#HE WANTS DAPPER AS HIS OFFICIAL BROTHER BAD

[aesthetic-gem]

Richarlyson is trying to collect Badboyhalo into his collection of dads like a pokémon XD

[c-is-for-circinate]

Okay! I did it! I renewed my library card after a pandemic-and-then-some's worth of years, and I read now.

Which I think means keeping a record or something, probably. If only to keep track of things I do and don't like, for future reference!

Books I've tried to read in the past two weeks, in roughly chronological order:

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir -- never have so many people whose taste I respect disagreed so forcefully on a work of fiction. Plus I had a free epub of it on my harddrive from a Tor thing ages ago, so it seemed like a good place to start. I found it genuinely enjoyable! Gideon was a fun headspace to follow along, and while I absolutely did not go in expecting 'Agatha Christie locked mansion murder mystery, with lots of bones', I was down for it when it happened. A solid choice.

Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton -- DID NOT FINISH. Another random free Tor download. Got about a chapter in and then decided that there was too much cannibalism going on in the weird Regency-esque dragon religion for me, thank you no.

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson -- DID NOT FINISH. I was sad to not like this one! Tumblr keeps raving about Brandon Sanderson! But man, once you've hit the fifth chapter in a row (sorry, third chapter, there were two prologues first) with a brand new narrator, and one of the previous narrators is dead and you're pretty sure you'll never see two of the other POVs ever again, and you've had three timeskips and you're a hundred pages in and maybe the story is finally actually starting, and there have been a whole two female characters so far (well, one female character and one 'sprites aren't supposed to have gender but this one has boobs so I'll give her female pronouns') and we're supposed to like this one because she's Inappropriately Witty in a way her brothers like but her nursemaids scoff at, which mostly seems to consist of arch remarks about how men don't want to date her...big nope!

A Dead Djinn in Cairo, P. Djeli Clark -- A fun (queer) detective novella, prequel to one of this year's Nebula novels. The worldbuilding was very cool -- 1912 Cairo in an alternate history where magic has recently entered the world, very very grounded in its place and period while doing interesting things with magic and djinn. The mystery felt pretty bare-bones and formulaic in itself, but it was a short novella, without a lot of space for twists. An easy read, and you've got to love a dapper lady detective in a suit.

Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir -- I am now officially Up To Date with my various tumblr friends who raved about these books. I enjoyed it! I enjoyed it slightly less than Gideon, I think -- I liked a lower percentage of the characters, and the ones I liked were present a much lower percentage of the time, plus Harrow is just so miserable for so much of the book that it's less fun -- but 'enjoy' is slightly different than 'appreciate', and I did very much appreciate it. Not going to go rabid over the series any time soon, but I'll probably check Nona and Alecto out when they happen.

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, K.S. Villoso -- DID NOT FINISH. Oof, another one I wanted to like, a random browsing pick when I went to grab a hold from the library. The protagonist of this book feels incredibly realistic and relatable as a woman who got married young to a man her family chose, who fucked off and left her with the kid and the family business after an argument, and then showed back up after five years with divorce papers because he wants his 50% of the communal property she's been taking care of the whole time. Which is cool! Unfortunately, said 'communal property' is an entire kingdom, and the protagonist makes zero sense as a queen. She's BAD at her job, in a way that could be interesting to explore as part of her youth/shitty support network, but it really feels like the author does not get just HOW BAD she is at her job. Or what basic logistic decisions could have been made to imply that the progatonist or literally a single member of her staff were even marginally competent. This could be a great setup for a novel about a merchant or a homesteading farmer or a clan leader, but it flopped hard for me.

A Master of Djinn, P. Djeli Clark -- Sequel to the aforementioned novella, and Nebula award winner! This one was, like its prequel, fun, and the imagery and really excellent worldbuilding is 100% its best part. It's very much a detective novel, with certain conceits. None of its characters are particularly layered, everybody is improbably good at sword-fighting, and there was definitely a point at which I was tallying up just how many different incredibly dapper, well-tailored suits in dazzlingly fashionable colors our heroine had worn so far, apparently bought on her civil servant's salary. But at a certain point, you just open yourself up to the joy of an extremely dapper lady detective with a sword cane and a bowler hat and an Extremely Hot Girlfriend who is sometimes a thief. There's an underground jazz club which functions as a speakeasy for no apparent reason but features a brass band direct from New Orleans. At one point Kaiser Wilhelm II shows up. There may or may not be a mecha. Again, the mystery itself is nothing to write home about (a lot more intricate and interesting in the middle than the prequel but still somewhat predictable in bits, and the bad guy at the end was pretty obvious), but the book is fun. Shouldn't dapper lesbian lady detectives get to have that?

In Other Lands, Sara Rees Brennan -- I enjoyed this way more than I expected! I read The Demon's Lexicon years ago, and was DEEPLY unimpressed (I mostly remember it as a mediocre British Supernatural AU made more boring by the process of filing the serial numbers off), but it looks like Brennan and I have both grown as people, because I liked this a lot. It sidesteps the low-hanging fruit of 'why do fantasy lands always need kids to save them? isn't that kind of fucked up?' and goes right for the throat of 'what the fuck kind of sociopolitical system is implied by this child soldier bullshit in the first place, and why is it so easy to be okay with it?'. I found the whole elven reversal of gender tropes grating sexism somewhat wearing, but I liked Elliot as a protagonist a lot. Here's a kid who knows down to his bones that he's bad at people, that he's abrasive and mean and judgemental and impatient, who still values people on just the most fundamental level. Kid's got a -2 to charisma and is still the party face because he's the only person in the entire system who wants to talk first and stab never. I appreciate that, and I appreciate him.

The Unspoken Name, A.K. Larkwood -- An interesting book! I read the whole thing and liked most of the beginning third and most of the end third a great deal, and the middle third well enough with a smidgen of 'I'm a little too ace for this, the Love Interest showed up and it's boring now'. It's a story about...isolation? Abuse, but not the kind that recognizes itself as abuse. In some ways the story feels very scattered, thematically -- a lot of theme going on but I'm not sure how much some of it actually resolves -- but I did really like it. Most of the relatively few relationships in this book, be it friendship or co-worker-ship or acquaintanceship or even just the relationship of a person to a place, are brief and thin, negative or unhealthily one-sided, or just absent, which isn't exactly my taste but does make Csorwe and Shuthmili's mutual understanding the sweeter for it. Fans of Gideon the Ninth would probably like this, although it felt a little less original than I think it might've had I not read that first, and the interplay of traditional fantasy language and extremely casual modern talk felt a lot more uneven. All in all, I think it's a rec if you're into vague unsettled feelings about gods and stories that are more about learning to stand up and leave your abuser than about said abuser ever getting any sort of comeuppance in return. Plus, stubborn lesbian orc girl with a big sword, always a plus.

I have a pile of recs from my last post! I will continue to collect recs! Toss 'em my way, I'm beginning to remember that, oh right, last time I regularly read books I read them voraciously. This is FUN.

[reddeadreference]

Blog Progress Update (Travel Blog Style😎 #5)

Went back out to try and get a damn woodpecker and ran into Javier because Bill got taken by Bounty Hunters. (I think I only had this happen to me once before, I don’t remember Javier saying how much of a problem Bill is... ironic... you have no idea amigo...)

Found one. A woodpecker that is. Only a good and not a perfect. So ... damn...

Trying yet another spot.

The sound of pecking wood haunts Arthur’s dreams....

I swear the game is doing this on purpose, after 2 more good woodpeckers I finally got the perfect, but it hit the water and started going down river NEVER giving me the lil paw symbol to indicate that I had killed it/that it was even there.

Luckily Arthur spotted it in the water, followed it, and got it. We officially have all the little critters we’re gonna need.

Finally spoke to John. The look on Arthur’s face... look how shocked he looks that John has a good idea. Like “Wait a second... who are you and what have you done with my dumb brother...?”

Went to get an oil wagon for John’s plan. (See Dutch, what John has is an actual plan. Spent weeks standing by a tree and staring at a blank piece of paper that magically turned into map planning this plan out. Take notes Dutch.... take notes.)

Oh hey, John, buddy, pal, friend, bro… This oil wagon.... it doesn't actually need to be full of oil, right? Not like the train driver will know if it has anything in it, right? Why am I asking? No reason. No reason at all. Huh? What am I covered in? Uh.... I slipped in mud. Really really dark mud.

Sean is magically back in camp! (He wasn't even part of the mission I did that brought him back.. oh well. Wouldn’t be rdr2 without weird glitches...). I finally got a photo of his clothes and discovered he shares the tent with Rev. Swanson.... so... who’s bedroll is in front of Javier and Charles’? Is it meant to be Micah’s (Press X to DOUBT) I guess it’s just an extra for Javier to sit on when he plays his guitar...

Anyone ever noticed how… bouncy Sean’s walk is? Lil pep in his step. Was the term "swag" invented in that context yet?

Oh I'm "hanging around camp like a bad smell" am I Dutch? I “used to be a man of action” was I Dutch? Well this time Arthur isn't come back til someone comes for us. For real this time!

Come on Arthur, let's go see Albert. At least he appreciates us …

"Been here before"... Arthur, why are you talking like we're not still in Chapter 2? I know I’m not meant to spend this long in this chapter but... I want to. Dang... I’m gonna miss that funny little photo man…

Did some more hunting requests and took a trip to Saint Denis (I know Arthur, I keep promising we wont go back... I’m sorry.) Went on a shopping spree, got a hair cut, then went to the theater.

Look how dapper we look.

The show just refuses to show me the fire breather's 3rd act… so I gotta post the show's post without photos from that.

The little voice in Arthur's head is going to listen to the show while they work on posts.

---

I think I’ve FINALLY gotten all of Saint Denis done (At least what I can get done before Chapter 4) and I’ve got so many photos for Annesburg, Rhodes, and Strawberry I can start posting those soon too.

---

Just gotta get two animals and I’ll have done all the hunting requests.

I think it’s time Arthur meet a certain ginger man with a funny way of saying things so we can start getting some rock carvings. Just realized we haven’t even started looking for dino bones.

I hope it’s Charles who comes to get us... he actually cares....

[the-fandomwriter]

i like the thought of wilbur and techno being phil’s sons. like, the two grew up together but developed into two incredibly similar but also wildly different people.

maybe something happened as they grew older? (in this au or whatever, techno is the older brother) maybe techno decided to leave and this devastated wilbur, or something happened that put pressure on their relationship, so things were really pressed and they never spoke again after techno walked out.

eventually wilbur left home too, leaving phil on his own, though phil was happy for both boys. during this time, wilbur meets tommy and eventually, phil comes to visit wilbur and has the pleasure of meeting tommy. phil quickly takes a liking to the young ambitious boy, and take him under his wing (hah) and tommy basically becomes like a little brother to wilbur.

then somehow, tommy meets techno. maybe he is off trying to find some materials or crops, and he runs into the very dapper techno blade, and they grow to become friends.

as the war wages on in L’manberg, tommy remains in contact with techno, as well as phil. eventually, both get called in to assist tommy and wilbur in the war, which results in a VERY unexpected and hostile family reunion.

i’m think dinner at wilburs? phil makes a very nice soup or casserole or something, then techno and wilbur make very passive aggressive conversation (i’m thinking like that scene in shrek two, with fiona’s dad n shrek,,, yeah you know what i mean) and tommy and phil just watch quietly as the two stab at their meals with a heavy hand and spit bitter words.

tommy’s shocked when he finds out they’re brothers, and that phil and wilbur never mentioned it to him. tommy feels a little left out, but gradually, wilbur and techno begin to rekindle their lost relationship, and the wages of war only bring them closer. the four end up becoming one happy family, despite tommy not being blood related to any of the three. he still enjoys the feeling of being apart of such a close knit and lovely family.

this would connect techno and wilbur’s sudden “betrayal” (i don’t think we’re considering techno’s whole thing a betrayal but idk) make more sense, as the two brother began to realize that keeping their blood family together is more important than anything. but then wilbur begins to spiral, and techno watches as wilbur turns on him, what with talking about presidency, and passing L’manberg on to tubbo, which only hurts techno more; he wanted to leave L’manberg with wilbur and phil, and finally be a whole, happy family again.

wilbur has officially snapped. he’s exhausted from the constant mental strain of deciding whether to be on the “good” side or the “bad” side. he can’t handle it anymore. the bad memories of L’manberg begin to outweigh the good, and his scale falls to one side, and despite the pleas from phil....

he presses the button.

the two brothers and their loyal, kind father, watch as the city wilbur had built, crumbles. tommy gawks as the world falls apart, and the relationship between the people he called his family was torn to shreds, incapable of being sewn back together.

and wilbur realizes what he’s done. and he begs phil, with his clustered brain that yearns for an eternal rest, to just end it. to bring wilbur’s insanity to an end. he offers his father a sword, and techno watches as the whole world falls into slow motion. 

and just like that, his only brother is gone. and at the hands of their father. 

now techno snaps. he thinks back at the things that had happened during those years he separated himself from his father and brother. what had caused him to adorn a golden bejeweled crown, and a red royal mantle. what had helped him gain such skill in fighting; and a black hole begins to swallow his stomach. he cannot let the same thing happen to tommy.

so he does what he always does. he destroys his connections. he separates himself from the people he loves, but only in hopes of being able to save wilbur from himself and take him and phil to another town, far from the shambles of L’manberg. but it doesn’t work. wilbur is gone, phil is mourning, and techno has officially lost everyone he had ever cared for. 

and just like his brother, techno falls into a mindset of chaos, comprised of fear and hatred and anger. he cannot allow anyone to descend down the same path he and his brother had. and he will do whatever it takes to prevent history from repeating itself. 

even become the bad guy. 

[fairymadnessyeah]

BNHA Ship to Finish the Year

ShishiKoda (Shishida Jurota x Koda Koji)

Canon

Before anything, two important things.

Koda is non-binary, pronouns they/them. Also, Koda is selectively deaf.

They only talk with the people who are close to them, with animals, or if they absolutely need to.

I believe that there are a lot of types of heroes, there are daytime heroes, underground heroes, infiltration heroes, etc.

And one of those types, that is rather new, is the eco-hero. They are heroes who, apart from fighting against crime, they also fight for the planet and the animals.

Both Shishida and Koda are Eco-heroes.

I feel like they would start working on the same agency at first, being desk mates.

Koda is selectively deaf, so they communicate with sign language. But not everybody knows, so Shishida translates and gives out the number of a good ASL teacher.

It makes them grow closer, and that is how they start branching out towards the Eco-heroics.

They find an agency that works kind of like Greenpeace having mission out in the world to help with the environment.

They first start local, their first missions aren't even together. Koda is sent to a zoo protest, and Shishida to a stop a deforestation.

They do have to re-study some laws for this job though. UA might be a great school, but they can't teach you everything.

They study together, with Shishida making the coffee and Koda bringing some of the cakes their roommate Satou bakes.

Satou, who is very protective of his roommate and friend Koda, notices that something is going on. But when he asks about it, Koda shrugs it off with pink cheeks.

Shishida doesn't have any roommates, but he still hangs out with his friends from class B. I imagine one day, they drop by uninvited and interrupt one of their study hang out. 

Koda understands and leaves, but the class B boys can feel the sparks in the air.

They tease him non-stop about it, while Shishida tries to deny it.

"Somebody got a crush~," "No, I don't,"

"I bet you want to take them out to that new restaurant you were talking about," "As friends,"

"You should ask them out! They looked ready to pick up what you were giving," "I won't,"

"You are afraid they'll say no and then don't talk to you again, aren't you?" "Terrified,"

Shishida would ask Koda out, but they are so shy that he is afraid that if he does, the relationship they have been building up will crumble.

But that's okay, Shishida can wait.

They keep working and hanging out together, and then one day, they are put on a mission together. This mission takes place in the Amazon, on Brazil.

The two need to travel, and while they are there, Shishida asks Koda out.

They say yes, and when they go back to Japan, they make it official and become the significant other of one another.

I like thinking that Satou starts acting like a protective big brother to Koda and glares at Shishida when he comes to pick him up for dates.

Family

Koda is the only child of a single mother. She doesn't have a name yet, but I think she is a like a 50's mom.

She bakes cookies, she dances to the music of the radio, and leaves lipstick marks on your cheeks when she kisses you.

I also love the idea that no matter who you are, no matter what you are doing, you are going to get greeted with a bear hug by Koda's mom. 

Shishida was not ready. I also like the idea that Shishida has a bun on for the first meeting. He would look so dapper in one.

I also think he would use his strength as a good selling point. Oh, Miss Koda's earing fell under the dishwasher? No worries, Shishida will lift it with his bare hands and place it back where it was once she got it.

I have no ideas as to who Shishida's parents could be, but one thing is for sure, Koda wants to crawl under their bed and stay there until the night passes.

They are a mess and get anxious thinking about it. On the drive there, Koda's mind conjures situation after situation, and how bad and disastrously are all going to end up.

Of course, nothing like that happens.

Shishida's parents are nice and know sign language, so they can communicate no problem.

I don't think they would have kids, but I kind of seeing them moving from the big city and settling in a small village with a giant lot where they rescue animals.

They are some of the only heroes around the small town, along with a few others, and nothing much happens. 

But considering the hectic years they spent as heroes and as students, a nice, quiet town seems like a good option.

When Koda moved out of the apartment, Satou cries and hugs him, while saying that he'll miss them. It's a sad day, but they keep in contact.

Also, their house is so big that both classes come for reunions, and they are even able to bring their kids. 

They have a rehabilitation program, but some of the animals they rescued aren't able to go back to the wild, so they have a few rescued pets.

They have a fox, who ended up blind after getting caught in a trap. His name is Red, and it likes to scare their mailman by screaming at him. Have you ever heard a fox? It's crazy AF!

They also have an owl inside the house. It was hit by a moving car, and it damaged its wing, making it unable to fly. Its name is Big eyes, and sometimes it chills with Shishida in the library.

They also have a wild horse on the back. They called it Hone, in dedication to Honenuki because when the Hone smiles, which it does a lot, its smile looks like their ex-classmate.

Hone was rescued from a circus, and is now living a retirement on their home.

AU - Tarzan AU

So, you might read Tarzan AU, and think:

"Well, Shishida could make a good Tarzan. He is wild, hairy, curious, and kind of look likes bigfoot when he uses his quirk. It makes sense that he would be Tarzan,"

But you are wrong. This is a different Tarzan AU.

For once, it happens in the woods instead of the jungle. So our Tarzan is closer to civilization than the classic.

Koda was just a small three-year-old when, on a camping trip, their parents died. They were crossing a stream when the bridge broke, and they feel into the river. Their parents drown and died of hypothermia, but Koda somehow survived.

They were taken care of by the animals. Because, yes, they speak in this AU, but only Koda can understand them.

Koda lives like a cryptid, and becomes an urban legend of the woods. They are known as the creature-man. Many go into the woods to get a peak or a capture them on a picture.

The people know them to be a generous being. If you get lost in the woods, they will guide you back home. If you get hurt, you may find yourself healed by the next morning.

Shishida is new in town, recently graduated from college and has a psychology degree.

He doesn't believe in the existence of creature-man, and thinks it's just a tourist attraction. 

The rest of the town tries to convince him, but he is a stubborn one.

But one day, a couple of his friends invite him on a hike on the woods. They are hoping that with this trip, he might start believing in Creature-man.

The storm catches them by surprise. It comes out of nowhere, and it makes Shishida slip and roll down a hill. He hits his head on and blacks out, but when he wakes up, he is not alone.

Koda found him and started taking care of him. Shishida had a concussion and a broken arm, so Koda couldn't take him back out of the forest.

Shishida, now an absolute believer of Creature-man, takes them to his home, to re-introduce them to society.

He starts by cleaning them and dressing them, but it's not as easy as he believed it would be. Koda is afraid of everything, and knows nothing of the world.

Shishida doesn't tell the rest of the town about having their cryptid creature on his home. He knows that they will freak out and want to see him, and that could overwhelm Koda.

But one day, Koda freaks out, and runs back to the forest. The whole town finds out, and questions Shishida.

He explains that Koda, is not a creature, but a person who grew up in the woods and was not introduced into society.

The people decide to leave Koda alone, but Shishida feels a deep conection with them. He feels responsable for them, and doesn't want to see them hurt.

He visits them daily, and starts writing a psychology book on them.

Fanon Opinion

I can't see Koda having sex.

I just can't. Maybe it's their shy demeanour, their muteness or the way they look, but I can't see it.

I think I might headcanon them as asexual to much for me to picture him in sexual acts.

I think this is a cute couple, but it's very cracky.

There is no content for them. No pictures, nothing written, there isn't even a ship name.

I think that whoever requested these two, took somebody from class A and then somebody from class B that is not that known, and paired them together.

They have only one interaction, when they faced against each other on the A vs B battle. 

But, weirdly enough, they make sense together.

They are the personification of looks like they could kill you, but it's a cinnamon roll x looks like a cinnamon roll, and it's a cinnamon roll.

If there ever is a veterinarian x librarian AU, they would be perfect for it.

Like, Koda is super sweet and shy, and Shishida is a gentleman, who dresses in suits.

 I think they also make sense to me due to their quirks. 

Shishida looks like an animal when he is all big and hairy, and Koda can talk to animals.

It's a weird ship, however.

But it definitely deserves more love.

It's also not that impossible to happen. They are the same age, they go to the same school, they are in the same career, same side.

I know this is short, but there is nothing to go on with this couple.

It's a background character with an even less important character.

[broadwaytheanimatedseries]

So I Had An MLP AU Idea -

Art by the lovely and talented @really-sleep-deprived-nerd :

Introducing, The Sides Of Harmony!

Vivid Star, Element Of Magic

An angsty brooding loner with a mysterious troubled past.

At the beginning of the story, he's an anti social recluse who works at night, from home (he's never been more thankful for astronomy being his special talent)

On the days he is unfortunate enough to be awake when the sun's still out, he spends that time catching up on some light reading or, if he's feeling extra adventurous, practices a new spell or two.

His only true friend at this point, besides Violet His pet fruit bat, is his big brother Tender Star, who has recently been promoted to royal guard so they'll be spending even less time together.

He stumbles upon the tale of nightmare moon by complete accident *cough* destiny *cough* and after informing his brother to keep an eye, he decides he cant just sit around and hope for the best.

So he gets probably the worst idea he's ever had in his life.

He's gonna go to ponyville, where the summer sun celebrations are held this year, and try to warn Princess Celestia himself.

And pray she doesn't send him to the dungeon for his insolence.

Rose Comfort, Element of Generosity

Ponyville's resident social butterfly and drama queen.

After a childhood full of siblings rivalry, he and his twin decided to live as far apart as possible, without leaving their hometown that they love so much.

Rose found a nice spot in the middle of ponyville to grow his garden and sell flower arrangements, and he revels in the attention and admiration his role gives him.

Everypony loves flowers, and as a provider of flowers, everypony will love him!

Recently, the twins have been able to reconnect and have begun making amends. Its a slow process, but it's been going rather smoothly, all things considered.

Rose has a small flower shop and big bombastic dreams, like his dream of marrying Prince Blueblood and becoming a prince himself.

Rich Comfort, Element Of Kindness

Infamous town weirdo and ponyville's resident beast expert and critter caretaker.

He grows his own produce for himself and his animal friends, that way he rarely has to leave his house.

When Rich and Rose parted ways as young adults, Rich decided to live right at the edge of the Everfree forest.

At first ot was only so ponies would leave him alone, but one day when his Angel Bunny ran into the forest, he discovered just how much he liked the place.

It was a bit too hostile an environment to safely live there, but he liked going in there every so often to have some adventures, and in the process, he became the only pony in ponyville thats has any experience dealing with scary monsters from the spooky dark forest.

Recently, since they've started making amends, Rich has been inviting Rose along to his Everfree Adventures™, but the latter is understandably hesitant.

Rich is lowkey still jealous of Rose about one thing only, and thats the fact that his brother could have any stallion he wants but he's holding out for "the one", which wouldn't be so bad except he's got it in his head that the one is some handsome prince that he's never met and doesn't even know what he's actually like.

Peppermint, Element Of Loyalty

Ponyville's sweetheart, the great and loveable Peppermint!

Co runs the local sweet shop with Liquorice, now that their families have merged their candy businesses into one incredibly successful business.

When his aunt Minty told him the family wants, neigh, needs him to move from Manehatten to Ponyville to help run their new shop there, he was rather skeptical, but never one to turn his back on anypony, especially not his family, he agreed to go help.

However, when he got there, he found the place already operating rather smoothly without him, but the candy they were selling?

All sours and bitters, and not one baked good in sight! And it was alphabetized for Pete's sake, ALPHABETIZED!

no, this couldn't stand, he wouldn't allow it. He marched right over to the front desk and requested to meet with the manager, as he was supposed to be doing that anyway.

The Unicorn at the desk raised an eyebrow and simply replied "i am the manager, what seems to be the trouble?"

Liquorice, Element Of Honesty

Ponyville's most obnoxious know it all, at least according to most ponies who don't know him very well.

(also lowkey resident hot nerd and heartthrob but no one will admit it to his face. Listen this doesn't need explaining but Logan is hot in every au, even in ones where he is a sentient horse).

Before he took on the responsibility of running the ponyville location, Liquorice was settled quite nicely in Fillydelphia, and was looking into ways of making gem based candies for the dragon population of the city.

Truthfully, he was very eager to make a name for himself outside his own family business, to prove that he doesn't need to rely on anyone else because he's good at what he does.

But he also knew that his parents wouldn't have asked him to do this unless it was very important to them, and even though he didn't need their help, that doesn't mean he shouldn't give them his.

So he moved to Ponyville and quickly started working on the shop to make it successful enough so he could leave, knowing its in good hooves and being able to trust that its running exactly like it was when he left it.

Unfortunately, this plan went along well for maybe a week, before somepony came by and demanded to know everything about how the establishment, his establishment, is being run, and that's when both he and Peppermint first discovered they're supposed to be running this store together.

Oh horseapples.

Dapper Jester, Element Of Laughter

Ponyville's most wanted, in more ways than one.

Growing up in Las Pegasus, Dapper learned how to captivate an audience, amuse a crowd, and cheer up anypony in need of a good laugh.

He made a name for himself in his hometown and became a sensation there, but as much as he loved the attention and glamour, he decided it wasn't a lifestyle he wanted to pursue.

Don't misunderstand him, he loved preforming and would never give it up, but a life of revelry and indulgence from a young age can get pretty old pretty fast.

He soon grew tired of the fame and adoration, he wanted a simpler life where his career as an entertainer would still allow him room to be somepony beyond just a show pony.

His mind made up, Jester moved to Ponyville, and his new life has begun... As a ballon artist.

Not to knock down the profession, its just that balloon artistry is only so sought after and its not the highest paying job.

Luckily he managed to save some of his earnings made in Las Pegasus, and found a lovely cloud house to settle into, as he still feels quite connected to the (literal) high life.

Main Ships:

Prinxiety - Slow Burn

Thomile - Established Relationship

Logicality - what do you call it when they're pretty much a married couple all but officially since the beginning but it isn't canon until the very end of the story? Kinda like that.

Richceit - Even Slower Burn in a very complicated situation, featuring (eventually) divorced single father Filthy Rich trying to raise his daughter and navigate through his feelings, and (eventual) dadceit being amazing and sweet and supportive and awesome.

Dismus - Crazy Chaos Couple™, low key angsty, featuring Discord lord of chaos being out crazied and out topped by Rich, an earth pony who isn't afraid of him and is attracted to his brand of fun and sense of humour, and Rich finding someone who doesn't judge him for his eccentricities without being an animal.

Anyway, thats it. Hope you liked this au and wanna see more!

And As Always,

Stay Tuned...

[mirkwoodshewolf]

You gave me the greatest award of all; Rami Malek x reader

*Author’s note*

Hey guys well I finally managed to get some writing done. This came from a wattpad request and it was for our beloved Rami. Now I have been in love with this guy since I first saw him in Night at the Museum and I can’t tell how proud I am of him for coming so far since then. I’m looking forward to seeing him as the villain of the next Bond film as well as the final season of his series Mr. Robot.

Now not really any warnings just nothing but PURE, UNADULTERATED FLUFF with our beloved Rami Malek :) hope you all enjoy this :)

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural

@plethora-of-things

@ixchel-9275

@waddles03

@geek-and-proud

@queendeakyy

@coolcxt

@mexifangorl

_______________________________________________________

Telling Rami:

Two lines. I can’t believe this. Two lines equals pregnant.  And it wasn’t just for one pregnancy test, I went ahead and took three.  Cause I knew sometimes pregnancy tests can sometimes give a false positive so I went ahead and got three and shockingly all three said the same thing in the end.

I was sitting on mine and Rami’s hotel bed trying to calm myself down before I had a panic attack.  That’s when the door opened and I heard my dear friend Joey’s voice say.

“Yo Rami, Ben, Gwil and I are going out for…..(Y/n)?”

“Joey.” I whispered softly.  He ran up to me and knelt down in front of me.

“Hey, what’s going on squirt? Hmm? Why’re you crying?” he said as he stroked the side of my face.  See I had known Joey ever since we were 5 years old.  Our moms were best friends in college and when my mom moved us across to a new house, she finally reunited with her best friend and it was only fitting that I got along with the Mazzello children.

As Joe became a famed child actor, I got interested in some of the behind the scenes stuff like makeup and hair.  So by the time I graduated college, I got involved in some movie roles doing hair and makeup and that’s where I reunited with Joey in set of Wooly boys as an assistant makeup artist at the time.

We rekindled our lost times and he’s been like the ‘twin’ brother I’ve ever had (technically I was born the day after he was but we say screw the facts we’re twins in diapers).

After getting more experience I reunited with Joey being his main makeup artist for his role as Eugene Sledge in “The Pacific” and that’s where I had met the love of my life, Rami Malek.  From day one Joey had shipped us together and played matchmaker for us.  Then finally by the end of filming, Rami and I started going steady until finally we made it official.

So with my two boys at my side I could never go wrong.  At least until today.

“Promise me you won’t get mad.”

“That depends. Did someone say something to you? Cause if they did then I swear to god I’ll……”

“No, no Joey nobody said anything. It’s…..” I trailed off.

“Hey, you know you can tell me anything, right?” I nodded as he wrapped an arm around me. “So c’mon baby twin. Tell me why you’re crying? If you don’t I’m gonna bring out the tickle monster.”

“Okay, okay I’ll talk just please. Don’t bring that out. We’re in our 30’s Joey why must you resort to childish ways when you don’t get your way?”

“Uhh have you not been with me since our diaper years? Did you just meet me? Just because we’re in our 30’s doesn’t mean we have to stop pretending to be an adult. I mean is there an age limit to when I have to behave an adult?”

I rolled my eyes at him and he grinned at me playfully nudging me with his shoulder.

“So c’mon out with it babe.”

“It’s…..better if you just look in the bathroom.”

“Why the bathroom?”

“Please Joey just….look on the counter and you’ll see.” He stood up and went to the bathroom.  It was probably three seconds I heard the thundering of his feet racing back towards me.

His eyes were full blown wide and he was gaped in shock.

“You—you’re…..are you?”

“Yes.”

“Please tell me it’s Rami’s.”

“Of course it is dipshit who else have I been sleeping with for the past 10 years?”

“Okay, okay no need to get your pregnant hormones in a twist miss feisty pants.” He knelt back down in front of me and he continued, “But congrats I’m so happy for you two.” He hugged me and that’s when I said.

“But we can’t have it now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean—Rami doesn’t deserve to have the stress of dealing with me being pregnant and dealing with the next two of the biggest award shows to come. You guys got the Golden globes in three days and then the Oscars in a few weeks. Rami’s already under a lot of stress as it is. Adding a baby into the mix it—I’m worried he won’t be able to take it. And our relationship will be over.”

“Hey, you listen to me sis alright. Rami loves you to pieces. He’s never wanted anything more than your approval and love. If he were to ever turn you away just because of this—then Gwil, Ben and I will freely beat the fucking shit out of him. And you know they’ll back me up.”

“Yeah cause you guys have got the weird love triangle going on.”

“It’s not my fault they both want me.” He teased.  I scowled at him and he raised his hands up in defeat once more as he said, “Sorry, sorry getting off track. What I’m trying to say is that I believe Rami’s gonna still be right there with you. Hell he’s even talked to us on our guy nights out of how much he’s wanted to be a dad and have kids with you.”

“He’s said that?”

“If I’m lying I’m crying out velociraptor.” He gently wiped a tear away from my cheek and he said. “But you gotta talk to him. If word gets out to the press first and he finds out that way, it’ll completely blow this whole thing out of proportion.”

“Oh god I can’t even imagine what that would be like if someone found out and leaked it out to the media before I had told Rami. He’d think I was selling out our private life just for kicks.”

“So how about this; either before or after the Globes you tell him. And I can be your backup in case things get out of hand, which I know they won’t.”  I hugged Joe and said as I buried my face into his shoulder.

“Thanks Joey, you’re the best non-blood twin a girl could ask for.”

“We may not be related by blood but I’ll always be there for you baby sister.”

“I was born one day after you.”

“Still makes you the baby out of the two of us.”

Soon enough within three days the Globes finally arrived.  I was getting the final preparations of my makeup done when I felt arms wrap around my waist.  I smiled and said.

“Hey you.”

“You look beautiful.” Rami said as he leaned his head against mine, his nose pressed to my temple.

“Well you look quite dapper yourself Mr. Malek.” I said as I straightened his tie. He smiled softly and kissed my temple.

“How did I ever get so lucky to have you?” he whispered.

“Believe me, if anyone’s lucky it’s me. Plus you can thank Joe for that.”

“Yeah but let’s not give him the satisfaction.” He teased.  I playfully shoved him.

“So, you ready to go?”

“Yeah the car’s already downstairs waiting for us.” I grabbed my satchel bag and he held out his arm for me to take.  I wrapped my arm through his and we headed towards the elevator and headed outside to the car.

The driver drove us onward to the Beverly Hilton and the second we arrived, there was already an audience, crowds of press and paparazzi, as well as hundreds of other actors, directors, film makers, etc.

“You ready babe?”

