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my-brothers-corrupted · 4 years

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My Brothers, Corrupted

Chapter 1 : Section 5 : In and Out of the Basement

After you helped Trick survive and return home through a breaking and entering to steal antipsychotics for his little brother, Blue begins to remember who he was before Anti wormed his way inside his head. His plans are stopped in mid-thought, however, by the appearance of Anti on the stairs – wearing Dapper’s body like an outfit. All Blue and Red can do until the morning comes is look after Dok and Trick and hope nothing goes wrong…

Trigger warnings: torture, injury, blood, panic attack, major abuse, and abuse between brothers.

Find the masterlist for this chapter here.

Part Five of Chapter One: In and Out of the Basement

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Okay, Anti, I have to ask. Do your "brothers" remember you wearing them?

“Oh, yes.”

He signs slower than Dapper does. His hands move like he is wrapping spider web around his fingers.

“Much of it, anyway… Not the things that I do, so much, but the sensation of me, in their heads… the pounding of blood through a body that no longer answers to you… the warmth of my presence, the cold when I go… Red, when he was still barely mine, once described it as being tarred and feathered from the inside… hot, choking, revolting, til the numbness comes… and then it is pleasant, he said, and he sank back into my power. Afterwards, they’re often sick. Jack made me something of a virus, you understand, I can’t help but make them ill sometimes. You don’t know how unfair it is, to be a curse to everyone around you.”

He pauses, staring at the window, where he thought he saw a flash of something big and black moving.

“But the only one who can’t seem to stomach it is my little Trickshot. The others recover well enough.”

There’s a slight tapping on the window. Anti frowns, considering getting up to investigate.

Anonymous asked: Do you have a favorite brother to wear, Anti? What is it like for you?

Anti pauses, looking at you. He smiles for a second, and then frowns again, thoughtful, or perhaps even sad. He stares out the window.

“There’s a completion to incarnation. You no longer feel so much like you are out of place, accidental, meant for another world. Everything is connected better. Everything is sharper, closer, more real. When I touch things there is an intimacy to it.“

He sighs and puts Dapper’s head in his hands.

“None of them fit quite right, though. Jack never gave me my own flesh. Guess I wasn’t worth it. Dapper fits nice. Even when he was Jameson, he fit nice. He is strong in a sense that is difficult to find, and I like the way I can feel his power, like water dripping through my hands.”

He looks down at the hands, then at the body. “Do you think he’s getting skinny?” he asks, frowning, plucking at the buttons of the dress shirt. “He never seems to change… even things I expect to scar disappear sometimes… he’s resilient, Jack ensured it. His little problem-fixer.”

Anti scowls and hugs himself, rocking slightly on the floor, or maybe it’s Dapper who’s rocking.

“Mine now,” sulks Anti, rubbing his shoulders. “Mine now.”

oasisofgalaxies asked: Anti, what’s your definition of love? What does it feel like for you?

Anti’s eyes narrow. “What does it matter?” he snaps. “As if it means anything! What is love to me? It’s sociology, anthropology, a little dopamine and oxytocin. Humans use it to ensure that other people protect them and their babies when they themselves are indisposed. They will die for it, sometimes, slaves to their own neurohormones.”

He snaps his teeth slightly, turning away.

“To feel it is useless. It makes me warm and not much else. Sometimes it even makes me want to protect them, but this is just the small part of me that is human too, and easily thrown off.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Maybe you should see who it is that's knocking. It could be Jack.

Anti rolls his eyes, scowling at the name, but nevertheless he gets to his feet. Crawling onto the bed, he gets up on Dapper’s knees and opens the window, peering out -

Poe bounces down from atop the window, close to his face, and Anti gasps, recoiling with a look of real shock on his face. Poe squawks indignantly as the window is slammed shut on her, tapping insistently as Anti, clutching at his face, voiceless groaning rising from his chest. He stalks over to the bathroom, abandoning you on the bed, and you hear the water begin to run as he scrubs his face clean, splashing it in his face again and again, gagging and hissing through Dapper’s teeth.

Anonymous asked: Anti, please don't. Dapper has you but sometimes it's not enough. He gets lonely and the bird is his only other company. It never even inside the house! It won't make him sick!

“Disgusting, disgusting, revolting!”

He stalks back out of the bathroom panting and disappears, only to return a minute later with a padlock clutched in his hands. Still hissing, he crawls back onto the bed and sits up, slamming the window out hard enough to scare Poe away, and then drawing it back and locking the window with a snap of the padlock.

“Fucking thing,” snarl his hands as he draws back, sinking back onto the bed, a little paler than he was a minute ago. “Touched my baby! Fuck, I’ve been sleeping in the same bed with him and he - ”

Anti shakes his head, gagging. “Just be glad I don’t kill the fucking thing!”

Anonymous asked: Actually, still curious, why are you wearing Dapper now? Do you have a reason?

This brings a bit of a smile back to Anti’s mouth. Cooling, he sits back on the bed, his silver-blue eyes flashing.

“I heard what your precious Marvin was saying, you know… maybe you should talk to him and try to figure out why I would do this. Unless you’re all too stupid.”

just-a-youtubers-blog asked: Why can't Trickshot stomach it?

“I don’t pretend to understand it. We’ve had some nasty chores to do together, of course, but that’s true for all his brothers. Just weaker than the rest of them, I suppose. I haven’t asked him. He cries when I bring it up. It’s exhausting to watch.”

loganandoli asked: Hey Anti! I just realized that we’ve never really seen your room. Do you mind if you could go and give us a bit of a tour? Your favorite rooms and spots, etc?

“Oh, okay. I can take you around upstairs. There’s not a lot to see, but it’s bigger than our last house.”

He picks the camera up and heads out into the hall, panning around a little so you can see Dapper’s art and the one ruined wall where his art used to be. From there, he turns away from the stairs and back towards his office, unlocking the padlock on the door and pushing his way in.

His room was clearly abandoned for a long time before he moved in, but he’s cleaned it meticulously and then splayed wires and cords all over the room instead. You even see a small satellite dish in the corner, maybe for internet. You sort of doubt Anti’s trying to get cable.

He can’t speak, but he holds a hand up proudly to point at an assortment of computers, phones, radios, and more, buzzing warmly in a corner. Most of them seem to be running programs, a couple computers have youtube pulled up, and the radio is reading the news to him in French.

He pulls open the closet too, revealing an extensive menagerie of cameras, security sensors, knives, guns, voice recorders, a microphone, headphones, a box full of memory sticks and hard drives, a couple more buzzing computers, a fucking bear trap, whips, some sort of black mask, boxes of medicine, bloodstains, some cash fluttered to the ground, and several outfits falling off hangers, obscuring whatever else is in this bizarre little storage closet.

Anti sets you down on the floor of his room and sits down, pulling a computer into his lap. “It’s going to be a pain to move,” he admits before he gets to work. “But this is my set-up! Click that like button, gamers.”

Dapper’s chest shakes with silent laughter and Anti sighs warmly, drawing in on himself. “Was that all you wanted to see?”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What's the point in having a bedroom if you're never in it? You and Dap seem to be snuggly enough.

“It’s an office, not a bedroom! I work in here, even Dapper can’t come in.”

loganandoli asked: Basically yep! Also anti, what were your other houses like? Were they bigger or smaller then this one? Did everyone ever have their own room?

“The last one we were at was smaller, but we’ve moved around from place to place. Stayed in some motels when it was just Red and Dapper and I.”

Anti’s signs for his boys are different than Dapper’s. Red’s is “fight” mixed with the word for the color red, and Dapper’s is a D with the tapping of the wrist for “time.”

“Sometimes we’ve all been in the same room, but no one ever sleeps entirely alone. When it was just the three of us, Red would sleep on the floor beside us even if there were other rooms. And then with Doktor for a while, and then him and Doktor and Trick. But no one ever sleeps alone in a room, it’s not healthy. Someone should be watching. Someone should be there.

“I liked the last house quite well. We were in the middle of town, close enough that I could feel all the signals buzzing around. Maybe I’ll take us back to a city again someday.”

just-a-youtubers-blog asked: No, I meant, like, what happens afterward? Is it a blow to his self-esteem, does he get really apathetic or tired, (gasps) does he… does he remember being Chase afterward? Is that it? Tell us! I wanna know! (I'm acting like a gossipy teen for this, if the text doesn't tell you) (It's hard to interpret tone in text, so… that's my tone) (y'know… waving my hands in front of my face like I'm hot, stuff like that)

Anti eyes you carefully. “After I wear Trick? He gets sick for a while, and then just needy. Wildly needy. Begging for attention, begging desperate for attention, crying and clinging to me, asking to sleep with me, to stay close to me, saying he feels bad, saying he’s afraid. Has these huge freak-outs, screaming and crying and nightmares, getting triggered by small things, sometimes several times a day, calling for me and all his brothers, even Red and Dapper sometimes.”

Anti pauses. “I don’t do it so much anymore,” he says. “Used to wear him often… but sometimes, afterwards, he even begins to talk about dying, about blood, in a way that I don’t like me, joking about it but… not joking. So I rarely wear him, and make sure Dok can watch over him afterwards.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Don't you think the others feel a little...I don't know, isolated, from the world? Makes it hard for them to blend in when they go into town when they don't really interact with normal people, don't you think?

“Isolated? What do they need the world for? They have each other. They have me. They wouldn’t be safe if they weren’t isolated, anyway. Definitely all go to jail, at the very least.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey, Dok? Any update on what's going on down there?

