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unpredictable-probabilities · 2 months

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Azul Ashengrotto of Royal Sword Academy || Chapter 23: Mummies and Skeletons

Summary:

After Sam's shop, Jamil's Halloween Tour for Azul officially begins and the couple first make their way to Octavinelle and Heartslabyul's booths, where their respective Prefects and Vice Prefects reveal that they haven't been the only ones facing romantic prospects and dilemmas.

Word Count: 4,828

They pass by the other Scarabia students in their costumes, and some turn to greet and wave at them.

"Have a great day, boss!"

"Swing by again sometime, Mister Azul!"

"Wear costumes next time, you two!"

Azul turns to Jamil and casually links their hands again. "When is your costume shift?" he asks curiously.

"Tomorrow and then on Friday, from afternoon until the evening.” Jamil raises an eyebrow at Azul. "Why? Is someone interested? I'm not gonna look much different from the others here, just so you know."

"Just like how I don't look much different in my RSA uniform than my other schoolmates?" Azul tilts his head and smiles.

"... Touché,” Jamil returns the smile

"Oh, hey! Is that a Stamp Booklet in your hands, Mister Azul?" asked one of the Scarabia students. "Here! Lemme go and mark our stall down for you! If you're ever in need of a snack, Sam's selling limited-edition waffles so feel free to come back!"

"Thank you," Azul nods and takes back the stamped booklet.

"Enjoy your date!" the Scarabia student says brightly and returns to their booth.

"I'm happy to see that your residents are supportive," Azul says to Jamil. "I suppose I'm just surprised because the first impression I've had of your residents was when one of them threw their lunch at me," he adds in amusement.

"A-hah, well, we don't often make for the best people to go to when you want to make good first impressions." Jamil chuckles. "It does make me curious what'd go down if you two ever chance upon each other again. I can at least assure you he won't be throwing another lunch your way anytime soon. I think it was his way of protecting my pride for that quiz bee."

"Hmm," Azul hums thoughtfully. "I'd been wondering, when some of your schoolmates and your own residents were quite angry with me after that quiz bee, why weren't you? I mean, you did look like you wanted to stab me right after the quiz ended, but you didn't seem angry anymore when the Leech twins dragged us to the cafeteria."

"I was mostly confused and just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible," Jamil admits. "And even if I was upset at you, I was mostly upset with myself, so the anger against you didn't last for too long."

"I'm glad it didn't," Azul smiles. "Because even back then I already admired you. I've competed in a few quiz bees before, but no one came as close to beating me like you did. It reached a point when I was smiling every time you answered correctly."

"Strange. I don't think I've ever met anyone who'd be happy to get closely beaten…" Jamil says as they start making their way on the path leading back to the Hall of Mirrors. "Why? Craving for a fellow intellectual or something?"

"I suppose I was," Azul shrugs. "As I've said, I only really joined because my professors suggested that I do, and I saw no reason to refuse. I was prepared to be bored out of my mind again, but you made it more challenging."

"Well, I'm glad I was able to make it fun for you. I'm definitely up for a rematch someday. Although I honestly wanna see a showdown between you and our lil' valedictorian: Riddle Rosehearts from Heartslabyul. That guy's ruthless when it comes to being a know-it-all. Their dorm's got 810 rules and he's apparently memorized all of them by heart. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him get an imperfect score, even when the test had an item about a newfound thesis or research. If you really want a challenge, there's your guy."

"Rosehearts, the president of the Equestrian Club? Interesting," Azul says thoughtfully. “He did seem rather capable and competent when we went horseback riding with Najma a while back.”

Jamil nods. “Exactly. Anyway, we're heading to Octavinelle's booth next. Any guesses as to what they've become this Halloween?" He was certain they hadn't run into any Octavinelle student in costume in the dorm last night, and Jade left for the meeting earlier without changing.

"Hmm. Scarabia is werewolves, Pomefiore is vampires… I don't suppose Octavinelle went for zombies? Sea monsters are also possible, but that might be too on the nose. Or ghosts? I can see Floyd having fun with a costume made out of a sheet with eyeholes.”

"He would, and he'd be an absolute terror at it," Jamil shakes his head in amusement. "Well, here we are. On a normal day, this is our school's laboratory."

They stand by a building that's been decked out with cobwebs and machinery, making it resemble the lab of a mad scientist. Jamil leads Azul inside where they're greeted by a spacious but crowded room full of vials, surgery tables, various equipment, and tanks filled with bioluminescent water.

A few of the Octavinelle students were milling around, looking up at them thinking that they're visitors, only to blink in confusion. They're all dressed in classy suits of white fabric and linen, complete with bowler hats and arm draperies.

"Uh..." one of them speaks up. "Can we help you?"

"Hello," Azul greets him with a smile. "We're just visiting your booth. Oh, and getting a stamp," he shows him the booklet.

"Jamil!" a cheerful voice says, and Rey appears in costume. "I haven't seen you in forever! How's your dorm? How's your booth?" He seems to notice Azul for the first time. "Oh! And who's this?" his eyes drift to their linked hands and look questioningly at Jamil, the smile still on his face.

"Ah, hey Rey," Jamil nods in his direction before looking at Azul and gesturing to the Octavinelle Prefect. "Azul, this is Rey. Rey, this is Azul, a student from RSA. I'm just showing him around. Scarabia’s doing pretty well. How are things here?"

"Oh it's been chill, Jade did a super dope job with this place, I mean look at it!" he gestures proudly around. "And— Wait, Azul?" he turns to him. "Oh! You're the one who's co-managing Jade's café! Nice to finally meet you!" he claps Azul on the shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you too," Azul smiles back. "Thank you for allowing me to co-manage a shop in your dorm."

"It's no problem, man!" Rey says, then turns to Jamil. "Uh, hey, do you know where Tacitus is?"

"Tacitus?" Jamil blinks, confused. Why is Rey looking for his Vice Prefect? "I think he's at his room in Scarabia, since today's not his costume shift. Why?"

"I wanted to show him my costume," Rey grins. "Oh and I'm gonna ask him out. See you, guys!" he claps both of them on the shoulder and strolls out.

"Wh—!?" Jamil sputters out in bewilderment.

"Good luck!" someone from Octavinelle calls out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don't think so!" says another, walking in front of Rey. "Prefect, today's your costume shift and we need you here to help hold down the fort. There were already a LOTTA visitors yesterday—it could end up disastrous if we don't have all hands on deck with us right now!"

"Oh right!" Rey says, as if he just realized what the booth is for. "The visitors! That's why we're in costume! Smart," he points an approving finger at the student. Then he pulls out his phone and starts typing. "Just gonna send a quick text to Tacitus, asking him to visit. Hmm, he doesn't like crowds, though. I'll just ask him to meet up later when the gates close for visitors again." He goes to sit in a chair at the side, texting and smiling at his phone.

"I can stamp that for you," the first student that approached them says politely to Azul.

"Oh thank you," Azul says, handing it over and accepting it after it had been stamped.

"I see that Rey's still the same as ever," Jamil comments, watching the guy type away on his phone before turning to the costumed Octavinelle student in charge of stamping. "But hang on, him and Tacitus? Since when had this been a thing?"

