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teletraan-meets-jarvis · 3 years ago

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What I Want - Part 2

AO3 Link

Chapter Title: What I Need

Pairing: Crosshair x fem!Jedi Reader

Summary: Following the awkwardness of the night before, you go to an old friend to try and process your feelings for Crosshair.

Click here for Part 1

Warnings: 18+, a bit more frisky business but not full on so rated 18 just to be safe. Swearing.

Word Count: 2.6k

Author’s Notes: You ask, you get!! Thanks so much for all the support and love for part 1 ❤️. As a thank you, I bring you part 2, I hope you enjoy! If this one takes off a bit as well, I do have an idea for a little bonus chapter around the Bad Batches' reaction. As always, feedback/comments are massively appreciated along with reblogs. Fic is below the cut off, thanks for reading!!

Taglist: @aerynwrites @shannon-lynn-21 @saltywintersoldat @tired-night-owl @wille-zarr

A comm alarm beeped softly, slowly pulling you out your slumber. Giving the device a sleepy glare, you shut it off and huffed back onto your bunk. Wrecker’s snores were echoing off the small ship barracks, you rolled your eyes at his sleeping form across the room as you swung your legs over the side of your top bunk. Below you, Tech slept soundly, he managed to fall asleep with his goggles on which were now sitting wonky on his relaxed face. He also had a datapad clutched to his chest, almost like a teddy bear, which made you chuckle to yourself.

You’d barely slept after getting back from the mission but being a General stopping over on Coruscant meant rest would be a pipe dream. Your alarm was set to get you out of bed and ready for the first of what you were sure would be a hundred and ten briefings today. You were always happy to shoulder the politics for the team, removing that burden from Hunter so they could keep to themselves. But today, you could really do without it.

You looked over at Hunter and Crosshair’s bunks, the former sleeping up top with an arm over his eyes. Probably to block out the few small coloured lights on the ship that shone from critical systems, preventing the room from being truly pitch black. You didn’t envy Hunter’s enhanced senses, they seemed to cause him quite a bit of discomfort when they weren’t on missions. You should probably pick him up an eye mask one of these days.

Below him, Crosshair slept with his back to the open room. One of the few times you ever saw his body relaxed was when he slept. You cringed as you remembered yesterday’s awkwardness with the sniper and mentally cursed at yourself for causing, what was, an easily avoidable situation.

Shaking your head you jumped silently off of your bunk, mindful to not wake any of the batch. You gently removed Tech’s goggles, placing them in their usual spot before moving over to grab some fresh robes and head for the fresher. Today was going to be a real drag.

—————————————————

“Hey! Look what the Lothcat dragged in” someone called after you as you trudged up the steps to the GAR Headquarters. You turned around to see none other than Anakin Skywalker jogging up behind you.

“Nice to see you too Skyguy” he chuckled at the nickname as he threw an arm around your shoulders.

You fell into companionable chatter as you made your way to your first meeting, the dark halls of the military headquarters looking indistinguishable as you attempted to find the correct room. Members of the Coruscant Guard patrolled the halls, nodding politely to you both as you strolled past.

Eventually you found the room where Mace, Plo and Luminara were waiting, along with some clone and human high command. You stood outside the door for a moment, readying yourself to seal your fate of being talked at for a solid eight standard hours.

Eventually you caved, mostly as you were on the verge of being late if you debated standing outside any longer. Begrudgingly, you sat through briefing after briefing. All the voices and different rooms blending into one grey blur as you tried to take in what information you could, but your tired and stressed mind was having none of it.

While it was nice to catch up with some of the other Jedi, you always felt a bit out of place among the perfect members of the council. More so now than ever.

You ended up wandering back to the temple with Anakin where you both retired to his room and you flopped down onto his simple bed with a whine.

“Okay, what’s going on? You’ve been off all day” Anakin was the closest thing you had to a brother, you trained as Padawans together and due to your similar age you became fast friends. You knew about his marriage to Padme and decided that if you could offload your dilemma on anyone, it’d be him.

“I fucked up” you groaned out from behind your hands.

“What’d you do?” Anakin replied in a playful tone.

“I might’ve got a bit hot and heavy with one of the clones in my squad, led him on and then cut it off” Anakin raised an eyebrow at your confession. “And now he’s pissed at me”

“Why?” You weren’t entirely sure which part of that entire thing he was questioning.

“Because I started the whole thing, I wanted it. Then all of a sudden I did that whole guilty Jedi, must follow every word of the order thing, gave him some pathetic look which said really sorry I can’t have attachments mate, hope you understand. He called me out on it before I could even utter the banthashit excuse and then he stomped off and hasn’t spoken to me since.”

“In his defence, seems like he was probably wound a little tight” Anakin replied with a chuckle which you just groaned at.

“He has every right to be pissed. Hells, I would be if the roles were reversed. Whats with this whole self-righteous act us Jedi have going on?”

“Look, it’s hard being a Jedi at the best of times. It takes an inhumane amount of self-control, which is why its not a path for the weak. But being a Jedi while at war… it’s a lot. You’re emotions are running high, you’re forming bonds with soldiers on the battlefield that you shouldn’t be, but none of us can help it because it’s uncharted territory. Maker knows I’d hunt down anyone who hurt Obi-Wan or my Captain. Yes, It’s not the Jedi way, but neither is fighting a grand-scale war.” Anakin’s eyes were alive with emotion as he spoke, be he quickly caught himself and then it was gone.

“My point is, don’t beat yourself up so much. No one is getting kicked out the order or in his case reconditioned if that’s what you’re worried about. Figure out what it is you want, and then just be discreet about it” you looked at Anakin like he’d grown two heads, he just winked at your confused stare.

“Okay let’s keep it simple. Are you attracted to him?” You thought back to the night before and firmly nodded in response.

“Do you like him as a person?” You pondered his question.

“Well, it’s Cross. I wasn’t sure if he even liked me for a long time. He’s closed off, anti-social, but he’s also a good guy, cares about his brothers, has saved my ass multiple times, and he is kinda funny in his own, snide way” you rattled off with fondness in your words.

“Well then I suggest you go and talk to him.” Anakin replied, giving you a knowing look when he spotted the small smile on your lips as you spoke about the sniper.

You took a deep breath, glad to have finally gotten that off your chest and feeling content that you now knew what to do next. “Thanks, Ani”

“Ugh please don’t call me that” he moaned back, apparently only Padme was allowed to get away with that one.

————————————————

Your walk back to the Marauder felt like it dragged on and on. Your brain ran over a thousand scenarios of what to say, how he’d react and you were about to short circuit. There was so much risk, so much possibility, that you did your best to shut your mind off and let yourself handle it in the moment. These things never went as planned anyway, it was best not to guess.

The large door to the ship hissed open, your boots clanking on the metal surface as you cautiously walked into your home. It didn’t take you long to find Crosshair, he was sat in the main hull methodically cleaning his hand blaster. Everyone else must’ve been asleep. He was just in his blacks, the material hugging him in the most wonderful way, it’s like whoever designed those things was trying to trip you up. The contours of his arm muscles flexing as he worked, his strong chest looked practically chiselled at the heart of his lean frame. You had to force yourself to calm down a little bit.

“Uh, hey” you greeted awkwardly. “Mind if I join you?”

You took his silence as a well he’s not saying no. He didn’t spare you a glance as you walked in and took a seat opposite him. As a General in the GAR, you rarely got nervous. War, as a concept, was simple. You knew your purpose, your objective, you had a job to get done and you’d do it. The risks never stopped you, rather they fuelled you. Probably why you’re such a good fit for the bad batch.

But this right now, personal feelings, not knowing where you stand with someone you care about. Because if you were honest, you really did care about Crosshair, the same as you did the rest of the team. You’d only been with the squad just under a year but you’d gladly lay down your life for any of them in a heartbeat. If you could at least get back to where you were before the other night, you’d be over the moon.

You weren’t used to being so nervous, you let your hands fiddle with you dark Jedi robes as you readied yourself to speak again.

“Look, I’m not here to throw some crap about being a Jedi at you, I promise. And I’m sorry for trying it before” he still didn’t look at you, finding his blaster much more interesting. But you could tell he was listening, you had his attention. Might as well keep babbling.

“In terms of an explanation for what happened yesterday, well I guess I panicked.” You sighed as you tried to find the next words “The way you made me feel that night, I… I’ve never felt like that before and everything i’d been taught over the years screamed at me that what I was doing was dangerous and wrong. I now realise that I’m just an idiot. I make my own decisions and I… uh -well, I stick by that one, starting something that is.” Still nothing.

“I know this is probably a long shot. But in the interest of being transparent” you rambled “uh… if you want to go down that road again, I’m up for seeing what happens, can be as casual as we like. I promise I won’t freak out on you again.” You chuckled and thought you almost spotted a slight pull in the corner of Crosshair’s lips “But if you want to go back to how we were before, I’d also really like that.” You watched him for a while as he gave no acknowledgement of your words, his cleaning finished as he now gave the weapon a once over in his hands. Having said everything you needed, you got up from your seat, looking away from him.

“Well, if I can do anything else, let me know” you turned on your heel to leave, feeling slightly defeated but glad you’d at least made the first step.

“I could think of a few things” he finally spoke as he leaned back into his seat and continued to stare at his blaster, still not meeting your gaze.

Well that caught your attention, you turned back around to face him as he carried on ignoring you. While his tone was unbothered as he spoke, you knew him just enough to know his words held a meaning. He was playing with you, back to his usual teasing and you could’ve laughed at the relief that washed over you. This you could work with. A cheeky idea popped into your head and you’d decided to run with it.

“Oh really?” Throwing caution to the wind, you strode over to the sniper slowly. His gaze finally meeting yours after all this time, watching you as you got closer and closer. Practically drawing you in with his amber eyes. You pushed him back by his chest, creating enough room so you could straddle his lap. “Care to elaborate?”

He huffed out a short laugh at your words, his face overall unbothered but his eyes, they were burning into you. “You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you’ll figure it out”.

You hummed in response, deciding to kick things up a notch you wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing your faces just breaths apart. “Something like this?” You asked, pausing for another second before bringing your lips to his in a surprisingly soft and gentle kiss. You felt his hands come up to rest on your back, pulling you closer as you continued your slow dance. This was so different from the other night, where before there was desperation and lust, now there was something more… tender, passionate. You were quite glad you weren’t standing as the way he moved against you would’ve definitely made your knees weak.

Dragging yourself away from his lips, you searched his face. His mouth pulled into a barely there smirk “That’s a start.”

“Who said I was finished?” And just like that, the last few strands of tension between you both snapped and you relaxed in his arms. You fisted your hands into the front of his blacks and pulled him back to you, his tongue slipped between your lips, curious and demanding. He was everywhere again, filling your nose with the scent of the standard cheap GAR soap but mixed with something earthy, something so distinctly Crosshair and you couldn’t get enough.

You could tell why the Jedi order frowned upon such activities, kissing Crosshair was intoxicating. You couldn’t think of anything else other than the handsome clone in front of you and just how much you wanted him in that moment.

His hands wandered lower and lower down you back until they rested comfortably on your backside, pulling you further up his lap. Feeling mischievous, you started trailing kisses along his jaw. Setting a teasing, languid pace as you mapped out the spots that made him squirm. Crosshair was never a man of many words, so you made it your mission to see just how vocal you could make him.

As your lips met his pulse point, he gave a loud exhale and you smirked in victory against his skin as you continued the onslaught on his senses. You definitely seemed to be doing something right as his hands found themselves in your hair, clutching slightly and you couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped you. Even while trying to gain the upper hand in the situation, he always had some control over you. It was maddening in the best way, setting your veins alight with desire.

Determined to get another victory you traced your tongue against the base of the side of his neck and trailed it all the way up to the bottom of his ear, which you teasingly took into your mouth, teeth grazing the soft skin. A strangled moan escaped the clone and that was the moment where you knew you were hopelessly and utterly gone. Your mind filled with nothing other than wanting to be closer to Crosshair.

“Not very Jedi of you” he commented, slightly breathless when you finally stopped teasing him and came back up to meet his eyes. Looking down at where your bodies were pressed against one another, you chuckled.

“What exactly about this situation led you to believe I was ever a model Jedi?” You smirked, though it was only visible for a second before his mouth was back on yours, devouring you as his hands greedily roamed your body.

You continued making out like teenagers for most of the evening, taking the time to explore each other, enjoying the closeness. Contentment settled over your body, almost as if this was were you were meant to be. If Crosshair’s arms were where you belonged, well, you could think of worse places to be.

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breakingsomething · 4 years ago

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the fall part ten - break

basic summary: anti is rude to kazuki. marvin and henrik finally talk. jackie and aaron mess up royally. the usual.

trigger warnings: violent thoughts, mild self harm, hypnotism

the first thing anti saw upon waking was the face of a woman he had definitely not been expecting to be at his bedside.

shock hit him straight away. he was immediately pushing himself up on the bed - the bed he hadn't previously been on, what the fuck? - and staring into her face, eyes wide. the woman smiled at him warmly. "anti mcloughlin," she greeted him. "i've been wanting to speak to you."

anti scowled, eyes darting around the room. it was then that he saw another person behind the magician, a young girl looking no older than twenty with a bob of red hair and a neon green shawl. she flashed anti a grin, and he scowled, tearing his eyes away to look at the rest of the room. it was very large, with relatively tall ceilings and a few other beds with turquoise screen dividers around them. there wasn't any more people anywhere that anti could see, meaning that he only had to worry about two threats. he glared at the black haired woman who he had seen first, the one he knew, and began signing despite being sure she didn't know bsl. "not m-c-l. not my name."

to his surprise, the red haired girl turned and spoke to the other woman in a loud, clumsy voice. "he says that's not his name, miss kamata."

anti furrowed his eyebrows, heart pounding. he suddenly realized his legs were covered in blankets, and he threw them off. his hoodie had been taken, the cast on his right arm on display. he suddenly felt very exposed.

"oh, this is my translator, celeste!" the older magician said, interrupting anti's thoughts. she gestured towards the red haired girl, who smiled very widely before ducking her head. "she's partially deaf, and also speaks many languages. it's a skill of hers, as with your brother marvin."

anti made a face. he suddenly fucking hated everything to do with this situation, and went to pat his pockets for his knife before remembering his hoodie was gone and instead wrapped his arms around his knees, disgusted with how vulnerable and awkward it made him feel. anti had long ago promised to himself that he'd murder anyone who made him feel unpleasant emotions, but now he couldn't even do that. the thought made him even more panicky, which in turn made him angrier. in an effort to distract himself, he turned to the girl and began to sign as fast as he could. "what languages do you know, then?"

"quite a few," she signed back without missing a beat. anti blinked, and the girl grinned proudly. "i speak bsl, english, spanish, french, korean, mandarin chinese, and i am learning arabic."

anti wasn't quite sure what to say. could he tell her that he knew a few languages too, though only through his ability to absorb information through the internet? he chose instead to simply glare, extremely aware of how pathetic he looked hugging his knees on the bed like this. he sat up properly and stretched his legs out, ignoring his desperate need to comfort himself and instead trying to look intimidating.

"i'm sorry this conversation can't be completely private," the magician told him, crossing her legs professionally and causing anti to unwittingly flinch back at the sudden movement. "i don't know much sign language, and writing would be rather time consuming. you don't mind having miss graham in the room with us, do you?" she didn't even give anti a chance to reply before continuing. "my name is kazuki kamata. i basically run this branch of our lovely organization. but you knew that already, didn't you?"

anti nodded slowly. the movement made his head hurt more, and he accidentally let slip a whine of pain. kazuki turned round and produced a plastic cup of water from the table next to celeste. "here," she said. "for your head. i understand you still may not be feeling well, and that's partially what i wanted to talk to you about."

anti stared down at the water suspiciously. his throat hurt so badly, but then again, he didn't trust hecate or any of their members as far as he could throw them. which usually would be pretty far, but in recent times, not as much. he swirled the water in the cup before setting it back down on the bedside table, much to the dismay of his pained throat. "why here?" he signed, celeste translating aloud. "in this place. why not the hospital?"

kazuki sighed. "i'm a busy woman. i'm sure you understand, anti. by the way, do you have a last name, if not mcloughlin? i understand that some call you "antisepticeye," but that's not your surname, is it?"

anti felt his face burn, and dug his nails into his arms. he thought about telling her, but his hands were shaking, and he didn't dare move them. fuck, but he wanted her dead. he wanted all of them dead. it was taking all his self control not to try to strangle the innocent looking girl who was smiling so cheerfully as she translated for him. gods, he was repulsed by how weak that fucking hero had made him. anti was going to tear him apart. and it was that thought that calmed him enough for him to sign, "none of your fucking business," which celeste loosely translated.

"fair enough," kazuki said cooly. anti's harsh language hadn't affected her at all, and it just made anti angrier to see her sit up tall and professional while anti shivered and clawed at his arms, unconsciously tracing old scars. "i wanted to ask a few questions about jackie mcloughlin. what do you know about his magic?"

oh, the hero was the one of the last people he wanted to talk about right now. "what does that have to do with why i'm sick?" he snapped, wishing he could stop shaking. he was just glad he wasn't throwing up anymore; that had been miserable. his mouth burned.

"well, that's the thing," kazuki said. "your brother -"

"don't call him my brother," anti interrupted. "they are not my brothers."

the woman raised an eyebrow, but continued. "ok. i assume your br- the others have told you about the bmo - the black magic organization." anti shook his head. kazuki didn't look too surprised. "well, we don't know a lot about it, not even its name. but jackie, it seems, has someone gotten caught up with them, as we've discerned from what chase and henrik told us. and i am aware of certain black magics that could allow for the state you're in currently."

anti rolled his eyes. "fucking get on with it," he signed, before turning to celeste. "make sure she knows exactly what i'm saying."

celeste looked uncomfortable. "uh… miss kamata, am i allowed to use bad language?"

kazuki laughed. "it's no problem if you don't wish to say, dear. i can understand that you're a bit frustrated." this last part was directed at anti. "just be patient, i'll explain."

"i've never been patient a day in my life and i'm not about to start now," anti signed meticulously. celeste snorted.

"ok, so... what do you know about black magic?" kazuki asked, shifting in her seat. "in fact, what do you know about hecate in general? i understand you have an interest in our humble organization."

anti did, in fact, have an interest in hecate. not that he'd admit that. a year ago, he would have delighted in being inside of their headquarters. now, he just wanted to be back in the abandoned waterworks where he'd been living since dapper left. "i don't have to tell you shit," he snapped. "black magic bad. i get it. stop dancing round the subject. why is my magic fucked up and why can't i stand up without bloody fainting?"

"because jackie has been given what i believe to be a soul artifact that has seemingly bonded to him and must have absorbed part of your magic in the time you were with him." kazuki said this all so matter of factly that anti was momentarily stunned, staring wide eyed. the magician tilted her head. "is that the answer you wanted?"

anti lifted his hand, about to say something, but suddenly couldn't think of words. he wanted to be alone. he wanted everyone to disappear and leave him to think by himself.

"you're saying he stole my powers," anti signed slowly. "i can't - he - he stole my -"

"i can see you're in shock," kazuki said softly. "i'm… very sorry. sorry that this happened to you, at least."

"why?" anti said without thinking, tapping his chest. kazuki frowned, softening and glancing down at the floor.

"i believe there's good in everyone," she said. "i always have. i understand how that can be detrimental to our cause, especially with the bmo out there. i think there may be good in you too."

the silence was almost deafening. then anti snorted, rolling his eyes. "whatever," he signed. "how do i get my magic back? and how did he steal it with one fucking necklace?"

"must you curse so much?" celeste piped up softly after translating. anti shot her a glare, turning his eyes solid black, and she shrank back with a gulp. good. at least someone was still afraid of him.

"i'm sorry, but that's something we don't know," kazuki said. "on both counts. what kind of powers did you have, exactly? i've only heard what your brothers - what marvin, chase and henrik have told me."

anti ran his fingers down his arms lightly, trying to ground himself before he kept talking. "glitching," he signed. "but i can still do that, kinda. then hypnosis. technology manipulation. i can't do anything now, and what i can do, i can't control." he chose not to mention possession, as he hadn't had the chance to test that one out yet.

kazuki took a breath. "ok," she murmured. she sat up straight, tilting her head up. "is it alright if i ask about jackie? do you know where he would have taken a… a prisoner? and how did he capture you, exactly? i understand that you used to be very powerful."

it was the "used to" that made anti want to slam the woman's head into the floor and rip her throat apart with his bare hands. he shuddered, pain blossoming in his arms as he dug his nails in deeper. talk about jackie? how dare she, how fucking dare she even ask, how dare she mention it so casually, like he couldn't claw her eyes out and - and - and he couldn't even think of any creative insults, he was so tired and hurting so badly. all he could do was shake his head and turn away, breathing heavily.

he could feel the magician scrutinizing him, and he was disgusted with how his face burned with shame. "that's alright," she murmured. "that's alright. we can talk about that later if you wish. we'll leave you for now."

she and celeste stood up, and anti flinched back. "is there anything else you need?" kazuki asked. anti scanned her face to see if she was making fun of him. it didn't appear so. his stomach rumbled, and he wrapped his arms around his stomach, hoping she hadn't heard.

anti shook his head and turned away, making it clear he didn't want to talk anymore. after a moment, the women exited the medbay, leaving anti completely alone.

the silence between the two of them was usually awkward, sometimes a bit painful. now, it was fucking deafening. marvin could hear the blood pumping in his ears as he wrung his hands, listening to a train rumble by and leave them in quiet again.

he thought about saying something. but what would he even say? were there correct words for a situation like this? was there anything, anything that could make this slightly right?

i'm sorry, i'm sorry. i'm sorry that had to happen to you again. sorry i left you. sorry you were alone. sorry you were so scared and i couldn't help. sorry you got hurt. sorry we can't fix you. sorry, sorry, sorry.

henrik cleared his throat and marvin jumped slightly before immediately settling, hoping he hadn't noticed. henrik didn't say a word.

"train should be arriving soon," marvin suddenly blurted. he hadn't meant for the words to leave his mouth so quickly. blink, blink, blink, don't turn to look at him, eyes down.

