#my heart goes out to marv

[hearts4-jhutch]

ANOTHER JOSH HUTCHERSON CHARACTER YOU GUYS NEED TO KNOW ABT

IT UPSETS ME SO MUCH THAT NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT MARV 😭😭 I CAN FIX HIM AND I LOVE HIM

[parkswritessometimes]

Sunday X Marvin

It’s been almost twelve hours without a text from Marvin. Usually, he’d respond within minutes of a message. A little emoji or acknowledgment that he was alive. But nothing. No response from the good morning text he sent when he woke up. Usually, Marvin was the one who woke up early and Sunday would wake up to a cute morning image of Higgins or a bedheaded, shirtless Marvin, but no message today. 

“You good, Kit-Kat?” Sunday types hitting send before his anxieties get the better of him. Marv was probably just too engrossed in a book to even acknowledge their phone. It’s happened before on a handful of occasions, but they always replied within a few hours with an apology or an excuse or something. 

But Sunday can’t stop this gut feeling that something was wrong. That something was wrong. He’s been getting that feeling a lot lately. Especially since the twins rose to power in the magic circle. This twisting feeling in his soul, in his magic. But this was so specific to Marvin like a magnetic force pulling him towards his friend.    

And it’s not like Marvin was going to ask for help if he needed it. Marvin has always been far too prideful for that. Raised by absent parents and a semi-sane mentor who could never be understood by anyone but Marvin, he was always destined to be an aloof person. It probably didn’t help that they were bullied for several years before Sunday came into the picture. 

Sunday was also an outsider always working twice as hard to keep up with the advanced classes he was put in. Magic always seemed to come so easy for everyone else. He’s lucky that he made the cut for the Magic Circle. It would have been so easy to cast him aside and label him a dud, but he was given a single chance. Same with Marvin.

It took a lot of time for Marvin to open up. Lots of shared candy bars, healing magic, repairing uniforms with his more practical sewing skills before Marvin even told Sunday his name. But over time Sunday could feel Marvin slowly opening up. Ivy creeping up his ivory walls until it flooded his heart. 

Now they’re 28 and living life, Marvin had a bookstore that never seemed to be open and Sunday worked for the Magic Circle, always one of the first people to be in the loop. And as much as it annoyed the higher-ups, Marvin was always the first one to know what was going on. It was a good thing the two of them had going on. 

Late-night phone calls that only ended when one of them fell asleep, cute photos, and inside jokes. Nicknames and practice kisses. And yeah their heart always skipped a beat or two or just flat-out stop when Marvin would lay their head in their lap, or hold his hand. But it was fine. Marvin was always skipping from person to person, never sticking with one partner for more than six months. Bar hookups, tinder profile pictures, bumble notifications, that always broke his heart just a little bit. But what was he going to do? Marvin was having fun and Sunday didn’t want to ruin their fun. 

Maybe that’s where Marvin was, on a date or he slept over at a guy’s house and forgot a charger. But still, that didn't feel right.

Sunday looks back down at their phone. No notification. Okay, time for a wellness check. 

“I’m coming over if you don’t text me in the next three seconds.”

“3”

“2”

“1”

“On my way. I’ll bring sushi as a peace offering.” 

Sunday grabs their favorite green cloak throwing it over their shoulder and goes out into London’s warm Summer night. 

—---

Sunday knocks on the door, okay more like pounds, trying to get Marvin’s attention. He wedges his cell phone between his ear and shoulder and listens to the ring over and over again before getting the standard “leave a message”.

“Vin, Kit-Kat, it’s me. Open up. I bring gifts and if you don’t open up I’m gonna portal up to your apartment. So do us both a favor and let me in!” He kicks the door a few more times to send a message before hanging up and shoving his phone into his pocket. Sunday looks up at the flat, the lights are on which is a good sign at the very least. He sighs yanking his bear charm free from his neck letting his mask form on his face. Magic wasn’t exactly allowed in public without a permit but he’s technically on Marvin’s property. He won’t get nicked for that. Hopefully.  The portal revealing Marvin’s room appears and he steps through closing the portal behind him. 

Higgin’s little merp and rub against his thighs settle some of his nerves but the main problem still remains. His mask swirls back into the necklace on his chest and the golden magic fades from his fingertips as his he pets Marvin’s little familiar. 

“Hey, Higgy. Where’s Marvin? You gonna lead me to him?” 

Higgins jumps up on the bed ignoring Sunday’s request. Typical little cat. Sunday pushes the door open wandering out into Marvin’s kitchen and living room. Notes, pictures, and drawings line the walls looking like the workings of a madman. And in the middle of it all Marvin, still in his pajamas, pacing around the room.

“Uh, Marv? You there mate?” Sunday asks, but Marvin keeps pacing and muttering to himself. Sunday sets the dinner down on the countertop and walks over the scattered pages of Marvin’s writing. Slowly, carefully with each step Sunday moves forward trying not to mess up any of Marvin’s work. Their hand finally finds their way to Marvin’s shoulder and in an instant, Marvin’s mask is on and lighting in his hands. 

“Woah! Hey! Hey! Marvin! It’s me! It’s me.” Sunday says throwing their hands up.

“Sunday. Sunday…Sunny.” Marvin says, almost as if he’s in a trance. 

“Yeah, Kit-Kat. It’s me. It’s Sunny.”

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“I used a portal and you weren’t answering your phone. I got worried.”

The fogginess in Marvin’s eyes clear and they flash into so many emotions going from fear to sadness to anger all within seconds. 

"I don't need your help, Sunday." Marvin’s green eyes drill into Sundays. And for anyone else, this would probably strike fear into their souls. But not Sunday. Sunday knows that look. It’s not true anger, if it was he’d be on fire. It’s that pride getting in his way. The fear that if he opens up he’ll be left alone on the porch begging for someone, anyone to stay. He has to push everyone so far away that his heart will never bleed like that again.

"Yeah, I know, kit-kat. You don’t need anyone’s help." Sunday whispers in a soothing tone taking a step forward. Marvin may growl and snarl like a feral cat from time to time but Sunday knows him better than anyone, including Marvin himself. He was just tired and clearly scared of something going on. Whatever he found must have truly shaken him to the core.

“Don’t say it in that fucking tone Sunday. Why the fuck are you even here? Did the twins send you? Because you can tell them-"

 "I came because I was worried. So can you just sit down for five minutes and let me bring you the dinner I bought before Higgins eats it?” Sunday’s golden glow wraps around their fingertips and rests against Marvin’s face. Their thumb go up and down their beard as they try to soothe Marvin. 

“Sunny…”

“It’s sushi, and I know you have some good wine. Let me get us some glasses and you can tell me what's going on.”

“Probably skip the wine.”

“Vinny, did you not eat this morning?”

“I think so? I can’t remember.”

“Okay, let's sit down.” Sunday grabs his friend’s hand and guides him down to the couch. Marvin’s head instantly rests against Sunday’s chest and Sunday finds his hand in his friend's long brown hair. “Do you want to talk first or eat?”

“What did you bring?”

“Sushi.”

“I want to eat first.”

“Okay, kit-kat. Let me grab the food.” Marvin squeezes him closer, refusing to let him get up from his spot. Sunday sighs knowing that he isn’t going anywhere. He opens a small portal allowing the food to fall through and onto the coffee table in front of them. 

“I got California rolls, rainbow rolls, and some salmon nigiri.” 

“You spoil me, Sunny.” 

“I know.” Sunday begins to unpack all the takeout from the plastic bag laying it all out on the table. He hands Marvin a pair of chopsticks and lets him dig in. With Marvin off of him, he gets up and goes back to the kitchen. He grabs a glass from his friend’s cabinet and fills it to the brim with cold water. 

“You want me to grab Higgins?”

“No, that’s okay. He’d just get lost in the papers anyway.”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that.”

“It’s all my notes, I’m trying to decipher some of them.”

“Why? Aren’t they your notes?”

“Yes, but I can’t remember writing some of them.”

“Well, you’ve written so many it doesn’t surprise me you’ve forgotten some of them.” Sunday sets the cold glass in front of Marvin and nudges him towards it. 

“No that’s not the issue, the issue was they were wiped from my memory.” 

Sunday shakes his head and jolts back in surprise. Ras has been wiping Marvin’s memories? Thats-why would he do that? He practically raised Marvin. The Magic Circle has always said that he was dangerous and an outsider. Breaking the rules of magic and not conforming to the laws set in place to keep the world safe, but mental magic? On Marvin? That’s almost too much to bear. No wonder Marvin got so angry. His trust must be shattered on the floor in a million pieces. 

“Ras has been using mental magic on you?! We gotta report this! You can stay at my house until the council has him imprisoned.” 

“What no! Sunday! Ras hasn’t been tampering with my memories. The Circle has been.”

The Circle? No. They were a bit…shifty but what governmental organization isn’t?! Members of parliament and even the prime minister took bribes and did some shady stuff and they were in charge of the country! Don’t even get him started on the mess that was America's government system. But there's no way that The Magic Circle was doing something like that to its members. To Marvin. To Him.   

“Marvin, I think-”

Marvin yanks off his necklace and lets his cat mask form in his hand. The green ethereal glow signaled that some enchantment had been left on it.

“I have it recorded. The twins, they took so much away from us, Sunny. Just look.”

Sunday takes the mask and places it on his face. Green-tinted visions of the past come before his eyes. That’s him in the corner, looking over at Marvin, but he definitely doesn’t remember this. A dead body on a slab with the twins matching fox masks firmly on their faces. Their muffled voices told them to leave the room and like the good peons they were, they left. 

“We’ve reached the limits of what direct observation can show us.”

“Even magical observation is insufficient.”

“Necromancy then.”

The twins cast a spell causing the body to rise up. Sunday’s never seen anything like it. He’s always been told something like this was illegal except in the hands of the authorities. People with permits and power. He couldn’t even pay attention to the answers the body was giving, too shocked by the twin's actions to do anything. 

The body collapses back on the table and Sunday almost does as well. But just when he thought the worst was over.

“We might use Mind’s Eye.” One of them says. Mind’s Eye was one of the most dangerous spells that could be cast on such a body. The Malia it takes could easily drain that of the corpses and the users, leaving everyone involved just dust on the floor. 

“The risk would be enormous.”

“To lesser magicians than we.”

“Very well we do need answers.”

“There remains malia sufficient in the husk to achieve it once.”

The twins touch their fingers to the corpse's skull letting the purple mist swirl around the room chaotically. Sunday can’t make out the images but he knows in his soul it’s bad. The body screams out like it’s dying again before crumbling to ash. 

The twins put their masks back on allowing everyone to rejoin them. Sunday and Marvin are the first to come in but still, Sunday can not remember even being in this room.

Sunday is all but helpless to watch as Marvin picks up his mask as the twins talk.

“We learned much from this vessel, but little of substance.”

“The circumstances of its death were byzantine and inconsequential.”

“A matter of science. Nothing with which to trouble ourselves. Whatever happened to this man does not concern the magic circles. We needn’t investigate further.”

“You needn’t even remember what transpired here.”

The twins chat to cast a spell and just like that the memory is gone. The recording stops and Sunday takes the mask off of his face. 

They took their memories. 

They took his memories.

They took Marvin’s memories. 

Over a man who died to science?! Over something so simple and inconsequential?! What did they erase that was important?! Did they erase a full days months or even years from his head?! How could they do something like that?!

“Marv, what the hell are we going to do? Can we get those memories back?! I can’t- What else did they take from us?!” Could they take larger pieces? Could they take whole people out of the memory? Could they take relationships? When was the limit where they couldn’t touch the memories?! 

“I don’t know. I have regained a few memories they took but that’s only because Ras drilled it in me to record my notes and journal my days. I’m trying to fill the gaps but I think most of them are gone.”

“Shit Marv. What are we going to do?”

“I honestly don’t know. Start recording with our masks? Compare notes?”

“That’s a start I suppose.” 

Marvin takes his spot back in Sunday’s chest and Sunday holds him tight. But it doesn’t stop the intense flood of anxiety coursing through his body. Pumped by the growing beat of his heart. 

Forgetting Marvin would be like forgetting his own name, his own being. They were so intertwined there was no way they could make them forget each other. Right? They surely couldn’t rip each other away. They would have done that years ago with Marvin and Ras. The twins never kept it a secret that they hated the man and constantly pushed Marvin to ditch his mentor. But Marvin was too stubborn, too loyal to even consider that an option.  

He looks back down at his friend only to find him asleep, all curled up in their lap. Sunday smiles and traces over Marvin’s tattoos with their finger. 

“No one will take me from you Marvin. I promise. No matter what.” They plant a little kiss on Marvin’s forehead and shuffle to a more comfortable position on the couch. No use in fighting it, he was gonna spend the night on the couch with Marvin. Not the first time this has happened and certainly not the last. He leans over and grabs a blanket from off the floor and drapes it over the two of them. 

Sunday wasn’t quite ready to fall asleep, still processing the huge mind fuck that the Magic Circle was doing this. And Marvin’s notes and research were within arms reach; he might as well catch up on what Marvin found. His fingertips find a large leather-bound book and pull it closer. Colorful tabs dot the pages probably signifying different spells he needed. 

Sunday opens it up to the first tab to find Marvin’s handwriting. No mention of spells or anything. Sunday immediately closes it and sets it down on Marvin’s back. Not today. There has to be something else he can read to get caught up on all this a spell book or something. But all of the notes around him seem to be in Marvin’s messy cursive writing. 

And then something catches his eye. One of the tabs on Marvin's journal had a little sun and a heart. He rarely lets curiosity get the best of him, that was more Marvin’s department, but he has to know what the little doodle of his nickname was doing there. He opens the book back up and begins to read the tabbed page.

I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna ask Sunny out after this meeting. I know we’re already kinda going out but I’m gonna make it official with him today. I’m in love with him and I’m sure he’s in love with me. Just gotta finish this meeting. I’m pretending to take notes but it's so dreadfully boring. I swear the twins are the stiffest people you’ll ever meet in your lifetime. 

Sunday doesn’t even realize he’s crying until the tear hits the page and smudges the ink. Did they take away that moment? Did they even allow them to have it? It’s not like Sunday could remember it. But he can just imagine it. Marvin just blurts out their feelings and he just goes red with embarrassment as Marvin uses sweet words until they kiss. 

And Magic Circle just took it away like it was nothing. 

Did Marvin know? He had to, he marked it after all. But…fuck. Did they take more moments like that away from them? How many times did they confess only to have the Magic Circle have it erased? 

Sunday wipes the tears away and takes another deep breath. He looks back down at Marvin and traces his finger across his jaw. He looks so peaceful right now. And as much as he wants to wake him up and tell him that he’s right, that he’s in love with him, that he wants to spend the rest of their lives together. It can wait. One big revelation at a time.

