#Nah cause the lack of content for him must be fixed

[skrewtiny]

The ending of Season Nine was great, but the lack of a specific character was disappointing

at this rate i will be physically forced to make my own content…

[phoenixblack89]

Secret Crushes

My second one shot is pure filth. Gotta warn ya. Might make a sequel... Dunno... But the lovely Travis is getting one next.... Then that amazing bad boy Mac.

@lilythemadqueen @fandomsaremykryponite enjoy sweeties!

Warning: Pure smut. Feels. Arsehole sibling. Underage drinking.

Fuck knows how many words this is cos ain't got a clue.

Edit: I've fixed the fucking errors I saw and added some to it. And got the read more to work! Yus! Enjoy sweetums

PART 2 Part 3

The party was in full swing and you hated it. Why your older sister had insisted on throwing a wild party while your parents were away was beyond your understanding. Must be a cool girl thing you thought as you wandered down the stairs to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. The house was packed to bursting with her friends and their friends. Hell, you're sure some of the teenagers weren't even from your town, not recognising the vast majority. Word of mouth had turned it from a small party for her classmates into a full on rave.

Sighing you pushed your way through to the kitchen your mother would no doubt be dismayed at seeing at the moment. Your mother was somewhat house proud and the kitchen was her pride and joy. Never ever letting dishes pile up in the sink, the shiny chrome polished within an inch of its life. You secretly couldn't wait for the fallout in the morning when they got back and saw the spilled alcohol, cigarette butt's and various other less savoury things spread from the party. Your sister was in soooo much trouble.

"Watch it fat bitch!"

You grit your teeth at the oh so creative insult as you shoved the jerk away from you. He glared down at you from his 6 foot height.

"What's an ugly fuck like ye even doing here?"

"I live here arsehole." You spat back, shouldering your way past and out the back door. Taking a deep breath you wandered the gravel path down to your secret escape at the bottom of the garden, hoping no one had tried to get in. Smiling as the old barn came into sight you felt the tension ease. As you neared you slowed, hearing two distinct and familiar voices. Your mouth suddenly felt drier as your heart pounded.

"Oh Connor!" Your sister moaned and you froze. 

She wouldn't... Would she? 

She knew you had a somewhat strong crush on the elder MacManus brother. His blue eyes and kind smile making butterflies in your stomach every time you saw him. Tears sprang to your eyes at her betrayal and you hurried your steps past the barn, hearing her shriek in shock. Connor and her eyes following you as you stormed past.

"Sis!"

"Fuck off Sara! Get back to the party!" You called after her, as you broke the treeline at the edge of the property. Tears fell slowly and silently as you pulled out a crumpled and almost empty packet of cigarettes. You slipped suddenly and fell head first down the bank to the stream running at the bottom of the hill. A shriek escaped as you braced for the very cold and surely sudden dip. You stopped quickly and waited for the impact against the icy water but it didn't come. Opening one eye you realised you were being held up by a pair of strong arms. A deep breath of relief came from you as the arms set you down on the ground gently.

"Ye alright?"

Your head turned and you gave a weak smile. Murphy's eyes were lined in pink hues, almost as if he, himself, had been crying like you.

"Could ask you the same."

"Aye... Just... Connor ye know."

"Yea... Sara."

He bit his lip and offered you a cigarette. You took it and shuffled to sit beside him. You both smoked and cried silently together. Both content to not mention the fact you were crying to the other, taking the comfort from each others pain and not judging.

"Older siblings, am I right?" You tried to joke, wiping at your eyes. "They sure know how to hit a sore spot."

"Connor's younger than me." Murphy laughed, wiping at his own cheeks. You smiled weakly and shrugged.

"Here's me thinking ya were twins."

"Aye... But I'm older. Fuckin' bastard knew I liked her as well." He sighed and ran his hand through his shaggy dark hair. You nodded and flicked your cigarette into the water, watching silently as it floated away.

"Yea... My sister she... Erm... She knew I liked Connor. Well... Was..... Damn... That I had a bit of a crush on him... Sorry."

"Yea? Bitch. Ain't a good sister doing that when she knew ye liked him" Murphy said, wrapping his arm around your bare shoulders at the shiver that ran you with the cold. He smiled as you wrapped yours around his lower back. "What a pair we make, eh? Our siblings are over there fuckin' like rabbits and here we are wishing it was us instead"

"Nah. We know better... Sara is just a bitch and Connor... He'll soon learn she's one too."

"Yea? What about you? Don't think I caught ya name lass?"

"Y/N. Everyone called me other things though." You gulped, biting your lip and giving a shaky sigh.

"Oh aye? What's that then?" He smirked at you, thinking it was some cute nickname.

"Mostly fatty, bitch, ugly... I'm not pretty or slim like Sara and I get why Connor would see her before me. She's everything I'm not."

"I... I don't... You are pretty. And so what if ye not some skinny bitch... I like ye and any one who can't see how amazing ye fuckin' are don't deserve ye time." He smiled sweetly down at you, his fingers grazing under your chin to make you look at him as you ducked your head.

"Thanks. But that's not true."

"Course it is! I say it is! And I always, always tell t' truth." He smirked, puffing out his chest. You giggled and shook your head. You leaned your head against his shoulder and sighed.

"I just wish someone would see me for me... And not what they always see. Fat ugly little bitch... Wish he'd of seen me..."

"He ain't worth ye time."

"She's not worth yours..."

"Aye. I see that now." He shuffled down to lay on his back, pulling you with him and smiled.

You lay in quiet contemplation for a while, the distant sounds of creaking wood and stifled moans making both your hearts ache.

"We should go get a drink! Drown our sorrows." You suggest, despite being not keen on alcohol. Murphy laughs and sits up, reaching into the pocket of his coat and pulling out one of your dad's whiskey bottles.

"Damn. Read my mind lass." He smiled and opened the bottle, gulping it down without a grimace before handing it to you. You choked down a mouthful and smacked his chest lightly as he snorted at you.

"I'm not a big drinker like you MacManus!"

He smirked and leaned over you so your faces were mere inches apart, a smirk curving the right side of his lips upwards.

"Aye... What else ain't ye big on then?"

"What?! What the fuck does that mean?" You feel your cheeks burning in embarrassing red.

"Well... I'm here and ye here.... Thought we could forget our sorrows another way... If ye up fer it?"

"You mean... In.... What way? I mean... I... Fuck" 

You sound like a fucking fool, stumbling over your words as his hand draws patterns along your waist slowly. Biting his lip he closes the distance between you and his lips meet yours. It's different to how you imagined your first kiss to be. You always imagined it to be a burning passionate, uncontrolled thing but this was soft, unurgent and gentle, sending a thrill of something to your core.

"How old are ye anyway, lass?" He asked, pulling away suddenly. You bit your lip and avoided his eyes until his finger brought your face to his once more. "I don't wanna get in trouble..."

"I just turned 18... You?"

"19... You... Have ye ever done this before?" His blue eyes searched yours for a moment before he sighed.

"No... But... I... I... Want to... If... If you want to leave you can. I won't stop you. I get most guys don't want someone so inexperienced."

Murphy glanced around for a moment, seeming to decide on the right course of action before slugged his long leather jacket off and laying on the ground beside you. He nudged his head to the side, your eyebrows creasing in confusion. He gave a smile and a chuckle before lifting your hips and sliding you on top of his jacket. His lips find yours again as soon as you shift yourself over on to his jacket fully and you wrap your arms around his neck. Gasping slightly as his hand drifts under your shirt and traces along your ribs. Pulling back slightly you take in his eyes, now darken with needful desire. He kisses your cheek softly and runs his palm upwards slowly and bits his lip, his white teeth shining brightly against their rose hue.