It’s hard getting Dok up the stairs.

Neither of their older brothers are well enough to help and Doktor is a shivering mess, stiff as bone, almost too clammed up to move. “You’re okay, man,” promises Trick again and again, trying to get him to his feet. “You’re okay, he’s not going to hurt you, he’s not going to hurt you.”

But Dok’s been in the basement too many times to relax, and he’s already too deep in his panic to make out most of what Trick is saying. All he can do is try to cooperate, managing to sling an arm over Trick’s shoulder, and let his brother half-carry him up the stairs, whispering reassurances.

Trick is slicked in sweat and pumped up with adrenaline, but as soon as they’re back in the nest, he shatters like glass, both of them collapsing into their blankets and coats and clothes, lying side-by-side and face-to-face. He doesn’t even notice Red’s presence until their brother is beside them, calling their names anxiously, and Trick doesn’t even have the strength to be vigilant about the danger he represents. He just wants to be fucking held.

Red rubs at his back and Trick begins to cry, hard, clutching Doktor, who’s gone silent beside him, eyes closed, shaking hard, hard, but only minutely, paralyzed and numb.

Blue watches from a few feet away. His hands are gripped into fists.

He has to get them out of here.

He has to get them all out of this place.

But first, he just has to try to get them through this night.

Anonymous asked: Anti, how often do you physically leave the house? Like you have Red and Trickshot run errands all the time, but what do you ever leave for?

“Physically? Physically I leave only when I am very bored or there is someone who I must hunt down. But often my mind is faraway. I can go anywhere, you know. I can go anywhere. I am everywhere.”

cest-mellow asked: hello anti, how are you? can i ask why you don’t like animals very much?

Anti’s eyes widen and then narrow into a furious scowl, not fit for Dapper’s face. Wiping at his cheek where the bird touched him, he reaches up to turn off the camera, just like that.

Well, then.

Anonymous asked: Big scary man who turns into big scary dog is scared of small friendly raven.

Red glances up, the message reaching him instead of Anti. For a second, he looks wildly, skittishly delighted.

“Fucking hell,” he whispers, his face turning red as he tries not to laugh. “Shut up, dude, he’ll kill you if he hears that. How the hell did you find out about that? He hates living animals, holy shit. Keep your voice down, haha! Oh, I should not laugh. I should not…”

Anonymous asked: Blue be cautious. Anti is making a show of force by wearing Dapper around. He's in control and wants you to know it. You need to make a "show" of compliance. Just... wait.

Frustrated, Blue nevertheless nods. “He’s really punishing Dapper for what I did, huh? I don’t understand, why would he possess him just because I was saying that…”

spicydanhowell asked: oh babies :( it's gonna be ok. if someone can help dok stay grounded itd help a lot. anything you can do to bring him out of his head. try using physical pressure, eye contact, try and get him to respond somehow

Red leans over his brothers like he might try some of your suggestions, but he’s not up to eye contact or touch right now.

“Here, let me,” croaks Blue, reaching out for help at the bottom of the stairs.

Red hurries over to him and helps him limp up the stairs, clutching at the wounds across his chest, healing slowly. He and Red fall to their knees besides their little brothers, and Blue reacts as though on instinct, kneeling above Doktor and then just crushing into something like a hug, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and clutching him tight, tight, stroking the back of his neck while Doktor shakes.

“Poor guy, poor guy,” mumbles Marvin, leaning down to press their foreheads together, waiting for Doktor to open his eyes. “It’s okay, Dok. It’s okay.”

He sits holding him for a long time, til Doktor’s staring up at him, his mouth trembling but his body relaxing.

“Kit,” he whispers, closing his eyes again.

“What? It’s Blue, Dok.”

“No… med - med k-kit…”

Blue draws back, alarmed. “You hurt?”

Trick is already dashing to the cupboards and back, returning with the med-kit. They all watch in worried anticipation as Doktor, with shaking hands, draws back his sleeves to reveal his scarred up wrists, takes a sewing needle out of his kit, and draws back -

“Dok, no!” cries Trick, grabbing his hand out of the air before he can stab himself with the needle, aiming for a long pink scar down from his elbow. “No, no, you’re not bleeding, it’s not open!”

“He cut me!” shrieks Doktor, scrabbling at the clean scar with his free hand. “He cut me, I need to stitch it up, I’m bleeding!”

“You’re not, you’re not! Dok!”

Red snatches the needle out of his hand and closes the kit back up, moving away to return it to the cupboard while Blue and Trick restrain their brother. Doktor begins to sob, moaning and clawing at his body, pulling at old scars.

Blue and Trick both help hold him down for a long time, rocking, calling his name, stroking his back. “Maybe he needs a sedative,” pants Blue, crushing his shoulders again, which seems to calm him down.

“We’re not allowed to give sedatives unless someone’s actually hurt.”

Marvin remembers your warning to lay low and acquiesces, though a low growl rises from his throat.

Doktor falls asleep eventually anyway, clinging to Trick’s shirt, mumbling his name.

Trick stares down at his brother, stroking his hair. His eyes are so exhausted he looks like a blind man.

“Hey,” murmurs Blue, reaching out to touch his cheek.

Trick doesn’t answer, staring.

“Hey,” repeats Blue.

“Will you crush me too?” asks Trick.

Blue can’t help but laugh. “Come again?”

Trick looks right up at him, face blank. “Crush me too? H-hold me like that?”

Blue’s smile fades away. Serious now, he moves gently forward, and wraps his arms around Trickshot, and squeezes him as tight as he fucking can.

Trick cries against his chest.

“It’s okay,” mumbles Marvin, knocking their heads together hard. “It’s okay. We’re okay for tonight, yeah?”

“Y-yeah.”

“I won’t go anywhere.”

“Okay.”

“We can all sleep up here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Trick sobs and sobs. Red returns to their side, his face sad, and comes to sit beside them, watching over Dok.

“I got you,” Marvin reassures, again and again and again. “It’s okay, I got you, I got you, I got you.”

Anonymous asked: oh Man, you guys hAve been thRough a lot tonight. you must be Very exhausted IN light of all this. perhaPs it will heLp get your minds off of All this if you wiNd down and go to sleep ?

The boys exchange nervous glances - even Doktor shifts in his sleep, grimacing against Marvin’s thigh. But they’re good at taking orders, and exhausted. Red brings his sleeping bag over and sets up in the corner, watching over them, while Trick curls up in his blankets at Doktor’s side, near to Marvin.

Marvin, though - Marvin stays awake.

He stares at you through the darkness, his face set and ferocious, protective.

I’m going to save them. I’m going to save all my brothers. I’m not going to let them get hurt.

Someone has to keep watching. Someone always has to be watching. Tonight, it is Marvin’s turn. But the danger is already in the house with him, and he curls low over his brothers’ bodies, and holds them close, wishing that Jameson were here as well. He does not sleep the whole night through. He is trying to remember.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Marvin, you gotta think of something, and fast. You're all safe for now, for sure, but keep your wits about you. There's too much power in that house.

Marvin’s exhausted eyes well with tears as he stares up at you.

“I… I had some plans, to get them all out of here… I think I remember bits and pieces of hiding around this town, of the way I came here, of how we could get away, especially if we all worked together… but the problem is…”

Marvin’s head drops. He strokes Trick’s hair, tears dripping down his face.

“I can’t leave any of them behind. Not one, not one. They need me here. I need to be here. That’s why Anti put on Dapper. I understand now. You all told me to remember all four of my brothers, that I loved and tried to protect all of them. I know that’s true, and so does he. I can’t go without all of them, so Anti made it impossible for me to take them all… I can’t get to Jameson without Anti.

“I can’t escape. I’d have to leave Jamie behind, with Anti wearing him, chained up better than if he were tied up and locked in the basement…”

Wiping furiously at his eyes does little to dry Marvin’s face. “You know, he’s the one I haven’t seen in the longest,” he sobs. “I remember losing him, and all of us being so afraid. It’s been months. I’ve barely laid eyes on him. I don’t know if he’s okay - he must be so miserable all the time. My poor little brother. I can’t leave him behind. I can’t leave at all.”

cest-mellow asked: don’t worry marvin, it’ll be okay. anti can’t wear jamie forever right? i bet he’ll become lonely, or he might need a hug or something. maybe you can use that to your advantage..?

Marvin pauses, staring, considering. “You’re right… right? Surely you must be… surely he can’t wear Jamie forever…”

Anonymous asked: Anti is overconfident if he thinks he can wear Jameson 24-7 AND expect him to still have the energy to turn things back if things go awry. Look where Anti ISN'T looking, Marv, and be patient.

“Right, right,” mumbles Marvin, getting lost in thought. “That’s good, that’s really good… maybe there’s even a way I can wear him out… or trick him into letting Jay go…”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What if you sneak out in pairs? Get a few out at a time or something? Or a decoy!

Marvin nods slowly. “Hm, yeah… If I could convince someone to run the next time he sends them into town or something….”

He sighs, his hand rubbing down Trick’s back. “They just seem so convinced, though. I don’t know. Maybe they’re just too far gone. Maybe I’m just paranoid, tricking myself. Anti seems bad, yeah, but I don’t remember much… maybe I’m confused, maybe I should be here…”

His eyes cloud over slightly.

“I seem to remember something nice with Anti,” he says softly, a smile playing along his mouth. “Like… him holding me. And it was warm, and I was sure of everything… no confusion, just… Anti.”

Anonymous asked: Marvin, are you maybe thinking of Jack?

