#all the main characters in this movie are insufferable but the creature makeup and set dressing is fun

[hydenine]

Watching the movie Waxwork for the first time and it has one of the funniest vampire deaths I've ever seen

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Moffat Dracula Review

Plot Summary For People Who Don’t Want To Watch It:

Dracula corners Jonathan, Mina, and Sister Agatha Van Helsing in a secluded convent in Budapest following Jonathan’s escape from his castle. The castle sequence itself is explained in flashback as Jonathan recounts his experience, leading up to the realization that he himself had died during his stay there. 

Realizing he’s now become some form of undead creature, he attempts to kill himself via a stake but is unsuccessful. Despairing at this, he invites Dracula inside the convent in exchange for a true death.  Agatha and Mina are able to stay safe within a circle of sacramental bread but everyone else is massacred. 

When Mina sees Dracula disguised as Jonathan approaching them, she invites him inside the circle. He of course reveals his identity immediately after. Agatha bargains her own life for Mina’s, so Dracula allows the other girl to go free.

Some time later, Dracula sets sail for England aboard the Demeter, a Russian ship with a strangely high number of wealthy passengers and a bluebeard’s cabin no one is allowed to enter. He quickly picks off the passengers one by one, meanwhile himself leading the effort to find the murderer onboard. 

This culminates in the remaining passengers finally searching the ship— and the mysterious cabin which is revealed to have been hiding a sickly Sister Agatha inside. She explains that Dracula is a vampire and together with the passengers they attempt to kill him by setting him on fire. But it is unsuccessful. Agatha urges everyone to escape on lifeboats because she intends to blow up the ship with her and Dracula in it before it is able to reach England. 

Dracula does not die but remains dormant under water. He reaches Whitby roughly 100 years later and is immediately captured by the Jonathan Harker foundation, lead by Agatha’s descendant Dr Zoe Van Helsing. He leaves captivity fairly quickly however with the help of Frank Renfield— a lawyer he hired over skype. 

Zoe is revealed to be dying of cancer. Dracula offers her his blood to heal her but it doesn’t seem to work. It instead gives her a bond to communicate with her dead ancestor Agatha, which gives her more insight about the vampire. 

Meanwhile, Dracula begins preying on Lucy Westenra, a young socialite. Despite leading a seemingly perfect life, she is wholly apathetic and disgruntled with her situation. She allows him to feed on her in exchange for the high a vampire’s bite can give her. He attempts to turn her into a vampire but she’s burned horribly once she’s cremated following her funeral.

Her death leads Zoe and Jack Seward to where Dracula has been staying. During their confrontation however Lucy returns, and after learning about her appearance, begs Jack to kill her, which he does. 

Zoe asks Jack to leave so she may speak to Dracula alone. She surmises that all of Dracula’s weaknesses are actually ineffective. The only thing he fears is death, and humanity’s willingness to die, She then... resolves to sit down and die right there. But at the last moment Dracula drinks her cancerous blood which should in turn kill him... they make out while dying... The end?

If that sounds like it makes no sense, it’s because it doesn’t. 

Final Thoughts:

The plot was nonsensical and the pacing was very poor and completely unstructured. The story itself bore little to no resemblance to Dracula at all, to the point where I wonder why they even bothered to keep the names. 

Most of the characters were new, and the few that were ported over from the Stoker novel had hardly anything in common with their original versions, Dracula included. 

Jonathan was the most in character of the bunch, if he was fairly more genre savvy while stuck in Dracula’s castle. Mina’s characterization seemed to be confined to a single flirtatious letter, an endless well of trust for Jonathan, and constant sobbing. She was more of a liability than anything else. 

Agatha served the role of a genderbent Van Helsing, though her manner was entirely lifted from the Coppola film. This could’ve been very cool if they hadn’t randomly made her a nun without actually committing to it at all. She was not really portrayed as having any actual lived experience as a nun in the victorian era. And faith as a concept was only touched on for her to dismiss— hilariously casually given her position.  

I think the actress’s performance was fairly decent, and she def grew on me in the second episode when she’s not actually in a convent to constantly remind us how dissonant of a nun she is. But it would’ve been nice if they would’ve either committed to actually making her a nun, (a legit vampire hunting nun could be so cool!) or just abandoning the concept altogether. Because the way it was presented just felt like window dressing. 

Also I’m not normally averse to shipping Van Helsing/Dracula but having to genderbend one of the two just to do it is like... hm. Also the weird tension they had going on was very badly executed in general. 

Speaking of Dracula, he had to be the weakest part of the show. He was written in the smuggest, most infuriating way possible. And it might have worked with another actor but this dude just did not have any gravitas or stage presence whatsoever. And it certainly was not helped by the fact that his costuming and makeup were so fucking lackluster. 

Despite being the linchpin of the story, he had no goals nor any particular drive. He was just out there doing Stuff for Reasons and none of them were compelling. It seemed like he was just killing to kill and the writing was not good enough to actually carry any of the vague themes about how he’s looking for new brides (why?) how he’s searching for a The Perfect Fruit (what???) or anything at all really. He had no depth whatsoever beneath his stupid quips and self-satisfied demeanor. 