“Ready.” I exhaled.  The second Rami stepped out, I could already hear the crowd cheering out my boyfriend’s name.  He reached inside for my hand and I placed it in his and he helped me out.  It was the usual from then on, pose for pictures, go to interviews and then meet up with Joe, Gwil, Ben, Lucy and Alan.

As the night went on the award show began and after a really bad joke said by one of the host’s about Freddie to which I lowered my head and prayed for forgiveness I began to feel a bit queasy.

So when they just went to commercial, I tried to drink some water but the urge to just vomit was too much.

“(Y/n)? Baby you okay?”

“I’ll be right back Rami.” I then raced as fast as I could towards the nearest restroom, I didn’t even care about shutting the door, I just collapsed to the ground and dove right over the toilet and puked as much as I could. “Oh god!” I groaned.

I spat a couple times before shakily getting back onto my feet.  I flushed all that I had eaten down the drain and headed over to the sink.  I rinsed my mouth out and cleaned my face up a bit.  Taking a couple of deep breaths trying to calm myself down and that’s when I heard a knock and a voice I did not expect to hear.

“(Y/n)? Are you okay love?” oh shit it can’t be him.  I took one final deep breath and peeked outside to see Brian May.

“Brian what are you—what are you doing here?”

“Well you raced out in such a hurry I got concerned.” See ever since filming, I’ve looked up to Brian as a sort of role model/father figure.  See my parents went through a pretty nasty divorce and it really affected me.

Especially when my dad said that he wanted to have his freedom and not have to deal with me anymore.  So when I heard my first Queen song, “Someday, one day” and heard Brian’s voice, it was an instant comfort to me.

And when Rami and Joe got involved with the movie and I actually got the chance to meet Brian and Roger, Brian was such a sweet man to me and we just sorta had that father-daughter connection kinda right away.  Crazy right? But it happened.

“I’m—I’m fine Brian just…..probably had a sudden attack of the stomach flu I guess. Or probably had some bad soup.” He cupped my face and felt my forehead.

“You don’t seem to be running a fever. Are you sure you’re alright?” I strained out a smile and nodded.

“Yeah.” He looked at me skeptically.

“Okay well….if you’re sure. But if you need to go back to the hotel room, I can take you back.”

“Thanks Bri. I promise I’ll just—stay away from the soup. And thanks for coming to check on me Brian.”

“No problem love.” He said as he gingerly stroked my cheek.  I smiled but suddenly felt the urge to puke again.

“Excuse me.” I immediately shut the door and went to the closest toilet and began dry heaving.

“(Y/n)? (Y/n) love are you sure you’re okay?” I spat and felt myself shuddering along the bathroom floor.  I then heard the door open and in came Brian.  I was about to rant at him telling him this was the ladies room but he cupped both sides of my face and just looked at me. “Alright, you can’t stay here. C’mon I’ll take you back to your hotel.”

“No, no, no. Rami’s award is about to come on. I have to be there for him!” I whined drowsily.

“He’ll understand. Your health is more important than some silly award show. Now come on, up we go.” He helped me stand up but thanks to my heels and wobbly legs, I nearly tripped over. “Here let’s get these things off.” He helped me get them off which decreased my size by 4in. and then we headed outside.

He rung up an uber and also texted Roger to tell Rami that I wasn’t feeling so good. When we piled in the uber, I shuddered suddenly feeling clammy and cold.  I felt Brian’s overcoat being placed over me.

“Thank you.” I whispered out in a hoarse voice.  He smiled softly and nodded.

When we got to the hotel, he helped me up to my room and got me situated into bed. He placed down some of Rami’s sweatpants and a t-shirt down beside me and he said.

“You can change into those once I leave.” I nodded as he stroked some hair out of my face.  All was silent for a brief moment till he suddenly spoke, “So when will you tell him?” immediately I looked at him wide-eyed.

“You—you know?”

“I’ve had three kids in the past, and my ex-wife Chrissie had extremely bad morning sickness, especially when my girls were born. Sometimes she was sick all day.” I sighed.  Guess I should’ve known better than to think I could hide this from him.

“I swear if morning sickness is like this I never want to have another kid after this.” He softly chuckled.

“But I’d say congratulations are in order.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I muttered.

“Joe did mention this to me the other day.”

“He told you!?” I exclaimed.

“I sorta made him tell me. I’ve been noticing something off about you since yesterday. So don’t immediately blame him.” I shook my head as I buried it into my pillow.

“But how am I gonna tell him? Is he ready for such a responsibility? Am I? I don’t think I’m ready to be a mom.”

“Hey, listen to me love. You are ready. You’re smart, caring, beautiful, and have such a kind heart. I mean you’ve already had practice with Joe right?” I snorted out a laugh, remembering all the stories I told of me and Joey growing up together.

“In a way. But I know Joey won’t die if I make a mistake.”

“You’re not going to kill your baby. You already have that maternal instincts about you. I can’t put me finger on it but I just knew from day one that if you and Rami ever made it that far, you’d both make the best parents. Like Deacy and Veronica.”

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely.” He said as he stroked my cheek.

“Why couldn’t you have been my real dad?” he softly laughed and said as he stroked my cheek with his thumb.

“Believe me I wouldn’t mind having another daughter like you. But I’m happy being a surrogate father to you.” He added softly as he kissed my forehead.  His hand migrated from my cheek to my hair and with the gentle pets, it made me feel more relaxed. “Want me to turn on the telly to the awards so that you can still see him win?”

I nodded and he graciously turned on the TV and switched it to the golden globes. It was on a commercial break right now and that’s when Brian went up and walked towards the kitchen and I heard the fridge open then shut.

“Here, drink this.” He came back holding a water bottle in his hands.

“I’d feel more happy with a ginger ale.”

“I know you would, but right now you need to get hydrated. Plus sugar drinks are good during morning sicknesses.”

“What if I end up upchucking the water?”

“Then just take little sips.” He held the water out to me and I took it.  I unscrewed the cap and gently took a small sip just like Brian suggested and he placed a trashcan by my bedside just in case I did puke so that way I wouldn’t risk running to the bathroom and not making it.

The show came back on and they were just about to announce Best leading actor.  I waited with baited-breath as Brian lay beside me as all the actors names were spoken aloud.

“C’mon baby, c’mon.” I muttered.

“And the Golden globe goes to…..” Julianne Moore spoke as she opened up the envelope. “Rami Malek.” At that I was crying tears of joy.  Rami stood up and hugged Graham King the producer then Roger and Anita before going up on stage.

“God I wish I was there with him.”

“He knows you’re giving your love and support right now love.” Brian assured me. As Rami gave his speech, I wiped away the tears pouring down my face and I blew a kiss right at him even though I knew he couldn’t see it.

As the night went on, soon coming into the room was Rami with his Golden globe in hand.

“And there he is, first time Golden globe winner.” Brian praised.

“Thanks Brian.” He said as he set it down and the two men of my life hugged each other. When he finally looked towards me, I smiled up at him and I said.

“Congrats baby. You deserved it.”

“Yeah, how you feeling?” he asked me fully concerned as he came and sat down beside me.

“A bit better. Bri’s been taking care of me.” He thanked the rock legend again who merely waved it off modestly.

“It was no trouble. I’ll leave her to you now. It’s getting pretty late and I better head back home. Sleep well you two, and well done again Rami.”

“Thanks Brian, drive safe.” Brian bid us a final farewell before leaving our hotel room. He turned back towards me and he said, “Ready to get out of that dress?”

“Bout damn time too. This thing is so not comfortable to even lay in.” I sat up and he helped unzipped it and slowly removed the strap, but not before sneaking in a few quick yet seductive kisses along my shoulder.  I moaned.

“Rami.”

“Alright love, dress first. Fool around later.” I playfully rolled my eyes at him and he helped me out of the dress and grabbed the sweatpants and t-shirt Brian had set down for me.  Afterwards he lay down beside me and allowed me to rest my head on his chest.

“All that’s left is the Oscars.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” I looked up at him and he smiled down at me before capturing my lips with his.

Thank god I had rinsed my mouth out with mouthwash an hour ago, he slowly rolled me onto my back so that he was now hovering over me.  His tongue dancing with mine as I felt him tuck his hand underneath my—well his shirt and touch my stomach.  My eyes opened up suddenly and I separated from the kiss.

“Rami wait. Wait stop.” His eyes that were once filled with lust, now turned concerned as he said.

“What is it? Are you sick again?”

“No, no but—I……” I trailed off and turned away from him.  He lay down in front of me so that I could look at him.

“Hey, whatever it is you can tell me. What’s going on in that big brain of yours?”

“You—you know how I said that I might’ve had food poisoning earlier tonight?” he nodded. “Well I lied…..I’ve….actually known what it was for three days now.”

“What is it? You…..you’re not dying are you?” he choked out the word dying heartbrokenly.

“No, no it’s nothing like that. I…..I’m pregnant.” His face gaped like a fish and his eyes seemed to grow wider.

“Y—you’re…..”

“I understand if you’re not ready. I can just….we can just break it off if you want. I’ll be able to take it.” I began to ramble on until I felt Rami cup my face in his hands and he said.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa baby girl slow down. Who—what made you think I’d ever break up with you because of this?”

“You’re—you’re finally getting the recognition you deserve. All these award shows, the premiere we went to back in London in November. The last season for Mr. Robot and your James Bon role opportunity, I just—feared that with how you’re life is going you—wouldn’t have time for a baby. Or me.”

“(Y/n)…..that is far from the truth. Listen to me; the day I first met you all the way back during The Pacific, I knew from the moment I saw you, you were the one for me. You were the love of my life, and I never wanted to spend it with anyone else. And now you’ve…..” he placed his hand to my stomach and continued, “Now you’ve given me something extra special. A little portion of myself and a big portion from you.”

“I think the baby will look like you more.” I chuckled softly. He softly laughed and said.

“Now, I believe she will be as beautiful as her mother.”

“She?”

“It could happen.” I shook my head at him.

“So you—really want to be a dad?”

“Yeah of course. I love kids. And I want them with you. I know we’re gonna make some mistakes, but I believe we can make it work. We have practiced with Joe before.” I shook my head at him again.

“He’d be so pissed if he finds out we’ve been comparing him to a child.”

“C’mon his literally the definition of man-child.”

“I won’t deny that.” He pulled me close and I felt him kiss my forehead, down my nose giving it a teasing peck before gently kissing me on the lips. “I love you Rami Malek.”

“I love you (y/n) (l/n). Both of you.” He spoke softly as he placed his hand right over my stomach once again.

Baby reveal/proposal:

After all the award shows were over and 4 months had passed, Rami and I were putting the final touches to the baby reveal party that we were hosting at his mom’s place.

We invited the entire cast of BoRhap, and we’d have Brian, Roger and Adam on facetime to be apart of the experience since we wanted to time the reveal for them.

“Everything all set?” I asked.

“Yep, Sami and mom are finishing up the baseball smoke.” Said Rami.

“Great. Joe just texted me he’s on their way from picking up Lucy, Alan, Gwil and Ben at the airport. Should be here in about 40-45min.”

“Good thing I asked Joe to bring in his Yankee jersey.”

“You know if the powder damages his jersey he’ll kill you, right?”

“If he does then I know you’ll give the position of godfather to the other two.” I chuckled and wrapped my arms around him and the two of us kissed.  He then as always, knelt down and kissed my stomach and talked to my stomach. “Hello my beautiful princess.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, it’s gonna be a mini-you. A mini-Egyptian prince.”

“No it’ll be a sweet princess just like her mommy. Isn’t that right Cleo?” I rolled my eyes at him and pulled him back up and we kissed each other once again before he wrapped an arm around my waist and we walked off to finish prepping the backyard.

By the time everyone arrived, the party started to get into full swing.  I was with Rami about the position of godfather when he looked down at his phone to see that it was time.

“Honey, its time.” I then took out the I-Pad and called up Brian on facetime. While he gathered everyone, I waited for him, Rog and Adam to appear on screen.  When it finally answered al three of them appeared on screen.

“Hey there she is!” exclaimed Adam.

“Hey Adam, Rog, Brian. Hope I didn’t catch you three at a bad time.”

“Actually you’re right on time. We just got done with the show in Montreal.” Said Roger.

“Ahh that’s good. Okay so you guys ready?” they nodded. “Okay hey Gwil can you take the I-Pad so that Queen and Adam can see the show?

“Yeah I’ve got you.” He took the I-pad and I stood with Rami at the center of everyone.

“Okay first of all we’d like to say thank you to all who’ve taken the time to come here, and to those who are far away to see this magical moment.” Rami said.

“So the way we’re gonna do this is an alternate way to the football reveal.” I held up the baseball and said, “Joe may you please step forward?”

“You bet I will.” He exclaimed excitedly as Sami handed him a bat.

“Now we’d like for our former athlete Ben to step up.” Said Rami.  Ben set his beer down and I handed him the baseball. “Inside this baseball lies the gender reveal for our baby. Ben pitch the ball to Joe.”

“I think I’d be better if Ben Cardy was here. He can pitch a better ball than this guy.” Joe teased.

“Haha very funny Joe.” Ben sassed.  Rami and I stepped back and Ben and Joe stepped forward.  Joe was already in pitcher position with the bat ready.  If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was channeling his inner Pat Murray.

“Just don’t strike out Joey otherwise this’ll be a waste of time.” I teased him.

“Shut it baby twin!” Joey exclaimed.  Ben tossed the ball up and down a few times before finally making the pitch.  Joey then hit the ball with the bat and soon exploding was blue smoke.

“IT’S A BOY!!!” I exclaimed which made everyone cheer.  Rami hugged his mom and brother while I hugged his mom and sister. Joe who was covered in blue smoke at this point, took off his Yankees hat and tried to pat the powder away.

“Rami owes me a new jersey.”

“I’ll get you one for your birthday. Thanks for helping us out Joey.”

“Anytime sis. And congrats on the little guy in there.” He said placing his hands on my stomach.  “Hope you know this means I’m teaching him everything I know about baseball and taking him to every Yankees game.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, especially since you’re the official godfather.” He looked at my flabbergasted.

“Are—you serious?”

“Yeah I mean—we’ve known each other since we were in diapers, who better to take care of my son than you. Maybe he can help you grow up too.” He suddenly hugged me tightly and spun me around.

“Hey Joe might wanna set my love down before you put her in a very early premature birth.” We heard Rami say.  He set me down and began apologizing profusely but I waved it off telling him it was alright. “I also have another announcement to make.” Rami proclaimed.

At this rate I was confused.  I turned to Joe who was merely grinning at me and gently pushed me towards Rami.  He came up to me and took my hand and he said.

“(Y/n); it—it feels like an eternity ago when the two of us first met. But I—I knew from the moment I first met you, that I wanted no one else. You’ve stuck by me through thick and thin, and you’re the love of my life.” He then got down on one knee and took out from his pocket a black velvet ring box.  

I covered my mouth as he opened up the box to reveal a beautiful large diamond engagement ring.

“Rami…..” he looked at me expectantly.  I felt tears form in my eyes and I couldn’t help but say Lucy’s quote from the movie from when Freddie had proposed to Mary. “Which finger do I put this on?” he chuckled softly.

“Wedding finger. Will you marry me?” I nodded.  He shuddered but then gestured for me to verbally say it much like he did in the movie.

“Yes!” He smiled and stood up and captured my lips with his as our friends and family cheered.  After we separated, Rami teased.

“Are you going to leave it in the box?” I giggled and took it out and placed it on my left ring finger.

“Oh Rami it’s beautiful. I love it.” He took my hand and cupped his fingers around the ring as he said.

“Promise me you won’t take it off.”

“I promise.”

“No matter what.”

“I love you Rami, you’re going to do such great things.”

“We’re going to do great things. Starting with this little guy in five months.”

“So do I get bragging rights for being right?”

“Yes, I’ll gladly take the heat. Little traitor.” He muttered the last part towards my stomach.  I playfully shoved him and that’s when Gwil came up with the I-pad.

“Alright girl let me get a close up look of that ring!” Adam proclaimed.  I giggled and showed my hand up to the screen. “Ohh yas girl you’ve got a rock! Perfect fitting for a queen such as yourself.”

“Thanks Adam. And thank you guys for be a part of this.” I said.

“You both deserve it. Congrats on the baby and keep us updated.” Brian said to me.

“I will.”

“And Rami, you better look after this girl for me. As her surrogate father I have the right to beat your arse if you fuck this up.”

“Brian!” I yelled at him embarrassedly.  Rami chuckled and said.

“No worries Brian. I’ve taken care of this girl for over 11 years, I wouldn’t dream of letting her go this time around.”

“You better, because Bri won’t be the only one ready to beat someone if things blow up to hell.” Said Roger.

“Make that three.” Stated Adam.

“Oh my god you three are awful!” I exclaimed which caused all of them to laugh softly. “Okay we’ll let you three go. We’ll see you all when you’re come to Madison Square Garden.”

“Sounds good to us love, I’ll make sure to send you some backstage passes.”

“Thanks Bri.” I blew them a kiss. “Bye guys, see you in 2 months.”

“See you then love.” They waved bye to me and I hung up on facetime.  Rami and I smiled lovingly at each other and he leaned his forehead against mine.

“I love you so much. Both of you.”

“I love you too Rami. And our little guy loves you too. I bet he can’t wait to meet you.”

“I can’t wait to meet him either.”

The birth:

I was watching from behind the camera as Rami was reading “The Empty pot” as part of the Storyline online.  Seeing him read this story, that was close to him when he was a child, made me think of all the future stories that he would tell our little boy in just three weeks’ time.

I smiled as I felt a gently kick to my lower abdomen.  As he continued to read on, I got so many visions of seeing Rami read to our son every night before bedtime.  He just had that warm voice that fit the perfect storyteller.

By the end of it all, he came up to me and we gently kissed each other.

“Did our little man enjoy story time?” he asked me as he placed his hands on my stomach. At his statement he felt a kick, we both chuckled and I said.

“He wouldn’t stop kicking throughout the entire time his daddy was reading the story.”

“Well I’ll read a thousand stories if it’ll keep him happy.” I smiled and kissed his cheek and nuzzled against his shoulder.

That night as I was getting ready for bed in the bathroom.  Removing my makeup and brushing my teeth, plus make one final trip to the toilet before finally settling down for the night.  Rami already lying on his side of the bed, just stared at me as I opened the bathroom door.

“What?”

“How beautiful you are.” He praised.  I smiled at him and walked over to the bed and he immediately sat up and gently wrapped his arm protectively around my stomach.  “I love you both so much.”

“We love you too.” I felt him kiss my temple, down to my cheek, quickly pecked my shoulder before finally placing a kiss to my stomach.  He then nuzzled his head at the junction where my neck met my shoulder and soon the two of us fell asleep.

As the night went on, I began feeling this sudden surge of pain plus a wetness between my legs.  At first I thought I might’ve had an accident but when I became ware of the sudden pain that hit me like a hammer to the head, I groaned.

“Rami……Rami wake up!” he groaned but sat up and he said.

“What is it?”

“I—I think my water just broke.” He quickly turned on the lights and he said.

“Are-are-are-are you sure?” I then let out a scream of agony and said.

“Oh yeah definitely contractions! Oh god AHHHHH!!!!”

“Okay, okay relax calm down okay. I’ll go get the bag and I’ll get us to the hospital. Just do your breathing exercises that we learned okay?” He helped me up and I began to breathe while he quickly put on a shirt and some sweats as well as grabbing the bag from the closet. “Aren’t you glad I convinced you to pack a bag early?”

“Not the time Rami!” I snapped.

“Right, right sorry. Come on love it’ll be okay.” We went out to the car and Rami drove us straight to the hospital while he got in touch with his mom as well as Joe.

After what felt like hours of pure torture, we finally arrived at the hospital and thankfully Joe was already there to help out.

“How you doing?” he asked me.  I glared at him and he said. “Right bad question.”

“Mrs. (Y/n) Malek?” a nurse came in.

“We’re here.”

“Okay well you weren’t supposed to be in till another three weeks.”

“Well the baby decided on now. And I’m pretty sure he gets to choose!” I growled out.

“Okay well we have our private delivery room all set up and arranged, we can take you there now.” Another nurse came in with a wheelchair and both Joe and Rami helped me into the chair and I was wheeled out.

God never did I have to go through anything so agonizing.  I don’t know who the fuck to blame for women suffering during labor but whoever it is, damn you bitch to hell and back.  I even demanded that Rami never seduce me into having sex ever again after this.  But in the end it all payed off.

For after 10hrs of labor, in my arms I now held my son. Our son.

Rami and I were in the recovery room just looking down at our precious 7lb. 12 oz. 22in long baby boy.

“I can’t believe he’s finally here.”

“I know. I told you, resembled his father to a T. Our little prince.”

“But we—never got to pick out a name.”

“Actually I did, during the Oscars. There was only one name that I wanted to name our son if we ended up having a boy, to which we did.”

“What is it?” I looked up at him and I said.

“How do you feel about Freddie Mercury Malek?” he was stunned.  He looked down at our boy before looking back up to me.

“That’s perfect. I—I think he would’ve loved that.”

“I believe so too. I wish we could’ve gotten the chance to meet him face to face.”

“You and me both my love.” We then heard a knock at the door and that’s when Joe peeked in.

“Hey hope this isn’t a bad time but, the guys want to facetime us.” Rami gestured for him to come in and that’s when Joe answered his phone and I heard Gwil and Ben’s voice saying hello.

“Joe told us you had gone into labor (n/n), how you doing?” asked Gwil.

“Exhausted but I’ll be better soon. Hope we didn’t interrupt you guys at a bad time.”

“Not at all (y/n), we were just having a little vacation together.” Ben said.

“To which by the way I am not jealous of you two right now.” Joe pointed out.

“Sure.” Dragged out Ben.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night Joe.” Mocked Gwil.  I rolled my eyes playfully at them.  God those three and their bizarre love triangle.

“Alright you three, no arguing in front of the baby.” Rami lectured.

“Yes Joe show us our little nephew.” Gwilym stated.  He then adjusted his phone so that the rest of the “band” could see the newest addition of the family.

“Aww my god!” cooed Ben.

“Ohh he’s so beautiful.” Awed Gwil.

“Have you guys picked a name yet?” asked Joey.

“Well this lovely lady has had a name at the ready since the beginning.” Rami said, “Guys, we’d like you to meet our son. Freddie Mercury Malek.” At hearing our son’s name, the guys went quiet for a moment.

“It suits him.” Ben finally spoke after the long silence.

“I agree, hello little Freddie.” Gwil added.

“The perfect name fitting the perfect newborn.” Said Joe.

“Well we’ll leave you to rest. Congrats mate, you too (y/n). Get some well deserve rest.” Gwil told me.

“Will do, thanks for checking up on me guys.”

“Hey you’re engaged to Rami and you’ve dealt with Joe your whole life. That makes you apart of the band as anyone else.” Said Ben. We waved goodbye and when Joe placed his phone back in his jacket he kissed the top of my head.

“I’ll go see get your mom and sister. Let them know their grandson/nephew has finally entered the world.”

“Hey Joey before you leave, can you grab me my phone it should be in the bag.”

“Sure thing.” He took my phone out of the bag and he handed me my phone.  As I opened my contacts, he and Rami gave each other a brotherly hug and he stroked my son’s head before placing a gentle kiss on top of his godson’s head. “I can’t wait till you’re big enough to catch a baseball champ. You’ll be just like your god papa Joey in no time.”

“So by that you mean totally sucks at pitching and can’t quite throw properly under pressure?” I teased.  He looked up at me with that bitch face of his.

“You are so lucky you just gave birth otherwise you’d be dead right now.” I stuck my tongue at him playfully and he went ahead and walked out.

“So who are you calling?”

“It’s a long shot but I’m gonna see if I can reach him.” I pressed facetime under Brian’s name.  Rami took our son while I held my phone as it showed my picture.  It rang for what felt like forever till finally I got an answer from the man himself.

“Hey love.”

“Hey sorry did I wake you up?”

“Just about to fall asleep after performing in Japan.”

“Oh god I’m sorry Brian I can call back later.”

“No, no it’s fine. Is everything okay?”

“Well I just wanted you to meet someone.” I then pointed my phone at Rami and hit the switch button and as soon as he saw him holding our baby, he gasped.

“Oh my god—you….you had the baby already?”

“Yeah.”

“10 hours in labor later and this gorgeous boy has finally entered the world.” Rami said.

“You’re right he is mighty handsome. But I can see that it looks like he had his mum’s nose.” I chuckled softly and I said.

“His name is Freddie Mercury Malek.” I switched the phone back towards me and after a moment of silence he answered.

“God what Fred would’ve said. He’d be floored about this, but definitely in the positive way.” I smiled at him. “My congratulations to you both, how you feeling love?”

“Tired, a bit achy but I’m just happy to have my son here at last.”

“I tell you there’s nothing greater than getting the chance to hold your baby for the first time. Treasure it while it lasts, both of you. Because before you know it they’ll be grown up and running their own company.”

“We will Brian.” Said Rami.

“I’ll let you get back to sleep, again sorry to wake you up so late.”

“Don’t worry about it. This was a good thing to be woken up too. Take care of yourselves and that boy of yours.” We smiled and bid Brian goodbye and he waved goodbye to us.  I set my phone down and Rami handed me our little Freddie.

“You know, this whole year has been crazy. Since the movie I’ve won practically every award for best actor for Freddie Mercury. But you—you’ve given me the greatest prize of all. Not only your answer of starting the next step in our relationship, but our child as well. Thank you for being and giving me my greatest award ever (y/n).”

“I could say the same to you Rami.” We kissed each other and just admired our child, born out of pure love and named after the most beloved man of all time.

[my-brothers-corrupted]

My Brothers, Corrupted

Chapter 2 : Section 6 : Dam Break

Red has been pushing and pushing the limits of the protection he is allowed to give his little brothers. After he confronted Anti about Dapper’s medication, Anti agreed to allow Dok to be in charge of his treatment from now on – but he also decided that Red has to pay the price for the weeks of subtle disobedience he’s accumulated, and his punishment won’t be merciful.

Trigger warnings for major abuse, blood, murder, torture, imprisonment, and psychotic symptoms.

Find Chapter One here.

Find Chapter Two here.

  Section Six of Chapter Two: Dam Break

Anti, more than anything else, likes to taunt you.

That much you know. That much you remember. That’s why you’re here, at the end of the day. That’s the only reason you’re here.

Anti, more than anything else, likes to taunt you.

Your cameras have been dead for days, no signal forthcoming no matter how many times you try to connect. Now, an odd signal shows up on your tracker, not like anything you’ve ever seen before. You’re not hacking into a livefeed, you’re being sent an old recording.

From a police surveillance camera.

The image fuzzes painfully into view,  and Red appears before your eyes. He is curled in the back of a cold metallic prison cell, shaking, his cheeks wet with tears. You watch him through a pair of silent cameras in the corners of the interrogation room and the room beside it. Red doesn’t know you’re there, or maybe he just can’t focus long enough to stop crying and look up. You’ve never seen his shoulders shaking that hard.

The police officers chatter in rapid-fire Spanish on the other side of the glass, not loud enough for him to make out even if he could speak the language. The cop who brought him in comes back into the room and looks him over again, irritated by her own confusion. You can see it in her face.

“What’s your name?” she tries, not for the first time, through a thick accent.

His mouth trembles. He stares down at her professional little work shoes.

“If you tell us, it makes everything easier. For you. For me. Us. Makes things easier. What’s your name?”

No answer. His eyes are so sorrowful, like those little dogs in the shelter commercials. But she doesn’t feel bad. Monsters don’t deserve her pity.

She sighs and brings up her clipboard, scrawling something along the top. No ID, no documents, no address, nothing. Just a broken phone in his pocket, incapable of doing anything but glitch. “You’re American?” she asks.

He shrugs, holding his knees to his chest.

“No? Yes?”

He blinks and tears come trickling down his face. Exasperated, she lowers the clipboard again.

“Fine, don’t tell anything to me,” she snaps. “Soon we will find something. We will tell other authorities. Easier for you to get along with us, yes?”

Red closes his eyes tight and sticks the bend of his thumb in his mouth, biting down on it hard, trying to stay calm. She may as well still be speaking Spanish. He can’t focus on a word she’s saying. Can’t focus on anything but the blood.

His dark hands reaching up, begging for mercy, the heavy red river-run, making the whole air sting with copper-smell; Red had drawn back, revolted by his own hands, and the dark eyes slid oh-so-slowly-shut, the screaming dying down like an animal no one put out of its misery –

“Hey!” shouts the cop, slamming her clipboard on the bench beside him. “Pay attention! What, you are shaken up, huh? You are upset – sad? I don’t care how long you sit here crying, gringo. We all know you killed that man.”

“No,” croaks Red.

They let him wash his hands. He can still feel the blood.

“No, no, no…”

He just did what Anti told him to. That can’t have been bad. He can’t have killed him. Not really. It was a joke, maybe. One of Anti’s tests of obedience. Not real. Not real.

The officer swears in Spanish and turns her back on him, heading out the door again. Red reaches out as it begins to close, yelping in panic.

“No, no, no!” he screams, trying to rise on unsteady feet. “No, please let me go! I need to go back to my master! Anti! Anti!”

The door slams shut, locking with a fatal click.

 Red cries in earnest, slamming his head against the wall, sobbing like his heart is shattered, trying not to think.

It can’t have been real. It can’t have been real. It can’t have been real.

His hands are slicked in blood.

 The door doesn’t re-open for another twelve hours.

He looks up desperately at the creaking of the hinges, and there, there is that blessed silhouette of his little brother, standing before him with his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie, his face calm, his neck hidden by a scarf even in the tropical heat.

“Anti,” sobs Red, and then he is staggering to his feet and rushing towards the door, throwing himself into his brother’s arms. Anti hugs him back gently, running a hand down the small of his back.

“¿Lo dejaste aquí toda la noche?” he asks, letting Red thud his forehead soundly against his collarbone.

 Red realizes there are still cops with them, hovering strangely far away from Anti. It takes a long time for anyone to answer.

“Sí,” admits an officer finally, hiding slightly behind his partner.

Anti hums, nodding. He strokes a warm hand through Red’s hair, examining him carefully. His boy’s whole body shakes, timid and minute, and he claws compulsively at his hands, visibly distressed.

Perfect.

“Apologize,” says Anti, softly.

Red opens his mouth to say sorry immediately, looking up at Anti with desperation in his eyes, but his master puts a finger on his lips and silences him.

The officers exchange looks.

Anti turns slowly towards them. His eyes are dark.

“Apologize,” he repeats, quieter still.

A long pause in the hallway.

“Lo siento,” somebody whispers.

Anti nods slowly, pushing Red off his chest. He turns and walks away without another word, his boots clicking on the linoleum floor of the station, leaving several shaken law enforcement officials behind him. Jackie doesn’t know what he did to get him set free and he doesn’t care. He hurries after Anti.

“Anti,” he whispers, stumbling past processing stations, civilians, and officers alike as they head towards the warm wash of the open air. He wants someone to hold onto him, to put weight on his body and wrap him up tight in their arms. “Anti, Anti.”

His brother ignores him, pushing through the door to the outside. Jackie moans, feeling bleary and exhausted, and continues after him.

For a second, you connect to the surveillance camera outside, so Anti knows you catch the last glimpse of it all.

“Did you learn your lesson?” asks Anti, not looking at him.

“Yes,” sobs Red. “Yes.”

“You don’t want to go to prison?”

“No, no, no!”

“So…”

“I’ll be good! I’ll be good! I’ll be good, I swear!”

“Because - ”

“I’m nothing without you. I’m nothing without you. I’m nothing, I’m nothing, I’m sorry.”

Anti laughs, grabbing his wrist. “There’s my good boy. My good, stupid, pathetic little creature. Fucking idiot boy. You’re a horrible excuse for a brother, Red. So here’s what’s going to happen - you and I are going home. You’ll stay in the house. Put your brothers back in order, or I will send you out on another murder, and when you inevitably fuck it all up, I will let the cops have you. They can ship you back to Italy or Norway or wherever it is you’re wanted for the most murders. Sound good?”

Red is sobbing so hard all he can do is shake his head. He reaches out to touch Anti, but his brother pushes him away, and turns back towards the mountain without another word.

The date on the camera reads Jan 16.

Whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Blue I would get the med kit ready buddy. Pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, your twin is in trouble. Things are about to get nasty. He knows everything! Anti knows everything! Anonymous asked: “…Dap.. Please use the horn that’s under the sink. You trust me, right..? If you do, please, us. The horn. I-I can help you.” -PF!H Anonymous asked: Blue I’m so sorry,,, Red went to help warn Anti about the medicine and now I think your twin is being rewritten. Anti knows the magic you’ve done so be careful once Red is back! Be strong for your family!

Anti’s little film finishes in cold static and you disconnect from the recording, finding a more familiar code available now that you’ve seen what you wanted to see. Reconnecting to the clinic camera code brings every camera in the house back onto your screens, and you’re with the boys again.

Blue is cooking in the kitchen - plain rice, it looks like - and he looks up in surprise as the camera begins pinging like crazy, picking up your old messages that never reached him in time. He opens his mouth, confused.

“Oh,” he murmurs finally, blinking and looking down at his rice. His voice is very quiet. “You all tried to warn me, didn’t you? Thank you… sorry, I didn’t… I don’t know, I… thank you for trying your best.”

Anonymous asked: Blue, are you alright?

“Oh,” sighs Blue, taking his rice off the cooker. “Just a little tired, is all.”

There’s soft crying in another room, and - is that screaming? It’s a little farther off, but you don’t know where.

nikkilbook asked: Not to freak anyone out, but Hermann, the guy who cornered Red, could turn invisible. We couldn’t see him, Dap couldn’t see him, he was only seen when he wanted to be seen. Y’all aren’t the only magic thing in this city anymore.

“Mmmh,” Blue hums, spooning rice onto a plate. He didn’t make that much. “Anti says Dapper most likely killed that one man, Hermann. Stabbed him deep. Most likely he’s not walking around one way or another, and definitely not hiking the mountains. The people around here watch out for us when it comes to the others… that’s how Anti found today’s guest of honor.”

Something cold and angry twists up Blue’s mouth.