Marvin stills, staring at the ground.

“I don’t think so,” he says, after a very long time. “I don’t remember who that is at all.”

Anonymous asked: Uh oh, we're losing the cat

Marvin blinks, suddenly anxious, trying to remember something he’s forgotten. “Who’s the cat? Is that why Anti calls me Kitten?”

Anonymous asked: Trust your instincts on this one, Marvin. One good deed by Anti, real or fake, doesn't measure up to the infinite amounts of abuse he's put--and will continue to put-- you and your family through.

“Right, right… the warmth is just… a trick, it’s just… he’s not really good, even though he feels like he is when you look at him…”

musical-in-theory asked: Marvin, whenever you feel yourself slipping away into Blue, let this thought ground you again: Anti hurt your brothers and made them thank him for it.

Marvin’s heart drops into his stomach. For a second, he can only breathe through the words.

“Oh, oh,” he whispers, clenching his fists tight, digging his nails into his palms. “He did, he did.”

He is curled low over Doktor’s body, breathing through his teeth.

“Anti hurt my brothers and made them thank him for it.”

cutiepotato777 asked: Happy Birthday Glitchy Boy! Whatcha gonna do for your birthday? (This was not the 31st, but the anniversary of the first day Anti glitched on Jack’s channel)

He scowls, bent low over his computers. “By all means, let’s celebrate the first day I was used as a fucking prop to win some bitch boy internet points. Nothing, I’m not celebrating. Probably need to break that fucking cat back in today, though. I want to see if I can get him fully under within a month. Took me two for Trick and Dok. Want to break my record. That would be worth celebrating.”

Anonymous asked: Anti have you tried to wear Blue before, when you were resetting him maybe? Or is this something you're holding off on?

“I haven’t yet…. possession does not generally lend itself to fondness, which is the most important thing to cultivate in the first few months. But if I need to, I will. I wonder if his magic burns.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Marv, i'd be on your best behaviour. Anti is SUPER sour today, it seems.

Marvin can’t help but laugh at that. “Sour, huh? Fuck… okay. Yeah.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Maybe ask Red how much he remembers? I think he's gonna be your strongest ally right now.

Red glances over at you, still snuggled up in his sleeping bag by the window. He’s only been awake for a couple minutes and he’s surprisingly comfy, even in the cold. He can’t remember the last time he woke up without feeling lonely. I mean. He can’t remember the last time he woke up at all before yesterday, but whatever.

“That’s a good question,” says Marvin, looking up at him. “What do you remember?”

“What do you?” asks Red sleepily, rubbing at his eyes.

Marvin shrugs, scooting closer to sit next to his brother’s legs, dangling off the sill. “Just bits and pieces. A couple names, a couple places. Sensations, more than anything else… like there’s all these places in my brain where a memory should be, but… it isn’t.” He pauses, rubbing his thumb across the palm of his other hand. “I don’t even know who I was… just a tiny bit of who I am.”

Red sniffs and turns to look out the window, shrugging. Marvin waits patiently for him to speak, eventually nudging his knee.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere but here,” he says tiredly. “I don’t think I’ve ever been anyone but Anti’s. I remember Trick and Doktor a little, the boy in the attic a little. Some fights, some… scary nights. Some of my scars help me remember. I think, for the most part, it’s just been me, hiding behind the island, for a very long time.”

There’s a pause. The birds are singing in the trees.

“I don’t think you were with me,” says Red, his voice heavy. “And I think it was very painful. Maybe it’s better we don’t remember.”

Anonymous asked: so anti... how are you going to break blue in? are you hypnotizing him again or (fuck) something else?

“I’ve had to find different techniques for every one of them, they all react differently. Protective Jackie, needy little Chase, ferocious Jamie, proud Henrik… I’ll have to experiment with Marvin. Already stripped half of who he is away. Just have to see what makes him tick. Why, you have suggestions?”

nikkilbook asked: Help them remember kindness. Trick and Red have both said that they get angry because it hurts less to be hateful, be violent, that that’s how they protect each other and themselves from even more pain. And as much as it will hurt and as dangerous as it might be, you’ve GOT to remember kindness. Remember what real love feels like. See all the ways Anti is hollow in comparison. Make them feel safe for little seconds in between. Make them remember that they are worth the world.

Marvin nods slowly, closing his eyes. “I… think I can do that. I have to be here. Have to be what they need me to be. I can be kind. I can be good to them. This is my family, after all, even if I barely remember them.”

He tugs on Red’s pant leg, grinning up at him. “Hey. Come down here so I can change your bandages and then let’s get everybody up for some breakfast. Yeah?”

Anonymous asked: Mr. Love-is-just-chemicals-we-live-in-a-society-and-has-read-exactly-one-psychology-article-to-know-how-people-work wants suggestions, everybody!

Anti laughs. The laugh becomes a cough. It tickles in his chest and makes him laugh again, harder. Dapper’s face is somewhat pallid.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Do you have a favourite to wear, birthday boy?

Anti puffs up, a little pleased with the attention despite himself. “Probably Carver,” he says. “He’s been mine the longest and he’s comfy, familiar. I like the way his hands move, he’s a knife-thrower like me. But I like Red too, he’s gotten so strong again and he’s almost as quick as my Carver.”

Anti pauses, thinking.

“Maybe that’s what we’ll do today,” he signs, glancing down at Dapper’s body. “Maybe it’s time for a good tussle.”

nikkilbook asked: Uhm. I would just like to point out that you made Dapper cough just by laughing a minute ago. Maybe extreme physical activity is not the best idea right now. Plus also, Red still has a head wound. Maybe don’t engage in activities that might seriously damage them.

“I’ve put them through worse.”

Anonymous asked: So do you prefer what kills them to make them stronger or weaker? Because I think what kills them is going to make them dead, and because consequences be damned, you'll just make your *very fatigued* puppet undo your mess, right?

Anti drums Dapper’s fingers against the floor, growling to himself, a breathy, voiceless noise like a snake hissing. “Red’s lucky I’ve taught him to fight under pressure,” he signs, but he seems to be cooling on the idea.

“Is he really so bad off? Why’s my Doktor not doing more? Didn’t he stitch it up? He stitches up all his other wounds and then there’s only that one area I have to be careful with. Isn’t his skull supposed to be thick? Why are you humans so frail?”

He chews on Dapper’s nails for a second, and then seems to catch himself in the act and stops, sighing. “They wear out so fast.”

He rubs at a deep scar on Dapper’s tummy, beginning to feel tired. He should have slept or eaten or something.

Anonymous asked: Trickshot, Someone, are you guys awake yet?

You find them cheerfully eating breakfast downstairs, bagels with peanut butter, sitting in a circle with blankets wrapped around shoulders. Doktor isn’t eating, but he’s awake, at least, lying against Trick’s shoulder and holding his brother’s hand. Trick waves at you, wiping peanut butter off his chin. “What’s up?”

He still looks shaky, but he’s happy this morning.

Anonymous asked: Goodness, you sound so petulant about their limits being so different from yours. Isn’t that what makes it fun? Their limits are what enable you to play with them so thoroughly; wear them out, push them past their limits, toy with pushing those limits further. But every knife has two edges.

“There are limits that benefit me,” Anti admits. “Making Henrik scream when he swore to God he never would, getting Chase to beg for me because no one’s touched him for two weeks, watching Jackie get thinner and thinner… but if they’re always weak, what’s the fun in that? Over far too soon if you can be broken with a crack of the skull.”

He stares blankly into the distance, flipping a knife in his hand once, twice, before letting it thunk back to the ground.

“I hate them,” he tells you suddenly, still staring away. “I hate all of them. Their weakness. The parts of them that remind me of him.

“Some days I dream about taking them to a cliff and telling them all to walk off, one by one… But then, I suppose I’d be…”

He doesn’t know what. Lonely? Drifting? Unprotected?

“I need them for my plans,” he concludes finally, closing his eyes. “I must love them a little if I keep them around at all. I… think that’s right.

“Anyway, you’re right. I must watch their limits. Push them, but not too far. Break but in the right way. That’s the only way I’ve been able to keep them all so far.”

cest-mellow asked: anti, why don’t you take a break? you should eat, or let dapper eat and rest, he’s probably going to be really sick if you wear him for so long. maybe you can rest too, lay with him or take a walk...? you deserve to have a moment of peace today, don’t you think?

“I have to take care of the body,” says Anti flatly, getting to his feet. He’ll eat, maybe, drink some water too, but he won’t let Dapper go without good reason. “A walk might be good. I love the ocean where the water crashes hard against the rocks.”

Anonymous asked: You guys have any routines you do everyday?

“That’s a good question,” says Trick, and turns to his brothers - only Doktor’s practically numb against his should, and Red and Blue stare blankly at him, waiting for the answer too. He can’t help but laugh a little.

“You usually go for a run,” he tells Red. “But I wouldn’t advise it today. You sort through all our supplies, everything we have, meticulously. Sometimes Anti calls you upstairs and I don’t know what you do… work, he calls it, chores. Often he has errands for you outside of the house. You check and reset the traps, eat and make sure we have too, run again, watch the birds… there’s a ball in your corner, I used to hear you throwing it around a lot. Sometimes Anti would go walking with you…”

Trick trails off, a brief flash of something like jealousy or grief flickering over his face. He readjusts and continues.

“Me and Dok have lots we do, but I’m nocturnal most days cause I’m on watch. He’ll read to me and run me through some exercises. Says I get stiff sitting up all night. In the morning, we go to the laundromat when we need to, and we eat and wash and clean up our nest and stuff.”

