This little interaction made me so happy! Killer really fought through Dream to give Cross his necklace back

Asjlkhdkgkd I'm so glad you liked it!! I had fun putting a little story into that one ^^

And, because I am normal and don't think about these guys for hours every day, here's some backstory:

When Cross first joined, Killer actually took to him pretty quickly (Dust and Horror did not get warm welcomes). Which is to say he immediately started flocking to Cross to annoy him and compete with him on missions. Cross didn't have the benefit of knowing Killer already to see these were affectionate annoyances, so to him Killer was just some guy who had a problem and wouldn't leave him alone.

During that mission, Nightmare was calling a retreat when he put a hand to his chest and realised the heart locket was gone. Killer saw him looking all around frantically and had a good idea what was lost, since it was the one thing Cross would absolutely not part with since he joined. So, Killer ran back out towards the stars to look for it, because why learn self preservation now. It was the first thing to convince Cross that Killer actually was being (relatively) friendly, despite all the annoyances.

And also, a doodle of the afterwards of that picture

because it's probably the only time he's managed to get Killer to shut up lol

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.30}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 4.7k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

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"Yet. Right." Robin repeated in a sigh, then removed her wand from her hair when the bun started hurting her head. It did little to lessen the headache that was starting to drum through her skull, but shaking her hair out of the restraint at least took some of the tension away. Little victories like that were important too.

"Actually, we do have a few answers now." Snape said after a moment, after again watching gravity at work on untangling the mess of waves cascading down Robin's back. "Morgan did come in here, and he most likely was talking about the portrait today indeed. We still have to see about the earrings, in due time. Other than that, we now have an answer to a question that goes all the way back to the start of this term."

"What do you mean?"

"The night of the welcoming feast. Morgan brought it up himself today, which quite honestly is what made me draw the connection in the first place."

"Right… You mean the entire ordeal in the hallway which McGonagall brought to an end."

"Yes. During your encounter back then, Morgan wanted to hold on to your locket as a keepsake. That line of behavior would certainly make more sense if at that point he already was in the possession of the portrait, seeing as the locket is perhaps not the most obvious, but indeed the most palpable connection between you and the woman portrayed. He hardly would have known about the locket otherwise, seeing as it isn't the most noticeable piece of jewelry."

"You're absolutely right… I should've thought of that connection way earlier!" Robin groaned in annoyance at herself, astonishment at the fact, and concern at the implications. How Snape even remembered little details like that was incredible in its own right, but the fact that Morgan might have been after the locket because of the portrait was a revelation she hadn't thought would clear the picture of the past events in her mind quite so much. Things at last started making a little more sense. "My locket and the portrait are connected somehow, that much we already could tell years ago. But it makes me uneasy to think that Morgan has something to do with it."

"Likewise. Perhaps you should take it off for the time being, until the issue is solved."

"Yeah… The bracelet too, probably, sad as that makes me. It was the first thing you gave to me that I didn't have to return by the end of the week like the books I borrowed." She smiled up at him, a sad half smile that showed defeat more than humour. "But you were the first person who ever gave me anything for my birthday at all, who ever thought of me in the first place, and that's all that matters to me. I can live without a piece of jewelry."

"I really was the first to give you a gift for your birthday? In all of eighteen years?"

"Yes. The very best gift even, when you got Jorien and Cas to make me see the day as a real celebration worth having. But I have to admit, you asking Dumbledore to take the bracelet out of this room was also-..." Robin cut herself off in the middle of her sentence, then stopped in her track and stood glued to the spot. The nagging in her mind turned into a sledgehammer that tore down the brick wall that had obscured her sight before, but now that it was gone, she could finally see. Or rather, she could wonder.

"What is it?" Snape asked as he came to stand right in front of her, both concerned and curious as ever. That really was a good way to sum up both of their sentiments currently, concerned and curious. "Robin?"

"Wait a second…" She replied on autopilot, while her mind pondered a question that she finally decided to voice when she couldn't answer it herself. "When you wanted to give me the bracelet, did you ask Dumbledore before or after removing it from this room?"

"Before, obviously, because-…" Now it was him who stopped in the middle of the sentence, when he caught on to Robin's line of thought. "Because one cannot remove from this place what was left for storage here without the current headmaster's permission."

"That's what I thought." Robin replied with a long breath, then jumped into action to look around herself in a sudden spark of adrenaline, upon which she finally picked up a random book from a pile to her right. "Let's test that theory, shall we?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, it-..." He didn't get any further, for Robin had crossed the remaining few steps towards the door, then opened it and tossed the book through the opening and out into the hallway beyond. She tried to, at least, for the book got caught in the air in the middle of the door frame, floating there for but a broken second, before it was catapulted right back into the room of hidden things at a speed that turned the harmless piece of literature into a lethal projectile. Robin was just lucky that Snape pulled her out of the way in an instant, otherwise the flying book would have taken quite a bit of work off Morgan's hands. They didn't have time for her timely end right now!

"You really are remarkable at putting yourself in harm's way." Snape huffed in concern-turned-annoyance when the loud clattering of the book's distant landing had subsided, and it was just then that Robin realized how desperately he was clawing onto her right now. She felt bad for repeatedly scaring him in an instant; first the thing with Morgan –which hadn't technically been her fault, but it still counted to worry him– and now this thoughtlessness on her end. Or rather the result of too much thinking, and too little care for the real world results in contrast to the intellectual gain of the endeavour. Why was she only ever truly scared of getting hurt by people, not by something she did to herself? It was one more thing to work on at some point.

"You're remarkable at keeping me out of harm's way in return. And to be fair, I didn't think it would do that out of all the things it could've done." She finally replied with a weak half smile as she looked up at him. No. Humour wouldn't do now, that much was clearly written on his face. She sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry. That was stupid of me, I should've known better. This whole day, the thing with Morgan… it has thrown me into an odd ambivalence myself. I'm absolutely terrified and at the same time all the adrenaline makes me act like I'm bloody invincible. But that's no excuse, it really was just stupid of me and I'm sorry."

"Coming that close to death doesn't pass by anyone without consequences. Neither does torture." He said after a few seconds of silence, with an expression almost as guilty as Robin's own. "It is only too reasonable that your behaviour is rather erratic, and even if I cannot say I appreciate it, I do very well understand it. If anything, I am surprised by how well you seem to cope with the situation."

"It's not the first time I've come closer to death than anyone should. Only the first time I know who the person is that wants to see me dead." She shrugged in return, but after taking one glance at the expression of prevailing concern on Snape's face, she rested her forehead against his shoulder and gave in to the urge to lean into him once more with a sigh. She knew that he didn't mind in the least… and the work that kept her on her feet might as well wait for a minute. "To be honest, it's currently less coping and more of simply repressing and pushing through. Just wait until tonight when I actually have the time to come down from the adrenaline… It'll be a nightmare."

"I will be there." He replied quietly, holding her closer against himself than his calm demeanour would suggest, then remained silent for a moment longer before speaking on. "Stay with me tonight."

"That must be a first." Robin chuckled quietly, but kept her eyes closed to enjoy at least this short moment of calm for now. "Usually I have to pretend to be asleep for you to let me stay over in your rooms."

"You are terrible at pretending, I can always tell when you do."

"Only because I want you to."

"I know…" He replied in as close to a sigh as his composure allowed. "And I know that I will not be able to close my eyes for even a minute tonight if you are not with me."

"Not without seeing all that could have been if things had ended differently. Without the shadows and ghosts and darkness. I know, all too well." She said, then smiled into the cloud of fabric around her. "And in addition to that, it's been way too long since I stayed over last, even though I always love to. Whenever it's possible. You know that."

"I do indeed."

"And I love you. Beyond what's possible."

"I know." His tone let on a hint of a smile, then he placed a fleeting kiss on the top of her head while his arms around her tightened their hold so much that Robin had to smile. He never said he loved her with words in return. He didn't need to.