"yes," henrik murmured. he also didn't look at marvin. his shoulders were almost at his ears. "it should."

fuck, but marvin needed chase right now. he couldn't handle this himself. the world was scary and their brother, marvin's brother, was the cause of all their pain.

there had been a time where they fantasized about anti being gone. jackie had said he'd quit being a vigilante and work retail instead. that had made them laugh. the thought that working retail would be an improvement on running from anti had been the joke of the night. at points they had gotten serious. they were going to travel the world. they could live in separate houses if they wanted. they wouldn't have to fear for the poor bastards who were unfortunate enough to want to be friends with them in case anti ever got ahold of them.

now anti was extremely sick and henrik was infected with dark magic and marvin was being destroyed from the inside out and jackie was the threat. jackie. jackie, who had made them all laugh with the idea of getting a job at primark as his first act of freedom from anti. marvin suddenly felt very lightheaded.

"i didn't mean for any of this."

marvin said the words quietly enough that henrik could ignore them if he wanted. he kept his gaze fixed on the yellow line next to the train tracks, fingers digging into the cold underside of the scratched white bench they were sat on.

"i wouldn't have left you alone if i knew - actually, fuck that. i shouldn't have left you alone at all. i knew you were hurting and i chose to ignore it." marvin's eyes blurred with the weight of what he was saying. he didn't blink. "hen, i care about you a hell of a fucking lot. i know we scrap basically every day and our love language is taking the piss out of each other… unless you genuinely hate me and i've been misinterpreting it this whole time, in which case, i am even more sorry, but…" he laughed softly, forcibly regulating his breathing so he wouldn't cry."i'm a selfish bastard and anti hurt you and i basically erased that by leaving to find anti which must have felt like the biggest "fuck you" ever but it wasn't meant to be, i love you and i'm sorry i couldn't have prevented what happened, all i wanted and want to do is fix the mess that jackie made because it's always been my responsibility to tell him when enough was enough but i can't now and i can't shake the feeling that it's all my fault -"

he took a loud, gasping breath and lurched forward with the effort of not immediately bursting into tears. one of his hands flew to his throat as he tried not to sob. henrik stayed silent. marvin was too scared to look at him.

"w-well?" he choked out eventually. "go on, say something! tell me you hate me, please! just - fuck, i just poured out my goddamn heart to you, don't just patch me!"

they were silent for a good minute. then henrik broke the tension. "it's ok."

marvin sat up and looked, properly, at his little brother. his glasses were fogged up, usually neat hair messy, bandages peeking out from his collar. he turned his head and the two of them made eye contact, pale blue meeting turquoise.

"i don't forgive you," henrik said. he tapped his new cane against the ground tunelessly. "but i get why you did what you did. thank you for… for apologizing. that's more than i expected, honestly. it couldn't have been helped."

marvin let out a small sob. he couldn't even speak because he knew if he did, he would instantly burst into tears.

"the next train now approaching platform two is the 15:44 southhampton train stopping at fareham, chichester…"

marvin instantly stood up, glad for something to relieve the tension. henrik took slightly longer to stand, and marvin offered an uncertain hand to help him up. henrik flashed him a quick smile as thanks. marvin's chest tightened.

"does it still hurt that bad?" he said, voice small. henrik sighed, gripping marvin's arm and his cane at the same time.

"some days more than others," he admitted, then chuckled softly. "i say like this is an old war wound and not a magic injury i got from my brother's boyfriend." he winced, shifting on the spot and almost falling into marvin.

hecate didn't understand what had happened. it was a kind of dark magic wound that couldn't be healed, and left henrik's back and leg in constant pain. the injury looked like a normal burn scar, but darker somehow. he had to walk with a cane in order to stay upright. he was lucky to have been allowed to leave hecate in the state he was in.

"i'm sorry," marvin whispered again as the train rolled up. "i'm so sorry."

when the train finally stopped and chase stepped off, he was surprised to see henrik and marvin waiting for him, both their faces splotchy and red, not looking at each other but holding their hands together tightly like they were both the other's anchor.

"so this is it."

jackie gripped aaron's hand, well aware of his palm sweating. the grass in the field tickled his legs, and the cold air pushed his hood further over his ears. the two of them stared at the small manhole, almost completely covered by grass.

"yep," aaron agreed. "this is it."

he slashed his arm through the air, covering them in a field of smoke. he bent down and yanked the cover off effortlessly, letting go of jackie's hand and gesturing for him to go inside. when jackie hesitated, aaron touched his face gently and smiled. "you want me to go first?"

"i'm not scared," jackie insisted. he was trembling slightly. "i'll go first."

the two men climbed down slowly, gripping the slippery bars and trying desperately not to fall. once they reached a certain point, the cover above closed itself, plunging them into darkness.

"light it up in here, jackson, i can't bloody see," he heard aaron say. jackie swallowed hard and lit up his hand and eyes like a torch. aaron giggled. "thank you, mr glow stick."

"what a creative title," jackie laughed softly. he didn't tell aaron how much using his photokinesis hurt him as of late. aaron didn't need more to worry about.

it was a while before they got to the bottom. when they did, jackie swept his arm out, ignoring his own pain in favour of lighting up the whole hall in front of them. the walls were a dark brown with curved columns carved into them, crimson stripes painted down as far as they could see. the ceilings were low, so low that if jackie was half a metre taller, he'd be too tall to get in.

"spooky," he said in a silly voice, attempting to lighten the mood. aaron snorted and took his hand again, squeezing it reassuringly. jackie smiled, glad he had the weight of the necklace on his chest as well as his boyfriend's hand in his. aaron had told him not to bring the necklace, which was weird, but jackie was sure it was ok. the two of them set off down the hall in silence.

eventually, the walls began to change from the murky brown to a much lighter colour, almost silver. a few signs were plastered to the walls, which jackie couldn't seem to take his eyes off. aaron led him away. "they're spelled," he said. "make you want to turn away on the very slim off chance that someone outside of - would find us." jackie noticed how he winced and cut himself off, but said nothing.

there was a door at the end of the hall. "turn away," aaron said, and jackie did. about a minute later, he turned back to see the door open and… fuck. a huge, white room, the walls covered in doors, blinding lights on the ceiling lighting up the room further. several people were walking purposefully back and forth, dressed in dark colours and carrying various objects. as they stepped forwards, jackie saw that the door they came out of was identical to so many of the others. he wondered what was behind some of them.

"woah," jackie breathed, spinning in a circle. he heard aaron giggle as he looked around.

"calm down, dude," aaron whispered, still laughing. "we have an audience with - with -" he made a noise, struggling to speak.

"babe, don't worry," jackie said softly, patting aaron's back. "once they let me in, you'll be able to tell me everything you want. they won't be able to stop you."

they were starting to get weird looks. a tall, impressive looking man with chin length white hair came up to them, eyes narrowed. "mr mckenzie," he said with distaste. "and a friend. you are the one that has requested an audience with an stiùiriche?"

jackie had no clue who that was. he assumed it was the leader of the organization and smiled broadly. "that's me. hi, jackie mclough-"

the man lifted a hand, and jackie's mouth was shut instantly. he tried opening it again, panic rising, but found it was as thought it had been sealed. "we want to hear nothing from you," the man said, sounding bored. he tilted his head, looking aaron over. "what fools are you bringing to our esteemed organization? what kind of an idiot are you?"

jackie grunted and managed to break free of the spell. "pl-please, sir, i've done a lot to make me worthy of - of your - of this wonderful organization, i swear." his stutter was coming in full force, and he could see the harsh amusement in the other man's eyes. "i got you a mem-member of hecate and b-broke through their defenses, did i not? and while i was there, i also -"

something hit jackie's shoulder, and he gave a loud oof. he turned to see aaron glaring, an eyebrow raised. ah, right. he wasn't supposed to mention that either. he gulped and looked up at the taller man, who's expression hasn't changed at all. "uh, yeah," jackie laughed nervously. he rubbed the back of his neck. "i'd like to see - whoever it was you said before."

"you don't even know the name of the man you're here to see," the magician said flatly. his arms were crossed, and he didn't budge.

"i - well, aaron can't - can't tell me anything, can he?" jackie said boldly. "you guys are like, cursed to silence to non members or whatever?"

he winced. maybe he shouldn't be talking so casually to such an important looking person. however, he maintained eye contact (which was a huge feat for him) until the man turned round and began to silently lead them through a door and down a set of halls.

jackie and aaron were quiet for a bit. "i'm sorry," jackie eventually mumbled. "i don't mean to -"

"let me do the talking, ok?" aaron hissed. he put his hands in his pocket, likely so he'd remember he couldn't hold jackie's hand in here. his green eyes almost glowed in the dark. "just - don't mention what we did at hecate, don't mention any magic but your photokinesis, and do not, do not, mention the bloody necklace."

jackie was about to ask why when the man in front of them suddenly stopped, almost causing jackie to slam right into him. "this is it," he said, stepping aside to show a small black door. "in ya go."

jackie and aaron exchanged glances. "this - is a different room than usual," aaron said uncertainly.

"different room each time," the man said. was it jackie's imagination, or was there a faint smirk on his face? "now get in, or i kill you and no one up top will ever find your bodies."

he said this so casually that jackie found himself opening the door and stepping inside, suddenly desperate to get away. "good man!" the magical chortled. he slapped jackie's back as he passed. jackie winced before looking up at the… pitch black room. complete blackness. he whirled round to ask the man what was happening just in time to see the door close, the man's booming laughter echoing down the halls.

"hey!" jackie cried. his heart was racing, chest tight with uncontrollable fear. he pounded on the place where the door had been, only to find a smooth black wall. "hey, what is this? some kind of trick?"

"jackson, stop," aaron hissed. he grabbed jackie's arm, pulling him away.

"is this - is this like an initiation or something?" jackie cried, voice high pitched. aaron shook his head.

"this isn't - this -" he made a noise of despair and slapped his hands over his mouth, shaking his head. jackie pat his arm reassuringly.

"it's ok," he murmured. "we'll -"

"well, if it isn't aaron mckenzie and jackson benjamin mcloughlin. wonderful to see you both here on this fine summer's eve."

something lit up at the back of the room. a spotlight, shining on a older man in a sleek, circular chair that hung from the ceiling on black chains. the man had short salt and pepper hair and a black beard, built like a tank and wearing a dark blue suit covered in constellations. when he shifted, the stars didn't move, like a weird illusion. jackie was instantly transfixed.

"i see you consulted me far in advance about letting a stranger in here, mckenzie," the man laughed warmly. jackie almost found himself laughing too, he felt so suddenly comfortable around the man. "thank you for that. you know, i had a schedule for today. things to do, this is a busy organization! you think everything gets done by itself around here?"

"no, stiùiriche," aaron murmured. his head was facing down, not looking directly at the man. he tugged on jackie's hoodie sleeve, gesturing for him to do the same, but he couldn't. the man was… almost hypnotizing to look at. he could stop breathing and he wouldn't even notice.

the man - stiùiriche, how did aaron pronounce that? - stood from his chair, black smoke rising around him. he smiled, and jackie smiled back dopeily, warmth blossoming throughout his body. what a strange, lovely feeling. jackie couldn't move.

"so you brought us a member of hecate," the man said softly, a huge grin spreading across his face. the look in his eyes made jackie shiver. "well, that is just fantastic, isn't it? thank you for him. he was a higher up, as well, an advisor of hecate's own leader!" he threw his head back and let out a booming laugh before clapping a hand to jackie's shoulder. when had he gotten close enough to do that? "we appreciate him greatly. he'll come in handy, i'm certain."

"i'm glad to hear," jackie said, voice hoarse. he swallowed, breath hitching as the man looked at him. his eyes were black, pupil and iris as one. it was unnerving.

"so," the man whispered, still smiling. "how did you do it?"

aaron made a small noise, and jackie snapped out of his haze just long enough to remember his and aaron's preconstructed story. "my brother was a member of hecate. he was a fool. their defenses were lowered just long enough for me to get in."

there was a pause. the man very, very slowly turned his head so it was almost touching his shoulder. jackie unconsciously followed his movements, and the man laughed, leaning in slightly closer.

"you're lying."

jackie blinked. somewhere outside of his daze, he heard aaron protesting loudly. "lying? stiùiriche, i was there! you trust me, don't you? i can vouch for him! i swear!"

"yes, you would vouch for your lover, wouldn't you?" the man said without a pause. aaron let out a gasp. jackie couldn't even turn to look at him. all he could see was the amusement on the man's face. "yes, i do know about that. have you forgotten, mckenzie, that i see everything? i'm always, always watching. you can't hide anything from me."

his hand touched jackie's chest gently. his eyes widened, but he couldn't say anything as the man's fingers brushed against the necklace underneath jackie's hoodie. his smile faded, face darkening.

"and you reek of black magic," he murmured.

"sir!" aaron cried, rushing forward and grabbing jackie's shoulders, yanking him backwards away from the man. jackie breathed a little quicker, regaining control of himself. "it's because he's been hanging out with me, i'm sorry, we should - we should go, this isn't -"

"your brother was not involved," the man said quietly, dangerously. "you've stolen something from me."

"no, no, he didn't!" aaron pushed jackie behind him, acting as a shield and allowing jackie to collect himself. "he didn't steal, he -"

"aaron?" jackie mumbles. his head was clearing, and he was starting to become confused. "what does he mean - you said this was a gift, you said it was a tool to help me prove myself!"

"i - you brought it with?" aaron spun jackie round, patting down his chest and practically sobbing when he felt the necklace underneath. "you - you - you fucking idiot, why, why, why did you -"

"oh, mckenzie, i would have found out anyway," the man said with a smug smile. he suddenly sliced his hand fowards, a streak of black cutting through jackie's hoodie and into his chest. he cried out, stumbling back and clutching at the wound while aaron screamed.

"stop, stop, please, i'll do anything!" he sobbed, desperately grabbing at the man's arms. scowling, the man turned and kicked aaron right in the chest, sending him flying across the room. a swirl of black magic slammed him into the wall, and jackie yelled, trying to look at him as the man forced him round, staring at the necklace resting on his bare chest.

"bloody hell," he whispered. then, much louder, "bloody fucking hell!"

he grabbed the necklace forcefully, or at least tried to. jackie screamed in complete agony, writhing in pain as his legs gave out beneath him. the man yanked on it, to no avail. the necklace had fused to jackie's skin, black trails having emerged from it and snaked down his skin like an infection.

"you bastard," the man hissed. his eyes had turned fully black, and his face was contorted in rage and disgust. "you pathetic creature, you dare steal from me, you dare steal that from me?"

there was a coughing from behind them, and jackie could see aaron struggling to get to his feet. "you… didn't… notice," he wheezed, hacking into his sleeve as he swayed on his feet. "didn't even know."

"aar-aaron?" jackie asked, bewildered. a bad feeling was starting to come over him. "you - you didn't -"

"you stole it," the man said. his tone was calm, controlled. "this - this precious artifact, this priceless piece of magic - do you have any idea what you've done?"

"jackie… 'm sorry," aaron called, his voice pained. "you were so desperate, you wanted to protect your family, and anti was getting in your head, i thought - i heard there were artifacts that could protect, could -"

"you fucking fool!" the magician roared, and a huge, black shadow rose up behind him and squeezed jackie's throat, lifting him into the air. "you don't know what that weapon does, you have no concept of - it's embedded itself in you! a soul bond! there's a reason these weapons aren't used, even by us!"

jackie was struggling to catch a breath. he clawed at the man's hands, but his magic was so tight around him that black spots were starting to dance in front of his eyes. aaron held up both hands, looking terrified.

"please - please, stiùiriche, let him go. i stole it, i was the one who lied. i'm - i am begging you to let him go. i'll do anything!"

"n- nngh, no, aar-!" jackie choked, head swimming. his chest felt very hot, like someone was pressing a flame to it. aaron's eyes were wide with fear, and jackie could only watch helplessly as he got down on his knees, both hands beside his head.

"please," he sobbed. "don't - please. don't hurt him. he didn't know."

jackie was suddenly released, and immediately slumped to the floor, gasping for breaths. the man left him there and walked over to where aaron was trembling, fear in his eyes, but not looking away, still that one last sliver of defiance that couldn't be crushed. "you disgusting little traitor," the magician spat down at him. "you've endangered everything this organization has worked for for two hundred years. i cannot believe you would ever think you could get away with what you've done. how stupid do you think i am? i am your stiùiriche, your leader, i am -"

the stiùiriche suddenly gasped. a small, choked sound escaped his lips, his body stilling entirely as black strings of smoke wrapped around his limbs and he lost all control.

"you are a f-fucking idiot," jackie said calmly. magic pumped through his veins, and despite the fact that his hoodie ane shirt were torn and hanging off his shoulders, he had never felt warmer. "you don't understand how powerful this has made me. have you ever felt the earth in your veins?" his voice changed, like it was layering over itself over and over, louder and louder. "have you ever felt a universe connected to your body? have you ever - have you ever done this?" he twisted a hand, and the magician's body contorted. he screamed, fire, literal fire, burning in his eyes. "i - i am so, so powerful, magician, and i can guarantee, you have never -"

the magician broke free and instantly shot a dart of dark blue fire right at jackie. he tossed an arm up in protection, a shield of shadows appearing in front of him, and he rolled aside to get away. the voices has returned to his head. people screaming. he ignored them and he laughed to drown them out, he laughed, he laughed. his heart beat in time with the warm pulsing of the necklace partially embedded in his skin.

"jackson!" aaron screamed. he was racing to his side, throwing thin bolts of dark green magic. he and jackie stood side by side, ready to fight as the man stood straight, hands and eyes blazing.

"stop this," he said loudly. "you are a fool. unchecked, this will kill you and many others. you've turned yourself into a walking weapon."

"jackson," aaron hissed. "do the thing. get us out of here."

"listen to me!" yelled the man, the magician, an stiùiriche. "you can't go unchecked with this amount of power. you won't be able to take it, you're going to end up destroying everything!"

"shouldn't have let me near those artifacts, eh?" aaron laughed, suddenly confident as he clung tightly to jackie's chest. fiery heat swirled around his legs and up to his chest, and he held onto jackie with the last of his remaining strength.

and then a blinding light lit up the pitch black room and jackie was holding everything in the universe in his arms and then it was dark, so dark, and they were shadow walking again, far away from where they had been.

they came out in a dark alleyway, somewhere in the city.

"fuck," aaron cried instantly, collapsing to the ground. jackie fell too, sinking to his knees as they turned to jelly underneath him. they sat against the opposite walls, panting and catching their breaths as the artificial darkness faded away, leaving only a flickering streetlight.

"you lied," jackie eventually managed. "you told me the necklace was to help me, like a test."

"i'm sorry," aaron said miserably. he whimpered in pain, clutching at his chest where the magician had kicked him. "i wanted to help you. i am so, so sorry, i… i care about you so unbelievably much. i didn't want to see you hurt. i thought… the extra protection of -" he clapped his hand over his mouth again, wincing.

"still can't speak?" jackie murmured. he shuffled over next to aaron, pressing his side to his. "i guess fighting your - your leader guy wasn't enough to break any silencing spells, huh?"

"an stiùiriche," aaron mumbled. he didn't look at jackie. "i didn't think it would, anyway. i'm glad we're both alive."

there was a short pause in which they listened to the evening traffic go by.

"you stole it for me," jackie said quietly. "why?"

aaron shrugged. "dunno," he muttered, shifting slightly on the spot. "i care about you."

"why?" jackie repeated with a small laugh. "fucking - why? why - i've always been such an asshole to you. what have i done for you apart from, from, i - i don't know. i don't get it."

"you've done far than you know," aaron almost whispered. jackie turned to look at him, his fingers gracing his partner's knee gently.

"i'm sorry i've been lying to you too," jackie said. "about the necklace. i should have told you how bad it was getting."

"'s'ok," aaron said. he took jackie's hand fully in his, blinking rapidly. "i guess we're fugitives now. wanted by both hecate and - them." he barks out a laugh. "not many places to turn now, huh?"

jackie thought. and thought.

"i know one guy," he said. "one person who could help us that isn't with either organization."

"who?" aaron asked, surprised.

"you've met him," jackie said. they both turn towards the other at the same time and their noses brush together. they giggle like schoolchildren, both blinking tears away. jackie swallowed hard. "we'll be ok. i'll get my brothers back and - and - and it'll all be ok. i'm not alone. i have you. i have you."

"you have me," aaron echoed, and he did. they had each other. that was enough for jackie.

for just a moment, that was enough for jackie.

just one moment.

#jacksepticeye #boop writes #marvin the magnificent #jackieboy man #henrik von schneeplestein #antisepticeye #kazuki kamata #aaron mckenzie #the fall

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forkanna · 4 years ago

Link

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

They were about to find out.

Okina City had more opportunities for fun compared to the sleepy town of Inaba. Lots more shopping, dining, sights, sounds, smells. Rise breathed in the atmosphere with a huge grin as she walked through Okina Station, a slight warmth blossoming in her middle; even if she was very comfortable in her hometown, she did start to feel stir crazy due to the limited activities available. It was nice to get out once in awhile.

"Ebi-chaaaaan!" she called out to her cheerfully as she jogged down the station steps. The teen queen clad in the pink A-line with the kitschy black belt barely turned to look at her when she was tackled from behind.

"AH! Hey, hey, easy on the merchandise! Which is me, of course."

"Nope! We're gonna start bonding right away! I won't let you down!" That was one of her catchphrases in a drama she had starred in briefly. She even threw in a wink.

"Ugh. I'm not a hugger, okay?"

"Well, you said you wanted to give friendship a trial run, and this is the kind of thing friends do."

"Fine. Now that we're here, Atzrbucks or that fancy place? Chagall?"

Rise waggled her eyebrows at Ebihara, who only raised her own. "Oooh, fancy. You going to treat us with Daddy's money?"

"Sure. I mean, what do I care? As long as I don't buy a random sports car it's like the bank account is bottomless." Then she sighed. "No… I said I would stop doing that. And I will. But I don't think going to an upscale cafe would be a problem."

So they moved on to the Cafe Chagall. As they walked, Ebihara cast a longing look aside at a clothing store called Croco Fur, but she didn't stop until they were inside the lovely restaurant just past the boutique.

"Hey, you sure you didn't want to hit that place?"

"What?" Ai asked distractedly as they claimed one of the seats in the corner. "Oh… no, not really. I used to go there a lot… with…"

She didn't even have to finish. Rise frowned across the table at her. "I miss him, too."

"Hey, we don't have to spend this whole time throwing ourselves a pity party," she scoffed. "To hell with that. We are a couple of gorgeous, fierce women, and the world is our oyster. Maybe we can cruise a few guys."

"Oh, you're over Yu-kun already?" she asked, surprised.

"No. But it doesn't seem to matter, does it? He's gone anyway."

Rise felt her heart strings twinge. Poor Ai didn't even want to admit that she missed him — or at least, not the full extent of how much she missed him. So she reached across the white-and-blue-plaid tablecloth to pat her hand.

"So is that a no on cruising for guys?"

