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libertybri · 3 years ago

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Plsplspls do jack cabot for catch ups djsndbnsnd its ok if u dont tho u got a whol buncha posts

Absolutely!! I was honestly waiting for someone to request this hottie! & I got some more requests right after this one to add Codsworth, Edward Deegan, and Travis Miles as well, so I’m adding them here!

*long post warning

Various flirting lines

Jack Cabot:

“You are looking just as lovely as ever, dear. How do you manage to always take my breath away?”

“You know, I was listening to this song the other day and I couldn’t help but to think of you. Perhaps the two of us could listen together, maybe dance?”

“I never thought I would meet someone as amazing as yourself, yet here you are, proving me wrong once again.”

Edward Deegan:

“One day when I’m not working for Jack anymore, what do you think about just you and I traveling together? Sounded like a good time to me.”

“I never really lived until I met you, heh.”

“First thought when I wake up, last thought when I’m going to sleep… I need you to take a break from my mind every once in a while, hun.”

Codsworth:

“Why this old mister handy sure has seen better days, but I wouldn’t trade a single day of traveling with you!”

“We have so much lost time to make up for, sir/mum! Two-hundred and ten years. I have certainly missed many of your jokes in that time.”

“Times like now I do wish I could give you a warm hug, sir/mum. Oh, I bet it is just a wonderful feeling!”

Travis Miles:

[over Diamond City Radio] “And this next song is dedicated from myself to a very special person. They know who they are.”

“How do you manage to get cooler every time you stop by to see me?”

“Hi you, uh, you look really nice today. Did you do something new with your hair?”

Kids making a comic about Sole

Jack Cabot:

“Incredible… perhaps you kids would like to hear more stories about adventures dear Sole and I have been on.”

Edward Deegan:

“Would you look at that, we make one cool looking team for the books. Right, Sole?”

Codsworth:

“Oh how splendid! Might I say, I just adore the hobbies you kids have taken up!”

Travis Miles:

“Heh heh, wow, I never thought I would see the day I would be featured next to someone as cool as you, Sole.”

Sole asking for a kiss

Jack Cabot:

“Hm, well come here you.” He outstretches his hand for Sole and once they take it, he pulls them in close, sealing their lips with his.

Edward Deegan:

“Did you even have to ask?” He chuckles and presses a quick peck to Sole’s lips.

Synth!Codsworth:

“Why, of course! You are just too cute to refuse.” He happily connects his lips with Sole’s.

Travis Miles:

“Just one? I mean, uh, I can make it worth your time.” He jokes smugly, ecstatic that Sole even asked him as they did, he just found it adorable. He leans down and quickly kisses them, looking into their eyes questioningly if he could continue with another.

Sole having a fear of being poisoned

Jack Cabot:

“I just might have an anti-poison solution you could hold onto, if that would ease your mind.” He struggles to understand the base of their fear, wondering if it was a certain way someone looked at them or if anything was said towards them that stroke this fear. Either way, he wanted to offer an immediate solution to their problem, and that he did.

Edward Deegan:

“You need a lookout?” While he can easily mask his concern and anger, on the inside he is fuming at the thought of someone filling Sole with this fear. He keeps a good eye on them and everyone they come into contact with.

Codsworth:

“Oh mum/sir, perhaps I could prepare your food and drinks then?” He doesn’t question their fear any further or worry himself with wonder. Instead, he offers a quick solution that he knows Sole would never turn down.

Travis Miles:

“O-Oh, did someone, uh, did anything happen to make you feel this way?” He immediately grows concerned for Sole, internally debating with himself whether their fear was justified or if they were out-of-hand. Without being able to come to a clear consensus, Travis decides to just support them by watching out for them.

Sole being hit on

Jack Cabot:

“We should be going now, dear. No longer should we waste our time in an environment like this.” He spits the last word out like venom at the man flirting with his Sole, and drapes an arm over their shoulder as he pulls them away.

Edward Deegan:

“Unless you want to lose a few teeth, I suggest you find someone else to waste your time with.” He makes a clear threat to the man flirting with Sole and makes sure to glare him down as he leaves the two.

Codsworth:

“Your attention appears to be unwanted, sir. It should be best if you get going now.” Codsworth attempts to point out Sole’s discomfort to the man and shoo him off, surprising Sole when it actually works and the man disappears.

Travis Miles:

“You should leave.” He quickly blurts out, glaring down the man flirting with Sole. With balled fists at his side and angry, puffed cheeks, the man knew better than to peruse anymore conversation with the steaming DJ’s partner.

Sole having long, strong nails and using them to kill someone

Jack Cabot:

“Well… I suppose we all have our ways of getting things done.”

Edward Deegan:

“Brutal, but it works. I won’t be one to judge.”

Codsworth:

“Er… mum/sir, there is a more efficient and less violent way of doing that. And, perhaps you would like a trim?”

Travis Miles:

“Wha– oh, my god. Uh, I’m just going to, uh, forget I saw that. Forever erase it from my memory… and it’s gone.”

Sole coming out as aromantic

Jack Cabot:

“Yes, that makes sense in your nature. I have noticed that when studying you. I am not surprised at all.” He is truthfully not surprised by this news and doesn’t particularly feel a certain way to it, maybe just pride that he had determined it before Sole came out to him.

Edward Deegan:

“Hm, I guess that makes sense now.” He doesn’t really care, so long as Sole stays Sole, brave and resilient as ever.

Codsworth:

“Was this before the spouse, mum/sir? Forgive me if that was an inappropriate question to ask.” He couldn’t help the first thing to come out being that question, just his genuine curiosity of answers about the family he loved so much and whether it was all true or not.

Travis Miles:

“Well alright.” He doesn’t give much of a reaction, not really being affected by Sole’s news at all.

Sole asking him how he’s single

Jack Cabot:

“I just don’t have the time… Well, that’s partially a lie. It would be unfair to any partner of mine, as I could not make the time for them in my days of work.”

Edward Deegan:

“This ugly mug ain’t too desirable, you know?”

Codsworth:

“Oh mum/sir, you are just silly!”

Travis Miles:

“I, uh, I don’t really know. I don’t know how to answer that. Um, I guess I just haven’t found the right person.”

Sole teaching/asking him to play chess

Jack Cabot:

He absolutely knows how to play, and he’s damn good at it too. So when Sole asks him to a round, he is ecstatic. It’s a very fair game with him and he is all for friendly-taunting during the game.

Edward Deegan:

He somewhat knows how to play from Jack, but couldn’t really get into the game with his boss. However, he wouldn’t turn Sole down when asked to play. He definitely enjoys playing more with Sole than Jack, and it’s nothing personal, he just prefers Sole’s game banter to be more entertaining.

Codsworth:

He knows how to play and gets really excited when Sole asks him to a round. Codsworth is quick to set up the board and pieces, being fair and fun competition to Sole. He could literally play with hours on end with them without complaints. His little metal heart is so content in every moment spent with his happy master.

Travis Miles:

He requires Sole to teach him the basics, but quickly catches onto the rules. With that in mind, he comes fair competition. If he wins a few games, he will get a bit cocky; And opposite of that, if he loses a few games in a row, he will be quite disappointed and end up somewhat resenting the game.

What I think his element would be

Jack Cabot:

Water

Edward Deegan:

Earth

Codsworth:

Air

Travis Miles:

Water

Blunt, seemingly unfeeling Sole asking him out

Jack Cabot:

“Oh, well I certainly didn’t expect this! Hm, certainly not disappointed either. Of course!”

Edward Deegan:

“You sure? I really didn’t think you were interested up until now. Well, no changing your mind now. Let’s do this.”

Codsworth:

“A-Are you sure, mum/sir? I do apologize if I am overstepping, but perhaps you are mistaking your feelings? Well, I certainly have thought about it once or twice… but, never mind that! As long as you are sure this is what you want then I cannot say no.”

Travis Miles:

“Wha… you mean it? I would really like that!”

What costume he would wear for Halloween

Jack Cabot:

Mad scientist

Edward Deegan:

Flight suit

Codsworth:

Newsboy

Travis Miles:

Werewolf

How he would react in a “haunted” house

Jack Cabot:

On edge the whole time but not completely scared out of his gourd

Edward Deegan:

Knows when the jump scares are coming, so he doesn’t react

Codsworth:

Super chill, says “hi” to the actors as they try to scare him

Travis Miles:

Screams at every jump scare

How he would play Sims 4

Jack Cabot:

He builds his own house, makes his family and Sole, joins the scientist career, plays life as normal until he discovers mods, then tests individual mods to see which would cause the most chaos in his sims’ lives

Edward Deegan:

He attempts to follow a vampire lifestyle challenge, with his vampire sim he wants to create a legacy, has multiple vampire children, becomes a successful supernatural star

Codsworth:

He makes a perfect nuclear family and plays out their lives as usual, giving the parents good careers, making the children have good grades in school, stereotypical stuff and nothing bad ever happens to them because he makes sure of it

Travis Miles:

He makes himself but with cooler hair and better traits but still claims it to be 100% accurate, then he becomes disappointed when he can’t find his dream career, uses money cheats and attempts to build a nice house, gets a girlfriend and a boyfriend for fun and uses cheats so they all get along in a single household

Sole feeling guilty about moving on

Jack Cabot:

“While I know it may be difficult to grasp, your spouse is… in a better place. Since you are still here, I have no doubt they would just want what’s best for you and your happiness, dear.”

Edward Deegan:

“We can take things slower if it helps. I know it’s tough for you, so I’ll try my best to just continue being the support that you need.”

Synth!Codsworth:

“The loving spouse was very kind and always supportive of you. Surely they would understand and want you to be happy.”

Travis Miles:

“I’ll do my best to be what you need, Sole. Endless love and support… you know, I’m sure they would understand.”

He meets an Amazonian-like Sole

Jack Cabot:

“Marvelous! Just as how I had envisioned you, darling. You are simply stunning to the eye, and your skill is incredible.”

Edward Deegan:

“Wow! Jack was right. Heh, we may have just gotten lucky finding someone like you.”

Travis Miles:

“Woah… uh, thanks for uh, helping me. I don’t know why, you uh, did it, but thanks anyway. Just… wow.”

Sole falling and getting an ouchie

Jack Cabot:

“Are you hurt? Oh, darling… try to be more careful.” He coos at them and helps them back to their feet, making sure to stay close so they don’t fall again.

Edward Deegan:

“Hey, are you alright, clumsy?” He teases and holds his hand out for them to take and lift themself up again. “Watch your footing, okay?”

Codsworth:

“Mum/sir, are you alright? Perhaps your mind is preoccupied with other things. Shall we head back to Sanctuary for a break?” He immediately voices his concern for Sole and suggests they rest in case this fall was a result of more serious issues.

Travis Miles:

“Ooh… dang, that looked like a bad fall. Are you okay?” He kneels down and checks Sole immediately for any scrapes or signs of tiredness that could have caused the fall. After determining them okay enough, he helps them back to their feet.

Short!Sole asking to slow dance

Jack Cabot:

“Oh, why absolutely!” He would happily take Sole close and dance with them. The height difference didn’t matter at all to him. He would look down at them with an expression of admiration the whole duration of the dance.

Edward Deegan:

“Heh, sure.” He would do anything so long as it made his Sole happy. As they come in close to him, he can’t help but to wrap his arms around their small frame and sway back and forth slowly with the music. Though it’s not traditional slow dancing in the least bit, holding them close is more than enough for him.

Synth!Codsworth:

“I’m still not used to these legs, so you’ll have to go easy on me, mum/sir!” Codsworth would be so eager to join them in slow dancing, and he would try his best to follow their lead.

Travis Miles:

There is no doubt that he would absolutely beam at just the thought of slow dancing with Sole. “Yes, yes! Come here.” He would hold his hands out for them happily and follow their lead. As time flies by and the music on the radio changes to different tunes, he can’t help but to pick up the pace in their steps. Slow dancing, while a very romantic idea to him, isn’t quite his style and it’s proven as they dance the night away in wild fashion.

Pet names for him + Sole

Jack Cabot:

What he likes to call Sole- Beauty, darling, dear

What he likes to be called- Honey, love, dear

Edward Deegan:

What he likes to call Sole- Babe, hun, doll

What he likes to be called- Baby, sweetie

Synth!Codsworth:

What he likes to call Sole- Dear, love

What he likes to be called- Honey, darling

Travis Miles:

What he likes to called Sole- Beautiful, sweetheart, babe

What he likes to be called- Baby, stud

Where he is in the “best to worst at doing the deed” chart

Jack Cabot:

In between Magnolia and Deacon

Edward Deegan:

In between Glory and Nick

Codsworth:

In between Tinker Tom and Maxson

Travis Miles:

In between MacCready and Tinker Tom

Seeing Sole’s hidden tattoos for the first time

Jack Cabot:

“I have always been curious myself about getting tattoos. Perhaps your artistic look is just the final push I needed.”

Edward Deegan:

“Hm, I always have wondered what was going on under that vault suit. I mean, not in that way… I just, uh, wasn’t quite expecting all this. It’s nice, really.”

Codsworth:

“I’m sure the spouse really admired your artistic inspiration, mum/sir!”

Travis Miles:

“Huh… you know, I didn’t really know what to expect seeing you without the suit covering everything, but it wasn’t exactly this. It’s a cool look for you.”

Sole has a massive collection of power armor

Jack Cabot:

“Ah, now this is quite the hobby. I am curious how long it took you to acquire this many.”

Edward Deegan:

“You uh, have a lot a free time for this, yeah?”

Codsworth:

“Oh mum/sir, how delightful it is to see you have taken up great protection!”

Travis Miles:

“Wow! I don’t think I have ever seen this many at once.”

Sole gets tossed off of a mechanical bull

Jack Cabot:

“I’ve had my fair share with these machines in my partying days, believe it or not. But after seeing that nasty fall of yours, I’m not so willing to show you my skill.”

Edward Deegan:

“Uh… you alright there? Don’t think I’ll be joining you with that.”

Codsworth:

“Oh mum/sir! Are you alright? That was a terrible fall!”

Travis Miles:

“Ooh… don’t expect me to try that now. You went down pretty rough.”

Joining Sole in the shower and finding them with a “soap mohawk”

Jack Cabot:

“Well, just look at you, beauty! Ah, how marvelous you are.”

Edward Deegan:

“Am I interrupting? If not, I think I’ll join in on this, heh heh.”

Synth!Codsworth:

“You always did have quite the sense of humor, mum/sir!”

Travis Miles:

“Mind if I join? You seem to be having fun.”

F!Sole sits in his lap

Jack Cabot:

“Oh hello you.” His hands promptly go to Sole’s waist as he pulls her closer and presses his face into the crook of her neck.

Edward Deegan:

“Well don’t mind me. You just make yourself comfortable, doll.” He chuckles and pulls her closer.

Synth!Codsworth:

“Enjoying yourself?” He cheerfully fixates himself further into the chair or couch he was sitting on so she can get more comfortable in his lap.

Travis Miles:

“O-Oh, well hello.” He immediately goes red as a tato and peers up at her with the goofiest grin he could muster.

He meets a small, spry Sole

Jack Cabot:

“Why, you are just incredible! Perhaps we should speak on your abilities another time? I am far too intrigued to leave this alone.”

Edward Deegan:

“You are not exactly who I was expecting, but Jack believes you are capable. After watching what you can do, I no longer have any doubt. I just, wow…”

Travis Miles:

“Wow, you uh, you’re different. I mean, into that it’s a bad thing, it’s definitely not. I uh, I just mean that you fight pretty good for how you are. Uh, I’ll just stop talking now.”

Chubby and insecure!Sole leaves him behind and he confronts them

Jack Cabot:

At first he is slightly annoyed that he had followed them out in the first place just to get left behind. But then he follows them closely and notices their behavior and immediately wants to comfort them. He will approach them and confront them of their change cautiously, as to not upset them anymore. “You are absolutely perfect, my darling! How could you not see it yourself? Why, even the whole Commonwealth can see your radiant beauty. They are practically drooling over you everywhere we go.”

Edward Deegan:

He grumbles but reluctantly lets them go. They will find him back at the Cabot’s house. When they finally do come back, he is quick to pull them aside and confront them of the issue. After catching onto Sole’s strange behavior and understanding the issue, he would soften and take them in his arms. “Hey beautiful, no one can quite do it like you, ya hear me? I was so lost without seeing your pretty self here everyday.”

Synth!Codsworth:

While he wants to argue with Sole and follow them regardless of their request, he must follow their orders anyway. He will wait at Sanctuary sadly, sulking away until his partner returns. When they finally do, he doesn’t exactly confront them. Moreso, he lets them know that he understood the issue from the get-go, he just never got a chance to tell them how he felt. “My dear, how could you see just how amazing you are?”

Travis Miles:

He feels as if Sole leaving him behind is entirely his own fault, and doesn’t exactly understand that Sole is feeling a certain way about themself that pushed him away instead. He will go back to Diamond City and continue the radio, occasionally speaking to Sole over the broadcasts. His constant compliments and very sad pleas for them to come back eventually lands them back in his shack. He immediately begins apologizing until they hush him and tell him the truth. Travis immediately goes silent and just stares at them, attempting to form words. Finally he can manage, “B-But you’re- it- you look really good. How can you not like the way- ARE YOU INSANE?”

#this actually took me so long please leave notes to feed my ego #fallout #fallout 4 #fallout companions #fallout fandom #fallout fanfic #jack cabot #fallout 4 jack cabot #edward deegan #fallout 4 edward deegan #codsworth #fallout 4 codsworth #travis miles #fallout 4 travis miles

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jostenneil · 3 years ago

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Look, dgmw, I 100% understand the appeal of Red Hood conceptually, especially as a revenge fantasy- I do! The idea of Jason filling a narrative role of representing the anger of trauma victims or those the system fucks over (which I bring up bc it’s a lot of the “keep killing” camp tend to see him this way in my experience) can be very interesting to see explored or think about, especially when taking into account the societal power structures at play in Jason’s life & in Gotham, more specifically Crime Alley. HOWEVER there are many many reasons that it just… is not a good position to keep Jason in. Like, first of all, DC has been shown to write Jason’s ideology incredibly inconsistently (*coughs* in part due to the classism that led to his post-dying character assassination *cough*) & has it’s been shown that, generally, they are not able to examine it enough to execute it well. Or, more likely, they’ve never even really cared to beyond maybe UTRH & LDs. Secondly, even Jason’s most lauded post-resurrection writer (Winnick) has an incredibly reductive view of the character & his reasons for violence. He views Jason as a “complete psychopath” who slept with Talia out of an Oedipal desire to get back at Bruce &, if given the chance, would have likely used to play into the deranged bisexual trope (do I want Jason to be bi? Yes, but keep Winnick away from it). DC’s intention has very never been to actually explore Jason as a sympathetic anti-villain/anti-hero who’s representative of trauma victims (I’ve not read Outlaws yet but from what I’ve heard it does not count). They probably didn’t even think about it beyond whatever hamfisted way they could shove it in to make a quick buck off fanon. There is no reason to think this will change. Thirdly, there are other characters who will this niche better & more consistently, namely Bertinelli. Fourthly, I’d argue that you cannot fully separate Jason’s anger from the classism that led to it’s modern portrayal. For all people like to complain about it I’m honestly shocked that more people don’t take into account that Jason was nearly completely re-characterized after his murder, leading to a lot of his character development-regardless of whether it’s positive or negative- utterly illogical. Like Jason has been shown to be on some level aware of the cycle of crime since his first post-crisis appearance & I would not be at all surprised if a majority of people who’ve written for him post-resurrection were unaware of it. That is a problem. Lastly, destructive anger like this is not something that was thematically super present for Jason prior to his death- indignation at injustice sure, but not that level of rage- where as compassion was. Anger is also not sustainable to base one’s entire life & belief system around, compassion is. Not only is there more reason to explore Jason from that lens based on logical development, but I’d argue it’s more interesting. Tldr: Jason’s name literally means “to heal”, where the fuck is his trauma recovery regaining compassion arc???? Where?? Have 90% of his backing cast be civilian women w varying views on red hood’s methods & maybe I’ll pay you real money DC.

Sorry this is so long. Jason is just my blorbo sckrinly & therefore I’m very passionate about this. Thank you for being intelligent, I hope you have a nice night/day/whatever time it is for you☺️.

no like i don’t even have anything to add to this this literally says it all

#jason todd #dc #asks #i just find the cognitive dissonance between ‘jason is so misunderstood!’ and ‘jason isn’t interesting if he doesn’t kill’ to be very weird #people are upset he doesn’t grow but don’t even realize what the main obstacle to him growing is #and i think everyone know urban legends was dumb #but that doesn’t mean he can’t undergo growth in a meaningful way in fanon too like damn

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daydream-ideas · 4 years ago

Text

The Shadows

I’m not sure if this an actual real life concept, as yet again, I have not done any research, but I saw it in a few manhwa’s and stole it for my paracosm hahaha.

The Emperor’s Shadows.

People who are tasked with following and protecting the emperor in secret, away from the eyes of anyone who might be watching, even the emperor’s own knights and average guards. They’re useful for protection when the emperor has to go somewhere discreetly and the addition of knights would give away too much, plus, they can be sent on errands to gather intel as spies.

Lyr gathers up all the assassins who previously worked for the king of Misian (though the king said that he ‘owned’ them) who Lyr usurped the throne from and makes them into his Shadows, having them be spies rather than assassins as they previously were, since the skillset is rather similar (having to be stealthy, etc.) but I still just refer to them as assassins anyway.