"We should get back to work… It's almost time for dinner, and I want to check Morgan's office before then." She said after taking a deep breath to savour the comforting scent of him, of home. "I really have no wish to run into him again today. Especially not after just discovering that we are the underdogs in this entire issue."

"What makes you think that we are?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked as she pulled back at last, and fully snapped back into work mode as they left the room of hidden things behind to walk through the dark corridors of the castle again. "If Morgan had to ask for Dumbledore's permission to take the painting, then the old man must know why Morgan wanted it in the first place. He wouldn't have given him the permission if he hadn't seen through his reasons entirely."

"I agree."

"So Dumbledore knows why this is happening, he knows Morgan's reasons. He knows what Morgan is doing to me. He gave Morgan the permission to keep the painting, and he has let him proceed in what he has been doing to me for years now."

"Indeed. But we have been aware of that problem for a while now."

"Dumbledore never does anything that isn't to his own advantage. And if he lets Morgan do all that to me…" Robin sighed gravely, and looked up at Snape with the most serious expression. "I think Dumbledore wants Morgan to kill me."

"That is-..." Snape cut himself and his automatic response off in an instant, but he returned Robin's dark expression nonetheless for a moment while her words seemed to run circles in his mind. Finally, he seemed to find his own line of thought again. "While I do have to agree with your reasoning, there is still a lot speaking against the conclusion you came to. I am not saying you aren't right, but I believe there is more to it than that. You are leaving certain matters out of the equation."

"And what would that be?"

"Me, for example."

"You?" Robin frowned at him in confusion. "You'll have to elaborate on that."

"If Dumbledore wanted you dead, why would he have been in favour of the connection between you and me right from the start, and at every point since?" Snape quirked an eyebrow at Robin in return. "He is a brilliant man, I have no doubt he knew that we would end up where we are now long before we did. Thus he must have known that we would always stand two against one in the end. My involvement makes it infinitely more difficult to have you killed, which in return would make it unreasonable for him to encourage our relations. "

"You're right… That doesn't add up." Robin mused with a lingering frown. "Neither does the book he gave me, now that I think about it. Ensuring that I know more about the unforgivables than the person he wants to see killing me would be an odd way to prepare me for slaughter."

"Correct."

"What a fucking mess…" Robin groaned under her breath, then rolled her eyes to herself and at the ceiling before taking a deep breath to regain some composure. "So if Dumbledore doesn't want me dead, then why would he let Morgan proceed in trying to kill me? It's not like he couldn't put an immediate end to those efforts if he actually wanted to…"

"That we will find out. Morgan's reasons as well as Dumbledore's."

"With my luck, I probably have to die to prevent the world's impending demise or something likely unlikely… The most exaggeratedly dramatic thing we could ever think of, that will probably be my fate. Just for irony's sake."

"I will gladly see the world in ashes before I let you die."

"I know." She had to smile yet again, and couldn't resist to take his hand and give it a gentle squeeze even though they were in public. If one wanted to call a secret passageway from the seventh floor down to the fourth 'public', that is. "But whether it's the world we're saving or just me, I refuse to die before I graduate. I've put far too much effort into my essays and homework recently to let that all go to waste!"

Snape let out something that sounded like a snort and a scoff at once, and quietly shook his head to himself as they finally reached the fourth floor and crossed over into another corridor to continue their path towards Morgan's classroom. Robin was content with the reaction, and focused back on the matter at hand.

"How do we go on from here?" She asked in a whisper only, for who knew which prying ears might be nearby in a public hallway like this. "I mean… If we find it here, how do we go on?"

"We could confront the headmaster, for example. With a piece of evidence like that, not even he could deny his involvement in the issue. He might not give us the truth, but perhaps more leads to follow nonetheless."

"That sounds as close to a plan as we will probably get." Robin nodded, more to herself than to him. "In any case, McGonagall seems to know something about this entire thing as well, and I'm not convinced she's too happy about any of this either. She wanted to tell me, but the headmaster obviously asked her not to, and I at least can respect her loyalty. Too bad it is Dumbledore who is at the receiving end of it… She would make a good ally."

"Curious that you have taken a liking to Minerva after all."

"Oh, you know… If McGonagall can work with Jorien, who really isn't the easiest person to deal with from my own experience, she deserves some credit at least, if not my sincere respect."

"Funny." Snape replied with a not-smirk. "A while ago, she said much the same thing about you, for working with me."

Robin had to bite her lip quite hard to keep from snorting. They were in close proximity to the defense classroom, and loud noises like that were a no-go at this point if they wanted to successfully break and enter without drawing attention. So she settled for a soundless laugh, and a small smirk to follow it up.

"I'm glad someone recognizes the troubles of working with you at last." She whispered back softly, glancing up at Snape for but a second, which in return sufficed to take notice of the feigned glare and the not-smirk. Good… humour might do them good at this point.

"If anything, you brought the trouble into my life." He protested with a huff, while checking the corridor for anyone or anything that could observe them. Then he opened the door to the classroom with the same spell that sealed his own down in the dungeons. Robin was surprised, but very much pleased that he seemed to be doing all the breaking for now, and she only had to enter.

"I didn't bring trouble into your life!" She replied nonetheless as they walked into the room, after she'd closed the door behind them and locked it back up. It was no secret that Morgan never came to his classroom nor his office on weekends… Thus the risk of getting caught in here on this late afternoon really was minimal. "As far as I remember, you have far more trouble with people who are not me."

"That, for once, is true." He mused, but kept his eyes on the door to the office they were now approaching. "But you made me realize that I have trouble with everyone who isn't you. Before I met you, I simply thought the world was supposed to be cold and cruel like that, but then you had to saunter into my life and make me question every single thing I believed to know. You just had to show me happiness and thereby make everything that isn't you straight up unbearable, didn't you?" His sigh was dripping with so much feigned annoyance and the utmost irony that Robin couldn't help snorting at last.

"I won't apologise for bringing trouble into your life in that case." She smiled as she watched him working on the sturdy wooden door with spells she doubted were even suitable for the occasion. But she let him proceed anyway. "Seeing as the trouble only extends to people who aren't me."

"I did not say that, nor would I ever dare to." He returned a half-smirk, which made Robin roll her eyes with an even wider smile.

"Why is that?" She finally asked in an attempt not to laugh. They were breaking in somewhere… This wasn't the time for teasing and jokes, and yet they had chosen precisely this time to humour each other indeed. Oh well, why start being ordinary now, after all.

"I might have been surprised for a second, that you didn't consider breaking into my colleague's office as trouble, but then I remembered your liberal approach to breaking into places, which you displayed on multiple occasions last summer. Now, I am led to believe that perhaps you are trouble after all."

"And what if I am?" She raised her eyebrows at him with a small smirk. "Seeing as you've been causing trouble together with me all this time, I could say you're no better."

"You certainly are better at breaking into places than I am." He stated with a scowl at the still closed door, then quirked an eyebrow at Robin. "Would you be so kind to open the door now or is watching me fail too amusing for that?"

"It is quite amusing, but I'll open the door nonetheless." Robin chuckled at his feigned annoyance, then went to make quick work of Morgan's more than poor wards and locks. Thirty seconds later, the door was open, and a smug expression painted on her face as she looked up at Snape at last. "There you go. Anything else I can assist you with?"

"Do shut up, will you?" He grumbled, but Robin only had to snicker as they went to search the office. She knew that he was impressed with her knowledge of legal spells, and even more so by her knowledge of what was (in her opinion unrightfully) considered dark magic. That area didn't only extend to curses after all, and more often than not some of those unseemly spells served them better in their work than the school taught ones did. Either way, right now she knew that his entire dismissive demeanour was merely meant to humour her, and it really did serve that purpose wonderfully well.