There was an interesting implication that he needed to choose who he drinks carefully in order to maintain his own personality/sanity/sentience and that without blood he’d… apparently just become like any of the zombies we saw in the show. And that is such a cool concept! But it was not really  explored, nor was it written all that well. Even though it could’ve been (and I think was maybe intended to be???) an excellent source of existential dread! 

But yes, in general there was hardly any depth to this show. They played almost every possible card they could for shock value, and included many unnecessary and frankly underwhelming esoteric concepts that went nowhere. There was so much gore and random effects. We had zombies, vampire infants, and Dracula legit wearing people’s skins. The lore didn’t make any sense either, apparently people just… being unable to die despite their body’s so called death is a common occurrence? It wasn’t clear whether Dracula even had much control over who he changes and whether or not they become proper vampires. The entire thing just seemed poorly thought out. 

There were a lot of easter eggs and references to previous Dracula adaptations (and even some unrelated vampire media). I definitely noticed nods to the Hammer Horror movies and the Lugosi film, which was fun. The biggest noticeable influence however would have to be the 1992 Coppola movie. I have never seen a show try so hard to be another movie lmao. They even went so far as to make a spiritual successor to the film’s main theme that’s about as close as you could probably get without actually licensing the music. 

However, while the Coppola film at least had skill with regards to the costuming and cinematography to carry its aesthetic, this show simply did not. The costumes, the makeup, and the special effects were all lackluster. The set was nice enough but was not shot in a way to really leave much of an impression. 

The first episode was abysmal— mainly due to Dracula’s awful performance (those disgusting fungus covered fake nails, that age makeup, that ACCENT) and the entire awkward af scene where he terrorizes a convent of nuns while naked and covered in blood. But it was at least so bad it was funny.

The second episode was the most tedious to me because it was less offensively awful so I couldn’t even enjoy the badness. There was definitely a sharp uptick of quality whenever Dracula was offscreen for any notable amount of time though. The passengers were rather boring but I liked the crewmen. And Agatha honestly killed it for the latter half. 

The last episode was by far the worst and yet the most entertaining because they just stopped trying at that point. 

Renfield was amazing and an absolute delight every time he was on screen. Dracula found him over skype for God’s sake, how can that not be fantastic? He actually utters the words “Dracula has rights,” and his argument somehow actually fucking works.  

And even Dracula himself was far less insufferable with the shift in dynamics. By being forced to cope with the modern world, he could no longer act like such a smarmy, self-assured know it all. Seeing him freak the fuck out at the sight of helicopters was genuinely fun. 

Lucy’s handling was misogynistic af though. It was bafflingly, needlessly awful. And the way she was vilified at the very end was appalling. They almost had an interesting deconstruction wrt her utter malaise for her life, and the implication that she actually resents her beauty. But then of course she gets burned alive, and then is treated horribly for it by the protagonists. 

Even though it’s clear she has no idea what’s happened to her body, Zoe doesn’t even bother to explain it to her. She just makes her take a selfie of all things so she can see what she really looks like. It didn’t seem like the show had a shred of sympathy for her, because “oh, clearly she was a narcissistic bitch and she deserved what she got” or something like that?? 

The utter indifference everyone has to her death is baffling. It was an afterthought, that seemed like its only purpose for existing was yet again just shock value. The scene, after her death, immediately shifting the focus back to whatever weird personal rivalry that borders on sexual tension  Agatha/Zoe and Dracula have going on.  

But all in all, this adaptation had me baffled, frustrated, and cringing through most of it. It was unintentionally funny quite often and I honestly enjoyed it, but for all the wrong reasons. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to melt their fucking brain.

[nicolewrites]

heartstrings - v

the monster has been defeated, its 12:30am and this is done. love you guys.

part i | part ii | part iii | part iv

Rating: T Genre: Romance Characters: [Vax’ildan and Keyleth] [Percival de Rolo and Vex’ahlia] Words: 6,230

Kiki @keylethashari has tagged you in a tweet: New Q&A up and we’re talking music! creds to @vexmachina @vaxmachina @burtreynoldsesq @thelumineers and others!! // CR1 Vaxleth+Perc’ahlia YouTuber/Musician/Celebrity AU

AO3

“Oh, this one’s easy, it’s obviously that new Spiderman movie coming out,” Pike answered cheerfully.

Grog pumped his fist and held his hand out for a high-five as he stopped miming. Pike leaned forward and slapped it, the two of them grinning widely. Vex groaned from her seat next to Vax and slumped into Percy’s side.

“How are we losing this?” she demanded.

Keyleth laughed. “Because, as well as you and Vax know the rest of us, it’s still nothing compared to the undeniable team of Grog and Pike.”

Scanlan made an offended sound. “How dare you, Keyleth, I am obviously carrying this team on my back.

Percy snorted. “Sure, Scanlan, whatever you need to tell yourself.”

Vax snickered. Keyleth reached up to tap his knee before she pushed herself up from the floor. Vax was sharing the couch with Percy and Vex while Keyleth had been sitting on the floor between Vax’s legs. Grog moved from standing at the mantle to sitting next to the armchair that Scanlan was sitting in. Pike had perched herself on the arm of Scanlan’s chair with her legs draped over his lap.

