#guy who is of the opinion that Phoenix NEEDS to take a backseat in the main series

[illdothehotvoice]

The want for Ace Attorney 7 is fighting with the fact that logically there is nothing they can do to that series that will make me go "Yeah no we needed this seventh installment actually" and it would just be better to get a third TGAA or Investigations game again.

[shadowuponstorm]

The Music In Me: 01

Although this bond can get annoying at times, at least I can tolerate my soulmate's taste in music until the day we finally meet, whenever that will be, hopefully someday soon. Or maybe I've already met them and don't know it just yet. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x OC x Paige "Glacier" Kazansky Word Count: Over 2.6K

Also please don’t steal, copy, or translate my work under any circumstances, I prefer my original work to be on just my page.

"Glacier!" I hear someone shout from behind me to make me turn around to see Phoenix and caused me to smile to respond, "Hey Nix."

"You got called in for this too?" Phoenix asked as I nodded my head, "One of many, who are the guys next to you?"

"Payback," Payback responds as the next guy chimed in with, "Fanboy." Before I could chime in with my introduction to them, Phoenix adds in, "You're in the presence of Naval Royalty right here."

"Stop while you're at it, Phoenix, it's nice to-" I voice before I hear a voice shout from the pool table, "What do we have here? If it ain't Phoenix!", distracting me from finishing my sentence.

"Oh great, think we better get this over with," Phoenix mutters under her breath before she turns her head back to me and says, "It was great to see you, Paige, how about you join us for a game?"

I looked around for Penny, who appears to be talking to someone, before I respond, "I'll have to ask Penny if she's finished with needing my help, but I'm sure to join later."

"Great, see you over there," Phoenix says as she, Payback, and Fanboy head towards the opposite side of where Hangman and Coyote were standing as I walk towards where Penny is.

"Hey, I was wondering-," I started to whisper before my eyes took in the features of the person in front of me, "Uncle Mav?"

"Paige? Is that really you?" Maverick asked in shock as I smiled and said, "I haven't grown that much since the last time you saw me."

"Are you kidding? Of course, you have. Look at you!" Maverick shouts as I laugh to then realize something, "Wait a minute, you wouldn't be here on a coincidence or just passing through the neighborhood."

"That's what I told him!" Penny inputs her opinion as Maverick rolls his eyes and after I continued staring at him with a "Why are you really here?" look, he responds, "I got called in to teach the squadron at Top Gun for the upcoming mission."

"Lord, help us all," I mutter under my breath jokingly as Mav's face turns into offended. I shook my head, "I'm kidding obviously, the squadron is very lucky to have such a great naval aviator as an instructor." I then turned towards Penny and asked, "I was wondering if I could join the others at the pool table, of course, if you don't need my help anymore."

"Go," Penny says as she shoved me forward, "I didn't need your help in the first place." I rebut back with, "Thought I'd be the good friend that I am. Maverick, it's great to see you, and can't wait for tomorrow. Also thanks for the free drinks" adding a wink for the last statement.

I walked over to the pool table to see the people who are here so far standing around, watching the new guy take his turn, as I took my spot next to Phoenix to whisper, "Who's he?"

"Bob Floyd, my new backseater," Phoenix whispered back as I nod my head as a silent okay before I turned my attention back to the game while also grabbing a cue in case I'd join in. After a few more minutes, I notice Phoenix's eyes drifting towards the entrance and followed her gaze to see she was staring at Bradley Bradshaw, aka Rooster, aka my best friend since we were kids, aka the man who I may or may not have been crushing on many years.

"Bradshaw!" Phoenix shouts to grab his attention while I glanced over at Maverick, knowing that the both of them currently have tension between them for what had occurred years prior of now.

"This is how we find out you're stateside?" Phoenix asked as she lined up her shot while Bradley slips off his aviator sunglasses to hang them on his shirt before he answers with, "Yeah, I just thought I'd surprise you two."

Phoenix pulls back her cue to nail him in the stomach, making me almost spit out my beer and laugh at her rebuttal, "Guess I surprised you back."

"It's good to see you," Bradley grunts out as he tries to straighten himself back up before he turns his attention to me and says, "How have you been, Paige? Certainly been a while since I've seen you."

"I've been great, Bradley, how have you been?" I asked as Bradley smiles and respond, "I've been okay, it's good to see you too."

"Bradshaw, as I live and breathe," Hangman says as he comes back to the table from grabbing four more beers and changing the song on the jukebox, looking smug and arrogant as he always does.

"Hangman, you look..good," Bradley responds as Hangman lines his shot and puts back with a "Well, I am good Rooster. I'm very good. In fact, I am too good to be true."

"I wish I was as cold as literal ice so I can shut him up," I thought to myself as I hear Payback ask, "So, anybody know what this special detachment is all about?"

"No, the mission's a mission. They don't confront me. What I want to know: who's gonna be the team leader? And which one of y'all has what it takes to follow me?" Hangman asks as Bradley rolls his eyes to bite back with, "Hangman, the only place you'll lead anyone is an early grave." causing everyone to feel the heat on that burn.

"Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel. But that's just you, ain't it, Rooster? You're snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment...that never comes." Jake rebuts back to then end it with, "I love this song!" meaning the song on the jukebox, which is not great and makes me glad he's not my soulmate, who has better taste than him. I only hear the music he sings along to, which sucks because I really want to hear his voice and know his identity.

"Well, he hasn't changed," Phoenix said, snapping me out of my thought, as Bradley agrees to then walk away from beside me.