Sunday gives him one more kiss on the head and pulls the blanket up to Marvin’s shoulders. Both of them are gonna need sleep if they’re gonna figure out how to save their memories from future tampering. 

“Goodnight Marvin. I love you.”

-----

I don't usually write shippy stuff but here y'all go!

----

Tag List:

@kalcifers-blog

@the3rddenialist

[swimmingferret]

Hey i’m going through skinned hearts and im really into it and i noticed in the comments that you already planned how the fic will end and that really intrigued me. Since its canon complaint vergil’ll go nuclear and raise temen-ni-gru right but what will happen to the reader? She’ll probably go against Mundus but will she though?? If you’re okay with sharing im really curious about what you have in mind about reader or/and both vergil and the reader

Yea when I finally get off my ass and write that part lol I've got it all planned out like the rest of my fics, I just have to get to it.

But here, I can tell you the info about what happens between Vergil/Red since it'll be a while before I even get there in the fic when I get back to writing it if you don't mind being spoiled by what happens

But basically what explodes their relationship is Red confession she's Mundus's daughter and that she intentionally got close to Vergil to try stealing Yamato and he reacts...very badly to the news. Since the first person he got close to since his family died was pretty much a liar the whole time. Needless to say he breaks up with her and leaves and Red is devastated since her guilt over lying to Vergil when he trusted her so much drove her to confess in the first place. But after he leaves and intentionally avoids/shuns her she finds out she's pregnant- that's why Vergil is unaware of Nero (especially as Red- incorrectly believes she's sterile. Like her human form is, the demon one not so much) as he goes through with the Temen-ni-gru plan and she cannot find a way to track him down until after Nero is born already after a really bad pregnancy. Then when she realizes he fell into Hell she panics with knowing that Mundus would immediately sense Sparda's blood/yamato and basically knows Vergil is dead already. But Mundus would have Yamato, and when he figures out how to utilize the katana, he can cut open the barrier between Hell and the Human World. If that happens, everyone is fucked as Sparda is still awol and Red knows Mundus would find Nero. She already feels like she failed Vergil and is fully committed to preventing Mundus from ever finding Nero as he would be given the same kind of childhood she was given. But Red would die before she ever let that happen and that's the way she approaches the task. It's basically a suicide mission. So she chooses to leave Nero at Fortuna due to 1) it being one of the most secure places on the planet due to the Hell gate and 2) maybe if Sparda ever reappears he might visit his old home and find Nero. (Also briefly thinks about Marv and Effie, but the prospect of Marv selling baby Nero is way too high and Effie is an elderly human who would most likely die sooner rather than later, so there is nobody she trusts. But knowing they'll die if Mundus crosses in the Human World is another reason why she chooses her fate)

Then she goes to Hell, Mundus tracks her down (as the blood distillery in her heart is actually a tracker/gps beacon that works in Hell regardless of her cloak) and Mundus finds her but not before she locates the Yamato. Instead of trying to escape she instead chooses to use her time to break Yamato since that's the entire point of her Devil Arm breaker power lol she uses the dying shard of Yamato to mutilate her soul and destroy all her memories/personality growth while in the Human World so Mundus will never find Nero and he basically beats her to death as she reverts back to her personality as to how it was when she lived in Hell as a slave.

And yea that's Red's story leading up to DMC3 and why she isn't around for baby Nero and while Vergil never knows about him. Since they both basically died. Her end game is sacrificing herself for the people she loves, namely Nero.

[satchels-and-socks]

Love can rise out of the ashes

Warnings: angst, mentions of death, heartbroken Spencer, frustrated and longing Derek

Pairing: Moreid

Summary: Spencer is heartbroken after Maeve. Spencer locks himself away and becomes a shell of his formal self. Derek realized something and is determined to show Spencer that life goes on and how someone other than Maeve is truly in love with him.

It had been two weeks after Dr. Maeve Donovan's death. It absolutely drove Spencer mad that they couldn't save her he couldn't believe that he wasn't able to save the love of his life but, one thing was for certain it wasn't for the lack of trying they were just too late.

Maybe if he was faster maybe if he was smarter he could have saved her. If perhaps he was strong like Morgan and even smarter than he was he would have been able to save her life.

Or perhaps maybe he was cursed maybe if he hadn't met her maybe she would still be alive. Maybe it was his fault it just seems like anyone he loved leaves him in one way or the other.

Spencer had still been working although he doesn't really leave his apartment he keeps himself busy by joining cases over the phone. The other team members have accepted the fact that he's not ready or perhaps will never be ready to go back into the field again so they just use him for his amazing academic skills although he doesn't feel like a genius anymore.

Spencer hardly ever sleeps in his bed anymore he usually passes out on the couch with a book across this chest. He eats enough to keep himself alive but he really doesn't enjoy it anymore he feels like his life ended the day Marve's did.

Derek for some reason had become more and more irritable. Sometimes snapping at people for no reason or at least not a reason anyone could think of.

"Damnit chocolate thunder you've been madder than a wet hornet for nearly two weeks now and it needs to end now! There's no sense of it I mean my God I hardly get to see our beautiful gray matter anymore he's my best friend he's like a brother to me. Now you're my best friend and you hardly even talk to me or flirt with me over the phone anymore now what is going on with you?"Penelope huffed out harshly in a very sharp voice totally out of her sweet and passive sweetness that she usually has when talking to Derek.

"I'm sorry baby girl I don't mean to be such a jackass. It's just I realize something about myself and it's pissing me off. I realize that I'm in love with someone and I don't know what to do about it. I realized I've been in love with someone and I don't know what the hell to do about it so I'm not mad at you I guess I'm mad at myself and mad at a dead person."Derek grumbled and closed his eyes.

"I need you to breathe chocolate thunder and I need you to look at me. I know you're not really mad at a dead person but, you really are in love with our boy genius aren't you? You've been in love with him for years and haven't really realized it."Penelope said softly changing her tone a little bit realizing it wasn't her that he was mad at. Her whole demeanor changed her best friend was in love with her brother and it kind of warmed her heart she smiled a little.

"I think you might be right. I just never realized how much I loved him until I saw how much it hurt him to see her die. I wanted just to wrap him up in my arms I wanted to hold him but at the same time I knew that it wasn't the right time."Derek could feel his own heart breaking even more he just wanted to fix Spencer to hold him to tell him that he loved him to show him that everything would be okay in time to tell him that he had been in love with him since the first time he saw him.

"So instead you keep those feelings to yourself and set by and watch the love of your life destroy himself? I know you're hurting but you can't take it out on everyone else it isn't right. I know you may not want to hear this but, if you really do love him and you love him all this time you need to tell him. If you want to hold him tell him how you feel because I tell you right now he loves you the same way he always has. Right now he really needs someone to help him through this rough time I know we've all been trying but I really think he needs you I think he loves you too but he doesn't know that you love him." Penelope said quietly looking at Derek with sweetness in her eyes.

"Yeah baby girl you're right I mean you usually are. I'm not sure what I need to say though. I mean there is a chance that he might not love me the same way that I love him." Derek closed his eyes and set on the break room table putting his feet on a chair.

"Maybe I can help you write a note to slip under his door. Maybe I can help you put your feelings into words you can tell him how you really feel. I know there is a chance he might not feel the same way but I'm pretty sure that he loves you the way you love him you ought to see the way he looks at you. But, even if he doesn't he's still going to love you like a brother I can tell that that would never change there's too much love in him for that to change. But, you'll never know unless you try unless you tell him how you feel don't wait until it's too late you'll regret it." Penelope said quietly she pulled out a chair and sat down in front of him taking one of his hands and rubbing it softly.

Derek looked at her and smiled sadly he nodded his head knowing that she was right he had to do it no matter how much he tried to hide it he was in love with Spencer he closed his eyes and opened them as if he was trying to clear his mind before speaking.

"Yeah I think we should write that note you can help me word it if you want to. I know what I want to say I just don't know exactly know how to put it in words."Derek smiled and took Penelope's hand that was rubbing his and kissed it gently.

The two best friends worked on that note for hours trying to get it just exactly the way that Derek wanted.

Spencer was wondering around his apartment Reading a book in different rooms trying everything to keep his mind off of her. He wanted to move on he really did but he didn't know if he could because that was the first time he ever felt anything for anyone except he had feelings for Derek but he didn't know what they were.

Spencer got out a little saucepan and put on some water to make macaroni and cheese. He then got out a little pan for the oven and placed some dinosaur chicken nuggets on it he placed it on top of the stove while waiting for the oven to preheat.

Spencer then proceeded to walk into the living room setting on the couch continuing to read a book. He jumped a little when he saw a note slipping underneath the crack of his front door.

Spencer got the letter in unfolded it he was looking it over.

Dear Spencer,

I know you're going through a rough time right now and nothing I can say can make it any easier not really. I know losing your first love is a tough thing to go through and more likely than not you'll never ever forget it.

But, she would want you to be happy she would want you to find happiness you know love can rise from the ashes. Beautiful things can come your way and maybe just maybe there's someone who has always loved you since the first time they laid eyes on you.

Why do you think I call you pretty boy all the time? Did you think it was some kind of a joke I mean yeah perhaps a little of it was teasing but you are very pretty in fact you're beautiful. I always did love you but I didn't know how much I loved you until I saw how losing Dr Donovan hurt you I hate seeing you hurting like that because I love you very much. Pretty boy I don't want you to go through this alone I'm here for you whether you love me as a brother or a lover I don't care I want to help you through this.

I'm waiting right outside your door and if you love me it doesn't matter in what way open it up and let me in I want to help you please let me help you.

Love you forever and always,

Derek Hank Morgan

Spencer's eyes begin to tear up when he read those words he watched as little puddles appeared on the piece of notebook paper. He stood up slowly and peeked out his peak hole to see if Derek was standing there and he was. Derek was standing there staring at his feet Spencer wondered if this was just some kind of cruel joke he hesitated for a little bit before putting his hand on the door knob he opened it slowly.

Spencer didn't say a word he just stared at Derek his eyes were red and puffy he's been crying so much. He carefully wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his baggy sweatshirt.

"Hey pretty boy can I come in or are we just going to stay out in the hallway like this?" Derek ask with a little smile he stepped a little closer to Spencer.

Spencer winched a little but didn't pull away as Derek pulled him into a tight hug Spencer hugged him back. Spencer sniffled a little still hugging Derek.

"Derek I'm so confused. I loved her I think she might have been my first love but I love you too. I think I have for a while."Spencer mumbled into Derek's shoulder still hugging him really tightly.

"I know kiddo I know it hurts it probably hurts like hell. I love you and I'm here to help you let me help you let me take care of you could ya do that for me kid? We'll take it slow as slow as you want we'll get through this we'll get through this together kiddo."Derek said giving Spencer a tight squeeze before letting go and put in a little space between them so he could look Spencer in the eyes.

"I love you too very much Derek I'm making some lunch it's not much but I like it if you would join me. It's macaroni and cheese and dinosaur chicken nuggets."Spencer said really softly as he gave Derek a little soft kiss on the lips before opening the door and walking inside hoping that Derek would follow him.

Derek huffed out a little laugh and followed Spencer inside setting on the couch he watched him for a moment before speaking.

"Yeah that sounds great kid but I'm going to make us dinner tonight. We'll get through this kiddo I promise it might take a while but we'll get through this." Derek said with a little smile on his face.

The end....? (There may be a part two)

_______________________________________________________

@f-me-reid @buckaroo118 @badgerdryad @girlboygarfield @ssamorganhotchner @urxsavingxgrace @spencermyangel

[sapphirerubycreates]

Ghosting April

Missed Messages AU 

Summary: Marvin hasn't seen Robin for a week. He's getting very worried so he goes to see her. Apparently, he was right to be worried.

First Friday in April, senior year

--------------------------

Marvin started to suspect something was off after a few days without hearing from Robin. Sure, not seeing her wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. Not texting him back was.

So he tried to catch up with her when she was working. Imagined he’d just do a nice casual slide into the chair across from her. But he couldn’t find her in any of her usual study spots. A few times he got a glimpse of her as she was walking around campus, but she always seemed to disappear whenever he tried to catch up. Several times during the past week, Marvin would be walking about after classes, trying to figure out what to do, and start up walking the route through campus that her group always took to get back home on Fridays. And when he’d realize what he was doing, he’d stop and go the other way. But then he’d always curse himself for not going by to check up on her. Made excuses that she was busy, it was near the end of the semester. Had projects and exams she dedicated her heart and time to and couldn’t make time for friends. Those arguments always felt like rubbish. And he felt in his entire body that something was very wrong. It was just a question of whether it was her, or it was him.

 Once the week rolled around to Friday, Marvin had built up so much worry and anxiety that he physically couldn’t pussyfoot around anymore. If she didn’t meet up with her friends at the union, he’d find her and make sure she was okay. He showed up ten minutes early to ice cream Friday, trying to scope out the place in case she decided to watch from afar. But there was no such luck. Some of the others in the friend group started to gather, and he seized the opportunity to ask them about her.

“She’s fine. I mean, Capstone is dragging her through hell, but otherwise,” Ryan plainly answered.

“What’s the bastard done now?”

“It’s the same stuff as always. Not doing his work. And she’s doing everything. I overheard some of his friends bitching about how she doesn’t do enough work. I haven’t told her that.” Marvin could feel his temperature rising. “I’m still waiting for her to say I can tell him off.”

“Tell me when she finally agrees to it. I’ve got some things to say to him.” Marvin clenched his fist. But this wasn’t helping right now. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and unclenched as he breathed out. He tried to put the rage aside, for the moment. “Aside from him, do you know if anything else is bothering her?”

“I mean, she doesn’t really say that much. Can’t blame her though; everything else seems small in comparison.”

“I mean, I guess, sure. But do you know if she’s angry at me too? Maybe mentioned something in passing?”

“You? No, no, she’s not angry with you.” That emphasis gave him pause.

“Well, she’s been avoiding me, so I must have done something to piss her off.”

“Really? Avoiding? ... I don’t think it’s you, if that’s true.”

“Then what’s up with her?”

Ryan hummed to himself. “Y’know, maybe you should drop by, check in on her? Bring her something sweet?” Ryan smiled optimistically.

“But if she's avoiding me for an actual reason, chocolate isn’t an apology.”

“Marv. My dude. You are not the problem here. Trust me. She’s not avoiding you on purpose. Just make the first move and go see her. You can use the chocolate as an excuse. I'm sure she’ll feel a million times better when she sees your face.”

Marvin would have sworn that Ryan was trying to set him up with Robin. But why couldn’t he just say that ‘hey, Robin likes you.’ In any case, that was the final push Marvin needed. He immediately left the table, waving a quick goodbye to all as he headed down to the campus shop to buy some of her comfort food.