“She was coming to hurt us. She’ll get what she deserves. Dok gave a man antibiotics for bronchitis last week, and this morning one of his sons comes running up the mountain to tell us there is a strange girl asking about a man with red hair… Anti scooped her up quick enough after that. That’s what she gets for trying to fuck with my family. That Genesis girl. She was the one almost took Red away from us.��

He sighs and rubs at his face, cooling a little.

“But you’re right… We’re not the only magic things in this city anymore. That’s made it a little harder on us lately. Anti seems so paranoid and Red is…”

Blue drifts off, stirring through the rice for no apparent reason. His gaze is obsessed with it. The circles under his eyes are very dark.

“Something has to change soon,” he mumbles. “We can’t keep living like this.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey! Red, what happened, duder?? It's been awhile!

The crying cuts off abruptly as the camera beeps back to life in Red and Blue’s room.

Red blinks at you from over his shoulder for a second before turning back to face the wall again. He’s tucked up in the corner with his knees drawn to his chest and his head against the wall. He doesn’t answer you.

A long thin chain snakes away from his body.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, what happened to your twin? Why's he all chained up?

Blue takes a long time to reply.

“Apparently Red was becoming too… what’s the word… carefree. Lax, too, lazy in his duties. Anti said he worries too much about what’s going on outside the house and not enough what happens inside. So Red is just… inside, for a while. He can move around. Just he has to stay here. And watch us. And watch everything. Pretty, um, strictly.”

Blue’s lip curls, staring down at his rice.

nikkilbook asked: We’re with you, Jackie. Even if he turns us off, even if he resets you and pushes you back into the darkness he made of you, we’ll be here. Doesn’t matter what he does. Doesn’t matter what he makes you do. We’re with you.

Red stops staring down at the laptop at his feet and turns his head slightly back towards you. His face is slightly bitter and absent of anything else, until maybe a moment of regret makes his mouth soften.

The door in the clinic bangs open and Red turns his head towards the noise, pulling himself slowly to his feet and coming to stand in the doorway, where the door has been removed.

“Dap? You doing okay, sweetheart?” he hears Blue call, but Dapper comes zipping past Red’s room a moment later, ducking back into Anti’s. A moment later he emerges with a bone saw and a crowbar and zips back down the hall again - only to be stopped by a hand reaching out to snatch his collar.

Dapper freezes, stiff in Red’s grasp. Red regards him carefully, noting fresh blood on his shoes and the ends of his pants. His smaller body trembles with a nervous sort of adrenaline, making Dapper seem to buzz all over, staring up at Red.

Red sighs and releases him, pushing him away. Relieved, Dapper staggers forward again and darts back out the door without a word to Blue, leaving blood-stained footprints in his wake.

“Fuck,” cries Blue, slamming his plate down on the kitchen counter. “He’s using him like a little torturer and he gets so shaken up! He’s not doing well getting back on his medicine and this isn’t going to help. Red, tell Anti to let Dapper go, can’t he handle it on his own?”

Red rolls his eyes and turns away, heading back into his room.

Blue hisses and turns away, tears sparking in his eyes. “If you won’t say something, I will!”

And this was the wrong thing to say.

Red reappears in the hallway, his eyes dark. He steps slowly towards Blue. His twin, realizing his mistake, falls deathly silent, sinking back against the counter, until Red is standing nearly chest-to-chest with him, staring down.

Blue swallows, looking anywhere but at Blue.

“Don’t,” whispers Red. “Bother your master.”

Blue chews on his lip, his eyes flashing.

“Am I understood?”

“Yes, Red.”

Red pauses just a second longer before turning to limp back towards his room, that chain heavy around his ankle. Blue swallows again and again, blinking rapidly.

cest-mellow asked: red? are you okay? are you hurt?

Red pauses to stare at you. From an angle right above him, you can see a horrible exhaustion in his face, like something is eating him from the inside out, but his face is so taut and angry.

“I m-made lunch if you want some,” whispers Blue from the kitchen.

Red glances back at him, then at you.

“No,” he mumbles, retreating into his room again. “I’m fine.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What's gotten into you, man? Y'all were buddy buddy again.

You hear Red’s breathing start to get heavy again. He sits down in his corner and pulls his blanket over his shoulder, shaking.

“That was kind of the problem,” he croaks, turned away from you.

Anonymous asked: where's dok and trick?

“Ah!” Blue claps his hands together, relieved just to think about the two of them. At least the younger twins are keeping it together, mostly. “They are just down the hill a little ways, helping with a birth! Could be gone for hours or could be back soon, but, uh, I can still hear screaming, so I’d give it a while. They… probably didn’t bring a camera to that, haha. It’s good for Dok to be able to help people and for Trick to get out of the house. I convinced Anti and Red to let them go.” He sighs out a breath of relief, sitting down at the table and picking up somebody’s t-shirt, spreading it out across the wood. “It’s good to know I do at least have some of my caretaker privileges intact.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: How are you holding up, Blue? Are you and Jackie still close?

Blue straightens out the shirt for much too long before he finally moves to get a needle, avoiding the gaze of the camera.

“It’s still my job to look after Red,” he whispers.

And then, even softer:

“I’ll always love him.”

cest-mellow asked: red, do you feel guilty for having to treat your brothers this way? even if it’s anti making you do it?

Red slams his hand against the ground, nearly wheezing. “I’m just doing what I have to!” he screeches, making Blue flinch hard in the other room. “Why don’t any of you ever understand? This is all my fault! None of this would have happened if I had done what I was supposed to in the first place! If I could keep everything in order Anti wouldn’t have to be so stressed and angry and then nobody else would have to be so sad all the time and Trick wouldn’t try to hurt himself and Blue wouldn’t get that look in his eyes like everything’s wrong! I have to keep everyone in line because it’s worse if I don’t! And Anti’s right, they do such stupid shit if nobody makes them stop!”

Red clutches at his hair, rocking himself back and forth. “And, fuck, the way that Anti looks at Blue and Doktor lately, like he hates them as much as he hates me! Like he’s fucking hungry… Stupid, stupid, stupid! I can’t keep anybody safe! I just did what he told me! I didn’t mean for anybody to get hurt! I didn’t want anybody to die, I don’t want them to get hurt anymore! I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to be good, get it together, get it together, get it together…”

Anonymous asked: We’re so sorry, Blue. Is there anything we can do? Has...has Anti punished you in any way for the shed incident?

“Mmh,” groans Blue, trying to ignore Red’s shouting in the other room. “No. Red took all the punishment for us… and now he doesn’t even look at us like he knows us. So I guess that’s my punishment. Ugh… there’s nothing anybody can do.”

He pauses, darning up the t-shirt with hands that shake very badly. In fact, now that you look at them, his fingers are terribly stiff, and the skin of his hands an irregular red, with white, flaking patches. He pauses to itch at them, trying not to think about it.

nikkilbook asked: I don’t blame you, Jackie.

“Mmmmh.” Shuddering, Red curls in on himself. “It was my hands. He didn’t even have to threaten the others… I just wanted to be good for him and make everyone stop hunting us… we’re always just being hunted and hunted and hunted… I just wanted it to stop…”

Pixie-in-trebleland asked: What's going on with your hands, hun? The lack of magic use getting to you?? Anonymous asked: What happened to your hands, blue? Did Anti do something or is your magic hurting them?

Blue laughs nervously. “My hands? Nothing. A rash, probably. I’ll ask Dok sometime. It’s all fine.”

But you’ve brought his attention to them and he cringes, trying to stop scratching. After a moment his fingers suddenly curl up into tight, shaking fists, and he gasps, arching his body around his own hands, his teeth gritted tight and his face taut with pain.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he groans, suddenly whiter. His veins are extraordinarily blue. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

His fingers relax again and he tries to return to his darning, shaken.

nikkilbook asked: Seems to me there’s a difference between it being your hands and being your choice. Just because he didn’t wear your skin or threaten your brothers doesn’t mean it wasn’t him holding the strings.

“It’s easy to justify things if you really want to,” says Red softly, turning away from you again.

cest-mellow asked: red, i’m sorry. i’m sorry. everything is gonna be okay. you don’t deserve this, none of you do. you’re a good brother, a wonderful brother, no matter what anti tells you. you’re so so wonderful.

Red laughs aloud, burying his face in his knees, drawn up to his chest.

“You know what he told me?” he whispers. “He doesn’t even think of me as his brother. Just… just his Red. Just a protector. Maybe if I’m good he’ll want me again.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Maybe find a balance, Red. Still be your warm ol' self, while keeping them in place.

Red doesn’t answer, running his hands through his hair.

cest-mellow asked: something has to change here, blue. anti isnt rigjt, you know this. i know you love him and want him to be happy but.. look at what he’s doing. making red go insane. using dapper as a torture machine, treating dok like he’s less than dirt, making trick feel worse and worse everyday. he’s hurting you, he’s hurting your brothers. if you all work together you can stop this.

Blue lets out a low, frightened breath through his teeth. “Sh, please, careful, Red will notice. He has that laptop now, he can see what he chooses to. And I, uh - I love Anti very much and I know that things will start looking up soon if we’re all good. So… that’s that, yep.”

He’s interrupted by the door opening and two sopping wet brothers appearing in the doorway, calling greetings. You watch Blue’s whole figure melt with relief, and he leaps to his feet to join Trick and Doktor at the door, immediately fussing over them.

“Why are you two idiots so wet? Oh, your poor coat, Dok, and it’s still pink! Ugh, you both smell, you need nice cold showers in this awful heat.”

Trick and Dok are in good spirits. “We got hosed down,” Dok explains with a grin. “To get the blood and afterbirth off.”

“Well, it didn’t work great, I have to tell you. Did it go okay?”

“It was great!” Trick claps his hands together. “Blue, Blue, you have to see the baby!” He looks like he might cry. “She was so, so, so beautiful.”

“Healthy little thing, shockingly healthy,” nods Dok.

“And look what they gave us!” cheers Trick, and presents Blue loyally with a big cardboard box full of eggs, bright yellow sodas, baked sugar buns, and, lo and behold, a whole skinned chicken.

Blue gains some color back in his cheeks, eagerly taking the box from Trick and setting it on the counter, running his hands almost reverently over the food. He didn’t know how he was going to handle explaining to them that they had run out of everything but brown rice. Handling buying groceries for everyone is not as easy as Red usually makes it look.

“You did so well,” he praises them brightly, and Trick and Dok both smile back at him, looking healthy and proud. “You’re both so talented. Look at all this, oh - I’ll cook you something to go with the rice. You go get your showers. There should be soap, still, isn’t there?”

“There is, Blue, there is.”

“Oh, good, good… Okay, yes. Ah! You’re both so dear to me. Look how well you did. Oh, you both worked for so long. I’ll get some food in you and we’ll get your clothes all washed. My excellent little brothers. Everything’s well.”

Trick and Dok welcome his praising with only one quick, concerned look between the two of them - Blue seems to get a little more assertive in his affection every day, like he’s scared they don’t know he loves them.

bupine asked: hey blue, you ok? you should see doktor about your hands if you can, it seems like they're hurting you

Dok pauses before following Trick back to their room, frowning. “What’s this about your hands?”

Blue turns away quickly, lathering them in soap to avoid their gaze. “Oh, it’s nothing, buddy, don’t worry about it. You can go get your shower.”

“Come on, Blue, you can tell me.”

“Dok, it’s really nothing, I think they’re just dry. Air’s so dry up here.”

“What? The ocean is within miles. Just show me, come now.”

“Please, Dok, you - ” Blue cuts himself off with a gasp and then Dok is yelping as someone grabs him by the hair and drags him back towards his own room.

“What did you do wrong?” asks Red flatly, standing him straight in the doorway.

“I - ow, ow, Red! I don’t - I was just - I’m supposed to look after him!”

“Oh? You’re supposed to look after him? Are you Blue’s big brother?”“

Shit! Doktor realizes his mistake. “N-no, I’m younger - ”

“So?”

“So I shouldn’t have - ah, Red! - I should have obeyed him!”

“Instead of?”

“Instead of - um - telling him to show me his hands!”

Dok is released. Trick rushes forward to grab his shoulders.

Red turns away and retreats to his room without another word, hair falling from his fingers.

Blue stands in the kitchen, mouth open and reddened hands outstretched. Trick and Dok scurry to the bathroom, holding onto each other like otters trying not to get separated as the night wears on.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Red, I understand your fears. But... you're going to end up pushing them all away if you keep carrying on like this.

“I know,” says Red, very quickly and very softly.

“I know I will. But maybe they’ll be a little safer. I can’t be their brother anymore. I have to be the dog in charge. And the dog in charge has to bite. Anyway, Dok knows the rules. Once I remind him a few times he’ll know and it will be easier.”

He hides his hands against his chest, curling in on himself.

“I’ve always been willing to starve to see them eat,” he mumbles. “But this is like I’m giving up my soul. The worst part is, the more I do it, the more I really feel like I want to hurt them. I think I’ll be gone very soon.”

Shrieking starts up from outside his boarded up window and he startles, looking up. He wishes he could be helping Anti instead of spoiled little Dapper…

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Is Anti's love more important than the others?

“Fuck!” hisses Red, shaking his head at you, despairing. “Fuck, why do none of you never understand anything, anything, anything! You think this is about love… haven’t you ever had to survive anything…”

Anonymous asked: Red, this can't go on much longer. The people around you, the people in town, those new parents, that brand new baby - they all have lives, freedom. Yes, they might be poor, it might be hard for them, but they don't have to live in fear. They don't have to hurt the ones they love. They do not have an Anti, and you don't need one, either. It's time to go. Please, Jackie. It's time to go.

“I know you see a difference between Anti and the others,” whispers Red. “Because he can be cruel and he leads us. But Anti’s not separate from them to me, except that he’s my master as well as my little brother. I couldn’t leave him behind. Him, me, Dapper, even Trick and Dok, we’ve all done horrible things. Fuck, just a few days ago, I… I…”

He drifts off again, sighing. “Anti just gets excited about it because that’s how he was made. I don’t care what it looks like to anybody else. He’s my family. I’ll always try to protect him. He doesn’t have to return the feeling.”

He rubs at his head like it’s hurting him and gets to his feet. Maybe he’ll go see if he can spy what’s going on in the shed from the backdoor. He wonders if that girl who tried to kidnap him is dead already, or if Anti is still having Dapper carve the information out of her.

Anonymous asked: Jackie, she can help you! I know you're angry for what she did, but I'm begging you, just give her a chance. We can't all be wrong.

Red blinks and then his gaze turns angry as he backs away from the door, chained inside the house. “Her? That Genesis girl? She tried to take me away! She chained me down and hit me! She could have killed me or I might have never seen the others again!”

His breathing is picking up again, his hand over his heart.

“If she tries to fucking ‘help me,’ I’ll kill her like I should have in that alleyway! I hope Anti’s ripped her to shreds already.”

You might be barking up the wrong tree.

Anonymous asked: Okay. Then Blue. You know magic. You know Genesis could help you. Do it for your brother.

“Help me with what?” frowns Blue. “She’s going to make Anti less grumpy? She’s going to hide us better so we can live in peace for once? She’s the one trying to find us, remember? Or those… people she works with.”

He frowns deeper still, rubbing at his hands. “Strange, I feel almost like I recognized those symbols they wear on their wrists… but I never can remember…”

Sighing, Blue turns his gaze back to you. “What, you guys really believe she’s somehow okay after what she did to Red? Do you even know anything about this stranger who’s been hunting us?”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Do you see anything wrong with how you guys are being treated, Red? Cause I think that is the problem she's seeing

“I think it sucks ass that we always have to be running! And I know that Trick shouldn’t be hurting himself, but we’re doing our best cause we can’t go to the hospital or a professional or something! And I know there was that stress with Dapper’s meds, but Dok is working on it.”

Red runs his hands over his face and sighs deeply.

“Look, I know we’re poor or whatever, and cut off from the whole world, but we do what we can. That doesn’t mean we need saving, especially not a version of salvation that involves dragging me away and killing all of my brothers with magic. Did you hear the way they talked about me just because they smelled magic on me? They think Blue and Dap and Anti are demons or something!”

He shivers and rubs his shoulders. “They could really hurt them. I - oh!”

He startles as the door of the shed opens and Anti emerges, towelling blood off his hands. Red sinks away from the door, avoiding his master’s eye.

Anti is panting a little, glitching passionately. He chucks the towel at Red and claps a hand on his shoulder, pausing to rest.

“Tell Trick to guard the shed tonight,” he says. “And keep an eye on the camera. She’s dangerous. And if she gets out, there will be hell to pay.”

“Yes, Anti,” Red promises stiffly.

“Um, Anti,” calls Blue anxiously. “Dapper can come in now?”

Anti pauses for a moment, regarding him. There is something dark and impatient in his eyes, but he moves on.

“He’ll be along in a minute. He’s doing that weird thing with the ghosts again. Tell Dok to hurry up and fix him. I’m going to go clean up.”

Panicked, Blue puts aside the lunch he’s making and darts towards the door as Anti retreats down the hall, only to be snatched up at the last moment by a hand on the back of his collar.

“Don’t go out there,” Red warns. “You weren’t asked to guard or check. Anti said he would be along in a minute.”

Blue scowls and shakes him off, backing away with eyes full of tears. For a second, you think they might say something to each other.

Blue goes back to making his little brothers lunch. Red retreats to their room.

Anonymous asked: you're the caretaker, blue - you have to know that help can come from the strangest of places

Blue lets out a weak laugh. “I guess… I wouldn’t mind some help, lately. I miss… I miss…”

But he doesn’t know what it is he’s missing.

Anonymous asked: We know she didn't kill Red when she could have. We know her friend, Hermann, wanted to help Red, that he stopped the others from hurting him, and we know that he called Anti "demon." And we know that there is a better life away from Anti, but when someone holds out their hand, you need to take it. We know you love Anti, but he is hurting your brothers. Take her hand, at least try.

Blue pauses, turning a leg of chicken slowly.

“I… didn’t know all that. Maybe… but fuck, you all sound just like them… Anti’s not a fucking demon, he’s just something magical. He’s a lot like me, you know, just a different brand of sorcerer. Anyway, I’m sorry, but there’s no hand to take right now. She’s Anti’s prisoner, now. I don’t expect there’s much help for her at this point. For all I know, she’s dead already.”

Anonymous asked: How is Noodle the cat?

Trick is shaving Dok’s beard over the sink in their bathroom, but he stops halfway through to clap his hands together, delighted. “Great! So good, I love him more than Dok.”

“Hey!”

“Haha, just kidding. Behold! My kitten!”

Trick scoops his cat off the bed and presents him proudly to you.

“Mrr?” complains Noodle, stretching his little golden body in Trick’s hands. He’s already a little bigger than he was when you last saw him.

“He’s a very friendly cat,” says Dok, frowning at his halfway-shaved beard in the mirror.

“Yes, yes, yes, the best baby.” Trick smothers him in kisses and sets him on his shoulder, where Noodle is content to crawl back and forth, mewling and pushing his head against Trick’s face, asking for scratches. “He’s so good. He’s sooo good.”

Anonymous asked: alright, Caretaker. then I guess you'll never know if you could have helped your brothers.

Blue’s gaze has gone flat.

“What would you even have me do?” he asks, voice raw. “What would the point of any of it be? What can I even do about any of this?”

Anonymous asked: a poem for you, blue!! i wrote this a long time ago, don't judge, a friend told me you liked poetry :) It goes: The man who holds tight to the chain / of many fearsome hounds / must let go when the strongest pulls / or be dragged along the ground.

Blue’s face lights up. “Oh, I do! ‘The man who holds tight to the chain - ‘”

Immediately, a bright blue light is burning on his hands. He gasps and recoils, drawing them, shaking to his stomach, gritting down his teeth on a scream. No, no, no, no magic, he can’t, he has to hold on to it!

It takes him a long time to straighten up again. His face has lost all color and strands of sweaty blue hair tumble into his exhausted eyes.

“Sorry,” he coughs. “I’m not… feeling so well lately. I like your poem, though. Your structuring is very good. Thank you.”

Anonymous asked: You can try, Blue. It's all anyone can do.

“Try what?” He glances over at Red standing in the doorway. “It would be really hard to sneak out… you’d have to help me and I - oh! Dap-Dap!”

He drops his spoon and darts to Red’s side, once again held back by a hand on his collar. He growls dangerously, an odd color lighting up in his hands, but doesn’t struggle for now, calling for Dap to come back to the house.

“Dapper! Honey, come over here! My poor little brother, baby, come here!”

Dapper is standing out by the shed, looking stiff as a mannequin. He stares blankly at the house, his arms held out before him, soaked in blood. His face is very blank and he doesn’t answer Blue.

“Let me go!” shrieks Blue, tugging against Red’s grip. “He’s upset, look at him!”

Red sighs. “Would you calm down? He does this a lot.”

Blue lets out a furious cry, turning to punch his chest, startling Red but not causing him to let go. “Look what you and Anti are doing to my baby brother!” he shouts, tears rising in his eyes and color burning in his hands. He groans and clutches his fists together, furious. “He does this a lot? No, he doesn’t, not unless he’s sick or scared or being made to do horrible things!”

Red’s breathing fast. He shoves Blue out into the dirt. “Go get him and bring him back,” he snaps. “Before you get the beating you’re asking for.”

“I hate that you’re acting like this!” screams Blue, backing out of his reach. Red’s chain binds him tight to the house. “Why are you letting this happen?”

“Shut up, Blue,” snaps Red, whirling on him and returning to his room. He reaches out to slam the door before remembering Anti took it off. Distraught, humiliated, he crashes into his bed instead of his corner this time and draws his blankets over his head, hiding.

Blue lets him go and darts out towards Dapper to get his little brother back into the house. Dapper lets himself be lead, his face empty and his eyes wide and unfocused.

“Feeling okay, Dapper?” asks Blue, pulling him snugly to his chest, ignoring the blood that soaks into his shirt. He’ll clean it out later. “What happened, my darling? Did that magician girl upset you?”

Dapper just leans slightly into his chest, shaking.

Anonymous asked: Red, there had to be a better way to go about this. Trying to lead by fear will get you nowhere. Please, don’t turn to this, they rely so much on you for guidance as a big brother, not a master. They already have one of those, they don’t need another.

“This is what Anti told me to do,” he mumbles, holding himself. “This is what I have to do. This is what I can do to make it easier on them. Better I hit them than Anti…”

For a long time, he lies in silence. He’s tired to the core of his being. He didn’t know you could be so tired it hurts this badly.

And then, to your surprise, he asks you for a favor.

“Will you wake me up again if I fall asleep?”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Sure then, Red....but just remember that, at the end of the day, there are a whack load of brothers that have your back, love you, and wouldn't treat you like a dog.

Red sighs, long and low. He doesn’t know how to… ah, he’s never been good at talking about shit. Blue always seemed to understand anyway…

Anonymous asked: No??? red, you need to sleep!

He clutches his hair and sinks in on himself, hugging his shoulders. Slowly, he shakes his head back and forth, exhausted.

Anonymous asked: jeez, where's Anti? lurking around and whining about his daddy issues as usual?

You hear shouting from his room, behind the only door left in the house.

“I was just fucking out there, you insufferable little brats. Sorry I didn’t give everybody fucking kisses and ice cream! What the fuck do you idiots expect from me? Are your heads so full of air that you can’t for one second get your brain out of your asses - ”

You might want to turn your attention back to other cameras.

“Motherfucking sons of bitches - !”

Anonymous asked: Wait a minute, who is he yelling at? Us? Where’s Chase and Dok?

Dok and Trick perk up on their bed, exchanging looks. “We’re in our rooms! Wasn’t yelling at us. Right?”

“Right…” Dok pauses. “Probably…”

“Must have been yelling at you, dudes.”

Anonymous asked: Dap, buddy, can you hear us? Are you alright, love?

Blue brushes at Dapper’s hair, hoping he’ll answer you, but he just sinks father down against Blue’s body and closes his big blue eyes. Blue squishes him close and kisses his hair, feeling blood squealch beneath his fingers. He shudders.

“Dok!” he calls. “Dok, Trick! I think he just got shocked from all the blood. He gets so strange with chores like that! Sometimes he gets really, really over-excited, and he’ll come home from chores shaking so hard and grinning like a madman - or he comes hope just sobbing and sobbing while Anti drags him along by his hair - or he’s a simpering little puppy, and all he wants is somebody to hold on him - ”

“Or he clams up,” finishes Trick wearily, appearing in the room and taking one look at his brother.

“All this fucking blood!” hisses Dok, darting forward to pull Dap from Blue so he can get a look at him. Dap stares sadly up at him as he runs his hands over his head and his torso, looking for wounds.

Anonymous asked: Bahaha Anti you salty bitch, what’s your problem?

Anti cracks open the door to his room just to glare at you for two and a quarter seconds and then slam it very loudly, which only makes Dap jump and burrow into Doktor’s chest in the kitchen.

Anonymous asked: Isn't there a camera in the shed...? Are we able to see that?

You flip through your cameras. Like Anti said, you have a view on the girl: Genesis, the sorcerer.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What happened, Dap?

“Yeah, what happened, buddy?” Trick leans forward to give Dap’s shoulder a good squeeze while Doktor wraps his arms around him, frowning. “Too much blood for one hour? Did that girl say anything about who sent her? There’s not more people going to be able to find us, right?”

“Ghosts, ghosts, ghosts.”

Doktor feels the word more than sees it and pushes Dapper back slightly to read. “What was that, Dap?”

But Dapper stares dead ahead in silence, his teeth chattering.

“Trick, what do you do to snap Doktor out of it when he gets all shell-shocked like this?”

Doktor blushes bright red and turns away from Trick and Blue, avoiding their eyes.

“Oh - we mostly just lie down in our room and I put a blanket on him and read or something and he comes back to himself eventually. If he gets violent I have to hold him down.”

“Trick,” croaks Doktor, humiliated.

“Bud, it’s just a shock thing, it’s okay…”

“I don’t like talking about it…”

“Okay, okay,” Blue cuts them off, taking back Dap. “Let’s just give him some peace and quiet, then.”

“He needs to get the blood off first,” Doktor advises sharply. “So unhygienic.”

“Alright. Let’s use your shower, come on.”

“That’s too many hands on one little guy,” Trick points out. “You and Dok look after him. I’ll finish lunch. Call me if you need anything.”

“Oh, Trick, I can finish it!”

“Blue, don’t be ridiculous, dude.”

Dok gives them both a warning look with a little hiss. Trick whitens.

“I mean, uh - whatever you say, big bro!”

Blue sighs. “No, okay. We’ll go look after him. Don’t tire yourself out, though, Trick, you’re on guard duty tonight.”

“Aw, damn! I mean - okay, that’s fine!”

cest-mellow asked: genesis? can you hear us..?

Genesis stares at you, directly across from where she sits.

There is, through her right hand, one beautiful golden dagger - Dapper’s Christmas present embedded in her palm.

Amber eyes survey you warily, her mouth taut and her eyes flashing. She leans forward in the chair she is tied to and levels you with a glare, clumps of short black hair closing in around her sharp face.

“I can see you,” she tells you. “I can see words. The talking cameras.”

Anonymous asked: Can we...talk to her? Is she okay? Well, I mean, is she alive?

Cuts litter her like stars the sky, including a delicate star carved perfectly into her cheek. Amidst the abuse, you eventually begin to distinguish heavy, deep gashes along the torso and legs from thin, patient cuts dancing across his fingers and face in pretty patterns. Burns adorn her throat like a witch’s collar.

She spits at you.

“Okay,” she laughs. “Fuck off, talking camera elves…”

She has a heavy accent, but speaks clearly.

Anonymous asked: Did dapper give you that?

“Dapper, I don’t know that. What’s dapper?”

Anonymous asked: Oh! Ma’am, can you see us? We’re here to help as much as we’re able too.

“Oh, the elves are here to help, uh-huh. The elves expect me to believe they don’t work for the little motherfucker in the vest.”

immabethehero asked: How did you get here, Genesis?

“Oh, what, you don’t know, now? Huh? I saw the cameras in the streets and the shitty old bars, but I didn’t think they would be full of spies. So you told the demon I was coming, huh? Mean little camera elves. Little fuckers.”

She spits again, a sudden tremble consuming her body as the blood loss begins to hurt her.

“Haha, it stings… I was trying to find the demon who stabbed Hermann and made the man in the red hood his little slave. I cast spells all over the city, but, see, only in the mountain did I find magic I did not recognize… I know all the other sorcerers in the city, but there’s some kind of power up here, so I thought, it must be the demon. But he knew I was coming… I didn’t even tell Emmanuela that I was going…”

Anonymous asked: Hey, I mean, that’s understandable. That little motherfucker in the vest is dapper

“Dapper little motherfucker,” she says, rubbing her aching cheek against her shoulder, pulling against her ropes. “What sort of a demon calls itself Dapper? Sounds like a silly boy name. You’re making fun of me?”

Anonymous asked: dapper is the one with the moustache, but that's not his real name. we're on your side, here.

“Oh? He doesn’t use his real name? Dapper means something? If you’re really on my side, you should tell me his real name so I can curse him better.”

immabethehero asked: The demon in question is Anti. He's kidnapped and brainwashed a whole bunch of guys. The one in the vest is called Dapper, but his real name is Jameson.

“Oh, Jameson, huh? Pretty. I’ll fill his throat with razor blades once I get out of these goddamn ropes!”

She lets out a raw scream and tugs harder against them, disturbing a deep wound in her shoulder and hissing as blood comes flowing down. For the first time, she shows a flash of fear, hyperventilating for a second before she remembers herself and stays together.

Anonymous asked: his real name is Jameson Jackson, but Anti erased a lot of his (and the other boys’) memories about their past and their real names, so he might not respond to that name. You’re the magic expert here, thought.

“Tell me everything about this Jameson Jackson. Why does he keep the other men his prisoners? Why doesn’t he talk? Why does he have a mustache like a Frenchman from the 1930s? I’ll shave it off him. Fucker, little motherfucker.”

She pauses, trying to think of more English curse words.

“Dick,” she finishes confidently, nodding at you and flicking her hair out of her face.

Anonymous asked: Alright, let’s all chill out okay? We’re not here to patronize you. Dapper isn’t the demon. It’s Anti, the one that was most likely with him. And you must have pissed him off pretty bad too, which is great.

“Oh, oh, I piss him off? Here, tell him this, tell him he has pissed me off, and I will make him regret it, because I expect he will not like to have this chair shoved down his throat! Like I started this, huh? He’s the one stabbed my stupid idiot friend! And I love my stupid idiot friend! Motherfucker to the max!”

She rocks her chair and nearly tips over, giving a little shriek. After this, she needs a moment to recover, and sighs deeply, looking back at you.

“Okay, fine, but I think you understand why I am not ‘chill.’”

Anonymous asked: Jameson is mute. He dresses like he’s from the early 1900s, because he is. He can change the course of time with his abilities, so if something happens that he or Anti doesn’t like, it can be adjusted. And I’d advise you not to hurt him unless absolutely necessary out of defense, because you will absolutely be killed.

Genesis frowns, chewing on her lip, trying to distinguish between truths and lies.

“A very old demon, then… I will be careful… which I guess would have been a good note for before I came looking, but the Old Man says thinking ahead is not my strong suit. Or even a suit I fit into at all.”

Anonymous asked: Oh yeah, you’re totally right. But you also beat the shit out of our stupid idiot too so..we even? Can we talk now? Camera to woman, woman to camera?

“Hmmm.” She narrows her amber eyes at you. “Little camera elves… okay, yeah, we’re talking, aren’t we? Tell me who you are.”

Anonymous asked: Dap, Blue? What's happening?

“We’re just getting cleaned up,” Blue answers in a warm, soothing voice. “We’re doing just fine, just fine.”

You find him in the bathroom with Dap, getting himself soaked by holding Dapper up in the shower. They’ve stripped their little brother down to his boxers and Blue is running shampoo through his hair, massaging his scalp and turning the water around the drain a fine pink. Dok enters the bathroom with his first aid kit and Noodle in one hand, making Dap light up just a little.

Anonymous asked: You’re a good man Trick

Trick turns to give you a full and beautiful smile.

“Thank you,” he chirps, loading chicken and rice onto plates.

Anonymous asked: They’re telling you to listen to the woman, let her go. If you did then both Red and Trick would pay for it. Maybe instead you should try and learn something from her that you could use to save your family, Blue.

Blue washes Dapper’s face gently, deep in thought.

“Fuck, I wish I could know more about that girl,” he whispers. “Something about those people… I wish I could remember anything…”

He sighs, rubbing Dapper’s shoulders with the washcloth. “But it might be easier for you to talk to her than me.”

A moment passes and you expect him to be done, but then, just loud enough for you:

“I’m sorry I’m not of more use in this… please take care of my brothers in any way you can. My hands are so tightly bound…”

Anonymous asked: Don't worry, we want to help. We heard about your friend, Hermann. We're so sorry that he was hurt. What happened to him?

Genesis sinks slightly in on herself, her mouth falling.

“Mh, you’re sorry?”

She glares bitterly up at you for a second, but then she turns her gaze away, softening. It’s not you she’s mad at, in the end.

“He was very bad for a long time. What a miserable Christmas… he’s alive, still. He was asleep for so long. I hate seeing him like this. It’s like all the energy - zap, gone. And Hermann’s so stupid, you know, so he’s usually all full of energy. He’s like a dog that’s really excited to see you. Even if you’re like, okay, dog, you’re kind of annoying at first! Eventually the dog grows on you. And then the dumbass thing gets himself stabbed, and makes Christmas so shitty.”

She stares down at the floor, her lip trembling a little.

“He would notice that I’ve been gone… but probably Emmanuela and the Old Man will not.”

She pauses, alarmed, and sits up straight to glare at you again. “Don’t tell that stupid demon that, you little camera elves! You better not be lying about anything!”

Anonymous asked: Genesis, one of the boys, (Blue, former magician, great guy) feels like he recognizes a symbol on your wrist What is it? Did it mean anything?

Genesis stiffens, her eyes narrowing darkly. Her gaze flickers down to the band on her wrist - a leather strap with a raven etched into it, its beak open and its eye shaped like a jewel.