"Check it out," Fanboy voices as he and Payback look at the entrance, "More patches." As Payback lists the names of the other aviators, I looked around to see if I could spot Bradley in the crowd, Fanboy then voices a question, "What the hell kind of mission is this?"

"That's not the question we should be asking. Everyone here is the best there is. Who the hell are they gonna get to teach us?" Phoenix replies as I try to hide the fact I know who they got, and it's all thanks to my father, Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, who always come in Maverick's clutch whenever his ass gets in trouble with authority. It still surprises me that even as a highly decorated Captain, he still has the effect of testing people's patience and challenging their methods. The customers start groaning around us as the music from the jukebox stopped playing, to then jazz being played on the piano filling the silence, making me shake my head and laugh to myself as I looked to see Bradley, flawlessly moving his fingers across the keys. Phoenix prompted the others to join as we walked over to where the piano sat and before I could stand beside them, Bradley invited me to sit beside him on the bench, smiling at me as I did the same to him.

"Overboard! Overboard!" The crowd started chanting after Penny rang the bell, making me look over to see Hangman, Coyote, and Payback standing around Maverick before they picked him up to throw him out of the bar. I laughed at the fact they may actually shit their pants tomorrow when they find out he's our instructor.

"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain. Too much love drives a man insane. You broke my will, but what a thrill. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! I laughed at love 'cause I thought it was funny, but you came along and you moved me, honey. I changed my mind, this love is fine. Goodness gracious great balls of fire!" sang through my head as the tune is playing, making me internally jump at the fact my soulmate is here, but mentally curse the fact everyone was singing the song so it was hard to single out who it could be.

-The Next Day-

"Attention on deck!" Someone shouted, commanding us to stand at the tables as Warlock walks to the front of the "room".

"Morning, welcome to your special training detachment. Be seated," Warlock says as he basically told us we were at ease, "I'm Admiral Bates, NAWDC commander. You're all TOPGUN graduates. The elite. The best of the best. That was yesterday. The enemy's new fifth-generation fighter has leveled the playing field."

As Warlock was going over what was to come, Phoenix leaned over to me and whispered, "Who do you think they got to be our instructor?" Before I could answer, Warlock then starts to introduce him and I hear footsteps coming up behind us to whisper back, "You'll see." I was correct about the guys' reaction, they were so embarrassed, and I accidentally let out a laugh, which I tried to stop with my fist, but failed tremendously.

"Is something the matter?" Maverick asks with a smirk on his face, knowing why I was laughing, but wanted to make them even "shit" their pants more because..out of the squadron, only Phoenix and Bradley know who I'm related to since my callsign is more outspoken.

"Nothing at all Captain Mitchell, continue with the lesson you have planned for us today," I respond as I smile "innocently" before Maverick responds with, "Good to know, Kazansky." and then proceeds to tell us we were going to put our skills to the test.

First in the air was going to be me, Rooster, Payback, and Fanboy, and as the four of us are in the air listening to Maverick's instructions, Payback decided to come up with a competition that whoever gets shot down does 200 pushups. With a dad like Iceman, he helped me surpass that goal by 10 pushups, so I don't mind the exercise, I strangely enjoy it.

"Fanboy, you see him?" Rooster asks as Fanboy looks through the radar and reports back with, "Nothing, maybe he's somewhere behind us."

"Oh shit," I thought to myself as I remember a story Dad told me to then try to quickly warn, "Maverick isn't in front or behind, he's right-" before I hear the guys collectively shout, "Damn it!" "What the hell?" "Shit!"

"Oh come on, Glacier, that wasn't nice trying to expose your uncle's secret," Maverick says as I chuckle and respond with, "Hey, you said work collectively as a team, so that's what I did."

As we all flew around the sky, Maverick got his radar set to eliminate Payback and Fanboy before Rooster swooped in to save them. I watched as Maverick continued flying after Bradley before I noticed he was flying way too close to the Hard Deck and Payback shouted for him to pull up, which cost Rooster as Maverick locked on him. I got out of the F-18 after landing on the tarmac to see Yale, Fritz. and Harvard taking a selfie with Rooster doing his push-ups in the background. Which I thought was unnecessary, so I walked over to mention, "You're going to regret doing that."

"And how do you know that, Glacier?" Yale asked as I smirked and said, "Maverick isn't quite so easy to trick or fool when it comes to this, good luck boys, you're gonna need it." The three of them walked to do the lesson and I then took a look at Hondo to ask, "Mind if I do it alongside him?"

"Oh not at all, go right ahead," Hondo responds as I put my gear down beside where he was standing and started to do the push-ups, making Bradley laugh next to me to hear him ask, "Your dad really ingrained exercise in you huh?"

"You bet he did, when I told him I wanted to do this and be like him, he really put me through the wringer," I say as I do a couple more pushups to then ask, "Are you okay?" I worry about him being near Maverick and the mental distance between them affecting how he flies.

"I'm fine," Bradley voices with a hesitant tone, which I didn't push, and when Bradley finally reached 200, he got up and held his hand out for me to take before we both headed to the hangar to take a break.

"Hey, do you want to grab dinner somewhere?" Bradley asked as he leaned into the driver's side of his Bronco, which was originally his dad's but his mom passed it down to him when he got his license. We had finished up for the day and hung up our gear in the respective locker rooms, so now it was around dinnertime. I sighed before responding, "I can't tonight, I'm sorry. Dad insisted I come home and spend time with everyone, so can't break my old man's heart."