He licks his bottom lip as he tugs your shirt upwards and lowers his head to kiss along your stomach, you squirm in embarrassment. You hate the extra fat that gathered along your stomach and hips. His head raised to your face and he sighed.

"Ye beautiful lass. Every single inch..."

"Don't... I know its not true." You reply, tears coming to your eyes again in frustration. Anger at yourself for the lack of control you have over your own eating habits. You comfort ate, it was a habit nothing seemed to break you of. Murphy kissed you gently again and gazed down into Y/E/C eyes softly. His thumb running along your cheek softly.

"Told ye. Always tell t' truth. Believe me... Ye beautiful... Absolutely... Beautiful." He whispered between giving you soft kisses along you jawline and down your neck. You moaned as he kissed a sensitive spot. He smirked against your skin and focused on that one spot, sucking, licking and grazing it with his teeth. His hand reached under your shirt and stroked gently over the chubby plains of your torso to your chest.

A sharp gasp released from your mouth as his fingers ran along the edge of the unattractive sports bra you wore. Smirking against your collarbone he slipped his fingers inside and tweaked your nipple. A flood of arousal dropped into your panties and you moaned, arching upwards into his touch.

"Ye like that lass? Feel good, aye?"

You nodded and pulled his lips to yours. He groaned, your hips bucking upwards into his at the sensations he was causing to rush through you.

He pulled away and leaned back onto his knees, his hand running down your body to your covered core. He licked his lips and glanced at you as he ran a finger along your jeans button. Nodding at him, he smiled and flicked it open before dragging the zipper down slowly. His hands slipped inside and tugged them down over your hips as you bit your lip in nervousness.

You sat up slightly and reached for his belt, eyes boring into his blue ones as you pulled his belt from his jeans, tossing it to the side carelessly and reaching for the waistband. Shuffling slightly he helped you ease them down over his hips before laying you both down again. Only your underwear separating the heat of your bodies as he kissed you passionately, his hips rocking slowly into yours. Your hands found their way into his hair and tugged slightly as you both began panting at the friction of your hips. Your underwear was damp with your slick.

"Are ye sure ye want this lass?" Murphy panted into your mouth as his hand reached between you to cup your wet core, rubbing it hard causing you to gasp and squirm under him to get more pressure, more friction, more... Something, you didn't know.

"Please... Murphy..."

"I got ye lass." He whispered as his finger reaching under the elastic of your plain cotton underwear and ran through the folds of your dripping core. His fingers slid into you as his thumb found the bundle of nerves at the centre of your thighs. Rubbing his thumb in smooth, lazy circles he kissed against the spot he'd sucked a dark mark onto on your neck. His pants and moans echoing loudly in your ear as his fingers thrust in and out of you in time of his circling thumb. Your heart sped up and pounded against your ribs as a totally new sensation began building in your gut. "Cum fer me beautiful."

It felt like something inside had snapped and your body tensed all over, your legs shaking around Murphy's strong arm, your breath caught in your throat and as sudden as it began, it ended and you felt yourself more relaxed than you could ever remember being before. 

"Good girl."

"Fuck... Murphy..."

He raised his head and smiled cockily down at you. He bought his hand out of your underwear and raised it to his mouth. You could see the glint of your moisture coating his long, graceful fingers in the weak starlight as he began to lick and suck his fingers clean. Your jaw​ fell open at that sight. You had heard of people doing it but to see someone do that, and with your juices no less, caused a rush of shame and desire to course through you.

His face lowered to yours once more and he smirked against your ear.

"Maybe next time... I'll lick this delicious pussy out..."

"Murphy..." You gasped, feeling slick pooling once more.

"Aye lass?"

"Please..."

He kissed you once more, hands finding the waistband of your underwear and gently lowering them down and gazing down at your core. Your legs closed in shame as your cheeks heated. He chuckled and pushed them apart again and studied you intensely.

"Fuckin' perfection."

He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his wallet, fishing out a condom and ripping it open with his teeth. His eyes found yours as he shuffled out of his boxers and grasped his hard thick cock in one hand, pumping it up and down for several moments, his eyes never leaving the sight of your bared core. He rolled the condom down his cock and leaned over you once more.

"Are ye absolutely sure beautiful?"

"I'm sure Murphy." Your voice replied, an edge of nervousness obvious in the way your voice sounded so quiet and wavered slightly. He smiled and kissed you, his tongue slipping into your mouth as you felt his cock brush against your mound as he positioned himself between your thighs.

His tip ran along your slit as he guided it and you gasped at the foreign feeling. His eyes held yours as he slowly pushed into you. A sharp cry of pain came from you and your body tensed under him. He reached for your hand, which was clawing at the fabric of his coat and grasped it in his own. Holding himself still and steady until you adjusted. You nodded slightly as his lips ran along your cheek, kissing away the tears that had slipped from your eyes. His cock inched slowly deeper into your unexplored pussy and he paused again to look you in the eye, making sure you were okay with each slow thrust.

"Ye alright?"

"Hmmhummm." You replied, gritting your teeth as you felt the burning grow sharper as he inched forward more. He gave a groan and shook with restraint. His heart was pounding in his ears at the feeling of your tight cunt squeezing his cock. He had never been with a virgin and but knew from Connor's numerous boasts that they felt tighter than anything else. He was by no means a virgin himself and was determined to make this a pleasurable experience for you. 

Even if it killed him.

He gave a loud moan as he finally bottomed out inside you and kissed you passionately allowing you a moment or two of adjustment. You ran your fingers through his hair over and over as your tongues battled. You felt his cock twitch deep inside you and gasped into his mouth as his thumb once more began circling your clit.

"Murphy please..." You moaned, twitching your hips to encourage him to begin moving. His thrusts were slow and steady against you, taking his time to build until you both were absolutely sure you felt no pain anymore. His hand held one of your thighs around his hip and the other circling your clit, pleasure building slowly for the both of you. Sweet kisses left against each others necks as he began thrusting a little faster with each thrust.

Your back ached up to his chest as he hit a spot inside you that made you feel a sharp jolt of pure bliss.

"Ohhh... Fuckkkk.... Murphy..." You gasped into his mouth as he began aiming for that spot over and over, increasing his circling thumb's speed and pressure. Your toes curled in your boots as you suddenly were blinded by white light and your orgasm ripped through you. A loud shriek of unadulterated pleasure ripped from your throat. Murphy smirked and thrust harder, chasing his own release now he'd made you have a chance to cum over his cock. The walls of your pussy fluttering around his cock and your clit twitching under his thumb. His hair hung around his face in sweat soaked strands and you brushed them away to kiss him, still shaking in post orgasmic bliss. His body tensed against yours and he came, a guttural moan echoing loudly around you. His breaths coming sharp against your neck as he slumped over you and gave a little huff of pleasure.

"Fuck lass. I've never had one like that before."

"Huh... Guess that means it was okay?" You panted, suddenly nervous again. Would he feel satisfied? Did he really enjoy it? Was it good? Were you good?

He pushed himself onto his elbows and kissed you deeply, fucking your mouth with his tongue.

"Beautiful, I ain't ever lettin' ye go! Not after that."

You smiled as you kissed again with a laugh.

"MURPH! WHERE ARE YE?!"

