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my-brothers-corrupted · 4 years

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My Brothers, Corrupted

Chapter Three : Section Eleven : Reunion

Chapter One l Chapter Two l Chapter Three

Trigger warnings for character death, graphic violence, guns and gunshot wounds, abuse, and suicidal ideation.

Everyone is back together again - and Anti doesn’t like what he finds.

Red’s still fussing over Dapper by the time they make it to a hotel that night, but Dapper’s gone so tired and quiet he doesn’t seem to have the strength to reassure him, asking Red increasingly confused questions as the day goes by, nose bleeding at random.

“Where are we?”

“Headed back to Peru, Dap, to see Dok.”

“What do you mean, Dok?”

“Dok’s waiting for us, buddy. Your big brother.”

“How many big brothers do I have?”

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Who’s in the seat in front of me? His face is all shadowed.”

“There’s no one in the seat in front of you.”

“There’s someone in the seat in front of me. He’s not supposed to be here and neither am I. Where are we going, Anti?”

“It’s me, it’s me…”

He doesn’t resent Dapper for having another confused episode, or for hallucinating, but he kind of wishes they could just go back to the first half of the day, where it was just him and Max talking for hours in the front seat. He’s so easy to talk to.

They get two adjoined hotel rooms and leave the door open between them as Dapper curls up on the windowsill of his room, holding his new sketchbook to his chest but staring out at the world around him. Red sinks onto the bed beside Max and looks up at him.

“Whew,” he says.

“Whew,” agrees Max. “Some day, huh?”

“Some day. But tomorrow we’ll have Dok and he’ll help us get Dap’s medicine and everything will be okay.”

He sits back with a satisfied smile. His eyes and Max’s meet more easily these days. Dapper stares at them from the opposite room.

Anonymous asked: Sorry you're so confused Dapper. If it helps any, I don't think much will have changed for you guys, just Marv, Trick, and Anti. Results were a bit mixed but we did save a life and that's what matters so thank you.

“That is good,” says Dapper, managing a smile at the news. “It’s really weird that they’re not here with us. Tomorrow, though, we’ll be back with Anti and everything will settle down again.”

He puts his chin in his hands and glances over at his brother again. “I hope Red is saying goodbye to Max. He’s getting much too attached and they haven’t even talked about important things.”

Anonymous asked: Would you be upset if Max stayed? Not Anti. YOU.

Dapper stares down at his hands, at his sketchbook.

“It’s not… an option. If he’s still here when Anti finds us, he’s dead.”

He looks up again, over at them chatting in the other room, their bodies turned towards each other.

“But I was glad to meet him. He gave us a nice week. I will be able to hold onto it. Like Christmas. Or the day Trick and Dok took me to get groceries and fish. And everything was okay. You have to have days to hold onto.”

Anonymous asked: Hey Red, how are you guys doing? What's the plan, if there is one?

“Yeah,” breathes out Max. “I think, uh. I think we should talk about that.”

Ro sits up from his place beside him. “What do you mean?”

“Like… what are we planning to do after we find Henrik? What are we planning to do if Anti comes?”

Ro’s mouth twists. His face falls. Uncertain hands tangle together in his lap.

“Do you… do you want to go back to Anti, still?” asks Max.

Red looks down. Ro looks up. He covers his face for a second, letting out a deep breath.

No.

He doesn’t.

Oh, fuck.

How to admit it? Even to himself? He laughs softly, tugging at his hair.

“It’s okay,” whispers Max, his hand drifting closer on the bed.

“Max,” whispers back Ro, and Red, and Jackie, as one. “I don’t think I can go back to Anti.”

bupine asked: anti doesn't have to find you, dap. you can find dok and run. anti's still weak, and he got his ass kicked pretty good the other day by the magician you helped us save, so you'll have a fighting chance. blue and trick will be ok for now, i think

Dapper laughs, his whole chest shaking with it, pulling you closer happily. “That’s funny! You’re all trying to cheer me up.”

bupine asked: which part of it is funny?

“Running away from Anti? You think he’d ever let me get away?”

Anonymous asked: You deserve more than just days to hold onto. You deserve people to hold onto to make every day the best it can be.

Dapper shrugs.

“Well. Maybe. But that’s not what my life is.”

Anonymous asked: That's okay, bud. Knowing you don't want to go back to Anti, or that you can't, it's a step. We can try to figure out what to do from there.

“Yeah.” Max is quick to affirm it, leaning forward, trying not to let his face be too hopeful. “Yeah, yeah. It can just be - we can figure it out from here. That’s great, that’s great news. I was really hoping you would say that.”

“He won’t just let me go, Max.” Ro puts his head down, tugging at his hair. “And I don’t know how I could not feel guilty if I left the others behind…”

“Jackie, sometimes the best thing you can do in a situation like yours is have time to get your own life sorted and your head straight. You have to take care of yourself first.” Max’s hand is on his shoulder, his thumb rubbing soothingly across the muscle. “That’s not selfish. Just because you’re the oldest brother, that doesn’t mean you have to always be crucifying yourself for everybody else. You’re important, Jackie.”

It’s almost too much to hear someone other than Blue say it with so much conviction, and Red turns his head away, flushed and trying not to smile.

“Well… I just… I really wish I could just talk to Anti about this.”

He sighs and covers his face again. “I know he’s been bad to us in the past. But if I could just explain to him that I still love him, I just need some time away, and I can’t watch him lock up Dap anymore… I don’t know how to just betray him like this.”

“You don’t owe him anything,” says Max, and this time he must struggle to keep the heat out of his voice, the hatred. “He lost his right to keep you around every time he hurt and manipulated the two of you. He tore your memories to shreds just to ensure you didn’t want anyone but him.”

“He must have had good reason,” mumbles Red. “I’ve loved him this long.”

Max smiles sadly, but doesn’t contradict him.

“Listen, um. I’ve thought about this a lot, Ro. You know how I was planning to help Dapper hide from Anti? To save him if he ever got in trouble and you weren’t there to protect him?”

“Yeah?”

Max reaches for his wallet and pulls out a stack of fake IDs all with their shared face on it. There’s different names, nationalities, birthdates, everything. Ro stares at it, eyes wide.

“We could get on a plane,” says Max. “I’ll get all four of us tickets and we could go somewhere. I’ll forge anything you need. We’ll work together to cover our tracks. I’ve been hiding from Anti for years and you’re the best hacker I know. We could go, Jackie. We could go.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What is your life then, Dap??

His fingers drum along the paper of his book.

“When I was born, I was stolen.”

He runs the pads of his thumb along the image of a boy in chains.

“I didn’t know anything but Anti. I was unhappy. But then I settled in. And it wasn’t so bad.”

Flips to a sketch of Ro, smiling at him.

“Eventually, someone saved me, and stole me. And I was unhappy. But then I settled in. And I was happy, for a little while. And things were good, and kind to me. But I still hurt. I was still haunted. And then he stole me again.”

Dozens of drawings of Anti. Again and again. You know it is him without knowing how you know it is him. Dapper, loving, traces his image.

“I was scared. Someone came to save me. They failed. We tried to run. We failed. Red forgot. He was unhappy for a while. But then he settled in. Trick and Dok tried to stay away. Anti caught them. Blue tried to run. He didn’t get away. He was unhappy, then happy, then unhappy. He’ll be happy again at some point. He’ll settle back in. Because you know something?”

He tears a picture of Anti out of his sketchbook and lets it flutter to the floor.

“Everyone else gets to forget. Everyone else does it once, fights, forgets. But Anti washes my brain out again - and again - and again - ”

He tears pictures of himself from his notebook. Pictures of his brothers. Pictures of Anti.

“And I never, ever get to forget. Not really. Not fully. Every day I’m disoriented, struggling with the memory loss and the psychosis and the time travel and the abuse. And every day, I wake up unhappy, and then - I settle.”

He puts his head down against the glass.

Crying soft and silent.

“Cause that’s what life is. It’s not happy. It’s settling. It’s getting caught again - and again - and again - and again…”

Anonymous asked: What do you think, Red? Do you want to go?

Red feels a dozen things, a hundred things, a thousand things all at once.

Joy. Yes! Yes! Let me go with you! Guilt. Anti would be so upset… Vindication. Well, fuck him, he’s been horrible to me. Fear. He’d kill us for this. Relief. The thought of being fucking free of it all!

And then -

Disbelief.

He pulls back from Max’s hand on the bed.

Staring at him.

Shaking his head.

“This is… a trick,” he says, mouth taut. “You - what do you want?”

Max stares at him, his eyes grieving.

“Please. Nothing. I don’t want anything but to see that you’re okay.”

“That’s not how life works,” spits Ro, on his feet, turned away from him, eyes burning. “What do you want? If you just told me… maybe I could give it to you. And we could go. I just need to know what you want.”

“Just you,” croaks Max. “Please. I don’t want you to be in pain anymore. Just you, Jackie. Ro. My - my - just you.”

Anonymous asked: Max doesn't want anything from you. It's not a trick. He doesn't work like that; has he ever tried to trick you before? He just wants you, and dap, to be safe, or at least as safe as possible.

“I get that you’re paranoid,” says Max gently. “It’s okay. Let’s just take a moment and breathe.”

Everything he says is gentle unless he’s shouting for joy, and he’s so pretty the sun should be ashamed, and how is Red supposed to put faith in someone like that? Why would Max give a fuck about him? What does he want?

Just you. Just you.

Red’s heart picks up in his chest.

He’s been pretending he doesn’t notice, but he does - even he couldn’t miss it. The way Max looks at him.

The way he looks back at Max sometimes.

He sits down on the bed, exhausted, staring at Max.

“Jackie?” says Max.

“Yeah,” mumbles Ro. “Just… just give me a second.”

He stares at him. Examines the strong curves of him. The warm lines of his brown hands. The eyes like a big cat’s. He thinks even if Max were ugly he’d still probably be beautiful. He moves like he’s in love with the world. His eyes are in love. Yeah, he’d be beautiful anyway.

“You’ve been really, really kind to us,” mumbles Ro, and he gets up again, and shuts the door between his and Dapper’s room. “If you wanted me, you just… you just had to say so, I - I’m grateful to you, and maybe, yeah, maybe I’d like to go away… and I could be what you wanted me to be.”

And then, before Max can answer, Ro is beside him.

Close beside him.

Max’s breath hitches as Red’s weight sinks into the bed beside him. A hand caresses the back of his head. A second grips his lapel and gently tugs.

“True or false,” says Ro. “You loved me once.”

Max’s eyes well. He closes them, biting down hard on his lip.

“Jackie… you’ve been through a lot, we don’t have to - ”

“Please,” says Ro, putting his head down against his shoulder. “Please, I - I want to hear you say it. I know.”

“You don’t have to - ”

“I just - I just - ”

“I loved you, yes, but you don’t owe me - ”

“Did I love you back?”

“You - I - yes, fuck, Jackie, my h-heart…”

It is Max’s turn to put his head down on Ro’s shoulder. You see, from your place in the corner, Ro’s face light up and flush, his mouth beaming as he buries his face against Max’s neck, and then they are hugging so tight they both might burst, tumbling down onto the bed, wrapped up in each other, holding on to each other, and Max weeps in silence against his chest.

“We were in love?”

“We were, we were, yeah, I loved you, you loved me…”

“You’re still in love with me?”

“I am,” sobs Max. “I never stopped being in love with you. You’re my family, Ro, you’re my heart. Please, we can’t talk about this anymore. You’ve been through so much - ”

“All you had to say was that you wanted me again,” says Ro, triumphant, and then Max freezes stiff as a warm mouth presses against his mouth. “I can give you that.”

He’s a little nervous, sure, but this? This is nothing for as much as Max has done for him! Max took care of him! Max took care of Dapper!

“Let me pay you back,” whispers Ro, sitting up slightly in his lap, mouthing another kiss against his neck. “Max, I can’t believe… I love you, too, I - ”

“Jackie,” croaks Max, no longer hugging him back. “No.”

He can be anything Max needs him to be. Max is kind and good and wonderful, a far cry better than Anti, and he’s always been able to be anything Anti asked him to be. He can be anything Max asks him to be too. He can get him to keep taking care of him and Dapper and Dok, too, and then all of them can go away, and everything will be wonderful, if he can just give Max what he wants.

“I’ll turn the camera off,” whispers Ro.

“No, don’t turn the camera off.”

“Just real quick, I’ll get up and turn the camera off. And it can just be you and me. It can just be you and me. Just - ”

“Ro,” shouts Max. “I don’t want you to do this! Get the hell off me!”

Ro -

Ro stares at him, disbelief in his face.

“M-Max, I - ”

“Please get off me,” whispers Max.

Ro gets off him, trembling, his face only getting redder, his mouth shaking with hurt. He turns away from Max, standing in the corner of the room, trying to breathe.

“I’m going to go check on Dapper,” he says after a moment.

“No,” says Max. “Please. Let’s talk about this. It’s not that I don’t… Ro. I don’t know where to start… I’m not… I’m not… you’ve been through so much and I don’t want this to be… this isn’t how I wanted this to… fuck.”

Max buries his face in his hand. Ro stands in silence, turned away from him.

Anonymous asked: Life can be happy, dap. It's not just settling, for everyone. It's not fair that it had to be settling for you, and for your brothers. But life can be happy. And we're trying to make it that way for you and your brothers.

There’s a faint sob from Dapper’s room. Max and Ro stop short, staring at each other.

“Maybe we should check on him after all,” says Max.

Ro wipes swiftly at hot tears, feeling humiliated and stupid, but Max’s hand comes down on his shoulder again.

“Let me,” says Max. “You’re all worked up. Just take a moment to breathe. I’m not mad, okay? I’m not mad. We just need to talk. I’ll be right back.”

He opens the door to Dapper’s room carefully, stepping inside.

“Hey,” he says to the figure pressed against the window. “Is everything okay?”

Dapper’s still more interested in talking to you. “I want my brothers to be happy,” he says. “But that’s not something that’s ever going to happen for me and pretending otherwise just makes it all worse.”

Anonymous asked: Change is hard, but we need it for the better. It can be adjusted to and it can stay and work and unfortunately we're going to have to fight for it. "Settling" is a refusal of that change. ANTI is a refusal of change.

“Change never happens,” says Dapper bitterly.

Max sits down on the windowsill beside him. “Looks like this night got dramatic for everyone pretty fast, huh?”

Dapper doesn’t look at him. Head against the glass. Eyes closed.

“I think they’re right,” says Max softly. “I think you have to keep hoping for change.”

“I’m not like the others,” answers Dapper coldly, to you, to him. “I wasn’t made for anyone but Anti. You know why it doesn’t matter if Anti gives me a hundred nicknames? It’s because he’s the one who picked my name. The others all got to be Chase, Henrik, Jackie, Marv. Me? I’ve always been Dapper. And that will never change.”

“Hey,” protests Max, worried, leaning forward. “Hey, come on. Don’t say that. Change never happens, that’s not true. You still have free will. You still change. Hey, you picked this shirt out, right?” He reaches out as if to touch the soft rhino t-shirt, but a warning look from Dapper wards him off.

“A fucking shirt isn’t the same as not living my entire life centered around making Anti happy.”

“It can be a start.”

“It’s only ever a ‘start.’ In the past six months alone, Marvin tried to escape with Henrik, willing gave in to Anti instead, then a whole fucking herd of magicians came to help us and we still couldn’t get away. When we were still twins, Jackie broke us out of our room and carried me two fucking countries away trying to escape with me while I was running a 40-degree fever. Couldn’t make it. I lived with my family for what – a year, two? Then Anti stole me again. I tried to escape twice before he wormed into my head, Henrik and Chase once attacked him head-on trying to get away, again and again we’ve fought, and you still don’t get it. We are never getting free of him. Soon, he’ll be here, and then? You’ll be dead, Max. Just like everyone else I’ve ever loved.”

Max stares at him.

“What?” snaps Dapper. “Are you afraid?”

“That was my sign name,” says Max. “You remember me.”

Dapper blinks. Glances at his hands. Glares again and turns back to the window, eyes burning.

“You should go be with Jackie,” he signs wearily. “While you still can. He deserves to know how much you’ve always loved him.”

Anonymous asked: Maybe it won't be happy for you. But it can be better than it is. It can be better than it is, and someday it will be.

Dapper breathes out a long, low sigh.

“If there’s one thing that might be worth fighting for, it’s the thought that maybe the others could be happy. I remember when I was first captured - when was that, who was I then? - I consoled myself by saying that since he had me, he wouldn’t need the rest of my family. But then he brought someone else to me. And more and more. And I couldn’t do anything but sit in my room, alone, watching him erase their love for me.”

“The others still love you,” murmur Max. “I still - ”

“You don’t have to pretend we’re friends,” Dapper cuts him off.

“We are,” protests Max, hurt. “We were.”

“You love me because you love Jackie and Jackie thinks he loves me. Sometimes when people love each other enough, they start to love the people that other person cares about. Just because they love that one person. We’re not friends, Max. We don’t know each other. Maybe we did once, but we certainly don’t now. But you still love me because you love my brother. So I think it’s enough. It’s enough that you should tell him you love him and mean it. You should go back to that room and tell him you still want - well, it’s not my business to talk about.”

“Are you sure you’re not just pushing me away because you stopped believing that anybody could love you but Anti?”

Max is surprised by the volume of his own voice. He covers his mouth with his fingers for a second, taking a deep breath.

JJ’s gone tense beside him. He doesn’t move.

“I’m sorry,” whispers Max. “Is that how you feel, Jameson? That that’s the reason everybody loves you? Because they love the people who love you, so you get the leftovers of everybody else’s love? Because, fuck, I… it’s not true. And I know you’re going through shit, and I’m sorry, but you owe it to your brothers to start trying to believe that, you owe it to Jackie – ”

“Jackie isn’t always kind to me,” Dapper interrupts him fiercely, though there’s no condemnation in his face. It’s just facts to him now. “Neither is Trick. They love me because their brothers love me. And Blue and Dok love me because Anti loves me and told them to, and Anti loves me because he needs me, and I am – I am – I am a weapon and that’s it, that’s all. A weapon and a pet and a child. Tired, that’s what I am. So… so unbearably exhausted, you wouldn’t believe… tired enough that the weight of it could sink boats, tired enough to kill men God offers more mercy to… Nobody can love me because nobody gets a chance to. Anti wants me in my room and I can’t get away from him. Maybe this week, for a little bit, Jackie’s loved me, but soon he’ll be taken away from me again, and I’ll be alone.”

“Jameson – ”

“Don’t call me that. Please. I’m not like Jackie. There’s no Jameson to go back to because there was never a Jameson to begin with. I was born in Anti’s grip and I will die in Anti’s grip. I have always been Dapper. Leave me alone. Be with Jackie while you still can.”

But Max isn’t done. Max can’t see him like this.

“You know something?” he’s choking out, getting on his feet before he can even finish signing. “I used to think you were the most wonderfully fierce person I’d ever met. You were so bitingly funny and so bitter but so kind to everyone around you. Like you had taken everything horrible that had happened to you and looked it directly in its face and then turned around to spite it by your love for everybody around you. Like you had taken all that hurt and you were deciding, every single fucking day, to use it to be a fucking beam of light to everybody around you.”

JJ grips at his hair. His head is bowed down against his knees. He cries into yellow shorts with suns on the pockets.

“Please leave me alone.”

“And fuck, it’s not your fault, and I know you’ve been stolen back to him a half-dozen times now, but goddamn, goddamn, Jameson, it fucking kills me to see you made into something passive and trapped when you used to fight every single day to get free of the hatred he tried to teach you. The worst part is, I see moments where you choose to go back to the person he taught you to be just because you know it’s safer there, not because you had to, not even because you were triggered, just because it’s easier for you. I get it, bud, it’s survival, it’s abuse, but I can’t pretend I don’t see it. I can’t pretend that you couldn’t have realized I was there to help that day you opened the motel room door and saw me, because, Jameson, I saw the recognition in your eyes, and then you realized, I think, that I was against the fucking rules, and you attacked me instead. And I think now you’re attacking me again because it’s easier to feel bad than it is to feel good for a moment and then feel left out again a minute later, because you’ve let him tell you that nobody gives a fuck about you, and it’s not fucking true! It’s not fucking true! You have to stop! Don’t you dare say Jameson wasn’t real, he was the truest person I ever fucking met.”

“I can’t help what I had to become!”

“I know,” says Max. “I know. But that doesn’t mean I will ever accept that you have to stay as that person forever. Especially since he’s fucking miserable, and will barely even admit it to himself.”

bupine asked: i know how ridiculous it sounds, but it is possible to kill him. you told us that anti was defeated once, forced to possess an animal. a magician got him to that point the other day. he was close to death, from what we saw, or as close as he could be. he was given a lot of electric shocks that hurt his body. if he died, blue could get his magic back. you could be a family again. a real, loving family, dapper. do you remember what that's like?

“Kill him?” Dapper’s hands shake slightly. “Is that what we’ve come to? Sometimes I dream about killing him, but I don’t think I could ever do it. No matter what I think of him… Anti has been my entire life. And there have been moments I loved him so deeply I - I - ”

Torn between grief and his own hopeless anger, Dapper wraps his arms around himself and sets his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. There are pictures of his family scattered around the floor around him. With a sinking of his gut, Max sees that Anti is the only one ever depicted as smiling. Red is a hollow, despairing shadow chained by the ankle to a doorway. Blue is sick with shaking, bleeding palms. Trick and Dok are separated by doors, one chained up by the throat, the other holding a bottle of pills and a thin-looking cat.

“I can’t let myself wake up again,” whisper his hands. “I can’t become aware. Can’t let myself remember. Can’t let myself leave this headspace. If I do, this numb world all becomes a nightmare again…”

Anonymous asked: I think I get what you're saying, Dap. But the thing is, at some point you have to leave the numbness. To me, it's like fog. And past it is scary, and painful, but it's just a storm. It's just a storm, and you will come out on the other side. The fog is safe, and known, but it's no way to live, not forever.

“They’re right,” says Max. “And you deserve better than to be stuck in that fog forever, JJ.”

“Ha,” signs JJ wearily. “That’s a whole different issue.” “Well, in my opinion, you’ve always stressed way too much about your own morality,” says Max with a small smile. “Even while doing good shit, you’d feel guilty for tricking the people around you into thinking you were a nice person, when really you believed you were a bad one. Just because of the things Anti made you do.”

“I could have fought harder against the things I’ve done,” grieves JJ, his eyes downcast. “I could have tried harder, I - I’ve killed people, tortured people, helped Anti capture my family… and the worst part is, it’s not that I feel guilty for the sake of the things I’ve done, I’m just scared to go to hell…”

“Jameson,” soothes Max, and he reaches out to try and touch him again, but JJ draws sharply away, shaking his head.

“You don’t know how bad of a trigger strangers are for me,” he warns. “I could kill you.”

“I’m sorry, I keep forgetting. Forgive me. I just want to be here for you. I want you to know that I think you fought as hard as I could and you still deserve forgiveness.”

Tears flow down Dapper’s cheeks. He brushes at his face, sniffing.

“You still deserve to get away from Anti,” says Max. “You still deserve to be loved by other people. You’re important too, James. You’re not just somebody’s tool. You’re a human being.”

“Not quite,” sighs Dapper. “But I understand what you mean. Max, listen. Even if I am as important than my brothers, you should know that I’m more important to Anti than they are. So if it comes down to it, and you can take Henrik and Jackie and run… leave me behind. Please.”

Max’s eyes are wide.

“What? No. I can’t do that.”

Dapper puts his head down against the window and sighs.

Anonymous asked: But Dap, this might be your only chance to get away, don’t you think you should take it?

“I’m sorry,” says JJ. “I just… really am having a hard time believing we could get away. But maybe you could take Jackie at least. And you could be happy like you always deserved to be.”

“Don’t just give up on yourself,” says Max. “Please.”

bupine asked: dap, you deserve saving too, you know. you don't have to be who anti made you. you said you were with your brothers for a year after anti - who were you then? everyone can change if they want to. and you do. you might not be able to be the jameson jackson that we knew. but you can be someone that isn't anti's.

“I could tell you anything you want about who you were,” murmurs Max. “If that helps.”

“No,” says JJ softly. “They’re right. I can’t get that person back, but he was… he deserved better than what he got. Maybe I could still be someone who would make him proud someday. All he wanted was to live without being haunted by Anti.”

He stares down at his own hands. Scarred and worn.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

Anonymous asked: No maybe not, but sometimes we have to fight for the things we want. Do you want to go back to Anti?

“I… I don’t believe I can get away from Anti,” admits Dapper quietly. “So there’s no point in hoping for anything else.”

“Listen to me,” begs Max. “They’re right about fighting. And you, Jameson - you’re a fighter. You are a fighter. You’re ferocious. Don’t forget that. Here’s what I’m asking, JJ, here’s what I’m begging you for - ”

JJ looks up at him with his endless silver-blue eyes. And maybe it’s true that when they met at first all those years ago, Max had only loved him because he loved Jackie. But time went on and Max loved JJ too - creative, talented JJ, wild, fierce JJ, sincere, warm JJ, and the others too, his friends, the only family he had left after his father died, the people who comforted him and held him through the worst time in his life. Sarcastic, intelligent Henrik, loving, boisterous Chase, and Jackie’s best friend Marvin, beautiful and loyal.

“If we get a chance to fight,” says Max. “If you get a chance to fight for your brothers to be happier than they are - take it, JJ. Take it. Don’t give up. They still love you. They still need you. Fight for the things that you want for your family.”

JJ looks at him. Tiger eyes. An old friend. Mostly forgotten. Family.

“Alright,” he says, very soft. “I’ll try.”

Max smiles at him, his eyes gleaming. JJ tries to smile back.

“Now stop worrying about me so much and get back in there with my brother,” says JJ, giving him a slight smack with his sketchpad. “If I have to watch you two making out with your eyes for five more minutes I’ll stab you both.”

“I don’t even know what to say to him now.”

“Well, you’re going to have to figure it out, aren’t you? I have many talents but romancing my own brothers is not one of them.”

“Thanks, JJ.”

“Don’t thank me. Max, I… just… get back in there. Thank you.”

He gives him one more smile and turns to return to Jackie.

Max closes the door behind him.

Red is sitting on the bed, turned away from him, his hands in his lap. His head downcast.

Max sits down beside him.

The light is getting low. Footsteps echo from the rooms above them.

Max puts his hand on Red’s.

“Is this okay?” he asks.

Ro shrugs, but doesn’t push him away.

“You remember how I said Dermot Kennedy was the only artist we could ever agree on?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I put on some music?”

“That’s fine, I guess.”

Max pulls out his phone and then a man is singing, and they’re sitting in the twilight together, hands together.

“Look, Ro,” he says. “I’ve been acting really friendly, really comfortable and familiar around you. I think I wanted you to just remember. That was what I kept hoping. The more we acted like we used to be, the more you would remember. So I offered to hold your hand, and I joked around with you about everything, and I made you big promises and offers without thinking about how it would sound to you. I’m sorry.”

“No,” whispers Ro. “Please don’t ever be sorry. I just… really thought you liked me. I’m sorry.”

“I do like you,” says Max.

“But you’re not attracted to me anymore. I’m damaged goods.”

“No, it’s not that either,” cries Max, with a perhaps a little too much intensity, and it sits awkwardly in the air for a moment, and then Red snorts and they’re both giggling, faces red, turned towards each other in the twilight.

“You think I’m hot shit, don’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Jackie, you’re gorgeous.”

“I am? Look at you! Besides, I’m coated in all these fucking scars and I’m just kind of a disaster all around.”

“You look incredible. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“Please,” murmurs Red, turning away, a little embarrassed now. “But then I don’t understand why you didn’t - ”

“Jackie,” says Max, exasperated. “You can’t have thought that was healthy.”

“I just wanted - I want you to know I - I appreciate what you’ve done, and I - ”

“I don’t want you to sleep with me as payment. You don’t owe me anything at all. And you should never feel like you owe anyone your body, no matter what they do or say to you.”

Ro’s eyes are swimming with tears. At last, he’s looking up at Max. His fingers enclose around Max’s own.

“I just don’t… want you to leave.”

“You don’t have to have sex with me to make me stay. You’ve been through a lot, Jackie. Not to tell you what to do, but I don’t think it’s a good time for either of us to be doing something like that. You shouldn’t have to feel like you belong to somebody, and honestly it scares me that I feel like you would have let me do just about anything to you whether you liked it or not. You deserve better. I won’t go. I’m here, Jackie. I’m here. This - ” He squeezes their joint hands. “This is more than enough for me. I’d be here if you just wanted to be friends. If you just wanted to go real slow. And that’s what I wanted to tell you. Here, come on.”

Ro allows Max to lead him to his feet.

“Dance with me?” he asks.

Ro blushes, but he can’t keep back a smile. “You cute bastard,” he grumbles, taking Max’s hand, and Max laughs and puts his free hand on his waist, and comes close to him, and then they’re swaying, quiet, in the twilight.

“I don’t need you to remember me and then suddenly have everything go back to what it was,” whispers Max, setting his head down against his shoulder. “It was wrong of me to just expect things to be the same. You don’t have to be the same as you were. We don’t have to be the same. In fact, if you never want to be with me again, that’s okay. We can just be friends and I will never hold it against you. But if you want to try something, someday, when you’ve had more time to recover…”

Red cannot remember the last time he listened to music casually. Certainly he cannot remember the last time he listened to music that made his heart swell like this. He can’t remember dancing, and he can’t remember dancing with someone he likes as much as Max, and he can’t remember the last time someone held him so gently and just rocked with him. Max’s warm waist beneath his fingers. Max’s warm hand in his own.

aether-mae asked: Hey Jackie, antis possessed blue and it’s given him access to blues powers without the physical damage on him, even though blues already very sick and stressed to say the least. Best thing is get to doc and prepare for his inevitable attack (and likely massacre of many more magicians, as he did just earlier).

The beep of the camera startles them both and they laugh, drawing away from each other, or trying to, though their hands seem to keep coming back together, and their eyes keep meeting and darkening, and they seem to move like they’re on the same pathway, both reaching out for you. But the laughter dissipates. Reality comes back.

“Oh, no,” breathes Ro, touching his hair. “No, not that.”

Max stares down at him, horrified. “Can he do that? Posses someone?”

Ro bites down hard on his lip, his eyes closing. He nods.

Max sits down on the bed. Ro sets you gently down on the desk and turns away.

“I’m sorry,” says Max shakily. “If I had known how badly off Marv was…”

Ro looks back at him, his eyes red, and Max already knows what he will say before he says it.

“I’m not sure I can leave them behind,” he croaks.

“So they’ll come with us,” says Max. “We’ll get Henrik tomorrow and we’ll talk. We’ll find a way. We have to.”

But this - this seems a thing impossible.

Then again, Max being in love with him seemed impossible too.

“I don’t know what to do,” whispers Ro. “I feel torn between two parts of myself. I still love Anti. But I know he will never let us all go. And if he stays… he’ll keep hurting us. It’s who he is. We can’t be with him anymore, but I don’t know how to go. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

Max gets up and holds his hand. “Well,” he says. “Whatever happens, I’m with you. Okay? I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. No matter what it takes.”

Red means to go back to Dapper. To tell him the news. To look after him.

He ends up falling asleep in Max’s arms. His dark head is buried against Jackie’s collarbone. They hold each other. Dermot Kennedy plays on repeat.

He doesn’t know what will happen.

But there are things worth hoping for.

And, likewise, there are things worth going to war.

…………..

All too soon - all too soon - Dapper is shaking him awake.

“Wha - Dap?”

“Jackie,” signs Dapper, his hands trembling. “I can feel him. Anti. Coming to get me. He’s not far now. He’s not far.”

---------------

cest-mellow asked: hey magicians!! anti may not be far away now, and he’s possessed marvin so he’s at FULL capacity power right now!! and marvin could be seriously hurt in this!!

“You should stay here,” says Nina. “If Anti is close.”

“No,” says Henrik gently.

He’s made up his mind.

“Or we could go with you.” Genesis moves forward to grab his shoulder, squeezing tight, imploring him to listen to her. “You don’t have to be alone.”

“I won’t be.”

He’s going to go to Red and Dapper. From there, what happens will happen. But in the end, they’re the only ones who are going to be able to choose whether they stay with Anti or some day go, and he isn’t willing to watch more magicians die for him to feel safer for ten more minutes than he would otherwise.

He went to the mountain one more time to pick flowers and bring them to Christofer. To Jose. Blessed their memory. Thank you for everything.

“I just want to see my brothers again,” he says honestly. “Blue is hurt. I need to be with them.”

“Henrik,” protests Hermann, but before he can say anything more, Emmanuela is there.

“He’s decided,” she cuts him off. “It’s time to let him go.”

Hermann lets out a full-blown groan, pacing in the garden in front of the chapel, plucking at his cross, and Henrik can only smile at him.

He didn’t sleep last night. Too much to think about. Too much future ahead of him.

“Can’t I at least take you to the market?” asks Hermann miserably.

“Ask your mom,” answers Henrik, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He has all of his things and everything retrieved from their car. He’s ready to go.

“Yes, I think he should go with you if he comes right back,” agrees Emmanuela.

Henrik grins and hefts you up, holding you firmly in his weary hands.

“Any last words for the magicians?” he asks. “It’s about time to go.”

cest-mellow asked: magicians, trick has been hypnotized to the point of being endlessly loyal to anti so he won’t be afraid to use his gun on you guys! i’m so sorry henrik :( also we’ll miss you !!

“He wouldn’t ever shoot you, would he?” asks JP.

“I don’t… think so.”

Nina puts a protective hand on her stomach and looks around at her friends, who look back with worry. Emmanuela, however, remains calm, remains sure.

“We know the fights we step up to,” she says. “If you called on us, we would not stay away. We would come to protect you, Henrik.”

He turns away, closing his eyes for a moment. It isn’t what he wants. He thinks to see one of them die would near kill him.

“Alright,” says Emmanuela. “Alright. Then you must have your presents, come.”

He blinks. “My presents?”

“I told you I’d get you weapons, right?” she says. “Protection?”

She holds up a trio of identical necklaces.

Strong brown bands hold one shining black stone each, carved into the image of a raven. Astonished, Henrik reaches out to touch one of the tiny black bodies, and finds it warm to the touch.

“Talismans,” says Emmanuela. “For you. One from three of us.”

“Wait,” he protests. “I thought magic power could only be transferred if you were dying.”

She chuckles. “You did do your reading while you were here. Permanently, yes, theft and Gift of Being can only happen if someone is dying or willing to die to hand the power over. Hermann’s necklace, for example.”

Hermann grips his crucifix. “My father gave it to me in his last days,” he says. “His power of invisibility is with me as long as I wear it.”

“But these are talismans, not relics,” says Emmanuela. “They’re only little pieces of power, and only borrowed. When you use them, the power will come back to us.”

“Three of you were willing to give that up for me?” asks Henrik, still stuck staring at them. You see his fingers curling tentatively in and out, as though afraid to touch them. It’s too much of a gift.

“More of us wanted to!” cries Genesis. “Emmanuela said I couldn’t because transportation magic is too fickle…”

“And apparently I’m ‘too recently stabbed,’” grumbles Hermann.

“If I had power, it would be yours,” says Nina.

“And if you weren’t seven months pregnant,” protests JP.

“Oh, yeah, that.”

“But JP,” says Henrik. “You…?”

JP grins back at him.

“Figured you should have a little piece of me to take with you,” he says. “Do you remember what my power is?”

Anonymous asked: Can you destroy the gun with your magic?

“There’s an idea,” says Henrik.

“That’s a small thing for gifts like this!” says Nina. “They’re only for emergencies. So maybe, yes, but this magic isn’t really… well, JP, go ahead and explain! He’s so dramatic.”

“Haha, fine!” JP beams up at Henrik and takes one of the necklaces from Emmanuela when she offers it to him. “I can turn people into animals. I was reluctant to give it - not because I don’t think you should have it - but because this power has always frightened me. The first person I turned… I never found a way to turn back.”

There’s a small, tense silence.

“But he deserved it,” adds Nina bitterly, putting her hand down on her husband’s shoulder. JP smiles gently.

“As much as a person can. But this talisman won’t do that, or at least not permanently. Here, maybe I can - ”

He begins to push himself out of his wheelchair on trembling limbs, but Henrik shakes his head quickly and, without hesitation, falls to his knees in front of his friend. JP smiles at him and reaches out to touch the side of his head fondly.

“Do you want this?” he asks. “You won’t be able to take it off until you need it.”

“I need all the help I can get, I think,” says Henrik. “And I trust you. Entirely.”

JP beams and unclasps the necklace gently, reaching out to clasp it around Henrik’s neck. It falls to the middle of his chest.

“When you need this power,” says JP. “You can unclasp it and you will turn into… something. I don’t know what, I’m sorry. It changes for every person. Or, if you want to use it for someone else, you take it off and - as quick as you can - you put it on them instead. Do you understand?”

“It will really turn me or someone into an animal?”

“Should last for… well. I really don’t know. Not longer than a day. Not shorter than an hour. It might depend on the animal.”

Henrik touches the black bird on his chest. “Thank you, JP. For everything.”

“Of course, amigo, of course.”

Henrik gets up on one knee to embrace him. JP hugs him back firmly, throwing his arms around him.

Anonymous asked: Can you destroy the gun with your magic?

“There’s an idea,” says Henrik.

“That’s a small thing for gifts like this!” says Nina. “They’re only for emergencies. So maybe, yes, but this magic isn’t really… well, JP, go ahead and explain! He’s so dramatic.”

There’s a small, tense silence.

“But he deserved it,” adds Nina bitterly, putting her hand down on her husband’s shoulder. JP smiles gently.

“As much as a person can. But this talisman won’t do that, or at least not permanently. Here, maybe I can - ”

“Do you want this?” he asks. “You won’t be able to take it off until you need it.”

“I need all the help I can get, I think,” says Henrik. “And I trust you. Entirely.”

JP beams and unclasps the necklace gently, reaching out to clasp it around Henrik’s neck. It falls to the middle of his chest.

“It will really turn me or someone into an animal?”

“Should last for… well. I really don’t know. Not longer than a day. Not shorter than an hour. It might depend on the animal.”

Henrik touches the black bird on his chest. “Thank you, JP. For everything.”

“Of course, amigo, of course.”

Henrik gets up on one knee to embrace him. JP hugs him back firmly, throwing his arms around him.

hurricael asked: Wait!! So!! With the necklace thing!! You can put it on Blue/Anti!!! 'Cause I think I remember that he absolutely hates being an animal, so he'd probably leave Blue, and then you can get Blue away so Anti can't possess him again!!

“That… that could work,” says Henrik. “Though, hell, I can only assume that would be momentarily terrifying for Blue.”

“There’s something I want to say first,” interrupts Emmanuela, reaching out a hand to beckon him closer. “Henrik, come here for a moment.”

He moves towards her obediently and she draws him and you gently in, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Henrik,” she says. “Are you ready to fight when you go?”

“Yes,” he says, very soft.

“Are you ready to kill the monster?”

His eyes fall to the ground. His mouth goes still. He says nothing.

“You’re not,” she says. “But I fear that is what you will have to be ready to do before you are permanently free of him. Yes?”

He can’t look up at her. She presses down gently on his shoulder.

“Henrik,” she says, again his name, the secret name, the name like a promise of the person he was once and could be again. “You may use JP’s present however you like and whenever you like. To keep yourself safe. To keep your family safe. To punish the monster. But this one - from me - ”

She holds up a second black bird necklace.

“You use this,” she says, her dark eyes gleaming like the shine on her long, thick hair. “The day you are ready to watch Anti die.”

She puts it around his neck. Henrik swallows and accepts it, nodding.

“Yes, Emmanuela,” he says.

“A gift of light,” she says. “You will be able to wield it or give it to one of your warrior brothers to wield. It will burn him terribly - or perhaps serve as a purifier for someone with enough of his shadow inside of them. Do not take it off until you are ready to use it. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he says again. “Yes, Emmanuela.”

He trusts her too.

bupine asked: henrik, do you remember anti's dislike for animals? that magic could be useful for something, hopefully. also, goodbye, magicians! we can't thank you enough for all you've done. and no matter what happens next, i don't think any of us will forget this.

“He would really hate that, wouldn’t he?” mumbles Henrik, picking at Emmanuela’s necklace, dropping down to hang between his breasts. “I could stop him from hurting one of the others… I could blackmail him, I could… I could really affect him. For once in my life. I have more than just words and a handgun.”

He blinks and then registers the rest of the message, straightening up to look around. Scattered throughout the little garden where he has made music, played games, read so many books looking for help, talked about everything that scares him and everything that makes him hope, found friends and peace and health and safety, if only for a little while - scattered throughout the garden are people who have been his family when he needed them.

“I,” he begins uncertainly. “I. I am not a sentimental man.”

JP smiles at him. Genesis tries to appear unaffected. Nina stares up at the sky and Hermann bites a trembling lip.

“Nor have I felt close to my religion in a long time,” he laughs, pulling at his necklaces. “But I feel I was like Jonah in the stomach of the whale, and you were what God sent to drag me out of the depths.”

Genesis takes a step closer to him.

Wraps her arms around him.

He feels the soft scars of her arms. Smells the flowered scent of her.

“Bitch,” she grumbles.

“Motherfucker,” he whispers back.

“Who’s going to teach me swears in different languages now?” she says sadly.

“You’ll figure it out, my friend.”

She buries her face in his hair for a second. “Bye, Henrik.”

“Bye, Genesis. Thank you.”

“You’ll tell us when you get free?” asks Nina, stepping up to him. “Won’t you?”

“Yes, of course,” he says. “Maybe someday I can come see you again. Bring Trick. Chase.”

“Meet the baby,” she says, patting her stomach.

“You’re going to name it after me, right?”

“I’d die first.”

He laughs and embraces her too.

Hermann stands away from the rest of them, sniffling, but Henrik only smiles. He’ll have a chance to say goodbye to him too when he reaches the market. There’s time. There’s time. There has to be.

Anonymous asked: What's the plan, Henrik? Are you and them going to meet up today?

“Yes,” says Henrik. “I’ve been texting with Red. He doesn’t sound quite like himself, but… in a good way. I’ll meet him and Dapper at the marketplace. From there, we figure it out. He talks about going somewhere safe. I think he has money, food, such and such. He must because he seems so happy. Hermann will walk with me to the market and then… I’ll go.”

He turns to smile at the younger man.

“Hold on, though, hold on,” says Genesis. “You got one necklace is left! Who that’s from, mama?”

“Well,” says Emmanuela, holding the last necklace. “That might be something of an issue.”

“What do you mean?” asks Henrik.

“Henrik,” she says. “I think this necklace is the most important one we can give you. It is not for one-time use. It is your shield. Your protection. Let me explain first.”

“What does it do?”

“It will stop the monster,” she says. “From getting in your head again.”

Henrik’s eyes widen.

He - he has to have that.

That changes everything.

If Anti can’t get in his head - if Anti can’t make him doubt himself - if Anti can’t possess or hypnotize or mind control him -

He has to have that.

Maybe he could win, with that. Everything feels much more real and certain all of a sudden. He’s stepping towards Emmanuela, fixed on that necklace, his heart pounding.

“It can do all that?”

“It should last you for more than a month, maybe two,” she says softly. “I fear that if you are not free by then, he will worm back into your head and erase all your progress, and then… I don’t know. This could be your only chance, Henrik. Do you understand? Within two months, Henrik - Anti must be dead. For you and all your brothers. Within two months, be free.”

His fingers tremble as he touches the talisman.

Within two months -

Freedom.

Anonymous asked: Red, Dap, what's going on on your end?

Anxiety.

“Dap. Dapper, look at me. You have to calm down.”

Paranoia.

“Should we not take him? He’s so freaked out. Buddy, are you sure it’s not a delusion?”

Anti is coming. Anti is close. Anti is going to put him back in his room.

Dapper leans over to vomit for the third time today, his whole body shaking. Red holds up a plastic bag for him and rubs his back as he’s sick, sitting with him in the shade of a cathedral not far from the marketplace. Max comes back from a vendor with a cool Inca Cola and Red presses it to Dapper’s reddened cheeks and forehead, shielding him from view until he’s ready to lean back, panting.

“Are you hallucinating? Delusional?” asks Red.

“Yes,” groan Dapper’s hands. “But I can tell the difference. Red. Please just leave me behind and get Dok and go. I can’t take this. I just want to go back to my master.”

“He’s the one making you so scared!”

“He can make it stop, too. Please… you might be able to get away if Anti at least had me.”

“Don’t say that,” murmurs Ro. He and Max exchange helpless glances over his head. “Let’s just get to Dok, okay? I bet you’ll feel better when you see him.”

aether-mae asked: I’m sorry JJ but killing Anti is your only way out of this. He may have been your whole life, but it’s a miserable life that’s choking you, and killing that life is the only way to create a new one that you can make for yourself. No one to hunt you down, no one to run from. You can’t hide from this anymore, or be passive any longer. Anti taught you to wield that knife, now show him what it’s for

“No, please,” sobs Dapper, curling in on himself. “No, no, don’t say that, I don’t want him dead, I need to see him, he raised me, I have to - I have to - ”

“Breathe, breathe,” begs Red. “Dapper, please, bud.”

“Kill Anti? I’d be so lost, I can’t, I can’t… took me apart, put me back together, puppets, my little puppet box, my toys, just playthings, we’re always playing games but not the kind I like to play, Max played with me - ”

“He’s getting manic,” warns Max.

“Dap, buddy, listen, you don’t have to think about Anti right now. Let’s just - fuck’s sake, where the hell is Henrik? I hope he comes soon.”

cest-mellow asked: take a deep breath, dapper. focus on red and dok, are you excited to see him again? you can show him your bear and henrik can show you the pretty things hes gotten while visiting the magicians. he’s got things from the car, too!

Dapper pauses, rubbing at his face.

“Things from the car? My old clothes from the car? So Anti will be less mad at me?”

He combs gently at his over-grown hair, trying to push it back into some semblance of neatness. “Yes, I want my bear, too, oh. Where did I put him?”

Red gets off his backpack and pulls the bear out, handing it over. Dapper stares down at it on his lap, calming a little.

“Its eyes are the wrong color.”

“Think you’re seeing things, lil bro,” says Red gently.

“Oh. Yes. You know, I would like Dok, but also Blue, I would like.”

“He’s not quite himself right now.”

“We rarely are,” agrees Dapper, reaching down to brush his hands over the alpaca fur of his bear.

Anonymous asked: Dapper? It's okay buddy, you don't need to think about that right at this moment if you don't want to. Dok's gonna be here soon, if you need something good to focus on.

“Come on,” suggests Max, reaching out to help Red to his feet, who pulls Dap up after them. “We can walk around the market and look for him. We’ll be ready when he gets here.”

“You can look at the other bears, too.”

“Oh, is this where you got that?” grins Max.

“Yeah, haha, we got most of our Christmas shopping done here this year. Neat little place. Come on, buddy, we’ll wander around for a while. Distract ourselves.”

Dapper takes his hand and follows after him.

Anonymous asked: Hey Ro! Are you excited to see Dok?

Ro breathes out a soft, shaky sigh. “I am, yeah. It’s just… I was kind of being a jerk last time we saw each other. I hope he’s not angry or scared of me or something. I think I owe him an apology.

“You guys are helping him make his way over here, right? Tying up any loose ends and ready to go?”

Anonymous asked: I don't think he's mad at you, or scared of you. He didn't seem that way; from what I can tell, he just wants to see you and Dapper again.

Red relaxes, looking down at you gratefully.

“People… are way too nice to me,” he laughs, rubbing at the back of his neck. “No one seems to care about all the times I’ve fucked up. I kind of want someone to just beat me to hell, punish me for it. Like that would make it right. I know it wouldn’t, it’s just… ha. I don’t know. I don’t really deserve anyone’s forgiveness.”

Anonymous asked: Sometimes we need to be loved rather than hurt to learn our lesson y’know? It’ll be okay, Ro :)

“Yeah,” laughs Ro softly. “Yeah… weird how that can be harder than just taking the punishment, huh?”

Anonymous asked: I'm not going to say you haven't made mistakes, even bad ones. But I heard somewhere that one of the biggest indicators of whether you can really forgive someone is whether they're trying to change. And from what I've seen of you, you are.

Red looks at Dapper beside him, his little brother’s eyes watching the stalls and people as they pass, and Max ahead of them, guarding them, his hair glowing gold in the sunlight.

“Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, I am. There are things worth changing for. And people who make me feel like I can.”

spicydanhowell asked: are you bringing the stuff from the car, hen? heading out?

“Right, right,” says Henrik. “Yes, I… I have to get going, don’t I? Thank you. Yes, I have all the stuff from the car in my backpack.”

If you don’t question who’s giving him the third necklace, he isn’t going to bother to either. He doesn’t want to think about it anyway, as he has an inkling of who it might be from. Emmanuela places it around his throat and it falls down to his clavicle, so the necklaces make a three-star constellation from his collarbone to his breasts. The design of the raven is lean and

“Thank you,” he says. “For everything. For the things you did do. And for the things you would have done if you could have. If I had asked you.”

“If you ever need anything,” she answers.

“Yes.” He knows what she means.

“Goodbye, Henrik.”

He takes her out-stretched hand and shakes it. Takes in one more look of the Raven Queen.

“Goodbye, Emmanuela.”

He turns back to Hermann, staring sadly at him from the corner.

“Come on,” he laughs, reaching out for him, and Hermann takes his hand. “Stop sulking. It’s time to go.”

“Okay,” says Hermann wearily. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the marketplace.”

“Thank you.”

The old convent looks down at him one more time in return. In his mind, he says goodbye to the little room with the open windows, goodbye to the garden and the cool dark chapel, goodbye to the dining room and the piano and the forest where he remembered his name.

Hermann whispers a spell to move them through the convent’s protection, and they reflect through the mirror and re-appear into the world. Cars rush around them. Buildings tower above and chatter with noise. The streets are swarmed with people.

Time to see his family again.

Henrik and Hermann head towards the market by way of the cathedral.

“Leave me here,” says Henrik softly, stopping by the gate. “Go say a prayer for me. Same God.”

Hermann’s eyes water and overflow. He stares at him, not letting go of his hand.

“I don’t want you to have to go,” he says, holding on to his crucifix. “Stay with us. We can keep you safe.”

“I have to go,” answers Henrik. “I have to be with my brothers.”

“Amigo,” mumbles Hermann, and leans in to hug him, close, close. “Hermano.”

Henrik laughs softly, trying to diffuse his own grief. His hands come up to wrap around Hermann’s back and they hold each other there in front of the church. The bells are ringing. Six in the evening.

You can barely make out the last words they offer each other before parting, but they’re there, soft in the evening light.

“Be safe, medico. Take care of your brothers. I’m sorry I couldn’t do enough to save them.”

“You did everything. More than you know. Thank you for making me believe there were kind people in the world.”

He was nothing but a strange man following them home from the shops, once. Henrik laughs and squeezes him closer for a moment more. Hermann kisses both his cheeks.

“Goodbye,” says Henrik. “Get home before Anti comes.”

Hermann nods and waves at you too with a soft, fond, sad smile. And then he disappears.

“Gone without a trace,” whispers Hermann, and Henrik laughs, his hands falling away from the invisible body of his friend, turning to go find his brothers.

—————

Red and Dapper and Max make patient circles around the marketplace. The crowds are dying down now as the tourists move off to dinner and evening entertainment, swarming out of the stalls and down the busy streets.

