk at Grim, who simply stood in shock at the sudden change in Ace's friendly personality. The ginger cackled, bordering maniacally.

"I can't hold it back anymore!" He chortled. "Come on, you're the ones who turned orientation into such a fiasco, right?" Ace smirked, words overflowing with intent to hurt. "The one summoned by the Dark Mirror who can't even use magic, and the monster no one summoned at all."

Yuu considered ignoring him, but caught a glimpse of Grim's face. His eyes mirrored a hurt child, tears of anger and frustration threatening to flow. She began to seethe.

"It took everything I had not to burst into laughter right in the middle of the ceremony!" Ace exclaimed.

"H-hey! You don't gotta be a jerk about it!" Grim's voice was trembling.

Ace ignored the hurt in the monster's eyes, opting to continue his taunting. "So in the end, neither of you got admitted, and now you're janitors?" Yuu swung the broom, scraping the boy's face with the bristles.

"You have EXACTLY three seconds to leave, or I promise you that you'll end up with a mouthful of mud." She snarled.

Ace regarded her with indifference, glaring at her choice of a weapon. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about this? 'S not like you can take me." She pushed her, and her eyes widened.

"Ah ha ha! You're both SO lame!" He sneered, closing in on her.

"What did you just call me?!" Snarled Grim from behind Ace.

"And you're both so clueless you don't even know who the Great Seven are. Not one of them! Maybe before you try getting into the academy again, you ought to take a second crack at kindergarten?" He teased the two.

Yuu narrowed her eyes, watching him laugh. She prepared herself to hit him over the head, with the broomstick this time. However, the sound of an increasingly pissed off, fire-breathing cat rumbled from behind the ginger.

"Shoot. Grim! No!" She yelped, ignoring whatever Ace just said.

"Myuh-uh! You ain't walkin' away from me! It's too late for that!" Grim snarled, his fur standing on end, attempting to make himself look bigger. He inhaled, and Yuu moved away from Ace.

Ace yelped, barely dodging a fireball. "What the hell?! Get your cat!" He told her, making Grim much angrier.

"Nah dude. I told your dumbass to leave a while ago. This is on you." She deadpanned, grabbing the bucket of water, and making her way behind the cat.

"No one makes fun of Grim, Master of Fire! I'm gonna make that explodey-head of yours explode all over again!" Grim smirked cockily.

"Explodey-head?!" Ace exclaimed, suddenly angry. "You wanna throw down with me, shorty? You got some guts. You wanna talk hair, huh? I'm gonna shave you like a toy poodle!" He pulled something that appeared to be a magic wand out of his breast pocket. Yuu sighed, deeming this impossible to stop, and moving herself out of harm's way.

Sorry Crowley...

.

.

.

The fight was much more terrifying than what she'd imagined. She ran back out, actually worried. "Hey! Stop! Take it down a notch, both of you!" She cried, distressed.

"Shut up!" Ace growled, sending a gust of wind at her that was strong enough to send her flying backwards. Her eyes widened in fear, heart sinking when her mind flashes to her unborn child. She says a silent prayer, praying that the child makes it as she braces for impact.

It is much softer than expected and she feels the tickle of feathers against her cheek. She hears someone familiar call her name and a gloved hand with cool metal rings attached to the tips pat against her face.

She opens her eyes to see someone who she never thought that she'd be relieved to see.

"Good to see you've returned to the land of the living, Miss Yuu." He gave her a quick, reassuring smile as he sat her down to breathe before looking up with a gasp. She followed the Headmage's gaze, only for her eyes to widen.

There, the first statue of the Queen of Hearts stood, charred and smoking. "Oh, schist." She muttered.

"Oh no! The headmage!" Ace yelped, spotting the terrifying demeanor of the Headmage. "Not more lashings of love! We gotta get outta here!" Grim cried as he attempted to scramble away, failing miserably.