"I dunno," Rise laughed softly, taking her hand back as a man with dark glasses approached. She would have thought he was some random creep if not for the apron denoting he worked there.

"Good morning. You are more brave than I expected from girls of your age."

"I… huh?"

"My brewing process results in a blend that requires strong intestinal fortitude to weather," he went on in an ominous tone, jaw set behind his goatee. "I refuse to compromise my standards for anyone, even women."

"Excuse me?" Ebi demanded with raised eyebrows, sitting back and folding her arms over her chest. "You think we can't handle your coffee just because we're girls?"

"Hey, we're a lot stronger than you think, dude," Rise shot up at him. But unlike her friend, she felt guilty afterward and bowed slightly. "Sir." He was their elder, after all, and the owner of the establishment by the look of things.

"Are you?" he murmured, turned away from their table and staring off into the distance like some kind of anti-hero. "Very well. Then you shall place your order and the chips will fall where they may."

They both stared at him for a moment before Ai said, "Anyway… I'll have a nonfat latte, a drizzle of caramel."

"We don't serve that here. Not on my watch."

"Then what do you sell?" Rise asked more reasonably, hoping if she wasn't rude they would get this interaction over with quicker. "I thought I saw some pastries in the case on our way in."

"That is none of my concern."

"What kind of place is this, exactly?" Ai demanded in a rising tone of voice. "Do you want us to be clientele or do you want us to take our business elsewhere? Because you sure don't act like it matters if you make a sale right now!"

The man slowly shook his head, still staring into the distance. "That matters not. Only the experience, the rejuvenation of your mind."

Before her friend could speak again, Rise quickly said, "Two! We'll take two, and a couple of scones. Or whatever cake. Just bring us something."

The other two looked a little surprised, but the man did nod and move off behind the counter. "Got rid of Mr. Intensity 1994," Ai whispered. "I'm impressed, Kujikawa."

"Thank you, thank you. I'm doing my best!" She gave an exaggerated wink and giggle, earning her a long sigh from the other girl. "Okay, okay. So now we're here, we ordered coffee. What's up next?"

"You're asking me? I thought you were some big expert on friendship. Everybody knows you."

Rise smiled, looking around at the rest of the customers in the cafe. People going about their lives. "You would really think so, wouldn't you?"

"Hmm?"

"Listen. Just because I'm popular now doesn't mean I always was. Nobody expected me to amount to anything my whole life. And my parents… I still don't think they care about me. When I was little, all they wanted was for me to behave myself, so I did my best, like I always do, hoping that would earn their love. At least my grandmother has always believed in me, but even her, I would overhear her talking to my mom, telling her how worried she was that I wasn't going to be able to find my way in life. So… until I won that idol competition, I pretty much thought I was trash along with everybody else."

There was a small noise from the other side of the table. When she looked up, she could see Ebihara's lips squirming. "Ugh. It's really hard not to insult you when it's so easy. You're making it easy! Are you trying to trip me up on purpose?"

"What? No! God, can you stop being so paranoid? I'm really opening up to you — and you're the one over there coming up with insults!"

"FINE!" But immediately after half-shouting that, she ducked her head and covered her eyes. "No… you're right, I'm being a dick. Ignore me."

"Yeah, that might be a little difficult when the whole point of today is me getting to know you," she laughed.

"UGH."

"Hey. You seemed to talk with no problem last night, over text. Is it just harder to do it in person?"

This time, despite being taller than Rise, Ebihara looked small and helpless. With visible effort, she leaned forward and whispered, "I don't have to hear people's tone."

"Huh? What tone?"

"Mocking tone. You… tease me, everybody's teasing me… it's been like that my entire life. I had to change my behavior and assert my dominance, take control of my destiny. Or I would have been kicked around forever. Surely you can understand, after what you just told me."

Rise started to defend herself, the words were on the tip of her tongue. But she forced herself to say nothing until she had fully absorbed everything her schoolmate was telling her. Then she reached across to grasp Ebihara's wrist — ignoring the way she started at the touch.

"I'm not making fun of you all the time. Teasing you sometimes, yeah, a little. Nothing major. But even when I do that, it doesn't mean I think you're stupid, or not a person! You're just a huge bitch to everybody and I feel like you deserve being poked at now and then. To keep your head from getting too big."

Though her friend had tensed all over at the b-word, she relaxed as she listened to the rest, even if her expression was not too terribly thrilled. "I guess I am a huge bitch. But everybody else was to me first. I thought that's what I had to do to survive."

"Yeah," she chuckled. "It's a pretty valuable skill. I had to learn that one, too, but I also learned to start off with a big smile. So it's… kinda both? Works out best using both but starting with charm."

"Hmm… I don't… have that." Now she just looked completely lost. "You're probably sitting there thinking how pathetic this all is. How pathetic I am."

"Nope. Just that it's really sad everybody around you was so mean that they turned you into Regina George. It's not your fault. I think you probably did the best you could to be fabulous instead of frustrated."

"I did. And when we moved to Inaba, I swore to myself that I would never be bullied again. That I would take control of my destiny and totally reinvent myself. And I did! But I guess… you and Narukami have really proven to me that my journey isn't finished yet."

"Nope," she said with a big grin. And this time…

Ai smiled back at her. The expression was hesitant, the smile tiny, and her eyes were just as sad as they had been before. But it was such a big step in the right direction that Rise felt her heart leap in her chest. It was working! Maybe deep down, she had believed it was a pointless endeavour, but it was working against all those odds. Miracles happened every day.

"I got you," Rise said quietly, gripping tighter. "For real."

"Gross. But… thank you." The moment passed, and Ai pulled her hands back into her lap with a clearing of her throat. "Ugh, too much sharing and caring. Now I feel weird. Where is our goddamn coffee?!"

"Right here."

Both girls practically threw their chairs back from the table as their intimidating waiter set down a tray in front of them. As requested, two cups of coffee, and two scones.

"Oh… I, u-uh, thanks," Rise managed with a shaky smile. "What do we owe you?"

"Perhaps nothing. Perhaps… everything. Only time will tell." As he adjusted his sunglasses, a gleam reflected from the lighting; it was oddly cinematic. Privately, Rise thought she should probably mention this guy to the next casting director she worked for.

"Freak," Ai muttered as she pulled her cup of coffee closer once he had left them in peace. "Alright, it smells pretty good, but strong… should we just suck it up and, well, suck it up?"

Giggling, she said, "Good one. Alright… one, two… three!" Both of them took a healthy swallow.

And the world turned itself inside-out. The twisting in their guts couldn't possibly have been natural. Who would craft such a beverage? Why did they hate humanity?! It was as if they were being directly injected with adrenaline, all while the warmest, darkest creature ever spawned tried to claw its way out of their stomachs. This was far too much for any teenage girl to be expected to tolerate. In fact…

In fact…

~ o ~

When Rise came back to herself, she found she was lying down. Why? And where was she?

Once she sat up, she saw the barely-familiar surroundings of Cafe Chagall and only felt her confusion grow. Did she really pass out in the middle of a restaurant?! This was going to be some spectacular tabloid fodder if anyone had recognised her and decided to whip out their cell phone; not that everyone would do that, but just enough people to make it a concern. They would probably all start whispering about her having an underage drinking problem.

Well, to hell with that. Careful not to rub her face so she didn't smudge her barely-there makeup, she pinched the bridge of her nose and looked around.

"Oh."

Ebihara was blinking across at her, in a similar dazed state. Then she suddenly scooted away… on the long bench they were perched upon. Which wasn't even where they had begun — they were at a table with chairs! Though if they were both like that, it probably meant…

She had been lying with her head in Ai's lap. Wasn't that a little too close for them barely being friends?

"What… the hell…?"

"What did you do to me?" Ai breathed, her hazel eyes wide, chest rising and falling rapidly. Then a little more strongly, "Hey, I did not sign up for this. You had better explain yourself right now."

"Me?! Are you kidding? You had better be kidding, I really hope you don't think I could do something like-"

"Well I never thought we could have some kind of serial killer in a crappy little town like Inaba, either, and look how that turned out!"

Rise shook her head out firmly, clutching it through her hair as she pushed all that from her mind and tried to focus. "That coffee... call me crazy, but I think… that had something to do with it?"

"You are correct."

Both girls just about jumped out of their skin again before Ebihara shot to her feet and snapped, "Are you insane? I should have my daddy sue you for trying to frighten us to death!"

"To die would be a grand adventure," the mysterious man replied, eyes still shrouded by his sunglasses.

"Wow, not your choice. As soon as you're done spouting weird mystical crap, you can see about giving us a refund."

A long pause. "We do not believe in the myth of refunds."

"Just give us our money!"

~ o ~

"Well, I guess that was kind of a bust."

Ebihara looked as furious as Rise had ever seen her look as they stomped their way out the door. "Can you believe that weird old man? He might even have been some kind of creep — maybe he did things to us while we were unconscious! He-"

Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks, and Rise nearly ran into her. "Wha- hey! What's wrong? I hope you're not thinking about going back in there, I've had enough!"

"No… no, I suppose he wasn't a creep. Or he would have…"

With no forewarning, Ai took a sharp left and speedwalked inside Croco Fur. It was all Rise could do to keep up with her, still completely bewildered as to the reasons behind her bizarre behavior.

"Hello hello!" called out the cheerful woman behind the counter, bowing quickly. "Welcome! It's been a while, Miss Ebihara!"

"Yeah, yeah," she replied distractedly as she glanced behind her, as if she were running from some kind of demon. But the only one there was Rise — whose eyebrows were lifted so high they were practically part of her hairline now. "U-um, what do you have that's on sale?"

The woman started. "On sale? You've never been interested in that before, you just wanted to know what was new or trendy. And then told me-" She suddenly cut off and cleared her throat with an awkward smile. "My apologies, you can shop for whatever you want, of course!"

"Thanks, Reiko. C'mon."

Rise nearly stumbled when she was suddenly being dragged across the room toward sale racks. But she was too poised to actually faceplant; all that modeling experience.

"Okay," she hissed once they were in the corner, their lowered voices covered by sugary pop music playing overhead. "Spill, Ebi. What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just… really creeped out about that guy. Sorry." Ai finally refocused on her companion and grimaced. "Sorry, really. I know I'm acting like a spaz."

"Yeah! I mean, I'm freaking a little myself, but I'm pretty sure he just moved us to that couch because we passed out. Wow, what does he put in that coffee?!"

Out of nowhere, Ebihara started to chuckle. The sound was so unexpected that Rise just blinked at her for a moment, bewildered, before she finally started to laugh along with her. Then they were clutching each other's shoulders to keep from falling over due to the overwhelming power of their mirth.

"What the hell?!" Ebi finally giggled. "It's… not funny, it's terrifying!"

"I know!" she laughed back, wiping her eyes with her free hand. "We should probably call the police or something!"

Nodding as she grinned down at her friend, the girl who was normally such a bitch now looked like she was having the time of her life. Such a stark contrast. "Okay… okay, I'm done. We should probably shop so we don't look stupid."

Which they did. They didn't find much of interest, but they did enjoy flicking through the racks and commenting on how bad some of the selections were. Ebihara found a scarf she rather liked, even though it wasn't scarf weather, and Rise found a tube top with a popular cartoon character in the middle that Ai confirmed was cute enough that she could work it. A few other odds and ends ended up at the register by the time they were through. They soon departed with their bags of goods, in much better spirits than when they had woken up.

"Oh, I needed to pick up something else," Rise quickly spoke up when Ai started to turn toward the train station steps.

"Hm? What?"

"My friend needs a poster for… well, it's Yukiko. She needs a poster for Chie's birthday."

Ebihara smirked slightly. "You forgot I actually know who they are, didn't you?" When Rise only squirmed, she shrugged. "I know. This is officially the first time I have ever been nice to anyone, so you probably forgot I was the same person as that raging cunt from Yasogami High."

"Hey, I never said 'raging cunt' in my mind," she hissed at her. "So do you know where we could get something like that? A poster from an old kung fu movie?"

"Hmm… yeah. I mean, not for sure, but there's a place right down that way. Not far."

~ o ~

Okina Books wasn't especially bustling, even for the weekend. Few customers were poking around its crowded innards, in search of CDs or books or DVDs to fill gaps in their collections. The world's oldest music was playing from the loudspeakers, and Rise tried not to cringe; was this really the most modern choice available from their stock? It didn't even sound like it was from this millennium.

"Hey, Ebihara."

"Hey, Ohashi," Ai said to the cashier. She knew that overweight guy? Ai knew that guy?! "Anything new for me?"

With a little shrug, he stuffed the rest of his Pocky stick into his mouth and prised himself out of his seat to rummage around behind the counter. At first, Rise wasn't even sure he had heard her — until he came up with a CD that looked just as old as what was currently playing. If not older.

"'Purity'," he told her with slightly more enthusiasm than before. "With the original obi. This is some choice city pop, believe me."

Ai picked it up and tapped her chin. "Ritsuko Kurosawa… yeah, I don't know her. Really, who is… wait, did she do 'Hot Boy'? Or was that not her?"

"YES! Poor Rizco, she really didn't quite hit her target audience… just…" He made a whooshing motion with his hand over the glass countertop. "Blew on past and nobody saw her."

"I'll see her," Ebihara breathed with her eyes closed. Then she sighed and said, "Alright, how much?"

"Oh, two thousand."

"That's it? Wow, you spoil me." She handed over a couple of thousand Yen notes. Rise thought that might have been a little steep for an old CD, but not too unreasonable. "Any luck on…?"

They both looked up at the ceiling when she pointed, and Rise's eyes followed. It was still the same upbeat disco as before. "Oh, Mariya?" he chuckled easily. "I'm sorry!" His words of English were practically in time with the woman singing the very same, and Ai laughed with him. "No, no, it hasn't popped up on my radar. Sorry, really. But you'll be the first to know; I would call you for that one."

"Um… I don't get it," Rise finally put in with a slight laugh. "What are we talking about?"

"'Plastic Love'," they both said at the same time.

"I… huh?"

"It is pretty obscure," Ohashi admitted with a shrug at her. "Didn't chart much back in the 80s, either. Can't really blame you for looking at us like we're from… Mars…"

But now that was precisely how he was looking at her. He didn't even have to speak and Rise already knew what was coming; she had seen that look a thousand times before, and she was already summoning up her skills of both acting and diplomacy. Bracing for impact.

"Wait… are you-?"

"Yep!" she said cheerfully, but quietly. "But I'm just here with my friend, so if you could please-"

"Whoa, whoa, Risette is in my store. This is a special occasion!" Laughing a little more, he whispered from behind his hand, "Listen. You sign one of my copies of 'True Story' and I will comp you two whatever you want! Er, within reason, of course. Don't bankrupt me!"

Though Ebihara looked a little embarrassed that he was reacting this way, Rise quickly said, "I would be happy to just because you asked. Just one, though; I want to focus on my time with my friend here."

"Naturally." Then he was hissing at Ai, "Why didn't you tell me you knew Risette?"

"Because I have only gotten to know her recently," she sighed impatiently. "Guess it doesn't matter that I am a loyal customer."

"Well, it does, but… I mean… look, it's Risette."

"Yes, I am aware," she told him frostily before storming off into the recesses of the bookstore.

Honestly, Rise couldn't blame her. Even while she was cheerfully responding to Ohashi's gushing and relenting to sign not one but two copies of her last single for him, she felt a little twinge of guilt for stealing Ai's thunder — no matter how unintentional. But what else could she have done? Now all she could do was hope her new friend wasn't so upset that their tentative friendship ended before it began.

To Be Continued…

#we'll face ourselves #saphir de lune #rise kujikawa #ai ebihara #rise x ai #forkanna writes #persona 4 fanfiction #jess the writer

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squiggle-dragon · 4 years ago

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So, I've decided to also post full chapters of Faded here in addition to Ao3. So, here's the second chapter.

Chapter 2: "Do I know you?"

Soul cracked his eyes open, vision blurring initially as sunlight filtered in. 'Daylight…? Fuck… how long was I out for?'

He was resting on a nest of blankets in some sort of contraption, similar to a basket. While Soul was not necessarily up-to-date with the technological advances of the world, he at least managed to acquire a fair amount of knowledge.

'Plastic basket,' he decided, lightly pushing against the sides with a furry paw despite his body's protest. He started to stretch, immediately thinking better of it when pain shot through every square inch of his small form. The youkai paused, noticing a makeshift cast on his other foreleg, 'What's this…? A splint?' Soul scrutinized it, narrowing his blood-colored eyes before giving it a tentative sniff. The scent of antiseptic burned his nasal passages and he sneezed profoundly, wrinkling his nose in displeasure, 'Absolutely horrible.'

Memories of the previous night returned to the forefront of his mind and his lip curled slightly, 'They'll be six feet under the ground when I recover.' The fox drew his lips back further into a fierce snarl, digging his claws into the blanket, 'And I'll hunt down that cocky bear and turn it into a bear skin rug. No one jumps me like that when I'm-'

"Oh, you're awake!"

Soul screeched in surprise, fur standing on end and eyes wide with alarm. Raising his gaze, he spotted the source of the voice and stared at her warily. She seemed relatively young from what he could tell, as humans aged very differently than youkai. Their eyes met and Soul squinted slightly as a peculiar feeling overcame him.

‘I’ve seen those eyes before… somehow…’

The pigtailed girl knelt down next to the basket, lightly resting her arms on the edge of it and peering down at him, “I didn’t mean to startle you. Sorry about that.” The human offered a warm smile, which he felt himself relax slightly at, “You’ve been out for two days. I was really starting to worry about you, little fox. I gave you some antibiotics and-”

‘Anti-whats-is?’

“-just in case. I mean, you got beaten up by a huge bear of all things! You’re lucky I could scare it off!”

She grinned at him, and he was sure he’d blush if he wasn’t currently two feet tall and covered in fur. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt oddly embarrassed.

“You also broke your leg,” she continued, her smile fading into a look of concern. Her green eyes traveled down to the splint currently on his left foreleg and he followed her gaze, nostrils flaring slightly at remembering the scent of chemicals.

“I hope you’re comfortable,” the girl added after a small pause, hunching over slightly. “I just kinda had to use what was available. Unfortunately, that ended up being the laundry basket.”

His ears flattened against his skull and he glared up at her, growling lightly, ‘Are you serious?! Your dirty clothes were in here, weren’t they?!’

Taken aback ever so slightly by his suddenly hostile aura, his absent-minded savior frowned, “Hey, I launder my clothes daily, okay?”

‘So they WERE!’ he hissed angrily.

She narrowed her eyes and puffed out her cheeks a bit, clearly able to tell he was agitated with her, “Would you calm down? I’m quite clean! Do you actually understand me or something? Because this doesn’t seem like normal wild animal aggression to me….” He froze at her words, so she continued, “You only have to deal with me for a bit, okay? As soon as you’re healed up, I’ll release you back out so you can continue your moodiness elsewhere.”

Soul let out an audible snort, achingly rising to a seated position despite the cast. He furrowed his brows, starting to feel light headed almost immediately, 'Oh right… I haven't eaten in a few days.'

The youkai squinted slightly, feigning interest in some invisible spot on the blanket in an attempt to ignore her. There was no chance in Hell he would be accepting any more aid from this weird human. A powerful, nine-tailed kitsune at the mercy of a tiny human girl?

'Unheard of and laughable.'

In the brief moment of silence, his stomach decided to betray him and let out the most shameful growl that he was sure could be heard by the human girl in question. Soul froze, ears pinned back and expression completely mortified. ‘Fuck! No! Fuck, fuck, fu-’

“Sounds like you’re hungry,” she commented, causing him to sulk slightly. Still, he refused to look at her and remained tensed, cursing his stomach a thousand times. Hunger was such a pathetic weakness.

He started to make some noise of protest before he realized that the pigtailed girl was missing; likely finding food, no doubt. Soul growled before trying to hop out of the basket, instead throwing his body against it. The result was the laundry basket tipping over on its side, forcing him to topple forward with it. His tail obscured his vision as he growled again, painstakingly moving to where he could even make the attempt to stand up, ‘Oi! Get your ass back here! I will NOT be indebted to you! HUMAN! Don’t you DARE!’

Soul awkwardly stumbled out of the room, given the cast on his leg. His body ached and pleaded with him not to be so rash with his movements. He knew full well he should be resting, but he sure as hell was NOT about to let himself come across as some weak victim. He could take care of himself, damn it! The bandaging and doting for two days was enough.

While he had no idea of the layout of this strange place, he was easily able to find his target by following the noise. This girl didn't exactly make it difficult with all of the racket she generated - which seemed to be a talent of hers when he thought back to the incident with the bear.

The kitsune awkwardly entered the kitchen, body lowered and his large ears pricked forward as he approached. The girl in question was currently crouched in front of an open cupboard, biting the nail of her thumb in a thoughtful manner. She was examining a can clutched in her other hand, furrowing her brows in deep concentration.

Despite his impeccably stealthy entrance, the girl almost seemed like she could sense his presence. Soul froze when she looked up from the can to meet his gaze. She pursed her lips a bit before hesitantly holding up the can for him to see, "Do you eat dog food…?"

Every fiber in Soul's small body seemed to light up at the sheer audacity of her statement, wanting to yell at her for such a dumb question. The fox arched his back in an almost cat-like manner, fur ruffling as he glared at her and snarled, 'Do I look like a dog to you?!'

Despite his clearly aggressive reaction to her, she seemed mostly unaffected outside of mild irritation. Any normal person would likely be wary or even scared that the snarling fox would lunge at them. This strange girl, however, treated him more like a petulant child.

"Goodness fox, it was just a simple question," she replied with a hint of agitation before putting the dog food back into the cupboard. “Given your attitude problem, I didn’t think you would. It was just something that normal foxes tend to eat if given to them and it was on the list when I researched it.” Closing the cupboard door, she stood up and stretched her back for a moment with a grimace, “I’m a college student, so therefore quite poor. However, it would seem I need to move a little up in the price range for your more sophisticated tastes.”

“Fortunately for you,” she started after a brief pause, walking over to the stove. “I had gotten some chicken earlier to make some chicken noodle soup from scratch since I seem to be battling a small cold. I’ll give you some of the chicken and a bit of broth, if that will suit your tastes better, Your Majesty.” Ignoring the sour expression he gave her in response, the human equipped an apron and started to prepare the meal.

Soul watched her quietly as she worked, eventually deciding to lay down against one of the farther walls. When she set a pot on a nearby counter, an envelope resting along the edge drifted through the air and gently landed a short distance away from him. The fox glanced at the envelope, curiosity winning out as to what it was. With another wary glance up at her, he slowly inched his way across the floor in a rather comical fashion, given the cast on his leg.

