#Mevpine

[brainwrongbutalive]

I have polls!!

People, if you suggest songs that describe your ship, I will put them to the poll test!!

Comment your song and your ship and let’s see what is the theme song for your ships

[facelessxchurch]

This is Nefarian talking to Mevolent after Serafina's death and no one can convince me otherwise.

"You're scaring us and all of us- ...some of us love you Achilles, it's not much but there's proof" "The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken Remember the pact of our youth Where you go, I'm going, so jump and I'm jumping Since there is no me without you Soldier on, Achilles, Achilles, come down Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?"

Ngl I like the idea that whatever killed Serafina killed her siblings also. All apart from Creed. Ironically he lives bc he didn't follow Mev, bc he wasn't there when the attack happened.

Mev despises him for living when his wife does not and Creed loathes him bc he blames him for the death of his siblings.

The (semi-)duet part is Creed taking his anger out on Mev while Nefarian is defending him.

Creed: You want the acclaim, the mother of mothers Nefarian: It's not worth it, Achilles Creed: More poignant than fame or the taste of another Nefarian: Don't listen, Achilles Creed: But be real and just jump, you dense motherfucker Nefarian: You're worth more, Achilles Creed: You will not be more than a rat in the gutter Nefarian: So much more than a rat Creed: You want my opinion, my opinion you've got Nefarian: No one asked your opinion Creed: You asked for my counsel, I gave you my thoughts Nefarian: No one asked for your thoughts Creed: Be done with this now and jump off the roof Nefarian: Be done with this now and get off the roof

I just love the thought of Nef defending and comforting his master in the beginning, in his hours of need after all the times Mev had protected him, had saved him. Before Mev became more and more unhinged out of grief and Nef no longer regonised his old friend in him anymore. Just a husk of the great man he had once been now.

Oh, what irony that a man known for the carnage left in his path would be undone by such a gentle thing as love.

how the most dangerous thing is to love

[meltdownchromium]

You might have noticed I've been a bit inactive with my writing recently. Two reasons: one being writer's block and the other that I was taking a little break from writing dark stuff for mental health reasons.

BUT now that I'm doing better, I am happy to announce some of my ideas for the horrible shit I will be putting poor Serpine through in the future:

I have...

Several rough drafts for pure graphic violence whumps (including at least 1 with mevpine)

One pretty much fully plotted out fic without any violence actually, only some light angst and abuse of authority set in sow

More Mevpine content, with lots of twisted love stuff, domestic violence and brainwashing

One REALLY fucked up noncon idea for the hostage video prompt that I might not follow through with

Plans for dubious consent stuff or at the very least hatefucking

And of course the fic I'm currently working on that's about 50% done at already 1k words

[facelessxchurch]

In that body-snatcher AU by the time Nef finally did manage to cast the Unnamed out of Mev's body and imprison him in a soulcatcher multiple years had already passed. The first thing Mev notices is that Nefarian looks noticeably older. Not only bc of the years that had passed but also bc of the absolute hell serving the Unnamed had been.

Nefarian has never been as strong as Mevolent, so he wasn't sent to intimidate and negotiate. His field was espionage, theft, and assassinations. He remained in the shadows. Unrecognized. Eventually, he managed to commission someone to fashion him a necklace that would give him another's face if fed with a sample of the person, like a strand of hair. And yeah, he had to get the item himself since the Unnamed wouldn't gift him anything to help him. He just kept him around bc he thought it would be amusing to force the runt his former student had taken pity on to serve the man that stole his dear friend's body. He made it a game to see how many missions Nef would last before dying.

The second thing he noticed when he finally got to look at his own reflection was that, while his eyes had returned to their normal grey hue, his hair remained snow white and his complexion had just begun to slowly regain its colour. The sigils the Unnamed had covered Mev's body with had become visible upon possession and they didn't look like they would fade. But worst of all, the Unnamed had aged him up to his preferred age of somewhere between 40 -50, while prior to possession Mev had appeared to be in his late teens/early twenties.