Crowley prowled forward, an indignant snarl on his lips as he cracked his whip, smacking Ace and Grim on the head. Both yelped painfully enough that Yuu also flinched.

"As if the likes of you could ever flee from me!" Crowley began, breathing out in a weak attempt to calm the fires of his wrath. "Did I not just warn you, 'no more incidents'?" The headmage growled at Ace, who was shrinking into himself rapidly.

"And now you've charred one of my statues?! It's almost as though you WANT to be expelled!" Crowley shouted.

"No! Forgive me!" The trickster pleaded.

"And you, Yuu. You were specifically told to keep Grim under control!" He turned to her, a look of disappointment evident on his features.

"I'm sorry..." She looked down.

Crowley's eyes did not soften with her shame. "This will not do..." He sighed before returning his attention to Ace. "And you! State your name and grade." She heard the headmage crack the whip against his hand.

"Ace Trappola... Freshman." Ace stated meekly. For the first time since she'd seen him, he looked smaller.

"Then listen well, Trappola. You too, Grim and Yuu." His voice echoed off of the statues. "As punishment for today's infractions, you are hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows!"

Yuu stood up from her spot on the ground shakily. She bowed her head. "I understand." She spoke formally.

Grim, however, immediately turned to look at Ace, accusatory as if he hadn't been the one to continue the fight. "That's what you get for makin' fun of me! This is all your fault!" He hissed, eyes narrowed at the ginger who stared, flabbergasted at the idea that he was being punished.

"Whaaat? I have to do it too?!" He whined.

Crowley gave an authoritative sniff, looking down at Ace. "Of course you do. You will meet in the cafeteria after class. Are we clear?" He announced it to the group.

"Yes sir." Ace submitted, bowing his head.

Grim walked over to where Yuu was standing, grumbling. "Ugh, I just can't catch a break!"

Yuu narrowed her eyes at Grim. "I know that I semi encouraged it, but you did not need to throw more than three fireballs!" She scolded. "It's good that we're both okay, but please. Just stop putting us both in danger. The stress isn't good for me..." She didn't yell as she was still shaking from the shock of having literally been launched.

Grim seemed to notice this shaking, as he did not attempt to fight back. Instead, he jumped up into her arms and said, "Since yer so scared... I guess I'll let ya pet me."

Yuu's eyes widened, shakily placing her hand on Grim's head. She pat Grim, attempting to ground herself. Soon enough, the shadow of a tall man stood before her.

"Miss Yuu. Let us get you to the nurse's office." Crowley's voice said. It held a soft, almost fatherly tone. She gave a nod, allowing him to take the lead. 

Chapter 11

[chroniclesinlavender]

ENTRY 001: Dreams (Part 1)

Isaiah has an alarming dream.

Transcript below:

[Avlin nłzēwok'un nar īdsēravn aryú pi-lizt'n. Má ēzyi'ōf fl cni-lizt'n. (These are the stories known only to the Seraphim. Let not these events be forgotten.)]

???: [strained] Have to... keep it... together... can't stop... need to s-stay... need to foc... focus... have to keep it togETHEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR!!

ISAIAH: ...and then everything fades away, and I wake up.

[Chronicles in Lavender. Art & Story by Koishi. ENTRY 001: Dreams (Part 1)]

[December 12, 2019. 3:40 PM]

ISAIAH: My heart's always pounding out of my chest, and I can't sleep for the rest of the night. Every single time, it always goes exactly the same. The same place, the same people... and it never feels like I have any control, or I'm really acting on anything. I'm sorta just... watching it happen, I guess.

DR. GARDNER: Do you feel like the date in which you have the dreams could be significant?

ISAIAH: I dunno, your guess is as good as mine. I just happens every month on the full moon. I don't know why or how, it just does. It's been so consistent that I can anticipate it coming. Sometimes, I would stay up all night from the anxiety, then the minute I fall asleep, they happen anyways. I've always had vivid dreams. They feel so real, and I can control them too. Like, like lucid dreaming. But when these dreams happen, I just feel... powerless. Got a pill I can take for that?

