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fruitycasket · 5 months ago

Text

She Knows (ALTRVerse Fic)

Fic about one of the Twins unveiling a secret Marvin would rather keep hidden and threatening him with it. Also up on Ao3 under the pseud RottenFruitz. Comes in at about 1,746 words.

Written because I support women's rights and women's wrongs <3

Don't trust the Magic Circle.

Those words, Ramesses's words, often play in Marvin's mind when he's alone with his thoughts.

Doctors said the old man's mind was going, but Marvin wonders how much of it is an act.

An ordinary man speaking too openly about the Circle's misdeeds might be called a conspiracy theorist, or he might suffer a friendly visit from a white mask. An old, insane man who spends his time rambling about cosmic entities on the street is always ignored unless he's being laughed at—or given some spare change.

If it's a disguise, entirely or partially, it's a good one. Because he is old. It is possible some things are getting away from him, and it wasn't like he had all his ducks in a row to begin with from what Marvin can tell. But then, he'd helped Marvin get into the Circle, and you didn't manage that if you had zero respect.

All that was to say when Ramesses told him, Don't trust the Magic Circle, Marvin believed it.

Sometime after that ominous decree, Marvin got to work on his mask. A shiny new (illegal) spell later, it was capable of salvaging memories as they were tampered with, among other things.

He had not been expecting the little trinket to lay bare the sheer expanse of what was taken from him.

The weight of what he doesn't know and can't remember is enough to crush him some days. Sifting through that enchanted mask, sometimes it has nothing new to show. Sometimes the sheer pettiness that memory-erasing spells are used for staggers him. There are Circle members who insult people, then swipe the memory of it as if it never happened. And if something as tiny as that is worth messing with someone's head for, how many big things is Marvin missing?

Once he starts thinking about that, if he's not careful, he'll spiral far enough that he'll be out of it for a whole day.

Perhaps it's this knowledge that drives him to indulge in these little rebellions, to sneak or talk his way into places he's arguably not supposed to be in.

One of those places is a little, out-of-the-way library. Devoid of other readers save for himself, the place is dark, lit by a couple yellow lamps, and furnished by a handful of chairs and desks. The books here are interesting, a little more advanced than he's allowed to read about, but not anything he thinks will get his tattoos burned off and his Circle status revoked—excommunication, some people called that.

So far, however, that threat hasn't erased the thrill of poking around where he's not allowed.

He's the Chosen One anyway, marked by the claw of something pretending to be a white cat in his dreams. (Though, given all the blood that came out of that "mark" he's not sure that prophetic dream wasn't a prophetic nightmare.)

What's wrong with the Chosen One wanting to get smarter?

His eyes alight on About Magic and the Mind. The title on the spine hooks into his flesh and reels him in until the book's in his hands, being gingerly laid open on a dusty, scratched table.

There's a little note at the front warning that the book's contents are illegal to anyone who's not a magician, or a magician under a certain class, which he ignores in favor of skimming the contents for things that look interesting. He skips immediately to the section going over the dangers of playing in the mind.

Leafing through the pages, he finds many spells he's heard of but knew little about prior. Mind's Eye is one of the few that gets its own fancy name, the rest are plain: Possession, mind-walking, memory-erasing, memory-replacing, and so on. They're safe enough if done well, says the book, but done poorly or with malicious intent, or if a single mistake is made, they're effective ways of turning a healthy human mind into pudding.

It becomes clear the author did or does believe that these spells need to be banned. Period. There's too much bad it can be used for, and a brain was too complex a machine to mess with.

"Marvin."

Marvin jumps. He scrambles to collect himself before he spins around, but his efforts are for nothing once he realizes who's standing at the library's entrance. Seemingly an ordinary white mask at a glance, the flicker of red hair and voice give it away.

One of the Twins.

The sister, he thinks, based on how she's a little taller than him, rather than a full head.

How? Why? Did someone see me come in and report to them?

He has both heard and seen the sway the Twins, both on their own and as a unit, have on people. Seasoned white masked magicians, flinch away in fear when the Twins turn cold eyes on them. To make one angry at you must be a cataclysmic event of life-ending proportions—sometimes literally, if all the rumors Marvin's heard as he's grown in skill are correct.

Is it the brother or the sister they say is most dangerous?

Seeing this Twin stalking towards him throws all preconceptions about being Chosen out the window. She pulls down her hood, and takes her mask off and sets it on a table beside her, and he thinks that maybe that huge white cat is punishing him for his earlier bravado.

"Ma'am," he says, "I'm sorry I…" got lost? Confused? He averts his gaze and worries at his shirt, running the pad of his finger against the little cat mask necklace lying against his chest. "Uh…"

"I'm not a wild animal, you can look me in the eyes, lad," she comes closer and the door lock magically clicks shut.

That's that, then. I'm dead.

Marvin does not raise his head or his eyes. Maybe she's not mad about the library and this stuff isn't particularly off-limits. Surely she would have led with that, otherwise. "Was there something you…?"

As she draws close, she looks down at him with some deep, aching hunger and Marvin has never felt so far away from an escape route before.

"…something you needed?"

What is she going to do to me? Can I get away?

Her eyes aren't visible from where she's standing. Or maybe she's just made the entire room darker by being in it. "I'm just here for a talk."

Would it matter? If I attack her they'll take… they'll take everything. I can't live like that.

Marvin closes his book like that will make his reading of it less incriminating. "About?"

"A little birdie told me I'd find you here. I can't say I'm surprised." When Marvin has no reply, she continues, drawing closer in slow, painstaking steps. "You're young, stupid. Everyone is, at some point. You, me, my brother… Ramesses."