After what seemed like an hour to him, he stretched out one paw and managed to rest it on one corner of the envelope, feeling oddly accomplished at the meager task. His long tail twitched happily, clearly easily amused at the simplest of things. Soul pulled the envelope closer to him, blood-colored irises searching out the name on it, ‘Maybe now I’ll know what the hell this crazy human’s name -- !’

‘Maka.’ The kitsune’s body went rigid as soon as he made out the girl’s name, feeling the oddest sense of foreboding. Much like her eyes, her name seemed somehow familiar.

Why did it feel like a boulder of ice was currently settling in his stomach?

While the dam didn’t break open, it was clearly overflowing and he was caught in a downward spiral. Before he could process one emotion, another broke through almost like a tidal wave - or would, but everything felt also strangely faded.

Fear… which made his recent experience with near-death pale in comparison despite the fact he knew it wasn’t but an echo of the original emotion.

A profound sadness… like something gravely important was lost. It briefly felt like his heart had been ripped out and a gaping hole was left in its place… yet he didn’t bleed. Slowly bleeding to death would have been more merciful.

And finally, a surge of anger that threatened to take over completely. The rage Soul felt almost overwhelmed the feeling of loss and his power felt on the verge of being let loose. His eyes glowed ominously, lips drawing back in a snarl as the feeling only intensified. Faint outlines of his other eight tails could be seen waving in the air behind him as his power crept up, seeming unaffected by his weakened state. At this moment, however, Soul could not care less if he transformed to his true form here in the kitchen. His mind felt blank aside from the desire to lose control - to kill.

Something needed to be destroyed…

Someone needed to be torn apart….

Somehow, the sound of the lid slamming down on the pot snapped him out of whatever confusing trance he had been in. His eyes widened in shock, trying to get his breathing under control as his body trembled in the wake of the strange event. Losing all strength, Soul collapsed onto his stomach and laid there with a distant glaze to his eyes. His brain scrambled to make sense of what it all meant, Maka’s worried voice barely registering. Even as she kneeled at his side and scooped him up, talking to him... her voice sounded so muffled.

“Tama!” another voice cried, sounding similar to the girl’s voice that was currently cradling him - yet it certainly wasn’t her. It couldn’t be, because her lips didn’t match the motions.

Just what the hell was going on?

Slowly, Soul managed to pull himself back to reality and focused his gaze on Maka’s worried expression. His hearing returned to normal to hear her muttering various things about how stupid she was to think she could take care of him properly. For whatever reason, she was in a state of blind panic over him - and he couldn’t figure out why. He’s treated her like crap this entire time, being aggressive and - as much as it pains him to admit it - ungrateful.

This crazy girl faced down a bear for him, though he was sure she would not be able to take it on should it have attacked. They would have both been dead. But this insane girl did that and he remembered being wrapped in something she had been wearing. It was warm….

And suddenly - the fact she was now battling a cold now made sense. She was sick after running out in the rain and using her main source of protection to bundle him up. Then while he was unconscious, she tended to his wounds the best that she was able. Now that he thought about it, he could faintly remember waking up briefly to see her passed out on a strange chair near his basket. It wasn’t for more than a minute or two due to being in such bad shape and feverish to boot, but she hardly looked comfortable.

She was going to share her soup with him as well, which caused another twinge of guilt. Oh, he really needed to be less of a little shit. It didn’t sound like she could really afford to have an extra mouth to feed, but here she is - offering to share.

It was at this point that Soul noticed tears starting to roll down her cheeks and he sighed, somehow feeling really uncomfortable about her crying. With a gentleness that he didn’t even realize he ever possessed, he raised a furry paw and rested it on her cheek.

‘Maka… I don’t know who you are, but the tears need to stop. For some reason, I really can’t stand to see you crying… you weird human.’

He gasped out in pain when she suddenly captured him in a borderline bone-crushing hug. The same anger from his previous interactions with her did not rise to the surface and he instead let out another sigh - possibly for air at this point. Okay, so she was worried about him.

Somehow, he could deal with that.

#soul eater #soma #soul eater au #soul evans #fox demon #fox youkai #maka albarn #soul maka #faded au #faded chapter 2 #soul x maka

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hoodie-lover · 4 years ago

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My Multiverse Ask Event! #6

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - First, Second, Third, Fourth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Fifth, Sixth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Seventh

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Eighth, Ninth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Thirteenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Fourteenth, Fifteenth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Sixteenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-First, Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fourth, Twenty-Fifth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Thirty-Second, Thirty-Third, Thirty-Fourth, Thirty-Fifth, Thirty-Sixth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Thirty-Seventh, Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, Fortieth, Forty-First, Forty-Second, Forty-Third

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Forty-Fourth, Forty-Fifth, Forty-Sixth, Forty-Seventh

“heya.”

“you’ve been busy, huh?”

“...” Classic was quiet as he took a breath and continued his monologue.

“so, i’ve got a question for ya.” Classic said, smiling a grim smile.

“do you think even the worst person can change…?”

“that everyone can be a good person, if they just try?”

“heh heh heh heh...”

“all right.”

“well, here’s a better question.”

“do you wanna have a bad time?”

“cause if you take another step forward...”

“you are REALLY not going to like what happens next.”

“welp.” Classic said, smiling as he shifted his feet, excited and brimming with anticipation for what he hoped was their true, last fight.

“Get ready Frisk.”

“It’s the end.”

“Well Classic I can tell you that Chara doesn't like Frisk one bit. Chara is on your side, so there is that. You can also blame the askers for this, one of us made the mistake of asking Frisk a question about the multiverse.”

“Well, I’m glad to know I have one human ally in this world.” Classic muttered during the pause as he raised his hand and launched his attack.

“Yes Nightmare! I knew you would get it! Told you that you're smart.”

“Thanks. I just wish I could tell him without being interrupted.” Nightmare said, glaring at Maxie as she shrugged innocently.

“Nightmare, of course you are a good dad. You are better than my parents, although that is a low bar. I think you are great anyway.”

“Whatever you say.” Nightmare said, laying on his back as he retracted his tentacles.

“So guys, how are you gonna keep the brat from loading so you can do this? You have to have a plan!”

“Every time they die, we’ll swap out. Keep them on their toes and curious.” Killer snickered, watching Frisk dodge the bones with masterful ease and boredom.

“if your going to drain frisks DT wait out this timeline and ambush them the second they fall so they never get a save”

“That’s the plan. Get revenge, get a RESET, then drain them.” Dust whispered, eagerly waiting his chance to beat the brat into the ground and turn them into a red mush of flesh and broken bones.

“frisk if humanity is evil why not kill all humans”

“I can’t save or load on the surface, the only reason I can kill all monsters is because I can save and load.” Frisk whispered, standing before Classic.

“Frisk stop it, you say humanity is cruel but look at yourself! You are showing the worst of our species and it needs to end. You can choose to be kind, you can choose to be the change you wish to see in others but instead you attack the people who cared about you? Stop and look at what you have become, there is so much better you could have done. Please, just stop hurting everyone.”

“I don’t care. I haven’t for a long time.” Frisk said, their eyes filled with bloodlust as they swung their knife at Classic, the punny skeleton grabbing their hands and throwing them across the room.

“classic if you don't do certain things to not break script do you fall asleep on purpose at the end of the genocide”

“I do. I get completely exhausted, and the only way to get stronger in the time I’m given is something I’ve tried. Twice.” Classic said laughing at Frisk’s shocked face.

“Though I mostly fake it nowadays, fighting the Dark Sanses really got me into shape.” Classic said, chuckling darkly as Frisk got up and charged. It was pathetic.

“chara why do you let frisk reset at the end of genocide route if you dont reset for them they wont kill toriel asriel and flowey”

“Ḭ̴̯̚ ̵̼̥̇̀w̸͙̆o̴̻̖̅ù̷̮̞̉l̵̗̠͗̈́d̷͚̼̈́̽ ̴̡̘̚ḩ̸̘͌a̶̯̒͋v̷̙̒ͅe̶͙͑ ̸̦͋ṡ̵̪͍t̴̖́̆o̶̭͍͊p̶͙͐p̸̯̩̐ê̷͚̕d̵̰̞͊͘ ̶̛͍t̴͎̫͊̽h̴̗̥̎e̴͐ͅm̸̖̔̿ ̶͓̄ī̸͎̀f̴̢̚ ̸̪͘Ì̸̢̇ ̴̰̓̚ͅc̸̣͊͝ǒ̸͓u̶̥͚͛l̵̯̃̉d̵̦̈́.̵̩̐” Chara said, small tears forming in their eyes as they held a breath they didn’t need to.

“Hey Alt, sad to tell you that you're most likely right. Most Errors were never really shown much kindness in their multiverse, most have been tortured by the creators and even the other versions of yourself and your friends. Most Errors need a helping hand, and are too scared of being hurt more to actually accept it. Also there is the touch phobia most have, which is usually a trauma induced phobia in most people who have it so it makes sense Error would have it. So what are you going to do about your Error? Are you going to try to help him?”

“I’ve tried reaching out several times, I’ve apologized for using him like I did when we fought my Nightmare, and I leave him gift baskets with chocolate and sewing supplies. I think they’re working, he’s not as active, but I hope it’s not because of the creators in my world.” Alt said, looking at Classic. He was fighting the human

“Killer, Dust.... you are both precious little beans who love their new found family and will protect them with everything you have. I don't care what you say you are adorable!”

“No we are not.” They said in unison, they were barely audible over Frisk’s screams of frustration at Sans’ new patterns. Though they haven’t died yet.

“Oh Stretch, you must mean the YandereBerry, yeah he is unsettling to say the least.”

“Ink genuinely made one, and then never made another. Everyone stayed away from our AU for a week after that incident.” Stretch said, shuddering at the memory.

“frisk what do you think of jerry”

“I hate him as much as humanity.” Frisk said, their arm crackling and bones fragments grinding against each other as they swung their blade again.

“I know those ships made you guys cringe but what they put other Red's through is worse. He gets shipped with everyone and everything, including(but not limited to) his brother, blue, the pet rock, classic, black, lust, horror, jerry(ew), and of lust.”

“Oh boy. Do not get me started.” Red grumbled, growling as he remembered one time Ink rambled on about all the ships involving him when he confessed to having a crush on Blue. It held a sour taste in his mouth as he didn’t know if it was fake or not, or if his feelings were fake or not. But he kept going as he was happy and no one was being hurt.

“I feel bad for him, he really has it the worst.” Blue said, kissing him on the cheek or whatever the equivalent was.

“He does, when I say everyone I mean EVERYONE. Every single sans has been shipped with him at least once, as have the papyrus's, he has been shipped with every monster in his universe and the kid. Red is in a lot of smut pieces, and it is kinda weird.”

“Yeah, it’s almost like he has a lot to choose from.” Black said, and Red’s eye narrowed at the sight of the promiscuous skeleton.

“killer and dust so aren't you both technically from the classic timeline”

“We are.” They said in unison.

“Oh Black, how are you planning to win Blue over?”

“I will ruin Red’s reputation with scandals and swoop in to comfort Blue in his time of betrayal. Then I will set up many circumstances where he will be in danger and I shall save him. I will also gift him with many great items worthy of Blue’s magnificence!” Black said, whispering so no one would hear him.

“Hey Frisk why don't you just talk to us for a minute and pay no mind to anything happening, you can just load if something happens anyway so no need to keep your guard up. Stop hunting down monsters and tell me a bit more about who you are, what is a few minutes?”

“A distraction. If better executed, it may have worked.” Frisk said, smirking.

“Guys please tell me this plan of yours is gonna work, do not let this murder child into the multiverse. And Paps, I know you are the forgiving type but they need to be stopped, if they somehow get access to the doodlesphere there is no telling what they might do.”

“No kidding. They are determined, more so than any monster or human we know. It’s horrifying to know what they would do if they got access to the entire multiverse.” Papyrus said, sighing as he watched what was going on, it hurt even though he had watched several times.

“I just want everyone to be ok.”

“So do I.” Papyrus said, shaking a bit.

“Yikes, Paps gave up on someone? I mean I get it, they are doing some pretty awful things just cause they can, not for any reason either. They don't have any reason to hurt anyone other than they can and they feel above consequences. Show them they are not, please.”

“With pleasure.” Dust said, watching Frisk fall down dead and swapping with Classic right as Frisk came back.

Frisk wasted no time before they were stabbed in the arm. And then their other arm, and legs. With cries of agony they fell to the ground and Dust laughed.

“Pathetic. This is what killed me millions of times? What drove me into insanity? Pathetic.” Dust said, as the kid got up and dodged.

“Well, I’m going to admire watching you die.” Dust said, firing blasters at the kid who was much slower as they beld out.

“So Error, your dad knows who you really are, or were... wanna try and guess? I mean you now know you were from a split off of the classic timeline so you should be able to narrow it down.”

“Out of everyone, the chances of them getting into the anti-void is slim, and Ink did entertain Geno as a possibility. And since I did hear a ‘G’ through the censor, I guess I was Geno. Meaning I had to watch them all go crazy at one point in time, though not Horror, he was before any Genocide.” Error said, shaking with rage.

“Is geno helping too? with stopping the brat?”

“Hell yeah!” Geno said, he was in the save screen. He would be going last.

“Error the ship with you and Ink is def a different multiverse. It is usually consensual and both are happy together in most cases. There are a few Yandere Inks but only a few. Error makes me happy.”

“Yandere and Ink are two words that shouldn’t be together. In any sentence. Ever.” Error said, shuddering at the thought.

“Also I will admit to being a tad biased in favor of the Dark Sans's, but just a tad.”

“As are we! I hope that Frisk is murdered and never comes back!” Maxie said, and the other Creators cheered.

“So Dream, Nightmare... what pranks can I help with?”

“The glitter prank.” Dream said and Red looked at him, and Dream turned away, snickering to himself.

“Can't Error use his strings to capture Frisk's soul, like when he is destroying a universe so the kid can't just reset?”

“We could, but some souls have gotten out before. We don’t want to risk him escaping.” Error said.

“Hmm, would be nice if you could somehow give Chara a second chance. They certainly deserve to be part of your family more than Frisk does. Chara still sees you all as their family.”

“They do? You can talk to them?! Oh my god.” Toriel said, falling to her knees as Asgore held his hand over his mouth.

“Well, it seems this is one big mess. Bigger than I thought.” Flowey said, looking at his former parents with an odd feeling.

“See Nightmare, it is frustrating to not just be able to tell them the answer right? Stupid censoring.”

“It sure is.” Nightmare said, sighing.

“Blue, what's in the flask? And don't deny having it, I know you do you naughty boy.”

“Whiskey. And I am once again unable to get to any level of intoxication. I might as well be drinking water!” Blue said, rubbing his temples.

“Hey Alt's Error, you doing ok? The voices aren't being too cruel are they? If they hurt you I will fight them!”

“They’re fine.” He said, giving a very disgusted look.

“error just out of curiosity aren't you and ink supposed to be there to keep balance in the multiverse”

“Replace Ink with the Creators and you have a correct statement. It used to be Ink and I but that, clearly, didn’t quite work out.” He said, rolling his eyes.

“chara is a ghost like napstablook or mettaton so isn't it possible to make a body for him”

“It’d be possible to make one for her, yes chara is a girl. A lot of people get that wrong. But the ghosts of the Underground were born that way, they never died. So I’m not sure.” Alphys said, thinking.

“error have you ever destroyed the classic timeline”

“Wouldn’t be here if I did.” Error said, watching a very morbid display on Dust’s end.

“Well that’ll give me nightmares.” Error said, turning away.

“ok so if dust sans kills all the monsters i mean all the monsters getting him to level 19 he might be able to talk to chara maybe?”

“I occasionally see a wips of green and yellow. I assume that’s the kid, but I don’t have enough DT to actually hold a conversation with them.” Dust said, sighing.

“toriel if you break script and cut the flowers that break the humans fall they will never be able to kill anyone since they died”

“I could do that, but there are other ways into the Underground, small caverns and holes on the mountain, and it’s better knowing where they will fall rather than not knowing where.” Toriel said, sighing.

“Hey Chara, is there anything you would like us to tell your parents? I want to help you!”