With an assortment of nuts, instant soup, and sweets in his bag, Marvin rushed across campus to get to her house without hesitation. When he arrived, he stopped and took a minute to catch his breath before knocking on the door.

Teresa was the one to answer the door. “Oh hey.” She motioned for him to come in. “What brings you by?” She shut the door behind him.

“I uh...” he slung his bag in front of him and opened the zipper to reveal the morsels. “I heard Robin wasn’t doing well cause of that asshole, so I brought her food.”

“Oh!” her face lit up. “Just sit on the couch. I’ll get her.” Marvin timidly sat down and waited as Teresa went upstairs to get Robin.

Finally, there were creaky stairs. He straightened his posture as he waited to finally see her. As Robin descended and came into view, she took a glance over at him. But her expression quickly turned from nonchalance to fear before she bolted back up into the shadows.

“Wait!” Marvin chased after her, almost crashing into Teresa as he desperately tried to follow her. But the door was slammed shut before he even got another look at her. Marvin frantically knocked on the door. “Robin please! What did I do?” He leaned his forehead against the door, wishing he could see her face to face. “Please,” he whispered softly, more for himself than her. He already didn’t want to lose her. He was hanging onto these weeks before graduation. And now they were slowly slipping through his fingers. He didn’t want their last conversation to be from last week, over his stupid market research presentation.

“Can we just...” go back to the way things were? “Whatever happened, I can fix it. Just, don’t shut me out. Please?” His voice hitched on that last word by accident. But he didn’t hear her moving towards the door. Or writing on a piece of paper. Or doing anything at all to give him some reassurance. Silence.

“If you don’t want to–” Marvin cleared his throat, buying himself time and fighting to keep the words flowing, “– don’t want to see me... just say so.” He waited for a response. But nothing. Wondered what she looked like right now. Scared? Upset, probably.

“Guess I’ll... give you your space for now then.” He took two heavy steps away from the door. Looked back longingly at it, fantastically hoping he could see her peeking out of it. But still nothing. So down the stairs he went.

Teresa was in the living room. Before she could make a sound, Marvin answered for her, “I’m leaving. Guess I’m, not welcome here right now.”

“For now, that’s probably best.”

“Yeah.” Marvin looked down at his unzipped backpack, teeming with snacks. With a full sigh, he bent down and started moving the food from his bag to the sofa cushion. “Can you... if she won’t take ’em, you girls can have ’em.”

“Oh, you don’t –”

“It’s fine,” Marvin finished, closing his bag and slinging it onto his back as he stood up. “Bye.” The word lingered in the air as he paused before making his way out. 

Marvin wished he hadn’t come. Learned that her ghosting him was intentional. Gotten this looming closure that she was scared of him now. Yeah. He didn’t want to watch as he lost his best friend, but it was worse knowing he could do little to reconcile them now.

[jaydonsjam]

Tomb of Dracula II

Tomb of Dracula #7-8 written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by Gene Colan #7 inked by Tom Palmer and #8 inked by Ernie Chan

Here I am again to discuss issues #7-8 of the Tomb of Dracula! Marv Wolfman wrote these issues (and apparently he writes the rest of the series which gets me excited cause now there’ll be a consistent story. Well I hope.) and Gene Colan pencilled them and continues to be one of my favorite artists from this era. I love how his art on this book is full of shadows and almost has a sketchy look to the art. This book is so engrossing with the amount of reading involved but I can see it turning a lot of comic fans off.

Issue #7 opens with Dracula returning to London on a snowy night on the prowl for a new victim. His victim this night was going to be Edith Harker, granddaughter of one of his enemies, Jonathan Harker. We see that Dracula can control rats when his plan fails cause Edith had a crucifix at the ready. She’s saved by her father Quincy Harker and his dog Saint who then calls Rachel Van Helsing to let her know that Dracula is back.

I love how Colan draws the snow, it almost looks painted. I also love the introduction of Quincy and how he’s basically the armory for the other vampire hunters. I can’t get enough of this team man. I love Rachel, Frank and Taj and now Quincy. This book has some of the best supporting characters in a comic. Usually I don’t care much about supporting characters but they all serve a purpose here. I also can’t wait for Clifton Graves to get his. I took a sick satisfaction from Dracula smacking him. Dracula hypnotizes a whole group of kids playing ball. I’ve said this previously but Dracula has to be the best villain out of the comics I’m currently reading from this era. He’s intelligent, cunning, vicious, and sadistic. He has all the traits that make a great villain. I love that he always has a plan. He even has a bunch of rats feed on a poor homeless man. This dude is a garbage fire but I can’t take my eyes off this comic! Our heroes fail to use their garlic nets to capture Dracula because he uses his power to turn into mist. I don’t see how he’s going to be stopped, he has such an arsenal of awesome powers and there seem to be new reveals all the time. They find Dracula’s mansion and wait for him to go to sleep so they can break in and stake him in the heart. BUT like I’ve said already, Dracula makes preparations upon preparations and when our heroes break into his mansion and find his coffin, it’s not Dracula, it’s someone made up to look like him. He then reveals his plan and calls upon the hypnotized kids to kill the heroes. It’s a great plan because he knows that they weren’t going to hurt the kids but that doesn’t mean the kids aren’t going to kill them. Before Dracula gets away, Quincy hits him with a poison dart as the kids close in.

Issue #8 starts with Dracula seeking out a doctor by the name of Heinrich Morrte to help remove the poison inside Dracula. Morrte is revealed to also be a vampire which leads to a fucking awesome fight at the end of this issue.

The heroes use the cover of darkness to escape the kids and when everything seems dire, Edith shows up in a helicopter using a sonic device to knock out the kids. Dracula takes Morrte to a cemetery with his invention, the Projector which will bring dead vampires back to life. Morrte has a daughter who doesn’t know he’s a vampire and when Dracula threatens her at the cemetery, Morrte turns into a bat and takes the Projector and Vlad does the same and they fight in the sky. Morrte breaks the Projector and ends the fight by impaling himself on a fence. It’s brutal and one of my favorite things that’s happened in this book so far. I will say the Projector didn’t make much sense and kinda came out of nowhere.

Dracula continues to be so tactical and at this point, undefeatable. So I’m very curious to see where this goes next and plus, I’m waiting with bated breath for Blade to show up. I can’t wait. Marvel knows how to make Horror books. Honestly the weakest one so far has been Ghost Rider. Next up we’re back to Werewolf By Night!

[cityofsinx]

✑ main ✑ bio ✑ face ✑ muse ✑ wishlist ✑

about:

This is a sideblog, and I follow back from my main @grimmusings. Please direct IMs there, since it's easier for me to keep all my messages on one blog. It's also easier to start interactions with me there, where I regularly post open starters and meme prompts. For a full list of rules, see my main. Honesty hour questions will largely be answered IC and treated as anonymous unless signed by a muse.

All details vary based on verse, but in general I write Nancy based on the Sin City (2005) film, with occasional elements or connections from the comics pulled in as needed. However, her primary verses and character arc will come from the first film, without influence from A Dame to Kill For (2014) unless specifically plotted. I’m happy to write her into AUs and fandom crossovers, but for ease, I typically write as though Basin City exists within the Marvel/DC universes as a lawless entity unto itself, much like Madripoor.

And now, some warnings! Sin City contains quite a lot of triggering material, specifically:

Nancy is a stripper at Kadie's nightclub and still is in some verses, so this may be written out occasionally and referenced often.

She's also canonically in love with a man old enough to be her father, so there will be legal age gap shipping here.

Finally, she's been the target of a rapist/pedophile (Roark Jr. / That Yellow Bastard) once or twice, verse depending. I will not be exploring that theme in depth in any threads, since I'm not comfortable writing underage/non-con, but it will be referenced from time to time as part of her history.

If you’re not comfortable with these concepts, that’s perfectly fine, but this isn’t the muse for you.

wanted connections:

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I can roll with most muses as far as basic interactions. I’m happy to ship Nancy with other comics characters and OCs/fandom crossovers based on chemistry. There is never any pressure to ship with me, even if they're on my list.

OTPs: John Hartigan Possible Ships: Dwight, Johnny, Wade Wilson, Frank Castle, most antiheroes (she's soft for all the tough guys with good hearts) NOTPs: Roark family, Kevin Other: Marv (<3), Eric Draven, any Marvel/DC muses

default verses:

sin city: This verse takes place during the time Nancy is a law student and a dancer at Kadie's, after John Hartigan's release from prison and Roark's second attack. It may or may not acknowledge Hartigan's death.

a really good lawyer: After Hartigan and Roark's deaths, Nancy finishes law school and becomes a lawyer, fighting the corruption in Basin City much the way her hero did. It does not acknowledge the events of A Dame to Kill For.

multiverse!madness: Various comics universes collide, whether Marvel/DC/etc. have always existed on the same Earth, or other-dimension shenanigans are at work. Duplicate friendly!

verses by request only:

I'm happy to write these, but since they're more specific AUs, I don't default on them for asks/memes. Please feel free to request them.

a dame to kill for: Nancy goes down a darker path after Hartigan's death and seeks revenge on the Roark family.

gods & avengers: Comics characters are reincarnations of Greek gods. Nancy is vaguely aware of Persephone's power manifesting in her, but she has yet to realize her true identity.

welcome to westview: A month after being Blipped back into existence and still heartbroken over Hartigan's death, a grieving Nancy joins Wanda in Westview for her happily ever after.

[lol-jackles]

Whats your opinion on Walker's finale ?

Better cliffhanger than season 1 finale even though overall season 1's finale was better because "Something Missing" had too much Davidson and not enough action.  At least the Davidson arc is wrapped up with no lingering open-ended issues and best of all, the Walkers got their land and ranch back.

Geri is desperate for answers and Cordell pointed that they've tried all avenues to get answers and came up empty; nobody is going to talk to a Walker. She wants answers then she's going to have to go undercover to get them, so she and Cordell stage a fake fight in front of Gale and in doing so probably spilled a few of their own repressed truths they've been holding back.

Cordell coached Geri to do what he did with Stan Morrison last season, take Gale to the barn because it’s scene of the crime and could trigger her guilt, which it did and she spilled out her repressed truth she been holding back for over 25 years.  People confess either out of guilty conscious or for notoriety and neither Gale nor Stan was out for 15 minutes of fame.  Plus their murder was very out of character for them and handle the fall out with lies on top of lies until their souls became split.  

Geri needs answers but she didn’t want the answer she got: Gale killed Marv out of anger and she screwed up Cordell’s life by putting Marv’s death on a 13 years old kid for Christ sake and then triple down on the lie for 25 years.  In Geri’s distress, she accidentally knocks the lantern towards containers of accelerants and up goes the bad luck barn, again.  Geri escapes the barn and Cordell rushes in to save Gale.

Between confessing and Cordell saving her, the real Gale finally emerge as the human being she should have been all along.  Cordell’s family is still angry on his behalf, especially his son and mother.  Abbie has her say with Gale before she is carted off to jail.  Denise also confessed to cutting the saddle because she believed her mother and in revenge wanted Cordell to experience loss like when she lost her father.  I feel like a blockhead for not putting two and two together was why she arrested Bonham because she wanted Cordell to experience loss of a father.  With her own confession she also start to act like a human being she should have been all along and appears to make up with Dan.

All the Davidson angst was worth it when the Walkers got their land and ranch back.  Stella unpacks the board game that the family hasn’t played since Emily’s death.  Cordell promises to embarrass Stella at her graduation with a speech, and then they have a heart to heart father-daughter talk.  Liam decided to take up ranching instead of practicing law and have a heart to heart father-son talk.  Cordell and Trey have a heart to heart talk about what being a Ranger means and they are joined by Liam for a race, just like in the first episode.  Cordell pranks them by running ahead and Trey and Liam belatedly starts the race too.  As Trey and Liam match their running pace, they are surprised how far ahead Cordell must be as he’s no wear in sight.  Reaching the finishing line where Stella in her graduation dress greets them, she asks, “Where Dad?”

A nondescript grey van rushes away from ranch with an unconscious Cordell sporting a bloody cheek.  Cassie’s bad feeling that something is coming had came for Cordell in an unexpected cliffhanger that increased the stake from one to fifty in thirty seconds going into the 3rd season because we know so little about the mysterious baddie and what they want.  

My score: 8.5 out of 10.  3 point deduction for too much Davidson angst, 1 point returned for closing out the Davidson arc.  Half point returned for unexpected cliffhanger.

[marvus-xoloto]

Marvus Pale Headcanons

I'm going to do my best to keep these organized, but ngl I have so many thots abt marv. Head empty, heart..... full :) So... Let's start broad and narrow it down?

Marvus to me reads as somebody who has a hard time differentiating his feelings between concupiscent and conciliatory. He's got enough of an emotional IQ to understand when a relationship isn't working for him or is entering unhealthy territory, so black romance tends to be a little easier for him to navigate than red romance.

Within red romance, Marvus's experience with intimacy is sexual. I mean, the man exudes sexuality and he's kind of the face of sexual desire on alternia just in general. When people get to know him, it's usually flirtatious, implicitly sexy, and invasive.

So with all of that in mind, when I think of Marvus and red romance, I do think he struggles with: a. differentiating sexual intimacy vs non sexual intimacy b. opening up and letting go of his persona completely and c. commitment in general.

For these reasons, I do think he's prone towards gravitating towards an all in one red quadrant; I would say rails with pails, but I really think he'd struggle to keep his feelings all sorted. Marvus is not exactly the kind of person who likes to keep things in boxes, anyway. Not only is it easier for him to navigate intimacy- sexual or not- when there is no boundary, I think Marvus dislikes the idea of romantic boundaries at all with people he has feelings for in general. Quadrant vacillation isn't his thing for these same reasons.

Okay, so with all of that out of the way, let's get onto the specifically pale romantic fluff 😎💕

Marvus's favorite way to be touched is firmly; some people like to escape reality a lil bit when they're getting pale and jiggy with it- and sometimes Marvus does, too- but he generally prefers to be grounded. He's a very intelligent person and he likes to think and strategize his way through problems rather than let them sit and stew.

So with paps, he likes the standard shoosh-pap, but he also likes (and I wrote this in my fic, read it love it reblog it praise me for it etc) when his moirail goes thumb to cheekbone, fingertips to spine. He has sharp angles to his face and he enjoys when his moirail traces them. He also understands intimacy very well this way: he loves feeling your hands around his throat, and the trust between you two in that moment.

He's a very thoughtful person, and his love languages are both quality time and gift giving. He learns all sorts of minutiae about your hobbies, and always picks up small little things that make him think of you. He's also really good at reading people; I've spoken about this before so I won't go in depth here, but he's very good at talking you out of your bad mood.