—

warnings for: torture, conditioning, assassins (wow shocker), war mention, human experimentation, drugs, addiction, slavery, forced labor

Silas – the first assassin

He was the best of the five, and the one sent to kill Lyr when he first claimed the throne of his home kingdom, Avimier. Lyr defeated him (which honestly was just kind of luck and Lyr’s paranoia since he’d just gone through a coup at the hands of his knights, so he was really on edge, but Silas is super good at fighting) and had him sent to the dungeons, where he pretty much forgot about him for the next couple of years lol. When he sentences Silas to be imprisoned, he tells his guards to “find out who sent him” which, given the history of Avimier’s past monarchs who were typically cruel, the guards interpreted the order as “torture the assassin until he reveals who sent him” which Lyr does not consider at all (he’s new to this and doesn’t yet know how things work) and that’s how Lyr accidentally had a man tortured 😬

He later releases Silas when he discovers what’s been done to him in the dungeons, but this isn’t until after the war with the Sylnera’ti kingdom which occurs much later in the timeline (it’s the third kingdom he conquers) and the king who sent Silas (the Misian king) is already dead.

The Misian king (he doesn’t deserve a name) tortured all his assassins so he could condition them to follow him as living weapons and nothing else, and as a result, Silas had shut off any part of himself that could feel emotion as a way to survive, long before he ever even met Lyr. Due to his past conditioning, him hearing Lyr’s name during the vicious torture he endured in the dungeons, it rewired his brain to be absolutely loyal to Lyr as his king, rather than as a target.

This is something that brings great discomfort to Lyr when he finds out because it’s not like this is something he wanted to have happen, even if it does technically benefit him. It’s also not something I was planning on sharing here? because it is super fucked up and Lyr is still my precious bean even if he did something like this, but yeah, there’s that.

Silas has long white / silver hair and grey eyes that hold no emotion. He’s the most anti-social para of the whole cosm and prefers to skulk in the library rather than interact with anyone. People also don’t like being around him as even his presence unnerves them — they don’t even know he’s an assassin, it’s just that monotone, expressionless way about him that creeps them out. He likes to nap in odd places that aren’t meant for sleeping.

—

Casimir – the second assassin

Given a less dramatic backstory than Silas, as the remaining assassins all dispersed from the Misian castle after Lyr usurped the throne, going their separate ways to try and hide out while making a life for themselves — not that it was really much of a life.

Casimir had it the best out of all the assassins being that he was remarkably average. He was still tortured by the Misian king just as the rest of them were, but didn’t garner any unwanted attention for being the best or worst.

After leaving the castle, he joined a band of mercenaries and used his skills to complete jobs and earn a little bit of money, and for once feeling a semblance of freedom, though he was still bound by the anger and bitterness of his past.

He was the easiest to find when Lyr went looking, as he wasn’t really being inconspicuous, though he was not happy to see another royal. Lyr, being a supreme idiot who wanted to gain Casimir’s trust so that the assassin would come back to the castle with him, allowed Casimir to take out his anger on him without fighting back (well, it’s the trust thing and also a bit of Lyr’s guilt complex but we’re not gonna get into that) and so this just, did not go very well with Alex, Lyr’s personal guard. The two still don’t get along.

Casimir did end up joining Lyr, but is also now filled with guilt about how he treated Lyr because Lyr is nice to him unlike the Misian king, though Casimir would never admit to any of this and just takes to deliberately annoying Lyr to cover up how much he wants to apologize for what happened. (me: smh, why are you like this.)

He develops a taste for the finer things in life after going back to the castle with Lyr, as Lyr starts giving him a stipend for his work (which the Misian king never did) as well as actually decent meals (which he also never got) and so Casimir is overwhelmed with guilt, kindness, and nice fancy things he has no idea what to do with.

—

Ghislaine – the third assassin

contrary to Casimir, this one had it the worst out of all the assassins. He was the worst at being an assassin, and the most rebellious during the ‘conditioning’ stage, and generally disliked by the Misian king the most, which lead to a whole variety of unpleasantness.

He was tortured even more than all the other assassins, which left him with hundreds of tiny, meticulously cut scars all across his hands, arms, face, and chest. The Misian king also decided to try and ‘enhance’ Ghislaine’s abilities by experimenting on him to try and make him a SUPER ASSASSIN which notably, didn’t work out so well.

Because of the experiments, Ghislaine now survives on this custom-made drug which damages him and keeps him alive in equal measure — he needs to take it or else he’ll die, but it’s also getting him addicted and giving him terrible side-effects that cause him great pain. He takes as much of the serum as he can when he escapes the castle when Lyr usurps the throne, but he still runs out of it some months later and has to break into the castle to try and get more. This is when he meets Lyr, as he’s captured while trying to steal the serum. It’s early winter, just before the big snows but at the point when things are starting to frost, and Lyr can see how withered Ghislaine has become.

He’s been living on the streets as no one will take him in—whether at an inn or for a job, because no one wants to look at him because of his scars. They’re very apparent and impossible to hide, so they make it hard for him to go anywhere without being chased off, so he ends up on the streets.

Lyr makes him a deal that he’ll let Ghislaine have the serum and will have his potions man try and engineer something that doesn’t cause as much damage to his body, if Ghislaine will stay and serve him. Ghislaine doesn’t want to serve another royal after what happened to him at the hands of the last one, but he also knows he can’t stay out on the streets during winter, and needs that serum to survive.

He’s also my favorite of the five ❤

—

Devere – fourth assassin

This one I know the least about since I haven’t really daydreamed with him too much, but he’s a good boi. He leaves the castle and goes to the coast to work on a ship, even though he’s really not suited for it or good at it. He’s constantly harassed, teased, mocked, bullied, and beaten by the other sailors and shipworkers, but he prefers that to everything he went through in the castle. His soul is slowly dying like this, but he pushes away the feeling because he knows it could be so much worse.

He’s the most reticent of all the assassins when Lyr comes to try and retrieve him, so it takes a lot of negotiation in order to get him to go back to the castle. He doesn’t try to harm Lyr like Casimir did, taking out his anger and bitterness on a figurehead, rather, he just shuts down and tries to ignore them like he’s trying to ignore his own trauma.

—

Zev – fifth assassin

He’s the last acquired assassin due to being the hardest to get to. He’s not even in the empire, but in the kingdom of Inscitus, which is ruled by a king who’s not actively at war with Lyr, but the two still don’t have a good relationship because of reasons.

Zev was sent away to the salt mines of Inscitus by the Misian king, before Lyr usurped the throne, where he was imprisoned and forced to mine as basically a slave for several years. He’s gaunt and thin and sickly when Lyr finds him, and since Emperor!Lyr can’t just go and ask another kingdom for a prisoner without raising suspicions or endangering relations, it’s time for Servant!Lyr to do a prison break with a very willful assassin.

Lyr, Alex, and Silas rescue Zev from the mines and escape the kingdom, having to travel back to the castle on a small wagon through the forest with an angry, sick man who didn’t even make it to death’s doorstep, he passed out on death’s front lawn.

Probs my second favorite of the five right now

—

3 notes · View notes

breakingsomething · 4 years ago

Text

the fall part twenty - all hallow's eve

basic summary: it's jamie's birthday, and his brothers are determined to make his day good for him. also, rhea, jackie and aaron do bad shit again. surprise, surprise.

trigger warnings: flashback, extreme distress, hypnosis

tagslist: @synonymsforzombie @spicydanhowell @skyewardlight @dreaming-of-stories-and-stars @cest-mellow @graveyardlettuce @lower-your-expectationss

"jamie, jamie, jamie! get the hell up, man!"

jamie groaned and rolled over, unfolding his arms and blinking in the sudden light. above him, he could see a blonde head, blue eyes and a big grin, along with a hand that shook his shoulder. "wakey wakey, eggs and bakey. well, pancakes and bakey. or just pancakes. we made pancakes. jamie, wake u-up!"

jamie pulled a hand from underneath the covers and flipped chase the bird before yanking his blankets over his head.

"oh, don't be like that," he heard chase scoff. suddenly the blankets were being torn off, and jamie hissed playfully, unable to hide a grin. chase laughed. "get up, lazy ass! and happy birthday! happy halloween birthday to the pumpkins!"

he left the room, leaving the door wide open. jamie rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh despite no one being there to see it. he sat up and finally got out of bed, glancing at his phone (not that he needed to in order to know what time it was, he was always aware of the time anyway) to see it was eleven o'clock. he'd slept a full ten hours. better than usual, he thought as he pulled some clothes out of the assorted pile his brothers had put together for him from their own wardrobes. usually he only got about seven.

he brushed his hair and went downstairs, where everyone was sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast with innocent smiles. they had been talking in hushed tones but immediately went quiet when jamie came in, trying and failing to act completely natural. "ok, what's going on?" jamie sighed dramatically, swinging his hands out as he signed. "is it a special day or something?"

"happy happy birthday!" marvin cheered, pushing a huge box from underneath the kitchen table. henrik and chase followed suit with slightly smaller boxes, grinning. "you're thirty and also three now! like two birthdays in one!"

jameson couldn't help but laugh. "i don't need presents - you guys are sweet, though. please, don't do too much just for me."

"but it's your first birthday with us!" chase cried, lifting his box onto the table. "this is fudging special! also, we have to do gift unwrapping and cake cutting soon, cause i gotta go get the kids in like, half an hour. stacy's actually coming with us to take them trick or treating, how cool is that?" marvin and henrik cheered, and jamie clapped with a big grin at the delighted look on chase's face. "i know, right? oh my god, before we do birthday stuff, guess what louise is going as for halloween."

"sonic," marvin said immediately.

chase giggled, pushing his cap up further as jamie sat himself down on the seat next to him. "you'd think, huh? but no. try again."

"someone from teenage mutant ninja turtles?" henrik asked before taking a sip of his coffee. chase shook his head.

marvin blew his hair out his face. "anyone from sonic at all?"

chase grinned and nodded. "she's going as tails the fox. do you wanna know why?" the other three nodded. chase leaned back in his chair. "because she's making connor go as sonic. she wants to be tails this year because he can fly."

there was a pause before everyone laughed, henrik choking on his coffee. "dear god," he managed once he'd finished his coughing fit. "that's the first time in maybe four years she hasn't gone as sonic, correct?"

"yes!" chase wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes. "she came up to me and stacy and was like "mama, papa, i don't want to go as sonic this year" and we were internally like "finally, she's leaving her sonic obsession behind" and stacy goes "oh, so who do you want to be?" all sweetly and connor - connor fudging runs in dressed all in blue like "i'm sonic now!" swear to god i lost my mind. i'm still losing my mind, christ."

jamie listened to them chatter for a few minutes, content just to hear them talk. he'd missed a lot in his life, it seemed. maybe now was the time to catch up. just the thought made him smile.

"so jamie!" marvin said, snapping him from his thoughts. "present time! open mine last, i think you'll really like it."

"my present is probably the most pathetic," henrik said sheepishly, sliding the crinkly, rectangular package over to him. "i didn't really know what to get you and i've been - ok, i won't give excuses. i hope you like it anyway."

jamie smiled wide. "thank you, henrik. i wasn't expecting a lot anyway. honestly, i don't like receiving gifts. makes me feel strange. but you guys are too nice, you really are."

he gently undid the paper and grinned at the contents. a large stack of candles, all different scents and such. "henrik, this is great!"

henrik shrugged, trying to hold back a small smile. "i'm glad you like it. i was worried you would think it was silly."

the next present was chase's. he seemed very excited to hand over his present, practically vibrating as he passed him the large box. it rattled as jamie took it, something sliding around the top. "it's two presents in one," chase beamed, shaking hair out his face. "come on, open it!"

"give the man a second to breathe, chaser," marvin laughed as jamie rolled his eyes teasingly, deliberately making fun of chase's impatience by opening the box extremely slowly. by the time he'd opened it fully, chase was almost standing in his chair. jamie stuck his tongue out and pulled out a box of chocolate poptarts, to which he raised an eyebrow with a grin.

chase groaned. "those are just extra, look at the real present beneath! i wanna see what you think!"

it was a strange sort of ball. "it's called a moon light," chase explained. "they're so pretty! i thought you could use one for your room, even if you can't see the colours."

jamie turned it over in his hands, smiling. "it's beautiful," he signed once he'd set it down. "i love it so much, thank you."

marvin pushed his box over, grunting with the effort. "ok, so you said not to get you much, but your room was so empty and i wanted to get you something good," he said. "i think you might like this. but be careful, it's fragile."

jamie groaned. "oh, good gods," he signed before picking the box up - it was very heavy - and setting it on the table. "marvin, i don't need anything big."

"hey, it's just one thing," marvin protested. "we've barely given you anything."

"you gave me a home," jamie said without thinking. "you didn't have to do that but you did, even though you had no reason to trust me. you could have sent me away and you didn't and i honestly believe that's the best thing you could ever done for me."

he stared at the package without blinking and didn't look up at his brothers.

"oh - oh, jamie," marvin said softly. "fuck, of course we'd give you a home. you're our brother and we love you."

"yeah!" chase chipped in. "we know you're not anti, and we know you don't think like him. jackie was the fool there."

"you've never given us reason not to trust you," henrik murmured. he placed a hand on jamie's, so gently. "you're a wonderful man and we all know it. we wouldn't do all this for you if we didn't trust you, and we do. we do, ok? we love you so much."

jamie suddenly felt lucky he talked using his hands, otherwise he'd be bursting into tears. he nodded vigorously and quickly unwrapped his present, gasping softly when he saw the beautiful vinyl player inside the box. shiny and dark, with a frank sinatra vinyl at the top of the box. jamie blinked, taking it in. "marvin, it's - beautiful, thank you. this is too much, how much even was this?"

marvin grinned. "a magician never reveals his secrets."

"let's set it up in your room," henrik said excitedly, eyes shining. "oh, i love vinyls, i don't even have a player for them but i own so many and i'm sure you can borrow them -"

"ah, 'scuze me," chase interrupted, holding up both hands. "i have to leave very soon. it's saturday. let's do cake and then i'm bolting."

marvin leapt up, singing to himself as he danced round the table, and jamie snorted. "we're actually doing cake? seriously?"

"of course we are!" marvin almost shouted, digging through the fridge. "who do you think we are, james? a family that doesn't do cake? unheard of." he turned round, an enormous grin on his face as he lifts the pink cake up. "it's cake time, gentlemen!"

they cut slices of the cake, laughing and talking and complimenting marvin on the cake, which he'd apparently baked himself. jamie got the biggest slice and almost couldn't manage the full thing despite how good it was. about twenty minutes later, chase got up to leave, ruffling jamie's curls as way of saying goodbye. "see you fuckers later," he said, doing finger guns before wincing. "shit, i should stop swearing. fuck. i mean - not fuck. just - ahhh, i'll see you dorks later. adios."

"dorks? really?" henrik called after him. chase stuck his hand through the front door again to flip him off.

the rest of the day passed pretty smoothly. chase texted them a few times with updates, at one point sending pictures of the kid's fantastic costumes mixed in with heart eyed reaction images. the three other brothers went out to mcdonald's for lunch and got enough chips to fill nearly a whole tray, which was apparently enough to make chase jealous. he later sent pictures of him, connor and louise at the park with huge ice creams in hand. "gods, it's no wonder people call us childish," jamie laughed teasingly, dipping about ten chips into his own tub of ice cream at once.

"who's calling us childish?" marvin jokingly exclaimed, crossing his eyes and making an exaggerated face of anger. "give me names, i'll challenge them to a duel."

"point proven," henrik sing-songed, sticking his tongue out. "don't cross your eyes or your face will get stuck like that. james, i cannot believe you eat your chips with ice cream and genuinely believe it tastes nice. you are a disgrace to humanity."

"let's all dip our chips in ice cream to piss off henrik," marvin grinned, and he and jamie smacked their soggy chips together with a cry of "cheers!" henrik spluttered, shaking his head in disgust.

"people like you are the reason the mcdonald's ice cream machines are always broken," he scoffed, flicking some ketchup from his burger at marvin. "the employees see you coming and go "ah, scheisse, it is the magic cat bastard again, about to dip his chips in ice cream like some kind of animal. sorry, sir, machines are broke." you disgust me."

"a-w, what about me?" jamie pouted teasingly, sticking out his bottom lip.

"not you, jamie, you are a treasure and we're happy to have you here," henrik said warmly. then he made a face at marvin. "you, however -"

they were interrupted when chase sent a photo of him, stacy and the kids, chase proudly holding up a cheese and onion bake from gregg's. they then all collectively agreed he was a teasing bastard and moved on.

they bickered all the way home about what movie to watch. "it's halloween," henrik argued, smoothing his hair out his face. "we should obviously watch a nightmare before christmas."

"i think we should watch dawn of the dead just to piss chase off," marvin grinned.

"what, dawn of the dead, 2004, you mean?" henrik laughed. marvin shook his head, grimacing and widening his eyes in mock horror.

"i think chase would kill us," he giggled. "which might be funny, but it's jamie's birthday, so he should pick." they both turned to him. "what do you think?"

jamie shrugged. "i don't know. i haven't seen all that many films, even when i was with you. i did watch a few with anti, though."

"ooh, like what?" marvin asked curiously. he nearly walked into a streetlamp but managed to smoothly dodge it. "what movies did the fantastic antisepticeye have to show?"

jamie wiggled his mustache, thinking. "hot fuzz. and i watched a documentary about penguins when he was passed out once. then there was the night we were both up with nightmares and pulled an all nighter to watch a movie about chickens."

"another documentary?" henrik wondered. "anti doesn't seem like the documentary type."

jamie shook his head. "no, an animated one. it had a chicken and a - a fish and a goose and a pig? i think?"

"...charlotte's web?" henrik guessed slowly.

marvin elbowed him. "charlotte's web was about a spider, you numpty. d'you mean, uh… chicken run?"

"free birds?" henrik asked. "me and chase watched that last year with connor and louise."

"wasn't that about turkeys?" marvin giggled.

henrik rolled his eyes. "and when was there a fish in charlotte's web?"

"there was definitely a fish in charlotte's web!"

"they lived on a farm -"

dapper whistled sharply, interrupting them. "no, no. there were aliens. robot aliens. made the sky fall like jackie did."

the two went silent. then henrik spoke. "are you saying you and anti watched chicken little?"

jamie snapped his fingers. "that's the bitch!"

marvin let out a disbelieving laugh. "chicken little? the little bitch with the glasses and the goose girlfriend or something? and anti watched it with you?"

"to be fair, we were both tired and miserable and didn't really care all that much," dapper signed casually. "i think we fell asleep anyway. i just remember during the incident with jackie, i was thinking about that chicken."

there was a long pause as they crossed the street and walked past the corner shop in the direction of their flat. "i don't believe it," henrik eventually mumbled. "fucking - anti. fucking anti willingly watching chicken little with you. i can't picture it. i can't. that's literally incomprehensible to me."

by the time they got home, it was four o'clock, and they decided on ordering pizza for dinner. "i haven't eaten a single healthy food today," marvin announced, almost proudly. "i want a meat feast with barbeque sauce and stuffed crust."

"how much money do you think we have, bastard?" henrik despaired, but when he called the pizza place to ask for hawaiian for himself and plain cheese for jamie, he heard him add stuffed crust to marvin's order.

they sat down in the living room and started up the tv, the three of them snuggling up on the one couch. "you mock us for chips and ice cream, yet you eat pineapple on pizza," marvin accused, throwing his legs across jamie's.

"hawaiian pizza is perfectly respectable," henrik said lightly. "anyway, let's watch a movie. then we can set up the player in jamie's room while we wait for chase to come back."

"will we get trick or treaters?" jamie wondered. neither man saw his hands, so he whistled and repeated the question. henrik shook his head.

"we don't get them because we live in a flat," henrik said. "i suppose since we're on the bottom and therefore get two floors, we could technically try it. maybe next year."

"definitely next year," jamie agreed. "it sounds fun."

they did end up watching a nightmare before christmas while they ate their pizza. the music and animation was lovely, and henrik didn't shut up the whole time. "i absolutely love this song," he said as the oogie-boogie man appeared on screen with his dice. "i used to listen to the soundtrack of this film all the time, it always manages to fit with each character and such -"

"henrik," marvin said gently. "shush."

it was near the end of the film when someone chapped at the door. "i thought you said we didn't get trick or treaters?" jamie asked, to which marvin got up and went to go answer. jamie took henrik's hand. he hated the small part of him that was still so ridiculously afraid, especially on today of all days.

they heard the door open. "trick or treat!" came two small voices, and one familiar one. jamie and henrik laughed in relief upon hearing chase and the kids coming inside, laughing and chattering loudly. marvin peeked into the room and grinned.

"guess who's back!" he cheered. behind him, connor and louise leapt in, still wearing their costumes. everyone cheered as they posed to show them off, huge grins on their little faces. "it's sonic and tails themselves, in the flesh!"

"uncle jam, hen, marv!" the children cried, cheeks dark with cold and excitement. "look at us, we can fly and go super speed!"

"very nice!" henrik affirmed warmly, and he lifted connor onto his lap as he spun by. "come here, you ridiculous fox boy. how many sweeties did you get?"

"lots!" connor cried, and he tossed his bag from his gloved fingers onto the couch besides jamie. "dump it out, uncle jam, i wanna show off my sweets! louise - no, tails, come over here! come show your sweets. papa! where are you?"

"right here," said chase. he was laughing, and jamie realized why as he came into view; he was wearing a mask with a frankly terrifying face on it. "evening, gamers. how are we all doing?"