"You're totally fine, another time surely," Bradley says as he and I exchanged a hug before he entered his car and shouted, "Have fun!"

"I will!" I yelled back with a smile as he pulled out the parking spot before I dropped it and sighed. I have a lot of courage to serve in the Navy, but not enough to admit my crush on Bradley, great.

After I arrived, I entered the house to be tackled into a hug by my nieces and nephews. I hugged each of them before I hear Mom calling them off and telling them to go somewhere else before she pulled me into a hug. I tried to pull away before I feel her hold tighten, "Mom, I need air."

"Well, I missed you, so I'm holding you a little longer," Mom said as I laugh a little before I tapped her arm to let me go, it was a few minutes later she did. After I pulled out of her embrace, I look over at the dining room entrance to see Dad standing there with a smile on his face, and moved my eyes down to the scarf around his neck, which hides the tracheotomy he had to get to be able to breathe due to his battle with throat cancer, which he was now in remission from.

"Hey Dad," I whisper as I walked over to him in his open arms and he wrapped them tightly around me as he whispered back into my head, "Glad to see my sweet girl." before kissing me on the forehead.

"Glad to see you too, how have you been doing?" I asked as I pulled away to face him to see him brush my question to tell me, "I only want to hear about how you've been, but let's do it over dinner and then we'll dance a little and listen to some songs."

"Sounds like a plan, Iceman," I respond with a smile and salute as he returns the same gesture before commanding, "At ease, Glacier."

Later that night, we danced to The Beatles and Queen, and after I felt all danced out, I softly sang along to "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, hoping somewhere, my soulmate will be hearing the tune I do.

"It's only right that you should play the way you feel it. But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness. Like a heartbeat, drives you mad. In the stillness of remembering what you had. And what you lost. And what you had. And what you lost."

"Oh, thunder only happens when it's raining. Players only love you when they're playing. They say, women, they will come and they will go. When the rain washes you clean, you'll know. You'll know."

[nicolewrites]

heartstrings - ii

hey it’s been less than 48 hours, but this keeps getting longer and longer. originally should have been a one-shot is likely going to be ~4 parts now. Just a slight warning, some mentions of alcohol abuse and past abusive relationships. Anyways,

part i

Rating: T Genre: Romance Characters: [Vax’ildan and Keyleth] [Percival de Rolo and Vex’ahlia] Words: 6258

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

“So, one more time, if we sign this, then we get complete creative control over our album plus we can keep releasing videos and stay active on YouTube?” Vex asked as she flipped to the second page of the heavy contract before her.

Cassandra nodded. “It’s definitely important that you guys get to keep your brand which is two siblings making videos and singing together. We just want to help you be able to distribute your music. We can hook you up with collaborators or producers or even just get you better equipment.”

Vax exhaled and fiddled with the corner of the contract. “And there’s no rush, right? No pressure on us to have an album out in the next month or anything?”

Cassandra smiled. “Well I figured your first step could be to record some of your more popular covers and release a cover album. It will be a good way to both introduce you to the studio and better quality recording equipment as well as reintroduce the world to the Vox Machina they already love. 

Vex and Vax made eye contact. Everything that was being proposed seemed in their favour and Cassandra and Whitestone had definitely been the most respectful of the fact that they had shot to fame so suddenly that they were still adjusting. In all honesty, Vax could have been ready to sign with the label from the first meeting they had, but they did need time to consider all of their options. 

Conclave Recording Studios had offered them a much larger signing bonus, but that contract had been riddled with little hooks that robbed them of certain royalties, their creative freedom, and even control over their YouTube channel. That had been an easy deal to turn down, even if the money was a little tempting. 

Still, Cassandra had come back with a counteroffer once she learned that the twins were considering other avenues and had presented them with total control, no restrictions on their channel, and a bonus bigger than Whitestone’s original offer, though not quite at the same size as what Conclave was willing to give. 

Vex smiled at Cassandra and picked up the pen. “Well, this all sounds perfect to me.”

“I can agree with that,” Vax added as he flipped to the final page. 

They both signed their names on each copy of the contract and Cassandra scrawled her name in beside theirs. The beautiful woman who had been lurking in the back of the office stepped forwards and signed as the witness before she clasped her hands and gave both twins a radiant smile. 

“I look forward to working with both of you!”

Vax raised an eyebrow and glanced at Cassandra. The record owner smiled and patted the beautiful woman on the back. “Vex’ahlia, Vax’ildan, this is Zahra, the publicist I previously mentioned. She’s in charge of my most important clients and I know you’ll love her.”

Zahra grinned widely. “I can already see that the two of you will sell as you’ve managed to prove that yourself with your channel.”

Vex stood up and held her hand out for Zahra to shake. “Well, darling, I’m sure it will be a pleasure to work with you as well.”

Zahra winked at Vex. “Aren’t you charming! I can see what Percy likes in this one for sure.” Vax rose to his feet and gave Cassandra another curious look. He glanced back at Zahra who was leaning against Cassandra’s desk, still smiling. “You know Percy?”

Zahra waved her hand. “Entirely too well. He used to be my client before I passed him off to the very capable hands of my friend Vanessa. Plus, I’ve been working with Cassandra for a while and you don’t work with one de Rolo without seeing the other at every turn.”

Cassandra shrugged. “Well, I can’t deny that, I am having lunch with Percy today. You are welcome to join us if you’d like, Vex, Vax.”