After a good ten minutes of searching with as well as without magic, they had to realize though that the portrait wasn't here, nor was anything else that could've given them a clue about the current mysteries. Disappointed but not yet defeated, they locked the office door back up the way they had found it and made their way back out into the hallway. Unseen as ever. By now, it was about dinnertime, and thus they redirected their destination to the great hall instead of the dungeons.

"His private rooms will be a lot more difficult to search." Robin sighed as they reached the staircase that luckily was yet -or already- void of students. "He spends most of his time working from there, especially in the evenings. Or at least that's what I've heard. My information about him doesn't stretch beyond the gossip that makes rounds these days."

"We have to be certain he won't interrupt our search, or it would pose an ideal opportunity for him to justify another attempt on your life. Removing him from the castle shouldn't be a problem though, I believe I can arrange that without drawing too much attention to our goals."

"Wait, what? You can?"

"Years of knowing each other, and you still doubt me. Unbelievable."

"I wouldn't dare to."

He returned a small glare upon her sarcastic tone, but beneath the public facade of stony indifference, there was a layer of humour as almost always these days. Robin doubted that anyone but her had ever seen it though.

"In all seriousness, how soon can you get him away from the castle?" She asked after a moment, as they came to a stop in the hallway that led to the main entrance of the great hall on one end, and to the backdoor on the other. They usually went separate ways from here on, always careful not to arrive together at the wrong times and make the wrong impressions on the wrong people.

"An hour after dinner, perhaps a bit later. But in return he will be gone for a few hours at the least." He replied in certainty, and Robin wondered just how he was going to do that. Especially so quickly, after a day like this that hadn't been easy on Morgan either. She'd have to pay attention during the meal or simply ask about it later. After a few seconds, Snape added, "That should suffice to search his quarters, I believe."

Robin let out a breath in relief upon the prospect of a timely solution, then offered him a smile. "Great. I'll set up the dunderhead gang in the entrance hall to check when he leaves. That way we can be absolutely certain he's gone and not coming back. They can hold watch at least until curfew."

"I could always write them a note to have them stay out later than that, you know… At least I can for the girls. The Ravenclaws are out of my influence."

"I'm aware." She smiled at the memory of her own permission note to break curfew. Gods, that was long ago. "Perhaps we can send them up to the astronomy tower, from up there one can see the very foot of the hill. That would allow for a warning in time to make an escape. I'll ask Cas and Melissa; Jorien's got work with McGonagall, if I'm not mistaken."

Snape scoffed, then rolled his eyes in that lovely exaggerated manner. "Does Minerva ever give the girl a break?"

"Says the man who used to make me work every single night until four o'clock in the morning!" Robin laughed, then shook her head both at him and to herself. "Even on bloody school days!"

"You never seemed to mind." Snape protested with an almost sullen look, and if that was even in the realm of possibility, Robin believed he would start pouting if they'd been alone. Gods, that man was a mystery above all others.

"I didn't just not mind; I absolutely loved it even." Robin replied almost reassuringly, but with more humour than she could tone down. "But so does Jorien. She enjoys working with McGonagall, even if by far more normal hours than we do. No longer than midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and no longer than ten on school nights."

Now, Snape actually did snort for once, even out here in public. "We weren't even done with coffee at that time of night for the majority of the last years."

"We really are a terrible example though!"

"Are we, now? We usually are done working by midnight these days, aren't we?" He raised an eyebrow at her again, more teasing than serious, and Robin was sure they would miss dinner if they kept going like this. It had happened on more than one occasion.

"Well yes, we are, but for entirely different reasons!" She gave him a look, then a smile, then shook her head to herself as her cheeks tinted pink no matter how much she tried to prevent it. They really were done with work earlier than ever these days, as that left them with way more time for private matters afterwards. Not that those private matters didn't occasionally sneak into the lab or the office as well… they did get distracted quite regularly, even. But still, they tried to somehow keep school business and private matters separate now more than ever. That however did not apply for private studies, experiments or research, which they were more than happy to do in their very own kind of way, as they always had. Anyhow, Robin took a deep breath, then tried focusing on the matter at hand. "So, you get Morgan out of the castle as soon as possible, I bargain with Cas and Melissa, and you write them a note later for whoever has patrol duties tonight. Right?"

"Indeed. What reason for your request will you be telling the girls? And what are you willing to offer them in return?"

Robin scoffed, then smirked up at him in both humour and a certain smugness she didn't bother to hide. "What makes you think that they are going to do me the favour? The better question would be what they are willing to do for me if I set up a past curfew visit to the astronomy tower for them. Because they have always wanted to sit there and freeze their little butts off all night. They just don't know it yet."

"Clever." The not-smirk was back in an instant, as was the subtlest expression of pride. "As always."

"I'm trying my best." She replied with a softer smile. "As always."

"I know. I wouldn't be so confident in our plan under any different circumstances. Neither would I break into places for that matter, if it wasn't for you."

"Really?" She quirked an eyebrow at him in utmost doubt of what he was saying, and the smirk on her lips made him roll his eyes with a hidden one of his own.

"Dinner. Now. You can harass me later."

"Is that an invitation or are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Get out of my sight already."

With quiet laughter that resonated off the stones around them as a feather light echo, Robin gave him another look that said more than a million words could, then finally made her way down the remainder of the hallway and towards the main entrance with quick steps and a smile on her face. It felt good to laugh and joke again… but she had also learned her lesson today, knew perfectly well what was at stake, and that's precisely why she kept an ever careful eye on her surroundings now more than ever. They still were on a mission after all. A mission they were going to set into action now.

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Alex ze Pirate Mini Review 2: Underappreciated and how Sam should deal with an abuser.

Last time I gave a general overview of how Sam is treated by his “friends”. Now I want to give a more specific example, that will also show how Dobson’s storytelling abilities are not really all that good, particularly when it comes to pacing or building up any sort of conflict.

You see, for the most part Alex ze Pirate is just a collection of stupid artwork (not even concept art, just random artwork Dobson makes of his characters dressed as something random) and one page strips with a stupid punchline, with Sam most of the time being the receiving punching bag.

There have however been a few individual, short stories over time. And when I say short stories, I mean short. As in 15 pages for a very cheap set up, a few jokes and a punchline. Those include stories such as All that Glitters (where everyone except Alex breaks into a fortress to steal something), The Wish Fish (the only halfway okay story of them all because it is just meant to be comedic) and Best Laid Plans. However, near the end of the initial run of AzP, Dobson did a three part story (partly) focused on Sam in that format, which started off with the chapter I want to talk in this post: “Underappreciated”.

As you can see, the chapter starts off following some basic rules of storytelling in comics. Two establishing panels for the location at which the story takes place initially and showing what Sam’s duties are. Nothing really bad yet. The only thing that sticks out being just the fact that a) Sam does not have his own bedroom and has to sleep in a useless outlook and b) he sleeps in his regular clothes. But hey, nothing to get upset about initially, perhaps he just prefers it like this at the moment. But with the next two pages…

The problems start to show. Page three establishing that Atea herself is just a cunt who can’t even have the basic decency of wishing her “friend” a good morning or giving him a thank you for bringing a morning beverage as she has other selfish priorities on her mind. Like wanting to lick the shower water of Alex’s skin.

Also, go fuck yourself Uncle Peggy. As in, get both your arms ripped off, shoved up your butthole with those hooks and then get hanged on those stomps like a chandelier. I wouldn’t even mind the fact here that Peggy left a mess, if the face he makes in the last panel was not obvious of the fact he left the bathroom like this on purpose and that he is rather happy of making Sam’s day extra miserable by the fecal matter he left behind. Combined with any previous strip of the comic showing that Peggy for no reason likes to get the boy in trouble and even wants to see him die, this just shows once more of how much of an asshole he is. If the last panel just showed him with a groogy hangover look, obviously unaware of how much discomfort he brings unintentionally to Sam, that would be one thing. But intentionally making Sam’s day miserable despite the obvious fact the boy is the first one to do anything around here, while making one of the worst drawn “HAHA, I am such a rascal faces” I have ever seen (and I have seen shitty anime en mass) makes me hate the character more than Dobson intented.

