#this took way to long

[spagetroach]

I fixes him.

[tonyloon]

Huxloween 2024 - Day 6 -Fairy Tale- -Little Red Riding Hood- Another one inspired by  @huxloween 's wonderful promptlist <3 I know, a little silly, but the idea of Hux just intentionally getting in shady bars, so his guard dog has to come to the rescue amuses me

[orenreo-dsaf]

and then they passionately made out

[tallyhoot]

[_^

[im-resident]

"Melancholy" Kokushibo from demon Slayer Render I've been very busy working and practicing for some upcoming projects, So you will be seeing more background work from me in the future

[rocketarts]

Cuties <3

[klayr-de-gall]

Day 4 - Dungeons & Dragons

Imagine the most unhinged people playing D&D.

---

It's finally time for AU-Gust! I am so excited to do this Prompt-List this year! I'm looking forward to a month of new art! Let's go

You can always join in with all kind of fanwork and fandom! Make sure to use the #AU-August2024 Tag, so I can find you!

As always, all entries for this week (Day 1 till Day 4) can be found on my Patreon already!

[My Social Media and Patreon]

Masterpost

[sharksfrommars]

The Love Curse pt. 2 - the Exes

had some more ideas for that love curse AU I had a week ago. Here’s an exhaustive list of all the exes the pines family had to deal with. :/

The Love Curse- the exes

The pines got a list of exes they each need to reconcile with. Once they had, the name would disappear off it. The curse would be lifted when all the names were gone.

DIPPER

Literally just the girls from Roadside Attraction. He’s got the easiest list. He essentially just mass emails most of the girls, they’re all like ‘lmao we were 12 and never spoke again, it ain’t that deep’ and they all get a laugh out of it.

With Candy specifically, they reconciled pretty much immediately so he just rolls up to her and is like ‘can I check you off this list’

MABEL

Mabel’s got slightly more to reconcile with. 

Her more recent exes are all pretty chill with her these days so they can be dealt with via messages. Even the bitter ones reconcile pretty much immediately. One guy thinks it’s a sign they’re meant to be. Dipper threatens to punch him.

Mermando. The pines go to the land of the mermaids and they meet mermando’s wife. 

Gabe. Mabel really doesn’t want to talk to this guy, but he’s on the list. He’s kinda snooty about the whole thing. Like ‘it’s alright, Mabel. Not everyone can be on my level when it comes to puppeteering.’  Mabel gets annoyed, so the pines have a puppet battle against him. They ruin all his puppet cred by outshining him.

FORD

this is where things start to get interesting…

Fiddleford McGucket. This one is easiest. They’ve already talked about a lot of their history, and McGucket already doesn’t hold it against Ford. It’s pretty easy, except for the killer robot. Naturally.

Random college librarian. Whilst at college, Ford decided that he should get a girlfriend. It was a completely logical decision driven by his mother’s constant questioning. He asked her out, and was the world’s worst boyfriend for 2 months before she broke up with him. She was crying. He was not. 

The pines find her and she’s married and a grandma now. Ford realises that despite the relationship meaning nothing to him, this poor girl got her heart shattered and it kind of changed her entire life. Ford apologises and all is forgiven. Stan shoots his shot with her, only to be elbowed by Ford.

The Siren. Ford asked him out more to study him than to date him. The siren also low-key wanted to eat Ford. It was mutually destructive. They broke up when Ford threatened to harpoon the siren. 

The pines end up on a quest to save siren society from the evils of fascism . Turns out the siren ended up the head of a siren rebellion group, so they go raid the siren capital and do a siren coup. The siren recognises Ford didn’t want to be eaten, and Ford recognises that maybe he kind of emotionally manipulated the siren for science. They end on good enough terms, even after the siren asks of he can eat Stan.

Jheselbraum the Unswerving. They had a beautiful night in Dimention 52, and casually saw eachother whilst Ford stayed there. They ended on good terms.

The pines end up at D-52 to talk to her. Jhes is happy to see Ford, and to meet the rest of them. Ford has to confront his obsession with cipher. He has to recognise that he could have chosen to have a life of his own if he moved on, and he didn’t. Jhes gets it though. It took her millennia to get over her complicated relationship with Cipher. The pines get to experience partying on D-52. Mabel takes notes.

BILL CIPHER. Ford doesn’t mention this one to his family, and instead pretends it’s not on the list. Bill’s dead, right? Or as good as. His family doesn’t need to know. He doesn’t want to have to confront the nature of their relationship infront of the family. Not yet at least. 

STAN

oh BOY does Stan have exes. 