“You could get me another bear,” suggests Dapper, examining a stand full of alpaca-fur stuffies.

Ro laughs, but he’s considering it.

“We’ll see how much time we have,” he chuckles. “We - oh. Oh.”

Dok.

Standing in the entryway of the marketplace, holding to the straps of his backpack. Staring around through new glasses.

Red has never seen him looking so… calm. Healthy. Peaceful.

“Dok,” signs Dapper. “Dok!”

Max’s hand brushes across Red’s back. “I’ll give you three a minute,” he smiles, turning to disappear into the dispersing crowd, finding another stall to look at. Red is already racing forward.

“Dok!” he shouts.

His brother looks up.

Red comes to a halt before him, panting.

“Dok,” he repeats lamely, suddenly unsure of himself, and Dok stares back, his mouth slightly open, his eyes wide and delighted.

“Red,” he says. “I - ”

Dapper crashes into his brother and engulfs him in a hug. Dok lets out a deep laugh, his whole chest shaking with it, and swings Dapper in a circle, clutching him to his body. Dok murmurs love and reassurances at him, fussing over him as Dapper nuzzles forcefully into his cheek and neck and chest, hugging him tight, tight, breathing in the smell of him, his feet lifted off the ground by Dok’s grip.

“My poor darling, my poor love,” breathes Dok, rocking him. “You have been without your medication, you have been without so much. I can fix one problem at least. Here. I went back up to the mountain where we were living. The medication was still there, here…”

From his backpack, he pulls a little bottle of pills. Dapper sobs, his hands wrapping desperately around his Haldol at last, and Dok helps him take just a half pill to begin with, hugging him again as he swallows it and cries.

“It will take some days before it starts helping,” murmurs Dok.

“I needed you as much as the medicine,” cry Dapper’s hands, clinging to Dok. “Big brother looks after me.”

“Red was kind to you, wasn’t he?”

The question lances through Red’s chest, but he knows he deserves it. He swallows nervously, shifting on his feet.

“He figured it out,” answers Dapper benevolently, stepping slightly back from Dok at last.

Red and Dok stare at each other.

“We should, uh. Get off to the side a little, I suppose.” Red steps back and forth, back and forth. “Have a little privacy and we can talk - ”

Henrik hugs him.

“Little brother,” whispers Jackie, and hugs him back.

“It’s so good to see you… I didn’t know if anyone was dead or alive, I didn’t know if you were safe or had money, I didn’t know if you were being taken care of…”

“I was so scared those magicians would hurt you.”

“And you and Dapper hand-cuffed and fleeing, and all of us apart, and I didn’t know if they were enemies or friends at first.”

“I just wanted all of us to be back together, even now I can’t help but think… Dok, listen, I - I was being a terrible brother, last time we saw each other. Forgive me.”

Dok touches his beard, drawing back to look at him.

“It’s forgotten,” he answers, soft and earnest. “It’s forgiven. We’re together. That’s all that matters. I was so worried.”

Ro’s eyes water, his heart aching, but in a good way. He pulls Henrik back into a hug. “We’re okay, Dok. We’re okay.”

“You must have stolen and stolen,” he worries, brushing at his beard. “Red, do we need to hide?”

“We might yet. But I didn’t have to steal nearly as much as I would have. There’s someone you should meet.”

Red turns around, looking for Max in the crowd.

“Where did he go?” he murmurs.

“To give us some privacy,” answers Dapper. “Probably looking at shops or something. He must be - ”

A woman screams aloud.

Red is turning, looking for him, and the crowd parts like a Red Sea, and a wave of commotion leaves Red feeling numb and distant, people rushing past him, a second scream, a third, calls for the police, the market emptying, vendors leaping their stalls to escape, and Red in the middle of it, too suddenly over-stimulated to meltdown, stepping back towards the place where he last saw him.

And there is Max, in the dirt, bleeding from the heart.

Black-crimson ink from his chest.

Open, blinded tiger eyes.

Red hears Dok give a cry and Dapper a shrill warning whistle. Just meters away, standing over the corpse, Red’s twin stands tilted on a cane, his eyes, green and blue, shining coldly in the evening light.

“My brothers,” says Anti, dropping the bloodied knife to hold out a hand instead, tears welling in his eyes. “Oh, oh, my brothers. I was so, so worried. But here we are again. Here we are again. I will make everything right.”

Ro hears himself screaming.

cest-mellow asked: jj can you turn it back??? are you healthy enough???? we can’t lose max!!!!

Red turns to him.

“Jameson,” he croaks. “Jameson. Please. Oh, God. Please.”

Dapper is clinging to Dok’s shirt, standing in front of him, protecting him. You can hear Dapper’s breath hiccuping, his eyes fixed, with pupils blown, on Anti.

But even now he cannot stand to watch this happen.

Too many innocent lives. Too many innocent lives.

Dapper takes his clock from his pocket.

You see Anti’s eyes widen furiously. “Dapper!” he calls. “Don’t you d

The post where Hermann and Henrik say goodbye was reblogged with this addition:

Dapper is in the marketplace.

Clinging to Red with one hand.

To Max’s backpack with the other.

He leans forward to throw up for the fourth time that day, his eyes flickering with silver light, crying as Max and Ro converge on him in worried murmurs and cool drinks pressed to his head, feeling their heartbeats through his hands.

Anonymous asked: Turn back time Dapper do it now!!!

“What did you have to turn back?” Red and Max hurry him towards a shaded corner of the markets, Red holding him close to his chest. “Dap, are you okay, is everything okay? It was just for something on the other side of the world like last time, right? We’re okay?”

Dapper tries to breathe, shivering. He feels terribly dizzy.

Max’s corpse is in front of him again and he jumps, terrified -

No, no, just a hallucination. Just a hallucination. Keep it together, Dap! They’re okay for now.

“Have to run, or fight, or convince him not to hurt him, or, or… I don’t know what to do,” stammer Dapper’s hands. “Dok is coming. Near the entrance.”

Anonymous asked: Trick and Anti are here, Ro! Keep Max close at hand and don’t let him go alone! Trick has a gun and he’s been hypnotized and he is willing to shoot anyone who will take his brothers away!

“He’ll hurt Max,” warns Dapper, clinging to Ro’s sleeve. “I told you if he was here when Anti came, he would die. Leave me, I’ll be enough to distract Anti. Go.”

“No,” cries Red viciously, though you can see a new terror in his eyes, his head swiveling around the marketplace. “No. Max, stay here, stay with us.”

“I’m here,” answers Max softly, trying to calm Red’s hands as they paw desperately at him, as though trying to reassure him that Max is still there. “I’m with you. We have to keep each other safe. Watch out for Anti. I think we should probably get Dok and run.”

“Do we even have time for that?” asks Red. “He’s already here. I don’t know how close.”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, where's the closest entrance to the marketplace? Do you know what cardinal direction it is from the center? Wait there, we'll get the others to come to you

Henrik pauses, blinking at you. “I’m almost to the south entrance,” he says. “Did the pigs find us or something? I’m ready to run.”

Anonymous asked: Red, Anti is here, he’s going to kill max, that’s why Dap turned back time!!

“I can’t - I can’t - ”

If Red didn’t panic when he saw Max’s body, he is beginning to now.

“Can’t watch you die. I can’t watch you die. Max, I - ”

“I’m here,” repeats Max, steady as a seafarer, clutching his hands when they reach out to touch him. “Jackie, I am right here. I’m with you. Let’s worry about what will be, not what was.”

Red settles slightly, letting out a slow breath, summoning ferocity to replace the fear. He has to protect them both. All of them. His little brothers. His… whatever Max is. His Max. That’s his job. That’s all that matters.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” says Red, and Max looks back at him, and his eyes are deep and endless, and his mouth is soft and -

“Can we fucking focus?” asks Dapper.

“Right, right. Okay, let me think.”

Anonymous asked: All of you, Anti is coming to the market. He'll be here in maybe five minutes, probably a lot sooner. He will kill you first, Max. You all need to decide right now: are you running? Or are you going back to him?

“Leave me with Anti,” repeats Dapper, stepping forward.

“No!” Ro repeats right back. “No, you’re coming with us! We’ll go away. We can try reconnecting with Anti when we’ve had some time and we know he’s not going to fucking murder us!”

“I don’t want to go.” Dapper’s eyes are pained and wet but so determined it stops Ro in his tracks. “I want to want to go, but I don’t want to go.”

You can see Max trying to understand what he’s saying, with limited success.

“Dapper,” signs back Ro. “I need to take care of you. That’s my job. I have to make sure you don’t faint too much upstairs and that you get enough food and that Anti lets you have the right dose of medicine and - ”

“You don’t always have to be my suffering savior, my love.”

“He will hurt you. He has always hurt you. And I have so often, just - just let it happen.”

“I can’t get away today, Red. I just can’t. He won’t let me. If you two could go, at least you would be free. Or if you won’t let me go entirely, just let me go to Anti this time around and I’ll reverse it when I know what the best option is.”

“You’re not well,” protests Red. “You can’t reverse so much, Dapper, you’re going to make yourself snap or have a psychotic break or get really ill or something. I can’t put you on the line like that.”

“I will do what I have to to protect you,” answers Dapper fiercely. “You and the person you love.”

Red’s breath hitches and he shakes his head, turning to you and Max.

“What do you think? Should I just… fuck. Should I leave him behind? Just for one test run? Maybe? Or run off with him? Don’t look at me like that, Dapper, I’m making this decision executively. Don’t argue.”

Anonymous asked: Dapper, no. Anti has Blue's magic and can use it fully; the only option is to run. With them. I don't think you should risk the possibility that he controls, or partially controls, your time powers again. It might do more harm than good.

“Come on,” says Ro, immediately convinced - really, he just needed the reassurance. “They’re definitely right. I’m playing the big brother card. Come on.”

Dapper squeezes his eyes shut, but doesn’t protest. In the end, however, if Max and Ro find a way to get away, he has no intention of going with them.

immabethehero asked: Henrik, Anti is here. He'll kill a good friend and ally of Jackie and Jameson. Keep a look out.

Henrik swears vehemently, his pupils shrinking with fear. He stands nervously outside the market entrance, plucking at his necklaces.

“That ‘friend’ should just go,” grumbles Henrik. “Anti will not kill the three of us, but an intruder… they should run while they can.”

But at least… if Anti is here, then Trick must be two.

Dok swallows and forces his hands to still, calming himself.

They’ll figure this out. Together. They have to.

Anonymous asked: Dapper, what is your plan? If you stay behind, what do you plan to have happen?

“What always happens,” says Dapper wearily.

“Settling?” mumbles Max.

“At least this way, I could be a distraction for the rest of you. And I could find out where Anti is and what he plans to do. He’ll catch me if I run.”

“Let’s just try,” pleads Max, already moving forward with Red. “Come on.”

spicydanhowell asked: jamie, you need to keep fighting to get away your brothers will never really be free if they have to live with the guilt of leaving you behind. besides.... henrik found out that nobody will ever be able to get anti out of their head until everyone does- if i remember correctly -so!! please? do what jackie says?

This seems to interrupt Dapper’s thoughts entirely. He stares at you and has to be grabbed by Red to keep heading through the marketplace.

“Everyone does?” he signs, bewildered. “They can never be free… if I’m still in Anti’s power?”

His eyes are watering. His hands shake.

“But… I’m never getting out of Anti’s power…”

cest-mellow asked: be on the lookout guys, keep max as close as you can!

“Yeah, keep me close as you can. I wish this were in a sexier context,” sighs Max.

Anonymous asked: Max, Ro, Dap, Henrik is waiting for you outside the South entrance to the market.

“You, uh… you look like you’re waiting for someone.”

Dok blinks.

Turns around.

Anti’s there, yes, waiting in a different place than where you saw him last time, but Dok barely even sees him. He’s background noise. Everything is.

“Trick,” he whispers.

His twin gives him the smallest, shakiest smile he’s ever seen.

Tears in his eyes.

“I - I - ”

Trick can’t speak. Dok can’t seem to manage a single word. They’re staring at each other, meters apart.

“Dok!” cries Red. “We need to go! We - oh. Oh.”

Anti is no longer background noise. Dok feels his heart tremble as Blue’s body steps past him, sifting through the crowd, smiling coldly up at the trio of them.

“What’s this?” he purrs, his cane striking the ground as he walks, one, two, three, one, two, three. “My loving older brother… my loving little brother… and oh, look. A slinking whore.”

Max’s eyes are shining black in the evening light. He tries to step forward but Ro snatches his hand, breathing hard.

“You’re Anti,” says Max, and despite the fear there is a horrible, agonized victory in his eyes, to have found him at last, to see him face-to-face. “I’m - ”

“I know who you are,” says Anti irritably, dismissively, picking at Blue’s nails. “The lucky fucking porkchop that managed to hide from me. Jackie’s little heart, oh! So romantic. I’d like to see yours, now, Mr. Deshmukh, seeing as you’ve bared my brother’s. Your heart, that is. In the palm of my hand.”

“Run,” signs Dapper.

“Dok,” croaks Red. “Trick. Blue.”

“Run!” repeats Dapper, shoving him forward. “Now!”

hurricael asked: You can. You were never as fully in his power as the others, it's just that instead of covering you it got tangled up. But you can come out of that, it'll just take work and time. And, also, everyone else; please hurry, we don't want you to get hurt

Dapper doesn’t know how to start believing that, but he does know that they need to go, now, or Max will die. And if that means running with him, then Dapper will run with him. He grabs Red’s head. Red is still holding Max. And then, through the crowd, they are racing away.

Anti rolls his eyes, flushed from the heat and the fatigue of his injuries and Blue’s body. He turns around and grabs Henrik, making him yelp with surprise. Anti turns his eyes to Trick.

“Get after them,” says Anti. “I’ll watch where they’re going through the cameras and catch up. As soon as you have them in your sights, you kill that stupid fucker trying to steal them away from us. Am I understood?”

Trick has Dok’s gun in the pocket of his coat.

“Yes, Anti. I understand.”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, remember what they gave you, you are protected and now it is your turn to fight back. Think smart and be careful!

Henrik is panting. He stares down at you for a second before Anti draws his attention back with a soft tug on his arm.

“Dok,” says Anti, stepping into his space.

Henrik stills as he knocks their heads gently together.

“Anti,” he pants back, staring up at his brother.

The abysses of Anti’s eyes darken and swirl slightly, boring into his own. Anti wraps him gently into a hug. Fuck, but he’s warm, and the slight electric touch of him is familiar, nostalgic - maybe even homey.

His little brother.

He wants to hold him, yes.

But not because of hypnosis.

“I was so worried,” whispers Anti, and goddamn, he sounds it. His eyes close for a moment and he lets Blue’s head sink down onto Henrik’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around his waist. “After what I did to that girl - what I had Red do to that man - Henrik, I thought they’d kill you… I couldn’t find you… I missed you. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Anti,” Henrik repeats numbly, his chest aching. He remembers Emmanuela’s warning. The day you’re ready to kill him. The day you’re ready to see Anti die.

How is he ever going to be ready for that?

“You’re going to help me, aren’t you, love?” breathes Anti, looking up at him again, his eyes getting darker, darker. “You’ll go after Trick and help him catch that intruder, won’t you? Forget about whatever happened these last two weeks. My bruder. Still my good boy, aren’t you? Or you want to be, right? Prove yourself to me. Go fetch your brothers for me and let’s all be a family again.”

“Actually,” says Henrik, his voice stammering. “I think you should… not kill Red’s friend like a crazy person with no regards for human life.”

Anti blinks.

Henrik blinks back.

Anti stares at him.

“What,” he says, voice flat. “In the actual motherfuck.”

hurricael asked: Red Dapper Max turn around now. Anti is where Dok is and he's sending Trick after you. Trick is completely gone, you have to go. I'm sorry, I don't know if you can get Dok

“Fuck’s sake,” cries Red, pausing to look back. “He can’t use my little brother like that. Trick - I can’t - I can’t go, I can’t leave them, I - ”

“It’s a little late for that sort of deliberation,” spits Dapper. “Max is here! You have to find a way to protect him whether or not we’re going back to Anti.”

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know! I never make choices like this! I just press rewind on my powers until someone tells me the day turned out fine!”

“We could hide somewhere,” suggests Max.

Dapper clutches the camera protectively to his heart. “Anti can see us through these and I’m not letting them go.”

“I’ll stop Trick,” snaps Red, turning back into the crowd. “I’ve always been the better fighter. Keep going.”

“He has a gun!” cries Max, but Red isn’t listening, stalking forward for a sight of his brother. He won’t let Trick get the drop on them. He can’t protect Max from what he can’t see.

Anonymous asked: Trick, Trick, can you hear us? You intend to follow Anti's orders to kill the person who's Red's friend, is that correct?

“Yeah, I got it handled,” he promises, patting the place where a tiny camera is clipped to his collar. “I just want to get my family back. Don’t worry.”

Anonymous asked: Amazing how a few weeks of basic human rights can allow people to do things like form opinions and develop relationships.

“You cut that shit out,” spits Anti. “Forming opinions and developing relationships is disgusting.”

And then -

Oh, fuck’s sake.

Dok can’t help it. He’s laughing.

“You’re so stupid,” he laughs.

He’s laughing hard. He’s laughing hard. There’s tears in his eyes. He’s crying.

“You’re so stupid!” he repeats, slamming his fist down against Anti’s chest, once, twice, all but collapsing into him, sobs tearing from his throat. “Why can’t you just be my brother? Why are you doing this? Red’s only going to hate you more! Why are you so horrible to me? I’ve been so, so good. I’ve always been so good. Even when my head was clear! And you still just treat me like a puppet.”

Anti lets him crash against his shoulder, nearly toppling them both. He wraps his arms uncertainly around Dok.

And then spots the necklaces hanging from his throat.

“Oh, is that the problem?”

He reaches out to tear them off, but as soon as his fingers touch the talismans, he’s jerking back with a cry on his lips, clutching at his burned hands.

“Fuck it!” shouts Anti, drawing attention now, people glancing over to see what all the English yelling is about. “Take those off right now!”

“No,” says Henrik softly.

“Dok, I swear on all that you once thought was holy - ”

“You wouldn’t like it if I did anyway,” says Henrik. “There’s a curse inside them. I won’t unclasp them til I need them.”

Anti swears aloud, rolling his eyes, panting from working Blue’s body too hard.

“Just shut up and come on, then,” he hisses, grabbing Dok’s hand and yanking him to his side. “We’ve got more important things to deal with right now.”

Anonymous asked: Trick I don’t think killing him will get your family back....I don’t think Ro would ever forgive you if you did that. Come on Trick don’t do this please? It’s wrong to kill him just because Anti said so and you know it!

Trick bites down hard on his lip for a moment, panting as he runs. He shakes his head like he’s trying to get you off him.

“I - I didn’t kill that girl when Anti asked me to,” he says. “It seemed wrong then, but it wasn’t! If I had killed her, she never would have taken Dok away from me! Anti knows what’s best.”

“Trick,” comes a commanding, familiar voice. “Stop, don’t come closer.”

Trick sees Red’s face in the crowd and a pained gasp tears out of his throat, his eyes watering as, after all this time, he realizes he must greet his brother in a battle. Red and Trick collide, Dok’s gun steady in the space between them.

“I’ll fucking shoot you, Red,” warns Trick, burying it against his stomach even as Red gets a grip on his hair. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Why the hell do you sound Irish?”

“Just shut up and move!”

cest-mellow asked: max, be careful, trick was ordered to kill you this time!

Max is ignoring Dapper’s hand yanking at him, trying to get him to run, his eyes fixed back on Ro in the crowd.

“Trick - Chase would never really… and especially in a crowd like this! He would never kill me, he would never shoot someone, he - ”

A gunshot goes off and Max screams even as Dapper pushes him back into an alley to hide. You hear Red holler in tandem, collapsing on the other screen, wailing as blood runs from his leg. Trick steps over him, heading back towards Max and Dapper.

Anonymous asked: UH max play dead??? Dap can you pretend you already killed him?? Trick will not stop coming and dap can't keep rewinding, anti already knows about max and wants him dead, so just make trick think he doesn't have to shoot him, job already done?

“Uh,” begins Max.

“Sure,” answers Dapper, desperate for anything to do, and he cuts a line of blood into Max’s stomach. Max yelps, startled, and crimson seeps into his white dress shirt.

“But Anti can see through the cameras!” protests Max.

“Well, Trick can’t,” hisses Dapper, shoving him to the ground. “Maybe it will buy us a couple minutes, and trust me, a couple minutes can mean a lot. Look more like I stabbed you!”

“Fuck,” hisses Max, and closes his eyes.

bupine asked: trick, don't. the man anti wants you to kill? red loves him, a lot. so, so much. he'd be fucking devastated if you killed him. i don't think he'd ever be able to forgive you after that. do you understand? this could cost your brothers love. and don't you dare say anti is the only brother who matters, because he's not. you know he's not. you know you love the others. don't throw it all away.

“Trick!” Red is screaming, the crowds clearing hurriedly away from the gunman. “Trick, please! Don’t hurt him! Don’t!”

Trick glances back at him, a touch of trepidation in his step, uncomfortable with disobeying an older brother, though he knows Anti’s orders trump his.

“Red loves him?”

And it’s true - Anti isn’t the only brother that matters. Is he? There was someone else. Trick blinks, his head aching a little.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Trick! He didn't do anything! Don't shoot him! Your big brother LOVES HIM

“Look,” sighs Trick. “It sucks that he’s confused right now… I can only imagine how much it would sting to realize someone you thought you loved was bad for you. But soon Anti will clear his head up and then, well. He won’t need anybody but us. We’ll be enough for him. And that - that’s how it has to be! He can’t just leave!”

Trick’s voice shudders. “He wants someone else? What, we’re not good enough for him? I’m not good enough for him? Anti says we’re enough and we shouldn’t want anything more. Anti will make it right again. He’ll forget all about this guy soon.”

hurricael asked: Trick. Stop, please. You just hurt your brother. Are you now going to kill a person who they've come to consider family? That could damage your relationship with them permanently. Please, hold on for a minute. See if we can figure out a solution that works better, okay?

Trick rounds the corner of the alleyway, blinking at the sight of his little brother kneeling beside Max’s body, playing peacefully with his bear and his bloodied golden knife.

“Dap?”

Dapper looks up at him, blinking.

“Did he try and hurt you?”

“No,” says Dapper, tossing the knife up and down in his hand. “But he was talking about taking Red away from Anti so they could go be happy somewhere without anybody chaining them in their rooms or forcing them to beat the shit out of me. And we don’t approve of that, do we, big brother? Who cares what Red will say?”

Trick’s gut twists uncomfortably.

Anonymous asked: Yes baby, I think you’re thinking about Dok. You remember him don’t you? You just saw him a second ago and he’s with Anti now. He’s your twin, the one that took care of you when you were sad? You bought him coffee for Christmas and he bought you that sweater. He’s here and he matters to you, maybe more than Anti ever did.

Trick touches his skull, blinking.

I love you.

Yeah? Even more than Anti?

Even more than Anti.

Shhh. I love you too.

Five seconds. The thought blinks away again. Trick shivers and tries to hold steady his gun.

“Let me check if he’s alive,” he sighs. “Poor little Dap, all covered in blood.”

“I’ve killed more people than you,” snips Dapper.

“Alright, just move.”

“No, he’s my kill! Anti’s going to be pleased with me! Get off or I’ll tell him you hit me!”

Trick draws back, shaking his head. “Don’t tell him that.”

Dapper scowls and curls slightly over Max’s body.

Anonymous asked: No, Trick, it's not at all that you're not good enough. He loves you a lot. It's just that sometimes different people fill different holes, and it's not possible for one person to be everything someone needs. Sometimes even multiple people aren't.

Trick shakes his head, his eyes stinging.

“No - no. That’s not true. I don’t want it to be. Dok and I, and Anti and I - we’re enough for each other. Nobody else wants me. If they’re not everything, then I’m never going to… to find anyone, I’m never… the fact that two people put up with me is already a fucking miracle. If it takes more than that, I’m lost.”

Tears well up in his eyes. He tugs anxiously on his fervently green hair.

“I have to be enough. I have to be everything or no one will want me around. They’ll find someone better.”

A sudden flash of fury strikes his eyes and he shakes his head hard, grinding his teeth.

“Move, Dapper! You’re not better than me! Anti already fucking replaced you with me so just move!”

Anonymous asked: Trick! Listen! Is these really something you want to do? Forget Anti you’ll have to live with your actions for the rest of your life! Can you really live with the guilt when you knew you have the chance to change it? Do you really want to kill a man for taking care and loving your brothers when they had nothing? Stop and think about this Trick!

Trick’s expression darkens wearily.

“I’ve killed people before,” he mumbles. “And they weren’t even threatening my family. I can live with it.”

Anonymous asked: He hasn't been threatening your family; in fact, he's even been helping them. Would you really kill someone who was kind to your brothers, when he could have just as easily not been?

“That’s true,” says Dapper coolly. “He did feed me and Red, and get us clothes and everything we needed and protect us from the police instead of turning us in.”

“I don’t care,” sighs Trick.

“Liar.”

cest-mellow asked: trick, you have to calm down. all of your brothers love you to pieces and want whats best for you, EXCEPT anti. the sooner you realize this, the easier this will be.

“I’d agree,” says Dapper. “But honestly the fact that you’re turning your self-esteem issues into a reason to kill a man is rather off-putting. Also, you are sprouting horns. Are you Anti?”

“No.” Trick rubs his face and slides to the earth, looking exhausted, hiding his face from you. “You’re off your meds.”

“Right.”

For a moment, they’re still.

“Can I have a hug?” mumbles Trick.

Dapper blinks.

“What?”

Trick looks up at him, red-eyed.

“I… really missed you all,” he whispers.

Dapper sinks slightly in on himself. He’s tired too.

“I missed you too, Trick.”

They move gently together there in the dirt. Dapper lets Trick press him to his chest. He puts a hand on his brother’s chest and feels his heartbeat.

He should have been the one who was there to take the brunt of Anti’s affection. It’s not a blessing. Trick shouldn’t have to be the one dealing with this.

“It’s going to be okay,” soothes Dapper. “Just don’t hurt this guy. Red really likes him, Trick.”

Trick hides in his chest.

“I’m going to do what I have to,” he says eventually.

“Me too,” warns Dapper.

hollenka99 asked: You love Dok too. And he wouldn't want you to kill this guy either. How about you make sure (through NON VIOLENT means) Red's friend understands he is not to follow you or your family anymore?

“Why can’t we just do that?” asks Dapper.

“You know Anti wouldn’t let us,” whispers Trick.

“Some things are more important than what Anti wants.”

“You really are delusional.”

Anonymous asked: Trick, I wouldn't risk provoking him. You never know if he'll want to prove why he should reclaim his spot as Anti's twin.

“Yes.” Dapper crosses his arms over his chest. “Wouldn’t want to risk it.”

“Babe, I know you’re, like, covered in blood, but you’re not really intimidating.”

“That’s the point! I’m disarmingly cute! It works better when Anti is here to counteract me.”

Trick just sighs. “At this point, whatever happens is going to suck, isn’t it?”

Dapper’s eyes close. “Trick. It’s my job to make sure we get the least sucking option available. Please just cooperate with me.”

Anonymous asked: Hey, Trick. It's okay. Your brothers want you, they love you. You are one hundred percent good enough. I should've said it's not always possible, that was my bad. They won't just find someone better; they love you in part because you're you.

“They’re right,” comes a voice behind them.

Trick whirls.

Doktor’s there. In the alley mouth. Helping Red to stay on his feet.

Trick can’t move. Frozen by the sight of him.

“I do love you,” says Dok. “We all do. Or at least we all will when we’ve recovered from the gunshot wounds you may or may not have given us.”

“Get the fuck away from him!” shouts Red, and Dok helps him limp desperately forward to collapse at Max’s side, pulling him into his lap, tears running down his face. Max looks up at him for a moment before his eyes close again.

Trick is just staring. Trick is just staring. Trick is just staring.

Five seconds and the image of him does not clear away.

Dok is still there.

Five seconds and Dok is still there.

Five seconds and Dok still say he loves him.

I do love you. I do love you. I love you. Better than Anti.

“Dok?” croaks Trick, his voice shaking. His chest shaking. His heart shaking.

Dok kneels down beside him.

“We didn’t get a proper hello,” says Dok. “But I’m here now.”

“Dok,” repeats Trick desperately. “Dok. Dok. I… I… what have I… what has happened to me?”

“Stay with me,” murmurs Dok, taking his face in his hands. “Here I am.”

bupine asked: trick, chase, fucks sake, will you listen to us? jackie loves that man and he has for a long time. he just didn't remember him. he knew you too, you know. all of you. he's been so good to jackie and jameson, he's bought them food and clothes and kept them safe and made them happy. they'd be dead without him. and jackie or red or whatever name he chooses - he loves him. and he is good for him. don't take away your big brother's best chance at happiness.

“They’re all right if you would just listen,” cries Ro. “And I - I do love him. You aren’t my brother if you hurt him. Max…”

He runs his hands across his face. Figuring they’ve given up the ghost a little, Max opens his eyes and smiles at him. Ro sniffles and smiles back even as pain courses through him.

“Trick, the fucking cops are coming, seeing as you shot me,” snaps Red. “We need to all get out of here now.”

“Red,” warns Dok, staring at the deep, bone-shattering wound in his leg. “Don’t get up. You’ve lost a lot of blood. You could lose the leg.”

“I’m fine,” mumbles Red, swaying slightly. Max rises up to grab him.

“Where’s Anti?” signs Dapper.

“Close behind,” grimaces Dok. “I kind of just dropped him.”

Dapper’s eyes flicker, an emergency plan forming in his head. For now, he’ll focus on the present, but maybe he can get Max out of this if something goes wrong.

Anonymous asked: Trick you are enough just the way you are. Your brothers love you for who you are and there are people that you’ve forgotten about or haven’t even met yet that have or will love you. You should never have to change your opinions or appearance to be accepted or loved by someone. That kind of mentality is abusive and wrong. You know this is wrong, you don’t have to conform. You are worth so much more than to be treated like dirt by someone like Anti.

“Yes,” murmurs Henrik, stroking his fingers through Trick’s hair. “I like the person you really are. I love him, in fact. More than myself. More than anyone. Trick… Chase…”

Trick grips desperately at his white coat, taking comfort in the soft fabric as his breaths come faster and faster, his head filling up with a terrible pain. He isn’t supposed to be thinking about this - but why? - but how can he not? - but Anti told him - but he needs to kill him - but why? - because he’s Red’s partner? because Anti hates - Xin Yi. Xin Yi.

“What’s happening?” screams Trick, tears coursing down his cheeks. “No, no, no, I can’t - I can’t - ”

“Your thoughts have been repressed for a couple weeks,” says Henrik softly, stroking his hair, his back, his beard. “The dam’s burst. This is normal, as far as I’ve ever seen. Just try and breathe with me through it.”

“I didn’t even think of you,” gasps Trick. “And I just forgot - she kissed me, she - and B-blue?”

He buries himself in Dok’s arms, gasping for air, and Dok chants reassurances at him while Trick rambles desperately. Red stares at them for a second. Dapper waits for him to speak.

Instead he faints.

Max gasps and catches him, helping lie him down, calling his name as blood seeps all too rapidly from his leg.

“You’re all disasters,” growls Anti’s voice from the head of the alley, and Dok, Max, and Dapper turn as one to see Blue’s body standing there on the cane, mismatched eyes flickering hatefully. “Dapper. Dok. Move.”

“No,” says Dapper, shaking his head, pushing himself in front of Max. “No.”

Anti’s eyes narrow.

“I can tell you’re slipping in and out, Dapper. You’re psychotic. Delusional. This boy treated you kindly for two weeks and you forgot the unity between us, my brother, my twin, the only one who really knows me… and I, the only one who knows you at all. I know what you really want is to come back to me. I know you don’t care about Max. Just about Red. I’ll make it right for him.”

Dapper closes his eyes. Opens them again.

“No.”

“Such a hypocrite,” Anti hisses, in a voice like a snake rearing, stalking forward. “Have you forgotten what you are so easily? Suddenly you care about this one? Out of all the people you’ve murdered… You’ve done a lot worse things than this, Dapper. Or did you finally manage to blot out the day you helped me kill all three of the men Marvin had in rotation?”

Dapper’s heart stutters in his chest. So hard it hurts.

“Or Henrik’s queer-platonic partner?”

Blood drips down his knife. Max’s blood down his knife. He does not move.

“Or your own fucking girlfriend?”

“Stop,” whisper Dapper’s hands. “Stop.”

Anti grabs his youngest by the hair. “Get up,” he says. “My perfect darling. Don’t go losing your mind on me now. I’ve missed you, my love. Get up.”

Dapper rises slowly to his feet.

Anonymous asked: Henrik, do you think it's a good idea to try and drop Anti with the animal necklace? If it works, you could get Blue back, but if it doesn't it might go badly.

“I don’t know,” chokes Henrik.

Anti turns glowing eyes to him and Henrik pulls Trick away from him. He can feel the heat rising off of Anti’s flesh as Blue’s magic pools. Max gives a sudden choke, eyes widening at a strange sensation in the middle of his chest.

But he won’t let go of Red, and he doesn’t run.

Anonymous asked: Fight it, Dapper. You're stronger than him!

“Shut up like a good little murderer and stay out of this,” sneers Anti. The trunks of trees burst up from the ground and Dapper sucks in a gasp as he is pinned back against the wall of the alley.

A rose bush blooms in Max’s chest. You watch him struggle frailly, eyes huge, choking for air as the thorns pierce him from the inside out. Dapper writhes, howling, tearing an arm free and scrambling for his knife.

“Aww,” mocks Anti. “You going to stab big brother Blue? Going to watch him die just to kill me? Not like you’ve ever cared about anyone but yourself before.”

Dapper’s eyes water and overflow, his teeth gritted tight in his mouth. No. He can’t stab Blue. He can’t kill him. No more innocent people.

“Please!” he begs, writhing. “Don’t hurt him! I won’t let you do this!”

“You’re a little late,” says Anti. “But don’t worry. I’ll make it better soon.”

“What if we gave ourselves back to you for him? Our loyalty again for his life?”

“Would you really? I… well. Not necessary now.”

“But you might? You might let him live?”

“I’ve got this handled as is. Red is unconscious and you’re bound. You’ll both settle down.”

“I.” Dapper struggles to get his hands free, signing around the knife. “I. I. I am the most ferocious creature you have ever met. I do not. Settle.”

Anti laughs.

And Max drowns, quiet, lying against the alley wall with Jackie in his arms.

Dapper stills in the arms of the tree. Slowly, they recede, and leave him on the ground again.

Anti wants him to be his little murderer, is that it?

“That was well over-due,” sighs Anti. “Now don’t even think about going for your stupid little clock. I can smell that you’ve already reversed once. My poor Dapper. I’m really going to have to put you back in your place. But if you reverse again without the password, I’ll be able to tell, and I’ll punish you and every single one of your brothers until you’re all screaming for mercy. You’re stuck, Dapper. Don’t worry, darling. I’ll fix it again soon and it’ll all make sense. But there is nothing you can do to save Jackie’s little - ”

Dapper picks up his knife and sends it spinning across the alley, where, in one neat blow, it impales Trick’s pounding heart and sends him into his death throes.

Henrik starts screaming like he’s being murdered, clutching desperately at his twin. Trick grabs the dagger, too astonished to be frightened, blinking dopily at Dapper as the life flows out of him in splurting streams of blood. And Anti?

It’s Anti’s turn to just stare.

Mouth dry. Heart pounding.

Trick.

Trick’s corpse on the earth beneath him.

He looks back to Dapper. He has never seen Anti’s eyes so terrified.

“Want to tell me that fucking password?” he signs.

He’ll reverse again. Max will not die. No one else will be punished.

He doesn’t care what it does to him.

“Athanasius. That’s the password. Now bring Trick back.”

The post where Red turned around to fight Trick was reblogged with this addition:

Dapper grabs Red by the hood, dragging him back to him.

“Dapper! Cut it out, I - oh, fuck!”

Red catches his little brother as he crumples against his chest, his legs shaking hard and blood running from his nose - and his mouth, too, Red realizes belatedly, tilting his face up at him. Silver eyes bore into his own, and Red tugs desperately at Max, pulling him close as his eyes rove the crowd for Trick, armed and determined, coming towards them.

“Dap,” breathes Red. “How many times?”

“Third,” sign Dapper’s weary hands. “So you do what I tell you. No questions. Take Max. Run.”

“I am not leaving you here with - ”

“He will not shoot me. I checked - he’s still scared to cross me. Keep running. If you can, hide. Give me the camera, give. If Anti catches you - Red, pay attention - if Anti catches you, you can trade loyalty for Max’s life.”

“I can’t just give up my mind again,” whispers Red. “Or my… or Max. Even if I think maybe I should stay with the rest of you and help you stay safe, I can’t just - ”

“Then you better be fast!” interrupts Dapper, shoving him away and straightening as best he can, gripping you in his palms, leaving Red and Max without a camera. You see them exchange one more glance, Red’s hands open like he might just snatch Dapper and bring him with them anyway, but then they are gone, their hands clasped, racing away together.

Dapper collapses for a moment. You go down with him, striking the pavement hard enough that a crack splits the middle of his screen. You can hear his shuddering breaths - or maybe they’re sobs as his head spins and his thoughts begin to unravel like cut-up threads, groaning out a breath as images replay in his head.

He really killed Trick. He laughs breathily, tears sliding down his face. It was like the games Anti used to play to test him, back when he didn’t plan to keep Jackie around. Killing him over and over again in front of Dapper, leashed to the bed they shared, knees drawn to his chest, replaying his murder until he lost count of how many times he had died in front of him…

“That’s a new memory for today,” he signs at you as he manages to drag himself up. “You might have to help keep me focused.”

“Dapper?” calls a concerned voice, stopping in front of him.

Dapper grabs Trick’s wrists and drags him into the alley, pinning his arms to the wall. He has to tell him something, stop him from something, get someone to… Dok to… hell, his head aches. He had a plan! Something touches his ankle and he gasps, but when he turns around to look, there’s nothing there. He is unraveling. Trick catches him when he crumples for a third time. This time, he faints away completely and you slide out of his hand, back onto the pavement.

cest-mellow asked: boys, the only way you can beat anti and get blue back is if you all work together. max that probably includes you since blue is possessed....

“Goddammit, Dap,” you hear Trick hiss, sinking to the pavement with Dapper limp in his arms, clutching his little brother’s head. “You better have the fucking password or Anti’ll goddamn kill you. Shit.”

He looks around, torn and frightened by whatever convinced Dapper to turn back. He needs to keep running after Red and the stranger, but he doesn’t want to get in trouble for leaving Dapper alone and unconscious either. He slaps Dapper’s face lightly and is relieved to see him stir, blinking his silver eyes dopily up at the sky. Trick shades him from the sun and lets out a nervous groan, holding him in his lap.

Work together. Dap tries to think, rubbing at his aching head.

hurricael asked: I think you should go for it. He seems like he's about to use Blue's magic, and that is powerful. Maybe- maybe act you're happy to see him, or something, and get close to him, and then use the necklace?

Henrik is pulled along by Anti’s hand, staring at his brother before him. He’s scared and he doesn’t know what’s happening, but if you ask him to, he’ll use JP’s necklace on Blue before Anti reaches Dapper and Trick. Or he can do what he did last time, and tug out of his grip, and run to find his twin and little brother.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: You do have the password now, right Dap? You remember it?

“Athana - I don’t know how to spell it. Z? S? Something. We’re fine. Trick, change in plans. Do what I tell you.”

“But I - ”

“Anti told me to change time! You do what I tell you when we’re playing with time!”

Trick bites on his lip but doesn’t protest.

“You need to get to Dok.”

Trick smiles faintly. “I… I could, but Dap, Anti gave me an order, I need to - ”

“I gave the order so I’ll worry about the punishment.” Dapper pushes on his chest, dragging himself back to his knees. “You and Dok need each other.”

“And you don’t need me?” protests Trick, holding his shoulders.

“What?”

“And you don’t - ?”

“Not you,” protests Dapper, whirling around. “What are you saying?”

“Dapper, no one else is talking.”

“I do know the password,” insists Dapper, staring at the wall. “I do!”

“Bud, stay with me.”

“I need to protect my family.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: You do have the password now, right Dap? You remember it?

“Athana - I don’t know how to spell it. Z? S? Something. We’re fine. Trick, change in plans. Do what I tell you.”

“But I - ”

“Anti told me to change time! You do what I tell you when we’re playing with time!”

Trick bites on his lip but doesn’t protest.

“You need to get to Dok.”

Trick smiles faintly. “I… I could, but Dap, Anti gave me an order, I need to - ”

“I gave the order so I’ll worry about the punishment.” Dapper pushes on his chest, dragging himself back to his knees. “You and Dok need each other.”

“And you don’t need me?” protests Trick, holding his shoulders.

“What?”

“And you don’t - ?”

“Not you,” protests Dapper, whirling around. “What are you saying?”

“Dapper, no one else is talking.”

“I do know the password,” insists Dapper, staring at the wall. “I do!”

“Bud, stay with me.”

“I need to protect my family.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: You get to make the decision now, Trick. You got this. Do what feels right to YOU, not anyone else.

“I do not want to get in trouble with Anti,” says Trick clearly. “I’m trying to be good. But I don’t think he would want me to leave Dapper behind, so let’s just take a second. Anti will be able to find Red soon, or maybe Dapper can rewind again when we have a clearer picture. Here, buddy, I got you. C’mere, I didn’t really get to say hi to you.”

Trick pulls Dapper back into his lap and Dapper sinks into a hug, distracted.

“Maybe… get Anti for me and he’ll stop and check on me. And I’ll have the password and he’ll listen to what I tell him.”

“Okay, soon as he comes.”

Anonymous asked: He's not kidnapping Red, Trick, don't worry. Red's okay, he's relatively safe at the moment.

“Okay, Red’s okay,” Trick murmurs to the both of them. “I mean, much as we can trust the cameras.”

He gives you a slightly dirty look. There are still things he hasn’t forgiven you for.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: It might not be helpful right now, Trick, but... we're sorry.

“Don’t apologize to him,” protests Dap. “He’s being a baby.”

“Hey!”

Anonymous asked: Here are the outcomes I can see for each option, Henrik. Just Anti: his attention might be drawn to you too much to succeed, but dap and trick won't be there to interfere. In front of them: Dap and trick won't be much help, trick might actively harm chances, but Anti will be distracted. With them, after reuniting: Trick will likely be out of it, probably dapper too, so you might end up with three people out of it and Anti right there. I would recommend the first option, but it's up to you

“I think you’re suggesting I put the necklace on him right now?” mumbles Henrik discreetly, a little confused. “I… I could.”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, dapper keeps having to rewind, I think you should put the necklace on blue. This could be your last chance.

Henrik shifts, uncomfortable with the dissidence, but he’s independent enough to make the choice for himself. He’ll wait to talk to his brothers, but if you suggest it again, he’ll do it without question.

He tears out of Anti’s hand and goes racing towards Trick and Dapper, ignoring an irritated shout from a limping Anti.

“What do I need to do?” he asks.

Anonymous asked: If you can give JJ his Haldol, please do!! I think he'd appreciate it. After that, just talk to Chase, comfort him when the memories start coming back. And follow JJ's lead.

“He’s had his dose for the day, but medicine like this takes time to kick in - days, maybe longer, with how long he’s been off it. Time travel makes his confusion worse. Don’t let him reverse again.”

Henrik races down the road. He can hear Dapper whistling for him, calling for his help with Trick. He finds them in an alleyway, sitting together, their arms around each other and Trick’s cupped hand full of Dapper’s blood. Dapper spits the copper from his mouth, looking, in Henrik’s medical opinion, ridiculous levels of fucked up.

“Take Trick,” signs Dapper. Trick’s eyes are already enormous and fixed on Dok as his memories rush back to him. “He’ll snap out of some of Anti’s hypnosis soon, but he’ll still listen to him if he’s given a command. Take him far away to hide.”

“Where?”

“Doesn’t matter. You have a camera. We’ll be able to find you again. Go. I’ll intercept Anti.”

“He’s not far. Come here, Trick.”

“What’s - ?”

“Just come on!”

And it’s Dok and Trick’s turn to race off, Trick still casting nervous glances back at Dapper and the alleyway.

Dapper pulls himself to his feet, breathing out. Breathing in. Breathing out.

Okay. Let’s face him again. He can do this.

Anti appears there in the alley on that cane.

They stare at each other for a second. Antiques and petrichor.

“Password?” says Anti.

“A-T-H-A-N-A-Z-I-U-S.”

Relief floods through Blue’s face. Anti moves forward.

“Close enough,” he laughs, and he pulls Dapper into a hug. Tight, tight.

“My - my little brother,” Anti whispers, and then he’s burying his face in his shoulder, holding him close, and Dapper is holding him right back, his chest aching, his head pounding, a wave of confusion rushing through his head.

“Anti,” he answers softly against his brother’s throat.

“I can’t remember the last time I was that scared,” laughs Anti, his voice shaking, letting himself be raw with Dapper, be open with Dapper, be himself with Dapper. “I never thought I’d see you again, for a while there. Dap, fuck. I love you… I’m glad you’re still mine. Always so good for me…”

Dapper pulls back, exhausted, his eyes dark. Anti kisses his cheek.

“What do I need to do, love?” asks Anti.

“Please,” says Dapper. “Let Jackie’s Max go.”

“Don’t you say that name. What’s gotten into you? You know I can’t do that.”

“Well, I don’t know where they won’t. But you’ll lose Red if you hurt Max.”

“I’ll figure it out. I have to have Red back. Our big brother…”

“Fine. Come on, I know which way they went.”

“Oh, no, darling, you can’t come with.”

Dapper’s eyes widen and his stomach drops.

That was not part of the plan. No. He has to go with, he has to make sure he can stop this -

“You’re confused and sick. You could reverse when I don’t want you to.”

“No, no, won’t!”

Anti handcuffs his right wrist. Dapper chokes, grabbing Blue’s arm, desperate.

“No!” he cries with his one hand. “No, I need to come, I had a plan, I just needed to remember it!”

“If I need you to reverse again, I’ll tell you through the cameras.” Anti places it carefully at his feet and handcuffs the left hand, making Dapper gasp, leaving him trapped and muted against the dumpster, shaking his head wildly.

“I’ll be back in just a few,” promises Anti. “Just go find Red and Max. Don’t worry, I have a signal on his phone. He’s been easy to track. I’ll bring Red back for you. If I’m not back in a half-hour, you reverse again. There’s my good boy. Goodbye.”

And that’s where Anti leaves him, sinking to the ground, his silver eyes wild, wild, wild and fixed on you.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Red, you need to move faster. Ditch your phone! Anti is tracking you guys. BOTH OF YOU DITCH YOUR PHONES AND RUN LIKE HELL

They ditched the camera, but Anti can hear them, Anti can hear them through the phone. He digs into the frequency and it buzzes onto your screens, showing you the darkness of the inside of Max’s pocket. Luckily for them, Max has been hiding from Anti for a long time. They already realized the problem.

“Give me the phone,” Ro is panting. “Go to the airport. I know you got tickets. Go back to England. I should never have let you come back with us. I just didn’t want to admit what he was. I didn’t want to admit that my little brother would hurt you.”

“I’m not leaving you. Not losing you again.”

“You heard the messages,” whispers back Red. “My brothers and I - we have to be together to get free of him. We have to work together and we’re not ready. Trick is completely in his head, Dapper can’t convince himself, and Blue is possessed and sick and hurting. We have to do this alone.”

“That’s stupid,” spits Max, and you can hear the brush of their clothes together. “That’s stupid. Let me help.”

“He’ll just kill you. I know the way Dapper thinks, at least in regards to reversals. He’s protecting us and you have to run. Max.”

“No… no. I can’t… I love you. I finally found you again.”

Air between them. Breathing between them. They are holding on to each other. Max will not let go of him. He can’t.

“Yeah, you can,” says Red. “You can and trust that I’ll come back to you.”

“You’ll forget me again.”

“No. No. Never.”

He can’t. He can’t. Can he? He can’t.

Anonymous asked: Max, you’ve given Jackie a reason to fight again. Your safety is the most important thing right now so please go back home! He’ll come back to you, but if you do not leave now you will die and loose everything that you’ve worked for. Stay alive for Jackie’s sake.

“I just want to know you’re safe, somewhere in the world,” mumbles Jackie, running his fingers through Max’s hair. Holding his waist. “If I forget… Dapper remembers, moment to moment. He’ll remind me. But you will die if you - ”

“Maybe I’d rather die than lose you again,” spits Max, suddenly venomous. “Maybe I’d die for a chance to shoot Anti in his fucking head.”

“He’s wearing Blue anyway. You can’t.”

“Chase is out of his mind and Marvin is sick as fuck and Jameson is always lost and you want me to - ”

“Max.”

“That’s my family, you, all of you, Juice Box, Jackie, you are my family. I’ll stay with you.”

Red sighs, very long and very deep. Touches Max’s face. His gloved hand.

And then he draws back and strikes him so hard you hear Max crash to the ground, his head slamming into the pavement, and that’s where he stays, unconscious, as Red turns, and takes his phone, and leaves him there in their hiding place.

Red does not show you where.

Does not show Anti where.

Max will stay there in his memory alone.

He doesn’t say “I love you.” Feels too much like a betrayal. He can hear Max’s song in his head.

“Bye, Max.”

spicydanhowell asked: henrik i think you should put the amulet on anti

“He’s away from us now,” says Henrik, struggling to orient a sobbing Trickshot. “I can go after him if you know where he is.”

“Don’t hurt Anti,” protests Trick desperately, trying to breathe. “Dok, Dok, what’s happening to me?”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hen, Max and Jackie split up. Anti's tracking their phone.

“Shit,” hisses Henrik. “Is Jackie in danger?”

And on your other screen, at the exact same time, with the thumping of the cane:

“Would you fuckers stop trying to thwart me? Bastards. Red! Red, come here! I see you, big brother! Come on, we can be nice about this…”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, I think you should find Red first before using it, because Blue will be out of it and I don't think you can get them both away alone. And Trick, it won't hurt Anti. Do what Dok says, okay? He knows what he's doing.

“You’re going to listen to me, yeah, my Trickster?”

“Yeah, okay, yeah, Dok, you know I t-trust you, I love you, I’m sorry.”

“Just stay with me. Guys, I’ll go after Anti, but I have no idea where he or Red are!”

Anonymous asked: dap, are you doing okay? what do you need/want from us? max is safe, he and red split up for a little bit to stay safe. anti is catching up to red. dok and trick are still together, they might be looking for anti but it's kind of unclear, they might not have a plan yet.

You can find Dapper sitting there, head low.

The slow dripping of tears in front of the camera.

He hears your beeping and sniffles, reaching out his feet, trying to drag you closer to him, but all he ends up doing is accidentally kicking you, and you drop away from him, so he can just barely touch you with the tight, black dress shoes he put back on knowing his master was coming to steal him again, again, always. He sighs and closes his eyes, letting his head fall back.

He doesn’t want to do this anymore.

Everybody’s got to fight together to get free, but he’s never going to be able to. He’s always going to end up right here. Right here, chained and exhausted, in Anti’s captivity.

Wait.

But… Max gave him one present before all the rest.

Anonymous asked: We. Don't really know where they are either?? Jackie's being smart, not showing Anti anything, but he's still tracking his phone. It looked like Anti's getting kind of close now. You two should probably also be careful not to show anything, like,,, incriminating? We'll update you if we can.