Gathering disciples was a lot harder this time around since his late master had worn his face for so long. While the Unnamed's loyalists despised him, the other side deeply distrusted him. Quite frankly, Nef was among them. He tried to act normal around him, but whenever Mev caught him off guard it scared the living Hell out of Nef. He was flinchy and nervous around him and Mev caught him staring into his eyes quite often, unquestionably searching for any hint of a red glimmer.

[source]

At least in this AU Mev is nicer to Nef bc whenever he raises his hand against him Nef pulls a knife on him bc he thinks the Unnamed is back and Mev has to calm him down.

"Wait, it's still me. Put the knife away, I didn't mean it."

While in the normal vers Nef confessed his love for Mev right after the Unnamed's death, it took a while longer in this AU. His personal boogeyman having worn his friend's face for so long had made things more... complicated.

When they finally did get together, Mev found all the scars Nef had been hiding beneath his clothes. Some from the missions he had been sent on, others undoubtingly from the same punishments Mev also had to suffer from his late master. He had always tried to keep Nef away from the Unnamed's attention, but in his absence, Nef had to endure all the things he had tried to protect him from.

[facelessxchurch]

Here are my main ships in the order of how much I like them. All of my ships are rare ships, so...

OTP: Mevpine (Mevolent x Nefarian Serpine) I love master-servant dynamics <3 And Nef has a bad enough judgement(/masochistic tendencies) to decide that dating his very tall, handsome boss is a good idea. They also read very similarly. Both are charismatic and have an easy time making people like them, highly intelligent, cunning, and sadistic and both have the same twisted sense of humour. Mev jokes about eating babies, Nef jokes about eating puppies (tho the puppy joke was previously used by Landy for Mev too). Those two certainly are birds of a feather and have massive spend-too-much-time-with-each-other-and-became-too-similar vibes. Plus Nef is like the only one that gets Mev's humour while everybody else is never quite sure if he's joking or not. Plus, I mean, it's pretty much canon that Nef is the one person that knows Mev the best. What a perceptive lil snek <3

The warlord and his closest confidant, I really don't get how this ship isn't more popular.

Baronpine (Baron Vengeous x Nefarian Serpine) They are perfect opposites in a way where they complete each other, both in fighting styles and personalities. They mellow out each other's worst trades. Baron is less of a stick in the mud with Nef around and he's able to make Nef a little less chaotic and needlessly cruel. There really aren't many people that can make Nef behave lol. They affectionately call each other their insufferable counterpart <3 They also have a delicious relationship evolution from rivalry to I-hate-that-I'm-into-you hate fucking to starting to appreciate the other's strengths and devotion to the cause to legitimately caring for each other in their own a little bit messed up kinda way. They totally bicker and roast each other all the time but not even the Gods can help you if you insult one of them in the earshot of the other.

This is like my most wholesome ship <3

Mevolent x Serafina Dey This one is really obvious. The big bad that is soft for exactly one person and it's his waifu. I also have the headcanon that since Mev grew up an orphan, raised by a cruel master, he never experienced family. But when he married Sera he was welcomed with open arms into her family by all apart from Creed.

Canon, yet still underappreciated </3

SorrowScorn (China Sorrows x Eliza Scorn) When asked if she wants to date China or be like her, Eliza answered "yes". They have such an interesting dynamic with Eliza trying to beat China at her own game but being damned to always be the second best. Lovers and rivals at the same time, Eliza is jealous of China but adores her equally as much.

This one used to be popular in the fandom but it isn't anymore. Landy did Eliza dirty by excluding her from phase 2 (apart from a brief mention).

BONUS: OT3: Nef x Mev x Sera OT3's are what happens when you like two conflicting ships lol. Mev got to keep his boytoy AND marry the woman of his dreams. He's really smug about it until he realizes that his two lovers are getting along too well and started teaming up on him. I'm living for the second where the self-satisfaction turned into the realization that he made a huge mistake :)

Honourable Mentions: Nef x Vindick Leather, Nef x White Cleaver, Nef x Creed, Mev x Charivari, Sera x Eliza

does anyone have any lesser known ships or headcanons. i’m bored

[facelessxchurch]

When Nefarian laid with the Unnamed he, of course, found the crest that had been burned into the Adept's back. At first, he didn't recognize it as his student had been without a crest of his own while under his service. But he quickly enough recognized it as one of Mevolent's designs without even needing to ask.