Lazy Susan. This one isn’t that deep. But Stan did kind of run out of their one date and never address it. Mabel has to literally DRAG Stan to Greasy’s so they can talk about it. Susan says she’s been on worse dates and they all laugh about it in the end. Mabel makes a play for free pancakes.

Beatrice. Obscure pull with not much (thanks gravity falls wiki), Stan mentioned to dipper that she slapped him for “being a cad”. Cus we don’t know shit, I’m gonna just make stuff up. Stan seduced her whilst she was married to her ex husband. Stan was fully aware of this, he just wanted something he couldn’t have. Unfortunately for the both of them, Beatrice decided to choose Stan over her husband and she left him. Stan was happy for a while, but now that he had her, a lot of the charm wore off. Stan and Beatrice were in a sad relationship where Stan’s eyes would wander and Beatrice would cry about it. One day, Stan was flirting with some other girls. She saw and so she slapped him and they broke up.

Stan and the family find her in a witches coven. Apparently, her husband wouldn’t take her back, so she decided to swear off men forever and become a witch. She curses Stan to be a child because he ‘acts like one.’ Shenanigans ensue. Dipper eventually manages to convince the witches coven to go easy on Stan by becoming one. Stan manages to apologise and make amends to Beatrice, but apparently cus dipper’s a witch now, he can’t leave. Not that that means anything to the Pines, who steal dipper back and run as fast as possible. The only thing that changes is that dipper has a witch hat now.

Marilyn Fakenamé. Time for a REAL witch. Marilyn was Stan’s vegas wife. She stole his wallet. The only thing Stan wants is to get his wallet back. It was a nice wallet! (He stole it.) Stan genuinely had feelings for her, but it seems she didn’t feel the same way.

Ford built machine that could track the exes listed. For Marilyn, it pointed to Gravesfield, Connecticut. When they got there, they could not find a ‘Marilyn’ anywhere. It’s a whole thing, but Ford detects an anomaly and naturally, the Pines’ get distracted AF. 

When they finally figure out that ‘Marilyn’ was pseudonym, Ford and dipper stare at Stan like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Dipper and Mabel eventually manage to speak to Camilla, who points them to the abandoned house, leading them to the boiling isles, and finally to Eda. The MOST shenanigans occurred, before they finally reconcile.  Ford spends the entire time at the boiling isles making notes. He nearly dies about 5 times doing this. Also Luz and Mabel are besties.

Natalia Annika Önnanövv. She was a Cold War spy, sent to the Mystery Shack in the 80s. She was assigned to one Stanford Pines, a genius scientist suspected to have made a mind control device, specifically one used by Ronald Reagan’s handlers. Obviously, a country like Natalia’s had great need for technology like that. Unfortunately, Ford was already in the portal, so none of Natalia’s investigations lead to anything. So she decided to seduce him. Stan fell for it hook line and sinker, and they dated for 2 years. But it turned out Stan could keep a secret, so she never found out about the portal. 

Natalia realised Stan was keeping secrets so she played the long game. During which, she fell in love. She loved the way he’d scratch his butt then eat food without washing his hands. They went steady, until Natalia’s country fell. She realised she was a target, that she couldn’t stay with Stan, so she ran. Stan ran after her, said he loved her. She needed him to stay away. So she said she never actually loved him, that she was just using him for his science. Stan stormed off and they never spoke again.

The pines find her when she randomly reappears at the mystery shack. Turns out she hid a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ at the mystery shack. She already knew everyone’s names, which freaked Dipper out. Dipper immediately doesn’t trust her and assumes she’s out to use Stan again. The pines get caught up in international heist shenanigans, and end up bonding with her. She and Stan spend one beautiful night together and they reconcile. Eventually they find this ‘weapon’. It’s Vladimir Putin’s baby photos.

Jimmy Snakes. From the days when Stan was in a motorcycle gang. They were lovers, until Stan ended up snitching after taking the fall for a heist. Stan traded his gang mates for a way out. That’s why he’s banned from Arizona.

The pines end up in Arizona, looking for snakes. Dipper and Mabel end up separated from the grunks, and accidentally join Snakes’ biker gang. It’s a whole thing. Mabel gets a leather jacket, dipper does the Akira slide and falls off, they both get matching bikes. Jimmy really takes a liking to them. He decides to get them involved in the next heist. A train robbery.