“I see you, baby,” calls Anti again, stepping forward, stepping forward. People and pigeons part as he steps. Thud, thud, thud says the cane. “Come here. Come here. It’s okay. You brought the phone, so I know you wanted me to come after you. I know you’re going to stay here with little brother. Come here. Come here, my brother, my guard dog.”

“Don’t call me brother,” rasps Jackie, without much strength left. “You told me family was an illusion. A trick.”

“And I stand by that. But here you are. Planning to stay. Come. Sit down.”

A dark plaza. Outside a church. Always a church in Peru. A dark plaza and a dark bench. Late enough now that there are few tourists, just people moving, moving, moving, moving to go to their homes, to their families.

“They still think there’s a fight to fight,” coos Anti. “But you know better, my love. Sit down. I’m going to get you a drink.”

“What?” stammers Red.

“Yeah. I’m going to get you a drink. Sit.”

And he sits.

Confused, on the black bench.

“Know where we are?” asks Anti. He’s buying an Inca Cola from a nine-year-old vendor. “They want to know. Tell them.”

Ro stares around them. His eyes are watering.

Anti points up at a surveillance camera and connects it to you so easily you can tell he’s done it before.

“Outside the police station,” whispers Ro. “Where they held me after I killed that man.”

Jose.

Anti comes back and sits beside him, handing him the drink. Cracking it for him.

“Drink,” he says.

“I’m not thirsty.”

“Drink,” repeats Anti. “Because if you are not mine, then I have no need for you, and I can put you back in that police station right now.”

Red stares down at the yellow soda, bubbling happily at him.

His shaking hands pull it back to drink. Sweet. Bubblegum sweet. Taunting him. Anti, more than anything else, loves to taunt all of you.

“Give me the phone,” says Anti.

Red hands it to him.

“Guess what his password is?”

“I don’t know, Anti.”

“1007. Mean anything to you?”

“No, Anti.”

“I know it doesn’t,” he says.

He is enormously pleased with himself. Unlocking the phone, he holds it between himself and Ro.

“Look,” he commands, opening the camera app.

Mostly, it’s just pictures of Jackie being stupid.

Laughing and cooking pancakes. Holding Chase over his shoulders like he weights two pounds. Clinging to Max at the top of the Brighton Tower. Making superhero poses. Frowning exaggeratedly over a cake he burned the shit out of. Asleep on the couch, with Max’s arm slung around him. The two of them grinning side-by-side.

But there are the rest of them too. Henrik flips the camera off, sipping his coffee. Marvin and Jameson are motion blurred as they run away from halfway-finished graffiti, hand in hand and laughing. There’s a video of Chase and Jackie throwing a pair of shrieking children back and forth.

“So cute,” says Anti. “He adored you.”

He blinks at the camera and it sparks and smokes, the images disappearing into pixels. Ro blinks tears away and refuses to look at Anti, closing his eyes and clinging to his soft blue hoodie.

“That’s what I would have done to that boy if I found him,” growls Anti, dropping the phone to the ground. “Still could. But you were smart, weren’t you, Red? You knew what would happen. So you made the right choice. You’re giving yourself back to me. That’s what’s happening, right? Or should I keep searching for your little fiance and throw you back in jail?”

Jackie’s eyes snap open.

“My… my…”

There’s the word he’s been looking for. There.

“My fiance?”

Anti hands - Blue’s hands, his twin’s hand - are on his face, cupping his cheeks, and Jackie shivers at the sensation. He hates skin on his skin. Anti knows.

“You give yourself back to me right now,” says Anti. “And we will let all of this - all of this - go. Like it never happened. And I’ll take you somewhere new. And you’ll be happy again.”

“For how long, Anti?” cries Red, his eyes sunken, tears running down his face. “How many times will we do this? How many times have we done this? Why does Dapper talk about escape attempts I don’t remember? Why is it more painful every time we do this?”

Anti’s eyes flicker.

“Anti,” whispers Red. “Promise me this is the last time.”

Anti stares at him. Green and blue. But still Blue’s eyes. Still Blue’s face. Red touches his hair.

“If you lose me again, kill me or throw me in jail. None of us can keep playing this game. It’s too much. You’re killing us, Anti. You’re killing yourself. Promise me this is the last time.”

And Anti remembers promises broken, and heartache, and his own regret, bitter in his mouth.

If he promises, he means it.

He learned his lesson.

He means it.

“Okay,” he says.

If he can’t be happy with them, he can’t be happy. If he can’t control them this time - if they start to get loose - he’ll end it. He’ll end all of it. Okay.

“I promise.”

“And one more thing,” says Red.

“I’m not really a bargain-maker,” Anti.

“You love bargaining,” answers Red. “You told me it makes you feel like a crossroads demon and that that was probably your true calling.”

“Okay, fine,” he says. “I do. And it is. Aren’t we talking about your soul anyway?”

“Leave me with the memory of him,” says Jackie, very soft. “Leave me with one thing that doesn’t always hurt.”

Anti sighs and looks down at the broken phone on the earth, a distorted image of Max and Jackie smiling back at him. All too bright. All too beautiful. All too happy.

“Don’t change my memories of him. Don’t delete him. Don’t try to hunt him down. Just… leave him. And I’m yours. I’m yours.”

“Okay,” says Anti. “Okay.”

A flood of pigeons leaps up from the earth, darkening the sun and the steep tower of the church.

“As long as you’re mine.”

And he grabs Jackie’s head, and remembers the first time he killed the man in front of him, and he makes of himself a flood.

Jackie can hear himself cry out.

And then, Jackie can hear nothing at all.

Red still hears Max’s song, playing in his head, and Anti’s voice, soothing him.

“It’s over now. It’s over. It’s done.”

He always thinks he alone is enough for finality.

Anonymous asked: Hey Ro! You need to find Henrik! He’s got a plan but he needs your help first so you can grab Blue. Also! Anti handcuffed Dap to the dumpster where y’all split up first, at some point you need go back and get him!

“Fuck’s sake! Hand-cuffing my little brother during a psychotic episode! I’ll eviscerate him.”

Henrik hears his own words and laughs a little wildly, clutching to his necklaces. He wishes he could threaten to kill Anti as easily as think about actually doing it.

“Okay, my Trick, my twin, let’s go back and get our little brother out of those cuffs, and then we go find big brothers and Anti, yes?”

“Okay,” groans Trick, wiping at his face. He’s a right mess, snotty and red-faced, tucked like a kid against Dok’s chest and clinging to his coat. “Yeah, my little brother.”

Dok helps him up and they hurry back to the alleyway, looking around.

“Um, here?” asks Dok. “Or where? Carver is not here.”

Trick sniffles and points to the dumpster, where a pair of handcuffs lie open and abandoned in the dirt.

Anonymous asked: Dap, hey, Dap, where are you? Do you have a plan? Dok and Trick are where you were

“You know something?” says Anti, leaning on Red for support now, his big brother exhausted and completely dazed, holding a tissue to his nose to stem the blood that came down as Anti poured once more into his head.

“What?” mumbles Red, clinging to somebody. He can’t tell if it’s Blue or Anti.

“That wasn’t even that hard. I can’t believe I was that stressed. Like, sure, that stupid fucking asshole found you again, but I didn’t have to break you out of prison or anything. Dapper’s a little sick, but he had the password, he followed the rules. You just took a little convincing. Trick will have a quick breakdown, but Dok’s there for him. And Blue can suck me off cause he’s been such a fucking bastard lately. I’ll let him go when we get to a new country. Guess I gotta find a way to deal with Dok… goddamn magicians. Almost want to stay and kill them, but honestly, we’ve been causing so much trouble lately. At least I didn’t have to shoot anyone. You’ll help me put Dok back together, right?”

Red nods wearily, nearly tripping over stone.

“There’s my good boy,” purrs Anti, nuzzling against his shoulder. “I love it, I love having you back, I feel so much better. And Blue fits so nice. Lately I’ve been getting sick everyday at this time, throwing up blood, feeling so mortal. But it’s all okay now. I’ll have to use Blue more often.”

The cameras are beeping insistently and no one seems to be answering them. He frowns down at you as it continues.

“What are you talking to Dapper for? Which alley is it?”

He pulls Red to the side and Dok and Trick turn back to look at them. But no Dapper. You feel Anti still.

“Where’s Dap?” he says, very stiff.

Trick and Dok exchange glances. Trick offers Anti the handcuffs uncertainly.

“Dapper?” calls Anti, letting Red go. He stumbles and Dok hurries forward to catch him. “Dapper? Where are you, baby? He can’t be running around while he’s confused and having an episode. Where’d he go? How’d he get loose? Why isn’t he answering the cameras?”

“Anti, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Trick tries to soothe, hearing the rising panic in his voice. “We’ll find him, we’ll find him.”

Anti limps back towards the street, eyes wide. Dapper is not there. Blue’s hands shake on the cane.

Anonymous asked: Hen, you probably noticed, but Red's under Anti's control again, so be warned. He might not be able to help you with Blue

Henrik draws slightly back, touching the back of Red’s head gently, frowning at him, grieving the news. But when Red looks back, it hardly even looks like him. His eyes are red and so miserable Henrik can’t imagine him falling back into the person he was, hitting them and ordering them around and carrying out Anti’s orders. If this is Red, he is not the same.

“Dok,” he whispers.

Henrik strokes his hands through his hair. “Bruder,” he answers softly. “Come here.”

Red slips into his arms. Henrik hugs him as tight as he can, giving him his favorite form of pressure, holding his head to his shoulder, and Red cries into his white heart surgeon’s coat.

“It’s going to be okay,” whispers Henrik, wrapping his fingers around his talismans. “One month, two at most. Two months and be free. I won’t go under. He won’t take me over again.”

“We’ll only do it one more time,” mumbles Red, almost delirious. “Only one more time and then, one way or another, it’s done.”

And then Anti is checking his other cameras, and they hear him start to scream.

Anonymous asked: What is it, Dap? Do you think it could help?

Max gave him the lockpick the day the first day Dapper saw him again, when they both hand-cuffed him to the chair in their motel room.

It was a good thing to give him. He’s grateful. That’s all he’ll need it, so he lets it fall.

And it falls, and falls, and falls, and falls, and falls.

Down onto the street far below. Your view is fixed on it. It’s all you can see - the highway, dark in the evening, and the ocean, glowing beneath artificial lights, and the people like raindrops babbling in the heat far below you. The pavement and the river and the people like raindrops and Dapper’s tight, hot, black, dirtied little dress shoes, standing on the ledge of a building.

Softly, above you, Dapper is laughing.

#writers of jack #chapter three

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homespork-review · 4 years

Text

HOMESPORK ACT 5 ACT 1: Mobius Double Plusungood, Part 1

CHEL: Yes, Act 5 Act 1; here begin the “act acts”. Just go with it.

FAILURE ARTIST: Welcome to Act 5 a.k.a. The Act Everyone Skipped To So They Could Get To Those Grey Demons. While I was a reader before Act 5, I wasn’t a huge fan until this part. The trolls are a great species. Different enough to be fascinating, but not different enough humans can’t relate. And what exactly is in their pants? That’s for the fandom to figure out.

BRIGHT: And fandom accepted the challenge with enthusiasm.

CHEL: Also, they’re fuggin’ adorable. It took me a while to get used to nonhumans in the sprite style and I thought they were creepy-looking at first, but we also see them in the more noodly style used in the dramatic moments with the kids, like the fall of Prospit, and that helped them grow on me a lot.

FAILURE ARTIST: The Act starts off with a grey planet with a green moon and a pink moon. A prompt box like the one for the Kids’ introductions is above it. In the box are letters in a script blatantly stolen borrowed from The Elder Scrolls games and turned 180 degrees. (Later on, when Hussie made a game that people paid money for, he couldn’t exactly use a stolen font so the team made an all-new font. But the old font is probably in the print books). Anyway, in case you’re curious, the letters spell out “Turdodor Fuckball”. This is the wrong name, and the right name is…Trollplanet. Though it’s called Alternia in the flavor text below and everywhere else.

So starts the arc called Hivebent. We cut to CG in a very grey room flapping his mouth occasionally at nothing. He’s introduced much the way John was.

This young troll stands in his respiteblock. It just so happens that today, the 12th bilunar perigee of the 6th dark season's equinox, is the day of this young troll's larval awakening, also known as his wriggling day. Though it was six solar sweeps ago he was given life, it is only today he will be given a name! Six Alternian solar sweeps, for convenient reference, is equivalent to thirteen Earth years. Earth, also for convenient reference, is a planet that does not yet exist. What will the name of this young troll be?

However, like Dave, he attacks the prompt box. He doesn’t want to do all the little gags and patterns.

CHEL: Thank God!

FAILURE ARTIST: This Hivebent arc will go much faster than the four acts before it. No dawdling along for this species. There’s twelve characters to be introduced and characterized before this is done.

CHEL: That said, it’s still going to be much, much longer than the others.

FAILURE ARTIST: So, CG’s name is Karkat Vantas. All of the troll names have a 6-6 pattern and are usually named after astrological and mythological motifs. Karkata is the Sanskrit name for the constellation Cancer and Vantas...is a prostate cancer treatment drug. Don’t look at me, I didn’t name him.

CHEL: It’s also possibly connected to “vanitas”, relating to Karkat’s simultaneous arrogance and lack of self-worth.

FAILURE ARTIST: Today is Karkat’s wriggling day. Let’s meet the birthday boy. He loves movies, though the narrator says he has terrible taste. In his room, there’s edited posters of “50 First Dates”, “Serendipity”, and “Hitch” that makes them look like troll movies, including lots of small type for the title. Like John, he likes to program but he’s not good at it. In fact, he’s so bad his programs are basically computer viruses. He wants to join a military organization called the THRESHECUTIONERS when he grows up. His weapon of choice is the sickle, possibly as a counterpart to John’s hammer.

He chats with his friends on a new program called Trollian, which is a reference to the real-life chat program Trillian. Fans forget that Trollian was a new program, except for Nepetaquest where the plot revolves around the making of that improbable software.

CHEL: Which begs the question of how they communicated before. Most of them don’t seem to have met each other in real life yet. Obvious answer is a different chat program, but in that case, why draw attention to Trollian being new instead of just having it be how they communicated from the start? It doesn’t really add anything IMO.

FAILURE ARTIST: Anyway, talking with his friends drives him BATSHIT UP THE FUCKING BELFRY, which is a very human phrase.

The first prompt Karkat gets is to examine the slimy pod in his room. This pod is a recuperacoon and serves as a bed. Trolls need that slime to help assuage the terrible visions of blood and carnage that plague the dark subconscious of your species. Why do they have these species-wide bad dreams and how does slime help? It’s never said.

CHEL: The slime appears to be a form of drug, possibly a sedative. In Hiveswap we see it also has minor healing properties. Why trolls would have evolved to consistently suffer nightmares isn’t brought up here, but there are possible explanations later.

FAILURE ARTIST: Actually, after Act 6, recuperacoons aren’t mentioned. Also, oddly enough, the narration says sleeping is done nightly but we later learn trolls are nocturnal. The terms night and day aren’t used consistently in Hivebent.

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 20

Karkat gets into the pod, but immediately regrets it. He changes his clothes (off-screen of course) into clothes that look exactly the same. This is because Trolls think fashion is stupid.

Next, he examines his movie posters. Turns out trolls have their own version of John Cusack, among other celebrities. Troll Adam Sandler is his favorite actor and one person he doesn’t want to do violence against. In his narration, he thinks Sweet Baby Jegus though Jegus isn’t actually a thing in troll culture.

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 21

Karkat tries to captchalogue his sickle and we get some more sylladex hijinx! His modus becomes too heavy and literally falls through the floor. I thought picking up weapons was different from captchaloging stuff? We’re told these hijinx won’t last long and eventually Karkat trades his modus with his hacker friend. Good. For now, he just picks up the big black book on his dresser.

The big black book is about a programming language called ~ATH and for some reason is in Roman script. It’s a morbid little language and there’s a cartoon figure of the Grim Reaper and a fake (or real?) quote from Troll Will Smith. Karkat finds this language incredibly hard. There’s probably some sick programmer jokes I’m missing here.

CHEL: There’s one I’ve been informed of; ~ is called a tilde, so the name of the program is “tilde-ath”, or “till death”. I can’t say I recognise any others though.

FAILURE ARTIST: Karkat steps outside. He lives in a huge grey and red house (or hive) in a suburb as sterile as John’s. Trolls create their own homes as toddlers after beating the trials in the brooding caverns. First hint of how harsh Alternia is, yet everyone has their own housing which is sweet.

It's almost as if your people have placed great cultural importance on teaching children to become architecturally adept while very young. It has been this way since ancient times. No one seems to know why that is.

Hmmm…

Karkat almost has a poetic moment while looking out at the moons, but he rejects poetry. He also rejects mailboxes, which trolls don’t have because they have no mail.

CHEL: Do they mean no paper letters because they all have internet? I recall that they do receive packages.

FAILURE ARTIST: I think they have courier service but no dedicated government postal system.

So instead of poetry, Karkat talks about AMBITION. He wants to be something great but he doesn’t know what exactly. We’ll see where this character arc takes him.

We get a little detail about the Alternian calendar and it concludes with “You have a feeling it's going to be a long night.”

Karkat goes back inside. He checks out a Game Grub magazine with a disgusting image of a leaking grub and a DVD for his favorite television show. The show is THE THRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR, which is a take-off on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air but is about a green threshecutioner cadet who sasses up the bluebloods in his flaysquad pretty good. The “green” and “blueblood” parts aren’t turns of phrases but literal. Given the strict hierarchy we find out trolls are under, it’s amazing there’s a series about a sassy subordinate. Maybe he’s only sassy in Karkat’s mind.

CHEL: Actually, that’s not too unbelievable.

FAILURE ARTIST: The title of the show doesn’t follow the convention of troll movie titles and that’s because 1) television is a newer medium and 2) it would ruin the joke.

Finally, Karkat gets down to business on his computer. His first friend to “troll” him has a purple Capricorn sign. Now, this friend is a character that though I’m now quite attached to, I didn’t much care about them in the beginning. I’ll try to be objective though.

terminallyCapricious [TC] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] TC: wHaT iS uUuUuP mY iNvErTeBrOtHeR? CG: WHAT IN THE SWEET ALMIGHTY TAINTCHAFING FUCK DO YOU WANT. TC: NoT a MoThErFuCkInG tHiNg BrO. TC: oThEr ThAn I bE cHeCkIn OuT hOw My BeSt MoThErFuCkIn FrIeNd Is At Yo.

Yes, my first thought too was “that’s a really annoying typing style”. Karkat agrees and complains about TC’s typing style. TC temporarily goes all lowercase but says it feels uncomfortable. Karkat complains more about how awful TC is and wonders what he did to deserve such a terrible friend. Instead of being offended, TC says friendship is beautiful and confusingly calls it a TrOlL dIsEaSe. We’ll see some stuff that suggests trolls don’t have friendship or at least don’t consider it in high regard but mostly trolls have friends like humans do.

BRIGHT: Despite his protests, Karkat has eleven friends, in a society that is not set up to facilitate this. I’m pretty sure that when I was his age I had maybe three.

FAILURE ARTIST: TC waxes on miracles like the carbonation in a bottle of Faygo. Yeah, trolls have Faygo.

CHEL: That’s a gag, though, so no WSP point.

FAILURE ARTIST: Karkat tells him that’s just carbonation but TC rejects science as just stealing the magic from miracles.

CHEL: It comes up more clearly later, but we’ll tell you now that TC’s entire character at this point, especially that line, is basically a shoutout to the Insane Clown Posse song “Miracles”.

Watch on YouTube

FAILURE ARTIST: After some more bantering, TC gets down to business: TA is going to play a game. Karkat says he’s not interested but TC says TA is Karkat’s best friend, which is sad when you consider TC calls Karkat “best friend”.

CHEL: TA, if you don’t remember, is twinArmageddons, the computer programmer.

FAILURE ARTIST: TC gets distracted by a horn going off and even types out a surprised yell. Karkat tell TC to get rid of the horns and TC says “MaN yOu KnOw YoU wAnNa GiVe My HoRnS a GoOd SqUeEzE. :o)” which sounds really flirty. Karkat says if he meets a kid as annoying as TC, he’ll convert to TC’s religion. TC is happy about this. With that, the conversation ends.

We cut to TC and he’s a motherfucking clown, baby! But I’ve already re-capped so much and need to give someone else a turn.

CHEL: Okay, I shall step up! TC’s actual name proves to be GAMZEE MAKARA, and he’s wearing a purple Capricorn sign. The name Gamzee was picked by a forumite as a reference to another user who went by Gammy, but it may also be a reference to “Gämse”, the German name for the chamois goat. Makara is the Sanskrit name for Capricorn, and also the name for a type of creature from Hindu folklore which would include the Capricorn sea-goat. There are several other layers of possible and probably-coincidental meaning listed on the Wiki, which we’d have to bring up spoilers to discuss, so we’ll save that for later.

Beyond his name and sign, Gamzee has clown makeup, explosively curly hair, long spiral horns, and a slightly glazed expression. Nightmarish pictures of evil clowns plaster his walls, his floor is piled with bicycle horns, juggling clubs, and Faygo bottles, and an oversized unicycle is propped against the wall. When he picks up a Faygo bottle and his “husktop” computer, his MIRACLE MODUS is seen, a hideously complicated mishmash of various styles which flickers and spins obnoxiously. Even Gamzee doesn’t know how it works, he just likes to watch the colours.

FAILURE ARTIST: Gamzee belongs to a RATHER OBSCURE CULT that believes in a BAND OF ROWDY AND CAPRICIOUS MINSTRELS who are CLOWNS OF A GRIM PERSUASION WHICH MAY NOT BE IN FULL POSSESSION OF THEIR MENTAL FACULTIES. Basically, he’s a Juggalo who worships the troll equivalent of Insane Clown Posse. Though the cult is called obscure and said to be looked down upon, later it is shown to be a state-sponsored religion. I guess maybe it’s just Gamzee’s particular denomination that’s looked down upon.

CHEL: “Obscure” also means “hidden”, so the retcon could be justified in the sense of it being mysterious? Or it might be related to spoilery Hiveswap theories. We can get into those if we ever get round to Hiveswap.

Gamzee attempts to ride the unicycle, but fails - unsurprisingly, since it’s taller than he is and he attempts to ride it by standing on the saddle. He falls off into a pile of horns, and decides instead to sample the luridly green pie on the counter, which turns out to in fact be made of the same SOPOR SLIME that trolls sleep in.

You aren't supposed to eat that slime. It does funny things to a troll's head. But you were never taught that on account of a lousy upbringing. Your custodian was always out to sea.

Gamzee arms himself with a juggling club to use against the alleged hostile SEA DWELLERS and heads out to wait for his missing guardian.

FAILURE ARTIST: His hive appears to not have a front door so I don’t know what’s keeping the hostile sea dwellers out.

CHEL: Someone contacts him online and he intends to settle down with a Faygo and answer, but he doesn’t know how to retrieve things from his miracle modus. Gamzee performs a short prayer to your beloved MIRTHFUL MESSIAHS, the faces of the two members of Insane Clown Posse superimposed over the background, and throws a pinch of SPECIAL STARDUST in his face. We never find out what exactly “special stardust” is; it appears to just be glitter, but it comes up much later. His attempts fail, however, as the modus instead launches his Faygo miles out to sea.

You wonder if you can just... Just sort of reach over... And...

Apparently the sylladex modus can be physically reached, so there was no need for the endless pages of shenanigans in the first place. *quiet rage* But anyway, gallowsCalibrator is trolling him.

FAILURE ARTIST: GC asks G4MZ33Z if he’d like to play G4M3Z3Z with her. He replies "hEy YeAh ThAt SoUnDs LiKe ThE mOtHeRfUcKiN sHiT's BiTcHtItS!" She says something very tsundere in reply:

GC: 1T SUR3 1S H4RD TO 1GNOR3 TH3 W31RD TH1NGS YOU S4Y SOM3T1M3S! GC: BUT 1M GONN4 GC: TH3 ONLY R34SON 1M 4SK1NG YOU 1S B3C4US3 YOUR N4M3 1S L1K3 G4M3 GC: 4ND NO OTH3R R34SON GC: G3T 1T??? >:]

Gamzee isn’t offended she said this and GC gets annoyed he’s always rolling with the punches. She says that’s why Karkat can’t stand him. Harsh in hindsight. GC gets down to business and tells Gamzee they are going to H4V3 SOM3 MOTH3RFUCK1NG SH1TTY B1TCH3S PL4Y1NG TOG3TH3R. He asks if they could play later because he’s waiting for tHe OlD gOaT (which happens to also be a nickname for Satan).

TC: yOu KnOw HoW iT iS wItH fAmIlY. GC: NO, NOT R34LLY! GC: 4DURRRR DURR DURP TC: Oh YeAh... GC: DURRRRRRRRRRRRR GC: W4Y TO GO, HOW DO3S TH4T STUP1D BOTTL3D SYRUP OF YOURS T4ST3 W1TH YOUR HOOF SO F4R UP YOUR MOUTH??? GC: >:] TC: sOoOoOoOrY.

This is the first time we find out GC has an unusual homelife. Yet it isn’t true that she has no family.

BRIGHT: And given how rarely Gamzee’s guardian is around, it’s not like he has much of a family either. Or a standard homelife.

CHEL: That’s also an... excessive response to a slip-up, but from what we see later, that’s how almost all the trolls talk to each other all the time.

FAILURE ARTIST: It’s also problematic, because she’s doing an ableist imitation of the speech of people with mental disabilities. Though I suppose trolls aren’t meant to be PC.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 19

Gamzee suggests GC play with Karkat instead. She rejects this idea and says she used to play with him but he got too annoying. Gamzee then agrees to play and says give him a minute. She says he’ll just space out and that’s what he does. When he gets back into the conversation, he makes a second faux pas.

TC: hAvE yOu EvEr EvEn SeEn ThE oCeAn? TC: oR i MeAn SmElLeD iT... TC: SoRrY. GC: >:[

People really get on this but it’s just the regular type of mistake people make while talking to blind or sight-impaired friends and he did apologize. Other characters say worse and never apologize. Some readers who know what happens later might attribute malice but right now he’s just a guy who does a lot of troll pot and makes mistakes.

CHEL: I know when I was eleven the blind kid in my class and I had a sort of running gag of “see you later”. It also isn’t very clear whether either of them is actually hurt by anything the other is saying. They don’t seem to be.

This is also probably a time to bring up certain things about Gamzee’s cultural coding. Even though we later find out he’s one of the highest-ranking trolls, certain cues about him would make people think of a lower-class human, namely his syntax, his eating semi-inedible substances (lack of access to other food?) and his love for cheap gross soda. (I’ve drunk Faygo. It’s weird.) This could just be a troll thing not being exactly the same as human things and also down to his guardian not being there, but there’s more.

Gamzee’s word usage involves a lot of quirks which are usually associated with African American Vernacular English, e.g. addressing others as “brother” or “sister” and using “be” instead of “am” or “are” or just leaving them out completely. His hair is probably supposed to look unbrushed, but it can also be interpreted as textured. His religious behaviours get described with the word “voodoo” a lot, and while this is a bit of a stretch I personally interpreted his typing and syntax as a Southern drawl plus he lives close to water, thus cementing an association with actual Vodoun in my head even though his actual practices aren’t anything like it. While the members of Insane Clown Posse, the band which inspired a lot of Gamzee’s behaviours, are both white, rap is a strongly black-associated musical style, and Gamzee is later shown to be interested in rapping. Stereotypical juggalos are white, but culture considers them to be worthy of mockery because they’re white people behaving in ways associated with black people. Add in his absent male guardian, drug use, and acting “trashy” when he’s one of the richest trolls, and this all adds up to a very clear mental image of him as a not-very-flattering portrayal of a black person. Coding a nonhuman character strongly with a human racial group isn’t a problem in itself, but when it comes off as supposed to be funny, it’s not exactly SU Garnet levels of good representation, is it? The fact that Hussie, prior to Homestuck, was known for drawing some incredibly racist comics (also including rape, abortion, and drug jokes, so be warned) doesn’t help; we won’t add points for those because we’re judging HS on its own merits and it’s possible for people to change and regret prior prejudices, but it sheds new light on things that’ll come up.

Individual CP points for his language, his hair, his voodoo association, his rapping, his Disappeared Dad, his drug use, and his being coded as poor despite not being so, I think. None of these would be bad on their own or portrayed as less “look at how funny/creepy this guy is”, but...

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 26

BRIGHT: The first time I read Homestuck, I didn’t realise that Gamzee was meant to be disliked until somewhere in the middle of Act 6. I thought his situation was sad, but Gamzee himself seemed pretty nice, if dopey and not terribly motivated. I still quite like him. Did anyone else find something similar?

CHEL: Yeah, me. I thought he was pretty adorable.

FAILURE ARTIST: Gamzee suffers from abuse in the form of neglect. Though his guardian is arguably not quite responsible, it’s still abuse. As a result, Gamzee eats a dangerous substance and it’s probably why he lets people walk all over him. This is more obviously bad than Dave’s homelife. Yet it’s not ever dealt with and is even mocked. Hussie says in the annotation for this scene that there weren’t actually hostile seadwellers and Gamzee’s guardian just said that to keep Gamzee inside because he was ashamed of him. We find out later that seadwellers ARE hostile. This bit about Gamzee being gaslit is probably a joke then about how embarrassing Gamzee is. Yet isn’t it abusive to make up threats to your children to keep them isolated? Lots of fans consider Gamzee embarrassing too and so don’t see anything in this.

BRIGHT: Not to mention that it’s pretty fucked up to say Gamzee deserves abuse for being embarrassing, when that neglect and abuse is the reason he acts the way he does in the first place!

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 19 CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 30

CHEL: One CP for the “humorous” drug use and another each for the “joke” gaslighting and neglect, and another for the illogical justification. Wow, that count’s really starting to spike already! And I think now might be a good time to introduce another count…

IN HATE WITH MY CREATION: 1

This will be used whenever the author is clearly showing a lack of respect to the characters or situations that he himself created, in this case by setting up an abusive situation and mocking it when we’re supposed to have sympathy for another abuse sufferer.

BRIGHT: Depressingly, it gets worse later. Significantly worse.

CHEL: Not to mention, if Gamzee’s supposed to stay inside and his guardian’s absent all the time, and trolls “don’t get mail”, how does he feed himself? Even with the sopor, where does that come from? Is it just secreted by the pod or what? Does the pod need to eat? We’re never told. In Hiveswap, the sequel game, we do see that trolls can receive packages, but I would class packages under “mail”, so saying trolls don’t have it is needlessly confusing.

We cut back to Karkat, doing some coding which I’m sure would be very amusing if I knew the first thing about coding. Apparently the biggest problem with ~ATH is the near-impossibility of terminating its infinite loops.

What many ~ATH coders do is import finite constructs and bind the loops to their lifespan. For instance the main loop here will terminate on the death of the universe, labeled U. That way you only have to wait billions of years for it to end instead of forever. You have bound a subloop to the lifespan of the code's author, which is you. Any routine at the end will execute when you die.

So apparently coding is literally magic in this ‘verse? This is backed up by a code sent by TA:

This code, when executed, immediately causes the user's computer to explode, and places a curse on the user forever, along with everyone he knows, and everyone he'll ever meet. Not surprisingly, later on you would run this code in a fit of stupidity.

FAILURE ARTIST: The Internet is magic, why not programming?

BRIGHT: I think the coding is a pretty nifty thematic fit with the whole concept of SBURB! If you’ve got a video game that can affect reality, it’s reasonable to extrapolate that coding can do something similar, even if only by piggybacking off the Game’s infrastructure. And once they get into the Medium, it makes even more sense.

CHEL: True! In the meantime, TA trolls Karkat. Karkat’s speech pattern is remarkably similar to Dave’s, except infinitesimally less wordy and much angrier.

TA: KK dont fliip your 2hiit about thii2 but iim 2ettiing you up two play a game wiith 2ome people. CG: WHY WOULD I FLIP MY SHIT ABOUT THAT. TA: becau2e you fliip your 2hiit about everythiing. CG: WELL WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS. CG: HERE IS MY SHIT, AND YET IT REMAINS UNFLIPPED.

*snerk*

CG: JUST SITTING THERE ON THE SKILLET, GETTING BURNED ON ONE SIDE. CG: IT'S A MIRACLE. TA: oh no are you iinto miiracle2 now two becau2e iif you are youre fiired preemptiively from the game. CG: FUCK NO. TA: ok niice. CG: MIRACLES ARE LIKE POOP STAINS ON GOD'S UNDERWEAR. TA: eheheh makiing fun of people2 reliigiion2 i2 the be2t thiing two do. CG: THAT'S WHY HE HIDES THEM, THEY'RE FUCKING EMBARRASSING. CG: GOD LAUNDERS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS.

Very Judeo-Christian concept of God for an alien species.

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 22

FAILURE ARTIST: There’s seemingly no other troll religion but Gamzee’s cult and that has dual gods, not monotheism.

CHEL: Anyway, TA is setting up a game of SBurb, or SGRUB as the trolls call it, which he made from 2ome crazy technology AA dug out of 2ome ruiin2. Karkat hasn’t been told about this by AA, whom he deems “SO SPOOKY”, and whose full handle seen in the chat roll is apocalypseArisen - spooky indeed and thematically appropriate. Mention is made of TA’s WEIRD MUTANT BRAIN; exactly what this means isn’t described yet except that it doesn’t mean he can read Karkat’s mind. TA refuses to elaborate on what he’s discussing with AA on the grounds that it’s private, and this leads into an insult-exchanging session.

TA: nobody hate2 hiim2elf more than you iidiiot. CG: YEAH WELL I HATE YOU WAY MORE THAN I HATE MYSELF, AND THAT'S FUCKING SAYING SOMETHING. CG: IN FACT I HATE YOU MORE THAN I HATE MYSELF AND YOU HATE YOURSELF AND YOU HATE ME COMBINED.

Karkat calls a timeout long enough for TA to explain how they’re playing the game; he intends there to be two teams, Red and Blue, 2o that there2 a better chance of at lea2t one group wiinniing. Karkat agrees this sounds sensible, but flies off the handle on finding out that TA and GC are the team leaders, not him. Karkat spews insults and accusations of cheating, while TA snipes back. This is presumably the moment depicted in this page’s art, in which Karkat yells angrily and flails wildly at his keyboard.

CG: HOW DO YOU GET OUT OF YOUR COCOON IN THE MORNING KNOWING YOU'RE THE WORST THING A UNIVERSE WAS EVER RESPONSIBLE FOR? CG: ALSO IT MUST BE HARD WITH YOUR HANDS TO PERSISTENTLY BOTHERING EVERY MUTATED SET OF GENITALS PEPPERING THAT GHASTLY HUSK YOU PAWN OFF AS A BODY. CG: HAS A FEMALE EVER LOOKED AT YOU WITHOUT AT ONCE TURNING SKYWARD AND ERUPTING LIKE A VOMIT VOLCANO, ANSWER ME THAT.

As later pointed out, trolls reproduce bisexually, so why he specified females here is odd. There is a fan theory I’ve seen that TA is straight, as he’s only seen with female partners and rejects a possible male one, but Karkat demonstrates in a later conversation that he has no concept of gender preference, so if TA is, Karkat doesn’t know that. I guess he could mean that he himself has looked at TA without becoming a vomit volcano, but I doubt that was what Hussie was thinking since it isn’t clear if they’ve ever actually met face to face.

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 23

Anyway, TA tells Karkat that he’s laughing at Karkat’s immaturity, and that if he really wants to be Red Team leader, he should talk to GC.

CG: I GUESS THESE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE DO GET KIND OF EMBARRASSING IN RETROSPECT. CG: ARE WE NOT FRIENDS ANYMORE BECAUSE OF STUFF I SAID. TA: eheheheh you LIITERALLY a2k me that every tiime are you jokiing. TA: ii cant even tell anymore.

Okay, that’s adorable. But anyway, after seeing their conversations, you can see what we mean when we say it’s apparently normal for trolls to say horrible things to each other, so why fans and Hussie himself single out some instances and not others is stupid.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 20

FAILURE ARTIST: It’s another example that trolls do have friendship, though possibly not the same way humans do.

Also, though he’s not doing it to her face, Karkat is insulting GC’s blindness. Which is not just problematic but also silly given that her blindness is a super-power.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 31

After a quick panel where Karkat worries about an encounter with a “CRABBY” someone downstairs, we cut to GC. She is in a very colorful room, unlike Karkat’s grey one, and surrounded by stuffed dragon toys. On her wall is graffiti of a dragon and disturbingly a noose. Photorealistic books are piled on her desk. She’s introduced and we finally get her name: TEREZI PYROPE.

Terezi is the word for “Libra” in multiple languages, but it also might be a reference to the gender-bending blind prophet Tiresias. Pyrope is a type of red garnet and she does love red a lot.

Terezi lives alone deep in the woods (which does raise the question of how she gets all her stuff in a mail-free planet). She loves dragons, including the plushie series called SCALEMATES.

CHEL: Her walls are also decorated in the scales of dragons, which actually do exist on Alternia. Libra. Scales. Geddit?

FAILURE ARTIST: She likes roleplaying and once did a more extreme type until she had an accident that’s not explained at the time. Her big interest and motivation is JUSTICE and she wants to be a LEGISLACERATOR when she grows up. She doesn’t need TROLLBRAILLE (does such a thing exist?)...

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 24

... since as we know she has special powers. Alternian law is called BRUTAL and indeed it’s so terrible I have to side-eye Terezi for loving it.

CHEL: She claims to love JUSTICE, but Alternian law has very little to do with justice of any kind, as we see when she decides to start roleplaying it with her toys.

On Alternia, there is no such thing as a defense attorney, or a defense. In a courtblock, the word defense itself is offensive.

Not to mention the judge, a chalk depiction of whom adorns her wall, is known as HIS HONORABLE TYRANNY.

Also, do thirteen-year-olds regularly roleplay with their plush toys? I guess ones who are isolated from all actual life forms they could play with instead might.

FAILURE ARTIST: Terezi’s scenario this time is the trial of SENATOR LEMONSNOUT, played by a yellow scalemate. Given that Alternia seems to be an absolute monarchy, I wonder where she gets the concept of senators.

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 25

Terezi stares down the yellow plush toy before she starts slapping it. She fantasizes about the toy crying tears. The yellow plush toy’s crime is embezzlement, using a currency called imperial beetles. Whether this is a real currency or something Terezi made up we don’t know.

CHEL: As we see later, she’s using a bag of literal beetles in the game. Not sure if they are currency, if she went and caught them, or if trolls can buy them in bags.

FAILURE ARTIST: If you are reading this comic sometime post-2015, there’s two choices. One of them is [???????] Ignore that choice. It becomes relevant only much later. For now, we go to Terezi calling a witness.

Unfortunately, said-witness is a green plush who has been stabbed by a photo-realistic dagger. Apparently, defense attorneys are verboten but murdering witnesses is expected. Alternian justice, everyone.

BRIGHT: It might be moderately less batshit if we assume that Terezi’s obtained all her legal knowledge from TV, movies, and books, and this is a dramatic embellishment rather than the way Alternian trials actually function. She does live on her own in the middle of a forest, after all.

On the other hand, this planet is inhabited solely by children, the over-the-top cruelty is entirely in keeping with Alternia so far, and I don’t think we ever see any of it contradicted.

FAILURE ARTIST: Terezi finds a bag of beetles and that’s all that’s needed to sentence the “criminal”. Her method is to flip a coin called a caegar that has two-heads on it, one of them with a cut on it. The narration says this is like Two-Face from the Batman comics and the villain of the movie No Country for Old Men, though those media don’t exist in the troll universe. Still, trolls have the same trope. She flips the coin and though the result is favorable to Lemonsnout, Terezi declares she can’t see the coin because

SHE'S BLIND, REMEMBER?

She “kills” the stuffed toy by hanging it, like she’s done with many of her stuffed toys. We see now she lives in a tree house (or hive) in a blue and purple forest.

CHEL: In most media, a character being set up like this would be a villain or set up for a heel-face turn, or at least a massive source of conflict over the differing moralities of the different societies. We’ll see if anything ever comes of that.

FAILURE ARTIST: She finishes up by licking her chalk portrait of His Honorable Tyranny. Weird kid.

She gets her weapon (a photo-realistic cane as used by real-life people with vision impairment) and gets down to recruiting members for her team. Her first target is AC, short for arsenicCatnip, who appears as a speech bubble with the Leo sign in olive. The narration says Terezi likes to roleplay with AC, but only facetiously. Terezi and AC roleplay as a DRAGONYY'YYD and some type of big cat. Terezi tries to eat AC’s cub but AC bribes her with an animal called a BULL CHOL3RB34R.

CHEL: AC types with a symbol like this at the front :33 < and with a heavy spurrinkling of cat puns. From what she says about her character, the type of cat in question has two mouths, and it’s later stated that :33 is in fact supposed to be a cat face, one mouth atop the other. The evolutionary or indeed anatomical usefulness of this feature is unclear. Perhaps it’s so they can bite down on prey and vocalise to communicate at the same time? That would be more useful for a pack hunter… Anyway.

FAILURE ARTIST: That done, Terezi asks AC to play a game and has to clarify she means outside of the game they are already playing. AC is interested but she says she has to get purrmission from a certain guy. Terezi thinks it’s ridiculous AC is scared of him because she kills big animals with her bare hands and lives far away from him. AC knows it’s ridiculous but she still wants to get permission. The relationship looks bad now but we later find out it’s part of troll society and it’s odd that Terezi thinks AC is motivated by fear. Anyway, AC says she’ll ask the guy and the conversation ends on that.

CHEL: I don’t know if Hussie either had come up with the relationship system or even decided if those two were going to have a relationship at this point. If he did, he might not have meant them to be in that relationship yet at this point, they could have started it later. It’s not really clear. Not a problem, though, serial writing develops that way sometimes.

FAILURE ARTIST: Terezi trolls Gamzee but thankfully it cuts off before we have to re-read the entire conversation. Next, Terezi has to deal with Karkat. She doesn’t want to ask him to play except as a last resort.

However, Karkat trolls Terezi to tell her he’s the leader of the Red Team now. Terezi doesn’t care though since she just wants to play the game. Karkat says she’ll be second-in-command but Terezi’s sarcastic reply turns him off the idea. The two insult each other and Terezi mock-flirts with Karkat.

GC: 4NYTH1NG TO G3T YOU TO STOP B31NG SUCH 4 B4BY CG: WHAT'S A BABY. GC: OH GC: 1TS L1K3 4 MYTH1C4L L1TTL3 P1NK MONK3Y

CHEL: Once again, babies only come in Caucasian, apparently. Also, doesn't the word "baby" apply as an adjective to non-human species all the time?

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 26

FAILURE ARTIST: We find out that Terezi is not supposed to have a LUSUS and if she did, the world would come to an end. Karkat is also confused by this statement. Karkat blames the trees for her weirdness and offers to move her into one of his neighbor’s hives. One of his neighbors has been CULLED (killed) and Karkat is blase about this. Terezi turns down his offer. Karkat excuses himself to DEAL WITH THIS GRUMPY CUSTOMER.

We cut to a little later. Karkat’s hive is covered in colorful paint and in the middle of a lake of red. This is the LAND OF PULSE AND HAZE and Karkat is the KNIGHT OF BLOOD. Karkat now has the weapon HOMES SMELL YOU LATER, a sickle in 90s colors. He trolls Terezi and complains about how she wrecked his home. Another running gag: girls ruining boy’s homes. He says she messed with his LOAD GAPER. Terezi (and us) call that a toilet. Toilet is blue blooded vernacular. Later on, highbloods use the term load gaper so I guess Hussie forgot this interesting world-building. Karkat is also upset by the paint job that wasted lots of grist. Terezi calls his fighting adorable and Karkat says it’s ADORABLOODTHIRSTY. He wants to be the next one to connect to a client and she says it doesn’t work that way. It’s only at the end he brings someone in. The priority now is to save her from the meteors by getting her in the game. Karkat hadn’t heard of the meteors until now and is very alarmed. Terezi tells Karkat to talk to apocalypseArisen, twinArmageddons, AG, or CT. There’s a conspiracy going on with those four people. With that, Terezi says she’s got to go.

CHEL: Also, an important point comes up in that conversation; Terezi demands to know what colour Karkat’s blood is, and he refuses to tell her. In case you haven’t picked it up by now, troll society is in fact supposed to be stratified by the colour of their blood. Literal blue blood is towards the higher end of the rankings; Terezi’s on the greener end of blue, so securely middle class. Karkat types in and wears grey, which is not a natural troll blood colour, and the other trolls consider this weird and suspicious. Looking at the list of names on Trollian, we see they range through the rainbow, except for some reason the greens, blues, and purples are split into several layers. I was confused by this at first; I knew he needed twelve colours instead of seven, but it seemed weird that they weren’t more spread out. Then again, social stratification does get a lot stricter up at the top. I thought perhaps the reds, browns, and yellows also come in other shades but just get lumped together because they’re peasants and no one cares? It’s not discussed in canon, but someone actually does have an explanation for it; it’s what you get when the RGB and CMYK colour wheels overlap.

A little while ago, a spooky-looking young troll lady with glowing white eyes and a maroon Aries shirt sign - this being the colour of apocalypseArisen, so this is presumably her - hovers over a frog-topped temple extremely similar to the one on Jade’s island. With a wave of her hand, the frog’s head breaks off and crashes to the ground.

You're not sure why you did that, really. There'll probably turn out to be a reason. There's a reason for everything. Understanding this lets you be reckless.

Somewhere else, Gamzee’s Faygo bottle, now photorealistic, lands at the feet of a mysterious someone who is wearing striped pants and what appear to be blue and purple bowling shoes, of all things. This person complains about Rubbish from the LAND DWELLERS and picks up the bottle with a hand wearing a purple ring emblazoned with an Aquarius symbol; the name in that colour text in the chat, should the reader go back to check, is caligulasAquarium.

FAILURE ARTIST: How fucked up was troll Caligula? Maybe he just broke troll taboos.

CHEL: The implication of him having an aquarium is making me picture Troy McClure.

We go back to Karkat’s hive and rewind a little, to see him deal with the earlier-mentioned crabby customer…

And we need to provide the text from this page in its entirety so we can discuss it.

FAILURE ARTIST: If you want to know why Homestucks go so crazy over buckets, read this and weep!

You go downstairs and confront your custodian, which is another term for a frightening beast known as a LUSUS NATURAE. Your lusus has looked after you since you were very young in lieu of any biological parents, whom you have never known. No young troll ever knows his or her blood parents, nor could such lineage ever be accurately traced. Adult trolls supply their genetic material to the FILIAL PAILS carried by imperial drones and offered to the monstrous MOTHER GRUB deep underground in the brooding caverns. She then combines all the genetic material into one diabolical incestuous slurry, and lays hundreds of thousands of eggs at once. The eggs hatch into young larval trolls which wriggle about to locate a cozy stalactite from which to spin their cocoons. After they pupate, the young troll with his or her newfound limbs undergoes a series of dangerous trials. If they survive, they are chosen by a member of the diverse and terrifying subterranean monster population native to Alternia. This creature becomes the troll's lusus, and together they surface and choose a location to build a hive. The building process is facilitated by CARPENTER DROIDS left on the planet to cater to the young. But only for building. They're on their own otherwise. The vast majority of adult trolls are off-planet, serving some role in the forces of ongoing imperial conquest, besieging other star systems in the name of Alternian glory. The culture and civilization on the homeworld is maintained almost entirely by the young. Trolls sure are weird!

CHEL: “Lusus naturae”, to start with, is Latin for “freak of nature”. Probably it means something else in Alternian.

FAILURE ARTIST: The lusus system is so bizarre. How long have they been using it? When we see what could be called a Bizarro Alternia, they also have lusus, so it’s not just because adults can’t raise children.

CHEL: Naturally-evolved symbiosis and parasitism are hardly unknown among animals on Earth, though no real ones really work like this. The closest I can think of among vertebrates are cuckoos and similar birds, where the egg is laid in another species’ nest and the hatchling kills or starves out the original offspring. This isn’t what’s happening here, as the lusus doesn’t have offspring of its own and wouldn’t appear to have any particular reason to let a young troll latch onto it, not to mention young trolls presumably look nothing like the offspring of a creature like that, and lususes/lusi (I don’t think there’s an officially accepted plural? The fandom latched onto the very non-Latin but suitably alien “lusii”) come in wildly varying species, so it’s not a case of a specific two-species symbiotic bond like clownfish and anemones. However, trolls do have psychic powers, so it could always be handwaved with a form of mental link.

BRIGHT: Bizarre as it is, the lusus system is nicely alien! I think that in this case, the lack of explanation actually works in its favour -- there’s nothing to point to and say ‘but that explanation doesn’t make sense’. I do like a good explanation, but in the case of background worldbuilding I think it’s fine to chuck something in and move on.

Also, we now discover that Jade had a perfectly normal childhood by troll standards. (Er, minus the murderous neighbours.)

FAILURE ARTIST: The narration says the “vast majority” of adult trolls are off-planet. This implies some small percentage of adults are on-planet. In the spin-off series Hiveswap Friendsim, there are characters on Alternia who get into, well, adult situations. The writers on Twitter clarified that there are trolls who are over eighteen Earth years but under the age of expulsion on Alternia. In one game, there’s adults who should be off-planet but aren’t, though how many trolls risk that is unknown.

CHEL: The age of majority in numerous Earth cultures is or has been twenty or twenty-one, so that’s probably what the writers were going for. Or, of course, just trying to avoid backlash from the Tumblr anti-shipping population. There are also cases where adults really should be on-planet but don’t appear to be, but we’ll get to that in the Friendsims.

I have to say I’m rather concerned by what appears to be a serious bottleneck in the reproduction system. According to everything we see, there is only one Mother Grub for the whole planet. What happens if something happens to her? Replacements are bred in the same way as queen bees or ants, but destroying the cavern where she resides would put a major crimp in troll society for a long time even if there was a replacement around. With ants and bees, there is generally more than one hive per species.

BRIGHT: We do meet one Virgin Mother Grub later on, and she’s acting as a lusus. I always assumed that there were at least a few around, otherwise having one potential backup breeder taken out of the pool should have raised a lot more fuss than it apparently did.

Moreover, while the Brooding Caverns aren’t described in Homestuck, they are described in Friendsim, and it is literally a single giant cave with the Mother Grub in the middle, surrounded by grubs, young trolls, and lusii. In one of the game routes, the Mother Grub is in fact injured by a distressed lusus, which would be easily prevented by having her in a separate room. There are apparently no barriers to an outsider just wandering in, and given that this is Alternia, said outsider could probably do quite a lot of damage if they so chose.

CHEL: Particularly since most lusii are extremely dangerous, and there are a hell of a lot of them there. It’s also been brought up in the Tumblr parts of fandom that it would be incredibly easy to rebel against the dystopian regime by taking the Mother Grub hostage or destroying/damaging the caverns.

FAILURE ARTIST: Karkat fights his lusus like the human kids fought theirs, but without a cool animation. It’s just a gif and a link to a 38 second tune. You’ll notice in the background on the fridge there’s a crude drawing of the crabby creature: a callback to John’s drawing.

We cut to TA, the troll we saw earlier get bonked by a key. TA has his glasses off and under them are a red eye and a blue eye. He puts them on dramatically in a reference to the CSI: Miami meme everyone has forgotten. After a long Dave-like block of text describing how this dude is cool but not cool, it turns out we won’t be introduced to him.