Vex smiled. “I’d love to, but don’t tell him I’m coming, I’d like to see the look on his face when I just appear.” Vax shook his head. Typical Vex’ahlia. He slid his phone out of his pocket and smiled faintly, an idea flitting across his mind. “I have to pass, but this has been a pleasure.”

The three women in the room shrugged and returned back to easy conversation as Vax opened a new message. 

[Vax] so i know this is probably a little last minute, but how’s today for that raincheck from Scanlan’s.

The reply was almost instant.

[Keyleth] oh you are alive aha. today is actually perfect for me. what did u have in mind??

-

Vax had seen enough of Keyleth’s videos to know that she absolutely adored the vegan lunch place on 6th Street. When he had suggested it, she had sent him four texts of incomprehensible gibberish to show her excitement. Vax had simply smiled and excused himself from Cassandra’s office, calling an Uber as he went. 

When he arrived at the restaurant he decided that this place was exactly the type of place he would expect Keyleth to frequent. It was decorated with dozens of plants and succulents as well as some casual bohemian decorations. It almost reminded him of the room she often filmed her videos in, so it made sense. He had managed to beat her there, so he stood on the curb, hands in his pockets as he waited. 

He waited for seven minutes before a car pulled up and she flew out of the backseat, smiling like crazy. Her red hair was tugged into a ponytail and she was wearing denim overalls with a floral blouse. Her eyes twinkled as she caught sight of him and she pulled him into a tight hug. Vax hugged her back and caught a strong floral whiff that was probably perfume, but he liked to think that Keyleth, the radiant ball of sunshine, just naturally smelled like flowers.

“It only took us two months to reschedule this thing,” Keyleth laughed as she pulled back, leaving her hands resting on his shoulders. 

Vax shrugged. “Self-employment is incredibly difficult,” he said teasingly. 

Keyleth retracted her arms and smiled at him. “Very funny.” She looked up at the restaurant and smiled. “Have you been here before?”

“Melora’s Garden? No, I haven’t. I actually stole the idea from one of your videos.” 

Keyleth laughed and Vax immediately wanted her to do it again. “So you do watch my videos.” Vax smirked. “I’ll admit to that when you admit to watching ours.” “Vox Machina? Only one of my favourite channels lately.”

“Come on, let’s eat. I have news.”

Keyleth linked their arms and pulled him through the front door. “News?”

She turned away briefly to motion to the hostess that they needed a table for two, but she quickly turned her bright, curious green eyes back to him. Vax led her, following the hostess, and kept his mouth shut. As they sat down across from each other, Keyleth linked her fingers and rested her chin atop them, leaning forward.

“Come on, don’t keep me in suspense!”

“Well, I’ve been so busy lately because Vex and I signed with Whitestone this morning,” he revealed.

Keyleth’s beautiful smile spread from ear to ear. She reached out and squeezed one of his hands. “Vax! Congratulations! You guys definitely deserve this. Does this mean I’ll finally be able to buy one of your albums and do an entire video dedicated to why it’s one of the best of all time?”

He squeezed her fingers back in return. “Well, Cassandra wants us to release kind of a ‘Greatest Hits’ of the channel album first before we release any original stuff. She said it would be the world’s reintroduction to us as a real music group.”

Keyleth nodded. “I guess that makes sense, but in my opinion, you guys were a real music group the minute you decided to release your first video. Besides, I happen to think the couple of originals you guys have done have been your best work.”

Vax chuckled. “Thank you, but I don’t think we quite have the mindset to record an entire album of originals at this point. Songs like Phoenix never would have even been finished without your help, you know.”

Keyleth cocked her head. “Vax, I gave you like 7 words of feedback total. The rest was all you: the music, the lyrics, everything. You guys made that happen, not me.” She smiled at him again, but it was more tentative, like the shyer Keyleth he’d met at Scanlan’s party. 

Before he could reply again, a waitress was filling both of their glasses with water and smiling down at them. “Are we ready to order?”

Vax’s brain stalled. He had been so caught up that he hadn’t even glanced at the menu in front of him. Keyleth seemed to notice his deer-in-headlights expression, and she smiled politely at the waitress. 

“I think we need a few more minutes.”

The waitress nodded and bustled off to help someone else. 

Keyleth nudged the menu towards him, smiling. “Better take a look before she comes back and we’re still sitting here stupidly.”

Vax chuckled and picked it up. He flipped the menu up and skimmed his eyes over the selection of Buddha bowls. He paused when he realized that Keyleth was just watching him and hadn’t even looked at her own menu. 

“Kiki, are you going to order?”

She waved him off. “I’m getting Bowl 7, I already knew that.”

Vax put the menu down and grinned at her crookedly. “I think I’ll get the same.”

Her eyes twinkled as she slipped the menu out of his hands. “Well that’s easy for the waitress, isn’t it?”

-

Lunch was great. The food was different, but tasted delicious and Keyleth and him were able to keep a steady flow of easy, fun conversation. She talked about her father and her home and how she decided to move to L.A. Vax, in turn, told her the simplified version of why he and Vex left London and how important it was for them to have a fresh start. 

Keyleth listened with rapt attention and made insightful and supportive comments whenever Vax struggled to put something into words. Talking to her felt like one of the easiest things he’d ever done, even when he was recounting the worst times of his life. Even though she hadn’t known the struggles he had, she was patient with him and she didn’t assume anything about him or his sister. 