Meanwhile Stan and Ford are having a mental breakdown trying to find the kids. They decide to take a train to the next town over. The very train they are heisting. During the heist, the pines meet up again, and Stan sees Jimmy Snakes after all these years. They all manage to pull off the heist (with the help of Mabel’s grappling hook), and Stan and Jimmy have a heart to heart. Stan tells Jimmy that he was young and scared, but he really did love him for a long time. Jimmy calls off the hit on Stan, so he’s allowed back in Arizona to visit now. Mabel and dipper shrink down the motorbikes and keep them in their pockets for a rainy day.

Sandra Sweetmeadow. She was a sweet girl from Pennsylvania, back when Stan was trying to sell the StanVac. He knocked on her door and it was love at first sight. Unfortunately, she was Amish, and her parents told Stan to scram with his ‘Sinful electromajigs’. But Stan snuck back at night to serenade her at her window like in Romeo and Juliet. They were steady for a few months before Stan popped the question. She introduced him properly to her parents, who disapproved of Stan’s ‘sinful flashy gold chains’. Sandra ultimately agreed, but she still wanted to marry him. She asked Stan to give up the chains and the gambling and his bad boy ways for her. Stan said no and they argued. Then Stan left her a week before the wedding. 3 months later he was banned from Pennsylvania.

The Pines arrive at a medium sized house in suburban Philadelphia. Sandra lived there with her daughter. Apparently, after Stan had left, she realised she wanted to be with him, regardless of the gold chains, so she went looking for him. By the time she set off, Stan was already two states away with a different name. She eventually got married, had a daughter, and then got divorced. Stan was still annoyed. It honestly pissed him off. He told Sandra that he didn’t appreciate the fact that she thought he needed to change to be ‘good enough’ for her. They argued loudly, and it seemed like reconciliation wouldn’t be possible. Apparently she really hit a nerve.

Mabel, dipper and Ford decide they need to Do Something about it. They team up with Sandra’s daughter and they make a plan to force them to actually talk. They trick them both into drinking a truth potion, and force them to have a heart to heart. Eventually they talk it out and reconcile.

Burline. She left her ring at the mystery shack in the 90s. Stan put it on, and hasn’t managed to take it off since. Apparently that counts as a relationship? Stan goes to meet this Burline with Dipper. They can’t get the ring off, so dipper has to go on a quest to figure it out. Once they get the ring off, they apparently ‘reconciled ’. They also had to sign fae divorce papers. Turns out the ring was Fae, and dipper has to use Fae rules to get the divorce to happen. Burline has no clue where she got the ring and has no attachment to it, so she lets Dipper keep it.

Brenda Chuggins. She had freakishly large thumbs. Something about that made Stan nostalgic so he decided to hire her for the mystery shack’s new freak show. It was perfect, and Brenda was pretty too. They started going out. On day 2, Jimmy snake’s estranged younger brother Johnny turned up looking for a job. Stan barely knew him, but he figured Johnny could pass as a freak. He had bright green hair and a split tongue. There was definitely a story for Stan to make there. Johnny and Brenda hit it off, and at first it was all good. That night they all slept together and Stan thought it was great. The next day, Brenda and Johnny had run off together, deciding they liked each other more than either of them liked Stan. So Stan was missing out on talent AND a lover.

Stan and co find Brenda in New Jersey, at the glass hard beach freak show. Honestly, it was the last place Stan expected to see her. She had married Johnny Snakes, and they seemed to be living their best life. Stan asked Brenda where he went wrong, but she and Johnny had gotten REALLY into the mysterious carny thing so they made stan and Ford go on a whole fetch quest to catch the jersey devil. They end up meeting the jersey devil again, but Mabel and dipper got their first. They’re having a tea party. Mabel’s idea. Brenda finally admits that she quite frankly didn’t see the kind of future she wanted at the mystery shack. But she did with Johnny. Stan accepted that. Then Brenda and Johnny invited Stan over for the night. Dipper wanted to melt hearing that.

Carla McCorkle. After breaking up with Stan, she dated thistle down. She travelled with him on tour until she found out he was cheating on her. So she broke up with him and took on the Feminist cause. She dated a woman for a long time, first as a political thing, but then for real as they both realised their feelings. They adopted about 5 cats and 2 dogs. Then, tragically, her partner died of cancer. Since then, she lived on her own, spending time with her friends from the 70s, and working at Hot Belgian Waffles at Glass Shard Beach.

The pines weren’t expecting to find Carla at Hot Belgian Waffles. Mabel just noticed it and laughed, and dipper said they HAD to go in now. When Stan walked in, Carla dropped her tray. She pointed at Stan and said “YOU’RE DEAD!” Stan and Ford had to spend a good 3 hours explaining the whole sorry tale to Carla. She clearly didn’t believe a word. But regardless, she told them her life story. Stan offered to buy the film rights for $20. He said it was like ‘the Duchess Approves’. No one got it. Dipper asked her what it was like being brainwashed into dating a musician. That got a glare.