Cut to a troll with a green Leo sign on her shirt and horns that look a lot like cat ears. She looks cute but there’s blood on her walls. The narration is unnerved by her so we go back to TA.

TA’s name is SOLLUX CAPTOR.

CHEL: The name is taken from the mythological twins of the Gemini constellation, Pollux and Castor. The combination of sol-lux could also be read to mean “sunlight”.

FAILURE ARTIST: Behind him is what looks like a computer mainframe but covered in a yellow substance. On the wall, there’s red-and-blue writing. His recuperacoon has two openings, though it’s never even brought up why.

You are apeshit bananas at computers, and you know ALL THE CODES. All of them. You are the unchallenged authority on APICULTURE NETWORKING. And though all your friends recognize your unparalleled achievements as a TOTALLY SICK HACKER, you feel like you could be better. It's one of a number of things you SORT OF BEAT YOURSELF UP ABOUT for NO VERY GOOD REASON during sporadic and debilitating BIPOLAR MOOD SWINGS. You have a penchant for BIFURCATION, in logic and in life. Your mutant mind is hounded by the psychic screams of the IMMINENTLY DECEASED. Your visions foretell of the planet's looming annihilation, and yet unlike the typical sightless prophet of doom, you are gifted with VISION TWOFOLD.

I used to think “imminently deceased” meant “recently deceased” and not “going to be deceased”. Either way, it’s really a Blessed With Suck power.

Lots has been made of Sollux’s BIPOLAR MOOD SWINGS but I don’t think Hussie was seriously thinking of bipolar depression. Still makes for good fanfiction.

CHEL: Please don't use "bipolar" to just mean moody, Hussie.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 32 You have developed a new game, adapted via CODE PARSED FROM THE RUNES AND GLYPHS IN AN ANCIENT UNDERGROUND TEMPLE. You believe this game to be THE SALVATION OF YOUR RACE, though you are not sure how yet. To ensure success, you will distribute the game to two teams of friends, a RED TEAM and a BLUE TEAM. You will lead the latter group.

One guess what this game is. We also see “friends” being used in the normal human sense.

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 27

The prompter tells Sollux to equip ninja stars, but it turns out he has psionic powers that allow him to move objects with a purple aura. However, in moving the ninja stars, he messes up and slices the BEEHOUSE MAINFRAMES. Little purple bees buzz around him and send him messages in beenary code. The prompter tells Sollux to taste the honey but he refuses.

You do not under any circumstance eat the MIND HONEY. The consequences are highly unpleasant.

Remember that. The mind honey is only supposed to be a soporific for his lusus.

Sollux snaps his fingers (spelling out 2NAP in his quirk) and the bees fall asleep.

CHEL: I only just noticed the “2nap” = “to nap” pun.

BRIGHT: Also, while Sollux does have psychic powers, those powers are not related to animal control. So this is a little strange.

FAILURE ARTIST: Sollux goes to his computer while stepping over video games, which in this world are colorful grubs. He first talks with Terezi. She knows about his game to save the world and immediately picks the Red Team. He wonders how she knew there would be a red team but she says it’s easy to guess he would make a red team and a blue team. This observation annoys him and he goes on a rant.

TA: maybe iim more of an aubergiine guy plu2 whatever that putriid color is you type wiith, what ii2 that, turqoii2e?

I have a headcanon he can only see red and blue and that’s why he doesn’t know what color Terezi types in. Considering his society is based on color this would be quite a disability.

CHEL: I’ve also seen headcanons he’s colourblind and struggles to remember which colours go where on the hemospectrum, as at one point he complains about how yellow is the lowest on the totem pole apart from something he can’t remember, while talking to someone who’s lower. (It’s actually third from the bottom.)

FAILURE ARTIST: They then talk about how this game will save the world. He isn’t sure how but he says AA can back him up on this. Terezi thinks he’s right...mostly. He says before this is done he will die twice and go blind, but he figures that’s what happens to a prophet of doom. He compares this to an angel getting its wings and we find out trolls consider angels to be feathery demons. Terezi wonders if this doom-and-gloom isn’t just part of his brain problems. He is offended by this reasoning and compares it to clown pieing, which in retrospect is scarier on Alternia than on Earth. He tells her to talk to AA and Terezi says AA hasn’t been the same lately. Sollux and Terezi say they’ll take the game seriously but they also goof around about it.

We cut back to the spooky troll from before. She kicks the frog statue so hard it all breaks off.

The prompter tells Sollux to deal with apocalypseArisen, the spooky troll we just saw. AA asks Sollux if he set up the teams, but without a question mark. He says he’s working on it. He asks if she’ll be happy to get out and leave the voiice2 behind. He says it would suck to have them stay until death, a statement which will become very ironic. AA says she’s 0k with a l0t 0f things...including their failure masquerading as victory. Sollux is angry at her pessimism. He gets more angry when he finds out the game will actually wipe out their people. He says he refuses to be team leader, but she says he was never going to be that. He threatens her with psionics and says he could do things that would make [her] head 2piin liike dervii2h iin a fuckiing blender which makes me wonder how trolls have Sufism.

CHEL: How many humans know where the term comes from? I could buy it as Translation Convention regarding, say, a clown cult thing, although everything seems to imply the trolls are speaking “English”. Still, the idiom comes from human Western culture, so...

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 28

FAILURE ARTIST: She says she’s coming up, which only confuses Sollux.

He goes and tells Terezi and then Karkat that the Game has been aborted. Terezi is confused but doesn’t say much. Karkat accuses Sollux of trying to kick him out. Karkat declares the friendship cancelled, showing again trolls have friends. Karkat insults Sollux’s programming skills and threatens to run ~ATH. Sollux tells him not to be Karkat doesn’t listen.

TA: KK DO NOT RUN THAT CODE. TA: hello?????????????? carcinoGeneticist's [CG'S] computer exploded. TA: oh my god.

That is some amazing chat program.

The explosion kills Crabdad. Turns out that code causes the death of ALL of Karkat’s friend’s lusii. Each lusus gets prototyped, which seems heartwarming but turns out very bad for their session. We see Gamzee mourning his Goatdad’s death by harpooning in a moment that’s very sad, even considering how terrible a parent Goatdad is.

CHEL: And here I want to go back to Gamzee for a bit. The commentary, as we mentioned, says that Goatdad “told” him to stay indoors and was ashamed of him. However, in the actual comic, everything is set up to show the lusii as being non-sapient, i.e. not able to talk to their charges and not in possession of a concept of shame. They behave like regular animals, Sollux says his is dumb enough to walk right off the roof if not tethered, and the trolls go on repeatedly about how happy they are to have prototyped their lusii because now they can actually communicate verbally with them for the first time, as Rose did with Jaspers. This is similarly inconsistent in the later-written Pesterquest games, which we’ll get to eventually. So either Hussie forgot that lusii aren’t the same as parents…

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 29

… or he claimed they were sapient when they weren’t before, solely to use them to bash Gamzee.

IN HATE WITH MY CREATION: 2

FAILURE ARTIST: Back to Sollux. He tries deleting all his computer viruses, but there’s one he can’t delete. It has a flashing billiard ball next to execute. It’s set to go off after the universe ends and even Sollux doesn’t know what it does. The narrator does know.

When executed, the subprogram will summon an indestructible demon into the recently voided universe. This monstrous being with the power to travel through time is inconvenienced very little by his arrival upon THE GREAT UNDOING. He has the entire cadaver of the expired universe to pick apart at his whim. From its birth through its swelling maturity and tapering decay. In a reality he is known to have marked for predation, he will go about assembling followers through various epochs, even going as far as personally establishing the parameters for his future summoning. Sollux couldn't know that the virus is essentially a formality. The demon is already here.

Sollux hears grumbling noises coming from the ceiling. His lusus, a BICYCLOPS, is kept chained to the roof of his COMMUNAL HIVE STEM and regularly fed and fought.

CHEL: A bicyclops, later also referred to as a biclops, is a roughly humanoid being with two heads, each with one big eyeball. A hivestem is basically a block of flats, made out of a giant hexagonal tube-like structure with small grey hive-homes built into the sides. I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be the literal stem of some kind of gigantic plant or not. Pretty cool if it is.

FAILURE ARTIST: In the night sky, there’s a few meteors. Turns out AA is floating outside.

We cut to GA wielding a chainsaw while riding a moth-like lusus against a colorful background. She lives in the middle of the desert in a home like Jade’s. However, we aren’t introduced to her.

BRIGHT: There are giant colourful sails attached to the towers. I’m not sure how practical that is, but it has definite flair.

FAILURE ARTIST: Instead, we are introduced to AT. His name is TAVROS NITRAM. He turns out to be a wheelchair user. I think this was ascended fanon based on his love of flying. How well Homestuck treats this disabled character we’ll see. His lusus is a little bull with wings. He’s surrounded by playing cards, stuffed animals, and posters of fairies. A lance is leaned against his wall.

CHEL: “Tavros” obviously derives from Taurus, and might also be from Davros, a wheelchair-using Doctor Who villain. Nitram is “Martin” backwards, which according to the wiki might be connected to Mary Martin, an actress who played Peter Pan, or Martin McGuinness, an Irish politician whose planned prosecution was codenamed Operation Taurus. It might also derive from nitrate, which causes “brown blood disease” in fish.

You are known to be heavily arrested by FAIRY TALES AND FANTASY STORIES. You have an acute ability to COMMUNE WITH THE MANY CREATURES OF ALTERNIA, a skill you have utilized to CAPTURE AND TRAIN a great many. They are all your friends, as well as your warriors, which you pit in battle through a variety of related CARD AND ROLE PLAYING GAMES. You used to engage in various forms of MORE EXTREME ROLEPLAYING with some of your other friends before you had an accident. You like to engage in the noble practice of ALTERNIAN SLAM POETRY, possibly the oldest, most revered, and certainly freshest artform in your planet's rich history. You have a profound fascination with the concept of FLIGHT, and all lore surrounding the topic. You believe in FAIRIES, even though they AREN'T REAL.

The name of his lusus may be ascended fanon too, if I’m remembering correctly. Its name, mentioned later, is Tinkerbull, and it’s the cutest thing ever I want a million of them.

Tavros is prompted to Cut to the chase and play card games immediately, and picks a Pokemon ripoff called FIDUSPAWN. He deals himself a favourable hand and lobs an OOGONIBOMB, a jelly-looking blob, at the HOST PLUSH. The Oogonibomb hatches into a terrifying face-hugger-like monster, which latches onto the plush, then scuttles out of the way in time for a larger monster to explode out of said plush.

BRIGHT: Alternian card games sure are something!

HORSARONI, I CHOOSE YOU!!!!!!

CHEL: Horsaroni devours the fidusucker face-hugger in preparation for battle, and Tavros uses his awesome bestial communion abilities [to] bend the ferocious stallion to [his] whim while Tinkerbull looks on nervously. Tavros succeeds in getting the beast under control, and… gets it and Tinkerbull to take a nap together. Everybody wins.

FAILURE ARTIST: He plans on making Horsaroni have sex in the future. Whoa boy.

CHEL: The prompt tells Tavros to roll up the ramp which leads to the top of his rather high recuperacoon, and to hop in, which he does, followed by much reasonable complaining about how it’ll take an hour for him to change his clothes, plus the four-wheel device rolls back down the ramp without him. Also, it’s noted that his horns make it impossible to get fully inside the cocoon, which makes it hard to get any solid shuteye. So, wait, trolls can breathe while fully submerged in the slime? There’s no elaboration as of yet, but it’s possible Hiveswap will discuss that.

FAILURE ARTIST: This slapstick with a disabled character is unfortunate. Terezi never had to deal with this bullshit.

CHEL: Not to this extent, anyway.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 33

After much cleanup which we thankfully don’t have to read through, he gets back in his chair and picks up his JOUSTING LANCE.

FAILURE ARTIST: We get a look outside of Tavros’ hive as he thinks about his future plans. He lives in a windmill by a cliff and in his yard he has a practice dummy with...is that a pail???

CHEL: Considering trolls’ opinions of pails, I hope it’s a trashcan, but the bucket thing might be a retcon for the sake of humour.

FAILURE ARTIST: Anyway, he hopes to be a CAVALREAPER when he grows up, if he isn’t culled (aka murdered) for his disability. Rather optimistic of him to think there’s a chance he won’t be culled. I think this is when we first find out about Alternian eugenics. Odd that it didn’t come up when we were introduced to Terezi.

BRIGHT: Terezi’s disability doesn’t really impact her ability to function, though. Her smellovision is accurate enough to let her read and she doesn’t have any trouble moving around. Tavros’s disability is clearly an actual disability that hinders him in a lot of ways. Given Alternian society as we’ve seen it so far, Terezi might be fine. Tavros would need assistive measures and that makes him a write-off.

There’s also the matter of personality. Terezi tends to be confident; Tavros generally isn’t. Add in Terezi’s midblood status to Tavros’s lowblood position, and it makes sense for it to come up now.

FAILURE ARTIST: Tavros admires his fairy posters, including one saying “ Pupa Pan” with a silhouette of a winged troll. This is the troll version of Peter Pan and their one also includes “indians”, just they are “weird aliens”.

CHEL: Can’t say I’m too pleased about that, personally.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 33

FAILURE ARTIST: I don’t know if Andrew Hussie read Peter Pan but when I read it it felt very Hussie. Anyway, Tavros keeps his bedroom window open for Pupa Pan and splashes SPECIAL STARDUST on his face. The same substance Gamzee uses? Hmmm.

Andrew Hussie takes a jab at the fanon he decided to ascend:

You have had this interest [in flying] far prior to your accident. Being paralyzed isn't what made you want to be able to fly. That would be dumb and would make no sense. Being paralyzed does sort of make you want to be able to walk, though.

CHEL: Uh… haha? Are we supposed to laugh here, or feel bad, or what?

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?:21

FAILURE ARTIST: We find out in Friendsim that terrestrial flight is verboten, though Hussie probably didn’t think of that until much later.

We cut to the future briefly to see Tavros has robot legs. Because it would be terrible to have a disabled character just remain disabled! /s

CHEL: To be fair, they’re in a world which has the technology to make near-perfect robotic limbs and he wants to be able to walk again. One could argue that having that technology is problematic in terms of it being an easy handwave, but since they have intergalactic spaceships it might seem somewhat weird if they didn’t have robot parts. The existence of prosthetics in a society which kills its disabled as standard is a bit odd, but not impossible if they have whole robots. Though it begs the question where he got the wheelchair.

BRIGHT: Well, it could be that prosthetics aren’t standard, this is just a special situation. He doesn’t get them until after he’s entered the Game, after all.

CHEL: Disturbingly, and perhaps more fittingly for troll society, the legs were fitted after his real ones were removed via chainsaw, apparently sans anaesthetic.

GORE GALORE: 11

BRIGHT: It kind of looks like he got chainsawed through the waist. If that is the case, then a lot of important organs would have been mangled and would need replacing — at least if he was human. We don’t know anything about how troll guts are laid out, but there’s no reason to believe they’re radically different to the human setup.

CHEL: None of the troll gang appear to be medics, either. How is he not dead?

FAILURE ARTIST: The legs were built by an unnamed male character who likes to break as well as make robots.

Occasionally though, he will allow philanthropy to override misanthrobopy.

Misanthrobopy. I didn’t notice that until now.

GA was the one to chainsaw Tavros, with the male character watching in the shadows. That character has the Sagittarius sign and a broken horn. We learn his name later but never how he broke that horn.

BRIGHT: Which is also a point in favour of getting prosthetic limbs being somewhat unusual — Tavros only gets his because an acquaintance with specialised knowledge takes an interest.

FAILURE ARTIST: So, back to the present...of the past. Tavros is being trolled by both Gamzee and someone known as AG. He deals with AG first. With this, we get our first dialogue from Homestuck’s most Homestuck character. AG, or arachnidsGrip, brags about being on the Blue Team and mocks Tavros for being on the team full of 8lind girls and lame 8oys and cranky iiiiiiiim8eciles. Tavros says they’re probably right, but then says he promised someone not to talk to them. This person turns out to be Tavros’ imaginary friend Rufio, the personification of his self-esteem. GA was the one who gave him the advice. While that’s not a bad coping mechanism, he really shouldn’t be telling AG about it. AG complains about GA’s meddling and says GA was just making fun of Tavros with that advice. AG complains about how long it’s taking for the Blue Team to get going. In the end, AG says it will be like old tiiiiiiiimes and gives a winking emoticon.

After that conversation with a frienemy, Tavros raps with his friend-friend Gamzee. Gamzee apologizes for zoning out, but unlike everyone else who talks to him Tavros isn’t angry. Awww…

Tavros shares the good news that they are both on the Red Team, though Tavros says it came from someone he doesn’t want to talk about. Gamzee had already heard and he’s very excited. Tavros does an }:o) emoticon and Gamzee is tickled pink that Tavros “stole his nose”. That might be flirting among trolls. They make plans to “slam” but first Gamzee explains the Game plan. Terezi has connected to Karkat and now Gamzee has to connect to Terezi. However, she’s off in the woods doing something. For now, Gamzee has to get Tavros connected to him. He says something that I’ve seen people point to as a sign he’s bad to the bone.

TC: sO jUsT dOwNlOaD tHiS mOtHeRfUcKeR i'M sEnDiNg YoU sO wE cAn KiCk ThIs BiTcH dOwN tHe StAiRs.

This is probably a callback to Dave getting kicked down the stairs and not a conscious callback on Gamzee’s part. Really, usually when Gamzee says “bitch” it’s just another way of saying “thing”. He’s not kicking anyone down the stairs. Not yet.

Then again, he later says:

TC: JuSt LeT mE sNeAk Up On ThIs BoTtLe Of FaYgO aNd SnAp ItS nEcK lIkE iM a FuCkIn LaUgHsSaSsIn.

So he is a little sinister.

CHEL: Hardly any more so than Terezi the hanging fetishist, though!

BRIGHT: Or the guy who codes viruses that blow up his friends’ computers.

FAILURE ARTIST: After all the foreplay for their rap session, the dialogue ends with:

You both then proceed to have one of the worst rap-offs in the history of paradox space.

Only much later do we see this rap-off. We also find out Gamzee’s feelings towards Tavros. Yet this conversation alone was enough to sail that ship.

We cut to Terezi in a burning woods. This is where we find out what the deal with Terezi’s “family” is. Her lusus is a giant teal egg on an even larger DOOMSDAY SCALE. Inside the egg is a blind dragon. The dragon can communicate telepathically via dreams. It was how Terezi learned to “see” after the accident. This answers some questions while leaving so many unanswered. Like why does Terezi sleep in her street clothes?

CHEL: Balanced on the other side of the scale is a gargantuan skull with troll-like horns and a sort of goat-y shape. We’ll see the kind of creature it comes from later.

FAILURE ARTIST: Terezi dreams of Prospit, and we see it as she “sees” it: gauzy and throbbing.

Her lusus hatches from the heat, but is immediately killed by a meteor. A sympathetic ally puts it in the kernelsprite and that sympathetic ally is clown boy. So put that on his scorecard.

With the egg hatched, the doomsday device displays 6:12. The arc number for this arc.

CHEL: Karkat’s “wriggling day” is 6/12, which actually makes him a Gemini rather than a Cancer. Guess it’s different for trolls.

FAILURE ARTIST: Finally, we are introduced properly to AA. The one with the inconsistent horns.

Your name is ARADIA MEGIDO.

CHEL: “Aradia” is the name of a “messiah” of witchcraft in Charles Godfrey Leland’s “Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches”, effectively a piece of paganism fanon. “Megido” is derived from Mount Meggido, the place from which the word Armageddon is derived and where the final battle of said event will supposedly occur, and a powerful spell in the video game Shin Megami Tensei. It might also be related to “Meido”, 冥途めいど, the Japanese equivalent of Purgatory, and “meido”, メイド, meaning maidservant, relevant to her low blood status and later her game class.

You once had a number of INTERESTS, which in time you have LOST INTEREST IN. You seem to recollect once having a fondness for ARCHEOLOGY, though now have trouble recalling this passion. It nonetheless has led you to find your PRESENT CALLING, which came through the discovery of these MYSTIC RUINS on which you presently stand, and which you recently DESECRATED OUT OF BOREDOM. Guiding you to this calling were the VOICES OF THE DEAD, which you have been able to hear since you were young. The voices have become louder as THE GREAT UNDOING approaches. This trend in escalation began after an ACCIDENT involving a CERTAIN KIND OF ROLE PLAYING, which might have been another of your interests once upon a time. It doesn't matter much anymore. The accident resulted in the DEATH OF YOUR LUSUS, which prompted you to leave your home and take up these ruins as residence. On the instruction of your ANCESTORS, you have recovered MYSTERIOUS TECHNOLOGY from the ruins, and convinced a friend to adapt it into a GAME THAT WILL BRING ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUR CIVILIZATION. And by convinced, you suppose you mean tricked.

CHEL: She chooses to try to take something from her sylladex, but it works on the OUIJA modus, which means she can only take what the spirits allow her to take.

BRIGHT: This has to be the weirdest, most senseless modus yet.

CHEL: They produce a card with the Crosbytop, which she found on a dig a while ago. GA’s trying to contact her.

She's always bugging you. Bugging and fussing and meddling. What's her deal! You guess it's flattering that she wants to talk to you so much though. You're ok with it. You're ok with a lot of things.

She answers, with an “0h n0000000” on seeing GA, who asks if this is “The Night You Blow Everything Up”.

GA: Is There Nothing I Can Do To Change Your Mind AA: n0 AA: 0r yes AA: yes theres n0thing AA: and n0 y0u cant AA: but y0u sh0uldnt pretend as if y0u believe this has anything t0 d0 with the state 0f my mind AA: 0r the decisi0ns it will make 0r has already made GA: Yeah I Guess Not GA: I Thought Id Be Friendly Though GA: And Remind You That You Do In Fact Have A Hand In All The Terrible Things That Are About To Happen GA: Because Thats What Friends Are For GA: And The Fact That What Ensues Will Be Terrible GA: Is An Immutable Fact I Am Stating For The Record GA: And The Fact That We Will Not Be On The Same Team Is Similarly Immutable GA: It Does Not Mean That Teamwork Is What Isnt Taking Place Here AA: s0rry i didnt f0ll0w that GA: Ill Be Here To Help GA: If You Need Me AA: 0k AA: thanks

Honestly, this is giving me shipping ideas which will only make sense once more about trolls has been explained. Pin in that.

BRIGHT: How does GA know it will be terrible?

CHEL: Stay tuned. We’ll find out.

Aradia checks on Sollux and has the conversation we already have seen, which is linked back to instead of copied, thank goodness. Huss seems to have mastered that part of the timeline. Aradia arrives at his hivestem and levitates the Bicyclops, while meteors begin to fall, and AG trolls her. AG is revealed to be female and seen in silhouette; she has a blue Scorpio symbol, one pointed horn, one forked one, and long hair. Remember this character for later.

AG: Do you have Mr. Two Eyes all 8efuddled and flustered in your we8 of lies? AG: Or Mr. Four Eyes? AG: Hmmmmmmmmm. AG: I don't know. Which nickname do you think would 8e suita8ly derogatory in this case Aradia? AA: h0w ab0ut AA: eight eyes AA: minus seven AG: ::::P

FAILURE ARTIST: God, I love Aradia. Though I guess if you’re reading this for the first time you won’t get her jab here until later.

CHEL: Aradia protests that she didn’t trick him. AG says it doesn’t matter, and declares that once the game starts she and Aradia will be the Blue Team co-leaders, only asking afterwards if this is okay with Aradia, who doesn’t care. She tells Aradia she has a present for her, “Just from me. From me alone and no8ody else”, and wants a special team name for just the two of them, which Aradia doesn’t want to bother with.

AG: I just thought it would 8e really fitting. AG: Kind of like a fresh start, you know? AG: I don't know, what are our shared interests? I guess I never really thought a8out this! I guess I'm used to thinking of you as the enemy. There must 8e some overlap in profiles. AG: Come oooooooon, let's 8rainstorm! AA: 0_0 AG: Man, it'll 8e great. We'll 8e unstoppa8le. Surely you must admit it will 8e nice to re8ound from the Team Charge de8acle! AA: i never think ab0ut that anym0re AG: Oh maaaaaaaan, I'm so dum8! Here I am running my mouth and opening up old wounds, while at the very same time trying to make amends! What an idiot.

I hope AG’s fans are not stupid enough to assume she was sincere on that last line, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

FAILURE ARTIST: I think that AG thinks she’s being sincere.

CHEL: She asks if Aradia’s “loser” male friend will be on the Blue Team, which Aradia says he isn’t, calls him dead weight (messing up her own quirk in the process, which would usually be “dead w8”), ignores Aradia’s declaration that she didn’t exclude him, and heads off to “give him a hard time” despite Aradia’s protest. From this we can presume said friend is Tavros.

We see AG’s face in the next page; she has blue makeup, one blackened lens in her spectacles, a cyborg arm, and a nasty grin.

FAILURE ARTIST: It kills me that we can’t just say who she is now. I’m sure she’s broken through cultural osmosis. However, instead of an introduction, we go to Sollux and Aradia.

Sollux apologizes for flying off the handle. He says even though he quit as leader, he’ll still play and do his best. In his self-degradation, he says something very odd.

TA: liike 2ome low cla22 guy wiith... whatever color blood ii2 lower on the hiierarchy than miine. TA: what2 wor2e than yellow? TA: fuck thii2 confu2iing ca2te 2y2tem.

You’d think he’d know by now, especially given how important the hierarchy is supposed to be.

CHEL: Especially since the person he’s talking to is not only lower on the hierarchy than him, but also one of his closest friends and (minor spoiler) possibly his love interest. This is where the “colourblind” theory for him comes from.

FAILURE ARTIST: Aradia tells Sollux to come to the window because she’s outside. He complains that he can’t see her and she tells him to look closer. He does so while grumbling about psychics. Aradia snaps her fingers and he falls asleep...in the dangerous mind honey.

CHEL: How does she do that? I don’t think she has mind control abilities, does she? All I remember is her throwing boulders around… did she Force-choke him into unconsciousness?

BRIGHT: Maybe she did it the same way Sollux knocked his bees out.

FAILURE ARTIST: Cut to much later. Meteors are falling furiously and all the teammates except Sollux are in the Medium. Sollux wakes up but with mind honey in his mouth. We find out what mind honey does to trolls like Sollux: it causes him to do an OPTIC BLAST , destroying the roof of his apartment and killing yet another lusus. Which just raises the question of why he let the mind honey flow on his floor.

Now, we are introduced to my Zodiac troll.

Your name is NEPETA LEIJON.

CHEL: Nepeta is the Latin genus name for catnip, and Leijon is the archaic spelling of “lejon”, the Swedish word for lion. It should be pronounced “lay-on”, but Hussie said “pronounce everything in the least affected manner possible, from an American perspective”, so I’ve always mentally heard it as “lee-jon” or possibly “lay-shawn”.

You live in a CAVE that is also a HIVE, but still mostly just a CAVE. You like to engage in FRIENDLY ROLE PLAYING, but not the DANGEROUS KIND. Never the DANGEROUS KIND. It's TOO DANGEROUS! Too many of your good friends have gotten hurt that way. Your daily routine is dangerous enough as it is. You prowl the wilderness for GREAT BEASTS, and stalk them and take them down with nothing but your SHARP CLAWS AND TEETH! You take them back to your cave and EAT THEM, and from time to time, WEAR THEIR PELTS FOR FUN. You like to paint WALL COMICS using blood and soot and ash, depicting EXCITING TALES FROM THE HUNT! And other goofy stories about you and your numerous pals. Your best pal of all is A LITTLE BOSSY, and people wonder why you even bother with him. But someone has to keep him pacified. If not you, then who? Everyone has an important job to do.

So the dangerous kind of roleplaying is more dangerous than taking down wild beasts.

CHEL: Which is already pretty damn dangerous!

You never know when you might encounter some unsuspecting prey. Or when some prey might encounter an unsuspecting you! On Alternia, everything is considered unsuspecting prey by everything else.

FAILURE ARTIST: Also just noticed her “hive” has windows even though it’s a cave and the windows don’t actually seem to open to anything? We never get to see any of her cave outside of this so who knows how it works.

CHEL: Maybe she painted them on?

Her lusus is a big cat, with the double mouths already mentioned in her roleplaying. I still don’t know what evolutionary purpose this serves. However, her trolltag is arsenicCatnip, and the double mouths are depicted as two threes; arsenic’s atomic number is 33. It’s little references and in-jokes like this that keep me loving HS despite its worst parts. I can’t get enough of these things.

Said cat is named POUNCE DE LEON, a reference to the explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, seeker of the Fountain of Youth.

You and she go on adventures together in search of the FOUNTAIN OF CUTE. You ride your sure-pawed mount into the rugged frontier. And sometimes she rides you when she gets tired, which is frequently. It sure will be sad when she dies. But who knows when or how that will happen. We might not even really have the time to find out! Later there was a cave-in.

Note the cave paintings on her walls, which are in red, black, and pale grey, and large black animal corpses in the foreground. It’s not clear if the animals themselves are black or they’re just in silhouette, but they contrast with the lusii, which are all white. These beasts also bleed mammalian red, which Nepeta uses for paint, while the lusii bleed the same colour as their respective troll charges. What precisely the lusii are and how they’re different from a regular animal is never really made clear. They could be separate species, or they could be regular animals psychically or biologically bonded to a troll and metamorphosing because of that. Or Hussie might not have thought it out that far.

Karkat’s trolling Nepeta on her DRAWING TABLET COMPUTER. She wishes she could adapt it to a fetch modus because her own one is frustrating, and answers him. She has to handwrite what she says on Trollian, and surrounds it with doodles of cats.

AC: :33 < *ac perks up curiously* AC: :33 < *she wiggles her rear end a bit and then chases something she s33s bounce into one of karkats shoes* CG: KARKAT CAN'T BELIEVE HE HAS TO SINK THIS LOW. CG: KARKAT CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S ASKING AN AUTISTIC GIRL IN A CAVE TO JOIN HIS TEAM. CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 34

Thanks, asshole. I’ve seen fans assume this means Nepeta is literally autistic, and she could be, but either way Karkat is clearly using it as an insult here, not a literal description.

Anyway, Karkat explains to Nepeta what’s going on. He, Terezi, Gamzee, and Tavros are already playing; Tavros needs a server player. GA is lined up for the Red Team, but doesn’t want to connect yet for mysterious reasons, so Nepeta’s the best candidate. Nepeta agrees, but wants to talk to someone else first.

CG: HOW CAN YOU BE BEST FRIENDS WITH THE ONLY GUY ON THE PLANET WHO'S A BIGGER ASSHOLE THAN ME. AC: :33 < hes not so bad! CG: HE'S SCUM. CG: BUT DO WHATEVER YOU'VE GOT TO DO I GUESS. CG: TAVROS IS WAITING.

This seems quite a distance from Nepeta declaring that the guy she needs to talk to “scares her” earlier on. May be a retcon.

Said friend proves to be the blue Sagittarius boy, still in shadow. I think here it’s time to add on a point we brought up but did not count when observing the Pesterchum Trollslum: his handle is centaursTesticle. I remind everyone the trolls are supposed to be thirteen. What a charming child. I guess maybe it’s excusable because he’s not a mammal himself, but still.

CALL CPA PLEASE: 9

He says hi, but becomes frustrated when Nepeta roleplays at him. He types in dark b100, is e%cessively formal, and precedes each line with a D→ emoticon, the significance of which will be explained in a moment.

CT: D --> This is f001ishness upon one hundred thousand prior, equally unsolicited f001ishnesses

FAILURE ARTIST: It’s weird that his first word is “hi”, considering how formal he usually is.

CHEL: Could be because he knows Nepeta well? A concession to her mannerisms?

He expects Nepeta to follow his orders; she stops roleplaying, but complains about him being “so lame!” and never roleplaying with her, even though he will go out of his way to find words with “x” or “loo” in them so he can use his quirk. He tells her off for using foul language at things as mild as “what the hell?” and she apologises.

CT: D --> Your fraternization with the base classes have 100sened your morals, can't you see this AC: :33 < no! i dont care, they are fun AC: :33 < and i dont know anything about classes or bases or blood color, it doesn't matter! AC: :33 < what does gr33n blood even mean! it doesnt mean anything to me and it shouldnt mean anything to anyone else! CT: D --> Well, green b100d is ok, but it's not great CT: D --> But that's why you're lucky to have me to 100k out for you CT: D --> Because you don't know better, and you can't fight the role the mother had in store for you

This relationship looks rather worrying from a human perspective, I must say. Still, Nepeta seems to be holding her own in the argument, and he’s not physically present so there’s little he can do to actually harm her if things go south.

FAILURE ARTIST: Yeah, early on this relationship looks bad, but this relationship is one of the more popular ones in Homestuck.

CHEL: Did he plan their relationship, or ascend the fanon? Do we know?

FAILURE ARTIST: I would say there wasn’t enough time for Equius/Nepeta to be fanon, giving the quick update rate for this arc, but fandom does work fast.

Nepeta doesn’t seem to be just against the hemospectrum but rather ignorant of it, which is odd considering how important it’s supposed to be. Then again, she does live in a cave.

BRIGHT: Considering how important the hemospectrum is supposed to be, a surprising number of characters don’t understand it or care about it. That’s two out of nine so far. And while the hemospectrum does add a layer of complication, it’s not that complicated. There are only (spoiler) eleven colours in official use, and most readers pick them up pretty quickly. Characters living in a society which violently enforces it should have a working grasp of it, even if they think it’s stupid as all get-out.

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 26

CHEL: Nepeta points out he always puts his bow and arrow symbol at the start of lines, which she considers a sign of playfulness and he considers “highly dignified symbols”. Nepeta asks if he’s ever successfully fired a bow, and he refuses to talk about it.

CT: D --> The topic is making me CT: D --> Sweat

He does this a lot. Here it seems to be a sign of feeling awkward and embarrassed, but later on it will be the source of CALL CPA PLEASE points.

They argue; Nepeta calls him a “weirdo and a cr33p!” and says it’s good she’s there to watch out for him in turn because no one else likes him, and he tells her off for eating animals. So trolls aren’t fully carnivorous? Their teeth suggest they should at least lean more strongly that way than humans do, but I guess eating vegetation wouldn’t be impossible for them.

CT: D --> You're wrong about me, Nepeta CT: D --> I do like to play games CT: D --> But they must be e%tremely important games with very high stakes CT: D --> Not the kind played by trans100cent green wigglers who let 100se an e%cremental surge hard in their wiggler-bottom diaperstubs

Nice callback, though I’m kind of surprised he said “bottom” since he draws the line at “hell”. Also, why the hell would trolls have diapers? They’re raised by literal animals, most of which don’t have hands to change them with!

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 27

FAILURE ARTIST: What we see later of troll infants, they don’t have bottoms to diaper.

CHEL: Equius informs Nepeta he’s leading the Blue Team; she’s already on the Red Team, but he forbids her to join it and says she must join him.

AC: :33 < *ac rolls her eyes almost as hard as she is rolling around in this really interesting smell* CT: D --> The thought of you fraternizing with and abetting those stink-b100ded h001igans strikes me as scandal beyond measure CT: D --> I'm afraid you're too delicate to withstand that sort of corruption

Didn’t he also forbid her from associating with the people on the Blue Team on the grounds of them being too dangerous to hang out with? There’s no pleasing this guy.

Nepeta tells Tavros she can’t join him. She’s angry at her friend, though she’s still obeying him, but Tavros thinks it’s for the best.

AC: :33 < *ac curls up in tavroses lap* AT: oKAY, *i, AT: fOR THE TIME BEING, aND, AT: fOR THE SAKE OF THIS FANTASY SCENARIO, i PRETEND, AT: tHAT MY CAT ALLERGIES AREN'T THAT BAD,* [...] AT: wELL, AT: iF YOU DIDN'T LISTEN TO HIM BEFORE, AT: yOU MIGHT HAVE PLAYED GAMES WITH US BEFORE, AT: aND SOMETHING BAD MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU,

All very well, but notice what’s wrong with this picture?

I am… not particularly happy about more wheelchair slapstick going as far as to cause what I guess could be called either pet death or parent death. Most people in wheelchairs are able to not do that. Wouldn’t he at least notice it going over the bump? The “lol the weak wimpy kid has allergies” thing isn’t marvellous either; Tavros’ supposed wimpiness isn’t a huge deal yet, but it will be.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 35

BRIGHT: Uh...okay, wow. I somehow didn’t notice Tinkerbull dying like that the first time I read this, and WTF, Hussie?

Tavros reminisces about his role-playing days. We get a flashback to him standing in his room pre-paralysis, dressed in a green Peter Pan outfit and wielding a very short lance he calls a ‘daggerlance’. He is preparing to play FLARP, an EXTREME ROLE PLAYING game which can have serious real-world consequences if played without caution. Tavros is part of Team Charge, and they will be playing against Team Scourge.

The other member of Team Charge is Aradia. Tavros starts a chat with her, and Aradia sounds a lot more animated in this one. She actually seems pretty cheerful and enthusiastic! They talk a bit about Tavros’s choice of class, the Boy-Skylark; apparently it’s not very strong early on, but picks up some powerful abilities once you reach a high level. Put a pin in that, it’s not directly relevant but it does echo some Class traits later on.

Tavros’s FLARP grub lays some eggs ...

CHEL: Troll technology is disgusting.

BRIGHT: … which hatch into neon pixellated bats called GAMING FLAPSTRACTIONS. These contain the data used to provide the roleplaying scenario, and will also follow live instructions provided by the ‘clouder’. One member of Team Scourge will act as Tavros’s clouder, creating a challenging scenario for him to adventure through. Aradia will be the clouder for Terezi, the other member of Team Scourge. The flapstractions are tied to the player’s vital attributes, which is what makes this sort of role playing so dangerous. It’s interesting that apart from SGRUB, trolls have video games which physically affect the real world, or at least some of the players.

CHEL: Which brings up a comment we made on an earlier Act; does everyone in John’s version of Earth have sylladexes, and do all their videogames affect reality? We never see.

BRIGHT: A little way into the game, and Tavros has been backed up to the edge of a cliff by a couple of FLARP monsters. His clouder contacts him to ask why he’s not moving; turns out it’s AG. Tavros tells her that the monsters are too strong for the level he’s at. AG responds by mocking him, calling him weak, and urging him to either advance or abscond. Tavros asks her to hold on, and tries to contact Aradia for help, then Terezi.

We get another glimpse of AG! She has a blue sign, has one hooked horn and one with a crescent tip, messy hair, and here is wearing an eyepatch with seven red dots over one eye. She appears to be standing in the field with Tavros, which clearly isn’t possible.

CHEL: Holograms, presumably.

BRIGHT: Tavros can’t get through to either Aradia or Terezi. AG starts messaging him again, telling him to roll the dice. Tavros, entirely sensibly, declines to do so, as he’s run the numbers and the monsters are too strong to beat no matter how well he rolls. AG says that if he won’t move, she’ll make him move.

AT: i THOUGHT, AT: yOU COULDN'T USE POWERS, AT: i MEAN, rEAL LIFE POWERS, nOT GAME ONES, AT: iT'S AGAINST THE RULES, AG: 8ut if you are going to 8reak the rules and refuse to roll, what choice do I have!

Using her psychic powers, she then takes control of his body.

And walks him off the cliff.

AG: Fly, Pupa!!!!!!!! AG: Flyyyyyyyy!

CHEL: This is our introduction to the most controversial character in the whole fandom, and quite possibly one of the most controversial in any fandom. So much as mentioning this girl can start huge flamewars, and there was an entire section of the official Homestuck forum set off for talking about her so it didn’t taint the experience on the other boards. We’ll see more of this behaviour from her later, and discuss the fandom’s opinion of it as we go.

AG types out a long string of mocking laughter, with eight exclamation marks. I believe five is the point Pratchett deemed to be a sign of insanity, what does eight signify? Anyway, Tavros takes out his phone and texts the first person he thinks of; Karkat.

adiosToreador [AT] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] AT: aG JUST JUMPED ME OFF A CLIFF, AT: wITH MY BRAIN, AT: aND, uHH AT: mY LEGS, aLSO, AT: aND NOW, tHEY FEEL, AT: iNVISIBLE, AT: wOW, i'M SURE THERE WAS A BETTER WAY TO SAY THAT, AT: aNYWAY, AT: tHAT'S REALLY ALL THERE IS, AT: tO REPORT ON THE SUBJECT, AT: oF ME GETTING HURT, CG: HEY ASSHOLE, STOP PLAYING GAMES FOR GIRLS. carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling adiosToreador [AT]

It’s times like these I wonder if we should have stolen the RP1 spork’s “Why Are We Meant To Like You, Again?” count. Let’s tally up the ones we have…

First off, Karkat, you’re a sexist dick and a bully, and the narrative never calls you out on it, nor do the other characters.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 36

Second, two SLAMMER points, one for the sexism, and one for hanging up on a clearly injured person, when Karkat is supposed to be portrayed as “prickly but caring”, which is not consistent with this even if he doesn’t much like Tavros or know him well at this point.

SEND THEM TO THE SLAMMER: 3

And third, what the hell is the point of the “GAMES FOR GIRLS” comment? Karkat’s phrasing implies that this is a contemptible, weak thing to do. Considering the incredibly dangerous nature of the game, that makes no sense at all. Fandom likes to charitably interpret it as meaning that female trolls are expected to be more violent than the male ones and Karkat’s telling Tavros not to get himself hurt, but that doesn’t work either because in every other situation Tavros is socially punished for not being violent, forthright, and traditionally masculine, and as I said, Karkat’s phrasing and immediate hanging-up on Tavros implies contempt, not concern. If it was meant the way a human boy would put it, what the hell are games for troll boys like?!

WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 28

One way I’ve played it in fanfic is that female trolls are expected to be the strategisers, while male ones just barge on through, but that’s just my personal idea, not canon.

BRIGHT: Really the only way this could be read as not completely awful is if Karkat thought Tavros was role-playing the injury. But there’s no reason for him to think that; Karkat’s made his lack of interest in it abundantly clear, and we never see Tavros initiate a role-playing chatlog with anyone, even one of the other FLARPers. In fact, all the FLARPers seem to confine their role-playing to the game itself; the only person who role-plays in chatlogs is Nepeta. (And after this, it’s easy to see why CT didn’t want her FLARPing.) So Karkat’s being a real dick here.

FAILURE ARTIST: There’s not really any charitable explanation for this. The fandom is just content to prove Karkat wasn’t sexist on human terms.

BRIGHT: Also, this is an impressively coherent summary of events from Tavros. If I’d just walked off a cliff and broken my back, I’m not sure I’d be up to texting anybody, let alone explaining things that clearly. Tavros gets short shrift for being weak, but he’s really pretty tough.

We jump back to Karkat in the Medium, having just finished the conversation with Terezi we saw earlier. AG starts messaging him, and Karkat is really not impressed.

AG: Hey 8rave leader. CG: OH MY GOD, WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO ME. AG: Can I join your team? CG: YES I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, BECAUSE THERE IS A WIDE OPEN SLOT FOR THE MOST VILE BACKSTABBING SOCIOPATH WHO EVER LIVED. CG: YOU REALLY HELPED ME OUT OF A JAM BY STEPPING FORWARD. AG: Vile 8acksta88ing sociopath? Karkat, did you copy and p8ste that phrase directly from your personal ad descri8ing what you are looking for in a lady? CG: HA HA HA! CG: MORE CAGEY CUTESY BULLSHIT. CG: LIKE I'M NOT UP TO MY LOBE STEM WITH THAT ALREADY HAVING TO DEAL WITH TEREZI. CG: YOU BOTH MUST HAVE BEEN INSUFFERABLE WHEN YOU WERE A TEAM. CG: YOUR OPPONENTS PROBABLY ALL JUST TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF PUTTING UP WITH YOUR FANGY GRINNED DRIVEL. CG: THAT'S PROBABLY HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN WHEN THE SHIT HIT THE THRESHER.

AG continues to mess around and Karkat continues to be adamant about not wanting to be friends with her. He warns her not to use her mind control abilities on his teammates, and finishes up with something that actually seems to hit home.

CG: I'VE GOT THE BETTER SCOURGE SISTER ON MY TEAM AND IF YOU BREAK YOUR TRUCE YOU'LL HAVE TO ANSWER TO HER. CG: THE FUNNY THING IS SHE WAS ALWAYS WAY BETTER THAN YOU EVEN WITHOUT ANY POWERS. CG: YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, I KNOW YOUR WHOLE STORY. CG: YOU WERE ALWAYS JEALOUS SHE COULD MANIPULATE PEOPLE SO WELL WITHOUT RESORTING TO CHEAP MIND TRICKS. CG: HAHA, I CAN TELL THIS BURNS YOU AND I CAN'T EVEN PAW THROUGH YOUR DUMPSTER! CG: CHALK IT UP AS ANOTHER INFURIATING VICTORY FOR GUTTER BLOOD OVER ARISTOCRACY.

It’s interesting that although Karkat is extremely cagey about his blood colour, he identifies himself here as a lowblood. Granted, that’s the most logical conclusion to make -- a highblood would have no reason to conceal their blood caste -- but blood colour wasn’t even being discussed until he brought it up.

Karkat ends the chatlog, and then immediately starts messaging AG again.

AG: Oh, 8ack so soon! Did your thum8 slip on the 8utton???????? AG: I guess you can't get enough of me. AG: ::::) CG: YOU MADE ME DO THAT. CG: AND YOU KNOW IT. AG: You 8n't got nothing on me and you can't prove shit!!!!!!!! AG: Anyway, Karkat, I just wanted to say. AG: <3

...okay, I assume she’s using that in a mocking way, because we never get any other indication that she’s romantically interested in Karkat, but man, that threw me for a moment.

FAILURE ARTIST: AG says she can read Karkat’s mind and it’s implied she made Karkat slip up, but you’d think even with Karkat’s mind being a dumpster she’d still find it impossible to resist finding out his blood color.

CHEL: Impossible to not find it, in fact! It must be pretty prominent in his thoughts if it’s important enough to hide.

BRIGHT: The narration then hops to the blue Sagittarius boy, and...uh.

Wow, those sure are a lot of weirdly sexual posters and dismantled robots.

Let’s not beat about the bush here: Teens are (generally) interested in sex and very good at getting hold of depictions of it. On the other hand...thirteen is kind of on the young end for that. Also, most people don’t display their pornography proudly on their walls, although as I type this I remember that cheesecake pin-ups used to be a thing. Heck, maybe they still are. Either way, this is kind of disturbing.

CALL CPA PLEASE: 10

CHEL: Then again, I was never very close to any teenage boys when I was that age; for all I know, maybe they would stick their porn on their walls if they didn’t have parents to stop them.

I’d like to point out the unfortunate implications in having the narrator sound as disturbed as they do in conjunction with all his posters being of male characters. There are plenty of other reasons to be disturbed, plus his interactions with girls are even more disturbing, but as we proceed we’ll see hints that that possibly was meant to be part of the disturbance. Hussie has a real discomfort with m/m attraction, and it shows more than he meant it to.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 37

Since the trolls aren’t mammals and their anatomy isn’t necessarily anything a mammal would recognise, fandom’s occasionally had some fun with interpreting this as him not realising the posters are so explicit and just having them because he thinks they look cool, but that’s obviously not the intended meaning.

BRIGHT: I think the reader is also meant to be bothered by the posters being furry art. Honestly that part doesn’t bother me, but furries were the butt of a lot of jokes back in 2009 -- and possibly still are, although I haven’t seen any for years.

FAILURE ARTIST: Personally, when I saw this panel, I was peeved that he wasn’t introduced yet. I liked the cut of his jib for displaying such “art”. Of course, there’s also the shiner his lusus sports which may play a part in the narrator’s discomfort.

BRIGHT: The narration is as disturbed as I am, although possibly for different reasons, and promptly switches to a brief glimpse of the last troll we have to meet, who has dark pink goggles, a Pisces sign, and is prodding a cuttlefish with a trident. Before we can learn anything more about her, off we go again!

This time we return to Aradia, who is flying across the countryside atop the severed head of the frog statue. Her hive, when she reaches it, is in ruins and overgrown by vegetation.

You haven't been here since the night of the accident. On that night you found your CALLING. The voices of the dead grew louder, urging you to return to the ruins you discovered not long before. You left so abruptly, you didn't even have time to bury your lusus. But that's fine, because trolls don't typically bury their dead. Leaving bodies to be consumed by wild animals is more customary.

We’ve already seen that role-playing accidents on Alternia can be pretty damn extreme, and given that Aradia has telekinesis it’s not a stretch that property damage could get involved, but this is still very effective build-up to the reveal of What’s Up With Aradia. On my first read-through I was really curious about what had happened, and I still think it holds up well.

Aradia starts up the game and allows her co-leader to enter first, since she always intended to enter second. She then has Nepeta connect to her as her server player, and starts setting up the equipment. Since she doesn’t have a dead lusus to prototype the kernelsprite with, she uses the head of the frog statue instead. The dead have assured her that this is critical for later success.

Compelling your nonplussed server player to perform this task might have proven difficult. Luckily your telekinesis, an ability greatly magnified through your CALLING, would be sufficient to move the massive object, whereas the game cursor likely would not. Your server player simply watched in mystification.

Sprite sorted out, Aradia enters the Medium. Her classpect is MAID OF TIME, and her planet is the LAND OF QUARTZ AND MELODY, which is very pretty. It was important for her to enter second because her client player, presumably AG, has a present for her which can’t be replicated with grist, so they’re going to have to travel through the Gate above their house to get it to her.

Nepeta, meanwhile, is watching in befuddlement, because she can’t see Aradia on the screen...up until Aradia merges with the Frogsprite.

She couldn't see you up until the moment after the sprite's second prototyping. Because you were dead all along.

HOLY SHIT.

The first time I read Homestuck, this reveal blew me away. (Granted, I was a bit confused by all the hopping around between characters and time points. It makes much more sense on the second read.) It probably wasn’t intended as much of a surprise, given the next page…

We are all completely blown away by this stunning revelation.

Fair enough.

#Homespork #homestuck #homestuck meta #review #reread #sporking

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the-beastslayers-queen · 5 years

Text

A Dangerous Game: Chapter 4

Chapter 4 is here! Tagging: @queenofthearchitect @biforbecky2belts @writtingrose @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk and @jeffhardyenigmawwefan If you wish to be tagged, hit my inbox or chat. Enjoy!

It’s been two weeks since Seth got upset with me. I’ve been on a downward spiral. I’ve been drinking every day, trying to forget his face, his laugh, his smile. But the more I drank, the more I remembered and the more it hurt.

I had been a good fiancé for Drew. I made appearances whenever he needed me too, but for the most part I stayed home. Hell I did the same thing for Finn and he had a feeling I wasn’t in the right state of mind, but gave me space.

“Cat,” I was in bed, an empty bottle of vodka sat on the table next to me, as I heard Finn come into my apartment, “Are you home?”

“I’m up here,” I replied, not leaving my bed, “Why are you here, Finn?”

“I came to check up on you,” he replied as he came up into my bedroom and sat on my bed, “The Club has missed you. Can you come to the meeting tonight?”

“I can make an appearance,” I replied.

“Oh and no more drinking,” Finn added, “I’m cutting you off. I’m going to need your cards and every bottle in your apartment. All the bartenders at Coup and Bullet know not to serve you as does Tama.”