You both froze and looked at each other. Murphy quickly pulled his cock from you, grimacing at the slight splattering of blood on the condom as he pulled it off and pulled his boxers and jeans on as you, too quickly dressed once more. Footsteps and the sounds of snapping twigs coming closer.

"Murph?!"

"Aye! I'm 'ere!" He yelled back as you stood and dusted down his jacket, handing it to him so he could swing it back onto his body. He grabbed your face and planted a sweet kiss on your lips quickly and smoothed down your hair as he gave your cheek a sweet kiss.

"There ye are! Oh..."

Connor paused and glanced between you two with an eyebrow raised.

"What’s going on here then, Murph?" He smirked. Murphy pushed his brother back in the direction of the house.

"I was helping her. She seemed upset. Dunno why though." He glanced over his shoulder at you and winked cheekily. "Kid needed a shoulder t' cry on. That's all."

"That right... Well come on. We best get home before Ma sends t' alarm out. Ye know how Uncle Silas is."

"Aye."

The brothers walked away and you followed slowly, Murphy glancing back over his shoulder at you with a happy but shy smile ghosting his face every now and then. Connor waved goodbye at the door to Sara and blew her a kiss in return to the one she'd blown and you rolled your eyes at the pair. Sara tried to grab your arm as you passed and you shrugged her off, rushing upstairs to your room and locking the door. You went to the window and watched as the twins walked down the drive.

Murphy paused before he left the gate, looked up and smiled widely at you and raised his hand. The streetlight lit his face up and you smiled, giving a small laugh as Connor shoved him ahead with a laugh and a glance upwards. You ducked away from the window quickly and lay on your bed, a ridiculously wide smile bracing your own face as you bit your lip and gave a small laugh.

Maybe tomorrow at school wouldn't be so bad. Not now you had a secret thing going on the darker haired MacManus.

[ramblinganthropologist]

Fictober 2021 1-  “I need you”

Fanfiction or Original Fiction: Fanfiction

Fandom: Mass Effect (with mention to Nijigasaki High School Idol Club)

Summary: FTL is boring. Garrus doesn’t know what to do with himself until he gets a strange message out of the blue. What’s he going to find in that storage room, and who knew humanity’s first Spectre was such a fucking hipster when it came to music?

---

It was in his quiet moments that Garrus had to wonder how the hell he had wound up on a human ship in the first place.

Right then, he was having one of those quiet moments to reflect on as he stood around trying to plan his next move. They had just left a planet behind with plans to return to the Citadel in order to report on their findings. That left plenty of FTL time to get jobs that got pushed to the side during busier moments done. Problem was… he had finished all his.

Who knew being efficient could be such a downside? Damn his ability to get things done.

With nothing better to do, he had found himself once again down in the cargo hold, watching as people went about their business. Off to the side, some techs were trying to fix the Mako after it had been put through its paces. Just looking at its scratched, dented hull made his stomach queasy, especially when it revved to life to test the engine.

He was never getting in that fucking thing again if he had any say in the matter. Of course, he didn’t, but it was the thought that counted.

“Yeah…good luck with that.” He turned away, half content to count the boxes. To say he was bored out of his mind was putting it mildly. There was just nothing for him to do right then except people watch and try his best to stay out of the way. Given he was the only turian on a mostly human ship, that was probably something useful. Maybe he could use it as training?

…

Nah. Even he couldn’t float that one.

“Better go find something to do I guess.” He moved off from his box, heading towards the elevator. Garrus only got a few steps, though. Much to his surprise, his wrist began to beep with the sound of a new message.

“Huh, that’s weird.” He flipped his wrist over, the screen soon glowing before him. It was from a human address, that much was for sure. There was only one line of text, but the sight of it made his mandibles twitch.

I need you.

“What the…” Garrus realized it was coming from the Normandy, and nearby too if the trace he had on his omnitool was anything to go by. Well, he didn’t have anything better to do, so off he went to track the source.

It took him down a hallway, then another. It would be a miracle if he found his way back after, but he wasn’t worried about that. The strange message spurred him on as he took a left, and then a right. Then he was alone, standing in front of a door labeled storage.

Well… that was weird.

“Uh… is someone in there?” His voice carried down the empty hallway. “I got your message…”

The skittering sounds on the other side of the door stopped, then it was followed by muffled swearing as something dropped and scattered all over the place. A few seconds later, and the door lock turned from red to green, and the soft clicking let him know he was free to go through.

Well, might as well.

“I’m coming in…” The door slid open, and he stepped through. However, he didn’t really get too far as he glanced around. On the bright side, he was pretty sure nobody was dying anytime soon. On the other hand… what the fuck?

“Oh, hey there. Glad you got my message, didn’t think it would send down here.”

“You know, when you said, ‘I need you’ this wasn’t really what I was expecting…”

Garrus’ eye twitched as he glanced into the room. To put it bluntly, it was a mess. There were boxes everywhere, and some of them had spilled their contents onto the floor. In the midst of this chaos stood was the possible cause, holding a now emptied box and looking rather sheepish as he glanced at the floor around him.

For a small man, humanity’s first Spectre really knew how to make a mess.

Shepard chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I bit off more than I could chew.”

He put his box on a nearby shelf, sighing as soon as it was down. “These were a lot heavier than I thought they would be. Do you think you could give me a hand getting this put away? I was hoping to have it done before we exit FTL.”

A thousand thoughts ran through Garrus’ mind as he watched the Spectre continue to clean. Firstly, and most importantly of all – why was this his job? Last he had checked, Shepard was the CO on the Normandy.  If he had wanted the mess cleaned up, he could’ve ordered one of the crew members to do it without much pushback. That was kind of the perk of being a CO, or so he had been told.

Maybe humans preferred all hands-on deck…

“Uh, sure…” He stooped to pick up a box, the contents rattling as he slotted it on the shelf. Then another box met the same fate. Now they had a little more room to move. “Why are you doing this by yourself anyway?”

Shepard’s cheeks were turning pink as he lifted a box. “I ran out of other stuff to do the last time we went into FTL drive.”

…

Well, shit. He could appreciate that.

The Spectre kept talking as he moved. “I knew it was a mess down here, so I figured I could clean it up while we headed back to the Citadel. Bo was supposed to do this with me, but she’s still in the medbay.”

Bo… Garrus couldn’t put a face to that name as he kept moving. Was there someone named that on the Normandy? Hell, he didn’t know… human names were weird. Whoever they were, he wasn’t too fond of them right now as he continued his menial labor.

“Oh, she’s the big human with pink hair. You know, the other Commander Shepard here?”

… Apparently, humans were psychic. Good to know.

Much to his surprise, Shepard startled chuckling at his startled expression. It wasn’t a bad sound, just odd. Humans always sounded odd to him, and that was with the translator working overtime. Whatever they actually sounded like, he didn’t know and honestly didn’t want to find out. He could live without that mystery being solved, thank you very much.

He didn’t hate humans; he just didn’t really care.

“How did you…”

The human kept chuckling as he reached for another box. “I remembered we never gave you our names when you started working with us. Doubt you’d hear it anyway among the crew, I don’t even know if they know them. Joker does, but hell if he ever uses them.”

That Garrus could understand. Turians were also on a last name basis in the chain of command. He honestly couldn’t remember what the names of his last CO’s might have been, and he didn’t really need to either. It was strange, but oddly comforting to know humans were on the same page.

Then again, as far as he knew it was just because they hadn’t asked. He doubted that, though. They were curious bastards.

“Ah. Well, she was pretty banged up from the last mission, no surprises there.” He put another box down. “Though she seems the type to sneak out of the medbay when she gets bored.”