He gladly would have sat and talked with her in the restaurant for longer, but as they were finishing their meals, Keyleth’s phone started vibrating with repeated notifications. She frowned and unlocked it. It immediately took her to the Twitter app and Vax watched her face pale as she looked around nervously.

“Keyleth?” he asked cautiously. 

She sighed and turned the screen towards him. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

Ashari Army @keylethsashariarmy • 7 minutes ago

GUUUUUUUYS. @keylethashari is having lunch with someone?? They’re at Melora’s and it LOOKS like a date?? Can we get our best investigators on this ASAP. 

Vax blinked as he scanned the tweet. It had a hundred retweets and three hundred likes. People were replying, eagerly urging the original account to post a photo. Keyleth pulled her phone away and dropped it into her purse. 

She stood up and held out her hand for him to take. He hesitated before he accepted it and let her pull him towards the back of the restaurant. The staff members there looked up as they approached and exchanged looks between them.

Keyleth smiled politely. “Hi, I’m Keyleth Ashari, is the manager here?”

There was a brief scuffle as two waiters slipped into the back and reappeared with an old woman who brightened when she saw Keyleth. 

“Oh! Keyleth, dear, what can I do for you?”

Keyleth brushed some hair away from her face and dropped Vax’s hand abruptly. “Uvenda, I think there’s someone here trying to take a photo so I was wondering if you would be able to charge my card for the meals and let us leave out the back?”

Uvenda nodded immediately. “Of course. Just come with me this way, alright?” For the first time, the old woman turned her eyes to Vax and the soft, affectionate look she carried for Keyleth vanished in favour of a much more suspicious, guarded look. “And you are?”

Keyleth’s hand slid into his again. “Uvenda, this is Vax.”

The old woman raised an eyebrow and smirked a little. “Of course. Anyways, right this way dears.”

They were escorted out the rear of the restaurant and Keyleth laughed as they walked through the back parking lot to the next road. She glanced back at the restaurant and giggled. 

“That’ll teach them to ruin my dates.”

Warmth spread through Vax’s stomach. “A date?” Surprise shuttered her features and he laughed. He stepped up, draping an arm over her shoulder. “Don’t worry Kiki, I’m not some internet fan reading too much into things. This was two friends out for lunch.”

She beamed radiantly at him. She ducked out from under his arm and danced away from him, twirling as she laughed. “God do I ever miss freedom and anonymity though,” she said, glancing back at him.

Vax slid his hands into his pockets and watched her. She was as radiant and as beautiful as the sun, even if she could be awkward and goofy and shy. She was alarmingly human and charming and he knew exactly where her popularity stemmed from. And he understood her. Her charms and her stumbles and her desire to have one uninterrupted afternoon. 

She paused in her step and glanced down at the pavement, where her shadow was cast across the pavement. A sly smile slid over her face. “Hey, Vax, come here for a minute.”

He stepped up next to her so their silhouettes were aligned. She slid her arm around his waist and gave him a side hug. She paused and snapped a photo of their entwined shadows before she stepped back. She tapped something out on her phone before she slid it back into her pocket, beaming. 

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t I get to see?”

“You’re following me, aren’t you?”

He shook his head, but he couldn’t help but smile as he pulled out his own phone to check Keyleth’s Twitter account.

Kiki @keylethashari • Just Now

Sunny days are the best days!! #shadowart | at Melora’s Garden

The tweet was accompanied with the picture she’d just taken of them. Fans were already filling up her replies, demanding to know who she was posing with. Vax smiled at her over his phone and she gave him a gentler, bashful smile. 

“It’s okay, right?”

He nodded. “I’d like it, but that might give people the wrong impression.”

Before he could say anything else, his phone vibrated with a text. 

[Vex] Percival and I are going for drinks on Friday. 

[Vex] Get on my level, darling

Vax smirked as he typed out his reply. 

[Vax] Check Twitter, Stubby.

There was a long moment before Vex replied.

[Vex] OH SHIT so thaaaat’s why you bailed on lunch. Well. 

Keyleth cocked her head at him. “Vax?”

He pocketed his phone. “I believe I was promised a full day of adventures, no? Lunch is one thing, but you must have other favourite parts of the city to show me.”

-

Vax was on the couch watching a fail compilation that Keyleth had sent to him, when his twin senses started tingling. Obviously, there was no way that it was actually a thing, but Vex and Vax had both always been very reactive to the approach of each other, so one night Kima had called it twin senses, and the name had stuck. 

He looked up just as the door opened and Vex walked in. She was wearing an emerald green blouse and black skirt and her lipstick and dark hair were just the tiniest bit mussed, but it was enough to know that her date with Percy had to have gone at least mostly well. To his surprise, Vex didn’t even glance his way as she headed straight for the kitchen. 

He rose carefully and followed her, stepping over the heels that she kicked off on her way there. He walked into the kitchen and found her measuring a generous amount of gin into a glass before topping it off with club soda. She sipped it with what could almost be described as anger, and Vax furrowed his brow. 

“Stubby?”

She spun so fast that she almost dropped her drink. “Jesus, Vax, you scared the shit out of me.”

“You walked right past me. I was in the living room,” he said. Despite his initial impression that her date went well, wariness crept along his mind. “Weren’t you just at a bar?” he asked, gesturing to the heavy drink she was holding like a lifeline. 

Vex pursed her lips. “Can’t exactly get drunk on a first date, no matter how charming the movie star is.” She gulped down more of the drink, furrowing her brow at the bitter alcohol taste. 