“Damn it,” I groaned, “Alright fine, take my booze away.”

That night, I rolled up with Finn and Becky to our safe house on the outskirts of town to have our meeting with the rest of the Club. It was nice to see everyone. Finn went to sit at the large throne we had set up in the huge living room of the house and I took my place in the small throne next to his. I was struggling with the early signs of a hangover, but I managed.

“Alright,” Finn began to call the meeting to order, “We have a job coming up. We have a heist that I want to have Cat lead. We’re going to be going outside of Orlando for this. We’re taking on the upstarts of the Undisputed Era. They’re a small ring, but they have a lot of pull down south in the Miami area. We have ta remind them not to get ideas of moving north.”

“Which means I’ll need the heavy hitters to come with me to protect me,” I added in as I rose from my throne and paced the length of the room, “We can’t risk losing our potential alliance with McIntyre and his ‘clan’. I have to be protected during this heist.”

“I’m down,” Tama volunteered, “You know I’ll always have your back, girl.”

“I’m in too love,” Pete stepped forward, “I’m up to kicking in some teeth and breaking fingers.”

“What the hell,” Tyler joined Pete, “I’m in too.”

“We’ll tag along too,” Anderson and Gallows stepped up too. We’ll stick with Cat and keep her safe.”

“It’s settled then,” Finn rose from his throne, “Becky and Jordan will stay behind to help me hold down the fort. I also got some word from some old friends that want back into the fold and I have meetings with them tomorrow. We’ll run this heist in two days, so get prepared.”

I was sitting in my apartment the following night after the meeting. Since I had no access to any booze, I decided to get onto my computer. Since I wanted to keep tabs on Seth because I can’t get over him, I decided to boot up my back door I made into his system. I looked through his phone’s files and GPS data to see what he did during our separation.

Automated Message: Get out of Cerberus.

Damn it.

I got out of Cerberus and left his systems alone. I knew for a fact I might have kicked the hornet’s nest with getting into Cerberus. Seth was sure to find out I got in and retaliate. As I shut down my back door, I got a text from Seth.

Seth: You can’t take a hint can you?

Cat: No I can’t obviously. Will you please just hear me out? I’m sorry, alright. I should have told you who I was at the start. I regret that more than anything. But I’m going to let you know, I’m heading out of town for a heist job in Miami. I want to talk to you, face to face, and work this out.

Seth: No. You should have thought about telling me who you really were before I found out, Bálor.

Well, shit.

While I was getting everything ready to go for the Miami job, I was running diagnostics on my invasive program, getting it ready to run to disrupt their systems. That was when I saw trouble in the code. I lost control of the program and it started to run wild and open all of my most private files. The family pictures from Bray. From my upbringing. I even saw my pictures from high school pop up on my screen. That’s when a chat window popped up on my screen.

Automated message: Don’t fuck with Cerberus or you get the Oracle, Catriona.

I immediately kicked into overdrive and began to try to counter Oracle. I ran every kill program I could to flush Oracle out of my computer, I was not going to let Seth win this fight. I wrote new lines of code, trying to create a defensive program to get Oracle out of my systems. I didn’t want Seth to find these pictures I kept on my computer. I didn’t want him to find mine and Finn’s parents. I didn’t want to find my past of being a squeaky clean kid.

Once my counter program was live, Oracle was stomped out at last. I leaned back in my chair and breathed a sigh of relief at knowing that I beat Seth to finding my parents’ pictures on my computer.

Cat: This means war, Rollins. Those pictures are private. Oracle will not be breaking in again I promise.

Seth: Then don’t start a war with me, Catriona. Or I will go deeper.

“Are ye alright, lass,” Drew asked, seeing I was distracted. I was out with Drew tonight at his nightclub, Glasgow Kiss.

“Yeah,” I replied, “Just a lot on my mind. I was hacked last night. I wasn’t expecting it and it’s been on my mind.”

“That’s too bad,” Baron commented from his seat across from Drew, “Did you lose any data?”

“No,” I replied, “The attacker got into and viewed files I’ve kept private for years.”

“Do you want me to get Alexa to track the attacker down for Joe to take out,” Drew asked.

“No it’s okay,” I placed my hand on his chest to reassure him I had it handled, “I built up my firewalls and created my own defender program to keep out future hackers.”

Drew dropped the conversation at that point and he decided to kiss me. I was thrown for a loop at the sudden sign of affection. I also wanted to barf because his breath tasted like nothing but scotch, and I hated scotch with a passion. But I knew better than to pull away, so I gave into him.

“So you’ll be heading up the Bálor heist in Miami,” Drew asked.

“Yeah I am,” I answered him, “Did Finn tell you?”

“Aye, he did,” Drew replied, “Be careful, I don’t want to be a widow before I get to marry you, lass.”

I was able to get everything operational once again after Seth attacked my servers and invaded my computer. But right now we were down in Miami, ready to run this heist. I was stationed in my tactical van I had all of my equipment in to hack into the Undisputed Era’s security systems. I had Gallows and Anderson with me while Tama, Pete, and Tyler worked instead to steal what we needed from these four jewel thieves.

“Alright don’t bust in until I get their security system down,” I warned the three men as I began to break into their servers, “This should only take a minute.”

“Work fast, girl,” Tama called over the radio, “We need to get this done fast.”

I worked as fast as I could and I was struggling to get into their security grid. But I managed to get in and I worked on shutting it down. Once it was down, I made quick work to create a false feed of their cameras and sensors to make sure no alarms were sounded.

“Alright we’re clear,” I called over the radio, “Get to work, fellas.”

Gallows and Anderson stood guard over the van as I kept working to hide our presence from UE. We couldn’t risk any one of us on this job. The loot from this heist would help us out for several months to keep all of our businesses afloat. Since it was fall, not a lot of tourists come down to Orlando so we don’t make ridiculous amounts of money at the club and my bar doesn’t get tourists that often to begin with.

While I was working, I heard a noise off in the bushes not far from the van and I got nervous.

“Anderson, Gallows,” I poked my head out of the van, “I heard something in the bushes, can you check it out?”

“Yeah sure,” Anderson replied, “Stay in the van, Cat.”

I nodded and the pair wandered to check the brush for the source of the noise. I left the door open and had my pistol at the ready if I get ambushed with them gone. I was hard at work again when I heard the cocking of a gun. I turned around to find Roderick Strong standing at the van doors, his gun drawn on me. Before I could grab my pistol I hear the bang and I fall back from the impact of the bullet, feeling it rip through my right shoulder. I screamed out in pain as it felt like everything on the right side of my body was lit on fire.

“Cat,” I heard Gallows shout as he saw Roderick with his gun drawn. Gallows drew his pistol and put a bullet through Strong’s knee cap and got onto the radio, “Dunn, Bate, and Tonga get back to the van. We’re getting Cat out of here. She’s been shot.”

“Shit,” I heard Tama over the radio as I cried out in pain as Anderson got into action to work on stopping my bleeding, “Finn is going to kill us for this.”

I was fading in and out as we all pulled away from the UE hideout. I knew we’d have to go see the Doc to get me patched up. As we sped away onto the highway back to Orlando when I grabbed onto Anderson’s wrist.

“Call Seth,” I breathed weakly, “Tell him what happened.”

And with that, I passed out.

When I came to, I was laid up in a bed in a dimly lit basement. This meant I was at the Doc’s makeshift ER. Since we don’t want to draw attention to our line of work, we go to an off-the-books surgeon. He’s 100% neutral and works with every gang in Orlando to patch us up.

“Good you’re up,” the Doc came into view and began to check over my stitches he used to close me up, “You’re lucky you got shot where you were shot and it was a through and through.”

“How long am I going to be out of commission,” I asked him, “You can be honest with me, Shawn.”

“It’ll be a couple months of you being in a sling before I consider allowing you to go through physical therapy,” he replied, “Your overall heal time is going to be around 5-6 months. So you’ll be very limited for now.”

“Thanks,” I replied, “Are you going to give me a script for pain killers? I do not want opioids for this, just Tylenol would work for me.”

“Yeah I got you some 300 mgs of Tylenol that should do wonders,” he handed me the pill bottle, “Oh and there’s someone here to see you too. He’s been waiting for you to wake up.”

“Is it Finn,” I asked him.

“Actually no,” he replied, “It’s Seth Rollins of all people. I would have thought Finn or Drew would be here to see you when you would wake up. Do you want me to let him in?”

“Might as well,” I sighed before groaning in pain from my shoulder, “I’m sure he finally wants to talk to me after the disagreement and cyber fight we had before I went to Miami.”

#seth rollins x oc #seth rollins fic #seth rollins fanfic #seth rollins fanfiction #wwe fic #wwe fanfiction #wwe fanfic #A Dangerous Game

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au-universes · 6 years

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Basement Demon

Hey there everyone! It’s ya gurl Father Par Par! Luci suggested I post this short story of mine, so here I am! It has swearing, mentions of non-con experiments, and recreational drug use, so if you’re not into that, don’t read it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Penny rolled over in bed and opened Snapchat on her phone. It was ten in the morning and she already had four snapchats. Three were from her friends and one was from her mom, sent at midnight. She opened that one last. It was a long series of videos of the cats. Penny missed her cats dearly since she’s been living in Detroit, and she loved getting pictures of them.

But these videos were strange. The first one was a video of her black cat, Soske, sitting in front of the basement door on his hind legs, pawing at something in front of him. His eyes looked glazed over and his behavior was unlike anything Penny had ever seen. The caption said “Cats are acting weird.”

The next video was of Penny’s white cat, Keko, who was stalking something by the basement door. With a quick pan, the video showed that the basement door was open but there was nothing there. Keko continued to stalk but then she stopped and her eyes lost focus and she stood up to do the same thing Soske did in the last video. The next video made Penny sit straight up in bed and her heart skip a beat. Soske was standing on his back legs again and he was pawing at the air and then he collapsed and started shaking on the floor. Penny’s dad came into the video and scooped him up. The next video was of Soske in her dad’s arms, shaking and curled up close to him. The next snapchat from Penny’s mom was a picture of the cats sleeping on the living room couch. The caption said, “Cats are fine, that was weird…”

It certainly was weird… But Penny didn’t have time to dwell on it because she heard her brother come into the apartment and throw his keys.

“Penny! Mike’s waiting for us outside,” Adrian shouted. Mike was their other roommate, one of Adrian’s friends from high school.

“Where are we going?” Penny shouted back as she hurried to get dressed.

“There’s a garage sale a few blocks away,” he said.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Penny stuffed her phone in her pocket and pulled her hair into a quick ponytail as she ran out into the apartment. She followed her brother outside and hopped into Mike’s van, which was waiting outside the building.

“Ready to go?” asked Mike.

“Yep,” said Penny, buckling her seatbelt, not trusting Mike’s driving skills. They drove a few blocks down into the neighborhood with the old houses mixed with the newer houses. It was a pretty normal looking neighborhood, mostly filled with elderly people and college students. There were a few younger families in the newer houses. It looked like this weekend was the sub sale, since there were many garage sales scattered throughout the neighborhood. They drove past the ones that looked like a bunch of junk or the ones with all baby stuff. They stopped at one that looked big and had lots of interesting things out on the driveway.

Penny hopped out of the van and ran to the interesting looking desk sitting out. She opened all the drawers and cupboards before moving onto the vintage Singer sewing machine next to it. The boys went into the garage and looked through the books and movies. Penny joined them but something caught her eye before she got the chance to browse the books. An old fashioned radio with a cassette player in the front was sitting on the electronics table next to a box full of cassette tapes.

“Does this work?” Penny asked the person sitting in a lawn chair just outside the garage.

“Yep, still works,” the woman said. “Just needs new batteries if you plan on using it. I used to carry that thing around back in the eighties.”

“Whoa…how much?” asked Penny, already searching through the tapes.

“You can have it for ten bucks,” she said.

“How about five?”

“Seven.”

“Deal.”

Penny walked away from that garage sale carrying the radio and three tapes; the Best of the Bee Gees, Hall and Oates, and a blank tape without a case, smudged writing on the sticker.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Everyone listen up!” Anabel shouted, trying to get her team’s attention. She slammed her hands on the table for good measure. Her four teammates slowly quieted down and looked at her. They were sitting around the meeting table in their underground headquarters. The headquarters was small, but big enough for five bedrooms, two bathrooms, an armory, and a conjoined kitchen and meeting room. The five of them have been working on it since they were kids.

“We have a mission,” Anabel said. “A house in the Chesterfield suburbs has a demon living in their basement. The homeowners don’t know yet, and I’d like to keep it that way. But the problem is, they have cats.”

“Why is that a problem?” asked Jason.

“There are two beings that are most susceptible to being possessed by a demon,” Ava said, folding her hands on the table and glancing at Eli who sat across from her. “Cats and Androids.”

Eli stiffened. He had a feeling he knew what the plan was going to be and he didn’t like it.

“Why is that, do we know?” asked Luke. His glowing blue eyes met Eli’s nervous yellow ones. Luke was born blind but he wore special contacts that allowed him to see. They were almost completely discreet except for the fact that they glowed icy blue. He often wore sunglasses out in public so that the blue glow wouldn’t draw attention, just as Eli wore sunglasses in public to cover his yellow eyes.

“We’re not sure yet, but we believe that it’s because demons can’t possess a human without permission. But androids aren’t in their code of honor, so they’re free real estate according to demons,” said Anabel.

“That’s stupid,” said Jason. “Androids are people too. Just because they don’t have a soul or whatever, no offense Eli, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the same rights.”

“If I may,” Eli interrupted. “I believe it is simply because we have easily changeable programming. For instance, I have programs that protect me from viruses and hackers, which could change my programming, but a demon isn’t either of those things. To them, I am basically an empty, semi organic body that is, as Anabel said, free real estate.”

“And why cats?” asked Luke.

Anabel shrugged. “No one knows.”

Jason clapped his hands, making everyone startle. “Welp! I’m ready for whatever happens on this mission. Let’s go capture a demon!”

And that was that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Penny, Adrien and Mike were laying on the roof of the van, which was parked next to a corn field. They passed a blunt between them as the last few notes of the Hall and Oates tape played out on the radio, which sat next to Penny on the roof. Penny replaced it with the mysterious tape with the smudged writing.

“Anything could be on here guys,” said Penny as she rewound it and prepared to play it.

“I’m ready for anything,” Mike said, his voice sounding congested and slightly muffled as he held in the smoke. Penny pressed play and took the joint Mike handed her, white smoke curling from his mouth. There was no music that started up. Instead, there was just the sound of distant voices and other movement.

“Alright Dr. Darling, now I have a few questions to ask you,” said the crackling voice of a man over the sound of rustling paper. “You conducted illegal experiments on your assistant involving demon possession, did you not?”

Penny looked at Mike and Adrien with wide eyes. They looked back at her with equally surprised expressions.

“Yes,” said a different man.

“And your assistant is an android, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Are you aware of the trial that took place last year confirming the citizenship and personhood of androids?”

“Yes.”

“So you knew that these experiments were unethical in nature and punishable by law.”

“Yes.”

“Did you create your assistant?”

“Yes, I created Ben.”

“It says in your file that all of your research up until Ben has been about demons. Is it possible that you created your assistant to help you specifically in these types of experiments?”

“Yes, that was my intention.”

“That is nonconsensual and violates many-“

“Detective, sorry to interrupt, but Ben is programmed to not have any emotions. Consent does not matter to him, he is simply programmed to do as I say. What about all the cats I’ve used before Ben? They are not able to consent, so is that considered unethical as well?”

“Yes, doctor, that is exactly what that means. If a person or animal is unable to consent, then it is unethical to conduct experiments on them regardless. Do you understand why you are being detained for the things you’ve done.”

“Yes.”

“And do you admit that your experiments were unethical and unprofessional?”

“Yes.”

The tape ended there and there was nothing but staticy silence.

“What the fuck?” Adrien mumbled.

“You found that at the garage sale?” asked Mike. Penny stared at the sky, still thinking about what she had just heard.

“Uh-huh.”

Just then, Penny thought of the Snapchats she received that morning from her mom. The detective on the tape mentioned Dr. Darling using cats in his experiments. What if her cats were being possessed by a demon? Or a demon was trying to possess them? She sat up with new energy, feeling the need to go back to her parent’s house to check on her cats.

“Mike, take me back to the apartment building. I need to drive home.”

The boys followed Penny off the roof of the car.

“Why?”

“I need to save my cats.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m the bait, aren’t I?” asked Eli, cocking his head to the side slightly.

“I mean, we didn’t want to come right out and say it…” Jason said. “We didn’t want you to panic or anything.”

“We didn’t want to hurt your feelings by putting you out there like that,” said Luke.

Ava chuckled and shook her head.

“You both know that I have no feelings to hurt,” Eli said. “I do not mind. I’m willing to be of assistance in any way I can.”

“That’s the spirit!” Jason shouted. The four of them were driving to Chesterfield, preparing to attend a big party at the house they were targeting.

“Let’s go over the plan once more,” said Ava, still giggling. “We are going to attend this party and act like the other party goers. So just act like normal, like you’re regular people attending a party. Eli will hopefully draw the demon out and then we can capture it. The goal is to be discreet and quick. We need to get out of there as fast as possible.”

“Won’t this be kind of unsafe with all those people there?” Luke asked.

“I don’t think we need to worry about that,” said Ava. “Besides, most demons aren’t visible to the human eye, so we’ll just keep an eye on Eli and wait for the signs.”

As they entered the neighborhood, they could see the party from all the way down the block. Cars lined the street on both sides and people streamed into the house they were looking for. The party already looked like it was hoppin’ and it was only seven o’clock. Jason navigated through the street and found a spot to park. Eli and Luke put on their sunglasses before they got out of the car. As they walked to the house, Luke nudged Eli and tapped his sunglasses.

“Twinsies,” he grinned. Eli just started at him. Luke cleared his throat and looked forward. When they entered the house, they saw that the party was mainly going on in the basement. The stairs going down to the basement were converted into a train ride. There was a track that looped around at the top where people piled into the cars and then the conductor, a middle aged man in a stripped conductors outfit, used the controls to make the train slowly go back down the other side of the tracks.

There was a long line of partiers waiting to go downstairs and the four demon hunters got in line. They stood behind three giggling women who wore short dresses and a bunch of leis and beads around their necks. They were clearly drunk. The three women shared a car on the train, the conductor having to help them on. The four hunters got into a car behind them, squeezing in tight, not wanting to get separated by these drunk party goers.

As they disembarked the train at the bottom, Eli tried his hardest to focus and keep his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. The drunk women were still nearby. Eli’s concentration was broken as someone shoved past him and smacked one of the girl’s butts. She shrieked and turned around, her drink spilling on the guy and her friends laughing hysterically. Eli turned away from the scene and tried to find his friends. They had already disappeared into the thick crowd.

As Eli wandered the party looking for his friends, he noticed three things. First, the basement, before it was wrecked by the mess of a rager such as this, was a very nice basement. It was huge and nicely finished. There was an entertainment center and pool table off to one side, a sitting room, a spacious floor, old arcade games lining the back wall and a full bar on the other side.

Second, the people here weren’t particularly drunk and awful. It was simply the fact that there were so many of them and most of them seemed to be inebriated in some way. Not to mention the empty cans and bottles all over the floor and the raggedy streamers hanging over almost everything.

And thirdly, Eli realized that he was becoming paranoid and anxious. He didn’t realize that he was capable of experiencing such things, but the way his hands were shaking and the fact that he jumped every time he saw a flash of red told him otherwise. More than once, he thought he saw someone staring at him through the crowd wearing a red demon mask. But when he looked, they would disappear. It was putting him on edge. So it wasn’t a surprise that he jumped and spun around when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Whoa, it’s only me,” said Luke. “You okay?”

“Of course.”

“I’m glad I found you,” said Luke. “I can’t find Jason and Ava.”

“I think this crowd is affecting my ability to focus,” said Eli. He saw Luke glance down at his hands, so he shoved them into his pockets to keep them from shaking.

“Okay, we’re almost done here. We’ll get out of here as soon as possible. Do you want to leave? I’m pretty sure we’d be able to handle ourselves without you,” said Luke, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“No, I am fine. I don’t see how leaving would make any difference. Let’s find Jason and Ava,” said Eli.

The pair pushed through the crowd trying to locate their friends. They spotted them over by the bar, where they were talking to a shirtless guy who was sloshing his drink all over the place. He wore a lei and sunglasses that were sliding off his face. Eli watched as the guy reached over and touched Ava’s hair. She gently pushed his hand away and shook her head. Luke and Eli approached and Ava’s face lit up.

“There you are! We were so worried about you!” she said.

“Hey! There you are! You two wandered off without us!” said Jason. “Having fun just the two of you I see.”

“Jason, please focus,” said Ava. She smiled at the man who was still leaning on the bar, trying to get closer to her. The man looked at the two newcomers and lit up.

“Hey! Twinsies!” he reached out and touched the lenses of Luke’s sunglasses, making him flinch and recoil. The man’s fingers left a grease streak on the lens.

“I’m sorry for cutting this short but this has been a very unpleasant conversation and we’re leaving now,” said Ava.

The boys followed Ava as she left the bar and walked to the back where the arcade games provided a bright glow.

“Avaaa, first kill of the night, huh?” said Jason. Ava smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Please, that guy was asking for it,” she said. She looked over to Luke and Eli. Luke had taken off his glasses to wipe the lens with his shirt. “Any luck finding anything you two?”

“No luck,” said Luke, putting his shades back on.

“I did see something…” Eli said, pausing to figure out how to say this. “At least, I think I saw something. On many occasions, I thought I saw a man staring at me through the crowd. He was wearing a red demon mask but every time I looked for him, he would disappear. Perhaps I’m having some sort of malfunction.”

“You aren’t,” said Jason, staring at something over his shoulder. Eli turned around to follow his friend’s gaze and saw the man in the mask. He stood ominously still as the throng of partygoers flowed around him. Someone passed in front of him and then he was gone. Further into the crowd, somewhere the four hunters couldn’t see, a scream erupted, followed by more screams and a rush of people.

“Now’s our chance!” said Luke. The four of them pushed through the crowd, which was becoming thicker as everyone ran to the train. The conductor was evacuating people. Four or five people were piling into each car and the little train was having trouble staying on the tracks.

Eli looked away for one second and he lost track of his friends. They must have been swept away by the crowd. Eli had to try his hardest to not be swept away himself as he pushed his way to where the scream came from.

Luke, Ava and Jason found themselves at the top of the stairs, the thick crowd of people pushing them back.

“Eli is still down there!” said Jason.

“Let us back down our friend is down there!” Ava said, trying to get past the conductor. But the man wouldn’t let them pass. He pushed them away and held the controller out of reach.

“No one goes down there! It ain’t safe!” he shouted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Penny passed the cars that lined her street and parked in her driveway. The lights were on inside and she could hear quite the commotion. It didn’t sound like a party, it sounded like chaos. She pushed through her front door and immediately searched for her cats. She found them in her parent’s room, hiding from the crowds of people. They looked fine so Penny hugged both of them then went out to find the demon. She figured it would be in the basement. The only problem was that people were pouring out of the basement and there seemed to be a bit of a scuffle at the top of the stairs. Penny pushed her way through and got to the top of the train. The conductor was pushing three people out of the way who seemed to be trying to get back on the train.

“Let me down there! I need to kill the demon that tried to hurt my cats!” she told the conductor.

“No one goes down there!” said the conductor. He shoved Penny back. “Everyone has been evacuated and it’s not safe to go down there.”

“This is my house! Let me down there!” Penny yelled, trying to force her way past him to grab the controller. He shoved her back and she stumbled, falling backwards into the crowd. How dare he put his hands on me, she thought. Whoever caught her when she fell back, pushed her back up. She used that momentum to surge forward and punch the conductor in the face. The crowd Oooh-ed. Penny used the opportunity to snatch the controller from the conductors hand and hop into the train. She drove the train down the tracks and into the basement. The basement was eerily quiet. There was no more music and it was dark save for the flashing party lights and the glow from the arcade games.

Penny dropped the controller into the train car she was in and got out. She heard a scuffle coming from the entertainment center. She ran to where she heard the noise and saw two people. One was a man with pale skin and dark hair. He was on the ground, a pair of broken sunglasses on the ground beside him. Standing over him was another man. This one was tall and wore all black except for the red demon mask covering his face. There was an aura about him that sent chills of panic down Penny’s spine. She ignored it and stepped forward.

“Hey!” she shouted, causing both men to look at her. The man on the ground had yellow eyes, telling Penny that he was an android. The demon only had two black voids where his eyes should have been behind the mask. “Get away from him, it’s me you want!”

“And who are you?” a disembodied voice said. It sounded suspiciously smooth and normal.

“I’m Penny, and you tried to possess my cats,” she said. “No one messes with my cats!”

“Is that so?” the demon stepped over the man on the ground and approached Penny. Penny felt a jolt of uncertainty run through her, but then she thought of her cats and the disturbing Snapchats from that morning. She stood her ground, glaring at the demon, not having a plan in case she was overpowered, which was more likely than not.

The demon walked right up to her and crowded into her space. Penny could faintly see eyes through the holes in the mask but otherwise, there was no sign of him being a human. No breath, no footsteps, he was silent. Penny clenched her fists and decided to do what she had just done with the conductor at the top of the stairs. She punched the demon in the face with all her might.

Penny gasped as she heard her hand crack against the demon’s unmoving face. Pain shot up through her arm. The demon grabbed her shoulders and brought his face closer, tilting his head as if he were going in for a kiss. Penny knew that a kiss from him would mean bad things.

Before he could get any closer, something sounding like glass shattered over his head. His head turned all the way around. Behind the demon stood the android, the broken neck of a wine bottle in his hands. The android dropped the bottle neck and grabbed the demon’s face with both hands. In one swift motion, he pulled the demon off of Penny and flung him across the room. The demon hit the wall across the room and slid down to the ground.

“Are you alright?” the android asked, approaching Penny who was staring wide eyed at the demon who was slowly getting back up.

“Yes. Let’s kill this thing,” Penny growled, quickly getting over her shock.

“Agreed. I am Eli,” he said.

“Penny. How do you kill a demon?” she asked.

“We need to trap it and then banish it,” said Eli. “They are immortal beings, they cannot be killed.”

“Right. Is banishing it a permanent solution?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s do it.”

Penny and Eli stalked around both side of the demon. The demon’s head snapped between the two of them before settling on Eli. He lunged and tackled Eli to the ground. Eli struggled under him and the demon began his descent. Penny took the opportunity to run at the demon and kick it in the face with all her strength. He stumbled back, falling off of Eli. Eli jumped to his feet and grabbed the demon by the collar. He slammed the creature against the wall, leaving a dent.

“Penny, make a circle on the floor!” he said. Penny scrambled to find something to make a circle with. Then she saw the streamers hanging over everything. As she began gathering streamers, the demon kicked Eli square in the chest, making him fly back and crash through the wall into the bathroom. Eli pushed the pieces of ceramic from the destroyed toilet off of him and charged through the hole in the wall. He tried to get a hold on the demon as Penny laid the streamers on the ground in a circle.

“I’m ready!” said Penny.

“Help me get him into the circle!” Eli said, struggling with the demon. Penny ran to the scuffle and kicked the demon in the groin. It didn’t seem to have the effect she was hoping for but he still doubled over, giving the two of them the advantage. But as Eli tried to grapple him, he pushed the android out of the way and grabbed Penny around the neck with both hands, lifting her off the ground.

“Enough is enough! I will not be defeated by a little girl and her bag of gears!” the disembodied voice filled the basement. Penny struggled to gasp for breath and claw at his hands around her neck. Her feet kicked and she could feel her windpipe being crushed. A wire wrapped around the demon’s throat. Eli, who was holding the wire, pulled the demon back, making him stumble into the circle, where Eli yanked the demon to the ground, making him release his hold on Penny. Penny fell to the ground and pushed herself away from the monster.

Before the demon could do anything else, Eli lit a match and flicked it into the circle of streamers. The circle and the demon burst into flames. The demon seemed to sink into the ground, screaming and writhing. But the fire kept going.

“We need to go,” said Eli, pulling Penny to her feet and leading her to the train.

“We need to put that fire out!” said Penny.

“It’s hellfire, water won’t do anything. It will go out on its own, it won’t destroy anything. But we need to leave before it consumes us,” said Eli. The two of them ran to the train and they got into one of the cars. Penny fiddled with the controller but the train wouldn’t move.

“What’s wrong with it?” Penny yelled, feeling the heat from the fire get more intense.

“It’s steam powered. It’s out of water,” said Eli. “It looks like water can just be dumped into the engine up there.”

“The fish tank!” Penny shouted, pointing to the glowing fish tank across the room. “If we can get to it…”

“There are no life forms in there, right?”

“No. We haven’t had fish in there in years.”

Eli took off across the room, running past the flames which seemed to reach for him. He lifted the tank and hurried back to the train, the water sloshing out of the top. He got to the train and Penny tried to help him dump it over the engine. Steam poured out of the train engine and the machinery inside hissed and rumbled to life. Eli jumped into the car with Penny and they rode to the top of the stairs. The crowd of party goers cheered when they saw the train crest the stairs. Penny and Eli hopped out of the train car. Eli was immediately enclosed in a hug from three people at the front of the crowd. They fussed over him as the conductor angrily took the controller from Penny. She let him have it.

“Eli,” she called. Eli and his three friends looked at her. “Thanks for helping me down there. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“And I would not have survived if you hadn’t stepped in,” said Eli. The woman next to him with dark curls cascading down her back wrote something down on a slip of paper and handed it to Penny. It was a phone number.

“Keep in touch with us, will you?” she said. “My name is Ava. Thank you for helping my friend.”

“Anytime Ava,” said Penny. “I have a feeling you four weren’t here for the party.”

“Call me and I’ll explain everything,” she said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Penny wandered down to her basement the next morning, her hand wrapped tightly. The party had dispersed long ago. Everyone left shortly after they defeated the demon. That night, after everyone left, Penny had called Ava and she explained that her and her friends were part of a demon hunting club. They were still learning their trade, but they could use someone as spunky as Penny. She told Ava she would think about it.

The thought of defending cats everywhere appealed to her. She knew she would call back.

Penny passed the burned spot in the carpet and looked past it to see the big hole in the wall and the destroyed bathroom within. She wandered to the bar and kitchenette. There were streamers and empty cans and pizza boxes everywhere. A garbage bag overflowing with paper plates and solo cups sat against the cupboard. Dishes filled the sink.

But most importantly, her cats joined her downstairs, finally feeling safe from the demon that had lived down there. She hugged her cats, knowing that she not only avenged their honor, she also potentially saved their very lives. She then thought of all the other cats who were susceptible to being possessed by demons.

She would definitely call Ava back.

As she continued to ruminate over this, a flash of red flew past behind her…

#original story #short story #mentions of non-con experiments #recreational drug use #swearing #krust

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douchebagbrainwaves · 2 years

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WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT YEAR

The most amusing thing written during this period, Liudprand of Cremona's Embassy to Constantinople, is, I suspect, mostly inadvertantly so. The path it has discovered, winding as it is, it hasn't yet been duplicated by technology. I wasn't sure how many there were, so I have the inside story about admissions. But if you're in the inexperienced but earnest majority, the solution is analogous to the solution I recommend for pitching your startup: do the right thing. Any online store that kept people's shipping addresses would have implemented this. For a while it annoyed me to hear myself described as some kind of read-macro. It is now incorporated in Revenge of the Nerds. The eminent generally respond to the shortage of time by turning into managers. You're doing better than Dropbox and Airbnb!

Pick the right startups. Your opinions about what's admirable are always going to be in a place where rich people want to live in a giant city of three or four thousand complete strangers? After they say yes. My friend Robert learned a lot by writing network software when he was an undergrad there weren't enough cycles around to make graphics interesting, but it's hard to get money to work on dumb stuff, even if most of the money you need, you can tell from the way their sites are organized that they don't lead, translate that in your mind. The best I can think of are W. How much are you supposed to like what you do? Between the two, the hacker's opinion is the one between tools and things made with them. Being able to take either side of an argument and make as good a case for it as they can. I would not be likely to.

The user doesn't know what it means, all that people learn in the course of a year. It will be easier to beat. This excludes LA, where no one walks at all, which is usually unanimous. And it may be more than new. You have to pick the startups. The switch to the new norm may be surprisingly fast, because the two are only loosely coupled. So why do so many people argue with me? This essay is derived from talks at Usenix 2006 and Railsconf 2006. There are two ways to win. You should of course have value in recognizing spam. O fast.

If a lot of the earlier stage ones would probably take it. That phrase draws in most threads I've mentioned here. In fact, the book would be made into a movie and thereupon forgotten, except by the more waspish sort of reviewers, among whom it would be better for programming. When we sold our startup in 1998 I thought one day I'd do some angel investing. Families are entitled to their own traditions, and who am I to argue with them? The conventional wisdom in the Lisp world is that startups are popping up like crazy, the number is small compared to the facial expressions she was used to. An essayist needs the resistance of the medium. Especially if till recently no one wanted to give that answer. Number one will be your dissertation. Fortunately the statistical approach for so long. Didn't it get boring when you got to be about.

On the other hand, the extra million dollars would give them a lot, and you are very happy because your $50,000 into a company at a pre-money valuation of $30 million, the pre-money valuation of your next round, when customers compare your actual products. But as time passes it gets increasingly difficult to fundraise from a position of strength without being profitable.1 Another test you can use is: always produce. It took me years to grasp that. You don't have complete control, of course. They may be trying to fund more of.2 28%. All kids know it.

Notes

See particularly the mail by Anton van Straaten on semantic compression. The idea is to trick a pointy-haired boss into letting you write software in Lisp, Wiley, 1985, p. Innosight, February 2012. But you couldn't slow the latter.

Many of these titles vary too much to maintain your target growth rate to impress investors. Analects VII: 1 It's hard to grasp the cachet that term had.

#automatically generated text #Markov chains #Paul Graham #Python #Patrick Mooney #crazy #addresses #medium #forgotten #spam #resistance #test #approach #graphics #book #Airbnb #customers

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ladyseaheart1668 · 6 years

Text

Endless Summer Fan Novel (Book 2, Chapter 13)

Aleister snorts behind me, glaring at his father. “That's rich,” he snaps. “ 'The moment of truth'. As if you could refrain from lying for a single breath.”

“He won't have a breath to draw after I get near him,” Estela snarls.

At the back of the cluster of black-clad operatives, I catch a flash of yellow. I bite back a gasp, feeling my lip curl in disgust behind my helmet. Lila. She went straight back to Rourke's side. Her presence does not escape Estela, either. With a furious cry, she lunges for her, but Sean and Craig hold her back.

“You're not goin' anywhere, Montoya!” Sean snaps.

Estela settles, but she doesn't take her eyes off Lila. “...Neither is she.”

Rourke suddenly walks toward me, covering the distance between us in three short paces. “I would be remiss if I didn't thank the hero of the hour. What's your callsign, Private?” He holds out his hand for me to shake.

“...3-1-7-2,” I manage to answer. I don't shake his hand. He raises an eyebrow.

“A serial number?”

“We identify ourselves by number only. Sir. Our mission is more important than personal glory.”

“Ahh. Of course. Excellent work, 3-1-7-2. I'll make sure your superior officer is notified.”

“That won't be necessary, sir,” I reply, my voice carefully neutral. “It's enough that the client is pleased.”

“What's good for the client is good for us,” Sean agrees.

“Just glad to be of service,” Craig adds.

Rourke nods thoughtfully and picks up my hand to finally shake it. Then he turns to our prisoners. He looks them over with obvious pleasure, savoring their presence.

“Can we get the hell on with this?” Jake growls.

“Wh-what are you planning to do with us?” Grace whimpers.

“Firstly, there is the matter of why you've come this far north,” Rourke says.

“You know why I'm here, you bastard!” Estela growls.

“That I do indeed,” he agrees. His eerie calm visibly unsettles my friends. His gaze passes from one face to the next with laser-like precision. “Lila told me of your aim. The Lernaean Gate. Very resourceful of you to discover its existence. However, I am afraid I have unfortunate news: it never worked. A failed, discarded prototype. It would have required an impossible amount of energy to function properly.”

Anxiety gives way to furtive, concerned glances among the group. The pack on my back, with the Island's Heart and the idols hidden within, suddenly feels very heavy. I have to hope the Island's Heart is powerful enough. And that it isn't discovered before we can find out.

“Lamentably,” Rourke continues, “you came for nothing.”

“You and your pet will die here,” Estela says flatly. “You can be certain of that.”

“One way or another, Father,” Aleister adds, “we will put a stop to you.”

“Ah, Aleister. I regret that circumstances haven't allowed me to be more straightforward with you. But the curtain, as it were, is finally going up. All of La Huerta's mysteries will soon surrender themselves to us. Armed with what we've discovered at MASADA, humanity will be able to bravely march forward--”

“Humanity?!” Aleister shouts. “Bravery? What could you possibly know about such things?! You turned your wife—my mother—into a glorified slave!”

“And ordered your wretched pet to stab my mother in the back!” Estela adds.

“Please,” Lila begs. “Just let him explain--”

But everyone begins shouting at once, hurling accusations at Rourke and Lila. Rourke whirls towards me at the other troops.

“What am I paying you for?” he snaps. “Get them in line!”

As the real soldiers step closer, I whirl on my friends, leveling my rifle menancingly. Michelle recoils, her hands in the air.

“Woah! That's uncalled for!”

“Yeah!” Raj cries. “Who...” He abruptly trails off, possibly because he's suddenly remembered why I'm dressed like this.

“All of you shut up before my friends here beat you senseless for disrespecting Mr. Rourke,” I growl. I jerk my head at the real soldiers, clearly waiting for an excuse to attack.

“Okay, okay, good point,” Diego admits.

“Sorry,” Quinn adds.

Rourke turns his attention back on Estela and Aleister. “Estela, I regret that Olivia forced my hand. But she of all people would understand that sacrifices must be made for the greater good. As for Imogen, you're right, Aleister. I gave her back existence, nothing more. But now that you're here, I may finally be able to give her life.”

“Wha...What are you talking about?!”

“You see?” Lila cries. “This is what I was trying to tell you! Mr. Rourke's plan is in everyone's best interests!”

“If words can't convince you of my desire to better this world, perhaps a demonstration will. We've made promising advancements with a particular extraterrestrial mineral...”

Rourke produces a small shard, similar to the strange crystals I've found all across the island. He places it in front of a robotic arm. He taps a display console, and a laser fires at the crystal fragment. It glows brightly. Rourke takes a beaker full of fluid from a nearby counter and lets it fall next to the shard, spilling its contents. Before our eyes, the beaker splits into an array of future and past versions of itself, some with the fluid still contained and others streaming out in different directions.

“The hell...?” Craig hisses. Zahra jams an elbow into his side. Rourke remains focused on the glowing shard. He reaches down and carefully plucks a full, intact beaker out of mid-air.

“We are so close to being able to replicate this on a larger scale,” he murmurs. “Once we have harnessed the power of the Endless, all of time will be ours to command.”

“You can't just change what you don't like about things that've already happened!” Grace protests. “There'll be a butterfly effect!”

“But...perhaps...if used in an isolated manner,” Aleister murmurs.

“If you're looking for our help with that, Daddy Weirdbucks, you've got another thing coming!”

“No way!” Quinn agrees.

“I presumed there'd be resistance to the idea,” Rourke sneers. “Very well. Take them to the containment units.”

“Containment units?” Diego echoes. “Like where the Ghostbusters put Slimer?”

“I'm sure you'll all come around. In time.”

Arachnid operatives surround my friends, shoving and dragging them toward an elevator.

“Easy!” Raj mutters. “We're going, we're going!”

The doors close and the group disappears. Sean, Zahra, Craig, and I are left alone with Rourke.

“We're still missing a few of the guests, aren't we?” Rourke muses. “The big one, the brave one, the hacker, and...the mystery. ...I will need you four to fetch their corpses from Lake Tethys. We require all twelve bodies for the procedure. Especially Alodia.”

“Understood, sir,” I reply flatly.

He nods, satisfied, and pockets the shard before leaving through a separate elevator.

“Finally!” Craig mutters. “I can't even breathe through this stupid mask!” He reaches up to remove his helmet, but Zahra puts a hand on his arm.

“Wait.” She moves to a control panel and pokes around for a moment, entering several commands. After a minute, she nods. “The security cameras are deactivated. We're clear.” She takes off her helmet, and the rest of us follow suit.

“All right. So what now, guys?” Craig asks.

“Phase two,” Sean replies. “We get the others before they get put in whatever 'containment' Rourke has in mind.”

“Then we make a run for the Gate,” I finish.

“Shut up!” Zahra hisses suddenly.

“Damn, Z. Rude.”

“No! It's...do you hear that?”

We all go silent. A soft tone is coming from the security panel, where a blue light pulses slowly.

“Zahra! That's the same thing we heard...”

She nods. “...When Iris showed up. She must be trying to tell us something.” She moves over to the panel and touches it. Its display suddenly flips to a blueprint of MASADA. A flashing line appears, connecting our current location to an area marked, 'Private Office: O. Montoya'.

“That's Estela's mom!” Sean exclaims. “Iris wants us to go to her office? Why?”

“I don't know. Let's go find out.”

We follow the directions on the blueprint, moving as inconspicuously as possible through the halls of the facility. Inside Olivia Montoya's office, dusty lab equipment is spread across counters and desks. A series of sketches depicting robotic constructs are attached to a bulletin board.

“Looks abandoned,” Sean observes. “I don't think it's been used since Estela's mom was killed...”

I nudge him. “Hey. Look there.”

A blue spotlight emanates from a computer terminal on the far wall. Iris's hologram gradually materializes.

“We can speak safely here,” she says. “This room is no longer monitored, having been unused for several years.”

“So this is where Estela's mom worked?”

“This is Olivia's old office, yes.”

“...What was she working on?”

“That is a highly relevant question. She was one of the first scientists to extrapolate the extent of the Endless's abilities.”

“The Vaanti told us the Endless could...move freely between different points in time...”

“MASADA's scientists have proven that the same holds true for spatial distances,” Iris says. “In fact, the Lernaean Gate was designed to mimic this method of teleportation.”

“So, how do we find the others and get them to the Gate?” Sean asks.

“The prisoners have been taken to Hydrodynamic Statis for processing. That laboratory is just a few floors beneath us, but it's constantly under heavy guard. There's an experimental weapon in this office that should be able to neutralize any Arachnid soldiers found there.”

“I'm down for anything that involves 'experimental' and 'weapon',” Zahra declares, grinning.

“Hell, yeah!” Craig agrees.

“Once you've freed everyone, you'll need to proceed to Theoretical Prismatics in Sub-Level Nine, deep in the underlying pillar of rock,” Iris explains.

“And that's where the Lernaean Gate is?”

“Correct. It is among a number of devices developed at MASADA before the limitations of standard prisms were fully understood. The Island's Heart will be more than sufficient to finally activate it.”

“Sweet,” Craig says. “So, where's this weapon you're talkin' about?”

“There is a cabinet to your left marked with a hazard sym--bol--” The hologram starts to flicker erratically.

“Iris? What's wrong?”

Her holographic eyes go wide. “I'm...being re--con--figured!” she whispers. She looks at me with as human an expression of desperation and fear as I have ever seen on her blue-lighted face. “Alodia! Please promise you'll get Aleister and Varyyn to safety!”

“Wait, Varyyn?” Sean asks. “What about him in particular?”

“Everett wants to prepare a new host. Directive 1908 will force me to--” The hologram flickers and abruptly dies.

“...That ain't good,” Zahra mutters.

Something ice cold snakes through my insides. Like time itself on La Huerta, memories and experiences are converging in my mind. Aleister. Varyyn. Iris. A new host. A cold laboratory. The vision granted to me by the Canis idol flickers through my mind, and with it a thought: I have to get Diego out of here. I thought the idol was showing me the Observatory, but it might have been MASADA after all. If I can't get him out of here, if I can't get Varyyn out of here, I fear that this is the place where my best friend will die, trying to save the man he loves.

Craig has gone over to the cabinet Iris indicated. “Huh...there's a diagram on the door.” He kneels down to look at it and gasps. “Holy shit! It's a shoulder-mounted laser cannon!”

The rest of us hurry to gather around him.

“Oh, my god! You're right!”

“Guys, we gotta get this open! It's about to get all Gundum up in here!”

“...Gangnam?” Sean asks.

“Gundam,” Zahra clarifies. “Craig, hold up for a sec. Lemme look at the secur--”

“Yo, I need this in my life!” Craig giddily taps a bunch of panels on a nearby display. There's a loud clunk as machinery springs into motion. I turn around, searching for the source.

Something wraps around my head with startling force, throwing me backwards and blocking my vision. I yelp, staggering against the momentum, my hands flying to my face.

“Alodia!” Sean's hands grip my shoulders, steadying me. “Are you all right?”

“What the fuck is on my face?!”

“It looks like a VR headset!” Zahra exclaims. “It's freaking latched onto her head!”

“What the hell?!” Craig yelps.

I blink as a bright blue...room?...appears around me.

“Alodia?” Zahra calls. “Can you hear me? I'm tryna turn it off!”

A woman in a lab coat enters the virtual room and turns toward me with urgency in her eyes. I recognize her in an instant, but she introduces herself anyway.

“Hello. My name is Olivia Montoya.” She does not wait for me to respond before continuing. “For several years, I've been assigned to Rourke International's Omega Specimen project. This simulation was created in order to illustrate how hugely destructive Omega could be if allowed to be seen to completion. Everything you're about to experience directly represents what the machine will do to the specimen, and thereby what the specimen could do to our world.”

The blue room and the woman fade from view. I'm suddenly standing on a busy city street. Although I have never been here, I don't really need to be well-traveled to recognize the city based on one iconic landmark.

“Big Ben!” I exclaim. “I...I think I'm in London!”

I look down at myself and find my arms have been replaced with robotic limbs.

“Okay, Alodia. Try to stay calm.” Zahra's voice seems to come from the sky. “I think the simulation is responsive to biofeedback.”

I want to touch something, to interact with the city around me. Virtual people, looking startlingly real, go about their daily lives on the street, apparently unconcerned by my presence. I reach out to touch one of them, curious. A pulse of blue light flares from my mechanical hands, its eerie glow reflected on the face of a young mother pushing a sleeping baby in a stroller. And then, in the blink of an eye, the infant is an adolescent, still asleep in—or rather, on top of—the stroller, wrapped in a baby blanket. The mother looks down at her transformed child and screams. The sound is real...too real...

“Oh, god!” I cry. “I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to--”

“Yo, Alodia! You gotta simmer down!” Craig says urgently. “Your levels are goin' crazy!”

The scene abruptly alters around me. I'm on another bustling city street, this one lined with modern high-rises. Again, I feel compelled to reach out and interact with my surroundings. I try to resist, but it's like trying to walk against a hurricane. Oh, god, what's happening...? What am I...?

If I have to interact with something, I make myself concentrate on the reflective surface of the building in front of me. As I approach, I am confronted with a reflection in its glass facade. My own reflection. Except instead of my own body, I see a figure in a red spacesuit enclosed in a massive robot. I am struck with a sudden memory. On the beach, back on the tropical side of the island, the first time we met Varyyn. The day he touched my forehead and our minds linked. I saw images of his mother. Of Elyys'tel. And...of a figure in a battered red spacesuit. ...Was that the Omega project?

The building's windows ripple with blue energy. The outer wall is eaten away, exposing several floors behind it. The destablized structure groans loudly, leaning forward. I feel my heart wedge in my throat, but I force it down again. This isn't real...just gotta breathe...apples, apples, apples!

The scene dissolves, returning me to the blue room. Olivia looks at me grimly.

“You've just experienced firsthand the disastrous effects of the Omega Specimen,” she informs me. “If you were shocked by what you saw, I urge you to contact your government officials and warn them to take action. Rourke International must be stopped before this project becomes a terrible reality. Thank you.”

“...Guys? I think it's shutting down...”

“Hold on, Alodia!” Craig cries. “I'll save you!”

“Craig, wait--”

I hear something shatter nearby. The headset's lock detatches. The visor falls away, landing in my waiting hands. Nearby, smoke rises from a smashed computer terminal. I feel my knees buckle, but Sean keeps me upright while I regain my balance.

“Are you all right?”

I look down at the device in my hands. I get my feet under me and straighten, nodding.

“I'm okay. That...was interesting to say the least.”

“What'd you do that for, you big idiot?” Zahra snaps at Craig. “I told you it was about to let her go!”

“Whatever,” Craig scoffs. “You're welcome for saving your life, bro.”

I grin. “Thanks, Craig. Should we see if we can get that laser cannon out?”

“You know it!”

“Craig!” Zahra yelps. “Do. Not. Touch. Anything!”

“Okay, okay! I get it!” He absently reaches out toward a screen, preparing to swipe the surface.

“Dude!” Sean cries. “Seriously!”

“Ugh! Fine!”

Zahra squints at a terminal next to the cabinet. “Yep. I should be able to get this bad boy out. It'll just take a little time.”

“One walkin' tank complete with artillery, comin' up.”

“Based on what we've seen so far, I think we're gonna need that,” I remark.

Zahra taps away at the display screen beside the cabinet, quickly disabling the lock. She pops open the door. A white, octagonal cylinder is revealed inside, connected to a shoulder harness and peripheral devices.

“Okay, Craig. Remember, stealth first,” Zahra warns. Craig rushes to grab the cannon, balancing it on his arm while he attaches the straps.

“Stealth first,” he agrees. “And pew pew BOOM second!” He struts around the room with the sleek cylinder jutting from his shoulder. Sean grins.

“You know how to use that thing, Hsiao?”

“Let's find out.” He aims the weapon at a cleaned-out desk in the corner and squeezes the trigger. With a sharp crackling noise, a column of blazing red appears in the cannon's path, instantly reducing the desk to a pile of smoldering ash.

“...Woaaah...” I breathe.

“Oh, whaaaaaaaaaaat? That's what I'm talkin' about!”

Zahra grins. “Okay, I gotta admit. That was awesome.”

“Nice shot,” I agree. “We'd better get moving, though.”

“Just try to keep that thing pointed away from us, okay, Sixty-eight?” Sean says wryly.

“You got it!”

I can't help noticing Craig's childlike grin, and the gleeful bounce in his step as we file out. We return to the main entrance and find the elevator our friends left through. We press the button, and the doors slide open without a fuss. We step inside and Sean leans down to look at a list of floors on a display panel.

“Which one are we looking for again?”

“Hydrodynamic Statis,” I remind him. “That's where they took the others.”

“Right. Good memory.” He taps the screen and the doors close.

“Helmets on, people,” Zahra warns. “We're about to have company.”

The elevator begins to descend smoothly as we reaffix our helmets. After a minute the doors open to a corridor lit by stark florescents. A voice comes from somewhere ahead, familiar and threatening.

“Such a shame,” Lundgren drawls. “You coulda been a hero, McKenzie.”

“We gotta get closer,” I hiss. “But keep a low profile.”

“Copy that,” Sean murmurs.

The corridor takes a sharp turn, and opens into a large room. Pressing myself flush against the wall, I peek around the corner.

Our friends are lined up along a wall of a laboratory, facing towards it. Their bonds have been cut, but their hands are pressed to the wall in front of them and a row of Arachnid soldiers hold rifles at their backs. Mercifully, the soldiers backs are largely turned toward the wall behind which I'm hunkering with the others. I feel every muscle in my body tense. Lundgren has his hand clamped around Jake's throat, the powered exosuit lifting him into the air. Sean puts a steadying hand on my arm.