I argue that Marvus, while he doesn't like feeling idolized in his quadrants, does like to feel special and praised in redrom specifically. Celebrating his albums, or working on songs together, or even just showing up at his studio make him feel like you care, and let's him feel connected to you.

Marvus does like his secrets, and there are times where you dig and you dig and you dig and you still can't unearth them. It takes a while for him to trust that you won't run to the press with it.

He can be a little hot and cold at the beginning. Because Marvus is out on tour a lot, or on interviews, or just generally got damn busy, he sort of like. Lives out of his limo and party bus a lot. In his mind, this isn't exactly the environment for a deep romantic bond and it's a very difficult environment for trust to grow. But he does crave that closeness and unconditional love from another! And honestly, his space is his biggest blessing: he needs a lot of distance in all of his relationships in order to not feel smothered. He likes to feel as if he desperately misses someone and he plays up the pining soo much lol. He wants your attention.

Yeah that's all I got right now! I feel a little unfocused, but if y'all want me to go deeper or clarify on anything specific, just ask! (Please ask me abt marvus my blorbo love of my fucked up mind. I'm begging.. Asks are also open for other characters <3).

[limetameta]

Voldemort's appropriate petnames which he uses on significant other:

*nickname of name*

Abraxas - Abbie (all of Abraxas' friends call him Brax but Voldemort has to be different so Abraxas becomes Abbie and Abraxas loves the distinction)

Hermione - Herm or Herman (it started off as a joke but then it completely grew on the both of them (she in turn calls him Marv to be spiteful, but that,too, becomes a weird and beloved nickname))

Harry - Harrison (here we go in the opposite direction because Harry's name is too short for any shortening but Voldemort still wants to be an inconvenience to the world) Harry calls him Mortimer as a nickname for VoldeMORT. This is done mainly to annoy him but Voldemort sometimes answers to it on instinct.

Bellatrix - Bella or General. She loves it. He remembers it.

*petnames that Voldemort enjoys being called*

Abraxas - Mon chou, darling, beloved, dear *name*, mon tresor, dear heart, mon âme (he tolerates the french ones a lot more than the english ones because he doesn't feel like the cringe how he does w the english ones ya know)

Hermione - love, dear, *name but in a very cross manner* (neither hermione nor voldemort care much about what they call each other)

Harry - precious idiot, moron, fiend, bastard (v: they were married h: bastard can mean other things!), dear, love (very sparingly because voldemort cannot take affection at all)

Bellatrix - my lord, sexyman, mon amour, beloved, i dunno super pretentious shit that she thinks will lift up his ego

*variations on Voldemort's name he allows to be called*

Abraxas - this man could call him whatever the fuck he wanted to because he saved him a lot of humilation by telling the T in Voldemort is silent.

Hermione: Vol, Tom, Voldemort, VoldemorT

Harry: Just not Tom

Bellatrix: Not Tom or anything associating with TMR. But he allows her Voldumbass (she was drunk he was laughing way too much on new years eve aka his birthday)

*petnames which Voldemort uses on his significant others*

Abraxas - love, *the more cockney it goes the easier he finds himself to mockingly show affection but then he conditions himself to actually like saying it*, poppet

Hermione: poppet, darling, love, professor, doctor (when hermione gets that phd cuz ofc she will)

Harry: dear Harry (in the most exasparated tone possible)

Bellatrix: *this is when he takes out a french dictionary*

[wandsandwheezes]

Inconspicuous | G.W

T/W // Ouid content, kissing and suggestive content but no actual smut it doesn’t even really get too spicy

Summary // 2.5k // Reader is Ron’s best friend and George is absolutely 100% in love with her and has been crushing for a while, Ron attempts to be inconspicuous and get inside info from his best friend for his brother but we all know how Ron is.

A/N - big surprise i’ve simped again and i’ve written yet ANOTHER George fic. massive thank you to @witch-and-a-half​ for her ADORBS request bc she has inspired me not only to write ouid content but ron content so i luvvv her sm🧡🧡

taglist; @weasleysflowr​ @theweasleysredhair​ @whiz-bangs78​ @hufflepuffgirly​ @sarcasticallywitty15​ 

If there was one thing that Ron wasn't good at, it would have to be subtlety. It was painfully obvious how much he liked Hermione to everyone else before he'd even come to terms with it himself. This all ran through George's head as he toyed with the idea of trying to get his baby brother to set him up. 'This is a terrible idea' he thought, but the words had already started spilling before he could stop himself. 

George watched you teaching his twin and Ginny how to play a muggle card game, something that you were disturbingly good at, so good that George was convinced you were using a charmed deck whenever you would play with friends or whenever you showed a card trick. The aspect of teaching a wizard to do a magicians trick was what made you love cards so much. "She's great isn't she." George mused. 

"I'd say so, just don't let her convince you that she hasn't charmed the deck," Ron laughs as he works on polishing his and Harry's broomsticks ready for the return of quidditch season. George's eyes snapped back to his brother, out of his trance. "Yeah, I'm surprised someone as great as her is still single." He hoped Ron would catch his drift but the ever oblivious boy shoved off the comment. "I know why she's single, She's great, a catch even and she's my best friend but, bloody hell, the guys she dates are such pricks." 

"oh…" George's heart sank a little, He knew this was a long shot trying to get his brother to set him up, because you and Ron were the closest thing to twins, besides sharing a womb. He thought maybe he could just grow a pair and ask you out himself but that seemed like such a bad idea to the poor boy. "Well, hypothetically, If she were to date someone who you already knew, say quite well, I'm sure you'd be happy for her, no?" 

Ron laughed a little, "I see you, trying to be Fred's wingman, test the waters and see how I'd react." George punches his brother's arm, shaking his head before dropping his voice to a whisper. "No, you blind bat, I mean me. I like her."

"why didn't you lead with that?" Ron goes to walk over to her, but George stops him in his tracks, pulling him back so they're standing in front of each other. "No, wait, wait, stop. You can't make it obvious like that." Ron sighs, rolling his eyes, "what do you suppose I do then?" 

"I'm not asking you to set us up or anything, just, I don't know? See if she's interested." Ron looks over to you, catching your eye, you smile over to the boys, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear before instructing fred on a good game move. "I think you'd be good for her, looking at it."

"what do you mean by that?" he was prying now, "Her last relationship was, well, not brilliant. Ravenclaw guy, really stuck up and super uptight about everything, I swear he was a lousy git and didn't take care of her, but she was infatuated with him, god knows why." 

"I see, you know, I've had a crush on her since I was like 14 right?" Ron's jaw dropped, looking at his brother quizzically, "wow, I wouldn't have known." God, he was blind, if not blind, just blissfully unaware if what's going on around him. "Well, leave it to me, big brother!" 

There's been things George would do over the last few years, that to you were just small acts of kindness from someone you'd known your whole life; Picking up things you'd dropped, reaching top shelves, helping with hard potions papers, him teaching you how to smoke - but to him he's been flirting with you non stop. He'd never seen anyone or anything compare to your beauty. 

Later on in the evening George passed by you in the kitchen, hand pressed to the small of your back, he looked down at you with a smile, his whole stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies. You both stayed there a moment longer than usual. George's scent was heavenly, and you'd never admit it but it was a smell you knew you could get drunk off of. 

Ron noticed the interaction between you two, watching as George exited the room, to head out to join his twin in the shed for the evening's activities "Hey, Y/N mind helping me with the snacks, that is if you're joining George, Fred and I tonight ." you giggled, walking around the long table to join him, "Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world, Ronniekins. What do you need me to do?" 

He instructed you in what snacks needed grabbing, packing them into a bag, ready for the night, making sure to grab some water and the blankets from the airing cupboard. "So, uh… How's things with Marc was it? Or Marv?" you rolled your eyes, "Let's not, god we haven't spoken at all this summer. At this point I think you'd make a better boyfriend than he ever will." 

He laughed, swinging the bag over his shoulder picking up the bottles, "Well, I may be unavailable romantically-" he starts, before you cut him off "and Emotionally." Ron rolls his eyes, with a huff, "Riiiight, however, George and Percy are always available." His eyes were scanning your face for a reaction, "Oh, Percy, my favourite!" you giggle, the sarcasm evident in your tone, you're gathering the blankets into your arms before you ponder on it. "Well, Not that you'd like to know, because he is your brother - but my god George smells amazing, I definitely would if I had the chance." 

"Blimey, Really, Y/N? That's fantastic!" Ron slips up slightly, he's fucked it, it's so obvious now and he tries to cover it up, but you're just as oblivious as he is most of the time. "Fantastic?" you prod, Ron was your best friend after all and you sensed something was up. "Oh, well you know how I feel about your taste in Men, I think George would be good for you, like you said, he is my brother I could always strangle him if he's a dick." You head out towards the shed, the bitter cold from outside making you glad you'd brought the blankets. "Like George would ever want to date me, Ron!" you laugh, pulling the blankets close to your chest. Ron laughs along with you, nervously but glad he hadn't blown his Brother's cover. 

"Evening Boys!" you chirp, closing the door to the shed quickly to try and salvage some warmth. "We come bringing gifts." Ron adds, swinging the bag down off his shoulder and onto the floor, "Actually, damn, I left the good shit in our room, George." Ron widens his eyes, seizing the opportunity to give you and George a moment together, "I'll come with you Fred, I want to grab my hoodie." you speak up, grabbing Ron's wrist before he leaves, "Can I borrow one please?" you pout up at him, he laughs shaking his head, jokingly brushing you off with a "No…" smiling a fake smile. 

Ron looks over to George, mouthing a 'she likes you' behind your back praying that you don't notice, pointing at you and making a heart with his hands before pointing then at George, like some really piss poor attempt at charades. George however takes the hint, moving a couple of the pillows on the sofa he's sat on so that you can join him. 

It wasn't as if it was awkward between you and George but, now you were alone together, you felt the new tension. A part of you had to admit that you were attracted to him, after all he looked incredible, muscly biceps, veiny forearms and big hands, his hair was still long, with an effortless wave to it. You already craved his scent, but did you crave him too? 

His eyes were on you, he couldn't help but fall a little harder every time he saw you in blue, it was his favourite on you. "You look beautiful," He spoke up, smiling at you "Blue really suits you." He tried to act casual but awkwardness seemed to be taking over, he was hardly able to express himself. "You know, you're not too bad looking yourself, George. What I would do for a man like you." you sigh, reminding yourself that you're returning to hogwarts single after yet another failed relationship. 

"Why want someone like me when you could always have the real deal." He joked, you scooted a little closer to him looking into his eyes, his hand rested on your knee as you moved in closer to him, his eyes were flicking between your lips and your eyes and for a moment you felt it. The Spark. He leaned in, pressing his lips to yours in a quick kiss. 

It was enough for you to realise why Ron had been acting so weird and suddenly you'd realised just how hard you'd been crushing on the twin in front if you. He was truly phenomenal, you were about to lean in for a second kiss when the door swung open again. Ron and Fred return, the former, tosses a hoodie at you, "I couldn't find another one so Fred grabbed this off George's bed." 

"You don't mind, do you, Georgie?" you spoke innocently, looking into his eyes. The use of the nickname as it rolled off your lips, was enough for his stomach to be in knots, "Of course not, angel." He smiled softly, of course it had to be the navy one, he was growing frustrated but nevertheless he was playing into the innocence. Ron had told Fred about the plan to get you two together tonight, to which the older twin was elated, ready to see his brother shut up about being so lonely. 

You'd started the night early, meaning that by 11:30 you were all absolutely stoned, you'd ended up with your legs tangled with George's, and his thumb rubbing circles onto your thigh. You'd been pouting, asking him to help you with the bong. He was already whipped. The higher you both got, the less you both seemed to care that you weren't alone, George finally presses another a kiss to your lips. The small, gentle kisses, had turned into delicate touches, Ron notices just how close you both were to each other, oddly recognising that same feeling when he saw Dean kissing Ginny, but he wasn't sure if it was you or George he was meant to be protective of. 

You'd dozed off on George's chest, his fingers playing delicately with the ends of your hair, "I think we'll leave you two here then. I'm baked and ready for bed, what about you, Fred?" Ron looks over to his older brother who is taking a final hit, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "Mmm, yeah I could do with some alone time to work on some products." he adds, the two boys gathering their things and heading swiftly out of the room, not before Fred winks at is twin, causing George to flip him off with a small laugh. 

You looked like an angel, asleep on his chest, he truly was In love with you, even if you weren't with him. He started to overthink, about what a life with you would be like, how beautiful you'd look underneath him, how you would take his breath away as you walked down the isle. He was more than head over heels, his full body was falling deeply in love with you, and yet a life with you was so close, he could taste it.

Only in your dreams did you ever imagine falling asleep on George's chest. Your fantasies of him being a gentle caring boyfriend, overwhelmed you. You hadn't really ever thought about how much you craved the smell, the touch and now the taste of a boy you'd known your whole life. You'd been searching for something perfect but it was always there for you at home, waiting for a moment with you. 

When you found yourself awake again, you'd noticed the other two boys had left, leaving you and George cuddled on the sofa, you didn't want to leave. He had you, hook, like and sinker and all he'd done is kiss you. "hello, sleepyhead," he joked, his hand rubbing small circles on your lower back. You smiled wide "Hi, Georgie," you murmured, still waking yourself up, you realise you're still quite high and looking into his bloodshot eyes you knew he was too. 

He drew you in for another kiss, but this time, he didn't hold back, his hand was pressed against your jaw, inticing you in more. Small pecks turned to longer kisses, causing you to swing your leg over his thighs so that you were straddling his hips. One of his hands were now on the small of your back, while the other had tangled in your hair, this move had meant that the kisses had now turned to a full make out session. The way you'd kissed each other was full of passion, and Merlin was George good with his lips, it was the best kisses you'd ever had. 

When things started to heat up, he stopped himself, he didn't want to treat you like a fling, something that happened when you were both high. "Wait, Y/N, I don't want this to be a one night thing. I want all of you, for well, as long as you want me."

Your heart sank when he'd pulled away and you thought that maybe he'd regretted doing this with you, you went to apologise before his words actually set in, did he actually want you? "You want to be with me?" you ask softly, your forehead pressed against his, hands still running through the hair at the back of his head. "More than you'll ever know," he admitted. "finding someone like you makes me the luckiest man alive."

You giggle, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Who would've known you were such a sappy man?" his arms wrap around your waist, flipping you over so that he was hovering over you, causing a laugh to rip through your vocal chords. "I can do less sappy and a bit rougher if you'd prefer" he murmurs suggestively, pressing kisses along your jaw, his hands traveling up your arms until your hands are pressed against each others, fingers lacing together.