That earned him a snort of laughter from Shepard as he continued to work. “You can say that again.”

“Fine. She seems- “

Shepard held up his hand, chuckling a little. “Sorry, that’s a human expression. You don’t have to actually say it again.”

Humans and their damn expressions. You think he would’ve learned by now to never take them at face value…

Still, Garrus kept on his work. With the two of them, the work went faster. Before long, a good chunk of the floor had been cleared. There were still plenty to be moved, but at least they could get by without bumping into each other. His carapace was still vibrating from having slammed into the human a few times, so he was glad for that.

“Alright, just a few more.” Shepard sounded cheery as he grabbed for a box on a nearby table. It must have been heavy, because he grunted and pulled back hard. Maybe a little too hard – the turian got to watch as he started to lean back. “Oh sh- “

It was instinct that led Garrus forward. Instead of the floor, the human hit the front of his armor with a hearty thunk. At least the box didn’t hit the floor – his talons were soon on it, steadying it. Just like he thought, it had been heavy – too heavy for the human. Even he felt a bit of the strain as they stood there in the middle of the floor.

“Fuck.” Shepard’s expletive hissed between his teeth as he and Garrus did their best to get the box where it needed to go. “Damn thing was heavier than it looked.”

The turian resisted an eyeroll as he slid it into place. “How about you sweep the floor and leave the box lifting to me? The only shelf space left is above your head anyway.”

That was probably a mistake. He hadn’t been around many humans, but he knew the smaller ones often had issues if their lack of height was brought up. Being on the Normandy long enough had shown him its CO was smaller than most of the crew by significant amounts. Maybe that was why he braced for the fallout.

Instead, Shepard nodded. “Yeah… that’s probably for the best. Thanks for the save, Garrus.”

He glanced around, and his pink cheeks started to turn red. “Uh… I can’t get the broom if you’re keeping me pinned against the shelf. Mind backing up a little?”

Huh?

Garrus blinked as he realized the position he was in. Shepard was right – he had the smaller man up against the shelf without any room to get out. They were practically touching they were so close, and he could actually smell the human thanks to the lack of distance. Surprisingly, he was rather sweet – kind of like a baked good.

Did humans make that smell naturally? If they did, he was kind of jealous.

“Oh… right, sorry.” He backed up, allowing Shepard to slide out. The human was soon grabbing for a broom and beginning his task. This left him to do the same, and then were soon absorbed in their individual chores.

Thanks to this, they fell into a rather easy silence that Garrus hadn’t found since coming onto the Normandy. While he didn’t exactly enjoy this kind of grunt labor, there was a weird sort of calm to it as he continued to shift boxes around. In the end, it was all work with his talons and none with his brain.

With everything they had been going through, he needed the break.

“This boulevard that leads to tomorrow has flowers blooming along it…”

A soft voice drew him out of his weird state of meditation. He turned around, still holding a box, to investigate the source. Much to his surprise, he saw that Shepard was still sweeping up. Not only that, but he had also started to sing as he cleaned.

“I’ll take the courage that you gave me and hold it close…” He was still sweeping, his voice barely above a whisper. It was surprisingly high, especially compared to his speaking voice. “We made this promise with smiles… And I’ll make it bloom…”

He broke off into humming at that point as he moved the broom across the floor. Garrus’ translator was going overtime as it translated. Songs were much harder than speech, so it took a few moments of feedback for the translation to spit out. However, it was doing so against his visor soon enough, a turian voice in his ear.

That… well, it wasn’t a song he would have expected from a space marine. Frankly, it sounded more appropriate for a teenage girl.

“And I promise to you… I want to tell you so many thank yous~” Shepard held the last note, pointing his broom at the last moment. Then he swirled around, obviously following some unknown dance routine. Unfortunately for him, that made him face Garrus.

Well… shit.

The color drained from the human’s face as he stopped singing abruptly. His cheeks turned pink as he put his broom back down on the floor and started to sweep faster. Something about his posture made the turian feel… well… kind of guilty.

Why, he had no idea. It wasn’t like he had done anything…

Still, Garrus frowned at the tension that filled the room. His mandibles twitched as he tried to think of an excuse or something to break the ice. However, he couldn’t find anything to say. They didn’t exactly cover catching a fellow soldier singing a strange little song during cleaning in basic for obvious reasons. He was kind of on his own.

He hated that.

“Sorry… I forgot I wasn’t alone.” Shepard’s voice was back to where it usually was as he kept his eyes on the floor. “It would be great if you didn’t tell anyone about that, thanks.”

Garrus allowed a nod as he picked up the last box to put it away. “Uh, no problem. I don’t think I’ve heard that song before. Is it from Earth?”

“I’d be surprised if you had, it’s old as hell and from a really niche genre.” Shepard chuckled rather sheepishly as he reached for the dustpan once he had finished with the floor. “God, that must make me sound like such a hipster.”

It did, but Garrus wasn’t going to say it. After all, the guy was kind of his CO at the moment. Kind of went against the code, you know?

“Could you… send it to me maybe? I’m kind of curious now.”

Now he was the one being stared at. Shepard had stopped sweeping, and his wide eyes were trained. Garrus felt his mandibles twitch as he looked around the room, wondering if he had said something wrong. Was he not supposed to ask? Did humans have some weird taboo about asking for music from people?

Spirits, knowing him he had walked straight into some diplomatic snafu. Oh well, he’d had a good life…

“You really want to listen to it?”

There was no denying it – Shepard sounded excited. Garrus in his relief almost missed the fact the other man’s posture had completely changed. No more was he turned in on himself in embarrassment. Now he was wide open, eager – his eyes were practically sparkling.

Talk about a change.

“Uh… sure. You have my address, so send it over.”

Shepard was already typing on his omnitool, grinning. “I’ll send a few over. If you like them, I have plenty more. They were a little different from the other groups in their company, but I really enjoy listening to them. A few even made it to my battle playlists. What can I say, nothing like chase or dive to get you going.”

Well… at least he wasn’t the only one to make battle playlists. That was good to know. At least they had something in common.

Garrus nodded at this, seeing the email already in his inbox. “Thanks, I’ll let you know what I think once I listen.”

He glanced around the room – from the looks of things, they were done. “Do you need any more help, or should I get going?”

“Oh, you can head off. I just need to finish sweeping.” He was smiling now. “Thanks for your help, Garrus. You’re a real lifesaver.”

Something about that made his stomach shift. Garrus at least managed a nod as he left, the door sliding shut behind him. He should have started moving, but something made him stay by the door, quiet.

He was probably wasting his time… but…

“The future we envisioned… let’s make it a reality someday…”

Yep. He was singing again.

Maybe that was why Garrus stayed by the door for just a bit longer to listen. Sure, there were better singers – and ones who could do it without blushing like idiots – but something about the Spectre’s voice was soothing. He had a nice voice, even if most of the time he used it to get the crew out of trouble.

He could get used to listening to it…

“Shit, I’m getting ahead of myself.” He shook his head, but yet Garrus didn’t move. After all, he wanted to hear the end of the song. Maybe later, he could compare the two. Until he had to, however, he was content to stay by that door.

Maybe he’d get an encore out of it. If all their FTL went like this… maybe the Normandy wasn’t so bad after all. He could get used to this.

[whumpiary]

For those following plot, this takes place in The Bergen Estate years. For those not following the plot, no worries! Context is not super important.