“Ṱ̷̠͔̲̭͍̩̩̑̀͠e̵͕̰͖̯͙̫̯̔͌̇̀̍̈́̋̂̉̏́̍͆͝ļ̸̹̙̲͖̗͈̟̰̝̀͑͒̚͝l̵̨̞͙̪̬̒̒̂̈͂̉͌̆̓̊̆͘͘ ̴͈̼̰̖̬̊̒́̓̾͋̂̊̚͝ẗ̸̡̧̮̝̹̘̟̰̪̤̰̖̪̝̦̋͂̆̈͜͜h̴̢͇̜̜͚̻̬͕̻̠̤̝̀̾̍̍̋͌̂͊͊̚͜͠ḝ̶̢̛̯̯͍͖̤̳̻̰͍̓̂͑͂̉͋̃́͂̐̕̕̕͝m̷̼͍͑͒͒̓̃ ̴̟̦͉̙̱̫̞̗̪̭̰̫͌͑͋̀͑̾̀̿̀͝͝ͅͅḮ̷̧̡̛̱̠̯̠̘̫̞̮͓̩̻̥̳̪̖̆̃̅̓̄̎̌̾̓̃̀̓͆̚̕͜͠'̵̨̰̹͕͍͎̻̺͍͈͇̿͗̍̉̓͠m̸̩̀̄̾͗̌̔͠ ̸̺͇̟̤̗̹̫̱͍̯̉̾̅̃̾͊̎́̌͝s̴͚͓̽̈́͑̓͐͊̈́̆͠o̵͔̖̠̥̫̓̓̀̀̈̆͑̒ṟ̸̛̩̞̺̝͖̳͍̘̪̗̣͇̇̂̿͛̔̒̒͛͑͐͘͘͠ͅͅr̷̢̻̜̬̬̟͔͇̭͓̺̺̱̜̹̪͗͊̓̒̏́̔͛y̶̧̼̮̦̞̭̙͚̺͆!̵̨̹͚́̏ ̷͕̹̘͔̰̜̞̯͚̇̑͑̅͊̈́̆͠T̸͎̤̎̄̕͝h̵͍̠͍̣̞̣̜̝̦̘͇͆̏̓̾̋̐̀̋̊̽͗͂̔͝a̷̬̱͎̰̐̾͑̒ͅt̸̡̢̛̝̳̠̗̖͙̺̩̖̣̤̙̐̀̐̽̽̄̿̾͌͗̍̅̇́͜ ̷̨̢̧̡̩̭̠̰͈̰͉̻̻͔̼̘̤͇̈́̑̉͂́̐̈͛̈́̽̃̇͌͝I̵̧̲͍͇͉̘̰̝̠̭͓͈̗̩̞̐̉̒̉͗̕͜'̷̨̨̡̺͇̯̮̮̞̘̰̫͓̑̄̈͐̒̄̊̉̇͋͘̕̕m̵̧͕̹̞̩̱̞͍͈͇̜͇͎̦̦͔̃̑̓̎̑͛̅̊̂̉̒̆̃̕͝ ̷͖͉̈̍̆͌̈̉̑́̏̈͆͊͠͝͝s̷̢̢̗͕̺̔̈́̂̐͐̆̉̏̐͘̕̚͝͝͠ò̴̡̢͓̗̪̝͔͈͚̣̋̒̽̓́͋͂̀̋͜͜͜r̸̲͓͎̠͍̀̂̕r̵̮̭̳̙̖͚͓̤̥͕͒̊̉y̸̡̨̗̼̳̦͖͔̖̟̱̙͎͖̆̆̊̍̐̉͌̽̾̒̔̎͘̕͠ ̶̧̬̟̝̏̍̒̈́̏̓̂̊̚͜f̴̢̨̨̺̰̬̰̤̪̫̮͚̣͎̖͑̃̈́͑͛̊͒͜o̷̢̒̓̀̇͒̅̓͝r̶̢͚̘̖̆̏̑̾͝ ̸̻̱͍̳̭̳̥̜̞̻̺͇̝̻̳͋̚ȩ̷̯͕̱͙͍͕̦̘̱̘͚̰̤̬̝́͑͗̋͝ͅv̸̖̬͎̍̉̃̅̚e̴̢͖͖͓͓̣͇̞͖̝͆͊̆̆͌̃͒̕͜͝r̴͕͚̣̯̻̰̭͉͍͓͇̭̐͛̋̀̀̐͜͜ͅỷ̶̘͊͛͌̆̃̒̏̐͛̀̒̀͝͝t̷̙̦̘̿̈̾͋͌̓̌͠ḩ̴͓̘̠̪̫͔͕̳̗͖͇̺̪̲̝̘̓į̴͇̘̗͆̓͋́̆̈́̉̑͗̏̐͒ņ̴̛̛̞̺̯̝̤̜͚̘͙̜̂̔͗͊̐́͂́͆̿́̍̚ͅg̸͈̠̈́́̀̑͠ ̶̧̩̻̰̠͎̍̑̾̀̌͆̈͂͋̓́̎̇ͅȧ̸̧̢̡̭͙̯̲̙͕̩̤̯̜̙̘̼̅͘͜n̴̡̛͓̘̺̹̠̲̔̍̍̅͗͆̍͐͛̄͆̈́̕͘͝d̶̰͇̱̩̫̻̝̝͍̓͜ͅ ̶̨̑̃̈͆͋̓̑̔̾̈̈͐̒͠I̴̢̡̤̦͇̜̳̖̦͙͖͕̖̱̠̬͈͎̊̂̆̇̑̂́̍́̉͑͑͝͠͝ ̵̮̳͔̩̩̙̇́̐͋͂̿̀̌͠͝͠ľ̴̨̧͈̫̏́̿̀̽̇͌͐̔́̈̽͘͝͝ǒ̴͉͔̫̙͖͇̟͑̋̋̂̂̅̉̒̀̇͂̎͆̄͝͝v̴̫͓͎͙̥̥̤̙͙̱͙̮͚͓̭̻̦̾̌̍̉ȩ̵̡̜̜̺̙̩̻̪̬̼̱͈̰͉̦̳̀̃̈͗͜͠ ̴̛̛̥͕̤͙̠̀͆̈́͂̐͊́͒͑̓̄̿͜͜t̴͙̆̓̊̚h̷̢̳̝̜̱̓́ę̵͓̳̫̲̼͈̲̬̟͉̗̈́̑͛͛̒̍̈́͜͝ͅͅm̷̧̛̺̻̱̜͚͔͕͖̳̭̬̫͍̩̩͌̈́̀́̀̑̅̈̏̄̿͌͆̀͘͝ ̸̨̧̛̪̮͚̯͚̖̗͂̊̾̄́̎͊̂̾̀͗͋́̎̚̚ͅm̷̡̳͚͓͈̦̙̯͕̫̫̺̥̳̱͖̂̎̅͆͊̈́͛̂̀͋̒̒̿͋͊̾̚͘ǫ̵̧͔͈̫̮͈͕͉̩͓̭͈̜͋́͠r̵̹̣̬̲͉͌̋̓̐̍̌̓̉̒̏͒̚̚͝ȩ̴̧̲̰̬̦͕̣̙̜͍̬̹͔̼̩̩͊́͒̈́̋̌̿͌̆̓̇ ̸̛̻̙̭̯̳̊̈́̈́́̓̿̆́̽́̿̊͗̈́̕͘̚ṯ̴͉͖̖̥̹̻͓̫͖͒̀̇̍̑̈́̓̊͂̇̀̑̃̌͝ḣ̴̢͔͔̣̼̥̲̫̤̍̓͑̇̇̂́a̸̝̠̖̯̬̔̃͌̑͛̋͘n̸͓̳̹͎̬͚̺̬̮̟̗̞̝͓̹͛̑̓̈́̎̋̈́͠ͅ ̴̺̠̰͇̣̩̐̂̅͌̉͋͘͝͝ạ̵͚̱̥̙̖̣̦͎̣͕̞̪̗̦̑͒͋̇̏̾͐̓̇́̃́͆́͠͝͠ņ̷͈̪̝̔̎͌y̶̰̣̹̰̰̰͚͙̯̮͙̼͕̩̻̘̦̓̑̑̍̀̅̀̍̀̇́̋͒̚͝͝͝ṯ̸̢̢̢̥̺̭͚̳̼̣̠̞̳͈̥̽̂̓͋̋̇͆́̐̀͂́̅͛̕͜͜͝͝ḩ̵̟̹͇͕̜̖̘͓̥͎̮̐͆̋̋͛͆̂̔̿ͅī̴̢̤͙̟̜̜̞̩̠̰̊n̶̨̛̖̹̗͉̜͕̟̔̂̽̔̅̍̐͛̃̀̀̾͘͝ǵ̷̡̧̨̣̗̻̬͉̗̯̋̑̐̈́̐̈͆̑̋͗̕!̷̧̬̪̜̟͍̯̲̞͓̪̤̅̓͗̂̌͘ͅͅ ̶̱̄̓͑͊͆͌̔͠T̷̢̛̤͎̲̰͐̔͛̈̂̃̀͊̌̔̌͒̓͘͝h̸̢̡̡̧̩̟̬̞͙̪̞̹̳͙͈̼̰̊͜ë̶̺͖̠̦͇̹̦́ỳ̵̨̪̟͇̲̻͈̗̠̪̰̆͒̊̇̈̈̈́̌͌̆'̵̠͎̋̽̏́̽͒͠r̶̡̧̢̨̢̮̹͇͇͉̞̼̼̃̏̉ę̵̮̫̜̥̭͉̰̫̩̇̓̐͘ͅ ̷̨̤̯͇̠̯̽͒̓͂͛̅̈̑̇̀͛̓̅͘͝s̸͖͓͎̞̻̑ṯ̶͖̊̈́͌͝i̶̛̯͓͓̦̫̽̑͗͐́͌̏́͜͝l̷̢̛̪̜͙̭̬͚̓̓̈́̾̅̄͊̊̎̕͜l̸̨̛͕̭̰̥̬̱̀̅̄̍͆̑̄̓̏̊̈́͑̐̿̚̕ ̶̖͖̺̠̺̤̺̬̭̫͓̠͛̎̒̓͂͆͋͌̎̓̍̏͜͝ͅm̸̨̡̹͎͖̅͗͜y̵̢͎̫̲̼̏ ̶̛̝̉́̓̕f̴̡̠̹̿̃ȁ̶̢̨̪̦̮̜͉̘̘̪͉̟̠̟̱̜͈͓͂͒̄͋̐̒̿̐̓̇̈́͌͝ḿ̷̢̨̪̫͙̦͙̖̣̲͈͙͑̔͒̄́́͠ͅi̸̧͓̮̪̋͐͆̎͗̂̽̀͐l̷̜͓̞̗̙̤̟̯̦͉͓͍̰̲̖̞̓́͑̂̏̏͊̅̏̍̈́͑̔̋̂̕͝ÿ̸̡͙́ ̸̜̗̭̼̟̭͖̫́̑͜ͅa̵̦̾̐̾n̶̮͖̝͒̾̾̓̎̌̑͐́̔̽̚͠͠d̷̛̙̏͗̉̔̈́̒͑̍̈́̊͌̐̀͋̈̊͝ ̷̨̡̛̦̤̣͕́̉͗͘Í̴̭͖̝͍̜̗̦̀ ̶̨̩̥͙̭̙̹̪͇̠̩̦̳̩͚̣̔̃̑͐̽̃͐̋͝ͅl̴̨̛͉̯̬̲̜̼̼̣͔̣̳͕̎͐̎̃̆͆̍̇͌̄̕ͅō̶͉͔̯͈̳̠̯̤̹̖͌̆̋̅́̍͋̋͐͗̿͗̕͝͝v̸̡̧͎͕̜̘̓́̄̄̀̊̑ḙ̵̛̘̳͇̾̉̐͑͒̎̈́̍̋̕̕ ̸̱̊̾͐̾̃̀̓̐̎́̽̒͘t̶̡͔̬͔̯̠̬͙͇͈̰̤͒̔̋̇̽̑̽̎̔̈́̑͘͝ḩ̸̙̭̘͓̗̪̪̃e̵͖̙͈͙̥͓̦̹͙̾̌͗̆̿̀̉͌̐̉́̾͑̿̚͠m̷̤̩͙̬̰̘͖̞̠̦̉̈̀͐̃̊̉̐͝͝ ̷̢̧̞͈̋͌̈́̉̍̔͘͠s̵̼̣̦͕͈̻̍̈́́͐̀͌ö̸̦̒͗͗ ̷̧͓̮͇͒̆̄m̵̢͔͈̲̰̍̑͆̆͌̃̓̇̓̓͆͆͠͠͝û̶̠̩͔̻͎̘̠̥̲͎̉͂͘c̶̖͕͈̤̼̝̭͙̩̦̭̲̟̫͕̬̼̊̍̇͌͆͋̓̇̀͛̈́̚͠ͅh̵͈̜̣͈͓̑͑̅̌͒̉͌̑̀̔̚!̶̨̩͔͉͔̎̐̿̐̾̇̓̂̎̾̕͘ͅ ̶̛̘̗͚̝̭͚͉͂̂̐͗̉͋̈́̆̂͝͝͝T̴͓̦͙͍̋̄̉̾͊̐̌̓̏̾ͅe̸̱̘̥̼̟̒̈́̊͑l̶̦̬͋͛̆̅̈́̊̓͊̎͜l̷̡̟̘͇͓̙̻̝̞̯̙̙͕̘̥̈̌̓̀̽ͅ ̴̢̠͈͓̹̱̬̫͙̰̻͕̘̓̄̈́̚F̴̛͓̠̪̑̿̏̔͑̊͌̈́͋̽͝͝l̴͉͇͋̓̀̀̉̋͗́̎ȍ̷̡͈̳̗͓̈́́̊͑̎͐̕w̶̪͙͌̎̇̽͑̉̿̉͊̾͠e̷̡̨̢̧̝̘͈̮̲̦̳̘̤̳͇̱̲͑͑̌̏̿͐̇͊̚͝ý̶̡̢̬͈̦̯͓̠̋͊͠ ̸̨̡͍̱͈̻̲̱̩̳̤̲̟͂͑͒̽̎͑͂̕͝ͅͅI̶̢̜̲̲̖̰͙͎͖̣̭̭̠̭͖̠̊̀͘̚'̷̛͎̫̳̲͂̅́͛̆̂͗̔͐̀̅̔̌̕͜m̸̭̲͉͙̤͎̣͖͖̙̦̻̻͔͉̿̇̔͒̒̍̀̑̄̈́͆͝ ̴̡̡͓̝̖̫͇̠̺̙͉͎̻̻̬̋͋̾̈͑͜ṣ̷̡̡̧̯̣͎͎̹͈͈̬̞̮͆̄̑́̌̔̽̎͗̉̒͝ͅo̶̧̨̠̱̭̮͚̻̪̖̝͂͂̔̍̾̈̾͋͜͜͠͠ͅ ̶̧͇͍̩̞̖̖̽s̵̳̓̈́̃̚̚ǫ̸̞̞̼̟͚͉̻͈͕̮͖̈́̌͒̈͂̚͜r̸̥̝̦̯̙̲͛͛̄̅̐̍̊̿͘͜͝ͅr̶̰̫̒̉̂͆̿̓̀̏̕̕y̸̢̡͖̠̯͍̟̹̩̣̱͈̝̰̟̩̬̯̾ ̷̢̛̰̩̪̰̌̈́̉̓̓̒̊͂̉͂̈̀̕ͅa̴̡̨̧̖̤̬͕͓̎͌͆̈̓̈́͒̋̽͆̚͘͝n̶̬̹͆̐̋͌̃́̊̓́̂͒͘͠ḍ̷̬̀͒͂̿͆͒̈̐̃̽̄̒̓̊͠ ̶̱̺͓̼̮̥̳̦̤͍̊̆̈́̉̀̒̅̑̌̂̅̕̕͠t̶͖̰̺́̉̚e̵̢̧͎̘̘̖̹̬̣̲̖̪͂̄l̵̙̈͌͒̏̈͂͘l̶̨͇͙̮̼̳̎ͅ ̵̛̙̙͙̪͓͖̝̐͂̅̏̄͒̀̈́̂͂̒̀̆̈́̔̌͝M̶̳̟͇͓͓͔͎̘̤̘͉͛̈́̀̂͋̔̿̍o̴̡͔̰͕̘̪̻͉̙͇͎͕̠͗m̴̢̟̟͋͊͂͆̏̔̐̓̊́̇̇̉̕̕ ̶̛̛͙̘̑̽̀́̃̈́͌͐̂̂͒͘ṱ̴̛̩͖͕͙͕̣̖̳̖̮̲͉̮̲͖̾̅͊̊͑̋́̆̚͘͘ḩ̴̦̠̙̦̩̦̝͍͇̖͚̞̫́̑̋́͐̍̀͋͒̈́͆̔͐̏͆̌͝͝ͅa̶̡͍̦̲͉̗̻̞̺̪̮̗̼̹̋́́̔̍̀̎̽̓͑̒̐͊͘̚̕̕͠ͅţ̶͉̠̬͉̗̭̱̭̩̫̈́̽̈́͜ͅ ̶̢̨͈̤͈̙̻͙̫̰͓̽͂̆̇͌͑͒̿̎̊̈͗͆̃̃͝Ĭ̸̞͇̓͑͊̇̆̕͠ ̴̨̛̜̩̬̖̬͎̥̳͖̯̝̞̗̰̬͑̿̇̀͊̇̏̌̓̆̀̓̈́͊̚͜͠l̵̤̭̞̰͛͘ͅͅò̵̡̧̨̢̼͍͎͎̞̬̩̭̣̺̤̜̉̾̒̌̌̽̀͊͝v̸̮͔͚̹̬̅̈́̑̌̅̒ē̸̉̇́̑̈́͊͐́͆̚̚͠��̢̧̢̻̺͍̜͈͕̼̰͓̲̻͔̪̼̿ ̷̢̧̨̛̦͙̞̗͈̭͇̼̹̘̙̺̤̲̑̾̉̈́̐̒͜h̷̛̫̠̬̣̺͎̟̩̟̘̅̈̓͑̍̉̾̒̇ͅͅę̷̫͖̣͎̪̖̱̫͍̫̦͈̯̙̞̎̒̈́͛̏̾̽͑ͅr̸̢̨̭͍̫̓̑̋̾̈͋̀͌̉̓͂̉̐͝ ̵̮͍͇̬͚̙͎̖͖͓͖͔̞̹͎́͠a̷̠̓̓̐̑́͂̀n̸̼̯͕̞͔̂̊̍̈́̇̀͒͐̓͝ḍ̷̨̝̩̝̲̅͂͑̉̄̽̌͊̑͠͠ ̶̛͙̭͔͍͒͆̈́̒̈́̽̈́̈́̽͝h̴̛̝̫͕͎͚̭̪̪͐̂̚͝ë̴̡̧̧̨̺͖̭̰̟̯̻̟͛͛̓͛͛̂̀́̈́̋͗̚̚͜͝͠͝ͅŕ̴̡̼̳̰͚̱̫̩͓̃̍͂̽̓̃͐̅̀͌̄̍̌ ̴̨̨̖̟͖̰͉͉̖̪̫̙̝͛͑̈́̉̆̕̕͝͝p̵̹̣̤̻͈̩̅i̴͖͚͌̔̽́̐͘ę̵͚̩̬͉͖̖͔͎̜́̓̓͂̐̈́̃̚͝ͅ,̸̧̰̬̳̭̦͔̥̬̪̮̹̽̋̓̋̽̉̄̈͌̇͗͛͌͘͠͝ ̷̛̹̻̝̠͉͚̗̎́́̾̈́͛̉͊͌̓̚ͅä̷̮̲̤̟̯̼̰̙͖̼́̊͂̆̄̊̈́̒͗͗͒͗̔̏̍͘̕ņ̵̡̧̧̞̦̹͕̱̪̥̤̰́̊̒̉̑͘͘̕͘͝͝ḑ̶̡̯͇̱̼͇̼̆̎̒̃̌͛́͑͑̏̄͘͠͝ ̸̨̩͕̣̻̾̃̕t̶̲̑̄̏̍̆̅̌̀̐̊͂ḙ̴̛̬̙̤͉̃̈́̈̅̐̌̋ḽ̸̡̛̛͖̹̘̙̩͚̫̾̃̉͑͆͜l̶̦̲̋̌ ̴̢̠̖͓̻̟͔̲͎̤̳̊̋̿̅̑̋̊̈́̔̉͒͒̄̋͝Ḑ̶̧̫͇̘̭̤͛̎à̵̖̥̝̫͇̯̘̞̜̳̙͈́͜d̵̡͚̗̪͖̬̫̬̠̙̮̬̬̪͉̟͕̽ ̴̲̰̼̣̱̺͊̔̓͐̎͜t̶̛͈͖̩̳͓̦̰̘̯̪̣̑̀̔̄͂͆̕͝ḩ̷̢̜̺͙̤̩̭̲͇̦̫̀̉̍́́͛́̀̉͋͛͜͜͝͝ạ̸̦̖͇̜͛t̵̨͈̰͙̘̙̮̦̠͚͕̻͕͓̬͚̬̋̀̄͗͊̑̏́̊̑̆̐̏̀̉̏͝͝ͅ ̶̢̛̛͔̱̮̼̹͍̖͈͓̱̫͎͔̺̰̣͍̔̔͗͝I̵͆̇̐́̌��̲̄̃͊'̵̨̡̢̥̻͉̫̲̝̖̗̳͚͓̦̻̉́̈́̾̋̿̿͒͜͝m̵̨̱̺̙̠̠̞̯͍̝̦̱͖͎̗̪͈̙͐̋̅̀̅̋̚ ̷̝̞̬̣͍̟̫͇̺̞̐͌͋̀̾̚s̴̢̟̹̲͙̻̗̯͕̳͇̟̝͓̖͂̋̈́̐́̈́̎̿͋̍̈̿̽̄̑̊̀͘͜ͅo̴͖͖͉̝̣̳̗̞̰͓̣͋ ̶̱͎̻̦̮͚̠̦̲̭̜͒̌̓͑͋́̎̏̒̑̕̚͝͠s̸̺̼̯͎͎̞͓̞͇͐ͅo̷̩̥͔͑r̷̡̥͔͖̥̝̹̙̞̈́͂̑́͌̿͂̋͊̐́̽͊́̚̕̚r̴̛͖͎̥͎̝̍̀̀́́̊͊̏̀͌̂̂̄̅̚͝ͅy̶͙͒̀̂͠ ̵̛̦̥̬͉̻͕͙̩͆͌̂͛f̴̛̯̼̫̯̙͍̱̫̩͚̬̜̣͎́̍̒̅͒̏̒͗̿̆̀̑̚̚o̸̢̢̻̞̗̖͉͎͎̠̼̟̳̹͕͓͐̌̄̃̆̂͋͊͑̾̑̒͑͒̄́͜ŗ̸̢̧̦̤̮̼̩̩̄̍̌͊̈́̓͑̚͜͝ ̶̪̖͉̠̘̙͈̬͇̠͙͍̙̽͑̏̐̓̍̾̅̅̂͑̌̃̕͝͝ͅp̶̙̥̻̬̗̿̍̌̐̀o̵͉̙̞͗̅͛͛̍͋̾͒̐͐͒͛̋̂͜i̸̛̮̬͂̎̅͌͆̊́̎͐̏̑̚͘͠s̵̡̛͍̠̹̥̼͕͖̖̗̜͍̪̥̪̖̰͛͂̾̈́̅̉̐̈͐͘͠͝ơ̸̬̏̃̓͒́͛̾͂̀̋̎̏͑̚͠ṅ̵̟̮̜͇͚̰̼̈́͗̀͑î̸̗͍̼̯̤͈͒̾͊̈́̉̆̓͠ņ̴͇̟̪̓̍̈́͌̀̍̔̔̽̽́̑́̋̅̽̕͝ǵ̸̢̡̢̯̦̹̝̠̱͍͖͓̠̬̲̿ ̴̛̳̗͈͉̳͉͚̥̭͎̞͐̈́̒̊͊̒̏̃̇͋̂̈́͂̚͝ͅh̸̢̞̭̙̝̲͉͇̼̪̝͕̭̜̦̙͎͂͌͊̊̚į̵̧̢͈͚̩͉̳͈̩̼̦̝͈̟̘͉̀͊ṁ̵̨̛̳̬̰͎͖̻̬̜͇͓͔͍̠̣̀̈́̀̉̋̔̏͒̓͛̐͂̕̚͘͜ ̴̢̨̛͙̪̺̱͍͚̃̍͌̂̃̃̎͑̕w̶̧͍͖̘̥̎̈́̽͐͐́͒̐͛̈̽̏̊̉̀͛ĩ̴̤͓̫͙͛̉̿́̏̆̂̚t̸̠͎̫̱̮̳͈̪͓̝̜̖͒͋̾͘̕͘̚ȟ̸̢̜̭̜̖̖̪̲̺̏̆̆̆͂͗͂̿̃̏̈͗̇̚͠ ̸̡̨̨̱͚͕̣̞̫̫͕̭̝̖̒́͜ͅt̸̡̛̛͓̞̞̱̤̳̝̼̍̉̎̉̓̋̔̒͂̉͗̂̕͠͝h̵̳̠͆͆͆̀̊͐̏̀͝e̵̬͍͓̘̎̿͜ͅ ̶͇͎͖̊f̵̡̡̢̛̛̰͔̼͇͔̫̳͕̤̥͕̩̎͊͗͐͑̓͊́̃̊̇̒͘̕͠l̵̡͙̮̪̪͍͎͚͊̂̅̑͌͛̂͝ọ̵͖͍̺͉̌͛̌̏̈́̍̅̀̍̚͝w̶̨̡̝̪̬͍̤̪͚̙͚̱̣̋̾̃̈́͆͜e̷̬͖̾̏̓͒̀̊̋͆͋̂͒͊̽͆͝͝͠r̸̞͎͚̙͇͇̭̄͆̀̑̊͛̔́̀͝s̵̨̲̞̻͙̪̫͉̭͇̫̮͇̣̼̾ͅ.̸̢̯͕̬̤̹͉͚̬͚̮̫̟̪̺͐́̏͋̈́̿͝ͅ ̶̛̀̓̍̾̏̽͐͌̎͜͝I̷̲̦̺̼̻͐̀̌̉̀̉̆̓̉̏̄̋̐̄̎̊͑̍ ̴̞̃̐̆̋̓̎̈́̀͊̊̏̇͘͘w̵̪͓̳̱̥̗̼̠̮̓̈́́̓̈͒̉̆̒̉͘ö̶̡̯̬͕̳̬͓̜̗͖͖̺̞̼͕́͑̐̇͂̓͐̿̄̌̍̍̈́̑̌͊́̚ü̴̜̘͈͚̣͇̙̹̥̟̣͂̀̀͗̎͘͜͜l̶̡̛͍͓͓͕̾̽̇̈́̀̃̀̑̈́͌̉̕̚d̶̢̪̹͕͍̼͎͊̌̉̾̔̀̄̈'̶͓͖̪̑͒̄͆͆̋̍̈́͑̚͘͜͝v̸̢̡̧̮̝̜̜̫̮̭̬̲͈͖̲͙̈́͋̿̈́̏́͐̂̊̕̚̚e̵̯̺͎̯̩̻͒̔̀̚͠ͅ ̵̙̻͍̘̖̩̞̈́̒̊̀s̴͓͍̗̺̍̀̅͜t̷͇̞̹̮̞͂̋̇̓̃̅̈́̉̚̕͠o̴̢̼̗̤̞̤̳̘̳̫͌̐͐̈́̓͗́͊͌͆̉͘͝p̴̡̛̤̱̪̞̆͒͑̈̀͒̔̔̂̄̈́̚͘͠ͅp̵̨̡̨͉͉̲̦̲͖͎͔̤̯̜͖͕̬͓͗̔̌͛̈̂̈́͝e̸̤̫̪̫̭̲̝͎̰̓̆͊̒̍̀͛̓͑̇̄̒̚͘͜͝ḑ̷̻̙̜̠̯͖͍̦̼͍͛̌͛͊̈́̎̐̋̒͗̕ ̴̺͕̑́͌͗̓ț̸̺̞̤̘̱̯͙̺̏̋̈́̈́̊̓̔͋͆̅̓̐h̷̰̮͈͓̮͐͝ȉ̴̟̲̤̣̳̙̗̹̟̬̠̪̇̋̌̎̓̎̒͆̎̏̈́̕͜͝s̸̞͙̭̜̺͑͗̍̓͊̀̾̅̈́̈͘̚͜͜ͅ ̵͚̤͍̝̮͓͙̻̗̳̬͇͇́̈́͛̃͛͜i̶̧͙͕̦̬͓̦̺̻̺͔̗̗͌̍́͑͒̾͌̒̽̈́̂́͛̿̑̎̐͜ͅf̸̡͉͇̯̗͎̤̻̼̓͗̓͠͝ ̴̼͍̙̪̹̤̟̻͕̬̳̀͜ͅİ̶̢̱̣̲̫̙̩̘̠̫̭͒͒̑̊͝ ̴̧̛̱͓̫̯̰͎͇̺̑͐̆͆̉͒̀̽͆ͅc̴̬͎̖̘͍̣̗̯͚̱͇͚̮͓̐̎̈́͘͝ô̵̡̫̣̩͇̮͚̝̙̱̐͌͑͗͝u̸̧̨̙͕͓̣͔͕͇̪͎̖̘̝͙̤̼͂́̈̑̉͗̚l̵̡̛̼̦̘͉̺̺̗̭̻̜̤͛͛̎̈͌̒̍͂͐͑̀͘̕͝͠ḑ̶͎̻͍̪̱̅̒̋͗̄̿͑̋̐̽͑̐͊̎̍͘͘͝!̵̡̻͔̹̮̬̫̜͑̆͂͛͋”

Chara sobbed as they squeezed their arms and sat on the ground, attacks phasing through them as they watched the fight helplessly.