And then there is page 5…

And it is in my opinion the saddest page in the entire comic arc, even compared to the “heartbreaking” stuff Dobson wants to pull up in the last third of it. Because though it is meant as a joke, the general execution is too cruel, crossing into “dude, not funny” territory and showing just how little the crew cares for Sam. Talus, Sam’s “best friend” not even aware he is around, everyone stealing Sam’s food with that stupid “Yoink” sound (seriously, I wish the characters would get punched in the vaginas each time they make this sound in any of Dobson’s strips) and then leaving Sam behind with smug faces, ready to do whatever they want to do, while he, likely stinking of feces and not even having showered properly, has also to clean up after those pigs, who can’t even eat in a proper manner ( hey Atea, use a fork instead of holding the bowl) and silently. I mean, they are pretty much pigs when the noises they make are loud enough, they make the font of the writing change randomly into whatever Dobson has on his computer with every sound. Not to forget the mess they leave behind. And they call Sam the Slob?

Anyway, on to the next page…

And who the heck left their Hello Kitty toy in the bathtub? Also, I hate the way Alex’s face is drawn in the lower left corner. Something about the eyes in relation to the shit eating grin just looks off. Less “smug” and gleefully awaiting whatever she plans next and looking more like Dobson when someone tells him his opinion and reasoning for it is bad, but he can’t yell back at them because they are part of a minority and so he has make a “good face” to a bad situation, while internally he is already imagining how to strawman them in some fake news worthy facebook post.

And then we get to page 7. Which features the WORST addition to the “Alex ze Pirate” canon Dobson has ever thought up. An embodiment of what is wrong with Dobson when it comes to inserting internet culture related stuff into his own work. Ladies and gentlemen… the lolcat pirates

Yeah, those Hello Kitty rejects who ironically look still more like a proper cat than Spot in Danny and Spot, are essentially one of the worst jokes Dobson has ever created. Because they are a joke without a punchline. See, all there is to them is that they are sentient cats, that speak in a manner associated with lolcat posting. And that is the “joke”. Their speech pattern being based on a dumb internet meme that was popular at the time Dobson drew this page. It is like if you portray an Asian by making them talk with a shitty racist accent and that supposedly counts already as comedy. It is not funny, because there is nothing really done with it in context of the story. Like no one addresses the weird way they talk. Also, with the font Dobson uses, it is just an eyesore to any reader and the text gets aggravating the more the captain of the cats talks. It shows why lolcat pictures only had very short sentences accompanying the pics, cause reading more than 8 words written in this manner tingles a part of your brain that makes you want to shout “English motherfucker, do you speak it”?

Don’t get me even started on how the joke would get lost to anyone unaware of lolcats and how dated the joke already was back when the page was posted, which is one of many reasons why comic artists should just in general avoid memes in their work, if they hope for it to pass the test of time. Instead let me just point out the fact that though Alex said “All hands prepared for casting off” on the previous page (which is also a very unnatural way to give the order “Everyone get ready! Take off in 10 minutes”) not all hands are on board, seeing how Uncle Peggy is missing on this page (and spoilers) many pages of this afterwards. Weird. I thought he would be onboard the moment Alex mentioned they are going to hijack a ship full of pussy. Lastly, this is Alex being a “badass”? Taking over a ship full of little furballs you can defeat with a laserpointer, a squeaky toy and catnip? Sam, this is not just “almost” embarrassingly easy, this is literally on a level similar to stealing candy from a baby. That is mentally handicapped. And without supervision. In a candy story.

At least it turns out there is genuinely something worth stealing on this ship. Otherwise all Alex would have accomplished on that very day would have been animal abuse for the sake of entertainment. Though now it also gets me thinking: A place called Katsville, the revelation that the captain is supposedly the child of a high ranking military feline within the sea force of an entire species of sentient cats… how exactly does the world of Alex ze Pirate function? Look, I do not want to get into too much detail about this point here yet, because it is a bigger issue with the worldbuilding (or rather lack thereof) of this series in general, but what is the “consistency” when it comes to races and species in this world? See, One Piece for example is overall a very “cartoonish” and fantastic world (more cartoonish than what Dobson creates on average) when you think of the fact there are fish men, giant seacows and seamonsters, sentient furry creatures, islands in the sky, sentient weather phenomenons etc next to humans. And while Oda does not really spend time elaborating in very high detail how his world works, the sheer abundance of those elements and how they were established pretty early on in the story and are revisited constanly, with the cartoonish flavor and humor of One Piece on top of it, makes those oddities feel organic and a part of the world.

Not so much in AzP. Here over 90% of the time any character not related to the crew is some generically drawn human, in a very generically human setting with jokes just not cartoonish enough. So the world of AzP feels more “realistic” and less oddish, making then things like Talus, the lolcat pirates and once a giant sea dragon that looked like Elliot’s rejected cousin

Stand out like a sour thumb that looks like this

But I digress. Lets see what makes Sam, who just seems bored and wants to end his miserable life/drink his sorrows away, throw the cat captain against the wall.

Okay. Sam’s overall reaction makes it clear, the locket is important. So “kudos” for establishing this and in doing so also create within a moment a bit of intrigue for the reader. After all, why does this locket get such a reaction out of Sam, who we know so far as more happy go lucky or deadpan in parts, instead of looking genuinely distraught. Heck, the fact he even tells Alex to shut up when she commands him around should highlight how out of character finding this locket truly makes Sam.

Then there is Alex’s reaction to being told to shut up, which she takes with as much dignity as someone telling Dobson to just stop fawning about underaged lesbians in a toddler show.

Jesus Christ, she faces being told she looks like a guy with more grace than that. I mean, isn’t she used to being told to shut her trap? Cause if I were her parents, I would have told this entitled redheaded whinner a few times over the course of her childhood to shut up.

Scum sucking cabin boy… said by a butt ugly whore who would genuinely suck scum off if it means she can finally get laid instead of being mistaken for a man. By the way, with that angry face she makes in the first panel, I can totally see why others would mistake her for a dude. She just looks unpleasant and not in a funny way like that red panda girl from Aggretsuko. See, when she gets angry, it looks hilarious and cute because of the contrast to how the character looks ordinarily. This is just Alex looking even more unpleasant as usual.

Now, before I continue with the next pages, I like to point out the face Sam makes in the upper panel and Sam’s overall body language in the last one.

It is obvious that Sam is meant to be in a state of mind where he knows for what he is getting yelled at and where he genuinely reacts in a hurt manner. His body shaking, his head tilted down, not saying even a word. You would expect that the next page of this comic would be a follow up. Seeing Sam, who is pent up, lashing out in some way. Either for example by justifying why he said it, getting sad, angry, perhaps even violent in that situation. After all, so far the way this story has been structured, a lot of emphasize was put on the fact that Sam is treated not well and that finding this locket actually has an uncommon effect on him. Heck, even the title of this chapter hints on the idea, that we should get some sort of huge reaction out of Sam now on the next page, as this is supposed to be Sam’s story.

Instead it is just Alex grumbling and grinding her teeth, unable to comprehend that someone finally told her something every reader with more than 20 braincells said when reading this comic series. And this in my opinion is from a structural point, one of the biggest missteps in this story. Obviously, this is supposed to be a comic about Sam, based on title and him being the one character in it with the most emotional aspects so far. And it is also obvious that this is not just meant to be a silly gag comic but supposedly one with emotional weight. So, where is that weight so far, aside from the panels showing Sam being miserable because he gets the short end of the stick by his friends? Sorry to hijack this thing here now with my own ideas, but if I had writen this story, page 12 and 13 would have actually been an immense turning point for me in the dynamic so far. Why I would have let Alex shout at Sam for insubordination, I would have made it more than one panel of Alex calling him scum and also end likely with Sam, who obviously reaches a limit the longer she goes on about it, end punching her in the face, perhaps even knock out. Show truly just how far Sam is pushed emotionally at this moment, keeping it however ambiguous if he hit her because of her words hurting or because of something else, in doing so focusing also the attention to the reader back on the locket.