The student shrugs. "I don't know. But I've seen them hanging out a few times, and Tacitus was at Octavinelle yesterday. They had lunch in our lounge."

"I see this surprises you," Azul remarks. "Did they not seem close before?"

"Well, I didn't know much about Tacitus at all, and I certainly hadn't expected him and Rey of all people to get along..." Jamil mutters, looking almost concerned. "Rey seems like a nice guy, but I dunno…"

"If it's of any comfort to you, Jamil, the rest of us haven't quite figured Tacitus out either, despite his frequent visits. It seems like the only one who has an inclination of what he's like is Prefect Rey himself."

Jamil sighs. "I hope he treats him well… Sometimes, when I look at Tacitus, he just seems like a gust of desert wind would be enough to blow him away."

"I've only known Rey for the entirety of two minutes so I can't say much," Azul says. "But he did take into consideration Tacitus' dislike of crowds, so that at least shows that he cares about his feelings. And he seemed really excited to see him."

The Octavinelle student nods. "Yeah, don't worry, Jamil. Prefect Rey can be a little forgetful and… quirky sometimes, but he means well. And Azul has a point. Prefect Rey knows that Tacitus doesn't like going outside much, so they always hang out at our dorm or in any of the buildings here."

"That's saying a lot, considering Rey doesn't like ‘being cooped up for too long', according to him during one of our meetings." Jamil mentions. "Well, I hope they have fun later, then, and er… good luck for Day 2, you guys."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine, we've got Jade filling in with us after his meeting, but…" The student conspiratorially leans in with a whisper. "We gotta keep Prefect Rey attentive to his duties as much as possible."

"He seems to listen easily when you remind him," Azul says encouragingly. "Good luck for today, and great job on the decorations."

"Thanks," the student grins and walks off to greet the other visitors that are starting to come in.

"Their mummy costumes look good," Azul tells Jamil. "Was each dorm free to come up with their own theme?"

"Yup. Jade told me it was because both he and Rey were mermen, they wanted to try dressing up as the farthest thing from that, so desert mummies they became. Dunno why they went for a mad scientist in addition to that, though."

"Perhaps it was Floyd's idea," Azul says in amusement. "How did Scarabia decide on werewolves?"

"That sounds like Floyd," Jamil mutters. "As for our decision on werewolves, we also wanted to break from our usual norm of desert themes, and then someone thought about the coyotes roaming around at night before we started delving into folktales of people transforming into wolves around the colder regions of the Shaftlands, so… there we are. How about you? If you could dress up as a monster, what would you have liked to become?"

Azul thinks about it. "Perhaps one of those undead creatures who are made of stitched up body parts of different corpses. The idea of creating an entirely new sentient being from several different parts seems like an incredible feat, and as a costume the fake stitches seem like they'd make for good decoration. Or I could just go for a Kraken and save up on costume materials," he says playfully. "What about you?"

Jamil thought about it. "I think a part of me would be the type of asshole that'd dress up normally and say that I'm attending Halloween as a murderous sociopath. Though a skeleton would be pretty cool. It's gotta be a cool-looking skeleton, though. Speaking of, that's what the next location's all about. Come on."

"Bye, you two!" Rey waves them off.

Azul chuckles at Jamil's answer and waves a goodbye to Rey. "A cool-looking skeleton, huh? That definitely sounds intriguing." Then he looks thoughtful. "What costume would you like to see me in?" he asks Jamil.

Jamil blinks at him in surprise. "Oh, um… I'm not sure. I'd much prefer you looking comfortable in what you wear, so… I dunno. I don't really have anything in mind. Why? Do you?”

"I did pick a costume for our Music Club performance," Azul says. "I partly asked that question because I was wondering if you'd like what I had picked," he smiles. "Anyway, which dorm has the cool-looking skeletons?"

"Oh?" Jamil asks, deciding to focus on Azul's mystery outfit first. "How do you find your costume, then? Do you like it? Was it your idea to wear it?"

Azul nods. "It was my idea, yes. We were thinking of what songs we could perform that would be fitting for Halloween, and I remembered one that's based on a legend from the Shaftlands. My costume is based on one of the characters in the legend, I really like it," he says genuinely.

Jamil smiles at him. "Then I'm sure I'll love it. Now, as for the skeletons…"

They stop outside the botanical garden, with guests and visitors streaming in beside them. Jamil made sure no familiar Heartslabyul members were in sight before turning to Azul. "Which dorm do you think this is?"

Azul looks around. "The options are Ignihyde, Diasomnia, Heartslabyul, or Savanaclaw, correct? I don't see any advanced technological effects, so I think we can rule out Ignihyde. I don't see many beastmen either, so I'm guessing not Savanaclaw. It's either Diasomnia or Heartslabyul," he guesses.

"Huh? Oh, hey! You two!" Says a voice, and Ace pops up among the crowd, donning the dark and white clothes and a shovel. He waves and jogs over to them. "What're you doin' here? Showin' him around, Jamil?"

Jamil, though a little cross that the guessing was cut short, nods. "Yep. He's filling out stamps for that prize. Looks like you weren't beheaded, good for you."

"Beheaded?" Azul asks. "I'm guessing that's a metaphor, or Halloween in NRC is much more intense than I had expected."

"Psh, nah. It's my Prefect’s Signature Spell." Ace grimaces, the face of someone who's already experienced it. "It basically locks all your magic away until he dispels it. If you ask me, it's just as bad as an actual beheading. So you're here for stamps? You're gonna have to find our head 'gravedigger' for that! You'll find him inside our 'cemetery'!" He gestures at the large botanical dome. "He goes by the name of 'Trey Clover'. Knowing him, he's prolly not gonna be in-character. Says it's embarrassing."

"Look, momma! It's one of the monsters!" a little girl exclaims, pointing at Ace.

Ace smoothly turns to her and smiles. "Hey there, kiddo! Heading into the spooky graveyard first, are we? Sounds like you're pretty brave! Are you sure you can handle it?"

"We should leave him be for now," Jamil says, gently tugging Azul along as the girl giggles at Ace and tells him that he doesn't look scary at all.

"I seem to remember you mentioning the name 'Trey' back then,” Azul says as they walk deeper into the booth. “Is he the one who you said might be interested in judging our cooking competition?"

"Oh, right. Yeah. He's pretty reliable. Hardly pokes his nose into other people's business and can generally be relied on as one of the nicer guys in school,” Jamil explains, opening the door to reveal the sprawling greenery of the botanical garden shrouded in fog as decorated headstones and spooky memorabilia scatter throughout the space. Many of the Heartslabyul students are found here, slinking around greeting guests or taking pictures with them.

"You really go all out with your decorations," Azul smiles, looking around.

Jamil sees Trey up ahead, wearing his costume and smiling at a group of visitors while he stamps their booklets. They take a picture with him and thank him before walking away to explore.

"Well, of course,” Jamil says. “None of us plan on losing to the others… Though admittedly, there's no prize for whose booth is the best. It's just bragging rights. And we'll all insist that our respective dorms would have won," Jamil rolls his eyes. "It's so childish. If only we can all agree that Scarabia's is clearly superior."