“Should've left it alone, son,” Lundgren is saying. “Would've turned out better for everyone.”

“Lundgren...” Jake chokes, glaring daggers down at his former commanding officer. “You delusional...son of a...One day you're gonna...go down...for what you've done!”

“That day ain't today, McKenzie.”

“Today's your day,” Fiddler adds from where she stands at Lundgren's shoulder. She plucks the cigar from between Lundgren's teeth and takes a puff herself, blowing the smoke into Jake's face. Jake coughs, turning his furious gaze on her.

“My...only mistake was...trusting someone like you, Fiddler!” He spits the words.

“Aww, that hurts. Really does. Fortunately, you'll have plenty of time to reconsider your harsh words while you're in your pickle jar.”

Fiddler gestures through an observation window. Endless rows of stasis tubes stand in the adjoining room, each containing a pale, contorted figure kept on the edge of life by support systems. I switch off my suit's voice amplification and lean over to whisper to the others.

“Those tubes are just like the one we found Rourke in back at The Celestial.”

“Holy crap!” Craig hisses. “Who are those people?”

“Don't know,” Sean answers. “But if we don't act fast, our friends are gonna join them.”

“Enough talk, Lundgren,” Fiddler says impatiently, returning the cigar to his mouth. “Let's stick him in.”

The servos on Lundgren's armor grind as he tosses Jake against the wall. Jake slumps to his knees, clutching his bruised throat. I feel myself trembling.

“Go ahead,” Lundgren snarls. “I'm sick of looking at the bastard. Stick 'em all in. You and Mouse, come see me when you're done.”

“Yes, sir,” Mouse answers flatly.

Lundgren stalks to the door, emerging into the hall where the four of us are watching. I snap to attention, saluting. “Sir!”

The others quickly follow my lead. Lundgren barely gives us a passing glance. He heads for the elevator, and the doors slide shut behind him.

“...Jerk,” Craig mutters.

“He ignored us, ya dummy!” Zahra says. “That's a good thing! Come on. We don't have much time.”

We march into the stasis lab. Two Arachnid operatives are dragging Jake towards a circular platform while Fiddler looks on, a smug smile curving her lips. Jake struggles valiantly, dragging his feet.

“Get...offa me!” he snarls.

“You're so cute when you're angry and helpless,” Fiddler purrs.

“Stop it!” Diego cries. He steps forward, but a hand gripping his arm and rifle poking into his back stop him. “Let him go!”

“This is a coward's solution!” Varyyn snarls. “We should fight to settle the matter!”

“Are they going to put all of us in those tanks?” Grace whimpers.

Fiddler grabs Jake by the collar and shoves him hard, sending him sprawling over atop the disc in the middle of the room.

“Turn it on,” she snaps.

“Initiating discharge,” Mouse replies. He reaches toward a terminal.

Sean abruptly raises his rifle, and fires a round at the serveillance camera that scans the area from the ceiling. It blasts off its mounting, clattering noisily to the floor.

“What the hell?!” Fiddler cries.

Jake pulls himself up to his hands and knees. “Looks like you've been had, predator,” he replies, smirking. In one swift motion, he brings his leg around, kicking Fiddler's legs out from under her. She topples over backward, crying out in surprise and fury. The four of us rip off our Arachnid helmets.

“It's the missing four!” Mouse exclaims. “They're attacking!”

“Too bad with that camera out, none of your buddies will see me kick your ass!” Craig roars.

The gathered arachnids rush to neutralize the four imposters. Fiddler reaches for an activation panel on her suit. Suddenly, she seems to have melted into the wall.

“We'll just see about that!” she snickers. “Let's play hide-and-seek!”

She laughs, and I hear the sound of blades singing as their pulled from their sheaths.

“I really don't like her!” Zahra growls.

We keep our eyes peeled for any shimmer or flicker that might give her away. A thin layer of fog clings to the floor. Craig cranks a dial on the laser cannon.

“All right, I'm chargin' up!”

“So much of you to slice,” Fiddler laughs. “Where do I start? How about right here!”

She reappears in front of Craig, katanas raised and poised to strike. One blade arcs towards his neck. Red light flares in the barrel of Craig's cannon. Fiddlers eyes widen. She reacts quickly enough to cross her swords defensively, but the blast still sends her flying across the lab. She hits the opposite wall with a sickening crunch and slides to the floor. Her twisted, half-disintegrated blades tumble from her slack grip.

“Hello, Craig's little friend!” Diego exclaims.

Cracks appear in a few of the the stasis tubes near the wall where Fiddler hit. Over the sounds of struggle, I can make out a computerized voice, feminine and placid.

“Warning: Units three, seven, and sixteen compromised. Health of hotel guests remains stable.”

“Guests?!” Michelle cries. “Those are The Celestial's guests?!”

“They were never evacuated!” I growl. “Dammit, of course Rourke was lying!”

“Why are they here?!” Grace asks. “What could Rourke want with them?”

The other Arachnid soldiers take advantage of our distraction to surround the four of us, raising their guns.

“Guys, get 'em!” Diego shouts.

As one, the rest of our friends descend on the soldiers in a wild, artless knock-down-drag-out brawl, tackling, punching, and biting.

“You messed with the wrong pre-med!” Michelle snarls, grabbing one soldier's arm and twisting it violently behind his back.

Aleister gets another soldier around the neck from behind. “I have been saving all my rage for a moment like this! Have at you!”

“Fall, men of the Hydra!” Varyyn roars.

Sean and Estela manage to pin down Mouse. Michelle and Aleister have disarmed two soldiers and turned their own rifles against them.

“Bring 'em to the disc over there!” Zahra calls. “I got an idea!”

“You heard her, creeps!” Michelle snaps. “Move!”

She and Raj prod the soldiers over to the central platform. Sean drags Mouse's unconscious body while Estela hefts Fiddler.

“Please, no!” one soldier begs. “We're nobodies! Our salary's less than 40k!”

Zahra is already typing something into a touch panel. “You're overpaid,” she says flatly. “Have a nice bath.”

Circular hatches open beneath the soldiers' feet. They fall, splashing into a vat of green fluid before the hatches snap shut above them. For a moment, we're all silent, trembling, gasping for breath.

“Man...” Raj mutters. “I'm ready for a vacation from this vacation.”

“That was damned close, Princess,” Jake says from behind me. “Your timing's somethin' else.”

“You can repay me later,” I reply, tossing my hair. Then, I drop my rifle and wheel around to throw my arms around him. He holds me tightly against him.

“You know I will,” he murmurs, stroking my hair.

“Okay, people, we gotta keep moving!” Sean calls. “Next stop is the Gate.”

We follow Sean towards the elevator and crowd in. He presses the button and we're whisked down to Sub-Level Nine. The doors open, and we step out into a corridor.

“What is that?” Varyyn asks, frowning. “Do you see that up ahead?”

“Shit!” Sean hisses. “Security scanner. Get your helmets back on!”

A high-pitched electronic whine assaults my ears, followed by an electronic voice: “All personnel, please stand by for security screening.”

“Aaaand, we're screwed,” Zahra mutters.

“Wait, that's not what you're supposed to say!” Raj exclaims.

“Yeah!” Craig agrees. “Usually you're all, 'I got this. Can't no security system hold me down' and stuff.”

“Sorry, guys,” she answers ruefully. “I don't have this one.”

I grit my teeth. “Everybody get behind me,” I growl. “We're too close to mess this up now.”

Several cameras swivel toward us. A dot projector scans each of us in turn. We all hold our breath for what seems like an eternity of silence.

“No intruders detected,” the voice declares. “Access granted.”

A collective sigh arises from the group, and the thick cloud of anxiety dissolves, melting into the floor.

“We made it! Come on!”

We continue down the corridor to a massive chamber, filled with computers, monitors, consoles and all manner of derelict devices and failed prototypes. The whole room is overgrown with vines and moss.

“Uh-oh,” Diego groans. “I dunno if anything down here is still gonna work...”

We spread out, wandering through the functionally ancient laboratory, examining the obselete devices, looking for any sign of life in any of them.

“Hey, Princess. Get a load of this.”

I join Jake by a small window in the wall. He wipes away a thin layer of dust, revealing a chamber contained in the wall. I peer into the semi-darkness inside. When I see the amber idol winking back at me, the howling werewolf on his pedestal, even the anxiety that grips me is by now so familiar that it's almost comfortable.

“It's another idol,” I remark, almost calmly.

“In the middle of a laser grid,” he observes. “I reckon they were scanning it for something.”

“Can we get it out?”

“Hmm. There's always a chance an alarm will sound if the beams are disrupted, but...there might be a way.”

“We might need it.” I nod towards the pack on my back. “Besides, we've almost got the whole set. Might as well collect 'em all. What's your idea?”

He grins. “Watch and learn.”

A wrench lies discarded in the dust under a console. He picks it up and shatters a nearby pane of mirrored glass. He carefully pries open the scanner compartment and uses the mirror shards to reflect the laser beams.

“Piece of cake.” He slips the idol out, and holds it out to me. “Here you go.” I brace myself and grasp it. The facility is washed away and I fall through time.

… I land in the cockpit of a military plane. Oh, god, please, not this. Even before I see him—see both of them—I know where I am. And when. Jake sits in the pilot's seat, casually manipulating the throttle.

“Arachnid flight deck, this is Wolf, reporting clear skies over Kharzistan,” he says into his comm unit.

A response crackles out of the radio: “Roger that, Wolf. Any sign of rebel activity?”

Beside him, the copilot leans forward, squinting at a radar console. A strikingly handsome young man, dark-haired and olive-skinned with deep brown eyes. ...Mike...

“Nada,” Mike replies. “Looks like a straight shot to mother base, just like we planned.”

“Copy,” the voice on the radio responds. “Safe flying.”

I want to scream at them to get out now. That they're not safe. That Mike is going to die, that Jake's world is going to be shattered. But there's no stopping what's already been. I am like Scrooge visiting Christmas past. Invisible and silent as a grave.

Mike shuts off the radio and leans back in his seat. “So here we are. The two best pilots in the entire Navy, and we're stuck on recon duty.”

“Hey, I don't mind,” Jake replies, shrugging. “I'll take a smooth boring recon run over a dogfight any day.”

“Whatever you say, Grandpa,” Mike snorts. Jake leans over and playfully punches Mike's shoulder.

“Word of advice, Mike? Drop the whole 'nicknames' schtick. It's seriously lame.”

“Pff. Says you. Ladies love it.”

“Riiiight. Is that why you struck out with every girl in the port last shore leave?”

“What can I say? I'm an acquired taste.” Jake laughs, leaning back in his seat. Mike watches him for a moment, then leans forward. “...Hey...Jake...”

“Yeah?”

“...I'm scared.”

Jake's brow knits with concern. “Mike...”

“I know we gotta do this. I know it's the right thing. I know Lundgren's gotta be stopped. But the minute we land this plane and walk into the General's office, our lives change forever. Lundgren's powerful and ruthless. He's gonna send people after us. ...After our families...”

“Look, I'm scared too. But I trust in the system. I believe in justice. Lundgren's been selling US weapons to our own enemies. He's turned us all into mercenaries, working for the highest bidder. When we tell everyone what he's done, they'll listen. They'll protect us. And he'll pay.”

“I wish I had your certainty.”

“We already made our choice, kid. All we have is now.”

Mike raises an eyebrow. “Was that a nickname?”

Jake snorts. “Not on your li--” The grating blare of an alarm cuts him off. “What the hell?”

Mike slides over, looking at the panels. “Oh, shit! We've got a row of surface-to-air missile launchers on the ridge!”

“What? That's impossible! They're all supposed to be on the other side of the mountains!”

“Well, they're here! And they're locking onto us fast!”

“Lundgren!” Jake growls. “He fuckin' found out!”

“Oh, my god! The whole mission was just a--”

Below, the ground shudders as several missiles launch skyward.

“Evasive maneuvers!” Jake shouts, grabbing the throttle.

“Oh god...oh no...”

“Hang on, Mike! Just...hang...on...” The alarm bleats, almost sounding terrified. Jake pushes down on the yoke, ducking beneath a missile, and finding three more visible through the windshield. “I can't dodge 'em all! We gotta eject!”

Jake flips switches and punches buttons. A light turns green. He grabs his eject lever. He looks over at Mike and sees fear on his face. The light on his console is red.

“Mine's jammed...”

“You've gotta be kidding!” The missiles are spiraling towards them, drawing closer. “Rip open that panel! It's the wiring--”

“There's no time, Jake! You gotta go!”

“Like hell! You're one dumb sumbitch if you think I'm leaving you here!”

“...We already made our choice, kid.”

Whatever consciousness I have here is screaming. I might as well be in Jake's body, as clearly as I can feel his agony. I might as well be back on the rooftop of The Celestial, half-consumed by the portal, gripping Diego's wrists and realizing that he means to sacrifice himself to save me. But this is worse. I know how this ends.

Mike reaches over and yanks Jake's eject lever.

“Mike! No!” Blasting pins fire, tearing the ceiling off the cockpit. Jake's seat launches out of the plane. Above him, two missiles shatter the hull as fireball blooms in the sky, spewing smoking chunks of debris. “MIKE!”

… I don't see him land. I'm also ejected, hurtling forward through time, landing in a jail cell. Jake paces the floor like a tiger in a zoo, his hands bound by thick metal shackles. He spins towards a camera, mounted in the corner of the room.

“Hey! Phony Stark! You watching? You tuned in to the Jake Channel? Ain't nothin' better on?” He glares at the camera, putting up his middle finger. “I ain't gonna dance for you! I ain't gonna be one of your lackeys! Never! But if you're looking for some entertainment, how about you and me, outside, no guns? I'll give you a show, you piece of--”

An angry fist pounds on the cell door and a soldier on the other side leans through the grate. “Hey! Keep your mouth shut in there, prisoner!”

“Why don't you come in here and make me, Peter Parker?” Jake snarls. “Or you too scared?”

“Why would I bother...when I can do this?”

The guard slams his fist down on a button near the wall. Jake cries out in agony as a current surges through the metal floor, delivering a vicious shock. He collapses, trembling and gasping, while the guard laughs.

“Five years, man. Five years I've been doing that. Never gets old.” Jake coughs, groaning under his breath. “Now then. You ready to play nice? Or am I gonna have to g--”

An alarm blares out overhead, interrupting the guard. Red lights flash and klaxons bellow. There is a sharp crackle of static and a voice comes on the loudspeaker.

“Attention, all Rourke goons. This is a pre-recorded announcement from Security Chief Namazi. If you're hearing this, it means I've activated the Killswitch Protocal. Which means you're pretty much screwed. I've set all the reactors to overload, so in about twenty minutes, nothing'll be left of this compound but a smoldering crater. Have a nice day, and burn in hell.”

The voice cuts off. The guard stares at the speaker as if he isn't quite sure what he's just heard. Then the door to Jake's cell slides open. Jake smirks.

“Well, well, well.”

The guard finally seems to be shaken out of his stupor. “Crap!” He dives for the button, but Jake's faster. He leaps, rolls, and lunges forward, tackling the guard to the ground. Wrists still shackled, Jake yanks out the guard's sidearm and shoots him twice in the head.

“Payback's a bitch,” he spits. He throws the guard's body aside and makes a break for it.

Inside the MASADA complex, it's total chaos. Guards run around frantically, shouting, scrambling, fighting the prisoners rushing out of their cells in a wild melee. Jake casts his eyes around the corridors and spots an open doorway leading out to the hangar. A helicopter sits on the helipad, calling to him. He stares at it longingly for a moment, then turns and runs the other way, deeper into the compound.

My consciousness follows him, but I lose track of him for a short time in the chaos. Five minutes later, I see him stagger through the doors of the stasis lab, carrying a rifle. His manacles are broken at one end, the chain dangling from his right wrist like a long black snake. He's roughed up, bleeding from a bullet wound in one thigh. His face is pale, his expression tight with pain, and he struggles to catch his breath. But there's a trail of dead Arachnid soldiers behind him.

He limps forward, one hand on his wound, pushing through the room until he finds the pod he's looking for. He gently lays down the rifle. With a trembling hand, he taps at the console on the side of the pod. It slides open.

Naked, slick with green slime, my limp body slumps out of the pod into Jake's waiting arms. He lowers me gently to the floor, rocking me and brushing slime-coated strands of hair off my face.

“Come on, come on...wake up, Alodia...”

My consciousness fades from the place where I was observing overhead. As the woman in Jake's arms comes around, I sink into my own body. I feel my eyes flutter open, squinting against the light. I moan softly, struggling to focus on the face above me.

“...Jake? What--”

He smiles, stroking my cheek. “Hey. There's my sleeping beauty.”

“Where...how...”

He pulls me into a fierce hug. I clutch him back, but my grip is weak.

“You've been frozen a long time,” he explains. “But you're here now. I got you.”

“How...how long...?” I whimper, terrified of the answer.

“Five years almost. I'll explain it all later. Right now, the two of us got a plane to catch.” Bracing me, he helps me to my feet. I slip on the puddles beneath me, weak and unsteady on legs unused in five years. “Steady, now. It's just this way.”

A gunshot cracks the air like a whip. Jake chokes, stiffening. He looks down. I look down. I cry out. A dark, shining flower of blood is blossoming over his stomach, wetting his shirt.

“No...” he whispers. “Not now...”

He slumps to his knees, pulling me down with him. I turn to see a familiar figure looming in the shadows, a pistol in his hand.

“Don't move,” Mouse orders.

“No!” I scream. My cry is equal parts agony, fury, and helpless terror. Not now. My thoughts and Jake's are the same. Not now...

Mouse steps closer, his pistol leveled at me. I scramble back, but my atrophied limbs can't carry me very far. Mouse's finger tightens on the trigger, and I brace myself for the pain. Jake roars in fury, and I hear the sound of bodies colliding. I open my eyes and find Jake and Mouse struggling on the floor. Finally, Jake grabs the dangling chain of his shackles and gets it around Mouse's neck. On his back, Mouse pinned on top of him, Jake pulls back as hard as he can. The soldier's neck snaps with a sickening crack, and he goes limp.

“Jake...Jake!”

I drag myself to his side and throw my weight into pushing the dead soldier off him. Blood spreads over his stomach, staining the floor beneath him. His face is ashen, his breathing shallow and labored.

“No...no, no, no...” I press down on the wound, desperate to stop the bleeding. “Stay with me, Jake! Just stay with me!”

“Run...” he whispers, tears in his eyes. “Get outta here...the place is...gonna blow...”

“I'm not leaving you!” I cry, choking on a sob. “I can't! I can't leave you, Jake!”

He reaches up to cup my cheek gently. “I'm glad...I got to see you...again...just once...”

I reach up to grip the hand on my cheek, kissing his palm tearfully. “I love you, Jake...I love you...”

And then hand in mine goes limp. I look down and see his mouth still curved in a soft smile...

… The world flashes white. I'm back in Theoretical Prismatics. I blink, feeling moisture in my eyes and on my cheeks. Jake's hand comes up to cup my cheek, gently brushing at the tears with his thumb.

“What's the matter?” He asks, his brow knitted with concern. I swallow hard, but I can't immediately answer. Jake draws me into a gentle embrace, cradling my head against his chest. “Hey. It's all right.”

“...Thank you, Jake.”

“For what?”

“For something you'll never have to do. Not after today.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Sometimes I can't keep up with your riddles, Princess. Come on. Let's find this Gate and get you home.”

As Jake turns away, I look down at the idol gleaming in my white-knuckled grip. Silently, I pull off my backpack to add it to the others. ...Eleven idols. One remaining. ...But after today, it won't be my concern any longer.

“Oh, wow!” Grace exclaims. “Guys, come look at this!”

I hurry over to where she stands in front of a yawning cylindrical chamber. A narrow catwalk threads the middle, ending in a colossal, paneled sphere.

“Woah,” Craig breathes. “Is this it?”

“...The Lernaean Gate,” Aleister murmurs.

“...We actually made it.”

I strip off my Arachnid disguise and join Zahra at the terminal. “Any idea how to turn it on?”

“Looks like the power coupling leads here,” she murmurs thoughtfully. She points to a steel plate between two large electrodes. A pile of fine dust is in the center of the plate. “Whatever they tried to power this with last time got burnt out fast.”

I pull the Island's Heart out of my backpack and look over at Varyyn.

“...Are you sure about this? If the Heart isn't powerful enough, it could be destroyed.”

“You have risked greatly for my people, Alodia,” he says solemnly. “Now we will risk this for you.”

I nod, and gently place the Heart between the electrodes. Instantly, the console hums to life.

“That's a good sound, right?” Raj asks. “I think that's a good sound.”

“The sphere!” Quinn exclaims. I look over to see the giant mechanism starting to rotate, picking up speed. Within a minute, it's panels break off and orbit the center, revealing a dark, pulsing ball of energy within.

“It...it works!” Aleister gasps.

“The targeting's live!” Zahra calls. “I put in Hartfeld's coordinates.”

“We should hurry,” Michelle says. “We managed to sneak all the way down here, but they're definitely gonna notice this big of an energy spike!”

“Uh...are we sure it's safe?” Diego asks uncertainly.

“Only one way to find out,” Sean replies.

We stand staring at the swirling, crackling portal, eyeing it warily. Finally, I swallow and step toward the thundering sphere.

“...I'll go first,” I declare. “I'll try it and make sure it's safe.”

“Not alone, you don't!” Sean says firmly, stepping up beside me.

“You can't go first if I go first!” Raj declares. One by one, my friends join me on the catwalk. Diego hangs back a moment, looking at Varyyn.

“...Varyyn, after we go through, take the Heart and get outta here.” He swallows. “Don't get caught, okay? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.”

“You would not be able to know know either way,” Varyyn replies ruefully.

“...I'd know,” Diego answers with conviction. “Somehow, I'd know.”

Varyyn's lips tremble, his eyes filling. Taking Diego's face in his hands, he kisses him fiercely. Diego kisses him back, and pulls him into a last embrace.

“I will wait for you, Diego,” Varyyn whispers.

“For a million years?” Diego asks wryly, his voice thick with tears.

“...For eternity.”

I pass my gaze to Jake, who seems to be hesitating at the edge of the catwalk. “...Jake?”

Jake runs a hand through his hair. “...I've been running for so long. I feel like it's all I know. From Lundgren. From the law. From Mike's parents. Gotta admit, right now, all my body wants to do is to keep running...” He looks at me and smiles weakly. “...But I can't run forever.”

He steps up beside me. Varyyn finally releases Diego, quietly urging him to join us. He looks up, meeting my eyes.

“Goodbye, my friends. It was the greatest honor of my life to know you.”

“We ought to move this along,” Aleister declares. “This radiation cannot be good for our health.”

Jake looks at me. “You ready, Princess?”

I take his hand. “Now I am.”

“Oh, good. For a second, I thought I was gonna have to hold Malfoy's hand instead.”

“Why? You nervous?” He squeezes my hand.

“Not anymore.”

I look around me and find Diego nearby, his tear-stained face twisted with the effort of holding back sobs. I stretch my other hand towards him. His lips curve into a quivering smile as he takes it, gripping it tightly. He scrubs tears from his eyes with the back of his free hand.

“...Promise me something, Allie.”

“Anything.”

“When we get home, we're spending all weekend in our pajamas, catching up on six months of TV.”

“That's a promise. With a pile of junk food to go with it.”

The twelve of us encircle the portal sphere. I grip the two hands in mine, taking in a deep breath. “Okay, everybody together now. One...two...three.”

As one, I and eleven people who mean more to me than anyone else in the world step together into the light. With them surrounding me, there is nothing in the world that is impossible. I swear I would give my life for any one of them. Bathed in soft white light, I feel myself stretch and shrink, dissolve and reconsitute, transmitted across dimensions, falling through the quantum foam. Through it all, we hold each other's hands. Jake and Diego's hands stay firmly in mine, and I can feel each of my friends' presences, familiar and comforting.

Finally, I feel something solid underfoot. The light, soft and gentle a moment ago, suddenly turns harsh and blinding. I wince, squinting.

“Guys, do you feel that?”

“I think we've landed somewhere,” Zahra calls.

“I still can't see,” Diego says.

“But we made it!” Grace cries. “We really made it!”

Gradually, the haze starts to fade. I become aware of an oppressive, stifling heat. The bright light gives way to...red. Bloody, fiery red.

“Wh...what...?” Quinn's voice is a whimper.

A colossal volcano looms in the distance, disgorging fire and smoke into the sky. An ocean of smoldering lava flows to the horizon.

“Dammit, Z! You got the coordinates wrong!”

“I did not! I wouldn't make that dumb a mistake!”

“Then where the hell are we?” Michelle demands.

Shielding my eyes, I gaze out at the apocalyptic scene. And that's when my surroundings start to come into focus. ...The clocktower...the stadium...the library. All visible from the rooftop patio of one block of freshman suites.

“...The Gate worked,” I murmur, my voice quivering. “...We're home.”

#Endless Summer #play choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry choices #Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto #jake mckenzie #sean gayle #quinn kelly #estela montoya #raj bhandarkar #craig hsiao #aleister rourke #michelle nguyen #zahra namazi #grace hall

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pixiekptt863-blog · 4 years

Text

What's new in Grand Theft Auto 5

I have only committed a half-hour planning the perfect heist. I'm going in smart, blowing not on the protections with the team after the fragile jewellery counters from the mass with a carefully placed smoke bomb, and smashing into both cabinet with the handle of a semi-automatic rifle before reaching the flight on a regional getaway bike. I'm cut the cut so I could use the best hacker to disable the protection order, with a flair gunman to handle crowd control. And yet, despite our very best efforts, with a single poorly-taken corner upon the bicycle, everything goes wrong. I should be getting behind a moist sewer tunnel, sneaking our sense under the capital to independence. Instead, I'm here, mowing down say next wave of authorities on the town lanes, with with the new while performing a Grand Theft Auto game, I feel immensely guilty about it.

This isn't due to some grand moral awakening by the part, but an interesting side effect of what is the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One form of Grand Theft Auto 5's most make new piece: first-person mode. Even when GTA activity were Grand Theft Auto V free Download top-down shooters, there was always a bit of an disconnect between the sometimes shockingly violent scenes on-screen, also the mentality of the person. You could imagine that, despite directly organizing a quality, it was that exclusive caricature of a legal spending the crimes--you just played witness to them. First-person mode fundamentally changes how you view Grand Theft Auto 5's world. It has the power to make people cease and sense on your own motions, then to truly issue a character's drives. Then in the cycle that experience always been criticized for glorifying a years of crime, rather than questioning that, it is no bad idea.

Yes, there are plenty of violent first-person shooters around in which flows associated with morality can be created, but little are paired with the stunning Hollywood production quantities of GTA Versus. The city of Los Santos is one of the many beautiful and influence open-world environments to retain increasingly thanks a video game, and now their original higher-resolution guise, it's even more spectacular. Compared to the last-gen versions, the new Grand Theft Auto 5 is visibly sharper, largely due to improved antialiasing. Textures resolutions have been bumped, floors are, very, bumpier (thanks enhanced tessellation), and there are all approach of extra particle, elegant, with lens effects. You can cruise down Vespucci Shore and go for small aspect throughout the trinket gather and skateboard looks that lived there or. You can get about inside shower, marvelling at the beautifully rendered raindrops and puddles on the ground. And once you quit admiring the landscapes to producing some anarchy, explosions from a hastily thrown grenade pop in a stunning show of fireplace with light.

To enjoy this every into first-person is a pleasure. The vast, cinematic topic of see is very different to that regarding the average shooter, as is the slower time with you walk; think REHABILITATION. and you're on the proper path. Where the camera once easily roll up beyond and throughout the town, on ground level everything seems better and more imposing. I found myself going together the municipality streets, view because many weird and wonderful inhabitants of Los Santos moved regarding the interest. I strolled in shops, also those everywhere I can believe everything, to admire the amazing level of depth in eye plane, with great extent of area effects helping to offer the interest. This all really natural, the delicate head bobs and movements as you start over dams with drop out of cars drawing you into the game in a way that third-person mode never can.

This is especially true when the war legs up, with where the grizzly certainty of Grand Theft Auto 5 falls into sharp focus. With many missions turning around about shape of gunplay, the bloody splatter of a drug dealer put to squander on the pavement, or the groans involving a great injured cop mark on the cover involving his vehicle have far more of the influence than previously. Of course, not anyone will be as affected by this because I happened, yet there are several practical hearts toward contemplate too. Develop and throwing explosives is easier in first-person, flush with GTA's assisted aim disabled--provided you turn down the obscene levels of controller sensitivity before you start--but the wrapping system isn't really here, and also near were times when I live able to peek in a corner well and followed shot as a result.

Then there's the power, that, no matter how fast I attempted, I found far too trying to master in first-person. The fully performing with wonderfully detailed vehicle interiors might happen impressive, but the twitchy regulations that control so highly in third-person for moving down outrageous driving stunts are just far too vulnerable to quickly be cars on the road during a frantic police chase. There are too vehicle vision which simply weren't ended with first-person in mind either. Trying to take Michael's son because he swings away from a yacht on the highway, or playing a flying get through on the interstate is very hard. It's probably more realistic, but I found myself move to third-person in order to get them done. Thankfully, it's not an any or situation when it comes to the view. You can initiative with third-person and have the game automatically change to first-person when on-foot if you like, or even pan exposed to third-person if you get cover.

But even if you choose to ignore first-person mode completely, GTA V has escaped small regarding their lustre since release. Even now, after the days of improvement from the business and all the great up for in which I've played, I'm amazed how little have managed to replicate the Artist air and easy, natural dialogue of a GTA. This is a line which owns consistently been the most convincing and the most cinematic with sports, and GTA 5 remains that tradition with ease. Still impressive when central as credible creatures stay a curiosity, and yet GTA 5 manages to create an entire city full of them, along with three authentic head with which to journey through it. That's not to mention these leads are likeable characters, but perhaps that's the point. There may be several moment you sympathise with retired gangster Michael while his kind time crumbles in him, or if you think that wannabe gangster Franklin can become a wonderful man because he speaks he's always trying to solve the right thing.

But they are narcissistic, psychopathic killers who do not blink an eyelid on killing hundreds of perfectly innocent people after it functions their own ways. This is particularly right of Trevor, that remains far and away the most fascinating and well-written figure in the set, a terrifyingly insane yet remarkably intelligent criminal who regularly appears around the limit of some kind of mind breakdown. Scary doesn't even begin to describe it. These creatures are not without question, though--there are times when a figure will contradict his own motivations, seemingly just to mount the form of a mission--but the fact that these creatures can be so convincingly terrifying, so severe and sharp in their conversations with one another is a tribute to truly the way fantastic the creating in GTA is.

That develops for the planet at large too: the sprawling, gorgeously detailed capital of Los Santos deftly satirizes its real-world inspiration of La, with involving America as total. Highlights include the self-proclaimed god of gathering media, Lifeinvader CEO Jay Norris, And the company's beanbag-filled offices; the faithful bank of advertisements for celebrity magazines, prescription drugs, with plastic surgeries of which remain savaged on the radio; and also the corrupt federal groups such as Tale which a lot work worse than the criminals they're trying to put away. Sure, Grand Theft Auto V is a bit heavy-handed with its satire, although there are number of activities to dare go as far as GTA does with its nihilistic comments, with fewer even to do it with like conviction.

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Move in everything are bombastic missions to performance away like Hollywood blockbusters, with the finest of gangster films. Heists remain the identify, and the whole process of planning them off, hiring participants with the party, gathering equipment, and then going the fuzz doesn't interfere about the great period is entirely engrossing. Bombs are increased, helicopters are hit into the side of skyscrapers, and total squads of laws do chase as you make a futile attempt break lower the road; the utter joy of the four or five star chase like what seems like the entire state's quota of authorities descends about you could be understated. And yet, Grand Theft Auto V remains stuck in the past in certain ways. There are chase missions where losing spectacle regarding your goal because of a badly understood start the highway means making a frustrating restart, and shooting missions where, if you fly the rifle and destroy your goal before the game expects you to, you have to start over again.

But the sheer spectacle from it all drags you back in for more. GTA has not really been faint, and the game steamrolls the path because of it is less exciting moments, stop them with crafty pop culture-filled exchanges with breathtaking landscapes for you to ogle. There are extra quest to join in too, including the random creeps of Los Santos who question you to make points because mundane as tow vehicles for them, as well as to smoking prepare and mow down aliens in an hallucinogenic rampage with the town. There are the multiple leisure activities you can indulge with, or the real estate you can acquire, plus the accumulation you purchase along with the markets you can manipulate. Before you can just slack it all off fully then value Los Santos as your own wonderful digital playground, setting up sticky bomb-filled booby traps in the middle of traffic, or taking jumbo jets from the international airport also attempting to escape them under bridges. Indeed, that the journey you create yourself to typically show to be the most fun.

And then there's GTA Online. This safe to say GTA Online didn't get off to a good father, with server problems along with the whole manner of balance difficulties. With Grand Theft Auto 5, online gets a few boosts, containing the increase character creator, as well as backing for up to 30 simultaneous players (with a couple additional spectators), along with the supplement of 11 of GTA Online's existing updates. And agreed, you can fun with first-person too. These are good additions, but Online still suffers from a lack of direction. Although you can easily import the other character, I opted to create a new one, after which I was thrown against a pavement with Los Santos armed only with a plan full of confusing icons with very little idea about what I would do then.

Once you're over the hump and you've identified the means of getting work to do like taking packages from individuals, or working section with road races--and people to makes them with via your trusty mobile phone--things get more interesting. Once you've shape in place a fitting mountain of coins (which make take a while if you're shrink from the start), you can get a nice apartment to stay in, and hope cars to place into their garage. To what end, I'm still uncertain. Much has been said about how GTA online becomes extremely open, then just how sessions often turn into mass deathmatches, which is more of an issue with 30 chaotic players around--but for me that's always been portion of its draw. Trolling someone who's considered themselves far too seriously in the street competition in establishing an epic bar, or just wandering the avenues robbing convenience stores and staging a clean getaway still manages to raise a smile.

That these activities bring up a smile now (yet after played in first-person), and yet place in place a moral dilemma in single-player is as much to do with the lack of a narrative structure online as it is to do with my personal beliefs towards most new internet users. This produces an interesting conundrum too: is it better to performance with first-person and be pulled in Grand Theft Auto 5's function in the new profound style, before must anyone act in the third-person, distancing yourself on the game's more controversial moments?

The fact that I'm even thinking about that at all in a video game that's so standard and as, well, mainstream as Grand Theft Auto 5 is a evidence toward the excellent. On the day later, GTA V remains the most consistently entertaining video games I've always played. Even without the spectacular new images, first-person way, the epic new rail gun, the new murder mystery missions for Jordan, the new, even furrier animals, remote play foundation on PS4, a pile of another songs for the radio (including the personal favourite, I need This That Way by the Backstreet Child on the dash situation), also the revenue of automobiles like the classic Dodo seaplane, Grand Theft Auto 5 would be still be worth playing.

Aside from some mild frame rate issues that sometimes adopt the boundary away it is other dramatic moments, this is the definitive variation of GTA V, also the lock where all other open-world games, before certainly any game in which points regarding a cinematic think, should remain said. It is attractive, and thought-provoking, and kicking throughout. Even if you've played through Grand Theft Auto V once already, it's worth going back simply to be repeated regarding exactly what a outstanding achievement it is.

At its being, Grand Theft Auto V on PC is the same game that it is at additional program, although it is never appeared as good as it does with a solid PC, anyone who’s played Grand Theft Auto 5 elsewhere may not benefit from believing it for an additional or third stage unless they’re desperate for top graphics. If you get into to camp, you can simply move your progress onto the LAPTOP version by the Rockstar Social Club to stay anywhere a person gone off, diving headlong into the revamped Los Santos with minimal fuss.

It seemed great about PS4 and Xbox One, but Grand Theft Auto 5 shines in COMPUTER thanks to 4K-grade feels, the availability of additional post-processing make, also a great unlocked frame rate. Earlier form of the game played only great in 30 frames per minute, but you quickly appreciate the increase variability of enjoying at 60 FPS (if not added) by PC. If you can create that enough juice (read: afford top-end gaming hardware), then you can wonder with the added grows in 4K, even, yet yet a few Nvidia GTX 980's in SLI couldn't push the highest settings at 4K without dropping to present 30 frames per minute. Whether in 4K, before on 1080p, the new high-res textures pop with point, also new lighting effects lead to plenty of awe inspiring moments. GTA V could paint stunning pictures, with the appropriate mix of scenery, question, and daylight, to identify the usual magnificence of its geography along with the stain that pulses due to the physical veins. GTA 5 has always looked good, but a great gaming PC is the only way to see the full size of Rockstar’s admirable handiwork.

Keep in mind that GTA 5 retains evidence of their last-gen roots, level in MACHINE, with clean geometry abound. You sign low-poly standards in occasion as they contrast with the great texture composition and fun around, as simplicity and difficulty mix or the attention. GTA V is remarkable at times, but you never forget about to you’re showing a game that’s foundation was constructed with outdated constraints in mind.

You get a unique tool in the MACHINE version that allows you to show off all of the game's flare, as well as the imagination: the Rockstar Editor. This instrument enables you to record footage during vision or while free-roaming around Los Santos, both by manually recording gameplay or through sourcing the last few second of cached actions. More than just allowing you to stop together clips, you have complete power over the camera while going through your gameplay. You can put your angles manually, choose from a list of preset angles, then implement camera shakiness, redefining the style and perspective of a moment in time. Little touches such as blending make it easy to move from one video and camera angle to the next, without having to put much thought into it.

With Chief means, you have even more management of the functions at hand. You can pick actors, man or dog, to control, rather than being limited to the several main characters. You also state direct over time of generation, the area on the drawing, and whether cheats are permitted, allowing you to sample from a large palette of possibilities to shape the landscape regarding your dreams. There's a hearing curve to the editor, but Rockstar offers a range of tutorials which need to help felt and inexperienced editors alike.

Playing Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC means that you can now use a mouse and piano, which is a huge benefit during shootouts where perfection is important. Whether anyone show this here original- before third-person form, this definitely makes targeting easier. However, don't think of which an individual must put down the controller for good. Keyboard and mice lack analog buttons, which are important during driving sequences. Being able to run the throttle with a sensitive trigger becomes incredible you get used to and control naturally, often without offering that another imagined. The binary, at before off kind of a keyboard or mouse button gets in the way of your instincts also draws absent the nuanced control presented by analog triggers. For the best experience, remain a controller selected now and transition between that plus a mouse and piano for that second at hand.

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whatifexo · 7 years

Text

Corona - Part 2 (Kai)

(You’ve stepped out of your comfort zone.)

Part 1

Before you learned of Hesun’s engagement in illegal activity, you assumed that the company you worked for was just a normal, run-of-the mill postal service. It operated five days a week during business hours. It housed friendly employees. It offered paid vacation leaves and was lenient on the rare days you were running late.

There was no reason to suspect. You could have continued on working without a hitch. Five months into delivering, you were even beginning to love your job.

Until you found out exactly what you were getting involved in.

It was your last delivery of the day, minutes before midnight. In your haste to get home and fall into the comfort of your bed sheets, you decided to take a shortcut after work. You can still remember the weather on that night. A moist wind in the air snaked through gaps in between neighborhood homes. The sun had just set behind the horizon, leaving a dark purplish hue in the sky. A few distant stars peeked through drifting clouds.

You were in a good mood.

You felt uplifted enough to briefly explore a lone cul-de-sac near the area.

And then, just after you’d paused to pet a stray cat before letting it disappear through a broken fence, you heard a muffled cry.

You watched the only house with lights on fall into darkness moments before three vehicles pulled up the driveway. The neighbors seemed to be so deeply asleep that no one else noticed the rush of armed men pouring out into the street and surrounding the now darkened house.

There were too many of them, and you doubted they were the police. Behind some shrubbery, you crouched beside a trash can with wide and terrified eyes.

Stupid. Completely stupid. Even now you wished you would’ve done something. Interfered. At least you wouldn’t be living with the horrid memory if you died trying.

They entered the house without much struggle. It took one man to soundlessly unlock the door, entering the correct code on the numbered padlock on the first try.

Three men followed after him.

It was at this time that you’d tried to call the police.

Strangely, your phone was dead even though the battery had still been halfway filled the last time you checked. You know now that it was another one of Hesun’s tricks to disable all electronic devices and radio connections within the area.

If you asked for help, you’d have to yell out and inevitably draw attention to yourself. You could’ve ran, but your feet were cemented to the ground as you continued to watch the scene, paralyzed, the four men emerging from the house with a struggling woman in their hands.

You saw it coming before it happened.

Quick as an arrow, one of the men reached into his pocket. And without hesitation, without an ounce of regret or pity, drove the knife straight into the woman’s chest.

You clamped a hand against your mouth, biting on your skin until it bled and you felt bile rising up your throat.

You waited for the men to haul the dead body back in one of the three vehicles, a black van with no nameplate, and for the rest of them to pile into the remaining trucks and drive away. You remember crawling over and draping yourself over the trashcan.

You retched again and again until you were lightheaded and coughed up blood.

And then….blackness.

~~~

“Kai, I’ve lost you.”

Hesun’s familiar van still haunts you in your dreams on some nights.

“I’m on Wonho street. By the internet café in between the lamp posts.”

You don’t know why they’re in your area, but it can’t be you they’re coming for. They’d need an exceptional hacker to figure out your exact location.

Still.

What if, in some impossible way, they’ve identified you and are seeking to finish you off for witnessing their crime? What if they’ve found someone who exceeds your abilities and is more than capable of tearing you and the team apart?

“Stay in position,” you tell Kai through his earpiece once you find him through the internet café’s CCTV. “I’m calling Chen for backup.”

He grunts in half agreement, obviously displeased that he will be relying on Jongdae.

He suggested following Hesun’s van after your system announced the code orange, and he had changed into the black jumpsuit and cap he’d brought in his suitcase and gone out without much of a plan. You had no choice but to trust that he’ll follow your orders well.

Unfortunately, you can already foresee your authority crumbling.

“Don’t send him.”

Your prediction has come faster than you thought.

“Kai.”

“They’re here for me. The van is turning at the next street. They’re pulling out of the neighborhood.”

“What are you talking about?” you enlarge the tracker on your right screen just as a red dot approaches the blue one that represents Kai.

Oh dear lord.

“Stats on red target.” Your main screen opens a window of information at your command. Surprisingly, the profile that appears is one you’ve already recently reviewed. “Zhang Yixing?”

The delivery boy who tried to lure Jongdae into a trap.

Code name: Lay.

Well, you smile to yourself, it’s no secret anymore.

“Relax. I know him,” Kai enters the internet café to feign his actual purpose of being outside. “There’s a camera inside at the entrance.”

You take over said camera with one hand, the other shooting Junmyeon a quick message of Kai’s whereabouts and your current situation. His response arrives almost simultaneously.

Minutes later, Zhang Yixing emerges from the shadows and slips inside the internet café.

Kai, having moved to the corner to play with the claw machines, plasters a surprised look on his face upon Yixing’s quiet entrance. He positions himself with his back to the camera to give you a perfect view of the delivery boy.

“Agent Kai,” you roll your eyes at Yixing’s superficial greeting. “You’re being summoned at the Hesun headquarters.”

“What for?” suspicion laces Kai’s voice, but his posture remains casual. Even the hand that rests on his back pocket is relaxed.

Yixing, in comparison, is noticeably tense.

His gaze catches the camera and your body goes rigid in your chair.

“The request I am about to disclose is strictly confidential. We cannot risk catching public attention.”

You release a shaky breath. They don’t know yet that a single individual is behind all of the cameras scattered around the city.

“Unfortunately, I have a strict bedtime schedule.” Kai sighs, tapping on his watch. “So I’m afraid I don’t have the time to let you drag me all the way back to headquarters.”

Yixing’s expression sours and you instinctively smile at the monitor. Kai knows how to toy with them even if he’s working under the company.

Hesun values him enough to almost beg for his alliance with them. If they ever harm him for his incompliance, Hesun will lose a valuable and skillful weapon. Their efforts will be wasted; they’ll have to search for a new pawn to play in their twisted game of chess.

And it’s your job to find out what they’re aiming to checkmate.

“You are to retrieve highly confidential documents on that night.” Yixing takes a step closer and lowers his voice to an almost whisper. “We will send you instructions when you arrive at the Blue House’s gates. Activation of any alarm system will result in your immediate termination.”

“Oh? Is that a threat, Mr. Zhang?”

Yixing’s hand is on Kai’s collar in an instant.

The camera jolts at the impact of Kai’s back slamming into the wall, catching the attention of a few students on their way out the door.

Yixing throws them a piercing glare and they scramble off with shaking knees.

“My apologies,” Kai smiles coldly. “Lay.”

You shake your head at his brazenness.

Yixing holds up a shaking fist, and for a second you expect him to actually land a punch. But then he glances at the camera, silently looking over him and Kai with a flashing red light. You stare back at the screen with unblinking eyes.

Yixing slams his fist into the cemented wall.

When he pulls away, all signs of his previous anger disappear.

“I will see you in two weeks, agent Kai.”

~~~

You weren’t entirely certain how long you spent blacked out on the street after vomiting the contents of your dinner in a stranger’s trashcan.

You woke up with a pounding headache, screaming from a nightmare of a faceless woman begging for help, her torso bleeding profusely. You were lying on a bed, somehow. You made out an outline of a whirring fan on the ceiling, a full bookcase, a working desk littered with paper, and a collection of picture frames set atop a dresser.

A familiar face smiling into the camera made you bolt up with panic.

Your hands shot out to grip something, anything for support. Your fingers made contact with a dampened a sleeve, and you latched onto it without suspicion. Comforting arms wound its way around your shuddering shoulders as you sobbed into the unknown man’s chest beside you.

“They, they-“ you blubber uselessly. “Men……guns….knife…..she….”

“I know,” the man’s voice is strained. Heavy with grief and exhaustion. He sounded as if he had been crying too, but for far much longer than you have. “They killed my wife.”

Compared to now, twenty three-year-old Kim Junmyeon was not much different from the Junmyeon you know today. He was just as handsome, both youth and fatigue conflicted on his face. His kindness was still unparalleled. He lent you his wife’s clothes to change into and invited you downstairs where he had food waiting.

Your own introduction was brief, but Junmyeon shared enough of what you needed to know. He recounted his whole and truthful knowledge of Hesun over a hot cup of coffee at his kitchen counter.

He told you that he was a part of the customer service staff and had been working at the local post for some time. He revealed his rising suspicion of the calls he received, the many requests for the boss who never showed his face save for a few select delivery men and managers.

He talked about overhearing a phone call between the town’s mayor and Hesun’s CEO, of the connections between the company and other influential political figures, the services Hesun provided to ensure political success. Their involvement in the black market was also alarmingly active.

On the day that Junmyeon handed in his resignation letter, his wife coincidentally ran into the CEO on her way to surprise her husband at work. She recalled feeling unease in his presence despite his warm greeting.

“We’d planned to leave the country tonight.” the coffee had gone cold by the time Junmyeon finished his story. He hadn’t taken a single sip from it. “The CEO must’ve ordered the attack to keep her from talking.”

That was the first and last time you ever witnessed Junmyeon shedding tears.

“Bastards,” he growled through gritted teeth, nearly shattering his mug with his iron grip. “I’ll kill them all if that’s what it takes.”

~~~

It’s relatively safe to say that Junmyeon’s house is a fortified mansion that’s invisible from the outside world. He’d purchased the land not long after you agreed to join him in his quest to destroy Hesun, his agency naturally growing as he recruited members.

Team B currently resides on the top floor of the mansion, though as much as you’ve frequented Junmyeon’s office, you’ve never met a single member. It may have something to do with your independent decision to live on your own and away from the others, but then again, Jongdae also stays with Junmyeon and has never made contact with team B either.

Although you’re curious, you and Jongdae aren’t inclined to ask. Junmyeon has his ways, and you shouldn’t be so concerned with the man that practically saved your life.

So even though you’re not entirely on board with letting Kai stay at the mansion, you let Junmyeon make the offer anyways.

“I’m more than fine with staying,” Kai shrugs when you’ve all gathered in Junmyeon’s office. “As long as he isn’t my roommate.”

He jerks a thumb at a petrified looking Jongdae.

He’s been sticking to the wall since the meeting began.

“Fair enough,” Junmyeon nods, rising from his chair to stretch his back after the long group discussion. You’d been talking in circles about Kai’s Blue House break-in until you placed your foot down and suggested calling it a night. “I will give you the guest room in the main hall. ________ can take you there.”

Junmyeon says this in a tone that leaves no room for argument.

“Would you like me to change the bed sheets as well?” you scowl, though you’re already walking out of the office after Kai.

“A cup of coffee would be nice!” Junmyeon yells just as you close the door.

You don’t have much energy left to stay angry.

Plus, the lingering memory of Jumyeon’s wife is still on your mind. The black vans, Zhang Yixing, code orange…Kai. How he managed to bypass your advanced home security still remains a mystery. Now that the initial panic with intruders has worn off, you’re left to wrestle with Kai’s real identity.

Everything you know about him comes from the news, the unreliable articles that painted him as a murderer and glossed over his potential innocence.

Though his real name was never revealed, his image and true identity were stripped from him regardless. The public didn’t care about his vulnerable parts. His lack of family only fueled the unjust hatred people expressed by word and online forums. There were no pardons for a boy who was sentenced even before his trial began.

You don’t think it was much of a trial at all.

Then, four years later, he’s transformed into this changed, dangerous man. Or so they say. You find that public opinion hasn’t been all that reliable.

From your experience, you’ve never met anyone who can break through your defenses as easily as one might dust off their shoulders. You’ve never known anyone who has braved through harsh criticisms, death threats, long days in jails, and endless cycles of fighting.

Who knows how all of this has affected him?

Who are you to make assumptions on his true character?

“So…..we’re here.”

Kai stops walking abruptly and your face rams into his back, jarring you back to reality.

“I didn’t expect Corona to be such a klutz.” he quirks an eyebrow teasingly, bordering on flirtatious, and it’s moments like this when your iron guards are tempted to soften.

“It’s been a long night.” you mumble, massaging your forehead lightly.

It’s the truth.

Seeing the bed in the room almost makes you want to fall on to it and sleep your persistent thoughts away. Except this isn’t exactly your room and it’s quite inappropriate to think about sleeping under these circumstances.

Now that you’re paying attention, the dim lamps and the drawn curtains set an intimate environment that has your skin on edge.

To make matters worse, Kai has begun to slip off his jumpsuit. He’s thankfully wearing a shirt inside.

“Well, I’ll be off.” you blurt out and turn a little too quickly on your way to the door.

It’s not your smoothest moment.

The little stutter gives Kai enough time to catch your shoulder and whirl you around again, sending your balance off kilter as you stumble back into the door.

It shuts under your weight with a click.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Kai cages you with his hands braced against the doorframe to block your escape path. “But I keep getting this feeling that you’re scared of me.”

Scared?

You can’t quite read his shadowed expression, so there’s no way of telling if he’s joking or not.

“Are you scared of me, ________?”

The sound of your name on his lips quickens your pulse. The feeling isn’t exactly fear. It’s a foreign emotion that you can’t define.

Not that it matters.

He’s most likely trying to intimidate you on purpose. For fun. But….do you really feel intimidated?

“You’re gonna have to try harder if you want me to be.” The words tumble out of your mouth with such ease that it surprises both you and Kai.

So he wasn’t serious.

Before he can respond, you duck under his left arm and push him aside, pulling the door open and stepping out into the empty hallway.

“Make sure you change your bandages before you go to bed,” you don’t turn around to look at his face. “There should be another set under the bathroom sink.”

You close the door firmly behind you and release a heavy breath.

This is truly an unending night. You almost wish the sun would come up already just to get over today’s events. The idea of getting back to work in a few more hours makes you think otherwise.

You also have to face the lonely commute back home.

Before you walk away, a movement to your right catches your attention. You turn your head to find a decorative mirror on the other side of the wall that has captured your reflection, your hair messy and sticking out in wacky directions. The sweatshirt you’re wearing, which you bought at some flea market months ago, sags around your body. You’ve never been self conscious over your casual appearance, but this is something new.

Your eyes widen at the sight of your cheeks flushed pink. You lift a hand to brush your fingers over the skin there. Warmth spreads over your fingertips.

The image of Kai hovering over you flashes in your head, and the same warmth his proximity brought reminds you of seeing his face up close when you simultaneously blew over his bleeding knuckles.

Your face might explode at this rate.

You’re beginning to feel more awake.

Maybe you’ll make Junmyeon that cup of coffee after all.