"what - what are you?" henrik asked in horror over the sound of marvin and jamie's laughter.

chase pulled up the mask and made a mock hurt face. "hey, i'm shadow the hedgehog! i'm being a good father by cosplaying with my kids." he lowered his voice as he shrugged his jacket off. "they made stacy go as amy."

"although technically sonic and shadow aren't friends for a long time, because shadow's really sad about maria's death and he does a lot of bad stuff that sonic doesn't like to make up for it," louise suddenly said, dropping to her knees on the floor and spilling her sweets out. "although shadow does help sonic save the world in sonic adventure 2 to try and fulfill maria's last wishes. it's not all shadow's fault, though. he was made to save maria and he failed and that really hurt him. he also got put in suspen-ded ani-ma-tion for a while, then he got used as a weapon by eggman. he's not really a bad guy. he's just had a lot of bad stuff happen to him and i love him. oh, con, i got a wispa!"

"lemme see!" connor shrieked, leaping off henrik's lap to join his sister on the floor. jamie turned to henrik and marvin with raised eyebrows, slightly taken aback and completely astonished.

"she knows a lot about sonic," chase whispered, sitting down beside them. "it's her favourite thing. one of my favourite things to do is ask her any question about it and listen to her ramble. it's so sweet. hey, lou!" louise turned round to look at him, a chocolate bar hanging out her mouth. chase grinned. "tell us some more about shadow and maria."

louise's eyes lit up. "oh! ok! well, maria was the granddaughter of this guy called gerald robotnik, who's eggman's grandfather, and gerald, kinda, he created shadow as an experiment to help maria, who was really sick…"

it was maybe ten minutes before henrik went to go make some hot chocolate for everyone, and then shouted out in surprise. "hey, what the f- what are these pumpkins doing here?"

"oh!" chase yelped, leaping to his feet. "i completely forgot! guys, guys, i said i was gonna get pumpkins for us to carve and i did! jamie, come see, we're carving pumpkins!"

and he had indeed bought pumpkins. connor and louise had each already picked one out, and jamie, henrik and marvin made a big show of arguing over the others, which really made the kids laugh. as they set up plastic bags all over the living room floor, jamie began to get really excited. he knew that he has carved a pumpkin in his introduction video that jack made, the video that had been deleted minutes after being uploaded with only anti able to recover it, but jamie didn't remember it. the weight of the pumpkin didn't feel familiar in his hands. smooth, slightly wet. the sensation was kind of awful. but jamie wasn't about to tell anyone else that. the kids were enjoying themselves, and he wasn't about to ruin that.

"now we draw faces and whatnot on them," chase said, pulling some sharpies from his pocket and tossing them in the air. "let's go, gamers. con, lou, i'll help if you need any. are you doing scary face or silly face? i can do both."

it was nearly seven o'clock now. jamie wasn't sure why, but he found something felt so off with every line he drew on the pumpkin's surface. a strange feeling of deja vu. which was ridiculous, of course. jameson hadn't ever carved a pumpkin.

"ok, now the cutting!" chase announced cheerfully. too cheerfully for the words he was saying. even in context, jamie felt sick. "louise and connor, you are absolutely not doing this part yourselves. henrik, can you - thank you, thanks. looking fantastic, jamie! how are you enjoying your carving experience?"

jamie managed to smile as he looked up, head bobbing like a doll. "good," he signed, dropping his pen. he noticed connor had gone with a scary face with gnashing teeth, and louise had gone with a cheery face with squinty eyes. "they look great, kids."

"thank you, jam-jam!" connor squealed in a silly voice, with louise repeating right after. jamie laughed silently, feeling his head spin.

"you know how to carve it, right, james?" marvin asked. jamie jumped at his voice. marvin had pulled his hair back into a bun, a sharpie behind his ear. his grin faded slightly. "are you ok? you look a little pale."

"fine," jamie signed. he picked up the knife.

he picked up the knife

he picked up the k

"come on, dapper. you just - cut right here." anti's voice, free from static. warm and irish. "you can do it, dap. i believe in you."

blood blood blood blood blood bl

"dapper - dapper, look up. come on, you useless fuck - don't - oh, don't pass out. i'm right fucking here."

blood blood blood

"hey, dap. you're doing good. keep a hold on that knife now, eh? don't let anyone sneak up on you. always be on the lookout, that's my motto."

blood

"hey, dapper ----. look up, lift your chin."

anti's face swam into view. he looked younger. stubble on his face, shorter, less curly hair, thick gauges in his ears. a black scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. he flashed a forced smile, showing sharp fangs. "there we go. stay still and let me get these bandages on you. i'm sure you're tired, having used so much magic to keep yourself alive." he laughed hoarsely, shaking his head. "a time traveler. i can't believe ---- sent me a time traveler. ha, happy one year death anniversary to us, ----, thank you for this lovely present -"

he was more talking to himself now. dapper ---- was happy to let him. this man was kind, helping to fix up his wounds. anti - his name was anti, right? - gently wrapped the bandages round his cleaned throat. his fingers were cold. so were his eyes. dapper ---- couldn't tell what colour they were, but they looked like ice. when their eyes met, he felt a shiver go down his spine.

"look at you," anti murmured, and he smoothed dapper ----'s hair from his face. it felt nice, and he leaned into the touch. anti hummed softly. "look at you. my time traveler. so much untapped power. i think we're gonna have fun, dapper ----." he smirked. "ha, maybe i should come up with a better name. dapper's a shit name. and as funny as it would be to call you ----, i think i'd have to kill you. look up, dap-dap. ok, nevermind, that's an awful nickname. dapper it is."

he took his hands away and leaned back, studying him. they looked so alike. twins, almost. dapper ---- lifted his hands to his neck to grace the bandages, wincing. anti watched him.

"thank you," dapper ---- signed.

anti frowned. "what's that sign?" he repeated it after him, placing his hand to his chin and extending it outwards. "i don't know any bsl."

dapper tried to mouth the words, but he wasn't used to moving his mouth to form words, and he knew he looked clumsy. "thank you," he signed again, trying to make his tongue go to the right places. anti's eyes widened in understanding, and he signed it too, both of them moving in unison.

"ok, cool!" anti beamed. he made the sign again. "i should learn bsl. might come in handy, and i suppose if i have to put up with you, i might as bloody well. oh, don't look so put out, dap." anti tilted his head and his smile faded to a more genuine state, less forced. "i suppose a weapon like you is worth learning a language for."

"jamie, jamie, jamie - look up, hey. it's just me, be - be careful, drop that knife. drop that knife, james. look up. look up at me."

his hands were covered in - no, they weren't covered in blood, they weren't, they weren't. they were shaking. just shaking. pale, white hands. silver knife. dapper knew what silver looked like.

"jamie." warm and irish. not anti. of course not anti. dapper would never hear anti's voice again. "jamie. hey - chase, get the kids upstairs. pumpkin's are basically done anyway. jameson, hey, it's me. it's marvin. henrik's here too. can you look up, hon? come on, it's ok, you're ok. just us."

just them. kitten, doctor, jinx, dapper, and the gunman's children. six peas in a pod. he was going to be sick.

"fine," he signed numbly. "i'm fine. i'm fine."

once upon a time there was a scared time traveler without a voice and without a soul of his own, born into a world that wanted him dead from the beginning, a world that he came into bleeding, a world that knew the pain that was in store and tried to end it for him early, a world that was cold but contained a brother who spoke in lies and said he loved him, said he was safe, anti, i was never safe and you are a fucking fool, why did you let me save myself, why do i have to still love you?

"i want this to stop," dapper signed, jameson signed, damien signed, mustache signed, anti signed, what was his fucking name again? "i'm just tired. i'm sorry."

"that's ok," kitten - marvin - murmured softly. he touched dapper's - jameson's, jamie's - hand just slightly, grounding him. "we're here. it's ok. it's ok."

it wasn't ok. it was never ok.

that night, jamie awoke with a nightmare.

he wasn't sure what it was, just that when he sat up in bed, his heart was racing loudly in his ears and he was sweating, breathing hard like he'd been running. maybe he had, in his dream. a few minutes passed before he slipped out of bed and padded down to the kitchen to get a drink of water. he definitely needed one.

he couldn't believe he'd lost it like that. in front of the kids, as well - jamie had never been so ashamed of himself. just from holding a knife! he shook his head in disgust, balling his fists up and digging his uneven nails into his palms. it was pathetic how easily upset he was. how easy it was to become silly, naive little dapper again. some days he wondered if he was even jameson jackson at all.

he got a drink. a cup of water, then another, to soothe his pounding headache. his whole body felt slightly numb, and in the silence of the house, he could hear his slightly wheezing breaths. he drank more water. his chest felt that little bit looser.

then something crashed outside and jamie was up like a shot.

he could hear someone just outside the front door. someone scrabbling to pick something up, someone groaning and making small, pained noises. jamie's heart raced as he marched to the door, hand on the lock. he realized he wasn't armed. didn't have a knife on him like he usually did. always be on the lookout, was his motto.

well, if there was anything jamie had learned from being dapper, it was that anything could work as a weapon if you were caught off guard. he grabbed the broom that was leaning on the sideboard and threw the door open, jabbing the handle out the door to hit whatever intruder might be there. instead, he heard someone gasp loudly, and just managed to see a glitching flash of light before the person scrambled to the side of the door, just barely out of jamie's line of sight. they'd left a bag on the ground. a black and white flying tiger bag - one of jamie's favourite stores back when he was dapper. he picked it up, not looking to his left to see the intruder. he could hear them breathing. jamie peeked inside the bag, blocking everything else out as he looked.

a black sketchbook. a black sketchbook and a plastic container of greyscale markers. not only that, but there was a millie's cookies bag, containing what jamie knew to be a deluxe rainbow cookie. anti had always joked about the irony of them being his favourite. he laughed silently and opened the sketchbook to the first page. inside, scribbled in the top left corner, was the word "payback" with a small >:) face next to it.

jamie could see anti out the corner of his eye, still pressed against the wall. he didn't look at him. instead, he pulled his phone from his pocket - thank the gods he'd fallen asleep in his clothes - and quickly opened his text to speech app. there was an awkward pause while he did so, and for a moment jamie was afraid anti would bolt regardless of whether he was still there. but then it loaded and he wrote what he had to say, fingers flying across the keyboard, and held the phone up for the other man to hear.

thank you for the present. and thank you for having the sense to not try and deliver it until you thought i was asleep, even if you are a dumbass and alerted me anyway. night, anti.

anti didn't reply, of course. jamie didn't look at him. he simply closed the door and went back inside.

"evening, auggie! you're back early, i thought you were having a halloween celebration or something."

anti rolled his eyes at the sound of his roommate's voice. it was coming from the kitchen, so anti shrugged his jacket off and went straight to his room instead. carlos followed him. "hey, where you going? it's an all hallow's eve full moon, mate! come on, have a drink or something."

anti flipped him off. carlos pouted, sticking his already very pointy chin out further. he looked a lot like shaggy from scooby doo, anti thought, and tried not to laugh at the thought.

carlos held up a hand before turning and darting into the living room, coming out a moment later with a notebook and pen. "gotta keep one of these handy at all times, huh?" he laughed, snorting. anti resisted the urge to roll his eyes again, and carlos collected himself. "so. were you at a halloween party or something?"

anti frowned and began to write. no, why the fuck would i be? do i look like i go to holiday themed parties?

carlos raised his hands. "ok, ok. you left with a bag, and also you asked if we owned "wrapping paper or some fucking shit along those line, maybe even a bloody bow at the very least" earlier, so i assumed you were going to a party."

who the fuck gives presents for halloween???

carlos shrugged. "i dunno, you?"

anti sighed deeply. it's my brother's birthday, fuck's sake. can you move out my way so i can go to my room please?

"what - oh hey, no, stay and have a drink!" carlos protested, moving to block anti's way again. "come on, august, you're no fun. anyway, if it's your brother's birthday, why didn't you stay and celebrate with him? it looks like you just dropped his present and bolted."

anti snorted. basically. we're not on the best of terms. he wouldn't have wanted to see me. also, i can't drink. i'm fairly certain i've told you this.

carlos shook his hair out his face, scratching the back of his neck. "why'd you give him a present then? also, i know you can drink because you bought like, three bottles of jack daniel's a week or so ago, you're talking pish. now stop being antisocial and have fun for once."

anti's pen scribbled across the page. i have epilepsy, you bastard. also, i don't have to explain myself to you. so go away.

carlos crossed his arms. "this is my flat. you're the one who's paying to stay here. also, also, you probably shouldn't be drinking if that's a trigger for your epilepsy or whatever? that's not a good idea? why would you do that to yourself, anyway?"

because i hate myself. also, you pay to stay here too. you just paid first.

he tried to push by carlos, but the man spread his arms out to block his way, a cheeky grin on his face. anti wanted to hit him. "now now, auggie, i am not letting you spend the rest of your night being depressed in your room. you do that every night. even if you don't drink, come and sit in the living room at least! i was planning to invite some friends round if that's ok by you. it'll be fun!"

anti clenched his fists, face twitching before he calmed himself enough to write again. i'd rather sleep for twelve hours than watch you make out with your partners all night. if you aren't going to move i will fucking stab you and i am not joking.

to anti's absolute rage, carlos just laughed upon reading what he'd written. "you're funny, aug. and they have names, you know. johanna and robert. they're cool people! you might like them." he raised an eyebrow, showing his palms to the ceiling. "johanna's a firefighter, and robert collects knives. you like knives, right? i think you could be friends."

anti tried to keep ahold of his anger, but really, he was still partially in a good mood from jameson accepting his present, and he was also too tired to do much. he sank into himself, blowing the air out his cheeks. i don't want to, ok? not tonight.

carlos sighed. "i - sure. sure. but mate, you really have to stop isolating yourself. i'll admit i don't know a lot about you, but i'd like to, you know? you seem like a cool guy." he stepped aside, leaving room for anti to go into his room. then he widened his eyes, and held up a hand. "wait! let me show you what i learned." he pinched his thumb and pointer finger together in an open and closed motion in front of his face. the sign for "talk." then carlos frowned. "i, uh, forgot the sign for "later." i swear i learned it. i'm trying to learn, like, basic phrases. here, i can -" he held up his hands and signed each letter of the word "later," grinning proudly once he'd finished.

anti blinked in surprise. he wasn't even sure what to say - the fact that this man he barely knew was doing anything for him was amazing. slowly, hesitantly, he put out his pointer finger and dragged it through the air, pausing a couple of times. "later." carlos repeated after him. he smiled wide.

"cool!" he breathed, signing the full phrase. "i should definitely learn more bsl. might as well if i'm gonna be putting up with you, eh, august?" he laughed and stepped back, nearly walking into the living room doorway. "thanks. you're cool, mate."

anti just nodded. then he turned and went into the darkness of his room.

he didn't want to turn the light on. it was far too quiet, so he threw himself down on his bed and put his headphones on, staring out the window. carlos had been right - there was a full moon. a full moon on halloween. strange. that almost never happened.

anti's heart was racing and he wasn't sure why. he placed his fingers on his wrist to check his pulse, then on the area behind his ears. why was he suddenly so worked up? he almost laughed. it was always the littlest things these days. always the littlest things.

he closed his eyes and listened to the music in his ears.

kazuki kamata was an unusual woman.

anyone who knew her would tell you that. while she was kind, she was also sometimes merciless, and would do almost anything for those she cared about. she was a protector. she was fire and she was ice. no one knew where she went at nights when she left hecate. no one knew who her friends or family were. no one knew if kazuki was even her real name. some speculated she was on the run for murder. one man swore he heard a rumor that she was a world famous arsonist.

kazuki never indulged any of these rumors. she'd never needed to. people parted for her in the streets, magicians or not. people could sense her power. who would dare argue with that? no one with sense. no one ever challenged her.

until him. that skinny, green haired bastard that one of kazuki's magicians had brought in one day, the hyper irishman who apparently had no magic specialty and just did whatever the fuck he wanted. marvin mcloughlin. kazuki disliked him from the start. he was a dickhead and he didn't follow rules, he was arrogant and selfish and loud and he was an embarrassment to their organization. she couldn't count the amount of times naomi gudmundson, the poor agrokinesis girl, had come to her office to apologize for his behaviour without his knowledge. he was, to be frank, a fucking idiot. and kazuki was sick of him.

she planned to give him a notice of leave, informing him that he would no longer be welcome in their organization. it was a few days or so before she was going to do it when she found the man in the stairwell of one of their halls, curled in on himself and sobbing. kazuki had just waited to see if he'd notice her there, because what else was she supposed to do? eventually he'd glanced up, gasping at the sight of her. "i - i - miss kazuki, uh, miss kamata!" he'd spluttered, scrubbing fat tears from his splotchy red face. "i'm - i should - i'm sorry, i'll go, didn't mean to disturb -"

"it's ok," she'd said softly. to his disbelief, and her own, she'd sat down on the step next to him, wincing at the cold, hard floor under her. she shifted, trying to get comfortable. "are you alright, mr mcloughlin?"

he'd shook his head, sniffling and desperately trying to cover up his face while he wiped it off. "i'm fine," he muttered, turning away. "it's nothing, i'm ok. you should probably go. i'm sure you have important hecate work to do or some shit."

kazuki narrowed her eyes. "i'd kindly thank you not to curse like that in my presence, mcloughlin. i don't take well to such disrespect."

marvin had flushed, shoulders shooting to his ears. "sorry," he mumbled. "very sorry. i don't - i don't mean to be rude."

his face crumpled further, and he buried his face in his knees, shaking slightly. kazuki found herself softening. she knew she shouldn't. she knew she should get to her feet and leave before something happened that she would regret. but she didn't. "tell me what's wrong, mr mcloughlin," she murmured. the air around them seemed to thicken, and marvin sat up slightly, shaking his head and blinking rapidly as though it would stem the rapid flow of tears.

"had a fight with my brother and his friends," he mumbled. "it's - it's so stupid. i'm sorry, i'm - i'm really sorry!"

he gave a gasping sob and doubled over, shoulders shaking. kazuki screwed up her face. fuck, but she had no clue what to do. the kid was having a full blown panic attack from the looks of it. should she… without thinking, she stretched out a hand and touched his shoulder, warm magic flowing through her hand. "you're ok," she reassured, watching his turquoise eyes calm. "you're alright. what were you fighting about?"

he shook his head. "dumb shit. my brother's friend h-henrik, he got hurt recently and he hates me, and yet jackie - my brother - he gets mad at me when i get on at him, but he's such a p-prick and his brother used to like me b-before i met henrik but now he's - he's mad at me too, they all are. assholes." he let a hiccuping sob that sounded almost like a laugh. "i sound like such a ch-child, i'm sorry. i'm just really tired. i'm sorry. i'm always such a dick and i don't mean to, i'm just really angry all the time and i don't know why and i'm sorry, i really don't mean to be -"

he gasped, and kazuki gripped his arm tightly. "breathe," she said quietly. "you're going to pass out if you don't calm down."

"please don't kick me out!" he blurted, more tears pooling in his eyes. slit eye pupils, like a cat's. diamond shaped. kazuki had never noticed that. "please, i know you're going to kick me out of hecate and i really don't want to - to go, i - please, i promise i'll stop being an asshole and i won't pick fights with raymond and i'll -" he coughed wildly, covering his mouth. "i'm so sorry. i've b-been acting like a child. i promise you i'll be better."

and it was then that kazuki came to a quiet realization.

"you can stay," she said firmly, and marvin's face lit up. she held up a hand to stop him. "but you do have to promise that you'll be more careful of your words and actions in the future. we've had several complaints about you from other members, and if you don't change your ways i'm afraid i will have to do something about it. do you understand?"

he nodded frantically, a smile cracking his face. "yes, of course - thank you, thank you so much." he wiped his face with his sleeve again, sniffling. "i - i don't want to leave this place. it's basically been my escape from home when i'm not with naomi, and i wouldn't want to lose it. really, i… i don't mean to be a dick. i promise."

kazuki learned something that day. and what she learned was that no matter how hard she tried, she was always going to come back to love. she was always going to feel empathy, she was always going to want to comfort people who were hurting, and there was a part of her that was always going to feel so painfully human. she saw herself in this young, green haired magician. and she unfortunately grew to care about him as time passed. even once she'd discovered he'd been practicing darker magics and made him promise to stop. even once he'd left hecate. she was so human sometimes. it was nice to be reminded of that.

tonight, back in the present, she was thinking about him.

she did that sometimes. it made her wonder how things might have been if she had been different towards marvin. if she had been less cold. kazuki didn't like to be close to people. kazuki didn't want to let herself care about anyone. she thought maybe, if she stayed indifferent, she'd stop. but… she hadn't, had she? she loved marvin. he was like a dumbass child who cursed a lot and interrupted meetings and made a nuisance of himself. and she loved him. he reminded her... he reminded her of her brother who she'd lost so long ago.

she suddenly remembered his book of magic. the one he'd given to her in exchange for her help all those months ago. she still had it in her drawers in her office, right at the back of the one on the bottom. really, she shouldn't have taken it from him in the first place. "you're an idiot, kazuki," she sang to herself under her breath as she pulled the key off the chain on her neck. "you never know what you want."

the drawer was empty.

kazuki stared into it. the drawer was empty. the drawer couldn't be empty.

she stood and marched briskly out her office, heart racing but face void of emotion. she was good at that. "alana!" she snapped, and the purple haired magician who had been walking by stopped dead with wide eyes. kazuki frowned down at her. "have you seen anyone come into my office at all today?"

alana shook her head. "no, miss kamata. only you."

kazuki's heart skipped. "alana. what do you mean, only me?"

the girl looked confused. "you were here earlier, miss kamata. you told me and tony to look alive, i believe? why?"

kazuki just shook her head. she couldn't breathe all of a sudden.