"Oh, has he marked you like a toy he's unwilling to share?" The king laughed. "That incorrigible little brat."

When Mevolent had seared the crest into his flesh all those centuries ago he had told him that the burns would never heal and Nefarian had known his words to be true. He had been able to sense the magic the branding iron had been imbued with. But foolishly he had wasted his time trying to find a healer that would attempt it anyways once he had fled his former master's subjugation.

"Say, do you wish to be freed from this marking of childish possessiveness?" There was a cruel gentleness in his voice.

The Unnamed's magic was unlike anything Nefarian had seen before. Terrifying, yes. But wonderous too. It didn't appear to follow the same rules modern sorcerers were bound by. He had felt its prickle beneath his skin, familiar, yet utterly alien at the same time. All he knew for certain was that his power was as ancient as it was terrible.

For years Nefarian had yearned to finally be free of the ownership Mevolent had claimed over him when he had loved him still. Yet Nefarian hesitated before nodding.

"Use your words."

The Adept bit his lower lip, disturbed by the familiar mannerism. "Yes, please. Heal me." A moment of silence before he hastily added, "Master."

Seemingly satisfied with the response, the Unnamed placed his hand on Nefarian's back. As a former general, he had fought and he had been injured plenty a times, so he was quite familiar with a healer's soothing powers. But there was no such gentleness to the Unnamed's touch. Where the hand was placed upon his skin ancient magic seared him worse than the bite of the branding iron had. A choked gurgling noise clawed its way out of his throat, his features distorting in anguish. Pushing his face into the pillow in front of him, he muffled his cries, fingers clawing into its soft fabric while toes were digging themselves into silked bed sheets. The pain was ever-moving, travelling along the long scared markings, leaving behind an unpleasant coldness. Seconds felt like an eternity and then it was over, leaving Nefarian gasping for air, rasping breaths shaking his narrow frame.

He half expected a hand to gently rub his side, whispered words of comfort or even a kiss pressed on the back of his head. But... nothing. Of course. This wasn't Mevolent, Nefarian reminded himself whipping the tears of his cheeks with the back of his hand. The Unnamed felt no need to pretend he loved him. It did not matter, he had gotten what he wanted out of him, he was finally free of that terrible mark.

Yet Nefarian couldn't help feeling a sense of... loss.

[facelessxchurch]

For Christmas, send me Mevpine Christmas prompts/scenarios plz :3c

[facelessxchurch]

Most important question: has Mevolent ever said the Big Words. Has he ever directly told Nef, "I love you."

Yes, he did. It's not that rare for him actually.

He mostly says it when he did something to upset Nef and needs him to forgive him. "You know I love you, Nefarian." followed by a lil kiss on the cheek or forehead. A few wayward ILU's whenever Nef is especially cute or fierce in battle tend to escape him too the latter is followed by dragging Nef somewhere private ;P get yourself a snek that can do both

He also calls him "my love", "beloved" or "my beloved pet" or any variation of that when he's feeling tender or while comforting Nef.

But Nef says it more often and he was totally the one that said "I love you" first tho. While drunk and instantly regretting it when Mev's answer was "Oh.". Mev saved it by just making out with him and making Nef forget his reaction. He's lucky Nef is easily distracted.

Even in the present whenever Nef tells him he loves him, usually followed by "I'm worried about you", Mev tends to answer with "I know.". Nef learned to not be offended by that bc Mev is just being Mev again.

I think I'm being emotional about that bc Mev telling Nef he owns him is his more sincere version of I-Love-You. After all, what is true love if not mutual ownership, giving yourself completely to your lover.

Nef gave his body and soul to Mev and promised him eternity. He laid his very self bare to Mev with all his weaknesses and flaws, the ugly and the bad. After all, Mev won't be happy with any less than everything. In turn, while not being quite as open, Nef is the one that knows Mev the best. He has known him the longest, and has a good idea of what he went through in the Unnamed's service, he is the one he shares his concerns and doubts with while having to act confident and all-knowing in front of everyone else. He's the one he laughs and jokes with, Nef is one of very few people that actually gets his humour. Nef is the only person that makes him feel human and sees him as more than just their messiah figure or, in the case of the Sanctuaries, the devil.