This morning when you woke up, kissing George was the last thing on your mind, now it's the only thing you can think of doing. He said he was the lucky one but truly you felt luckier, you had someone who would do anything for you, and to think it was all Ron's (very capable) doing. 

On your wedding day, six or so years later, Ron thought it would be a good idea for his Man of Honour speech, to tell everyone the story of how he set up his best friend with his brother. The speech ended with you both in tears at how now his best friend was his Sister In law and that he was glad you finally found a decent taste in men.

[superman86to99]

Superman #85 (January 1994)

Cat Grant in... "DARK RETRIBUTION"! Which is like normal retribution, but somehow darker. On the receiving end of Cat's darktribution is Winslow Schott, the Toyman, who suddenly changed his MO from "pestering Superman with wacky robots" to "murdering children" back on Superman #84, with one of his victims being Cat's young son Adam. Now Cat has a gun and intends to sneak it into prison to use it on Toyman. She's also pretty pissed at Superman for taking so long to find Toyman after Adam’s death (to be fair, Superman did lose several days being frozen in time by an S&M demon, as seen in Man of Steel #29).

So how did Superman find Toyman anyway? Basically, by spying on like 25% of Metropolis. After finding out from Inspector Turpin that the kids were killed near the docks, Superman goes there and focuses all of his super-senses to get "a quick glimpse of every person" until he sees a bald, robed man sitting on a giant crib, and goes "hmmm, yeah, that looks like someone who murders children." At first, Superman doesn't understand why Toyman would do such a horrible thing, but then Schott starts talking to his mommy in his head and the answer becomes clear: he watched Psycho too many times (or Dan Jurgens did, anyway).

Immediately after wondering why no one buys his toys, Toyman makes some machine guns spring out of his giant crib. I don't know, man, maybe it's because they're all full of explosives and stuff? Anyway, Toyman throws a bunch of exploding toys at Superman, including a robot duplicate of himself, but of course they do nothing. Superman takes him to jail so he can get the help he needs -- which, according to Cat, is a bullet to the face. Or so it seems, until she gets in front of him, pulls the trigger, and...

PSYCHE! It was one of those classic joke guns I’ve only ever seen in comics! Cat says she DID plan to bring a real gun, but then she saw one of these at a toy store and just couldn't resist. Superman, who was watching the whole thing, tells Cat she could get in trouble for this stunt, but he won't tell anyone because she's already been through enough. Then he asks her if she needs help getting home and she says no, because she wants to be more self-sufficient.

I think that's supposed to be an inspiring ending, but I don't know... Adam's eerie face floating in the background there makes me think she's gonna shave her head and climb into a giant crib any day, too. THE END!

Character-Watch:

Cat did become more self-sufficient after this, though. Up to now, all of her storylines seemed to revolve around other people: her ex-husband, Morgan Edge, José Delgado, Vinnie Edge, and finally Toyman. After this, I feel like there was a clear effort to turn her into a character that works by herself. I actually like what they did with Cat in the coming years, though I still don’t think they had to kill her poor kid to do that -- they could have sent him off to boarding school, or maybe to live with his dad. Or with José Delgado, over at Power of Shazam! I bet Jerry Ordway would have taken good care of him.

Plotline-Watch:

Wait, so can Superman just find anyone in Metropolis any time he wants? Not really: this is part of the ongoing storyline about his powers getting boosted after he came back from the dead, which sounds pretty useful now but is about to get very inconvenient.

Don Sparrow points out: "It is interesting that as Superman tries to capture Schott, he at one point instead captures a robot decoy, particularly knowing what Geoff Johns will retroactively do to this storyline in years to come, in Action Comics #865, as we mentioned in our review of Superman #84." Johns also explained that the robot thought he was hearing his mother's voice due to the real Toyman trying to contact him via radio, which I prefer to the "psycho talks to his dead mom" cliche.

Superman says "I never thought he'd get to the point where he'd KILL anyone -- especially children!" Agreed about the children part but, uh, did Superman already forget that Toyman murdered a whole bunch people on his very first appearance, in Superman #13? Or does Superman not count greedy toy company owners as people? Understandable, I guess.

There's a sequence about Cat starting a fire in a paper basket at the prison to sneak past the metal detector, but why do that if she had a toy gun all long? Other than to prevent smartass readers like us from saying "How did she get the gun into the prison?!" before the plot twist, that is.

Patreon-Watch:

Shout out to our patient Patreon patrons, Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Dave Shevlin, and Kit! The latest Patreon-only article was about another episode of the 1988 Superman cartoon written by Marv Wolfman, this one co-starring Wonder Woman (to Lois' frustration).

Another Patreon perk is getting to read Don Sparrow's section early, because he usually finishes his side of these posts long before I do (he ALREADY finished the next one, for instance). But now this one can be posted in public! Take it away, Don:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

We begin with the cover, and it’s a good one— an ultra tight close up for Cat Grant firing a .38 calibre gun, with the titular Superman soaring in, perhaps too late.  An interesting thing to notice in this issue (and especially on the cover) is that the paper stock that DC used for their comics changed, so slightly more realistic shading was possible.  While it’s nowhere near the sophistication or gloss of the Image Comics stock of the time, there is an attempt at more realistic, airbrushy type shading in the colour.  It works well in places, like the muzzle flash, on on Cat Grant’s cheeks and knuckles, but less so in her hair, where the shadow looks a browny green on my copy.

The interior pages open with a pretty good bit of near-silent storytelling.  We are deftly shown, and not told the story—there are condolence cards and headlines, and the looming presence of a liquor bottle, until we are shown on the next page splash the real heart of the story, a revolver held aloft by Catherine Grant, bereaved mother, with her targeting in her mind the grim visage of the Toyman.

While their first few issues together meshed pretty well, it’s around  this issue that the pencil/inks team of Jurgens and Rubinstein starts to look a little rushed in places.  A few inkers who worked with Jurgens that I’ve spoken to have hinted that his pencils can vary in their level of detail, from very finished  to pretty loose, and in the latter case, it’s up to the inker to embellish where there’s a lack of detail.  Some inkers, like Brett Breeding, really lay down a heavier hand, where there’s quite a bit of actual drawing work in addition to adding value and weight to the lines.  I suspect some of the looseness in the figures, as well as empty  backgrounds reveals that these pencils were less detailed than we often  see from Jurgens.

There’s some weird body language in the tense exchange between Superman and Cat as she angrily confronts him about his lack of progress in capturing her son’s killer—Superman  looks a little too dynamic and pleased with himself for someone ostensibly apologizing. Superman taking flight to hunt down Toyman is classic Jurgens, though.

Another example of art weirdness comes on page 7, where Superman gets filled in on the progress of the Adam Morgan investigation.  Apparently Suicide Slum has some San Francisco-like hills, as that is one very steep sidewalk separating Superman and Turpin from some central-casting looking punks.

The  sequence of Superman concentrating his sight and hearing on the  waterfront area is well-drawn, and it’s always nice to see novel uses of his powers.  Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman does a similar trick quite often on the excellent first season of Superman & Lois.  The full-bleed splash of Superman breaking through the wall to capture Toyman is definitely panel-of-the-week material, as we really feel Superman’s rage and desperation to catch this child-killer.

Pretty much all the pages with Cat Grant confronting Winslow Schott are  well-done and tensely paced.  While sometimes I think the pupil-less  flare of the eye-glasses is a cop-out, it does lend an opaqueness and mystery to what Toyman is thinking.  Speaking of cop-outs, the gag gun twist ending really didn’t work for me.  I was glad that Cat didn’t lower herself to Schott’s level and become a killer, even for revenge, but the prank gun just felt too silly of a tonal shift for a storyline with this much gravitas.  The breakneck denouement that Cat is now depending only on herself didn’t get quite enough breathing room either.

While I appreciated that the ending of this issue avoided an overly simplistic, Death Wish style of justice, this issue extends this troubling but brief era of Superman comics. The casual chalk outlines of  yet two more dead children continues the high body count of the  previous handful of issues, and the tone remains jarring to me.  The issue is also self-aware enough to point out, again, that Schott is  generally an ally of children, and not someone who historically wishes  them harm, but that doesn’t stop the story from going there, in the most  violent of terms. In addition to being a radical change to the Toyman  character, it’s handled in a fashion more glib than we’re used to seeing  in these pages.  The mental health cliché of a matriarchal obsession, a la Norman Bates doesn’t elevate it either.  So, another rare misstep  from Jurgens the writer, in my opinion.   STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I  had thought for sure that Romanove Vodka was a sly reference to a certain Russian Spy turned Marvel superhero, but it turns out there  actually is a Russian Vodka called that, minus the “E”, produced not in Russia, as one might think from the Czarist name, but rather, India.

While it made for an awkward exchange, I was glad that Cat pointed out how  her tragedy more or less sat on the shelf while Superman dealt with the "Spilled Blood" storyline.  A lesser book might not have acknowledged any  time had passed. Though I did find it odd for Superman to opine that he  wanted to find her son’s murderer even more than she wanted him to.  Huh?  How so?

I love the detail that Toyman hears the noise of Superman soaring to capture him, likening it to a train coming.

I  quibble, but there’s so much I don’t understand about the “new” Toyman.  If he’s truly regressing mentally, to an infant-like state, why does he wear this phantom of the opera style long cloak while he sits in his baby crib?  Why not go all the way, and wear footie pajamas, like the lost souls on TLC specials about “adult babies”?

I get that Cat Grant is in steely determination mode, but it seemed a little out of place that she had almost no reaction to the taunting she faced from her child’s killer.  She doesn’t shed a single tear in the entire issue, and no matter how focused she is on vengeance, that doesn’t seem realistic to me. [Max: That's because this is not just retribution, Don. It's dark retribution. We’ve been over this!]

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

GeekGem After The Hilda Movie

“My Heart Goes On” plays.

Okay, been wanting to make this post today. I’m gonna explain this below the keep reading thing. Because I know many people dislike Erik for understandable reasons. And I told @pikablob about this.

But yes, this was the meme I mentioned making after my first rewatch of the movie. Now to explain. And also, Pikablob found this really funny. 

And since I’m done writing all that’s down below. Yes, this meme would seem like something Erik would make himself.

I totally get the rep Erik gets in this fandom. So many people hate him. I totally get that. But I strangely love him because HE IS THAT. He’s like a perfect contrast to Hilda in a way. Yet similar in some aspects. Yet you strangely love him for how he is. Despite he is honestly a jerk. He’s not full-on evil, but not really a good person. He works so well within the context of the show as an antagonist. 

I do know that while I haven’t read the books. Yet I have read that his original counterpart takes his job seriously. He actually means well, but he’s shortsighted and impulsive. The show...I like to call him a fusion of Gaston from Beauty & The Beast, and Harry & Marv from the first two Home Alone films. He’s strangely entertaining in his own way.

But to be honest, concerning how his character ends up in The Mountain King movie. I am genuinely glad they didn’t make him straight up evil. Like seriously, I genuinely thought for some reason that he would get killed because he is such a jerk. Or even smack the shit out of Hilda. And I’m saying this as someone who hasn’t read the final book. I thought they would do something different with him because this version of him is such a glory seeker.

Despite how REALLY quick it goes. It kind of makes him more human. Like the dude actually realized how stupid he was thinking and straight up retired. I was strangely expecting him to stay a ‘villain’ in the end. Yeah, he gets off too easy. 

To be honest, I’m just sad that he may not be seen again. The fact he straight up retires and actually has a change of heart after everything. Which I do really like, but his egotistical self was entertaining. Maybe he’ll cameo in season 3 or have a smaller role doing something else.

I just really liked him as a main antagonist. He was perfect for the show. Yet I did just find out this route was in the original book. I’m strangely glad it was kept. They actually had the balls to have him retire. Also the fact...I’m just gonna miss this jerk.

Yet I honestly forget other antagonists such as the Commitee Of Three (Who are...REALLY bad when you think about it more deeply. When is Tildy gonna deal with them), Gryla (Like....she straight up ate children holy crap), and Trylla is...very questionable concerning her actions. And you have the Marra that are just teenage brats scaring the crap out of younger kids. There’s also Trundle...but that dude straight up died in the movie.

I’m just also sad because whatever stories I may do with him now. They may just be AU stuff or whatever. What if scenarios and anything else. And honestly, @cinnamon-sparrow-scout​ speaks the damn truth. Maybe that part should’ve been changed. Such as some things with Trylla. But again, I’m gonna miss this jerk...maybe he might remain a jerk/antagonist somehow in season 3. That be funny.

[even-more-incorrect-ego-quotes]

[Why The Septics Shouldn’t Eat Breakfast Together]

Henrik: Alright, breakfast time! Up and at ‘em!

Chase: Noooo, five more minutes ma...

Henrik: Jackie, do I look like his mother?

Jackie: No, but you kinda look like his father... and mine... and yours.

Henrik: That’s besides the point---Chase! Up! Now! It’s 12pm!

Chase: Ngh, lemme ‘lone...

Marvin: Stand back, I got this.

*levitates Chase out of his bed*

Chase: Wha--WHAT THE FOCK MARV PUT ME DOWN!

Marvin: ‘Fraid I can’t do that till you wake up.

Chase: I’M UP, I’M UP---LITERALLY UP, NOW LET ME DOWN!

Marvin: *shrugs* Fine.

Chase: *falls* Ow--you ass!

Henrik: Now that that’s settled, how about some coffee, hmm?

Chase: That sounds great actu---

Jackie: Without spiking it this time.

Chase: Fock. Did you at least make bacon?

Jackie: Robbie did. Said he wanted to make it just for you cause you never eat breakfast and he knows you like it.

Chase: Goddammit, using my own soft heart against me! That’s low even for a superhero...

Jackie: Yeah, yeah well just a heads up, it’s a little on the... crispy side.

Henrik: It’s burnt to hell, but you are gonna eat it and like it!

Chase: *groans* Fineeeee! But I’m not gonna make it easy for you!

Marvin: If you even think about dragging your feet---

Chase: iF yOu EvEn ThInK---AHHHH---stop teleportin’ me places! You know I fockin’ hate that!

Marvin: Too bad, now eat your breakfast. *starts magically flipping thru his newspaper*

*Chase looks down at a plate of black ashes and... green(?) french toast*

Chase: Who made the french toast?

Henrik: *lowers his own newspaper* That would be me.

Chase: *takes a bite* Okay, well why is it gre--- *spits out* what the actual fock did you put in this thing??

Henrik: *unfazed* Kale.

Chase: WHY????

Jackie: Your health, of course! Or would you prefer one of my protein shakes?

Chase: WHO EVEN EATS KALE?!

Marvin: Literally everyone but you.

Chase: ANTI DEFINITELY DOESN’T!

*Anti pops in*

Anti: *eating kale for no other reason than to fuck with Chase* You called?