“It’s… nothing.” Her lips curls at you. “Just… a club. You don’t need to know!”

Anonymous asked: Hey, any go ahead from you is enough alright? Take care of the others and we’ll see what we can do

Blue looks relieved. He gives you a very shaky little smile.

“Okay… I can try to do that much.”

He’s never felt fonder of you.

florenceisfalling asked: woah, yeesh, we don't like the demon any more than you do.

“Oh.” She pauses, blinking at you. “No? You think so too? Motherfucker to the max?”

She puffs to get some of her hair out of her face. “Cut my goddamn ponytail out… you don’t work for him?”

Anonymous asked: genesis, four of them have powers, so it's unlikely you'll have an easy time getting out of this. please be careful, for your own sake, and theirs. the guys under anti's control will suffer if you fuck it up.

“Four of them have powers! Goddamn, goddamn! This sucks on ass! Damn! Well, I can take them!” She pauses, glancing around. “Really, I just need this knife out of my hand… then I could go home in a snap. Okay, four guys under the demon’s control?”

Anonymous asked: It's not the vest you should worry about - he's Dapper, by the way. Anti is the real problem here. We think we can help you, but can you tell us who you are?

She pauses, frowning. “But… the one in the vest came to find the one in the sweatshirt. He’s the one who stabbed Hermann.”

She blows air up onto her own face, miserably hot. “Oh, I’m cooking in this goddamn sun! This little garage is all metal! Who I am? My name is Genesis. You name just about any country on this continent and I’ve lived there. For work, I copy books in a library and stop catastrophes. What else you want, huh? I’m a Scorpio, okay? I have twenty-four years.”

Anonymous asked: Five, technically. He has no powers, just a gun and a kitten. Hell be out guarding you tonight. Maybe try talking to him later?

Genesis’s eyes light up, thinking. “So, okay. One of the little prisoners. A gun and a kitten? Tell me everything about him. Maybe I can convince him to let me go? Do you think?”

Anonymous asked: five total people under his control. dapper and blue have magic, but i don't think blue is allowed to use his. the others are normal. none of them are evil, just trapped with the demon.

“Five! Five, what sort of a monster! This shit must be why Hermann was so desperate to get involved! He kept talking about the twin gringos in the market, he was sure they were involved in something awful. Well, I hate to say it, but I guess he was right. Don’t tell him I said that. Shit, shit! He’s going to want to save them, isn’t he?”

She sighs out a deep breath.

“Okay, two magic boys, none of them are evil… according to you… how do you know none of them are evil? Tell me all about them.”

Anonymous asked: dapper isn't the demon, please don't try to mess with him - he's a victim, too. they all are, except the one who always glitches.

“Hmm.” She doesn’t look convinced. “Why can’t they both be demons, huh? I can smell the power on them and they look like brothers.”

nikkilbook asked: Have you seen the other one? The one that can change his shape and control the others?

“I saw the one in the vest and the one with two different colors of eyes.”

florenceisfalling asked: they're not evil because they don't choose to hurt anyone. they're a family, they used to have normal lives, jobs, and kids. they try their best to take care of each other and be kind, but they're super brainwashed. only one of them is a demon - there's power on dapper, but he's just a time traveler. he doesn't have any other powers that we know of.

Genesis stares down at the ground for a long time. She’s beginning to wear down. Dapper’s star bleeds gently down her cheek.

“I don’t know,” she says. “Lots of bad people have families. Lots of bad people have normal lives. Or even if they were good once… don’t you think, sometimes, when enough bad things happen to you, part of you just… becomes… bad too?”

She looks up at you, her eyes dark. “Listen,” she says. “I’m sorry. But I’ll do what I have to to get out of here. I hope you understand that.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, did you used to belong to a club of some kind?

Blue washes the sticky blood out of Dapper’s hands, cleaning each finger. “A club? I don’t know. I don’t remember much before Anti. Figments is all. Luckily that stuff wasn’t important.”

Dapper sniffles, rubbing at his face wearily. Blue beams at him, trying to encourage him to move.

“How we doing now, sweetie?”

“Ghosts,” mumble Dapper’s hands. “Ghosts.”

“I know, buddy. I know.”

“Not reacting well to anything,” murmurs Dok, a hand on Blue’s shoulder. And then, louder, “Here, Dap, have some water.”

nikkilbook asked: Red, will something bad happen if you fall asleep?

Red is lying like he’s already asleep in his bed, his hair mussed all over the place and his eyes dull, but stubbornly still slitted open. Eventually he shivers and looks away from you, breathing deep.

“No,” he mumbles. “I’m just being a baby.”

bupine asked: red, it's ok for you to sleep. i'm sure nothing too bad can happen in a few hours :D unless anti told you you couldn't?

“No, I can, I can,” whimpers Red, clutching at his hair. “No, nothing bad will happen, nothing… just feels like it… don’t… you don’t have to watch over me…”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Someone needs to watch over you, Red. You aren't completely alone in this.

“Please,” snorts Red. “Like I want anybody to see me like this. Like Blue doesn’t have enough to deal with now that I can’t even… now that I can’t even…”

He trails off, his mouth very tight. The chain around his ankle drags loudly as he readjusts.

bupine asked: we're just trying to see if you're ok, red. you haven't been yourself lately, everything in the house seems so much more strained. how long has dapper been hurting that woman, do u know? he's so shaken up and keeps talking about seeing ghosts

“Fuck, damn,” Red hisses, covering his face. “Anti will be so angry… Dok can’t seem to find the right stuff to level him out again after his medicine was messed up. He’s super clingy and shaky. Anti will be so angry… I’m worried it’s not just hallucinations… fuck.

“We just found that woman this morning, though. I think Anti is trying to find out where she comes from and how he can find the other person. He’s still angry someone tried to steal me away.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Do you have any suspicions as to why they would have taken you, Red?

Red cringes, his mouth beginning to tremble.

“They think Anti or Dapper or Blue is some sort of demon… and I bet they think I’m bad too for fighting that man… and if they get their hands on me again they’ll probably…”

He clutches at his shoulders, curling in on himself, his teeth gritted very tight in his mouth.

“This is almost as bad as being asleep,” he groans, rubbing his face back and forth against his mattress.

Anonymous asked: Is he alright?

Blue helps a trembling Dapper back to his feet, fetching him a towel as he steps out of the shower, though all he does is pull it around his shoulders like a blanket and hide from you. Blue adjusts accordingly, getting a second towel to start drying him off himself.

“Yeah, we’re okay, aren’t we, bud?” soothes Blue.

Dap doesn’t answer. His face is twitching.

“Aren’t we, Dok?” asks Blue, turning to him.

Dok gives him a worried glance, biting down on his lip.

Blue hisses out a curse under his breath even as he turns to offer Dapper a big warm smile, toweling his hair playfully. “Something has to change,” you hear him whisper to Dok. “This environment is too much stress for him.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Dok? Do you have anything to help Red sleep? He'd super on edge..

Dok pales a little, turning his eyes from you. “Trust me, Red doesn’t want anything from me. Nothing I can do about it.”

“He won’t sleep hardly at all,” whispers Blue.

“Maybe you could try giving him some melatonin.”

“He wakes up screaming every time.”

“I know, we hear him across the house. I don’t know why Anti doesn’t - ”

“Shhh, Dok, sh, careful…”

They fall silent again. Whistling reaches them as Trick comes down the hallway with chicken and rice and bright yellow sodas piled up in his arms.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Do any of you boys want to keep Red company? Maybe he needs a friend.

Dok shakes his head vigorously, and Trick nods along with his twin almost without thinking about it, setting up a late lunch in their room.

“Don’t ask us,” Dok tells you emphatically, putting a hand over his aching skull. “Most of the time he won’t even have Blue.”

Blue’s mouth has gone very thin. He glances back towards his and Red’s room again and again, but he doesn’t go to him. He’s been yelled at enough for today.

“Why’s J - happy - sad?” asks Dap, snuffling and shivering in his towel.

Dok and Blue frown and exchange looks.

“What was that sign, honey?”

“J - happy. Why sad?”

Dok blinks. Blue chews on his lip, shaking his head.

Dapper frowns at the two of them, blinking his eyes, confused.

Anonymous asked: i think he means red.

“Do you mean Red, buddy?” asks Dok, pulling him into their room.

“Red?”

Dok sighs and sits him down. Blue watches from the doorway, his eyes flickering nervously from Dapper to Red’s room.

bupine asked: j-happy? could be a personal sign dapper made up for red. he's seemingly a bit delirious right now, he's maybe not thinking right and forgot red's name?

“You know Dapper has his confused days,” Trick points out, already popping a bite of chicken in his mouth. “Remember that time he thought somebody had kidnapped him?”

Dapper frowns down at the ground, blinking slowly.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Dap, do you remember everyone's names?

“Who’s everyone?”

“Okay,” snaps Blue, shaking his head. “Enough talking about this. Eat your chicken, Dap-Dap. Look, your brothers even brought you fancy sodas. Yum, huh? Good to get some sugar in you.”

Anonymous asked: *whispers* do you mean jackie, dapper?

“Connection must be real buggy,” muses Trick, popping the cap off a soda. “Can barely make some of these out.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Dok? Is Dapper being this delirious normal?

Doktor glances nervously at the camera, reaching out to pet Dapper’s hair, uncharacteristically affection. You see him give a tiny headshake.

“Delusional, not delirious. But we just need to figure your medicine out,” he croaks, looking suddenly exhausted. “Wish we could just go back to the Haldol, huh, bud?”

Dapper tilts his head sorrowfully against his hand, looking up at him.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Red? Why don't you let someone keep you company? At least until you fall asleep?

“Oh, come on,” he scoffs, turning his back on you. “You really think the others are supposed to see me like this?”

There’s a long pause.

“Anti… nearly stopped Blue from sleeping with me anymore… we don’t talk, during the night… he says he’ll muzzle me if I do…”

nikkilbook asked: Guys, please don’t do this to him. Not again. You’ve all got each other—he needs you, too. Remember kindness, please. Red needs you. Jackie needs you.

Trick curls his lip up, stabbing at his chicken and looking over at Dok, who only frowns back. Dapper stares between his brothers, frowning and waiting for someone to talk, but nobody does.

Blue won’t meet the camera’s gaze. His hands tremble too badly for him to hold his fork.

“Can’t help someone who won’t let you,” he tells you finally, in a voice like a white flag.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Is there a way you could secretly get him back on the haldol?

“I tried putting him back on the Haldol,” Dok explains, his face falling. “But something about the Risperdal messed it up, and I had to wean him off that, and then I tried putting him back on the Haldol slow, but it wasn’t working, and he was having really bad hallucinations, so I tried something really strong, but he was having horrible dizziness, so he couldn’t even walk, so I had to take him off that slow, and now we’re trying something new - ”

“Dok, Dok.” Trick reaches out to grab his wrist and Doktor stops, burying his face in his hands. “Dude, it’s okay, it’s okay. You’re going to figure it out.”

Doktor doesn’t answer. Dapper stares up at Blue, bewildered, but all Blue can do is pull him close and rub his shoulders, pressing their heads together.

reverseblackholeofwords asked: Red, you know we're watching out for you, and your brothers won't let anyone take you or hurt you. You're protected and loved, and I know it doesn't feel like that now. But you just have to remind yourself that it's true.

Exhausted, Red lies still against his mattress, blinking slowly at you as he tries not to fall asleep. But there’s something warm and reassuring about the message, and even if it feels like his brothers are a continent away, he tries to take some comfort in it as it swirls around his head again and again.

Protected and loved… fuck, what he wouldn’t give… hell, but he’s tired…

Anonymous asked: uhhh trick, is red still awake or sleeping?

Trick glances nervously over at you, but consents to your request and gets up to check. He slinks carefully to the door of his room and peers out and into Red’s, hiding slightly behind the door.

Red is curled up in silence, breathing deep and slow, his eyes closed.

“Looks like,” he whispers, drawing away again.

“Give it fifteen minutes on the screaming,” mumbles Dok, sipping his soda. There’s something very dark in his gaze.

“Really? I give him… an hour and a half!”

“What are we betting?”

“Boys,” snaps Blue, his face furious. Trick and Dok avert their gaze meekly, returning to each other’s sides. Trick puts his head down on Dok’s shoulder and hums, too pre-occupied by the fact that it makes Dok smile to notice Blue hiding his hands beneath his shirt, his face stark white.

Anonymous asked: Genesis, do you know the name Marvin?

Genesis is already shaking her head back and forth on the camera, trying to keep herself steady and awake. She breathes out slow breaths, losing color and draining blood.

“Marvin? Oh, no… I don’t know, I don’t think so…”

Anonymous asked: Say what you're thinking, Blue.

“I think these little hooligans know exactly what I mean,” grumbles Blue, making the twins shrivel beneath his gaze, guilty smiles on their mouths.

“Sorry, Blue,” says Trick with a winning grin. “We were just teasing.”

“Making fun of nightmares is not teasing, boys.”

Trick and Dok exchange looks with a cold note of apathy in them. Trick’s hand falls subconsciously to rest on a dark bruise on Doktor’s wrist.

Anonymous asked: Blue, seriously, you need to talk to someone about whatever it is that’s happening with your hands. Ignoring it will only make it worse and probably harder to fix. It’s okay to need help sometimes.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” cries Blue, clutching them together beneath his shirt, despite a blue light seeping through his clothes. Dok and Trick look up, alarmed. “I know the rules, I’m not trying to break them! It’s already my fault those people found us! I have to keep it under control!”

“Blue,” say Trick and Dok at the same time. Trick leans forward with his hands out-stretched, while Dok is already getting to his feet. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, nothing, it’s nothing!”

“Show me,” demands Dok, kneeling down beside him and grabbing at his hands. “Show me, now.”

“Please, Dok - ”

But Dapper is up on his knees too, reaching out to help drag his hands away. Dok grits his teeth hard, glaring down at the injured fingers and palms.

Blue’s hands are redder than his twin’s hair and they tremble so hard it must be painful. Skin flakes off them in peeling patches, like a bad sunburn, and blood is welling, for a reason Dok cannot fathom, from beneath the fingernails.

“What is this,” asks Doktor flatly. “Red did this to you.”

“No! Dok, it’s just - it’s just - it’s just power!”

“Your power is a part of you, same as Dapper’s, and his never hurts him like this. Does it? No. Why is this happening?”

“Because he hasn’t casted in months,” says Dap, but no one’s looking at him - except Blue, who boxes him off from Trick and Dok’s view and makes him scowl.

“It’s just because of the memory loss,” he chokes, suddenly rising to his feet. “I forgot how to use it right. I need to figure it out on my own, thank you. I think I want a nap, too, you’ll excuse me.”

“Blue!” cry Trick and Dok, in tandem for the second time.

“I said, you’ll excuse me,” snarls Blue, whirling on them, and suddenly he and Red really do look like twins, in more ways than one.

Trick and Dok fall silent, staring at the floor, the fight gone out of them.

Blue vanishes down the hall.

Trick leans down to kiss the dark bruise on Doktor’s wrist, and then over to kiss Dapper too, just for good measure, trying to get the look of utter confusion off his poor little brother’s face.

nikkilbook asked: Red doesn’t seem like he’s the one making the decisions here. Do you know about the muzzle?

“Fuck, don’t say that word!” cries Dok, looking horrified. Trick cringes and blushes bright red at his side, turning his face away from him and dropping his twin’s wrist.

“What an awful thing! Anti used to use that when Trick was still under the old master’s control! Don’t mention such a thing, oh, dear… For Red? Oh, dear… well, maybe that’s why he’s been such a motherfucker to deal with lately…”

Trick is covering his face with his hands, tomato red.

Anonymous asked: Blue, I think you know Genesis, and she's bleeding out. Is there any way you can sneak out and go see her?

You find Blue again in his room, panting on the other side of the room from Red, curled in on himself. He signs to be quiet.

“What, so I can get the shit beat out of me by my twin?” he asks, tears coursing down his cheeks. Grief and rage twist up his whole face. “If you really want to talk to her, Dok and Trick will be out together to guard her soon. I’m so fucking tired.”

He pauses, trying to take a deep breath or two.

“Is she… really bleeding out? I don’t know what you mean about knowing her.”

immabethehero asked: She was symbols on her similiar to a pack of cards. Does that remind you of anything?

“She does?”

Blue gets up uncertainly and tilts his head at Red’s computer, wondering if he can catch a glimpse of the girl on the security camera.

“Where? I only saw the sigil on her wrist.”

Anonymous asked: Genesis, is there something, anything you can tell us about your club? We think our friend was in it once, and we need to jog his memory. He might trust you if he knows even the smallest thing!

Genesis snorts and closes her eyes, turning away.

“I’ve said enough already! I bet the demon can see this, huh?”

She sighs and eventually turns back to you, frowning. “If he really knows something about it, he should have a… club…”

She sighs. “Okay, it’s called an ‘order.’ He should have a national order he belongs to. Otherwise he’s a rogue cast, which would be why his signal was picked up unregistered in the area anyway.”

immabethehero asked: It's a band on her wrist. A leather strap with a raven etched into it, its beak open and its eye shaped like a jewel.

Blue pauses. Even his hands are stilled for a moment. He stares at the floor.

“With… a jewel for an eye?”

immabethehero asked: I'm not sure. Do you have a club, anywhere on you?

“A club? I have card symbols on my ankle. Club, spade, diamond, heart.”

He shows you his tattooed ankle beneath his jeans.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Maybe we can try to phrase it differently....did you know a sorcerer of some kind who had an affinity for nature stuff? Marvin here, who goes by Blue, can make flowers grow with ease with his emotions. At least, he used to...

Genesis raises her eyebrows. “Sounds like a pretty power. Which hand does he cast with? Marvin, huh? What country he is from?”

Anonymous asked: Genesis says she was in something called an "order," and you would have a club on you. See? You're connected!

“Did she say I would have a club on me? I thought these were just my power symbols. Anti likes me to hide them. I don’t know what she would know about me.”

He pulls slightly away from you again, catching sight of Red and remember his mistrust.

“I don’t like her! She tried to take Red from me!”

immabethehero asked: Genesis!! The blue haired man, called Blue, has a club, spade, heart and diamond tattooed on his ankle!!!

“Oh, cool. I don’t know anything about that. What’s a spade? That isn’t what I meant when I said he might be in a club, but I always believed that coincidences must mean something, yes?”

nikkilbook asked: I thought you were angry with Red.

“Oh, so I should let him be fucking abducted?” scowl Blue’s hands. He whirls away from you, sulking.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Genesis, he has a tattoo of card suits on his ankle. He's European of some kind.

She shrugs. “Europe is big. But organizations out there are close-knit - I am surprised he is not registered with an order, or was never caught by those who prevent catastrophe. Magicians do not really function alone, or hardly ever. They are at least known to the national order, and usually a part of it.”

immabethehero asked: As in card symbols, Genesis! He has all four tattooe on his ankle!!! His real name is Marvin the Magnificent, btw.

Genesis shrugs at you, her mouth tilted into a frown. “Doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Anonymous asked: Yes, she's in really bad shape. Maybe you don't "know" her personally, but you might have some kind of connection to her. I know this is scary, but you're so strong. You can help her.

Blue keeps his back turned to you for a long time.

Like he’s waging some war with himself.

“I know about a bird with a jewel eye,” he says finally, aloud, but in a tiny, croaking voice. “But I… I can’t be like her, can I?”

He covers his face with his hands, trying to breathe. “What if Anti sees my - what if Anti realizes I’m connected to her and - and - and strings me up too? What if I do belong to some sort of horrible order that tries to steal people away from their families? I don’t… I don’t remember, I didn’t mean…”

He fidgets with the hem of his shirt, stroking his right shoulder.

nikkilbook asked: I suspect he uses both hands to cast, given that both hands are raw and bleeding because he hasn’t cast in months. He also uses poetry as focus words.

“Both hands?” Genesis sits up straight, staring at you with wide, excited eyes. “Like a really powerful sorcerer! Oh, poetry, like a real traditionalist!”

nikkilbook asked: Blue, I think a distinction needs to be made that she and her friends were trying to steal someone away from a demon, not their family. She calls them “the ones who prevent catastrophe.”

Blue whitens, staring at you.

“I don’t… know why I know that phrase.”

He stalks away, staring at the wall, picking at his shoulder.

Anonymous asked: Genesis? How are you holding up? We want to help you, and the boys that Antis captured. Can you tell us anything so we can do that?

She sighs, closing her eyes. “I’ll be fine, okay? I’m tough, you know, good blood in me. Strong heart and all, no sweat. Just a little blood is all. Damn. I don’t know how you can help - I need to tell the rest of my order to come help. They could maybe stop the demon… except there’s only a few of us, and he seems to have such a tight grip. Tell your magician boy that if he would cast something strong, strong enough to overcome the way the demon has been trying to hide him, the Order would be alerted and could come.”

badlypostedeverything asked: They've all been emotionally abused and manipulated into depending on Anti (The bad one). They think that he loves them, and are unwilling to hurt him in any way, however they are not bad people

“Anti,” she repeats softly.

“That’s the bad one, then? You’re truthful?”

She stares at the wall, thinking.

“What… is he? To control so many people enough that they believe this? Your boys are in a bad tangle, little camera elves… this is a great deal of power, hidden up here in this mountain.”

florenceisfalling asked: lots of bad people had families and lives, but CHOSE cruelty instead. these people didn't choose this. they just want to be safe again. and if you try to leave without helping them - helping undo what the demon's done - you're probably gonna get your ass kicked.

Genesis sighs. “I think I already did. It’s not that I don’t want to help - it’s just, I’m not sure I can.”

Anonymous asked: Well at least you’ve still got a sense of humour. And no, dapper is Antis guard dog at this point. Anti doesn’t like getting his hands dirty so he uses Dapper to do the work for him, and really anyone else.

“Okay, the little man in the vest - he’s good news, just controlled? What a dick he acts like. Like my skin is a canvas. Little fucker. Very well, I’ll forgive him if he can break free.”

immabethehero asked: Genesis, the guy with the hair is a magician with magic. His real name's Marvin the Magnificent!!! He used to have a mask with different card symbols before Anti screwed him over and brainwashed him

“The guy with the hair! Haha, are most of them bald? Okay, Marvin the magnificent magician.”

Anonymous asked: We're only trying to help you. If you're gonna get out of here, you'e going to have to know what you're dealing with. And Jameson is the LEAST of your worries, I promise. And we're really sorry about Hermann.

“Oh, thank you. Yes… I’m glad he survived. We weren’t sure, for a while there. He’s… he’s like a brother to me, really. Dumb boy…”

Cest-mellow asked: jameson isn’t the demon! none of them are demons except anti. if you want to kill someone, it should be anti. he has them all as his “little slaves” just how you saw the man in the red hood. all of them are brainwashed and hurt. anti made jameson torture you, and hell probably make him do a lot worse if you’re not careful. Five anons and immabethehero made similar points and were added.

Genesis shakes her head, disoriented by all the messages. “Hell, how many camera elves are there? Damn, okay, thank you, this helps, this - I’m sorry, time traveler?”

She pauses for a long time, staring at the wall.

“You know what,” she says, a little white. “Maybe obvious, but uhhh… I’m starting to think I’m in real trouble.”

Anonymous asked: You've never spoken to her, Blue, you can't know if you don't like her. Don't you know she probably has people she cares about, too? Her friend, Hermann, is hurt and she wants to take care of him. She keeps mentioning friends that she hopes are looking for her. You have to know what that feels like. Give her a chance.

“Oh, she… she really has friends? That could be dangerous, right, that… I guess she must be angry Dap stabbed her friend, though… I guess I get that…”

immabethehero asked: There is no resting for you guys, is there? Maybe you just leave Anti?

“I love Anti, I love Anti, I love Anti,” chant Blue’s hands, as he paces around the room, his fingers clenched tight together. “I love him, I love him. Blue, stop thinking.”

Anonymous asked: She says Hermann is like her brother.

“Aww.” Blue reaches for his heart as though touched, only to yank his hand away again, eyes wide. “No, I don’t care!”

nikkilbook asked: Blue, what’s wrong with your shoulder? Are you all right?

“It’s just a tattoo, right? It doesn’t have to mean anything! It doesn’t have to mean anything about her or me or anything. It’s just a tattoo. It’s just a coincidence. It’s just a bird! Right?”

Anonymous asked: Wait everyone hold up, this is great and all, finding someone who is sane and could help out, but how do we know that she’s the real deal? That she won’t go and kill the boys once she knows enough? I mean Antis fine but what about the others

“Yeah, exactly, exactly!” Blue clings too it, eyes too bright. “She’ll bring more people back, they’ll hunt us down, beat my baby brothers like they beat Red, steal us away, away, kill us! She’s bad, like Anti said! And I’m not like her!”

Anonymous asked: Ma’am, we’re sorry, but you have to calm down. No one is going to hurt you alright? Nothing gets said to the demon, this is all between us. You have our word, is that enough for now?

She sighs. Shrugs. Weary.

“We’re talking, aren’t we? That’s all I can promise for now.”

Anonymous asked: You do care, Blue! You care! You're angry, and sad, and you're full of love and poetry. Stop holding it in! The world deserves to see the Magnificence of you! Let it out!

Blue licks at his mouth, frantic.

“Fuck, but my hands hurt,” he sobs, making Red stir. “Fuck, but I want this to stop!”

Anonymous asked: Blue. Marvin. We need you to do a really big favor for us, and you're not gonna like the sound of it, but we promise you can trust us, okay?

Blue stares at you, eyes blown wide. Clenching and unclenching his hands.

Anonymous asked: hush. just tell me your favorite poem, blue.

Blue closes his eyes.

“Not that,” whisper his hands. “Red will be punished. He promised Anti… he promised Anti I would stop casting… I’ve held this back for so long, I can last, I can last…”

He sinks down to his knees. Staring at Red.

You remember, from a long time ago, hearing Anti call his twin system a failsafe.

Anonymous asked: We genuinely want to help, Genesis. The only reason we know anything that's going on is because Anti thinks it's funny. We know who the boys used to be and he wants us to see how he's stripped their identities away. It's his sick way of proving he's "won" but they're still here and so are we. So we help them however we can. And right now you're our best option.

She nods slowly. “So even you, too, are kept here by the demon’s cruelty… But I am just one woman. I think you are underestimating how much power it will take to be freed of a creature like this… I’ve heard only snippets of legends about monsters that steal love like this. Either you must get the boys away from the monster forever, or you must see that every single one of them turns their back on it, so the demon cannot be made strong by their control, and turn them against each other. It will take either a great external force to steal them away and keep them hidden for the rest of their lives, or an even great act of revolution from within each of these men he has made into slaves.”

Anonymous asked: this is how you save him, blue.

Blue stares at the floor, breathing in, and out.

“From… Anti?”

Anti’s guard dog is asleep at his feet. Anti’s ears are closed with Red’s eyes.

Blue stares down at the old scars on Red’s face. At the chain around his ankle.

In the other room, he can hear Trick and Dok chatting, light and happy, occasionally pausing to reassure their confused little brother of whatever’s upsetting them. They feast on chicken and soda pop, because most of the time, Anti doesn’t give them the spare change it takes to buy sugar.

Blue licks at his lips.

Anonymous asked: We try, Genesis, but the minute we have one, we lose him again. Anti can just take them away whenever he wants, and they love him. We're scared we can never help them. That's why we're so hopeful to meet you. Something new needs to happen.

“Yes,” she murmurs. “Yes, I’m sure, especially if a long time they have been under his control… it might take you a long time yet. Maybe we can get them away from the monster - if not forever, at least long enough for them to find themselves again. Damn, this is the sort of thing Hermann loves… he would know all about it, if I could get them back to him. Spells for purity and strength and resilience. They could band together there, and be able to fight him, but… the truth is… there are only a few of us at the base right now… the Old Man does not fight anymore, and Hermann is injured… I fear it will only be me and Nicholas and Emmanuela. Maybe one or two others, if they’ve stopped in.”

She sighs. “Your boys are very badly tangled up.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, what's a little poetry going to do? Or hum a tune. Get your mind off of the pain, or get away from red and the others to let a little bit of the magic out.

“Not now,” he whispers finally. “Not now. Let the others fall asleep, so Anti will know it’s not there fault. Let it be mine alone…

“I can wait… just a few more hours. I can get everything ready, so, when I’m gone, they’ll still be okay.”

His face has gone very white.

But there is an old, familiar light in there.

“You’ll tell them I loved them, won’t you?”

He staggers towards the door, as if a weight stands on his shoulders - no, as if it has been taken off, after sitting there for so long it makes him unbalanced to be gone.

“I, um… I need to…”

What does he need to do? What can he do to caretake?

“Fresh water,” he mumbles, gathering up the jugs in the kitchen. “I need to get them fresh water…”

Anonymous asked: You're so brave. We love you. And you'll tell them yourself.

Marvin smiles at you, just for a second.

nova-cryptid asked: Genesis, a little while ago, when we mentioned the bird with the gem eye you have, Marvin starting picking at his shoulder, and when we asked him what was wrong he started rambling about how, and I quote “it was just a tattoo, right?” and “it didn’t have to mean anything about me or her” eventually saying (at this point he seemed worried almost) “it’s just a bird! Right?” I think maybe Marvin could have the same or a similar tattoo on his shoulder, but I’m not completely sure.

“Oh? Well, why you are asking me, then? Make him take his shirt off. Damn, I wish this was under a more fun context. You should make my guard boy take his shirt off too. What do you say?”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Dok? You and Trick can take care of each other, right?

Dok and Trick sit up from where they were trying to coax Dapper to eat more, alarm in their faces.

“Um… yeah,” Trick laughs nervously. “Why do you… why do you ask? Is someone angry?”

Doktor’s getting to his feet, glancing around the house, worry on his mouth.

Anonymous asked: Marvin? How are you holding up, buddy?

“It’s weird how much better I feel just thinking about it… ending.”

Blue stares down at his hands as he scoops up bottle after bottle and jug after jug. You don’t know how he’ll carry it all when it’s full. It will take him two trips without his twin. He’s been doing it every day since Red was sent to get Anti that book.

“I think I’ll wait til… til tonight, and try and get far from Red, so Anti will maybe… fuck, I hope he doesn’t punish him, I…”

Blue chews on his lip, nervous.

“I’d just like this to end,” he sighs, rubbing his trembling hands. “Without hurting anyone. I wish Anti would just… but forget it. I can’t ask him to be something he’s not. This is just how it has to be.”

Anonymous asked: Don’t leave a note Blue, and go as soon as possible. Dapper isn’t in great shape to time travel right now. Be safe.

“Shit, do you think Dap will be in trouble too? What if he gets sick trying to turn back, or he’s too freaked out and Anti hurts him? My poor baby.”

Blue’s anxiety has shot up and he pauses in the doorway, staring back at the room of the brothers he’s started to think of as triplets more than anything else.

“They’re so good,“ he whimpers. “I don’t know how they stay so good in all this. All they ever do is look after each other. Oh, I can’t leave my little brothers, that’s - that’s my job, that’s my only job, to look after them, to take care of them! That’s your job, Blue!”

Anonymous asked: Nothing, boys. Tensions are high right now, we’re just concerned for you guys.

Dok retreats nervously from the doorway, wishing he still had a door to hide behind.

Trick tries to keep his voice light. They’ve been through a hundred days and nights like this.

“Hey, Dok, read us a story or something, man. He can recite shit, did you guys know that? Dapper, pick a story.”

“New book,” Dapper insists, pointing at Dok’s mattress, where the little gold book Trick bought him in Norway rests.

“New? I’ve read it a hundred times,” chuckles Dok, turning back to them.

“New to me! No ghosts.”

“It’s your favorite anyway, Dok-Dok.”

“Okay, okay,” laughs Dok, picking it up. “Lie down with me. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder. Part One: Perhaps an Accident…”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: They don't really have a choice to be good, Blue....Keep in mind, Anti doesn't give them a choice.

“Excuse me! Don’t have a choice to be good? They’re the best - the most caring - they’re - they’re perfect!”

It’s possible he has some blind spots in his little brother vision.

“Even when Anti’s mad, and Red’s mad, and I’m being a dick too, just to make it worse, and Dapper’s struggling and Trick’s tired and Dok’s hurting, they still just - they still just - ”

Blue might cry. He wipes furiously at his face, his hands over his heart.

“They don’t deserve… oh, I need this to stop, something has to change…”

bupine asked: blue, i really don't think you should leave by yourself. anti will take it out on the othwrothers. you gotta find an opportunity for you all to leave or everything's gonna end up just like last time

“I’m just going to go refill the water, sheesh… and tonight I won’t go so far Anti won’t find me.

Wait, you guys didn’t want me to run away, did you?”

badlypostedeverything asked: The best you can do for them is to go. They'll be alright, we'll look after them for you

“You did!” accuses Blue, reddening. “I - I can’t believe - you never stop, do you? I’d never leave my family behind! Not… not while there was still air in my lungs.”

Anonymous asked:

Um, yes, we thought so? Blue, what were you planning to do?

Blue stares at you, dismayed.

“’A little poetry,’ you said. ‘Genesis is your best chance,’ you said. I just need to get some of this hurt out of my hands…”

Anonymous asked: Oh, so leaving them forever was the better option? From the outside you could help them! Don't lose faith now, Marvin, you're so close!

“You know what, I don’t remember much, but I’m getting a sense of deja vu right now. Haven’t you tried to convince me to go on my own before? How’d that work out for you?”

Anonymous asked: What?? No, that's not what we meant! Do you really think we'd ever want you to hurt yourself? Of course not! We wanted you to be free! We want you to help your brothers get free, and you can't do that from the inside!

“No! Not - have you been listening - I would never abandon them! Never, never, not even if it was the death of me! On the outside? Of what? Don’t you understand what I’m trying to stop is just this… this… this anger! This hurt in my hands!”

He cries out and drops his bottles as his fingers tighten up again, and this time, to your alarm, you realize his hands are not the only thing glowing. He wails on the side of the mountain, clutching at a chest burning bright blue.

“Hot, hot,” he chokes, gripping at the dirt. Flowers burst up beneath his fingers. “Why won’t Anti let me cast? Why won’t he let me cast? I thought you wanted me to do what the girl asked and let this power go so her friends would see, and maybe they could stop some of this fucking anger in my family! I want them to stop Red from hitting everyone and Anti from hurting us anymore! I don’t want to leave anybody behind! I - fuck, this burns!”