He pats proudly at his blankets and clothes.

“Then I go to sleep and you - ” He squeezes Dok’s hand and turns to glance at him - “What do you do, man? Color and read and memorize all our books. He can do the first four chapters of the Hobbit without looking, you know.

“There used to be more for us to do before we came here. Anti had us in the other countries for different reasons, not just tracking down Blue, so we all had things to do. Dok ran a clinic and everything. That’s how Anti caught that mafia kid he wanted - came to Dok cause he couldn’t go to the hospital, and then Anti had him. But now… yeah. We try to stay entertained around here. I miss when Anti let us have our music players.”

Anonymous asked: Are there ever days where you don't see Anti at all? How long were Anti and Red gone when they were out looking for Blue?

“Yeah, there are days we don’t see him! Sometimes a really, really long time for Dok and I. In the place we were living like… two countries ago, Anti was often gone, and left Red at home with us. He stays at home now more since wh-what happened, but…”

Dok shivers and clutches at his stomach. Outside, he thinks he hears… dogs? Or people, or something? But everyone else is listening to Trick. He hides his face against his shoulder and tries not to think about it.

“We’ve been here trying to catch Blue for ‘bout three weeks.”

Blue startles. “Have you?”

“You must be good at hiding,” says Red.

“You are,” admits Trick. His gun is farther from his hand than you’ve ever seen it at home. He looks happy. “Haha, I was starting to think it was another dead end. But here you are!”

He beams at Marvin. Marvin can’t help but smile back at the full force of it. This guy is too sweet to be Anti’s sniper.

“Anti and Red were gone maybe four hours. I think Anti found exactly where he was, and then it was just the walk and the fight and bringing him back home.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Red! What if there was an errand that you and Blue needed to run? *cough* Marvin *cough* an opportunity *cough*

“Um.” Red squints thoughtfully, glancing over at Marvin. “If I think of anything, I guess I’ll see if Anti will let him come along. I probably need to get rid of the Percocet Trick grabbed… unless Dok or Anti wants it, I guess.”

Anonymous asked: You gonna eat anything, Dok?

He stares numbly down at the little bit of food before them, his new glasses sitting low on his nose. Trick nudges him and reaches out to pull the bagels closer, but Doktor just shakes his head and hides his face in his twin’s shoulder.

“Come on, bud,” insists Trick, rubbing his back. “Here, come on, have some of mine.”

He tears off a bit of bagel and peanut butter and holds it up to his brother’s face. After a moment, Doktor reaches up to take it and puts it in his mouth, chewing slowly and burying himself back in Trick’s sleeve.

Trick sighs.

“He often gets like this?” asks Marvin, worried.

“No,” mumbles Trick. “Usually he’s more violent when he’s upset.”

“Well, how often does he get upset?”

Trick flinches and tugs Dok a little closer, looking warily up at Blue. He’s not used to telling anyone about Dok’s breakdowns - he never knows if he’ll be answered with sympathy or frustration.

“Not often,” he manages finally.

Marvin hums, his eyes narrowing slightly. Trick shrinks back nervously, only for Marvin to take his chin carefully in his hand and tip his head back up.

“Tell me the truth,” says Marvin, a blue light flashing through his eyes.

Trick’s shoulders slump with resignation - and maybe a little relief, too, to have a confidant for something they have been struggling with for months.

“Maybe three times a week, he gets where I’m afraid he’ll hurt himself,” he croaks. “But the really bad breakdowns, where he’s wild, where he might attack me… I don’t know, maybe once a month. He scares me. And then he doesn’t remember well afterwards, and he tells me it didn’t even happen.”

Dok shakes against his shoulder. Trick grips him tight, looking up at Blue like he expects him to fix it.

Marvin lays a hand on his shoulder and strokes the side of his neck with his thumb. “Okay,” he sighs, drawing away. “Okay, we can work with that. It’s going to be okay.”

Dok just hides, his hands curling around the scars all over his body, wondering why he can still smell the blood.

Anonymous asked: Are you ok, Dok... ?

He presses harder against Trick’s shoulder. He wants to go back to bed. He remembers being in the basement last night, but nothing happened, so the punishment must still be yet to come. And now he could swear he hears feet crushing leaves in the forest outside, like someone’s coming for him, him and his Trickshot…

Anonymous asked: Is there a separate stash of food upstairs or does somebody bring food to Dapper?

“I don’t know how Anti feeds Dapper,” admits Trick, momentarily confused. “I guess he has food up there, cause we don’t share with him far as I know.”

spicydanhowell asked: trick, something's bothering dok. a noise outside :/ (An anon sent a similar ask advising them to listen and was added).

Adrenaline floods through Trick’s blood and before the purple twins have even read your message he is scrambling to his feet, leaving Dok moaning for him to come back, grabbing after his brother. Trick ignores him and practically throws himself at the window, snatching up his gun and staring out the glass, panting -

“Trick?” calls Red, worried. “What’s - ”

“Someone outside,” gasps Trick. “Moving along the path, I can see - if they turn off the path they’ll see the house!”

Red staggers to his feet and comes to his side, startled. Neon vests can be seen in flashes through the trees lower down on the mountain, on a path that leads away from them, though not far. Red hears the barking of a dog.

“C-cops,” stammers Trick, adjusting his gun in shaking hands. “M-must have seen - have seen me - have seen m-me outside the pharmacy or the boy told them or caught my scent or - ”

“Calm down,” calls Red, grabbing his shoulder. “Calm down, let’s figure this out, we’re not caught yet.”

“Anti!” cries Trick, leaping down from the nest. “Anti!”

“Maybe we shouldn’t tell him!” protests Marvin, alarmed. “He could punish you!”

“Not as bad as he will if I don’t tell him there’s cops coming!”

Anonymous asked: are the scars all over dok's arms and wrists from him hurting himself in his breakdowns or from anti punishing him? it seems like he's been hallucinating as well...

Doktor closes his eyes, trying to breathe through the panic around him. He holds out his arms in front of him, focusing on those old, strangely numb memories - some of them done to himself, cuts along his tummy from when he thought there was something growing beneath his skin, along his arms from where he thought infected cuts needed to be made clean… others from his master’s enemies, burying the bullet in his stomach or slashing him as he tried to run, grabbing him and shouting threats, trying to drag him away from his family or force him to tell things he did not want to tell… and then some, some of course from his master himself, because he used to be so bad, he used to be so proud, and he would spit and curse and snarl at Anti, until the blade fell and fell and fell again, and he began to cry for mercy, shattered like he never knew he could shatter, shattered into a new man entirely, a man he barely recognizes, coated in these aching scars, which always seem to bleed… used to be he only saw them open afresh in his nightmares, but these days, he sometimes sees them with his eyes wide open, staring down at wounds crying out, in silence, for stitches.

He curls in on himself, face blank.

Anonymous asked: No no no, calm down, Trick! It's okay. I'm sure they wouldn't send out dogs just to look for someone who stole meds. You didn't even cause any property damage. They probably aren't here for you, okay? It's just a coincidence. Blue or Red, you wait by the door in case they come up just to check on y'all, but right now, there's no reason to panic. They have no reason to suspect you. Keep Dok safe and calm, okay? That's more important right now.

Trick bites hard on his lip, trembling. “N-no, I - are you sure? Are you sure? I’m s-scared, I need to tell him - I’m scared they’ll shoot Doktor again, oh, oh, oh.”

spicydanhowell asked: trick, get anti right away, he'll hide you, i promise

“Yes,” pants Trick, nearly sobbing. “Yes, he always protects me when I’m in danger. Even when I’ve fucked up, no matter how bad I am, he protects me.”

“Trick,” cries Marvin, kneeling close to Doktor. “Are you sure? I - ”

“I’m the guard dog!” Trick shouts, whirling on him. “I have to tell him! He’ll keep us safe!”

The air burns with tension.

Anonymous asked: Keep your voices down just in case. As far as they know the house isn't here. If they do, they probably think it's abandoned. Don't give them a reason to investigate. Tell Anti if you have to but be ready for anything

“We need to make it look abandoned,” mumbles Red, glancing around at his families. “Get the blankets and things and hide. We’re in trouble if they even find us in this house, especially with the weapons.”

spicydanhowell asked: yes, i'm certain this is the best thing to do trick. you're not meant to keep this kind of thing from anti, but you all need to keep your voices down so nobody out there hears you :/

Marvin stares, afraid for his brothers. Red pipes up to reassure him. “Blue, he’ll protect us first and foremost. No matter how little I know, I’m sure of that.”

Fuck, he’s really trusting their safety to that monster? There should be something he can do, but he can barely remember the way his magic feels welling up in his mouth, let alone how to do anything worthwhile.

“Okay,” he croaks, gripping nervously at his hair. Trick is off like a shot, braving halfway up the stairs.

“Anti!” he cries. “Someone’s coming! Cops and dogs or hunters or something - someone’s on the path!”

Alarmed, Anti is up from his computers in a second, rushing to the top of the stairs. Trickshot’s terrified face stares up at him through the shadows, and a furious wave of protectiveness, of possessiveness, wells in Anti’s chest, hot and powerful.

“I’m sorry,” whispers Trick, tears welling in his eyes.

Anti shakes his head and beckons Trick up the stairs, darting towards Dapper’s bedroom. He lies down on the bed, just for a second, and the whole screen glitches horribly, bursting into flashes of color and static. When your vision returns, Dapper lies still on the bed and Anti stands before him, clutching a knife in his hand.

