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doctorofmagic · 3 years

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No Way Home Review By A Strange Stan‘s POV

Spoilers under the cut

WHAT A MOVIE, MY FRIENDS, WHAT A MOVIE!!!

Before we start, I just wanted to say that I hate, HATE, the person who edited the trailer. You can rot in Mephisto’s realm and no one, not even Stephen, will save you. You baited me into believing Stephen would go against Wong, that he’d be the one to mess up the spell, that he’d be cold and uncaring. YOU BINCH, YOU DARE PLAY WITH MY HEART LIKE THIS? I had to endure Wendy stans for weeks ughhh.

Okay, now back to the real deal. I’m not focusing that much on Peter(s) because this is a Stephen blog, but rest assured, I’ve never screamed so much in a theater before. Fanservice at its finest *chef’s kiss*

First thing that I loved is how Wong and Stephen are still keep bickering at each other married even though Stephen was blipped. And speaking of which, I also love the fact that Wong, THAT’S RIGHT, WONG IS THE SORCERER SUPREME, AS HE SHOULD BE!!! I just think he deserves more than Stephen when it comes to the MCU, ngl. And this is also important for representation so let’s keep it this way, shall we? It doesn’t change a thing for Stephen, he’ll still be the sassiest and more depressed one, as he should.

Next, Stephen totally asks permission to Wong to perform the spell. AND WONG JUST MELTS TO HIS PUPPY EYES AND SAYS “Okay, fine,” BEFORE LEAVING. HE’S SO AOHDOHFEWOG I LOVE THIS BASTARD SO MUCH. And then he winks, VERY DIFFERENT FROM THAT THE TRAILER SOLD US, I’LL INSIST ON THIS MATTER BECAUSE I’M OUTRAGED.

Another important thing is the fact that Stephen did nothing wrong. He had Wong’s permission (Sorcerer Supreme), AND he was performing the spell correctly until Peter interrupted him and tampered with the spell SIX (five) TIMES. He did what he could to prevent the spell from collapsing reality but of course there would be side effects. It’s magic, after all. I do not blame Stephen for being mad at Peter, he even realizes Peter is still a teenager and has much to learn, but he’s right. I’m sorry, MJ, I love you, but that was not on him. And I still don’t like the “Scooby-Doo this shit”, it feels so OOC lmao. But okay, fine.

Now, one thing that made me a little.... wary and iffy is how Stephen didn’t give Peter a shot at trying and changing the Sinister Six (Five?). 616 Stephen would totally agree with Peter on this matter because he believes in people’s inherent good. Hell, he has been given a second chance, it’s too much of arrogance and lack of empathy to believe others can’t have that too. Also completely convenient how Stephen loses the battle to “science” when it’s ALWAYS the other way around haha. I didn’t catch how he remained trapped in the mirror dimension for twelve hours if he could, you know, get rid of the webs and teleport back even without the ring? But I don’t mind that because it was important to bring TOBEY FUCKING MAGUIRE AND ANDREW FUCKING GARFIELD to the movie, so I pretend I do not see it.

And speaking of which... I don’t mind Ned learning magic that easily at all. Many magic users are more intimate with magic than others. Also, the most important thing to perform magic is to believe. That plot in Fantastic Four v1 #500-501 is amazing to show how Reed, a man whose most fundamental trait is his love for science, can learn magic in a day if he truly believes in it. Besides, Ned’s magic is not perfect, for he accidentally brings the “wrong” Peters to their universe. I’d love to see Ned as a magic user, ngl.

When Stephen finally rejoins the drama, the multiverse is collapsing. Can I just say how heartbroken he looks when the sky is cracking? And then, when Peter asks him to erase everyone’s memories, you can just see in his eyes that he’ll miss Peter. When he says “we” instead of “they”, it means that he also cares for Peter. He almost ruined his eyeliner there with a tear, I could tell heh (beautiful makeup btw, I need more. Make it more evident please?)

And lastly.... THE LEAKED TRAILER WAS ACTUALLY THE LAST SECOND CREDIT SCENE AFTER ALL. I already watched it and ngl, the leaks I read are turning more and more real. Something went haywire with the spell, OR it’s all planned. I’m still cautious with the movie because 1) too many characters and 2) fuck Sam Raimi, but the trailer brings a little bit of relief. AND GODS, Y’ALL KNOW I DON’T SIMP FOR BENEDICT BUT HE’S SO DADDY AND STEPHEN IN THAT TRAILER, WHAT THE HELL. Also, if the leaks are real, I’ll be SO satisfied. And oh, that’s right. EVIL STEPHEN!!! I mean, he didn’t sound as the What If? version of him, he was kinda scarier and creepier? But maybe it’s just the trailer baiting me again for I know he won’t be the main villain.

But hey, Rintrah confirmed! And hopefully Clea as well. Some of the other toys, by the way, are not part of the movie, like Sleepwalker and D’yspayre. Shuma-Gorath is confirmed, tho. And if you ask me if I understood the plot... I’ll answer: NO, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON. Christine getting married finally gives me room to breathe. I mean, she still could become Clea, but then she wouldn’t be Stephen’s love interest, unless they go for “sudden realization I love him more than my actual husband”, which will make me SO SO SO enraged. Just let them be two different characters, please? I can’t talk about Mordo without spoilers within spoilers so I’ll keep that to myself. Same goes for Wanda.

Lastly, imagine feeling like the ultimate clown for believing Stephen was Mephisto HHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU’RE ALL SO OUT OF YOUR LEAGUES, PLEASE. Perhaps allow the actual fans to elaborate theories next time? The embarrassment will not be that overwhelming, I assure you. #notmystephenmyass

PS: I’d love love love to talk more about the Peters and the Sinister Six, honestly. I’ve always believed Otto would still be alive somehow when I was a kid, and against all the odds my dream came true? I’ve always manifested the F4 to go back to Marvel as well so they could have a decent movie and honestly, after this experience, I trust the director. The emotional burden Holland’s Peter has been through in this movie is just SO on point. I cried with him, and I cried with Andrew’s and Tobey’s. And speaking of Andrew, I was just SO happy for him. You could see the bright in his eyes, and that cannot be faked. He was genuinely so happy for being there and he has all my support and love. Also they actually used the Sinister Six in a way that you could see character’s development, especially Otto and Norman. Max was a delight as well, and the little tease about Miles Morales made everyone in the theater scream, me included. Only thing is, I’ll definitely have to watch Venom now because I haven’t yet lmao.

AND HOW COULD I FORGET? MY BELOVED MATTHEW MURDOCK, MY SWEETEST LITTLE MEOW MEOW, PART OF THE MCU??? I just feel Punisher will be around after that. The Midnight Sons project is slowly taking shape. Blade, MK, Ghost Rider, I need y’all to manifest!!

And that’s it. I just really loved this movie and I’m so grateful Stephen is there to be part of this incredible experience, and he’s on point too! Not the best Stephen’s characterization in the world but it’s decent, it’s valid. Top 5 easy!! I’ll definitely rewatch it asap to catch more details and easter eggs, for sure!!

#doctor strange #stephen strange #peter parker #spider-man #wong #spoilers #nwh #nwh spoilers #mcu #review

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hootcifer · 3 years

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talking about toh | season two, episode six: hunting palismen

i am so sorry this is so late! blame my lazy tendencies, heh. i'd promise this won't happen again, but if i did, i'd be lying.

previous | first | next spoilers under the cut, as always

the beginning

we met a bunch of new characters right off the bat! also, apparently the head of the bard coven uses they/them pronouns, which is super exciting as a user of he/they.

well, i'm not looking forward to the day of unity whatsoever. it sounds kinda neat on paper, but i have a bad, bad feeling about it.

what's wrong with belos? as in, why is he so goopy? and weird? it's terrifying!

it looks like the golden guard is either belos's nephew or his adoptive nephew. i'm going with him simply being his nephew, due to a theory i'll discuss in the "predictions" section.

oh, also, this isn't a point on this part, but i'm gonna refer to the golden guard as the golden guard until i've reached the point of his name reveal, to mirror my thoughts upon my first viewing.

amity's purple hair is in the intro!!! it looks so good!!! so is eda's new outfit, but amity's hair is more noticable.

the plot

i thought it was adorable that luz set up a little cage for the echo mouse. she's so caring.

it was neat seeing the bear from s1e12 make a cameo. and then get its head squeezed off. at least it can't do any more damage.

the fact that eda's mention of luz's classmates is what got her enthusiastic about going to school implies that she was most excited to see one classmate in particular. a newly purple-haired one, perhaps?

i love how luz asks willow about amity. i was sad she wasn't there, though. it makes sense. my guess is that she's either grounded for the hair thing, too scared to go to school and face luz, or both. probably both.

it was so cool to me that eda was helping bump with the palismen. i love their friendship. (but if anyone ships them i will riot.)

i was not expecting to see bump's hair this episode. he looks fabulous, i have to say.

return of the bat queen! i personally love her, even though she's kind of creepy.

i saw a post pointing out that one of the palismen looks like the untitled goose from untitled goose game (it has a bell in its bill) and i think that's the one i would want.

i'm so happy for willow, gus, and everyone who got palismen in this episode! (except maybe boscha. i hate boscha.)

but i think out of all of the ones doled out willow's was my favorite. it looks like a bombyliidae bee fly. look them up, they're some of my favorite creatures. they're the inspiration behind the pokémon cutiefly and ribombee.

i felt really bad for luz, since she didn't get a palisman, but at the same time i didn't think she would. it's too early for her.

it was also unfortunate that we didn't get to see amity get a palisman. however, i saw a leaked image of hers and i absolutely love it. i'll probably talk more about it when it actually appears in the show.

we finally learned where luz is from! connecticut! like connecticut clark! unfortunately, that means my headcanon of her being from gravity falls can't be canon. oh well.

oh! luz's pajamas! super cute! forgot to mention those.

i think it's sweet that luz wanted to take the little rascal back to the nest with the other palismen. i would have expected her to come back in the night solely to find her palisman, but that wasn't her original intention. i like that.

personally, i would love to see luz's magic pet shop. has someone drawn that yet? can i draw that?

this has been pointed out before, but i found it hilarious that the golden guard knows the show's theme. best fourth-wall break ever.

okay, how did the golden guard get back on the ship?! that made no sense to me. am i missing something?

OH IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE STAFF! i'm a dumbass. he literally SAYS that.

very clever of luz to make a glyph with skid marks on the ground. she's very resourceful.

kikimora's hand-dragon-thing is really weird and cool. i kinda like it. can it be my palisman?

i watched this episode with my sister (after my initial viewing) and she thought the golden guard was cute. it was kinda funny. she's 14, so it's less creepy than, say, a 21-year-old.

i loved the scene parodying movies like sleeping beauty and snow white, where it looks like she's about to kiss him but she slaps him instead. hilarious.

when i was younger, my sister would lick my hand when i would cover her mouth with my hand. i thought it was funny that the golden guard did the same.

the bags under the golden guard's eyes remind me of virgil from sanders sides. they're very similar characters, actually.

luz's "too slow" was hilarious. she's great. i love her.

in different circumstances, luz and the golden guard would be best friends, nerding out together about wild magic. i really hope they can be like that in the future.

so the golden guard's name is hunter! honestly, not the most creative name. i saw a headcanon where he didn't really have a name but belos calls him "hunter" because that's what he does. i like that idea.

speaking of which, hunter's name reveal reminded me of janus's name reveal in sanders sides. man, i have sanders sides on the brain, don't i?

i'm glad hunter ended up protecting luz instead of betraying her like he was going to do originally. good for him.

the ending

eda is such a good mom. she robbed the garden club just so luz could make her own palisman.

i wonder if hunter's forehead injury will scar over too. it'd be a cool reminder of how awful the emperor's coven really is

i'm honestly really glad that the little rascal wasn't luz's palisman. good job subverting expectations, owl crew.

predictions

i promised i'd talk about my theories about hunter's origins here, and i'm no liar. i think he's the descendant of phillip wittebane (from the last episode). after all, he mentioned that most of his family didn't have magical ability, like him.

i'm not sure if belos is his actual uncle or not. i think he might be, since we haven't seen him do actual magic without his staff-- and remember, humans can use staffs.

i personally headcanon hunter to also be related to the blight family. maybe he's amity's cousin. i think that would be really funny.

as for luz's palisman, i have no idea what it'll be. probably an owl, but i sincerely hope not. maybe an otter! (with a dark side.)

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makku-ruko · 4 years

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I’m planning to flesh it out but so far it’s rough. This is from the Middle AU.

Little Nightmares 2 MAJOR SPOILERS:

Mono: I loved you! ...

Six: !!

Mono: You were... my first friend... my only friend that didn’t hate me for my powers... and the fact that you...//Hurt. Looks away...//

Six: //Uncomfortable but defiant.// I can barely remember what happened but in the end, it was for survival, Mono. You can’t keep blaming me for that.

Mono: //whips back.// blame you? You CONTINUED the cycle, Six! The loop that I’m trapped in-YOU dropped me!...//silent for a moment. quiet// I understand... I understand now... that he. The thin man. The previous me... he was trying to protect me... to protect us... //glares// From you.

Six: //A little intimidated.// Why are you... being so hysterical...

Mono: //huffs//... you still don’t get it do you...

Six: ....

Mono: Get out.

Six: Wh-

Mono: This is my pale city and those are my viewers. This is the role you dropped me into so you’d better believe I’m going to own it. Until the very next young Thin Man comes along to take my place seeing as I’m sure you aren’t going to stop.

Six: //Bites lip. Nervous.//

Mono: Heh... And you know the worst part is?... If I had to choose between being alone in that room and tagging along with you... I’d probably choose you. //chuckles bitterly// Of course this is going to keep happening!... there’s no way I could stay away...

Six: Mono-

Mono: -No! ...No. Leave. I’ll send you your guests when the time is right. At the moment, I’m still learning how this works..

Six: Can I-

Mono: -Get out, Six! Go! //Tvs around smash.//

Six: -! //Lip quivers. Runs away.//

Mono:....//Sadness befalls him. Deep sigh.//... don’t... leave me... //Scoffs and tears up.//

#little nightmares 2 spoilers #little nightmares 2 #Middle AU #comic idea

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spell-cleaver · 4 years

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Flash Fiction: Star Wars

Spoilers for the Mandalorian S2 finale but I had TOO MANY FEELINGS.