DR. GARDNER: I could, but stepping away from medication, I think this might be related to another significant topic we've yet to come back to? Specifically the topic of Tara? And I know it's uncomfortable, but I think at least addressing it may give a better understanding of these recurring nightmares. I think a lot of the themes you've described to me in your dreams; the lack of control, the sense of urgency, the need to "keep it all together", could all be tied to your trauma regarding your sister's disappearance. A way for your brain to process through the guilt you feel and the grief you're experiencing. Does that sound about right?

ISAIAH: [shrugs]

DR. GARDNER: It's hard, having to go through that. It feels impossible to carry that weight on you all of the time, but it's important to remind yourself that Tara's disappearance is not your fault. It may seem selfish, but some things are out of our control. So it's better to grieve and find a way to move forward. At the end of the day, your own mental health is something that you have to put first, or things like this will keep affecting you. Of course, we can move on if you'd like. How have your exercises been going?

ISAIAH: Oh... uh... I've been trying, and I've been goin outside more, too.

DR. GARDNER: That's good to hear! Tell me more about how that's been working for you.

ISAIAH: [in journal] Log date: 12/19/2019. 4:28 PM. I've just concluded my therapy session for this week. We talked about the usual stuff, depression and meds and self-affirmation. I brought up the dreams, but that ended up leading back to Tara. It's been four years since she disappeared. I've been trying not to think about it. It's jut too much right now. I though by now I'd at least be better about it. That I wouldn't feel so awful. I guess I don't, but I just feel nothing instead. I dunno if that's better or worse. Rather not dwell on all of that now. Either way, I'm hoping that this night'll be over soon. I hate these stupid dreams, it's like a puzzle and I'm missing a billion pieces to it. If I go to bed early, I can at least get the dreams out of the way. Or I'm hoping to. Not much to hope for as of late.

[some time later]

ISAIAH: Yo LiLi.

AMALIAH: Yoooo Isaiah, me and Andre gonna be stayin out for the night. We're hangin w/ some friends.

ISAIAH: Yeah sure, aight. How come you didn't text?

AMALIAH: Cuz I'm drivin? fuck you mean?? And you take, like, hours to text back.

ISAIAH: Yeah yeah nah, good point... Okay, I'll text if I need somethin-

AMALIAH: Whoa hold up, you good cuz? You sound like shit. Still gettin them weird dreams? I know it's a full moon tonight.

ISAIAH: yeah, but I also had therapy today, so I'm like, emotionally-drained.

AMALIAH: Goootcha gotcha. Well if you need me, just text. Aight I gotta watch the road. See you in the mornin, kay?

ISAIAH: Night, LiLi.

ISAIAH: Is anything going to be different? Anything at all? I thought bringing it up at therapy would shed some light on why I keep having these dreams, but of course it all goes back to Tara. I thought I would be fine by now. That I'd find a way to not let what happened mess me up. But I'm still here. Everything around me keeps going, but I'm still here. Still empty... why does it even matter? Maybe this is just it for me... just emptiness and guilt... walking through a haze as life passes me by. I'm so sick of it being this way. I just want something to change... I just want to change.

BUTTERFLY: Why Do You Chase After Me?

ISAIAH: I don't know. I can't remember anymore I've just been... running for so long... Why were you running?

BUTTERFLY: I Was Running From Something As Well, Something Too Hard For Me To Bear. But I Feel As If You Can Help Me Face It.

ISAIAH: How would someone like me be able to help? I'm empty...

BUTTERFLY: You Are Not Empty. You Are An Endless Multitude. And If You Help Me, I Promise To You What You Yearn For The Most.

ISAIAH: ...okay. I can do that.

BUTTERFLY: Then It Is Time For You To Wake Up, Isaiah.