He crumples over his hands with a shriek, grass exploding from beneath his palms.

“I wasn’t talking about leaving!” he shouts. “I was talking about this power fucking killing me!”

bupine asked: i'm glad you're not planning to leave at least, it's a bad idea to leave your brothers. be careful with your magic please, marvin, don't catch anti's attention

“I’m trying, I’m trying, just a little while longer,” he moans, dragging himself back to his feet as the light subsides, sweat dripping down his forehead. “I need to get this fucking power out, I need, I need… oh, I have to get my boys their water…”

Anonymous asked: Okay, okay! Okay. We're sorry, Blue. I guess we misunderstood each other. If that's what you'd rather do, we support you, but don't back down. If you do that, there's gonna be a fight to come.

“Already a fight,” mumbles Blue. “Dealing with Red and Anti lately is a fucking warzone. I’m not going to watch Dap get slapped one more time.”

Anonymous asked: HOW is that any different from leaving, Marvin?

“I don’t want to die,” he chokes. “I just need to get this power out, and you’re the ones who told me I should use the poetry to do what the girl asked. She said strong enough magic would break through Anti’s hiding us, didn’t she? And you told me I should cast like that. You wanted me to bring the girl’s friends to us, didn’t you? Why would I possibly just leave?”

Anonymous asked: You're the strongest of them, Blue. You can protect them from anything. That's why we believe in you so much. We're sorry that we upset you.

“It’s not your fault, it’s just this fucking magic eating me alive, and Anti treats me like I’m… like I’m some kind of bomb… the way he looks at me lately, it’s almost like he doesn’t even love me anymore. He gets this strange look in his eyes… ever since Red brought him that book. It’s like he’s… I don’t know, like he’s hungry.”

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: What book blue

“Oh. That’s what Anti sent Red to kill that man for, I guess. Some big old ugly book with a raven on it. Ever since he let Red sleep in prison and he got that book, he’s cooped up in his room all day pouring over it. Barely even seems interested in Dap, lately… I’m worried about him. And he’s scaring me…”

reverseblackholeofwords asked: What book did Red get?

“Yeah, I don’t know what Anti wants with a book? My little brother isn’t exactly the scholarly type, right? Haha. Hopefully it’s just… I… I don’t know…”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Genesis? Can you explain to us what relevance a book with the symbol on your bracelet on it night have?

Genesis looks up, surprised. “A book from our library, you mean?”

Anonymous asked: i'm no expert but i do not think this is wholesome literature we are talking about my guy

“No? You don’t think so?” Blue grins weakly at you, trying to joke. “It’s not Pride and Prejudice? I think he could really benefit from that one…”

bupine asked: hold on, what book did red bring anti? (did i just forget this or has it not yet been mentioned fgdghddghdd)

“They’re talking about a book too,” Dapper interrupts Dok’s reading, tapping on his camera, picking up a stray signal. “What’s the matter, guys?”

bupine asked: genesis, i think anti, the demon, has a book from your library. how bad is that on a scale from one to ten

Genesis stares at you.

For like… a really long time.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: I think so? It has the raven symbol on it, and they kept saying it was a "big ugly book" that the demon hasn't let go of since one of the boys got back from jail.

“Can’t be,” she whispers, though her face grows ever whiter. “You don’t understand what’s in those books… we guard them with our lives. He would have had to kill one of my friends to get something like that. Can’t be… in a demon’s hands…”

immabethehero asked: RECITE DR. SUESS BLUE AND TAKE ANTI LIKE THAT

Blue snorts, shaking his head, confused. “Am I going to soften my most murderous little brother up with Green Eggs and Ham, is that what you’re telling me? Haha?”

immabethehero asked: NO WaIT BLUE RECITE SHEL SILVERSTEIN

“No, that guy’s the real demon… look at that face… terrifying!” Blue grins and crouches down by the water spigot in the middle of the community, beginning to fill up his water bottles for his family.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Marvin, he doesn't love any of you. Anti is just using you guys.

Blue startles, unused to the brashness. After a moment, he fixes you with a glare and turns away a little snobbishly.

A little teary-eyed.

Anonymous asked: yes, from Anti. this is how you save all of them, Marv.

“He’s not so bad,” whispers Blue, rubbing at his face. “I mean… sometimes he is… but so is Red, sometimes. I just… I just think we need a little help. It’s not a betrayal of him, is it? I have to protect my family. I’m… the caretaker. That’s your job, Blue… like that night Dapper stabbed Anti to protect me… it wasn’t a betrayal… he’s just… too angry, sometimes, and I don’t know how to make him stop anymore…”

Anonymous asked: Marv, the best thing you can do for them right now is get away as soon as you can. They're strong, don't worry. It's going to be okay.

“I’ll call for help,” he assures you softly, closing his eyes. “I’ll try… I hope that Genesis girl isn’t lying that her friends will help us.”

Anonymous asked: you can do it, Marvin!

He chuckles, warming a little. “Thanks, guys.”

Anonymous asked: We know Blue, we know. Trust us, this will help you and them. You can do it, for their sake.

“Yeah, yeah… I have to look out for all of us. Anti needs help too. We’ll all be happier if we can balance out again. Like those first few days I remember… we were so happy… he promised me, you know… he promised me I’d be happy.”

Blue straightens up, hauling gallons of water into his arms. He stands on the edge of that mountain as tall as he can, feeling like a lone star without his twin next to him… chained up at home like a dog…

“Has to stop,” he mumbles. “Something has to change.”

He stares out over the mountain, down the shifting, dangerous dusty road that has scraped his knees a hundred times, across the shed-like one-room houses where this resilient people make their home, many of whom have shown him and his family kindness, across the little bar down the road where Dok and Trick helped deliver a new baby just this morning. The other side of the mountain is lush and private, but he does not look there, has no love for that locked off side of the mountain where the people could eat if anyone would let them.

Blue hums a song that sounds like an Easter hymn for the hope in it.

Down his mountainside is the city, huge and wonderful, with every color bustling around the streets, a blaze of smell and light where he spent hours trailing like adventurers through the markets and roads. And beyond it, the sea, great and beautiful.

Why does he feel like this is the last time he’ll see it?

Anonymous asked: Hey, deep breaths, blue, just deep breaths, alright? What you’re about to do is gonna shake up a lot of stuff, and Anti is going to be beyond pissed so you have to be prepared. No matter what you cannot tell anyone why you did it, otherwise that woman and her friends will be killed and your brothers will be up rooted and moved again with a lot more punishments and restrictions. Just stay safe, Marv, please, and best of luck.

“Yes,” he says, almost sadly. “Everything changes tonight, I think.”

Anonymous asked: anti's the one who's betraying you. he claims to love and want to protect you. protectors don't hurt who they protect, or make them hurt other people. love isn't forcing someone to live in a way that makes them miserable. you deserve to be treated better. all of you.

Blue sighs, staring down at his feet, turning away from the ocean to head back towards his home. “I don’t know anymore.”

immabethehero asked: Go Cat In the Hat on Anti. Recite anything with a climax that involves the house in absolute chaos and defeat Anti from there. Better yet, go Lorax and yeet him or you and brothers out be the seat of his or your pants

“There’s an idea,” he smiles wearily, looking over at you. “Some of you sure are wilder than others… we might need a little out-of-the-box thinking around here. But maybe not that.”

Anonymous asked: Marvin, before everything gets crazy and scary, just don't stop believing in Jackie. He never wanted to hit any of you, he only does it because he thinks it's better coming from him than Anti. And he needs you to remind him that he's a good big brother. You need each other, right?

Blue’s eyes well up and water over.

“Want him to be himself again,” he whispers. “Yeah… yeah, I need him. I need him to be my brother again. I need him to be their brother again.”

Pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Blue? Could you take your shirt off so we can see the tattoo there? Bupine asked: blue, can we see your tattoo?

Blue stops short, his arms full of water.

The warm wind cuts across his hair, getting longer these days. His earrings clink against his piercings. It’s too warm for his brown coat, and all he has on is a nice blue t-shirt.

He sets his water down and pulls his sleeve away from his shoulder, where a tattoo of a bird stands in silent testimony - a small, perfect, delicate lapwing

With a small blue jewel for an eye.

bupine asked: you and your brothers could be free again, marvin. no more torture or walking on eggshells or panicked time travel or bloodshed or pain. you'd be together as the people you used to be, more or less. don't you remember your brothers names?

“Yeah,” he whispers, pulling his shirt back up his shoulder and picking up his water. “Yeah, I’d really like that. I - oh. Names? I… just the one, and I mustn’t say it. It’s a twin’s job to keep those old secrets, you know. But please, I really won’t tell.”

Anonymous asked: i know it's hard to accept, blue, but we wouldn't lie about this

“Yes, I… I think, perhaps, I trust you. After all we’ve been through. Right?”

Anonymous asked: i think anti's waiting for you to wake up

“What are you talking about?” yawns Trick, listening to Dok’s warm voice tell him a good story. “Who needs to - ”

Screaming erupts from the room across the hall and Dok, Trick, and Dap all react as one, rushing into the bathroom and pulling the curtain closed over the doorway behind them. They brought you with them and you sit beside them as they pile up in the tub, hiding from their big brother.

Red shrieks even as he comes awake, clawing at his wrists and head. He can feel blood running down his hands, seeping from his fingers, dripping down his face, and he chokes on a sob, collapsing against his mattress to writhe, rocking his body hard. The next scream is one of pure frustration, slamming his palm against the floor, hiding his face in his hands.

He doesn’t give himself enough time to recover before dragging himself to his feet, heaving for air. He stalks over to Trick and Dok’s room and immediately finds them in the bathroom, ignoring sudden cries of protest to grab Trick by the back of his shirt and shove him back into his room, picking up his gun and shoving it at him.

“Go guard that fucking girl like you’re supposed to,” he snarls. “Or do you want Anti to bash your head in?”

“I - I thought I had til nightfall - ”

“How much darker could it be out, Trick?”

Trick gives up on protest and races out the door, Dok hustling after a moment later. Dapper tries to follow, only to be snatched by the collar again and hauled back towards Anti’s room. He lets out a sorrowful little whistle, trailing sadly after Red and sinking obediently down outside the door when he’s pushed.

He curls in on himself, sulking. Red shouldn’t just - oh, wait. Why is he still standing above him?

Dapper blinks and looks up. Red stares back at him, something shattered in his eyes.

“J?” asks Dap softly, confused. “You… you’re okay?”

Red’s eyes flicker away and he scoffs, backing away, his hands shaking. He limps back to his room, curling in on himself.

He wants Blue.

immabethehero asked: You are loved, Red! Remember that!!!

“Motherfuck,” Red says blandly, slumping down in his corner again, his face white. “Stupid, stupid, stupid…”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Dapper, do you know anything about the book Anti has with him?

Dapper blinks over at you, rubbing his shoulders, and his eyes widen.

“That horrible thing! It feels awful, awful, awful! I can feel it from everywhere in the house, and it stinks like blood and sand and rubber. I want Anti to get rid of it! He said I was being a baby.”

bupine asked: red, can you tell us about the book you stole for anti?

Red stares at the wall, dead-eyed.

“I know that man was willing to die for it. Painfully.”

bupine asked: about the whole killing thing? uh, yeah, someone is definitely dead. anti had one of the boys go get the book and i think he killed someone to do it. sorry, genesis.

Genesis slumps down in her chair.

Staring at the floor.

Her mouth parts, and closes, and parts, and closes.

She says nothing.

nikkilbook asked: Red, do you still have your little alpaca duder? And your dog tags? Seems like you could use something to hold right now.

His hands shift, twitching for his things, but eventually he just curls in on himself. Monsters don’t get to hold alpaca toys and presents from little brothers.

bupine asked: genesis. what is in that book? anti's been reading it, and we need to know what he knows

“We have a thousand books! It’s a library! I fear no one but the demon will know until it’s too late.”

nikkilbook asked: Strange. I don’t see any monsters. I just see you.

“Do you know what I saw Dapper say once? What is a monster but a man who does monstrous things?”

bupine asked: you aren't a monster, red! you're a good person. you used to do such good things. you still would if anti would let you. but you have to do evil things so anti doesn't hurt your brothers, it's not your choice or your fault. it never was. you might not realise that now, but one day, when this is all over, you will. don't deprive yourself of comfort because you think you don't deserve it, cause i think you need it more than anyone right now

“I don’t want to talk,” mumbles Red, pushing you out of view of him.

“Hey, Red!” someone calls.

You can almost hear him perk up.

“Yes, Anti!”

“Where’s Blue gone?”

Red blinks, thinking. Where’s he gone? He’s not in the house?

Oh, fuck. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. He lost track. He’s the big brother and he lost track.

He scrambles to his feet, nearly tripping over his chain. A moment later, he darts into the clinic, searching frantically for Blue, searching frantically for -

Oh! Thank God. He’s coming up the path now. Red nearly slumps over.

“Red, what’s wrong?” asks Blue, worried.

“There’s my boy,” calls Anti, and appears in the clinic, playing with a knife. He looks cheerful and much more solid than he has been in a long time, pushing past Red to hurry towards Blue. “Why do I smell magic, then, huh?”

“Oh!” Blue stares at Red, alarmed. “Um - um - ”

“His hands have been breaking out awfully,” Red puts in, his voice croaking. “Look how sore they are, Anti. Magic’s all but leaking out of him.”

Anti frowns and moves forward, grabbing Blue’s hands. Blue hisses, pain rising in his palms. “Anti, ow, ow.”

Anti stares at them for a long time.

“Next week,” he promises, patting his hands. “Next week, I’ll have everything ready, and I’ll know exactly how to handle it, okay?”

Blue softens. “You’re not… you’re not angry?”

“I know you’re doing your best,” purrs Anti, stroking his cheek. Blue startles and then relaxes, a smile filling up his face.

And then he meets Anti’s eyes.

Warmth fills him up in a great rush, like apple cider and a hot bath at the same time. It’s almost too hot, but he doesn’t protest, suddenly a little dizzy under Anti’s hands. His little brother brushes hair from his eyes, humming.

“You’re being good while Red learns his lesson, aren’t you, Azul?”

“Oh, yes, Anti, yes.”

“You’re not scared of that girl in the shed or anything?”

“No, no. I know you’ve got it covered, you, you…” Blue trails off, blinking. What were they talking about? His hand is on Anti’s waist.

“You and Dap,” murmurs Anti, stroking his hand through his hair. “Are far more powerful than any of those little pests. And all your brothers are watching over you.”

“I’m not scared, honey.” Blue is eager to reassure, smiling at him. “I wasn’t. I’m not.”

“Ah, good then.”

Anti draws back and Blue goes cold, blinking rapidly, staggering back.

Red stares between the two of them, terrified.

“Well,” chirps Anti, cheerful as ever. “That’s all I wanted to check. Oh, and Red?”

“Yes, Anti?”

Anti’s eyes turn cold. Red, for his part, gets no warmth for them.

“Shut the fuck up with the screaming before I do you like Dapper, you understand?”

Red pales and nods swiftly, stepping back from him.

nikkilbook asked: By that logic, what is a man who makes sure his brothers get Christmas presents, puts himself at risk to make sure his littlest brother gets the proper medication, and quotes vines at the top of his lungs?

Blue staggers from one counter to another, blinking rapidly. “D-damn,” he stammers, disoriented. Water bottles go slipping from his grasp and Red hurries to scoop them up for him, grabbing his elbow to help him from falling. “What were you talking about, Red?”

“Nothing,” hisses Red. “Blue, are you okay?”

Anonymous asked: Red, you’re being so hard on yourself. We understand that you’re trying to protect them, but you still have a choice in how you act. It’s alright to be soft remember? There’s strength there, and you’re so much stronger than what Anti says. He’s so quick to discard people, it was never because you were weak. It was because you were too strong being who you really are- a kind hearted soul that loves his brothers. They don’t like seeing you like this and we don’t either. Just loosen up a bit, yeah?

“No, they’re definitely trying to talk to you about some shit,” stammers Blue, sinking back against Red’s chest. “What happened?”

“We weren’t goddamn talking! Blue, did he do something to you?”

“Feel dizzy,” complains Blue. “Ouch, like he took something.”

“What?”

Blue stumbles, gripping at Red’s hands. “Think I need to sit down.”

Anonymous asked: A man that does monstrous things and doesn’t feel /remorse/ for it, that makes a monster. The idea that you can’t even sleep at night because of the things you’ve done shows that you regret the pain that you’ve caused them. You are not a monster, just a tortured soul acting on what you’ve known for how ever long you’ve been here. I mean you still want to protect them! A monster only thinks for himself. And yes, there is such thing as a difference between the two.

Red brings Blue back to their room and sits him down on the mattress. He wants to rub his back, but isn’t sure if Blue would let him.

“Did you call yourself a monster?” asks Blue, bewildered. “My… my Red?”

Red turns as scarlet as his name and sinks away from his brother.

He’s not going to cry. He’s not going to cry. He doesn’t get to cry in front of anyone.

Anonymous asked: oh god, always at the worst possible moment this happens

“Weird how he seems to fucking plan it like that,” snarls Red.

Blue stares up at him, wide-eyed.

Red covers his mouth with his hands, choking.

“I didn’t m-mean that. He’s good… I’m not… angry.”

Anonymous asked: MARVIN DON'T FREAK OUT BUT ANY TIME NOW WOULD BE GOOD

“Oh, you’ll have to give me a moment,” slurs Blue, sinking down on Red’s shoulder, who stiffens hard. “Now I’m so… so tired.”

“What is going on?” frowns Red.

Anonymous asked: T-took something? What do you mean? Like, 'stole something important' took, o-or 'took a weight off your chest' took? Are you okay?!?

“Mmf, like I was warm, and then the warm was… all gone. But it was… it was my warmth and he took it.”

“Blue.” Red looks alarmed. “You’re scaring me.”

Anonymous asked: What the hell? Did he take your magic from you?

Blue shrugs and holds out his hand, focusing to get a little blue glow up in his hands, but it doesn’t spread to his chest anymore, and he doesn’t shake so much.

“Blue!” cries Red, grabbing his hands to hide them. “Stop that, now!”

Blue pulls the magic down again, shrugging. It’s not so much of an effort anymore.

Anonymous asked: oh, I don't know, red. maybe if you'd stopped wallowing in your misery for a minute you'd notice when your brothers need help

Red recoils from you, shocked.

“I - I - I wasn’t allowed to - and you - you think I want to be a screaming, fucked-up, shaking little - freak? Driven just by what Anti wants, driven all the time by this h-hatred. Is that - am I - ”

He curses and draws away from you, panting.

“I don’t care what you think. No, you know, you’re right anyway, and it doesn’t fucking matter.”

“Rojo,” mumbles Blue, looking up at him. “Ro, Ro. Come hold on to me, I’m cold.”

Red won’t turn back to him. Blue sinks in on himself, shivering.

bupine asked: blu,do you remember the idea you had? the one we were talking about earlier? please say you haven't forgotten.

“Mh.” Blue frowns, holding his shoulders. “You - you were telling me - oh, poems! You had poems for me! I love that! I needed… my hands were hurting me… poetry…”

Anonymous asked: blue, please get up and... handle the waters. right?

“Ah, the water, the water - ”

“I’ll get it,” Red cuts him off immediately, hurrying to the kitchen. He takes every bottle and jug and stacks them up neat, feeling his chest beginning to shake.

When he comes back, Blue is rocking himself on the mattress, looking very pale. Red returns to his side timidly and puts a hand on his forehead.

“You’re so clammy,” he murmurs.

“He got the waters for me,” mumbles Blue, closing his eyes and leaning against his hand. “See, he still loves me…”

Red’s eyes water.

Anonymous asked: Marvin, I've always been partial to The Tyger by William Blake. I think it's a good calling-out song.

“Oh, the Tyger!” gasps Blue, delighted. “I don’t even need to look that one up, yes, yeah, I know! Tyger, Tyger, burning bright!”

Blue pauses to smile up at Red, shaking above him. “That’s like my Red,” he breathes, adoring.

Anonymous asked: "..Oh, shit. ..Buddy, what'd he do to you?" -PF!M

“That’s that other magician,” chatters Blue, pointing at the camera. “The one that’s happier than I am.”

“It’s like you’re fucking delirious…”

Anonymous asked: You said your magic felt really hot, right? Well, if Anti took away the warmth, maybe he took away the excess magic, to make it more tolerable? Can he do stuff like that?

“Oh, oh,” breathes Red, relieved. “Maybe that’s all it was! Just a little excess off the top, oh, that’s good news, isn’t it!”

Blue swallows slowly, like it’s painful, his mouth falling into a frown.

“He… he didn’t ask me to do that.”

“No, well, it’s Anti,” laughs Red, aware that there’s a little hysteria in his giggles. He sees Dapper go wandering past their door, talking to himself, but he hopes he’s just playing puppets, because he can’t handle two of them shattering in one night. Dapper’s scared of him lately anyway, and there’s no one to blame but him. “He takes what he wants! He doesn’t ask. He doesn’t. You just - you just have to get used to it. That’s just Anti. That’s just who Anti is. You just have to handle it. And do what he says! Even if it’s really, really, really horrible!”

He’s pacing the room, gripping at his hair. Blue stares up at him, afraid.

“Why won’t you sit down with me?” he asks softly. “I’ve missed you.”

Red hiccups on a sob, turned away from him.

nikkilbook asked: Does it matter to you, Red?

“Does what?”

musical-in-theory asked: So Anti do you fear the others having power because if they knew how much they all really had, they’d realize just how weak, pathetic, and powerless you really are? Sure you can glitch menacingly and wield a knife, but other than that all you do is hide behind your puppets and let their power do all the work

You find Anti in his room, pouring over that book, practically clapping with joy.

“Say what you want, say what you want,” he sings, barely bothering to glance at his camera’s, most of which have been moved to Red’s room anyway. “Soon this will all be perfect, perfect!”

Anonymous asked: yeah, we know, red. that's what we've been trying to tell y'all

“I’m not mad, I’m not mad, I’m not mad, didn’t mean it, didn’t mean it, didn’t mean it. I love him, I love him, I love him.”

A very small voice cuts him off from the corner. “I love you…”

“Blue,” he begs, and he doesn’t know what he’s asking for.

“Come sit down with me…”

“I can’t, Anti says I can’t.”

“I feel f-faint, Red, come help me.”

This, at least, is enough to turn Red, and he hurries back to his twin’s side to hold onto Blue’s shoulders.

bupine asked: well, you're in a good mood, anti. what's in that book that's made you anything less than completely miserable tonight?

“Everything,” says Anti smugly.

Anonymous asked: do you want us to write something for you?

“Oh!” Blue seems to melt for you, clapping his hands together. “Oh, I would, but then I’d feel terrible choosing between you. But you can send me some!”

“Blue, what the hell is happening?” Red is reaching his wit’s end.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Maybe the Raven from Poe! Cryptic, and fitting for the bird tattoo. Recite that! :p

“I love Poe. Red, don’t you know the Raven?”

“Um.” Blue is clinging to him so hopefully. “Nevermore, bud.”

“There,” laughs Blue, putting his head on his shoulder. “He does love me.””

Red is going to cry. Or maybe hit something. And he’s not sure he trusts himself enough to be sure that won’t be Blue or Dap, because he’s a fucking ass no matter which way he tells it to himself. He should go.

Blue clings to his sleeve. He can’t seem to move.

bupine asked: "everything" is pretty goddamn vague. what, is it some magic that'll keep the boys in your control forever or some fucked up shit like that? man, i wouldn't put it past you.

“Wow, you’ve convinced me, I’ll tell you everything!”

Anti flips a page of his book and goes back to reading.

Pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, maybe you should go talk to Genesis and show her. Bupine and badlyposted everything added similar questions and were added.

“Oh, Trick’s out there, I don’t think I can.”

“No shit you can’t!” chokes Red. “You’re - you’re up to something dangerous, aren’t you? Something that will get you in trouble with Anti! And then guess who’s going to have to punish you?”

Tears soak down his face. He clutches Blue to his side, forgetting his shyness. “No, no, no, you have to be good, he’ll hurt you!”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Anti, what stupid tricks do you have up your sleeve?

“I got, like, three tattoos.”

Anonymous asked: guys, I can't believe i'm saying this, but for once - I don't think he's watching.

Red stops short. Blue, a little disoriented, nevertheless seems to grasp the magnitude of your words - he stares at the camera, rubbing at his tired eyes.

“He’s always watching,” says Red. “He’s always…”

He glances around the room. Out in the hallway, he can see Dapper playing happily, enacting a show with someone he sign names Brother Average as the main character, whistling and letting his shirt get wrinkled as he plays, pausing only to chat with the ghosts. Red peers up over his window and finds Trick and Dok leaning casually against the shed and drinking the last of their sodas like beers, Trick’s gun pointed down in the dust as they chatter away.

And beneath his arm, Blue is murmuring poetry, his hands glowing blue, but no one comes to make him stop.

Red’s supposed to be the one putting things back in order.

Red’s supposed to be the one putting things back in order.

On his head, on his head.

But… around his waist…

Blue is hugging him, pressed up to his side, leaning forward to hold the camera, cold but happy, snuggled up to Red for warmth.

“I… I can’t… this can’t be happening…”

Anonymous asked: oh, who cares, anti? you lose your grip so easily. I don't know what's in that book, but it's not gonna turn out like you think

Anti turns you off, humming to himself.

Anonymous asked: Red, how are Blue's hands? Are they worse, or better?

Red leans down to take one of Blue’s hand. A clean silver rose ring gleams around his finger.

“Um,” he whispers. “I think they’re a little better, b-but he’s bleeding under his nails.”

He turns to see Blue staring up at him, smiling softly.

“I… I…”

Red swallows hard and reaches out to knock their foreheads together.

“Blue, I’m so sorry.”

Blue’s smile falters away. He reaches out to touch his face, stroking his thumb down his beard. “I know you are, Red. But that won’t fix this. Something has to change, Red… I won’t watch you get hurt again… I can’t. None of you.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked:

Red, just savour the moment. Let your brothers be just that: brothers. Join them and have fun!

“This isn’t fun,” whispers Red. “I’ve never been more afraid in my life. He could kill one of us for this.”

Blue runs his hands through his hair, frowning. “I won’t let him.”

“Blue, what the hell are you planning? You could die.”

“Don’t let him,” whispers Blue, like it’s simple. “Help me. I just want to cast a spell. I want someone to come save us. That girl, her friends might help us…”

“Or they might not.”

“I can’t not try, Red. I can’t not try. And besides, my hands ache, and ache, and ache… soothed, for now, but I can’t take another week, Red. He’s made me hold on so long.”

Red’s face contorts; he wipes rapidly at tears.

Anonymous asked:

Quickly, Marv - can you give us a poem? Anything? Maya Angelou, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson? Hell, Dr. Seuss? We can't lose this now.

“I love Angelou,” he whispers, still pressed up to Red’s chest, staring up at him. “’Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, weakened by my soulful cries?’ Not us, Ro, not this time…”

“Please.” Red covers his glowing hands like he could hold all his power in his own fingers. “Please, Blue, I’m afraid.”

Anonymous asked: Oh damn Anti, what kind of tattoos do you have?

Anti stares at you. He doesn’t know how you got this message to him, but you did. The sheer befuddlement on his face might have been enough to conduct it to him.

“Um… do you know who Jacksepticeye is, or… did you kind of just wander in here?”

He looks away.

Back at you.

“Bloodborne and Shadow of the Colossus,” he tells you, almost meek with confusion. “And, uh, that circle he got just to mock me… I - ”

He pauses, alerted by how loud two of his boys are talking in the hall. A frown cuts across his face.

Anonymous asked: UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH NOT AGAINNNNN

“Yeah!” laughs Blue, throwing his head back in a way that reminds you of Jack. “NOT AGAIN!”

“Blue!” cries Red, grabbing his wrists. “You’re delirious or something, stop!”

“Red, I made my decision!”

“He could kill you! He could send you to goddamn prison for the rest of your life! He could kill one of the little ones to punish you!”

“I’m not watching them suffer like this anymore! Not feathered in iron, pretentious in dying, not that way the impoverished spawn of the hamlet inherit you, oh death - ”

“Blue! Stop!”

His hands glow with power.

Anonymous asked: If he got the circle to mock you, then why are you wearing it?

Anti opens and closes his mouth, his face falling. “It’s - it’s my body too! He can’t just - I l-like wearing it like this! I like - ”

He pauses, biting down hard on his lip.

“Not like something made of flesh would understand! Don’t you assholes have better things to ask about!”

nikkilbook asked: If you can’t be unafraid, Jackie, be afraid and happy.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know about you, but personally I can’t even usually handle one emotion at a time, so - Blue, give me the messages!”

Anonymous asked: oh, perfect! hi blue!!! i sent you the poem before, about the dogs, remember? I wrote this last night, I was thinking of you! Here it goes: I told them there'd be flowers / when at last, at winter's end / the frost would put away its teeth / and spring came round the bend!

“Beautiful, beautiful!” he gasps, applauding you. Dapper is staring in at them from the hallway now, his head in his hands and his elbows on the floor, tilting his head at them. Red’s afraid he’ll snitch to Anti. “Spring come round the bend, oh… what a lovely poem, thank you! I loved the dog one too…”

Anonymous asked: uhhh okay seen any good shows lately? mr. robot is pretty cool. it's about a hacker, you might like it. first season is a bit of a slog tho.

“Oh, I like Rami Malek, and the narrative structure of that show is - FUCK OFF.”

In the hallway, Dapper raises his eyebrows, glancing between Anti’s room and Blue’s and Red’s. What a fun night.

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Red hes gonna die if he doesnt do this now

“He what?” shouts Red.

Suddenly Red is hauling Blue to his feet, his twin still glowing with magic between his arms. Dapper chirps nervously as Red drags him past him and down the hallway, towards the clinic.

Dap hears Anti standing up in his room, alerted by the yelling.

Anonymous asked: Oh, enough self-pity, Red! You know right from wrong, good from bad, monster from man! there is a monster in your house, you know who it is, and it is not you.

Red chokes, squeezing Blue’s fingers.

“It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter if he hates or loves all of us - though, hell, I know he doesn’t love us. Right and wrong don’t matter anymore! All that matters is keeping their heads on their shoulders!”

“Red.” Blue sounds like he’s the one trying to calm his brother, now. “Red, I’m okay, I - ”

“We need to get away from here! At least where he won’t fucking hear you!”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Maybe, if you have enough strength, you should go check on him. :)

Dapper blinks between your message and the door, listening to Blue and Red arguing.

“Oh, Red, Red, let me say goodbye to my little brother first, Red, I want him to know I love him - ”

Dapper turns towards his brother to sign an “I love you,” making Blue glow even brighter.

“Oh, baby, I’ll miss you if this kills me,” sobs Blue, making Red start shouting again, and Dapper backs away, frightened.

Okay. Not fun anymore.

He turns towards the room near the back of the hallway, hearing Anti approach.

Well… he figures he doesn’t want Blue to die any more than Red does.

He dashes forward and knocks on Anti’s door before he can open it, his face contorting with faux grief.

“Dapper?” Anti opens the door, staring around for signs of the disturbance, hearing somebody stepping out towards the clinic. “What’s going on? Why are you crying? Hey, hey, sweetheart, big brother’s got you…”

Dapper half tackles Anti back into his room, burying his face in his chest and crying like a good little actor, complaining about ghosts and red men and the girl in the shed with the star on her cheek until Anti is consumed entirely by an affection that delights in seeing him cry, and Blue and Red are slipping away.

bupine asked: don't be scared, red. this was going to happen sooner or later but it's ok, it'll all be fine in the end, everyone's going to be ok and you won't have to be red anymore

“What the hell is happening?” chokes Red, helping Blue up the path that leads away from their house. “You’re talking like Jesus Christ is about to show up and Second Coming our asses into a whole different timeline!”

“They wear in their skin a more urgent subsistence,” Blue is mumbling - still determined, though, worryingly, he’s clutching his hands together again, pain eating up his expression once more as the power rebuilds. “A thing of their own, poor petal, a raveling cord…”

bupine asked: blue, if there was ever a time to use your magic, it would be now. he can't see you, he's absorbed in his book, he's not gonna notice anything. but be careful - anti's book is dangerous, we don't know what kind of information it has that anti now possesses. stay alert my dudes

“He’s not even watching,” murmurs Blue, clearing up a little. He looks up at the shining sky, power breathing in his hands. “Oh, the stars are out… Red, lets go up to the rich man’s side of the mountain, where we used to run.”

Red stares at him, leading him slowly higher.

“Blue… are you really not mad at me?”

“You’re going to help me put it right,” says Blue, with a confidence so sound Red can’t even object. “If not all perfect today, someday. The two of us. That’s what I believed in, I think, when I gave myself up to him. That even if I couldn’t get away, at least we would be together, and that was enough for me to believe there was still hope.”

“More poetry?” asks Red, confused.

But Marvin only smiles and leads him higher up the mountain.

spicydanhowell asked: how is red out of the chain?

“Oh, he could have gotten it off whenever,” says Blue, pointing down. Red blushes hard and looks away. “Like when Anti makes Dapper wear his rope - remember he said that he could take it off? - or Trick his collar. We’ve mentioned it before. You can take it off whenever you want. Untie it, unlatch it, yank the chain off the stake in the corner of his room as you rush to carry me out of the room and probably bruise your dumb-ass ankle.”

“Sorry,” grumbles Red, bright crimson.

“It’s all humiliation, scare tactics, and symbolism. But the punishment that comes after… isn’t. We won’t worry about that right now, though.”

“I’m worried about it!” shouts Red. “Didn’t Anti once throw Dapper down the fucking stairs for taking off his rope in Norway?”

“Better than losing his mind sitting all alone in a locked up room with a dog collar on!” shouts Blue, finding his vigor again for a second - only to sway right back into Red’s chest a second later. He mutters Boy Breaking Glass under his breath and keeps moving, hiding his aching hands under his shirt.