He’s in the middle of a call to Leia when he senses it. The Force chimes—like a commlink, he thinks, amused at how scandalised Yoda would be by that comparison—and he frowns, turning away from his sister to reach out.

“Luke, you need to focus, this is—” Leia cuts herself off. She senses it too. Even young Ben, babbling about something just beyond the holotransmitter, is silenced for a moment by the Force.

“What is that…?”

Luke reaches out.

An old presence. A… young, presence. Bright, powerful, and full of potential, made brighter and shimmering in its location—wherever it is, it’s a powerful place, and this powerful child is using it.

Where are the Jedi?

Are there others like me?

I was alone for so long, and he promised I would no longer be alone…

Then it’s cut off—naturally, but abruptly—and foreboding sweeps in.

“Sorry, Leia,” Luke says. “I’ll come visit you all on Coruscant some other time. For now there’s a youngling who needs help.”

“Incoming craft, identify yourself.”

He can sense the youngling on the cruiser, he’s reaching out to them—and they, he, is reaching back. Fear clouds him, the protectors and presences around him stark in the Force with it; whatever is happening, the child is in danger.

Luke doesn’t bother answering the hail; just switches the comms off, and lands. Artoo whistles from the back seat.

Luke laughs. “Yeah, me too, buddy. Let’s see what trouble we can get into today.”

He hops out of his X-wing and climbs down. Things are moving outside; it… leaves prickles up the backs of his arms and his spine, a fear too visceral to be the Force, born of human instinct instead. Thud, thud, thud echoes through the corridors.

He steps outside, Artoo close on his heels.

When his father died, he left him everything. Luke has visited Mustafar, Vjun, a thousand planets and bases with the codes and intel to access them all. It doesn’t take a moment to summon them to memory and hack into one of the consoles in the corridor, viewing—

Oh.

What are those?

Dark troopers, the monitor says, but they don’t seem to be troopers at all. They’re droids.

Droids with armour tougher than a blaster shot, enough force in their limbs to shatter transparisteel, enough strength to fight a gundark—

But not, he thinks grimly, enough to tackle a lightsaber.

Not enough to tackle a Jedi.

“Shut them down,” he says, hands flying over the console, “shut—”

ACCESS DENIED.

He lets out a breath. “Artoo, can you—”

Artoo plugs in, and a frustrated squeal sees the end of that.

He tries again.

REQUEST CLEARANCE FROM MOFF GIDEON.

“Father has clearance to control them but not shut them down entirely?” Luke snorts. “I suppose it makes sense Gideon would want to lock out as much as he could.” Artoo beeps. “You’re right.”

His fingers type out one last command—the foreboding and the threat is mounting in the Force, choking him.

“Come to me, not the youngling.”

And he almost senses the moment all the dark troopers turn away from their task… to face his direction.

Luke unhooks his lightsaber from his belt and smiles to Artoo. “See if you can keep up.” Artoo’s indignance makes him laugh.

He brings up his hood and strides forwards, his cape flaring behind him.

They come at him quickly: two corridors, one turn, and then one’s on his right, shooting—he raises the saber and bats it away with ease. The Force pings and he lets that movement glide into the next, carving up the one coming from the left.

He’s familiar with the layout of a Star Destroyer by now but a cruiser’s slightly different; he hesitates for half a moment before striding out onto a walkway over a docking bay. Troopers swarm from straight ahead but he deflects with ease, slashing through them. One grabs his shoulder; he swings; it lets go.

He keeps moving.

Into another room, full of crates stacked high and wide and shelves. Full of dark troopers; he shoves one against the wall, slashes through another, and it’s almost rote before he gets through.

They’re dangerous. But so, he supposes wryly, spinning his lightsaber to get a better grip—though Leia would accuse him of flair—is he.

Through the corridors—four more. He can feel the youngling’s presence reaching for him, watching him; he smiles under his hood and reaches back, like the first time he met Ben and he took his nephew’s proffered hand. I am coming. You are safe. Something coos.

Into the turbolift and up. Artoo has fallen behind—he’ll get an earful about that later—but Luke can’t let himself get distracted. There are still troopers…

The doors open on them: two rows, several deep. They’re facing him, away from the youngling—heh. Good.

He swings his saber before they can even fire, the Force bunching around him. One droid flies forwards into his slash, the other flies back before it can hit him; he spins and dodges, the cape swirling around him, barely blinking, drives his blade down through the head into the chest, beheading another—

If the Imperial Remnant designed their dark troopers so the main control was in the head, where any humanoid would think to strike, they were asking for this.

One left. He extends his hand and watches it crumple and spark. For a moment, staring at the chest controls head on, he’s reminded of a cyborg, not a droid, and the shape of the head morphs in his gaze into a mask more familiar—

Then he clenches his fist. It drops, destroyed.

And now the corridor is empty, and only the dented blast doors remain.

He takes a deep breath, lowering his saber at his side and stepping forwards. He closes his eyes. He can sense the youngling—Grogu, he hears—beyond, as well as tense, wary, afraid adults.

They have done so much to protect this child from the Empire.

He can only respect that immensely.

There’s shouting, arguing—and then one of the adults opens the blast door and lets him in.

He doesn’t realise how smoky it’s become until he can breathe more easily, stepping onto the bridge. Glancing up from under the rim of his hood, he clocks six presences. Four women, on the other side of the command table from him, all with blasters pointed his way: two Mandalorians, one hired mercenary and a stocky soldier with a Rebel starbird tattooed on her cheekbone. He turns his gaze to the left, where Grogu and his… protector… stand; also a Mandalorian, he’s looking at him with a complex mix of emotions Luke is too distracted and polite to unpick.

He deactivates his lightsaber and lowers his hood.

It doesn’t seem like any of them recognise him—which is not a novelty, considering how much time he’s spent travelling in the far Outer Rim recently, but it remains welcome even if he’s not sure how it’ll help the situation. He’s here for Grogu; will they give him up to a strange Jedi? Mandalorians have always hated Jedi.

He doesn’t know.

He’ll find out.

Grogu is sitting in a chair at one of the consoles—he leans out to peek a look, and Luke gives him a faint smile. He’s… not what he expected.

He looks like Yoda.

Luke really hadn’t been expecting that.

He can’t help but smile.

The protector draws his attention back with— “Are you a Jedi?”

He’s heard a lot of iterations of that question. This man’s wariness is not the first he’s encountered.

He tries to quash his smile back into something approaching stoicism when he answers, “I am.”

Grogu looks nervous. Luke can’t blame him.

Still, he reaches out a hand. “Come, little one.”

The term of affection sneaks out before he can stop it—Ben called him that, his father called him an iteration of that… Grogu seems to respond to it, though, and Luke senses it sounds familiar. It reminds him of a temple once destroyed, a home he lost, and masters who trained him.

Luke decides that Grogu’s age and backstory can wait for another time to unpick. He’s not sure how old he is—Yoda lived to nine hundred—but it looks like he’s younger than Ben.

But Grogu doesn’t respond to his hand. He looks to his protector.

His father figure, Luke realises, and tries not to feel emotional at that.

The man says, slightly defensively and slightly awkwardly, “He doesn’t wanna go with you.”

No. That isn’t it. “He wants your permission.”

He remembers a boy who didn’t want to follow a Jedi Knight to Alderaan because he couldn’t leave his uncle.

He remembers a boy who desperately wanted his father’s approval, even when he learnt his father was everything he wanted to destroy.

Grogu’s protector looks hesitant, and though Luke sympathises…

It is dangerous to let such a powerful Force-sensitive go untrained. Especially with the Empire after him.

He needs him to understand that.

“He is strong in the Force,” he says, almost apologetically. “But talent without training is nothing.”

Even if that training involved Grogu’s elder whacking Luke on the shins repeatedly. Again, he suppresses a smile.

“I will give my life to protect the child,” he promises, “but he will not be safe until he masters his abilities.”

That convinces him.

He lifts Grogu up, so gently it’s painful, and stares at him as he carries him over.

“Hey, go on,” he murmurs. “That’s who you belong with. He’s one of your kind.”

Grogu reaches up as if to touch his cheek—or rather, the helmet.

“I’ll see you again. I promise.”

Grogu’s hand drops from the helmet.

And after a moment’s hesitation, his protector reaches up to remove it.

Luke blinks fiercely, overcome by a fiercely familiar emotion—he looks away, not looking at his face or his tears, the way men on the second Death Star did for him and his father.

“Alright, pal,” he hears. “It’s time to go.”

Luke swallows.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Then he leans down to put Grogu on the ground and Luke looks back, meeting his gaze firmly and kindly. He’s tearing up, but Luke doesn’t acknowledge it.

It’s almost a surprise when Artoo rolls up behind him and beeps.

Grogu waddles towards him, cooing. Artoo whistles back. Luke lets himself smile, this time.

At Grogu’s lifted arms, he picks him up, as gentle as he was with Ben. He can feel his protector’s eyes on them.

After a moment of… connection, Luke looks up.

“May the Force be with you,” he says, and inclines his head.

Grogu’s protector just looks devastated.

Luke wants to say something to comfort him—wants to say that he knows how this feels. But he knows it wouldn’t help.

So he just cradles Grogu in his arms, as gently as he can, and walks away.

“Come on, little one,” he coos as they strap themselves into his X-wing. Grogu is perched on his lap, and it’s a struggle keeping his hands away from the controls. “You seem to have had a lot of adventures.

“Are you ready for one more?”

Artoo whistles something, Grogu coos, and hyperspace blurs the stars around them.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #my writing #random words on a page #luke skywalker #din djarin #grogu #flash fiction #flash fiction: star wars

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nanoland · 3 years

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mazikeen/eve/michael fic in progress

title: Ponder on the Narrow House

fandom: Lucifer

characters: Mazikeen, Eve, Michael

blurb: In which Mazikeen isn't finished with Michael yet.

warnings: Spoilers for Season 5.

In 2019, Fodor’s had crowned LAX the worst airport on Planet Earth, comparing it – much to Mazikeen’s amusement – to Dante Alighieri’s Hell.

She couldn’t comment on the comparison’s accuracy; she’d never read Divina Comedia. Human poetry bored her.

Up against the real thing, however? Hell was quieter, cleaner, and smelt better than Los Angeles International, and it wasn’t even close.

Granted, Mazikeen was biased. Hell was her home and she liked it quite a lot. But surely even a human – even an angel – would sooner take a stint in one of Lucifer’s loops than spend more than thirty minutes in Terminal 3.

Yet there he was, leaning against the wall, watching the bustling crowd with a faint smile on his face, like a man in the park resting his eyes on the ducks. Perfectly content.

“Do you know,” he said as she approached him, “that around forty percent of all humans are scared of flying?”

She hadn’t been sure how this encounter would go and, being innately practical, had dressed accordingly. Black satin skirt, flattering and loose enough to both conceal several demon daggers (invisible to the full-body scanner she’d just sauntered through) and not impede her reaction time in a fight. Red silk wrap blouse, easily unwrapped to serve as a garrotte or tourniquet. Hair down, curled, dyed pitch black with bronze-gold streaks – possibly a tactical disadvantage if he grabbed it, but possibly a distraction. She knew he liked her hair.

When she was satisfied he wasn’t about to lunge for her throat, she took a gamble and moved in to lean against the wall alongside him, following his gaze. “Not surprising. Think of it from their perspective. They don’t have wings. Actually – huh. I guess that’s a perspective you can sympathise with now.”

He sneered. “You’re trying to bait me, Miss Mazikeen. That’s cute. But I’m not in the mood, dollface. This? This is me time. I’ve had a shitty few days and I came here specifically to soak up these idiot mortals’ fear and chill out. Get lost. Go play with my twin if you’re so starved for entertainment.”

Mazikeen stretched. “That’s the problem. He’s hanging out with the rest of your lousy family. Gabriel. Raziel. Jophiel. Now that he’s in charge, they’re all trying to crawl up his ass. It’s pathetic. And annoying.”

His jaw clenched and she knew exactly what he was thinking: ‘That should have been me.’

“Also,” she added, after a pause, “they don’t like me. Most of them have never met a demon. There’s no outright hostility but… they talk to me like I’m some gross exotic pet Lucifer found and adopted.”

“They’re afraid of you.”

“Bullshit.”

“Nope. I’m wrong about some things. Never about fear. They can tell how much you matter to him, how much he’d do for you and vis versa, and it scares them shitless. Chloe Decker they can understand – she was Dad’s gift, after all. You, though? Lucy was never supposed to love you. No one was.”

She fiddled with her earring; big, gold, shaped like a swallow with rubies dotting its tail feathers. A gift from Eve. “Whatever. Anyway, that’s why I’m here. With you. Instead of them. You’re the worst, most obnoxious, most cowardly creep ever. I mean it. Christ, do you suck. But you always talked to me like I was a person. Right from the beginning.”

Ugliness flared behind his eyes. “Seriously? Now you’re being nice? Lucifer sent his general to console me? Ha! That’s how pitiful he thinks I am?”

“Pfft – no. Lucifer doesn’t give a crap about you. I’m here because I wanna offer you a job, moron.”

“A… job.”

“Yep. Ever heard of ‘bounty-hunting’?”

He nodded. Slowly. Smirking, she pushed off the wall and twirled on her six-inch heels to face him.

“Here’s the thing, o Angel of Dread; I’ve spent centuries in Hell learning how to terrify people. I look at you and you know what I see? Potential. Sure, you’re rough around the edges. Still got some celestial baby fat clinging to you. Still a little squeamish when it comes to certain tricks of the trade. But Mikey, honey, six months under my tutelage and I think we can turn you into a bona fide fucking nightmare.”

She let the skin on her face’s left side melt away and grinned at him. “So? How about it?”

“Eh,” he said after taking one last glance around the terminal. “Fuck it. Why not? Nothing better to do.”

“Los Angeles is kinda like me,” Mazikeen told him, taking off her red-lensed cat-eye sunglasses as she strutted down the pier.

“Doesn’t have a soul?”

A withering glare. “Tough. Pretty on the outside, mean on the inside. It’s easy to make enemies around here and when you’ve made ‘em, you need to stay on your toes. Stay nimble. Stay mobile. Ready to fight or flee at any moment.”

Michael nodded. “And that’s how you justify living on a tugboat.”

“Ahoy!” called Eve, standing on the deck in a polka dot bikini and pirate hat Mazikeen had presumably stolen for her off the set of some summer blockbuster or other being shot nearby, the salty breeze playing with her hair.

“It’s a yacht,” Mazikeen growled.