ISAIAH: Something... changed.

[Ēzm̄fl īn-hōn pi-jalzègxa olsl... (To be continued in the next entry...)]

[boosmidnighthour]

Here's another little Total Drama drabble that I have no current uses for. I wrote a while ago when I was tired, so it's a little messy, but I think it's cute.

Working Title: Wayne the token straight

Fandom: Total Drama, Total Drama 2023

While hanging out, the topic of Wayne's sexuality comes up.

“Wow, Wayne really is the token straight,” Bowie chuckled to himself.

“Yep!” Wayne agreed, sounding almost proud of himself.

“Nah,” Raj argued, mashing the buttons on his DS. He looked up at Bowie from where he'd laid his head on his chest as the other teen hummed in curiosity.

“What, I never told you?”

“Told me what?”

“Yeah, told him what?” Wayne piped up again, looked over from where he had been playing on his XBox. He looked kind of confused.

“Oh, man! I can't believe it never came up!” Raj laughed to himself, before looking back at his game. “Remember in freshman year? That one guy, uh… tall guy, dark curly hair, green eyes?”

“... Uh…”

“Luke-”

“Oh- uh- yeah, no,” Wayne quickly tried to deny, despite his neck quickly going red. He turned back to his game, in a rush.

“Bro, come on! You did not talk about him for weeks, waxing poetic about his /beautiful emerald eyes/, keeping me up until the next day the one time, just to try and lie to your best friends,” Raj pouted dramatically.

“Is poetry another shared thing you two have?” Bowie hummed in amusement.

“Nah, Raj got the poetic skills, eh. I got basically nothing under my belt.” Then he sighed. “Rajie, you know that didn't end very well.”

“Well, that's because Luke ended up being the straight one. He was still nice, though! And he wanted to stay friends, so it didn't end that badly, eh?”

“I couldn't talk to him after that. Then he moved to another part of Canada.” Wayne cringed on himself, before shaking off the memories. “Anyway, that doesn't mean I'm not straight. My sexuality's still up for debate, eh.”

Raj scoffed a little, a playful smirk on his face.

“Oh, ya got somethin’ else to say, lover boy?” The dirty blonde smirked, a dare behind it.

“Nothing, nothing… I just have my theories,” Raj hummed nonchalantly, pretending to be suddenly uninterested in their line of discussion.

“Mhm, thought so.” Wayne turned back to his video game, seeming satisfied with that answer.

The room was silent for a few moments, aside from the sounds of the two's video games and Bowie texting someone. Then he put his phone down, looking like he had some questions.

“How'd this Luke guy come into the picture?”

Wayne groaned and planted his hands over his face, looking like he didn't really want to talk about it. So Raj took the lead for now.

“Luke was a football player at our school. A grade above us. But he also got into trouble a lot, so he was benched for a bunch of games. Still came to the practices, though.” He saved his game and turned his DS off to focus more on what they were talking about. “It was little things, like dying his hair, getting piercings anywhere but his earlobe, wearing clothes that the principal said were inappropriate, like cropped t-shirts and rings.”

“Sounds like someone I'd have plenty in common with,” Bowie commented teasingly.

“Yeah, you two might've become friends if you'd met him,” Raj agreed. “Anyway, Wayne thought he was the coolest, y'know? He'd go to every game just in case he played, but if he couldn't he would try to talk to him from the bleachers. Almost impossible. He would try to hang out with him after school, but he would leave before Wayne caught up. Wayne talked about feeling ghosted by the guy a few times, but he took it like a champ.”

“Well, I mean… Luke would get suspended sometimes, so I wouldn't make it sound like this happened everyday, eh?”

“Psh, it was just about,” Raj teased. “He was a jock, but the kind of jock that actually does the work to keep his grades up, not the one making the nerds do his homework for him. He was quiet, read a lot. When he spoke, Wayner listened to every word he said-”

“No I didn't-”

“You totally did, bro! Luke's voice carried. I swear, you were able to understand every word he said to his friends in the cafeteria, and our tables were at different ends!”