[content warnings: mind control, implied/referenced noncon, normalisation of noncon, implied/referenced abuse, intentional triggering, discussions of sex with a sex-repulsed character, suffocation, victim blaming]

-

Navigating East Wing is like running on an automated track. Even if you fucked up badly enough to end up in the wrong room, they were all identical anyway. Five sets of bunks along the curve of the wall, hardwood floor-boards, and neat blue curtains on the tiny windows up above the top bunks. Any of Christopher’s charges can find their rooms with their eyes closed. Or absent, anyway.

So to be honest, Cass isn’t really paying attention as he walks into his boarding room. He’s far too busy thinking about the massive nap he plans on taking as soon as he climbs the ladder to his bunk. He doesn’t see Harley on their bunk as he enters, clearly in intuitive expectation of his return. He doesn’t even notice the scoff of annoyance that he’s here. To be honest, it’s all he can do not to jerk in surprise when the other charge’s voice rings out through the room.

“So golden boy does know how to find East Wing,” they sing out with a sigh “I thought you’d forgotten”

Cassius glances to the opposite corner of the room, fixing Harley with a dead smile as he turns to climb the top bunk that’s meant to be his.

“Well, see some of us have a mental capacity bigger than a tadpole. I know that’s a hard concept to wrap your little head around, Harls”

He ignores Harley’s scoff as he swings his legs up onto the mattress and starts picking through what’s been dumped across it while he’s been… not here. Clothes, books, a few loose sheets. Wrappers from some contraband snacks some of the other charges must have smuggled in. He can’t help but feel a tiny surge of pride at seeing that, only to have it curdle a little as he finds a dirty sock in amongst it. Maybe Harley’s a little bit right. He hasn’t been here in a bit. But who dumps on fucking sock on a top bunk? A singular, crusty, sock?

He picks up a book with a blue cover with some picture of a tree curling under to frame the title. It’s clearly Harley’s. Only Harley reads that fantasy crap. He drops it on the ground, close to the foot of the other charge’s bed where they can reach it as he keeps scooping other not-his-shit onto the ground.

“Watch it,” Harley spits, noncommittally, betraying how little they actually care as they flick out a foot to scoop the book towards themself “That’s mine”

Cass rolls his eyes, dumping linen out-jackets and slacks onto the ground below, before thumping down on his back, “Then it shouldn’t be on my bed”

Christopher never shuts up about how much he adores Harley. Particularly their… reliability. Whatever Christopher wants from them, he can get with a word, a glance, a flick of the hand. They were the perfect little charge for him to show off and enjoy when he wanted someone who was responsive, who followed orders. Reliably docile. Reliably reactive. Reliably cooperative and accommodating. Christopher loves it. Loves them. Not that the man would ever actually tell Harley as much. According to Christopher, someone like Harley needed a little apathy to force them to keep improving. To force them to stay pliable. To stay eager to please.

“You know it’s just because they know what’s coming, right? Just that sixth fucking sense thing”

“Of course I do, Cassius”

“Doesn’t that rub you the wrong way though? The fact they only do what you want because they know the outcome before it happens?”

“You use the things you pink up on to give me exactly what I want, don’t you? Why shouldn’t they use theirs to influence cause and effect? Especially when it works out so well for me”

The intuition is probably why the only kind of reliability Cass saw in Harley was how reliably they refused to give him what he wanted. On the days Cass felt like baiting them they’d never bite, and now, today, when all he wants is some space for a fucking nap Harley just keeps throwing shit at him. The want, want, want to be angry. The want, want, want of a fight. Like waves against a cave wall, rough and unrelenting. 

“I’m sick of you acting like you’re better than the rest of us,” they spit out, unprovoked.

Cass sighs, resigning himself to the fact that the nap isn’t gonna happen. He rolls onto his stomach, picking a discarded magazine from the bunk railing. He flicks through it, staring absently at the pictures.

"Maybe I am better than the rest of you”

Another scoff. It’s almost be a laugh if it wasn’t so heavily bitter.

“Nah, you’re just the flavour of the month”

“You getting jealous, Harls?“ he says flipping to the next page in the magazine. He flicks his eyes towards Christopher’s other charge with a smile, "’Cause it seems to me I’ve been flavour of the month for ten months straight”

There’s a silent fuming from down below. 

“Why are you even down here? I thought you had a room” they snap, clearly desperate to keep a withering flame stoked. Waves against a cave wall. Cass lets his eyes slide over them for a second before looking back to the magazine.

“Daddy has a meeting,” he says, plainly.

He can practically feel the skip of Harley’s heart as he says it. He has to suppress a smirk at how small their voice goes.

“Quit it. You know he doesn’t like it when we call him stuff like that”

“You mean he doesn’t like it when you call him stuff like that”

“If the meeting’s that important, why aren’t you sitting in on it? Isn’t that when you do your…” they wave their hand around vaguely, lip curling up in a sort of a sneer. Like they could talk. “You know”

Cass feels a kind of irritation that he can’t really name flare up in his chest in a harsh spike. Harley’s want is ebbing out again. Like a drum beating in the next room. The want, want, want for justified rage, justified fists. Cass turns the pages of the magazine, getting increasingly annoyed at how white everyones fucking teeth are.

“I don’t know, Harls. He didn’t want me there today,” he grunts, not looking up “And if it’s a-okay with you, all I want is some fucking down time”

“Thought you’d get enough of that flat on your back,” Harley mutters.

Their voice is bitter and low but it carries strong across the room. The retort is clearly a knife they’ve been sharpening for a while now, waiting for the right moment to throw it.

It lands. Sticks. Slices down through the tension in the room like the swing of an axe.

Cass fixes his full attention on Harley’s face. It’s bold of them to go there. They usually hate talking about sex. Even implying it. They find it embarrassing, he thinks. Maybe revolting. So it’s bold of them to go there. More than bold. It’s a goddamn sledgehammer against a metal sheet, ringing out so loud you can feel the sound waves shaking at your bones through your skin.

Cass tilts his head to one side, giving Harley a once over with his eyes. He licks his lips. Easy smile.

“He prefers me up against the wall actually,” he says, letting the cruel streak in him delight at the silent fury reddening Harley’s face. He grins as they shrink a little bit in embarrassment. Fuck them. They fucking started it. They can cope with a little shame.

“You’re disgusting,” Harley mutters. Cass is expecting that to be the end of it so he smiles sweetly, turning back to the open magazine on his pillow. Maybe it’s the lack of eye contact that gives Harley the balls to say it. “Fucking whore”

Cass closes his eyes against it. The words don’t bother him anymore. He can’t remember if they ever really did. But the intent of it vibrates through his skull. Waves against a cave wall. Drum beat from another room. Sledgehammer against a metal sheet.

The want, want, want of a fight. 

Fucking fine.

He flips the magazine shut, turns on that dangerous grin.

“Have I done something to upset you, Harls? You seem like you’re in an even cuntier mood than usual”

Harley doesn’t move from where they sit on the bed but their head snaps up, eyes on fire.

It’s less like baiting and more like harnessing a collar.

“Watch yourself”

Cass sits himself up on the bed, letting his face crumples in mock-concern.

“No, for real. I’m worried about you. What’s going on? Did someone shove a stick up your ass?” he leans forward, looking around in a pantomime of secrecy and worry “Do you need a hand getting it out?”

Cass barely has to duck as the book flies past his head and hits the wall behind him, laughter ripping out his chest in a jittering cackle.

“We’ve gotta work on your aim, Harls,” he says as he slips down from the bunk, bare feet silent on the wooden floor “You missed me by a mile”

“Wasn’t trying to hit you,” Harley snarls through their teeth “Everyone knows what happens to you if you get the golden boy hurt”

Cass blinks, stunned a little at the words before scoffing a laugh.