“No. That’s a yacht,” Michael replied, pointing to the gleaming white MCY 70 Skylounge docked nearby. “What you have is a glorified raft that can, at best, accommodate two people and maybe a toaster.”

He should, perhaps, be trying harder to ingratiate himself with his new boss.

But he was tired.

Getting in his face, she snapped, “Hey! That’s our headquarters, asshole. Show some respect.”

“It’s covered in seagull crap. It looks older than me. There’s a very obvious bloodstain on the helm. Jesus, doesn’t Lucifer pay you?”

She pushed him into the sea.

Offering him a hand when he bobbed to the surface, Eve said, “Don’t take it personally. She’s just mad because we weren’t able to steal a bigger one.”

It was while Michael was towelling himself dry down below decks that the chunky-faced cop wandered in, took one look at him, and strode across the room.

“Mister Espinoza,” he drawled, “what can I-… oh. Oh, wow, you really thought that was going to work, huh?”

Curled up on the floor, clutching the fist he’d very mistakenly slammed into Michael’s jaw, Dan hissed, “Fuck you. You killed me.”

“Poppycock. I had you killed. That’s entirely different, buddy.”

Dan staggered to his feet and shouted, “Maze! Eve! What the hell is he doing here?”

Taking off his wet jacket and draping it over the rack alongside the towel, Michael said, “I was invited, thank you very much. No one told me you were part of the arrangement.”

“What arrangement, asshole?” Dan snapped, turning red. “I’m just here to help Maze fix her boat’s engine.”

“Oh. You don’t work with her, then? No, I suppose you wouldn’t. As we’ve established, you’re entirely too killable.”

“You sleazy son-of-a… Maze! Get down here!”

Grumbling, Michael’s new boss stalked below deck carrying a crate of beer on her left shoulder and a sleeping bag under her right arm. “Goddammit – Dan, I told you to wait. Is your hand bleeding, you big meathead? We seriously just dragged your ass out of Hell and you couldn’t go two whole days before breaking yourself again? Ugh. You’re impossible. You’re worse than Decker.”

“Maze, d’you wanna explain what the actual fuck Lucifer’s psycho twin is doing here?”

“Interning,” Michael said, cheerfully.

His face now practically purple, Dan half-yelled, “What is he talking about? This is not okay, Maze! Does Chloe know? Does Amenadiel? Why is he even still on Earth? Lucifer’s God now; can’t he stick him on Mars or turn him into a bug or something?”

“Look, Dan, just calm down-…” she began.

“I died! I actually, literally, physically died! Because of him! No, I’m not going to calm down!”

Michael scoffed. “Please. Like that’s what you’re really upset about. You’re not angry about dying. You’re not angry at all. You’re scared, buttercup. And not just of me; of her, of Lucifer, of everything, and to be honest, I didn’t even need to use the ol’ angel juice to work that out.”

Mazikeen set down her cargo, pulled a knife from her belt, and flung it. It embedded itself five inches deep in the floor between them. “This? This is not Lux, dickheads. Mortals and celestials don’t hang out here to have a good time while I sit behind the bar and tolerate them. This crummy, crusty-ass, piece of crap boat is my domain. Here, I don’t have to put up with one femtometre of your bullshit. If you want to fight, do it somewhere else. If you want to fuck, do it quick and clean up afterwards. If you want to make yourselves useful, help me get the weapons on board.”

“Wait – wait, weapons? What weapons?” said Dan to her retreating back. “You said you were going fishing. Maze! What weapons?”

“Where’s all your stuff?” Eve asked when she showed him to his tiny cabin.

“I’m an archangel. I don’t have ‘stuff’.”

(Michael had already decided he didn’t like her. She was bubbly.)

“Heh. You should travel with Lucy sometime. We went to Vancouver for a weekend and he brought seven bags, five watches, and six pairs of shoes. Okay, do you – uh, do you at least have a change of clothes? Because those look kinda soggy.”

To his annoyance – and embarrassment – she spend twenty minutes hunting down a shirt and pants that would fit him.

“They’re mine,” she said, dropping them into his lap. “But I bought them to sleep in and I like loose pyjamas, so they’re a dozen sizes too big on me. Oh! Also found you this.”

She presented a hot water bottle in the shape of a fat, cuddly sheep.

He accepted it carefully, wondering if it was booby-trapped. “You’re Lucifer’s ex, right?”

“Er… yep? Amongst other things. The Original Sinner. First Woman, First Wife, First Mother. Mother of Mankind. Second Human. First Knowledgeable Human. But sure, I was also your brother’s girlfriend for a while.”

“And now you’re Mazikeen’s. Do you also work with her?”

“Sure do!” she said, interpreting the question as an invitation to sit down next to him. “I’m The Choronzon’s captain. That’s our boat’s name. My idea. I know she’s not much to look at but she’s got so much history. There’ve been fourteen homicides on her! Plus, she’s fast; way, way faster than she looks. And I know the beds are hard, but we’ve got three hammocks stashed away and getting them set up is easy as pie.”

“Wow. Those suckers up in the Silver City don’t know what they’re missing.”

She nodded, blinking slowly. “Hmm. Maze was right. You are mean. That’s cool. I get on well with mean people. Anyway, just in case she hasn’t told you; we’ve got a job lined up and we’ll be setting sail tomorrow at dawn. You get seasick? Not a problem; we’ve got a medical kit full of antiemetics. On that note, should we pick up something for you before we leave shore?”

“No.”

“You sure? Just that – uh – I mean, my third son, Seth, the one nobody talks about – he also had pretty severe scoliosis. Wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it back then. But these days they’ve got tons of stuff; opiods and anti-inflammatories and memory foam. Science is so, so cool. And I’m going shopping for sunscreen anyway, so dropping by the pharmacy wouldn’t be a problem.”

For a moment, he reviewed a list of responses that would deeply, profoundly hurt her, responses that would ensure she didn’t approach him again.

But he was tired, tired, tired.

“Here.”

He took a folded piece of A4 paper from his pocket and handed it to her. “These are what the last human doctor I went to recommended. Getting hold of those three I’ve circled is tricky, but I know a guy. Call him on that number down there and he’ll meet you wherever. If he gives you any trouble, remind him that Michael knows about the vacuum cleaner. That’ll shut him up.”

As soon as she’d bounced out of the room, he shut the door, locked it, and laid down to sleep.

It was night when he awoke.

He went upstairs to find Mazikeen and Eve sitting on the deck, admiring what stars could be seen through Los Angeles’ perpetual light pollution and sharing a pizza.

“Mickey! Get over here,” called Mazikeen, clad in a black dressing down and slippers shaped like plump pink pigs.

“It’s freezing,” he complained.

She snickered and threw him the prickly blanket that had been resting over her knees. “Wimp. Eve told you about the job, yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know how to use any weapons?” Eve asked. “Maze sticks with her knives most of the time. I prefer my traps and crossbow. But we’ve got guns, if that’s more your speed.”

They were clearly expecting him to sit down. Eve had even scooted to the left to make room.

He opened the blanket up and wrapped it around his shoulders, remaining standing. “Can I ask a question? What, precisely, is my role here?”

“For now, you’re a meat shield,” said Mazikeen, talking through a mouthful of pepperoni and violently yellow cheese. “Me and Eve are both vulnerable to bullets. I mean – I’m less vulnerable, obviously. But I don’t hate any of my relatives enough to go about finding out exactly how many bullets it takes to snuff a demon. So your job, at least tomorrow, is just to soak up enemy fire until we’ve got our hands on the target.”

Scowling, he said, “Getting shot does hurt, you know.”

“Yeah,” she replied, eyes shining with spite. “Dan sure seemed to think so.”

When the tense silence had stretched for over thirty seconds, Eve clapped her hands, smiling anxiously, and said, “So! Anyone up for rummy?”

(to be continued)

#mazikeen #eve #michael demiurgos #lucifer #lucifer morningstar #fanfic #my fic #evezikeen

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snowsanji · 4 years

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friends (or maybe a little bit more)

MANGA SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 88

Summary: While helping out the Port Mafia with their vampire problem, Atsushi runs into someone he thought was dead. (aka atsushi meets vampire!aku)

It was dark out, almost sundown. Atsushi walked over the storage facility the Port Mafia was using. He didn’t particularly want to be here, not when the Port Mafia was overrun with vampires.

“Heh, vampires. Who would have thought?” Atsushi mumbled to himself.

He was sent here by Fukuzawa, who was contacted for help by Mori. The Port Mafia must have really been in a tight spot if they were calling on the ADA for help. Chuuya had gone off to find Dazai, who’s No Longer Human ability may be the only way to fix this problem. Mori had gone underground, just in case any rival organizations had decided to use this as an opportunity to strike. And Akutagwa…

Hurry up and go!

Other than that, every Port Mafia member has probably turned to a vampire.

“But how? Who started it? The reports of vampire attacks happened a few weeks after I fought Fukuchi but how did he start it? It can’t be his ability.” Atsushi thought out loud.

A sudden crash snapped him out of his own head. Quickly, he ducked behind the corner of one of the storage bins to observe what would happen next.

Atsushi heard a scream echo out, followed by the sounds of a gun firing. Then it stopped. He heard the sounds of someone walking out of the storage container. Atsushi got ready to fight, before seeing someone walk out. It was-

“No. Akutagawa?” Atsushi asked.

Akutagawa walked out. He stopped and looked at the ground. His signature black coat was missing, it was currently at Atsushi’s house, lying on his bed. His neck was healed as well.

Atsushi let out a sigh of relief.

“Akutagawa, oh my god. I thought I’d never see you again. How did you get away? I thought for sure Fukuchi had gotten you.” Atsushi walked up to him and thought about hugging him.

Out of nowhere, Akutagwa turned aggressively and launched himself on Atsushi. Thinking quickly, Atsushi punched him, sending Akutagawa flying into a storage container.

‘Normally Akutagawa would have used his ability to cushion the blow. But he’s not. And why is he attacking me? I know we don’t get along but this? This doesn’t feel like him.’ Atsushi thought to himself.

He barely had a moment to reflect on it as Akutagawa ran back, pushing Atsushi to the ground.

Immediately, Atsushi noticed something was wrong. His eyes were completely black, shining emotionlessly down at Atsushi.

“Akutagawa? What happened to you?”

As if in response, Akutagawa snarled and Atsushi caught sight of fangs in his mouth.

“No… You’re a vampire.”

Akutagawa attacked but Atsushi, summoning his tiger strength, pushed him off. Atsushi jumped up but didn’t prepare to attack.

“It’s me, Atsushi. Don’t make me attack you. Please.”

Akutagawa offered no response, lunging at him again. Atsushi dodged but still made no attack.

“I refuse to hurt you. You’ve got to be in there somewhere! Akutagawa!” Atsushi yelled.

In his moment of weakness, Akutagawa was able to charge him and catch Atsushi off guard. Atsushi fell to the ground, Akutagawa quickly jumping on top of him. Atsushi put his hands up to defend himself as Akutagawa snarled his fangs.

“AKUTAGAWA!” Atsushi cried out one last time.

This time, Akutagawa paused. He closed his mouth and looked down at Atsushi. His jet black eyes showed no emotion, yet he seemed to be listening.

“It’s me, Akutagawa! Atsushi! I’m Atsushi, we worked together. You called me Jinko and tried to kill me.”

Akutagawa continued to stare at him.

“You wear a long black coat and you speak very directly. You work for the Port Mafia. You have a sister, Gin.”

The black from his eyes seemed to fade. Atsushi let out a sigh of relief. But then, Akutagawa snapped back and he lunged at Atsushi’s neck, fangs bared.

“Six months!” Atsushi yelled in a panic.

Akutagawa stopped, hovering slightly over Atsushi’s neck.

“I made you promise not to kill anyone for six months,” Atsushi explained. A single tear started to fall down his face. He couldn’t tell if it was the stress of almost being turned into a vampire or being forced to confront someone who he thought died. Someone he cared about.

“A mafia member who doesn’t kill. Don’t you remember? We took down The Guild’s leader together. We worked together during the operation against the Rats in the House of the Dead.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Atsushi saw Akutagawa’s eyes move back to normal.

“Do you remember now?” Atsushi asked, still cautious.

“Jinko…” Akutagawa whispered softly before collapsing on top of Atsushi.

Without thinking, Atsushi hugged him, glad to have his friend back.

Sure, Atsushi would never call him a friend to his face but deep down, Atsushi cared for Akutagawa. And he had a gut feeling that Akutagwa cared, too.

#this took way too long to get out given how short it is #bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #shin soukoku #bsd sskk #sskk #atsushi nakajima #akutagawa bsd #atsushi x akutagawa #grace writes #my fics #bsd fic

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makeste · 5 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 249: Todoroki Taco Night

Previously on BnHA: Nothing happened at all, because the manga was on break last week! Fortunately the anime had finally resumed after a billion years (estimation; exact length of time may be slightly off), so we had that to take the edge off in the meantime. Except we didn’t, because the anime also ended up going on break due to a rugby game or some shit. So that was nice. On a related note, when I die I’d like the Basement arc to lower me into my grave, so it can let me down one last time.

Anyway, Endeavor did some mentoring and gave Shouto and Kacchan a power-up assignment and told Deku to work on Air Force to help him master the fine control he needs for the Bloop. Then Fuyu called a week later and was all “HEY DAD, DINNER, OUR PLACE, TONIGHT, BRING THE KIDS.” And then as previously mentioned, we waited two whole fucking weeks and MY GOD, my body is ready, on to the new chapter we go!

Today on BnHA: Shouto, Katsuki, and Deku are cordially invited to Todosmith Farms for an evening of food and fun! They make it approximately six minutes into dinner before Natsu loses it and exits with more theatrics than a spurned reality TV show contestant. Baku and Deku spend the next hour being all “!!!” at each other back and forth, and whispering about how fucking dramatic the Todorokis are, which fully kills me and is my favorite thing ever to happen in the world. Deku then begins to guide Shouto through his personal healing process like fucking Mufasa booming at Simba from the heavens, and meanwhile Endeavor listens in while quietly kneeling before HIS DEAD SON’S PHOTOGRAPH, IN THE SHRINE THEY BUILT FOR SAID DEAD SON IN HIS BEDROOM, and sorrowfully wishing he could do more for his family. Anyways so I’m in ruins now, but otherwise fine. How are you?