They leisurely make their walk along the gravestones, each one written with customized inscriptions.

One of them reads:

HERE LIES DUMMY DEUCEY.

CAUSE OF DEATH: HIS OWN CAULDRON TO THE HEAD.

While the tombstone next to it states:

HERE LIES ACE THE MENACE.

CAUSE OF DEATH: TART THEFT.

"Looks like they had fun making the tombstones," Azul says in amusement, looking down at the inscriptions. He looks at Jamil again. "Do I get a prize if I say that Scarabia's booth is superior?"

Jamil snorts before giving Azul a side-hug. "A very pleased boyfriend, that's for certain... Anyway, that's our future cooking judge up ahead." He gestures to Trey and proceeds to make his way over.

Trey quickly notices them and smiles. "Ah. Hey, Jamil. And you must be…" He curiously glances at Azul. "Oh, I recognize you from the committee meetings between RSA and NRC leading up to Halloween. We never properly introduced ourselves before, have we? I'm Trey Clover, Heartslabyul's Vice Prefect. How can I help you?"

"Hello, I'm Azul Ashengrotto," Azul smiles. "A pleasure to meet you. Jamil is just showing me around the booths, and Ace said you're the one to look for if we want to get stamps," he shows the booklet.

"Ah, of course," Trey takes it. "So, Azul, how were the cookies?" he says while stamping the booklet.

"Sorry?" Azul says in confusion.

Trey smiles and hands the booklet back to Azul. "The seashell cookies, that Jamil asked me to help him bake for the Autumn Dance."

"Oh! They were excellent," Azul smiles. "I must say that I'd never seen edible hinges on a pastry before. It's kind of you to help Jamil make them. How did you know they were for me?" he wonders aloud.

"Jamil had never approached me for confectionery help before, and he was determined for it to go well, so I figured it must be for something special. Then Riddle tells me that you were walking around NRC wearing Jamil's blazer. It didn't take much to figure out.” Trey gives Jamil a knowing look.

"AHEM! Thank you, Trey," Jamil mutters, looking away in embarrassment. "There's no point in slyly exposing me at this point. Azul already knows how bad I got it for him."

Azul chuckles, his cheeks turning pink. "I never know how to respond when you say things like that, you know?"

Trey laughs good-naturedly. "Well I'm glad you didn't remain stubbornly secretive about it, Jamil. Look at you being a changed man," he teases.

"What do you mean? Have I always been that obvious?" Jamil asks, flustered. "You don't know. I could've just wanted to give those baked treats to a friend or get myself some favors for leverage down the road..."

"Your only close friends here are Ace, Floyd, and Ruggie, and you don't seem the type to give pastries to each other," Trey says. "And your smile after we baked the cookies was genuinely happy and not at all devious. I could have been reading too much into it," he shrugs, "But then we all saw how you two were dancing at the ball, and that was that.”

Now Jamil wishes he knew more about Trey, just so he could clap back and tease him on his crushes. But he unfortunately doesn't have much to go on. Trey is unsurprisingly a very desirable fellow on campus, even attracting attention from people like Vil and Jade.

"... Fine,” Jamil relents with a sigh. "I guess I was pretty bad at keeping it all under wraps… But it's whatever now, right? How are things going over here?"

"Good, even the freshmen are handling things well enough even when there are a lot of visitors," Trey says.

"Oh, hello," Riddle appears beside Trey and greets all of them, then turns back to Trey. "I'm just reminding you that your break is in an hour."

"Oh," Trey looks at his watch. "Thanks, Riddle," he smiles.

"How are the booths so far?" Riddle asks them.

"They seem to be doing well enough, though I might have to check back on Scarabia later to be sure,” Jamil replies. “But for now, I'm just showing Azul around. We're heading to Diasomnia's next.”

Jamil finds himself squinting at both Riddle and Trey, wondering if there's something between them. They certainly have a stronger bond than the average Prefect and Vice Prefect would have.

"Ah, their decorations are certainly a sight to behold," Riddle says approvingly.

"Maybe you'll run into Yuu and Grim while you're there," Trey says. "They put on some costumes, too."

"All right, I shall go check on the others and make sure that everything is still in order," Riddle says.

"Hey, you should also take a break soon, okay?" Trey says, his tone softening. "You've been working since breakfast."

"I'm fine, Trey," Riddle says. "As Prefect, my residents must always feel assured that I am around if they ever need help."

"They can handle it, you've taught all of them well." Trey isn't backing down.

Riddle purses his lips. "Still, I should be here–"

"If you don't take a break, neither will I," Trey cuts him off, sounding a little playful but looking serious.

Riddle's mouth parts in surprise, but he relents. "Fine. I'll take a small break now, and I'll return when it's your break time, okay?"

"Sounds good," Trey smiles.

Riddle steps closer to Trey and straightens his collar. "There. All that posing for photos seems to have gotten you a little disheveled," he says playfully.

Trey averts his eyes from Riddle's face so close to him and lets out a nervous chuckle, his own face reddening. "Sorry, Prefect."

"Oh stop it, I was joking," Riddle says with a smile. Then he turns to Azul and Jamil. "Enjoy the rest of the booths," he says then walks away.

"Do you bake cookies for him, Trey?" Azul asks mischievously.

"What?" Trey looks caught off-guard. "No, I–" he laughs awkwardly. "Riddle and I are childhood friends. That's it."

"I see. I suppose that makes sense, he was on a date with that Pomefiore bloke earlier, they looked really sweet together."

"What?" Trey frowns. "Who? And when? Riddle hasn't told me anything. Was it Rook? They were probably just talking, Rook can be overly friendly to people and it can look like a date. Was it him? Blond guy, probably with a bow and arrow?"

Azul just smirks wordlessly, and understanding appears on Trey's face.

"Ah. You are dastardly for an RSA student, Azul," Trey wags a finger at him, smiling.

"Seems like it's an NRC trait to be stubbornly secretive," Azul smiles back.

Jamil chuckles at Azul's antics. "Well now… Looks like your baking for Riddle's got its own special motivations, too. Planning on telling him anytime soon?"

Trey laughs nervously, adjusting his glasses. "Well I– I mean– I don't even know where to begin, you know?" he looks at them, then furrows his eyebrows curiously at Jamil. "How did you tell Azul? Such a private guy like you. Or did Azul admit it first?"

Jamil blinks at him. Could Trey be asking for advice?

"I did it in the smoothest way possible," he playfully fibs.

Azul chuckles, smiling fondly at Jamil, but he just watches their exchange and doesn't say anything.

"Really?" Trey raises an eyebrow in amusement and crosses his arms. "And how did you do that? Care to help out an old upperclassman?"

Oh, Jamil's digging himself into a hole here.

"... Well..." Jamil glances at Azul for help and sees that he won't be getting any. "We were talking, and the talking... escalated. I made a move, Azul moved back and… we took off from there."

Trey looks at him for a few moments and smiles. "I'm proud of you, Jamil," he says genuinely, with a hint of wistfulness in his voice.