No one had dared to comment on their positioning, even after Scanlan’s hands found placements with one on her foot and one on the back of her calf. Vax had just winked at Pike and she’d scowled at him in return. It really wasn’t his business and if something was going on between Pike and Scanlan, they needed to sort it out themselves. He had learned that easily enough with Keyleth and his own tumultuous relationship.

Keyleth pulled a slip of paper from the bowl on the fireplace and unfolded it. Her eyes skimmed its contents and she frowned.

“Vax in bed,” Vex drawled.

Vax elbowed his sister sharply in response and Keyleth flushed. Percy gave a low chuckle and Grog didn’t even try to conceal his bark of laughter. Keyleth made eye contact with Vax and he just shrugged. His sister was a shit, that’s all there was to that.

Keyleth steeled herself and pointed at Percy before launching into a one-woman charade of some kind of battle. Percy and Vex both watched, confused, and Vax looked between his maybe-girlfriend and at Percy. She had made a point of pointing at him so it had to be important. Finally, it clicked in his brain.

“The Battle for Glintshore!” he cried. Keyleth beamed and dropped the scrap of paper to the floor.

“Yes!” she cheered, rushing over to Vax. Without a second thought, she leaned down and pecked him on the lips.

Percy smacked himself in the forehead. “That’s my movie. I definitely should have gotten than one.”

Keyleth shrugged. “Vax got it, so at least we got the point.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Percy argued.

-

Vax was working on the latest video for the channel when his phone buzzed. He answered it without looking at the caller ID, pressing it between his cheek and his shoulder as he saved his changes.

“Vax’ildan speaking,” he greeted quickly.

“Vax, my man!” Scanlan’s cheerful voice sounded in response. “I have a question and an opportunity for you and your darling sister.”

Vax shifted, sliding the phone into his hand as he raised an eyebrow. “An opportunity?”

“So I’ve got this show slot at an outdoor festival this summer and I have the glorious option of finding myself an opening act.”

“Scanlan, is this your way of asking Vex and I to open for you?”

“It absolutely is!” Scanlan replied cheerfully. “So, what do you think?”

Vax scratched the back of his head as he spun his chair towards the office door. “I need to talk to Vex and probably Zahra and Cassandra as well, but you can send us the details?”

“Good enough!” Scanlan said. Just before the call ended, Vax heard Scanlan address someone in the background: “I told you that it wouldn’t be an automatic no!”

The line went dead and Vax rolled his eyes. He stood up from his chair and wandered into the living room. Vex was seated on the couch with her self-dubbed “lyric book” cradled in her lap as she tapped a pencil against her chin. Vax approached her, but she heard him coming and snapped the book shut before looking up at him, arching a brow.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

Vax shook his head and plopped onto the couch next to her. “How would you feel about opening for Scanlan at a show this summer?”

She twisted towards him, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Official show?”

“Some festival slot he has, yeah,” Vax confirmed.

Vex bit her lip, looking thoughtful. “I mean, it sounds like a cool opportunity, so it depends what Zahra and Cassandra say, right?”

Vax shrugged. “If we want to do it, they won’t say know, you know that.”

Vex nodded. She placed her hand on his arm and gave him a more serious look. “And you, would you be okay with this? We haven’t really had a public show since the Emon Centre.”

Vax laid his hand atop his sister’s and squeezed, trying to display his willingness. “Vex, I’m good.”

She frowned, not quite believing him, but nodded, consenting. “Fine, if you get the approval from Cassandra and Zahra, I’m on board.”

Vax kissed her cheek and stood, already pulling out his phone to call their publicist. “Sounds great, Stubby.”

Vex rolled her eyes. “God, you’re insufferable.”

“You love me.”

“You’re lucky I do.”

Just before Vax could dial Zahra’s number, Vex snapped for his attention. He glanced back at her.

“I’m out with Percy tonight and won’t be home till tomorrow afternoon sometime, so just don’t set any meetings for the morning.”

He nodded and let the phone ring. “Will do.”

-

“And why, pray tell, are we watching one of Percy’s movies?” Vax asked.

Across the room, fiddling with the TV settings, Keyleth turned to look back at him. She smiled. “Because when we were playing that game the other night, we got it as an option and I’ve kind of been wanting to watch it since then.”

Vax just shrugged in response. “Sure, I guess.”

Keyleth rolled her eyes. “Are you being weird about it because of Vex?”

Vax laughed. “Vex can do what, or who, she likes, I’d just rather be out exploring the city with you.”

Keyleth’s smile softened and she crossed the room to where he was sitting. She slid onto the couch next to him and pressed a kiss to his jaw as she tucked herself against him. Her hand tentatively rested against his stomach as she pulled away, her gaze searching his. “This is okay?”

He kissed her. “Kiki, I’m not going to break.”

She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. “Sue me for being careful, why don’t you?”

Vax kissed the top of her head. “I could never. That would mean raising an argument with you which I would inevitably lose because who would ever side with a scamp like me over this beautiful creature.”