“He had a nice voice. Can't a guy appreciate that?” Wayne weakly defended.

“You were crushing hard, dude. Harder than you were on that one chick from middle school.”

“You already admitted to confessing to him, didn't you?” Bowie interrupted. Wayne's sigh was all the answer he needed. “I'm not gonna push you to figure it all out right now, but at least you acknowledge that you may or may not be straight. Though, maybe don't push that you're straight. If you're looking for a partner, that might send the wrong signals.”

[pure-garbage]

Robin The Matchmaker? Meddling Antics Of The Archaeologist

Robin was getting tired of watching Zoro and Lana dance around their feelings.

'These two are impossible... they're both so forward, yet somehow both too shy to make the first move.'

Robin saw all the stolen glances: the way Lana studied Zoro's figure while he was napping, yearning silently from afar. Zoro was hardly any better, eyes wandering constantly, hungrily over Lana's form while they trained. Neither had yet caught the other staring, but Robin observed all the subtleties, the pieces of the larger picture both pirates seemed blind to. It could be hard to see the forest for the trees, especially from within the depths of the woods.

'Knife or sword, the sexual tension between these two is getting so thick, either of them could cut it,' Robin observed with growing impatience.

"Nami, do you know how long we'll be docked here?" Robin asked. The island was uninhabited, but her practiced eye had spied signs of the abandoned vestiges civilization up and down the coast.

"Hard to say... judging by this pose, my best guess is a day or two," Nami mused, fretting a bit as she studied the fluctuating needle on her wrist.

"That's perfect," Robin smiled. "I thought I saw the remains of some stone structures. I'm going ashore to investigate."

"Fine, but knowing Luffy and Sanji, we'll end up having another beach barbeque once they find out we're not sailing again immediately," Nami pointed out. "When that madness begins, you can just follow the smoke to find us. We won't be far from the Merry."

"We'll see."

Robin packed provisions, then approached Lana. The lockbreaker was pretending to hone her knife, but her gaze was fixed to Zoro as usual.

"You're coming with me," Robin announced.

"Uh... I am? Where to?" Lana asked, putting the balisong away.

"Ashore. I'm going exploring and I could use an assistant."

"Hm, okay then. I'll grab a pack," Lana shrugged.

"You too, swordsman!" Robin called.

Zoro opened one eye, betraying the fact that he hadn't really been asleep against the mast.

"Can't," he grumbled. "Too tired."

"I wasn't asking. We don't know anything about this island. Lana and I might run afoul of something or someone nefarious."

"Tsh! Fine, I guess," he conceded.

'I suspected it wouldn't take long to convince him after I threw in Lana's name,' Robin smirked secretly, altogether pleased with herself.

Zoro rowed them to shore while Lana showered Robin with questions about archaeology and what they might expect to find on the island.

"One never can tell until they've found it,"Robin replied cryptically.

"Rocks, moss and old, useless buildings," Zoro sighed with a roll of his eyes. "I might as well stay with the boat."

"But maybe you'll miss something exciting!" Lana grinned. "Traps... treasure... wild animals! We could bring some meat back to the ship, maybe something shiny for Nami!"

"I doubt it," Zoro insisted, clinging to his grumpiness. "Meat, maybe."

"You're such a drag," Lana teased, unfazed.

"Just being realistic."

"Come on," Robin urged them, heading uphill from the coast. "I just want a peek... if you two get bored you can head back any time."

"Don't see why I would," Lana said as they followed Robin into thicker tree cover. "The ship's not much more interesting today."

"Not yet. Just wait til Luffy wakes up from his nap," Zoro pointed out.

"That could take a while. He was up all night letting Chopper and Usopp tie him in knots," Lana chuckled.

"I wondered why they were being so loud."