“Trick, listen to me,” he begins.

“I’m sorry,” cries Trick again, covering his mouth with his free hand.

Anti rushes forward to hold him, pulling him close and kissing the side of his head with a sudden ferocity, digging his fingers into the other side of the scalp. He draws back again and grabs Trick’s face in his hands, looking him straight in the eye. He knows what Trick is responsive to and he summons the guise now - a body looking just like Jack’s the last time Chase saw him, brown hair tumbling into his eyes and big round glasses to make his face look softer.

“Trick,” he repeats, louder. “Listen to me, little brother. I’ll go draw them away - ”

“No, I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“I’ll go draw them away,” he insists, shaking Trick. “And you will stay here and watch over Carver.”

“Wh - watch over Carver? I should be downstairs with my gun, on watch - ”

“This is more important. Do you understand? I want you to sit here at Carver’s side - ” he gestures to the bed “ - and I want you to shoot anyone who comes up the stairs.”

Trick freezes, trying to get words out of his mouth.

“Anyone, Trick. Anyone. Especially Blue, no matter what he tells you. Do you understand me?”

He manages a nod, tears welling up in his eyes. Anti pushes back his hair warmly and lets out a shaky breath.

“I love you,” he says. “Tell Dapper the password is Caligula, but only to use it if I don’t come home in the next four hours. Okay?”

“Yes, Anti. Anti, Anti. I love you - I love you too.”

Anti nods and lets him go, darting down the stairs. He’ll keep them away from his pets. He’ll protect his family whatever it takes.

“Where’s that green coat?” he calls, ignoring the others and rushing towards Doktor, who responds as if on instinct, scrambling to find the coat amid the messy nest. He holds it up and Anti snatches it, heading towards the door.

“Go hide in the basement,” he orders. “Red, right hand, keep your brothers quiet and keep your brothers safe.”

“Yes, Anti.”

“What will you do?” calls Marvin, as Anti’s hand finds the doorknob.

Anti turns to him with something dark and wild in his eyes, a cold grin on his mouth.

“Something I’d never have to do if you idiots weren’t with me,” he laughs, fangs sprouting in his mouth. “Run!”

And he vanishes out the door.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, how can you be so trusting of anti when he literally BROKE you and your brothers?

Blue’s eyes well up with tears. “What do you want me to do?” he asks, distressed. “Just resign myself to the thought of him letting us be killed? How can I trust him? How can I not trust him? He’s holding our lives in his hands! I’m sorry!”

Anonymous asked: Trick, how's Dapper? Anti hasn't fed him anything or let him sleep since he started wearing him. Does he seem sick?

“H-he’s mostly unconscious right now, I think. He’ll be sick when he wakes up for sure. Anti makes everyone sick. Having him under your skin is like - argh, horrible! I guess Dapper takes it better than me - everyone takes it better than me, I’m such a coward - but yeah, he’ll be sick.”

Trick’s lying in the hallway, gun pointed and ready. There is nowhere for him to prop it up standing or sitting, so he lies on his belly, like a snake in wait. His fingers drum anxiously against the handle and he glances back at Dapper. “Should I check on him, you think? Or just keep watch?”

Anonymous asked: Blue whatever ideas you have of getting to Dapper, this isn't the time. Anti's thought ahead, and Chase's loyalty to him is deep. Worry about Doktor, he might not take going back to the basement so well. Maybe practice your magic a little. Lights or flowers or something. Nothing too crazy.

“Right, right - that’s a good idea.”

Swallowing, Blue turns around to rejoin Red, who’s doing his best to pull Doktor towards the basement without hurting him. “Here, let me get him,” insists Blue, stepping in for his brother. “Throw some of the blankets and shit downstairs and lock up the cupboards. I’ll get him down there. Come on, man, it’s okay.”

Deutsch doesn’t even seem reluctant, just resigned, tears spilling down his face the closer he’s lead to the basement. He groans a little, gritting his teeth in his mouth, and Marvin wraps a reassuring arm around him, murmuring reassurances.

As if false hope and warm skin can save him.

“Don’t,” manages Doktor, gasping, pushing suddenly back against Marvin’s arm. “Don’t - make me.”

“Doktor - ”

“Don’t make me go down there. Don’t make me go down there.”

“Doktor - ”

“Don’t make - ”

“Henrik!”

Doktor jolts like he’s been struck by lightning, a hand flashing out to grip Marvin’s shirt. No, no, no - Trick is supposed to be here to protect that name, to prevent that name, to hold that name as secret, Doktor himself is not supposed to hear it, is not supposed to remember -

But fuck, he says it like it means so much.

Doktor whimpers, letting his head fall against Marvin’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” croaks Marvin, pulling him close. “I’ll keep you safe. It’s me. I swear.”

Outside, dogs around the house, not chasing dogs, but fit to catch scents. Jackie prays Anti will act fast - but in the meantime, the danger is here, and he was told to keep the other’s safe.

“We don’t have time for this,” he says, and he stalks forward, grabs Doktor by the arms, and drags him past the basement door, practically shoving him down the stairs. Doktor yelps pitifully. “Red!” cries Marvin.

Red’s face is hot with shame, but he doesn’t pause, returning to grab Marvin too, who snarls as he is dragged into the basement, pissed. His equal in fury and doubly frantic, Red just lets him go and continues walking, listening to the door slamming behind him.

“You better pray to God Anti didn’t hear you say that name,” snaps Red.

“Fuck you!” returns Blue, furious. “And fuck him too! It doesn’t belong to him! We don’t belong to him!”

Terror floods Red like lava spilling over, and he doesn’t even know why. He’s near to tears. “Don’t say that,” he wails, gripping at his hair, backing away. “Don’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know! Just - just don’t say it! You’ll get hurt!”

“You remember that much, huh? You remember next to nothing but you know that if we rebel we’ll be tortured and that’s not enough to - ”

“Shut up!” screams Red. “Shut the fuck up!”

Barking in the distance, moving away, he hopes. Panting, Marvin grabs Doktor’s shoulders and moves him towards the corner of the room, helping him sink down to the floor and wrapping protective arms around him, glaring at Red.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Trick, would you really shoot one of your brothers if they were in your way? That sound really scary to deal with....but you should definitely check on Dap. He needs all the support he can get.

Trick pauses.

He imagines Blue walking up the stairs, timid, shy, kind, loving. Warmer than a space heater, more reassuring than the barrel of his gun, good like the first rays of sunshine.

He imagines Anti.

“Yeah,” he tells you, chill. “I would.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: How's it looking out there, Anti? The boys inside are getting restless!

He hasn’t brought a camera with him, not seeing himself as answering to you. He will be gone for some time. Like the boys, you are forced to wait and see, which kind of sucks ass.

The dogs seem to have moved away, however.

Anonymous asked: definitely watch over him. he's sick and anti asked you to. anti said something interesting about dapper though. he said he's resilient. he hasn't gotten thin like the rest of you and his wounds don't scar as much. i have no idea if anti has him wash, or even feeds him at all so i'm really interested... maybe you could poke around in the room too?

Trick gets up to his feet obediently, moving to Dapper’s bedside.

“What’s this about… resilience?” he asks.

Dapper is asleep in the bed, but fitful. His face is beaded with sweat, his chin tilted strangely high to let him breathe, raspy and fast, like he’s having a nightmare. His eyes are colored purple like a watercolor painting with exhaustion for an art form.

Trick is stabbed by sympathy. He sets his gun to his side - carefully, carefully, he always keeps it close - and brushes overgrown curls out of Dapper’s eyes, laying a cool hand against his hot forehead.

“Hey, bud,” he murmurs. “You with me?”

Evidently not. Dapper’s mouth trembles and he sleeps on.

After a moment, Trick unbuttons his dress shirt, stripping the fabric off to make him more comfortable. Then he can’t resist his own curiosity, lifting up the white undershirt hidden beneath.

Dapper’s tummy is smooth and scarless, his arms the same. He is thin but not starving. The bruises on his neck from yanking against the rope have healed in a matter of days.

Trick frowns. He’s never really thought about that before, how Dapper always seems to look the same no matter what you do to him. He doesn’t know why there would be a difference in their resiliency - they’re supposed to be genetically identical, Anti says, or close enough. Trick always just put the difference down to their treatment, but he remembers well enough the days when they were both treated the same, as twins.

Trick shivers, a craving he does not recognize rising in his mouth.

He finds no food in the room. There’s a washcloth in the bathroom and some water in a pail, but the sink does not run and the bathtub barely trickles.

Anonymous asked: You don’t think anti just doesn’t feed him cause carver can just heal himself if he starves to death, do you?

Trick frowns, tilting his head. “I don’t know… I… I don’t understand his powers. That sounds… really cruel, I don’t know if Anti would…”

Trick pales and decides not to finish his train of thought, sitting down at Dapper’s side. Occasionally, he reaches out to push his hair around or stroke his cheek or shoulder, but he always draws away again, like he shouldn’t be touching him.

spicydanhowell asked: maybe he keeps dapper's things like food and water and stuff in his office so he can decide when to give it to him. poor little guy. definitely keep holding his hand and touching him though, he loves that and it'll make him feel better

“Yeah, maybe.”

Trick gets a little bolder in his contact with Dapper, rubbing the back of his neck now, in heavy, reassuring movements. Dapper has begun to make a noise almost like a hiccup or a sob, a shaky gasp with his chest heaving. Trick can almost imagine him trying to eject the metaphysical remains of possession and it almost makes him sick too. He leans in close and grips Dapper’s hands.