"because i haven't been here all day," she murmured, far too quietly.

it seemed the past was catching up to her.

"this is perfect!" rhea cackled. she was spinning in a circle with the book clutched to her chest. "so much magic, so many spells! can you believe that air magic bitch kept it in a drawer in her office? fucking sentimental sap. shouldn't make things so easy to get to."

"ok, and was risking our fucking lives worth that stupid book?" aaron suddenly spat from the couch he was curled up on. jackie flinched. rhea did not. she stopped spinning and glared at him, eyes narrowing with venom.

"it was, actually," she said, her light tone contrasting with her ice cold expression. "jackie's brother is extremely powerful and he has basically every spell he knows in this book. is that correct, jackie?" she turned to him, and jackie took an instinctive step back. "tell your boyfriend that i'm right."

jackie… honestly wasn't sure what rhea wanted with marvin's magic. however, it had been her idea to sneak into hecate and steal it while jackie and aaron kept watch, and the plan has worked, so he supposed no losses had been made. but it seemed aaron has taken this as a personal attack. "you fucking asshole," the blonde hissed, suddenly getting to his feet. "do you have any goddamn care for anyone but yourself?"

jackie laughed nervously, raising his hands. "guys, let's not do this."

they both ignored him. "you're a selfish fucking cunt and all you want is to use us for your gain," aaron seethed, his face red with sudden anger. "we could have gotten in big trouble - breaking into a place like hecate is no fucking joke, rhea, and we're not up for playing your games anymore. tell her that, jackson!"

rhea smiled at aaron cruelly, not an ounce of warmth in her face. "i'm apparently doing a better job of protecting you two than you are," she beamed, voice strained with a thin veil of rage. "you're completely incompetent without someone to guide you. i'm trying to help you and have been from the goddamn start. you would have fucking died without me and i'm honestly starting to wish i had let you."

jackie jumped in before punches could be thrown. "guys!" he shouted, pushing them both away from each other. "you're being fucking ridiculous. rhea, explain why you needed us to get marvin's magic when we already have access to basically all his black magic spells. aaron, you…" he hesitated. "you just… calm down."

aaron spluttered while rhea sat on her couch nearest the window. "ok," she smirked, folding her legs under her. "your brother is an extremely powerful mage, jackie. and while his black magic is strong, the rest of his magic is stronger."

"nothing is stronger than black magic," aaron said through gritted teeth. jackie took his hand and ran his thumb along the back of it soothingly.

rhea cocked her head. "and that's where you're wrong. white magic can be just as powerful, if not more. see, aaron, you're like - you know how in movies there's the dumb guy who always tries to solve his problems by using brute force, and it works for a little while, but then the smart character comes in and uses their brains to solve everything?" she pointed at him with an innocent smile. "you're the dumb guy."

jackie pushed aaron back down before he could do anything he probably wouldn't regret. "let's not poke sticks right now, huh?" he said, shooting the last word at rhea. "explain what you mean, please."

she sighed. "there is no concrete line between black and white magic," she said. "and there is no actual hierarchy of magical strength. it all depends on who's controlling it, who's magic it began as, and how the spell is conducted, among many other things. it's not just "what the spell is." if it were that simple, any magician could shift as well as me, or i could bend air as well as that japanese magician." she paused to take a breath. "point is, this magic stems from a very powerful man, which would make the spells powerful. we could use these."

"and it was worth our lives?" aaron interjected smoothly.

rhea snorted. "yours, maybe."

"rhea," jackie snapped. "aaron is my boyfriend, and if you want my help, you'll have to deal with him too."

"i can fight my own bloody fights," aaron spat, pushing jackie's hand away. he glared at rhea with murder in his eyes before turning back to jackie. "and what, am i just an accessory to you? something to be dealt with? i'm a human person, jackson, and i demand respect."

rhea scoffed. "i don't know that you deserve it."

"guys," jackie protested. "aaron, just shut up -"

"you're supposed to be defending me!" aaron shouted, whirling round on him. "i'm your boyfriend, i've known you for a year now, you just met her like three weeks ago! you - don't - you're gonna trust her opinion over mine?"

jackie shook his head. "it's not like that," he said weakly. "but we need rhea on our side -"

"i don't trust her and i've made that plainly clear!" aaron despaired, grabbing jackie's shoulders without warning. "please, listen to me -"

"aaron - aaron, let go -"

"you don't believe me! i'm not just being paranoid!"

"aaron -"

"you never listen to me, you fucking asshole, i'm trying to warn you -"

"aaron, shu̸t ̸uṕ͜!"

the sudden wave of panicked magic nearly knocked him out. he staggered back, clutching his head, before he noticed what he'd done. aaron was swaying on the spot, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. jackie's heart dropped. no, no, not again, not again -

"aaron - shit, i didn't - didn't mean it," he choked out, wrapping his arms around himself. "shit -"

"oh, well done," came rhea's voice. he turned to her, vision blurred with tears, to see she'd stood up again and was now beside him, a small smile on her face. "you know, jackson, i didn't think you were the type to hypno your own boyfriend. that takes guts."

"accident," jackie sobbed. "it was an accident -"

"but you wanted to do it," she said quietly. she took his hand, and her face softened. "you wanted to hypnotize him to make him shut up. i don't blame you. you know i'm right and you feel bad because your boyfriend doesn't believe that i'm to be trusted. it must hurt. but i understand."

she pulled him into a gentle hug, facing him away from aaron so he couldn't see his face. jackie stared numbly out the living room window as rhea pat his back, speaking softly. "this is a very hard situation for you. i get it. but… you're gonna have to admit it. aaron isn't good for you. he's just holding you back."

"he's my boyfriend," jackie mumbled into her shoulder. "and he's my best friend. i love him. he's never once held me back from anything and i love him."

rhea pulled away. she studied jackie's face for a moment, expression blank. then she shrugged. "ok. well, i made you a profile on my netflix. i set your picture as the blue wally guy from black mirror because i thought it was funny. watch whatever you want, i don't judge. i'm going to my room. see you tomorrow, jackson."

she skipped out the room, jackie staring after her.

#jacksepticeye #boop writes #jameson jackson #marvin the magnificent #chase brody #jackieboy man #henrik von schneeplestein #antisepticeye #aaron mckenzie #rhea maclaren #the fall

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vintageseawitch · 5 years ago

Note

Take a look at this shitty take of Snape from a guy who thinks Lockhart is better then Snape and that Pixar’s Up and Incredibles are bad movies. Link: coolman229 tumblr post 620138002538201088 i-just-realized-something-lockhart-is-a-great

You know what? I love that other anon’s point: Lockhart and Snape really ARE opposites. If there’s anything pleasant that could be taken from that entire post/interaction with someone like this coolman229 user, it’s this. Lockhart LOOKS strong and kind... and it’s simply because he’s pretty and (somehow) personable. In the end though he has no integrity and no qualms against CONTINUOUSLY CHOOSING to do morally reprehensible acts in order to take credit for things he would never have the magical ability - let alone grit and courage - to do himself. Lockhart’s cookie cutter good looks make it SO EASY to STILL give him the benefit of the doubt. “He KNOWS he’s doing something wrong” - so that makes him less evil than Snape, who has been trying to atone for mistakes from almost 20 years previously??? Because Snape bullies children???? Lockhart tried to Obliviate Harry and Ron ffs, and he was only unsuccessful because of Ron’s fucked up wand!!! Snape is forced (because there’s no where else that would make sense based on his CANONICAL background) to teach, which fits his spy persona: he’s as close to Dumbledore as he can be without raising suspicion to either side, and potions is a VERY STRESSFUL subject. The school curriculum forced him to essentially babysit children - many of whom were clumsy and were, well, CHILDREN - who had to handle dangerous and often volatile substances. That would stress ANYONE out, and anyone who has anger issues and/or no help with dealing with past and eventually current trauma shouldn’t have to deal with that additional stress. So, Snape said some hurtful things to students. So, he played favorites (why wouldn’t it be dangerous for him to show kindness to Gryffindors while he’s BEING A SPY FOR VOLDEMORT). So, he was especially “mean” to Neville. I don’t like that he was sometimes, but I can understand to an extent why. Students like Neville are potentially deadly to have in the classroom, and despite what antis choose to believe, Snape took the safety of his students seriously. It really did affect him. This is ALSO CANONICAL. I’ve come across several eloquent posts talking about this in depth and I agree wholeheartedly with them. One thing I read in one of these posts that’s stood out to me: Snape was no less a bully/strict in the classroom than other teachers, and antis rarely want to talk about THEM. It seemed more like something students talk about between classes: “such and such teacher is strict and not very nice” but once they're done with school it’s forgotten.

Also, have you noticed antis are just boring, unoriginal, and only get heated about things that don’t matter? I mean, did they really read the same books? Or are they just incapable of understanding that truly interesting characters are morally grey? From what I see with every anti rant: they’re bully-apologists, they tend to victim-blame, and they only like people/characters who handle their trauma a certain “correct” way. They can’t come up with anything more creative, so to distract people from those shitty characteristics previously stated, they try to “end” an argument or something and basically over-simplify a fictional bad guy by calling him and others who follow him nazis, which is careless and tactless at best and honestly antisemitic at worst. Their irrational hatred for a fictional character lets them believe they can resort to comparing a fictional conflict and atrocious acts to, I don’t know, REAL LIFE HORRIFYING ATROCITIES. As though that is the final nail in their bullet-hole filled coffin argument. Voldemort leans towards fascist ideals, but that doesn’t mean he’s a fucking nazi. He’s a goddamn FICTIONAL, MAGICAL person. He wields a fucking MAGIC WAND. Why are antis so disgusting about this?? It would be absolutely fantastic if they could get this gist: pro-Snape fans are not saying Snape is perfect. He is in fact an asshole. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t GOOD. Just because someone isn’t Lockhart-pretty doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of good. Just because someone doesn’t appear pleasant doesn’t meant they aren’t capable of BAD.

Anywho, I appreciate you pointing out this anon post with this coolman229 user if only for the comparison between Snape and Lockhart, and sorry about this turning into a rant!! Lol. After coming across that post though I have no inclination to read any other asinine posts, especially if he were to “argue” that Up and The Incredibles are bad movies (SO EDGY lmao). Thank you for messaging me though, and I’m sorry it took a while to post! ^_^

#Snape #Professor Snape #Severus Snape #pro Snape #antis are weird and boring #I tend to write out novellas when I'm passionate about something #sorry not sorry lmao #anon #thank you for the message anon #in case previous posts seem to claim otherwise #I do like receiving fun anons like this

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annaraebananawriter · 5 years ago

Text

Pan’s Lullaby

Yellow! Here is another oneshot. Now, just so you know, this one is meant to be read as platonic, but it could also be romantic if you want. I, personally, see these two as friends, most of the time, but I do like it when they are lovers too.

Fandom: Undertale, but specifically Dreamtale and Errortale

Characters: Dream (Who belongs to Joku), Error (Who belongs to CQ)

Pairings: None really, but you can read it as such

Warnings: Language, I think that’s it. Let me know.

Word Count: 1613

~oOo~

Error hadn’t met Dream one on one before.

They fought, yes, but this was mostly because of Ink. Dream was a part of Ink's team, The Star Sanses (which was a pretty stupid name, in Error's opinion), so they had naturally been enemies. If it hadn't been for that, the two probably wouldn't have met.

That being said, from what Error had seen Dream was fairly happy and upbeat. He was the Guardian of Positivity, so it was a given he would positive. Sometimes, the happiness that radiated of him would get on Error's nerve and annoy him, but Dream was the most tolerant of the trio, so he ignored it.

Nightmare, however, seemed to hate Dream with a burning passion. From the few conversations Error had with him, he seemed to always see Dream as this thorn in his side, someone who was so perfect, so naive, that he didn't care about anyone in his shadow. Nightmare usually went off on a rant about Dream, with Error only half-listening.

(“Like, honestly, how can someone be so blind?! Am I right, Error?... Error?”

“Hmm.”

“...you're not listening, are you?”

"Nope.")

So, Error decided to just assume that Dream was a happy person who had his life together, with almost no hardships bothering him.

He was so, so wrong.

~oOo~

It was late in the day and Error had just gotten back to his Anti-Void. He immediately flopped on his beanbag and let out a yawn.

It had been a long, but satisfying, day of destroying and avoiding Ink. Though, it was surprisingly easy to avoid the soulless creator, as he hadn’t appeared all day. It made Error paranoid, expecting Ink to jump out and scare him at any moment. But he didn’t.

Error didn’t dwell on it for too long, though. It was good for his work in the long run. Now, there was twenty or so less AUs (Abominations) in the Multiverse.

Error’s eyes opened backup as the voices started, interrupting his potential sleep. He groaned.

“Shut up!” He shouted to the nothing around him, his voice glitching all over the place. The voices didn’t listen; instead, they got louder, urging him to do too many things at once. “God Damnit, just SHUT UP ALREADY!”

Error panted slightly in anger; fists tightly clenched. The voices finally quieted, which made him breathe a quiet sigh of relief. However, he was now wide awake and most likely wouldn’t be sleeping for a while yet.

So, Error got up and made a portal to the only AU he really liked: Outertale.

He had found Outertale by accident a long time ago. Full of anger, rage, hatred, and strangely enough, betrayal, but for the life of him Error can’t remember why. He was ready to destroy whatever world he ended up in.

Then, he looked up and saw the thousands upon thousands of stars decorating the sky.

~oOo~

It was so beautiful. Red, pink, purple, blue: he could see them all and so many more. He was awed. Excited. At peace. He closed his eyes and sat down, breathing deeply, relaxed for the first time since he escaped that wretched white void he calls home.

He didn’t want to go back.

But something was wrong.

It was too pretty. Too distracting, too peaceful. Too much. It burned. It pained him, glitches pouring into his eyes, pieces of his body breaking off before slamming back into place. Hurts, hurts, hurts. Gen—Error screamed—

~oOo~

Error shook his head to clear the memory from his mind. He rocked back on his heels, staring up at the stars above.

He had avoided this place for a while after that, but eventually found himself drawn back. Each time he came, the more he felt like it was a place to relax, not one that meant to cause him harm. His crashes and little attacks he had slowly decreased until they disappeared. Now, he came here whenever he was down, stressed, angry, anything really.

And the stars never stopped shining, never stopped being beautiful.

Error sighed and made his way to his spot. There was a cliff, and if you looked down, you would see just blackness. But if you looked up, you had a clear view of the stars. It was the perfect spot, as no one but Error knew about it.

Except, that apparently wasn’t true.

Error blinked. There was someone in his spot. At first, anger filled him, urging him to go over and demand his spot back. Maybe even kill whatever abomination found it, so that way no one could tell about his spot. Until he heard it.

Humming. And crying.

Whoever found his spot was humming, yet they were stumbling as they kept interrupting themselves with sobs and sniffles. They had a steady voice, anyways.

Error found himself in a sort of trance. The humming was quite…pleasing, if he was honest. He had to get closer, had to see who this person was. So, he walked closer. One, two, three steps and he saw them. They had their back turned to Error, but he didn’t care about that, or the cape around their shoulders, or the crown on their—

Error blinked.

And again.

There was no way. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. Right? Right. There was no way that was—

“Dream?” Error spoke before he could stop himself. He tensed.

The person jumped and gasped, cutting their humming off. They quickly wiped at their tears and turned around.

Error was right. It was Dream. But, how? Why? This conflicted with everything Error had known about him. He was so confused. What if this was a trick? A trap? But if that was the case, he would have been attacked already. And those tears didn’t seem to be fake.

The two held a staring contest for a bit.

Then, Dream wiped the tears away, not that it worked, scrambling onto his feet. “E-Error!” He said, trying to smile through. “I-I’m so so-sorry! I didn’t know this was your place.”

Error was silent, watching Dream.

Dream hiccupped, trying to wipe some more tears away. “I-I’ll, uh…I’ll go. I don’t want to be i-in your way…” He reached out and summoned a portal. He moved to go through but was stopped.

“Stay.”

Dream paused, blinking. Error blinked too. He wasn’t supposed to say anything. He was supposed to just let Dream leave so that he could have his spot back. And yet…at the same time, he didn’t’ want Dream to leave. It was confusing.

Error decided to just roll with it. He walked to the ledge and sat down in the spot Dream was before. He felt the positive being’s eyes on him.

“W-What?” Dream stuttered.

“I said, stay.” Error reaffirmed, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Dream was silent. Error felt a blush grow on his cheeks and he huffed. “Listen, you can stay, just don’t make it weird, okay?!”

Error directed his focus to watching the stars. He didn’t care whether Dream accepted his offer or not. Soon enough, though, he heard the portal close and Dream sit down next to him, a comfortable distance between them.

They watched the stars together for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts. Error heard Dream start crying again.

He sighed. “What’s wrong?”

“H-huh?”

“I can hear you thinking from over here, and you don’t exactly cry silently. So,” He looked over at Dream, locking eyes. “what’s wrong?”

Dream looked away. “I-It’s nothing…”

“Bullshit!” Error hissed, making Dream jump. “I’m trying to be nice here, so just tell me what’s wrong so we can watch the stars in peace and quiet?!” Error was losing his patience.

Dream was silent for a bit. Error huffed and prepared to give up, when the other spoke softly.

“Today is December 21st…mine and Nightmare’s birthday.”

Error blinked. He didn’t expect that. If anything, he was expecting something trivial that dream was just complaining about because he was so perfect, he didn’t have time for it. Apparently, he was wrong.

“And…” Dream continued, staring at his lap. “It’s also been 1,000 years since the Apple Incident. 700 of which I spent in a stone prison, unable to move, see, hear, or speak.”

Error paused at that. He knew that the guardians had been around for a long time, Nightmare had bragged about it constantly, but he didn’t expect it to be that long. It was almost mind-blowing. And to spend 700 years alone with only your thoughts…well, it reminded Error of his time in the Anti-Void.

At this moment, Error felt like he understood Dream more than anyone else. They were both stuck in a place with just their thoughts, and even if Error could’ve still moved and spoken, he had the impression that Dream’s thoughts eventually started to scream back at him too.

“I-I’m sorry,” He heard Dream speak again and looked over. Dream had a sad smile on his face that looked strained. He looked tired. “for putting my problems on you, I—”

“Stop apologizing.” Error commanded, all animosity gone from his voice, replaced with a hint of gentleness.

“Sor—…okay.”

They directed their gaze back to the stars. Something new was between them, a connection of sorts. They knew that the other understood, but they didn’t need to say it out loud. They just…knew.

“That song you were humming before, does it have any words?”

“Ah…I think so, but I’ve long forgotten them.”

“…can you still sing it again?”

“Okay.”

They sat there together, the stars gleaming and a pleasant song filling the air. They both felt warm at having made a new…friend.

#my writing #dream sans #error sans #oneshot

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lognecro · 4 years ago

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I’m getting job training at Bonehaven learning center

I’m typing this on my phone because I don’t have a computer, but i’m hoping to get one in the next month. Anyways, my name is Logan, and I had no direction in life. I was born on March 22, 2003, so i’ll be 18 in about a month. I have a few interesting things about me that might be important for this blog. I am autistic, I suffer from several mental disorders that cause psychosis, anger issues, and in general destructive behavior. I dropped out of high school midway through junior year, and have been through the process of getting my ged while holding down a job at a grocery store.

I don’t know when but my parents found out about a program called Job Corps, and I filled out an application. I’ll be going to the Bonehaven center in Oregon, where I will be trained in SAPS(Security and protective services). This should be happening in the next few months, but since right now my life is doing pretty poorly social wise, I thought writing a journal might help. I don’t like being trapped in my own bubble though, so i’m doing a blog. Instead of screaming my thoughts onto paper, i’ll be doing it into the void that is the internet.

My hobbies include reading and writing, listening to music, and practicing bass(I’m not very good at it). I’m hoping in the future though to write my own music, or at least perform in a band. My main dream is to become a ghost and monster hunter though, traveling the United States checking out hotspots of folklore and supernatural activity. Sadly I have to focus on reality, and that’s why I am doing SAPS with Job Corps, I’m not an idiot but i’m not the smartest guy either, and despite me having a bit of a weight issue, when i’m working out regularly I have body builder muscles and i’m absolutely swol.

Right now me and my friends are going through a rough patch, I spend too much money and time on my friend Ivy, while I barely spend time with Jenny. It doesn’t help that they hate each other and refuse to be in the same room together. Ivy is super needy and texts me every day to hang out, which makes me irritable most of the time so I usually lie and say I’m working because I need my alone time. Jenny never texts me and I rarely see her cause she lives a couple towns over, and I don’t have my license yet so I always have to ask for a ride.

I’m hoping to get my license soon, but with this pandemic, it’s been nearly impossible to get an appointment set up. I have this old convertible Chrysler that my grandma gave me, it needs a new battery and hood, and before I take it in to get fixed, I have to scrub the inside down with bleach because of all the mold. It’s a really nice car though and I hope to have it running in a couple months. I have a bit of an energy drink addiction and right now I’m in love with these zero calorie, 300 mg caffeine drinks. I get the new red dragon flavor and it’s just a really good and smooth fruit punch flavor.

At my job, I’m the closing parcel, so i’m the guy pushing carts and cleaning the restrooms, though I refuse to clean the womens restroom after I had done my whole *knock knock* “HOUSEKEEPING, ANYBODY INSIDE?!?!?” routine, and nobody answered, so I walked in and in the first stall, a woman was...having some fun I guess, awkward thing was she stared me in the eyes and only did it more furiously, so I just don’t go in there anymore. My bosses are generally very pleasant and easy to work with, except for Big Bitch and Little Bitch, who I will not say their names as to not reference their names.