"If I may," Azul finally speaks. "If you really want to tell Riddle, then simply start by talking to him. You're already close friends so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"I'm not sure how I feel talking about this so out in the open like this," Trey chuckles and looks around shyly at all the visitors roaming their booth. "But… even if we do talk about it… If he doesn't feel the same, then we might end up being awkward around each other. I just don't wanna mess up what we have now, you know? I'm happy where we are."

"And if someone else were to court Riddle and date him?" Azul asks pointedly.

Trey purses his lips. "It'll be Riddle's choice if he wants to date someone else, I won't stop him."

"Then let him know that you're one of the choices," Azul says slowly, as if to emphasize the point. "I realize we've only met today, and I don't want to impose. But from what I've seen, I don't think there's anything you can say to Riddle that would drive him away. Jamil here knows the two of you better, do you agree?" he turns to Jamil.

"Honestly? Yeah," Jamil nods, crossing his arms and dropping the playfulness. "Riddle relies and trusts you a lot. I get how you feel, being unsure about where you both stand… But I think Riddle of all people would appreciate it if you approach him about it honestly… Though I suppose it can't hurt to be extra sure. Have you gathered any information from other Heartslabyuls about how Riddle might feel about you?”

"You make it sound like spywork or something," Trey says shyly, shaking his head. "Uh, our dorm mates like to tease us sometimes, though mostly me when Riddle isn't around. But that doesn't really mean anything."

"You don't know, maybe they noticed something in Riddle too, if they felt confident enough to tease you about it,” Jamil tells him. "You don't have to follow any of my and Azul's thoughts on the matter. In the end, the decision really is up to you. But Riddle's considerably changed since the first few weeks of school. I think you can trust that whatever you tell him, the both of you will be able to talk it out properly without jeopardizing your friendship.”

Trey nods slowly, a thoughtful look on his face, and he gives them a small smile. "Thanks, guys. I'll keep that in mind. I'm gonna get back to work now," he nods at new visitors approaching and walks over to them. The kids stare in awe at his costume and excitedly ask their parents to take their picture with him.

"Weren't… you afraid?" Azul asks Jamil as they make their way out of the booth. "That you might jeopardize our friendship if you had admitted your feelings?"

"I was... but the main reason I hesitated telling you was that I wanted to wait for the right moment to say it, though it was hard to find that with events and issues popping up here and there. What about you?" Jamil asks curiously.

Azul looks ahead as he thinks about it. "I suppose I was more like Trey. I was already happy with what we had, and I was afraid to do anything that might mess it up, even though I wanted more. Wait…" he turns to Jamil in realization. "That moment in the aviary, just before my phone rang, were you about to confess your feelings then?"

Jamil can't help but shyly smile. "I thought the timing felt right then and there, but… well, it didn't work out. So this was all a little late."

Azul smiles fondly and takes Jamil's hand, lacing their fingers together. "You did save my life that day, so I don't mind that the confession was a little late. Especially since you kissed me right after confessing," his tone becomes a bit more playful.

Jamil grins wryly, leading Azul outside of the garden and into the autumn daylight. "It was hard to keep myself away from you once the cat got out of the bag.”

“Dangerous words, Viper.” Azul's eyes glint mischievously.

Jamil chuckles and turns away from Azul's gaze, his face warming. Sevens, the guy could really flirt if he wanted to. That was deeply unfair.

“Speaking of cats,” Jamil pointedly changes the subject as they approach Ramshackle dorm. “How do you feel about a monster that particularly looks like one, but with fire in its ears and a pitchfork for a tail? Hope you're not too freaked out by abnormal creatures…”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for your patience with this update sdkjflskdfj, I hope you liked it! ^_^

<- Chapter 22

Chapter 24 ->

(Masterlist)

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bettsfic · 2 years

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alright i’ve given it 2 days to avoid posting spoilers but now it’s time for some Thoughts on the obi-wan kenobi finale.

(it goes without saying, spoilers ahead)

i can’t imagine how hard it is to write a sequel to a prequel. especially something as iconic as star wars, it’s such a tall order. i for one enjoy getting some of the gaps filled in with extra content, but i recognize nothing can really happen that hasn’t already been implied.

for example, we know obi-wan and anakin can’t kill each other. we know reva can’t kill luke. we know leia returns home safe. everything else is a wild card but ultimately the lead characters have to find harmony after the upheaval of the conflict, because a state of harmony is where we pick up in a new hope.

but we were given one thing, one huge thing that we didn’t already know for certain, that somehow, despite being sandwiched between two trilogies, moves anakin’s story forward:

he doesn’t blame obi-wan. he blames himself.

in revenge of the sith we leave anakin believing padme and obi-wan were conspiring against him. he blames them for allowing this to happen to him. his delusions of grandeur destroy his trust in those he loves most.

but now we know! for absolute certain! he doesn’t! blame! obi-wan!

there are so many implications here: that anakin has had time to introspect, that he knows obi-wan didn’t betray him, that he’s telling us anakin is dead and all that remains is darth vader, but it’s not true. there’s still some anakin there and we know this because of his sacrifice in return of the jedi.

if that shit doesn’t make you want to rip your own heart out and eat it, i don’t know what to tell you.

now let’s talk about obi-wan.

in star wars the concept of personal agency is flimsy. in large part this is a craft issue--we’re taught that in “good” movies characters have to get boxed into a corner in order to act. we see a pattern of characters acting out of desperation, with no other choice. even the effects of the dark side have a certain physiology, a physical disease that takes over them and causes them to act--we see it in both anakin and kylo ren. it’s not their fault they killed a bunch of people, it’s the dark side eating away at them. rey literally stabs the dark side out of kylo ren in the rise of skywalker.

you could argue that luke makes the choice to embark on an adventure in a new hope (and rey in the force awakens [but note that anakin never *truly* has a choice to go with obi-wan and qui-gon in the phantom menace. he’s ten years old and his mother is enslaved]), but i think being called to act is also an inciting predicament that denies choice. after all, if luke or rey say no, there’s no story.

but in the finale, both anakin and obi-wan decide to fight each other. even roken is like “you literally don’t have to do this, we’re going to be fine.” and obi-wan is all “yeah but i’m gonna.” and anakin doesn’t have to go there, in fact shouldn’t go there, but he does, because he needs to see obi-wan. that’s what the show is saying over and over, outright: he can only see obi-wan. they could have written the entire series without that final showdown. action-wise, the chase is high-stakes enough, and there’s already so much precedent to make vader the big bad on your tail and you escape his grasp by the skin of your teeth. that could have happened, and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

but the series works hard to develop character motivations by tying up the loose ends of the prequel trilogy. i think this is the big difference between plot-driven and character-driven stories. in plot-driven stories, the characters must act. in character-driven stories, the characters choose to act. this is the first live action star wars media that has given us a character-driven story, where nearly all the events happen because the main character makes them happen, and not because we’re already aware of the events that happen prior to and after the events of the series.

so neither of them go to the fight with the intention of killing each other. they know they can’t kill each other, because they are each other’s weakness (obikin: canon). the only conclusion i can really make is that they go there--against the advice of everyone around them--to see each other. maybe obi-wan goes to see for certain his “friend” is gone. maybe anakin goes just so he can tell him, it’s not your fault. maybe they just want closure, because the next time they meet will be the last.