Vax stepped past her and poured himself a drink, sipping it slowly. Vex drained her drink quickly and snatched the gin from him as she poured another, not even bothering with the soda this time. 

“Vex?” he asked carefully. “Are you okay?”

She shrugged. “I’m fine, darling, just some paparazzi that interrupted a moment I would have rather been private, but I suppose that’s what I get for liking the charming movie star.”

Vax took another slow sip of his drink. “Oh.”

She waved a hand at him. “Since you’re hanging around Keyleth a lot, you must notice that her fans are absolutely rabid. Percy’s like that, except they’re all major magazine headlines.”

“And you told him you were uncomfortable?”

She laughed. “He was more uncomfortable than me. We’re having dinner at his place on Wednesday as so to avoid such things next time.”

He nodded. “Well, I’m glad you had a good time.”

Vex glanced between her empty glass and the bottle once more before she smiled tentatively at Vax. “I like him, Vax, I really, really do.”

Vax tucked his arm around her and hugged her. “I’m glad.” He paused, not wanting to overstep. “For the record, I like him much better than-”

“That’s not hard,” she said sharply, cutting him off. Drunk, honest Vex’ahlia was gone and she had been replaced with the guarded, colder version of his sister that came out anytime she spoke of their last year in London. 

Vax frowned, but he let it slide. He managed to wrangle the bottle away from Vex and get her in bed, but as he stared at their liquor cabinet, he couldn’t help but feel it would be better entirely empty permanently. 

-

The ringing of his phone woke him up the next morning. He rolled sideways, grabbing it and staring at the screen. He raised an eyebrow, but answered it quickly.

“Shaun?”

“I’m assuming she hasn’t seen it yet, has she?”

“Seen what?” he asked. He sat up and rolled his shoulders. He rubbed his eyes and adjusted the phone at his ear.

“I’ll send you the link, just give me a moment.”

His phone buzzed with a text and Vax switched to speakerphone so he could open it and stay on the call. Gilmore had texted him a link to a tweet by the Hollywood Reporter.

Hollywood Reporter @THR • 9 hours ago

‘Light of the Night’ actor Percival de Rolo caught locking lips with one half of YouTube pop-folk duo Vox Machina. 

The tweet was accompanied by two photos. The first was Vex and Percy looking cozy and happy at some bar and the second was Percy planting one on Vex as her arms locked around his neck. Vax cursed. 

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’, then,” Gilmore replied carefully. 

Vax sighed. “I should go make sure she doesn’t lose her shit. Thanks for the call, Shaun.”

“Of course.”

Vax hung up the phone and bolted out of his room. To his surprise, Vex was already awake, pacing around the living room in an oversized sweater as she spoke urgently on the phone in low tones. She looked a little surprised when she saw Vax, but she just gestured to her phone helplessly and he nodded.

Vax headed instead for the kitchen and started a cup of coffee. The pot was almost completely done brewing by the time Vex strolled in after him, looking more exhausted than she’d been in a long time. Vax didn’t say anything, he just held his arms open and let her walk into them, resting her head against his chest tiredly.

“Zahra and Vanessa are working on spinning those photos. I’m honestly not that bothered, but Percy isn’t happy.” She paused looking up at him, a small smile on her face. “He wanted to keep this between us for a while.” 

“He seems serious about you,” Vax commented, still carefully watching Vex’s face.

She shrugged and withdrew from him. “I guess so,” she replied noncommittally. 

Vax held in a sigh. The tinge of vulnerability and emotion Vex had shown was back behind layers of practiced smiles and charm. Something was wrong, and he didn’t know how to get her to admit it. He wasn’t sure where this was stemming from as all the time they’d spent in L.A., he had yet to see her looking like this.

He poured her a cup of coffee instead and tugged on the end of her loose braid. She grumbled and swatted at him, but at least he got a genuine smile out of her for it. 

-

Vax was feeling oddly nervous as he walked across the lobby of the apartment complex. He’d been here a few times before, but this felt different. He made eye contact with the security guard who waved him towards the elevators with hardly a second look. Vax stepped into the clean elevator and punched the button for the 14th floor. He slid his hands into his pockets and rocked onto his toes as the elevator ascended.

The doors opened and he let his feet guide him to apartment 1417. He knocked on the door and waited for a long moment before the door swung inwards. Instead of the freckled face and green eyes of Keyleth like he’d been expecting, Vax was met with a man he didn’t recognize at all. 

The guy had sharp features and brown hair that hung just lower than his ears. The stranger raised an eyebrow at Vax and shifted his weight before he stepped back from the door and motioned for Vax to enter. Vax stepped in cautiously, still eyeing the man with mild confusion. 

“Kash, who was at the door?” Keyleth called from further in the apartment. 

Vax walked through into her living room, accompanied by the man apparently named ‘Kash’. Keyleth looked up from where she was sitting cross-legged on the floor. She beamed when she saw Vax. 

“You’re a little early aren’t you?”

Vax shrugged. “Like five minutes.”

Keyleth giggled and stood up. She crossed the room and wrapped him in a hug. She smelt like flowers again. She stepped back and looked from Vax to the other man. She straightened suddenly and laughed. 

“Wow I forgot you two haven’t met yet. Vax, this is Kashaw, my publicist. Kash, this is Vax’ildan, he’s one of Zahra’s clients.”

Vax glanced at the other man who had visibly relaxed as he nodded. “You’re part of Vox Machina, right?” Kashaw inquired, crossing his arms.