Keyleth’s cheeks flushed and Vax relished in the fact that it was because of him. Even several months into their mostly unlabelled relationship, every time he looked at her it was like the whole world paused for a moment. She was angelic and fascinating and apparently she liked him, so Vax thanked the gods every day.

Keyleth hummed gently. “So I know we said that we were going to watch the movie tonight and I know that fans have ruined our last three dates, but do you want to go get drinks instead?”

Vax chuckled lightly. “And end up at my place instead of yours because Vex is out tonight? Absolutely.”

Keyleth giggled.

-

Several hours and several drinks later, Vax and Keyleth were walking arm-in-arm back towards Vex and Vax’s apartment from the Raven’s Rook.

“You’re sure Vex isn’t home, right?” Keyleth asked for the third time.

Vax laughed and pulled them to a stop. He slid his arms around her waist and carefully kissed the worried expression on her face. “Kiki, relax, she’s out.”

Keyleth kissed him again a little more firmly and he smiles against her lips. Her fingers sifted through his hair and he pulled her face to his as he cupped her cheeks. They pulled away after a long moment, both flushed lightly. Keyleth looked at him through her eyelashes and Vax had to restrain himself from kissing her again.

“Okay?” he asked quietly.

Keyleth’s nose crinkled as she smiled. “Yeah, yeah, okay.” She kissed him and Vax pressed his lips to hers more firmly until she broke back with a gasp.

She stepped out of his space, but curled her hand into his and tugged him back down the street towards his apartment. He followed her, as always, and they walked the darkened streets of LA together until they reached the building.

Vax opened the main door and swept her through the lobby and into the elevator. His lips found hers almost before the doors closed and by the time the doors dinged open on the correct floor, Keyleth’s hands were pressed against the skin of his stomach under his shirt. With a heightening sense of urgency, they made for the apartment and Vax fumbled with his keys.

The scent of alcohol hit him as soon as he opened the door and his blood ran cold, his vision clarifying. Keyleth noticed his spine go rigid and she brushed a hand against it carefully.

“Vax?” she asked quietly.

Vax exhaled long and slow. He shoved into the apartment fully, ignoring Keyleth and stepped into the living room.

The first thing he saw was a half-empty bottle of tequila on the coffee table. He didn’t own tequila and Vex didn’t have alcohol. He stepped into the room further and stepped around the couch.

Vex’ahlia was sprawled on the carpet, a bottle of whiskey clutched in her hand. She was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing when she went to see Percy earlier, but now her hair and makeup were messy and she looked thoroughly smashed.

Her gaze drifted drunkenly up to Vax and she smiled brilliantly. “Brother! Oh, I’m having such a great time!”

Pain shot through Vax so intensely that he nearly cried. “Vex,” he breathed, “what are you doing?”

“Oh darling, I’m just having a little fun!” She sat up and looked over her shoulder at him with what was probably supposed to be a coy expression.

Vax knelt behind her. “Vex,” he repeated, sadness shaking his voice, “what,” he emphasized, “are you doing?”

It took a moment, but her expression crumpled and she dropped the bottle she was holding. It thudded harmlessly against the carpet and Vex curled in on herself. Vax didn’t hesitate, he just pulled her into his arms.

“Vex’ahlia, what happened?”

She trembled against him, drunk and crying, for several long moments before she mustered the strength to speak to him.

“I was with Percy,” she began slowly, and Vax stiffened. Vex flinched and gripped his arm tightly. “No, he didn’t do anything wrong,” she corrected quickly and firmly. “He was being wonderful, but all I could hear was Saundor telling me that it was for the fame and that I didn’t deserve him and that I was going to break him just like he broke me.” Vex quivered. “I just wanted his voice to go away.”

Vax clutched Vex closer to his shoulder and pressed a firm kiss to the top of her head. She cried into him and he held her.

A floorboard creaked and Vax’s heart sunk. He had forgotten about Keyleth. She stood in the entranceway to the living room, holding the wall as she observed the twins quietly. Their eyes locked and Keyleth’s lips twisted into a saddened smile.

“C’mon, Vex, let’s get you to bed.” Vax tugged his sister up before scooping her into his arms and walking out the other end of the living room cradling her like a child.

He carried her all the way to her room and placed her in her bed before helping her lie down and tucking her in. He kissed her forehead and tears pricked at his eyes. He leaned away.

“Go to sleep now, Stubby.”

She grabbed his wrist with unexpected coordination and her eyes looked exhausted and sad. “Vax, you’re not mad at me, are you?”

“Never, Stubby,” he said quietly. He tugged his wrist away and shut the light off in her room. He shut the door behind himself and exhaled slowly.

He walked slowly back to the living room to find Keyleth and both bottles of liquor missing. He heard water running and followed the sound into the kitchen. Keyleth was in the middle of emptying the tequila bottle down the sink and the whiskey bottle sat empty beside it.

She turned when he approached and paused in her task. “I figured you probably didn’t want these around so I just thought I would-“

He cut her off by hugging her, burying his face in her neck. She froze, but curled her arms around him as soon as she regained her bearings.