“Frisk, buddy, pal, amigo, friend, my compadre... Are you sure you wanna mess around with multi-verse stuff? I don't think the other Skelebros are gonna take your threat lying down.”

“They’re nothing compared to me.” Frisk said, cackling like the maniac they were.

“How much therapy is Red gonna need after learning someone wrote smut of him and Jerry?”

“No amount of therapy will ever make this moment ok.” Red said, whining as Blue gave a very pouty look at where the sound was coming from.

“Wait I just realized Maxie forcibly hugged Error just to mess with him, that is messed up. You ask and respect his no, the guy has a touch issue. Don't bully the Error!”

“He’s been getting better, and I rarely do it. And I’m not that mean to him, Nightmare would find a way to kill me if I did.” Maxie said, pointing at Nightmare as he agreed. Not looking up from his spot on the ground.

“Nightmare, what are you and the rest of the multiverse going to do during the fight with Frisk?”

“We’re on standby in case they need help. But they’ve got this.” Nightmare said,

“Frisk, why do you hate humans so much? Did your family hurt you? Did you have a family? why betray the nicest souls you may ever meet? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Frisk said, small tears welling up in their eyes as they tried to killer Dust.

“Let me make one thing clear, Error better not get hurt or I will raise hell.”

“As will everyone.” Nightmare said, smirking.

error do you watch undernovela in this version of the multiverse?

“Yes I do. It is amazing.” Error said, winking as he smiled.

“error what do you think of people who ship you and ink”

“I’m sure it’s ok in alternate multiverses, but I will forever see them as weird.” Error said, walking up to face Frisk.

“to sans frisk and chara what do you think off your respective stronger than yous”

“I like it.” Classic said, “I actually listen to it every now and then.”

"̴̠̣̉͒F̵̩̆̿̿r̶̦̹̭̄i̸̡̫̖̩̞̐͗s̶̤̗͎̼̪̆͘k̶̳̘͌̎ ̸̞̙̪̱̓͝a̵̞͑͑n̸̺̹̭̽̊̆̎̕͜ͅd̷̤̰̒͘ ̵̱̓̀̉I̵̖͕̖̓ ̶͖̤̙͙͆̄n̸͖͕͐̒̋̂̇ë̴̻́̏ë̸͖͍̦͜͜d̸͔̩̠̿̒ ̴̥̪̣͙͑̋t̸͍̰̱̲̅̽̈́̚͜͠o̸̮͒ ̵̹̭͓̠͒s̶̼̀̐͗͆͌w̷̤̬̳̱̗̽̄a̵̖̻͇̳͛͐͘p̵̪͔̒͆ ̸̢̊s̶̮̎̕̕o̸̟̘̹̹͊n̷͉̭̩̲̘̐̿͊g̷͙̗̑s̵̗̭̠̉̐́̇.̴͉̭̠̀̿͐̈́͂ ̵̡̻̘̩͔͂́͋͌T̸̗̋̓̇̈͝h̵͙̠̭̪̾̂̈͒o̶̻̖̳̓̈́̽̂̿ȗ̵͎̤̪̺̈́͘͠g̶̡͎͋͂h̷̏̾��͖͍̿͝ ̷̙̥̼͇̓́s̵͖̙̈́́̈́̀̕į̶̖͎̰̾̅ṋ̸͖̟̈́͘c̶̠̜͇̖͐͊̈́͘͝ę̷͛̿͝͠ ̵̧̙͍̲̐̾t̸̟͑̄h̷̬̳̬̩͓̉͒̾̐ẽ̵͍̗͉̩̇̀y̵͉̺͎̒̿ ̴͇̩̭͗͊͐̾͜ò̷̫͈͙͉̓̎ͅn̷̦̤̟͓̈̌͘l̸̨̘͈̱̎y̷̥͆̄ ̶̥̭͓̲̔͗̂̊̈́ȩ̶̻̊͌v̷̜͙̠̝͂̿ȩ̸̛̦͓̞͛̄͘ȑ̴̪̗̪͋̃͝ ̸̖̭̜̏̍͠m̵̟̥̲̈̃̋̕e̸̛̺͉͎̝̼͐̅̑̕ę̷̡̼̭̰͊͒̃̾t̵̟̰͎̪̬͋̔ ̸̩̒m̶̢̛̟̤͓̠͆̒̚͠e̷̡̢̯̹̐̍̀ ̵̫͍͉͑̇̈́a̸̦͠t̷̛̻̙̝͇͔̓͐̉̚ ̵̜̬͈̰̟̌ṃ̷̗̞͎̾y̸̝̻̳̱͐͒̉̎ ̷̝̇͒͂w̴̙̣͚̞͒͛̊ȏ̴̧̞̞̣̓̕r̶̥͆ͅͅs̴͇̞̐̀̏͑̉͜t̶̳͠,̴͕̰̞͂̓̀͠͠ ̴̢͍̲͒͌̈́I̶͔͇͍̅ͅ ̵̨̥̼͒͆̓͠ç̵̗͇͚̈a̶͓̘͍̥̍̾̀̓͝n̴̬͍̞͈͐́̄̚͠'̴̞̑́̑̊͠t̸̥̙̔̊̈ ̴̢͚̟͆̀́̓͝b̴̢̛͕̦̎̄̀l̴͍̄a̸̛̻͇͇̲͋̆͠m̷̖̳͍̠̈͑e̶͈̩̅ ̵͇͇͖̜̖̓̌t̷͓͍͖̖͛̋̂̍͘ḧ̸̖́̋e̶̲̦̐̆̂̉́ ̶̰̈́̓̀ẅ̵̡͖͖͍̯̃̆̄͠r̴͓̪̥͍̐̎i̶̙̲̗̮̘͊̕͘t̴̗̳̫̏ȅ̸̜̞͑r̸̛̪͕̞͓̣̊͐̒̕s̴͚̿̊̑̋.̵̖̩̼̟̿̅̋ ̴̪̗̀͊̈́Ť̸̼̼h̶̛͖͖̝͌͠ḛ̸̉̒̈́͋̕ỳ̵̝̾̓̾̋ ̵͚̠̂̔ș̴̛͙͇̗̉̌̕̕o̶̦̯͆͑̇̔n̴͔͎̽̅̎g̵̮̗̖͆s̷̟͈̹͔̖̓̚͝ ̷̯̥͚̤̅a̴̡̙̻͓̕̚r̷̡̡͓̩̀e̸͙̙̾̍ ̷̮͗̑̈́̄ŗ̴̂́͘ȩ̴̲̗̝̹̀̾̏͑̄ã̶̻̘͛̈̾ͅl̷̖̲͙̈̄͗͝l̸͙̠̎̇̐y̸̨̻͍̻̾͝ ̶͓̹̓g̵͍̙̃̔ͅợ̶͍̙͐̚o̴͎͍͔̎̐d̸̢̺̄́ ̶̦̱̣̳̎̇͠t̶̲͓͒̀̈͋h̴̢̥̠͈̣̀̈́̽̅o̷̡̧͖̔̋̐u̸̙͐͐̅͒g̷̺̖̘̬̀͑̎̕h̶̹̦̳͔̾͐͌.̴̟̉̉̑͝"̴̢̛̼̞͊̉͋͛

Chara said as they smiled at Frisk’s miserable state.

“frisk what do you think of tEMMIE pls stop kill tem”

“Temmie is an annoying abomination.” Frisk said, looking at Error as they grinned.

Next - Pending

#my multiverse #ask_event #sans #papyrus #toriel #asgore #alphys #dark sanses #frisk #flowey #maxie #underswap sans #underswap papyrus #underfell sans #swapfell sans

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incorrectly-quoted-queers · 5 years ago

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Drunk Punch Love: Chapter 8

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

The emptier the ship got, the more apparent it was that the ones left were avoiding her.

Chapter 8: Bloody Workout Gear

Quite a few of the crew-members from the Saren mission were taking shore leave on the Citadel, while the Normandy was hopping around the galaxy, taking people home. Tali had gone back to the Flotilla, despite Anya insisting that she'd buy a few junk ships and be her new flotilla if she wanted. And they were currently on their way to drop Wrex off on Tuchanka. He decided, after all their time together, that maybe he should head back and try to bring some order to his people. After all, there was a war coming and Krogan enjoyed a good war.

But it was a little awkward when Kaidan and Liara were still on board and she sometimes went days without seeing them. Liara spent most of her time in her science office, analyzing any Prothean artifacts they had and preparing for her next research position, which they were taking her to after Wrex was gone. And Kaidan was always spending his time with Chakwas, Joker, or working with newer recruits. Basically anything away from Shepard.

Even Garrus seemed to be avoiding her. He kept on saying he was busy with some calibrations, always under the Mako, or working on their guns. She thought they were finally good, actually more than good, after Ashley's funeral. But maybe they weren't.

Anya knew that Kaidan had a very good reason to avoid her; she broke his heart into too many pieces that night before Ilos, and she understood that. And she knew Liara was really overwhelmed by suddenly being the foremost researcher on everyone's new favorite ancient species. She at least apologized for continually ditching Shepard at every turn.

Garrus really was the confusing part; she had no clue what she did.

The only person left talking to her was Wrex. She'd have Joker, but Kaidan was holding her favorite pilot hostage as his own personal buddy, so that wasn't an option. It was kinda pathetic that the only person who would talk to her was about to abandon ship in a day or two.

At least the guy loved taking breaks to do some target practice.

"Your aim is shit today, Shepard."

Anya grumbled, took another shot at the target. This time, she hit a half-inch off. "It's not bad."

Wrex laughed at her, laying his own gun on his shoulder. He pointed a very accusatory finger at the target and said, "Yeah, sure. You and the turian can spend hours here waiting for someone to miss, but missing it every time today isn't that bad."

"Fuck off, old man."

Even though she put her pistol in the holster and tried to walk away, Wrex followed her. All the way upstairs to the kitchen, even. "So what's eating you?"

Anya didn't really want to hear it. "Absolutely nothing."

"You say that like a Varren gnawing off their own leg."

Turning around, Anya punched his chest plate. She was pretty over all his prying. The only good part of hanging out with him was their very short conversations. When did it suddenly need to get all serious? "What is it with you and comparing me to Varren?"

"I dunno, you're kinda like one. Vicious and badass, but kinda cute when domesticated."

"It sounds like you're calling me a dog." Shepard took her blueberry juice out of the fridge and poured herself a glass. It was hard not to notice how empty the mess was; empty enough that their voices kind of echoed.

Wrex sat down on a stool across from her. Mental note that if she wants to be bitter and alone, to remove all seating from the kitchen. "No clue what that is, but sure." He gave a pointed look between Anya and the fridge. She groaned, but maybe it would shut him up. She poured him a glass of some very dense Krogan beverage (non alcoholic) and slid it to him. Unfortunately for her, that didn't stop him from talking. "Hope you're not getting feeble on me. I'm expecting you to take care of the galaxy while I take care of Tuchanka."

"I wouldn't dare." When Wrex started drinking, Anya's prayers seemed to be answered. He was glugging down the- beverage? It smelled nice, but looked like sludge. She didn't really know what to make of it. The silent company was nice, reminded her she had friends but didn't remind her that she was off her game because of the other fickle crewmates.

Well, it was good until a certain pilot walked up. "Ooh blue juice? Pass me some of that."

Anya glared at him while she got out the juice, poured another glass, and then handed it to him. She hoped her annoyance seethed into the drink. "Joker, what the hell are you doing here?"

"We're stopped above Tuchanka. We got here early. No one tell you over comms?"

Looking between Wrex and herself, Anya shook her head. "Um, no. That's your job."

"Right... Well, I've taken to not broadcasting my location all over the ship. Sure, I may be at the pilot's seat 10/10 times, but a certain angsty biotic doesn't need to know that."

Shepard peered at Joker and crossed her arms. "Is that why you've been pinging everyone whenever you're in weird places around the ship?"

"Convinced Tali to give me a device that lets me say I'm anywhere without having to be there."

"C'mon, Kaidan can't be that bad."

"He's not, unless he's in a bug funk mood about a certain Commander rejecting him. Oh wait, he is." After frowning at her and rolling his eyes, Joker then turned to Wrex and said, "We told the drop ship that you'd be ready in thirty minutes."

The tall Krogan downed the rest of his drink. "Good thing I haven't packed yet." He waved at them before heading downstairs. Presumably, to do that packing thing. That left Joker, Anya, and the blueberry juice.

After a sip from his glass, Joker said, "So, haven't seen any cranky turians in your room lately."

Anya was about ready to throw her drink at him. Glass first, hopefully. "You shouldn't be seeing anyone in my room, because you shouldn't ever be there in the first place."

"A guy's gotta protect his bones, okay?"

"We're both nearly 30, Joker, maybe stop getting so drunk you need your old academy roomie to babysit you."

Joker took another sip, which seemed to be a sure sign of him saying something annoying. "So you are really bothered about not hanging out with Garrus lately."

"I'm going to break your dick, I swear."

"At least aim for a more impressive threat, Shep. Because that's not a hard thing for anyone to do."

Grumbling, Anya didn't want to dance around whatever stupid point he was trying to make. "Okay, fine. What do you want to say about it?"

"You two just seemed cozy, hanging out on that couch."

"We have a weekly movie night, this isn't exactly wild news."

"I know. Even more suspicious."

Anya was pretty over it. Joker was having too much fun dancing around what he really wanted to say, and she'd rather he just spit it the fuck out. Especially since she knew he was enough of a Kaidan beacon to need anti-lieutenant protocols. She didn't really want to have to deal with that right now, either. "Get to the fucking point, Jeff."

"All I'm saying is that you don't get very cozy with people. Exhibit A is literally stalking me around this ship out of heartbreak. I just want to get a feel on what's happening here. Mama bear would be interested if you're getting close to someone. She was pretty pissed you didn't tell her about Rike back in the day."

"One, why are you discussing my sex life with my mother? And two, there's nothing for her or you to be pissed or prying about. So shove off it."

"You say that, but I have eyes."

"Not for long if you keep this up."

"Fine, fine. I'm just saying, why aren't you talking to him?"

"I-" Before she could say anything, Wrex came upstairs, dragging Vakarian in tow. Garrus looked a little shell-shocked and Anya couldn't help but stare. Wrex didn't even let the poor guy wipe the oil grease off his face.

Then very loudly, Wrex announced, "Now, you two are gonna escort me down to Tuchanka."

While she and Garrus were just swallowing down the awkwardness between them, Wrex was shouldering his pack. Joker said, "I wish I could pack that fast. Damn."

Leaving her blueberry juice, Anya tried to get a handle on the very quickly changing situation. "I'll just go grab my armor-"

"No need, I just wanna show off that the so called "savior of the Citadel" has my back. Good way to start showing dominance and fixing shit up, right?"

Anya didn't even know how to argue. "I guess, sure. The workout gear will do."

He threw an arm around her and Garrus and then dragged them to the stairs. "Time to show my planet I'm back."

They followed him to the docking port in relative silence. Their next few minutes were spent entering a drop ship and watching the burning planet all the way to the surface. No one spoke. Wrex had this purposeful energy to him, and she didn't know what to say out loud that they hadn't already said the past few days.

But Garrus, across from her? He seemed like he was itching with something. He kept on fidgeting with his armor and checking the clips on his sniper rifle. Even that night she was a drunken idiot, he could look at her the next day. Albeit after a lot of awkward talking, but now he seemed a world away. What made it worse was that she had no clue how to reach him.

When they landed, Wrex was happy to walk out into the Krogan hub, with the blistering sun hitting his face. but when he exited into the harsh brightness, Anya suck it up and opted for the least tactful approach. She grabbed Garrus' arm. "I don't know what I did, but whatever it was, I'm sorry."

"Shepard, I-"

His answer was interrupted by Wrex calling them over to a group of nearby Krogan. The entire ship port experience was Wrex just dragging her around, telling slightly exaggerated stories of how badass he was to prove a point. She understood that for a merc coming home, this was the equivalent of networking. But with the turian on his other side, she couldn't help but feel like she had some things to say that were getting overrun by Wrex's posturing.

That is, until she felt a bullet whiz past her ear. She turned her head around and saw a trio of Krogan running their way. With a quick order to take cover barked at her companions, Anya dove behind cover as quickly as she could. From the looks of their armor, they didn't seem to have any merc gang affiliations, so her only source of information was the krogan in cover next to her. "What the hell, Wrex?! You told me not to wear armor!"

He shrugged. "I figured someone might come after me. Chances were low, but it definitely proves a bigger point if we kick their ass in no armor."

"You're not wrong, but I hate you for it. You owe me new workout gear if this gets bloody."

"I can do that."

Lucky for her, Wrex brought along the two best shots on the team. And even better, the krogan attacking were mostly relying on shotguns. They just had to shoot 'em out before they got too close. She just had to hope their durability wasn't great.

Just as they downed the lead krogan, she noticed a shimmer on the other side of Garrus. Any infiltrator knew what that meant. "Vakarian! Tactical cloak to your left." Garrus reacted accordingly and they shot the stealthy one down, but it made her a little more wary of what they were up against. Looking towards her krogan friend, she yelled, "Shit, Wrex, they must really want you dead."

"Great, huh?"

"Not the word I'd use for it."

Anya was about to peek out from cover and take some shots at the final krogan, but Garrus beat her to the punch. "Shepard, look out!" He was rolling from his cover to hers and dragged her to where Wrex was hiding.

And right after they got behind the metal crates, the final krogan barrelled through the box she'd been hiding behind. Her eyes met Garrus' and she said, "Thanks." The second she spoke, though, he released her waist like it was a ticking grenade and instead stood up, shot the krogan in the eye, and he dropped dead.

Wrex stood up and smirked. "That's the best welcome home present I've ever gotten."

"Bud, we're gotta have a conversation about what you find endearing." Taking a deep breath, Anya glanced down at her shirt and noticed there was a few drops of blood on her. They seemed to be coming from a forehead scrape from when Garrus dragged her away from the danger box. "Shit. And you definitely owe me new clothes."

"Technically Garrus did that."

"Yeah, but you're the one who made me come without my gear."

"Fine, I'll send the credits. But it was worth it."

When her omni-tool pinged with the money, she let out a sigh. It also emptied out any annoyance for putting her life in danger, since everyone always did that to her all the time. Including herself. "Tell us if you got too many assassins to handle."

"I think I'll be set after that display of quads." Then, Wrex turned to her and Garrus and pulled them into a hug. "Until next time." And when he stepped back, he gave Anya a wink. "Vakarian. Shepard."

She rolled her eyes, but played along. "Wrex."

And then he picked up his bag and walked off.

Anya should definitely be less surprised that they just had the most krogan goodbye in existence. But for now, she'd settle for getting off the damn planet. She just jogged her ass back to the drop ship. While Shepard wasn't one for running away, she also wasn't about to encourage any other krogan to try to fight her, not like this. If she was lucky she could rub out the blood and have two pairs of good workout gear.

Garrus followed behind silently and, in a few short minutes, they were closed up in the drop ship, her wound was bandaged, and they were heading back to the Normandy.

But that was when the real battle started. Anya hated to admit it, but Joker was right. She couldn't stand not talking to Garrus, and it had to stop. "Garrus..."

"Shepard, I'm leaving."

The words hung between them like a dead man. Her fingers felt numb. After too long of him not looking at her, Anya asked, "What?"

"When we talked, I figured out I wanted to do more for the galaxy. Like you do. And the next day, I got an offer to join the Spectres training program. I said yes."

Everything felt so dry and cold, the air, her skin, the energy between them. Anya didn't really know how to process it. But she did know what she should say, what was honest and true. "You'd make a great Spectre, Garrus." Then, she tried to add it all together, and still ended up lost and confused. "But then why were you avoiding me?"

"Because I didn't know how to tell you I was leaving. Or maybe I just didn't want to tell you." Garrus sighed and sat down next to her. "I know this is what I want, but that doesn't mean I want to leave you. I didn't want you to feel like that's why I did it."

"Of course not. I get it." There were a lot of feelings running around her head, but in all honesty? Few of them had anything to do with him. She was proud of him and admired him. He wanted to be a hero. How could she blame any of her fantastic team for wanting to make a difference, even if it meant leaving her?

The only real things making her pause were her own, irrelevant feelings of attachment to him. And they were her problem, not his. So, like a good friend, Anya shut up the feelings and added, "When do you leave?"

"Two weeks. We'll drop off Liara, check out Alchera for the Council, and then when we stop back to the Citadel to report, I stay."

Anya crossed her arms and gave him the most deadpan, serious look she could. "Well, we got a lot of movies to watch before that, then."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You ever heard of James Bond?"

///

The thought of Garrus leaving literally cracks my heart so that’s fun.

I’m sick an burning my tongue with warm beverages like a proper knob, but posting this stuff and being my weird creative self with you folks help make it better <3

The true behind the screens drama is that I’m sick ALL THE TIME so sorry if that’s the narrative 50% of the time.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading, and double thanks to my lovely patrons:

Danyell Jones

Amy Connolly

If you'd like to support my writing and creations, please go check out my bio for more info :) (hint, I’m trying to buy a desktop to share more of my goon, fandom trash behavior with everyone. Any support is appreciated!)

#Shakarian #Drunk Punch love #femshep x garrus #Garrus Vakarian #Anya Shepard #Mass Effect fanfiction #bioware romances #Mass Effect #Wrex #Liara

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pass-the-bechdel · 6 years ago

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Dollhouse season one full review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

92.3% (twelve of thirteen).