Vax nodded. “Yeah, that would be my sister and I.”

“Zahra thinks you guys have got the stuff to make it big,” Kash said. 

Vax raised an eyebrow and glanced at Keyleth. She rolled her eyes. “As you can tell, Kash is definitely a ball of sunshine who is brilliant with people. But, as you probably couldn’t tell, he’s engaged to Zahra and they both work together at the agency.”

Vax glanced at Kashaw again. His brain really couldn’t seem to process the fact that this guy was engaged to the bubbly, enthusiastic manager/publicist Cassandra had introduced Vex and Vax to. It seemed almost comical to align the two in his brain. 

“But, we’re not here to talk about Kash and his terrible people skills. We’re here to make a video!” Keyleth said excitedly. 

Kashaw nodded. “Well that’s my cue to leave. Remember what I said, right Keyleth?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I’ll be mindful of what we share. It’s not a live stream so we can always edit out anything that doesn’t fit.”

With that, Keyleth’s publicist vanished and Vax heard the apartment door shut behind him. Keyleth immediately grabbed Vax’s arm and pulled him to her couch where they sat side by side. She stared at him. 

“You’re sure you want to do this, right?”

Vax smiled. “Kiki, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to.”

She nodded. “Well, I know, but usually you and Vex are a packaged deal, so I just wanted to make sure you’re comfortable with singing on your own and stuff.” Vax laughed. “If you were anyone else, I would say no, but it’s all good.”

She smiled. “Well then, let’s start, shall we!”

She stood from the couch and moved into the armchair across from him. She fiddled with something on her camera before motioning for him to move over so he was out of frame temporarily. She hit the record button and moved into position on the couch. 

“Hello everyone! Welcome back to Variety Thursdays where I make whatever kind of video feels right!” She smiled charmingly. “I know people have been begging for another collaboration video and for another one about music, so I have decided to deliver on both of those fronts.”

She pointed at the camera. “Now, last time I made a music video, I talked about my favourite groups including one that I’d just discovered through my good friend Scanlan Shorthalt. I’m happy to say this video has changed a lot of things for me, including the fact that I’m not just raving about the incredibly talented Vox Machina to a camera since,” she paused, reaching over to grab Vax’s arm so she could yank him into view, “I’m actually sitting here with half of Vox Machina as we speak!”

Vax smiled for the camera and looked back at Keyleth. “Your video opened a lot of doors for us, so really, I think I should be thanking you for everything.” 

She bumped their shoulders together. “Nonsense. You and Vex are crazy talented so I’m definitely a big fan of yours.” She grabbed the stack of papers from the coffee table. “Let’s get to the whole point of this video! The people want to know you! Of course they know me, but let’s talk about the mysterious YouTube Twins who just popped out of nowhere with crazy vocals.”

Vax shrugged. “Vex is the singer. I play guitar mostly. But, if you’re asking, we moved here from London about 5 years ago for a couple of different reasons. The channel is actually due to pressure by a close friend of ours, Shaun Gilmore, who thought we were talented enough to get somewhere.” He looked more closely at the camera. “So Gilmore, I guess we owe you a bigger thanks than previously given.”

Keyleth beamed at him. “And you and I started chatting after I talked about you from Star Search, and we’ve become friends since then.” Vax smiled. “Honestly Keyleth, I really think we ought to credit Scanlan and Pike a bit more. They’re the whole reason I didn’t chicken out of talking to you since they invited Vex and I to that party where I literally crashed into you.”

“Yes, of course, we cannot forget the contributions from the others that actually taught me how much of a dork you are in real life.”

“Hey, you’re the one who snuck us out the rear of that restaurant.”

Keyleth smiled at him and for a moment Vax forgot the cameras were rolling because she was all he could focus on. She was an absolute natural and she made him feel at ease even though he could still get nervous in front of the cameras for his own videos. 

“So can we talk music then? Because you guys just announced that you’re signing with Whitestone Records, right?”

Vax nodded. “Yeah, Cassandra has been great to work with and Vex and I are really excited. We decided to produce some of our best covers first and do kind of a ‘best of the already released gems’ for our first outing, but we’re definitely not a one-trick pony. The channel isn’t going anywhere and you can definitely expect more original content in the future.”

“Oh my gosh, please let’s talk originals because Phoenix is amazing and so is Victory Lap. We know that you wrote most of Phoenix and Vex is the genius behind Victory Lap, so is there anything you can tell me for a hint?” She cast the camera a sly glance. “Well, I guess me and the people who’ll be watching this video.”

Vax looked around jokingly like he was looking for an eavesdropper. “Well, I guess, since I already cleared this with Vex, we can talk about something I’ve been cooking up.” He cleared his throat and Keyleth beamed. 

“A pretty girl picks up the pieces that the world said would never be masterpieces,” he sang gently. “She spins gold from the rubble, breaks away from all of her troubles. And she climbs, and she climbs, and she reaches for mountains of glory. She is glory. She is beauty. She is powerful, wonderful, swinging for the fences because she’s not going down without a fight. Step back stranger and watch out, she shines bright.”

When he finished the verse, Keyleth was staring at him in awe. Vax instantly felt subconscious. He wasn’t used to being so free with his voice, especially without his trusted guitar, but he really liked where Bright was going. It had a similar message to Phoenix, but it came from the heart and that made it true. He had written that part, obviously about Vex, while she had written the next lyrics about a boy who wore the shadows as a cloak until he finally chose the spotlight. 