Anonymous asked: welp, that answers that. whenever you're ready, marv, let 'er rip. we'll be right behind you the whole time

“Hey, you guys know what the sexiest poem ever is? Walt Whitman, gay as hell, three lines, you ready for this? ‘Touch me.’”

Blue pauses, breathing in the warm equator air. Magic is powerful out here, near the center of the earth. He wonders what it would be like to be exactly on the equator.

“‘Touch the palm of your hand to my body as I pass.’”

He breathes in deep. Breathes out deep. Tries to remember his own name.

“‘Don’t be afraid of my body.’”

Red has fallen back behind him, trying to remember it too.

cest-mellow asked: red, jackie. anti cant hurt you if you work together. he can’t hurt you if you keep each other safe.

Red breathes out something that might be a laugh or a sob, staring up at his brother, glowing his way up the mountain.

“We always have been a force to be reckoned with, haven’t we?”

Anonymous asked: everything IS in order, Red. Go on, sing some poetry with your big brother.

“Blue,” says Red, very softly. “I think even if you do save the others, I’ll still be a monster.”

“Monsters don’t worry about being monsters.”

“I’ve never believed that. Even Anti shakes when he hears the name of his old master. Afraid to remember the things he’s done, sometimes.”

“Ah, now who’s the revolutionary… more poetry, Red, you’re an artist…”

“I’m not playing. Blood is all my hands are now.”

“Red. The past week has been hell for you.”

Red’s eyes water just to hear someone acknowledge it without saying he deserved it.

“My fault,” he croaked. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“No. No. He was wrong to do that. He was wrong! Your brain’s jumbled, I know, I understand, but I need you to trust me when I tell you - you’re not a monster, you’re a good man with a good heart, and I love you more than anything.”

Red won’t fall to his knees and cry. Not here. Not in front of him.

Blue wraps his arms around him.

“Would you just remember how to be my friend?”

Red bursts into tears and collapses into his shoulder, hugging his twin tight to his chest.

Anonymous asked: Jackie trust your brother, please.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Jackie wails. “I’m so tired of being scared all the time!”

“I know, I know. Just come with me. Come on.”

“Blue, you’re shaking so badly…”

“Almost there, now, almost there.”

Anonymous asked: uhuh okay, this is a thing now. Marvin you’re gonna have to act quick to even get to Genesis while Anti’s not paying attention. But there’s no way you’re getting to her in this state...oh gosh, Red will you wake up please and get Marvin to Genisis?

“I’m going to call for her friends first,” says Blue, and Red looks up in shock, but does not protest. “I don’t know how to protect here. Oh, fuck, this is… a lot of power.”

Anonymous asked: blue ik you're not feeling great but maybe just get this moving? doesn't matter what you recite, just whatever you can remember. then just rest i think.

Blue stumbles, beginning to shake hard, his hands aching terribly. The blue light has reignited in his chest.

“Get moving, get moving,” he chants, keeping on up. “Doesn’t matter what you recite… with fists raised, white teeth gritted, my body like a soldier’s knitted… I took from the world what suffering it offered me and let it ricochet through me…”

nikkilbook asked: Does it matter to you that you’ve had to become this? That you’ve had to push away your brothers and be only what Anti says you must be? You said we were right about you not caring about them, that it didn’t matter, but does it matter /to you/?

“Yes,” croaks Red, following him. He recognizes the poem Blue chants, but can’t remember where from. “Yes, that… I… I used to be somebody different…”

The moonlight casts Blue in silver.

“I used to be a protector…”

Nikkilbook asked: It happened long ago—I remember it still— I was hewn down at the holt’s end stirred from my stock. Strong foes seized me there, worked in me an awful spectacle, ordered me to heave up their criminals. Those warriors bore me on their shoulders until they set me down upon a mountain. Enemies enough fastened me there. (1/) Often alone, every daybreak, I must bewail my cares. There is now no one living to whom I dare articulate my mind’s grasp. I know as truth that it is a noble custom for a man to enchain his spirit’s close, to hold his hoarded coffer, think what he will. Just as I must fasten in fetters my heart’s ken, often wretched, deprived of my homeland, far from freeborn kindred, since years ago I gathered my gold-friend in the earthen gloom, and went forth from there abjected. (/2)

“Often wretched,” whispers Blue. “Deprived of my homeland… my gold-friend in earthen gloom…”

His eyes glow blue.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Keep going, Marv!!

Blue clutches at his chest. His shoulders shake so hard he is losing his ability to recite.

He has not cast in a very, very long time.

Magic slathers his throat in fire and he chokes, trying to breathe, trying to regulate. He wants to cast, but he doesn’t want to fucking explode.

“Get a grip, Blue, get a grip,” he pants. “I can do this, I can do this…”

Anonymous asked: Be mad, Jackie. Be furious.

“I am mad!” shouts Red, taking another step up the mountain. “I am, I am!”

“That’s my brother!”

“I’m mad that I did what I told him! I’m mad that I wasn’t enough for him! I’m mad that I can’t keep anyone I love safe.”

“Red - Red. Don’t… you don’t have to do that. You - here, try after me. ‘Whose broken window is a work of art!’“

Red leans back his head and shouts. “Whose broken window is a work of art!”

“Success, that winks aware as elegance, as treasonable faith!”

“As treasonable fucking faith! I’m mad he hit me! I’m mad he chained me up! I’m mad my heart still loves him but I’m more mad he lead me to murder and fucking abuse! I’m mad this is the life I’m living! I’m mad we’re not at the top of this goddamn mountain yet!”

He scoops Blue up into his arms, drawing a shout half of surprise and half of amusement out of his shaking brother, and heads up the mountain with him, his feet sure and certain.

bupine asked: red. think about everything you just said about anti and realize how fucked up that all is. if we told you that, hypothetically, there was a way to get away from anti and be free again, would you take it? out of pure curiosity of course

“I want to go home,” wails Red. “But I can’t remember where it is, or even much of who it is, not anymore, and I don’t myself, not for an instant, and someone else is standing in my skin.”

“There, there,” coughs Blue. “You’re getting it, you’re getting it…”

Pixie-in-trebleland asked: Genesis? Um, important question, but is it possible for your magic to be taken out from you? Marvin just had an encounter with Anti and he's saying all his warmth is gone. Cest-mellow and anon asked similar questions and were added.

Genesis looks barely awake.

“Black, black, black,” she manages weakly. “That’s some black magic…”

bupine asked: recite a poem for us, please, blue! any one you remember at all

“Damn, I remember so many more than I thought I would!”

“We might have hit the poetry theme a little too hard.”

“The memory of you emerges from the night around me. The memory of you emerges from the night around me. The river mingles its stubborn lament with the sea…”

“Blue, wait - too sad.”

“Something happier? For you, anything.”

Anonymous asked: "...Jackie? Are you okay? Please.. calm down. If you're waking up now isn't the time to be freaking out, alright..? Breathe. It.. It's gonna be okay." -PF!H

They reach the ridgeline of the mountain where the verdant green grass meets the dead dust of the barren side in silence.

The sky is a spinning top and it has no malevolence. Roses wrap up Blue’s fingers, silver and ruby, as a blade from the side of a thing still breathing.

Blue kneels on the ridgeline, his eyes closed. Beneath his skin, blue light - ethereal, illuminating, breathing against the frail cage of his bones.

“Blue?”

He does not cast, does not cast, does not cast.

“Blue? Blue? Pain, Blue? Are you okay, Blue? You shake. Blue!”

“Someone must come,” whispers Marvin. “Surely? As no one came on the beach that night, now, surely, salvation?”

The stars are laughing at him.

What was this? A moment’s idea? A girl’s suggestion? A shot in the dark, a moment of clarity?

“It’s the only chance I’ve had in a long time,” he whispers to the universe. “So here we are, accepting. Red, will you hold on to me? Red, will you hold me, please?”

Red listens. Red breathes. Red’s calm. Red trusts him.

“I’m right here.”

A promise.

“I’m right here.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Blue? Maybe tell Red and the rest of us your favourite poem! It might cheer you all up. Right, Red?

“Yeah,” whispers Red. His hands hold him steady. “Tell me your favorite poem, Blue.”

Blue clutches at the clean pure earth beneath his hands.

“A Clear Midnight,” he says. “By Walt Whitman.”

He wants Red to know what to carve onto his tombstone.

“This is thy hour, O soul. Thy free flight into the worldless. Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done. Thee fully forth emerging - ”

He stops short.

He can’t finish it.

He can’t control it.

He -

Pain -

Light -

Red?

Oxygen, flame, fuel, Marvin -

The green mountainside is on fire.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Jackie! Protect your brother! What's happening?

In the first five seconds -

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five -

Red is swallowed whole with a scream.

Not by fire -

Fire consumes the green side of the mountain -

But by plant life.

He screams as verdant green trees explode from the earth, breathing into life with their arms full of leaves. Grass chokes up around his feet, tangling around his legs all the way up to his chest and tearing him to the ground, where bramble and flowers begin to crawl over his chest, eating him alive faster than he can tear them off.

He howls as loud as he can, trying to scramble forward for his brother, but he is swallowed up in lily, basil, thicket, root, crushing harder and harder against his chest, pushing him down into the earth as the explosion of life pours off down the mountainside like thick dark alcohol from its container. He can hear people screaming farther down the mountain, alarmed by the fire, which, interested in this new growth of plant life, creeps ever forward towards a more intimate relationship with the other half of Marvin’s power.

A dog is barking close to him, maybe afraid. As he tears blood and bush from his eyes, he catches sight of Blue crumpled, unmoving, on the ridge of the mountain, his little blue t-shirt burning. He screams.

Hot breaths pant against his face as the dog finds him, and he recognizes, with an emotion he cannot name nor bear, his little brother. “Anti!” he screams. “Blue, Blue, my twin!”

A cactus bursts up through Red’s flesh and he screams. Anti, undaunted, bends his dog’s teeth down and tears the thing to shreds, taking the great weeping spikes of the cactus into his own snout. A moment later he is dragging Red out by the sweatshirt and sending him -

“Anti, wait!”

- careening down a harsh cut-off on the side of the mountain. Red yells as he rolls hard down the mountain, rocks and glass cutting into his face, dust filling up his lungs, until he slams down into a valley that is rapidly filling up with green.

He lies there for a good five minutes, too stunned to move, before he begins to cry, blood running rapidly down his face. He can hear yelling all around him and when he can clear the red from his eyes, he can see his little house a few meters away, with Trick and Dok shouting his name, unable to see him in the dark.

“Trickshot!” he wails, coughing as his ribs ache. He fears the trees have shattered them. “Doktor!”

They find him in the dark and haul him back towards the house, demanding to know what happened, but he is too dazed to explain, fixed too completely on the ridge of the mountain.

“Where’s Blue?” cries Dok.

“Still up there!”

“Red, come back to the house, Anti will save him.”

“The house will be swallowed up by the plants too, look, it’s spreading down the whole mountain!”

Shrill whistling alerts them to Dapper tugging on the door of the shed, watching through a crack in the door as grass begins to fill up Genesis’s prison.

“She’ll die in there,” warns Trick.

Dok sets Red on the ground. “Use your gun to smash the lock open.”

“No time,” calls a rasping voice from above them.

Trick drops his gun, his hands suddenly shaking too hard to support him, and crashes back into Dok, who pulls him away with low, desperate reassurances. Dapper picks anxiously at his clothes, straightening out as best he can, casting glances back at Red, who, distressed, can only stare up at the figure coming down the mountain.

Anti drags Marvin’s exhausted body along like a marionette, ignoring fleshless hands and a chest burned red with fire. His eyes are black as untouched ink, and his teeth all too white, until blood comes trickling down his bottom lip.

“Undo this!” screams Anti, and then he has Dapper by the throat, dragging him towards the fire as a threat. “Undo this, now!”

Dapper is frantic, hysterical, clutching at his throat.

“Turn it back, Dapper! Now! Dapper!”

He throws Dapper to the ground and Dapper scrambles away, terrified, his eyes flickering in every direction.

“Anti, Anti, Anti,” he signs, but with a frantic edge Red doesn’t recognize. “J-happy, H-healing, C-love, help me!”

“He’s having an episode, he can’t tell what’s going on, he’s afraid of the fire!” wails Dok, reaching out for his little brother. “He’s scared, stop, he can’t do it! Please, Anti!”

Anti screams his frustration and drives a kick right into Dapper’s nose before whirling on Red, leaving his time traveler writhing in the grass.

“What were you thinking?” Anti pants, his voice losing vigor rapidly as he realizes the magnitude - the irreversibility - of what’s happened. “What were you thinking? Red? Red?”

“Oh, fuck,” whispers Red, closing his eyes and opening again, closing his eyes and opening again, praying for it to go away.

“Look what you’ve done to your twin.”

“I - I - ”

Anti limps towards him in the spreading grass, one long white finger, cloaked in a rose ring, stretched out before him.

“You’ll atone for this,” he swears, pointing at Red. “You’ll pay for this, little hero. I’ll make you repair the wrongdoing with your own hands.”

“Anything - A-anti, anything, just - don’t punish him, I - ”

“Pack your bags,” coughs Anti, turning away from him, tearing off the last of Marvin’s shirt. Genesis catches sight of a shoulder inked with a dark bird. “We’re leaving, now. Red and Blue have summoned monsters to us, and we have little time if we are to remain together. If the magicians catch you, they will kill you, for they know nothing of what I am or what I can do, and they will give you up for hopeless cases once they realize you are my family, not just my slaves. And Trick?”

“Yes?”

Anti stalks towards the house, tearing off jewelry. “Kill that fucking girl.”

Anonymous asked: Anti keeping the girl alive will give you some leverage if the magicians catch up with you. If you kill your hostage, nothing will stop them.

“I’ll fucking stop them,” he snarls. “How about that? That girl inspired this stupid, pretentious, pandering, whiny, brattish little coward to give off a display like that? She should be grateful I don’t have time to tar and feather her.”

immabethehero asked: GENESIS LOOK OUT!!! Trick's been sent to kill you! He doesn't have magic, but he dooes have a gun!!!

The door to the shed must be shoved open - grass is growing thick along the floor.

But peaceful, almost.

A peaceful wave of green, past its initial moment of horror, like a violent birth that leads to a cheerful, pretty baby for Trick to clean up and present to a new mother, pressing her warm infant head into the hands of a loving parent, eyes wide with adoration.

Trick swallows.

Babies and murder are not a good mental combination.

He hoists that heavy gun.

Genesis is tired.

She thinks she might be dying.

Fatigue like she’s never felt before keeps her gaze trained on the ground, her dark face now sallow and pale.

The light of Trick’s sniper finds her forehead.

“Going to kill me?” she asks. Slowly.

Trick doesn’t answer.

She can hear his fingers readjusting on the gun.

“Are you a marksman or what?” She itches her chin gently along her collarbone, trying to flake off dried blood. “I’m an easy target.”

Still she does not die.

She can hear sobbing from not far off. She thinks the one in the vest, the one who carved her, has been left crying in the grass outside.

“You must not want to,” she says, closing her eyes.

Trick hisses through his teeth.

“I want my family to be safe,” he snaps, cocking the gun. “My brothers and I are sick of running from people like you.”

“This story he tells you, of everyone after you, of him the only one who could hide you… it is a lie.”

“You don’t know anything. You don’t know anything about my family. About what’s happening.”

His voice shakes like it could break. She wants to make a joke about it, but she hears Emmanuela’s voice in her head, begging her for just once in her life, just a little bit of caution. A little bit of earnesty.

“Don’t kill me, you poor sap,” she manages, with a deep sigh. “Just take this knife out of my hand and I’ll be gone.”

“What?”

“Your blue boy sets things on fire, the mustache one travels time, I disappear and go home… it’s not hard. Just take the knife out. I can’t go with my hand pinned, can I?”

He stares at her, eyes wide behind a scope he doesn’t need at point blank. A little of Dapper’s blood drips down his hands. Anti pulled him away when he tried to help him get up.

“Don’t kill me, tired man. I promise you, me and mine will find a way to return the favor. Don’t you have a brother you love? The one you were talking to for so long? A doctor, a healer? Would he want you to kill me?”

“Don’t,” snarls Trick, in that shaking, aching voice. “He knows what I am. He’s the only one who knows what I am. Who I am.”

She’s so tired.

The star on her face no longer bleeds.

“Well,” she says. “Who are you?”

 End Section Six of Chapter Two.

Find the next section here.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/30/20

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 6 | By Reai and Suki Umemiya | Seven Seas – Another series down to “once a year” release—I had to jog my memory at the start to recall what had been happening. Many things are going wrong for our heroine, who is trying to be strong and tough but is also starting to break down, and I felt that the scenes with her and Dean struck just the right balance of comforting and letting the heroine cry without making her seem weaker. This sets the stage for her comeback, which is extraordinary. (And also has a corrupt Church, a constant in Japanese light novels, though at least here there are also honest and good religious people in it.) That said, eventually Dean’s identity will come out, and I do wonder how this very good “villainess” isekai will handle it. – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files, Vol. 1 | By Yu Godai, Mako Oikawa, and Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – A faerie switched at birth for a human child, Jack never fit in in either world. Only in the mortal realm could she earn money for anime collectibles, however, so she decided to make herself into a tough, capable woman like her literary heroes and set up shop as a detective. Together with her fellow changeling, Larry the werewolf, Jack takes on supernatural cases in New York City. In this volume, Lindel tasks them with tracking down a missing dragon egg. I liked the resources Jack uses to obtain information, which include a dapper theatre ghost and a spell with components of rat whiskers and taxi tires because “Nobody out there knows this city better than them.” I still found this a bit hard to get into, though, especially the parts involving a perpetually tearful off-off-off-off-Broadway actress and her pickpocket boyfriend. Still, I will check out volume two! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 22 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – At long last, this interminable arc comes to an end. I enjoyed a lot of it, but I cannot deny it should have been about two volumes shorter. Most of the book is taken up by shonen battles, with the villain being nigh unkillable, the heroes almost breaking themselves to stop him, etc. Fortunately, the day is saved, and even the Wizard King turns out to be… sort of alive again? Shota fans should be happy. Asta fans perhaps less so—the sheer amount of damage done to the kingdom in this arc means someone has to be blamed, and give Asta has the “dark evil magic” it’s gonna be him, especially when he takes the incredibly obvious bait they use to get him to fight. Oh well, if Asta were smart, this wouldn’t be Black Clover. – Sean Gaffney

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 3 | By Nanashi | Vertical Comics – Part of the problem with titles like this and the other teasing works (Takagi-san less so as Nishikata doesn’t fall into the category) is that they are, at heart, the classic “extroverted girl acts overtly extroverted to bring introverted guy out of their shell,” and that’s not really a plot that feels comfortable in the Gen Z days, where you’re more likely to say “why doesn’t she just let him be in his quiet, safe space?” And by she I mean they, as Nagatoro’s two friends appear far more often here, which offers some good two-way teasing action, as they clearly see her crush on him, if not why. It’s still sort of hard to read, but if you pretend he’s more OK with it than he actually is, this is cute. – Sean Gaffney

Failed Princesses, Vol. 1 | By Ajiichi | Seven Seas – The concept of “popular girl meets unpopular girl” is a common one in yuri manga, and we do indeed hit several of its tropes in this first volume. The amusing thing is that Kanade, the shy outcast girl, is perfectly aware of how things are supposed to go, and keeps pulling back a bit to try to save Nanaki from, well, making herself an outcast by associating with the wrong people. The best part of the volume is that Nanaki really doesn’t give two shits about any of that, and seems set on making Kanade her best friend… and also making her over, which backfires a bit as Kanade cleans up nicely. I hear this gets a bit dramatic later, but for the moment it’s a cute and fluffy proto-yuri story. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 12 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The first story in this volume is another “Rikka tries to make people understand Kotoko is an evil Machiavellian schemer,” this time with one of her ex-classmates, but again the response seems to be “we know she’s a manipulative bitch, but she’s a good person anyway.” The larger story, which will continue into the next book, seems to be a chance to write Kuro and Kotoko as an actual romance, as the man we meet here and his relationship with a yuki-onna… as well as his penchant for attracting misfortune… very much parallel them. That said, they’re very cute together, which is why I hope he avoids the murder charge he’s now being investigated for. Still a favorite. – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 8 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – The author knows what people want to see, but also knows that the best way to get readers is to drive them crazy by not showing it. We finally get what we’ve been begging for here, as Tetsuo asks Sakie out on a date. (This is after rejecting Kyouko’s love confession, both because she’s his student and also, as he is forced to admit, as he likes Sakie.) The stage is set for the date… and the rest of the book is thus spent with the three main student girls going to Kyouko’s for a fireworks viewing and meeting her family. They’re good chapters, and I really liked showing how difficult Kyouko has it as a dullahan in terms of everyday life, but GOD, please get back to the teachers, I beg you! – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 16 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The series has gotten to the point where the more rewarding chapters are the ones as part of a larger arc. Not that the one-shot chapters are bad—though Maki’s journey to India may be the most pointless thing in this entire series to date, we do get Chika’s iconic “shut up or I’ll kill you” here. But the larger arcs, featuring Miyuki and Kaguya attempting to date without interruptions, and setting up Ishigami and Iino for a romance—though given the number of limbs broken in this book, and Iino’s own horrible lack of self-awareness, it may be a ways out—are better. This series is still hilarious, but we’ve come to read it more for the heartwarming moments. Heck, there’s even some serious drama here. Very good. – Sean Gaffney

Nineteen | By Ancco | Drawn & Quarterly – Although it was translated and released second in English, Nineteen is a precursor to Ancco’s internationally award-winning manhwa Bad Friends. The volume collects thirteen short comics originally published in Korea over a decade ago which absolutely remain relevant to today’s world. While understandably not as polished as some of Ancco’s later work—one can observe her style evolving and growing over the course of the collection (which is fascinating)—the comics still carry significant emotional weight and impact. Nineteen includes diary comics, which tend to be more lighthearted, as well as harder-hitting fictional stories, many of which also have autobiographical inspiration. As a whole, the collection explores themes of young adulthood, growing up, and complicated family relationships. In particular, there is a compelling focus on the relationships among daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. Some of the narratives can be rather bleak, but a resigned sense of humor threads through Nineteen, too. – Ash Brown

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 8 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Shoujo manga that has couples getting together BEFORE the end of the series is inevitably going to have an arc dealing with how far the lead couple should go now that they’re dating, and this is Ran’s turn, as she and Akira and their friends go to a beach house Ran’s family owns and have some beach fun. Unfortunately, the cast gets winnowed down one by one until it’s just the two of them… and her overprotective father, who arrives in time to provide the cliffhanger and no doubt ensure that nookie does not ensue. Not that I think it should—these two kids are even purer than the couple from Kimi ni Todoke, and I think they should mature a bit more before going further. Plus, watching them blush and kiss is wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Having spent our first volume establishing that our found family can really come to love each other deep down, this volume shows off how they are also, at heart, fundamentally awkward and unable to socialize normally. This is unsurprising—hints of Loid’s life we’ve seen show him as a war orphan, Yor is a contract killer, and Anya basically grew up being experimented on by bad guys. As the school soon finds, this leads to issues. The second half of the book introduces Yor’s sister-obsessed little brother Yuri, who turns out to be a torture expert for Loid’s enemies. As always, half the fun is that everyone except Anya has no idea who their real selves are, and the cliffhanger tells us we’re in for some hilarious family fun. I love this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media – After a brief spell atop the waiting list, Anya officially makes it into Eden Academy. Loid is anxious to progress to the next stage of his mission and, believing there’s not much chance in turning Anya into an elite scholar like his agency wants, focuses instead on having her befriend the younger son of his target. It does not go to plan, of course. Anya is very cute in this volume, and I also really appreciated how Loid genuinely listens to Yor and values her input. The arrival of Yor’s brother, a member of the secret police, is going to be a fun complication, and another cast member with a secret, but my favorite part of this series is probably always going to be how much love these three are already feeling for each other. So unique and good! – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 6 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – The weakness of this manga is the same as always—it’s written to tie into the games, and features several characters I just don’t recognize, which can be a problem given this is the big final let’s-save-the-world ending. That said, this is still a decent SAO title. Kirito gets to be cool and badass, but because this isn’t written just by Kawahara others do as well, and it’s a nice balanced effort that focuses on heroine Premiere. I also really liked the point where all the NPCs are worried when everyone has to log out for several days for maintenance. While I’ll still remember this as the “SAO only everyone is alive” manga, I enjoyed reading it, when I wasn’t confused. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

[scuzmunkie]

Love is Blind: Chapter 10

A/N: My beautiful, darling little pumpkins. Thank you so much for the outpour of love you all continue to show me and my story!! I can’t tell you how excited I get every time I see a note, comment and reblog!! You all are so amazing!! Here’s chapter 10, lmk if there are any mistakes or if you’d like to be added to the tag list and as always, enjoy!! Seth Rollins x Blind OFC Warnings: Language and pure, unadulterated fluff. Implied sexy times. Word Count: 3000+ Summary: Seth was Lily’s world, she was foolish enough to think that she was his. That is until he leaves her behind in pursuit of his dreams. What happens when fate throws them together again years after the heartache and tears? How can Lily see past the pain of the past when she can’t see at all? +++ Seth looked at himself in the floor length mirror, fiddling with the black piece of fabric for what felt like the eightieth time. He turned at the sound of Roman and Dean trying to stifle their laughter. “I’m glad you two douche bags find this so amusing!” He growled with a scowl, looking back at the mirror. Roman finally stood, walking over to the younger man and pushed Seth’s hands away from the uncooperative article of clothing. “Deep breaths.” Roman said calmly as he retied and straightened Seth’s black tie. “There you go. Now calm your ass down.” “I’m trying, I just want everything to be perfect.” “It will be!” Dean piped in, straightening his own tie, “and not to sound like a total dick, but she’s blind, you don’t have to look perfect for her.” “Damn Uce, stay classy...” Roman said, shaking his head at Dean’s comment. “I know that, but I want to look my best for her, to let her know that she’s worth getting all dressed up for.” All three men turned their heads to the door when they heard sniffling. Renee stood there with tears in her eyes and a hand over her heart. “Rollins, that may have been the most beautiful thing I’ve heard.” “Hey, I say romantic shit to you all the time, doll!” Dean said, chuckling when Renee playfully smacked his shoulder. “How is she?” Seth asked, fastening his cuff links. “Oh Seth, I wish I could tell you, but it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding!” She said, her pointer finger raised for dramatic emphasis. “Now sit and let me help you with that mop.” “For your information, Lily loves my mop, thank you very much.” He said, hubris radiating from him. Renee simply rolled her eyes as she parted his hair and put it in his signature low bun, securing it with a black hair tie and gelled the hell out of it. “There,” She said, admiring her handy work, “this sucker won’t move even in a hurricane!” Kissing her cheek he mumbled a ‘thanks’ and proceeded to get the rest of his suit on. He and Lily decided on a black on black three piece suits for him and the groomsmen while the women wore knee length, mint green lace dresses with cap sleeves and open backs. Seth chose the color because it brought out Lily’s eyes. Taking a deep breath, Seth gave himself one last look over before he, Renee, Dean and Roman left the room. —- Lily’s mother, Gwen, sat next to a very nervous Lily as the makeup artist applied the finishing touches on Lily’s face as the hair dresser gave her one last sprits of hairspray. Her leg was bouncing with anticipation. She hadn’t slept at all last night. She stayed up with Renee and Amanda talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Gwen reached for her daughter’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “What’s got you so worked up, my sweet girl?” Lily bit her lip as tears started to fill her eyes. Amanda quickly started fanning Lily’s face to stop the tears from ruining her makeup. Synndy was by her side in an instant with a cold watery bottle. “Lily-Pad, what is it?” Amanda asked sweetly. “It’s stupid.” Lily mumbled, not wanting to say it out loud. “Hey, it’s not stupid at all, tell us what’s wrong?” Renee said, crouching down in front of the bride to be. “I just, I wish I c-could see, just for one day.” She whispered. “I wish I could see Seth and the look on his face when he sees me. I want so badly to see how stunning he’ll look in his suit. It, it’s silly tho.” She finished with a sad smile. The other three women immediately embraced Lily. Gwen took Lily’s face in her hands and lovingly kissed each of her cheeks. “Oh my sweet baby,” She softly cooed, “it’s not silly. Not one bit. It’s normal to want that, especially on such a special occasion.” She kissed her daughter and gently dabbed her tears with a tissue. “Now, lets get you dressed m’love!” She said as Amanda got Lily’s dress. They had spent hours upon hours trying to find the perfect dress then one day, they found Lily’s dress; an elegant lacy mermaid dress with an off the shoulders scoop neck and long sheer sleeves. When she first tried it on, there wasn’t a dry eye in the store. When she was dressed, Amanda gently placed a bouquet in Lily’s hands, placing a small kiss on her best friend’s cheek. Just then, there was a knock on the door and in came a very dapper looking Luke. He smiled lovingly at his wife as he kissed her then made his way to Lily. “Wow kiddo,” Luke said once he stood in front of Lily, “you look absolutely breathtaking.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze and kissed her forehead. “I c-can’t thank you enough for doing this for me, Luke.” Lily said softly, unshed tears in her eyes. “Hey,” he whispered, lifting her chin with a single finger, “it’s my absolute pleasure. Your old man is a fool because I would be so proud to be your dad. If I ever have a daughter I want her to be just like you.” He pulled her into a hug as tears freely rolled down his cheeks. —- Seth stood at the alter, anxiously waiting for his bride. He smiled as he thought back to the first day he saw her. He was so humiliated he had fallen that he took it out on her. Now, he’s so grateful that he tripped over her cane because that’s what brought her into his life. He was brought out of his thoughts when the music hit signaling that the bridesmaids and groomsmen were on their way. “Ok,” he mumbled to himself, “let’s get this show on the road.” He quickly cracked his neck trying to get rid of the last of his nerves. Roman’s daughter delicately dropping handfuls of flower petals as she slowly walked down the isle next to Brody who was proudly holding the rings on a light mint green pillow. When they reached the end of the isle they both gave Seth their best smiles. Then came Amanda and Roman, followed by Dean and Renee, all wearing huge grins and unshed tears, the most prominent being Amanda. She smiled at Seth while giving him a wink. As hard as it was for Amanda to let her go, she knew that Seth would take care of Lily and love her for the rest of their lives. As they took their places by the alter, Roman gave Seth’s shoulder a brotherly squeeze. “I’m so happy for you, little brother.” Roman whispered as the music signaling the arrival of the bride started playing. When the guests all stood, Seth took a deep breath and looked towards the end of the isle, only for said breath to be taken away. In walked Luke with Lily on his arm. Seth felt his head spin and as tho his heart would beat right out of his chest. Lily walked down the isle looking like something out of a dream. Her beautiful smile lighting up the room with eyes shining bright. He still couldn’t believe that this beautiful angel agreed to marry him. Truth be told, Seth never thought he’d ever get married, it wasn’t something that appealed to him. But that all changed the day she walked into his life. When they reached the alter, Luke gently turned Lily towards him, lifted her veil and kissed her forehead. “Love you, kiddo.” He whispered before turning her back to Seth who had his hand stretched out towards his soon to be wife. Lifting her wrist, Luke guided Lily’s hand to Seth’s open palm. Lily’s nerves were still raging on the inside, but felt a sense of peace when she felt Seth’s fingers wrap lovingly around hers. He helped her up the steps to the alter where the officiator waited. Lily’s face was going to hurt so much by the end of the night with all the smiling she was doing. As she held Seth’s hands, a bastard tear managed to find its way down her cheek but was stopped by Seth’s calloused hand. He felt his heart skip a beat as she nuzzled into his touch, something he’ll never get used to. “The couple will now exchange their vows.” The officiator said, bringing Seth and Lily out of their tender little moment. Lily took a deep breath, squeezing Seth’s hands softly. “Seth,” her lips were already trembling, “you make me feel whole, like there’s nothing wrong with me. When I’m with you I feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. All my life, people treated me like I was broken, but you see me, not my disability. You are my heart, without you I am nothing. I hate going to sleep because it’s hours away from you. Where I’m weak, you make me strong, when I fall, you catch me, and when I feel like I can’t go on, you give me the strength to feel like I can do anything. I love you more than life itself and I can’t believe that I get to spend the rest of it with you.” By now Lily’s tears fell freely as she professed her undying love for Seth. Seth let out a shaky breath stared at Lily with nothing but pure love and admiration. “My beautiful Lily, before I met you my world was dark, all I saw was black but you came in and brought color into my life. You were the only one who saw me suffering when I tried my hardest to hide it. With no disregard for your own safety, you came into my apartment, someone you barely knew and saved me from myself. I never wanted the whole married thing, wife, kids and what not, but with you I can’t wait to have a little one of our own. I love you with every fiber of my being.” With tears streaming from down his face, Seth pulled Lily closer to him, placing his forehead on hers, whispered, “My heart truly beat for the first time when I felt your arms around me that night.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the entire room. The officiator finished the ceremony, Brody proudly bringing the rings to the happy couple, earning a wink from Seth. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!” Seth pulled Lily into his arms and happily shared their first kiss as husband and wife. —- Lily and Seth sat at the head table after greeting their friends and family. Seth brought Lily’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, Lily turned to face her husband, feeling for his face with her free hand and kissed his lips. “I love you so much, Mr. Rollins.” “I love you too, Mrs. Rollins. More than you’ll ever know.” He whispered, kissing her again.