Stan and Carla talked about their relationship. They were just dumb kids really, they didn’t fully understand themselves or their feelings. And the fact was, they had both grown and changed so much since they had last saw each other. Now, they found they could laugh about the things that seemed so serious, like old friends do. It occurred to Stan, that maybe that was the point. He had so many exes since Carla, and maybe because of that, he was pretty much a different person. If he had to deal with Thistle Down today, he wouldn’t drive his car into a ravine. He’d just shit in his front seat.

[fairytwles]

they're gonna crucify me anyway⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯‎‎‎‎‎what if the way you hold me....

....is actually what's holy?⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

⎯if long-suffering propriety is what they want from me

they don't know how you've haunted me⎯⎯⎯⎯

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯so stunningly......

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯I choose you and me....

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯religiously….

[picklesthenonbeanary]

Finally finished that fanart I’ve been working on! Yippee!

Fanart of cutler from the comic papercut please go check it out, it’s awesome

Character belongs to @sonyshock

Bonus versions because I can, transparent png and a version without colored lineart

[azure-horizons]

cringetober #8 THE tumblr sexyman, Cecil Gershwin Palmer

[ellearts]

George Russell when he heard that Lewis was leaving Mercedes

[mas0njar]

[erial-c]

my top ten redacted boys (because i am but a bandwagoner of trends)

1. sam - took me a bit to like him ( haven't even finished his playlist yet) but god his character hurts me, he and darlin have gone through so much shit . the video talking about the future with your vampire mate basically sealed the deal on him being my favorite character, and after reading one of the bright eyes series transcripts, it makes me even more interested in his character . (and his southern accent may or may not have awakened something in me)

2. avior - is it obvious i like tragic characters yet . his series is one of the first ones i've listened to fully, and the chokehold that the plot twist had on me was insane . the realization that he had loved starlight so much that he deus ex machina'd them out of the hellscape, and then was silently YEARNING when they were pulled back . i was sobbing you don't understand officer. also love his early sarcastic personality (despite it being a facade) and his constant need to wax poetic, i wish we still saw a little bit of that in his newer audios though

3. guy - ohh the love of my life . the only comfort character ever . babygirl . he does exude millennial cringe sometimes but i can gloss over all that because i love him  🫶🫶🫶 also love his dynamic with honey they r so cute together . his flashback audio is so good AUGGHH the tension . personal favorite audio of him though is his first sick video , because i am THE guy angst enthusiast and it's the closest i'll ever get to it . he is sooo silly idc i always binge his playlist when i can't sleep (ironically i always listen to the one where he attempts to help honey sleep and it works 🫶)

4. lasko - babygirl #2 🤞🤞🤞 love him he is just an overall sweet character . i've also said this before but, him being labelled early on as submissive irked me because i usually found those character tropes annoying and they tended to be infantilized . but the thing is with lasko its not his entire characterization , he's still a very good professor at the academy and ughhhqhh i know how 2explain it i jst love him (also. his slip up in the hot boi summer audio. he is freaky .)

5. geordi - his and cutie's story is so interesting . i love their storyline so much even if it hurts to listen to the audios . they're both flawed characters in a relationship but they're still taking the necessary steps to be better. additionally, while i definitely don't stand for the shit cutie did, i can relate to them in the sense of needing to know what people are thinking to function properly, which is probably another reason why geordi and his storyline hits so close to my heart . (is that corny. maybe)

6. asher - one of the reasons im in the fandom tbh !! he's one of the first characters i got into, specifically his valenweek flashback audio i ate that shit up . . i don't listen to him that much now but still !!! i owe me being here to his character lol

7. hush - creature/babygirl . i was kinda intimidated to listen to his playlist (for god's sake his title is "mysterious stranger") but ohhhh i love him he is so strange. tying doc up in one video and then asking them to hold his hand a few videos later??? love that . him showing up in carpe deus and fucking wrecking vega kinda sealed it for me . love theorizing about him too, if that's not obvious 🫶

8. porter - when i heard the voice that this character had. i can't even explain to you what my reaction was . he's such a fucking diva i love it so much , this guy is like 80% snark, and he just fucks with vincent for no reason .(when he said he was gonna bring treasure to the summit but didn't 😭) he's also so interesting . while ya he was sent to go to the summit and assassinate a clan king (which he succeeded in) he told sweetheart about the bennets discussing their partnership with closeknit so they could get necessary info, he provided an alibi for vincent, he also stopped grilling sam when darlin told him to . (also his 2nd video with treasure . killed me tbh)