He almost wishes he could enjoy seeing Dapper laid low while he’s feeling fine, but he just regrets that this happens at all. Anyway, he looks so small and sick right now. It’s hard to hate someone who has the same face as you, except twice as pathetic.

“Poor lil man,” mumbles Trick. “Fuck, it’s cold up here, and quiet. I wish Dok was here. This room is lonely.”

cest-mellow asked: marvin, is everything okay downstairs?

Marvin sits in the corner with his knees drawn tight to his chest, trying to avoid the bloodstains on the floor. He’s wrapped his long brown coat around Doktor’s shoulders, his brother asleep against his side. They’re both pale with stress, but Marvin is resolute, blue magic floating slowly through his twitching fingers.

Red sits in the other corner, turned away from them, pounding his fists against the floor, bored, bored, anxious, chock-full of pent-up energy and guilt and anger. He wishes Anti had let him go in his stead.

“I think we’re okay,” murmurs Marvin.

He watches his brother warily, a certain desperation lingering in the paths of his eyes.

“I think… I’m starting to think…”

He closes his eyes and tries to breathe.

“M-maybe I should just take who I can… maybe I should try to escape, and come back for them… they’re so different from what I thought I remembered…”

spicydanhowell asked: that might be the best thing to do, marv. carver is so weak anti wouldn't want to make him turn back time and undo it. you could probably get dok and trick to leave with you... idk though...

Marvin nods slowly, trying to look over at Red, a low guilt curling in his tummy.

“I don’t know if I could convince any of them.” He rubs Dok’s shoulder as he groans through a nightmare. “But I don’t know when I’ll get a chance like this again.”

Anonymous asked: I can't blame you for thinking that... All or nothing is a huge risk as it is, but if only some of you get out, there might not be a second chance at getting the rest.

Marvin covers his face with his hands. “Oh, God,” he whispers. “We can’t stay here…”

Vines curl around his boots.

“But how can I leave them?”

nikkilbook asked: Red, if there was a way to stop feeling so scared, would you take it?

Red doesn’t turn his face to you.

“I know what you’re talking about,” he says.

A whisper.

“It isn’t possible. Don’t give us false hope.”

He curls slightly in on himself.

“I lied to you, you know,” he adds, softly. “I remember some things better than I said. I’ve tried to run away before. But then…”

He stares at the wall.

“It isn’t possible.”

Anonymous asked: Red, you didn't have Blue before. Maybe he's what will make all the difference now. He's magic, bro. Trust him.

Red clutches at his chest, pain welling beneath his bones like a poison.

“I can’t lose him,” he chokes out, rocking himself. “And I won’t see him in pain again! I won’t, I can’t! I have to keep them safe! To keep them safe, I have to keep them here! No, no, no, I can’t - can’t lose him…”

nikkilbook asked: But you aren’t alone this time. You have Blue, at the very least. You might even have Dok.

“Doesn’t change anything,” he cries, almost angry. “Doesn’t change anything. I could have gone. I could have! But I couldn’t give my brother up - I stayed. Power means nothing when Anti’s in your head.”

He clenches his fists, panting through his teeth.

“My power was nothing,” he groans. “My power is nothing. I am nothing - nothing, just Anti’s.”

Anonymous asked: red you need to do something about blue. he's planning to run away while anti's gone.

Red nods slowly. His face settles and sets.

He gets to his feet, glancing at the chains in the basement closet.

“Keep your brothers quiet,” he whispers to himself, closing agonized eyes. “Keep your brothers safe.”

He is a good soldier, and has been for a very long time.

florenceisfalling asked: red, what are you planning to do?

“I chained him up before… if I can just keep him a while, Anti will come home, and Blue won’t have to think anything that hurts him anymore. Just - just wash it away. I wish he would just wash it all away. He never looks at me anymore. But maybe he will if I’m good. He’d understand why I chained my twin up. He’d call me a good big brother, a good right hand. I don’t want to scare Dok, though.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, i would be on your guard when it comes to red. He might be your twin and all, but remember that he's crazy loyal to anti. I would try and take care of him first before you bolt.

Blue bites hard on his lip, staring at his brother, who seems to have gotten up to stretch. “I can’t blame him for his loyalty,” he whimpers, tears sparking in his ocean eyes. “Who knows how long he’s been abused? He doesn’t even have the fragments of good memories that I do. He deserves b-better than this.”

Anonymous asked: Red no. Anti doesn't believe in Risk vs Reward. There's only Risk and earning a punishment, but there's never any reward, only AVOIDING punishment.

“There were rewards when I was younger,” mumbles Red. “Back when he loved me.”

Anonymous asked: Wait, when the hell did you chain him up, Red?? Was it when Anti reset him? Anti couldn't be bothered to do his own dirty work?

“The - the first day we brought him home. Didn’t I? I don’t remember… I was the one chained up for the reset… I remember screaming. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but I knew what he was about to do to me. My little brother…”

florenceisfalling asked: be careful though- blue is powerful. he might retaliate, even though he doesn't want to hurt you, red.

A small, painful smile flickers over his mouth, his eyes curving with emotion - pride, you recognize, pride and warmth and sorrow.

“I’d expect nothing less from my Blue.”

Anonymous asked: Blue, I've been telling you since day 1 to hold back, not yet, be patient, comply, don't try anything, but you know what? Go off. I don't think this is an ideal opportunity, but it's opportunity nonetheless and it might be all you have.

Marvin lets out a deep, shaky breath, laughing a little. Carefully, he shrugs Doktor off his chest, trying to look casual as he lays him back against the wall. He’ll give him a minute more to sleep.

It’s time to go.

He’s bringing whoever he can with him.

spicydanhowell asked: red, he was considering leaving without you. you would have been tortured for that! you've got the right idea...

Red chokes, his eyes flickering wildly up to Marvin.

“Oh, without me,” he whimpers. “W-well, who can blame him? He won’t stay for me. Why would he stay for me? He’d leave me alone again…”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Blue, I think you either need to keep your distance from Red or try to get him on your side. You need each other.

“R-right,” stammers Marvin, looking up at his twin, who is standing a little strangely, shifting on his feet, his back still turned. “Right… I… I should try and get him to come with me, shouldn’t I?”

loganandoli asked: Marvin!! Reds about to chain you up!! You have to convince him that you’re not leaving or you’ll be stuck!! (Cest-mellow also warned Marvin and was added).

“What?”

Marvin pushes back against the wall, trembling, dragging himself to his feet. Knife wounds sting beneath his clothes. He stares at Red, afraid.

Red stares back, exhausted.

The chains are in the closet beside him.

“We really going to do this, heartbeat?” Marvin whispers. He tries to sound brave, but it only comes off as fragile. Stepping in front of Doktor, he prays their little brother will stay asleep. He’s so shaken up already. They can’t stay here. He can’t stay here. None of them can stay here.

“How can you not see how terrible this place is?” cries Marvin, when no answer comes from his brother. “How, how, how can you stay, and force me to stay too?”

Red is staring at the floor. His hands curl and uncurl. Grief and hurt and rage and sorrow war in his face.

“Just stay,” Red says. “And we don’t have to do this.”

“I can’t,” answers Marvin, breathing in deep. “And Jackie, Jackie, Jackie - if you don’t get out of my way, I will push you aside.”

His hands crackle like torches, simmering with blue fire. Red smiles grimly. It never reaches his eyes.

Trick is a guard, Doktor meant for support; Jameson is the fang-toothed puppy.

And Red?

Red is the attack dog.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Maybe try and take red with you first. If he goes first, the others might feel more secure and trust you with getting them out of here.

“Red,” begs Marvin, panting. “Think about what you’re doing.”

He’s trying to look intimidating. He can still talk him down from this, can’t he?

“If you would come with me, we could convince the others to go too, couldn’t we? What would Anti be able to do if we had all turned against him? We can still save ourselves, Jackie!”

“Don’t call me that,” screams Red. “You’re my twin, you’re supposed to shield me from that name!”

“I can’t lie to you anymore! This is not who you are and it never has been! I remember now! I let you find me, praying you would come alone! I thought that I could snap you out of it, if you just listened to me, even for a moment, my brother, my friend, who loved me from the day I was born. I knew that together, you and I could defeat Anti! I know we can still all be saved like that!”

Red grabs a chain from the basement door, heavy in his hands.

“Okay,” pants Marvin, circling. “Not feeling keen on the PMA. Okay, okay, take it easy.”

nikkilbook asked: Marvin, tell him a story. Something small. No matter what happens or who does what, you can at least give him back one of his good memories.

“I - I don’t remember any stories! What can I tell him about? Help me remember something!”

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: How about when you were first born and you didnt have a name it was only you Jack and Jackie, you were like jackie then he wasnt alone and you two took on the world together

Marvin laughs and sobs at the same time. “That sounds wonderful! Can you imagine, just the two of us? Jackie, do you remember - when it was you and me and - and - someone else, I can’t remember, someone who loved us - you slept right across the hall from me and we would stay up so late every night, all three of us were noctural, ha. We’d be running around in the city, just the two of us, you were never far from my side - ”

“Why can’t we be like that and be Anti’s too?” cries Red. “You’re trying to run away from me!”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Come up with something! There has to be some cliché that connects to you guys. Do you remember anything stupid you did together? Or remind Red of how you had his back, even after the reset!

“We always looked after each other, whenever anything came to hurt us we defended each other! That’s how we came out of the first time Anti attacked, side-by-side, back-to-back, together - ”

“We were wrong!” screams Red.