He was lost in her eyes, they were filled with love and utter joy. He promised himself right then and there that he’d do everything in his power to keep that look in her eyes. The voice of their MC brought them both back to the present. “Ladies and gentlemen, the happy couple will now share their fist dance as husband and wife.”   Taking Lily by the hand, Seth stood up with her and they made their way to the center of the floor. Lily had asked Seth to choose their song which he agreed to but with one condition; she didn’t get to know until their wedding day. He couldn’t help but reminisce about the night he chose the song. —- Seth was driving to the next town with Lily curled up sleeping soundly in the passenger seat. It was her turn to choose the music and even tho she was asleep, Seth kept her phone plugged in. Then, a song came through the speakers. When he was stopped at a red light, he peered over to the sleeping angel on his right as the lyrics filled the air. Seth reached over, tucking his hoodie better on her but stopped when she took his and in her sleep. He was so lost in the moment, her hand in his and the lyrics. It wasn’t until the car behind him honked that he realized that the light had turned green. It felt like this was her song for him and his for her, this was it, this was their song. —- When Seth and Lily took their place in the center of the room, her arms around his neck and his hands on her hips, the music started to play. I remember all of the things that I thought I wanted to be So desperate to find a way out of my world and finally breathe Right before my eyes I saw, my heart it came to life This ain't easy, it's not meant to be Every story has its scars Lily’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “This is our s-song?” She asked, smiling through the tears. “This is our song, pretty baby. Listen to the words, this is how you make me feel.” When the pain cuts you deep When the night keeps you from sleeping Just look and you will see That I will be your remedy When the world seems so cruel And your heart makes you feel like a fool I promise you will see That I will be, I will be your remedy “I l-love you so much, Seth.” She whispered against his lips. “You’ve made me so happy” No river is too wide or too deep for me to swim to you Come whatever, I'll be the shelter that won't let the rain come through Your love, it is my truth And I will always love you Love you “Not as happy as you’ve made me. I’m the luckiest man on earth.” He said, kissing her deeply. 

When the pain cuts you deep When the night keeps you from sleeping Just look and you will see That I will be your remedy When the world seems so cruel And your heart makes you feel like a fool I promise you will see That I will be, I will be your remedy “Oh? I think I could give you a run for your money, Mr. Rollins.” She challenged playfully, a small giggle escaping her lips. “Is that so, Mrs. Rollins?!” He would never tire of saying that, knowing that she was totally and completely his. She gently tightened her arms around his neck, their foreheads pressed together, as she softly sang along with the last chorus of the song. When the pain cuts you deep When the night keeps you from sleeping Just look and you will see I will be, I will be When the world seems so cruel And your heart makes you feel like a fool I promise you will see That I will be, I will be, I will be... Your Remedy When the song ended, the guests clapped and couples started making their way to the dance floor. Seth felt a small tug on his pant leg. Looking down, Brody gave a small wave. “May I cut in?” He asked, a cheeky smile plastered on his little face. Lily couldn’t help but laugh at the small boy’s bold request. Seth crouched down in front of Brody, giving him a warm smile. “Alright kiddo, but I get her back after this dance.” He said, playfully tussling Brody’s hair. “Deal!” And with that, his little hands reached for Lily’s as they danced to Mika’s “Love Today”, Brody jumping to the beat. The rest of the evening was spent dancing and laughing with their loved ones. Luke had surprised Lily with a father-daughter dance, both were in tears by the end of the song. Lily couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. —- As Seth unlocked the door to their hotel suite he abruptly scooped Lily up in his arms and carried her over the threshold. She let squealed at his sudden actions, laughing as he set her on her feet. She turned in his arms, placed her hand on his face as she delicately traced his lips. Seth closed his eyes, savoring her soft touch, making her jump when he caught her middle finger between his teeth. She gently gasped as her cheeks slowly reddened. He still had the ability to make her feel so small and fragile in his arms. He took her hand in his as he softly kissed each of her fingertips. She closed her eyes at the sensation of feeling his lips on her skin. “Shall we consummate our marriage, Mrs. Rollins?” Seth said huskily in her ear, a small whimper escaping her luscious lips. “Please....” She whispered, her hands grabbing the lapels of his jacket. He groaned, how could one simple word make his entire core quake? He quickly threw her over his shoulder, giving a playful smack to her butt as he ran to the bedroom. They spent the night, tangled in the sheets and each other’s bodies, their breath mixing together as if their very existence depended on it. Lily laid next to Seth, her head on his bicep and her soft snores filling the room. Seth just laid there, eyes glued to his wife’s soft features. ‘My wife’ he thought to himself, two words he never thought he’d have in his vocabulary. He gently brushed the hair out of her face, tracing her lips with his thumb causing her to softly sigh in her sleep. Smiling to himself, Seth slipped his arm around Lily’s bare waist and pulled her flush against his body. Kissing her forehead one more time, he allowed sleep to peacefully wash over him as he fell asleep with his wife in his arms. +++ A/N: So I wanted to throw in the part with Seth dressing up for Lily even though she couldn’t see him. I got the idea from a documentary I watched about the man who Ben Affleck talked to when he was filming DareDevil. He told a story about how his wife got all dolled up for him. She told him that even tho he can’t see her she wanted to look her best for him. It was the cutest thing ever!! A/N: Just wanted to also say that Seth and Lily’s wedding song was “Remedy” by Adele In case anyone didn’t know what the song was.

@haven-raven012591 @wrestlingfae @neversatisfiedgirl @hanaslay @calwitch

@lost-in-the-stories @team-elias @panda-girl1999 @imagine-all-the-fandoms 

@captainwinterwriter

[notarelationship]

Clinging to This Hating Game 7/?

For the @prompt-a-klainefic blog’s 2017 Reverse Bang

Link to the art by @datshitrandom

the prompt:

Kurt and Blaine couldn’t stand each other in high school, maybe one was a jock/cheerleader and the other a nerd/glee clubber. Or they were bitter rivals for competition solos if they were both in glee club. Now they both live in NY and their friends set them up on a blind date, not knowing they went to the same high school.

High School AU, Cheerio!Kurt, Jock!Blaine Rating: Explicit Warnings (for the story overall):  some bullying and homophobic language, teenage sex Word Count: ~5700 (this chapter)

Extra special thanks this time to my beta,

@mshoneysucklepink

​, who made critical suggestions to this chapter.

Everything wonky is my fault.

AO3 link Chapter 7

On tumblr: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6

Notes:

The next time I estimate how many chapters something will be while I'm still writing it, feel free to laugh in my face.

And if you were waiting for the chapter to meet the explicit rating, wait no more...

No other specific warnings. Maybe boys being idiots.

-

Chapter 7

“Kurt I swear I had no idea,” Mercedes hissed under her breath.

Apparently not quietly enough because Blaine chuckled across the table. Kurt could feel his face heat up, and not just because of embarrassment. Blaine had been cute in high school; Kurt was attracted to him from the moment he spotted him in that frat house, before they’d even officially met. After they were unexpectedly thrown together Kurt had found himself drawn to both the scruffy football version as well as the more dapper, prep-school Blaine that had started to emerge as their time at McKinley had ended. But all grown up? All the hints Blaine had shown of his potential for old-Hollywood handsome had bloomed into one very attractive and well put together adult. Kurt would have checked him out thoroughly if he’d been a stranger.

“You can imagine how shocked I was when Mercedes showed up at the restaurant,” Blaine said, eyes twinkling. “Then when she said you were meeting us -” Blaine scratched at his temple. “Well, I confess I was even more shocked.”

“Hmm, I suppose it’s a good idea that this was a blind date then,” Kurt said. He tried to be flirty, like he would be on any date, but he could tell it came out a little too icily and Blaine’s pleased expression slipped for just a moment. Kurt bit back a grimace. “I only meant,” Kurt faltered, “expectations can play games with you.”

Blaine audibly sucked in a breath through his nose, lifting his chin a fraction in Kurt’s direction. “Yes, I suppose that’s true,” Blaine said. “It’s not often you get set up with your high school rival.”

Kurt wondered if Blaine would have come if he’d known it was Kurt he’d be dining with. Or if he himself would have agreed to it if he’d known it was Blaine. Sitting here across the table from him now he still wasn’t sure. He felt like such a different person now than he had been in high school; he could give Blaine as much credit as he’d expect to get.

“Oh my god, high school was forever ago.” Kurt attempted to wave away awkwardness with a laugh. “Water under the bridge.” He could see Blaine force a smile at him from across the table, but he appeared relieved.

“Not wearing your Cheerio uniform anymore I see?” Blaine teased.

“No, no Cheerio uniform,” Kurt answered, forcing a smile. Then, before he could stop himself, “I see you’re still sporting Brooks Brothers - even if a more sophisticated version.” Something flashed dark in Blaine’s eyes, but he pasted on a smile in an instant.

“Hey man,” Sam interrupted. “As much fun it sounds to rehash your old high school rivalry, I'm hungry.” He tapped at his menu.

That got Kurt’s attention, and he shook his head once and smiled at Sam, ignoring the flush that crawled up his neck and hoping everyone else would too. He wasn't sure how he felt when he noticed Blaine’s cheeks coloring as well across the table.

“Yes, yes of course,” Kurt said and took a sip of water to give himself a minute to collect himself. There was no reason Blaine should get under his skin at this point. He was far from the eager, blushing virgin he’d been when he and Blaine first encountered each other.

“It’s great to finally meet you, Kurt,” Sam said. “Of course, Blaine used to talk - ow! Dude!” Sam gave Blaine a harsh look.

“What?” Blaine looked at Sam with an innocently puzzled expression.

Sam rolled his eyes at Blaine. “Whatever.” He turned back to Kurt.

“You know, before you got here Mercedes was telling us about how you guys reconnected so long after high school, maybe you and Blaine can bury the - shit!” The table shifted and both Blaine and Sam’s water toppled to the table.

Kurt bit his lip to keep from laughing as Sam made a ‘wtf?’ gesture at Blaine and righted the glasses, mopping up as much water as he could before the waiter came and took over.

‘Like I said earlier, high school is - thankfully - in the past.” Kurt glanced at Blaine, who was looking at Kurt now with a wary curiosity as the waiter fussed around him. “How long have you and Blaine known each other?” he asked, once the table had been put back together.

“Oh, wow.” Sam paused, looking at the ceiling for a moment. “Well, we’ve been friends since sixth grade. ”

“Oh really? That’s a long time.” Kurt looked between the two men. Blaine had gone quiet, and was staring at a spot on the tablecloth. Blaine had obviously mentioned Kurt to Sam at some point in their past. “So you know all of Blaine’s secrets, I imagine?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Sam smirked, and Kurt realized that Sam probably knew everything. If that was true he was the only one who did. This was not a conversational road Kurt wanted to travel tonight.

“So what brings you to New York, Blaine?” Kurt changed the subject. Somehow talking about Blaine was easier than talking about himself. And wasn’t that strange. “When Mercedes roped me into this she mentioned that Sam’s roommate had only just moved to New York.”

Blaine chuckled, blushing just a little. “I um, I opened the Chicago cast of School of Rock last year, and they just moved me to Broadway. I start at the Winter Garden in two weeks.”

Kurt sat up. “Wow. That's impressive.” Kurt was surprised that the idea of Blaine on Broadway didn’t even make him jealous. He’d been lucky since graduating from Tisch and he had plenty on his plate right now.

Blaine shrugged. “It's kind of an old show at this point, but it still has ticket sales for the next year. I just hope I don't screw it up for the next guy.”

“Who knows?” Kurt said. “Maybe they'll keep you on for a while?” Blaine shrugged again, but his eyes were trained on Kurt in a way that, if this had been an actual date, would have given Kurt a lot of ideas about what they would be doing after dessert. Or possibly instead of. But it wasn’t an actual date. “I’m sure you’re a great Dewey.” Kurt grinned. “You’ve got the hair for it.”

“You’ve done pretty well, I think?” Blaine said. “Can I ask you how you hooked up with Saturday Night Live? How do you even get an audition for that?”

He shouldn’t be surprised that Blaine knew this, SNL was a huge show. Still, it felt a little bit gratifying to know that Blaine had paid some attention to his career.

“Well my amazing lack of an ability to be cast in more traditional roles carried on into NYU,” Kurt started. Blaine frowned and looked guiltily at Kurt. Maybe this wasn’t as neutral a topic as Kurt expected. “It’s not - It’s fine, you know. I know that I don’t pass as well as some other actors. I’ve accepted as much of that reality as I can, I guess. I’m never going to play a straight romantic lead, and there aren’t enough gay ones yet to keep us all employed.” Kurt smirked, trying to play it off as a joke, but Blaine shifted in his chair, reaching for his wine.

“It’s not really fair though, is it.” The way Blaine said it made it clear that it wasn’t a question.

“No, but that hasn’t seemed to be much of an issue for you.” Blaine looked stricken, and Kurt could hear Mercedes sharp inhale next to him. Kurt instantly regretted saying it. “I’m sorry. That probably wasn’t fair either.”

“We’re all battling something, I think,” Blaine offered, some of the shock draining from his face, but Kurt still felt bad. “So, um, go on, please.”

Kurt glanced at Mercedes, who gave a quick nod for him to go on. “Okay, well, I connected with an off campus improv group over that first summer, and I spent lot of time with them. It was amazing and I learned so much from just being on a stage every night, in front of people. And it turned out I was good at it.”

“That does not surprise me at all,” Blaine said. “You’ve always been very in the moment. I mean in your performances.” Blaine fiddled with the stem of his glass. “From what I remember, anyway,” he finished weakly, glancing at the table and then back at Kurt.

Blaine was looking at him so intensely now that it was Kurt’s turn to shift uncomfortably. There had been more than one time in high school when he had seen that look on Blaine’s face. He wasn’t sophisticated enough to be able to read it then. But he could read it now. “Thank you.”

Appetizers arrived, and the waiter refilled their wine glasses. Kurt was grateful for the time to compose himself.

“Ooh! Tell him about your plays,” Mercedes said. “Kurt writes plays, good ones,” she went on. “He’s had two of them produced just before the SNL gig came up.”

“Wow, really?” Blaine lit up, and the tension from before dissipated. “Maybe, if you have some time, you can give me some recommendations for some smaller productions. I have a couple weeks to kill before I have to start and I was hoping to get in as many different theater experiences as I can before my time is no longer my own.”

Kurt agreed to give Blaine some recommendations, and went on to tell the story of how someone from the SNL cast was in his second play, which started the long and winding road to him getting a shot to write for the show. By his sixth episode he was appearing in crowd skits, and he was asked to join the cast just before his second year when a couple of long time cast members decided not to return.

“That’s really amazing Kurt. Congratulations.” Blaine raised his half empty glass in a toast, smiling pleasantly at Kurt. “It’s well deserved.”

The four of them chatted amiably through the rest of the meal. Kurt was happy to find that Sam was obviously smitten with Mercedes, so he could stop worrying about her.

“Have you heard from Rachel lately?” Blaine asked. “I mean, after that whole NYADA debacle.” Blaine made a horrified face.

Kurt bristled. He didn’t want to - he had been lucky not to get into NYADA, ultimately, but for some reason it remained a sore spot. Even after it was exposed as a scam school, defrauding its students and their parents out of millions of dollars before its lack of accreditation was made public. Kurt had had to live through the school’s unmasking every step of the way as Rachel scrambled to come up with alternatives. In the end she just packed up and moved to Los Angeles, but a lot of other students hadn’t been so lucky.

“She’s doing great, she’s in LA, getting a lot of guest spots on various television series, but hasn’t landed a permanent role yet.”

“I guess you really dodged a bullet there,” Blaine said.

“Not like I was exactly placed in the line of fire, was I?” Kurt felt surly all of a sudden. “You know, I think I’ll skip dessert, if it’s all the same to everyone.”

“‘Line of fire?’ What’s that supposed to mean?” Blaine sat back in his chair, eyebrows raised and obviously offended.

“Kurt, they have cheesecake.” Mercedes pointed to the dessert menu, her eyes narrowed in a warning. Kurt knew her well enough to know she was irritated at him. “It’s supposed to be amazing.”

Kurt tuned Mercedes out. “It means that if anyone dodged a bullet it was you, going to Pittsburgh instead.”

“Kurt, you can’t still be sour about NYADA rejecting you, come on! They were a total Ponzi scheme.”

Sam looked puzzled. “What is that? Is that like one of those witches covens?”

Blaine’s attention shifted to Sam. “No Sam, they weren’t witches. But they did charge their students a lot of money and didn’t actually teach them anything. Or give them a degree.”

“Yeah, well finding out you were rejected not because of talent, but because they figured out your dad couldn’t afford tuition, room, and board, didn’t exactly make me feel better.” Kurt crossed his arms and huffed as he leaned back in his chair.

“And you think knowing they only offered me based on my family’s finances made me feel great about it?” Blaine said.

Sam motioned for the check. “Mercedes, I saw a great ice cream place on the corner, would you like to split a sundae?” He looked at Kurt and Blaine, who were now silently glaring at one another. “Just the two of us?”

“Sam, that sounds like an excellent idea.” Sam went to pull out Mercedes chair; as she stood up, she stared down Kurt with a look that made him suddenly feel like a huge jerk.

“I’m sorry,” he mouthed at her.

Mercedes grabbed Kurt’s arm as he stood, holding him a step back as Sam and Blaine walked toward the exit. “I don’t think it’s me you owe an apology to, Kurt. Although you can buy me brunch on Sunday and we will discuss what the hell you think you were doing tonight.”

Once they had exited the restaurant, Sam hugged Blaine, then turned and shook Kurt’s hand. “Kurt, again it was nice meeting you. Good to put a face to all the stories I’ve heard.” Kurt blushed as Sam winked at him again, and his stomach dropped. Sam probably had the whole list of Blaine’s conquests memorized so he could keep track when Blaine ranked them on gay-bro night. Kurt watched Sam turn and offer his arm to Mercedes; as she took it, she turned and looked over her shoulder one last time at Kurt and Blaine, who both stood on the sidewalk, not looking at each other.

She whispered loudly, “Y’all better settle your business and make peace, you hear me?”

Kurt kicked the sidewalk, watching Mercedes and Sam walk away. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“She’s your friend, Kurt.” Blaine stood with his hands in his pockets, head cocked to one side. “And I’m pretty sure she watched us both behave like children for a large portion of this evening, so she kinda does.”

Kurt didn’t really want the answer to the next question. He wasn’t even sure why it mattered at this point. “So how much does Sam actually know?”

“Sam knows everything, he knows everything about me.” Blaine paused, rubbing his hands over his face. “He knows I met you before I transferred. And he knows, well, we have a little history. ” His voice was strangled. “I talked to him a lot during that year at McKinley. It wasn’t the best time for me either you know.”

“Oh god.”

“He’s my best friend Kurt, you’ll have to excuse me if I told him things that happened in my life.” Blaine paced in a circle. “There were times when he was the only person who cared!”

Kurt scoffed. “You had a lot of friends, if I remember correctly.”

“People liked me, yes. But that’s because I never challenged anything they thought. I didn’t stand up for myself, not at school. I did what was expected of me to fit in. That’s how I got by. Being popular is different than having friends who actually understand you. I was pretty sure you understood that, even then.” Blaine threw his arms up. “It was forever ago, Kurt. And you hated me back then!”

Kurt was silent. He’d heard people say, more than once, that the scars of high school really do fade once you get away. Even after only a few years Kurt could look back with clearer eyes on the whole experience. Everyone struggled, he realized that now even if he couldn’t then. Blaine just seemed to bring out his bitchy side.

“I didn't hate you.”

Blaine was looking at Kurt like he’d started speaking a foreign language. “Oh my god were you not there? You were so mean to me Kurt.” Blaine was staring at him, his eyes all hurt and pleading, and definitely something more.

“You made everything so much more difficult.” Kurt hugged himself as they stood on the New York street, staring at each other. It was almost too much. “I was jealous. Everything had been so hard, and you showed up and it was like nothing I had done had mattered.” He sighed. “I guess nothing is ever really what it looks like, is it?”

Blaine shook his head, shrugged his whole body as he looked up at the sky then back at Kurt.

“I’m sorry, Kurt. I really am,” Blaine said, sounding hopeless, then pleading, “I was just trying to get by.” He held a hand out in front of him, then dropped it to his side. “Like you.” Blaine paused again shaking his head. “God we can’t seem to get this right. If we could start over again maybe w -”

“We’d what Blaine? What could we have done differently?” Kurt didn’t know why he was continuing to have this - argument? discussion? Whatever it was, he knew he didn’t want to end it and have them both just walk away. Blaine was staring at him. Well, Blaine was staring at his mouth, open desire etched across his face. Kurt blinked. They were much closer than they had been just a moment ago.

“Kurt.” Blaine was breathing hard.

“Get a cab.”

Blaine spun on his heel and flung his arm out into the street. He opened the door of the taxi that pulled up to the curb so Kurt could get in, then climbed in beside him, slamming the door shut. The cab didn’t move.

The cab driver turned around and looked at them. “Where you headed?”

Blaine was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his face buried in his hands. “I'm sleeping on Sam’s pullout sofa.”

Kurt gave the driver his address.

They were silent in the cab, Kurt staring out the window while Blaine’s fingers tapped steadily on his knee, but once they were in the apartment and Kurt had locked the door Blaine grabbed him by the wrists and pushed him up against the door, sealing his mouth over Kurt’s with a grunt.

“I spent most of senior year thinking about you while I jerked off,” Blaine hissed. “It didn’t matter how much you hated me, I, god -” Kurt pushed his tongue into Blaine’s mouth, licking wildly. Blaine pinned Kurt's hands to either side of his head, hard against the door, so Kurt moved his hips against him, his own erection pressing eagerly against the front of his snug jeans. “I still think about you coming all over me in the back seat of that car, that noise you made, that first time? Still top three in my spank bank, Kurt.”

Kurt moaned as Blaine kissed across his jaw.

“What are the other two?” Kurt managed to gasp out, trying to maintain some control over himself. He was failing fast.

Blaine chuckled into his ear. “Those fucking pants you wore at the NYADA audition. My god I wanted to blow you so bad. I’d never -” Blaine moaned.

“I jerked myself raw that weekend thinking about you,” Kurt confessed as Blaine’s hips pressed him hard against the door. “I had to hide in my room and wear sweatpants for two days my dick was so sore. My dad thought I was sick.”

“Oh my god.” Blaine let go of one hand and reached to cup Kurt’s cock, rubbing hard against the material. He took Kurt’s hand and pressed it between his own legs, up against his erection.

Kurt panted into Blaine’s mouth. “That was the first time I ever, oh fuck, the first time I ever fingered myself.” Blaine whimpered.

“I’m gonna come Kurt, in my pants right here. Like a fucking teenager.”

“Ohmygod we should have done this in high school.” Kurt squeezed Blaine’s cock through his pants and he jerked closer. “I’m sorry I was such an ass to you,” he panted. “I had a lot of anger issues.”

Blaine ignored that as he huffed against Kurt’s neck, sucking hard below his ear, jerking Kurt off over his jeans. “Come on, come on Kurt.”

Kurt’s cock throbbed and he came with a choked off sob, soaking his underwear through to his jeans until Blaine was rubbing wet come around with his hand on the front of his pants. Blaine pushed his fingers underneath the waistband of Kurt's pants, fingering the soft, wet head of his cock until Kurt twitched away.

“Fuck. Your turn.” Kurt caught Blaine’s cheek with his free hand, holding his face still so he could bite Blaine’s bottom lip, rubbing his cock through the thick fabric of his suit. Blaine shuddered, coming with a long moan in his expensive wool trousers.

Kurt wanted to fall to the floor, but Blaine kept him pinned to the door as they both caught their breath and their senses. Kurt’s eyes darted around his dark apartment, waiting for Blaine to move. Blaine didn’t pull away, he pressed his mouth against Kurt’s neck with a gentle suck, kissing back across his jaw until Kurt tilted his head to kiss him back.

“Come on,” Kurt mumbled into Blaine’s mouth. “Shower.”

Kurt ignored the soggy mess in his pants, trying hard not to think about how that was one of the hottest things that had ever happened to him. New York had offered plenty of opportunities for Kurt to settle into himself, and his first two years of college he’d gotten some unexpectedly wild behavior out of his system. This night was promising to be up there.

When they got to the bathroom Kurt looked at himself in the mirror - there were marks on his neck and his skin was flushed from his collarbone to his ears. He peeled off his clothes, adding them to the pile Blaine had started on the floor. When he turned around Blaine was bent over the edge of his tub, completely naked, trying to turn the shower on. Kurt couldn’t stop a laugh from bubbling out.

“Everyone looks incompetent trying to work a strange shower,” Blaine said over his shoulder. “And I am nervous as fuck Kurt. How do you turn this thing on?” He stood and turned around, catching Kurt looking. “Are you staring at my ass?”

Kurt shrugged one shoulder. “It’s a nice ass.” Blaine ducked his head and blushed, moving aside as Kurt leaned in to turn on the shower. “You’re standing naked in my bathroom Blaine, don’t you think it’s a little late to be coy about it?”

Blaine crossed his arms across his chest and Kurt had to look away, fiddling with the water temperature to distract him from the naked man standing next to him. “I’m actually hoping that it’s not too late for a lot of things.”

In Kurt’s previous experiences showering with someone was always a little awkward at first; were you showering? Were you making out? How far did the other guy want to go? When were you supposed to ask? What if you had to call 911? Kurt still had visions of slipping in the middle of shower sex and having to explain to his dad what had happened. It was a lot to navigate.

He stepped into the shower, tugging Blaine behind him until they were both under the water, and Blaine didn’t give him a lot of time to ponder. He stepped into Kurt’s space, hands reaching for his face and pulling him into a heated kiss. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine’s shoulders and went with it. This kiss was intense in a different way than the one at the door when they had come in. If Blaine had attacked his mouth before, now he was memorizing it.

“Wow,” he said, breathless once Blaine pulled away. Blaine kissed him again, a quick one as his hands worked their way to Kurt’s waist.

“Kurt, I need to ask -” Blaine ran his hands over Kurt’s sides as the water ran down his back. “Did you get taller?”

Kurt laughed and threw his head back under the water. Grinning he rested his forehead against Blaine’s. “Yes.

“How?”

“The puberty train hit me late. I had quite the growth spurt freshman year.”

“Well that seems rather unfair,” Blaine said, pecking him on the corner of his mouth. “And also insanely hot I’ve got to say.”

Kurt leaned into another kiss, then Blaine reached for the shower gel over Kurt’s shoulder and they actually took a few minutes to soap up and rinse off. Taking turns under the spray, they washed the product out of their hair. When they were finished Kurt reached his arms around Blaine and hauled him in for another kiss, this time letting his hands wander down to Blaine’s ass. Kurt slid slippery fingers between his cheeks, pressing lightly as Blaine moved closer with a soft oh okay. Kurt squeezed one thick cheek with his other hand and Blaine gasped.

“I have to be honest Blaine, I’m not sure I’d have known what to do with an ass like yours in high school, if we’d ever taken it that far.”

Blaine giggled against Kurt’s neck. “Are you sure you know what to do with it now?”

Blaine’s hips were working against Kurt and Kurt could see and feel Blaine starting to get hard again. Kurt wasn’t going to be far behind him. He grinned into a kiss, pulling Blaine’s cheeks apart while teasing one finger between them. “Uh huh.”

Kurt spun Blaine around until he was facing the shower wall, tilting the shower head so it wouldn’t rain on his face, and dropped to his knees. Blaine’s ass was so thick Kurt had to hold his cheeks open so he could get his tongue on Blaine’s hole. Normally he would have taken more time, teased his partner until his rim was twitching, begging for something inside it. But this time he wanted it more than he wanted to tease. He wanted to taste, to take, to leave a mark. He spread Blaine wider, frantically licking at his damp skin until he’d licked away the water and his crack was dripping with spit, his tiny hole puckering impatiently.

Blaine shifted, spreading his thighs in the small space, and Kurt sat back on his heels to keep from slipping. When Blaine had started fisting his cock Kurt nipped at the tender skin of Blaine's ass to get his attention.

“We should move to the bedroom,” he said.

“Hunh?” Blaine turned to look down at him, a little glassy eyed. Kurt stood and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling his back snug against him, knowing Blaine could feel Kurt’s erection pressing against his ass.

“You don't need to break your ankle two weeks before your Broadway debut.”

Blaine chuckled, nuzzling his head back against Kurt. “You're probably right.” Blaine twisted in Kurt’s arms, searching for a kiss Kurt willingly gave.

Kurt shut off the water, reaching for one of his oversized towels and wrapping Blaine in it long enough to keep him from dripping all over his apartment, then did the same for himself. Kurt’s bedroom was just on the other side of his small kitchen, so he led a naked Blaine through to his bedroom. Once inside Blaine pulled him in for another deep kiss.

“Do you want something? Water?”

Blaine shook his head, hands moving to stroke Kurt until he was hard. “Later.”

“Get on your belly then, I’m not done with you,” Kurt whispered, surprised at the husky sound of his own voice. Blaine grinned, ‘okay’, kissing Kurt once with a smack and scrambling to the bed. Kurt joined him, pressing lips against the back of his neck, arching so the length of his cock settled in the cleft of Blaine’s ass. Kurt wanted to take the time to explore; Blaine’s body was gorgeous and there was a lot to enjoy. He didn’t want to dwell on whether he would have another chance.

So he kissed across Blaine’s shoulders, licking the salty taste of the sweat that prickled on Blaine’s skin, even after the shower. Kurt kissed and bit, and memorized every sound Blaine made while he did. When he reached Blaine’s ass, he dug in, tongue firm against Blaine’s pucker until it was twitching, inviting. He pressed his thumb carefully against the invitation.

“Can I fuck you?” Kurt asked, loud in the quiet dark.

Blaine shifted, hugging a pillow under his chest. “Oh, god, I wish you would.”

Kurt scrambled to the side table, retrieving condoms and lube before settling between Blaine’s thighs and spreading them just a bit more. Blaine hitched his ass up in the air, spreading his cheeks wide. “You look amazing,” Kurt breathed; he had to slow down and squeeze his cock to keep under control. The last thing he wanted was to come before they even got started. He couldn’t embarrass himself now that they’d gotten this far.

He pressed his middle finger against Blaine’s twitching hole, teasing in and out a few times before sliding it up to the last knuckle; after a few twists, he added a second finger, turning them against the press of the tight muscle. Blaine sighed and Kurt could see and feel the tension leaving his body. “How many do you need?” he asked, stroking himself as his fingers worked Blaine open.

“One more.” Blaine hugged the pillow tighter and wriggled a little, fucking himself on Kurt’s fingers. “But not for long, just a little more.”

Kurt nodded, more to himself than to Blaine, who had pressed his face against the bed; he added more lube and a third finger, twisting them until he could feel the stretch. The god Kurt Blaine moaned was enough of a check in for Kurt, so he rolled on a condom and pressed his cock against Blaine’s hole. Blaine pushed back and Kurt watched as the head disappeared inside; he waited a moment for Blaine to nod, then pressed in, slowly. Blaine, gasping, begged him to move, and with one hand on the bed and one gripping Blaine’s shoulder he pulled out, pushing in again slowly, and again until they found a rhythm, Blaine working as eagerly to fuck Kurt as Kurt had ever had in a partner, if not more so.

“Mmm, Blaine?” Kurt bent low, mouthing at Blaine’s ear, his hips making a smacking noise as he “How long can I keep fucking you?”

Blaine twisted under Kurt, wrapping his arm around him and mouthing at his neck. “I don’t know,” he panted, almost giggling. “How long can you keep fucking me?”

Kurt bit at Blaine’s lip. “I see, okay.” Kurt mouthed at Blaine’s neck, then pulled back, pressing him down to the bed before sitting up on his knees. He pulled Blaine’s hips higher, but Blaine pushed up until he was on all fours, laughing as he glanced back at Kurt.

“Go on,” he invited.

Eyes locked onto Blaine’s, Kurt reached blindly for more lube, squirting an excessive amount into his hand before slicking his cock and wiping the excess over Blaine’s puffy hole. Eyes still on Blaine he pushed his cock back in, a satisfying thrill shooting up his spine when Blaine closed his eyes and gasped. After that there was no more talking, or teasing, or asking anything; just the slap of skin on hot skin, sweat dripping down Kurt’s back, droplets collecting in the dimples above Blaine’s ass. They fucked until Kurt’s thighs were shaking, until he was sure he would pass out if he came, until Kurt couldn’t hold off one more second. Then with a strangled cry that sounded like it could have been “Kurt,” Blaine reached for his cock and pushed back hard, grinding his ass against Kurt until he came, and Kurt could only give in, fucking them both through each pulse until they were spent.

Kurt could feel Blaine’s legs start to give out, so he grabbed him around his hips, holding him close until his cock softened and he had to pull out. Blaine fell to the bed with a muffled “nggghh.”

Kurt must have passed out for a few minutes, because when he opened his eyes he was still wearing the used condom, and Blaine was naked and sprawled next to him on top of the coverlet, making snuffling noises. He took care of the condom first, then stood on wobbly legs and went to the bathroom. He considered a shower, given how much sweat had already dried on him, but sleep beckoned, so he wiped himself with the still damp towel from earlier and brought a wet towel for Blaine.

When he got back to the bedroom Blaine was still asleep. Kurt sat next to him on the edge of the bed, shaking his shoulder until he woke.

“Hey, I didn’t want to freak you out when I wiped up all the lube.” Kurt chuckled, and Blaine shifted until he was raised on his elbows. “We made quite the mess.”

“Mmm, yeah.” Blaine grinned sloppily. “No complaints.”

Kurt finished wiping the worst of it, and Blaine escaped to washup. While he was gone Kurt pulled the mussed covers off and sat on the bed. Should he put something on? Did Blaine want to stay? Kurt was pretty sure he wanted him to stay, but what would happen after the morning was anyone’s guess, Kurt wasn’t sure he could think that far. Was this the marathon to ‘get it out of their system’ that they’d apparently always needed? Or was there a future? Or maybe they’d just be friends after. Like they couldn’t manage to do when they were young and took everything too seriously.

He was still contemplating when Blaine rejoined him in the bedroom, still gloriously naked. Kurt had hooked up with some good looking men in the last six years, but Blaine was definitely in the top two.

“Hey,” Blaine said, sitting next to him on the bed. “I don’t know what you had in mind, but I’d really like to stay. If that’s okay.” The question was confident, but Blaine looked like he expected to be shot down. He wasn’t going to be, not tonight.

Kurt leaned in, kissing him almost chastely, considering their evening so far. “Please stay.”

[fireflysummers]

Mob Psycho 100 Fanfiction

A Little Tragedy

Reigen Arataka is a well liked resident of the Falling Waters Care Facility.

But he's getting real sick of it, so the old con artist tries talking his shrink into letting him out early on good behavior.

This...really isn’t a happy story. I think a lot about how, the most heartbreaking moments sometimes are the little tragedies, that seem almost mundane in the face of epic battles and whatnot.