“Is that what all this is about? Collette?” Cass says, incredulous. Harley doesn’t nod, but the steady eye contact they hold is a strong enough affirmative. Cass does laugh, then, “You don’t even like her!”

“I started liking her a lot more after I saw her in Penance”

Another wave. Enough to have Cass’ pulse skip in its rhythm. 

Not just the want of a fight. But the want to hit. To hurt.

He shrugs like it doesn’t bother him.

“I wouldn’t know about that”

“Of course you wouldn’t. Golden boy never goes to the den. You don’t have to see what happens to the people you snitch to Christopher about”

“Col’s the one that hit me. She knows how he feels about in-fighting”

“Yeah but if you had’ve hit her, you still wouldn’t be the one in Penance, would you?”

Cassius sets his jaw, pulling in a long deep breath to calm the slamming of his heart, ease the tide as much as he can. Drum beat in another room. Sledgehammer on a metal sheet.

Harley takes a step forward, hands flexing like they’re not sure if they want to hit or scratch.

“See I’ve started thinking and it must be really nice being the favourite. You eat his fancy meals, sleep in his fancy bed. You’re excused from classes and rounds whenever the hell you want. You get to talk back and lash out and he doesn’t ask for Penance”

Cass folds his hands into tight fists at his sides. He’s not going to hit them. He’s not. That’s exactly what they’re fishing for. Exactly what they’re anticipating.

“Even when he does decide to punish you, it’s not you that gets it, is it? They just pull out your little proxy dog and shove him in the den instead”

Waves. Drums. Sledgehammer.

He can’t even feel the line anymore between Harley’s want and his own. 

All he knows is the want he has is to fucking gut them.

“Hey tell me, Cassius, I’ve always wondered,” says Harley, Cass’ silence fueling them as they take a dangerous step forward “Does Henri feel it when they fuck you as well?”

Cass fixes his entire attention on Harley’s face.

He’s not going to hit them. That’s exactly what they’re anticipating. 

“Hᴇʏ, Hᴀʀʟᴇʏ. Sᴛᴏᴘ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜɪɴɢ”

And they do.

People don’t start choking straight away when they stop breathing. For the first ten seconds or there’s nothing but a calm stillness over their body as their chest stops rising, and their mouth snaps gently closed. 

Harley’s eyes steel, meeting Cassius’ gaze as the first moments of discomfort settle around their throat like a vice. He wonders for a second, as he always does with Harley, if they know what’s about to happen. Cass sure doesn’t.

“Did you see this coming, Harls?” Cass says calmly “Because if you like being choked, all you had to do was ask. I know a guy”

Harley, to their credit, doesn’t flinch away or duck their eyes as Cass steps in close. 

“You want a fancy bed? Fancy food? You want the creature comforts, you gotta get used to being a little uncomfortable first,” he says. There’s a moment, a second, where fear flitters over Harley’s face. Whatever they were anticipating, it’s not this, “I know you’re good at being a well behaved little puppy but what tricks do you know?”

Cass smiles, tilting his chin up, “Hᴀʀʟᴇʏ sɪᴛ”

They fold to the ground, unhesitating, eyes flicking up in fury as soon as they register what’s happening.  Cass smiles. It feels good to do it like this. Not to just grab at something the other already wants and turn the volume up but to find something small and twist and twist until they move like his own little puppet.

“Hᴀʀʟᴇʏ sʜᴀᴋᴇ”

They hold out their hand on impulse, and as Cassius gives it a patronising little shake, they growl through their teeth. The act eats the remainder of their oxygen and their eyes bulge as they realise their mistake. Cass laughs,

“Hᴀʀʟᴇʏ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ”

They open their mouth but–

“Oh wait. You can’t, can you?” he says, smiling sweetly with a tilt of his head as they gape, emptily. Breathlessly “Tell me, do you know what’s gonna happen next? Or do you need oxygen for that psychic bullshit to work?”

Harley’s lips move wordlessly, silently as they try to beg for air that won’t come. Their heart is beating so hard that Cass can see it pulsing at their jugular. He reaches out a soft hand, nearly tracing his fingers along it.

There’s a part of Cass that almost gets why Christopher loves this shit so much. It’s feels so fucking good to make someone hurt for once. Harley’s chest convulses for air they can’t give it.

"Sᴍɪʟᴇ ʜᴀʀʟᴇʏ,” he cackles, ruffling their hair. “This is what you wanted isn’t it? To have all the attention on you? To be the favourite?”

Harley’s mouth stretches into a mockery of a grin but their eyes stay wide and panicked, watering as they look around the room wildly for something to help them. Cass bends low, titling Harley’s head up by the chin until their eyes are fixed on his. The spasms increase. Once a second. Twice a second. 

“And keep squirming,” Cass murmurs, not a hint of humour left in his voice as Harley’s body starts to shake all over “Trust me. He likes it when people squirm”

Harley’s body collapses to a heap on the ground as he says it, and he lets go as they fall, body limp and empty as the lack of consciousness frees them from mangled wants that weren’t there’s to begin with. They start breathing again. They stop smiling. 

Cass watches their chest slowly expand on survival automation. He watches as colour slowly creeps back to their lips in deep sighs.

The rage drops from him like a cloak to the floor. He just feels tired now. Almost empty. Like he always does after using the want like that. The sides of his vision feel blurry and crackled, like a television that isn’t wired right.

He shouldn’t have done that.

He shouldn’t have fucking done that. He should have walked away.

A tilting pulse of nausea hits him, and his head is filled with static and pressure as he sits on Harley’s bed, their heaving, folded body at his feet.

He places a hand on Harley’s back, almost apologetic for the violation of it as he does so, but desperate for it too. The static in his head pushes outward, and goes on and on and on.

“Bʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴇ, ʜᴀʀʟᴇʏ,” he whispers, even though it doesn’t matter. Even though they already are “Bʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴇ, ʜᴀʀʟᴇʏ, ʙʀᴇathe. Bʀeathe, breathe, breathe”

[sol1056]

My ask box continues to fill up, and I have no answers for any of this. I’ve gotten comments that @dreamworksanimation is good about things like fair representation in other shows when it comes to disability, queer relationships, racial diversity, and just plain solid storytelling. Why was @voltron the exception? 

Or you can just have the questions from my asks:

I really, really wanted [Dreamworks execs] to address the situation, to tell us why VLD took that enormous shitty turn and to apologize and do us better. But I'm guessing we already know the answer (arrogant inexperienced EPs) and I think they won't do anything about it, just try to fade Voltron to the background as it's ending and focus on She-ra, if they ever decide to apologize, they're just gonna focus on the LGBT rep as if its the worst problem of their story.

You know what, I hope someone makes an extensive list of all the morally questionable messages Voltron has sent with all its characters (Shiro & Kuron everything, and Lotor as abuse victim in particular), all in detail and shove them in their faces saying, but to you it's 2 guys in love and in a healthy relationship that is wrong, instead of ableism, racism, homophobia, etc. When I think of what the kids will take from Voltron I feel sick. But queer love is the problem here, right. I’m disgusted.

Us: can we get a happy ending too like the het people and couples in the show?

VLD: no, not a happy or even semi-happy ending, you'll get a miserable ending but get this, we're going to write the last survivor of the 4 queer characters we killed off to be totally on board with this. We'll write him and animate him as if he's happy and got resolution, growth, and catharsis and not as if he got demoted, sidelined, isolated, discarded by his family, worst of all by Keith. We'll say a monster like him can’t be a paladin.