Vax pulled back slightly, keeping Keyleth close. “Thank you,” he breathed.

Keyleth brushed a lock of dark hair away from his face as she searched his eyes. “Of course,” she said gently.

Vax exhaled and tightened his grip on her. “Vex has had an alcohol problem for a while and it got worse when we started gaining momentum. I just found out pretty recently that it’s her horrible ex’s fault because he was still messaging her, goading and encouraging her self hate. I blocked him for her and she had just gotten herself clean and dry.” He broke off and shook his head.

Keyleth’s fingers grazed along his jaw and he looked into her sympathetic, warm green eyes. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. Her hand settled against his cheek. “I should go.”

Vax tightened his grip further on her, holding her waist in place. “Please, don’t,” he begged. “I don’t want to be alone after this.”

He saw Keyleth strain with the idea before she leaned him and kissed him. She turned away briefly and dumped the rest of the tequila down the drain. She laced her fingers through his.

“Come on,” she beckoned, “let’s just get some sleep.”

-

Vax woke up with his face pressed into Keyleth’s neck, her red hair half-smothering his face. She was still asleep, her chest rising beneath his arms with deep, even breaths. Vax carefully retracted his arms and rolled off of her, landed soundlessly on the floor of his room. He had shed his shirt last night, but otherwise was wearing a pair of loose pants. He grabbed a sweatshirt from his floor and pulled it on.

He paused at the door of his room, breathing out slowly to calm himself. He had no idea what kind of mess he was going to be dealing with, but Vex would need him. There was no doubt about that. He just wasn’t sure how much longer he could be her only source of help to beat away her darkness. He stole one last look at Keyleth’s peaceful form and exhaled slowly.

He wasn’t sure he could deal with Vex’s darknesses and the versions of his own which would occasionally rear their heads when he least wanted them to. He took a last calming breath and slipped out of his room into the hallway.

At first, he thought he had woken up before Vex, but then he realized the kitchen light was on when he had definitely turned it off the night before. He steeled himself and headed towards it. He stepped into the kitchen and immediately saw Vex sitting, hunched, on a bar stool, an untouched glass of water in front of her.

“Vex’ahlia?” he called out quietly.

Her head snapped towards him and he was able to see her face. Her smudged make-up had been removed and her hair hung loose around her face, leaving her looking younger and more vulnerable than he had seen her in a long time. Her eyes were red and almost sunken looking. It was a desolate, broken look he had not seen since London and he hated it.

Without another word, Vax crossed the kitchen towards her and held out his arms. Vex slid off the stool and wound her arms around his midsection, pressing her face against his chest. She shook briefly and he ran a hand through her hair, trying to be soothing. After a long, quiet moment, she pulled away and looked into his face.

“Where’s Keyleth?” she asked quietly.

“Sleeping,” Vax replied quickly. “If you want to have this discussion without her here, we can go into the office and I’ll just leave her a note.”

She shook her head. Her expression was shameful. “No, I brought this upon myself. It’s okay.”

Vax brushed her hair back. “We should talk about it.”

Vex shrugged and retracted her arms, winding them around her stomach self-consciously. “Did I not say enough last night?”

Vax frowned. “Vex, how long have you been feeling like this?”

She pursed her lips. “The night of the album release, when we were performing, I could have sworn he was there. I haven’t been able to get him out of my head since.”

The shattered, ghostly expression she had worn after their performance flashed in his mind and Vax cursed himself for not pursuing it earlier.

“Vex,” he murmured.

She glared at him. “You are not allowed to be mad at yourself. You’d finally sorted your shit out with Keyleth and whatever the hell was going on with you, so I didn’t put my issues on you too. I wanted you to treasure your happiness.” She glanced bitterly at the empty liquor bottles. “I never intended for this to happen again.”

“We’re partners, Vex,” he argued. “You shouldn’t have had to tell me anything.”

Vex let out a long sigh, her arms dropping to her sides. “Vax, I love you. I was trying to protect you from my demons because yours are enough.”

For a moment, Vax saw Vex holding him on the bathroom floor in a circle of broken glass in their London apartment. His hands and back had been bloody from where he had tried to cut away the Clasp’s symbol. He didn’t have a response for her immediately.

Vex took a deep breath in. “I think I need to see someone.”

Vax felt surprise write itself across his face. Vex, his strongly independent sister, was admitting that she needed help. She reached out to take his hand, squeezing it in hers. Vax squeezed back and looked back at her face.

“I think you need to as well,” she added quietly. “We had fucked up lives, Vax’ildan, and I think we need to do something about it.”

Vax leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. He let out a shaky breath. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when this happened. I think,” he paused, gathering what strength he had left, “you’re right.”

Vex closed her eyes and squeezed his hand again. Vax let himself do the same, breathing slowly for a moment. His sister–his twin and closest companion–was alright and she was dealing with things poorly and she needed help, but it didn’t take much for his brain to conjure the image of the raven wing tattoo that sprawled across his upper back over where the Clasp’s symbol had been. London was gone, behind them, and LA was in front of them, but some demons never left them.

“I want to tell Percy,” Vex said suddenly and Vax’s eyes shot open. She took a steadying breath and continued, “I ran out on him last night with almost no explanation and I love him. I want him to know.”