Doktor is awake by now, scrambling into the corner, terrified. He doesn’t know what to do.

“We were wrong to live like that! Wrong to fight him! It would have hurt less to surrender then!”

“Surrender then,” snarls Marvin. “Give up everything that we are, instead of letting him take it from us? You were never a coward, Jackie. Remember yourself!”

Anonymous asked: doktor, wake up and help will you?

Doktor throws his hands up, stressed out of his mind. “What do you want me to fucking do? I want Trick, I want Trick, where is he, why did Anti take him away from me?”

florenceisfalling asked: talk about trick's kid, hunter! surely you all have shared memories with him. does that help you remember? talk about your powers, the plants you can grow. what kind did you used to grow, where did you keep them? talk about watching movies together and sharing dinner and going on trips. think!

“Do you remember swinging our nephew back and forth between the two of us, laughing like nothing would ever hurt us?”

“Be quiet!”

“Do you remember blue magic and magnolias sprouting up through the ground because we finally had a third brother?”

The chain swings, swings, hard, and Marvin throws himself back against the wall to avoid the blow. Red’s face is setting, cold with the rhythm of a good fight, blocking everything else out.

“I love you so much, please - ”

Red darts forward like a mongoose, grabbing Marvin and flipping him over his waist. Marvin hits the ground hard but takes the blow resiliently, well used to his brother’s strength. Strange, the memory waking up in him - We have fought a thousand times, my brother, but I thought that was play, not practice.

Red strikes at his face and Marvin throws himself aside, only to be grabbed by the hair and dragged up to his knees. Crying out, he scrambles at his short hair and stares up at his brother, finding tears in his eyes.

“Stop talking, please,” begs Red. “You won’t convince me - I made peace with my own darkness a long time ago. I’m not a good person, Blue.”

“You could be,” answers Marvin.

“You don’t know what I’ve done. I wish Anti had left my brain so blank I forgot the sight of my own face.” He grabs Marvin’s wrist and holds up the chain.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Dok, Marvin is going to take care of you and trick, but he needs your help right now. You have to help him calm Red down.

“Red, Red!” cries Doktor, reaching out for him. “What’s happening, please stop!”

Red looks up, alarmed by the sound of his distress, and Marvin takes the opportunity to attack, grabbing Red’s wrist. Red screams as heat races through his hand and arm and he drops Marvin, staggering away, clutching at his burned hand.

“Stop, stop!” cries Doktor, curling in on himself. “Stop, don’t hurt each other!”

florenceisfalling asked: red, listen to him. please listen to him, don't try to fight.

“I can’t do this, I can’t do this!” screams Red, beginning to hyperventilate.

nikkilbook asked: Come on, Astrifer. Find yourself

“I’m so tired!” screams Red. “I don’t know who I am, but I don’t want to be him anymore! I want to go home! I want to go home! I want to go home! Anti, please come back! I’m afraid, master, I’m afraid!”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Dok, you need to calm him down. Calm Red down or y'all are going to get hurt!

Doktor staggers to his feet and reaches out to grab Red, pulling him protectively away from Blue.

“Henrik, keep away from him,” pants Marvin.

His eyes have begun to glow through the shadows of the basement.

“Go get Trick and tell him we are leaving. Let me handle him.”

Doktor clutches tighter to Red, backing, backing away.

spicydanhowell asked: red, chain him up, shut him up, and then you can rest. it's going to be okay. just do as you're told and you'll be safe

“Yes, I have to stop him, I have to stop him, I have to keep him safe - ”

He drops his hands from his hair and shoves Doktor towards the stairs. “Go wait upstairs,” he commands. “Now, little one.”

Doktor knows where he lies in the hierarchy and he is obedient. He turns to run up the stairs - but can’t help but pause halfway up, panting, praying they won’t hurt each other.

“Marvin, stand down,” orders Red, straightening up.

“Fuck you!” shouts Marvin. “Fuck you, Anti!”

Anonymous asked: Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh no... ok, think carefully, Marvin! How can you convince Jackie? He's first and foremost the protector of his brothers right now, right? Including Anti. Maybe you can swing it like if you all leave, Anti is safer because he doesn't have to watch out for you all? It might be better to get Jackie away while still loyal to Anti so you can work on helping him back to himself safely. And if you have to run, run, ok? You only have so much time while Anti is distracted.

“Jackie, listen to them, listen to - ”

“I can’t! You know that!”

“Just for one fucking second, Jackie, listen to me!”

“Shut the fuck up!”

Marvin screams rage, striking his hand against the wall and leaving a black mark upon its surface.

florenceisfalling asked: trick, you might have to come downstairs and lend a hand. things aren't going well between the boys.

“Wh-what?” he stammers.

You find him and Dapper awake, sitting at the side of the bed, curled up between blankets together. They look like they were having a good time, even though Dapper is pale and wan.

“What’s going on? I can’t leave puppy’s side. Is… is Doktor okay?”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Guys, come on. Work through this TOGETHER. You're BROTHERS.

“That is not my brother!” howls Marvin. “That is just the shell that Anti left behind! You killed my Jackie! You killed him! You killed my best friend!”

Blue light explodes through the dungeon like a flash of lightning. Red falls back, shocked by the onslaught of light and color, overwhelming.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Screw it. Do what you need to, blue dude.

Marvin surges forward like a thunderstorm. He is faster than Jackie, slighter and more coordinated; he grabs his injured wrist out of the air and squeezes, eyes burning. Red yelps and drives his knee up into Marvin’s stomach, sending him reeling back.

“I’m more powerful than you are,” hisses Blue, fire burning along his fingers, roses snarling their way out of the concrete floor of the basement. “You really want to keep dancing, love?”

“I’m not afraid of you or death,” replies Red coldly, picking up his chain.

Anonymous asked: Dok, maybe see if you can get all the way upstairs, with Trick and Dapper? The basement seems very ugly, you might want to get further away.

“Wh-why won’t they stop?” moans Doktor, covering his face with his hands. “M-make them stop.”

Anonymous asked: Didn't doktor go back up the stairs? So yeah I'd say he's relatively okay

Trick gets up from the blankets, leaving Dapper with a pat on the head, and makes his way to the top of the stairs, clutching his gun tight.

“Deutsch?” he calls, scared. “It’s Trick, I’m right here. Everything okay?”

“Trick,” returns the familiar voice, and Trick’s blood lights up with adrenaline at the fear there. “Trick, Trick. I want this to stop.” He pulls himself to his feet and drags himself to the stairs.

Anonymous asked: No Henrik/Dok don’t go upstairs!!! Please don’t go up there, Trick will shoot anyone who goes up the stairs!! (An anon and nikkilbook sent similar warnings and were added)

Whimpering, Doktor falls back down at the bottom of the stairs, his grief tangible from fourteen steps away. “I can’t even go to my twin? I want to go lie down in the nest and be safe.”

Anonymous asked: Trick, take Dapper downstairs, you won't be leaving him, but the others need you.

“Wh-what? Anti told me to stay up here! I’m supposed to be protecting him!”

Frantic, he glances back towards the room, where Dapper’s head is poking out of the door, his eyes wide and curious.

Anonymous asked: HELL YEAH, KICK HIS ASS, MARV!

Blood-strike, fury-smell like electricity in the air. Marvin lashes out like a panther, a clawed hand reaching for Red’s face, remembering the taste of his own power.

Red kicks at his knee, sending him to the ground, and grabs him by the throat. Marvin shrieks loud enough to disorient Red, beginning to feel nauseous from the thousand sensations and emotions bearing down on him. He drops Marvin and his brother is up again, leaving a blow in his stomach, sending him reeling back, gagging -

He thinks he hears something like static, but Anti is not close enough to stop this.

Anonymous asked: Jesus christ, Anti only leave for a bit and everything goes to shit

Dapper crawls up into his bed, afraid, and closes his eyes, praying to his brother for him to come back soon.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Trick, Dok is trying to come upstairs. DO NOT SHOOT.

“No, no, don’t,” Trick begs, his hands shaking around the gun. “Don’t, Dok, Anti told me to shoot and I - I will. I don’t know if you’re you. Just stay down there, bro. It’s going to be okay.”

Anonymous asked: The three little ones, calm down. It's okay. Blue is having a little trouble settling in, so he's a bit angry right now. Red is handling it. Trick, can you bring Dapper to the top of the stairs, and Doktor, you can sit at the bottom, maybe bring some blankets from the nest? Then everyone is following orders, everyone is safe, and everyone is together. Anti will come when he can to fix it, and you three won't be in trouble.

“There’s some sense,” breathes Trick, setting down his gun. “Dok, I’ll be right back.”

He returns to the room and approaches Dapper, who watches him trustingly - this isn’t the first time he’s been handed over to an older brother’s care, and he’s used to being casually ordered around, so he doesn’t even flinch when Trick scoops him up, blankets and all, laughing a little, and carries him over to the top of the stairs. Trick sits with his feet on the last stair and Dapper mimics him, sitting against his shoulder, rubbing his face, starting to feel better.

“There we go.” Trick smiles and sighs out a shaky breath. “We’re all okay, right? We’re all okay. Red is handling it. No worries. I got my brothers. We’re all okay.”

Anonymous asked: marvin!!!! blue!! no! anti hurts his brothers. you are not like anti!! stop hurting jackie!

“Maybe I am! He washed me away, remember? I don’t even know who Marvin is! And I certainly don’t know who you are, Red!”