*Anti pops out*

Chase: YOU ALL HAVE GONE MAD!

Jackie: Say that three times in front of the mirror and Wilford himself might just appear.

Chase: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN??

*Robbie comes in from kitchen*

Robbie: Hey Chase!!! Did you like the bacon I made you?

*Chase looks back down at the black ashes*

*knows he has a decision to make*

*scoops up all the ashes at once and downs them all*

Chase: *literally choking* d e l i c i o u s

Robbie: Awesome! Let me go make you some more!

*Henrik rushes to Chase’s side while Robbie goes back to the kitchen*

Henrik: Oh, scheiße, are you alright?

Chase: DO I *cough* LOOK ALRIGHT *cough, cough* TO YOU

Marvin: Well, you are talking.

*Chase throws up middle fingers, despite still choking*

Chase: W-wuh-wuhh

Jackie: I think he’s trying to say water!

Chase: Whi-whisk--

Henrik: *throwing his hands up* Whiskey?! Really?!?

Jackie: Hey, guys do you smel--

Robbie: UM I MAY HAVE *fire alarm goes off* MESSED UP

*Anti pops back in*

Anti: Say less! *makes things worse*

Marvin: Why do I even---

*doorbell rings*

Jackie: I got it!

*opens door*

Jackie: Oh hi JJ!

*Jackie sneaks out as JJ comes in*

JJ: Hi guys! Guess who brought lunc---guys?

[pandoraborn]

If you feel like doing a prompt, Evil/Morally grey Marvin using an enchanted VR headset to hypnotize on of the egos?

So much for playing VR today. The headset looks completely broken, and Jackie swears he can see several dings along the outside. Either Chase got too violent with this one, or Henrik treated it with very little care in picking it up and putting it away. Jackie could take it to the shop to be repaired, but he’s sure they have a second headset around somewhere.

Thankfully, Marvin seems to be able to read his mind already, because he’s entering the living room, holding a VR headset of his own. It’s purple and black, with what looks like cat ears glued to the top of it.

“Heard you needed a headset,” Marvin says with a grin. “You can borrow mine.”

“I didn’t know you liked cats,” Jackie says idly as he takes it, turning it over. It’s pristine, as if brand new. “I didn’t know you were hoarding one of your own, we could always use a spare.”

“I just ordered a custom one,” Marvin points out. “It came in yesterday while the rest of you were out. You like it?” He points a finger toward the cat ears. “Also, this is a nod toward Odhran. He requested it.”

“That damn cat, I swear.” Jackie chuckles as he places it on his head, booting up the game of choice. “You going to stick around?”

“Sure, I have nothing better to do.” Marvin moves over to sit on the couch, staring directly at Jackie’s back. He can wait.

Jackie focuses on the game, getting lost in it. He can feel Marvin staring, but with VR, it’s easy to get lost and immersed in the game. He wonders how long Marvin will be sitting there, but within minutes, even that fades away into the back of his mind.

The headset feels nice. Much more comfortable than normal, almost soft. That’s easy enough to ignore on its own, but there’s something else. The game has a faint purple hue to it, as if there’s a film over the glass, and it’s proving to be a little distracting. He turns every which way, as if trying to escape the hue, to go back to something less dark, but the longer Jackie plays, the more the hue seems to shift and change, almost in a pattern.

Instead of focusing on Minecraft, Jackie is now staring at the purple. It looks like it’s dancing. He can see shades of the normal view just beyond the purple, but he’s not paying attention to that anymore. He’s distracted by the shifting colors that seem to follow him even as he turns his head. His arms lower to the sides slowly, no longer interested in playing VR.

“Uh, Marv?”

“Hmm?”

“Why is...” The words die on his lips before he can finish his question. The purple is deepening, taking on a more solid color instead of just a color to change the picture he sees. It’s still shifting, moving, dancing before his vision.

Spiraling.

“Are you okay, Jackie?”

Jackie doesn’t respond. Dimly, he’s aware of the controls slipping from his hands, but that’s not important, the carpet won’t break them. He’s too distracted by the patterns he sees, taking up his entire vision.

It’s beautiful.

“You see it, don’t you Jackie?” Marvin’s voice is quiet, almost a whisper. Instead of coming from behind him, Jackie swears he’s whispering directly into his ears. “You see the magic before you, pulling at you, taking you in. It’s all you can see, all you can think about. It’s so nice to stare and relax, isn’t it?”

“...yes.”

“You just want to keep staring, don’t you? Staring and letting yourself fall. Sinking. Tell me, Jackie. What pattern do you see?”

“...a spiral.” Jackie feels a hand massaging the back of his neck, fingernails scraping skin in a soothing rhythm that almost seems to beat along with the shades of purple dancing across his vision. It’s too easy to lean back into that touch.

“Very good, Jackie. You’re so good, letting yourself fall into the spiral. It makes you want to sit down, doesn’t it? It must be exhausting, standing upright. Come, sit with me.”

If not for the hand tugging him backwards, Jackie would collapse on the ground right then and there. He feels himself tripping on his own feet, but instead of falling to the floor, he’s being held, lowered onto the couch, where he immediately goes slack. There’s an arm being placed around his shoulders, followed by the feeling of a warm body pressing into him.

“There you go, see? Isn’t this so much better, to just sit and let yourself go? None of this ‘standing’ business, you can relax.”

“Mmhmm.” Jackie’s eyes lazily flick back and forth as he still watches the purple colors dancing around. The house he’d been trying to build is completely forgotten about. In fact, the in-game sounds only add to the relaxing sensation he feels. Rain, mostly. Rain’s always been soothing.

“I’ll tell you what I want, Jackie.” Marvin’s continuing, and Jackie’s barely listening. “I want control, dominance. I know you too well, you’d be forced to fight me if I started now. You would have an obligation to try and stop me. But we’re friends, we’re closer than close. It would break your heart to fight me, wouldn’t it?”

“...yes.” Wait, what is Marvin saying? He sounds so sad, Jackie doesn’t want him to be sad!

“The question I have now is whether or not I want to keep you on my side or just...influence you toward the right choice. You’re malleable, so easy to subdue. I also know how tired you are most days, it’d be so easy to drag you right back down to this state, knowing how much you enjoy it. Tell me you enjoy it.

“...I enjoy it.” Of course he does. Marvin knows him so well. He has to know that Jackie is rocking in a hammock of purple hues, feeling so completely at peace. What’s not to enjoy about this? Why can’t he stay like this?

“You could.” Marvin chuckles as he adjusts Jackie. “You can always stay like this if you wish it so. Like this, you’d be my perfect puppet. My best friend, always.”

“...please...” Jackie whispers. “...please let me...”

“You can. If you take the headset off, you’ll be okay. Just take the headset off and look at me, Jackie. It’ll be okay, I promise.

Jackie almost doesn’t want to. The reality, beneath his sluggish mind is the reality of confronting Marvin about what he’s said, or even waking up from this trance-like state. He’s too peaceful. But-

He does as Marvin asks. The promise of safety outweighs everything else, so he sits up and tugs the headset off his face, turning to look at Marvin.

Marvin’s eyes hold that same shade of purple, also dancing, spiraling, spinning out of control. Jackie’s jaw drops as he stares into Marvin’s eyes. No, falling, spiraling just as fast until he can’t th-

“There you go, Jackie.” Marvin reaches out to stroke his hair, pushing Jackie against the couch. “Just like I promised. You’re my perfect puppet, and the perfect tool to help me take the power I desire. No one will get hurt, but you’ll never be the same, I expect.”

He pats Jackie’s cheek, enjoying that vacant stare. “Sweet dreams, friend. We have work to do.”

@weirdmixofweirdness @egopocalypse, @immcgill @skyewardlight @sibling-ursidae @colorbanditsneverdye @mysterio-is-the-truth @alphaqwerty7 @ari-trash @sarinoxious @10th-no-name-person​

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Reunions & Resistance

A JSE Fanfic

This one took me a while, but luckily, I was able to get it all done within the week, and do a lot of my homework too lol. Can’t wait for summer break, man. More time for writing. Anyway, a lot happened last chapter, and we’re mostly following up on that. I don’t want to say too much in case people haven’t read the last one, but basically we switch in between Chase and JJ’s points of view to see how they’re dealing with their respective...challenges. Hope you enjoy!

You can find the other stories under the pw timeline tag!

“Good night! I’ll see you later!” Chase stood on his front door and waved as the car pulled away from the side of the road. In the windows, a pair of small faces pressed up against the glass and waved back. Chase kept at it even as the car drove down the street, right up until the moment it disappeared around a corner. At which point he dropped his hand and turned around to head inside, smiling softly to himself. Halloween wasn’t his favorite holiday, but this? This was a good holiday.

He turned on the front room lights and was about to sit down when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Quickly, he dug it out to see a text from Marvin: Hey call me now please!

Perfect timing. Once he got settled in, he was planning on calling Marvin anyway, to tell him the good news. He guessed he could do it now. Quickly navigating to his contacts, he called Marvin’s number.

The other end was picked up on the first ring. “Chase!” Marvin said.

“Hi Marv. Are you out of court by now? You better be, it’s late.” He glanced out the window at the twilight sky. They ended up only going trick-or-treating for an hour, but the kids were still young and Stacy was worried, so it was fine. They’d go longer next time. “How’d it go?”

“Good, but Chase, there’s a thing—”

“So you won?”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant, but Chase!” Wait a second...Marvin sounded...frantic. “Have you seen JJ today?”

“Huh? No, not yet. I was gonna go over later. I was actually thinking about asking you if you’d seen him today. I expected you to rush right over after you got out.”

“I wanted to stop by home and pick up his present first,” Marvin explained. “So I did, and I went to his flat, but he’s not here.”

“That’s not too weird, is it?” Chase asked, wandering over to sit on the sofa. “Maybe he went out for dinner or something, it is his birthday, after all.”

“Maybe, but he would’ve told us, right? He knew that we were going to stop by.” Chase could hear the sound of Marvin’s nervous footsteps on a hardwood floor. “I’m still at his place, and the only thing that’s different is there’s these weird cupcakes on the counter. So maybe he did go out, but he has to have been here since then to drop them off, if that’s the case. I texted him a couple times, but he hasn’t answered any of them! There’s not even the little ‘Seen’ message popping up.”

“Whoa, Marvin, calm down a bit,” Chase said gently. “He’s probably just...maybe his phone is out of battery?”

“I don’t think so. He likes to keep it fully charged. Even has one of those portable battery things. Chase, it’s really weird that he’s not here,” Marvin insisted.

“Well, yeah, but there has to be an innocent explanation, right?” Chase wasn’t too sure himself, but he had to get Marvin to stop freaking out. He could hear faint thumping sounds on the other end now. “Are you hitting yourself? Marv, be careful, that could bruise.”

“R-right.” The thumping sounds changed, now more like knocking on a wall. Marvin’s breathing was shaky. “Should we call the police? I really don’t think he’d be gone, especially not today.”

“You can call them if you’re sure. Or I can, if you don’t want to talk.”

“Right. Right. I-I’ll text him one more time, just in case.”

There were a few moments of silence as Marvin took his phone away from his ear and started texting. Chase waited patiently, slightly amazed that Marvin’s phone could stay on a call while he needed to use it. He must have a more advanced model.

“Wha...?” Marvin made a small, confused sound. Then, after a slight pause: “Chase, his phone is here. JJ’s phone is here.”

“Well, no wonder he hasn’t been answering texts, then,” Chase said, trying to sound lighthearted.

“No no no, Chase, he wouldn’t leave his phone here if he was going out! He uses that text-to-speech app for people who don’t know BSL. A-and I can see his usual notepad on the coffee table, he didn’t take that either. He wouldn’t risk leaving both of those at home when he goes out!”

Chase’s heart slowly sank into a sea of dread. It was true; Jameson always made sure he had a backup way of communicating in case he ran into someone who couldn’t understand him. “The only way he would do that...” he said quietly. “...is if...either it was an emergency, or if someone...”

“I’m going to call the police now Chase!” Marvin practically shouted.

“Dude, do it! I’m hanging up right now!” And Chase did just that, ending the call.

It couldn’t be true, could it? Something couldn’t have happened to Jameson, right? He didn’t have any enemies or—

No. Wait.

“Shit!” Chase cursed. He was an idiot! The day had been going so well, he’d completely forgotten about Anti. He would certainly count as an enemy, even if he was Jameson’s brother. Maybe especially. Chase quickly sent a text to Marvin. WAIT I JUST REMEMBERED. Yo don thin kit could be that anti guy??.? Tell the police that too!

“God damn you,” Chase growled. “Fucking...Anti.” He’d never even met him, but he just kept making his and his friends’ lives hell, didn’t he? For over a year, now.

Would this ever end? Or would this cycle continue?

——————

Someone was driving a chisel into his head with a hammer. That’s what it felt like. His head was pounding, and each new spike of pain could have easily been in time with the smack of a hammer. He couldn’t even move, the headache was too overwhelming, tears leaking from his closed eyes. The moment it started to lessen up, he quietly drifted off to sleep.

Then, of course, he woke up with his head still hurting. But this time it was bearable. Still awful, but he managed to open his eyes.

This...wasn’t his room. This wasn’t his apartment. Nor was it a room in any of his friends’ houses. He didn’t recognize the pale yellow wall he was staring at, or the white blanket covering him. Slowly, he rolled onto his back, not wanting to make any sudden movement in case it aggravated his headache, but he didn’t see the ceiling. Instead, he saw wooden slats and the bottom of a mattress. A bunk bed? He didn’t know anyone who had a bunk bed. Where was he? Actually, what had happened before he ended up here? He cast his mind back, and—

Instantly, Jameson sat straight up, hitting his forehead against the oddly close bottom of the bunk above him. Crying out, he fell back and rubbed the spot of impact. That definitely didn’t help the headache.

Movement. Coming from the bunk above him, it sounded like, accompanied by creaking and the sound of fabric on fabric. “Wh-who’s down there?” A voice asked. “Are you—you’re awake?”

Actually, that voice sounded familiar. JJ pushed away the blankets and rolled over to the side of the mattress. He grabbed the headboard to help him stand up, since he felt strangely dizzy. Once up, he transferred his grip to the edge of the top bunk, pausing a moment to stop swaying. Then he looked up at the person on the top bunk.

“Wait a second. Jameson?! That’s you?!” It took JJ a moment to recognize Jackie, but once he did, he gasped. It had been almost a year since he’d last seen him, and in that time period, he’d changed a lot. Now he was a lot paler, his hair grown to shoulder-length, and his red hoodie was significantly darker, apparently not having been washed in a while. Jackie was holding onto the railings that surrounded the edge of the top bunk, dangerously leaning over. There was a metal cuff around one wrist, a length of chain connecting it to another cuff attached to one of the railings.