~~~

As soon as Jongdae notices the lack of sleep that’s begun to show on your face, your first reaction is to act defensive.

“You look like death.” he notes one day after his workout.

“And you look like you could use a shower.”

Jongdae’s sweaty towel makes contact with your face before you can dodge it, and you scream bloody murder as you catch it in your hands and proceed to stuff it in Jongdae’s mouth. He’s forced to do an additional round of cardio while you run after him around the mansion’s spacious gym.

As a given, you seldom finish Jongdae’s training sessions on friendly terms. Every once in a while you would watch him train and record his movements with various sensors. You’d analyze his fighting stance, his strength, agility, power, or unique gestures that would help you in developing his gear. Then you’d spend days, sometimes as long as months to produce the equipment that keeps your communication steady during missions.

You enjoy doing this much, at least.

The problem is Jongdae’s tendency to show off. His excessive flexing has irritated you more times than you can count. You’re convinced it’s his way of compensating for his poor sparring skills. Once, when you’d been learning self defense, he had eagerly played the role of your ‘attacker’ and boasted of his strong hold.

The said strong hold proved to be much weaker as soon as your knee came close to his manhood.

You can say that your friendly little rivalry spouted its seeds then.

Though you would usually refrain from engaging in physical activities, Jongdae seems to fuel the unburned energy inside of you.

You’re about to gain ground on him by jumping over the dumbbells when the reason for your little fight walks in the room in the middle of your chase.

Jongdae slams on his breaks immediately.

“I was told to come for the training.” Kai says to you straight faced, completely disregarding Jongdae’s presence.

Jongdae might have coughed but it resembles more of a choking noise instead.

“You’ve come to the right place,” you break the awkward silence and palpable tension, giving Jongdae the cue to grab his duffle bag and scurry out of the room with a quick, “I’m going to take a shower!”

“Such a tragedy,” you tsk, watching him go before moving to pack up your laptop. “He was so brave before.”

Kai follows you to the where your backpack is on the floor and leans on the elliptical, crossing his muscled arms, and your chest constricts as he studies you intently. Kai has a talent for making someone feel bare with just his gaze. You wonder if he’s doing it on purpose to make you feel uncomfortable.

Or maybe he’s noticed how you’ve been avoiding him recently. You’ve barely exchanged words since he first moved in the mansion.

You wish you’d just left with Jongdae.

“You’re being very fidgety.”

“I’m not fidgety.” you snap back without thinking, and Kai barks out a laugh.

“You are. You’ve put your hood up.” he reaches out to tug at a drawstring of your hoodie.

You step back in surprise, the scene becoming all too familiar.

Your feet stumble over some equipment behind you, the gigantic treadmill that measures everything from heart rate to calories burnt, and your body fails to react fast enough to stop your fall. Kai’s fast reflexes save you from tumbling over and cracking your head open.

His arm is steady on your waist as you find your balance again, pulling up your backpack which you barely managed to avoid stepping on.

“Did you know that your hood comes up whenever you’re trying to hide?”

His hand lingers on your back and you pull away as if you’d been slapped.

“Don’t act so surprised,” Kai shrugs. “It’s obvious that you’ve been avoiding me.”

You blink back at him in shock.

There’s no denying that you’ve been wearing a cycle of sweatshirts for the past week, navigating through the mansion’s large halls in silence. You occasionally caught sight of Kai shadow boxing in the courtyard or discussing plans with Junmyeon in his office, and whenever you were within Kai’s vicinity, you must’ve unconsciously pulled your hood up.

He’s been paying attention. And you’d been an idiot for not noticing.

Way to go, ________. So much for camouflaging.

You hesitantly meet Kai’s questioning eyes.

“I’m starting to wonder if I’m actually scaring you.” he says, and the hint of disappointment in his voice forces your head to shake in opposition.

“That’s definitely not the case.”

Kai’s brow shoots up faster than a rocket.

“Then…..?” your mouth goes dry as he trails off and smirks. For a moment you see his potential as an actor flash before you. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were into me.”

This is where the line is drawn.

“This conversation has gone stale very quickly.” your mouth tightens and you swing your backpack over your shoulder.

Kai must sense your urgency to leave because he’s blocking your path in an instant.

“It was a joke, you know.”

“You’re terrible at making one.”

You sidestep and stomp off with a huff, thanking the heavens that there isn’t a mirror around this time.

~~~

“Oh, for the love of God, _______, stop being so dramatic.” Junmyeon leans back in his office chair in defeat after you’ve properly shared your opinions.

He had been quiet for the most part, nodding occasionally while signing papers and typing away on his laptop until you’d mentioned exchanging positions with team B’s hacker.

That got his attention.

“You know the rules between you and team B,” he slips off his reading glasses, a sign that you’re pushing his buttons. “There is absolutely no way that I will allow you to switch over for something as miniscule as disliking a particular team member.”

“This isn’t a minuscule topic, Gramps.” you argue, unwilling to drop the topic now that you’re also reminded of the mysterious shroud that has continued to surround team B. You’d expected for Junmyeon to open up about them at some point. If you worked seriously at his agency, proved that you were trustworthy and convinced him that you deserved to know as his friend, surely he will finally disclose the reason behind keeping his two teams apart?

This is what you’d thought in the beginning.

You’re not certain if you’d even made a dent in convincing Junmyeon since then. He may be a soft leader, but he’s also incredibly stubborn.

“You are trying to get too many things from me, _________,” he sighs now, folding his hands over his table. “is this really about Kai or are you only using him as an excuse?”

“Both,” you admit. “But it’s true that I feel uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?’

You pause, debating whether or not you should tell him. Up to this point, you’d only complained about Kai’s frequent teasing and his apparent quest to constantly embarrass you. No other specific details were provided. Your primary goal was to relieve yourself of the building stress, and you didn’t think it was important for Junmyeon to know exactly how you’ve been feeling emotionally harassed.

“________. You may tell me.”

He’s never going to let this go.

“He claims that I might like him.”

Junmyeon’s face darkens and a considerable moment of silence passes.

“And do you?”

“Gramps!” you exclaim, utterly exasperated. “Now isn’t the time to act like my dead father.”

“Right, I apologize,” he softens at the mention of your dad. You rarely speak of your parents. Not even with any of the nuns at the orphanage where you spent more than half of your life in. “I’m only wary of anyone who can open your heart so easily.”

“I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“I see. If you aren’t satisfied, I could discuss the issue with Kai if the problem per-“

“NO,” you rush up to Junmyeon’s desk so suddenly that he jumps a little in his seat. “Forget it. There’s no need for any discussions. You were right, I was being overdramatic.”

You almost forgot that Junmyeon can be too straightforward sometimes, and dumbly so. You’re going to have to save your plans of infiltrating team B later. Unfortunately, you’ll also have to bear with Kai’s bullying tactics until then.

“If that’s what you wish, then alright,” Junmyeon concedes. “There are more important matters to worry about anyway.”

That’s right.

The Blue House break in. The rough plan that you’ve all come up with is simple. Assist Kai in avoiding security, help him steal whatever files Hesun wants him to steal, record what kind of files they are, get Kai out safely.

It all sounds awfully easy, if you take out the bit of going against the most powerful figure in the country.

Your team is pushing itself to its limit in preparation. Jongdae has been running around and collecting info on the Blue House guards while training on the side. Junmyeon has been researching the president’s daily schedule and attending business events while also managing his agency. You have been working on analyzing the blueprint of the Blue House and disarming all cams within the area. Kai has continued to pose as Hesun’s pawn and carried out his spying duties.

So far, all the info that he’s gotten is that Hesun is desperately searching for a lost asset. If they’re willing to go as far as sneaking around the government, whatever this asset is must cost more figures than you can ever imagine.

And you all may be up against more enemies than you thought.

The government isn’t exactly a saint either.

The knowledge of this has only increased your anxiety. And like a growing vine, your concern centers on Kai. You still don’t know why Hesun had chosen him out of all people to be their spy. Why not just another skilled mercenary or a corrupted official? Sure, Kai has advanced skills, he’s made you question your own after easily surpassing your defense system at home. It’s the reason why you haven’t been sleeping much, you’ve been upping your security and rewriting algorithms for practice.

But what is Hesun’s real use for Kai? Where do they intend to maximize his skills?

“Gramps,” Junmyeon might help to sort through your complicated thoughts. “I keep getting this bad feeling.”

“That’s only natural. We are taking a huge risk with this upcoming mission. I assure you that the agency will be safe and none of us will be harmed.” He launches into his practiced speech, standing to meet you at eye level where he can console you with certainty.

But that’s not the kind of reaction you wanted to get from him.

Junmyeon senses your hesitance and stops in mid sentence, leaning forward on his hands that are splayed over his table.

“Well?” he prompts you, and it sounds almost like an order instead of a question.

“What happens to Kai if Hesun finds out about his connections with us?”

Junmyeon searches your eyes thoughtfully, you can see mild surprise in his, before he provides you with an answer. You have a feeling that you already know part of it.

“He will die. And if not in Hesun’s hands, then in ours.”

You know that Junmyeon will only ever do this as a last resort. In the case that Kai completely turns over and betrays the agency. It’s the only way that Junmyeon can protect his people and continue to pursue Hesun’s destruction. But he has never killed a man. He’s never stained his hands with such work and he doesn’t have the heart to do something so monstrous.

If a situation ever calls for the loss of life, whether it be Kai’s or some random stranger’s, Junmyeon will have to pick between his principles and revenge.

You hope he never has to make such a decision.

~~~

When the agency was in its premature stages, Junmyeon struggled to find the right people to trust. After losing his wife, he’d withdrawn so far back into his empty himself that you were forced to reassemble his broken pieces.

You couldn’t have ever replaced his wife. No one could ever have, but you were there during his hardest times. You were there when he woke up from his nightmares screaming and when he had nearly starved himself out of grief. You were there to pull him away from tumbling over the edge of the roof on nights he drunk himself senseless. You were there to hold his quivering body until his sobbing quieted to shaky breaths.

You were there when he slowly resurfaced from the flood of loss, and depression, and darkness, and when he stepped out of the house for the first time in months.

That day, he met Jongdae for the first time.

You were sitting in the cramped kitchen, waiting for Junmyeon’s return with your insides knotting as time passed. You counted down the minutes that turned into hours. Your fingernails dug into the wood of the table impatiently.

Although you were glad he had finally gathered the courage to step outside, the both of you were still runaways. You’d fled from Hesun together and left for Busan, now hidden in the quiet countryside where the nearest mart was thirteen miles away.

Junmyeon bought a shabby house with the little money he had left and you found a side job that involved doing some tractor work. After a while, to make the heavy work easier, you found a way to jack it so that it automatically ran for you. Junmyeon spent most of his days holed up in his room during the first few weeks, right before the storm of his grief swept him away from reality for a while. It felt lonelier then to live with another person than when you were living alone. Life was slow, much slower than you were used to at this new place you struggled to call home. It was the first time you learned that the rush and noise of the city were things that you could miss.

But from time to time, the wailing of distant sirens also made you unbearably antsy.

There was no doubt that Hesun was still searching for the delivery girl that suddenly left them and the customer service man they failed to kill. It didn’t take an idiot to connect the dots when they found both of you missing.

You felt less cautious when you ventured outside alone. Out there, you only had to look after yourself. With Junmyeon gone and the roles having been switched, you were driven closer to insanity.

After the fourth hour since he left the house, two hours past his promised return, you unclenched your tense fists and stood from the kitchen table. You grabbed your coat and put on your hat, secured the keys, and rushed for the door.

You opened it to find a panting Junmyeon at the doorstep, his arm around a bleeding boy who was slumped against him.

The groceries needed were nowhere to be found.

You stood there, frozen, as Junmyeon brushed past you and headed for the bathroom, leaving a trail of blood on the linoleum floors you’d just cleaned earlier that morning.

“Bring the rubbing alcohol from my bedroom, quickly!” he yelled, and you briefly wondered why he kept such a thing on his drawer.

It wasn’t until after Junmyeon’s finished cleaning the boy’s wounds with shaking hands and bandaged his torso with strips of a worn out towel that you realized it.

You had been so close to being left alone yet again.

You wanted to reprimand him for it, you wanted to scream at him. How dare he think of taking his own life when he was the one who vowed to get back at them for taking his everything from him? Was everyone that eager to leave you behind? Were you really forever cursed with temporary relationships?

This man now, who had been no one to you before you’d met, had somehow become someone significant in your life.

“Don’t cry,” Junmyeon comforted you when he noticed your tears. He’d carried the boy to the dusty sofa, who had fallen into either unconsciousness or a deep sleep. “I think he will wake up eventually.”

Junmyeon thought that you were worried about this stranger. You were too worn out and angry to explain.

“Tell me about him.” you said instead.

It’s odd. As Junmyeon recounted the story of how he ended up in a secluded alleyway instead of the mart, he was filled with a kind of passion that you’ve never seen him speak with before. At least not since he first vowed revenge on Hesun. Even that was slowly fading from him as poverty and hopelessness weighed him down.

But that boy, that battered, dirty boy, brought some light back to Junmyeon’s features.

His name was Jongdae. Ex-banker. A victim of a bank robbery. Junmyeon said he remembered seeing it on the news a year ago. Jongdae was tangled up in a fight with some street kids who had kicked a slice of moldy bread out of his hands and into the dumpster. The bullies would have left it at that, but Jongdae had to insult them first.

Junmyeon walked in on them before fists were taken out, but he stayed hidden out of curiosity. Jongdae was skinny and weak, yes, but he was unafraid. He held up even when three of the other boys ganged up and shoved him to the ground, kicking him in the stomach until he coughed up blood.

This is when Junmyeon entered the picture.

He’d managed to hold off the boys until they went running, but they were bound to call their friends over to make up for their humiliation. It took Junmyeon a good hour to convince Jongdae to come with him, and another hour to get home by making detours with the boy on his back for half of the distance.

“You’re out of your mind,” you reject Junmyeon’s idea without him having to say it. “We can’t be obligated to feed another mouth when we barely have enough for ourselves! There’s no-“

“We need him, _________,” the desperation in Junmyeon’s voice startled you. “Jongdae is one of us. He is also another product of Hesun’s blasted business! If I were to tear apart that goddamn company piece by piece, I would need a strong, resilient fighter like him.”

At the time, you couldn’t see the fight in Jongdae. It was especially hard to do so when his limbs looked as fragile as a bird’s. His sleeping face looked harmless and vulnerable. He looked as if he wasn’t even capable of hurting a fly.

Still, he managed to bring a part of Junmyeon back to life.

You gave him a month.

Four weeks to prove to you that the boy from the streets could be helpful. He would help to cover the finances. He would share everything he knew about Hesun. He would sleep on that creaky sofa with bent springs because you weren’t willing to give your room and neither will you allow Junmyeon to give up his. Jongdae would convince you that you could let him into your life.