Red pants hard, staggering away from him, but Marvin keeps coming.

spicydanhowell asked: trick, don't move, doktor, lie down and close your eyes. just breathe, red... stay with us ok? you're gonna be ok. you're the big brother.

“I’m not the big brother,” he groans. “I haven’t been in a long time. Just the commander. Just Anti’s alpha dog. I’m just fooling myself. I want this to stop - stop - stop.” He grips at his hair, moaning.

nikkilbook asked: Red. The other day, when you were so overwhelmed. Blue knew what to do. Even when you were young, did Anti ever do that for you? Or did he just leave you to figure it out yourself?

“It’s not Anti’s fault he can’t help me when I get like this,” chokes Red, slamming against the wall. “Not his fault I can’t t-take this much sensation - not his fault the boy made him like he was a monster, with the shrieking and the glitching, the color and the pain - I want him to come home, please!”

Anonymous asked: STOP!! You're just going to hurt each other, and if you keep going Anti is just gonna punish everyone!

“Let’s be honest!” shouts Marvin. “We’re already fucked anyway!”

He swings a hand into the air and the rosebushes explode like a wall of thorns, crawling up Red’s legs. He screams as they bite into his calves, and a low sob chokes its way from Marvin’s throat, backing away from the sight of his own power.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he gasps. “It has to be like this.”

musical-in-theory asked: Red you are a fantastic person making the best out of a really shitty situation. You don’t have to do this. For once you have control over what you do right here, right now. What’ll you choose, hero?

“No, no,” sobs Red, thorns growing up his body. “Look what I’ve become. Does this look like a hero to you? I can’t even save my own twin from himself.”

Marvin is backing away, distressed. He waves his hand again, trying to get the roses to stop rising, but they don’t answer him.

Anonymous asked: red. listen to blue. if you don't, anti will torture him for hurting you. he'll torture you for not succeeding. and he'll continue to torture all of you, over little things and big things, for the rest of your lives. this is your chance to protect your brothers.

“He’ll torture me if I stay, torture me if I go.”

“No,” cries Marv, waving his hand again, increasingly frantic. “That’s not true. We can keep each other safe!”

spicydanhowell asked: he's injured, red. he can't fight you. get him under control or anti is going to hurt you much worse than blue ever could... i don't want that to happen to you red... just keep him quiet and keep him safe until anti comes back.

“Please,” whispers Red. He tears with shaking hands at the rose thorns on his chest, struggling to breathe. “Please. Let’s do that. Blue, Blue. Marvin. Just st-stay with me. Please. You’re hurting me.”

“Oh, fuck,” pants Marvin, reaching forward to tear at the thorns. Blood blooms on his hands, and the roses keep coming. “Don’t say that, don’t…”

nikkilbook asked: But is here really safe? How is this better than out there? How is sleeping above a dungeon and below a torturer safe? How is starving yourself to keep them fed safe? If the only way you can keep them protected is to beat them to keep them in line, how on earth is that better than even the slightest chance at escape?

Red bursts into sobs, collapsing. Marvin cries out as he falls into the thick carpet of thorns, reaching out to grab him, tearing his own arms up.

“I hate living like this,” admits Red, clutching at his brother’s hands.

“I know,” chokes Marvin. “I know you do. Oh, fuck, my poor big brother.”

“I can’t breathe!”

“Calm down, calm down! It’s okay, Jackie, it’s okay.”

Anonymous asked: Jackie, Marvin has never once told you that you have to earn his love or trust. He's giving it to you because he cares about you and will never stop caring about you. Anti is the only one with limits because he doesn't care about you. He can't. Go with Marvin. Marvin will help you no matter what! You have to let him

“Yes, yes,” Marvin pants, pulling Red up from the thorns. “I - I shouldn’t have done this, I’m sorry, I love you, I love you.”

“You’re going to leave me alone.”

Marvin closes his eyes tight.

“Yes,” he whispers. “Unless you come with me.”

loganandoli asked: Red. No, Jackie. Do you remember the first time you ever saved someone? Be it a bank robbery, a mugging, anything. Do you remember their wide eyes and smiles when they realized a hero has come to rescue them? Do you remember the feeling of joy and pride to know that you saved so many people? That you left a permanent mark of safety on your home? If you can remember any of that, realize that Anti is making you do the exact opposite of what you have been working on doing for so long.

“I remember my brothers, sitting against my chest, around my feet, under my arm, trusting me to protect them… now look what’s become of them…”

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Go ahead marvin get angry use the power you were given

“I shouldn’t have done this,” Marvin sobs. “You called me kind, I shouldn’t have lost my temper. I’m sorry.”

nikkilbook asked: Who cares what a hero looks like. You’re Jackie. That’s all that matters.

Marvin yanks him out of the thorns, and the roses choke and die, having served their purpose to him. They collapse together at the foot of the stairs, panting hard, clutching each other’s arms.

Clutching each other tight.

Marvin’s heart is shaking like it will shatter. Red cries, ashamed but too tired to care.

“Please,” he begs. “Let me save you.”

“You’ve forgotten what salvation is,” whispers Marvin.

He moves forward and knocks their heads gently together. They breathe in sync, clutching at each other’s sleeves.

“I love you,” Marvin mumbles, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. But we don’t have time for this, my friend. I’m going, now. Are you coming with me, or will you stay?”

“It doesn’t matter,” murmurs Red, lying against the floor, exhausted. “We can’t get away.”

“I can’t try to convince you any longer. Choose.”

Red stares up at him. Stares at you. Stares at his own scarred, burnt, wretched wrists.

“You’re the one with a choice to make,” whispers Jackie, drawing back. “I can’t get up, I need time to rest, and I know that even if I want to go with you now, Anti will make me Red again when he catches us. And he will, Marvin. He will catch us. So choose, Blue - Stay with me and we can look after each other, even in a place like this. Or go. I won’t fight you.”

Marvin stares at him. Red stares back.

“But we will never see each other again,” he finishes softly.

He closes his eyes. Leaves the choice in his brother’s hands.

Marvin is gone the next time he opens his eyes.

Jackie McLoughlin smiles, laughs, and swallows hard, letting his head fall against the bloodied floor, tears dripping steady from his starry eyes. He waits patiently to be Red again. He’s never a hero for long.

Anonymous asked: Oh, Jackie. :'( You're breaking my heart, man. But I know what an impossible situation you're in. I know you're doing what you can in the aftermath of everything Anti's put you through. I recognize all your bravery and strength. I recognize all your gentleness and love. And know that even now, and even if Anti makes you Red again, and no matter what, you are wholeheartedly and entirely a hero to your brothers and to all of us. This is not how you will end.

Jackie stares up at you, a smile flickering across his lips, and then grief again, and then joy, and then…

Tired, tired, tired.

“I’m sorry for breaking your heart,” he tells you, low and earnest. “Thank you for being here with me. I’m very… tired of… of being alone.”

Blood runs sluggishly from his wrist and his legs. He shakes, pants, cries soft and quiet.

musical-in-theory asked: Jackie we will never give up on you. Is there anything you want to tell us or even Red while you’re still you?

“Oh, what a thought,” he murmurs. “A good idea. But my head is full of cotton just now. If you would please just… just try to keep him company.”

Jackie lays his head down on the ground. “Doesn’t matter who a person is all alone, you know… we are the people we love, and the people who love us.”

His voice trembles.

“And I am no one at all.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Be strong, Red....you will get through this.

“Forgive me,” he says.

So quiet you can barely hear him.

Something drips slowly nearby. His limbs have gone very still. His mouth is dry and empty.

“I think I’m going to sleep now,” he mumbles, closing his tired eyes. “I think I’m going to sleep. Thank you… forgive me.”

cest-mellow asked: marvin can’t you carry him? don’t you have a spell that can make jackie easy to take with you?? don’t leave him there!!

“Please, don’t say that! He made his choice, I - please, if you beg me, I would stay with him, and I can’t, I can’t, I can’t! Even if I love him! Even if I can’t bear to leave him alone! Oh, please, don’t tell me the truth. He made his choice and even if I could carry him, his heart would not come with me.”

Marvin is crying, but it does not matter. He tears up the stairs, his heart beating hard in his chest.

“Now I can only hope to get myself and my little ones free, whichever of them we can convince to come with us.”

The screen glitches softly at the corners, a harsh buzz rising in your ears.

“Anti is coming,” whispers Marvin, taking a deep breath. “We go now, and pray to God that we can get away. I don’t care about the chances anymore. I’m not going to give in. We’re going. We’re going. We’re running, right now. And I am getting my brothers away.”

The buzzing reaches a horrible shriek and your whole screen bursts into glitching. Across the screen, those all-too-familiar green words are flickering.

“Ĭ̢̜͝ w̧̙̝̲̓̔̾͡ĭ̢̜͝l͈̯̾̀l͈̯̾̀ n͕̰̳̏͝͡e͎̫̻͕͒͒̑̃̊͟v̨̖̪͔̋̌̋̈́e͎̫̻͕͒͒̑̃̊͟ṙ̻ l͈̯̾̀e͎̫̻͕͒͒̑̃̊͟t͙́ t͙́h̫̜̓̂á̘͉̉t͙́ h̫̜̓̂á̘͉̉p̠͖̠̈́͋p̠͖̠̈́͋e͎̫̻͕͒͒̑̃̊͟n͕̰̳̏͝͡.”

End Section Five of Chapter One.

Find the masterlist for this chapter here.

#tw abuse #tw abuse between brothers #masterlist #in and out of the basement #tw torture

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