JJ slowly nodded, letting go of the bed to finger-sign. J-A-C-K-I-E?

“Oh my god. You too?! Why don’t we get everyone in here?! Fucking...Kidnapped party with the boys, hey-o!” Jackie laughed hysterically. 

...Are you okay? JJ asked.

“Well, uh, relatively, I guess. I’m not, like, actively hurt or anything.” Jackie pressed a hand against his head. “Killer headache, though. You too?” JJ nodded. “Great. Fantastic. Probably from whatever drugs he used. Are you okay? What the hell are you doing here?!”

I’m fine. But it’s a long story. JJ looked around the room. The walls were all painted pale yellow. No windows, but he thought a square on the wall looked a bit different, so maybe the window had been bricked up and painted over. The bunk beds weren’t the only furniture. There was also a white wooden dresser and a similar-looking table, along with two chairs. A corner of the room had a mini fridge and several cabinets that looked like they belonged in a kitchen. There were two doors. One, open, led to an attached bathroom. The other door was closed. Though he knew it was probably a waste of time, JJ walked over there, staggering a bit with the dizziness, and tried the doorknob. Locked, of course. Do you know where we are? He signed, turning around to face Jackie.

“Where we are? No, sorry.” Jackie shook his head. “I’ve been held hostage in a couple different places by now, and this isn’t any of the previous ones. Or maybe it is. It could be in that first house, just in a room I didn’t get to see. But, uh. Yeah. We’ve probably been asleep for a while, judging by his usual style. So there’s no way of knowing.” He paused. “You, uh. Seem weirdly calm about this.”

I'm saving the emotional breakdown for later and looking for a way out now, JJ said, then idly tried the door again. He leaned down to look more closely at the knob. It looked normal. No loose screws when he shook it or anything.

“Oh.” Jackie paused. “Well then, fair enough, but I mean. You haven’t even asked who kidnapped you or why I’m here or what’s going on. Just where we are. I was expecting a bunch more questions.”

Well I already know all those, so I only wanted to know where. JJ tried to peer through the gap of the door. Weren’t there some locks that could be worked around if you slid something through there? Idly, he patted his pockets despite knowing there probably wouldn’t be anything in there. But then he had to stop. He didn’t have any pockets. What? Impossible. He looked down at his clothes, and noticed for the first time that they didn’t belong to him. Blue T-shirt, black pants, white socks. Strangely, he still had his pocket watch, now hanging around his neck. Also I want to know where my clothes are.

“Man, he gave you new clothes? Lucky,” Jackie said jokingly. “But anyway.” He returned to being serious. “What do you mean, you already know? That is what you said, right? You can’t already know everything.”

JJ turned around. Jackie wasn’t as knowledgeable in BSL as all the others, given how he’d been abducted before he could become fluent, so he signed slowly, finger-spelling occasionally. I know I’ve been taken by a man calling himself Anti, and that he took you back in December and Henrik in August. He’s a mercenary who has apparently started kidnapping and serial killing as a hobby. He made Henrik help him with some of that, and now Henrik is in a mental hospital because of all the trauma combined with previous issues. And I know Anti isn’t going to kill me.

That was a lot, and Jackie went silent for a bit as he processed it. “Well. Okay, then. You actually know more than I do.”

JJ tried to smile, then walked over to the dresser and started pulling open its drawers. More clothes, similar to what he was already wearing. No shoes, only socks. Jackie. Do you think you could get down from there, or are you stuck?

“Uh...I think I’m stuck, but honestly, I haven’t tried yet,” Jackie mumbled. “I woke up like. A few minutes ago. Oh hey, there’s a clock on the wall! That’s new. Man, this is the nicest place I’ve been captive in yet. Hang on, I’m gonna see if this chain is long enough to let me get down.”

The ladder to the top bunk was over at the foot of the bed, while Jackie was cuffed to the railing near the head. He crawled over, managing to put his feet on the top rung. But that’s where it got difficult. Spinning around, he could only reach the middle rung before he had to stop, arm yanked taunt to the side. “Yeah, no. Sorry, JJ.” He climbed back to the top bunk, sitting once again at the top of the ladder.

It’s alright, JJ said, frowning. But I can see several complications with that.

“Oh yeah, trust me, it all sucks,” Jackie sighed. “Uh...so. How do you know Anti isn’t going to kill you? I mean, honestly, I’m still not so sure that I’m...um...” He suddenly looked uncomfortable, and more than a bit scared. “A-anyway, you seemed like you definitely knew.”

JJ sighed. He walked over to the chairs at the table and sat down, taking a break to press his hands to his throbbing head. He should probably tell Jackie, right? After all, he’d told Chase and Marvin. And it would be good for them all to be on the same page. Anti is my brother, he explained.

“What?! Like, biologically? For real?”

Yes, unfortunately. He’s my older brother, I lived with him for seven years. Well, technically longer, if you count when we were kids, before we were put into the system. But I mean, he practically raised me from sixteen. Jameson paused. He wasn’t good at it.

“I can imagine,” Jackie muttered. “Wow. Wow, man. That...that sucks.”

Jameson nodded. I thought I’d never see him again, but then he appeared in this city, got involved with all of you, and...I guess it was only a matter of time before he...realized who I was. But I hoped...He squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden wetness in them. I hoped that this wouldn’t happen.

“Wait, did you know he was going to kidnap you if he found you?”

No, but I knew it was a possibility. JJ laughed quietly. That really says something about the kind of person he is, doesn’t it?

Jackie shook his head slowly. “I’m...so sorry, Jameson. Is there anything I can do?”

Jameson thought about that. Well, we need to get out of here. I know it’s going to be difficult, but if there’s anything you can do...

“Right.” Jackie glanced down at his cuffed wrist, then nodded. “Right. H-how about I start with...telling you everything I’ve noticed about him? Maybe if we know how he acts, that’ll help.”

That sounds like a great idea. It had been three years since he’d seen Anti, after all. A lot could change in that time. And I’ll tell you what I remember.

“Pool our information,” Jackie said. He took a deep breath. “Right. Okay, so to start from the beginning...”

——————

A day passed. The police looked over Jameson’s apartment, finding nothing suspicious. Marvin identified everything in the rooms as belonging to JJ except for the cupcakes in the plastic packaging, with their blue frosting. Normally, the police probably would’ve dismissed them, but once Marvin explained the situation—namely, that JJ was part of the friend group that included Dr. Schneeplestein and a missing private detective named Jackie Donovan, both of whom had been proven to have been kidnapped—they decided to run tests on them.

Two days passed. Chase finally got around to explaining the good news he’d received earlier on Halloween to Marvin. That cheered him up briefly, but he was quickly overcome with worry for JJ again. And Chase felt that same worry threatening to engulf him as well. Especially after the detectives contacted them both and said that the strange cupcakes had definitely been laced with illegal sedatives: namely, the strong, but slow-acting, variety. That pushed them to label the case as a definite abduction, with this strange Anti as the main suspect. The same detectives that were working on Jackie’s case took this one, as well, since it was so likely to be linked.

Four days passed. Marvin wasn’t doing so well. Chase was newly busy, but he made sure to check on him. A good thing he did, too, because there were a couple times when he walked in the house and Marvin was just lying in bed, clearly been there since he woke up that morning, often with a cat or two nearby and a bunch of tearstained tissues. Chase wasn’t one to miss the irony of the situation, having been in that position before with his friends being the ones to check in on him. But at least he knew what to do. Make food, insist on hydration, encourage movement, and offer distraction. And also feed the snake and the cats. That part was new.

A week passed. No news from the police. Chase had to admit that maybe there wouldn’t be news for a while, though he didn’t express that to Marvin. After checking in on his friend one more time, he headed out for his other business of the day, which was, incidentally, more visiting and checking in on people.

Chase had stopped by the hospital every day that week. Honestly, the routine distracted him, and it was good to see some progress being made somewhere. By now a lot of the staff were familiar with him, and didn’t even bother to ask him who he was there to visit. Though a lot of them still directed him to the appropriate wing. It was probably required to.

One short trip up an elevator and down a hallway, and Chase pushed walked through the open doorway of the room, making sure to put on a cheerful expression. “Hey bro. It’s me again.”

Jack’s eyes immediately opened at the sound, head swivelling over to look towards him. He managed a small smile—that was good, he was having trouble with facial movements—and a slight up-and-down hand motion that wasn’t really a wave as much as it was a flop. “Hhh...hhiii. Sha-ays.”

“Hi Jack.” Chase took his usual spot in the chair next to the bed. “You’re looking good.”

“Mmnh.”

“No, really.”

Jack reached to the side and hit the controls for the bed, raising it into more of a sitting position. He pointed towards the table next to the bed.

“Oh, right.” Chase twisted around and picked something up. A board about the size of a large school notebook, with rows of squares printed on its surface. Each square had a different word or phrase written inside, some accompanied by handy pictograms. This was a communication board. Dr. Emerson had explained it was meant to help people who had difficulty speaking normally. It looked a bit childish, with the pictures and color-coded squares, which made sense, because they were apparently primarily used for kids. But Emerson said that, since Jack was still having trouble talking and moving, this was a good alternative. “Here you go, dude.”

Jack dipped his head in a slow nod. He adjusted the bed a bit more, then propped the board up using an arm and used the other hand to point. Chase scooted a bit closer to look at the square he was indicating: How are you?

“Oh, I’m good,” Chase said. It was, of course, a bit of a lie, since he was still really worried about Jameson. But that was a complicated situation that he didn’t really feel like talking about. “What about you? How are you feeling?”

“Mmnn.” Jack pointed to a square labelled Bored.

Chase laughed. “You need a TV or something in here. I thought hospital rooms were all supposed to have them. Like, they came pre-installed with those old boxy models that hang from the ceilings.”

“Heh.” Another small smile, though this one was a bit weaker and quickly fell. Ater a moment, Jack pointed to a different square, this one simply labelled Phone with an accompanying simple picture.

“Yeah, I have my phone.” Chase pulled it out of his pocket. “Why? Do you want to text someone?”

The No box, accompanied by a slight head shake.

“Okay. Then...do you want to take a picture or something?”

The Yes box.

“Really? Well, I don’t know if you can hold the phone,” Chase said reluctantly. Jack was having trouble even holding a pencil, hence why he couldn’t write. “Here, we can take a picture together, okay?”

“Eeuh.” The Yes box.

“Alright.” Chase opened up the front-facing camera, then leaned over next to Jack. “Look at the camera.” Jack appropriately turned his head towards the raised phone, and gave one last small smile. Chase matched him with a big smile of his own, and took a couple pictures. “There we go. Look at us.” He showed the phone to Jack, swiping through the photos. “I like this first one, what about you?”

“Ffferr.” Jack tapped a box with the number One in it.

“Right? We look good.” Chase laughed a bit, then put the phone away. “Hey, none of those tubes got mixed up or pulled out while we were doing that, right?”

Jack turned to look around, then slowly reached up and touched his nasal cannula. I don’t think so, said the box on the board he tapped.

“You have a call button you can press, right?” Chase asked fretfully.

Yes box.

“Good. Good.” Chase let out a short breath. If anything happened to Jack after all of this, he would...he would...well, he honestly wasn’t sure what he would do, but it wouldn’t be good.

“Shhays?” Jack asked. “Wh...wherr Mahffin?”

“Where’s Marvin? Oh, uh.” Chase hesitated. “He’s been busy lately.”

“Mmmm?” I don’t think so box.

“You don’t believe me, huh?” Chase shrugged. “Well, it’s true. I don’t know that much about it, either. I guess maybe one of his holidays is approaching. That or he’s looking for a new job.” That second one was actually true. Or at least, it had been before Jameson disappeared. Chase knew Marvin had put in applications at a couple different places, but he didn’t know if any of them had been accepted.

“Mmnnh.” Jack blinked slowly. “Sshays? Whh...whhbout faays?” There was a worried edge to his voice. “Ffay Shays. Fffay Mhffin.”

“The fakes. Right.” Chase nodded slowly, swallowing back a lump in his throat. “I guess I did promise to explain that.”

“Eeuah.” Yes box.

“Well...” Chase hesitated. “Did...did the doctor explain to you why you were in a coma?”

Yes box. “Ssneeep.”

“Yeah, Schneep made some mistakes. I-I guess only you know what really happened that day.” Chase sighed. “And I guess you can explain that once you figure out how. Y’know, I...explained the whole situation to you a couple times, while you were asleep. I don’t know how much you heard. But...basically. What’s important when it comes to the matter of ‘the fakes’ is...” And he hesitated again.

“Shaays,” Jack said, sharply gesturing to the Now box.

“I know, I know, it’s just...it’s hard, bro.” Chase took a deep breath. “Okay. So there’s a criminal running around. Which is, I know, freaky. But basically, he’s one of the dopplegangers. Looks like us, you know? So ‘the fakes’ are when he...would pretend to be us. A-and I guess he came in to see you while doing that?” He shuddered. “I don’t know why. None of us do. But it’s going to be okay. The doctor knows, a-and he knows to make sure it’s me. Uh...because Marvin’s been...busy this week, he hasn’t come in to see you. And when he does, I’m gonna come, too. So...if Marvin comes in alone, that’s not him. But you, uh, probably shouldn’t indicate that. Um. Got all that?”

Jack stared at him for a long while, then slowly tapped the Yes box.

“It’s a lot, I know,” Chase said reassuringly. “It can be uh...do you need a moment?”

Another long pause. Then the I am okay box.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Chase let out a breath. “What would even happen when ‘the fakes’ showed up? Would they just talk to you?”

Yes box.

“Probably not about normal stuff.”

No box. Followed by the I am scared box.

“Wha—” Chase coughed awkwardly. “Y-you mean he said upsetting things?”

Jack made a small sound, almost like a whimper. Yes box.

“Oh...oh no.” Chase shook his head. He knew from experience that it was really easy to talk to someone who couldn’t answer, to pour out everything you wouldn’t normally say because you knew they couldn’t tell anyone what you said. In the past, talking to comatose Jack had been a way for him to be honest when he felt terrible, but for an actual criminal to come in and talk like that? Those secrets would probably be a lot darker. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jack blinked at him. Then indicated the How? box.

“...right. The board is good, but I guess it wouldn’t have all the words you need.” Chase nodded. “Well. I mean, later. If you want to talk about it, you can. I-I can teach you BSL, when you’ve got, y’know...better hands.” Jack wheezed at that, a short laugh that made Chase smile. “Yeah, JJ taught me. You remember me telling you about him, right?”

Yes box. “Hhee...sow-sounsss...nai-nais.”