If he satisfied all of these, he would be allowed to stay.

~~~

You’re back in your hideout and taking a nap on your hammock when you receive Jongdae’s messages. They start of as periodical pings! on your cell, easy to ignore and brush off for later as you slip in and out of consciousness.

Then they become increasingly louder.

Your ringtone blasts on for a while, making you shove your pillow over your face and ears, groaning into cotton when your computer powers on and receives Jongdae’s automated message.

Pick up the fucking phone, Corona!

The computerized voice relays this in a robotic tone that is more irritating than an actual exclamation.

With effort, you reach for your cell on the coffee table and answer with a low grumble.

“Bad news,” Jongdae’s voice is barely audible. There’s music playing in the distance, laughing and glasses being clinked, all signs of having a good time, but Jongdae sounds frantic. “Gramps and Kai have met up without us knowing and they’re wasted as hell.”

“What?” you bolt up and nearly flip your over in your hammock. You think you still might be dreaming. Junmyeon and Kai. Drinking. On the night before the big mission. “Where are you?”

“At that underground bar from before. The directions-“ Jongdae is interrupted by a disturbing retching noise. You can imagine Jongdae blanching at the scene in front of him. “-you know where it is, just hurry up! Oh god Gramps, get yourself together!”

The call cuts off and you’re left with echoing music and Jongdae’s fading cries.

You check the time and release a burdened sigh. Your nap had lasted far longer than you meant it to. The last train into the center of the city has already departed, so you have no choice but to take a cab on the way there and back. After throwing your hair up in a sloppy bun and pulling up your hood, you head out into the street where the thought of your last conversation with Junmyeon stops you in your tracks.

He wouldn’t have actually talked to Kai about your complaints on his teasing, right? Junmyeon promised, and Junmyeon is the kind of man who sticks to his words. At least while he’s sober. You’ve only ever seen him drink alcohol three times, once every year, on the death anniversary of his wife.

He’s approximately three months early this year.

Not to mention, you also happen to remember every detail of his latest drunken fiasco, which involved dropping his eloquent speech and spilling the beans on the first time he got laid by the “hottest woman in the universe” so his wife can go “suck on that” for leaving him so early. Neither you nor Jongdae mentioned that his first time was actually with his wife.

After that shocking event, there’s just no telling what he’ll do next.

Before you know it, you’ve gotten out of the cab without receiving your change and sprinting towards the bar, taking the stairs two at a time and nearly crashing into a couple feeding on each other’s faces at the entrance. They break their messy kiss to shuffle aside and scoff, offended, but you head straight inside without acknowledging them further.

It isn’t difficult to spot your team.

Junmyeon is slumped over the bar counter, his tie on the floor and his head rolling lazily on his arm, mumbling to himself with his arm around a concerned Jongdae. Kai is sitting up straight in the stool beside the two, his back perfectly straight with a drink poised in his hand. Up until here he’s seemingly normal, but when he locks eyes with you across the dance floor, he breaks out into a wide smile with hazy eyes.

Your jaw drops and Jongdae stumbles to the floor with Junmyeon’s arm locked tightly around his waist. As they fall over, Junmyeon abruptly swings his head and brings his face uncharacteristically close to Jongdae’s.

The latter flushes scarlet all the way down to his neck.

You’re rushing over in an instant.

“________, please,” Jongdae’s voice strains from the effort of holding both himself and Junmyeon up. He barely manages to get the older man to stand. “Tell me you’ve got a cab.”

“I told the driver to wait outside.” you nod, stopping Jongdae by the arm when he attempts to stumble away. “What happened?”

“My good friend Minseok called me when these two drunkards almost punched each other over the last glass of cognac.” Junmyeon perks up at this and proceeds to pout his lips at Jongdae, making kissy faces as he sways in place. Contrary to your expectations, Jongdae’s face sours.

“Who’s Minseok?”

Jongdae waves away your unvoiced suspicion with his free hand.

“Just an old high school friend. He’s that guy over there.” Jongdae points at the young looking bartender making drinks on the other end of the bar. Jongdae whistles over at him and he winks, scoring a wild reaction from the girls nearby. You recall Minseok being present the last time you were here, when you’d first met Kai and his first impression felt cold and detached. Seeing him now with his empty drink miraculously balanced on his head has you reevaluating that first impression.

Again, Kai smiles when he notices you staring, slightly tilting his head, and you swiftly catch the glass just as it begins to topple over.

“Convincing him to go home may take a while.” you glance at Jongdae now practically dragging Junmyeon towards the back entrance.

“I would love to stay and see you try, but I really don’t need this old man vomiting all over my new jacket.”

You bite back a groan forming in the back of your throat.

“Go sit him outside and wait by the cab. I’ll see what I can do here.”

“Good luck, Corona. Try not to kill him.”

Jongdae is lost in the dense crowd in a matter of moments.

Pulling over the nearest stool, you seat yourself beside a very drunken Kai.

You’re not sure what to expect. You’ve learned the hard way that Kai is absolutely unpredictable. His unfocused eyes give nothing away. His posture gradually slouches as you gauge his actions. From your peripheral vision, you see Minseok glancing over in concern as he continues to entertain the group of girls in front of him.

“Kai,” you duck your head down to meet him at eye level, capturing his attention when you shake him by the shoulder. “It’s time to go home.”

It takes some searching on his part, his attention wandering up and over and to the side, but his gaze finds yours eventually.

“Soojung?” his eyes suddenly clear and your brows furrow in confusion.

“What was that?”

Then, without warning at all, as if a switch had flipped off inside him, Kai’s body slumps forward and falls into you like a toppling boulder.

---

HELLO FRIENDS, I am back from the battle with college and I’ve finally found the time to write this ;; A few changes: I’m going to start (at least try) to put pics in my future scenarios mostly for the visuals. I’ve also found that the style and tone of this chapter is different from the first. I kind of like it. I may go back and edit the first part later as this might be the direction I actually want to go in. Thoughts? As always, thank you for being such patient angels and I’ll get on with the next story as soon as I can.

#kai #exo #kai scenario #kai scenarios #exo scenario #exo scenarios

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apollocontinuum · 5 years

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3 Designs and A Baby

Ok, maybe more like 6 designs and a baby.

I saw a few posts from people asking about how they managed to be game designers with a newborn infant, and a significant number of those posts simply said that they stopped designing for a period of time. Someone said four months, someone said a year, and at least one person said they just had to give up the hobby completely after their child was born.

I knew that wasn’t going to work for me. I made it back to a GDofNC meeting when Roo was 2 weeks old. I’ve had what feels like more ideas in the 3 months that she’s been in our lives than in the 9* months when my wife was pregnant.

Returning to Old Designs

The Library is Burning! (the game I signed with an agent after Spiel 2018) has been shown to a lot of publishers in the 8 months they’ve had it, but it hasn’t been picked up yet. A few weeks ago, they contacted me and asked what I thought about a heist re-theme. I a huge fan of Ocean’s 11, and a fan of heist movies in general, but I wasn’t sure how such a re-theme would work. The more I looked into it, though, the more it seemed to work. I’ll probably have to consider it a different game, but the core of the game is very very similar. Instead of each card having a topic and a location, it has an item that you are stealing, and a member of the crew.

When you draft an item, it goes on your track, and moves as many times as there are matching crew members left on the table at the end of the draft. When you get the item to the end of the track, it goes underneath your track as a new crew member. The items and the crew members overlap like topics and locations in the original design, so stealing a car might get you a new driver, or it might get you a new hacker for stealing sensitive data in a future round. There are a couple of other tropes that I was able to draw on – that of the heist mastermind and the new guy. These are essentially going to be wild cards that can act as any roles when you start the game. The mastermind gets more restricted as he fills the role you need the most, and the new guy gets less restrictive as you add more potential mentors to your crew. I’m excited to get it to the table this weekend.

I’m also taking another look at Small Town Rivalry, my two player city building game. I showed it to Lookout at Spiel 2018 and Kosmos after PAX Unplugged, and it was turned down by both of them. Feedback was similar in both cases – too tactical and difficult to plan ahead. So I’ll consider my 2-player design exercise complete, but I want to return to the game and see how to a) make it more strategic and b) expand it beyond 2 players. I’ll probably leave this one on the back burner until after BGG.con, and then make it a winter project.

Working on New Designs

Sleep has been sporadic since Roo was born, to put it mildly. The designs I’ve started since then have all been ideas that I can hold in my head on not much sleep. I actually think the original ideas were literally spoken into my phone while I was holding her after she finished a bottle.

Penned Station is a roll and write where you’re building a subway system from scratch, You’re also planning where to place buildings near subway stations to increase passenger count, as well as making sure your stations have the proper facilities by the time everything opens. I’ve been able to revise it super quickly since it’s a single page, and the rest of the game is 6 d12s and three colored pencils or markers. Once I get the rules written this week, I’ll laminate the sheets, since it’s pretty easy to make a mistake when you’re drawing, and I’d like people to be able to fix things more easily.

Ottoman Empire is a trick taking game about a furniture store with lots of puns and jokes on the cards. Another quick-to-iterate game, it has 54 cards in 4 suits with two “jokers”. The neat thing with this design is that one card of the suit that wins the trick must be put into the store window, so if you end up winning a trick because no one else can follow, you might end up putting your own card in the window. The goal for this week is to balance the suits, after seeing that interesting scoring conditions worked during testing last week. Then I have to make some graphic design decisions to see how to best convey those interesting relationships when you have all your collected tricks in front of you.

Working Through New Ideas

There are a couple of designs that are taking up some space in my head as well, but I haven’t put anything to paper yet. Well, at least not component wise.

The first is the genealogy game that I’ve been trying to write the design document for months. The Marvelous Origins of Dr. Covington started out as a really big design in my head, but the more I think about it, the more it doesn’t need to be that big. I’m at the point in the design where I’m wondering if I can remove the board entirely and just make it a card game. It may actually resemble Race for the Galaxy more than anything else right now, since you are racing to build a tableau of ancestors and their vital information before any of your competitors. The biggest issue for this is going to be card count, but I take some solace in the fact that RftG started out with only 109 cards in the main deck when it was released.

The second game is a much rougher idea without a name at the moment, but I want to make a game about aquariums. Something like Barenpark, but with fish tanks? Again, my heart tells me to make this enormous simulation game and my head tells me “dude, no, you’ll go crazy”. I love the aesthetics of a computer game called Megaquarium and would love to make a board game that looked like that.

Both of these are going to be winter projects at the earliest, probably. Or maybe they’ll never make it to the prototype stage. Who knows at this point?

#board games #game design

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diceysitchcast-blog · 7 years

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Dicey Situations Episode 1: TRANSCRIPT

In this world building/character creation/game building episode, Jess takes us to the city of Pinnacle, a techno-magical dystopia mirrored by the VR world of The Dreaming. She also introduces us to a hybrid home-brew game with elements of of DnD 2.5 and 5e, Normality, and various other systems. There is no actual play in this episode, but we hope you’ll enjoy hearing us talk organize a game and create characters!

Drew exercises his right to bear arms, Ellie achieves robotic sapience, Avery decides to become an intolerant tank, and Ronnie invents a new pronoun.

[NOTE: It's our goal for Dicey Sitch to be as accessible as possible, which is why we want to provide transcripts for every episode we release. We are disappointed to say that transcripts will likely update at a slower pace than audio episodes, which is our own fault. However, we're still dedicated to make sure that transcriptions are released as close to audio episodes as possible. For now, please enjoy Episode 1 of Dicey Situations!]

Dicey Situations!

Season 1: Pinnacle

Episode 1: Have You Seen My Robot?

Jess: The city is made of spun green glass. It fades into the distance and then focuses in. The city’s name is Pinnacle. It’s been around for a few hundred years, and it blossomed from the end of the world.

In this city, there are, well, they’re not really factions, but three different groups of believers. Those that believe magic came back into the world to rise humanity above, those who believe magic is a penance from the Gods, and those that believe magic mostly doesn’t exist, and when it does, it’s more technology than anything.

[Music starts]

In this city, there is the Dreaming: a massive, cyberkinetic, shared VR reality that people use to escape from their own. And in the Dreaming, you do escape. There are sometimes mistakes, sometimes firewalls get breached and people’s properties and lives get destroyed, but no one dies in the Dreaming. Your body can be killed outside, but if you die in the Dreaming, you wake up in real life.

[Music continues, then fades.]

Jess: So! Welcome to Dicey Situations, the.... podcast! It’s... this is the people! Go! Drew!

[laughter]

Drew: I’m Drew. I use he/him/his pronouns. I am an on-again off-again Internet user. I shamelessly use Facebook way too much, and I get paid to do that sometimes.

Ev: My name’s Avery, I use they/them pronouns, I’m agender, and I am on the Internet on Twitter @crapiocaa with two a’s.

Ellie: My name is Ellie, I use she/her pronouns. I’m not giving out my personal tumblr, but my fun tumblr is badlifeadvice.tumblr.com! It’s awesome, it’s full of things you shouldn’t do, like stalling the intro for a podcast!

[laughter]

Ronnie: I’m Ronnie, I use they/them pronouns! I draw queer comics on the Internet! You can find them at gqutiecomics.com. It’s spelled GQ............ U...TIE comics dot com!

Drew: [sarcastic] “I know what I’m doing!”

Ronnie: I totally know what I’m doing!

Jess: My favorite thing about that was the pause as you had to, like, remember [laughs]

Ev: As Ronnie remembered how to spell their webcomic!

[laughter]

Jess: And I’m Jess! I’m your... I don’t have a fancy name for this session, like, I can be a Dungeon Master or a Keeper, but this is house rules, so I haven’t got a name, so I’m Jess. I use she/her pronouns, and I use this as a coping mechanism, and my comic’s at closertohomecomic.com... if you want it!

Ronnie: It’s great!

Ellie: Why don’t you call yourself the Master Controller?

Drew: You should be a Dungeon Guru!

Ellie: Ooh!

Jess: Maybe I’ll just introduce myself as something different every time.

[laughter]

Drew: I like it!

Ellie: Do it!

Drew: Do it!

Jess: I think Dungeon Guru will work for this week, cause this gonna be all about me, like guiding you down this like, fucking, homunculus, this is... this is a homunculus game you guys.

Ev: I don’t know if that’s the right way to use that word by the way!

[laughter]

Jess: Uh... a chimera?

Ronnie: That makes more sense!

Ellie: Yeah, I was gonna say chimera, but, you know.

Jess: You guys are insurance agents! Clerics and wizards and fighters and rogues hired by an insurance agency to go out and investigate insurance claims. Be they someone suing a corporation, a house being burned down, you guys know what to do.

And... that’s pretty much it so far. That’s my pitch to you guys about your characters. So, it’s future cyberpunk with elves and magic and clerics and stuff and...

Drew: I always wanted to be an insuranceman, so...

Jess: That’s good.

Ev: That’s exactly what I said when I heard about this campaign! [laughs]

Ronnie: Hey Jess!

Jess: Yeah?

Ronnie: In the Dreaming, do people have... avatars?

Jess: Shit of course they...! [laughs] Actually, last night Ev and I, uh, created, oh shit, come on computer, don’t do this to me right now... I know you’re hot... You’re gonna be fine...

Drew: Sexy!

Jess: Yeah I’m sweet talking my computer into working. Ev and I have made a ton of...

Ev: Puns!

Jess: Puns! Pun objects, because we went through, like, the DnD objects list and... like, just kind of updated it to be futuristic. Clerics in this world, and druids, and technomancers, and paladins believe in different kinds of gods, and part of that is they have to maintain a Holy Site, which is like a fansite for their religion!

Drew: Oh!

Ronnie: I love it.

Jess: And then, as one of your perks is that you can get a Church Verified Avatar, which makes you less likely to be hacked!

Ronnie: Eyyyy!

Ev: Yeah, everyone should definitely have the game items list open by the way.

Ellie: Yeah, I just opened it.

Jess: Ev and Ellie kind of have ideas for their characters so if, you guys actually wanna, like, summarize your characters real quick, so Ronnie and Drew know some places that you can go with this...

Ev: Or have you guys looked into it, too?

Jess: Have you guys got any dreams?

Drew: Um, I don’t. Ronnie might. I’ve like, worked the past two evenings, so I’m ready to go now but I haven’t done any homework. I’m a bad student!

[laughter]

Jess: Keeping you after class, young man!

Ronnie: For me, I’m imagining, like, this sort of shitty teenager character, who is like, a teen radical who puts up tech graffiti places...

Jess: [laughs] I love it.

Ronnie: And wants to encourage the rising of the proletariat and stuff.

[laughter]

Drew: You know what would be fun? A like, a middle-aged, kind of balding, really angry person, that actually turns out to just be all those things.

[laughter]

Ev: What kind of class would that be? Would that be like a rogue or something?

[Inaudible because we’re talking over each other like dorks.]

Ronnie: I was thinking Bard, but I don’t think Bard is available, is it?

Jess: It is actually!

Ev: Oh no it is!

Jess: It is totally available!

Ev: That’s an awesome way to be a Bard, actually!

Jess: Yeah, we were trying to figure out how to do Bards, because one of the custom classes for this campaign is LARPer which is similar to Bard but different. LARPers can create different alternate identities and stuff.

Ev: This is my favorite part of the campaign right now.

Drew: Where are the funky different classes?

Jess: I shared the items list, and that has all of the different classes that we have, but mostly the classes are just DnD classes, but with like a little bit of a cyberpunky upgrade. So like, your wizard’s going to be a technomancer, your thief can be a hacker and your rouge can also be a hacker...

Ev: And then of course there’s, you know, LARPers are like, masters of disguise crossed with rogues or thieves basically, right?

Jess: Yeah, they’re masters of disguise, they’re also the ones who can kind of impersonate people, they can doxx people, and like, take on their personality and act like them, and they’re less likely to get caught doing it.

So, so far we have two religious dudes, [laughs] and I feel like, honestly Drew, if you wanted to play a cranky old dude, you can definitely play a cranky old wizard dude...

Drew: Yes.

Jess: ... who’s like, just been showing up for his paycheck at this insurance agency.

[laughter]

Ev: One day away from retirement!

Drew: Oh, that’s when the shit goes down, though!

[laughter]

Ev: Yes!

Drew: “It’s my last day before I retire, guys!”

[laughter]

Drew: “Nothing’s gonna happen to me!”

Jess: Man I sure hope nothing happens to that guy!

Ev: “I sure hope I don’t end up in a Sin City comic!”

Drew: “Ha ha!”

[more laughter]

Jess: So, Ronnie, can I make some suggestions for your Anarchist, like, shitty teen?

Ronnie: Yes.

Jess: Ok, I like the idea of them being a thief or a rogue or a hacker or a LARPer or a combination of that. And I also like either they’re interning at this insurance agency to make money for like, paying rent or something...

Ev: Interns don’t make money!

Jess: Well, my other thought is maybe it’s a community giveback program that the agency is doing to show great they are, like, “look at this teenager we’re rehabilitating really badly”...

Ronnie: [laughs]

Jess: But also it could be like, some sort of future community service, like I’m kind of imagining a Shitty Corporate Future, where like, if you get arrested you have to work it off at a corporate 9 to 5 job.

Drew: I mean, that’s not really that far from what it is now, so that’s sounds like a pretty good movement.

Jess: Are any of these appealing to you, or do you have your own ideas?

Ronnie: I enjoy the intern. [NOTE: Ronnie said this but then went with a sort of combination of both, which may be confusing, woops!]

[laughter]

Jess: Yeah, the miserable intern! [laughs] Alright, I like this. Okay! So let’s start some characters, then. You got your character sheets. Your traits are gonna be just how you would roll your DnD traits, so your Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. You roll four d6 for each, and then you take away the smallest one, and then you can plug them in wherever they’re needed, okay?

Ellie: Jess I already did mine, like I did them before... but I can roll again if you want.

Jess: You don’t have to because it’s probably good that other people can talk while people are figuring out the math bits, right?

Ellie: I suppose, yeah. I mean, I haven’t put them anywhere, I just have them.

Jess: Oh, well, you can plug them in if you want, ‘cause, Ellie your character is basically a robot druid, which is the coolest thing!

Ellie: Yeah!

Ronnie: Oh my god, that sounds awesome!

Ellie: Oh man! I wanna, I wanna tell you my robot’s name.

Ev: Yeah, tell us all about your robot.

Ellie: Alright, my robot’s name is H u M 4 N, and it’s pronounced–

Ev: Oh Christ!

Ellie: –it’s pronounced Human!

[laughter]

Ev: Your character, your character and mine are going to get in so many fights!

Ellie: My, mine doesn’t fight! It’s a lovely robot!

Ev: Just wait.

Jess: What’s your lovely robot’s pronouns?

Ellie: I’m trying to figure that out, y’know?

Jess: Okay, yeah.

Ellie: Um, maybe put N/A because I’m not sure.

Jess: Yeah, I’ll put pronouns N/A. And HuM4N, the robot! [laughs]

Ellie: I might give a 15 Charisma for my druid robot!

Jess: So he’s like a religious, they’re like a religious leader a little bit?

Ellie: No, I mean...

Ev: Or just like, really charming!

Ellie: Yeah, like a charming robot!

Jess: All robots are charming robots.

Ellie: Yeah, but this one’s especially charming because HuM4N’s surrounded by... other... little robots?

Jess: Okay. Ev, give me, hit me, let me know. [laughs]

Ev: Okay. [laughs] Uh, my character is named Adrianna Arkadie Usko, and she goes by Adie for short, or Ah-die, I’m not sure. But anyway, she, I, fuck, I gotta stop calling her “she”, they’re a they!

Jess: Okay!

Ev: They’re a human cleric, and they belong to a church that believes that machines should be tools of flesh-and-blood people, instead of sentient beings.

Jess: I...

Ev: And they’re gonna be in a party with a robot named HuM4N!

[laughter]

Drew: I’m sure a great friendship will totally grow, and not hatred!

Ev: Oh yeah totally! They’re also, like, you know, their church is considered somewhat moderate in that they’re not anti-technology in general, but they definitely have the basis of their church’s beliefs is that, uh, machines are fallible, and that if you want something with a real, actual sense of responsibility and life, that it should be a flesh-and-blood being. That robots can’t understand the true meaning of life, basically.

Drew: I want the two of your characters to become Platonic Life Partners by the end of this campaign.

Jess: I ship it!

[laughter]

Ev: That’s a, that’s a possibility!

Jess: It’s the future!

Ev: I also do, you know, in true Avery fashion have, uh, a two page backstory and personality document for this character and... yeah.

Ronnie: Also, also Jess...

Jess: Yeah?

Ronnie: Can my character be a ratfolk? Can they?

Jess: Yeah they can definitely be a... I feel like gene modding is kind of a thing that kind of was, like, used early on.... Okay, wait, do you have ideas about the rat creatures? I should not just stumble over your ideas before you get to put them out there. What do you, where do the ratfolk come from, Ronnie?

Ronnie: Um, they either came from underground, or they came from the desert, whichever.

Ev: And they’re part of like, the magic coming back into the world, basically, like they’re magical creatures?

Drew: I want them to be like, nuclear devastation, and they’re like pet rats that have evolved through toxic sludge.

[laughter]

Jess: See, can I put forward a third proposal? Of they are, like the results of “Hmm, well we figured out how to cure cancer in rats. We haven’t cured it in humans yet. What if we can we make kind of humany-rat things, and then try and cure cancer that way?”

Ronnie: [laughs] Excellent!

Jess: Like, you got some choices out there!

Ev: It could be, it could be both, you know! They could be like, lab rats that became human when the magic came back and they just were like “What the fuck?!”

[laughter]

Ev: “When did this happen? Okay, I guess we’re people now! Sure!”

Drew: I like it!

Jess: They’re also underground, and like I imagine... Although we’ve kind of built up this robot-human conflict, and elves and dwarves... I feel like they’re not super happy, like that’s probably why your guy’s so proletariat risey-upey.

Ronnie: Uh-huh. They dream of a utopia in which the sun’s warm, and there are fields of grain, and everything is happy farmland, I dunno!

Drew: And there are no cats!

[laughter]

Jess: Alright, do you have any names or anything? Or...

Ronnie: Ooh, how about Sybil?

Jess: Ooh, I like it!

Ellie: Aw!

Drew: I’m only gonna think of the author now that you say that.

Ev: How do you spell... What way is Sibyl spelled?

Ronnie: S-I-B-Y-L. No! It should be a Z! It should be Z... Zibyl!

[laughter]

Jess: Yes! I love the future. And Drew, do you have any ideas about your guy? Is it just like a human guy, or is it like a...

Drew: I’m like “Oh, I wanna be something fantastic” and then I’m like “No, I kinda just want to be an old, crotchety human with, like, age spots on his face and I want his name to be, like, Earl.”

[laughter]

Ev: Good.

Ellie: Earl the Human.

Jess: Oh my god.

Ev: What class is Earl? [laughs]

Drew: I haven’t thought that far ahead, but Jess did say Wizard, and I thought that was kinda good.

Jess: Um, wizards are the ones who get guns in this universe, by the way. Cause, we figured that magic missile is basically, like–

Ev: It’s a gun.

Jess: –a projectile. It’s a gun! It’s like a laser rifle but in a fantasy setting. So, Wizards get guns.

Drew: [drawling old man voice] “It’s my right to bear arms, that’s why I got bear arms attached to my body when I was seventeen!”

Jess: ...Wait, please tell me this is true.

[laughter]

Drew: Maybe! We’ll find out.

Jess: Old wizard with bear arms. I like that.

Drew: And he’s got a tattoo of a human head on his shoulder.

Jess: [laughs] On his bear arm he has a tattoo of a human head drawing?

Drew: Yeah.

Jess: I love... okay. Yeah.

Ev: These are the best one-line character descriptions that I’ve ever written in my entire life.

Ellie: Woo!

Ronnie: Also, also, my character’s, like, underground username was going to be The Oracle, but somebody had already taken that, so it’s like, TheOraclexx27.

[laughter]

Ev: So good.

Jess: Is it also, does it also have x’s in front of it, so it’s like xx_The_Oracle_xx27?

Ronnie: Yes!

Jess: Oh my god, this is such a good party. I’m just imagining this old shrively guy with massive bear arms that like come out of his shoulders and drag along the ground, but...

Ev: What kind of bear arms? Are they like Sun Bear arms, or Grizzly Bear or Panda Bear...

Drew: Brown. Brown Bear. He couldn’t afford to get the Polar Bear ones that he wanted when he was younger, so they’re just Brown Bear’s.

Jess: Does he dye them white, though?

Drew: Yeah, he cleans them.

Ev: I gotta bleach my bear arms today!

Drew: They’re kind of blondish, but don’t... don’t talk about it.

[laughter]

Jess: I’m just imagining frosted tip bear arms.

Ronnie: Oh my god!

Ev: He’s a 90’s kid!

Drew: What’s the retirement age?

Jess: Um...

Ev: Old.

Jess: Yeah I think it’s dystopian, like, future-hell, so... Basically, like, the concept is Paprika meets Brazil, meets Ghost in the Shell, with a little bit of Wizards, the 80’s cartoon about nuclear magic.

Drew: I just wanna know how old my guy is. I’m okay with him being super old. I’m fine with that. I just wanna know.

Jess: It’s all about how old you want him to be.

Drew: I feel like... I dunno, 63?

Jess: 63 is a good age. He’s... he’s a pretty old guy.

Ev: 63’s not like, unreasonably old. It’s not like he’s, you know, 95 or whatever.

Drew: Nah, nah, he’s not 95! But he’d be pretty... he’d be a different class of wizard if he was 95 though, let’s be real.

Jess: Yeah, he’d have maybe gone up the ladder a little bit. ...Oh shit, Drew, you get a hat!

Drew: It gets to hide his head so he doesn’t get a sunburn on his balding scalp!

Jess: Well, we decided that, like, it’s like the class ring of wizards. So, wizards who go to school get a class hat, and you get to choose a spell that goes with that hat.

Drew: He didn’t go to school, he’s old school!

Jess: He went to the school of hard knocks?

Drew: He was in the Trades. He learned from the people… I dunno. He failed High School, I dunno.

[laughter]

Jess: Maybe his apprenticeship ended with him getting a hat from his gruff boss man? It’s his hat?

Drew: Sure.

Ev: Okay, so I have to go and eat dinner. I will be back in fifteen, twenty minutes.

Jess: Ev, you have your Spirit and Objectives done, so I can probably just do that for everyone else while you’re gone, is that cool?

Ev: Yeah, I’m gonna leave my recording running, and then I’ll just let you guys know when I get back, but I’ll try and be quick.

Jess: Cool! Have fun!

Ev: Alright. Laaater!

Jess: Lates!

Ronnie: Bye!

Drew: What do the hats look like?

Jess: Whatever you want. It can be whatever hat you want. It’s just a magic hat. It can be a magic fedora, it can be a magic, like, helmet, one of those mining helmets, it can be a magic…

Drew: What about… it’s a fez. It’s a fez hat.

Jess: It’s a magic fez?

Drew: Yeah.

Jess: Okay. Why don’t you figure out a spell that goes on your magic fez? So, for Spirit, you guys, Spirit is pull three random books, then go to a random page and pull a sentence that you think describes your character.

Ellie: That involves moving!

Ronnie: I happen to have three books on my desk!

Drew: They have to be random books! Those aren’t random!

Jess: As long as they’re on your map it’s fine.

Ellie: There’s books around Finn’s [Jess and Ellie’s little brother] bed. I’m just gonna pull those books.

Drew: So you said to grab three random books?

Jess: Yeah. If you have three near you that’s fine.

Drew: There’s a bookshelf…

Ellie: So wait, it’s a random line as well?

Jess: Well, you can choose a line on that page if you want. I don’t mind!

Ellie: Alright, uh, Jess, say a number.

Jess: 27

Drew: [counting to himself]

Ellie: Page 27… [flipping pages]

Drew: [laughs] Alright… oh man my three books…

Jess: Okay!

Drew: Where the Boys Are: Urban Gay Erotica…

Jess: [laughs]

Drew: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets…

Jess: [laughs more]

Drew: … Jaws.

Jess: These are all… definitely titles!

Ronnie: My books are Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder… Queer and Trans Artists of Color… and Fruits Basket! [laughs]

Jess: Nice!

Drew: And we just have to pick a random sentence? From each of them?

Jess: Or you can just pick a sentence. It doesn’t have to be random. I pulled this from Normality, which is a really fun game.

Drew: Yeah.

Jess: You pick from your favourite book a random page, and then pick a sentence from that page.

Drew: Oh man, I picked a page and there’s a lot of…

Ellie: Jess, say another number.

Jess: Sixty… nine.

Drew: [reading] “Gripping his jaw, I kiss him, I kiss him for…”

Ellie: 69?

Jess: Yeah.

Drew: “...our noses rub, our tongues exploring, our teeth crushing together.”

Ronnie: [laughs]

Jess: So like, your guy is gay, right? That’s what that means?

Drew: I feel like... Well, he can, or like bi.

Jess: That’s true.

Drew: I mean, let’s be real, though. He’s got bear arms. He’s clearly a gay Bear.

Jess: Oh my god!

Ronnie: This is really funny, because the book I have actually landed on a quote by Nietzsche.

Jess: [laughs]

Ronnie: And so, the sentence is, “From this point of view even the blunders of life have their own meaning and value– the occasional side and wrong roads, the delays, “modesties,” seriousness wasted on tasks that are remote from the task.”

Jess: Oh that’s kind of horrifying, and also kind of nice, and also kind of in character.

Ronnie: Yes.

Drew: So, the sentence I wanna do is “I lift my hand off his face just long enough to reach for the ball gag on the bedside table.”

Jess: [laughs] Alright!

Drew: There’s… there’s not a lot on that page I can get through. Most of it is about nipple clamps and sex. So… well, I’ll write down what I got from it.

Jess: Okay.

Drew: Where the Boys Are… he’s gay, and he likes ball gags!

Jess: [laughs] His spirit is strong.

Drew: Oh man, but he… so he should get some sort of special rope ability, ‘cause he’s clearly into bondage.

Jess: Rope is very expensive, I’m warning you now! I literally only made it super expensive because Ellie wanted it to be included.

Ellie: What?!

Drew: Is there any way that he could just have like his bondage rope, and then it just could be half as useful as actual rope but no one really knows why he has this kinky rope?

Jess: Except him?

Drew: Yeah.

Jess: I think so. [laughs] I like the idea of, someone’s like “Does anyone have some rope?” and he sheepishly pulls it out, and they’re like “Yeah! Thanks guy– where did you get this?”, and he’s like “...Adventure reasons.”

Drew: He’s like, “I can’t really hold a lot of weight, but I can tie a whole bunch of knots if you want.”

Jess: “I can suspend this bad guy from the ceiling a whole bunch of ways.”

Drew: Yeah. [laughs]

Ronnie: Oh noooo! Mine just got so angsty!

Jess: Oh no!

Ronnie: Fruits Basket pulled up for me, “They didn’t really want me.”

Jess: Awww no!

Drew: Mine’s just like, Dursley yelling at Harry. “I warned you, I will not tolerate mention of your abnormality under this roof!”

Ronnie: Oh no!

Jess: So sad!

Drew: So he comes from a family that, like, doesn’t believe in magic, and he’s magic, and they’re like “Fuck you! Get lost!”

Jess: Aww!

Drew: I dunno! That’s what I get from that.

Jess: Yeah.

Drew: They don’t care he’s gay, they just don’t like that he’s magic.

Jess: I’m just, it’s so sad. Some tragic backstory shit happening all of a sudden.

Ronnie: [in the background] Oh no!!

Drew: Are we using “magic” with a “c” or “magik” with a “k”?

Jess: Um, I think it’s with a… well, you’re the magic guy, you choose.

Ronnie: The quote that I got is “I’m not going to exploit my grandma just because somebody gave me money.”

Drew: That’s nice.

Ronnie: This rat… loves his grandma.

Jess: Aww! His ratma!

Ronnie: I say “his”… I’m going to say “they.”

Jess: Okay.

Drew: I don’t know what to say from this. Um, there’s a lot of, like, weird stuff on this page, but a lot of it has swearing, so he likes to swear.

Jess: Ah. He’s such a gruff, old, like BDSM guy.

Ronnie: [laughs] It’s great!

Jess: I think I’ve met this guy at Pride before.

Drew: Probably.

Ellie: I think I’ve got my quotes maybe. From The Supernaturalists… [correcting self] Supernaturalist, single.

Jess: Aw, I love that book.

Ellie: “Even if sometimes, she couldn’t remember her mother and father anymore,” from that.

Jess: Sad.

Ellie: From Martin the Warrior, “I’ll try to get back to you this time tomorrow night,” and then from Itch, “‘Reading’ said Itch.”

Jess: [laughs]

Ellie: Those are my quotes.

Drew: Did we have to write down the actual quote because I just wrote down what I got from them.

Jess: You can do either, it’s about how you’d interpret it best.

Drew: Okay. My brain keeps being like “But Jess, what’s your character?!” and I’m like “Uhh never mind, shut up.”

Jess: [laughs] Don’t worry! Ev and I have been discussing some of the side characters and stuff. You’ll meet some fun types.

Um, so, I think next we’re gonna go on to adjectives ‘cause you guys are kind of getting what your character is.

Ellie: What about Ev?

Jess: Oh, yeah, Ev! Sorry!

Ev: [sarcastic] Alright, cool. [laughs] That’s how it is!

Jess: Shut up! Shut up and speak!

[laughter]

Ev: Okay, um, sorry, I’m just moving things around a little bit.

Okay, so, I have “A little voice in her head said ‘Are you doing the right thing?” which is that, uh, Adie’s always questioning their faith and their motivations.

Um, “String me up ‘cause I’m in it now,’ he said to no one,” which is that they go whole-heartedly into things, and they commit to things.

And, “If you’ve had a freakish education, at least use it,” which is that they were brought up in a weird, like, super technophobic, like... I called the organization that their parents were in “Radical Organicists,” which is like, in my head it’s like a combination of, like those weird culty communes, and anti-vaxxers, and anti-GMO vegans, and basically everyone who, like wants to go back to the Earth, but in kind of like really harmful, bad ways. [laughs] So…

Ronnie: Did I tell you that my grandma totally lived in a couple communes in the 60s?

[laughter]

Ronnie: She’s a cool grandma.

Ev: This is like, they grew up in a bad commune. It was definitely much more cult than anything else.

Jess: Okay, so adjectives. And your adjectives are describing words. This is something I pulled from MechNoir, because I’ve been listening to a lot of Friends at the Table, and this is something they do. But you get to choose three adjectives to describe your character, and they can give you bonuses on rolls if you can convince me that it’s relevant.

Ev: My, my adjectives for Adie are committed, clever, and blunt.

Jess: Committed, clever, and blunt.

Ev: Yep.

Jess: I like it. Has anyone else got any thoughts on theirs? I guess it’s very soon.

Ronnie: What’s the word for when someone is really good at, sort of, MacGyvering things? I-Innovative? No…

Ev: Resourceful?

Ronnie: ...Resourceful, there we go.

Jess: Yeah, that’s good, yeah.

Drew: I wanna use Persnickety.

[laughter]

Ev: Solid.

Jess: So far very good. Ellie, you got anything?

Drew: Crotchety…

Ronnie: Oh my god.

Ev: That’s the same thing as persnickety!

Drew: No, it’s not! Persnickety is being particular, and crotchety is being “ill-tempered, irritable, or grumpy.”

Jess: [laughs] I love this old man!

Ev: He’s so hard to work with, it sounds like!

Drew: Persnickety is "fussy or putting too much emphasis on trivial or minor details."

Jess: I love, I love, oh my god the worst co-worker of all time.

Ev: Right? This is gonna be so... man, this party is just a nightmare. We've got like a shitty teen, we've got a grouchy old dude, we got a religious zealot, and we got a robot, who's just like "Yep."

Ellie: Oh, Ev! And you're like "And a robot!"

Ev: [laughs] I'm becoming Adie!

Jess: My favourite thing so far is that you guys have all, like, fallen into being like of each other? Already? It's very exciting. Does anyone else have extra adjectives, or do you wanna like, you can also sleep on it and we come back to this next week.

Ronnie: We need to do it NOW!

Jess: Okay!

Ellie: I've got something note worthy.

Jess: Okay.

Ronnie: I thought of "resourceful," oh wait, I already thought of "resourceful," but "rebellious"!

Jess: Okay.

Drew: Um…

Ellie: "Volatile"

Drew: Oh I know what I wanna… Oh, sorry!

Ellie: How's "volatile", Jess?

Jess: Volatile's good!

Ev: It's really good.

Jess: Surprising but good, yeah. I wanna see how that runs out.

Ev: Like, temper-wise or in the fact that your HP is so low and you just explode when someone touches you?

[laughter]

Jess: Oh no!

Ellie: I said the wrong words and wrote the wrong word down, so that means I'm keeping it!

Jess: I like it though!

Ellie: Yeah.

Ev: What word were you thinking?

Ellie: "Versatile!"

Ev: Oh!

[laughter]

Ellie: Um, I'm keeping it either way.

Jess: I like volatile and versatile.

Ellie: I'll put both! So, my character is trustworthy, volatile, and versatile.

Jess: Aw!

Ev: That's a good robot.

Jess: That's a good... yeah!

Drew: I'm, uh, so "charitable" is the other one I wanna put down.

Jess: Ah shit, that's really interesting! Like, as a third, compared to "crotchety" and "persnickety"... and charitable.

Drew: Yeah.

Jess: I like it. How're you doin', Ron?

Ronnie: ...Good. I'm trying to think of a... specific word.

Drew: Oh I know!

Ronnie: Um…

Drew: [typing something for Ronnie]

Ronnie: Uh... no.

Drew: Ronnie's third word is "stinky"!

Ronnie: No it's not!

[laughter]

Ronnie: They can't 'cause [rats] clean themselves so much!

Drew: They do.

Jess: Especially 'cause this rat has high Charisma! This is a fancy rat.

Ev: Yeah!

Ronnie: I-It's more than just cleanliness, like... like... he grooms a lot, they groom a lot.

Drew: Obsesses.

[Ronnie mumbles]

Jess: Uh, "neat," "clean"...

Ev: Hygienic?

Jess: Uh…

Ronnie: Fussy! There we go.

Ev: Fussy!

Jess: Fussy's good! Yeah!

Drew: That's the same thing as "persnickety!" Except my word's better.

Jess: So what were your three words in the end, Ronnie?

Ronnie: Resourceful, rebellious, and fussy.

[Multiple "aww"s]

Jess: I wanna bully that rat!

Ev: Everyone's so cute!

[laughter]

Ev: Ronnie and Ellie, did you guys decide on like, genders or pronouns for your characters?

Ronnie: My character's pronouns are they/them, yeah. Or maybe zey/zem to keep with…

Ev: Zibyl, zey/zem, oh good!

Jess: Okay! I love it. Uh, Ellie, do you know what your robot is yet?

Ellie: Might be she/her?

Jess: Aw! Yeah, I like it.

Ev: Yay, we got a girl robot! [laughs] It's perfect!

Ellie: Ev, have I show you my robot?

Ev: No, show me your robot!

Ellie: My robo…

[paper shuffling]

Jess: She's so cute. I love her.

Drew: She's the cutest!

Ev: Oh my god, that is really charming! [laughs] What kind of hat is that, or is that an antenna?

Ellie: It's a little, it's a bird!

Ev: Oh!

Jess: A ro-bird?

Ev: Too cute!

Ellie: Ro-bird! [laughs]

Ev: It's a little bird on her head!

Ellie: And then, that's the feet! Because, poor Dexterity.

Ev: [laughs] Oh my god! All of our guys are so good!

Jess: This is so good!

Ev: Uh, my character looks like Michelle Forbes in, uh, Battlestar Gallactica. I'll find a link. Hang on.

Jess: Nice.

Drew: I'm so bad with names!

Jess: Are you, are you going back on Earl?

Drew: What? No. No no no, I... Ev just said some person's name, and I was like "I know Battlestar Gallactica, but I have NO idea who that is."

Jess: Oh!

Drew: No, Earl is Earl, like... Earl cannot be any more Earl than Earl already is.

Jess: It's true!

Ev: Let's see…

Ellie: Unless he wakes up in the morning... Because then he gets up EARL-ly.

Ev: Heh.

Jess: [grunt and long sigh]

Ev: I linked to Michelle Forbes in the chat.

Ronnie: Okay.

Ellie: Ohh!

Drew: Yeah, okay.

Jess: Nice.

Ellie: Good

Drew: I want them to get in a relationship!

Jess: Well…

Drew: Ship it! Ship it!

Ev: [laughs] They're in a relationship and they have a, have a son. I'm telling you, I go so deep into character building!

Jess: Wait, they have a son?!

Ev: Yeah. You want me to read this, part of this real fast?

Jess: Yes.

Ev: Okay. "Adie grew up within a commune that was also slightly a cult. They retained some of the ideas they were raised with, but actually consider themself very moderate compared to what they grew up with, even if that's sort of reactionary in most society. They became an insurance investigator because they wanted to reduce the dependence of flesh-and-blood people on machines and change the system of the Dreaming from the inside, in a way they're not completely sure how that's going to happen, yet." [laughs] Um, "They love travel and reading, and they're very curious, not very funny, and maybe not quite as clear on what their ideals are as they should be. Adie is estranged from their parents and extended family due to aforementioned cult/commune thing. They have a life partner named Robbie McCabe and a seven year old son named Colin."

Drew: Are they Poly [polyamorous]?

Ev: Hm?

Drew: Are they Poly?

Ev: I want them to be! I'm not sure if I should do that, because then, like, I think most of that's going to stay deep in the background, but I kind of wanted them to actually be married to two people.

Jess: It is Space Future.

Ev: Yeah.

Drew: I just wanna ship them with, um, with Ellie's character.

Ev: With HuM4n?

Jess: It would be so symbolic!

Ev: It would. It would be so solid. Their, their wife wants them to stop being such a zealot.

[laughter]

Jess: That's a fun table talk. "Adie..."

Ellie: I think HuM4n would have a nice tea session with Wife.

Ev: Yeah! I can, I can see Robbie meeting HuM4n and being like "Oh, you guys should date because then Adie would just, fuckin' chill for a minute."

[laughter]

Ev: What a bunch of trash babies.

Jess: Um, okay. So, we've got our adjectives... we're gonna do... Luck next. So I want you all to roll 3 d6 [dice]. And don't cheat, goddamn it!

Drew: Roll 3 d6?

Jess: Yes.

Ev: Whoa! I did Ellie rolls on that one.

Ellie: Wow!

Jess: What did you get?

Ev: Five, four, five.

Jess: Okay!

Ellie: I didn't, I did the opposite of Ellie rolls!

Jess: What did you get?

Drew: Oh, Ronnie got shit! Ronnie got anus hairs!

Ronnie: Oh nooo!

[laughter]

Jess: What did you…

Drew: I got 12. But Ronnie got 3!

Ellie: Well, my robot's…

Jess: Oh no!

Ronnie: I got 4!

Ev: Shit!

Jess: What did you get, El?

Ellie: One, two…

Jess: Oh my god!

Ellie: ...and one.

Drew: Hey, you got the same thing as Ronnie!

[hysterical laughter]

Ev: Wow, you are SO unlucky.

Drew: What is this roll for?

Ev: For Luck.

Jess: For Luck!

Drew: For Luck…

Jess: Yup!

Drew: I got twelve.

Jess: Well, okay. So, here's the thing about Luck.

Drew: Good luck and bad luck.

Jess: There's good Luck and there's bad Luck, and um, you can actually trade out skills for better Luck, but you have to take three points away from your skills to get an additional point of Luck, and you can do the reverse. You can trade your Luck to get more skills.

Drew: I dunno, I kind of like having high Luck, even if it could be bad for me, 'cause it feels fun.

Ronnie: You say that because you also have high skills, Drew.

Drew: [evil laughter]

Jess: It's true.

Ellie: Here's the thing. I think it would be hilarious if my robot, who's got all these high skills has really, really low Luck.

Jess: Aww! What a squishy baby!

Ev: That's really charming.

Ronnie: As my quote spirit says: "Even the blunders of life have their own meaning and value."

Jess: Aw! [laughs]

Ellie: Ronnie! Your character and my character should get tea!

Ronnie: [laughs] Yes!

Ellie: Well I mean…

Drew: My character will buy the tea and grumble about it.

Ellie: Everyone's invited!

Ronnie: He doesn't have to!

Drew: Yeah, but that doesn't matter, I'm your elder!

Jess: So, I'm just figuring stuff out on this end, but um…

Drew: There's no spot for age.

Jess: You can put age down... somewhere.

Drew: So, are we following, um, the rule with, uh, I think D&D has a thing where you actually get lower skills if you're older…

Jess: No, we're not. We're ignoring all that. [laughs]

Drew: Okay. Did I say I was 68 or 63?

Ellie: I think 63?

Ev: Yeah.

Drew: 63, okay.

Jess: Okay, so here's how Luck is gonna work. You can use it to re-roll rolls. For example, if you have a 20 on Luck, you can reroll 3 rolls a session, and they don't have to just be yours, they just have to affect you in some way or another. So, if you have 20 Luck you can reroll 3 times. If you have 19, 3 times, Eighteen, three times. Seventeen, two times. Sixteen, two times. Fifteen, one time. Fourteen, one time. Thirteen, one time. Twelve, eleven, ten, and nine have no Luck values one way or the other. And then, if you have…

Drew: Twelve has nothing or twelve is still one?

Jess: Twelve is nothing.

Drew: Twelve is nothing.

Jess: Twelve is average. Yep. You can't reroll, um, unless you have greater than twelve. If you have eight or less, I get to reroll a roll against you!

Ronnie: Oh…

Jess: If you have a 4 or a 3, I get to reroll two rolls against you! And if you have a 2 or a 1, I get to reroll three rolls against you. There are some other things that Luck will have, and you can combine Luck for things, and Luck does have other applications, like there will be times where I won't know if something's going to go one way or another, where you'll roll a Luck thing. So, at the moment I get to roll against Ellie and Ronnie twice a session.

Ronnie: [laughs sadly]

Ellie: It's okay.

Drew: Sucks to be them!

Ellie: HuM4n's fine about it.

Jess: And the only people who get rerolls, are Drew and Ev, which... wait, no! Drew doesn't get any!

Drew: No.

Jess: So only Ev gets to reroll.

Ev: Heyo!

Drew: I don't get any rerolls but you don't get to roll against me!

Jess: Yup.

Ellie: You said three d6 right?

Jess: Yeah.

Ellie: Wow, I rolled so terribly!

Jess: I kinda like it! I kinda like the low…

Drew: I think it's hilarious that you and Ronnie both rolled the same thing.

Ev: The same really bad thing!

Drew: Yeah.

Jess: It's so impressive... Christ. Okay, um, now let's do materials. Um. Which are Status, Education, Money, and Equipment. Your Status and Education will have some effect. Money's probably going to have the most effect to start, because that's going to depend on what, it's gonna change your budget around, and then Equipment is also a thing. So, roll one d6.

Drew: Pardon?

Jess: Roll one d6.

Drew: Okay.

Ellie: Okay, I rolled a six.

Jess: Okay, that's your... that's your Status, so you have been with this company the longest, Ellie.

Drew: Oh man, I rolled a four.

Ev: Hey, that doesn't make any goddamn sense! [laughs]

Drew: Hey it's your bad luck.

Jess: I mean, it's kinda like, if you're middle management, and this robot's kinda come along and is kind of, muscling you out.

Ev: Climbing the corporate ladder!

Jess: Yeah! [laughs]

Drew: That means I'm gonna hate you!

Ev: [sarcastic] Goddamn robots takin' our jobs!

Jess: You could get along!

Ronnie: I got a five.

Ev: I also have a five.

Drew: That doesn't make any sense!

Ev: Aw man, I'm at the same Status as the, the intern?

Drew: I have LESS Status than the intern!

Jess: I don't, I think it also is like, societal level Status, so if you have Status in certain groups, that might also count towards this. So maybe the fact that Ellie's kind of the leader of a church is gonna bump her Status up a little bit.

Ellie: I mean, it's kind of a church. Kind of, but not really.

Ronnie: I'm internet famous! [laughs]

Jess: [laughs]

Ev: You have a lot of followers on Tumblr!

Drew: People are just jealous of my bear arms.

[laughter]

Drew: My friends have all died. I have no Status because they're all dead.

Jess: Aw!

Ev: Oh my god, Drew!

Jess: It's because our society doesn't respect the elderly.

Ev: Yeah.

Drew: I'm sure they just ship us off to get burned or something.

Jess: Aww! It's not THAT dystopian! I'll just work you until you're dead!

Drew: Oh, okay.

Jess: Okay so roll me another d6, guys.

Ellie: And this is for Education?

Jess: Uh, actually I'm gonna let you roll first, and then we'll figure it out, so it makes more sense next time!

Ellie: I rolled a three.

Jess: 'Kay.

Ronnie: I got a one!

Drew: I rolled a two.

Ev: I have a five again.

Jess: Okay, it does make sense for this to be Education, right?

Drew: Yeah!

Ev: I think so.

Drew: I already said that my character did go to, like didn't go to school, he just learned his stuff from Trades.

Jess: Yeah.

Drew: He failed high school, so.

Jess: I'm guessing that Ev, your guy went to, like, your person went to like, a Clerical college? Like a religious…

Ev: Yeah. Um, yeah, probably.

Jess: And then, Ronnie is like, a homeless teenager, so... Roll again, guys!

Ronnie: Gah! [dropped their dice probably]

Ev: Frick, I got a three for Money.

Jess: 'Kay.

Ellie: I got a four.

Ronnie: Oh dang! I got a four for Money.

Jess: Okay!

Drew: I rolled it off of the edge of my book. [laughs]

Jess: Don't do that!

Drew: I rolled a six! Retirement money!

Ev: Retirement mon! [laughs]

Jess: Okay, nice, so, this is your weekly income in Creds, which are the currency. Actually…

Drew: Six dollars a week!

Ev: [laughs]

Jess: Well, if you'll look, I think you actually get twice that.

Ev: Yeah, you said it was two weeks back pay when you start.

Jess: Yeah, it's two weeks back pay, is what you've got sort of behind you, so you've got twelve creds to start. You get six a week but you have two weeks of back pay. But, you do have, like, weekly things you might have to pay, like rent and rations, uh…

Ellie: Question!

Jess: Yeah?

Ellie: Do I pay rations if I don't eat?

Jess: Um, oil, maintenance, that kind of thing.

Ellie: Ahh.

Jess: Also, you as a druid/technomancer/paladin have to pay for a Holy Site with 1 Cred monthly, so you can subtract that from your income.

Drew: That's complicated.

Jess: Yeah, I wanted to make this, uh, a game about budgeting.

Drew: In the loan section, are we doing compound loaning?

Jess: No, because I don't want to have to do that much math.

Ronnie: Hey! Hey! Stop! [laughs] Noooooo! [yelps]

Jess: I don't know what's happening over there, but I bet it's disgusting.

Ev: I think Drew and Ronnie are being married right now. [laughs]

Jess: God... damnit.

Ev: They're doing married shit.

Jess: This is what happens when you invite married people to anything, right?

Drew: I'm tickling them!

[laughter]

Jess: [sarcastic] Gross.

Ronnie: Okay, okay.

Jess: They don't deserve that. Anyway! Um, you guys all need rent to rent out a place and rations. You can combine those however you want. If you want to eat fois gras in a gutter, that's fine. If you wanna eat spam in a mansion, that's also fine. Uh, you can get yourself some prosthesis…

Drew: There's very little money to start with!

Jess: You guys don't have, like glamorous jobs, you know that right? Like…

Drew: Yeah I know, but we've been living for a while! You'd think we'd have SOME money to start with!

Ev: I have a partner who brings in her own income, presumably!

Drew: Yeah, right?

Jess: It's Capitalist Space Future! Do you wanna... [laughs] You have to pay Air loans probably!

Drew: Can I just get a tattoo of a corporation on my ass and call it a day?

Jess: I mean, you can if you want! That's probably why you get six, six pay a week!

Ev: Earl is so into body modding. [laughs]

Drew: Earl IS into body modding.

Jess: There is totally like, underground body modding places, and people get addicted to modding their bodies until they're like, weird. Ah... Space Future.

Ellie: Can I use my creds that aren't, that are part of my Money to get a tiny automaton familiar?

Jess: Yes, of course you can!

Ellie: [happy sound]

Jess: Um…

Drew: Where are the familiars?

Jess: The familiars are for wizards and druids. You can get one. It's gonna be alive by magic whereas Ellie's is gonna be alive by religious…

Ellie: It's a tiny robot!

Drew: But, but isn't that like a baby then?

Jess: I was thinking more like the daemons from The Golden Compass and The Amber Spyglass, but robots.

Drew: I was just thinking 'cause it's robot, I'm like isn't there some sort of like, weird existential thing that you have to consider because you're also a robot?

Jess: Yeah, Ellie! Do you?

Ellie: Sorry?

Jess: Do you have to consider that, that they're babies, or is it different for robots?

Drew: Or that they're equal?

Ellie: They're different for robots!

Drew: But doesn't that have like a weird supremacy thing for robots though?

Jess: [laughs]

Ellie: No! It's my buddy!

Ev: It's like, you know, being a human and owning a dog. Like, they're still flesh and blood guys, they're just like, dumb and you know, you have to take care of them.

Drew: A dog, a dog isn't a tiny human, though!

Ellie: I have a connection with my tiny robot friend! It's like we're both friends on equal terms.

Jess: Also, I think in this society, there are like, dogs that are as intelligent as people, and dogs that aren't. I think that it's gotten to the point where people occasionally will just make a creature or a species super smart 'cause they can.

Drew: That that mean that there are like, super not-smart people?

Jess: Hmmm…

Ev: I dunno if I like that, 'cause that gets into weird like, weird territory.

Jess: That gets kind of into, um, what's-it-called, that one dystopian, not nineteen-eighty... Brave New World! It gets a bit Brave New World. I'm not sure we're gonna go that far into the like, intelligence hierarchy, some-people-are-better-than-others…

Drew: Yeah, I'm fine with not doing that! I was just asking about robots.

Ev: [sad laugh]

Jess: It's interesting from a robot perspective. I wonder if it's like, based on how, like, close they are to the Singularity.

Ev: Well, plus we also have in this world, robots that are dead people's souls put into machines.

Jess: Oh yeah! That's a thing!

Ellie: Maybe I built my own familiar.

Jess: Aww!

Drew: Oh I know what, I know what I want now!

Jess: Yeah?

Drew: I want Earl's, like, Life Partner to have passed on [Ev gasps], and they had decided he was going to go into like, one of those, um, machines and then like he was super fit-looking and awesome and he's like "See ya later, Earl!" and then just like leaves.

Ev: Ohh!!

[lots of sob laughing]

Drew: So that was Earl's like, retirement funds.

Jess: Aw!!

Ev: Oh my god!!

Ellie: He's... he's so sad and awwuh!

Jess: So, does Earl not have any money anymore? Did you get it, like, the large…

Drew: He gets six Creds! Of course he doesn't have any money! I'm trying to explain away the fact that he's saved for like sixty years and he's got like, 12 Creds!

Jess: [laughs]

Drew: Um, do I need to pay for my prosthesis or should I just like imagine that I paid for them when I was young like I said?

Jess: I think I might have to make you pay for your prosthesis.

Ev: Noo!

Jess: [laughs]

Drew: I still have one dollar left!

Jess: You have your Equipment money! I gave you Equipment money!

Drew: Yeah, then I'll just be naked! [laughs]

Ronnie: [laughs]

Ev: Christ.

Jess: I'm assuming you have…

Drew: Do I have to pay for each arm or can it just be 11 dollars, 11 Cred?

Jess: I think you just paid for it all. You can can also have been in debt for the last like…

Ev: Rope is really expensive.

Jess: That's... [laughs]

Drew: Oh, what's the deal with the bondage rope that I had suggested?

Jess: You get to keep your bondage rope, but if Ellie wants rope, she has to pay full price.

Drew: Okay.

Ellie: Jess, how much are weapons and what what weapons are available for a druid?

Jess: Um, so... mostly, you just have to look at the druid weapons in AD&D and then we're gonna adapt them.

Ellie: Can I have a quarter staff?

Jess: Yeah.

Ellie: Alright.

Ev: And that goes for spells, too, right?

Jess: Yeah.

Ev: We're just doing AD&D ones?

Jess: Yeah. If you want.

Drew: Is there, like, a certain amount of spells?

Jess: Uh, same as AD&D, it's just whether we're gonna start you as level one or level three. What would you guys prefer?

Drew: Uh…

Ev: What's a man catcher?

Jess: What?

Ev: I'm looking at Cleric weapons and there's something called a man catcher.

Jess: Like a net? [laughs]

Drew: Jess?

Jess: Yeah?

Drew: I'd like to advocate because I have bear arms, that I get to use one of the D&D things where I have claws, which actually is an attack weapon.

Jess: Okay, but you don't get any other weapons except for a magic gun if you wanna shell out the money for that.

Drew: Well, I mean, I'm already shelling out the money for my arms, they're 11 Cred, right?

Jess: Yeah, it's true! [laughs]

Drew: So I just wanna be able to use my claws if I need to!

Jess: Yeah, those are probably gonna be a 1d4 damage. And I think the thing is, the reason they would be kind of lower as well is because I think there are a lot of robots and people who have body mods and you're gonna need energy weapons.

Drew: Well, and also I'm just old. So my physical body is probably pretty old, even if my bear arms are rad.

Jess: Man, you could probably get your claws, like, upgraded into laser claws at some point.

Drew: That'd be cool. I wonder if my bear arms need to be replaced at points because bears, like, live way less and so every like, ten years my bear arms have to be replaced when they, like shrivel up and fall off.

Ronnie: Gah!

Jess: [laughs] So they're like actual bear arms not just like, look like bear arms?

Drew: Yeah, they're actual bear arms!

Jess: I love it, okay, yeah.

Ellie: So Jess, are we first level or third level, 'cause that changes how many spells I can get.

Jess: I know! [sighs] ...I guess you guys are third level.

Ronnie: I have picked out my stuff!

Jess: Oh yeah? What do you have?

Ronnie: I have a Hacker's kit, one alternate ID which is The Oracle... xx27…

Jess: [laughs]

Ronnie: Uh, two costumes, a glow worm, and... a set of Dream Interference. And... no weapon because this shitty teen doesn't understand.

Jess: I am gonna get that shitty teen a hoverboard if it's the last thing I do.

Ev: Oh good.

Jess: [laughs] Like, I just want the shittiest, eighty-est, 80s-est…

Drew: So the hat actually says that it doesn't have to be a spell! I get a special effect, which can be frost resistance, advantage on charisma rolls, or an extra spell slot!

Jess: Shit! [laughs]

Ev: Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking when we were talking about it, Jean. You can change it if you want, but I was thinking like, it's like having an item equipped in a video game where it like, gives you a buff or something.

Jess: Yeah, I think that's it. I think I just said "spell" because I'm a sleepy baby all the time, and I don't know what's going on in the game I'm creating! So.. yeah!

Drew: I think I'm gonna end up getting a loan, I think.

Jess: I'll just have to keep track of that, and then there'll be creditor organizations who are keeping an eye on you, and I'll just have to remember that.

Ev: Can I have a, a sword?

Jess: Yes.

Ev: A non-haunted sword?

Jess: Yyyyyeesssss... I feel like you're kind of edging more towards the Paladin territory in some ways…

Ev: That's true.

Jess: I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it kind of, almost fits with the character more than the Cleric?

Ev: I can do a Paladin.

Jess: Yeah.

Ev: Alright, yeah, I'll just be a Paladin. Fuck it!

Jess: I feel like there's probably a cool name we could give to the Paladins, for the Future Times, but we'll figure that out.

Drew: Pala-don'ts.

Jess: [laughs] Pala-do?

Ev: [laughs]

Drew: Pala-outs!

Jess: Uh, Pala-drives?

Ev: Pals!

Jess: Like, drive? Like... a computer drive?

Ev: Hm....

Jess: No?

Ev: Mods? [laughs]

Jess: Oh no wait, I love that! [laughs]

Ev: Well, that doesn't really make sense, 'cause they're not really in charge of any, like, they're not like, well... I dunno! A mod?

Jess: Um, admins?

Drew: How come technomancers get to be in the druid/cleric/paladin AND in the wizard section?

Jess: Uh, 'cause technomancers can use, uh, pretty much they can use wizard or druid magic to affect the Dreaming.

Drew: Okay. ...What's a spring belt?

Jess: Oh, the spring belt is, uh, if you have your weapon in it, it means you always have it at the ready, so even in surprise attacks, you're not gonna get surprised and you can attack and roll initiative.

Drew: Okay. Um, and what's a travelling duster?

Jess: Like, a cool duster, like the jacket in [shyly] ...Fallout New Vegas.

Ev: [laughs]

Ellie: You're a nerd, Jess.

Jess: Hey.

Ronnie: I might need it.

Jess: [laughs] Oh my god, you do need it!

Ev: That's what that hoodie is! [laughs]

Jess: Oh my god, no. I need…

Ronnie: My hoodie is actually a travel duster?

Drew: Ooh what's a festival lantern do?

Jess: I think it's just a cool lantern! [laughs]

Drew: Dentures?! C'mon! I've been working here for how many years and I don't get coverage for dentures?

Jess: Yeah, there is definitely only private health insurance in the future.

Drew: I'll gum you to death!

Jess: [laughs]

Drew: Uh, so right now I need, I would need a 14 Credit loan.

Jess: I think you can get a 14 Credit loan. I'll just write it down. Does anyone else need a loan?

Ev: Yeah, I need a loan of... 4 dollars.

Drew: I'll, I'll probably need to get one or two Credits more just so I can clothes. Um, but, that's what I'll ask for right now, and then I'll email you about it later.

Jess: Cool.

Ronnie: My clothes come from the garbage!

[laughter]

Ronnie: Except for the cool duster thing.

Ev: You saved up for a good jacket.

Jess: Aw, that's so, like, like, I'm just imagining zem like, saving all of their money for weeks on end and spending it all on a jacket.

Is there anything else you guys want to go over before we leave? Any worldbuilding stuff that you think is really appropriate to this world that you need me to inject right now?

Ellie: Well, I don't know if it's really anything important, but I thought, so we all have usernames in the Dream, right?

Jess: Yeah.

Ellie: My robot's username is Sore_491, and it's that because the robot had to have a human friend help to log in because of the prove-you're-not-a-robot, and that was what, that was the code that needed to be typed in, and the human thought it would be funny to name the robot's…

Jess: Username.

Ellie: Yeah.

Drew: Hey, can my guy's name be deepthroat_69?

[laughter]

Jess: Yeah! Absolutely! And I bet, yeah, he had to be really fast on the draw to get that, that username.

Drew: What I, well I, well he's old, right? But he…

Ev: Yeah he's had it since the Internet was new!

Drew: I want it be that, basically they, um, you can't change your username once you have it, so like, so like he just went into the Dreaming when he was horny one time or something, and then he got this job later on and he was like "Fuck, whatever." [laughs]

Ev: There's probably SO many people with that, that that has happened to!

Jess: Yeah, like... Oh, I want the mayor's username to be, like... 420justblaze$$$, and like, part of their campaign was being like, now I'm a serious candidate!

Ellie: One of the heads of the churches is called MiLady450.

Jess: [laughs] Cleric…

Ronnie: There is so much Vaporwave in this, in this RP right now.

Ev: It's so good. I'm trying to think of something that Adie would have... It's probably something that they thought was really clever when they were a teenager... shit.

Ellie: Can there just be a, epidemic of memes? In the church? Like…

Jess: [laughs]

Ellie: [laughs] like another head of the church has one that's "Can I Haz Churchburger?"

Drew: Noooooooooo!

Ellie: [laughs]

Ev: I bet this is a future where there's definitely, like, a church of Our Lord Dril, or something like that. [laughs]

Jess: Oh god! Oh god....

Drew: I want people to be back to worshiping cats again.

Jess: I think, I think we can do that. Think they probably put on performances of Cats every Sunday. IN the Dreaming, though. Like, they got kicked out of other... they can't do it Live anymore. They, have a Live, once a year, Cats performance.

Ev: Oh, oh! Can we have it, can he have "Hugh Jackman's Huge Act-in" be canon in this universe?

Jess: Yeah, definitely.

Drew: Hugh Jackman's what?

Jess: It's a CoolGames Inc. ... it's a podcast where they make up game ideas, but one of them was "Hugh Jackman's Huge Act-in." You get to be the actors in Broadway show of your dreams, and it's virtual. You're virtually kind of, filled into a lobby.

Ev: It's VR theatre, and, and it's such a good concept, and I'm so mad that it doesn't exist. [laughs]

Jess: I feel like there's, like, bazillions of entertainment channels, and some of them are just like virtual, and some of them are real actors, and some of them are just Amateur Hour. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a, like, station called "Amateur Hour."

Ev: [laughs] Good.

Ronnie: [laughs]

Drew: I, I drew Ronnie's and my character. [shuffling paper] [The drawing shows Earl with an arm around Zibyl.]

[chorus of giggles and "aww"s]

Jess: "You're gonna go far, kid."

Drew: [laughs]

Ev: He's so little!

Drew: He's super short! He's like 5'2" or something!

Ellie: Like, he's reaching up with his arm!

Drew: Yeah.

[laughing and yelling, probably because Drew's showing a drawing of Earl with a leather harness and black g-string.]

Jess: That's happening. I guess.

[laughter]

Ev: Is that...

Ellie: Earl's the best.

Ev: Is that his avatar?

Drew: That's his, so he's got two avatars. He's got his like, cruising avatar, and then this is his regular avatar. [Drew shows the drawing of Earl's avatar, which has him in his normal dress and slacks with suspenders and bowtie, but taller and more svelte.]

Ev: Oh, yeah!

Jess: So cute!

Ellie: Earl is the best.

Ev: Earl's the cutest character I've seen in my life. Oh my god.

Drew: Back to his cruising avatar! [laughs] [Earl is in a harness and g-string again in this drawing, but with his more "ideal" build as an avatar.]

Ev: Jesus Christ. [laughs]

Ellie: Wow.

Ev: Oh boy.

Drew: [showing another drawing] This is his partner that left him when he got downloaded into a robot!

Ev: Aw!!

Jess: [laughs]

Drew: Um, what's in the, uh Adventurer's kit?

Ev: Whatever we want, I think, right?

Jess: Yup! And, like, you can...

Drew: Whatever we want?

Ev: Well.

Jess: And if you can try to convince me it's like, something you would carry, I will just say yes to you carrying it, but you can't go ridiculous with it. You can't be like "I have the item we're looking for!" or "I have the Heart of the Dreaming!" Neither of those things are gonna happen, so, like.

Ronnie: [laughs] So, like, in Pathfinder there's actually a Perk called "Packrat," for Ratfolk, which is, if there is a mundane item that we need, I can just say "Oh, I happen to have it!"

Drew: That is one thing I like about Pathfinder, is that they give you, like you get to pick a couple qualities and they affect your characters, like what is that?

Ev: Oh, that's like what we have!

Drew: The [traits] are really cool, and they can be things that like affect your character, so one of the [traits] can be like you're rich, and you start out with like, three times the amount of money, but that wastes one of your [traits] so it only affects you at the beginning of the game, basically. Whereas, um, you can have a [traits] where, what is it? One of them is that I was an orphan, so everyone who didn't have parents trusted me more automatically.

Jess: Heh! It does kind of also sound like, uh, the proficiencies, almost. Which, are just things you're kinda good at. You'll get proficiencies, you can be good at stuff that isn't, like, directly based... like dancing and cooking an' things like that.

Drew: Earl's really good at tying things.

Ronnie: [laughs]

Jess: Okay.

Ev: That's not surprising.

Drew: We had that discussion.

Ellie: Can I have animal handling?

Jess: Yes, but you can apply it to robots.

Drew: Do you have a list of possible ones or are we just making them up and asking?

Ellie: I'm gonna apply it to robots.

Ev: Uhh... can we, I think we can make 'em up, right? As long as they're not weapon proficiencies?

Drew: Um, and how many do we get?

Jess: Uh, magic-user has three non-weapon, but a Druid begins with three non-weapon slots and gains another at level six, book rules suggest a character should receive two additional slots every six levels. [distant meowing] So you get up to five at level six. A paladin gets two non-weapon slots, one more is gained at level three. A thief acrobat, which is...

Ronnie: [distant] Sheppard, come here!

Sheppard: [continues meowing]

Ev: [laughs]

Jess: Um. [laughs]

Ev: Everyone be quiet, there's a cat talking!

[laughter]

Jess: I don't want to interrupt, but here's something else that's also useful. [sends link]

Sheppard: [meows louder]

[laughter]

Ellie: Jess, I want ancient history!

Jess: Okay. Oh, here's a great list, shit!

Ev: God, the background on this site is balls...

Drew: It's balls and ass!

Ev: [laughs]

Drew: It's a, like, hairy anus.

[laughter]

Jess: But it's useful! Look, I, I didn't make this site!

Drew: Just paste it to a google doc and save our eyes!

Jess: I will paste it into a google doc later!

Ev: [laughs] How difficult are we making your job right now, Jess?

Jess: Not, I mean, you just changed the rules of the game like six times, but...

Ev: Well...

Jess: But it's fine! [laughs]

Ev: It's like, okay so...

Sheppard: [meows loudly into the mic]

Jess: Oh my god that's the loudest cat in the world.

[laughter]

Ev: Who even is this cat?

Drew: You know what's even louder? I'm reading about a spell called Ghost Sounds that sounds completely useless.

Jess: What, what is the spell called Ghost Sounds?

Drew: Um, you just make a sound that people think could be a ghost. You send a whisper fifty feet away.

Ev: Ohhhh, I wish my character believed in ghosts! [laughs]

[laughter]

Jess: This is a decision, okay? Uh, so I decided that technomancy comes in three forms, and... There are Clerics who can like, religious people use their belief to manipulate the world and technology. Magic users use magic over technology to manipulate technology and, um, LARPers, Bards, that lot use technology to manipulate magic, and mechanically, that means that if you are a religious person, you roll under your Wisdom to Hack. If you are a Wizard, you roll under your Intelligence to Hack, and if you are a Bard, you use your Charisma to Hack. Because basically Bards sweet talk the machine into doing what they want.

Drew: "Hey baby... take your cables and tie them up real nice..."

Ronnie: Actually it's... [laughs]

Drew: "Heheheheheh..."

Jess: Earl is a terrible Wizard. Um, here is the other thing, Drew, I'm just making sure you know this... You can use spells that aren't in your spellbook, but you will forget them forever.

Drew: Okay...! I didn't know that, but now I'm like... I'll have to look into spells that I wanna have as like my eventually-I'll-forget-this-spell but it's a pull-it-out-of-my-ass kind of thing.

Ev: Your burn spells.

Drew: Yeah. I don't have my Ass Spells yet though, so.

Jess: Yeah, I just figured you should probably know that.

Drew: I appreciate that.

Ev: All of Earl's spells are Ass Spells.

Drew: Heheheheh!

Jess: [laughs] 'Specially those rope spells. Anyway! Moving swiftly... on!

Ellie: Alright, I was just saying I'm having swimming as one of HuM4n the robot's... proficiencies... even though HuM4n is a robot.

Ev: They could be waterproof. I mean, she could be waterproof.

Ellie: Yeah, but she feels uncomfortable!

Ev: [laughs]

Jess: It's so cute!

Ev: That doesn't sound like a proficiency!

Ronnie: [laughs]

Ellie: No, it's like she's, she's good at swimming, it's just she hates it!

Drew: That's fair.

Ellie: You know how you have parents and they're like "Err, you're gonna do this," and you're like "Why," and then you get good at it, and you're like "I still don't like it!"

Ronnie: [laughs]

Drew: Yeah.

Ellie: That's HuM4n's experience swimming.

Ronnie: Obviously Zibyl is good at sewing.

Ev: Aw!

Drew: Why is it obvious?

Ronnie: Because, Zibyl made zeir clothes from garbage!

[chorus of "aww"s]

Ronnie: And also, uh, and also...

Drew: Why does, uh, Zibyl have red eyes? [Referring to a drawing Ronnie is making]

Ronnie: 'Cause that's what that breed of rat looks like!

Ev: [laughs]

Ronnie: Anyway! Zibyl makes zeir clothes from all of the hand-me-downs from zeir gazillion sibilings, and so...

Ev: Their zibilings?!

[laughter]

Jess: No!

Ronnie: Zeir gazillion ziblings! [laughs]

Jess: No!

Ev: [laughs]

Jess: No! Please... Okay, I'm going to get more water, you guys have to make some decisions! We have to move on this!

Drew: This, this list of spells is, like, terrible! It's so hard!

Jess: Yeah, you shitty spells 'cause you're a shit wizard!

Ronnie: [laughs loudly]

Jess: Get a promotion! Maybe get some better spells!

Drew: I more mean that it's difficult to find what it is, but that's fair! That's fair.

Jess: [laughs]

Drew: Um, you didn't get back to me about, you were going to think about my hat, because what you had told me and what the sheet said about what my hat can do is different, and you said you were going to think about it.

Jess: Yes. It can... buff you. Choose a buff. But choose a buff that isn't, like, "I want this for my character for gameplay reasons." Think about it in the world. Like, what did... wait, I can't remember Earl's... oh, Earl. Not deepthroat69, which is why I have it written here.

[laughter]

Jess: Um, what did Earl's, like, mentor... what would he, or she, or they have wanted to pass down to Earl? And what kind of person would they, like what kind of buff would they have put on that hat? So you think about that, I'm gonna get some water...

Ev: My character wants to mentor Ronnie's character, that's, like immediately what they, like... I was talking to Jess about this, they're... actually no, I was talking to Ellie about this I think!

Ellie: Mm-hmm!

Ev: Which is that, they want to take Zibyl under their wing and have Earl take zem under his wing! And then they'd want HuM4n to just not be there. [laughs]

Drew and Ronnie: [laughs]

Ellie: [in a robot voice] HuM4n understands, but will not comply. Beep boop!

[laughter]

Drew: I love it. ...There's not a lot of spells, because they're not sorted in any way, on this Wiki, so it's like going through all these shitty random spells that all like, does this weird obscure thing from this one side quest thing.

Ev: Hmm.

Jess: I'm back!

Ev: Well, I mean maybe you could think about what kind of effects you wanna have, and then just pick something that's similar to that and you can mod it, y'know?

Drew: Yeah, I'm just, a lot of them do things that I don't even know what they mean. So I'm just trying to find ones that make sense, 'cause there's a lot of like weird, stuff being like "alter normal winds" and "avert evil eye, means that Evil Eye doesn't affect you," and then I have to read about what Evil Eye is...

Jess: Evil Eye is someone watching ya. Creepin on ya.

Drew: Oh, okay. That's actually not bad.

Jess: Yeah, I mean I would say you could mod that and be like, it means that cameras around you will go out!

Drew: I like that!

Ev: I really wanna fast ask about, are we, are we doing alignments, because a lot of my stuff has to do with alignments. [laughs] And if it's, I mean, I can totally pick and choose and sort of ignore the whole Detect Evil stuff, but...

Jess: I think... [sighs] Ah, shit, are we doing alignments...

Ev: I don't want to have to be Lawful Good. I, like, that's the most boring thing about being a Paladin ever.

Jess: Oh, I'm definitely not, like, constraining anyone to anything, like...

Ev: Okay, okay...

Jess: Like, those systems exist, but you do not have to abide by, like, race restrictions, character class restrictions... all that shit. Nah. Nah son.

Ronnie: I think, Ev, is that, it's not necessarily that your character is Good because everyone's vision of good is different, just as long as your character falls within their scripture, the honoring the five things...

Ev: Yeah.

Ronnie: I can't remember which... the body things. The bones and the blood stuff.

Ev: Yeah, I think... Yeah, I think I'm gonna go with, like, they... maybe "evil" in this case is stuff that doesn't... well, that's a really really broad base... I dunno. I think maybe, maybe it would be best to just ignore the "what here is evil" skill, because it's so weird and broad, and it doesn't make much sense in terms of actual morality.

Jess: What about "What here is malevolent," or what if you have a virus scanner?

Ev: Ooh! That's exactly what I'm gonna do!

Jess: Like, you can just check if things have bad spells and bad viruses and shit.

Ev: Yeah! Okay, I love that. That's awesome. Oh, and I also have uh, a thing called "Aura of Protection," which is that if Evil tries to attack me within, like, a certain range, it take a -1 penalty, and I'm just gonna say I have really good antivirus software.

Jess: [laughs]

Ev: Okay.

Jess: Okay!

Ellie: So, Jess?

Jess: Hmm?

Ellie: I was thinking about "Speak with Machines." Does that mean there's more than one language with machines?

Jess: I think there might be multiple languages. Because there are like, Ev and I were talking and there are like, different platforms that can get you onto the Dreaming with, and we're making some analogies to like, Wizards and Clerics and Bards being, like, your Mac users, your PC users, and you Linux users. So that's that, and then like to get to the Dreaming you have different "browsers" quote unquote...

Ev: There's also like different programming languages in general that you can use.

Jess: Yeah. That's what I was thinking like, the different classes maybe create... they can all create robots, right? So maybe a robot created by a Cleric has a different language to one created by a Wizard, to one created just by mechanics, to one created by a Bard.

Ellie: But maybe robots speak just like, maybe the spell, 'cause I've got a spell "Speak with Machines," maybe they speak to each other on a spiritual level.

Ev: How would you communicate with a microphone that doesn't have any kind of... maybe that's what allows you to communicate with machines that don't have any kind of like, sentience or whatever, or...

Drew: Maybe you would give them sentience briefly?

Ellie: [dramatically] But Ev! We're ALL from the Earth!

Ev: Yeah but, I can't talk to cows!

Jess: [guffaws]

Jess: [quietly] Sorry.

Ev: Or I can but I can't communicate with them!

Drew: Oh dear.

Jess: Can I also just say, uh one thing we did talk about was that Hymn is the language of the Church of the Born, their like programming language is called Hymn. Like H-Y-M-N.

Ev: I, I thought it was more like, the language of religious things, because the Church of the Born, their whole thing is like, "we don't really do that," so... [laughs]

Jess: Okay, yeah, so maybe it's just that. Religious things.

Ev: Like Clerics use Hymn to do their shit.

Jess: Uhhh, oh, and I found the browser names for where you jack in. Uh, it's Reverie, which is like, Opera, and then Lotus and Morpheus are the ones we have already.

Drew: Uh, so this, uh, thing doesn't actually have anything about the duration of the spell or anything like that, in the Wiki.

Jess: Well, uh, we can just make up durations.

Drew: Kay.

Jess: [laughs]

Drew: We'll figure it out when I actually use it.

Jess: I figure that probably, yeah, it's probably just going to be as long as narratively relevant, so I might just cut it out at a slightly inconveniently time. Cause that's more interesting.

Ellie: Maybe it could be Luck dependent.

Jess: Oh shit yeah! That's a good idea.

Ev: [to Drew] You do have nice Luck.

Ellie: And I have terrible luck!

Ev: That's a great way to use that.

Jess: Yeah.

Ronnie: Also it's funny how the things that I'm interested in have snuck into this roleplay. I mean, rats is obviously one of them!

Jess: [laughs] It's not surprising.

Ronnie: Oh, but, since I'm actually reading through the AD&D book I have a second time, like highlighting shit, I'm just, the things that I've read are just coming into the...

Drew: The what book?

Ronnie: The ADD... the ADD book, sorry.

Drew: [laughs] The AD&D book!

Ronnie: Oh no! [laughs]

Drew: That's why I was asking what you said!

Jess: We're all... yeah.

Ronnie: The ADD book... uh, so I guess Zibyl has ADD traits now. [laughs] Because that's sort of what...

Jess: That's fair.

Drew: Can we go over talking about what my familiar does?

Jess: Oh yeah.

Drew: And like where...

Jess: Where is your familiar right now by the way?

Drew: I don't know! Um, I don't know what my familiar would look like right or anything. We could retroactively have my familiar on my shoulder. A small one?

Jess: Yeah. Or you could have it on your desk?

Drew: I, I could be so creepy, I'm like, "I have a rat familiar!"

Ronnie: Ahh!

Drew: Like a little rat!

Jess: Aw! [laughs]

Ronnie: See, I was thinking about, about Zibyl being like super fond of cats.

Jess: Ha!

Drew: But I feel like the cat wouldn't be the small one.

Ronnie: No, probably not a tiny one, unless it was a tiny cat.

Drew: I could have a squirrel!

Ronnie: Can I run a couple proficiencies past Jess?

Drew: I don't have my proficiencies...

Jess: Yes. You can.

Ronnie: Uh, proficiency in telling whether or not food is good?

Jess: [laughs]

Ellie: Like poison detection?

Ronnie: It's like, yeah, it's like poison detection, but it's like, people are like "That looks bad," and then it's like, "No, you'll only just get mild diarrhea, it's fine."

Jess: Ha!

Drew: Yeah, but that would require you to know other peoples' makeup if you can tell what's going to affect them. I can see how it would affect you, but then you'd have to know like everyone else's biological makeup to know how it affects them.

Ronnie: Hmmm...

Ellie: It could be through observation.

Drew: Yeah, it could be through observation, I just meant like you can be that specific in that sense.

Ev: It is though a pretty like, I mean you could be that specific just because it might not be, like, THAT useful

[laughter]

Ev: Like in general, like it's a very specific thing, you know? It's not like it's an overpowered trait or something, y'know?

Ronnie: [laughs] It's true.

Jess: I mean, it might not even be poison detection, technically. Like you can't tell if it's poisoned, but man, those eggs in the back of your fridge? You should really throw them out.

[laughter]

Jess: Oh! No! You know what this is? Like, I think it's a magic thing. Like, I think some of the ratfolk have this weird, like, inborn useless magic and yours is like, it's not even like because you can smell good, it's 'cause... you have like, a sixth sense of whether food has gone bad or not.

Ronnie: [laughs]

Drew: I feel like that's probably gonna bite Earl in the butt because he's gonna look through something and he's gonna want to eat it, and you're gonna be like "That'll make you sick!" and Earl's gonna be like "Fuck you!" and then eat it, and then he's gonna get sick, and he's gonna be like [dramatic gravelly sick voice] "Euurgh, I'm not sick, I dunno what you're talking about! I'm gonna go away now..."

[laughter]

Jess: I also like the idea of like just being able to sense that food is rotten is just kind of really annoying. Like, there's like a constant anxious "Oh shit, in the back of that fridge, it's got someone else's name on it, someone else has labeled it, but there is mould growing up the inside of it, oh god."

[laughter]

Ronnie: Yes.

Ev: And yet, like a totally useful skill if you're a little rat child!

Ronnie: Yes! And so I'm thinking that, and sewing, and... the other thing is... is just like able to sprint for a long time.

Jess: Real hard.

Ronnie: Like compared to other people. Just because, having to run from shit constantly. [laughs]

Ev: And four legs!

Ronnie: And so, and so, if something goes bad, he's just like gone. Bye.

Drew: So we get three, um, three proficiencies right?

Jess: I think you do, yeah, I think everyone at this level has three proficiencies.

Ellie: I get four!

Jess: ...Fuck you, Ellie. [laughs]

Ellie: Aw, whatever. [laughs]

Ev: Do you really or is that...

Jess: Druids get four, and Paladins start, like if we'd started at level one you'd have only gotten two.

Ev: Yeah I'm annoyed. Goddamn it, I chose the wrong class. It's okay, I'm gonna fight the heck out of everybody! Just gimme a minute! [laughs]

Jess: Let us pray.

Drew: Um, okay so I've got knots, like, as one of my proficiencies.

Ev: Catch.

Drew: Well, slash rope. Um, I want leatherworking to be one of my other ones, and then cooking.

Jess: Good. Yeah. Done.

Ev: [laughs] Oh my goodness.

Jess: Okay. Outro! This has been Dicey Situations! I'm Jess.

Drew: I'm Drew!

Ev: I'm Avery.

Ellie: I'm Ellie!

Ronnie: And I'm Ronnie!

Drew: [sarcastic] No you're not!

Ellie: Breaking it down now!

Jess: No!

[laughter]

Jess: This has been a podcast about a game that's kind of being made as we play. We'll find out. It should be fun. See ya next week! [Makes clicking noises, probably while doing finger guns]

[Music fades in]

Drew: [laughs]

Jess: [shyly] Stop laughing.

Ellie: [singing] Ba ba ba, ba ba bada!

[Music continues, then fades out.]

Drew: But before we continue, is this, are these mechanics popular, or are they unpopular mechanics?

Jess: They are really, really unpopular. They've been bullied in the past.

Ronnie: Awwww!

Jess: You NERD. I'm gonna bully Drew!

Drew: [laughs] Bring it on!

Ev: [laughs]

#podcast transcript #official transcript #queer podcast #lgbtq podcast #actual play podcast #actual play tabletop podcast #tabletop games #tabletop rpgs #tabletop podcast #cyberpunk rpg #dungeons and dragons

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