#obi-wan kenobi #obikin #owk #meta #i'm sorry if this doesn't make any sense my brain is all blorbo no logic

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catholicdaredevil · 1 year

Text

we don't have any grapes || soap & shine

here is your first blurb of the soap and shine series!!! this is just me and soap being menaces!!!

words: 678

gif: @shadow0-1

ao3 link

ghost pushes open the front door to the shared apartment he has with soap to see them sitting on the floor of the living room together. soap and ezra mirror each other on the soft beige carpet, legs tucked up under them as they stare each other down.

it isn’t until he’s closed the door and locked it, starts walking into the room with heavy tired footsteps, that ghost notices the small pile of ammo that is laid out between the two. they’re so focused in on each other he isn't even sure if they've noticed he’s home.

it shouldn't surprise him, in fact by this point nothing the two of them do should. but despite the many times he’s learned the lesson not to– the hard way, always the hard way– ghost asks for clarification.

“what in fucking hell are the two of you doing?” he grumbles, kicking his shoes back towards the door behind him as he glares down at them both.

ezra looks up with a sparkle in their eyes that couldn't possibly be a good thing, their mouth turning up at the sides and ghost can feel the headache coming on before they even begin to speak.

“you know that game where you try to fit more grapes in your mouth than the other person?” their voice lilts with the anticipatory question. meanwhile soap is refusing to look away from them, digging down into his weak attempt at intimidation.

“i already regret asking and i know i’ll regret answering this too, but yes.” ghost towers over the smaller two, silently wondering what he did in a past life to deserve the kind of stress the duo puts him through.

there isn't a knife in the house that hasn't been put into a wall, table, or person. most of them even have all three on their scorecard. ghost longs for the days when soap was a little scared of him, the days before ezra came along and took one look up at the man a foot taller than them and decided to make his life hell with the accompaniment of his best friend.

simpler calmer times.

“yeah, well, we don't have any grapes.” ezra explains, nose scrunching under the strain of holding in their laughter.

ghost can feel his sigh move the entirety of his body and he allows himself one moment of concern before remembering that he has the misfortune of you both being the most unkillable bastards alive.

“tal in the room?” he questions ezra before they turn back to their partner and unnecessarily dangerous yet childish bet.

ezra nods quickly, “he said he didn't want to watch us get lead poisoning.”

ghost groans, reaching a hand up to pinch the top of his nose before turning on his heel and stomping towards his bedroom to join his boyfriend. the boyfriend who clearly is the smarter of them as ghost already knows tal didn't let himself get roped into any questions or associative guilt.

“johnny, my love, you’re going fucking down and when you do, you're gonna do the dishes for a month you stupid bastard.”

he hears ezra's voice one last time before pulling open his door and laying eyes on tal. the stress of his day and the insane couple having a mental showdown in his living room melting away at the domestic sight of his partner curled up under the blankets and leaning back against the headboard with a book in his lap.

it isn't until the next day that ghost even allows himself to think about the previous nights actions and it doesn't take long to find out the results without falling into the trap of asking.

it’s certainly not hard when he steps into the kitchen and soap is standing in front of the sink with a maid apron on and a dejected pout pulling his lips down.

as wild as soap is, there's only one person in the world who can match his feral and untamed energy, if not surpass it entirely.

so unsurprisingly, ezra had won.

#john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish x oc #john soap mactavish fanfiction #john soap mactavish fic #call of duty #call of duty fic #call of duty fanfiction #soap mactavish fic #soap mactavish fluff #ezra writes #soap and shine

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gloriabomfim · 8 months

Text

As the story unfolds, the backdrop shifts to the heart of the Mixel Moon, where Boone's fathers, uncles, and Blossom embark on a quest to find him. The atmosphere is tinged with a sense of urgency and determination, as they traverse through the intricate terrain of the Glowkie Caves. The camera pans across the vibrant, multicolored rock formations, each step resonating with the weight of their mission.

Camera pans over the Glowkie Caves, capturing the diverse hues of the surroundings.

Boogly: (voice filled with concern) We have to find Boone. His transformation into King Boone has us all worried sick.

Meltus: (nodding solemnly) You're right, Boogly. We can't give up on him.

Burnard: (gripping his fists) We're gonna get through to him, no matter what!

Amidst the winding caverns, a sense of unity prevails as they press forward. Their journey is fraught with uncertainty, but their bond fuels their determination. The camera captures their steadfast footsteps echoing against the cave walls, a testament to their unwavering resolve.

Camera shifts to a tense moment as they come across a fork in the path.

Flamzer: (stroking his chin) Which way, everyone?

Globert: (striking a pose) Fear not! Globert shall guide us to victory!

Vampos: (pointing) I think that way leads deeper into the caves.

A decision is made, and they venture forth. The camera pans upwards, revealing the intricate network of stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling. Each twist and turn brings them closer to their goal, yet tension remains heavy in the air.

Camera transitions to the climactic moment as they finally locate Boone, now transformed into King Boone.

Boone: (voice cold and distant) Ah, my dear family and friends. What a delightful surprise.

Blossom: (voice filled with sadness) Boone, please! Snap out of this! We care about you!

King Boone: (laughs coldly) Care? Oh, how quaint. You'll witness the true power of King Boone soon enough.

As their desperate pleas fail to reach Boone's heart, King Boone's demeanor turns menacing. The camera captures the shift in his gaze, the once familiar spark replaced by an unsettling darkness.

Camera zooms in on King Boone's hands as he slowly summons the dark power within him.

Burnard: (voice determined) We won't let you hurt anyone, Boone!

Flamzer: (clenching his fists) We're not giving up on you!

Globert: (voice unwavering) Prepare for the ultimate showdown, darling!

Camera shifts between the tense faces of Boone's family and King Boone, capturing the intensity of the impending confrontation.

In an instant, the clash erupts. The camera captures the chaotic dance of color and darkness as King Boone's newfound power collides with the unyielding determination of his loved ones. Spells of light and shadows intertwine, each movement echoing the conflict within Boone's heart.

Camera pans to a poignant moment as King Boone's power overwhelms the others, resulting in tragic consequences.

Boogly: (voice filled with desperation) Boone, please… remember who you are!

Blossom: (voice trembling) Boone, this isn't you!

Meltus: (voice strained) Son, we love you!

A searing surge of power radiates from King Boone, and in the chaos, the camera captures the anguished expressions of Boogly, Meltus, Burnard, Flamzer, Globert, Vampos, and Blossom. The battle has taken a devastating turn, leaving a trail of sorrow in its wake.

Camera shifts to a haunting moment as King Boone's cold laughter resonates.

King Boone: (voice dripping with malevolence) This is the price of defying me!

In a heart-wrenching twist, King Boone's dark power claims the lives of his fathers, uncles, and Blossom. The camera captures their solemn expressions, frozen in a moment of loss and tragedy.