There was an unspoken consensus among the men and women working at the Falling Water Care Facility, that the resident of Room 1332 was everybody’s favorite. Everybody knew that favoritism was bad form for any facility, but it was hard not to like him.

Physically, he was nothing special—he was a man approaching his eighties, blessed with good genetics that allowed him to keep his gray-white hair in relative abundance.  A couple of the other residents used the word ‘dapper’ to describe him, and it was true that he’d aged well despite signs of a lifelong smoking habit.  Even in stature, he was nothing special. Standing, he measured at an average height, but even this was restricted and he spent most of his days in the various plush chairs around the facility.

Despite that, though, there was something about him that felt tall. Sitting or standing, he somehow always announced his presence simply by existing, drew the staff and residents to him like moths to a flame. It was nigh impossible to resist that pull, and in the generally oppressive atmosphere of care homes everywhere, it was a welcome relief to all.

“Mr. Reigen, community bingo is in an hour,” informs the employee who had come into change his sheets for that afternoon. It’s a nice room, modestly furnished and well kept, with a large window letting the light in on the half dozen plants lining the sill. There’s a television on in one corner, sound turned down so low that it’s more a white noise than anything.

“I’ll be there, my dear, count on it!” the elderly man replied, waving his hands to indicate that he was rushing to finish whatever business currently stalls him. “Perhaps I’ll finally be able to exorcise that spirit of ill fortune hanging around about the dining hall, keeping me from taking home a prize!”

The nurse gives him a fond smile, a pat on the shoulder, and exits the room without much fanfare. Reigen shakes his head, glasses sliding down his nose a little, then turns back to his guest.

“Anyways,” he says, “Where were we?”

“What was that about?” asks the man, sitting opposite him.

“Shouldn’t you know? You’re my shrink, after all.” Reigen shrugs. “Half the people in this place think that I’m an absolute basket case, spouting all these bizarre stories about ghosts and devils and such.”

“So there really is a spirit in the bingo hall?”

“Psh. Of course not. They humor me, I humor them, it’s an odd little arrangement we’ve come to.  I haven’t dealt with a spirit in a long while, and I’m starting to get bored. Can’t wait to get back to work—I run a consultation office you know? Helping people with their supernatural troubles.”

“You’ve mentioned.  Is your business going well?”

“Is it ever! You wouldn’t believe some of the whoppers I’ve melted down.” Reigen coughs, suddenly looking a bit ashamed. He unconsciously sinks lower into the pillows at his back, then fixes his gaze on the therapist with sudden seriousness. “You’re a doctor right? Patient confidentiality and all that. So I don’t mind telling you this—I’m not really psychic.”

“Oh?”

“Nah. Eighty percent of my clients aren’t haunted either. Not by ghosts anyways.” Reigen shrugs. “Different things. Like their pasts, or sometimes their presents. Most of the time there’s no easy fix, but I’d do my best to set them in the right direction, so that maybe they’ll be able to fix the problem themselves.”

“And what about the other twenty percent?”

“What?”

“The twenty percent that are actually haunted by ghost.” The shrink is watching him intently. “How do you help them if you’re not a psychic yourself?”

“I hired one,” Reigen says, as if it’s as simple as putting out a wanted ad. “Well. You couldn’t even really call it that. I only pay the kid 300 Yen an hour. On a good day. I’m a real shitstain, you know that?”

The shrink hums, but Reigen can’t tell if it’s in affirmation or not. He shrugs, because even if it is he’s been called worse. Multiple times. In just about every form of media under the sun.

“Anyways, this kid, Mob, showed up at my office one day. He’s the real deal man. It’s thanks to him that…” suddenly, Reigen’s words dry up. The shrink looks up at him sharply in worry, only to see the older man’s eyes misty with tears and a watery grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “Ha. It still feels like only yesterday when he showed up at my office unannounced. But ah…he’s grown up a lot since then.  I’d like to think I had a hand in that, in pointing him in the right direction, but…”

“It sounds like you’re proud of him,” says his shrink, for the first time since their conversation started breaking his calm façade with a small, fond smile.

“Damned straight I am,” Reigen says with incredible conviction. “He’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be worthy of that little miracle, the day he walked in, so the list I can do is be proud of my boy.”

Reigen pauses again, a sly light in his eyes. “So what you say doc? Am I officially un-crazy? Can I leave yet?”

“I’ll have to talk with your doctor about it,” the shrink replies, getting to his feet. He holds out a hand, which Reigen shakes firmly. “In the meanwhile, you have a bingo game to get to. And an evil spirit to exorcise.”

“You really should speed this along,” Reigen tells him, “I’ve got a business to run. I can’t afford to take this many sick days off. And these accommodations…I can’t afford something this fancy! I gotta get back to work!”

“I’m sure your pupil can handle it.”

“What, Mob? He’s like. Sixteen! He’s got better things to do than run his master’s business! Nah, I gotta get better and get back out there.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the shrink replies, as he waves a farewell. “I’m sure that everything will turn out just fine.”

“That’s my line!” Reigen snaps.

 There’s a blond man waiting in the hallway.  He’s shorter than the two, a little on the heavy side, and has his hands stuffed into the pockets of his neon colored windbreaker.  In a normal setting, his outfit would be outrageous, but in the muted colors of the care facility it’s almost migraine-inducing.

“How was he today?” he asks as his companion reaches him.

“Worse. He didn’t recognize me at all today. Thought I was his therapist, and that he was waiting to be released from a hospital.”

“A logical conclusion to come to, when you let that brother of yours pick your wardrobe for you.” Teru slings an arm over Shigeo’s shoulder, but it’s painfully obvious he’s trying to lighten the tone. Shigeo gives a telling sniff, curling into himself.

He’s never been terribly emotive, even when he no longer bottled up his emotions so dangerously. Teru suspects that if this were any other person, he would be dealing with a sobbing mess.

Instead, Shigeo straightens up and squares his shoulders. To anybody who didn’t know him, the action would have been enough. But Teru’s arm is still around Shigeo, and he can feel the stuttering breaths, the physical effort to choke back the sobs.

There will be a time and place for that. When they’re alone together, away from the nurses and doctors and attendants and residents, who could be endangered by Mob’s sorrow. There will be a time…but the sheer effort that it takes Shigeo to rise and walk makes Teru’s heart clench painfully.

“You know, you could just tell him who you are,” he says at length, softer this time. “I bet if you went back to that cute bowl cut he’d recognize you immediately.”

“Maybe,” Shigeo mumbles, as the two of them head for the exit. “I think it might make him feel worse though. To know that he’s forgotten.”

“Maybe…” Teru agrees, but wants to argue that the cunning old teacher would have died a thousand painful deaths than watch Mob fight this heartbreak. “On a side note, I exorcised the spirit that was hanging around the bingo hall. It wasn’t really causing too much trouble, just a little bringer of bad luck, but you can’t have those things hanging around a care facility. Someday I’ll figure out how Reigen-san does it.”

“Master Reigen once told me that…the world is full of little miracles,” Shigeo murmurs at length, “I think he read it in a fortune cookie once.”

“Mmhmm,” Teru says, simultaneously marveling how Reigen could make anything sound sincere, and trying to decipher why Shigeo was bringing this up now.

“But he also said, another time, that there’s got to be balance. Which means that if there are little miracles, there are little tragedies as well.”

They walk on in silence, not really paying close attention to where they’re going. It doesn’t matter, really, because this city that they’ve protected with blood and tears is theirs. There is nowhere they could go where they would be lost.

“You know…” Teru finally says at length, “There’s nothing little about being forgotten.”

Shigeo doesn’t reply. They’re far enough from the facility now, far enough from people, that there’s no reason to hold back anymore. And there’s nothing more for Teru to say. Instead he keeps his arm wrapped around his husband, and waits for the storm to pass.

[msbigredmachine]

Come What May - Part 3

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. So why did she feel like she was making the biggest mistake of her life? Roman Reigns/OC/Tama Tonga

The Part Where the End Starts

“Did someone turn off the air conditioning or what?” Tama hissed, adjusting his bow tie. “It’s so fuckin’ hot!”

“Naw, man,” his longtime friend and Bullet Club member, Kenny Omega, chuckled behind him, “that’s just your body telling you that you’re about to throw up.”

As much as Tama’s body threatened to make good on the other man’s foresight, he curbed himself. He could not afford to humiliate himself in front of everybody. The church was full to the brim as the ceremony was due to start any time from now. Everybody actively involved in the ceremony had taken their assigned positions while the rest of the congregation waited for the service to commence.

For a man as young as he was, Tama Tonga had recorded quite a number of significant achievements in his career. But no professional or personal milestone had produced the eagle-sized butterflies that were currently swooping in his stomach. This was his wedding. Jeez, when the hell did he become mature enough to get married? Kenny had ribbed the hell out of him about it in the weeks leading up to this day. Who’da thunk it? Tama Tonga, Japan’s wrestling finest, playboy extraordinaire, was finally turning in his Player’s Card; surrendering himself to the proverbial ball and chain. He had been mildly confident of a smooth transition into married life, but even before he officially went off the market, the pressure had already begun its attempts to swallow him up. He became so stressed by work and wedding plans that he had enrolled in secret yoga lessons to help him calm his nerves. So far, not one technique was working in his favor. He had never been so nervous in his life.

“Come on man. You’ll be fine,” Kenny encouraged him cheerily. “Remember what I showed you; that substitute teacher-on-crack smile?” He broke into an abnormally toothy grin, making Tama’s other groomsman, Bad Luck Fale cringe. “Ya know, Kenny?” the big man said. “I can bet anything that none of your substitute teachers ever smiled like that.”

Kenny plucked a curly strand of hair out of his eyes and let out an impatient huffing sound. “Got any other ideas, Einstein? I’m tryna make him feel better.”

Fale rolled his eyes. “Please. Anything I come up with will be better than your crackhead substitute teacher bullshit.”

Kenny stared at him. “You’re a hater,” he informed Fale with a remarkably straight face.

Fale put up his hands in resignation. “I so don’t know you right now.”

“Not helping, you two,” Tama’s brother, Tanga Loa, informed the bickering men before turning back to his brother, who was now looking a little pale. “Man, just relax.”

“Easy for you to say,” Tama snapped, fiddling with his bow tie again. Why did it feel so damn tight?

“Beside the point, Tee,” the man known as the Silverback replied. “Pull yourself together. And if you touch that bow tie again I’ll break both your hands. It’s a promise.”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks, dude. Save that for Ashley. Now focus.”

Tama found himself being grateful to Tanga for slightly easing his tension with the friendly banter. He decided to sweep his eyes over the decorations laid out inside the church. White lilies adorned the round pillars above them, all connected by cream-colored drapes falling in regal arches all around the church. The Tonga family went all-out for their son’s wedding. The couple had chosen the bridesmaids for their wedding, who were dressed in peach-colored Grecian-style dresses made by Ashley herself, while Fale, Tanga and Kenny were Tama’s groomsmen, all looking dapper in well-fitting gray Armani suits.

“This is it, man,” Tanga said, quickly dusting his suit as the Wedding March song sounded.

“Shit,” Tama hissed, shutting his eyes as he felt himself begin to hyperventilate. He made a mental note to return to the yoga class and demand a refund.

With her father by her side, Ashley began her slow saunter down the aisle. Tama felt himself relax as he locked eyes with his wife-to-be. It was like an angel was walking towards him to take him away to a place of eternal bliss. He had never seen a sight more beautiful that what he was seeing now and he doubted he ever would.

“Beautiful, ain’t she?” Tanga whispered in his ear, having heard his brother’s contented sigh. Beautiful? Here Tama was thinking he had died and gone to heaven. The gods had truly smiled down on him when they picked her to be his wife.

When Tama first began wrestling, he had no expectations whatsoever on the long-term romance front. Not when he knew he’d be traveling all around the world and not have a stable enough life to settle down. Besides, he was quite contented being single and flirty. But he got older and naturally, perspectives began to change. Then the million-dollar question popped up. What were the chances of finding a woman who was as obsessed with the wrestling business as much as he was, didn’t mind hanging out with the guys, could hold a decent, intelligent conversation with anyone and still be femininely beautiful all at the same time? The answer? Slim to none. Or so he thought.

He remembered vividly the first time he met Ashley. She was being shown around the dojo where they prepped for the NJPW shows. She’d found him in the middle of the ring, chasing Matt Jackson around with that weird crawling thing he always did. She’d laughed and taken a picture, and that was when he knew her role with the company. She was gorgeous – you had to be blind not to notice that right away – and he found himself attracted to her instantly, against his wishes. Because he’d heard about her, of course. Heard through his friends from the States that she was Roman’s ex-girlfriend, that things had been quite serious between them. Roman was family to him. Their families were very close, and he didn’t want to do his family like that. So at first, Tama had tried to be as friendly with Ashley as possible, maybe get to know her a bit as a colleague, make her feel comfortable in such a new, challenging environment like Japan. But he hadn’t bargained for her to be so damned charming. Or so smart. Or be so stunningly beautiful, inside and out. Tama stopped resisting his desires and he pursued her adamantly. He would have punted himself in the head if he didn’t follow his heart. Love was very hard to come by these days, no thanks to the nature of the business and the ladies’ man reputation he knew he’d acquired over time. But Ashley had seen past all of that, given him a chance. Tama seized it with both hands, and look where he was now; about to be joined in union with the girl of his dreams for the rest of his life. It was unbelievable what taking a chance could do for someone.

At the women’s side of the altar, Naomi leaned towards Sasha Banks, a look of concern on her face as she whispered: “Something’s up.”

“Huh?” Sasha asked vaguely, who was currently occupied exchanging flirty looks and winks with Kenny from the other end of the altar.

“You’ll make out with him later, groupie!” said Naomi, annoyed that she was not commanding the full attention of the multi-time Women’s Champion. “Look at Ashley. She looks like she’s been crying.”

Sasha took a look at her friend approaching the altar. “Hello? It’s called tears of joy?” she whispered back.

Naomi shook her head. Sasha could be such an airhead sometimes. “I don’t think so, Sash,” Naomi said sadly. “In fact, I think it’s the complete opposite.”

Standing beside Sasha as the Maid of Honor, Piper, Ashley’s childhood friend, kept silent. She too had noticed Naomi’s observation and knew exactly what she was getting at. Another person would have made the same comment Sasha did, but Piper knew better. There was only one reason Ashley would be looking so dejected on the day of her wedding, and it came in the form of a certain Roman Reigns. Piper had been there every step of the way, and she had been the one to console a distraught Ashley the two times she and Roman broke up. She had been the one to question Ashley’s relationship with Tama, why it was so soon after the breakup, but Ashley had doggedly insisted that she was happy with Tama. Piper didn’t doubt that. The self-proclaimed ‘Bad Boy’ was actually a good guy in real life, but it was Ashley that Piper was worried about. It was obvious that she was not over Roman and probably never would be. Ashley had to understand that until she came to terms with this fact, her marriage to Tama was not going to work. But it seemed Ashley was buoyed by a misguided determination to prove the doubters wrong. It did nothing to quell the fact that this marriage was a mistake, and Piper felt terrible for Tama because it would only be a matter of time before her best friend left a very good man, a very brokenhearted man.

Later on in the ceremony, the priest asked the bride and groom to turn towards each other as they made their vows. Tama observed Ashley, realizing that she was not smiling as much as he thought she would, and was it him or was she looking a little pale? He quickly shook off all the creeping, petty doubts in his mind. He told himself he was just worrying, that she probably wasn’t feeling well. On the bright side, he would get to take care of her much later.

The priest turned to him. “Do you, Tama, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, and promise to love and to cherish her for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health until death you part?”

“I do,” he said loudly and clearly, looking into his soon-to-be wife’s eyes and meaning every syllable.

Smiling, the priest set his sights on Ashley. “And do you, Ashley, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, and promise to love and to cherish him for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

In stark contrast to Tama’s composed, decisive response, Ashley kept mute. She seemed to have fallen into a trance-like state, staring hard and long into Tama’s brown eyes, as if searching them for the answer to the question the clergyman was asking of her. The congregation began to grow restless, and some of them even began shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Tama simply stood there innocently, waiting expectantly for her answer. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.

“No…”

Loud gasps of astonishment rang around the church. The mouths of Kenny and Sasha fell open in utter shock. Piper shut her eyes and raised her head heavenward, relief and sadness simultaneously washing over her. Both Fale and Naomi visibly cringed, while Tanga put his hand over his face, suddenly wishing to be anywhere but here. Ashley however, had a look of immense liberation, intertwined with fear and shock, as if that one, monosyllabic word had broken shackles that were seconds away from binding her to eternal misery, but at the same time shocked that she actually spoken the words out loud. She squared her shoulders and repeated herself, this time with more conviction. “No. I can’t…” Her eyes filled with tears as she ducked her head.

The majority of the congregation sat in their seats, stunned. Others were whispering excitedly into their phones, sending the juicy gossip out into cyberspace. Ashley’s mother looked like she was about to pass out. Tama’s actually did. She had to be carried out of the church by two of Tama’s friends as Ashley’s dad followed them close behind.

Tama looked like he’d been doused in a bucket of cold water. Ashley saw him blink several times, as though doing so could magically erase what he had just heard. But when their eyes met again, Ashley’s were bright with resolution. And though her lip quivered badly, it was evident that her mind was not going to be changed. “I can’t. I’m sorry...I’m so sorry...” she whispered.

With that, Ashley turned on her heel, and lifting her skirt, ran out of the church, her vision blinded by tears. Tama could only watch helplessly as the woman he thought loved him, took flight and abandoned him at the altar.

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

A/N: Chapter title from the song “I Hate This Part” by the Pussycat Dolls

Tagging:

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[michaelfallcon]

Kaafi In The Hague: American Born, British Trained, With A Pakistani Twist

Last year, Amsterdam decided to up its tourist tax, put the kibosh on downtown hotel-building, restricted how many days residents could Airbnb their abodes, and nixed the city center from opening new “tourist shops”—bad news for venues selling everything from Nutella-shellacked waffles to souvenir T-shirts (my favorite reads: GOOD GIRLS GO TO HEAVEN BAD GIRLS GO TO AMSTERDAM).

Whether or not the limits and levies push you out of the Dutch capital, note that there is now a distinct southwesterly pull away from it anyway—to The Hague. Museums full of Mondrians, international tribunals, and the brisk beaches of the North Sea aside, a must-visit in this city, discerning drinker, is Kaafi. The cafe opened in June 2017, in the Hofkwartier, a picturesque shopping district with no shortage of specialty coffee. Yet so much distinguishes Kaafi from other spots in The Hague and, for that matter, the Netherlands.

A telltale sign is the house espresso, the Red Brick blend roasted by Square Mile Coffee Roasters in London. And following Square Mile’s recommended specs for that very brew, Kaafi uses a three-group Victoria Arduino VA388 Black Eagle Gravitech espresso machine—a rare bird in the Netherlands, with its impressive built-in weighing system. This is no coincidence. Kaafi’s founder, Zeeshan Malik, was lured into the industry at London’s legendary Prufrock Coffee, to which Square Mile is a principal supplier.

From afar, Malik appears serious, if not stoic. But exchange one word with him and he is instantly disarming and buoyantly conversational. A Manhattan-born American who spent his teen years in The Hague and attended law school in London, the almost-30-year-old first became acquainted with Prufrock as an unassuming customer.

“I just kinda walked into the place. It was a rainy day and I just needed a place to study,” recalls Malik. “I had my first cup, which was probably a Red Brick cappuccino.”

Before long, though, he became an obsessive hobbyist, enrolling in Prufrock’s training program and taking course after course, from the barista skills foundations to an authorized training certification. “I was very lucky to have an amazing mentor,” Malik says of Jeremy Challender, who at the time co-ran Prufrock.

Zeeshan Malik

“He would have a whiteboard in front of him,” Malik describes of the drills Challender put him through. “He timed everything I did, from the moment I started grinding to how idle I am while I’m steaming milk. And it’d be like, ‘Well you just wasted 20 seconds steaming milk when you could be doing other things, like setting up a saucer and a teaspoon.’”

After completing schooling and becoming disillusioned with lawyering in London, Malik moved back to The Hague. Eventually, he found “the courage to say, ‘This is what I wanna do, for real,’” as he puts it. “I mean, I had the most kitted-out home barista kit you’ll ever see. I was the guy who had a [Mahlkönig] EK43 at home.”

Today the pet Mahlkönig EK43 is a workhorse at Kaafi, along with two Victoria Arduino Mythos One grinders. Nitro cold brew is seasonally available, and Malik plans to soon offer Turkish coffee—apt for a brand with a whirling dervish logo. Like Prufrock, Kaafi features a usual rotation of light-roasted coffees from dark-weather Europe (La Cabra, The Barn, etc.).

In the Netherlands, early-morning consumption culture is in its nascence, which Malik found out at the start, when Kaafi opened at 7:30 and was “absolutely dead” til 10am. He adjusted accordingly, although “that’s double digits already—like, life should be well into play by 10 o’clock,” he muses, expressing hope to one day “start inching towards 9:30.”

Anticipating a day when Kaafi could potentially approach big-city busy, Malik wanted “to create a bar that was optimized for workflow and quality consistency,” he says. “I always ask myself, ‘Do I have a bar that one person could handle on their own?’ And the answer to that inevitably is yes.”

The image of a solo staffer is comfortably projected onto the two Marco SP9s that are used to prepare filter coffee. The choice has been a local talking point, for which Malik has a considered response.

“My least favorite part of being a barista is pouring hot water. I think it’s just not something that you need to be spending time on,” he emphasizes. “Proponents of manual pour-over might say that it provides a better experience, but to that, I say, it’s 2018, and most of our customers are familiar with the way a pour-over coffee is made. There’s no need to be showing that off when you can be tending to them.”

Gear and groove aside, another trait that sets Kaafi apart is kinship. Malik’s parents, since retired from continent-spanning work as Pakistani diplomats, have embraced second careers—alongside their son. Malik’s father is Kaafi’s head chef, fulfilling a longtime fantasy to have his own restaurant and now creating delectable takes on cafe fare, such as brie brûlée toasties; Malik’s mother is his pastry chef, producing a score of sweets with Pakistani twists, like the signature pistachio cardamom cheesecake. Malik’s little brother was his first employee and his wife, a human rights lawyer by day, moonlights as his marketer.

The cafe comfortably sits 40. A dapper family-den feeling characterizes the main floor. It contrasts with the elevated back area that Malik calls “our inspiration-slash-productivity space,” hosting a “cupping table that masks as a communal-seating table.” Bright and minimalist, the alcove welcomes patrons to work, staying as long as they wish; the table height is ideal for standing typists and outlets encourage laptops (and during off-hours, kettles).

Clearly influenced by his inculcation at Prufrock and helped by his family’s panoramic support, Malik offers a kind of hospitality and attention on the guest that remains scarce in the Netherlands. So for visitors to The Hague, including those of us from Amsterdam, Kaafi is definitely something to write home about.

Kaafi is located at Prinsestraat 25, The Hague. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge. 

Some photos courtesy of Kaafi.

The post Kaafi In The Hague: American Born, British Trained, With A Pakistani Twist appeared first on Sprudge.

Kaafi In The Hague: American Born, British Trained, With A Pakistani Twist published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

[epchapman89]

Kaafi In The Hague: American Born, British Trained, With A Pakistani Twist

Last year, Amsterdam decided to up its tourist tax, put the kibosh on downtown hotel-building, restricted how many days residents could Airbnb their abodes, and nixed the city center from opening new “tourist shops”—bad news for venues selling everything from Nutella-shellacked waffles to souvenir T-shirts (my favorite reads: GOOD GIRLS GO TO HEAVEN BAD GIRLS GO TO AMSTERDAM).

Whether or not the limits and levies push you out of the Dutch capital, note that there is now a distinct southwesterly pull away from it anyway—to The Hague. Museums full of Mondrians, international tribunals, and the brisk beaches of the North Sea aside, a must-visit in this city, discerning drinker, is Kaafi. The cafe opened in June 2017, in the Hofkwartier, a picturesque shopping district with no shortage of specialty coffee. Yet so much distinguishes Kaafi from other spots in The Hague and, for that matter, the Netherlands.

A telltale sign is the house espresso, the Red Brick blend roasted by Square Mile Coffee Roasters in London. And following Square Mile’s recommended specs for that very brew, Kaafi uses a three-group Victoria Arduino VA388 Black Eagle Gravitech espresso machine—a rare bird in the Netherlands, with its impressive built-in weighing system. This is no coincidence. Kaafi’s founder, Zeeshan Malik, was lured into the industry at London’s legendary Prufrock Coffee, to which Square Mile is a principal supplier.

From afar, Malik appears serious, if not stoic. But exchange one word with him and he is instantly disarming and buoyantly conversational. A Manhattan-born American who spent his teen years in The Hague and attended law school in London, the almost-30-year-old first became acquainted with Prufrock as an unassuming customer.

“I just kinda walked into the place. It was a rainy day and I just needed a place to study,” recalls Malik. “I had my first cup, which was probably a Red Brick cappuccino.”

Before long, though, he became an obsessive hobbyist, enrolling in Prufrock’s training program and taking course after course, from the barista skills foundations to an authorized training certification. “I was very lucky to have an amazing mentor,” Malik says of Jeremy Challender, who at the time co-ran Prufrock.

Zeeshan Malik

“He would have a whiteboard in front of him,” Malik describes of the drills Challender put him through. “He timed everything I did, from the moment I started grinding to how idle I am while I’m steaming milk. And it’d be like, ‘Well you just wasted 20 seconds steaming milk when you could be doing other things, like setting up a saucer and a teaspoon.’”

After completing schooling and becoming disillusioned with lawyering in London, Malik moved back to The Hague. Eventually, he found “the courage to say, ‘This is what I wanna do, for real,’” as he puts it. “I mean, I had the most kitted-out home barista kit you’ll ever see. I was the guy who had a [Mahlkönig] EK43 at home.”

Today the pet Mahlkönig EK43 is a workhorse at Kaafi, along with two Victoria Arduino Mythos One grinders. Nitro cold brew is seasonally available, and Malik plans to soon offer Turkish coffee—apt for a brand with a whirling dervish logo. Like Prufrock, Kaafi features a usual rotation of light-roasted coffees from dark-weather Europe (La Cabra, The Barn, etc.).

In the Netherlands, early-morning consumption culture is in its nascence, which Malik found out at the start, when Kaafi opened at 7:30 and was “absolutely dead” til 10am. He adjusted accordingly, although “that’s double digits already—like, life should be well into play by 10 o’clock,” he muses, expressing hope to one day “start inching towards 9:30.”

Anticipating a day when Kaafi could potentially approach big-city busy, Malik wanted “to create a bar that was optimized for workflow and quality consistency,” he says. “I always ask myself, ‘Do I have a bar that one person could handle on their own?’ And the answer to that inevitably is yes.”

The image of a solo staffer is comfortably projected onto the two Marco SP9s that are used to prepare filter coffee. The choice has been a local talking point, for which Malik has a considered response.

“My least favorite part of being a barista is pouring hot water. I think it’s just not something that you need to be spending time on,” he emphasizes. “Proponents of manual pour-over might say that it provides a better experience, but to that, I say, it’s 2018, and most of our customers are familiar with the way a pour-over coffee is made. There’s no need to be showing that off when you can be tending to them.”

Gear and groove aside, another trait that sets Kaafi apart is kinship. Malik’s parents, since retired from continent-spanning work as Pakistani diplomats, have embraced second careers—alongside their son. Malik’s father is Kaafi’s head chef, fulfilling a longtime fantasy to have his own restaurant and now creating delectable takes on cafe fare, such as brie brûlée toasties; Malik’s mother is his pastry chef, producing a score of sweets with Pakistani twists, like the signature pistachio cardamom cheesecake. Malik’s little brother was his first employee and his wife, a human rights lawyer by day, moonlights as his marketer.

The cafe comfortably sits 40. A dapper family-den feeling characterizes the main floor. It contrasts with the elevated back area that Malik calls “our inspiration-slash-productivity space,” hosting a “cupping table that masks as a communal-seating table.” Bright and minimalist, the alcove welcomes patrons to work, staying as long as they wish; the table height is ideal for standing typists and outlets encourage laptops (and during off-hours, kettles).

Clearly influenced by his inculcation at Prufrock and helped by his family’s panoramic support, Malik offers a kind of hospitality and attention on the guest that remains scarce in the Netherlands. So for visitors to The Hague, including those of us from Amsterdam, Kaafi is definitely something to write home about.

Kaafi is located at Prinsestraat 25, The Hague. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge. 

Some photos courtesy of Kaafi.

The post Kaafi In The Hague: American Born, British Trained, With A Pakistani Twist appeared first on Sprudge.

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Kaafi In The Hague: American Born, British Trained, With A Pakistani Twist

Last year, Amsterdam decided to up its tourist tax, put the kibosh on downtown hotel-building, restricted how many days residents could Airbnb their abodes, and nixed the city center from opening new “tourist shops”—bad news for venues selling everything from Nutella-shellacked waffles to souvenir T-shirts (my favorite reads: GOOD GIRLS GO TO HEAVEN BAD GIRLS GO TO AMSTERDAM).

Whether or not the limits and levies push you out of the Dutch capital, note that there is now a distinct southwesterly pull away from it anyway—to The Hague. Museums full of Mondrians, international tribunals, and the brisk beaches of the North Sea aside, a must-visit in this city, discerning drinker, is Kaafi. The cafe opened in June 2017, in the Hofkwartier, a picturesque shopping district with no shortage of specialty coffee. Yet so much distinguishes Kaafi from other spots in The Hague and, for that matter, the Netherlands.

A telltale sign is the house espresso, the Red Brick blend roasted by Square Mile Coffee Roasters in London. And following Square Mile’s recommended specs for that very brew, Kaafi uses a three-group Victoria Arduino VA388 Black Eagle Gravitech espresso machine—a rare bird in the Netherlands, with its impressive built-in weighing system. This is no coincidence. Kaafi’s founder, Zeeshan Malik, was lured into the industry at London’s legendary Prufrock Coffee, to which Square Mile is a principal supplier.

From afar, Malik appears serious, if not stoic. But exchange one word with him and he is instantly disarming and buoyantly conversational. A Manhattan-born American who spent his teen years in The Hague and attended law school in London, the almost-30-year-old first became acquainted with Prufrock as an unassuming customer.

“I just kinda walked into the place. It was a rainy day and I just needed a place to study,” recalls Malik. “I had my first cup, which was probably a Red Brick cappuccino.”

Before long, though, he became an obsessive hobbyist, enrolling in Prufrock’s training program and taking course after course, from the barista skills foundations to an authorized training certification. “I was very lucky to have an amazing mentor,” Malik says of Jeremy Challender, who at the time co-ran Prufrock.

Zeeshan Malik

“He would have a whiteboard in front of him,” Malik describes of the drills Challender put him through. “He timed everything I did, from the moment I started grinding to how idle I am while I’m steaming milk. And it’d be like, ‘Well you just wasted 20 seconds steaming milk when you could be doing other things, like setting up a saucer and a teaspoon.’”

After completing schooling and becoming disillusioned with lawyering in London, Malik moved back to The Hague. Eventually, he found “the courage to say, ‘This is what I wanna do, for real,’” as he puts it. “I mean, I had the most kitted-out home barista kit you’ll ever see. I was the guy who had a [Mahlkönig] EK43 at home.”

Today the pet Mahlkönig EK43 is a workhorse at Kaafi, along with two Victoria Arduino Mythos One grinders. Nitro cold brew is seasonally available, and Malik plans to soon offer Turkish coffee—apt for a brand with a whirling dervish logo. Like Prufrock, Kaafi features a usual rotation of light-roasted coffees from dark-weather Europe (La Cabra, The Barn, etc.).

In the Netherlands, early-morning consumption culture is in its nascence, which Malik found out at the start, when Kaafi opened at 7:30 and was “absolutely dead” til 10am. He adjusted accordingly, although “that’s double digits already—like, life should be well into play by 10 o’clock,” he muses, expressing hope to one day “start inching towards 9:30.”

Anticipating a day when Kaafi could potentially approach big-city busy, Malik wanted “to create a bar that was optimized for workflow and quality consistency,” he says. “I always ask myself, ‘Do I have a bar that one person could handle on their own?’ And the answer to that inevitably is yes.”

The image of a solo staffer is comfortably projected onto the two Marco SP9s that are used to prepare filter coffee. The choice has been a local talking point, for which Malik has a considered response.

“My least favorite part of being a barista is pouring hot water. I think it’s just not something that you need to be spending time on,” he emphasizes. “Proponents of manual pour-over might say that it provides a better experience, but to that, I say, it’s 2018, and most of our customers are familiar with the way a pour-over coffee is made. There’s no need to be showing that off when you can be tending to them.”

Gear and groove aside, another trait that sets Kaafi apart is kinship. Malik’s parents, since retired from continent-spanning work as Pakistani diplomats, have embraced second careers—alongside their son. Malik’s father is Kaafi’s head chef, fulfilling a longtime fantasy to have his own restaurant and now creating delectable takes on cafe fare, such as brie brûlée toasties; Malik’s mother is his pastry chef, producing a score of sweets with Pakistani twists, like the signature pistachio cardamom cheesecake. Malik’s little brother was his first employee and his wife, a human rights lawyer by day, moonlights as his marketer.

The cafe comfortably sits 40. A dapper family-den feeling characterizes the main floor. It contrasts with the elevated back area that Malik calls “our inspiration-slash-productivity space,” hosting a “cupping table that masks as a communal-seating table.” Bright and minimalist, the alcove welcomes patrons to work, staying as long as they wish; the table height is ideal for standing typists and outlets encourage laptops (and during off-hours, kettles).

Clearly influenced by his inculcation at Prufrock and helped by his family’s panoramic support, Malik offers a kind of hospitality and attention on the guest that remains scarce in the Netherlands. So for visitors to The Hague, including those of us from Amsterdam, Kaafi is definitely something to write home about.

Kaafi is located at Prinsestraat 25, The Hague. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge. 

Some photos courtesy of Kaafi.

The post Kaafi In The Hague: American Born, British Trained, With A Pakistani Twist appeared first on Sprudge.

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