Big Bitch has no idea how to manage people, and has a thick accent that makes it very hard to understand him. He’s the one that tells me to go vacuum the front lobby when the cart bays are over flowing and people are complaining. Little Bitch has absolutely no empathy or awareness of his surroundings, he generally wanders off to go talk to customers or check his phone, while he lets the assistant manager do all the hard work of managing the front end. The assistant managers are the people I can actually respect, because they’re real people instead of an annoying character that only exists to make my day harder.

In general I don’t have to do much most days, and take long breaks because people often don’t use carts or make massive messes, you’d think they would but it’s only happen a couple times in the year i’ve worked here. At home I live in a repurposed bathroom, where the sink, bathtub, and toilet had all been removed and paved over to turn the room into an exceptionally large storage room, where I have a twin sized bed, a tv, and an xbox that I never play. Often at night, I can hear my parents having sex over my music because the walls are so thin. Getting drunk or high helps, but most days I just turn the tv up high or listen to music via my headphones.

I’m going to be switching to a flip phone, because I want to stop using social media as often, and I just think they’re cool. I love old tech. I’m making the switch after I get a laptop, so that i’ll still have a way to update this blog. Anyways I’ve, recently been getting into the occult, mainly to explain my prophetic dreams that are either random events that i’m going to experience or end of the world scenarios that happen in other universes. My mom had the ability to see and conjure the dead, and my brothers inherited that ability, but I didn’t. While i’m sensitive to the supernatural, I can’t perceive what’s around me, only what’s in my head

I initially thought it was some sort of schizophrenia the voices in my head, but even after taking anti psychotics and getting monthly injections, they never went away. I never told anybody though, because I don’t want to go to a hospital again. I’ve been trying to categorize and place the voices, but they’re not the same every time, and they’re not talking to me. They’re just talking, it’s like eavesdropping on a conversation that doesn’t exist, but yet some how, the information I hear is usually about the people around me, some random stuff, and me. I’m currently in the small break room, with an ear bud in my right ear and two conversations going on to my left.

One is my coworkers talking to each other, and the other one is a man talking to a woman, I don’t really know what it’s about but a few snippets are “Yeah I piss in the milk, they can’t tell though. I’ve managed to open a door, gonna try to do that again soon. I made about 3 kids cry again, honestly if I could I’d make a career out of it”

Just random things like that, in general though the conversation seems to be about somebody named and I don’t know how this is spelt so this is a guess, “Hephitus” I have no idea who that is, but it seems like they’re talking about a person. I hear this name every now and then, but they dropped this name a few times and in general it’s them just verbally shitting on him/her, pretty much what I do when i’m talking about somebody. I typically ignore these convos but right now i’m bored, so I got nothing better to do. I have to go back to work now though, so Imma go. I’m going to try posting daily, so let me know what you think. This has been Logan or LogNecro, and this is my blog

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wwoww-au · 5 years ago

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Lovesick

I’ve always been afraid of being alone. For as long as I could remember I was terrified that my world would always be cold, empty, incomplete. I could only hope that I would find someone special… and one day I found him. My Senpai. From the moment I met him, I knew he was the one. I felt complete. But he was destined to be with someone else.

She likes him, but not in the way I like him. She could never appreciate him the way I do. She is a selfish, shallow human being. She doesn’t deserve someone as good as him. But I found something to stop her. Something to cut their ties -- their heartstrings -- before she could take him away from me. I thought I was doing the right thing, protecting Senpai from ending up with the wrong person.

I knew it the moment I cut the string. The searing pain in my hand where I had held the scissors, the jagged red scar etched beneath my ring finger. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done this. It wasn’t my choice to make. I-

“Yan?” Senpai waved a hand in front of their face.

“Huh?” Yan looked up at him. The two were sitting across from each other at a small table in a cafe. They had been meeting like this a lot in the last few weeks; getting lunch or walking through the park and simply getting to know each other. Yan cherished these moments more than anything in the world. “Sorry, lost in thought.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Senpai leaned forward, a look of concern on his face. “You haven’t been acting like your normal, obsessively cheery self lately. And you look awfully pale.”

“I’m fine, I promise,” they reassured him, placing a gloved hand over his. “I’ve been tired, that’s all.”

“Are you sure it’s just that? You could be coming down with something. Maybe you should see a doctor.”

“Oh, alright. If you say so.” Yan gave a half-hearted smile. “I’ll get a checkup tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Senpai sat back in his chair. “I care about you, you know. I don’t want you to get sick.”

"You're just the sweetest, do you know that?" Yan said. The pair smiled at each other. "So, what were we talking about, before all this?"

"Your trip to the library?"

"Oh, right! So yeah B and I get to the Gardening Section, and then this giant vine shoots out of nowhere and-"

Henrik rarely got appointments these days. His patients mainly consisted of officers from the nearby Crime Department or special cases assigned by the Committee themselves. Sitting at his desk, he checked his schedule for the day. It was completely empty, except for one person who had scheduled a checkup for later that afternoon. He was a little surprised, but he was grateful to have something to do that day.

They arrived five minutes early to the appointment, greeting him at the door with a smile. "Good morning, Doctor."

"You can just call me Henrik," he said, politely shaking their hand. Their greeting reminded him of Jackie, another positive force trying and failing to brighten his ever sour mood. "Yan, was it?"

"That's me," they answered cheerfully as they followed him back into the office. They perched up on the edge of one of the beds. Henrik pulled a clipboard off of his desk and read what was written there.

"So, it says here you've been feeling sick? Can you describe your symptoms?"

Yan looked down at their hands, folded in their lap. "I've been really tired lately. I guess I've been a little more irritable."

"Anything else?" Henrik barely looked up from his clipboard.

"Well, I-" They hesitated. "Uh, I've been struggling with my magic a bit."

Henrik's eyes went wide upon hearing this, and his head snapped up to look at them. His grip tightened on the clipboard. He spoke slowly, but with urgency. "What did you say?"

"I've been struggling with my magic a bit? Nothing too serious, I've just been getting headaches when I try to sense emotions or look at strings…" They trailed off when they saw the look Henrik was giving them. It was a look of fear, and of sadness.

"Did you use any core magic, other than your own?"

"W-what?"

"Did you use any core magic other than your own?" he repeated, his tone urgent and serious.

"I…" they trailed off and slumped their shoulders. They pulled off one of their gloves, holding up their left hand to reveal a small red iridescent scar on the knuckle beneath their ring finger. "Yes."

Henrik's heart broke for the person in front of him. Someone so young, having to endure the consequences of such a horrible decision. He so badly wanted to tell them everything was alright, but they needed to hear the truth. "You're corrupting."

"I thought because I used an item, nothing bad would happen. But I guess not," Yan continued, their breathing picking up as they spoke. "It was such a dumb mistake, and now my life is over! I'll lose my apprenticeship, they'll break my locket, they'll throw me in jail and- oh wizard god, what will my mom think?!" They broke into a sob, covering their face with their hands.

Henrik froze. He didn't know what to do; it had been too long since he had comforted someone. He moved forward and put a hand on their shoulder, a gesture Jackie had used to comfort him countless times. "Hey, it's alright. You're going to be alright."

"How?" Yan choked out between sobs, tear-filled eyes begging for some sort of answer.

"I-" He paused to consider what he could say, if he could trust the stranger in front of him. Something about them told him he could. "I'm working on a cure. Something that can stop corruption before it can destroy the wizard. It's slow work, but I have help." He decided not to go into detail about Anti. The poor kid was already so afraid, it would be best not to mention the walking corpse in the basement.

"You- you are?" They sniffed, a small smile tugging at the corners of their mouth. "And you'd be willing to help me?"

"Of course," he said softly, managing to return the slight smile.

"Then I want to help you, too." They wiped a few stray tears from their eyes. "Where do we start?"

Henrik stepped back. He was hesitant to bring someone else into this, but the need for more help outweighed the worry. "First you have to promise not to tell anyone about any of this. The Committee already has me under watch, and if they find out I'm messing with corruption they'll break my item even more. You'll be fine; you're in a very early stage of corruption. It's barely noticeable. Keep that scar covered, and don't tax yourself too much when using magic."

They slipped their glove back on and nodded. They had a new look of determination on their tear-soaked face. Henrik bent over and shifted the carpet to the side, revealing the basement door.

"I keep my research down here," he said, lifting the hatch to the stairs. "I'll go grab some of it for you to look over, see what you can do to help, though admittedly, there's not much. Wait up here." He disappeared down the dark steps.

Yan stood up from the bed and began pacing around. They absentmindedly fiddled with their locket as they began to process their feelings. On one hand, their selfish decision led to their own corruption; on the other, sheer luck brought them to someone working on a cure. Yan halted their pacing in front of the trap door. The sound of Henrik's voice, along with a second, harsher voice, drifted from below. Using the smallest bit of Heart magic, they could sense strong emotion from below. Concern, fear, anger. It put them on edge.

They moved towards open door, gently padding down the steps. They spotted Henrik arguing in a hushed tone with another man, whose back was turned to them. "Henrik, are you alright?" they said quietly.

"Yan," Henrik said quickly, eyes wide with panic. "I told you to wait upstairs."

"I heard you talking and I wanted to check-" They were quickly cut off when the other man turned around, revealing his haunting features. Blood oozed from a cut on his neck, and his skin clung to his bones, as if he hadn’t eaten in years. Jet black eyes glared at them, green and blue irises seemingly glowing with fury. Yan clapped a hand over their mouth. "Oh m-my wizard god… your neck-"

"I told you this was a bad idea!" the man yelled back at Henrik. He stalked towards Yan, a hideous sneer on his face. His hands flickered with glitchy, crimson and dark green magic.

"Anti, calm down," Henrik begged, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No! Listen to me!" Anti whipped around, throwing Henrik’s hand off, and pointed an accusing finger at the doctor, who shrunk visibly. "You're way too trusting! That's what got you into this mess in the first place!" He turned back to Yan. "You! Get out!"

"I'm- I'm sorry! I shouldn't have-" Yan stuttered out the best they could. They backed away slowly, heart practically beating out of their chest.

"GET OUT!" Anti screamed. The magic gathering at his hands burst out, knocking back everything around him. Yan flew back into the stairs with a strangled cry. The room settled, unbearably quiet after the blast. Yan stood on shaky feet before scrambling up the stairs, a few fresh tears streaking their face.

"What did you do?" Henrik broke the silence, pushing past Anti to get to the stairs.

"I didn't know I could do that." Anti flexed his hand, staring at it with curiosity. "Honestly. You know I can't control my magic."

Henrik was already midway up the stairs. "I don't care about your magic,” the doctor snapped, “what you need to be controlling is your temper. We'll talk about this later." He disappeared up the stairs, calling after Yan.

Anti huffed, and slumped over into the worn desk chair. He glanced over at the jar on the desk, where Sam was silently bobbing in the green potion. "Don't look at me like that," he grumbled. "Okay.. maybe I overreacted, but I have every right to be on edge."

Sam bumped up against the glass.

"It would be nice to have a little more help... But how do I know we can trust them?"

Sam bumped the glass again, making a few bubbles float to the surface.

"You're right. You're always right. I'll go apologize."

He stood up, grabbing the tattered notebook and numerous loose scraps of paper that made up his corruption research, as well as Sam's jar. With one last look at Sam for reassurance, he made his way upstairs, carefully lifting the trap door with his free hand when he reached the top.

He peaked out, glancing around the room with wild eyes. His gaze landed on Henrik, hands resting on a shaking Yan's shoulders. Tears ran down their face, and the doctor was muttering something in hopes of calming them down. Anti cleared his throat.

Henrik turned around, immediately moving in front of Yan. "That was fast. Already coming to apologize?"

Anti shrugged before climbing up the last of the stairs. "Sam convinced me that we could use more help, okay? They can stay."

"Sam?" Yan whispered to the doctor, peering around his side. "Is he talking about that thing in the jar?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Henrik sighed. "All that time sitting alone in the basement is making him lose his grip on reality."

"Are you two going to stand around insulting me all day, or are we going to get some work done?" Anti cut in, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I have some books on old life magic in my room, I'll go get those while you two start going over notes," Henrik said, walking over to the door that lead to his apartment. "Anti, if you try anything, I'll make sure you stay dead this time."

"Yikes, low blow," Anti gasped, and held a hand to his heart to feign hurt. "But your point stands."

"I mean it. Play nice." Henrik stepped into his apartment and shut the door, leaving the two alone.

Anti kneeled down on the floor, laying out all of his work and Sam's jar in front of him. He glanced up at Yan, who still watched nervously from a few feet away. "Well, you wanted to help, right? Come here," he grunted, waving them over. They slowly walked over and sat in front of him, cautiously watching him. "So, Yan, what'd you do?"

"What?" Yan flinched slightly, half expecting Anti to lash out at them again.

"What did you do to get corrupted?"

"Oh, that." They looked away. "I used an item with a Soul core in it. I have a Heart core."

"Really, that's it? Why?"

"Well," they hesitated, "I really like this guy, and I was scared I was going to lose him to someone else. So I used the item to cut their heartstrings." They looked up to see Anti staring at them with disbelief. His mouth slowly curled into a smile and he started to howl with laughter. "Why are you laughing?!"

"Are you kidding me?" He spoke after catching his breath. "You got corrupted over a crush?! Oh my god, you know what this makes you? A Yan-dere!" He began to laugh harder at his own joke.

"Stop laughing, it's not funny," they huffed, crossing their arms. "Whatever! How did you corrupt then, if what I did was so ridiculous?!"

"How do you even know I'm corrupt?"

"You literally just threw me into the stairway with glitch magic."

"You got me there," Anti admitted, reaching up to gently scratch at his neck. A few bits of caked-up blood flaked off. "It's a long story. I was at a low point in my life, thought magic would help. Obviously, that wasn't the case."

"How did your family react to finding out you're corrupted?" Yan asked. They tensed when they saw his face grow solemn. "Sorry, I just- I'm really worried about what might happen if my friends or family find out."

"No, it's fine," Anti said. "My family was out of the picture long before I corrupted."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be," Anti scoffed, shaking his head. "I doubt they miss me much, anyways." Those words hung in the air for what felt like hours before he spoke again. "Hey, Yandere, now's not the time to mope around. We got work to do."

"Are you seriously going to keep calling me that?"

"Absolutely." He handed them a notebook with a wink.

"Whatever," they grumbled, snatching the notebook from his hand. Their brow furrowed as they flipped through the crumpled, occasionally bloodstained pages. "Your handwriting is terrible. Does this say 'soul' or 'seal'?"

Anti leaned forward to read the scribbled words. "That says 'core'."

Yan looked at the page again. "You're such a mess."

Anti snickered. "Oh yeah, well-"

Henrik opened the door to the apartment, a pile of old books precariously balanced under one arm. He watched the other two on the floor, quickly exchanging playful insults back and forth. He couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips. His efforts always felt so hopeless,yet such a small exchange between strangers made him feel optimistic for the first time in months. Maybe there was some hope left.

#wwoww au #yandereplier #henrik von schneeplestein #dr schneeplestein #antisepticeye #wwoww yan #wwoww henrik #wwoww anti #wwoww story

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alwaysrunningoutoftime · 4 years ago

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Part 2 of Shirbert & Rivamika Parallels

Part 1

Once again made in response to @gilly-bj post.

Heartbreaking Moment (very different tones) (AG, RM)

Teamwork (RM: 1, 2, 3)

(okay so I can't include every single moment rivamika were a team but here are a few)

Heart to Heart (AG, RM)

Lastly, I'd like to add Anne&Gilbert and Anne with an E is one piece of media that has thankfully shaped my outlook on love. Anne says these words in Season 2 Episode 8:

“Remember when I wanted to be a bride but not a wife. I think I need to reimagine the whole marriage-wedding thing. Well it isn’t just about one brief shining moment in white or saying I do...

We will be equals and partners, not just husband and wife…

I’ve come up with a new name for both parties together because I believe that they should be named the same. Life-mate. Instead of a marriage I shall call it a love bond and any two people can have one.”

This truly stuck with me. And the ships that have this type of love, seeing each other as EQUALS and PARTNERS. Those are the ships I gravitate towards: when two people are equals, they balance each other out, and they can help each other to grow. They bring out the best in each other. It's a huge part of why I ship rivamika because they have demonstrated this throughout their development and they have the potential to have more.

THE ENDGAME

RIVAMIKA WHEN ???!!! But I guess...

"Tragical romance and all?" "Remains to be seen."

I'm not at all expecting it to happen in canon, but a girl can dream. I'd also like to add what Aunt Josephine says in Season 3 Episode 8:

I've never bought into that you-just-know notion. Love is a tricky thing. Sometimes it feels like an undeniable force that hits between the eyes and doesn’t let up. Other times, it’s malleable, questionable. It’s truth hidden in and amongst external obstacles and internal circumstances that formed who you are, what you expect in the world, and how you can accept love. Oh, to say the least, it’s complicated. And if a mind’s abuzz with pressure and deadlines and “what if this and that,” I imagine love’s truth would be a near-impossible thing to feel. I wonder if, when all's quiet in your mind, you'll find your answer." -- Aunt Jo

And I'll just throw this in for good measure as it was part of my favourite quotes. (wow the hopeless romantic in me truly did pop out right now)

"A marriage makes two fractional lives a whole; it gives two purposeless lives a work and doubles the strength of each to perform it; it gives two questioning natures a reason for living and something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life.” — Mark Twain

And that's the potential I see in rivamika. So who's really winning the ship that was questionably declared canon with one dead. (sweetie its not canon) Or the ship that has a million possibilities, who has a strong foundation to build upon. And the beauty of fandom is all of us can create our own endgames a million times over.

So do you agree? And what parallels did I forget? Feel free to add them. And let me know what you think! (I spent far more time then I care to admit on this so I hope you enjoyed it.)

#rivamika #levimika #rikasa #shirbert #rivamika parallels #rivamikavibes #shipping #reasonstoshiprivamika #it was honestly so nice making this after being so filled with anger by antis #i hope you guys enjoyed this contribution #myrivamikacontent

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signoraviolettavalery · 5 years ago

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Fic Writer Ask

ITagged by multiple people, including @prouvaireafterdark @manesalex @spaceskam

Author Name:

I’m ViolettaValery on ao3. Pretty simple and straightforward!

Fandoms You Write For:

Well, these days, only Roswell, but I’ve written for Spirk and Supernatural before.

Where Do You Post

AO3!

Most Popular Multi Chapter Story

Pretty sure I only have one multi-chapter story: Say My Name and Everything Just Stops.

Favorite Story You Wrote

This is tough! I’m really proud of Bring Me That Horizon because I think some of my best language/descriptions are there, and Malex are Soft and Wonderful and it seems to have resonated with people. Say My Name and Everything Just Stops is close to my heart because it dealt with navigating BDSM in the aftermath of mental health issues/trauma/abuse, and I got a lot of really positive feedback about tackling that. So, it means a lot to me. And, of course, my darkfics (I am so much more than royal and sequels) are some of my favorites because they’re so indulgent and almost decadent, they’re incredibly freeing guilty pleasures.

Story You Were Nervous to Post

My name is whatever you decide/and I’m just gonna call you mine. This has a lot of things that are/could be squicks for people: lots of dubcon, a deeply unhealthy relationship/power dynamic, Michael and OCs...it’s definitely not for everyone, and it’s definitely Problematic and I was honestly expecting antis in the comments.

How Do You Pick Your Titles

hello, have you met me and my Taylor Swift obsession?

Do You Outline

I say this as an academic with a PhD: wtf is an outline?

How Many of Your Stories Are Complete

uhhhhhhh. All the ones on Ao3.

In-Progress

If you’re asking about all my wips, you better sit down and put aside an hour of your time, friend. Not including the ones below in “coming soon,” here goes:

Arranged Marriage fic

Soulmate AU

fic focusing on Alex’s piercings (and Michael finding them hot)

Jesse abducting Alex to get to Michael

Alex being the only one who can quiet the hurricane in Michael’s head

a crack-y spy AU

Firefly-esque companion!Alex

Alex hires “escort” Michael to be his date for various family functions, angst and then a HEA ensue

a Malex + Kyle edging fic

an angsty AF “Michael thinks Alex was killed in Iraq” fic

Alex losing any vestige of nice post 1x13 and giving everyone a piece of his mind

potentially: siren Alex and marine biologist Michael

Michael believes Alex has turned on him and stays with Alex anyway (i.e. an angstfest)

several other post-113 fics that’s just me working out my anger issues regarding the finale tbh

a potential 1x11 rewrite with Alex as the one possessed because honestly I need Michael worried over Alex and I need them in the UFO Emporium together

a fic whose plot currently makes me go “ughhhhhhhhhhh” but in which Alex has to kill Michael to prove his loyalty to Project Sheppard or be quietly and unceremoniously executed

some kind of “Michael gets captured and Alex has to pretend to be one of the bad guys to rescue him but Michael doesn’t get that memo” fic whose plot also currently makes me go “ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”

Coming Soon

Yeah, uh, I have a perfectionism problem so “soon” is debateable. But at the top of my WIP list:

Michael in red lacy panties

a roleplay of an alien dissection to help Michael deal with trauma

Alex getting possessed and trying to kill Michael

demon!Alex

cagefighting Alex and smitten Rath

Do You Accept Prompts

Not really? But I love having ideas or scenarios thrown at me, and sometimes they’ll spark something that’ll turn into something completely different at some point down the line. But I don’t do straightforward filling of prompts.