Camera transitions to King Boone, his crown glistening as he stands amidst the aftermath.

King Boone: (voice triumphant) No one can stand in my way now.

The scene concludes with a chilling image, a stark reminder of the transformation that has befallen Boone and the devastating consequences that have rippled through his world.

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demonsfate · 1 year

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I'm not into KH so I don't really catch the parallel other than the obvious one in the photoset you reblogged. Can you elaborate on the reference and how it could lead to something in TK8?

I don't remember KH3 too well just because I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous main two. But uhm, I'm not sure if TK8 was making an intentional reference, ripping off, or if it's pure coincidence. It's kinda hard to elaborate unless you know how KH works.

But basically Aqua (the girl with the blue hair - the "Jin" in that scene) had been taken over by the main villain, kinda in a possessed way similar to DJ, I guess would be an easy way to explain it. Sora fights her, and afterwards she falls into the sea of darkness, and that's when that scene takes place. She thinks she's gonna die, lost in darkness forever, then Sora saves her and brings her back to the light.

Now, I think the context of TK8 is prooobs different than that, but we really don't know yet. I have some of my own theories / guesses of what it is happening in the TK8 trailer. The main thing I guess is that Jin was killed or nearly killed by an enemy, likely Kazuya. Because TK8 will probs have the trope of Good Guy fights Bad Guy for the first time in This Story but isn't Strong Enough yet, Good Guy loses horribly and has to get Stronger later to defeat Bad Guy in Final Showdown.

So, anyway - Jin gets killed by Kazuya, and then the water - rather than being a physical place like it is in KH3, I imagine it's likely just a representation of Jin's mind, and the further he's going down represents that he's literally dying. (As many fans seem to think Jin is literally drowning - I don't think he is at all.) And Jin's disappointed in himself for losing, and therefore - dooming the world. That's when a hand reaches out from a shadow - it's Jin's hand. But it being from a shadow makes me believe it's supposed to be DJ despite lack of his talons. Since DJ has saved Jin back in TK3 (after Jin was literally shot and DJ awakened) and has technically helped protect Jin throughout TK7. (Though DON'T applaud DJ for this, these aren't heroic acts xD) Now I have a few different theories as to what this could mean and or lead up to.

1... Jin & DJ put their differences aside to defeat Kazuya. Have no clue how this would happen. But there are already theories circulating that Jin can't actually control his powers in the trailers, and he's instead just "calling upon" DJ when he needs the powers. DJ reaching out with a normal looking hand could signify a truce between them.

2... This is all just a means for DJ to manipulate Jin. Jin either goes along, but maybe likely knows this - but since he's so desperate to defeat Kazuya, and sees Kazuya as the Greater Threat, he accepts DJ's help.

3... Since the devs have emphasized that this game will be about Jin accepting who he is and breaking free of the chains. This could merely be Jin accepting his Devil Gene, and realizing that it's not all evil, it can do good for him and he learns to use it against Kazuya by letting it resurrect him. However, this wouldn't make too much sense, as... Jin already seems to accept the devil gene in the epilogue of TK7. But Harada had already stated that TK8 is going "differently" than what he originally planned. So, we might see more retcons and other unexpected stuff. Hell, DJ himself might be depicted differently. Especially it might depend on what route they go - if they go the TK2, TK4, and TK6 route where devils ARE different entities possessing people (Jin/Kazuya) or if they're going the route that TK5 kinda portrayed, and what some fans, for some reason, think - and that the devils aren't separate from the characters, and they're just if the characters gave into their Bad Desires. Which I hope not - I prefer DJ being a different character from Jin. It's more interesting imo.

Anyway - this probs is an incomprehensible word vomit. But I guess TL;DR: I think the scenes, despite being blatant on the surface, only parallels with both characters "dying" in a metaphorical ocean only to be saved before death ensues.

#✏️ - ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏsᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ // (ooc)#✏️ - ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ? // (inbox)

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diordrysdale · 2 years

Text

cocaine heart ⋆ lloyd hansen

dark!mob!lloyd hansen x female!reader

word count ⋆ 1,624

warnings ⋆ smut! minors dni, mentions of murder, mention of use of drugs, age gap (reader is in 20s, lloyd is in late 40s) dubcon, rough sex, voyerism, unprotected sex, creampie, spanking, degradation, sub!reader, fingering, sir kink, slight daddy kink.

authors note ⋆ reader is kind of a sociopath bc??? she just wants dick okay??

don’t forget to give me some love, reblogs and likes are very much appreciated.

“on my command…” lloyd mumbled, back pressed against the wall as his men nodded curtly, holding up their guns towards the giant door.

“now.” as soon as the word slipped his tongue, his men stormed through the door, aiming and firing at their targets.

the showdown was suddenly silent, allowing lloyd to make his way past the bodies dropped, kneeling to confirm the top target, mr. levinson.

“throw him in the trunk, gonna need to send a few limbs to his higher ups, just to let them know who’s in charge.” he announced with a smirk, standing up straight before an unknown noise perked his ear.

“check the closet.” barnes obeyed, slowly yet bravely opening the closet door with a forceful kick, revealing two trembling women, most likely in their early 20s.

“isn’t that mr. levinson’s daughter?” tony pointed out to his boss, but lloyd had his eyes set on the [h/c] haired girl, who wasn’t crying, but was awaiting the worst.

“do we kill them?” they both whimpered at barnes’ suggestion, but the brunette man chuckled before he walked up to the closet, sticking out his hand for you.

“hey, c’mere, sweetheart. I don’t bite.” lloyd teased, his smile falling the second your frightened, bambi eyes met his— he swore his heart might’ve stopped.

without thinking, you took his large hand, making your friend gasp and pull you back.

“if you know what’s right for you, you’ll let her go.” your friend glanced around the room, wincing at the sight of all his men pointing their guns at her.

“wrong place, wrong time, huh?” he helped you out from the closet, his grip around your waist was the only thing keeping you from collapsing from fear.

“please, sir, d-don’t hurt us,” he barely made out your whisper while he leaded you towards the evidently expensive leather couch, allowing you to take a seat while he ordered his men to pour him a scotch.

“it’s your lucky day, princess, ‘cause I have no idea who you are,” he handed you the honey-colored liquid, heart strings tugging when your trembling hands held the glass, bringing it to your lips and sipping it enough to feel a shudder down your spine.

“but your friend, on the other hand, is in a lot of trouble.” your head whipped as one of the bad guys yanked her from the confines, forcing her on her knees and her hands behind her head.

“no! please!” you yelped out, ready to shoot up from the couch til the brunette shoved you back, a bit of whiskey spilt down between your breasts.

“you see, her father was, what you call, a double crossing motherfucker.” the older men around you chuckled dryly, making you gulp as he scooted closer, his whiskey breath hitting your neck.

“and your little friend here, daisy? or was it rose? shit, I don’t know, a flower name, well, her fingerprints, signatures, it was all her.” he explained as his calloused hand was placed on your thigh, kneaded it quite roughly, making you whine.

“you could imagine how embarrassed I was to find out a father-daughter duo was fucking me over!” lloyd immediately reached for his gun and shot up at the ceiling, pulling a scream from you and daisy as you curled against him, pleading for mercy.