"Yeah, right? It kept me up for a while too."

"You're not tired?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. You?"

"I could go for a nap," Zoro yawned.

"Maybe you can take one at the ruins," Lana suggested. "If Robin finds writing of any kind, it'll keep her busy for a while."

"Maybe so."

Robin smiled, letting the pair fall a ways behind her while they talked.

'Today's the day,' she thought with sly excitement. 'All they need is a little push...'

They reached the ruins of what had once been the center of the island's activity. Robin could tell at a glance there was actually nothing ancient or mysterious here. The abandoned town had been left willingly, over time and in an organized fashion. It laid its story bare to Robin's knowing gaze with little resistance. She still listened with keen interest to the history it shared with overgrown enthusiasm, but she was more focused on the reason she'd come ashore to begin with.

'This area is overgrown with vines... perfect for concealing a flower or too,' Robin thought sneakily.

"Ooh, what's that?" Robin exclaimed craftily. She dashed ahead, leaving her shipmates behind swiftly.

"What?" Lana responded eagerly, taking off after her. Robin didn't let her go a full step.

'Un Fleur...'

Lana yelped, feeling something snag her ankle. She started to fall, but Zoro jumped in, catching her before she could hit the ground. He spent a brief moment supporting her weight, one hand resting on her stomach and one on her arm.

"Careful," he cautioned. "Lots of vines here."

Lana turned to face him, grabbing his arms to steady herself.

'Perfect!' Robin thought.

"Yeah, I'll- hey!"

"Huh!"

Robin quickly looped a vine around Zoro's foot and tugged, sending them both toppling to the ground in a heap.

"Zoro! What happened?" Lana demanded, struggling under his weight.

"Think I slipped... these damn vines are everywhere," Zoro reasoned.

"Yeah, they've got my wrist," Lana grumbled.

"My ankles, too. We fell hard, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine."

It occurred suddenly to Lana that the way they'd landed was a close call to being a rather intimate pose.

'He- he's right on top of me!'

Her pounding heart skipped a beat and her cheeks flushed. The sensation of his body on hers sent an electric thrill pulsing out from her gut, momentarily overruling her embarrassment.

"H-how about you? Guess I kind of broke your fall," she managed.

"Uh... yeah, actually," he mumbled, falling prey to a blush that matched hers as he too realized just how close together they were. "Sorry."

"S'fine."

"Lemme... I can help with this stupid vine," he offered, tugging it off her wrist.

"Thanks. Your ankle, maybe I can-"

"I got it, just-"

There was a stone digging uncomfortably into Lana's back. She pushed up onto her elbows to escape it, not anticipating how close the action would put their faces. She gasped sharply at the proximity, eyes going wide as his left the vines looped around his feet to meet hers. His eyes were dark and intense, pupils dilated way wider than they should have been from a simple fall.

'She's... not in a hurry to pull away,' Zoro observed inwardly, heartbeat speeding up while he felt her breath come faster. The pink flush of her cheeks deepened further as they both froze for a few breathless seconds, each waiting on the other to move first.

'Is... is he gonna kiss me?' Lana wondered, struggling to find another reason he might be lingering so long.

Zoro was indeed tempted to press his lips to Lana's, but the same question plagued him still.

'Would she mind if I did?'

Over Lana's shoulder, Zoro caught a glimpse of Robin in the flower pose, watching them intently from around the corner of a dilapidated building. His eyes narrowed, suspicions mounting as he replayed the fall in his mind.

'I didn't slip. Something pulled me.'

"Come on," he grunted, pushing off Lana and helping her back onto her feet. Robin vanished around the corner, leaving the pair alone.

"I'll watch my step more closely," Lana sighed sheepishly.

"Yeah, weird terrain around here," Zoro agreed, eyes fixed to the spot where their crewmate had disappeared. "Let's catch up to Robin. After you..."

______________________________________________________

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