Upcoming Story You’re the Most Excited For

So I’m actually trying to take a bit of a break from writing fic/Malex, because I have an Actual Job and Real Work that need to be done, but the story I’m most excited to share is honestly probably either my Soulmate AU or my Arranged Marriage AU, both of which I never shut up about and both of which are officially taking forever.

Tag Five Fanfic Authors to Answer These Questions

@alexanderlightweight @insidious-intent @gra-sonas @stydiaeverafter @lilasmcosmic @i-never-look-away

#malex #my fics #my writing #and why yes i do accept questions

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silverdragon-imagines-blog · 5 years ago

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A Glitched Death - Chapter 8 - The Reaction

[I hope y’all enjoy this chapter ^u^ Warning(s): panic attack at the beginning and maybe one more later on? Also nightmares.]

Read it on AO3

Error couldn’t breathe. He had fucked up. Majorly. On top of that, he couldn’t see, vision still clouded by glitches. And to make it even worse, he was glitching so badly that it hurt. And the voices just laughed.

*Oh man, who thought that would be a good idea?*

*HA, you almost killed your ex!*

*Honestly, pay attention for once, Error*

He tried to stifle his whimpers and just find his stupid beanbag chair so he could at least be somewhat comfortable as he waited for the glitching to stop, but groping through the emptiness while blind was difficult. Then that voice spoke up.

*This really is pathetic to watch. Pull yourself together, Error.*

He cringed at the commanding tone but attempted to calm himself down enough to make the glitching disappear faster. Once he could see again, he pulled himself onto the beanbag chair and closed his eyes, just for a second. He didn’t need the sleep, not really, but he was just so tired… A few minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

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He was in the Save Screen again, but it felt different here than normal. It felt emptier, the patch of grass and small light source were gone, and instead, he saw a familiar silhouette cloaked in dark-colored fabric. He smiled to himself and ran over, tears pricking at his sockets as he called out to Reaper.

The figure turned around, but there was no happiness or warmth in his gaze. Geno paused and tried to speak, ask what was wrong, but no sound was uttered.

“It’s your fault, isn’t it.” the other stated, coldly glaring at him, “You’re the reason he’s gone. Haven’t you had enough yet?”

Geno tried to defend himself, tried to reason with Reaper, but he could not speak. The other scoffed, anger and annoyance filling the space between them.

Reaper’s form then started to waver, his blank sockets being replaced with red eyes, and a knife in his grasp.

“You haven’t learned, it seems” he spoke, his deep voice being changed to fit a more child-like form. “Maybe a few more resets will make you figure it out.”

Geno stepped back, then ran as the child that had haunted him for so long began to chase him, the knife being swung at him all the while.

‘It had stopped! He was free! Why were they back?! They shouldn’t be back!’ His panicked thoughts caused him pain, more pain than he had previously felt. ‘It just wasn’t fair!’

He turned around to fire off an attack, only for the human to jump at his back, slicing through his jacket and shirt. He screamed.

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Error jolted awake, falling off of his beanbag and onto the “floor” of the Anti-void. He shakily felt at his back, where the knife had connected, only to find that there was no tear in his clothing. However, he could still feel the pain of the blow.

He glitched, a high whining noise beginning to start from his own voice. He distantly heard the voices laughing at him, with the distinct voice reprimanding him for sleeping on the job. He felt like he couldn’t breathe correctly anymore, and the voices kept getting louder, and the glitching got more intense until he couldn’t feel anything anymore.

So he crashed.

When he woke back up, he could feel something sharp poking at his leg. He jumped, and crawled away, only to find that nothing was there. Sighing in relief, he stood and brushed off imaginary dust along with the feeling of something sharp touching him. Looking around his space, he saw nothing, and yet… He didn’t want to stay here anymore.

So he opened up a portal and stepped through without looking, thinking that anywhere was better than the endless void that held only angry voices. He practically ran away from the portal he made, slowing down after a while to stop and truly looked around, relief filling his SOUL and dispelling the tension in his bones.

There was no one around, in fact, he was in a secluded cavern area of Waterfall, a bench behind him with an echo flower and a small stream running past him. He sighed in relief, no voices could reach him here and no one was around either.

He sat down on the bench, staring up at the ceiling of the cavern and looking at the false stars. It was calming, familiar, and yet he couldn’t recall why. He closed his eyes, trying to recall a memory that he didn’t think existed. Why was Waterfall important? Why was this place in particular familiar to him? After a while he gave up, sighing in annoyed defeat at his own faulty mind. This wasn't a problem earlier… right?

He didn’t realize that there was someone else at the entrance to the cave, watching him with interest and confusion.

“huh, thought no one else knew about this place.”

Error jumped up from the bench, glitching wildly as he threw out strings towards the voice. He could hear a grunt of pain, but he didn’t kill them, not yet.

“WhO ArE yOu?! W-WhY aRe YoU hErE?!”

“Easy, easy,” the other spoke, trying to placate the startled skeleton, “I’m just your friendly neighborhood skeleton who happened to find another skeleton in one of my usual napping spots.”

“i-i DoN’T TrUsT YoU.” Error could feel the other flinch in his strings, a crazed smile worked its way onto his face, “aNd YoU dIdN’t AnSwEr My QuEsTiOn.”

“h-heh, so it seems,” the other spoke, “the name’s sans, sans the skeleton.”

Error figured that would be the case, the other’s voice sounding similar to that of other skeletons he had killed, and yet this one didn't seem to care that he was around. He calmed down some, vision cleared to see the other skeleton in front of him. Ratty pink slippers, track shorts with white stripes on each side, a white t-shirt with a blue hoodie covering it, and an uneasy smile on the skull of the skeleton trapped in his strings.

Error noticed an outstretched hand from the skeleton trapped by his strings, and his free hand acted in kind. He couldn't tell when he touched the other, in fact, he felt pain almost immediately upon acting, flinching back a few feet as his magic strings tightened slightly in response. He heard a pained gasp and looked up to see a SOUL being squeezed tightly, Sans practically writhing in pain. Error, glitching wildly from the pain and the fear the other showed dropped his magic, releasing Sans.

"h-heh, th-thanks buddy. ya alright, though? you, uh, recoiled quite a bit," he spoke, rubbing a hand over his sternum as he tried to approach Error.

"D-dOn'T cOmE aNy ClOsEr!"

Sans paused his movements, placatingly holding both hands in front of him as he backed off a bit. Error had pressed himself as close to the cave wall as he could. With a sigh, Sans walked over to the bench instead, leaning backward as he looked up at the crystals that grew on the ceiling. Error’s glitches slowly began to dissipate, and when they faded he found himself staring at the other skeleton, curiosity and slight confusion in his gaze.

Picking himself up off of the ground, Error moved to the opposite end of the bench, sitting down and sneaking glances at the other skeleton every so often. He flinched when Sans started to chuckle, gaze now fully focused on the other.

“i can see ya looking at me, bud,” he spoke, turning to look Error in the eyes fully, “and you look like a person who wants to talk. what’s on your mind?”

Error’s hands were clutching at the hem of his shirt, fiddling with the thin fabric as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. He opened his mouth a few times, only to close it again. He sighed out loud in frustration, leaning back against the bench and gazing at the crystals as if they had what he wanted to say.

“WhY aRe YoU bEiNg So NiCe To Me?”

The other’s sockets widened at the question, caught off guard.

“why wouldn’t i be nice to ya?” he asked back, and the dark skeleton shrugged.

“NoT mAnY mOnStErS aRe, FiGuReD yOu��D bE tHe SaMe.”

Sans started scratching at his cheekbone, discomforted after the admission. Error watched as the other fidgeted, seemingly in his own struggle to find words.

The silence seemed to stretch on for a while, Error beginning to feel a pull at his SOUL as he sat there. He wanted to ignore it, wanted to stay here with this Sans and just feel comfortable. Of course, it was only a matter of time until the pull turned into a tug, ever-increasing the sensation until all he would feel was pain.

“I nEeD tO lEaVe,” Error spoke, standing up from the bench and turning away from the confused look on the other’s face.

“oh... will i see you again?” sans asked, but Error didn’t reply, only making a portal back to the Anti-Void and leaving.

For a while, Sans sat there, staring at where the glitchy skeleton had left. He was an outcode, Sans knew that much, but he had never heard about one like this. He had only really ever met Ink a handful of times…

Sans stood, taking a shortcut to the basement lab, digging through papers and blueprints to find the only link he had to the Universe outside of his own. With a triumphant laugh, he pulled out an old cellphone and dialed the only saved number on it.

“hello? dream? something strange just happened.”

#undertale #glitcheddeath #distructivedeath #ErrorSans #Reaper Sans #reapertale #Errortale #AGD #A Glitched Death update #A Glitched Death fic #A Glitched Death #silver writes

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incorrectly-quoted-queers · 5 years ago

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Drunk Punch Love- Chapter 1

Pairing: FemShep and Garrus Vakarian (Shakarian)

Rating: PG-13 (with some tossed F-bombs)

Summary: Their awkward, badass journey through saving the galaxy and accidentally falling in love

Chapter 1: Meet Me At The Bar

Anya Shepard had never been pursued romantically. She'd never had time for that, between missions and her dislike of flowers. However, over the past two months, her handsome lieutenant made it pretty clear how he felt about her. While he wasn't her most frequent pick for away missions, he always made sure to show Anya that he had her back. Kaidan took care of her plants any time she was away, he always was ready to support her after any tough missions, and he kept the best sports streams from Earth on hand. It was flattering, honestly, having her own personal admirer. She was starting to get a bit of a crush on him, too.

So how the hell did she end up here, stumbling over herself with her best friend on Noveria?

The second she met Garrus Vakarian, something between them clicked. They both grew up with strict military parents who expected them to grow into tiny versions of them. And every step they took to try to be their own person, the more they only seemed to affirm their parents' legacy.

Until they didn't.

When she looked in his eyes, she saw all those years of frustration, with her parents, with COs, begging them to look past rules and instead do the goddamn right thing. It took years and too many traumatic events to finally get heard, and seeing him argue with C-Sec authorities about Saren brought all those feelings right back.

And when she helped saved Dr. Michel, and he looked at her like he found his partner in anti-crime? Anya had barely left his side after that.

Sure, they grew up on two different worlds, and he liked cop noirs where she loved war movies, and the one time she tried some of his food she barfed for hours, but it was like she found someone that made her feel so comfortably herself. Garrus went on every mission with her and she'd never felt so sure that somebody had her back, not just watered the Ivy.

Anya may have been his commanding officer, and he treated her with endless respect, but he didn't know how much leaning on him helped her, too.

And here she was, rubbing her cheeks to try to burn away blush while they were on a frozen planet full of corporate assholes. Well, less corporate assholes, after what they'd accomplished.

She still couldn't quite wrap her brain around how she got herself here, getting drunk with him, him holding onto her waist, her losing her mind as it fritzed. Liara came on the mission to face her mother, but after Benezia's unfortunate demise, she decided to go back to the ship and spend some quality time with Chakwas and by herself.

She and Garrus, however, needed to warm the hell up from the frozen wasteland and the drinks at the hotel bar looked pretty nice. They promise to be back to the ship in a few hours, but were going to enjoy a non-Saren break. Shit was fucked enough without them ignoring all opportunities to blow off some steam.

Anya wasn't sure when the blushing started, though. Yeah, sometimes it happened when she drank. But only about three drinks in, and she was swimming in all the things he was saying. Instead of casual soldier banter or mission talk, they were stumbling into some very deep conversations. Things she hadn't talked about in years. She didn't even realize she should be embarrassed until after she'd already told him about how her parents caught her making out in a closet with her first boyfriend (a Drell by the name of Ryel) and, worse, how she'd been woefully unprepared for the effect that the kiss would have on her mental state, especially in front of said parents.

Garrus' laughter made it all go down smoother, but Anya wasn't sure if that was for better or worse, just quite yet.

While humans were new to the galaxy, and were far less adept in inter-species relationships, Anya had always managed to be able to find something attractive about most anyone. When she was in elementary school, she had a huge crush on an Elcor child she met because he spoke what felt like poetry to her young ears.

And sure, she'd had flirtations with turians before and even had a few suggestive encounters, but none of those men were Garrus so that made things a bit more complicated.

Why did her hormones have to go and get all flustered now?

His jaw had always been so defined, and his voice always rumbled like that. She always had enjoyed hearing him tell her stories and watching the way his markings laid across his skin. Hell, she even had an honest admiration for the way he moved, as a soldier and as a person.

But what was so different now that made those "nice" things suddenly magnetic?

Just as she was losing her brain to the abyss of embarrassment, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She almost jolted out of her skin. "Hey, Shepard, I think we both needed this. But it's about time we headed back to the Normandy, right? Can't get blamed for making the Captain go AWOL."

Anya choked out a laugh and shrugged off his hand, careful to ignore how it glided off her back... Mostly. "Right. Yeah. We should do that." Just as she pushed off the high table, though, she wobbled. Was she drunker than she thought?

A little too helpful and thoughtful, Garrus caught her by the waist and held her up. Her bones could nearly melt out, the way her skin was heating up. He just grinned at her and shook his head. "Shepard can't hold her liquor. Duly noted." He threw her arm around his shoulder and, after paying the bill, took the lead. "It's okay, I'll get us back nice and safe. C-Sec had me carrying heavier and drunker people home. You'll be easy."

In her own desperation, Anya tried to pull away a bit. "Garrus, you don't have to-"

"With how many times you picked my ass up from those Asari Commandos today, it's the least I can do. But don't you dare tell anyone else I admitted that."

Anya thought, to Hell with it, and leaned in. Literally. She leaned onto his sturdy shoulder and just let her brain get its fill of whatever bizarre shit it was on tonight. Maybe it really was just the booze, too strong to let her think straight.

She had an attractive biotic chasing after her, right? No need to go for guys who'd never want her.

While she had a bad habit for that, she especially didn't need that bullshit with her best friend.

She tried to latch onto that phrase with a ferocity, like the platonic nature of it could save her from the way she was flaring up right now. It didn't make sense. It had to not make sense.

If it did make sense, she had one too many problems that a probationary Spectre trying to run down another Spectre trying to destroy the galaxy needed. Christ, thinking that only made her feel like shit for daring to think of anyone romantically.

By the time she was paying attention, they were already back to the Normandy doors. Most people on the ship would be asleep, with the probable exceptions of Joker, Pressley, and unfortunately enough, Kaidan.

He often waited up for her when she went away.

Suddenly his antics were less charming and more felt like a desperate puppy. Though, being carried around by an attractive turian who was one hell of a shot probably didn't help with that.

Dammit. Scratch the attractive.

"Have you always been such a lightweight? The vids act like humans are professionals at drinking."

Anya tried to focus on the things he said versus the joking, friendly, comfortable way he said them. "No, but I guess it's been a long while since I was a young cadet passing time."

"You haven't been drinking since cadets?" Garrus chuckled and the way it rumbled against her side nearly set her body on fire. "Joker may say I have a stick up my ass, but maybe I'm not the only one."

"You don't have time to drink much anymore when all your old drinking buddies keep dying."

Just as they entered the Normandy airlock, Garrus gave her this sympathetic, heartbroken look. "I'm sorry, Shepard."

Anya laughed back at him again, like it helped cover up all the weird feelings that were bubbling up in her. If she was going to ignore the romantic ones, she guessed the miserable ones were the only ones left. "You don't even know what you're saying sorry about."

"I may have done some digging on you. I know about Akuze, and several other suicide operations that you survived." Garrus shook his head and a flash of anger came on his face as the decontamination stopped. 'They couldn't have sent anyone else, could they?"

"Part of the job." Garrus picked her back up and they moved into the Normandy. The lights were low, Joker wasn't even at the helm, and they started walking towards the nav system. Pressley was awake, as expected, but other than a raised eyebrow he let them pass, unbothered. She appreciated that right now, especially with the gloom fog rolling in over her head.

Garrus responded, "Sure, but even the best can only take so much." Leading her to the stairs, he didn't even ask before he slung her over her shoulder and walked her down the stairs. "We need to find you more hobbies, Shepard. Drinking doesn't seem the best option."

Staring down at his strong back and well-toned legs, with his face so close to her ass, Anya was a little overwhelmed by it all. She didn't even speak until they were at the bottom and he put her back on the ground. "Y-You didn't have to do that."

"I didn't. But maybe you deserve to be carried sometimes, instead of having to carry everything for everyone else." He started dragging her towards her room intently, but those words he just said overwhelmed her senses more than anything else.

Most people just praised her, awarded her, and then begged to see what more she could accomplish. They might want to support her, but only so she could push on further and further.

But here he was, Garrus Vakarian, wanting to carry some of her burdens, no promise of her saving the world for him.

"Garrus, I-"

Anya barely opened her mouth before that not-so-secret admirer was on them. "Shepard! You okay?"

All the more flustered, she felt overrun. However, instead of speaking over her, Garrus just looked to her like it was her place to figure out what she wanted here. Hell, he looked half ready to hand her off to Kaidan, like he expected her to want that. There might have even been a twinge of disappointment in his eyes, if she didn't know any better.

Coughing, she kept a hand on Garrus' side but straightened. "Garrus and i were just... celebrating surviving Noveria. I might have drank a little more than I should have."

"Well, don't worry about it. I got you. I can get you the rest of the way and Garrus can get to sleep."

Garrus let go of her waist like he expected her to walk into Kaidan's open arms, but something snapped in Anya. Kaidan's sweet attentiveness was still sweet and well-meant, but looking up at this alien man, she didn't want to budge an inch. "He's already gotten me this far so let's just keep going. But thank you, Kaidan. You should get yourself to bed."

The guy looked dejected, and it made Anya feel a little bad, but not bad enough. Especially when Garrus said nothing, but his arm found its way around her waist again and tightened.

He helped her into her room, set her in her chair, and shut the door behind him. Except, he didn't leave. He stayed in the room with her. When he turned back around, she was stupidly fumbling with her boots.

Garrus got on his knees and started pulling at her shoes. However, after getting one off, he just stared at her foot. "Why didn't you want to spend some alone time with the Lieutenant? It wouldn't have hurt my feelings. The entire ship knows he's in love with you."

"Yeah, but who said I was in love with him?"

For a moment, Garrus stilled and glanced up at her, like trying to figure out what she really meant by that. She didn't quite know what she meant by that. "Fair. Alenko does come on strong."

"Sometimes I think I'm going insane on this ship. Too many people idolize me. Kaidan and Dr. T'Soni are the only ones who try to take it romantic. It's sweet, but it still feels like so much." Anya didn't know what was happening to her, but she found herself tearing up into her clenched fists. "Eventually, it feels like you're not human anymore, just this unstoppable idea that needs to keep going because it makes everyone else stronger. Humanity is counting on me to be their representative to prove to the galaxy that we're worthy. But along the way, I forget what it's like to be a human in the first place."

Garrus ran a soft talon across one of the tears falling down her cheek. "Don't worry, Shepard. You'll always be a squishy, emotional human to me."

And she couldn't explain what came over her, but that's when she leaned forward and pressed her lips onto his forehead. Maybe she hadn't noticed how good it felt to have him by her side, but now all the emotions tumbled over her uncontrollably. Maybe there was a reason she gave up drinking for so long.

His blue eyes looked up at her with confusion. "Shepard..."

"Please, don't say it. I'm tipsy and we can forget about it tomorrow, go back to being friends. Best of friends, actually. It doesn't have to be anything more for you, but just don't leave. Not right now. I'm... inordinately human right now."

Garrus didn't give her any response to the kiss, but asked, "What do you need?"

"I just want to be held and forget these bad feelings. I just want them to go back where they came from, before the booze."

She crawled into her bed, at best expecting to be tucked in. Instead, Garrus laid down next to her. He opened his arms. "C'mere. I'll stay until you fall asleep."

Anya didn't ask questions. She just pulled herself into his arms, cuddled close, and let his breathing be what she fell asleep to. Sure, she had no damn clue what this meant for their friendship, but it was nice to be soothed, if only for a little.

///

Hi! This is my Mass Effect fanfic, which currently gets posted on AO3, Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad 3 times a week. I absolutely love it and I hope you enjoy.

Extra thanks to my patrons:

Danyell Jones

Amy Connolly

Our goal right now is getting me a desktop so I can stream my gaming addiction with you lovely people <3 I have an SSD and some higher-tech accessories from my gaming laptop, so it’s progress.

If you want to help support my stories, here’s a link: patreon.com/gracejordan

#Mass Effect #femshep x garrus #garrus vakarian #Anya Shepard #Joker #AU #Drunk Punch Love #Romance #fanfiction #mass effect fanfiction

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breakingsomething · 5 years ago

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aftermath

basic summary: marvin swears he’s fine after returning from anti. henrik finds out that’s not the case.

trigger warnings: abuse mentions, brief suicide mention

henrik was having a hard time keeping up with marvin.

before he’d left to go with anti, his and marvin’s relationship had been clear. henrik didn’t like marvin; he thought he was an arrogant, self absorbed prick. marvin had made it obvious the feeling was mutual. their brothers just sighed and tried to keep them away from each other when they could, although that didn’t stop them from making sly comments and spitting insults at the other at every opportunity. they didn’t like each other. that was it, plain and simple.

now that marvin had returned, he was a goddamn roulette wheel.

he spent a lot of time in his room. henrik had gone in there a few times to patch up his wounds which were, while not severe, still necessary to fix, but marvin had freaked out and forced him away, screaming and summoning flames that burned uncontrollably in his hands. jackie was too overwhelmed to help, so chase was forced to talk marvin down, soothing him from the side of the room until henrik could get close enough to assess the damage. even then, marvin had refused to let henrik see under his shirt, almost growling every time he tried to look and burning his hands when he touched him. jackie later told him why, told him about the scars on marvin’s wrists that he didn’t want anyone seeing, which henrik supposed he understood. he had scars from his time with anti that he never let anyone look at either. that was fair.

but when marvin wasn’t pushing people away or hiding in the storage cupboard (chase had found him sleeping in there once and nearly had a heart attack), he was being extremely overly clingy, latching onto the nearest person and not letting go. and by nearest person, henrik meant anyone but him. jackie, of course, got the brunt of it; marvin would lay on his chest for hours and protest tearfully whenever he tried to move, or sit next to him almost attached at the hip and get up whenever jackie did so. it was exhausting, jackie confided in him. “i feel bad talking behind his back,” he confessed one day about two weeks after marvin’s return. “especially to you, cause of, well, y’know. i feel bad because, like, of course i’ve missed him as well, but i can’t be attached to him all the time. i don’t want marvin to feel like i don’t want him around or anything.”