As an aftermath of this, Alex would (if not knocked out) hit Sam back, much to Atea’s and Talus horror, later implying additionally that Sam left because of being hit by whom he thinks is not just his captain but a “friend” (oh yes spoiler, Sam is gone in the next chapter)   or the next page would be of Alex waking up back in her hideout from having been knocked out. Atea and Talus informing her what happened, her deciding to deal with Sam later on after recovering (who accompanied everyone back on the island temporarily) only for the last page showing Sam deciding that he is leaving the island, ending the chapter on Sam in a small boat slowly drifting away from the island. You know, something to give the chapter the feeling that the “shut up” moment is an emotional turning point in this story and that there might be something bigger going on that resulted in Sam deciding to leave, without having him however go full Meg Griffin as in the Family Guy episode “Seashell Seahorse Party”, chewing Alex and the others out for the way they treat him. Cause honestly, as much as I like for Alex, Atea and Talus to be chewed out and face consequences for their actions, doing so would likely just be (like in that Family guy episode)  a pointless fillerbuster in the bigger picture of things, as no real consequences would come out of it.

Well that and just like the writers of Family Guy, Dobson is just equally loathsome and thinks he can write whatever sick joke he wants and can on his characters, basic decency or consistency in writing be damned.

But back to the comic, where things just “end” as shown here instead of any real emotions boiling up and a cliffhanger that may genuinely beg the question what is going to happen next to anyone involved in this thing.

 Cause really, by the time it is night and Sam says it is time to go, you are not surprised he wants to go, even if he did not have a genuine emotional outburst within this chapter. After all, who wants to stay with “friends” like this, with Talus and Atea not even trying to cheer him up and instead ignoring his obvious need for comfort in this uncomfortable way, as if they are a bunch of racists trying to look away as someone beats a black person in front of them into a pulp. The only question you may ask yourself by the time the last page is hit, is who that generic looking girl is, whose picture has been photoshopped into the locket.

 Something we may not find out by the time the next chapter and part of this review hits, but will get to eventually. Until then guys, in order to end on something happier, funnier and just genuinely more pleasant than what this story presented to us so far, have something silly and Super Sentai related here for the sake of childish entertainment.

Ink stained mirror Bonus

A bonus chapter that if you want can skip

*- are for important breaks in the story such as a time skip

Mary was helping Norman clean up a mess in the projection room, spilled a lot of stuff and they didn’t want to call wally since it didn’t seem that big to call him in.

“So how’s your wife?” Mary asked throwing some of the ruined bread in the trash

“She’s all good, just doing what she does best: ruinin' the house” Norman said, he looked proud

“That’s great! How are your kids?”

“They’re doing great, thriving wher’eva they plan to go”

“I’m happy for you then” Mary looks up with a grin as they finish up

“ ‘preciate it doll” Norman smiled back down at her, grinning face, helping her up.

Suddenly they hear vigorous steps coming and banging up the stairs.

“Mary! I got a great idea!” Minnie said her excitement clear

“Don’t shout, I’m right here” Mary said

“Sorry, I’m just super excited!”

Norman mumbled something about Minnie acting like one of his children on a sugar high

“What is it? And please don’t shout dear.”

“You remember that letter, our parents sent us?” How could she not? They’d just got it this morning.

“Of course”

“And how I wanted to send something more personal than another letter, telling them boring ol’ stuff like how we’re doing and stuff”

Mary raised an eyebrow like ‘don’t say that but continue’

“How about we show them!” Minnie said to Mary’s big eyed face

“What you going to send your parents a projector?” Norman asked, making both Mary and Minnie snort with laughter

“What? No” Minnie calmed down from her laughs “I was thinking a photo!”

Mary stopped laughing, saying in a quiet voice “Minnie we can’t afford that…we don’t even have a camera” she liked the idea but they couldn’t afford it, if they wanted to eat

“Weeee don’t” Minnie put emphasis on the ‘e’ “but I know someone that does”

“You do?” Mary was surprised that Minnie would know someone that owned something like that.

“Yeah I know someone who owes me some favors.” Minnie said proudly

“But aren’t photos expensive? I know they’re not as much a film” She looks at Norman proudly as he nods, her stupid grin coming back

“He owes me” Minnie said again

Mary looked about ready to repeat herself but Minnie beat her to it “He. owes. me. Biiiiiiiig”

How big did he owe her? Mary questioned to herself

“I called him about thirty minutes ago and he’s on his way” Minnie said

“wait what?” Mary mumbled, Norman was just being chill about their conversation

“Weeeee should probably make sure Joey doesn’t know, since he could fire us” Minnie gave a strained smile

“why didn’t you think of that earlier?!” Mary’s voice went higher at the realization, meaning she was mad

“well I thought our clothes are still clean, it’s pretty early and his schedule was open, and I really wanted to get a photo to the squirts n’ mom and dad as soon as we could”

Minnie was sentimental about things like that, hell she was still wearing the locket and cross their mother had given to her, Minnie wasn’t even religious.

Mary could only sigh since she did things like this far too often then she should

“Lets go greet him! Come on!”

“All right! All right! No need to drag me! Goodbye Norman!” Mary said Minnie pulling her down the stairs

“see ya” Norman waved goodbye to the girls

*

Minnie dragged Mary all the way up to the first floor, they saw Minnie’s friend before he saw them, he was just looking around curiously

“Salty! You found the place!” Salty looked down at Minnie words

“Little hard to miss there Tomato” “well considering you get lost to the bathroom I wanted to make sure my favorite Rag-a-Muffin made it here safe” They exchanged smirks at each other, then Salty picked Minnie up and gave her a big old bear hug, which she returned until Mary swore she heard a popping sound from both ends.

They both let go laughing their buts off.

“Um…hello salty, nice to see you again” She waved shyly, using her other hand to push her hair out of her face

“Always a pleasure” His hand had practically engulfed hers last time she shook his hand, salty was massive with few tattoos hidden somewhere, so to know he had a hobby that involved art wasn’t strange just unexpected.

“So we got you for an hour, so let’s get to it…and avoid our boss”

“Wait what?” Salty seemed just as surprised as Mary had been moments ago

“Your boss doesn’t know t’m here” Salty asked Mary since Minnie wasn’t going to give a straight answer when she knew she was in trouble

“No…and he might fire us if he sees you” Mary said

“Why? You’re not giving away secrets as far as I can tell”

“Our boss is an ass” Minnie told him

“Minnie hush!” Mary told her thinking the man would hear them

“Sound terrible…” Salty rubbed the back of his neck nervously

“Enough talk! Let’s go!” Minnie dragged Salty to the drawing nook to begin their operation: gift for parents and squirts

*

“I like this rooms energy” Salty said once he stepped into the drawing nook

“Thanks!” Minnie said “So we agreed three pictures one-“

“Hold up. We agreed only on two.” Salty told Minnie, Mary looked at Minnie waiting for the argument

“Yes we did, but I figured I’d go ahead and owe you big to give them another picture” Minnie told him, Mary looked back at Salty

“But what if I’d said no?” Salty pointed out, Mary looked at Minnie

“Then I’d be disappointed but I’d understand.” Minnie replied, Mary looked back at Salty, the big man had an amused look on his face

“Oh fine. I can’t say no to such a sappy request” Salty told her, making Minnie grin with a smug kind of happiness for a successful trade, Mary giggled at her face.

“So whatcha thinking you smug tomato?” Salty asked Minnie

“I actually do have an idea! Mary and I show some of the drawings we’ve been animating for the camera! Sound good?”