“oh, princess, don’t be afraid,” he cooed, petting your head lovingly with his silver gun, “it’s your friend who’s gotta start running.”

taking it as an invitation, daisy bolted out the door, wailing out for help, til she was abruptly silenced.

your throat was tied in a knot, assuming the worst.

“terrible, just terrible.” lloyd sighed to himself.

“is she gonna be okay?” you sniffled, terrified for yourself more than anything.

“don’t worry your pretty head over that, sweetheart.” he cupped your cheek with his free hand, leaning in to kiss away the tear near the corner of your glossed up lips.

“c-can I go home?” you peeped out as lloyd huffed out a laugh before placing his gun on the coffee table.

“oh, sweetheart, I’m just getting to know you,” he smoothly said, his curious hand disappearing beneath your dress, satisfied with your gasp when his fingers attempted to prod at your clothed hole.

“and I can’t leave you all wet like this, can I?” he pouted playfully, watching as indecision clouded your judgement.

“please—“ “please?” he mocked, leaning in to press wet kisses to your neck, his mustache ticking your skin.

“I-I know you,” he hummed at your confession, waiting for you to continue as he sucked on your pulse point, adoring how fast your heart raced.

“a few weeks ago you—“ a gasp interrupted you as he pushed your underwear aside and shoved three fingers past your silky folds, soaking them immediately, “you were in mr. levinson’s office, doing coke off his desk.”

the squelching noises and the way your eyes rolled back helped him remember the scene you began to describe.

“yeah? care to tell me why you were eavesdropping, princess?” the palm of his hand smacked repeatedly against your aching clit, forcing you to spread your legs for everyone in the room to see.

“i-i had a crush on mr. levinson, i was waiting for him to finish his meeting s-so he could touch me.” you whispered the last part, turning away from Lloyd’s glare, knowing you spilled more than anticipated.

“so, you were his little slut, huh?” he grunted, hovering over you as he curled his fingers, abusing your spongy spot til your arched your back and cried out.

“tell me what he’d do to you.” Lloyd demanded, removing his digits from your cunt before cleaning them off on your lips, leaving you to taste yourself.

“he would fuck me on the floor, and tell me I was just his sex-doll, a-and spank me til I begged for him to stop. and he wouldn’t..” you trailed off at the sight of Lloyd’s bodyguards palming themselves through their jeans, wishing they could have you underneath them.

“face down, ass up, now.” lloyd was fuming, looking down at you as you rolled over, doing as told and tugged your dress up to your waist, allowing him to see mr. levinson’s faded hand prints and dark purple love bites scattered down your thighs.

“if he fucked you so good, how come you’re so nonchalant at the fact I killed his fucking ass?” he genuinely asked, pulling your cheeks apart to admire your glimmering slit.

“because I wanted you more.” you whimpered as his thumb applied pressure to your virgin, puckered hole.

“I wanted to feel you in my belly, I wanted you to use me—“ you shrieked when his hand struck your sore ass.

“watch that fuckin’ filthy mouth. unless you want me to fuck your throat raw, hm?” the aftershocks made you wiggle your ass, presenting yourself to him while some of the men had their dicks in their hand, eyes locked on yours.

“you love the attention, don’t you?” lloyd mentioned as if it’d been a grand revelation, but everyone could see it from a mile away.

“love being a little whore, doesn’t matter who fucks this pussy, you just want to be stuffed.” he kneeled behind you on the sofa, releasing his hardened member from his slacks, smacking it against your skin, letting his pre-cum stain your flesh.

“cockwhore.” he spat before shoving his thick shaft, you felt your head spin, feeling every inch in your goddamn soul, your breath had been stolen by this man.

“fuck..” you mewled, pushing back against his rapidly increasing thrusts, you had to claw your nails into the sofa to stay in place.

“love your cock, sir, I love you,” you cried out, preening at his large hand massaging up and down your spine, keeping you in position while his giant cock penetrated you, hitting every spot.

“tell me how much you love me, you slut, fuck- gonna stretch you out.” he grunted, his balls clenching as he focused on holding back his high just for a few minutes more.

“I l-love you so much,” you sobbed, breathless when he pulled you against his chest, “fill me with your cum, want it so bad..”

“wilson, get this dress off of her.” the brunette panted as wilson walked up to them and gripped your dress from the top, tearing it down the middle, shuddered out a puff and walked out for some air.

“you’re mine,” he stated, his free hand reaching to pinch your nipples, rolling them between his rough fingers.

“gonna tie you to my bed, fuck you every hour of the day, bury myself in this drippy cunt til all you remember is my name, got it?” the waver in his voice made you feel powerful, yet mindless— you were about to belong to a ruthless man, but you had him wrapped around you finger.

“yes, daddy, yes!” you rested your head back on his shoulder as he gasped, cock twitching as he let go, cum streaking across your womb, owning you entirely.

the two of you came down with hearts beating out of your chests while his men exited the room, pretending this never happened.

“wait for me in the truck, princess, gotta take care of something first.” he kissed your sweaty forehead as he slipped out from you, leaving you in your ruined dress while he headed for mr. levinson’s office.

opening the desk cabinet he knew too well, he clutched the 3 kilo bag of cocaine and noticed the bunch of panties neatly folded right beside them— he had a gut feeling they were yours— and took them with him, filling him with pride.

there was a new king in boston.

┗━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━┛

a/n; yes i’m horny for mustache.

#kali writes !#lloyd hansen smut #lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen x reader #lloyd hansen x female reader #chris evans #chris evans smut #chris evans x female reader

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nattikay · 3 years

Text

hmm...just thinkin’ about how to deal with Bellroc and Skrael in my headcanon, which lead to hmm, let’s try taking some of the general ideas from the movie but make them less dumb. I wouldn’t call this a rewrite per se, nor even something that I’m set on “officially” incorporating into my headcanon--just some idle hypotheticals.

Douxie uses his magic to mask Nari’s magical signature, thus making it much more difficult for Bellroc and Skrael to track her down. As such, the Titan reawakening takes place much further in the future--approximately 10 years from the events of Wizards.

Jim has long since regained his half-troll form as per my headcanon, with the upgrade of being able to walk in daylight. He has probably already received the new amulet as well, and has had plenty of time with Douxie and Krel to troubleshoot and perfect its abilities.

Jim and Claire are married and already have their lil hybrid babies cuz heck if you can stop me. They are living in the New Jersey trollmarket, where the trolls have successfully settled after the Eternal Night. Thanks to Claire’s portal abilities, it is very easy for them to get from there to Arcadia and back whenever wanted/needed. The need to protect not only their friends but also their children puts 10x more ferocity into their determination in battle.

Strickler and Barbara, Toby and Darci, and Aja and Steve are all also married. Toby and Darci probably also have kids.