9. marcus - not proud to admit that marcus is the first character i came across on erik's channel . marcus is weirdo number 1 (derogatory) and i just find his storyline so interesting. yeah its sad why he did what he did, but overall he knew what he was doing , he fucked everyone else over, and compromised a project, of which the failure could mean life and death, just because he wanted to get freaky with the robot . his obsession and little impulse control being overrun by the asset's obsession with him. GOD . . the satisfaction i felt when he was taken away 🫶

10. caller - weirdo (compliment) . again as a horror enthusiast i love this guy . he's like ghostface but if ghostface could phase through walls/was already in your house (and also weird and obsessive) . his audio made me have the same reaction when watching horror content : "holy shit i love this but also i hate this" 10/10 . he's only last because he has one (1) video . 💔

honorable mention:

gavin - GAVIN LOVE OF MY LIFFEEEE . i really did wanna put him on my list but i haven't listened to the freelancer series properly yet!!!! this is not a matter of him being my least favorite but rather not knowing much about him in depth yet !!!!

[clowninin]

Feigning innocence

[disappointing-my-kid]

Bowser uses illusion magic to make Luigi see Mario die

This one is for you @xxno-thoughts-just-chaosxx i loved the fanart you did it was fantastic!!! Herez 3500 words as a thanks!

~

Ok im back after finishing the post and uhh it gets dark so tw character death ? Uhhhhhhhh sorry yall i told ya im bad at fluff also thanks @hyperfixatingonbowuigisohard <3 i hope you enjoy and thanks @wickfur and @nagichi-boop for helping me edit and proof reading this bad boi

Bowser had kidnapped the green one to try to weaken Marios advances in reaching his castle as quickly. So far it had been working, that or Mario didn’t care for his brother. He figured it wasn’t that. Mario probably hadn’t even found the note his minions left. Unlike how he kidnaps the princess this one had been more discreet. Greenie had just been at their home and all alone so his minions just quietly nabbed him. That was two days ago though. Finally on the 3rd day someone took notice and reports of the red nuance on his way started to trickle in. Though he wasn’t making much progress.

Which means Bowser spent two days with this annoying green bean in his dungeon. He was no fun at all either. Bowser had tried to mess with him a little but the man wasn’t having any of it. They both knew this was longer for Marios normal rescues but no matter how Bowser spun it Greenie still believed his brother would save him. It was a little admirable how much faith he had in his brother, if not very annoying also. The man just trusted his brother completely. Nothing Bowser tried could convince Greenie otherwise.