Eventho he would never admit it Nef own his heart as much as he owns Nef. He always had a soft spot for him; despite all, he still yearns for things to be the way they used to. What an odd sensation it is to miss the war during peace times, yet the world made more sense back then. He cannot bring himself to kill Nef, even if he's more than deserving of such a punishment, and he still wants him back in one way or another. Spending centuries together leaves no one unaffected, not even one such as Mevolent.

Mev viewed what they have as one of a kind, something special. So seeing anyone else (Creed or especially the Unnamed) own Nef feels like a complete violation of their bond, however, damaged it might be. Think, giving someone a wedding ring just for them to give it to their new lover after breaking up, but worse. That's probably why I'm obsessing over Nef being owned (by another); bc of the delicious heartbreak it causes Mev, a man that isn't easily hurt.

Little does Mev know that they never truly owned Nef. He was just deceiving them for his own benefit. Despite himself, despite a remarkably bad break-up and telling himself that he doesn't love Mev anymore, Nef finds himself wishing he could tell him that when he sees the hurt in Mev's eyes.

[facelessxchurch]

Quick Mev doodle from yesterday night.

For some reason I just really love the "You Are My Sunshine" cover by The Phantoms for Mevpine. The eerie, melancholic vibes just fit them.

So here is an AU where Mev accidentally killed Nef. Whether it was bc Mev lost control of his temper or bc it’s after Nef betrayed him and when trying to ‘take him home’ Mev accidentally offed him is up to you. 

Either way, that just snapped Mev’s mind in half.

[facelessxchurch]

Bonus Round: Mevpine

As requested.

Image one looks a little crazy because the hands scale with the rest of the model, so one of Mevolent’s hands is the size of Nefarian’s entire head. They’re like frying pans man

Image two is my favorite. Looks actually kinda sweet (to me anyhow)

Image three makes Mev look a little like he wants to wear Nef as a suit, which… yeah lmao let’s be real here

The cute one with their legs close up was supposed to be just that, but then I zoomed out and realized how well things lined up.

Curious what you think of the imperial white clothes I tossed Mev in and his gilded laurel wreath

—

You’re providing me with the nasty boi fix HBL has failed to provide me with, bless you <3

I like the first two pics the most. I love the subtile possessiveness, especially in the second pic <33 and Nef wanting to grab Mev’s hand but restraining himself just barely bc their little affair is meant to be a secret~

The last two pics makes me think of them dancing together in the privacy of their personal quarters after they had to refrain from during so during the official ball. Nef is so cute, having to go on the tip of his toes yet still failing to reach his master properly. Ngl he loves how tall his lover is, and simply adores the little, amused smirk that plays his lips before Mev leans down for him <3

I really like Mev’s outfit! Especially the laurels he’s wearing instead of a crown how befitting for a god-king. But the full outfit is kinda hard to see on these pics, so I’d like it if you’d send me some pics with just Mev in that outfit?

[facelessxchurch]

Weirdly enough HBL made me double down on Mevpine eventho there is absolutely nothing in the book that could cause that.

I've been thinking about my two evil bois all day <3

[facelessxchurch]

All of these are so good for the Unnamed saying this to Mevolent while he was still his student .3. these are straight-up too nasty for Mevpine so you know what a f-ing prick the Unnamed was.

Affrimations for your whumpee! By whumper

inspired by/paraphrased from good old George Orwell 1984

Faced with enough pain, no one is a hero. They'll give you up for relief, and you'll do the exact same.

I'll spend my goodwill by tolerating your struggle or granting you the ocassional moment of solace. Be grateful and choose wisely.

The only proof of your pain is your own perception of it, and your mind is so easily deceived.

You'll never be your old self, because I didn't remold wet clay. You were a cracked pot, already passed through the fire and ruined, so I crushed everything you were to dust and made something nicer to keep on display.

It's not easy becoming sane, but you're a particularly slow learner, and I'm losing patience.

If you're not even strong enough to hold two contradictory beliefs in your mind, you're not strong enough to handle reality.

If you never forget what you are, you'll never be punished for rebelling, and if you never rebel, you'll never forget who you belong to.