“I love it!” Mary told her

Salty shrugged “sounds good to me, get the pictures and hold them up”

The two looked through them and made their decision, Minnie held up two pictures, one with Bendy and Alice dancing, the other with Mary Mirror in a fortune telling booth, and Mary held up a picture inspired by a jam session all the characters at once l, including the butcher gang, she’d been inspired by Minnie’s drawing and drew it; Boris on the banjo, Bendy on the violin, alice on the microphone, Mary on the guitar and the butcher gang on different instruments; Edgar on a harp, Barley on accordion and Charley on piano.

Minnie had admitted that one looked better.

She’d gotten a few too many comments on the butcher gang, that there was no way they’d play those instruments, but Mary thought it was cute and the instruments suited them, honesty she was just proud she’d managed to finish it at home, it was a small scene but it made her happy.

Salty adjusted the camera, telling them to stand a little closer and snapped the picture.

“Cute scenes” He commented

“Thank you” They both said flattered, Minnie was grinning from ear to ear, Mary put her hair behind her ear

“All right let’s go take the next picture! I got an idea for the music room!”

* They’d only had to hide once in a room on the way there since Joey was walking in the opposite direction, waiting until his footsteps pass in the empty office

“You make it out like the guys scary, he doesn’t very big” Both the twins shush Salty

*

A few years shaved off their lives but they were finally there!

“I don’t like the energy in this room much…”

“Whaaaat! Why not?” Mary asked Salty

“It feels dark…”

She was about to question further what he meant but something else interrupted them

“Holy Moly!” They jumped to see Wally staring up at Salty

“Who’s the giant that looks ready to punch someone?” His wide eyes looking up at salty who just snorted

“The giants none of your concerned” Minnie said using a tone she never used with Wally,

“But-“ Wally began

“Who ‘re you?” Everyone jumped once again, Salty let out a curse since it was close to his head instead of below him

“Norman! Stop sneaking up on people” Minnie called up at the project room

Before Minnie could get more frustrated, Mary just introduced Salty “Wally this is Sylvester Woods, we call him Salty, Salty this is Wally Franks”

The two stared at each other awkwardly, Salty held out his hand and Wally shook it, they hear a cracking sound and a yelp from Wally

“Sorry” Salty said as Wally tried to shake the pain out of his hand

“Salty that’s Norman Polk up there, Norman this is Salty”

“How’ ya doin?” Norman waved casually

“I’m ok” Salty nodded up to him

“Moving on, I was thinking Mary with her guitar and-“

Salty started coughing “Bleh! What’s that terrible smell?”

Mary and Minnie could have turned to stone at that moment, and they could have cracked into a million pieces when someone else was coming through the door

“Hey what ar-“

Well, that explained the smell, it was Jack.

“….Hi?” He says seeing a really big guy and the twins staring at him

“Am I interrupting something?”

Before the twins could respond, Sammy came in looking like he was talking to Allison until he bumped into Jack and this scene

And they had the exact same questioning eyes as Jack.

“What the hells going on here?” Sammy turned his stare at the two red heads

“You wanna cover this one or should I?” Mary asked Minnie

“You please” Minnie said gritting her teeth in frustration since they didn’t mean to be seen by everyone in the office

Mary told them that they were taking pictures for their parents a few states away

“I see…” Sammy said, Jack tapped his chin

“That’s sweet” Allison giggled

There was a tension to the room

“Will this take long?” Sammy asked “I don’t think so” Mary told him

“come on!” Minnie said, she said frustrated

“all right” Mary said exasperated by Minnie’s behavior

“So I was thinking that Mary you could play your guitar and I could be that stick waver!” Minnie told her the idea

“Stick waver? You mean the conductor?” Sammy pointed out, making Minnie pout

“Yes that” She said, she points at Sammy without looking at him

“don’t point” Mary chided

“It’s kinda bland” Salty said getting Minnie a little more frustrated, looking down with a harder pout

Salty thought it over, looking down at the other few and looked up at the projectionist room but the man wasn’t there anymore making his shiver, clearing his throat

“Why not take a picture with these guys” Salty pointed to them

“Don’t point” Mary chided again

“No thanks I’m gonna go get some ice or a brace for my hand” Wally said going to the little nurses room

The three look at each other, Mary honestly liked the idea

“It can be like a jam session!” Mary smiled at them

Sammy huffed letting out a ‘fine’

“Yeah sure!” Jack shrugged

“I’d love to” Allison said

They got to the places with their instruments, and Allison at a microphone. Minnie tried to be the conductor but she still looked ridiculous so they gave her a tambourine and she looked good.

“Your parents will love this photo” Salty said making the twins really happy

“All right I got an idea now!” Mary pulled Minnie over to the front of the recording studio, Mary talked to her.

The two started giggling, Minnie put her arm around Mary, the smaller twin had to lift up slightly while Mary had to bend down slightly. Minnie pressed her cheek to Mary’s in affection.

It was a sweet sisterly photo, Which Salty immediately took.

“All right! Now we have to get you out!” Minnie said dragging Salty out

Mary let out a huffed laugh

“Still wanna jam?” Jack asked

“yes,” Mary nodded going to sit down.

*

Minnie didn’t know it would take forever for the photo’s to get done, they hadn’t heard in forever.

Until Salty came to the drawing nook and gave them the photo’s and a copy of the old one.

“thought you’d want it”

They did, so they both gave salty a kiss on his cheeks for being amazing.

Blue Grass- Chapter 8: The Lake

I have no idea how to write romance/lovey dovey scenes so please keep that in mind while you’re reading this… I don’t know how to love. So tell me if it’s crappy or fine. Hope ya enjoy @i-am-a-fan

When Marvin sees the lake again after so long he is filled with such a strong emotion he can hardly contain his utter happiness. He grins to Anti, the tips of his lips reaching from ear to ear as the sound of small, yet powerful waves crashing envelops him. He stands beside the car and draws in a deep breath, the scent of the lake water filling his lungs. Anti gives him some time to do this until he beckons the merman to follow him. Which he does.

Marvin follows close behind Anti as they walk away from the lake shore, heading into the trees of a nearby forest. Even though the trees and other plants hadn’t appeared to be thick prior to standing outside of it, the light from the blue sky above is quickly sniffed out until Marvin can only see the glow of Anti’s green veins- the ones on the back of his neck- and the tip of his remaining whisker along with the blue light of his still webbed fingers.

It doesn’t take too long until they reach a small, bent shack that hangs from a few of the trees. If Marvin hadn’t known that they were looking for a witch doctor he probably would have thought that this small building was abandoned years ago; it is terribly damaged with a few holes in its roof and walls and it leans so badly Marvin is afraid it will fall with the next brush of air against it. Yet Anti steps up the small platform leading to the door and knocks on the old, wood surface, the sound it makes being a dull thud. He then steps back beside Marvin, looking at the small, blue glowing markings on the merman’s neck. They hadn’t really been noticeable until now.

A few seconds later and the door swings open, revealing a man that looks very similar to Anti in the entrance. Marvin purses his lips as he looks the newcomer up and down, finding him to be wearing what he had come to learn as a lab coat with completely blue clothes on beneath. Both the shirt and pants are dark from layers of dirt and other filth on them. And, starting just beneath his eyes before traveling down his cheeks and the sides of his neck are strange, glowing marks all different colors. He grins as his eyes land on Anti.

“Ah, welcome welcome my friend,” the presumed witch doctor greets and Marvin can already her the strange accent on his voice. Anti crosses his arms over his chest and Marvin meets the other man’s eyes as he finally seems to notice the merman. His head tilts curiously. “And who is this that you brought with you?”

“A friend,” Anti replies tensely, glancing at Marvin who thinks he can just see regret lighting his green eyes for a split second. But why would he be regretful? Well, Marvin is, that Anti would call him a friend. He had thought because of the nickname they’d be more... “But he’s not important. I brought the blue grass, now fulfill your end of the deal, Henrik.”