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

well it’s Thursday morning, and I have just seen the picture of baby white-haired Touya because no one in this fandom knows how to fucking spoiler tag (and that’s on me too for browsing the BnHA tag on a Thursday; I know better, but I was just curious how this new group chat thing was working out), so here are my immediate thoughts

we never actually confirmed that the hair color correlates to their powers, huh. we just assumed. but come to think, there’s no reason why someone couldn’t have mom’s hair but dad’s quirk. it’s all Shouto’s fault for being a perfect 50/50 split and thus making everyone assume that THAT’S JUST HOW IT WORKS. damn you Shouto and your dramatic character design

anyways I tried not to look at the pic for too long -- once I realized what I was looking at, I averted my eyes -- but he does look like Dabi, I think. oh shit guys. it’s really fucking happening

and I also didn’t get a good enough look to determine whether this was a photo of Touya (that Deku or whoever happened to spot while visiting the Todochester Mystery House for the much-hyped dinner) or a flashback image (in which he is just standing really fucking still for some reason and staring directly at the camera), so I guess we’ll see. but anyways, Deku and Kacchan didn’t come all the way down to Todoroki taco night to not have their evening peppered with intricate family drama and reopened wounds and hysterical conspiracy theories, so you had better keep them goddamn entertained! lord knows the Todorokis don’t do small talk. this is literally their only way of spicing things up so their guests don’t die of sheer awkwardness while Endeavor sits in stony silence and Shouto just stuffs his face with soba all night

also aren’t we due some popularity poll results soon? just getting in all my random thoughts now before we dive in. anyways Horikoshi, so you know what I want to see now and you better deliver

aaaand now it’s Friday! so Happy Birthday Aizawa, and LET’S GET TO THAT CHAPTER

and we’re opening with Endeavor’s Redemption Arc: The Page. omg

holy fucking shit BnHA. you sure do have a way of making me wait WITH BATED BREATH!! FOR TWO WEEKS!!! ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT!!!! for the new fucking chapter only to have me immediately suck in a deep breath through my teeth and seriously reconsider whether I am in any way emotionally prepared to handle this. “you think you know what you want?!” Horikoshi demands. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA.” sob it’s trueeee

okay. okay. we can do this. hell, if we made it through Tomura’s flashbacks then this should be child’s play. so all right, let’s go

-- oh wait, but before I click to the next page, I just want to note that Endeavor isn’t the only one who’s nowhere to be found in this pic, though! boy you have three sons. uno dos tres

“the hellish Todoroki residence” lmao this legitimately sounds like the title of a Buzzfeed Unsolved episode

ARE YOU TELLING ME ENDEAVOR PROVIDES LUXURY APARTMENTS FOR ALL HIS FUCKING EMPLOYEES OMFG

SO MY THREE SONS HAVE ALL BEEN ROOMING TOGETHER UNDER ENDEAVOR’S ROOF!? THE FANFIC ENDEAVOR AGENCY RESIDENCES?! WHAT KIND OF OT3 SHENANIGANS HAVE BEEN ABOUNDING THIS PAST WEEK OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS LIKE A DREAM

OH MY GOD

okay I have like... ten different notes I want to make about Katsuki and I don’t know where to start SO I’LL JUST START SOMEWHERE!

I’ve legit wanted to see how he would look with his mask pushed up into his hair like a headband for the longest fucking time (I don’t know why! I just wanted to see it!) so this. is. Christmas for me omg. if only he wasn’t making one of his (◣д◢) faces and was instead making a normal face. but that’s probably too much to ask of him at THE CRACK OF DAWN, which brings me to my next point,

I thought he was a morning person?? [furiously checking headcanon notes] kid you go to bed at 8pm. you have your full eight hours by four in the fucking morning. and the full nine and a half hours that GROWING BOYS ACTUALLY NEED by 5:30am, which is when I always assumed you typically woke up in order to get in your morning workout and BEAST IT UP IN THE PIT or whatever gym people do. yet here you are, half dead, while Deku and Burnin’ are raring to go. were you just burning the midnight oil and that’s why you’re grumpy? WAS IT THE FANFIC AGENCY RESIDENCES SHENANIGANS, OH MY GOD I CAN’T

lastly, look at that unzipped collar. why is it that the more disheveled he looks the more I want to pile him up in a headlock and give him noogies. I love him so fucking much, this is ridiculous, he was only gone for two weeks but it felt like SEVENTEEN YEARS anyway

so Burnin’ is all “catch any villains faster than Endeavor yet, LOL, LIKE THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN!!” and they’ve been putting up with this trolling for a fucking week now huh. no wonder Katsuki’s ready to pack it in and sleep for the next year

motherfucker holy shit

sure thing coach. Todoroki Shouto out here ready for the morning huddle. BRING IT IN! ONE TWO THREE PLUS ULTRA

meanwhile Katsuki better keep his hair like that for the rest of the arc now. the collar too. I am living for this

what is Shouto doing with his hands

are you blowing a kiss. or beckoning toward her like Neo in the Matrix. are you channeling your inner Iida. wtf is this

this one panel perfectly encapsulates everything I love about this OT3 dynamic oh my god

Katsuki screaming at Todoroki that he’s better than him (based on impeccable, flawless logic). Shouto completely disregarding this and calmly continuing to have a normal conversation at a normal person volume. and Deku ignoring them both while sending the chipperest, most positive energy in the world out toward this other person because he loves everyone!!

and now there’s three closeups of the boys showing how worn out they are

they’ve been working so hard I’m so proud of them and also they totally deserve a night off to go gorge themselves on soba at Toderly Manor

and then there’s a whole nother page continuing to establish that it has been a week! and they’re working hard! and YES, WE KNOW, though

yep yep yep we get it now WHAT ABOUT THAT DINNER oh my god. it’s been four pages! and if we’re only getting thirteen again then this is precious real estate we’re just wasting here, come onnnnn

so Endeavor is continuing to show off how great he is while the kids look on in frustration

heh but I like this panel because LOOK AT THEM

ALL THREE OF THEM CAN FLY (basically). I love it. yes. just let them be airborne for the rest of the series

meanwhile Endeavor’s thinking agitated thoughts about how Fuyu wants him to try and CONNECT TO THE CHILDREN ON AN ACTUAL EMOTIONAL LEVEL, like what do you think he is?? a human being??!

lol he’s got that look like “WHY DON’T YOU JUST KILL ME NOW AND BE DONE WITH IT.” things he would rather do than have a family dinner with his kids and his two new apprentices: literally. anything. else. ah, but Endeavor. no one said the path of Not Being A Bastard would be easy

he’s thinking about how happy Fuyu sounded on the phone, though. “the thought of us finally becoming a real family...” c’mon Enji you can’t just let your only daughter down like that

and also me. you better not fucking let me down. I was promised dinner at Todoton Abbey and DAMN IT THIS IS HAPPENING

lol he’s getting all fired up and the kids are just mindlessly yelling back like “FUCK YEAH”

even the guy in the background’s like “YEAHHHHHHH LET’S DO ITTT.” the best part is how not a single one of them has any clue what they are loudly agreeing to

OH MY GOD

TODOLAND RANCH, AT LONG LAST. YESSSSS

lmao Kacchan

“it’s not too late!” he is so desperate, bless him. all he wanted was to curl up in his room with a bowl of spicy ramen after a long day and watch old All Might clips on Youtube while blissfully not interacting with a single other soul. and now instead they’ve dragged him to fucking Todo-a-Lago for dinner with his boss, his two best friends who he hates, and SOMEONE’S SISTER. what a nightmare

FUYUMIIIIII

worst part is, I don’t think Kacchan will be able to resist Fuyu’s Kind Elementary School Teacher Energy at all. he’s totally screwed. -- OH MY GOD, IS HE HIDING

like, I know this is the Todoroki drama chapter and that’s where my focus should be, and I’M SORRY, but you guys all know what you signed up for by this point, right? you can read a million other Todo hot takes on tumblr today, but this will forever be the blog that spends paragraphs and paragraphs obsessing over Kacchan hiding behind the door frame and sulking and asking “why though?” in increasingly petulant tones like a four-year-old because SOMEONE DRAGGED HIM TO A SOCIAL EVENT and this is his personal hell! Fuyu’s gonna end up having to manually feed him chicken like Satou did at the party

meanwhile now that I’m actually READING THE REST OF THE PANEL LIKE A NORMAL PERSON, I have to pause for a moment to let my heart break over Deku saying that he hardly ever gets invited over by friends. hey Deku come here for a moment, I just have to give you a dozen hugs real quick and then you can continue as you were

anyway so guys I literally owe Todoroki Fuyumi my life and I want to send her flowers with a “THANKS FOR SAVING THE MANGA” card but it’ll have to wait until the chapter is done. let’s continue

NATSU’S HERE TOO, SHOUTO SAW HIS SHOES, OH M Y GO D

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(ETA: shout out to Natsu for wearing the greatest shirt of all time and taking Deku’s rookie-tier gags to THE NEXT LEVEL!)

I LOVE EVERYTHING. I’M SOBBING. BLESS YOU HORIKOSHI. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

holy shit Deku

Alton fucking Brown over here. chill my dude

NATSU BRINGING THAT DRAMA YESSSS

and look how oblivious Deku is to the general vibe settling in here

what the fuck do you see. you just literally had no idea how else to respond to that, huh

oh my god oh my fucking god

(ETA: I’m laughing so hard and I’ll explain in the tags. sob.)

guys let me just break down these two panels for you

1. Fuyu is all “NATSU YOU COOKED TOO”

2. Shouto is all “WTF, I ATE NATSU FOOD AND NO ONE FUCKING TOLD ME”

3. Natsu is all “YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T BECAUSE... THAT MAN PROBABLY WOULDN’T ALLOW IT”

how the fuck is there drama brewing over the fucking cooking. this fucking family. and Shouto’s face is two seconds away from being my new icon omg

LMAO

SO YOU TWO FINALLY FUCKING CONNED ON TO THE DANGEROUS SITUATION YOU’VE FOUND YOURSELVES IN, HUH. that’s right bitches. welcome to Todo’s Landing

and now Fuyu has finally made a FATAL ERROR IN JUDGEMENT oh no. that error being trying to fall back on Shouto of all people to ease the awkward tension. that boy literally is made up of awkward tension. right down to his atoms. Fuyu what were you thinking??

FUYUMI: [SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE] “SHOUTO WHAT KIND OF FOOD DO YOU EAT AT SCHOOL!!!!”

SHOUTO: [LEAPING TO HIS FEET] “AT THE CAFETERIA!!!!”

someone help me I’m fucking dying. actually, you know what, help them

“yo Deku, do you wanna get the fuck out of here right now.” “yes, yes I do.” turns out, they didn’t really need that internship anyway. maybe they can still convince the centipede man to take them instead

holy shit

like, I feel so bad for him, but also Fuyu looks so fucking sad and I can’t?? this is too much, and things haven’t even gotten spicy yet. this arc is going to leave me a wreck

DSFKSLDFJLK

“it’s okay,” Horikoshi says comfortingly, “here’s a panel of your two good boys helping clean up.” WELL THANK YOU, EXCUSE ME FOR A MOMENT, I’M GOING TO GO SIT. and think about Katsuki being a fucking gentleman whose momma raised him right and who helps clean up the dishes after being invited over for dinner. never mind that he didn’t even help clean up the Christmas party. but he saw Fuyu being sad and immediately went MY GOD, I’VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP THIS STUPIDLY NICE LADY

anyway so are you two going to ask Endeavor why his kids hate him so fucking much. or just ignore it because you pretty much know the gist already because Shouto can’t keep a lid closed on anything

OH MY GOD THEY’RE HAVING A SECRET CONVERSATION ABOUT IT

FFFFFFFdfsLK -- “YOU GUYS WERE TALKING ABOUT IT RIGHT NEXT TO ME, ON ACCOUNT OF I WAS STANDING RIGHT THERE, IN THE SHADOWS, BECAUSE I WAS EAVESDROPPING, SHUT UP”

anyways so did you guys know that Deku and Kacchan having whispered conversations about how dramatic the fucking Todorokis are is my all-time aesthetic. I didn’t know either actually. but it is

Fuyu why are you apologizing to Shouto for making him help clean up

AND WHY ARE YOU PERSISTING IN MAKING THAT FACE. SON OF A BITCH. GIRL I’M BRINGING YOU SOME ICE CREAM AND SOME DVDS. WE’RE GONNA HAVE A SLEEPOVER AND FORGET ALL ABOUT THIS SHIT. PLEASE FEEL BETTER. I’M SORRY YOUR TWIN BROTHER IS DEAD AND YOUR WISH TO HAVE A NORMAL FAMILY IS NEVER GOING TO FUCKING COME TRUE BECAUSE WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS OMG

oh my god she’s having a heart to heart with Shouto about how he feels about Endeavor. oh my god I see Horikoshi aiming a bow right at my fucking heart. he’s notching the fucking arrow, this is it, it’s been real you guys

that look in his one visible eye. god. there it is. oh god. hurts

(ETA: do you suppose all of the Todorokis have secretly had that exact same dream. we know Fuyu has, and Rei as well based on her letter. I’m starting to think that Shouto has too. it only makes sense that a boy who was denied a real childhood for the first fifteen years of his life is going to have some part of him that secretly longs to just have a normal family. in related news, Shouto had better get some fucking hugs in this arc!)

-- ARE YOU SERIOUS

WHAT IS IT WITH HORIKOSHI LATELY AND BEING DONE WITH JUST IMPLYING THINGS AND NOW VERY INTO SHOWING THEM IN EXPLICIT HORRIFYING DETAIL. HERE’S A DEAD DOG! HERE’S A DYING CHILD! HERE’S A SIX-YEAR-OLD WHOSE MOM JUST POURED SCALDING WATER ON HIS FUCKING FACE AND SHE DIDN’T MEAN TO BUT IT’S TOO LATE AND NOW THEY’RE BOTH TRAUMATIZED. AND SHE’S USING HER QUIRK TO HEAL HIM AND HELLO, THIS ONE PANEL IS ABOUT TO MAKE ME START CRYING. KATSUKI YOU WERE RIGHT. WHY, THOUGH

(ETA: yeah this does not bode well for an upcoming flashback in which a child was presumably burned the fuck alive. feels like Horikoshi was testing the waters to see how much he could get away with. we may be in for some brutal shit pretty shortly.)