Let’s also go back to talking about how they not only made Lotor, a victim of child abuse not to mention biracial character who grew up with everything against him: suddenly evil, be the same as his abusive "father" and "mother" (who even after remembering who he is pulled the same crap as before), took every happiness away from him and had the nerve to mock his abuse in S7?! As a child abuse survivor I'M HORRIFIED.

The messages in the Shiro/Adam scene is disgusting, this is such a difficult subject, even for adults show with plenty time to explore and be fair to both characters while being explicit about it all. I was worried: in a kids’ show? how can they write this in a way they'll get it? With barely time for it? but look what they wrote, Adam gave an ultimatum instead of support and died, then they blamed the disabled guy for everything. Message: you’re gay so your relationship and your life are worthless, you'll be miserable and alone.

For a team that is all about working together, voltron members after 7 seasons still don't feel like a family and more like colleagues from work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It feels odd knowing that they weren't actually battling homophobic higher ups. It feels more tactical and greedy for social justice points than out of genuine desire to showcase diversity. Is it coincidence that the character they dislike the most is the one selected for this honor? As a lesbian fan i'm skeptical and angry and refuse to watch anything else by these two.

People keep trying to excuse this stuff with "Voltron is a kids' show", but you know what? There are gay kids out there. There are disabled kids out there. Much as we may wish it otherwise, there are kids out there experiencing trauma. Do we REALLY want to teach those little kids that they are broken and tainted forever and nothing good is waiting for them in the world from here on out? People need to know how damaging it is to have ZERO stories in media showing realistic healing of trauma.

The lady who betrayed them got a proper send off scene even tho she send Adam & the others like pigs to slaughter & betrayed them & caused them all to almost lose and die. Got screentime & some characterization. But sure why respect Adam that way too. I will never forget the dread I had for him when I saw he was with the fighters who were sent to die, then watched them one by one lose their lives until he too, was killed. I still feel sick thinking about it. We never even learned his last name.

I know it's been a while but I'm not over how they treated Lotor in s6. I'm from a broken and dysfunctional home and this show I watch for escapism told me I'm doomed to repeat the same mistakes of my parents, end up just like them. ... Are they even aware of the messages they send to their audience? Not all of us had good childhood like Allura.

From a chronically ill perspective, I felt downright insulted by the choice they made to give Shiro a degenerative illness. The idea of a chronically ill hero is cool but they pull the cure narrative, they don't give him a real illness, and it's just used for cheap irrelevant drama. Plus the whole "Has to choose between loved ones and goals" thing was pretty insensitive, we're already expected to sacrifice so much as ill people so the reinforcement of that was unpleasant to watch and read meta on.

Even if everyone was white cishet abled guy the messages sent to kids were awful: One who fought to carve his own path was forced to become someone else, one who suffered and fought till the end was told he’s a monster that can’t be a paladin, the insecure one will never be worthy as himself and he'll always be someone else’s replacement, one who survived genocide and suffered loss upon loss until reduced to nothing, one who suffered by his parents’ hand became like them, the whole Kuron thing. You cant brush off all THAT.

going into the new semester with the horrible messages of s7 on my mind...i’m lethargic. i have been since the “retired paladin” interview. it was bad for me to balance my mental health on the state of a fictional character, but it was really effective. Until that awful message that disabled people are helpless in controlling their own lives. I’m trying to disconnect and thrive anyway, out of spite against ableism if nothing else.

I had this horrible realization: you know how Shiro is a victim of abuse and him getting the Black Lion was him regaining the control the lack of he suffered in his capture? I think they gave him the illness and handwaved it with the clone, so as to argue for his removal from the Black Lion. They claim that the reason he wanted control was the illness and not the victimization in the Galra hands. They're essentially erasing his trauma.

Writers: so we'll write endearing multidimensional characters with many layers, we'll have them subvert stereotypes, especially those that characters like them usually are written with, ie. Keith isn't a loner nor is he angry just 'cause, but a lonely abandoned kid with trust issues due to his mom leaving him, thus has poor emotional control and anger management, struggles to connect and open up, he is the one whose arc embodies the found family theme more than anyone. 

EPs: nah we want stereotypes loool

We talk about Shiro and all the ableism in his story but we don't talk nearly enough about how horrifying the message is that Keith is the one to take it all from him and kick him aside. Keith chose to discard Shiro because he's broken and useless, so he can take his place. I've been through things they both have and I find all that horrifying. S7 sent terrible messages to kids watching.

They had the chance to let Shiro overcome and be a hero. To defeat his own abuser (Sendak) except Keith takes over everything and fixes everything for him while he lies helpless on the ground without a new arm yet. They had the budget. The animation. They could have empowered Shiro. They saw how many people saw themselves in Shiro's struggle. They must have seen the concerns. And they actively chose to go against that.

The Bury Your Gays trope is even worse this season when you consider the heavy lesbian subtext with Lotor's former generals who get blown up on screen. And naturally, it's the one with a crush on Keith who turns good and survives.

Was there a minority that hasn't been screwed over? Bury Your gays was merely the last shocking straw, because the whole season was chockful of terrible messages and proved they would never treat their characters right and address stuff from before. Homophobia, racism, ableism, sexism, mocking of abuse, excusing abandonment & so on.

I’m adding my voice because I'm so, so tired. None of the characters i see on screen are the characters we got to know in s1/2. The character i most related to was beaten down out of spite for 4 seasons and now may as well be a cardboard cutout. DW and the EPs don't seem to give a single shit about how badly this season has affected people. i don't know whether to jump ship or spit fire over everything. i'm just... exhausted.

I want a transparent statement & apology from DreamWorks. I want to know THEIR stance & role in this, ALL the events that ended up with us getting a show that is not only homophobic but also ableist, racist, mocks child abuse and so much more. I want them to acknowledge & explain why they allowed the marketing team to bait fans with ship content in their videos, thumbnails and even that EP interview about shipping. I want to know who and why allowed the show to to take a worse direction in recent seasons.

I have no answers for any of this, @dreamworksanimation. If there are any explanations, any reassurances that you’ll work hard to prevent any repeat, you need to say so. The longer you’re silent, the more it looks like you’re fine with the story and all its horrific messages. Are you?

[8requiems]

A Review of “Wizard of Arsenia”

Introduction:

Before we get into this review, there are two main parts of the review:

1. The General Route

This route will give you a simple idea of the webcomic you are about to read. It will naturally include my personal opinions, but they will not be inconsistent to any prior or future reviews I do (in the sense that I don’t do double standards when I talk about said webcomics). 

Said opinions won’t really dominate this route because I will be mainly establishing what the webcomic has to offer in each part. 

Because of this, my opinions will always be presented at the end of each section.

There won’t really be any “spoiler” material, in fact, it won’t really require information past chapter 10 at most.

The only sections that will be fully opinion within this route is: Execution and Conclusion.

2. The Personal Route

This route will be available if you scroll to the very bottom.

Think of this route as a sub-extension of “The General Route”. As it will reveal opinions I have past the 10 initial chapters.

I will read further either because the story has me hooked, or if I want to see if my criticisms still hold true.

Disclaimer:

If you decide to skip the “General Route” to read the “Personal Route”, don’t let it affect your opinion of the work too much (if you are easily swayed). Despite how open I am to webcomics, I might have opinions that could contradict with how you might view the webcomic if YOU were to read it.

I do advise that you read the “General Route”, and with that information in mind, proceed to the “Personal Route”, if you so wish.