Henrik clicks his tongue and he moves dramatically from the inside of the door, waving his arms for the two to come in. Marvin isn’t sure he wants to go in. He does only once Anti steps inside. He’s greeted by a small space only lit by a few, dim candles of different colors. Even the flames are all different colors. Strange plants hang in bunches from the ceiling and shelves like the walls, covered in all kinds of odd looking items and potions. The stereotypical large, black pot is in the center of the room, blue bubbles foaming from the top and down the sides.

“Let me see the grass,” Henrik said as he closes the door, walking to the opposite side of the pot from Anti and Marvin. Anti sighs heavily and reaches up the golden locket, popping it open. Marvin catches the sight of a picture inside of Anti with another man for just a moment as he pulls the grass from the inside before closing it once more. As the witch doctor’s eyes land on the grass his lips part into a large, almost mad grin as he darts to the other side of the small hut. “Perfect! We can begin the preparation and commence with the spell!”

“How long will the preparation take?” Anti inquired, watching the witch doctor dart around as he grabs seemingly random items and drops them into the bubbling pot in the center of the room. “I don’t know how much longer I have anyway.”

Henrik pauses after dropping a small vial into the rapidly color changing liquid. He narrows his eyes as he stares at the cut on Anti’s neck and frowns deeply, momentarily losing the large and face splitting grin until it grows once more. “Hm, it seems that the process grew quicker. What did you do?”

“I um.. Might have accidentally used the power,” Anti replied tersely and he begins to mess with the edge of one of the long sleeves of the thin sweater he currently wears.

“How long ago?” Henrik questioned then, drawing closer as he continues to stare at the green glowing and deep cut.

“Um… two or three days ago.”

“Mmmm,” Henrik shakes his head and steps back, eyes drifting back to Marvin who stiffens under the sudden hunger filled gaze as the eyes look over the glowing markings on his neck and whisker. He stuffs his whisker back under his shirt, just now remembering how that isn’t normal for a human to have. The witch doctor chuckles as he takes the blue grass from Anti’s hand and drops it into the pot as well, the bubbling liquid fizzling loudly for a moment before calming to the same shade of blue. “That means we only have one or two days left. That means I’ll have in half of a day.”

Anti let’s out a sigh of relief, rubbing at the back of his neck as he looks towards Marvin. Marvin meets his eyes, realizing what that means for the two of them. Only half a day to see each other longer… Hm…

“Now, get out!” Henrik snapped suddenly, waving his hands at them and jabbing a finger at the door as a sort of hint for them to leave. “Meet me at the beach at sunrise there. There any later and I won’t do it. Got it?”

Anti leads Marvin out before grabbing one of his hands, tugging on it lightly as they step outside into the forest once more. Anti’s hand is cool on Marvin’s hand and he watches the back of the other’s head, watches the hair jump up and down with each step. He looks down a moment later. Half a day left until they will have to split up… They reach the shore of the lake, sand rough yet soft on Marvin’s bare feet. There’s a moment of comfortable yet tense silence between them.

“Why don’t you return now?” Anti asked suddenly and Marvin looks up from the ground where his eyes had drifted after a few seconds. His eyes dart to Anti’s face to find a look of sad acceptance and he bites down on his lip, glancing down to his webbed hands as he stays silent. “You don’t have to stay any longer. I don’t want to make you wait any longer.”

Marvin stays silent for the time being, glancing out to the small waves as they rear up only to crash at the tips of his toes, barely not touching him. He takes a small step to keep the water from touching him, just in case- his tail would grow back as soon as a drop of lake water touches him- before he offers Anti a small smile, rubbing the palms of his hands together.

“I don’t want to leave you yet,” Marvin answered, watching as Anti’s eyes fill with surprise and a wonder of sorts, mouth slowly opening. He watches the man’s lips part, finding them to be a shiny and soft pink against his pale, white skin. He slowly reaches out and hesitantly takes one of Anti’s hands into his once more, his skin already beginning to warm the other’s. “I want to stay with you awhile longer. As long as I can.”

“But why?” Anti asked then, his voice beyond soft and Marvin can hear years of pain in just two words. His heartaches at the thought of Anti being in pain and he lightly squeezes his hand.

“Because…” should he say it? But what if Anti does not actually feel the same way? What if he had been wrong to presume their were feelings between them just because Anti used a nickname for him? He licks his lips and averts his eyes, already feeling his face heat up with a pink shade. He doesn’t want to mess this up. Anti is the first person he believes he’s ever had feelings for and he doesn’t want to mess this up.

But as the sun begins to set beside them, kissing the dark blue waves of the lake they had travelled with to, Marvin knows that this is the time to tell Anti his true feelings. “Because I love you, Anti,” Marvin replied gently and Anti’s eyes widen with shock. Marvin forces himself to meet the green pupils once more and can see that the man’s face is turning a dark shade of red. He would find adorable if he weren’t sinking into himself from embarrassment.

When Anti doesn’t say anything for another good minute or so Marvin looks away once more and draws his hand away, ashamed and crushed. He had messed this up, hadn’t he? He might as well fling himself into the sun then and there. But then there’s a gentle hand brushing along his cheek and pressing it enough to make his head turn, to make his eyes meet Anti’s and in a split second their lips are pressed together lightly.

Marvin shuts his eyes and let’s himself sink into the kiss, entire world disappearing around him. Who needs the lake, anyway?

_____

Tell me if ya’ll enjoyed!

blood and water

Draco x slytherin weasley!reader Request: draco is secretly dating a Wesley (red head, hand me downs, very obvious except shes a slytherin) and her sister and Hermione are the only ones who know and it accidently gets spilled to her brothers and how they react and all that junk if you wouldn't mind?! Id love if you did! note: you gave me a prompt and i wrote waaaay more surrounding the story than anyone ever asked of me so idk here you go lol ----------------------------------- Draco bit his lip. Clearly you were a Weasley, with the bright ginger hair and moth eaten hand me down cloak, yet he couldn't deny you were certainly attractive. More than attractive, if he were being honest. It was rather unfortunate, he felt, that such a wonder could be lost to such a dumb family. He'd watched you from afar for years, but today felt different. Today he wanted to talk to you.