“he will have to learn you can’t be around him constantly,” henrik said firmly. “you have a life outside of him.”

“but he was- he was fucking tortured, hen.” jackie fretted. “i can’t just-”

“hey,” henrik said, softening a bit. “i will help him to the best of my abilities, even if he doesn’t want me to. ok?” jackie hesitated, and henrik reached out to pat his shoulder awkwardly. “go do your thing. i will look after him.”

as much as he hated to admit it, henrik was probably the best person for marvin to be around at the moment. jackie was dealing with his own ruined mental health, and chase was still mourning his children. henrik was the only other one who had spent time with anti, albeit only for about three months as opposed to marvin’s twelve. he would understand what he was going through better than anyone else. that was how he ended up home alone with marvin one morning, drinking coffee in the kitchen and working up the courage to go and try to talk to him.

as it turned out, he didn’t have to; after only ten minutes of pacing and burning his tongue, marvin came downstairs himself. he looked miserable. his hair was loose around his shoulders, looking like he hadn’t brushed it in weeks, and he was wearing one of jackie’s black hoodies with stained trackie bottoms. henrik wondered how long it must have been since he’d washed as he set his coffee down and leaned casually against the counter.

“morning,” he greeted with false cheer in his voice. marvin didn’t respond, and grabbed a glass from the cupboard next to henrik and filled it up with water.

he tried again. “how- how are you feeling this morning?”

marvin turned to him so suddenly henrik jumped a bit. “oh my god, you know you don’t have to be super nice to me just cause of- i’m not fucking fragile, i- fucking hell, can’t you just shout like you normally do? just- just stop acting so fucking weird!”

“hey, i am- i’m trying to help you!” henrik said angrily, crossing his arms. why was marvin so angry all of a sudden? “i am not the one being an asshole right now-”

“fuck, just shut up!” marvin cried, dropping his cup into the sink with a clatter. he nearly doubled over, grabbing the sink’s edge tightly.

“i thought you wanted me to shout at you,” henrik said, much quieter this time. he straightened and moved to where marvin was now shaking, covering his mouth with one hand. “are you…”

“don’t,” marvin gasped. he stood and grabbed at his hair, making like he was pulling it into a ponytail then letting it go again. “god, just shut the fuck up for fucking once.”

henrik threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “well, what- what do you want from me, marvin?” he had thought he’d be the best person for marvin at this moment in time, but had forgotten how extremely impatient and easily angered he was. “i just want to try and help!”

“i don’t fucking want help from you!” marvin screeched, before pushing himself off from the counter and racing from the room, leaving henrik much more confused and frustrated than he had been before. he listened as marvin stomped up the stairs and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

henrik did want to help him. that much was true. but he was a surgeon, not a therapist, and was maybe not the most empathetic of people. henrik was more accustomed to dealing with chase, who responded in very different ways from marvin- mostly with tears and self deprecation, to which henrik brought him water and tissues and held him for as long as he needed. marvin wasn’t like that, apparently. he thought about calling jackie and asking how he dealt with marvin’s bad moods, before remembering he was seeing his therapist and he would only make him worry. henrik eventually decided to just wait it out, to sit and wait until marvin calmed down and he could talk to him again.

he shouldn’t have left him alone. henrik figured that since he was only sitting on the living room couch on his computer, marvin would be fine, of course he would be fine. he put on his headphones- second mistake- and listened to music while he sorted out his emails for the first time in months. that took up about an hour, and when henrik eventually closed his laptop to get up and eat he instantly noticed how dead silent the house was. maybe marvin’s asleep, he thought uneasily, before remembering that their upstairs bathroom made a loud creaking sound when opened, one that henrik would have heard even with his music on. marvin hadn’t yet left the bathroom.

fear instantly surged through him as he bolted up the stairs, whipping round the corner to confirm that yes, the bathroom door was locked and someone was definitely inside. he could hear small gasping sobs and a sudden loud clattering of something being thrown in the sink. all of this reminded henrik of a day long ago that he’d prefer to forget- the day he’d come home from a shift at the hospital only to find a note of the door of chase’s recording room telling him not to come inside, to call the police, the stench of blood filling the air. henrik pushed the thought from his mind and knocked frantically, noticing how all the noise instantly stopped as soon as he did so. “marvin?” he said shakily, trying to keep his voice gentle. “marvin, are you ok?”

the only sound was a muffled whimper, and dread filled henrik’s chest. “marvin. have you hurt yourself? you have to tell me honestly, marvin. please, i’m not trying to hurt you.”

more clattering, more strangled sobs. then, very quietly, “no.”

henrik didn’t believe him. “ok,” he breathed, and silently reached into his pocket for a coin. “marvin, i’m gonna have to come in.”

“what? no, no, don’t!” there was a very loud crash. henrik hadn’t wanted to have to to this, but judging from the sounds inside, something bad was going on. fear chilled his body as he pushed the coin into the lock and turned it- a trick he’d learned when chase has broken the bathroom door that one time. he threw the door open, heart pounding, only to see-

for a moment, nothing. the first thing he noticed was that the shower curtain had been half ripped off, and henrik could clearly see marvin shaking underneath it. he was about to race over to him when his eyes took in the full picture. bottles and boxes from the medicine cabinet and the side of the sink were strewn across the floor, evidently knocked over. there was a pair of scissors on the sink. and there was hair, great clumps of dark brown hair all over the floor and the sink and the bathtub, where marvin hadn’t moved from since henrik ran in.

his fear dissipated, to be replaced with an ache in his heart that he couldn’t quite name. still almost high off the adrenaline, he slowly picked his way across the floor to the bath. “hey, hey, i’m not going to do anything.” marvin was making muffled sounds from underneath the curtain, gasping and wheezing desperately. henrik felt like he himself was hurting with him.

“i’m going to take the curtain off,” henrik said softly, to which marvin cried “no, please don’t,” and somehow drew even further into himself.

“i have to, ok?” fingers numb, henrik grabbed a fold of the curtain and very gently pulled it away to reveal marvin, trembling with his face in his knees and hands over his head like was he still trying to hide. henrik swallowed, then crouched next to the bathtub and leaned over.

“do you think you can sit up?” henrik asked, and marvin slowly sat up, his arms sliding down to hug himself as he looked henrik with eyes full of tears. there was no immediate signs of blood or paling or any of the other symptoms henrik was looking for that would indicate he had hurt himself, so he instead focused on what appeared to be the real problem here. marvin had clearly not bothered to take his time with his work- his hair was, in some places, just short uneven stubs, sticking straight out like he’d been electrified. in other places it was longer, with bits hacked off carelessly, some parts of his head bleeding a little from marvin not being careful with the scissors. marvin flinched as henrik reached out and wiped a bit of blood away before it could slide into marvin’s eyes.

“short hair suits you.” henrik finally said. marvin didn’t move. he shrunk away when henrik tried to touch his hair, attempting to clean more blood.

“i’m sorry,” marvin gasped, trembling. “i’m sorry, i’m sorry, i wanted it off, please don’t hurt him, he didn’t know, he can put it back, p-please, don’t hurt him-”

“listen!” henrik threw all caution and climbed into the tub with marvin, sitting on his knees in front of him. marvin scrambled backwards, only stopping when he was pressed into the wall, wide eyed. “marvin, it’s me, not anti, i’m not going to hurt-” realization struck henrik. “i’m not going to hurt dapper.”

marvin was breathing heavily and quickly, his eyes darting back and forth as he rubbed his shoulders, trying to push himself further back. henrik recognized the signs of an oncoming panic attack and sat back, giving him some space. “it’s ok, marvin,” he murmured as marvin hyperventilated, sobbing and holding himself tight.

about half an hour passed before henrik could even get close to marvin, close enough to gently pat his hands, then to trace circles on his shoulder, then to wrap his arms fully around him, marvin’s face buried in his chest as he cried and shook. henrik whispered meaningless words, trying to calm him down, and eventually it worked enough that marvin’s choked sobs quietened and stopped, his body stilling in his brother’s arms. henrik let marvin sit up, his face burning with embarrassment, and wordlessly the doctor handed him a tissue from his pocket. he waited while marvin blew his nose, then looked up with uncertainty on his face. “sorry about- sorry about your shirt.”

yes, his shirt was soaked with tears and snot and a few small patches of blood, wasn’t it. “do not worry about that of all things. can you just- can you tell me what happened?” marvin let out a shaky sigh and hiccuped. he stayed silent.

then, “didn’t like it long.” he paused. “anti liked it long. he didn’t let me cut it.”

“oh.” henrik said. it was all he could think of to say.

but it appeared that once marvin had started, he couldn’t stop. “anti loved my long hair, he liked to stroke it and brush it and told me how p-pretty it was. i tried to cut it, but anti caught me and got so upset, he had dapper rewind it and i didn’t remember but dapper did, anti did, i don’t know how anti did, but he hurt dapper, he- he tied him back with that rope, so he was stuck in one corner of our room, and i wasn’t allowed to go talk to him. i hated him touching it. i don’t like anyone touching it now, it just feels like him, it just feels like i’m being- like i’m with him again.”

“oh,” henrik repeated. “is that why… you cut it yourself?”

“yes,” marvin sobbed, his voice almost higher pitched. “i don’t want him to make me put it back, i don’t want it, don’t let him make me-”

“calm down, calm down,” henrik reassured before marvin would spiral again. he paused. “it is a bit of a mess right now.”

“i know,” marvin moaned miserably.

henrik’s legs were going numb. he sat down properly, cursing himself for not doing so earlier and sparing himself the pain. “you know, when finn and luka were young, luka cut finn’s hair. i don’t know what he was thinking.” he chuckled. “luka was six, and finn was four.”

marvin wiped his eyes and kept looking away, but henrik could tell he was listening. “finn didn’t like the hairdressers. he didn’t like strangers being near him at all, much less touching him, so when emilie said he had to get his hair fixed, he freaked out. so i cut his hair for him.”

marvin finally glanced up, curious. “you can cut hair?"

henrik smiled. "well, i couldn’t then. i have a very steady hand and a good eye, though. it wasn’t hard on little finn, he turned out very ok. emilie liked it.” marvin sniffled and ran his hands along the pattern on the tub’s bottom. henrik did the same, the sensation calming him.

“are you suggesting you fix my hair?” marvin asked uncertainly. “because i- even with you, i- there’s a reason i didn’t go to a hairdressers, i don’t trust myself not to freak-”

henrik put a hand over marvin’s, just gently. he looked at him closely, noticing how he had almost stopped shaking. “i am your brother, like it or not. not some random stranger. you can trust me.”

marvin whimpered, and pulled his hands back from henrik to cover his mouth. his eyes fluttered closed and he let his head smack into the taps.

“what do you think?” henrik asked patiently. “i need your consent, marvin.”

a deep intake of breath. “ok. but please be careful.”

“i will,” henrik promised before fetching the scissors from the sink.

marvin stayed as still as a rock, barely breathing as henrik attempted to make the hacked clumps of hair somewhat even. “i’m sorry that i can’t really ask you what kind of haircut you’d like,” henrik joked lightly. “i don’t have much to work with here.”

evidently henrik was more used to dealing with chase, because the joke that he’d expected to lighten the mood just made marvin’s eyes fill with tears again. he blinked rapidly and rubbed his face, not making a sound.

henrik decided to change tactics. “look, i know we generally do not like each other.”

marvin let out a sudden laugh, startling henrik. “straight to the point as always, hen.”

henrik tilted marvin’s head. “yes, well. i think we should maybe- maybe try and get along a little better. for both our sakes. you know? being assholes is just so time consuming. i don’t have time for that in the day.”

“really? you only wanna stop hating me cause it’s time consuming?” marvin asked scathingly.

“i did not mean it like that.” henrik was very bad at this. “i don’t believe this is helping either of us. i was with anti for three months. i am the only other one here that would understand what you are going through. i think-”

“fuck off,” marvin snapped. “you were- henrik, you were fucking tortured with anti. i wasn’t. i went there willingly. you went there kicking and screaming after being possessed trying to save our creator. i don’t deserve any reassurance or anything.”

henrik couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “you honestly believe-” he lowered the scissors and looked marvin in the eyes- “you honestly believe that your trauma is less valid because you made a mistake that led to your abuse?”

“it wasn’t abuse at all!” marvin protested. henrik began to clip at the top of his hair, which had thankfully been left a little longer. “anti treated me… nicely. really nicely.” he went silent. “me and dapper were more spoiled than anything.”

“really.” henrik said flatly. “from what you have told me, you were not exactly having a good time there.”

marvin shifted, causing henrik to accidentally cut a bit too short. “i don’t know. ok? i don’t know. just- shut up, please.”

henrik finished in silence.

when they were done, henrik stepped out of the bathtub and pulled marvin out with him, both of them unsteady from so long barely moving. “do you want to see?” henrik offered.

“i guess i have to sooner or later.” marvin let go of henrik’s shoulder and took a breath before looking up at the mirror above the sink. for a moment he was completely silent, starting at his dark hair that had been cut extremely short on the sides, slightly longer on top and sticking up slightly. then his face crumpled and he buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking.

“what’s wrong?” henrik asked, alarmed. “is it bad?”

“no, no,” marvin sobbed. “it’s fine. but it’s all gone, i somehow didn’t except it to all be-”

“here,” henrik said gently, leading him out the bathroom. they could clean up the mess later. “let’s go fix your head. you scratched your scalp a few times, you did not even notice. i’ll get my things.”

half an hour later they were both on the couch in front of the tv, marvin with his knees pulled up too his chest as far from henrik as he could be. henrik decided to turn the tv on, hoping it would help to clear the air. “what do you want to watch?”

“you’re really- after all that, you’re not gonna- we’re just gonna watch tv?” marvin said, confused.

henrik set the remote down. “do you want to talk about anti?”

marvin slumped down on the couch, defeated. “don’t know. not much to say, is there?” he sighed and closed his eyes.

henrik thought carefully about how to phrase what he wanted to say. “i believe that maybe you should go to therapy.”

marvin snorted. henrik slid along the couch to be next to him, but not so close that he flinched away. “really, it is very helpful! me and jackie and chase all go, and it has done us… what is the phrase? the only word i can think of is ‘magnificence.’”

“wonders,” marvin muttered. “done you wonders.”

“exactly!” henrik exclaimed, slightly too enthusiastically. then, more gently, “trust me, marvin. it will help you a lot with coming to terms with- everything.” when marvin didn’t reply, henrik delivered his trap card. “it was the only thing that kept jackie sane while you were away.”

marvin winced, looking out the window across the room. after a tense silence, he sat back, flopping his legs out in front of him. “fine. i’ll try it. for jackie,” he said hurriedly. “not for you.”

henrik smiled. “i would expect nothing more.”

to his immense surprise, marvin leaned over and rested his head on henrik’s shoulder. “can we watch it’s always sunny?” he murmured. “i can’t be bothered to do anything today.”

henrik softened, about to run his fingers through marvin’s hair like he would to chase before deciding not to push his luck. “yeah. yeah, let’s put that on.”

when jackie and chase came home later that day, they were both greeted with the same surprise- henrik and marvin, curled up on the couch almost on top of one another, marvin’s hair considerably shorter than when they had last seen it, netflix playing quietly in the background. “awww,” chase cooed, a grin spreading across his face. “lemme take a picture of this and never let them forget it happened.”

jackie examined them both, noting the tearstains on marvin’s face, henrik’s and wrapped round him. “glad they’re getting along,” jackie murmured, gently ruffling marvin’s hair. it felt weird, it being so short- he wondered why marvin had decided to cut it, and why he had been crying. internally, he thanked the gods henrik had the strength to deal with marvin.

“hey, jackie?” chase called from the upstairs hall. “what the fuck happened to the bathroom?”

#jacksepticeye #marvin the magnificent #henrik von schneeplestein #hehehe bullying marvin time >:)))#boop writes #arc three: righting wrongs

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papas-con-aceite-y-mucha-sal · 7 years ago

Note

What would be the best way to write anti war in a modern devilman?

Honestly Idon’t think it’s necessary to change much apart from adapting it to our days technologywise. Which is why I found, at first (later I learnt this just had stopped being the main point, though I still don’t think that ‘excuses’ certain points), many of the changes of Crybaby jarring ina ‘what was the point of doing this?’ way. I remember an ask in the past where I replied I wasn’t expecting manychanges for this same reason. All of those original characters having so muchscreentime, and getting written from scratch arcs, is something that took me bysurprise.

Let’s see. Forthe original Devilman manga we have (at least) three main points trying to show us thistheme that we have to take into account:

Humans and demons, blurring the line of which one wasactually the monster, acting as each other. Lots of examples. Kaim showing feelings just like a human would, sacrificinghimself for Sirene’s chance at victory; humans accusing other humans of beingdemons just for the sake of slaughter, etc. Extended later in Lady afterdirectly stating them as the basic same thing.

A normalboy gets spurred into battle and sees all of his morals getting trampled little by little, until a point where he renounces to hisinitial goals of protecting humankind and engages into a pointless battle filled by anger,getting humans killed by inaction in one hand and all of his devilmen team inthe another. Extended in Devilman Lady once we get to see them all trapped inHell, and in Shin Devilman, which shows said boy killing humansway before everything tumbled down.

A higher being confrontes his own father to save livingbeings of getting killed for not being worthy, just to end up killing other living beings he deemed unworthy after seeingthem polluting the planet he fought for, realizing his hipocrisy and regrettingeverything when it’s too late.

DespiteCrybaby adding a lot of content from Devilman Lady, the novels and OVAs, or Saga(even the liveaction!) the first point is barely touched. Demons are seen justas ‘those monsters’ up until the end (Sirene’s battle conclusion isnever touched again; and no, Satan is not a demon but an angel so it hardlycounts; it would hardly count anyway even if he were due to how he gotportrayed). Humans acting barbaric is something that happens yet this is notenough deepened. Even the scene with people experimenting on devilmen (andMikiko) gets a 30s cameo at most. Hell, I don’t even remember if the antidemon specialcorp created by the gobernment (which is explicitly stated by Akira as thebeginning of a witch hunt just like the one in the XVI century) existed. That’show few emphasis that part got. And God’s attitude getting changed doesn’treally help.

The second point is hardly there. Akira in the adaptation nevergives up on humankind (Ep10: “Humans won’t lose to demons. I swear I’m going to destroy you all!”).The few flaws he got in the adaptation (such as what happened in Ep5) are never brought up.

Ryo/Satan is completely villanized on here (I feel people havealready talked too much about him so I’ll just link to this instead: just look for the Ryo/Satan posts).He never ever realizes he made a mistake when it comes to humans. And his onlychange is right at the end because MUH FEELINGS.

All of thiscreates a story of “Good VS Bad” typical of shonen manga instead of a story of “bunchof idiots who are fighting each other instead of sitting down and talkingthings out before absolutely everything is lost and no single one of them wins”.

Do you see why this doesn’t work?

I’ll run out of characters if I dwelve much more into thisso I’ll link to this instead. Ican elaborate if you wish, however. Just send me another ask then.

Apart fromthis I’ve said (strange changes are strange) I feel Yuasa/Okouchi as ateam didn’t take enough advantage of what the adittion of moderndays could mean. Yes, the scene with Miki blogging in Ep9 is touching, and theymodernized the design of the characters, adapted the delinquents to rappers,… butthere isn’t much more to it. Especially not when it comes to the antiwarmessage. We can see GPS systems and some other details but that’s not what I’m getting into.

Back in the1970s when this manga was drawn smartphones didn’t exist. The Internet did butit didn’t got popular until 1990s. There was TV, phone or radio, of course, but inthe end news simply went slower. And letters aren’t free instant messaging.

Let’s go to Vol.4 so I can explain what I mean.

In here, we can see Miki went out to buy all thenewspapers she could get her hands into.

A newspaper shows you the printed news and that’s it. You can’t know anything else until anotherone gets printed. The surge of SNS, however, has made news faster. For good or worsewe can know what’s going on at any point of the planet at any time. When there’s a disaster we can know ithas happened few minutes after and get every single detail wewant at the minute.

In a context like Devilman from Vol.3 onwards that’s as muchof a blessing as is a nightmare. You wouldn’t be able to disconnect. There’s not a pause between news andthat’s both good and bad. It’s good to stay informed but it’s terribleto get obsessed over it.

We also live in the era of information where we have theneed of constantly consuming the newest news. This leads to journalism becomingeven more sensationalist, hiding info, talking about an issue thatthey actually don’t know about, or straight up lying. Ironic, isn’t it? Something like that wouldhave been so nice to use. But then it didn’t. Oh.