The Description:

“If you wish to return, then you must find all the stones of the Dragon’s Heart!” And so, Lee started his adventure to become an unparalleled mage. Which bonds will he find? That’s all up to him, to discover…

Gyul lee is summoned to Arsenia by Layerd because he wants to prove to Kirisis (the gold dragon) that the red clan is not dumb.

Ironically (but not really), in doing so, Layerd shows his lack of ability to return Gyul back to his world.

So he gives Gyul two options:

 1. To send him back, Layerd would have to make a new form of transportation magic (50,100 yrs). 

or 

2. Gyul will have to open the dimensional gate, ergo, he must become a wizard. However, he would have to become a Class 9 Wizard in order to pull off such a feat.

And so, Gyul Lee’s adventure towards the 2nd option begins.

Setting:

Arsenia

LK’s adventures will take place in the mythical continent of Arsenia. 

That’s it, that's the setting.

Characters:

Gyul lee (LK):

LK, the protagonist that got isekai’d, is a good natured guy that seems to want to go back home, even if it’ll take him years to get to that point. Although he doesn’t like getting into trouble, sometimes his attitude can get the best of him. If push comes to shove, he won’t let good people get screwed over. He has a long road ahead of him. By the time he begins his journey, he is a class 5 mage (after taking Serpier’s ridiculous crash course). Which, in the grand scheme of things, is relatively high.

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

How do I feel about him?:

He’s a bit bare bones as a person, this is only my impression from the first 10 chapters. 

That being said, I’ve seen the way characters like him are written, usually in isekai, enough times for me to just not care about who he is, but the spells he casts.

Red Dragon Clan - Layerd: 

Layered is an easy going clan-leader that accidentally starts LK’s likely long journey to go back home. He does somewhat take responsibility by pointing LK in the path he should go down to go back to his home.

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

How do I feel about him?:

Fuck this guy, I hate the character. Not because he is written badly, but because I hate his character type. Don’t really see his character going anywhere. 

Nah nah nah, imagine your just chilling with the boys on discord, and this fucking asshat just fucking summons you to prove a point, and ends up making an ass of himself ANYWAY.

Lucid Inia (Lucy):

Lucy is the straight-forward, energetic half-elf, daughter of Layerd. She accompanies LK in his new journey. She is adept in swordplay, which she enhances with her magic. She is less tolerant of people’s bullshit than LK is. Although, if you were to insult her physic and call her child-like, an even worse beating might be heading your way. Just try her, see what's going to happen.

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

How do I feel about her?:

Because of how straight-forward and even reckless she can be portrayed at times, it makes for a nice balance when being paired with the cautious LK. 

Individually, LK and Lucy are boring, but together, they seem like a fun pair (character wise).

Thankfully, she isn’t as useless as her father, and thats all I could ever ask for.

Makan the Mercenary:

Think of Makan as the muscle of the party. He is actually a beast-person that can turn into a tiger at will. Although everyone around LK to an extent teaches him, and us in the process, about what we need to know. Makan will seem to be the wisest member of the party who will teach us in our journey through the story. 

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How do I feel about him?:

I like him, design wise and personality wise he is pretty simple, but I fuck with his vibe. Only respect.

Elisian the Priestess:

Elysian is a soft-spoken priestess that is somewhat trained in self-defense while also being a great healer. Her argument with the noble ends up being a catalyst to the tournament conflict. She travels alongside Makan, and is quite reliable.

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How do I feel about her?:

A lot of people would be screwed without her. She is in no way useless, despite her lack of ability to defend herself without reinforcements. Which is understandable, but will probably become an issue down the road.. 

Execution:

Despite the webcomic taking place in a Fantasy setting, it doesn’t really show much effort towards getting me to believe that this world is unique. The architecture is the same as any other isekai fantasy world. The magic being simple and serviceable in terms of the “Class system” and the “Formula system”. The latter is not being explained in these chapters, but might go into greater depth in later chapters.

The one thing that Arsenia has to offer at this point, are the conflicts. The main conflict up until chapter 10 was the crappy Noble that LK has to beat in a tournament in order to get the mercenaries their reward.

The conflict itself isn’t what's interesting, but the fights that take place.

Well, I say interesting loosely. If you haven’t read or watched many fantasy stories, then Wizard of Arsenia wouldn’t be a bad way to get into them on a surface level. But, that's the most I can say for it, sadly.

Objectively speaking, it’s serviceable.

But personally, it feels like it has no soul as a story.

The “General Route” Conclusion:

Maybe it was because I was reading it on my computer before switching to my phone to read it, but it felt like a slog to get through. I was actually suggested an interesting webcomic while I was reading this one, and was debating dropping it to review that one. But I feel like it is important for me to review webcomics I think are great and webcomics I think are just as bad.

Maybe it gets very good in later chapters and if I stuck around longer, I would find some enjoyment in the experience. But at the same time, if I have to comb through chapters to enjoy what I’m reading, then can I really say I had fun reading it? It could just be a matter of perspective, but I don’t think I could say that that is the case.

Granted, the stories first 10 chapters could have been a set up for the greater plot, (which, to a degree, you could argue that it already is), and I wouldn’t mind if it actually felt like I was learning about the world I was in.

But I feel like I took Serpier’s crash course and rushed into it. 

I guess you could argue that that was the point, and LK functions as the audience surrogate. But I personally didn’t find it fun, even if it meant I got closer to the action. 

As I said before, Wizard of Arsenia would be a nice read if you don’t really read or watch that many fantasy stories.

Or.

If you want to have your fix of isekai/fantasy content.

To that end, you probably know what all the story beats are, but just want to experience the experience again regardless of how basic it is.

Personally, I wouldn’t suggest it.

But hey, maybe you might like it regardless.

Share your opinions in the comments if you already have or have read it after reading this review. I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

Arrivederci Brothers.

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The Personal Route:

I have read 10 additional chapters past the initial 10, and my opinions still stand. The only reason my interest peaked was the flashy action moments, and Lucy’s rage when it comes to Mage’s sacrificing Elves for power. Despite my indifference to her, I think an arc like that being paired with her as a character is an interesting combination. That is, an elf that can use magic but also is adept in the sword.

Thankfully, in the next conflict involving Dark Wizards, LK doesn’t brute force his way through a victory, as he and his mates have to go up against a Class 6 Wizard, Markus, and his subordinates.

While his comrades distract the Dark Wizard, he devises a plan using the tier 3 Spell: Gust of Wind.

By using Tier 3 spell, and the fire in his environment, the result was a tier 6 spell: fire tornado. 

But that isn’t what really sealed Markus' loss, it was the fire tornado causing carbon dioxide to inhabit the air, leading to Lupus being poisoned and finished off by a mere fireball.

LK infers that if he casted a formula Fire tornado, the carbon dioxide wouldn’t have been present, and it was only present because of the natural reaction between the fire and the wind spell.

LK’s peers don’t really understand the science behind this, but simple knowledge from the world he grew up in really did him a solid, and will likely give him an advantage in the future, if he continues to have battles where he has to use the environment to his advantage.

Proving that Class isn’t what makes the wizard. Although, I kind of wish a fight like this was presented in the first conflict involving the nobles tournament.

The fact that Markus left his conflict alive with one of his disciples means is somehow intriguing. I just assumed LK would be mowing down each Dark Wizard he met, even if he were to barely win. 

I was told by Nen that a thief character joins the party, but I don’t hold enough interest to keep reading to see how his role meshes with the others, so alas, I won’t be including him in the review. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be eating my CGI dinner. Cheers.