Vax nodded slowly. He recalled the way Keyleth’s fingers had wandered along his tattoo when they had first slept together. He hadn’t told her that part of his past, but every time he thought about it, he wanted to. “I understand,” he replied quietly, and he did.

Vex stepped back, dropping his hand and nodded slowly to herself. She looked again at the bottles by the sink. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said softly.

Vax smiled weakly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“You said that already.”

“It’s worth repeating.”

-

Percy had shown up twenty minutes after Vex texted him, looking dishevelled and stressed. Vax had watched him gather Vex into his arms as the two of them sunk to sit in the middle of the floor in the kitchen. He slipped out then, headed back to his room.

As silently as he had left, he re-entered, but this time the movement caused Keyleth to stir and she mumbled something unintelligible before her eyes fluttered open. Vax paused awkwardly by the door, unsure what to do, as Keyleth awoke. She rolled onto her side and pushed herself up, blinking as she took in the room. Concern filled her face as she saw him standing at the door.

“Vax?”

He moved and sat on the edge of the bed. Keyleth slid over so they were side by side.

“Vax,” she repeated more insistently, reaching to brush some of his hair aside. “Is everything okay?”

He nodded slowly, letting the feeling of Keyleth’s fingers in his hair soothe him. “We talked. Percy’s here now. I think,” he breathed out slowly, “I think she’s going to get help.”

Keyleth let her head fall to his shoulder. “That’s good.”

Silence hung between them for a moment before Vax shifted so that he could look her in the eyes.

He let the courage that his sister displayed fill him as he braced himself. “Kiki, with everything I told you about London, it wasn’t everything. I need to tell you something else.”

He slipped his shirt off and twisted so she could see the tattoo. Her hand instantly wandered up to graze it gently, but she said nothing. He reached awkwardly to find her wrist and guide it towards the darkest part of the raven wings.

He told her everything and she cried and he cried and they held each other. The world didn’t end and their relationship wasn’t ruined and maybe, he realized, the weight the memories left on him felt a little bit lighter now.

-

Four days after everything exploded, Vex started seeing a therapist. They kept it quiet and she took an Uber both there and back so no one would catch sight of it and thankfully, social media was quiet about it.

To his surprise, the therapist had been recommended by Percy. According to Vex, when she had shared her demons, Percy had shared his own share of shadows from his time in England. Vax had later joked they should start the “England-Gave-Me-Life-Trauma” club. Vex had punched him, but she had cracked a smile.

Vax himself had looked into seeing someone and had made an appointment for the next week with someone that Keyleth had some vague community connection to.

Keyleth, for her part, had been supportive and accepting of everything Vax had told her and he was infinitely grateful for her support. It hadn’t changed anything between them and it had honestly helped Vax feel closer to Keyleth. And, surprisingly, he had even caught Vex and Keyleth hanging out with just the two of them and they’d even had a girls night with Pike recently.

Nothing changed within their friend group and nothing changed between Vex and Vax. Gilmore, Kima, and Allura had all been happy to hear about the twins both seeking professional opinions and Zahra and Cassandra had pledged to keep any such visits out of the media and didn’t question why they were necessary.

Things were getting better. Vex felt happier, Vax felt lighter, and despite the emotional connection they shared with their music, they were still writing and singing and the quality had only gone up if anything. The next step was to put together a list of songs they would perform when they opened for Scanlan in a few weeks.

-

It was the middle of the night when Vax heard an insistent knocking on his bedroom door. He rolled onto his side and glared at it. When it didn’t stop after a moment, he stood and made his way over to the door. He opened it and was met with Vex, also in pyjamas, but she was holding his guitar. She thrust it into his hand as soon as the door was fully open and Vax nearly dropped it.

“I have an idea,” she said simply before turning and walking back down the hallway towards the office.

Vax groaned and leaned his head against the doorway. “Vex’ahlia, what the fuck!” he yelled after her.

She just looked over her shoulder and grinned. “Come on, brother dearest, we have a song to write.”

Vax groaned again, but relented, following Vex into the office. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her lyric book open on the ground in front of her and a pencil tucked behind her ear. She looked up when he entered and she gestured for him to sit next to her. He sat down and looked at the book.

The title was blank but his initial skim over the lyrics she had written left him surprised. The words were open and affectionate and passionate and wholly different from a lot of the other things that Vex had written in the past.

“You’ve written things for Keyleth, haven’t you?” she asked suddenly.

Vax blinked. He had written guitar parts and little broken bits of lyrics for Keyleth, but he’d never sat down and written a whole song for her before. Performing covers for her was different too because he was using someone else’s lyrics.

“I haven’t,” he admitted.

Vex nodded. “Well this is for Percy already, so let’s make it for both of them. I want to perform it at Scanlan’s show.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You? Displaying public affection in front of fans?”

She elbowed him. “Shut up.”

Vax shifted his guitar into his lap and played a short progression he’d been working on for Keyleth while humming a tentative melody. Vex flipped her book back open and made a few notes, nodding as Vax played, and recording the chords as he swung between them.