The only way you'll be able to hide your obvious secrets and glaring flaws is by lying to yourself so thoroughly that you forget the truth.

Assume I'm always listening, always watching, and you'll never have to be afraid of doing something that demands punishment.

You're your own worst enemy. The nerves, the imperfections, the weaknesses- the very impulses of electricity from your brain to your body guide my hand.

Don't give me a reason to exercise greater control over you. There's no reason I should ever give it up once I have it after all.

If tell you a comforting lie, take it as a gift and make it your comfortable truth, because it's the only comfort I'll waste on you.

Your story isn't a tragedy. A tragedy has an audience and a cartharsis. There's nothing satisfying or sympathetic about watching your same stupid mistakes over and over. And you begged me not to bring an audience.

Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. I will squeeze you empty, and then fill you as I please.

Love,

Whumper

[facelessxchurch]

Really understanding the vibe that song gives you quite strongly tbh. The like distortion effect really sells the "Mevolent's mind is more fucked up than Caisson's at this point" energy. I can imagine him staggering out into the sunlight after killing Nef and staring around aimlessly, with a ringing noise in his ears, feeling like there's no floor to stand on and no one way is up and like everything he thought made sense just doesn't matter and nothing means anything and and and and and

[in reference to this]

Honestly, it depends on the situation. If he accidentally killed him during a punishment he'd instantly rush him to a healer and command they save his life, not believing Nef is truly gone.

If he killed him after Nef's betrayal there is no one he could ask for help.

Only when it finally sinks in that, yes, he has indeed killed his Nefarian, does it all come crashing down.

The first scenario is so much worse than the second too. In the second I imagine Nef's death was quick. He either fell bc he was struggling too much when Mev tried to fly off with him or Mev knocked him against a wall too hard. At least here he can rationalize that the Gods wanted Nef dead after the betrayal and thus it was fate.

In the first Nef's death would have been drawn out and at some point, Nef must have realized that the damage Mev was doing was more than he could take. Instead of quietly taking it like usual he started crying out that Mev is killing him and begging him to stop, but his pleas only fell on deaf ears. Here Nef didn't do anything to deserve to die. He had just killed his precious little gift from his Gods bc he lost control of his temper. Perhaps he really was the monster the Sanctuaries said he was. Perhaps he was following his late master's footsteps after all.

Also to add to the image of Mev stumbling out into the sunlight, add to that him cradling Nef's broken body in his arms, clinging to him like he's his only anchor in reality.

Ngl I love it when a character has no one but themselves to blame for the agony they are in, let their character defects and bad choices have consequences. Something about self-caused misery just hits differently. Perhaps the poetic tragedy of it all?

I love the mental image of him calmly looking at his Gods while everyone around him that followed suit ends up screaming, crying, laughing, and going utterly mad.

Imagine he's hoping his Gods will return Nef to him as a reward for his loyal service so he placed Nef's coffin on the altar in front of the portal. His body is perfectly preserved and he almost looks as tho he's just sleeping.

How he would kill, how he would maim, how he would doom the world to see him open his eyes again, his own mistakes undone and forgiven.

[facelessxchurch]

[source]

I honestly don't know which Mev/Nef dynamic I love more:

Mevolent being super possessive of Nefarian since the start to the point where Nef looking too flirty at other men is almost a death sentence for them.

Or:

Mevolent allowing Nefarian to sleep around at the beginning of their relationship since he doesn't really care much for Nefarian, he's just a tool to be used like everyone else and he is quite effective in softening up new potential allies for Mev. Even if he keeps complaining about it if he deems them to old or ugly for him. This is to say Nef is quite charming, quite good at flirting and quite good at getting people drunk. As time passes it irks Mev more and more to see Nef flirt with other people and tries to ignore the sickening feeling when Nefarian disappears with them to somewhere private. He keeps telling himself he isn't jealous, yet he can't bite back the sharp comments when he spots the sign of an often shortlived affair on Nef, from a somewhat uncharacteristically messy appearance to hickeys on his neck. Poor Nef is just so confused, bc previously Mev had not only allowed that behaviour but even encouraged it.

Both dynamics are so good and have their own brand of angst and I just 👌