“He is really nice. I think you’d get along.” Chase went quiet. What was happening to Jameson now? It couldn’t be good, not if Anti was involved. Damn it. He couldn’t let anything else happen to his friends! All of them have been through so much already. Marvin was breaking down, Schneep and Jack were in hospitals, and Jackie and Jameson were being held hostage by Jameson’s psychopathic older brother. Enough was enough! He had to do something!

“Shays?” Jack’s head listed to the side, and he tapped the How are you? box. 

“O-oh. Yeah, I’m alright, bro, don’t worry, I was just thinking.” Chase shook his head. It was settled. He’d figure out a way to deal with this situation more directly. “Anyway, I was wondering. Can you, like, eat normal foods yet?”

No box.

“Aw, man. I was gonna offer to bring you coffee tomorrow.”

Jack’s eyes widened a bit. “Waa-aay. W-whhayy!”

Chase laughed. “Glad to see that hasn’t changed. But, well, doctor’s orders and all that.”

“Ahhhh.” Jack tried to frown, but only managed a twitch in his mouth.

“One thing to look forward to after all that physical therapy,” Chase reached over to squeeze Jack’s wrist. “You know, you’re already improving really fast. You might be out of here in a couple months.”

“Heh.” That definitely cheered Jack up.

Chase smiled, and quickly moved on. Later, he’d try to think up a way to deal with other situations. He couldn’t just abandon his friends, after all, and he was getting real sick of all this terrible shit happening. But that would need some more planning. For now, he’d focus on one thing at a time.

——————

They’d been stuck in the room for a week, and JJ was starting to get really worried. Why hadn’t Anti showed up yet? What was he planning? Luckily, they wouldn’t starve, as it turned out the mini fridge and strange cabinets had been stocked with food. But that had to run out eventually. What was going on?

The room was locked down tight. The door outside was solid, and that weird square on the wall that might’ve been a sealed-up window showed no signs of wear. There wasn’t a window in the bathroom, either. But on the morning of the second day, JJ did find a small key in the bathroom’s medicine cabinet, which turned out to unlock the cuff on Jackie’s wrist. “Thank god for that,” Jackie had muttered when JJ unchained him from the bunk. “Not gonna lie, though, it’s weird being able to actually walk around.”

Jackie seemed mostly bored with the whole situation, to be honest. Which probably made sense. After all, he did keep reiterating that this was the most comfortable captivity he’d been in since Anti took him. But Jameson just found himself getting more and more worried as time passed. He tried to distract himself by helping Jackie catch up on his sign language learning, but eventually that didn’t work, and he just kept pacing the floor, anxiety slowly growing with every passing hour.

When the locked door finally opened, JJ was almost relieved that the anticipation was over with. But that relief was quickly overshadowed when someone stepped into the room and shut the door.

It was Anti, of course. He didn’t look too much different from how Jameson remembered him. Same brown hair, same single blue eye accompanied by a fake green one. Same scars over half his face, though the long one across his throat was new. However, that watch hanging on a chain around his neck...that was not new. Jameson recognized that immediately, and resisted the urge to reach up and grab his own watch, around his own neck.

The moment Anti entered, Jackie went pale, sitting down hard on the bottom bunk and scooting back until he hit the wall. But Jameson couldn’t move. He stopped his nervous pacing against the wall by the dresser and instantly froze, eyes locked onto Anti. And Anti stared at him in turn, eyes occasionally flicking up and down as he looked him over. The room was silent enough for the three men’s breathing to echo in the air.

Then, slowly, Anti took a couple steps away from the door. He was still standing in between the other two and their only exit, but he didn’t keep guarding it. JJ then noticed that Anti was holding two plastic bags in one hand, which he then set on the ground. Finally, Anti looked away from Jameson, searching the room with his eyes before landing on Jackie. He frowned. “What are you doing? That’s not your bed.”

Jackie flinched. He scrambled up from the bottom bunk and towards the ladder, climbing up it to the top, where he resumed his position with his back against the wall. Anti nodded, then glanced towards the other end of the cuffs still attached to the railing. “Where’s the key?”

Nobody answered, but Jackie instinctively glanced towards Jameson before glancing back. That didn’t go unnoticed by Anti, who looked back towards him. Jameson still couldn’t move. He couldn’t if he wanted to. He was a statue with limbs made of cold, solid stone, a beating heart in his chest pounding loudly in his ears.”Well...I guess it’s fine, then,” Anti finally said, not looking away from Jameson. He went silent for a few seconds. Then: “Jamie.”

That finally broke the spell, and Jameson backed up. What was he supposed to do? He’d been so worried about why Anti wasn’t showing up, that he didn’t think what to do when he finally did. His mind was scrabbling for purchase on shaking ground. His pulse was racing wildly. He couldn’t think of a solution. It wasn’t even an option underneath the sudden appearance of emotion whirling around his brain. Fear? Grief? Dread? Surprise? Relief?

“Do you...like the room?” Anti asked.

It was such an absurd question that the only response Jameson could muster was a strangled choking sound.

“I-I mean, it’s not exactly a five-star hotel, but I tried to make it nice. You have to share it, unfortunately, limited space. Do you two know each other? You’re friends the rest of the group.”

He just had to respond to that statement. How do you know that? Jameson asked, signing shakily.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on them,” Anti stated plainly. “Didn’t realize who you were until I saw you signing with that long-haired one, Marvin. You’re not online, so I couldn’t figure it out from tagging or anything. Took some more old-fashioned work.”

You were stalking me, Jameson said. Weren’t you?

“I had to find out where you lived, didn’t I?” Anti said, ignoring the faint shake of Jameson’s head. “But you caught on. Hah. You always were a clever boy.”

What do you want? Jameson asked. Why did you do this?! He added, signs growing steadier.

“Well you were going to freak out if I tried to talk to you normally, weren’t you?” Anti’s voice was unnervingly calm. “And I was right. I didn’t want to do this, but you kind of made me. So here we are.”

I didn’t ‘make you’ do anything! Jameson protested. You never have to kidnap people!

“This isn’t a kidnapping.”

Jameson just pointed over at Jackie, staring at Anti significantly.

Anti hesitated. Then he laughed. “Alright, I guess it is. Like I said, you’re a clever boy, Jamie.”

Stop calling me that! Jameson signed sharply, feeling a rise of sudden white-hot rage. I hate it, I’ve always hated it, and it doesn’t make this whole thing better if you keep calling me by that stupid nickname! It doesn’t change the fact that you drugged me and took me to some place far away and are now keeping me here against my will!

“Against your will? Aw, you mean you don’t want to see your big brother again?” Anti tilted his head to the side and smiled sickeningly.

Jameson shook his head violently. No! You’re a murderer who just abduct—

“Because I’ve been dying to see you again,” Anti interrupted, walking closer. Jameson paled, but found he couldn’t back up. “Did you know I thought you were dead? Did I tell you that already? I doubt you planned it to look that way, honestly, you’re clever but you never plan ahead. So I guess it was just a coincidence that the note you left sounded like a...permanent goodbye. Why’d you throw your jacket in the river, though?” Anti slowly reached up and grabbed the watch around his neck. “Did you think about what that would imply?” he asked softly.

And once again, Jameson was a statue, petrified by Anti’s dual-colored gaze like a real-world victim of Medusa. God damn it, why did Anti sound actually hurt by this? Was he actually hurt? JJ hadn’t really been thinking when he’d dropped his old jacket in the river three years ago, he just saw his reflection in the water, and suddenly wanted to get rid of the jacket his brother had bought him. So he did, then fled with the suitcase he’d packed. It was true, he hadn’t really been planning ahead when he left, though he’d thought about how Anti would react. Sometimes he wanted to go back, hating to make him sad, but convincing himself he was probably angry. Still, he remembered almost doubling back at a couple different bus stops, thinking it wasn’t worth it. 

Had Anti really thought...? Something like that would be upsetting to anyone, especially over someone who’d been under your care for years. He never meant to—

Why was he thinking about this?!

Jameson shook his head, and pushed Anti back. I don’t care what you thought, he said harshly. I don’t care how you felt.

“Of course you do,” Anti said. “I saw how you were hesitating. We’re brothers, Jameson, we care about each other. And you’re so sensitive, of course you can’t help it.”

No, no, no. Jameson continued to shake his head. I don’t care how you felt because you never cared what I felt. A seventeen-year-old shouldn’t be helping to dispose of a body. A twenty-year-old shouldn’t be afraid to go outside because his brother convinced him enemies would be after him.

“I didn’t want to get you involved in any of it,” Anti insisted. “But sometimes I had to! I couldn’t do it alone. Jamie—Jameson, it killed me to ask for your help. I just wanted you to be safe, but I was putting you in active danger out of necessity. So I had to make sure that nothing happened to you, especially when I was out and couldn’t protect you. I was just trying to keep you safe.”

You’re contradicting yourself, Jameson signed, keeping his face carefully expressionless. Keeping me safe, yet continually involving me in your work? You were a hypocrite back then, and you’re a hypocrite now.

“Oh my god, why can’t you just understand?!” Anti suddenly shouted. “No, of course! You don’t understand! You’re not even trying! It was so fucking difficult, Jameson, I did what I had to.” He took a deep breath. “Please, Jamie. You’re a sweet boy. Always have been. Why can’t you be now?”

Because you fucking kidnapped four people and killed thirteen! Jameson signed, aghast. Are we forgetting that? Or are you just trying to get me to?

Anti sighed, looking disappointed. “Alright. We can stop for the night.” He backed up, glancing over towards the bunk beds to make sure Jackie was still sitting there. “It’s a complicated situation, all of it. But you’re my little brother, and I care about you.” He reached the door, and grabbed the handle. “I brought you groceries, since I saw you were about halfway through them. I’ll stop by again.” And quickly, he opened the door and slipped out, the lock clicking behind him.

Silence.

Then Jackie let out a long, slow breath. “That was...that was f-fucking terrifying.”

JJ relaxed, letting out all of the tension he’d been holding. I told you he wasn’t aggressive all the time, he said, walking over to the plastic bags Anti had left on the floor and crouching down to look through them. A lot of dry foods. No drinks, but that was fine, since the mini fridge was full of them. He grabbed the bags and moved them over to the cabinet area.

“Yeah, but...it’s an entirely different thing to see it in person.” Jackie slowly inched back over to the bunk beds’ ladder, sitting with his feet on the top rung. “Mother of fuck. I thought it couldn’t get worse than the time he was strangling me, but that. It wasn’t exactly threatening, but it was...wow.”

Sorry, the time he what?! JJ asked, eyes wide as he turned to look back at Jackie.

“Oh. Uh...I-I’ll explain later, if you want,” Jackie mumbled. “What did he bring?”

Dropping the subject for now, JJ glanced through the bags again. Everything we need, he said. You’re right. He’s watching us.

Jackie nodded. “Of course. Wonder where the camera is this time.”

Jameson gave the room a sweep with his eyes. There wasn’t anywhere obvious, but then again, modern cameras were so tiny. It could be anywhere. A direct connection to Anti. He’d be always there, always watching...

Suddenly, Jameson’s legs gave out and he fell to the floor.

“JJ!” Jackie scrambled down the ladder and rushed over. “What happened?! Are you okay?”

“Hhhhnnn.” Jameson covered his mouth. His furious blinking couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, and a few slipped out. He got into a kneeling position, slowly shaking his head.

“Are you hurt? I-I mean physically?” Jackie reached out to touch Jameson’s shoulder, only for him to sharply pull away and shake his head harder. “I—okay. What’s wrong? What do you need?”

He just kept shaking his head, now trembling all over as he bent over and covered his head with his arms. It was just one conversation. One conversation, and in the course of that conversation, he had frozen up, gotten angry, then slowly started buying into what Anti was saying. He managed to catch himself this time but...It was going to go back to the way it used to be. There was no way to escape it. And now, he was physically trapped as well, unable to leave. He’d just keep listening to Anti. God damn it. God damn it! He couldn’t do this!

“H-hey, it’s...I mean, that looked really hard to do.” Jackie sat down on the floor next to him, crossing his legs. “But you did it, you know. It was really impressive, actually.”

Jameson looked up, and managed to start signing. I won’t be able to do it next time.

“What are you talking about? Of course you will!” Jackie smiled a bit, before looking grave. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s still going to be hard. But you’ve done it before. Hell, sounds like you managed to run away from the bastard in the past. When you were on your own, too. I probably can’t do much to, like, fight back, but I’ll still be here. Kind of have to be, ha. So...that’s different, I guess. Tell me if you need anything. Okay? I promise I’ll help.”

Jackie’s positivity was a bit awkward, but his tone was genuine. JJ found himself relaxing. He took a few deep breaths, then looked around the room. Things he could see: bunk bed, bags, bathroom door, mini fridge, Jackie. Things he could hear: his heartbeat, breathing, Jackie talking, slight humming from the lights. Things he could feel...he went down through the list.

“You...are you okay?” Jackie asked.

Better, JJ replied. But a bit drained. I think I’m going to take a nap.

“Alright. Go ahead. I’ll get these groceries sorted out.”

JJ nodded, and stood up, making his way over to the bottom bunk. Pushing the covers aside, he climbed in, turning to face the wall. His pocket watch was still hanging from his neck, and this time, he couldn’t stop himself from holding it. Then he took it off. Not around the neck. Somewhere different. To remind him that things weren’t the same.

Slowly, he fell asleep to the sound of Jackie rummaging in the cabinets.

——————

That hadn’t gone well. Anti sat down at his desk, replaying the conversation over. Where had he gone wrong? There must have been a couple places. Jameson clearly didn’t trust him, for obvious reasons. So, he’d need to find some way to gain it back. If Jameson wanted him to leave him alone, then he would. For a bit. Refine his conversation skills and what to say. Put more effort into it. He might have to lie at times, but that was fine.

He glanced at his phone. Some notifications alerting him to new messages in his...“work” email. Eventually, he’d have to answer some. That was how he got money, after all, which allowed him things like this new safe house.

What about Jackie? He’d been pretty quiet during that encounter. Good. If he was trying to gain Jameson’s trust, it would be a shame to hurt a friend of his. He’d let him be for now.

Anti looked over at the other item on the desk. A small turquoise notebook. After a few seconds, he reached over and picked it up, fanning through the pages until he reached one in particular. Then, he slid something out from between them. A keycard. He’d been reading this notebook for a while, and based on the contents, he could guess what this card was for. Why Marvin had it, he wasn’t sure, since it clearly belonged to that doctor woman.

And he wondered...should he make use of the card now? Or should he wait a while?

He played with the card for a minute, flipping it over his fingers. No, he’d wait. He already had enough to deal with at the moment. Maybe once he’d adjusted to the change. Still, it didn’t mean he couldn’t give the idea some thought. Bring it into solid reality.

Three at once might be a little much, but he could handle them.

And Jameson might like another friend.