There wasn’t a lot of sleep to be had that night, but at least they did end up finishing the song.

-

Vax had his guitar slung over his back as he wandered around backstage. Vex was talking with Percy, Grog, and Keyleth in the main part of the backstage area, but Vax had wandered off to look for Scanlan since he had a question for him. He had ended up towards the dressing rooms and he had heard a snippet of Scanlan’s voice.

He opened the nearest door and peeked inside. Instantly, Vax froze and didn’t dare fully enter the room because in the small room, clearly having not noticed him, were his good friends Scanlan Shorthalt and Pike Trickfoot. Pike’s arms were linked around Scanlan’s neck and their foreheads were pressed together in a very intimate moment that Vax did not feel like interrupting. He shut the door silently and backed away, but he couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face.

Pike had said they were just friends, but just friends didn’t hold each other like that, especially in private.

Vax made his way back to the others and slung one arm over Keyleth’s shoulders and one over Vex’s as he arrived. Keyleth jolted, but Vex didn’t even react, just continuing with whatever she had been saying. The topic of discussion quickly faded and interest turned back to Vax’s quick reassurance.

“So where’s Scanlan?” Grog asked.

Vax smirked. “He’s otherwise occupied, so I decided to let him be.”

“Occupied?” Keyleth echoed, confused.

Vex’s brows shot up as she connected the dots. “So that’s a thing, alright.”

Percy glanced between the two twins, confused. “Care to fill the rest of the class in, dear?”

Vex laughed. “You see, darling, when two people love each other very much,” she began and Vax pinched her arm.

“Not that kind of occupied, but it was intimate enough that I didn’t want to scare the shit out of them,” he explained.

Keyleth grinned. “No way, really?”

Vax nodded. “Thank god for that by the way, it’s been needing to happen for a while.”

Grog frowned and crossed his massive arms. “What’s going on?” he demanded.

Percy finally seemed to connect the dots as his mouth formed a small ‘o’. He turned towards Grog. “Vax walked in on Pike and Scanlan having a moment.”

Grog shrugged. “That’s weird? I dunno they’ve been kissing and stuff for, like, a couple of months now.”

Vax nearly choked on air. “Wait they have?” Grog shrugged. “And you managed to keep that a secret from the rest of the group?”

Grog shifted. “I mean, I didn’t know it was a secret or anything. Thought you guys already knew.”

Vex chuckled. “No, big guy, we definitely did not, but now we do so all is good.”

For a moment the group was silent before Percy shook his head.

“Several months and Scanlan didn’t scream it from the rooftops. The world must really be ending.”

-

Vex and Vax were holding hands backstage. All they had to do was walk out from the wings and they’d be on stage in front of the largest live audience that they’d ever played in front of. They knew their songs by heart and it was a big enough festival they could trust nothing would go wrong with the music, but there was an irrational fear gripping Vax’s chest.

Vex seemed to be nervous too which was off-putting since she was the one who was always calm. Her hand was clammy where he clutched it in his own and her lips were pressed together like she was stressed which she quite visibly was.

“It’s going to be fine,” Vax said aloud, only partly for Vex’s benefit.

Vex inhaled sharply. “It’s just a song, there’s no way that they’re going to know we’re bearing our hearts completely for them and everything is going to be fine,” she said sternly.

Vax laughed and dropped Vex’s hand to pull her into a quick hug. “I love you, Stubby, and there’s no one I would have rather done this with.”

“I love you too, Vax,” she replied. Vex turned towards the stage and her confident smile finally slid into place. “Now, let’s go kick some ass out there.”

She strode forwards, into sight of the crowd and Vax heard the cheers. He quickly followed, the guitar strap anchored around his neck. The lights of the festival weren’t too overwhelming, but it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. The crowd was cheering as he and Vex made their way to the front and centre of the stage. Their backing group from Whitestone records took their places in the background, leaving the duo of Vox Machina as the centre of attention.

Most of these people were here to watch Scanlan perform, but according to Zahra, there had been a great deal of social media buzz when it was announced that Vox Machina would be opening for them.

“Good afternoon, Los Angeles!” Vex called out, leaning towards the crowd, microphone in hand. Vax stepped to his place behind his mic and held a hand up in greeting. The crowd cheered loudly in response to Vex’s greeting and she had to wait a moment for them to settle down. “We’re Vox Machina and we’re here to play some music for you guys, so let’s not waste any time!”

Vax strummed the opening to the song and they led right into their first song of the set, a folk-arranged cover of Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours. As they played the song, Vax felt his gaze drawn to the roped-off VIP section at the front of the crowd where he saw all of his friends including Keyleth, in her radiant glory, singing along and cheering him on. The remaining bundle of nerves in his stomach loosened and disappeared and he threw himself into the music.

-

Several songs later, it was time for them to play their last song. Originally, they were going to play a variation of Thinking Out Loud, since that had been the first song on their channel. Instead, they were now preparing to play the song that he and Vex had written in the middle of the night for Percy and for Keyleth.

Vax played the one chord introduction and let Vex take the lead.

“I see stars in your eyes and taste the sun on your lips,” she sang smoothly. Vax moved chords seamlessly.