That is until Kamek told Bowser of a new magic he finally figured out. Illusion magic. With Mario steadily making his way to the castle so Bowser and Kamek wouldn’t have much time to test out how this magic works to use it on Mario. His brother was the perfect subject for such a test. He quickly called to have the prisoner called to his throne room while he and Kamek planned out what illusion they could try and make.

~~~~ POV switch

Luigi had been here, shackles on his hands for three days, he thinks. Hard to tell a day in the Badlands. But Bowser made that easy by telling him how long it had been. Not sure if he could trust Bowser’s word but it did feel like three days so he just assumed it had been. He hoped his brother was okay. Three days was a bit long for a rescue, though Luigi had expected it to take longer. He was no fool like Bowser seemed to think he was. Captured alone at night from his and his brothers home. No raging fires or sounding of alarms. A kidnapping more akin to his home world than the Mushroom Kingdom. Plus he knew why Mario would take long to notice. He was out taking one of his two day training trips. No one but Luigi and maybe the princess knew about them. And if Luigi was being honest, he knew it probably wasn’t actually for training. His bro needed some time to himself to process some things for a few days before they came to this world, so why would that change. So he knew right from the start Mario would take longer.

Even so, he did wish Mario would pick up the pace once he realized Luigi was missing. The cuffs on the shackles hurt as they dug into his wrists. They hadn’t given him anything since he arrived here. No food. No water. Nothing. He's lucky the cell has a sink in it or else the dehydration would have probably got him. One guard did take pity on his growling stomach the second day and gave him some sort of fruit. He had never seen it before so it must be native to the Badlands. He gratefully accepted, not caring if the fruit was good or not. He trusted that Bowser would want to finish him off himself and he trusted that his minions knew better than to kill him, less they wanted to suffer his wrath. Even if he did wish they would stop visiting to torment him. Still though, the fruit hardly kept his hunger at bay. To top it all off, his mind was having a field day with all the things that could go wrong. His insecurities run rampant. ‘He’s not coming’ his mind whispered. ‘It’s been days no one is coming’ another poured in. It was easier to tell Bowser he trusted his brother. Easier to show how confident he was in Mario saving him. But truly believing it was another thing all together. If Bowser noticed in their “chats” that Luigi was more trying to convince himself than Bowser, then Bowser didn’t show it. With how little Bowser actually looked at Luigi he figured Bowser didn’t notice. After all, Luigi never took Bowser for being horribly cruel. Anger issues sure, but Luigi had seen how Bowser looked at his children. And his brother had told him stories of Bowser helping him with a team up here and there. Plus when the man got frustrated with Luigi's faith in his brother he could tell Bowser was pulling his punches. Though to say they still didn’t hurt would be a lie. His body still aches from his last “chat.” Being thrown to the ground hurt a lot more when you hadn’t eaten much for nearly three days and when the ground was a stone prison floor instead of soft grass, but it really wasn’t helping the situation.

Though Luigi was pulled from rubbing his bruises and thoughts when he heard someone approaching his cell. Luigi had hoped it would be the same guard as before but the amount of footsteps told him that it wasn't. It was some koopas he hadn’t met yet. Some had visited him in his cell to taunt him during his stay. Taunt, tease, yell at, and even one threw a rock but these guards had been some that never visited in such events. No, one of these guards had a chain in its hand and another guard had some keys in theirs. “Great” Luigi sarcastically thought, as he figured its time for more rough handling. “The all Mighty King Koopa has requested your presence, pathetic prisoner.” the one with the keys spoke. Which was new. Clearly Bowser had no problems with coming down to the prison, so why the change to move Luigi? Before he could even ask anything the cell was unlocked and he was rushed. He wasn’t even going to resist but they still grabbed him and harshly pushed him to the wall. Was this amount of force needed? He was weak from lack of food and again not even fighting back. He winced, as he knew one koopas grip was gonna leave bruises. He soon realized something cold was put around his neck, it was clearly a bit too tight on him. And his arm restraints had been exchanged for wrist restraints. Now his hands are bound together by just cuffs. Once released he nearly dropped to the floor, he was able to steady himself for a moment. But then the chain that was attached to the metal collar on his throat was yanked, and he fell forward. “Get moving prisoner.” With a groan and another yank he was on his feet and being led through the castle.

After constantly being harshly yanked along they finally reached the throne room doors. Luigi hardly had time to take in how massive the doors had been before they slowly started to open. Not wanting to fall again Luigi tried his best to keep up with them as they started to bring him into the room. “The prisoner, your Majesty” the one holding his chain said, bowing, as he was once again yanked back to the ground despite his efforts. Slowly he lifted himself to get back to his feet but he froze once his gaze met Bowsers. The anger he sees there couldn't be mistaken for anything else. Luigi gulped down the lump forming in his throat. Maybe leaving the cell wasn't as much a good thing as he had hoped.