"I, I don't understand"—Marvin barely gets the sentence out before she grabs the front of his shirt, plus the necklace beneath it, gloved fingers grazing his skin harsh enough to bruise. He sputters, unsure if that was on purpose or if it's a happy coincidence. Either way, the horror on his face makes hers light up in turn, though she doesn't smile.

"No, I don't think you do," she pulls Marvin in so close their foreheads all but touch.

This is beyond overkill given his only crime so far has been sneaking into some dingy old library, isn't it?

Unless that's not what she's mad about.

Marvin's blood flash freezes. He tries not to look as terrified as he is. "What do you mean?"

"You're hiding something from us," she hisses, "and I have half a mind to pin you against this wall and tear whatever it is from your skull." Every time Marvin tries to squirm away she yanks him back. He stops entirely when she brings her second hand down on his shoulder, too close to his throat to not be a threat. Her palm is warm with a spell desperate to escape its caster and sear itself into his skin. Or maybe it would just erase all thoughts of escape from his head. Or maybe something is already being cast, something to ruin his necklace and all it holds, it's hard to tell. "But I'm not as monstrous as they say, Marvin, and I'm told to expect great things from you. I'd rather not have to leave you raving on some sidewalk like that old man."

Thrown for a loop by that last comment, Marvin stammers, "I, I'm loyal, I've never—I've done nothing wrong."

"Remain obedient from this point forward and you stay," her eyes narrow, disbelieving Marvin's plea and her own words, "Am I understood?"

Marvin nods.

She must know. And now she's—no, they, the both of them—are going to hold it over my head until the day I die.

His precious mask and necklace had just become his choke-collar and leash.

After a long moment of staring into his eyes, the Twin lets him go.

Marvin scrambles back as far as the claustrophobic library's walls allow, his body refusing to stop backpedaling until he hits a wall. The Twin continues to watch him with that hungry look, but its fading, whether from boredom or because she knows the game is over, he isn't sure.

"Starting today, you'll be getting private lessons," she says, "It'll do you some good. I know how young upstarts can be without a firm hand to guide them…"

And threaten them into behaving. "Private lessons? But I"—

She gives him a look that could wither roses. "But nothing. This isn't a choice." She comes back towards him, and he's embarrassed to realize he tries to back up again even though his back is still against the wall. When she reaches him, she lifts his chin up with her finger. His skin crawls. "This is a privilege, an honor. You say you're innocent? Then you have nothing to fear."

Satisfied, she lets him go and starts to leave. The door unlocks, opens, light spills into the little library. Marvin's disheveled self is laid bare in a way he can't stand.

He can't believe it's not storming or dark outside.

The Twin puts her mask back on and readjusts her gloves as she leaves. "Clean yourself up, lad. Lessons start in an hour. If you don't arrive, someone will come get you."

Marvin doesn't move until she's gone and he's alone.

Then he shuts the door and cries in the dark for a long while.

#altrverse #void silver #marvin the magnificent #the twins altrverse #the twins void silver #the twins vs #I know the Twins are pretty straight-laced evil in the comics so far but cmon they make that one guy SO nervous #have to get that level of reputation somehow eh?#anyway #I had to double check that I was spelling Ramesses name properly like fifty times

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musicfeedsmysoul12 · 1 month ago

Note

if Birthday AUs are still open, Something for Dragon Age? Maybe a date between one (or more) of your Rooks and their love interest?

“Well that’s lovely,” Branwen lifted a hand over her eyes to squint at the trees. “Andy? Andy are you okay?” She called out.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Andy shouted back. The Lord of Fortune braced themself on the tree, hand wrapped around a branch with a feral grin. “I’ve got this!”

“I still could lift a platform up there,” Lace said as she stared up at human. Branwen sighed, lowering her hand.

“I believe it’s best to simply… let this happen. And hope Davrin shows up with Assan before Andy lands face first in a bush,” the necromancer glanced from side to side. “Not how I expected a double date to go.”

“Ah,” Lace winced. It had been her idea to go explore an old crypt in Arlathan. After little respite before they went after the Gods.

A chance for all of them to find something interesting.

A chance to feel normal after… after.

“Hey,” Branwen turned to her, a hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder. Lace looked up at her and sighed. Drawing inwards, Lace placed a hand on Branwen’s to push away the glamour. A skeleton face appeared where the dark skin and thick curls of Branwen were once. “An. This.”

“Not this,” Lace said, motioning to how her lover now looked. “Both of us. I don’t… I don’t regret giving into the Titans. I don’t regret becoming one,” Lace told her. “And I doubt you regret becoming a Lich when you lay there dying.”

“No,” Branwen said, bending down as she lifted Lace’s hand up to press her lipless mouth to it. “Never, not as long as I have you.”

“I love you,” Lace said. “We were dying. We chose this to not lose each other. Our friends… our friends understand.”

“They do,” Branwen said softly. “But I understand.” The lich stood up while pulling her glamour back on. “One more moment to be normal.”

“One more,” Lace vowed as Davrin finally entered the clearing to shout up at his own lover to not jump, he found a different path.

#dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #lace harding #harding x rook #davrin #davrin x rook #not really there #this idea came from my thoughts about multi rooks #and I had the thought Lace is a baby titan #and when she dies here Branwen who was also dying became a lich #and it kick started Lace into becoming a full titan #Branwen found the info in Johanna’s notes #and prepared the spell #lay dying and didn’t want to go #so here

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