What is the average percentage per episode of female characters with names and lines?

46.83%

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

Nine, over half (six of those were 50%+, one of them 60%).

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

Zero.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twenty-eight. Thirteen who appeared in more than one episode, six who appeared in at least half the episodes, and one who appeared in every episode.

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Forty-two. Eleven who appeared in more than one episode, five who appeared in at least half the episodes, and three who appeared in every episode.

Positive Content Status:

Not good at all. The series is rife with violence against women and involves sexual assault on a constant basis, with acknowledgment or exploration of such inclusions intermittent and interlaced with excuses. Needless to say, it never even gets close to flirting with an above-average content rating (average rating of 2.76).

General Season Quality:

A mess. There are elements of good things here, and some episodes that utilise that potential, but mostly this is a show that doesn’t seem to know what it wants to do or how far it really wants to pursue its own promises, and it is full of dead air and extremely questionable storytelling, wrapped around one of the least-dynamic lead characters I’ve ever seen. It’s a recipe for failure, and a disappointing one at that, because done right, this could have been truly amazing.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

Let’s nail down how consent works, because it might be the most important issue at the heart of this show that the writers just don’t seem to understand: consent is not a binding contract. Real consent is

1. ongoing (may be revoked at any time if the individual in question wishes; must be re-established or renegotiated if the circumstances originally consented to change)

2. enthusiastic (if the individual becomes uncertain/uncomfortable with conditions, actions must halt until consent has been renegotiated and re-established)

3. informed (an individual cannot consent to terms that are obfuscated or omitted; consent gained through lies or trickery is not consent at all), and

4. willing (coerced consent - whether through threats, ultimatums, manipulation, or other means - is not real consent. If the individual is placed in a position where declining is not a viable safe option, they cannot give consent).

Pretty clear-cut, really. With that in mind, the only way that the Dollhouse could operate in an ethical manner would be if the dolls were genuine volunteers who were restored to their original personalities after every engagement, so that they could consider the requirements of each job as they arose and pick and choose which ones they were comfortable fulfilling; it would then also require that their imprinted personality include strict parameters agreed to beforehand to preserve their ability to revoke consent if their boundaries are violated. Of course, there would still be LOADS of ways for the technology to be abused, but that’s an irrelevant discussion in context, because that’s not how the Dollhouse operates. Many of the dolls are not willing participants from the outset, but even if they are, after being stripped of their personalities and memories they lose the power to make informed choices and their enthusiasm is all programmed in, and it’s irrelevant anyway because they are not presented the opportunity to give or deny consent in their ongoing situation. Whether or not the dolls can consent is not up for debate: by definition, plain and simple, they cannot. To suggest otherwise is kinda the same thing as when people say that marital rape isn’t a real thing, as if signing a marriage contract permits your spouse to override your bodily autonomy anytime they want. Consent can be fickle, subjective, and highly conditional, and those are all good things because they protect the basic human right to personal sovereignty. Consent is not a binding contract.

Despite occasionally throwing around lines about how ‘you can’t consent to being a slave!’, the show doesn’t want to commit to the idea that the dolls are, unequivocally, being abused, and the failure to be morally assertive on that point leads to some seriously reprehensible presentations, most notably in terms of rape. The oft-repeated lofty idea behind what (theoretically) makes the Dollhouse ‘good’ is that they give people ‘what they need’, which mostly means fulfilling sexual fantasies. Naturally, this makes all of the Dollhouse clients who acquire a doll for sexual purposes, rapists. They know that’s what they’re getting into, too, they know that they’re paying big bank to have a person brainwashed into fulfilling their desires, which by definition means that the person is being denied the capability to give consent. This isn’t a naughty secret being hidden from the client; it’s a known factor which they’ve decided they don’t care about. They’re ok with taking advantage of this person in order to fulfill their ‘need’. Thus, the fact that Joel Miner just wants to play house with an imprinted version of his dead wife is not cute or romantic, it’s still rape, but the show doesn’t treat it that way: it’s directly handled like we’re supposed to be happy that he gets what he wants, in the same episode as the writing finally bothers to dabble vaguely in the concept of consent issues after it turns out that Sierra has been raped by her handler (while NOT imprinted to think she wants it). Thus, the episode in question draws a straight parallel between the idea that there’s ‘real rape’ (what Hearn does), and then there’s innocent wish fulfillment (what Miner and anyone else who bothers to have their victim programmed first does), and we shouldn’t conflate the two. Except, obviously, we should conflate the two. Both are rape. There’s not a moral grey-scale here, that’s like arguing that if you drug someone first so that they can’t resist, that’s less assaultive than if they were cognizant enough to struggle. Both are rape, both disregard the bodily autonomy of the victim and deny them the right of choice. ‘But I really miss my dead wife!’ doesn’t make it better, and it certainly doesn’t make it ok. And giving people ‘what they need’ at the expense of others is not virtuous - especially when you factor in the price tag attached to a made-to-order sex slave.

The above-referenced episode is one of the most egregious examples of this at play, but it’s a recurrent issue throughout the series, and not one that’s gonna go away. The story is not interested in analysing the fact that DeWitt has repeatedly raped Victor; her conflict about the issue revolves around the feeling that she - like the other Dollhouse clients - is pathetic for ‘needing’ programmed service. And while Ballard expresses misgivings about the idea of raping Mellie, he still does it, repeatedly, and there’s no condemnation from the narrative; we’re supposed to see this as a complication to Ballard’s moral compunctions, that he’s confronted with shades of grey in the black-and-white world he had imagined, but there are no shades of grey. You knowingly committed rape. More than once. The first time they had sex, when he didn’t know she was a doll? THAT is something Ballard can feel conflicted about, because he didn’t do it knowingly, he was not able to make an informed decision, his own ability to consent was impaired and he’s entitled to feel abused by the Dollhouse machinations that put him in that position. THAT is legitimate conflicted emotion. Going “fuck you, Dollhouse, you want to send me a sex slave, I’m gonna take out my conflicted emotions ON HER through what I readily recognise as rape”, that’s...not something a character can do and then still hang around on the show representing any kind of morality. That’s not even anti-hero material, that’s villainy, and if we respond to Hearn’s crimes by snapping his neck against a coffee table, why is Ballard still roaming around feeling righteous? The show is so sketchy on morality, it doesn’t even present Ballard’s attitudes as self-delusions, it isn’t exploring his descent into evil. Even from the first episode, it was unclear where the story really sat with Ballard, seeming simultaneously aware of the fact that he’s not as pure and heroic as he imagined himself, but also never pursuing the idea of exploring a more complex moral reality. If ‘now he’s a rapist but he feels bad about it (but not bad enough to NOT DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE)’ is supposed to suffice as ‘deconstruction’, boy howdy, I got news. You can’t even pretend to deconstruct anything if you’re too busy equivocating to have an opinion in the first place.

I’ve used this word so much already in relation to this show that it’s starting to lose its meaning, but what Dollhouse really suffers from is a misogyny problem. I touched on it already in the episode ‘Omega’ when I talked about how Alpha’s ruminations on the nature of the self/consciousness/etc are undercut by the intense misogyny of his character and story, because his presence in the narrative and his impact on other characters is so heavily tied up in the violent expression of his misogyny that there’s no room for a clear-minded discussion of anything else, and in truth the entire series suffers from the same affliction. Misogyny is so ubiquitous in the story at the same time as being so rarely acknowledged that they can’t engage meaningful thematic discussions about anything else; misogyny is the elephant in the room, and so much space is being dedicated to it, there’s nowhere to squeeze anything else in edge-wise. The refusal to acknowledge the clear-cut nature of consent and thereby the inherent sexual assault built into the frame work of the narrative is part of this, but it also represents an insidious division between ‘real misogyny’ and the various kinds that the show doesn’t want us to acknowledge, the many and sundry equivocations it is entertaining in order to avoid having a moral backbone. Alpha literally slicing up women’s faces is ‘real misogyny’ (by the writers’ definition), and a character like Nolan putting Sierra in the Dollhouse so that he can have force her to have sex with him is ‘real misogyny’ (quite contradictory since Nolan still has his doll programmed to want him, just like all the other clients; apparently it’s only rape if the perpetrator is a mustache-twirling cackling supervillain type). Tanaka slinging off about ‘whores’ is ‘real misogyny’ that Ballard can take umbrage with, but Ballard’s infantalising obsession with calling women ‘girls’? We’re not batting an eye. The fact that Echo is repeatedly engaged by one Matt Cargill, whose rape sexual fantasy is all about teaching a ditzy inexperienced girl new things? Cute! Echo being violently beaten in more than three-quarters of the episodes this season, sometimes multiple times per episode? Eh, that’s normal. That’s normal writing.

The ‘real misogyny’ is the stuff that the writing deems worthy of being called out, and like with the issue of creating a false grey-scale to excuse ‘softer’ rape crimes, this creates a situation in which more low-key misogyny can skate by unchecked because we’re being encouraged to view it comparatively, instead of objectively. If you’re talking about a violent serial rapist and you say “he calls women ‘girls’ all the time, too!”, it sounds like you’re being silly, because hello, there are much bigger problems to talk about. On the other hand, if you don’t sit around making softening comparisons, you can actually talk about how women being infantalised by men is a big problem that is part of a larger tapestry of misogyny, especially disturbing for the intersection with sexualisation (HUGELY at play with the dolls in their ‘doll state’), and relevant to the discussion of pedophilia (which, incidentally, the show featured TWICE in just thirteen episodes, but without any kind of exploration or commentary that would suggest an actual reason beyond the voyeuristic fetishisation of sexual violence which is this show’s bread and butter). Because the misogyny problem on this show is so all-encompassing (along with the rape-apologist grey morality, it is built into the framework of the series itself), the fact that it is never acknowledged and brought into the thematic conversation of the story blows a hole out the side of the writers’ ability to have any kind of sophisticated conversation about the morality of their subject matter: the combination of oblivious sexism and wanton avoidance leaves the moral compass of the story...nonexistent, really, smashed to pieces and rendered useless. It’s like they didn’t want to have to talk about the morality of the Dollhouse at all, they just wanted the narrative conceit of programmable people and the opportunity to indulge various objectifying fetishes, but since that’s not how storytelling works they figured they’d ramp up the ambiguity and pass off the lack of nuanced discussion as ‘shades of grey’, despite how inappropriate that is with sex trafficking. Thus, you get a show which treats “but if the perpetrator is sad, is it really rape?” like that’s a legitimate question.

Honestly, we could unpack this show forever, because all of it needs unpacking, because it’s riddled and stained irrevocably with garbage in a way that is pervasive and complicated, but I’m gonna let this lie for now. We’ll talk about it all more as season two unfolds, and when I review that season’s developments and eventually, the full series (save me). There’s loads of stuff that I didn’t even touch yet, so at least I know I won’t be starved for content. I did know that, coming in, I knew it’d be an unhappy mess. The one thing that really surprised me about season one is how little the narrative actually discussed its own invoked themes, I thought they did better than that - perhaps season two will fill that void a bit. Maybe Echo will get hit in the fucking face less, too. I’m not gonna bet on that. After all, what would this show be without women turned into sex objects and then violently punished for it? Well. For starters, it would be better.

#Dollhouse #Dollhouse season one #Bechdel Test #female representation #full season review

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poppyknitt · 6 years ago

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First Time For Everything- A JWCD Darkness and Desperation exclusive

Summary: Marvin has a terrifying dream about his brothers all turning on him for no reason, and wakes up possibly very close to being traumatized from it... Let’s just hope nothing seriously bad happens after this...

———

TW: Emotional/Verbal harassment, minor alcoholism, (at least) moderate angst

———

Marvin slowly opened his eyes, his ears ringing a little as he gradually raised his head to look around. Where... was he?

... Oh. Oh god. How... How is this possible? This was the abandoned building that got destroyed in Seán’s last hurrah! It... It couldn’t possibly have been salvageable!

His mild confusion was interrupted by the echoing sounds of a single set of footsteps. It stopped after a few moments, and then came another... and another... and another... and another, which, of course, didn’t stop. It pulled up a chair, and before he knew it, there was one with its back facing him, and Anti was sitting in it, facing him with his eyes narrowed.

“We know everything.”

“You... What..?”

“Don’t act dumb. I said, we. know. everything. We know what you’ve done. We know what you plan to do. Did you really think we were that stupid, brother?”

“... I-“

“I’m not done. You murdered five kids, and then, when you realized how much you enjoyed it, you went on to murder hundreds more, each one more brutally than the last, right?”

“... Y...Yes...” He wasn’t even fully aware of what he was saying, for some reason.

Momentary, tense silence. He hated every second of it.

“... You killed Seán, Marvin.”

“W-What?! N-No! He- He’s in stasis! Y-Y-You know that!”

“No thanks to you. You might as well have signed his death certificate.”

“I-I-!”

“And what about Stacy, huh?! You- You put that bounty on her head, didn’t you?! You fucking drove us apart, all for some stupid fucking game!” Chase yelled, his voice shaking brokenly as he lashed out at the devious magician.

“N-No, C-Chase, I- Y-You don’t understand, I-I had to-!”

This time, Jack spoke, “And what about me, hmm, ‘doll’? What plans did you have for me? Cut me open, skin me alive slowly and listen to my screams of pain, like the sick little bastard you are? Or did you want me to end up like Seán? That would certainly do you wonders! After all, you are next in line for his position, aren’t you?!”

“...” He couldn’t argue that one, either. He... had planned that.

“And, what happened to always trying your best to make sure nothing happens to any of us?! Did you just forget that I’m here?! Or did you know, and you just didn’t care?! Think about all the danger and problems I’ve come across because of your lies and false promises!” He couldn’t even see most of Henrik’s face through the face mask he wore, “And then... Then you had the nerve to force me to experiment on my own twin brother?!”

It wasn’t even worth responding now.

“Tch. Pathetic. Look at you. You’re so weak. Too afraid to admit you were never truly one of us in the first place. They should’ve cast you out the moment our mother abandoned you all. Or, better yet, gotten that damn witch to take you back.” Anti’s voice brought him back to focus.

He didn’t even get a second to respond before his brothers started throwing names.

“Useless!”

“Pitiful!”

“Monster!”

“Murderer!”

“Pathetic!”

“Mistake!”

“Fuck-up!”

The list went on. The worst part was, quite a few of them were words he knew actually described him well. But, for some reason, hearing them come out of his brothers’ mouths...? It was... so much more painful.

A voice he hadn’t heard in a while interrupted them, and his heart sank, “Traitor.”

Seán...

He turned to face the brother he had nearly murdered in August, 2017, eyes wide. “S-Seán- Please... babydoll, cocoa butter, darling, I-I-!”

“Don’t try to butter me up with your stupid, fake-ass pet names, Marvin. I’ve had enough of listening to your lying bullshit.” He paused, “Come on, guys. We don’t need him. We never did. Leave him here, to rot, just like he wanted to do to me.”

“N-N-No-! Seán, w-wait! P-Please! I-I can go back! I-I’ll never do an-any of this again! Please! Just- Let me make this up to you!” He begged, his voice shattering as he spoke.

“You closed the door to forgiveness the moment you decided to call the cops on me.”

He wanted to get up, and stop them, but... He was stuck. They had him tied into the chair. He... wasn’t going anywhere. He sighed broken-heartedly, and closed his eyes, processing what had happened.

It wasn’t until he inhaled a bit of smoke that his eyes shot open. But, by then, it was too late. The fire was surrounding him on all sides, choking out his lungs and forcing him to suffocate painfully. The terrifying sound of the steel beams supporting the building creaking from the fire made his heart stop, and, before he knew it, he, along with the building, was crashing to the ground.

It crushed him.

Marvin snapped awake, his eyes wide open and his breathing unsteady. That was the fifth time he’d had a nightmare like that, and yet, it was much worse and more vivid than ever, terrifying even his very core. Normally, he didn’t have any abandonment issues, but... clearly, his actual fears had no effect on how his mind reacted to his nightmares.

He sat up, and checked the time. 3AM. Good, no one was going to be awake, then. He didn’t want his brothers to know he was having these dreams; that would lead to too many questions.

He got out of bed, and put on a t-shirt, a hoodie and some sweatpants. After that, he left the house, heading to the nearest pub or bar.

...

....

Down the hatch. How many drinks had he had by now? He had no clue. It didn’t matter, though. He still couldn’t get rid of the memories of the nightmare. He didn’t really drink too often, though, so he had no idea why he expected any change. He didn’t really know his drunken self too well.

Thankfully, he’d found a bar he wasn’t a regular at, so, it wasn’t like anyone would know him, and ask what was up. Besides, he didn’t want to know anyone right now.

All he wanted to do was just... Drown it all away.

——————————————————

this is only canon to the jwd version of marv, sadly. but, that’s lowkey kinda logical, because the canon version of dadmarv is, well, much less soft, so,,, this story wouldn’t really work well with his character-

also, big thanks to @kisstheashes and @sqxxddygremlin for helping me figure out how to break the soft version of my son >:3

it’s almost 1230 am and i’ve lost all sense of an internal clock again :))))

#jse writing community #Darkness and Desperation #DaD!Marvin #tw: angst #tw: alcohol #tw: harrasment

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frederator-studios · 7 years ago

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Derek Iversen: The Frederator Interview

Derek Iversen began his unlikely career in animation as a PA on the very first season of Spongebob Squarepants. You might say he was got by The Hook: he spent about a decade with the show, on the production staff before becoming a writer on Seasons 6-9. Since then, he’s written on countless awesome TV shows, become an elected official in the neighborhood of Valley Glen (business card and all!), and created his own Nickelodeon short, “Carrot and Stick” inspired by his dog Rosie, whose image blesses the end of this interview. In honor of his episode of Bravest Warriors premiering tomorrow (5/18), Derek and I sat down to discuss sketch comedy, time travel, and a certain absorbent (and yellow and porous) friend.

Did you always want to be a writer? What’d you want to be growing up?

First I wanted to be a fireman. Then a police officer - huge jump there. Then I wanted to be an astronaut, until I realized I get motion sickness. So I thought I should be an astronomer - a little safer, little less barfing. But in 5th grade, my English teacher Mrs. Carrol gave me high marks on a short story assignment. I got really encouraged by that; I thought, “Hey, maybe I’ve found something I’m good at!” So pretty much from then on, I wanted to be a writer.

Wow, 5th grade? Were you a wunderkind, writing a ton as a kid?

Nah, I wasn’t that ambitious. In high school I took Theater with another great teacher, Mrs. Carrick. She encouraged us to write our own scenes and monologues. So I had the opportunity to try stuff out with my fellow students, and hopefully crack them up with idiocy. Then in college at University of Arizona, I joined a group called Comedy Corner and got really into sketch comedy. I thought if I could make a living doing that, THAT’s what I want to do. There’s nothing like doing live comedy before an audience. It’s thrilling.

Did you stick with comedy after college?

Some friends and I formed our own group! The People Who Do That. We became the kings of Tucson comedy… which, shockingly, didn’t pay the bills. So some of us decided to truck it out to LA to try to make it in the big city.

Did you have a job when you got to LA?

Nope, but I got a really stupid one: phone customer service for a pager company. Let me just say, the introduction of cell phones was NOT the only thing that killed off pagers… but I had a friend working at Nickelodeon, so I managed to get a job as a driver on The Angry Beavers. This was back in the olden days, when if artists needed reference materials, someone had to actually go pick them up from libraries or - RIP - video stores. Soon after, I got a job as a production assistant on a show that Nick had just picked up: Spongebob Squarepants. At the time we all thought, ‘This is a strange little show that hopefully will get a cult following.’ It did a little better than that. So that was kind of my ‘big break’. But it took me 7 years of working on the show to become a writer on it.

How did that path look?

Long and meandering. Because for some time, I thought I wanted to do sketch comedy, and that animation was my day job. I was a PA on seasons 1 to 3 and a coordinator on seasons 4 and 5. In that time I started chipping away at animation writing, because I had to actually learn how to write cartoons. I was used to writing for the stage, and animation is a visual medium. Much more so than even other kinds of TV, let alone theater, so I had to learn to tell stories visually. And stories that kids could relate to—I’d always written for adults, so my stuff went right over kid’s heads. But I wanted to write and kept knocking on the door, and in season 6, became a staff writer. I was one until season 9.

Do you think your background in sketch comedy aided that transition?

Oh yeah, absolutely. When you do a sketch in front of a big throng of crazy college students, it’s clear when it works and when it doesn’t. Sketch taught me not to waste the audience’s time: you get in, do the joke, and get out.

How was working on Spongebob? Any stories, secrets, lore?

It was a wild ride and a lot of fun. I’ve gotta be the only one who remembers this, but I swear it’s true: back in the first season, Steve (Hillenburg, creator) had a sign on his door that read, “Have fun or you’re fired.” It sounds cruel, but it actually set a good tone. We did have a lot of fun! And there wasn't much firing—it’s not like the hatchet fell every time somebody frowned. The crew had awesome camaraderie, and I think that’s reflected in the show. I sincerely believe the environment of a show, how it’s made, affects how it turns out. If a show is made with a tense crew where everyone fears the creator, it shows on-screen. Conversely, if the crew has fun and makes each other laugh, that’s clear on-screen too.

(Season 1 Christmas party: Ennio Torresan, Carly Benner-StClair, Bruce Heller, Mica Nataami, Carl (CH) Greenblatt, and Derek with the devil horns.)

So despite the sign, no one was afraid of Steve Hillenburg?

No, no, the sign is misleading. He’s a total sweetheart. Success couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy: just a thoughtful, funny, sincere human being.

That’s exactly what you wanna hear about your heroes. What’s your favorite thing about the show?

Well Spongebob is definitely a reflection of Steve! As are the other characters, but mostly Spongebob. And to me, the greatest thing about the show, and the reason I think it’s been such a huge success, is that Spongebob is genuine. He’s without guile. He’s enthusiastic without any reservation. And I think, especially when the show came out, a lot of cartoons in the kid realm starred adults disguised as kids. And Spongebob was never that; he was always for kids, always had a kid’s spirit. That’s part of why we never defined his age: he has kid and adult qualities. He’s just sincere—and sincerity is underrated.

Do you have a favorite Spongebob episode?

Man... that’s like choosing a favorite child. But I’ll go ahead and do it. I have several favorites. One is “SB-129”. I’m a bit of a sucker for time travel - it’s part of why I enjoy Bravest Warriors so much. “The Fun Show” is awesome too, it’s a classic. Of episodes I wrote, “Not Normal” was my first and still a favorite. It’s a bit autobiographical: I was a weird kid and always felt like I needed to conform to some idea of normality. After a while, I decided that didn’t matter and I was going to accept being my weird self. And the same is true of Spongebob.