~~~~~POV SWITCH

Bowser called for the green prisoner to be brought to the throne room the moment he and Kamek had everything planned out and ready. He could hardly wait to see the Green Beans' faces after what they had for him. Though when he actually saw the state his prisoner was in, and he couldn't stop the anger building up in him. Since when had he given the order for torture? Sure he might have roughed the man up a bit himself, but those had been mostly by accident. His rage just got the better of him, but he didn't remember doing all this. Clearly someone was acting without orders and that alone made him ready to rampage in his own castle. He came back to his senses when Greenie was forced to the floor by his guard pulling on the chain attached to the other’s neck. Which clearly wasn't needed as the man hadn't even tried to resist. That just made Bowser more angry. Though, as he watched the plumber start to raise his head and their eyes met it was clear the other thought he was angry with him. It didn’t sit right with him but he wasn’t about to correct it either. All the better that Greenie is scared. Even if it wasn’t his intention, though he did intend to scare the green one out of his wits with this illusion. Quickly he regained his composure “Leave us.” Bowser demanded maybe a tad too harshly as he watched the prisoner flinch. “I have something to discuss with this prisoner.” A slight smirk graced his face as he again looked to the man in question, who started shrinking in on himself slightly as they once again made eye contact. No time to dwell on that. As the guards left Bowser got up and slowly made his way over to the man on the floor.

~~~ POV switch

Luigi sat on the floor as Bowser headed his way. He started to scramble backwards but was quickly stopped by a large foot stepping on the chain that was still attached to his neck, wincing at the movement. A truly wicked smirk was covering Bowser's face “going somewhere?” Bowser teased. Swallowing his fear, he stammered out “i-i um you know h-have places to be thi-things to do.” Bowser, of course, laughed harshly as he pulled his foot backwards, causing the chain to yank Luigi forwards onto his face. Slowly lifting himself onto his elbows he quickly froze as a clawed finger lifted his chin to meet Bowser's gaze. Time froze for Luigi as he saw nothing but sick mischief in Bowser's gaze. “Now now don’t be in such a rush.” As a large hand left his face and went to his neck to get a hold of the chain. Rising to his feet Bowser yanked Luigi up with him. “No no can't have you leaving so soon.” Bowser laughed as Luigi didn’t even notice the new weight added to the end of the chain. And if Luigi wasn’t concerned for his safety enough “I’ve got big plans for you Greenie, big plans indeed.” Those words filled him with dread.

Before Luigi could even begin to ask, the doors burst open. Both their heads snapping to attention in said direction. There stood Mario. “MARIO!” Luigi called out to his brother and started to move towards him but was pushed back by Bowser. “WHAT?!?? You shouldn’t be here yet!” Bowser roared, moving in front of Luigi into a fighting stance. Mario was also preparing for a fight, though he looked like he had already been in one. He had to of rushed right here after finding their home empty. He was probably tired. “You think you can kidnap my brother and get away with it!” Mario retorted. Then they both charged. Quickly Luigi got to his feet and tried to help his brother only to be stopped by the chain. Pulling with all his might he couldn’t get it to budge one bit. Turning back to the battle for a moment, just in time to see Bowser land a solid punch to his brother's stomach. Sending Mario tumbling across the floor. “NOOOO” Luigi yelled. Panic filling him as he yanked even harder on the chain. But it wouldn't budge an inch.A laugh boomed into the room as Bowser approached Mario’s form. Slowly Mario was trying to get up only to be met with a kick to the gut sending him rolling once again. Tears started to pour down Luigi's face as he watched in horror as his brother struggled to get to his hands on knees. A low chuckle filled the room that sent a chill over Luigi’s body.

 Slowly Bowser stalked towards Mario. Towering over the man “Not so strong now are you?” As he reached down, much to Luigi's horror and picked his brother up by the throat. Mario thrashed in his grasp trying to escape. “STOP IT!” Luigi finally broke out of his trance and yelled. Of course Bowser now fully turned to face him, Mario in hand. “Or what Greenie? Hmm what are you gonna do to stop me?” Luigi's gaze met his brothers and he knew. He would do anything. “Anything! Whatever you want! I'll do it, just please!” His voice breaking as he begged “i’ll do anything please please just spare him.” A low hum resounded from Bowser as he made a show of pretending to think about it. A pit formed in Luigi's stomach as he spoke “As enticing of an offer that is, Greenie “ Luigi's eyes widened in horror as Bowser's grip tightened on his brother's throat. “I think I would rather be rid of this pest than have his useless brother.” The words hit him like a truck and stabbed him to his core as he stood frozen watching his brother's struggles stop and arms fall to his sides. Just above a whisper “n-no” Luigi in disbelief stared at his brother's unmoving form. Bowser laughed once again “Struggling with reality Greenie?” Tossing Mario’s lifeless body in his direction as if it was nothing. Luigi was unable to move as it rolled towards him. His eyes met his brother's lifeless ones. Standing there he stared. It's as if everything else disappears. Just him and his brother.

And then his legs gave out. He fell to his knees. Face twisting in horror. Denial coming into full swing “no.. no it.. m-mario get up. Please you” he his breath hitched “you have ta get up now.” His brothers form unmoving as he slowly tries to crawl over to it. But right before he could reach out and grasp his brother once again he was stopped by this chain. Mario was just out of reach to him in more ways than one. He sat there a moment before finally shouting, “Mario get up! COME ON!” All energy leaving him with the shout “please bro” he sobbed “p-please i i need you please d-don’t leave me all alone.” Tears falling onto the floor “you-you’re all i have please don’t go.” Once more he reached out for his brother's lifeless form. This time though something changed as the chain no longer held him back and slowly he reached out for his brother's shoulder only to have it to start to sparkle away. Slowly light lifted upwards as he watched his brother disappear. He numbly grasped at the pieces that disappeared between his fingers.