He licked his lips and strode towards you, determined to ooze his trademark charm to make you swoon. Normally, he wouldn't go out with a Weasley, but you were a Slytherin, so he felt you would be much better than your ridiculous Gryffindor siblings. "So, tell me," he questioned you, casually falling into step beside you, "How exactly did a Weasley like you get into Slytherin? You managed to break your family curse and join the high ranks. Tell me your secrets." "Sod off." "I was joking." "And I wasn't: sod off. I'm not in the mood to deal with your crappy teasing today." "Crappy? I'll have you know it's rather high quality. Besides, it's not teasing. It's banter. It's... flirting." "It's annoying. A rose by any other name and all that..." Okay. This conversation wasn't going where he'd planned... "Do you need help carrying your books?" He changed the subject, nodding at how your arms had changed positions multiple times in an attempt to more easily carry the weight of the books. "Yeah right," you scoffed, "Like you'd actually-" The first two books came toppling to the ground. You let out a frustrated noise and blew the hair out of your eyes before squating to try to pick up the books. But before you could, Draco had already done just that. He took another book off of your pile as well and started walking. You frowned and sped to keep pace, "Why did you do that?" "Is it such a crime to help someone carry their books, for Merlin's sake?" "For you it is." He sighed, "Then maybe you don't know me." "I'm pretty sure I know you well enough to know that helping someone isn't in your nature, Malfoy." "Ouch. You must talk to your brother a lot." "I don't need to talk to my brother to find that out. Everyone knows it." "Then, how about I show you a different side of me. One that no one knows." You stopped walking, "What?" "Go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend." "Are you... are you serious?" "Completely. And if you find that I'm as much of an arse as you think, then you can tell everyone that I'm exactly like that. But if not... Well, then, I guess we'll see. Is it a deal?" You furrowed your eyebrows, "You lost a bet, didn't you?" "What? No!" "Yes, you did. Someone dared you to do this." "I'm not a Gryffindor, I don't do dares." "Well, then it's some lame practical joke. And I don't think it's funny..." "It's not a prank, I promise." "Like I would trust you! You're probably going to curse me somehow, or have everyone jump out and laugh at me for believing it's real, or tell everyone that I'm-" "I like you, okay?" He announced, frustrated, "I think you're really pretty and cool, which I find insane because I vowed a long time ago to hate all Weasleys but then you showed up and I don't know I just can't hate you. I thought I hated the Weasley's ginger hair but you actually look really cute with it when you have it down and curly, or when you're in the library and you put it up in a ponytail so it doesn't distract or bother you when you study, which you do pretty often. And then sometimes you forget to take it down afterwards, like now, and the ponytail bounces when you walk. And I don't know, somehow you pull off wearing oversized hand me downs from your brothers and make the bagginess look actually really adorable. Which makes absolutely no sense to me, and yet you still manage it. And then you-" "Okay," you breathed, blinking from the sheer amount of the compliments he just gave you. "Okay?" He paused, confused. "Okay I'll go to Hogsmeade with you." His face broke into a smile, "Really?" "Yeah," you nodded, "Yeah, I will." *** You giggled and playfully slapped Draco on the hand for his joke, "That's so dumb!" He chuckled back, before taking another sip of his butterbeer. "So how's this for a one month anniversary? Same place, same table. Same orders," he winked at you. You couldn't believe a whole month had passed since that first date. "It's great," you beamed back at him, "You're the best boyfriend ever." "Just wait," he grinned, pulling a small box from his pocket. "What's that?" Your eyes widened. "I got you a gift." "Aww babe! But I didn't get you anything..." He shook his head, "No, no, I don't need anything. I just wanted to get you something. I ran it by Ginny and Hermione before I bought it last week, though, to make sure you'd love it. I trust their judgement pretty well." You blinked, "Wait, but... Draco, I hadn't told Ginny about us yet." He furrowed his brow, "Really? That's weird. She didn't seemed very surprised when I walked up to her... And she didn't react oddly..." "Weird. And she didn't come talk to me about it at all," you smiled, glad she was gracious enough to not confront or be angry with you for dating Draco. "I'm sorry if I messed anything up between you..." he apologized. "No, babe, don't worry about it. Everything's fine." You leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "So what is this amazing gift that I'm going to love?" He grinned and nudged the box toward you. You bit your lip with excitement before undoing the thin green ribbon and opening the small, black box. "Oh, Draco," you whispered, slowly lifting the small heart locket that had a silver snake curling around it. "I charmed it so that the snake can move. He'll protect the inside so no one can open it unless you want them to." "What's on the inside?" You replied, your eyes lighting up. He smiled back, "Open it." You carefully lifted the lid and saw a moving picture of you and Draco kissing and laughing. "Oh my god, Draco," you replied, tears welling in your eyes, "It's so beautiful, oh my god. I love you so so much," you moved over to his seat and gave him a massive hug. "I love you too, babe," he chuckled back, "I'm so glad you like it." "I absolutely LOVE it!" You squealed back, excitedly fastening it around your neck. "I was originally planning on getting it in gold, but silver is much more Slytherin." You laughed, "As if the snake wasn't already Slytherin enough!" "Hey," he defended, jokingly, "There's nothing wrong with a little house pride! Especially not when it's where I met my wonderful, beautiful girlfriend..." You leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips, "Thank you." "I don't deserve more than that?" He teased. "Hmm..." you pretended to think about it. He pulled you onto his lap as you yelped in laughter. "Fine, fine," you giggled, before reaching over and kissing him harder. You threaded one hand into his platinum hair and slid the other one across the smooth fabric on his chest. "Y/N?!" You froze, your eyes widening with alarm, before slowly turning to see Ron. "What on earth are you doing?! And with HIM?" Your brother spat, stepping forward to attack. You reached out to stop him, "Ron, calm down, he's-" "He's fucking with you, is what he's doing! Why on earth would you trust a Malfoy?!" "Y/N has the right to make her own decisions," Draco growled, prepared to fight him back. You stood up and jumped between them before any wands could be pulled. Ron hissed, but stepped down, "That's it, Y/N! Family meeting NOW. If you don't believe me, then maybe everyone else can talk some sense into you..." *** "I mean, are you bloody kidding me?! Malfoy, the most evil git on the planet?! You had to go and date him?!" Ron exclaimed. "If he comes over to the house, that means we'll have easier access to pull pranks on him," Fred whispered to George. "I already have the perfect one in mind..." George added, a grin spreading across his face. "No!" You screeched, "No, you are not pranking my boyfriend!" "Yuck, please never call him your 'boyfriend' ever again..." "Oh, shut it, you idiots!" Ginny scoffed, "I know Draco can be an asshole..." "You can say that again," Ron rolled his eyes before crossing his arms. "Hey!" You protested. "Draco can be mean," Ginny continued, "But at the end of the day, he makes Y/N happy, and that's what's most important. So we should all try to be happy for them, even if it might feel weird to us. And, I mean, you should see him talking about her. He's practically a whole different person..." You looked at her, incredulously, "Really? So you support it?" "Of course. And really, you should've seen him when he came asking me about that," she nodded to the silver locket around your neck, "It was really sweet how much he cared about getting you a perfect gift. He's a good guy." Ron scoffed, "He's probably just pretending to be nice to trick you..." "Ron, he's not pretending! We've been dating for a whole month for Merlin's sake!" "A month?!" Fred and George said, simultaneously. "Yeah. That's what this was for," you reached down and extended your locket so they could see it better, "One month anniversary gift." You smiled as you opened it to show them the wonderful moving picture of the two of you. Ron furrowed his brow and grimaced, "You really... like him that much?" You chuckled, "Um, yeah." "But he's... awful, Y/N." "He has an awful reputation, yeah. But he's not actually like that. Besides, that reputation means he protects me. That group of Slytherins that's been bothering me in all of my classes stopped because Draco confronted them. He really does care about me." Ron crossed his arms, "Fine, whatever. But the second he tries anything, I'll kill him." You laughed and rolled your eyes, "Whatever you say." *** "Come with me," Ginny instructed Ron, taking his hand and leading him away from where he'd been talking with some other Gryffindors. "Merlin, what do you want, Ginny? I'm busy!" "No you're not," she teased, dragging him down the corridor, "It's important." Ron sighed but let her continue anyway. Ginny motioned for him to be silent before peering around a corner. Her face broke into a grin, an she quietly waved Ron over. He frowned, but shuffled to her nonetheless and followed her gaze around the corner. "... an apology for messing up things with your family," Draco was saying to you in a completely empty corridor. Your eyes lit up as he pulled a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. "First the necklace, now this?" You gasped. He shrugged, "Guess it's just the giving season." "It's March," you laughed. He bit back a smile, "I don't know. I just like giving stuff to you. I like the way your eyes sparkle with excitement. It's beautiful." You blushed before pulling him into a small kiss, "You're the sweetest boyfriend in the whole world." He smiled back before handing you the flowers. "What happened to house pride?" You giggled, jokingly nodding at color of the petals. "Red's more romantic," he winked. You chuckled before taking a big whiff of the flowers, "Mmm. You know, this is rather close to what I think amortientia would smell like. Fresh roses and your cologne." Draco didn't reply, he just looked at you with an admiring wonder at what he did to deserve you. He'd never know, surely. You were by far the most beautiful thing about his life, and every day he couldn't believe he was actually dating you. Ginny smiled and looked over at Ron before whispering, "He looks at her the same way you look at Hermione." Ron bit the inside of his cheek for a moment before nodding and whispering, "Yeah."