OH MY GOD A LETTER

they’re going to discharge her soon!?? IMMINENT FEELINGS INBOUND. I HAVE NO MORE SPACE TO PUT THEM!! MY HOUSE IS PACKED WITH FUCKING FEELINGS ALREADY, PLEASE

ahhhh he says he doesn’t know

this is the most realistic fucking thing I’ve read in this manga to this date. not knowing how you feel about the abusive parent who did so much harm but is now trying to change. boyyyyy howdy I feel that in my fucking bones. Horikoshi is out there delivering the real shit. goddamn

KATSUKI MY HERO

it’s as though Horikoshi placed his hands on his shoulders and said “listen up sonny boy, I’ve got an important job that only you can do. defuse this tension. in any way you can.” and Katsuki looked him dead in the eye and said “I got this”

meanwhile Deku’s hoping he can spontaneously develop another new quirk which will open up a hole in the ground to swallow him up

DEKU: “I HAD PERMISSION!!!” KACCHAN: “I DIDN’T HAVE SHIT!!”

HE IS BITCHING LIKE A DISGRUNTLED HOUSEWIFE HOLY SHIT I’M LOSING MY MIND

“A NORMAL, PLEASANT EVENING!!” yes of course, that’s why you spent the entire ride over here clinging to Todoroki’s shirt and repeating “WHY” ad infinitum. anyways as usual this child is a nightmare whose fickle tirades absolutely no one deserves to be subjected to, god bless him and I adore him so

and Deku is again apologizing for him like they’re fucking married. this chapter is filled with so many highs and lows for me, it’s wild

this, to be clear, is one of the highs. god I love it

oh shit it looks like Deku’s getting ready to say something! SOMETHING WISE, I BET

YESSSSSSS

IS HE?? sometimes this kid can just peer into other people’s souls with perfect clarity, it’s uncanny

oh my god Shouto’s face

genuine shock. he doesn’t even know how he feels, but somehow Deku is able to cut right to the heart of it

oh my god Katsuki’s there to chime right in too and say “but if you feel like he doesn’t deserve forgiveness that’s fucking fine too”

this is actually incredibly fucking supportive? anyway so guys have I mentioned within the last five seconds how much I love Bakugou fucking Katsuki. I have? well that’s okay I’ll just say it again anyway. and also I love Deku and Shouto too oh my god. bless this chapter

oh lol nevermind that still Deku talking while Katsuki is just making faces. well he’s doing his best. anyways so like I said I love Midoriya fucking Izuku

(ETA: [chinhands] do you guys think. that perhaps. Midoriya Izuku might be harboring some unresolved feelings regarding his own absent daddo. maybe. ??? why does this chapter have so many layers??)

ah I see, Katsuki spied Natsu just STANDING THERE LISTENING IN THE DARK, as one does, and that’s why the face

and also YES, Shouto is like the kindest fucking person in the whole series possibly. thank you for acknowledging that?? I’m in the process of arranging all of these new feels into a comfy little pile now, so maybe I can curl up in them. if Horikoshi insists on delivering more and more

SLDKFJSLDKFLSHGLKJKLJSLGKJSDLFKSDLFKJLSDKJFLKSL

“THE OTHER CHILD WHO’S NO LONGER THERE” RED ALERT, RED FUCKING ALERT, IT’S REALLY HAPPENING, HOLY FUCKING SHIT. REMINDER TO SELF, NEXT THURSDAY I’M GONNA HAVE TO GO ON A SELF-IMPOSED INTERNET HIATUS FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS BECAUSE FANDOM’S GOING TO LOSE THEIR FUCKING SHIT WITH THE SPOILERS NEXT WEEK AND I’M NOT EVEN MAD

sdfhk. oh my god. and so it was a photograph! but one which appears to be a segue into a flashback! and the law of escalating tragic flashbacks states that Touya’s is somehow going to be even more horrific than our last flashback, in which, let me just think back for a sec, oh yes, an entire family was massacred and torn into bloody chunks including a six-year-old girl and a dog, and the surviving child was then adopted by a psychopath who adorned him with severed hands and was all “NEVER FORGET HOW FUCKED UP YOU FEEL ABOUT ALL THIS” and then the child murdered some people to feel better about himself. so this is somehow going to be worse than that. well that’s just. ...I don’t even know. I literally can’t think of a lighthearted way to end that train of thought lmao. WE ARE FUCKING SCREWED. get ready to burn, baby

but meanwhile, parting thoughts

so they really do believe he’s dead. that’s confirmed. and he died (or, well, “died”) young, too, based on this picture and on the toys on that shelf. fffff

Endeavor kneeling at a family shrine to pay respects to his dead son and miserably wishing he was still alive is just. repeated stabbings of my already mutilated heart. thanks. thanks for that

he heard EVERYTHING and he’s saying nothing, because what can he say?? I meanwhile have already said “oh my god” about 1600 times in this recap, but I’ll go ahead and say it again anyway one last time because oh my god, the fucking Todofam AND THEIR FUCKING DRAMA!!!

what can I do for my family at this stage? the last plea of a desperate man struggling to make amends and piece together something he’s already shattered into a million pieces. he keeps dreaming of them being happy together, even if he’s not in the dream. he wants to do right by them, finally. but he doesn’t know how. anyways so people have been saying and saying that this arc so far has been death flag after death flag for this old coot, and you know what, they’re fucking right. this does not have a happy ending. this is going to be fucking devastating. and here I am, fully obsessed with it. fuck me

anyways I guess that’s finally everything I can think of to say. this recap is already a million fucking words so that’s fine lol. why though

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha 249 #todoroki shouto #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #todoroki fuyumi #todoroki touya #dabi #endeavor #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #so guys #when I'm writing up the initial recap and making notes of what screencaps to use #I use the first few words of dialogue from each panel I want to crop #for example: [why though]#anyway so long story short that led to me having one set of brackets which contained the words #[you cooked/endeavor]#and yeah. and then I was looking at natsu's face #and like #I don't know why I can't stop laughing?#'sis. you cooked endeavor??'#he's not sure how he feels about this. but he's probably going to allow it #anyway so when I'm busy sobbing next week I need to try and remember this to cheer myself up #'you cooked endeavor.' classic natsu #what a knave

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ambiengrey · 4 years

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Started work again today, what a time.

So I'm spending my afternoon binging as much of The Umbrella Academy as I'll be able to get through before bedtime.

I'm gonna write commentary as we go:

.::spoiler warning::.

Episode 1

This mother looks very familiar. Like she's been in something before but I'm probs mistaken.

I can only assume this story is about these seven. :P I'm going into this show mostly blindly. I know next to nothing about what it's about. I've forgotten the summary I read years ago and I've been avoiding spoilers like nobody's business. :/

Mr Hargreaves is A Look.

Everyone looks vaguely color-coded, or else I'm looking too deep into this XD

Oh there's a funeral to be had :o

This music though.

5 and 6?

I am intrigued by all these portraits.

Oooooooh sibling drama.

I said Mr Hargreaves' look is A Look. So much so foul play is suspected when he is found in disarray. Vanya's out here writing autobiographies and I'm still figuring out titles.

They call each other by their numbers? Or is that his actual name? Or, is it just because he's gone?

Klaus is such a time. XD

Exsqueeze me. Lol.

Careful what you wish for.

Diego's got a scar. :o

Aw, Luther. I feel bad for you. :(

But also, now I suspect them all too. Also Number Five. :|

Or Six? Where even is Six?

This robber was in something I watched.

Ben is... I was gonna say Number Six, but, alternatively: a tentacle monster? Both is good.

Because, number Five is the teleporting patoot?

Diego is the knife thrower?

Is Six just hiding out in a lake somewhere? Sounds good.

This is a bop.

Gosh, I love this scene.

I also love how it looks like it knows you will enjoy it.

Oop.

Is that number... Six? Five??? Oh, his name is legit Number 5. I dig it.

He is fun.

Oh, Ben is the statue. :( I feel like I could have guessed all these things if only I was trying. Heh.

Recharge? Mom is not alright.

Diego what are you doing out there without an umbrella. :/ mister hard-core.

Aw :(

If allyall knock over Ben Imma be annoYED. THERE IT IS. (accidental caps are accidental).

Aw. :( my feels are all sad.

Seven. :(

Ohemgee Mr Hargreaves you are having a time.

Pogo? looking suspish.

Mom intrigues me.

I was like... LEGIT recharge? Nooo. O_O but alas, so it is?

5 is a time. Is also having a time. Also, that is Such a fun power to have.

Gasp!

Oh snap.

Klaus. You got a ghost my guy.

And It's Ben!!!!! Ohemgee I love it.

Diego is the only one who kind of stayed in the crime fighting life? Is that not some kind of ironic? Seeing as how much he disliked Mr Hargreaves, but he ends up doing the thing Mr H was raising him to do? Everybody else went their own way?

Also, just calling it: I don't think Diego killed him. The monocle is not indicative of that. It's a misdirect.

Whoa. Coffee solves everything.

#ambiengrey watches #The Umbrella Academy #spoilers #TUA spoilers #This tumblr app is a time #On to episode 2!#The Umbrella Academy spoilers

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thedegu · 4 years

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Never Turn Your Back on the Sea

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Multi

Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)

Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Sasha James/Tim Stoker, Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Basira Hussain/Alice "Daisy" Tonner

Characters:, Martin Blackwood, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Sasha James, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Alice "Daisy" Tonner, archive staff

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - No Powers, alternate universe - no fear gods, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, everyones a monster in this one, Seaside, Grief/Mourning, Mistaken Identity, Tags Contain Spoilers, Memory Alteration, Happy Ending, Major Character Injury, Blood and Injury, Canon Asexual Character, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Little Mermaid Elements, Fae & Fairies, Modern, Hurt/Comfort, i put graphic depictions of violence up on there but it isnt /that/ bad but just to be safe, Updates Mondays

After martin's mum dies, Peter welcomes him to live in his summer home while he's away. While there, Martin makes new friends, finds something odd on the beach, and finds out there is a little more to the world than he initially thought.

It is a month and a half after the funeral, Martin’s mind is still fogged as he drives. He distantly wonders if his brain will ever clear or if he would be this husk of a man for the rest of his life. Maybe he had always been like this, and his Mum’s death just pulled away from the facade of being okay, perhaps he was always this empty shell.

The road is quiet as he made the last leg of his trip. The only sound is the wind, crashing waves, and the white noise of the radio. The land is flat, just the scrubby trees and overgrown grass filling hiss view, he can see between the tree breaks to the rocky cliffs and get glimpses of the distant ocean.

It is cresting into dusk as Martin pulls into the parking space next to the gorgeous summer home. It is a small Italian-style villa, miles from the nearest town, pressed close to the jagged cliffs. One floor with windows covering most of the sides. A footpath leads off of the back door and down the cliffside. It’s beautiful in the setting sun.

Part of Martin wonders why Peter would want to live anywhere else. Peter, Martin’s godfather, was vaguely involved in Martin’s life but nothing beyond the occasional happy birthday or Christmas card, until Mum died. It had been years since the last time he heard from Peter. Then, during her funeral, Peter offered an open invitation for Martin to live at his seaside summer home. It was unexpected, to say the least, but Peter reminded Martin that he was the closest thing he has to family now, and family has to help family. So once Martin lost his meager-paying job, he had nothing holding him down in London.

“I’m going to be out on the Tundra until April,” Peter explained over the phone a little over a week ago. “I mean, you can feel free to stay there once I’m back, but I know how we both prefer being alone.”

“Heh yeah,” Martin stammered while looking at his empty flat “I-I-I promise I’ll have my feet under me by then, and out of your hair. I don’t need six months to get myself together, right?”

Martin winces at the memory- how manic he sounded, maybe desperate. He doesn’t need more than six months to get his life together… Especially when he’s restarting his life like this.

The house is… nice, lovely even. Martin walks through, turning on the lights and checking the water. It’s an open floor plan with an airy and bright atmosphere, though on the cold side and sparsely decorated. The furniture has white sheets covering it, and everything has a thin layer of dust. There are few personal items- the only thing Martin finds on his first pass are some seashells, boating memorabilia, and a single black-and-white framed photo of a young Peter and a man Martin does not recognize.

After the first pass, Martin goes and gets his essentials out of the car- leaving the rest of his unpacking for the morning. Not that he packed much, just what he could fit in his tiny four-door and even smaller trailer he got off of craigslist-- which holds the few pieces of furniture he did not sell when he moved out.

Once the house is checked for damage, water heater turned on, new sheets laid on the guest bed, and overnight bag unpacked it is well past dark and Martin is beyond road weary. By the time his head hits the pillow, he’s passed out.

(read the rest on a03)

#tma #fanfic #the magnus archives #jonmartin #mermaid

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miguel-manbemel · 5 years

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 27: A Side is Born Part 2: Grown and Lost

New episode of this fic inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg Team. Thank you so much for the good reception that the previous episode had. Now, the story continues, right where it ended. Each episode is gonna feature in the beginning a quick reminder from the most important events in the previous episode, with the fun fact that these reminders are embedded in the story and are of an unique style for each part. Nedless to say, these reminders are full of spoilers from these previous episodes if you haven’t read them. May you enjoy this second part of the story and until next week.

WARNINGS: Romantic prinxiety and logicality. Some light innuendo. Fair warning that in the last part of this episode, the mood switches to strong angst.

SYNOPSIS: In front of the others, Chris has started growing at great speed and they wonder why is it happening. In the middle of this, fearing that they will never know him as a child, Roman decides to take the boy to Sandersia so that Ira and Roland get the news of the newborn before that newborn is an adult himself.

EPISODE INDEX

[a sign reading “In the previous episode..." appears. Flashback images from the previous episode are shown while Roman’s voice is heard off-screen]

NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] Today has been a memorable day in so many senses. It all started this morning when Virgil suddenly felt not so good…

VIRGIL: I didn’t want to concern you, Roman. Probably it’s just something I’ve eaten that’s not agreeing with my stomach.

ROMAN: Still, my duty as your husband is taking care of you when you’re feeling bad. I thought we had agreed on not hiding things from each other.

VIRGIL: Don’t worry, Roman, I’m sure this is not serious.

NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] But very soon, things started spiraling out of control.

THOMAS: Heh… It’s funny. If you weren’t a man I would say that you’ve got all the symptoms of being pregnant.

[Virgil slowly lowers his hands from his face and looks at Thomas with a face of horror]

THOMAS: [serious] Wait… don’t tell me that you can…

VIRGIL: Oh… my… goodness… [putting his hands on his belly] For the love of Gerard Way…

THOMAS: But… this is not a Sims game! Since when can a person with male reproductive organs get pregnant!?

NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-screen] Yep, surprise. We had a bun in the oven. Although it looked more like a micro-wave oven, cause the bun was cooking really fast…

VIRGIL: [in pain, putting his hand on his belly] Aw!

ROMAN: [scared] What was that, Virgil! Are you okay?

VIRGIL: I… I think so… He moved inside me, and kicked me really hard from my insides. It was so weird…

ROMAN: Seriously, Logan. How can this go so fast? This morning he was having the first nausea and now he looks as if he was six months pregnant already!

LOGAN: Well, as I told you, we’re not human. Maybe instead of nine months, Virgil’s pregnancy will be only nine hours. Probably less, judging how fast it’s going.

NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] And before we could know how, Virgil was lying on the couch in labor.

LOGAN: The next thing coming out of there will be the baby. Now, one last time, use all your might you have left and push as if tomorrow would never come. Now!

VIRGIL: [pushing] NNNNNGGGGGHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!

LOGAN: Here it comes!

[A bright magenta smoke comes out of Virgil’s body. As it comes out forming a magenta cloud, Virgil’s belly shrinks until it returns to its normal flat form, while he shows a face of huge alleviation. Then, the cloud floats to Virgil’s chest and after some seconds, it disappears, to reveal a little baby dressed only with magenta diapers. The baby starts crying]

LOGAN: Well, it’s done. Good job, Virgil.

VIRGIL: [with his eyes full of tears] I… I… look at him, Roman.

ROMAN: [crying] I’m looking at him, Virgil. He’s as handsome as his dad. And I mean you.

NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] And we thought that was it. We had our newborn son, Chris, we were set to live happily ever after as a family… and that was all. But there was another surprise on board for the evening…

VIRGIL: Um… guys…

ROMAN: What?

VIRGIL: It looks like our little baby is not so… little… anymore… Look…

[Virgil takes Chris out of the cradle. Except that it is now a three year old boy]

CHRIS: [giggling and poking Virgil’s nose] Dad, I want pizza!

THOMAS AND ROMAN: [overlapping] Whaaat!?

[image of narrator Roman looking at the camera]

NARRATOR-ROMAN: And so here we are. What’s happened to our son? What is gonna happen next. Stay tuned, everyone.

VIRGIL: [off-screen] Roman, will you cut it out and come here already!?

NARRATOR-ROMAN: Sorry, Virge. I’m going. Rolling title screen.

[intro sequence]

THOMAS: What… has happened?

VIRGIL: Are you asking me? I don’t know how this works, Thomas, this is my first son.

CHRIS: Dad, I want pizza!

ROMAN: Don’t you think you’re too young for pizza, young boy?

[Chris looks at Roman, then his eyes get full of tears]

CHRIS: [crying] I want pizzaaaaa!

THOMAS: Well, I guess now I know which Side has inherited my passion for pizza.

VIRGIL: We’re gonna need help. Dad! Logan! Could you come here, please?

[Logan and Patton are risen up in Patton’s spot. They are kissing, unaware of their surroundings]

ROMAN: [saying the actual word] Ahem…

[Logan and Roman stop kissing and look scared at the others]

LOGAN: [angry] Hey, do you think this is an appropriate time to call!? We were… [looking nervously at Patton who is just blushing and looking away] busy!

THOMAS: I’m sorry, guys. But this is another… emergency. Look.

[Thomas points at Chris who is still crying next to Virgil]

PATTON: Who’s that boy?

VIRGIL: It’s Chris, dad. Your grandson.

PATTON: What?

ROMAN: He has just aged three years in a matter of a second and we don’t know how.

LOGAN: Oh, wow… I didn’t expect that…

PATTON: Why is he crying?

VIRGIL: He wants pizza. But I don’t think he’s old enough to eat it. I mean, he’s only five hours old. It could sit bad in his stomach. He was drinking his formula just half an hour ago.

PATTON: Young boy, crying is not the way to get the things that you want. If you want to get something, you must learn to say “Please” and “Thank you”. And even so, sometimes we just can’t get what we want and we must learn to deal with it.

[Chris stops crying, then looks at Patton]

CHRIS: [with a cute innocent voice] Please, grandpa. Can I get some pizza?

PATTON: [squeeing] He’s called me grandpa! Of course you can, kiddo. Take all the pizza you want!

CHRIS: [happy smile] Thank you, grandpa!

VIRGIL: Wait, dad, I don’t think that…

[But Chris has already jumped to the pizza and started devouring it]

ROMAN: Oh, my gosh…

VIRGIL: He looks like the cookie monster…

[Suddenly Chris stops eating. He stands still with a face of nausea]

VIRGIL: What is it, Chris? Are you okay? I told you not to eat that pizza!

[Chris burps loudly. As the burp goes out, he starts growing]

VIRGIL: Look! He’s growing again!

[In a matter of seconds, Chris looks like a twelve-year-old boy]

ROMAN: He eats and then grows? Perhaps I should have called him Alice.

PATTON: Like Alice in Wonderland? Hey, think! If he drinks some milk, the kid may shrink back. Oooh… I love alliteration.

CHRIS: Guys, why are you all staring at me? [looks at himself] Oh… I see, it’s because I’m still in these diapers. Hold on, I’ll fix that.

[Chris points at himself and his clothes change to a medieval princely outfit, similar to Prince Phillip from Sleepy Beauty, but the suit is white with a red belt, and the sleeves are dark purple. The cape is magenta and has a hood. He sports Roman’s shield on the chest, but with the background in magenta and a stormy cloud over the castle]

CHRIS: That’s more like it.

ROMAN: [with a smile of emotional joy] Oh, my God… You look… majestic!

CHRIS: Thank you, father. If I’m a prince, I must look like it.

VIRGIL: [same emotional joy] And you even carry a hood! I’m so proud!

CHRIS: I knew you’d like it, dad.

LOGAN: Hmm… Not only he’s growing physically at great speed. He’s also growing mentally. At this rate, he’ll look just as adult as anyone of us in a short time… Chris.

CHRIS: Yes, Logan?

LOGAN: Would you mind if I performed a check on you?

CHRIS: What for, grandpa?

LOGAN: Because… wait, grandpa?

CHRIS: You’re Patton’s boyfriend, aren’t you? That makes you my grandfather-in-law.

LOGAN: Well, technically not until we marry and… wait, we’re deviating. I need to make sure that you’re in perfect condition and that this quick growth is normal.

CHRIS: Okay, grandpa, help yourself.

[Logan gets a little nervous over being called grandpa again, but he puts himself together and places his hand on Chris’ chest. Logan starts shaking for a couple of seconds, then takes his hand off]

LOGAN: I see…

VIRGIL: What?

LOGAN: Chris is totally fine. There’s nothing wrong with him at all. This quick growth is perfectly natural.

ROMAN: But there must be a reason why he’s growing up so fast. We didn’t grow up that quickly.

PATTON: Well, as far as I remember, I was always an adult, so…

LOGAN: Yes, but that’s because you chose to have an adult shape on purpose, or so you said.

PATTON: To be honest, I don’t remember at all, Logan. What I said is my own explanation to that fact. When I met all of you, I always met you sharing the same age Thomas had at that moment in life, but back then, I was already an adult. When I try to go back in my memories, there’s always a moment when everything goes blurry until there’s nothing more.

LOGAN: That’s what always happens, Patton. No human can remember the first two to three years from their existence at all and their memories are blurry until they get around 6 or more. And guys, it’s true that we all took our time to grow up, but you’re forgetting one important detail.

VIRGIL: What?

LOGAN: Chris was born as a baby while Thomas was an adult. It was only natural, as Virgil would have exploded if he had to hold an adult body inside of him. But that doesn’t change the fact that we, as Sides of Thomas, must share with him, among other things, the same age. Chris was born as a baby, but now he’s bound to grow up at a fast pace to catch up to Thomas’ age. Then, he’ll start aging normally like all of us, at Thomas’ same pace.

THOMAS: Oh… Is that all?

LOGAN: Yes. What did you expect?

THOMAS: I don’t know, things with you don’t tend to be so simple.

CHRIS: Are you calling me simple, Thomas?

THOMAS: No, I wasn’t calling you…

CHRIS: [pulling out a classic medieval sword and a shield decorated with the same insignia on his chest, speaking with a theatrical melodramatic voice] Cause I could pull out my sword and challenge you to a duel, my good sir!

LOGAN: [sighs] He’s just as dramatic as his father.

ROMAN: [squeeing] He even has a shield of his own! Oh, my God, you look gorgeous! And what is also great is that now I’ll have someone to practice fencing with. [hopping] Oh, my goodness, I’m so happy right now!

VIRGIL: [smirks] Be careful, my love. You’re gonna slip on the puddle of your drool.

ROMAN: I suddenly had an idea. Since it’s clear that we’re too excited to go to bed right now…

LOGAN: [looking at Patton] Well, I was really excited to go to bed a moment ago…

ROMAN: [beat] You’ll have time for that later. I think we should take Chris to Sandersia, so that he meets my brother Roland and Ira. They don’t even know that he’s been born and I can’t wait to see their faces.

THOMAS: Isn’t it a little late for a journey, though? It’s eleven o’clock, and I’m a little tired, you know? Couldn’t we leave this for tomorrow? It’ll be Sunday, and I have all the day free of compromises.

ROMAN: [begging] Oh, come on! I want them to see him while he’s still a child! If we wait, he’ll be an adult already, and it just wouldn’t have the same surprise effect! I don’t wanna miss it! Pleaaase!

THOMAS: [sighs] Okay, if it’s so important to you, okay.

ROMAN: [hopping] Yayyy!

THOMAS: Are you good to walk, Virge? You’ve just given birth some hours ago.

VIRGIL: Oh, I think I’ll be fine, Thomas. I don’t have any pains and I feel strong enough.

LOGAN: You don’t need to fear for Virgil, Thomas. His recovery will be a lot quicker than in normal physical childbirths. If he doesn’t go through too intense physical activities at least for tonight, he’ll be fine, and tomorrow he’ll be good as gravy.

THOMAS: Okay.

ROMAN: Then it’s settled!

THOMAS: Okay… Let’s go to Sandersia, then.

[All of them sink down and rise up in Roman’s room, then they head to Sandersia. It’s nighttime over there too. They all get in the royal carriage, always waiting at the door as usual, and head to the royal castle. As usual too, the carriage arrives in no time]

ROMAN: Well, here we are. Oh, the door is locked? That’s weird.

LOGAN: Weird? What did you expect, a welcome committee? You didn’t announce our visit and it’s freaking nighttime!

ROMAN: Not for long, though.

[Roman rises both hands. In a matter of seconds, the sky turns blue and the sun rises over the sea]

LOGAN: [a little blinded by the sudden sunlight] That’s cheating.

[Roman knocks the door using the knocker several times]

VOICE: [from inside] Okay, okay… why the rush?

[the noise of locks opening from inside are heard and the door opens. Ira comes outside wearing a green pajama

IRA: Oh, it’s you. When I told you to come for a visit, I didn’t mean for you to come in the middle of the… [noticing the sun is in the sky, confused] …morning? Did I oversleep? What time is it?

ROMAN: Oh, it’s twelve midnight, I just did a little tweak, so that you didn’t trip over anything in the dark.

IRA: But why? Is there any emergency of some kind?

ROMAN: Yes, and no. I just want Roland and you to meet someone.

IRA: Someone? [noticing the presence of Chris] Oh, good morning… I mean evening… I mean… whatever.

CHRIS: Good evening, sir.

IRA: And who is this lad, if I may ask, Roman?

ROMAN: I’m not telling yet, it’s a surprise. Go call my brother, please. I want you two to know who he is at the same time.

IRA: Okay. I’ll call Roland. You can wait in the throne room. Come in, make yourselves a home.

ROMAN: Thanks, Ira.

[Roman and the others get to the throne room while Ira goes away]

THOMAS: [yawns] Roman, I’m a little sleepy. We should have waited till tomorrow.

ROMAN: Hold on a little bit, Thomothy. Soon we’ll be done. Maybe we could even sleep here if Roland lets us.

THOMAS: Is that possible for me, though? What would happen if I fell asleep while inside the Mind Palace?

LOGAN: Well, for certain we would all fall asleep with you. All except Virgil, who is the only one that, if he wants to, can resist sleep or wake up while you slumber, due to him being your fight-or-flight impulses.

CHRIS: I can do that too. A gift from my dad.

VIRGIL: Oh, that’s good to know.

THOMAS: But would Sandersia stay in place?

LOGAN: Of course, Thomas. For Sandersia to have structural problems, you would need something worse than sleep. You’d have to be almost in a coma.

THOMAS: Well, I’m not going to that extent to do the experiment, and besides I don’t want Sandersia to be damaged, so it’s good to know that. Thanks, Logan.

LOGAN: No problem.

[Roman and Ira enter the throne room. Roland is wearing a dressing coat]

ROLAND: Hi, Roman, hi guys.

ROMAN: Hi, Roland.

IRA: Okay. We’re both here. Why all the rush, Roman?

ROMAN: Well, let me introduce you to our new addition to the family. This is Chris. Chris, these are my brother Roland and our good friend Ira.

CHRIS: Good evening. Nice to meet you.

ROLAND: Nice to meet you.

IRA: Good evening.

ROMAN: I think I’m gonna let him to properly introduce himself. Okay, go ahead.

CHRIS: Well, my name is Christian Gerard Sanders. And I’m the Side of Angsty Creativity. But you can call me Chris.

ROLAND: Angsty… Creativity?

IRA: Hold on, weren’t those two concepts assigned to Virgil and you earlier? [face of realization and shock, then he smiles widely] Oh! Oh, my goodness, I get it! Congratulations, Roman!

ROLAND: What? What’s the matter?

IRA: Don’t you see? This boy is the son of Virgil and Roman! Angsty Creativity!

ROLAND: Oh, my goodness! How…? When…? Congratulations, guys!

[Roland and Ira hug Roman and Virgil, then they also give a quick hug to Chris]

ROLAND: I should have paid more attention. Of course he’s your son. His shield is a mix of both your insignias. I’m so happy to meet you, young man.

CHRIS: I’m happy to meet you too, uncle Roland.

ROLAND: Oh, that’s right. This boy is my nephew. And as your son… he’s the new heir to the throne of Sandersia! That’s great! But when did this happen?

VIRGIL: Today.

ROLAND: Today?

VIRGIL: Well, yesterday already. He was born just a few hours ago.

ROLAND: But he’s so grown-up already!