~~~~POV switch

Bowser stood motionless as the illusion started. Kamek told him how it worked. All he had to do was stand here and make sure Greenie didn't touch the magic. Once someone touched it then it would fade. So it was a real show for him too watching himself fight Mario. He was quite surprised as Green Beans strength when the man tried to pull the chain. But Bowser still had it securely stuck under his foot. The moment he turned Greenie around was when the magic started. And oh boy what magic it was. He nearly roared out in triumph watching himself win. But that would completely ruin the illusion, having his own roar come from somewhere else. What came next though. He didn't quite like and he struggled to figure out why. Even knowing himself it was an illusion the lifeless body made a chill run up his spine. But he froze upon watching his prisoner's reaction. Unable to react himself as the scene played out in front of him. Gut twisting. Then it hit him. Too far. He’s gone too far. Hearing the man beg for his brother to return to life to him really took Bowser off guard. He stepped back as the shock of the scene washed over him. The moment he did though the plumber finally was able to reach his false brother. The moment he did though the illusion started to fade. Which made something inside him clench as he watched the man reach up to try and grab a piece of his brother's fading form. Forget crossing a line he all but ran past the line and was still going.

He had to do something. Nervously he cleared his throat. “So uh What did you think of our new magic!” He tried to sound proud and confident but it was hard even for him. The plumber didn’t respond. Didn’t move as he just sat there staring upwards where his brother's body faded out at. “Uhhh Greenie?” Gently he reached forward to grasp the man's shoulder. No reaction at all. Turning him around and Bowser pulled his hand back and gasped. The man's face. Eyes just as empty as the false corpse. He didn’t even look at Bowser, or well anything. He just stared forward. Mouth slightly parted with tears still rolling down his face. Oh lord what was Bowser saying about crossing a line. “Hey uh Greenie it was fake! That uh… pathetic brother of yours is still on the way!” Bowser was way out of his depth here “fake?” A soft voice tore him out of his thoughts. Just above a whisper. “Yea totally cool illusion magic!… so um…” what was he to say? All he could focus on was the lifeless eyes. “I-illusion magic?” The man said back. This wasn’t working. “KAMEK!” He called out and quickly the old magikoopa flew down from where he was projecting the illusion. “Quickly! Go find Mario and bring him here. Maybe seeing his brothers annoying and totally full of life face will help.” Kamek didn’t question anything and at once set off. After all he watched the same illusion Bowser had and agreed fully on that they went too far.

Not knowing what to do Bowser did what he could. He gently removed Greenie restraints. Wincing as he saw the damage, though no such reaction came from the man himself. His wrists swollen and scratched but his neck. It was bleeding from either the force Luigi had put on the chain trying to reach his brother or from his own men yanking him around. Either one was horrible enough for Bowser to feel bad. Every so lightly he pulled the man's chin up again, just like before, forcing their hollow gaze to meet his. “Hey it's gonna be alright. Mario is ok. It's gonna be ok”. At that he pulled him into a hug as if he was one of his own children. He didn’t know what else to do. Gently stroking the man's hair and back. Anything he could think of to bring him comfort. Eventually he got a reaction. Though it wasn’t really the one he wanted. As the man began to full on sob into Bowser's embrace. Arms coming up to grasp anything for a life line. Softly he started “shhhh it's ok. It's gonna be ok. He’s ok. It wasn't real.” He did his best to keep reappearing that last line. Hoping it would sink in. Eventually the sobs died down and he could feel the man trembling. Slowly he pulled back and held Greenie by the arms. Looking him right in the eye “I’m sorry, I-I went too far. It wasn't supposed to- It was just- we didn’t think-” Bowser couldn’t figure out the words. Nothing he could say would make this any better. There was no excuse. No justification.   Luckily he was saved by the doors bursting open for real. Mario is standing there just like before, but with Kamek floating behind him. Only this time his face wasn’t of rage or confidence. No, his face was full of worry as he spotted his brother. Kamek must have told him something. Greenie tensed upon seeing his brother. Bowser turned back to him “Go on. He's real” the man's breath hitched “and waiting for you.” At that last line he jumped up and all but smashed into his brother. Grasping for anything and everything. When nothing disappeared and he got a fist full of shirt, only then did he believe it to be real. Only watching them for a moment then turned to face Kamek who nodded in return, who quickly magically set another illusion into place. The only difference was that now the brothers had become alone. Neither wanted to fight the other so Mario helped his brother stand and even though he seemed mad about the injuries the other had he could tell now wasn’t the time. Slowly leading his brother out. Quietly Bowser ordered “Kamek follow them and make sure no one stops them on the way out.” And with that Bowser was left alone with his thoughts. And guilt.