Vex started the next line and he came in too, adding a harmony to it. “I’ll wait for you, darling,”

Vex let her voice drop away as Vax took over. “The future is bright, oh with you I see the light.”

“I’ll wait for you, darling,”

Vax strummed into the chorus and they let the beautiful harmonies they had first been known for speak volumes as they sang together. “To the gods, I scream Hallelujah, for they have created something perfect and given me you. For the first time I know, darling,” the lyrics paused naturally and Vax let his eyes drift back to Keyleth.

She was watching with wide green eyes that were so full of passion and surprise and something else that he couldn’t quite put a name on. She was radiant and he loved her and he wrote a song for her and he was singing to the world, but it was all just for her.

“To the pain I have felt, for the struggles I grew through, I say thank you. Oh darling, for the first time I know, love is true. And oh god do I know, I’ll wait for you.”

The song continued with a series of beautifully woven lyrical lines and guitar fills that had taken an entire night to craft, but it was worth it. All of Vex’s little hints to hers and Percy’s relationship poked like nails, while Vax’s gently adoration of Keyleth flowed through the melody, but of all the songs they had written together, it was by far Vax’s favourite and the venue was perfect.

The song came to a close with one final, beautiful harmony that they let drift into nothing. The crowd roared and Vex threw her arms around Vax, hugged him tightly. He hugged her back just as fiercely before they took their bows and headed offstage, letting the crew move into setting up for Scanlan, the main attraction.

When they descended back behind the stage, all of their friends were waiting. Pike and Grog were both grinning like crazy and Percy pulled Vex into a deep kiss as soon as they were backstage. Grog whistled and Pike laughed loudly. Vax looked past them all to Keyleth.

She shifted her weight and looked at him. He stepped up to her side. All the emotion he had bared on the stage seemed to catch up to him as he felt suddenly nervous.

“Kiki?” he asked carefully.

She pulled out her phone and fiddled with it for a moment before turning the screen towards him. Vax blinked in surprise as he realized she was showing him a Tweet.

Angela @soundmachinequeen • 5 min ago

WOW can we just say that Vox Machina are absolutely the BEST at love songs… like if someone wrote that for me I would probably just die instantly, but in a GOOD WAY cuz WOW #VoxMachinaLive #TheatreInThePark @vexmachina @vaxmachina

Vax blinked. “Is that a good thing?” he asked.

Keyleth shoved her phone back into her purse and took a deep breath. “Did you write that for me?”

“Yes,” he replied honestly. “Vex did it for Percy and I did it for you.”

Keyleth leaned forwards and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him firmly. She pulled back after a moment. “It was beautiful, thank you, Vax.”

He kissed her again. “It was nothing, compared to you.”

“I love you,” she said suddenly.

Vax blinked in surprise. He leaned back a little and noticed that their friends had all filed away, giving them a semblance of privacy in a bustling backstage area. “Kiki, you don’t have to,” he started, but she held up a hand.

“I have for some time, I was just scared. I couldn’t lose you and I couldn’t be the one to mess this up, but god, Vax, I love you. I understand what you meant before because I love you so much that it hurts,” she said. The words rushed out of her like a dam had broken and it ignited something in Vax.

He stepped forward again and pulled Keyleth’s face to his. He kissed her firmly for a considerable time before he finally broke the kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers and just smiled. Her hand slid to land over top of his racing heart and her fingers tapped a gentle pattern against his chest.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you,” she replied.

The weight pressing against his stomach lifted and he felt free.

-

A note from me:

This story has been an absolute journey. It began way back in April as a couple of loose AU notes in my phone for a Vaxleth/Perc’ahlia one-shot. Finally, in the summer, I decided to just write the one-shot. One hundred words turned into a thousand and a thousand turned into ten thousand much more quickly than I had expected.

From my initial notes, I had written ten thousand words and created what felt like a universe that was alive. And ten thousand words wasn’t going to do it justice, so I went back to the drawing board and revamped it, creating the multi-chaptered structure that the fic would come to be.

At first, I was sure it would be two parts. Halfway through the second part, it was going to be three parts for sure. But, when I finished the second part, I had enough notes for two more chapters. Four was good, it was perfect. And then I only got through half my notes for the fourth part and I didn’t want to rush the ending. So five it was.

And five it stayed.

The update gap between part four and five can be attributed to two things: me finally buying a Switch, and me moving back across the country for school and needing to readjust. Still, I cranked this part out and I’m happy. The story feels as complete as it should.

This fic has been happy and fluffy and deliriously fun while also darker and has touched on themes I have personally been well acquainted with. Particularly, in this part, I laid out Vax’s plot with the Clasp and only mentioned Percy’s backstory because I felt that’s how they best fit in this fic.

So I hope I managed to tug on your heartstrings (pun INTENDED) with this story and I hope you’ll keep an eye out for the in-universe (DEFINITELY ONESHOT THIS TIME I PROMISE) companion that puts our two favourite little people together + more Grog.

Thanks for all the support and love, Nicole

PS - this part was only supposed to be like 3K words, but we’ve seen how that has played out in the past