CHRIS: [suddenly showing a funny face] Oh…

ROLAND: What’s wrong?

CHRIS: If you think I’m a grown up now… wait and see…

[Chris points at his own clothes. They grow until they are of an adult size, too big for him]

ROLAND: Why would you do that?

CHRIS: [suddenly with adult voice that startles everyone] It’s happening again, I can feel it.

[Chris starts growing up in front of Roland and Ira, who watch with a stunned expression. In a matter of a few seconds he looks like an adult, and his outfit fits him perfectly]

IRA: I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. But now… now I’ve just seen everything.

CHRIS: Well, I think the growing phase is over. Now I just have to age a little bit until I get synchronized with Thomas’ age and that will be it. Now I’m totally ready to start working as a Side of Thomas.

VIRGIL: Oh, my God… Kids grow so fast. It feels like yesterday when I was cradling you in my arms and now you’re a full grown-up man. Except that it was literally yesterday, of course.

CHRIS: It’s okay, dad. I may look like an adult, but I’m still your one day old son, ready to learn from you and father anything you’re willing to teach me to be a better Side.

VIRGIL: [bursting in tears] Why am I suddenly so emotional lately? Yesterday, I would have dismissed all these emotions as corny and now look at me. This feeling of love is so overwhelming I can barely resist it.

PATTON: [putting his hand on Virgil’s shoulder] Welcome to my world, kiddo. Nice to have you. That’s exactly how I feel about you all the time.

VOICE: [evil mocking tone] Isn’t this nice?

[everyone starts looking in all directions trying to find the source of the voice]

THOMAS: Who’s there!?

VOICE: I’ve been waiting for so long for this moment to come and finally, it’s here!

[Suddenly, Chris is surrounded by what looks like a dark bubble]

CHRIS: What gives!?

[the door opens and the Dark Master enters in, wearing a black cloak with silver ornaments on the shoulders and the hood. The dark bubble flies next to him with Chris inside]

THOMAS: You again? How many times do we have to defeat you, boy?

DARK MASTER: Long time no see, Light Master.

ROMAN: [pulling out his samurai sword] Release our son! Right now!

DARK MASTER: Release him? Oh, sure, I will release him, as soon as I’m done with him.

VIRGIL: If you touch just one hair of him, I swear…

DARK MASTER: Oh, don’t worry emo, I’m not going to harm him. I need him in one piece for my plans.

VIRGIL: [progressively angrier and more hysterical as he speaks] What plans? What are you going to do to him? Let him go, you bast**!

DARK MASTER: Let him go? After all the time I’ve been waiting for one of his kind to appear? Never.

PATTON: What’s so special about him? I don’t understand.

DARK MASTER: [giggles evilly] I certainly did a good job with you, Patton.

PATTON: What?

DARK MASTER: Erasing your memories was so easy. It wasn’t a perfect work, but nevertheless it worked. You wouldn’t even try to get your memories back. You just got contented and started behaving like the stupid father figure you are right now.

PATTON: I don’t understand…

VIRGIL: Neither do I, but I don’t care! Release him!

DARK MASTER: It’s your only fault that I’m taking your son right now, Virgil! You brought this onto him!

VIRGIL: What?

DARK MASTER: The original plan was to take you instead of him. You were born for that only reason. But you had to escape to the Light Realm and ruin everything.

VIRGIL: What would you know about my birth?

DARK MASTER: Oh, everything. I know everything about it. I even had you in my arms not long after you were born. You looked so tiny, so vulnerable. So suitable. You just needed to grow until you were mature enough. But Patton had to be a goody daddy and the Light Master had to ruin it all!

THOMAS: Me? What…?

VIRGIL: What is he talking about, dad?

PATTON: [confused] I promise I don’t know, kiddo. I don’t remember…

DARK MASTER: Perhaps I can help with that.

[The Dark Master points at Patton. A light blue sphere appears on his hand]

DARK MASTER: This, on my hand, are your stolen memories. You’re no longer a worthy enemy, so I won’t be needing them anymore, and I need to make room for… another procedure. Here, take them back.

[the light-blue ball is projected at light-speed and impacts into Patton’s head, making him walk two steps back. The light enters inside Patton’s head, who holds his head with both hands and groans as if he was suffering the worst headache ever, as if his head was about to explode right there.]

VIRGIL: [scared] Dad!

LOGAN: Patton!

[in a few moments, Patton adopts a serene face. He stops holding his head and looks fiercely at the Dark Master]

PATTON: [serious deep voice, never heard before from him] Now I remember… everything.

DARK MASTER: Good. Then now you know it all. How does it feel? Please, tell me that it hurts you, it would be so rewarding for me.

PATTON: Yes, I remember. Yes, it hurts. And no, you won’t get away with your plans.

DARK MASTER: [evil voice] I challenge you to stop me. If you want to find me, you know where to look for me… sweetie. [back to an unconcerned, mocking voice, to Roman] Oh, by the way, thank you Roman, I couldn’t have done this without you.

ROMAN: What?

DARK MASTER: If you hadn’t entered Sandersia with Chris, I wouldn’t have been able to reach him, and if you hadn’t turned the night into day, I wouldn’t have known you were here, allowing me to come here to check what you were up to. What a pleasant surprise you gave me when you introduced your boy. Thank you for your invaluable help.

ROMAN: [face of remorse] What have I done…?

[the Dark Master starts levitating and so does the dark bubble holding Chris in. Chris shows a face of fear for the first time and starts banging at the bubble, desperately trying to break it]

CHRIS: [scared whining] Father! Dad! Help me! Don’t let him take me!

VIRGIL: [in tears] You bast**! He’s just a baby! Thomas, do something!

THOMAS: I’m trying! I’m trying to go into Light Master mode… but I’m so tired I get dizzy when I try! I can’t keep it together!

DARK MASTER: Well, as the old cartoon said, that’s all folks! Bye!

[The Dark Master flies away through the door and the bubble follows him with Chris inside]

CHRIS: [screeching in horror] Heeeeelp!

[his cry for help gets lost in the distance before the others have time to react. Then Virgil starts running to the door]

VIRGIL: Come back! Give me my son back! I beg you! Take me instead! No!

[he stops before reaching the door, with pain in his stomach over the effort. Roman runs after him and holds him]

VIRGIL: [hysterical, he turns around and starts punching Roman’s chest with both fists, while Roman looks at his husband with a face of intense suffering and remorse] Don’t touch me! This is your fault! This is all your fault! They took him away because of you! I hate you! I hate you! [he stops punching Roman’s chest and lies on it sobbing on it while Roman hugs him, also crying] I hate you…

ROMAN: I’m sorry, Virgil. I didn’t know this would happen… But we’ll fix it. We have always defeated the Dark Master and this will be no exception. I promise by my royal crown that he’ll get what he deserves and we’ll rescue our son! I solemnly swear it!

[a sign reading “To be continued, guys, gals and non binary pals appears”]

[ending card]

[a couple of minutes have passed, The guys are sitting down on some benches. Virgil is lying on Roman’s shoulder, his face completely void, looking at the infinity, trying to evade himself from the horrible reality he’s facing]

THOMAS: I’m so sorry, guys. I wish I could have been of more help. I just couldn’t call my powers out of exhaustion.

ROMAN: It’s not your fault, Thomas. Like the Dark Master said, it’s my fault and only mine. I’m sorry, guys. [to Virgil] I’m sorry, my love.

VIRGIL: [looks at Roman and holds his hand, then speaks with a weak, heartbroken voice] And I’m sorry for hitting you earlier… I was out of my mind and I didn’t mean what I said. Of course I don’t hate you.

ROMAN: [kissing Virgil’s hand] I know, my love. But you were so right at the same time…

PATTON: You didn’t know this would happen, Roman. Don’t torture yourself.

ROMAN: A marvelous father I’m turning out to be. The first thing I do is delivering him in a silver plate to the enemy.

PATTON: Well, I don’t think I was any better, to be honest.

VIRGIL: [looking at Patton] What do you mean, dad? You have always been there for me.

PATTON: Not always, son. Not always. Now that I’ve got the full picture with the missing piece of my memories, I had… I have so much to regret and so much to apologize for.

THOMAS: It’s hard for me to believe that you, among all of us, could have a dark past of some kind. My mind simply can’t process it.

PATTON: And yet, I do. The Dark Master took good care of shaping my mind in a way that would never ever make me question the holes in my mind. He probably gave me that stupid naive personality so that I would never wonder about the kind of stuff he didn’t want me to remember. And it worked. I was so happy in my stupidity I got completely blind about that.

LOGAN: Don’t say that, Patton. You were not stupid.

PATTON: Yes I was. So silly, so childish. I’m so ashamed when I look back and remember the stupidity of my mind I had these past years.

LOGAN: We loved you the way you were. I loved you. I still do.

PATTON: I’m sorry, Logan, but as Deceit would say, you’ve fallen in love with a lie. The Patton you fell in love with is not real. It was never real. I don’t deserve any kind of love.

LOGAN: Falsehood! That’s not true!

PATTON: Yes it is. You don’t know what I did. What I made Virgil go through because of my weakness… Oh, my God, you’re gonna hate me so much when I level with you all. I’d wish that the Dark Master hadn’t restored my memories. I was happier in my stupidity and now I feel like I’ll never find peace in my life again. Maybe that was his intention, to see me suffer and torture myself forever.

VIRGIL: Dad, you are my father. Nothing you could have ever done could be so bad that I couldn’t forgive it.

PATTON: You don’t know the truth yet, son. Once you know, you won’t be able to say that again with conviction.

VIRGIL: Then tell me dad, to prove you that you’re wrong. What is that truth that is so unforgivable?

[Patton sighs]

PATTON: The truth about who your father is.

VIRGIL: You are my father, what do you mean?

PATTON: I mean your other father.

VIRGIL: My other father? You remember now his identity? Who is he?

PATTON: You already know him too well. You’ve lived with him for years in the Dark Realm. You lived under his yoke and his tyranny for many years, and I couldn’t save you, may God forgive me.

[Virgil looks at Patton. A grimace of horror slowly starts appearing]

VIRGIL: No… that’s not true… that’s impossible!

PATTON: Yes. As painful as it is for me to admit it, but it’s true. The Dark Master is your father.

VIRGIL: [progressively more hysterical as he speaks] I can’t believe you! He can’t be my father! He can’t! If he was my father, he would have never treated me the way he did in the Dark Realm! He would have never taken my son away from me! It’s impossible! No! I refuse to believe you! You’re a liar! You’re no better than Deceit!

ROMAN: [holding him by the shoulders and shaking him] Virgil, calm down! You know he would never lie to you, especially in a matter so serious!

[Virgil sits down. He can’t look Patton in the face]

PATTON: [sad] See? I told you you would hate me.

[Virgil doesn’t answer. He just stares at the infinity, with rivers of tears running down his cheeks, in complete silence. Patton looks at his son, and his eyes also get watery and red. Logan hesitates about if he should hold Patton’s hand, his face noting he'd really wish to do so. Eventually he shies away and doesn’t.]

ROMAN: Just give him some time. It’s too much to assimilate in one go.

THOMAS: I have so many questions…

PATTON: [sniffs and swallows his tears, then trying to show the voice of a dad commanding something to his son] I know, Thomas. But for now, they’ll have to wait. If we want to stand a chance against the Dark Master, you need to sleep. We all need it, for the record.

THOMAS: That’s easier said than done, though. How am I going to catch sleep with all this turmoil of emotions and thoughts running through my mind? I don’t feel sleepy, just tired, really tired, but not sleepy.

PATTON: You’re exhausted, Thomas. You don’t feel sleepy because of your nervousness over all of this, but I’m sure if you try, it won’t take you long to fall asleep. And while you sleep, we will all fall into slumber, including the Dark Master, so that could at least delay his plans with Chris. And since Chris can resist slumber, it could give him a chance too, if he could ever break out of that ball, that is.

THOMAS: What are the Dark Master’s plans?

PATTON: No, Thomas. Not now. Now, sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you everything.

ROLAND: You can all use the guest bedroom in the castle. I always have it ready in anticipation for days like this when all of you would come over. The sheets were changed just this morning. And you, Thomas, can find some sleeping clothing in the closet that will suit you. After all we all have the same size in this world, right?

THOMAS: Thank you so much, Roland.

ROLAND: Don’t mention it.

ROMAN: Okay, time to bed, then. Tomorrow, we’ll call Deceit, Honesty and Remus and we’ll think about what to do.

ROLAND: Is it really necessary to call Remus, though? I’m quite unnerved by his presence. He tried to kill me, just in case you’ve forgotten, that’s why Ira came to live here with me, to be my protector against him. It just doesn’t feel right for me that you’re all so… attached to him right now. I don’t trust him.

ROMAN: I know what you mean and I understand your concern, but Remus is no longer the same as he used to be. I mean, he’s still pretty chaotic and all, but he’s harmless now, and he’s trying to fit in with us, in his own unique way. Besides, we need to be all together for greater chances of success.

ROLAND: [sighs] Okay, if there’s no choice, okay. But don’t ask me to behave nicely to him, because he wasn’t nice to me.

ROMAN: It’s fair, but you should try to give him a chance. Now, let’s go to bed. I’ll turn the day back into night so that we can sleep well, even though it’s almost morning at this point.

[they all stand up and follow Roland. Virgil, apparently unaware that the others are leaving the room, remains sitting down for a moment, still looking at nowhere, before Roman grabs him by the hand and asks him to follow them with the sweetest glance he could come up with. Virgil just follows them like an automaton to the huge guest bedroom which has eight beds. Thomas puts on the pajama he finds in the closet and gets into bed. The others just summon pajamas for themselves and get into the other beds. It only takes a matter of minutes for the exhausted Thomas to fall asleep. When that happens, the rest of the Sides fall asleep too. All of them except Virgil, who just keeps staring at the ceiling, still crying in silence, all night long]

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #prinxiety #romantic prinxiety #logicality #romantic logicality #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fic #fanfic #fic #fanfiction #aspects and fanfics

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gumnut-logic · 5 years

Text

V.T. Green (Part Seven)

Title: V. T. Green

Author: Gumnut

15 – 20 Oct 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: “Did you discover this, Brains?” He frowned. There was something familiar about this. Maybe they had discussed it recently.

“Oh, no, this is V. T. Green. The man is brilliant.”

Word count: 2801

Spoilers & warnings: None.