“Vax, that was beautiful! I cannot wait for it to be done, and I absolutely must be the first person you send it to, okay? And that’s definitely not a request, it’s a demand. Everything you and Vex write is so powerful and deep. It’s beautiful.”

He gave her a small half-smile. “Thanks Keyleth, you’ll be the first on my list to know.”

She knocked their shoulders together and smiled brilliantly. “Good. Now let’s get to this game I made because you’re either going to love it or hate it and I can’t wait to see which one.”

-

A week later, and it was finally time for Keyleth’s video to release. Vax was hanging out at her apartment again as Keyleth finished lining it up in her queue. She clicked one more thing on her computer and looked up at him. 

“It’s ready!” 

Vax sat up from where he was sprawled on his couch. “Twitter time?” She nodded, snatching her phone and typing away. After a moment, Vax’s phone buzzed with the notification. He opened it so that he could retweet it and craft his own message.

Kiki @keylethashari • Just Now

It’s Variety Thursday again and I finally decided to talk music again and this time I brought on my friend @vaxmachina! Check it out and give Vox Machina’s channel a sub when you’re done! youtube.com/watch?v=huYiNbw 

He retweeted Keyleth’s message and wrote up his own tweet.

Vax @vaxmachina • Just Now

Made a video with @keylethashari the other day. There’s singing, some laughter, and some other good stuff. Check it out -> youtube.com/watch?v=huYiNbw 

Keyleth laughed and looked at him. “Eloquent, aren’t you?”

“Vex is the social media wizard, not me. Besides, it gets the meaning across, doesn’t it?” “Hm, I guess it does.” Keyleth paused heavily and held eye contact with him.

After several seconds of fighting off a smile, he cracked and they both burst into laughter. 

-

Vax got home much later that night than he’d intended. He had ended up helping Keyleth cook dinner as they goofed off and had a good time. He figured that Vex was either asleep or out with Percy so she wouldn’t mind him being out so he even let Keyleth talk him into watching the Little Mermaid with her before he finally headed home. 

He unlocked the door quietly and stepped into the apartment. “Vex’ahlia?” he called cautiously. 

There was no immediate response so he assumed that she was out somewhere. His assumption was almost immediately proven wrong as he stepped into the living room and saw her. She was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with a half-empty bottle of whiskey in her lap as she stared blankly at the wall. 

Vax cursed under his breath and hurried to her side, kneeling next to her. He grabbed the bottle from her and planted a hand on her shoulder. “Vex’ahlia, what are you doing?”

She snapped her head to him and tried to snag the bottle back, but he lifted it out of her reach. “Give it back, Vax,” she said sharply. 

He sank to the ground next to her. “Vex, talk to me, please,” he begged. “Something is going on, I know, but I can’t help unless you talk to me.”

“I don’t need your help. Just give me the damn bottle.”

“No. And I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me, so you can tell me or we’ll just sit here until we’re old and ugly.”

Vex was silent next to him. Vax didn’t say anything as he waited for her to speak. Something was definitely wrong and he needed her to open up to him so that he could help her. When she still said nothing, he exhaled slowly.

“Vex’ahlia, you’re my twin sister. I love you and I want to be there for you. When you’re hurting, I’m hurting too, so please, just talk to me.”

She exhaled shakily and looked at him. Her eyes were wet and full of shame. “Everything is going great, I’m just being stupid.”

He guided her face up so that she would look him in the eye. “Nothing you ever do is stupid, okay? Just talk to me.”

“It started on Instagram. We were just gaining momentum after Keyleth’s first video and I was feeling better than I had in a long time. This random account followed me and kept leaving these horrible comments and direct messaging me all of these hurtful things. It started out as just general insults, but they started hitting closer and closer to home until I realized the truth,” she broke off, her shoulders trembling. 

Vax hugged her tightly and she took a deep, calming breath. “The things that this account was saying were things they never should have known. Personal, dark things that I left behind in London.”

Vax knew what she was going to say next before she said it. “Saundor,” he breathed. “He’s been harassing you this whole time?”

She nodded mutely. “And I just couldn’t block him, couldn’t get him to stop, because every time I tried I would be back to that scared, horrible girl in London who couldn’t get out of a bad place until my entire world was turned upside down.”

“Vex’ahlia, look at me.” She did. “He is scum. Nothing he says carries value because you are radiant and beautiful and stronger than everything he could ever throw at you. He is the biggest blemish you’ll ever have on your life and it’s okay for that to still hurt. Your vulnerability is your strength because it makes you passionate and strong in the face of everything you’ve survived. We left him behind in London, and let me reaffirm for you, he is going to stay there.” She was trembling next to him, so he pulled her into a tight embrace, resting his head atop hers. “I love you so much, Stubby, and nothing he says will ever be true or make me think any less of you. I’m going to block him for you and if you want, I think we should go to the police to make sure he can’t get in contact with you again. But, if you aren’t ready, that can wait, and we can just focus on getting you sober and back to the radiant, wonderful woman that I know. The one we all know.” He kissed her hair. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she replied weakly. “I love you, Vax,” she murmured softly.

“I love you too, Vex, so, so much. Don’t ever forget that.”

He pushed the whiskey bottle to the side and ignored his phone as it vibrated with new messages on Twitter from his and Keyleth’s video. He hugged his sister tighter and murmured words of comfort until she felt safe enough to drift off. He would be there for her to make her feel safe and loved until she could step out of the dark, horrible shadow that Saundor had left on her life.