(Mr. Lawrence (aka Plankton), Vincent Waller, and Derek.)

How did you come to write for Bravest Warriors?

After Spongebob, I was a staff writer on Sanjay and Craig, which Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi executive produced. They’re great guys and a blast to work with. They'd also produced Bravest, so I found out about the show through them. I watched it and just thought it was madness in the best possible way. Last year Will mentioned they were looking for writers, so I gave it a shot. I really wanted to be part of the show and feel lucky that I got to be!

What are your favorite things about Bravest Warriors?

I love time travel and sci-fi, and you get both of those in BW. That’s a treat. But I love that it also goes right to the heart of teen angst. That’s a sandbox I don’t get to play in a lot, as I’m usually writing for kids or preschoolers. It’s a lot of fun to deal with broken hearts, romantic attraction, all that gooey hormonal stuff.

Do you have a favorite character from the show?

I like Danny a lot, because he’s kinda pathetic. I just want to help him out. But I can’t resist Catbug. He’s amazing. And I’m a big fan of Impossibear. Something about his gruffness... he’s selfish in a way that reminds me of Bender from Futurama. If I ever got to do another BW episode, I’d want it to be about Impossibear. Finding the mushy heart he hides inside.

What is your episode, “A Apple, B Banana, C Chili” about?

I did a sort of anti-consumerist screed cleverly disguised as a Bravest Warriors episode. The team succumbs to the power of marketing. They have to escape the clutches of a Costco-like superstore. It seemed like a uniquely weird challenge they hadn’t faced before. I think that’s why it was chosen from the ideas I pitched—when you’re pitching on a show with a lot of episodes, you’ve got to find the part of the floor that hasn’t been painted yet.

Aha - don’t they go in that store to grab Wallow a snack?

Haha yeah. Wallow gets hangry on a mission so they go to buy him some chips or a granola bar or something and it goes terribly wrong. I love episodes like that - we did it on Spongebob too - where it’s the simplest possible objective. The goal of the episode is one tiny thing, and then it balloons out from there and becomes ridiculously huge in a way it never deserved to be.

What would you be if you weren’t a TV writer?

Maybe a lawyer. Or a crazy activist trying to make the world a better place and not getting very far. I’d probably be quitting my job at the EPA right now out of sheer frustration. At least writing cartoons, I can express the absurdity of our world—but hopefully to make people laugh, instead of cry.

What are your favorite cartoons?

Well, Spongebob’s pretty darn good. I always loved Ren and Stimpy, the latest news notwithstanding. I’m a simple man: I love Road Runner. I couldn’t resist the simplicity of the gags. You always know what’s going to happen - Road Runner’s gonna get away and Wile E. Coyote is gonna eat it. But you don’t know how he’s gonna eat it. The magic is in the details. I’m a big fan of The Simpsons. And I enjoyed Aqua Teen Hunger Force; Master Shake cracks me up. I love how stupid and petty he is.

After writing for so long, is it ever still challenging?

Absolutely, it’s always a challenge. I think a lot of people struggle with being too precious with their ideas. It’s a collaborative medium: stories change and change and change again. You can accept compromises and look for the good in them, or you can fight against them. My view is, you have to choose your battles. Even the creator doesn’t have complete control. And the best creators and showrunners delegate responsibilities. They trust the people they’ve hired.

Do you pitch show ideas around?

I haven’t as much lately; I’m busy story editing a preschool show now called Hanni and the Wild Woods. But I made a Nickelodeon short a few years back with my friend Miles Hindman, called “Carrot and Stick,” about a pair of buddies who live in a junkyard. Their nemesis is a dog named Rosie, based on my own dog Rosie. It’s a mixed media show - a combination of puppets, live action and 2D - so we wanted her to play herself. It didn’t work out. She’s cute and all, but cute doesn’t make you a good actor…

(Rosie, sweet and perfect in every conceivable way aside from acting ability.)

What else are you working on?

Well besides Hanni, I just got back from teaching an Animation Writing class in Jamaica for a few weeks - that was amazing. It was through The World Bank; they’re trying to build an animation industry over there. I’m glad they found me, it was a ton of fun and some of the student’s ideas were really cool. I also have a YA sci-fi book I really want to write. The trick is finding the time to do it; it keeps eluding me. Earlier I said animation is very collaborative - not so with this book. I have a very specific vision, and I’m excited to tell exactly the story I want to tell. I also write as Spongebob and Patrick on their Twitter accounts - which is a tougher gig than it sounds! All of the 140 character zingers have to be contained to their universe. But it’s fun and keeps me connected to the characters, and I love that.

Thank you for the interview Derek! So much fun talking with you. Good luck on all your many projects, I’ll be on the lookout!

- Cooper

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snake-oiled-chief · 5 years ago

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(Okay just to get this out of the way: I’ve only ever seen your blog on mobile so now that I’m actually seeing it on my laptop…wow. Like whoa. WOW. I love your theme/background so much…okay it’s out of my system now.)

…For a hot minute I got so distracted by how pretty your theme is I forgot the questions I had about Tokage (mostly about his Quirk) BUT I HAVE ‘EM NOW:

Oh thank you for sending me this! This was a lot of fun to answer btw!

About his Quirk:

1. Considering his Quirk, which side of his family did he inherit it from, mom or dad (like with Asui)? Or is it one of those Quirks that mutated and subsequently turned out to be unrelated (like with Eri’s Rewind)?

Shino got his ability from his Grandfather on his mother’s side. He was born with scales like his own but the problem here is his Grandfather could turn his Quirk off, he can’t so there was some form of mutation as DNA was transferred. His mother could spit venom, his father has a mil Quirk which was hyper sensitive eyesight.

2. Does he get more sluggish in the winter, like is there a risk of hibernating like with Asui?

A mild risk but he doesn’t hibernate. He stays in the station more often in the winter but yes, cold is a weakness to him, it makes his scales brittle as well.

3. We know he has night vision, so what is his vision like during the day? Are the colors brighter? Are sunny days a little painful for him, enough to keep several pairs of sunglasses? Or is it just normal like everyone else?

Normal eyesight in the day, the sun doesn’t affect him.

4. Does he have a three-chambered heart?

Yes.

5. Incoming stupid question for laughs: does he shed his skin? (And just how annoying is it?)

Lol, no. He loses scales but thats only if they’re damaged.

6. Does his Quirk affect his strength? Like, does it make him stronger?

No.

7. About his venom making skin contact and burning, is it strong enough to leave fourth-degree burns?

No.

8. Is his core temperature less stable (compared to the average Quirkless person)?

Yes. He hovers close to a human temperature though.

9. Is respiratory system also affected, like does he have better lung capacity (compared to the average Quirkless person)?

No.

10. How strong is his sense of smell? (If it’s strong enough then I can only imagine air pollution being hell for him.)

His smell isn’t fully hyper sensitive like a snake would be, but he can still pick up scents better than the average joe.

About the Workplace (and what he does):

1. What was going on with Tokage in the aftermath of the USJ incident?

Chaos. He ha purposed stricter rules for the school to follow and for their parents. Ever since he’s been capturing the stranglers of the incident an putting them through rigorous interrogations for the whereabouts of the LoV.

2. What were his thoughts about U.A. going through with the Sports Festival, considering what happened at the USJ?

He hated it. He warned Nezu of the precautions but of course they didn’t listen.

3. Did he ignore the Sports Festival broadcast? Or was he watching and did he take notice of Midoriya and Todoroki’s battle (hence any questions about the relationship between the former and All Might)?

Yes. Yes and yes. He takes great intrest in Deku.

4. Does he have an idea that something completely different went down with Stain’s arrest? Did he catch Endeavor showing any signs in behavior that suggested otherwise, and what would Tokage have done if he found out?

Oh for sure. Though he knows the other Chief well, he knows his dogshit better than anyone….haha get it? But yes. He knows it’‘s not the truth. He would have done the same to be honest.

5. Incoming really nasty question: the motives behind Bakugou’s kidnapping are fairly obvious, but while getting his coffee to prepare for the stress coming soon, he overhears an old middle school classmate of Bakugou’s ranting to a friend about how Bakugou got into U.A. despite “crossing a line” while he bullied Midoriya. After the friend asks about what Bakugou said, the person recites the “swan dive” comment (I tried to type it out but it was really painful to) and actually did want to report it to the faculty and the police, but was afraid of what Bakugou would do to them which, given what his Quirk and attitude are like, isn’t all surprising. Now having overheard and knowing all of this, how would Tokage act? (You can omit this question if you want to.)

You can bet your ass he’s paying a visit to the school and his parents after the ordeal.

6. How many men did he lose at Kamino?

7. Considering Todoroki used his ice, it would be at least near impossible to not notice the students’ presence during the rescue op at Kamino, so how did the police handle that? Or were they unable to since the kids didn’t engage in combat with any of the villains?

Unless they engaged, Shino can’t do anything but he did tell Endeavor.

8. Given Toga Himiko’s Quirk, background and connection to the League of Villains, would you say that Tokage and his men are more concerned with tracking down and arresting her than Shigaraki to prevent any more impersonations and make it easier to keep track of who is who? (Imagine Toga killing and impersonating one of his own men, especially a rookie with a worried mother…yikes.)

He’s concerned abaut taking her down and Twice, really.

9. How involved (to an extent) was he in the investigation on Overhaul and the anti-Quirk bullets?

Not by much since it wasn’t in his jurisdiction.

10. Did he personally know Sir Nighteye? If yes, how he did take the news of Nighteye’s death?

Tokage knew Nighteye, yes. They had opposing views on heroes half the time but they respected one another as allies. He was greatly affected by his death, even paying him tribute by putting flowers at his gravesight.

11. What was happening with Tokage and his men in the aftermath of the attack on Overhaul as he was being transported?

A whole lot of paperwork…

12. Has he met Eri in person for questioning?

No.

13. Does he disagree with U.A. taking custody over Eri, especially in light of past incidents with their security measures?

Oh for sure, but the trusts Aizawa so he’ll let her stay….or now.

14. Considering Gentle/Tobita’s antics, what was Tokage’s attitude towards the case? Hostility or just plain apathy with a measure of not taking him seriously? (Like “*Siiiiiiigh* It’s this guy…alright, let’s bring him in and get this over with.”)

He felt kinda bad for the guy? He felt pity for this pathetic dud more or less so. Like he knew he wasn’t a bad guy. He’d dealt with bad men all his life so he took it seriously but didn’t break the book over his head either.

15. What was police training like for him?

Pretty tough, but he was determined to show that h was just as good as any hero.

16. Have there ever been attempts on Tokage’s life before, given that he’s Chief?

Yes, many actually. If he dies it’ll send chaos through the city. He’s a skilled fighter for this exact reason.

17. If he knew one of his men has a target on their back, does he offer to walk them home? Or does he walk them home whether or not they want him to, no questions asked?

Please, they’re getting a ride home with three escorts to boot with him.

About his Daily Life:

1. What are mornings like? Does he sometimes get his coffee alongside coworkers and colleagues?

He tends to like being alone. He’s reclusive and a loner. He doesn’t like people but man does he love cats.

2. What is a non-hectic/“quiet” day like for him at the station? Just constant paperwork?

Paperwork, coffee and classic music playing in the background.

3. For laughs: has he ever been in a situation where he runs into someone he’s seen on television/met in the field (like if he runs into one of the more meek and nicer U.A. students from the hero course, like Midoriya or Iida; or a Pro Hero like Ingenium) a place like a grocery store, and not realize it until he gets a better look at them? How awkward would/does it get?

Oh god, that happened once with the Todoroki clan. He was quickly power walking the other way with his cart full of coffee in his pajama sweats an his messy hair.

4. What does he do after work? Does he sometimes wander off or does he always go straight home?

Home or to a cafe to read while drinking coffee

5. And finally, considering the shit he’s witnessed and been through, has he ever considered tai chi and/or yoga?

He does tai chi every other weekend in the park.

#musing snake #snakeoiledchief #thank you for this! o/#submission

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fae-fucker · 7 years ago

Text

Crown of Midnight: Chapter 1-2

Fuck you.

Fuck me.

Fuck this.

Let’s do this.

Chapter 1

We open on Sardines being all assassin-y (took you long enough, you silly blond bitch) and sneaking into some nobleman’s house.

Concealed beneath a black mask and hood, she willed herself to melt into the shadows, to become nothing more than a slip of darkness.

*deep sigh*

I can’t believe I’m doing this shit again. Why do I hate myself this much?

The [servant] hadn’t noticed the wet footprints on the floorboards.

How convenient.

Lord Nirall was no older than thirty-five, and his wife, dark haired and beautiful, slept soundly in his arms.

Gotta make sure the wife is beautiful!! What else are women good for, right?

Feminism!

Sardines wonders what this man did to offend the king so. But then she doesn’t?

It wasn’t her place to ask questions. Her job was to obey. Her freedom depended on it.

If you wanted freedom so bad, why didn’t you just escape as soon as you found the secret escape route, you dumb bitch?

Her sword slid out of its sheath with barely a whine. She took a shuddering breath, bracing herself for what would come next.

I can’t believe it’s only chapter one and I already have to bust this one out, but damn:

Some assassin.

Chapter 2

Sardines is back in the castle delivering “Lord Nirall’s” severed head and some other goodies.

No one spoke as it bounced, a vulgar thudding of stiff and rotting flesh on marble. It rolled to a stop at the foot of the dais, milky eyes turned toward the ornate glass chandelier overhead.

Mmm, yes, Sarah! Sarah, I just LOOOOVE it when you get so edgy! Look how dark and mature your books are, Sarah!

The king notes that he can barely recognize him because of all the cuts and slashes on his face. I’m assuming since Jammo can’t actually write a morally grey protagonist, it’s not actually Lord Nirall and Sardines has just been finding coprses that look like her victims or some shit.

Celaena gave him a crooked smile, though her throat tightened.

Yep, ok, that’s exactly what it is.

Supposedly Sardines is supposed to be this brilliant social strategist, but as soon as somebody even slightly doubts her lies, she just flips her shit and starts getting nervous.

Some MASTER MANIPULATOR.

She extended the hand to Chaol, whose bronze eyes were distant as he took it from her and offered it to the king. The king’s lip curled, but he pried the ring off the stiff finger.

Why didn’t you just ... bring the ring. Without any hands.

Is it just to make it more gruesome, Jammo? Is that what it is? You realize it just makes it dumber, yes?

And why aren’t these chunks of rotting flesh filled with maggots? Would that just be too icky, Jammo? You can only handle Hollywood edginess? PG-13 edginess?

“What of his wife?” the king demanded, turning the ring over in his fingers again and again.

“Chained to what’s left of her husband at the bottom of the sea,” Celaena replied with a wicked grin, and removed the slender, pale hand from her sack.

Why did the king even have to ask this? Didn’t he give the order? Did he just say “uuuhhh kill the guy” and Sardines didn’t even ask what to do with the wife?

God, these people are so dumb.

The king mentions that there’s a rebellion brewing in Rifthold but he only has one name so far.

On [the paper] was a single name: Archer Finn.

It took every ounce of will and sense of self-preservation to keep her shock from showing.

1) Someone teach this bitch how to pokerface.

2) There’s just one name on the piece of paper that Chaol hands to her on the king’s order. Why couldn’t he just SAY THE GODDAMN NAME? With his mouth hole?

Whatever. Sardines recognizes Archer and mentions that he’s hot and she used to have a crush on him, so he’s probably mildly important or his death will be super tragic.

He’d been several years older, already a highly sought-after courtesan … who was in need of some training on how to protect himself from his rather jealous clients. And their husbands.

Uuh ... bonus points for male courtesans, I guess?

He’d been handsome and kind and jovial, not a traitor to the crown so dangerous that the king would want him dead.

It was absurd. Whoever was giving the king his information was a damned idiot.

Sardines, the smartest being in this world: UUUUHHH THIS DOESN’T MATCH THE THINGS I KNOW!!! EVERYBODY ELSE IS WRONG!!!

Though that’s probably true, since we all know Smaas could never handle Sardines being anything but absolute perfection.

“You know Archer? I’m not surprised.” A taunt—a challenge.

She just stared ahead, willing herself to calm, to breathe. “I used to. He’s an extraordinarily wellguarded man. I’ll need time to get past his defenses.” So carefully said, so casually phrased.

If you say so, curiously crusted book page. I mean it’s an obvious and rather clichéd attempt at making more time for herself, but I guess the king is a dumbass and SJM can’t actually write for shit, so this passes for cleverness.

It works, too. The king, who’s supposedly a shitty dictator who’s afraid of this rebellion killing him, still gives her an entire month. Yeah, that makes sense. Gotta love it when you have to nerf your villains because your hero is a fucking imbecile.

Honey, king-boy, the correct response here is: “BITCH, MY ACTUAL LIFE IS ON THE LINE, YOU HAVE TWO DAYS, GET!! ON!! IT!!”

It’s especially stupid when this is happening IN THE TOWN THEY LIVE IN. So the fact that this dumbass lie works is just pathetic, honestly.

“Then you have one month,” the king said. “And if he’s not buried by then, perhaps I shall reconsider your position, girl.”

Wow. Damn. SJM, be nicer to your heroes. We’re on the edge of our seats here. How will they possibly defeat this very intimidating villain.

“Be discreet. Your payment for Nirall is already in your chambers.”

1) Do you really have to tell your stealthy assassin to be discreet? Well, I guess since it’s Sardines, you kinda do. What a nice self-roast there, book.

2) Do you also have to tell her that her payment’s in the chambers? Hasn’t she done this a couple of times already? Shouldn’t she know this?

Smaas, why.

We switch POV to Doriass, who angsts about how edgy and evil Sardines is now and how she maybe doesn’t actually love him and manipulated him to love her!

Yeah, she’s not that smart, Doriass.

Actually, for the two months since she’d been named the King’s Champion, she’d been like this. Her lovely dresses and ornate clothes were gone, replaced by an unforgiving, close-cut black tunic and pants, her hair pulled back in a long braid that fell into the folds of that dark cloak she was always wearing. She was a beautiful wraith—and when she looked at him, it was like she didn’t even know who he was.

1) UNFORGIVING TUNIC.

2) This is the second time she’s described as a wraith in the first two chapters. Who edited this?

A gibbon.

But he couldn’t help wondering if he’d ever meant anything to Celaena at all.

Cry me a river with your manpain, Doriass.

We switch POV back to Sardines. (Well, that was utterly pointless.) She angsts bout how Chaol hasn’t been looking at her the same way ever since she started with the murder and stuff, and she meets with him in the secret passages of the castle or what-the-fuck-ever-who-gives-a-damn.

“Are you still acting like the King’s Champion, or are you back to being Celaena?” In the torchlight, his bronze eyes glittered.

This is the second time his eyes are described as bronze in this chapter.

I have a feeling that this book was created and “perfected” by a bunch of horny drunk women throwing their own shit at the walls.

We get more of Sarah’s trademark tepid banter that the fangirls probably think is super hilarious and SASSILY FEMINIST.

Chaol tells her that he’s been worried and thought she’d been murdered, so they hug it out.

He hadn’t held her since the day she’d learned she had officially won the competition, though the memory of that embrace often drifted into her thoughts. And as she held him now, the craving for it never to stop roared through her.

ROARED.

He tells her that she smells bad.

She hissed and shoved him, her face burning in earnest now. “Carrying around dead body parts for weeks isn’t exactly conducive to smelling nice! And maybe if I’d been given time for a bath instead of being ordered to report immediately to the king, I might have—” She stopped herself at the sight of his grin and smacked his shoulder. “Idiot.”

This is, like, AT LEAST 10 feminisms.

We get another scene change.

After a joyous Fleetfoot calmed down enough for Celaena to speak without being licked [...]

I’m gonna eat that fucking dog.

Sardines angst some more about Elena and about how ...

Fucking called it.

She’d given Lord Nirall the same choice she’d given Sir Carlin: die right then, or fake his own death and flee—flee far, and never use his given name again. So far, of the four men she’d been assigned to dispatch, all had chosen escape.

Apparently, this LE EPIC ASSASSIN saw that Sir Carlin was a cool dude and just couldn’t put a knife in his throat. She only killed BAD PEOPLE, remember? Which makes no sense, considering how shitty evil her mentor was. Why would he even allow that? Whatever.

God forbid we have an actual female anti-hero, right Smaas? You wouldn’t wanna imply your bitchy little twat princess is anything but a perfect beacon of morality.

Curiously, we don’t find out whether she saw the other men acting as kind and cutesy perfect as Sir Carlin. What if they were assholes? I wouldn’t enjoy Sardines playing god, but the fact that she did it before and doesn’t do it now makes no sense either.

We find out that she’s been finding corpses from sick-houses to replace the dudes for the crime scenes.

But with magic gone and those wise healers hanged or burned, people were dying in droves. Dying from stupid, once-curable illnesses.

Alright, here cometh an epic rant:

1) I can maybe buy that the king doesn’t know all of the nobles who live far away, at least not enough to recognize them by appearance. What I can’t buy is the servants not recognizing their masters. That’s just plain dumb. Even if she fucked up their faces or cut their heads off, they’r still recognize the bodies as not theirs.

2) So, do they not have non-magical healers? Did the king know that the world needed magic to survive and that they had no non-magical medicine and still went “nah, just kill them all”. We never really find out if the king truly killed magic of if it went away, so like ??? What’s the truth here?

3) If they have no non-magical healthcare, WHY THE FUCK DOES THE KING LET HER JUST BRING DEAD THINGS INTO HIS THRONE ROOM AND WHY DOES HE TOUCH THOSE DEAD THINGS. WHAT THE FUCK!!!

4) If Sardines has been stealing corpses and not actually killed any of the dudes, then her little angsty thoughts about how bad she feels about killing this man and how it’s not her job to question but to obey are nothing but misleading bullshit. It doesn’t make any sense for her to be thinking that! WHY DID SHE EVEN UNSHEATHE HER SWORD IF SHE KNEW SHE WASN’T GOING TO KILL HIM?! HE’S MENTIONED TO OPEN HIS EYES SO HE’D JUST SCREAM AND FREAK OUT AND CALL ATTENTION TO HER!!

SJM why.

Celaena fought a shudder. She was playing a very, very lethal game. And now that her targets were people in Rifthold—now that it was Archer … She’d have to find a way to play it better. Because if the king ever learned the truth, if he found out what she was doing …

He’d destroy her.

God, I fucking hope.

It’s only been two chapters and I’m already tired.

#eff reads: crown of midnight #book rants #anti tog #anti sjm

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