Timeline: Standalone

Author’s note: Extra thanks to @scribbles97 for the direction this took towards the end of this chapter. I thought this would be the last chapter, but there is just too much to put into one, so I’ve had to split it into two. One more chapter, partly written already. I’m getting to the end slowly. I hope you enjoy this :D

Many thanks to @scribbles97 , @vegetacide and @thunderstorm-bay for all their wonderful help with this.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

He hit the stairs and almost collided with Alan.

They both froze for a moment, his younger brother staring at him with a mixture of emotion. It was the fear that froze Virgil. The subtle widening of his brother’s eyes, the step back...

Virgil’s frustration with John evaporated.

“Alan? What’s wrong?”

“Uh, hey, Virg.” And his brother attempted to push past and continue down the stairs.

Virgil caught his arm. “Alan?”

His brother stopped, hesitating as if he didn’t know what to do, but then a subtle shift in his stance and he slumped in defeat. “I’m sorry, Virgil.”

“What?” Virgil stared.

“I’ve been an ass.”

A blink. “Well, yeah, but what is the problem?” Okay, yes, Alan had been an ass, but that expression on his little brother’s face wasn’t one he enjoyed in the slightest. He turned on the stairs so he was facing Alan head on. “It happens. I’ll get over it. Not the first time.”

Alan slumped further before straightening in a more characteristic stubbornness that relieved Virgil more than he was willing to admit.

“You scared me, okay? Why is it that you have to put everything on the line every time I screw up?” He waved a hand towards Virgil’s shoulder. “And to top it all off, you got hurt. Because of me!”

“Alan, I-“

“It was a stupid move, Virgil. You shouldn’t have to get hurt because of me.”

Virgil found himself staring speechless again.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Sorry you got hurt, sorry I didn’t listen, sorry it happened at all.” Blue eyes begged acceptance.

A bird flew over the pool outside and squawked at something unseen.

Virgil reached out and wrapped his good arm around his little brother and pulled him in for a hug. There may have been a kiss to his hair, making Alan squirm.

Muttered into blond strands. “I’m your big brother. Would do it again, and more.” He squeezed just a little.

“Aww, Virg, c’mon.” Alan wriggled loose, obviously embarrassed, but didn’t entirely let go. “It won’t happen again.”

“I didn’t think it would.” A small smile curved his lips. “My little brother is too smart for that.”

If Alan clung to him a bit at that comment, neither of them said anything.

“Are we good?”

The question took him by surprise. Sure, his brother had been pissed at him, but they were brothers. Came with the territory. “I wasn’t aware we were anything but.” Again with the smile. “It’s not like you drank the last of the coffee or anything.”

“Now that you mention it...” Alan was grinning at him.

Virgil raised a finger and pointed it at his brother. “Now that is not a joking matter. You leave my coffee alone.”

“Oh, so that’s your Achilles heel, is it? You have given me power, oh addict bro.”

“Watch it, brat.” That one good hand mussed his brother’s hair.

But Alan was laughing as he ducked out of reach, resuming his clamber down the stairs. Virgil’s eyes followed him and a weight lifted off his shoulders. His smile slipped to one of fondness and a little love for his little brother.

Now he was getting soppy.

But Alan’s apology meant a great deal, and as he resumed climbing the stairs, the smile stayed on his lips.

-o-o-o-

Despite his nap in the afternoon, Virgil crashed early that night. He stole food from the fridge and holed up in his room with an engineering journal. Grandma attempted to chase him up, but he pleaded injury. Of course, this only prompted an appearance at his door by his eldest brother, in mimicry of earlier in the day, pills in hand. Supervised while taking them, he did not spare his brother the required glare.

The concern in Scott’s eyes was reassured with a handful of words and Virgil was left to himself.

He didn’t mean to fall asleep while reading, but perhaps it was what he needed.

-o-o-o-

The world was blurry as Virgil let his head slide on his one good hand and stared out through the kitchen window.

He had no idea why he was awake. He had slept like the dead and woken on top of the covers still in his clothes, his tablet on the floor.

His throat was parched and his head full of cotton and his only thought had been coffee. Stumbling down from the residential levels, he somehow missed all the walls, bee-lining for the kitchen and his almighty coffee maker.

Of course, at this end of the day both his military brothers were up and about. Gordon, of course was in the pool, but Scott, just back from his run, stared at him for quite a moment, his blue gaze caught between a concern he was hallucinating and worry that Virgil might be near death for some undisclosed reason.

The result had been the reappearance of that bottle of pills and the mandatory glare until Virgil gulped them down. The fact he was so dopey almost led to him choking on the damn things, but the coffee in Scott’s other hand led him on like a carrot before a mule.

His brother had eventually let him have the coffee and left him to his own devices, so now he sat in his usual spot staring out at Mateo and trying to boot his brain.

“Good morning, Virgil.”

He blinked. “Oh, hey, John.” Was that a sea eagle circling above Mateo? He hadn’t checked out the cliffs recently. He wondered if they were nesting again. If so, those gulls wheeling about and making a ruckus had every right to be concerned.

“You awake there?”

“Huh?”

John was sitting across from him, smiling his soft smile as he nestled his own cup of coffee between his fingers. “Unusual to see you up this time of the day.”

“Went to bed early. Woke up early.” Coffee slid down his throat and, oh god, it was good.

“How’s your arm.”

“S’okay. Scott drugged me already.”

“Good.” There was silence for a moment. “Virgil, about yesterday, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He turned to stare at his brother. He did not have the brain cells for this yet. “S’fine. Whatever. I’m you. You’re me. Forget it.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Drink your coffee, Virgil.”

Gordon wandered in, towelling his hair dry. The moment his eyes landed on Virgil, he froze. “Did we get a call out?”

John arched an eyebrow in the direction of his damp brother. “No, why?”

“Well, the walking dead is mobile and the sun is barely up. I had to think the worst.”

“Shut up, Gordon.”

“Yep, that’s him. That cancels out the alien bodysnatching theory.”

John stared at him. “What? A call out is worse than alien bodysnatching?”

Gordon shrugged. “Depends on the callout.”

Virgil growled at him.

“Hoo, and the level of grump we need to endure.”

Scott swooped in behind and cuffed him up the head. “Leave Virgil alone. He’s injured.”

“Heh, that just means he can’t whip my ass.”

“Don’t test me, fish food.” Gordon was particularly irritating first thing in the morning.

Of course, he only laughed.

“Can it, Gordon.” Kayo prowled into the room. ‘Prowl’ was the only word for it. His sister moved like a cat - silent and slinky.

Slinky? Oh god, more coffee. He upped the cup and stood to go in search of another one. Kayo smiled at him as she delved into the refrigerator. More coffee.

By the time his cup had refilled, Alan had wandered in and stolen his seat. “Hey!”

“Huh?”

Okay, Alan looked as bad as he felt. Virgil stumbled back to the table and sat beside him. “You okay?”

“Eh, bad dreams. I’ll be fine.”

Virgil put his coffee down and placed his hand on his brother’s back. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.” A young blue gaze peered up at him. A sigh. “Ask me after breakfast. I might be awake by then.”

He ran his hand in a few circles across his little brother’s back before his own need for coffee overrode everything and he had to pull his one available hand back into service.

A glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal appeared in front of Alan courtesy of their eldest brother. Virgil smiled at Alan’s scowl, only to have a similar bowl land in front of him, complete with matching orange juice. “What?”

Scott smirked at him. “You missed dinner last night. You’re not missing breakfast.”

Goddamned smother hen. But Virgil grumbled and poked at the cornflakes. Kayo dumped a bowl of fruit on the table. Gordon found his own breakfast and planted himself next to John. “Oooh, a family breakfast. This doesn’t happen very often.”

Virgil and Alan in concert. “Shut up, Gordon.”

“Hmm, and now I see why.”

Scott pulled up a chair and grinned at his own breakfast.

Virgil couldn’t hold his spoon and his coffee at the same time and it was very annoying.

“No, no, no, no! Th-This can’t be r-right!” Brains stormed into the room, tablet in hand, Max wailing in behind him. He almost collided with Kayo who was making her way over to the table with her bowl and drink in hand. All that training shone through as she both managed to dodge the irate engineer and save her breakfast from the floor.

“Brains, you okay?” Scott rose from his chair.

“N-no, I-I’m not. V. T. Green d-deleted his blog and I can find no t-trace of him or his theories!”

Virgil choked on his cereal, coughing and spluttering until Alan whacked him gently on the back. Gordon and John both flicked glances in his direction, but busied themselves eating.

“He’s gone?” Scott’s voice could only be described as disappointed. “I thought you were tracking him down? Nothing is ever completely deleted. John, do you think you would be able to get a trace on this guy?”

“Um...”

“Why don’t you just ask Virgil?” Kayo swallowed a mouth of cereal.

“What?” Scott stared at her before darting a glance at his brother.

“Well, it was his blog, wasn’t it?”

The room fell silent and every eye landed on the man.

Virgil sculled his mug full of hot coffee.

It scorched all the way down.

“V-Virgil?” It was small and shocked and it came from Brains. “A-Are y-you V-V. T. G-Green?”

He turned to face his fellow engineer, fearful of what he would find. Brains’ expression was worried, stressed and possibly hurt. Shit. Damn. Virgil slumped where he sat for just a split second before forcing himself to face the music. A swallow. “I am. It’s...he is me.”

The room fell silent again, the tension in the air waiting for Brains’ reaction. The engineer’s stare didn’t leave Virgil for a moment. Wide-eyed he approached slowly.

Virgil had no idea what to do.

Then Brains was hugging him, babbling incoherently in his ear. His shoulder complained and he had to shift, but the slight engineer continued to cling, a number of jumbled equations spilling all over him in joyful excitement.

Oh god.

He must have winced one time too many because the next moment Scott was gently pulling Brains off him.

“You’re V.T. Green?” Scott’s quiet question made it over Brains’ jubilant mutterings as he held the man.

Virgil looked up at his brother. “Yeah.” His gaze darted back to his hands. Whispered. “Sorry.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

Brains had fallen silent and once again, all the eyes in the room were on Virgil.

“Um...”

“You designed that self-healing polymer?” Alan’s eyes were wide behind him. “V.T Green is a genius...” Those eyes widened even further. “You’re a genius.”

Virgil couldn’t hold his gaze and turned back to staring at his hands. A shrug. “John’s the genius.”

“Virgil, why did you hide it from us?” The expression on Scott’s face could only be considered concerned.

“I didn’t!” And there was the kicker. “I thought you guys knew! It was pretty damned obvious.”

Kayo snorted. “You’d think a genius would pick a better pseudonym.”

He glared at her as she picked a strawberry out of the bowl of fruit, popped it in her mouth and smiled at him.

“I wasn’t trying to hide.”

“Then why didn’t you say something?” Scott was obviously determined.

“I didn’t know what to say!” A frown. “Kayo is right.” He swallowed. “It was obvious.” He stood up and shouldered past his eldest brother. He needed more coffee.

“Three cups? That’s a lot even for you.” Gordon piped up, but for once he wasn’t taking a dig at Virgil. There was genuine concern in his voice.

But, of course, that only prompted smother hen to step in and prevent him from reaching the coffeemaker.

“Scott...”

“This is what has been bothering you.”

“Bothering me? Of course, it has been bothering me! It was damned obvious and out of all the brothers I thought knew me well, only one worked it out!” He stared at his family. “You’re all smart, damned geniuses in your own right, but it never even occurred to most of you that V.T. Green was me. They are my initials! I’m an engineer. I’ve had that website for years, and only one of you worked it out. I’ve never tried to hide anything from you. You’ve worked with me for most of my life.” He turned to Brains. “You’ve worked with me as an engineer. We speak the same damned language and you didn’t work it out.” He turned back to Scott, glaring up at him. “So yeah, it did bother me. I’m sorry, it pissed me off. I thought you knew me better than that. Obviously, I was wrong.” And with that he turned and stormed up the stairs, ignoring his name being called behind him.

-o-o-o-

Gordon sighed as Scott darted up the stairs after Virgil. That was not going to end well.

He shoved the remainder of his breakfast away and stood.

“How did you know it was him?” Alan’s voice was quiet and worried.

Another sigh as he kicked his chair back under the table. “I didn’t at first. I was as slow on the uptake as the rest of you. It was only Virgil’s reaction when I mentioned the name to him that gave it away.”

“I feel h-horrible.” Brains couldn’t slump any further without falling over. “L-looking back, V-Virgil is right. It was o-obvious.”

“C’mon...he’s Virgil. Who could have known?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Gordon rounded on Alan. “And I suppose you think I’m only good for a pair of swim trunks and the occasional prank.”

“Gordon, I...” But his eyes said everything.

“Well, isn’t that just dandy. Thanks for your confidence in both of us.”

“Gordon, he didn’t mean it that way.” John put a hand on his arm.

“Yes, he did. No wonder Virgil is so pissed.” He stepped away from the table and John let go. “You geniuses just have a think on that while I go commiserate with our vastly underestimated brother.”

With that he rounded the table and followed his two older brothers up the stairs.

As expected, those two brothers were having words at the elevator.

“Just leave it, Scott.”

“Virg, you know you have my confidence. We discussed this yesterday.”

“I know.” His second eldest brother straightened. His clothes were wrinkled as if he had slept in them. His sling was hanging crooked.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Scott’s voice was almost begging.

Gordon slumped where he stood. He thought Scott knew Virgil better than that.

And sure enough... “I shouldn’t have had to tell you, Scott. You, of all people, should have worked it out! Hell, I dropped clues all through that conversation.”

“And I asked you repeatedly what the hell was wrong and you refused to tell me!”

Okay, this was getting into yelling territory and whenever his two biggest brothers really let go, it was never good...for anyone.

Gordon stepped up to the two of them, placing his definitely unwanted-self right into the middle of the argument.

Sure enough, one blue and one brown glare landed directly between his eyeballs. “Hey, guys, what’s up?”

“Gordon...” Scott pinched the bridge of his nose.

Virgil took the opportunity to disappear into the elevator and vanish, his furious expression taken away by the closing doors.

“Damnit!” Scott was combusting on the spot.

Gordon dropped a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I’ll take this one.”

“What?” His big brother spun, anger in his eyes.

“I’ll speak to Virgil.”

That blue gaze narrowed on him and he could see the calculations behind his brother’s eyes. Ever the strategist.

Gordon rolled his eyes. “I’ve got this.” And without a further word, he ignored the elevator and took the stairs two at a time.

-o-o-o-

End Part Seven

Part Eight

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Virgil Tracy #Gordon Tracy

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