The other way of communication in the manga shown in the samevolume was phone calls from people living near of each other, or just speaking mouth-to-mouth. As I said, there was no Internet. This centralized everything, to the point oneof the Neo Devilman episodes makes us see a group of people trying to run fromtheir city expecting they won’t be recognized somewhere else and will be ableto live a peaceful life. In the Devilman manga we saw people were pointing out to others theydidn’t like as demons (which gets them tortured and killed) and others following them just to not go through the samefate.

Now imaginean anonymous board in the Internet created for the sole purpose of outingdemons… which becomes a board where people points out to someone they don’t like doxxing them in the process. Once their info is online said person can’t runanywhere. They’re marked forever. How cool a scene like that would have been with ‘Smells Blood’playing as BGM? And yet another unexploited idea.

The quickscuts to paranoic SNS messages, among other things, were good, that’s right, but they didn’t show as well thelack of humanity and creeping up paranoia for me that was shown in the manga. Many of the messages weren’teven translated (and the Arabic ones are simple gibberish from what I’veheard).

I also felt scenes like Miki’s death lost a lot of emotion just because it stopped feeling as… claustrophobic, may be the word?, as the original was. She fought for her life up until the end there. It was a “It’s them or me!” situation. Crybaby Miki, on the other hand… well.

It was the modernization what made me thought before Crybaby was out that humanity wouldn’t last twenty years as it does in the manga. And on that I guess I was correct. There’s notimeskip ever stated in Crybaby so I can only think the events were quicklyfollowed one after another.

Last butnot least, demons fusing indiscriminately in the manga with humans to provoke general panic was a clear symbolism for kamikaze attacks. Yet alone more antiwar being shown (that’s completely missing in the adaptation).

Being born japanese Yuasa/Okouchi shouldbe ashamed of removing this and changing it for that stadium episode instead. That,and removing the Zenon scene right after. Seriously, such terrible choices.

#crybaby criticism #devilman crybaby #devilman #asks now left in the inbox: 4 #there are at least other two I want to give a long response to so please be patient #sal salada #ask #Anonymous #meta

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seriouslycromulent · 7 years ago

Text

Justice League Review & Recap (Warning: Get comfortable)

Soooo, if you’ve ever visited my blog in the past, you know I’m a DC comics fan. I’m not anti-Marvel, mind you. But I love me some DC. With that in mind, it’s important to note that I’m not your average DC fan or DCEU fan or DCtv fan. I tend to like a lot of things others dislike, and dislike a lot of things others like. That’s not me being contrary. I’m pretty much that way about most issues in life – politics, music, travel, etc.

I’m telling you this to prepare you for my fangirl rantings. You might agree with some of them. You might think I’m loony about others. But understand, I’m not trying to convince you to agree with me. I’m simply expressing my opinion. I say nothing out of malice or a desire to run down someone or something any person loves. That’s not my style. I’d rather spend my time gushing over the things that bring my life joy than dedicate a lot of time and energy to tearing down things that don’t. (Case in point: I started typing a review of Thor: Ragnarok 2 weeks ago after I saw it, but decided not to continue and didn’t post it.)

With that said, let’s jump right in:

Warning: Spoilers be below, so I’m using a cut tag out of courtesy. And seriously, you might want to grab a snack because I’m going all in. 😊

If you’re looking for a mild or hate-filled review of the Justice League, you might want to stop now. I loved the film, and I already plan to buy it when it comes out on digital release. I currently own 2 DCEU films: Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I’m attending the ACE Comic Con on Long Island in December, and I plan to see JL multiple times before then. I’ve already seen it twice. I’m a fan. So if you were hoping for an all-negative review or you’re not interested in the details of what I liked and didn’t like about the film, stop now.

Also, these points are not in chronological order of the film. Let’s do this:

What I Liked

Sassy Alfred is back! That dig about Bruce not dating was not missed, sir. Not missed at all. Alfred, never change.

Barry not knowing which direction was East = Me as a superhero! 🙄😏

When we came back from the theater, BvS: Dawn of Justice was on HBO. Both my mother and I said we didn’t even notice they put a photo of Pa Kent in the coffin with Clark at the end. So kudos to the continuity team for remembering to include it in Justice League. And shame on me for not noticing that before. Also, when the photo fell into the amniotic fluid during the resurrection scene, I can’t help but think that was meant to symbolize Clark losing a valuable part of himself in the process of coming back to life. (But hey! I was an English major. I see symbolism everywhere.)

I respect the fact that the DCEU acknowledges all the advancements in the digital world we live in today, but Commissioner Gordon is still sticking with the tried-and-true analog Bat Signal with the lever and the thick wires and the sparks every time he needs to beckon Batman to a rooftop. Jim, never change.

The line: “Yeah, something’s definitely bleeding.” - Batman (This was both funny and in character.)

I liked the subtle and not-so-subtle references to a world in a continual state of despair and upheaval littered throughout the film. We hear Alfred say, “I do not recognize this world.” And Ma Kent talks about having trouble even listening to the news anymore. I think someone else references the anger and bitterness that’s around us everywhere we go these days. I know most of these scenes were filmed before 2 years ago, but I swear that dialogue could easily fit in with many of the statements I hear every day in conversations with my family, friends and people online. Once again, Snyder dials into that realism that makes the DCEU feel rooted in the world we live in today. Plus, Arthur’s recognition of “people who don’t have anywhere else to go” is a much appreciated acknowledgment of the current refugee crisis, but its done in such a way that it won’t feel dated in the future.

Billy Crudup delivers more in his two short scenes than most actors do in entire films. He’s now one of the reasons I’m really looking forward to the Flash solo film.

While I’m handing out kudos for acting, I want to say I’m proud of Ray Fisher and the job he’s done on bringing gravitas to Victor/Cyborg. I saw some DCEU-hater videos a few months ago imply that he might tank the film because audiences didn’t know his work before JL, which is absurd. Most of us didn’t know Hugh Jackman’s work before X-Men, but we gave him a chance and now y’all crying over him leaving the role after Logan. Ray did a wonderful job conveying the struggle Victor’s going through without making us feel like we missed so much backstory we couldn’t follow his emotional journey. He was the right casting choice.

I appreciated the Amazon fight with Steppenwolf to keep him away from the Motherbox so much more on the second viewing. The details, the logistics, the combat strategy were so much easier to take in once I knew how the battle was going to end. If you were like me and didn’t quite grasp how well that was shot, please watch the movie again.

I really liked the end credit scene and the appearance of [REDACTED]! It was not the end credit scene I was expecting (the Trailer-bait scene with Alfred talking to someone off-screen was the one I wanted), but I’m not mad. [REDACTED] is no man’s poor substitute.

Me learning new things: I never knew Supes was as fast as Barry. I knew they would race each other all the time, but I never knew he could literally see him moving inside the speedforce. That’s news to me, and it made that scene feel even more awesome!

Commissioner Gordon’s comment about the amount of structural damage Batman caused at the Gotham Harbor made me chuckle. I appreciate them hanging a light on that constant complaint.

Now, I, too, kind of want to know if Superman has ever fought a hippo. I’m kind of mad Supes never answered that.

So glad I saw the film a second time because I completely missed the confirmation that the Lanterns helped defeat Steppenwolf the first time he attacked Earth. Diana said that nearby visitors from other planets helped them drive Steppenwolf into retreat, but I was too busy trying to take in all the details and I missed the oh-so-important green ring that falls off the guy’s finger. Lantern Corps confirmed!

I appreciated that Barry recognized that his attempt to get a fist bump from Victor could be considered racial charged. That’s why it’s nice when we see Victor finally giving Barry a fist bump at the end while the team looked out on the safe® nuclear power plant area.

I liked how they showed that Bruce does have bruises and gets hurt in his battles against the others. I know we didn’t get to see much of it, but those bruises were important to his story and his journey, just as his comments about knowing he can’t do this forever.

What I Loved!

Lois Lane is “the Big Guns.” You damn right she is!!

Aquaman/Aquamomoa really was wielding that quindent like it was an extension of himself. He flipped that thing around like it was nothing. And knowing Jason like I “do,” he put a lot of work into making it look fluid as possible. It’s kind of hard to miss with all the action on the first viewing, but when he’s fighting Steppenwolf alongside Diana, you can really appreciate how well he works the weapon to give himself a fighting chance with an enemy twice his size.

Diana calling Resurrected!Clark Kal-El. Bruce calling Resurrected!Clark Clark. This was me each time:

Absolute favorite scene: Everyone fighting Resurrected!Superman. Not only because it’s well done, but because of this: It did a great job of showing how much of a threat Supes is going to be in the future. He had just woken up from a dirt nap, so he was in no way running on all cylinders and they still couldn’t really take him. Imagine how much of a threat Superman will be to the others when he’s at actual full power? Granted, Diana was holding back and Arthur was out of practice/rusty in the ass-kicking business, but even at their best, I think it’s clear they’re not going to be a true match for Supes when he is at his best. That was a clever “sneak peak” of a story to come.

Also, Superman catching Diana’s arms before she can clash her bracelets together, then headbutting her. Then her headbutting him. Then him holding her wrists, raising in the air, and headbutting her into the pavement. That was so awesome! It made me suddenly want to buy the video game and pit Wonder Woman against Superman over and over again.

Loved the head-nod to canon about Batman already thinking of contingency plans should they not be able to control Clark once he’s resurrected.

I’m extremely happy with the inclusion of Victor as the linchpin to defeating Steppenwolf. I know a lot of people questioned his inclusion as a member of the Justice League, but he’s honestly a great addition. Not only because of the Motherbox technology, but because of his understanding and access to digital technology. In 2017, the Justice League needs to have someone on the team who can handle the digital aspects of a fight. Maybe it wasn’t as big of a component to fighting the good fight back in the 1980s, but it definitely is now. Cyborg is a perfect addition/update to the Justice League concept. It just works. Anyone still pushing back on this after seeing JL doesn’t really have a solid argument.

Favorite Aquaman moment: When Arthur finally joins the fight and helps the team under Gotham Harbor. When he came in and used his quindent to hold the water back long enough for the others to escape… I damn near jumped out of my seat with applause. You go boy! Talks to fish, my ass!

I love a good argument. That is, when writers create an argument between characters where it’s difficult to choose a side, I love that! That’s why I love how Bruce shuts Diana down about her trying to tell him to move on after Clark’s death. I understood her trepidation about using the Motherbox to resurrect Clark, but Bruce was 100% on the money when he said she’s the last person to tell anybody they need to move on after suffering a loss considering how she shut herself off for almost a century after losing Steve Trevor. Sure, Victor calls Bruce an asshole, and Barry said that they’d cover for Diana if she killed Bruce, but Bruce was still right.

This moment: Superman: “I knew you didn’t bring me back because you liked me.” Batman, awkwardly stammering: “I don’t … not …”

Everyone has a small character arc that doesn’t get ignored at the expense of the action or storyline. I love it when storytellers do that! By the time the credits roll, 1) Diana learns to come out of the shadows and own her role as a hero. 2) Barry learns confidence in battle, even if he isn’t as strong or as sure-footed as the others. It’s clear by the end, he understands that his skills will come in time. Plus, friends. 3) Victor begins to see his condition/situation as something other than a curse, and we can see his relationship with his father start to mend. 4) Arthur starts to find his way back to interacting with the world as someone up other than an outcast from both sides of his family. 5) And, well, Clark comes back from the dead, and after letting off some steam, decides to forgive … eventually. 6) Maybe Bruce doesn’t have much of an arc since he spends most of the film trying to right a wrong he made, but I think that’s enough on his plate for now.

The scene that tugs at my heartstrings the most: Bruce acknowledging to Alfred that the team needs Clark. And that it’s Clark’s humanity that makes him remarkable. Not his powers. Not his abilities. The fact that he was willing to only use those abilities to help others, but also try to live a normal life with a job, a girlfriend and a desire to make the world a better place even without those powers is what made him special. I swear that whole speech just made me want to hug the writers.

One word: Booyah!

What I Didn’t Like

No Perry. Not even a cameo. 😣

Where’s my Clark accepting Lois’s “Yes” for his proposal in absentia scene from the trailer?! Trailer-bait is mean, Snyder. Just mean. I don’t know if this is Whedon’s doing, but … yeah. Not happy.

Poor Barry tripping over his feet. 😟 I understand why it’s necessary to show him as a greenhorn, but it still makes me feel sad.

I did feel as if the pacing in the beginning was a bit rushed. It was as if they were really quick to jump into introducing the team/convincing them to join. But I chocked that up to the studio over-editing Snyder’s work again. And I quickly put it out of my mind about 15 minutes into the film. Like any good DCEU fan, I figure the director’s cut will fix it, so I’m not too bothered.

I know the Russian family of four was just supposed to represent the host of families that have sought out the nuclear power plant area for refuge, but are now in danger of getting killed in Steppenwolf’s wake, but constantly going back to that one family made me feel like they were the only family in danger. I think it would’ve been more effective to include shots of a couple of other families bordering up their homes in fear of the parademons. It’s not like they didn’t have the budget.

When BvS came out, I said I think I would’ve preferred a clean-shaven Bruce Wayne/Batman. I was wrong. He looks better with the stubble. Much better.

Barry was at the beginning of his journey, so I understand the use of humor to cope with his new situation, but sometimes I felt like he was a little too much comic relief. Not that it was out of character for him. He was/is a guy desperate to make friends, so keeping it light even in serious moments does kind of fit him at this stage. But it did sometimes feel a bit much. I mean he is still struggling to get his father out of jail, and trying to get his life on track. His joviality felt a little too much at times. I love his geekiness, but I don’t want to see him not be taken seriously by the audience going forward. Hopefully, they will avoid that in future films.

The CGI for Victor looks brilliant, just like I said it would. I saw nothing wrong with it at all. It had weight and density. It appeared cutting edge without appearing unreasonably implausible. The complaints about it when the trailers came out were completely unfounded, just like I said. But … the CGI on Cavill’s face sometimes looked … no. Just no. That definitely could’ve been better. At times, he looked like his face was uneven in terms of depth. And others, he looked like his skin was too perfect. For a film with this budget and with their schedule, I expected better.

Unpopular opinion: I’m still unsure about Amber Heard’s casting. I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but based on the few films I’ve seen of hers in the past + the one scene she has in Justice League … I do not feel hopeful. I mean when I compare Billy Crudup’s big scene with Amber’s scene, I’m like, “How did she get cast in this franchise?” I’m on board with all the casting choices so far except hers. I’m going to try to give her more rope, but I’m not going to pretend to be a fan because other people are.

I still feel like people are going to walk out the cinema and go: “So what can Aquaman do?” It’s clear he’s strong, agile and fearless. And after bodysurfing a parademon through a building, it’s obvious he doesn’t bruise easily. But I still think people are going to go, “But what can he do?” We literally saw him use a quindent to hold back umpteen gallons of water, but folks are still going to talk trash. SMH. I wish the film did more to alleviate that prospect.

This, That & The Other

There was a lot more swearing than I expected. No judgment. It was just more realistic given the situations they were in, and since the general public seems to be bothered about the DCEU feeling realistic, it was more than I expected. I figured with all the clamoring to make things all light and bubbly as possible, swearing wouldn’t be as much of an option for the franchise anymore.

That joke Clark made about wishing he were dead after helping rip apart the Motherboxes: Too soon! It honestly made me feel uncomfortable. I’m still trying to unpack why, so I didn’t include it with the things I didn’t like in the list above. But honestly, it kind of deserves to be there.

Unpopular opinion: If they do bring in Green Lantern, I hope they choose John Stewart over Hal. If they go with Hal Jordan, everyone is going to compare him to Ryan Reynolds. Save us all from that unnecessary fandom war, and just go with John Stewart! Plus, you get to add another DC hero of color, and frankly, John was a better Green Lantern than Hal. Yeah, I said it!

I walked in to Justice League excited to see the upcoming origin films in this order: Aquaman, Flash, Cyborg. I walked out excited to see the origin films in this order: Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman. I still love Momoa, but I’m actually more interested in seeing Barry’s origin story more now than Arthur’s.

Why couldn’t Bruce just buy the farm back from the bank? Why did he have to buy the entire bank? Bruce is so extra.

To Sum Up/Overall:

I don’t want my overall review of the film to be a reactionary one. By that I mean, I’m not interested in arguing or refuting others’ rumors, reactions or feedback. I feel like it taints the genuine impression I walked out of the theater with after seeing the film (both times). So I’ll say this:

I thoroughly enjoyed Justice League. I’m not upset, aggravated or disappointed in any way more than I was after watching Batman v Superman. I don’t think the film was as strong as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but it was a good solid film about a team coming together for the first time who were in very different headspaces to fight an enemy who is the precursor to the ultimate Big Bad we’ll see in Justice League 2. I thought the film did fine mixing heart, humor and story without sacrificing character development and purpose. It is not set up to deliver the same emotional impact as BvS, so I can’t genuinely complain if it does not do that.

I’m aware they had to, for lack of better phrasing, “dumb it down” because so many people felt lost while watching BvS. I didn’t feel lost watching BvS, but I respect the fact that not everyone is me, and I actually prefer films that don’t insult my intelligence. BvS was the first – and frankly, only – comic book movie that hasn’t insulted my intelligence. Justice League had to play to an audience that consists of more than just me so it’s structure is overly simple and easy to follow. Literally no one should feel like they didn’t understand what is happening in this film.

There’s more humor, which is fine by me, but at times, it did feel out of place. That is not to say they aren’t allowed to be making jokes, but it felt out of place because you can tell when it’s not Snyder’s “voice.” And subsequently, it doesn’t feel like Superman’s “voice.” But again, I’m willing to overlook those moments because they were minor beats that didn’t detract from the film’s impression. It’s like having a few scratches or dings in the bumper of a vintage Shelby Mustang cobra. You wish the scratches weren’t there, but the car is still a work of art.

Thankfully, I saw this film with my mother. My mother is a lifelong comic book fan. (My stepfather is also, but he had to work and couldn’t see it with us.) And I’m very lucky to have her perspective on these films because as a hardcore comic book nerd who has a ton of knowledge of the DC/Marvel universes, but doesn’t partake in any of the internet fandom infighting and overly dramatic social media scream fests, she allows me to see the film from the perspective of someone who just wants comic books to come to life on the big screen in an amazing way. She doesn’t dig for slights. She’s not interested in one-up-manship. She wants all the films to do well, whether they’re Blade, HellBoy, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Avengers or Justice League. And I think some of us you who spend a lot of time on the internet supporting your fandoms need to have someone in your lives who can do the same thing for you. Seriously, some of the reactions I’m seeing online are so tainted by this arbitrary competition and need to have everything “just so,” I really think you’re missing out on the joy these films are meant to bring you.

Yes, I’m excited to see the director’s cut of Justice League. Yes, I prefer my Superman having a more time-realistic coping process after having been dead for so long. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy watching a freshly resurrected Kal-El take down a not-quite-gelled team of superheroes without expending too much effort. Seriously, that entire sequence was fantastic and I will probably re-watch it multiple times. (Do I really just want to see other superheroes fight Superman? What does that say about me? Hmmm.)

Anyway, if I had to make a major gripe about the film is that it’s missing that “something.” That soul that Zack Snyder brings to this franchise. And by that I mean, Man of Steel feels like Zack’s movie. BvS feels like Zack’s movie. But Justice League, although primarily directed by Zack, doesn’t quite feel like Zack’s movie. And I miss that. It works fine since this is the first time the team has come together and their still finding their rhythm, especially Arthur, Victor and Barry. But my hope is that by the time JL2 comes around, the studio will let Zack do what he does and give the film its soul.

The DCEU films work for me because they feel much more grounded in reality, which is the hallmark of DC comics (yes, even the Atom). And although there is some element of that in Justice League, it doesn’t come across as well as it did in Zack’s other films. I can only assume it’s because the studio had him change certain details and the editing job Whedon did kind of imbued the film with a style that didn’t quite gel with Zack’s. Don’t get me wrong. Whedon can do realism, but his realism isn’t the same as Zack’s, and I feel like Justice League should have Zack’s realism from start to finish (at least within the same film). He’s the one who got us here, and he’s the one who will make it feel like its ours. Not the studio’s, if that makes sense.

No, the film wasn’t perfect. But literally none of the comic book movies have been perfect, even the good Marvel ones. They all have flaws. But I don’t need a film to be perfect to be a delight that I want to see over and over again. This film didn’t need a lot of twist and turns. The most important takeaways are 1) bringing the team together, 2) resurrecting Superman, and 3) testing their mettle against an agent of Darkseid. And that’s exactly what it accomplished. Was Steppenwolf on the same level as Lex Luthor? Hell no! But he’s not supposed to be. Steppenwolf is a club. Lex Luthor is a scalpel. Each film should have a villain that suits the desired outcome for the film itself.

No civilians were killed, which apparently is a thing people only care about in DC films, but conveniently forget about in Marvel films. The fight scenes were epic. There was no room for ambiguity. And we got to see a team go on their first full mission together and begin to recognize why they’re better together than apart. Superman might’ve been able to defeat Steppenwolf on his own, but he didn’t have the tech skills to do what they needed Cyborg to do with the Unified Motherboxes. We saw Batman save the Flash. We saw Wonder Woman save Aquaman. The Flash helped save civilians. Superman helped save civilians. We saw all of them handle themselves well, but not perfectly. And that to me is exactly what we were meant to see this time around.

I give the film a solid B+, but only because I suspect the director’s cut will be an A-.

That’s it. The end.

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