We can still even have Aja and Steve be expecting, but Steve is very most definitely NOT pregnant. And actually neither is Aja, cuz let’s flesh out this whole “seventh kiss” bs:

So Akiridions are made out of energy, and their bodies are a projection from the central “life cores”, correct? To form a new Akiridion, you need a new life core. So let’s say that to make a life core, two Akiridions must take bits of their own energies and merge them. Once merged into a new core, said core is put into a special device that keeps it safe and nourished while the projected body develops, kinda like a fancy electronic egg. Once the body is developed enough to properly take in and interact with the outside world, the “egg” is opened and boom, there’s your Akiridion baby.

Obviously this is very different from human/Earthling reproduction. If Steve is human, how is he gonna take bits of energy that he’s not made of in the same way Aja is to merge it with hers? Lucky for them, we are constantly reminded how advanced Akiridion technology is supposed to be. They take a DNA sample from Steve and use their technology to convert it into the required energy, which is then merged with Aja’s aaaaand...there you go. Because of this, while the bab(ies?) can resemble their dad in certain ways, they will be functionally fully Akiridion in that they are made of energy and fueled by a life core rather than human carbon-based biology and DNA.

So how does the “seventh kiss” play into this? Obviously the seventh kiss itself does not “make baby”; the process is much more intentional than that. BUT, let’s say that when a couple shares their seventh kiss, it means by Akiridion standards that they’re pretty devoted to each other. As such, it is the trigger that makes it possible for their bodies to split off a piece of energy to merge if they so desire. So the seventh kiss does not automatically make a baby, it merely makes it possible for a given couple to do so.

You’re welcome. Moving on...

Speaking of Steve, he is a knight, and has brought back a form of the roundtable as he promised Lancelot. He splits his time between Earth and Akiridion-5 thanks to Krel’s wormhole device, which has been refined over the years, and leads factions of knights/warriors on both planets.

Nana (who is pretty much semi-immortal at this point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) and Barbara watch the great/grandkids during the battle, because someone has to do it, and neither of them have any particular magical powers to fight in the battle themselves anyways. This not only keeps they themselves safely out of the way while the magical heavyweights do the hard part, but also still gives them a sense of purpose in keeping their beloved great/grandkids safe. I was originally gonna have Darci with them but then I came up with a better idea:

Darci is one of Steve’s new knights. Inspired by Toby, she was keen to sign up when Steve started accepting applicants. As one of the first recruits, she is now second-in-command of the Earthling faction.

Claire is officially Douxie’s apprentice and her magic has improved leaps and bounds with a formal teacher to help her. That said, not only have Claire and Douxie not been nerfed, their power level has actually increased since Wizards.

Strickler doesn’t die suicide-bombing the titan because that’s dumb. He just drops the bombs onto it from above and gets the heck out of the way.

Nomura also doesn’t die because no one was stupid enough to let a troll try to fight a titan in the middle of the flippin’ afternoon.

The titan battle between Nari and Skrael still happens, but Nari is basically a distraction to keep his attention and efforts occupied while the rest of the team swoops in to take him down. Thus, Nari doesn’t die.

No Khronisfere bs, and therefore Archie and Charlemagne don’t get trapped in the Chinese trollmarket and are still present for the final showdown against Bellroc.

The showdown with Bellroc is now 10x quicker and easier as Nari is present, no one’s been nerfed, the whole team’s still kickin’, and everyone’s actually competent. Toby does not need to sacrifice himself.

All the good guys survive and everyone goes back to their families and live happily ever after with no more world-ending threats of for the rest of their lives because they deserve their hard-earned peace thank you the end

#just some ideas ¯\_(ツ)_/¯#trollhunters #tales of arcadia #rise of the titans #rott spoilers #(sorta)#headcanon #future au #(also sorta)

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spookysmujer · 4 years

Text

Peaches, O. Diaz

Summary: Oscar and Y/N spend a pleasurable night together.

warnings: s m u t 🥵 18+. public s e x, unprotected s e x

word count: 2.3k

A/N: Fina-fkn-ly I have written Oscar smut! You would think with this blog dedicated around him that I would have done so already. Who doesn’t like the Santos party + sex? I am not @youare-mysonshine, who has the best damn Oscar smut on this site, I am but her apprentice, LOL. Enjoy! And please don’t forget to follow, heart, comment, reblog and turn on those notifs for when I post something new. Lots of love!! Thank you for +800 followers!

(gif credit goes to @merakiaes 🦋)

“So it took your brother being shot for you to come around?”

You hear from behind you, as you swivel in your spot there is the man of the hour. Spooky is celebrating his 25th birthday and a victory in showing Prophet$ what’s good with last nights showdown.

A small smile forms on your lips as you briefly look away from him to avoid the red hue on your cheeks worsening. Oscar definitely has a way with women, it doesn’t take much for him to have the ladies swooning, or on their knees. And it’s no secret he prefers the latter.

“Yeah, it’s definitely not for the reason of you make it to half a century”. He now stands in front of you, one hand in his pocket as the other holds his beer close to him. It’s a moment of silence, him looking down at you and you up at him.

When your brother, known as Joker, begged you to come home for a weekend you were hesitant too. And with how things went down, you were right to be. Shit had gone down on Santos turf resulting in your brother getting hit but nothing compared to what the Prophet$ got handed back to them. And all in the weekend that Oscar’s birthday bash is happening too.

“Good, I was hoping that was the reason. ‘Ridge been boring without you around. How’s life been up in Bakersfield?” He asks you as you two begin a small walk around the house to a quieter setting.

You shrug as you kick gravel around, “As good as you can guess. But my business degree is being put to use. So not long til I can repay for you the loan you gave my brother for me. Promise.”

He shakes his head after taking a swig of beef, his mouth pressed together tightly, lips licking the remaining that lingered. Damn. “Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it. Whenever you can.”

A small laugh from you, “People are gonna think you got a soft spot for me doing that kind of shit.”

“Let um think that they want. They wouldn’t be wrong.” He keeps his line of sight in front of him as you look to him. You both lean against his impala as the soft moonlight reflects of the shiny paint of the red car.

After staring at him for a moment, you look away as he takes his turn at looking at you, his eyes burn into you as you clear your throat, “Careful.”

“What?” He grins at you with his signature grin.

You can feel your cheeks burn hotter by the second. And you also know that Oscar knows what he is doing, you’ve seen him do it to other girls.That look that seals the deal and then he is leading them into house. Probably notable that most of those girls plan on getting in bed with him from the moment they arrive.

“That. You know what you’re doing and I am not like all them girls that you’ve banged in there.” You point to the house as you take a swig of your half empty beer. Oscar audibly laughs as he pushes himself off car.

He downs the last of his beer and tosses it to the trashcan across the way. You watch it as he moves to stand in front of you. This makes you correct your posture as he moves in even closer, lessening the open space between the two of you.

Oscar licks his lips, ever so slowly. He wipes his mouth of any remaining alcohol and places his hands on the car, each on the side of you, “That’s what I like about you. That you aren’t like them. You don’t come around here in hopes of some action. And if I’m being honest? That shit is attractive to me, knowin’ I gotta get you.”

“Get me? You’re real smooth, y’know?” You scan his face, eyes staring into his as he grins, leaning in til you feel his breath his your lips.

But the truth is, he is smooth. “Mmm.” He hum as he closes that space and your lips are on his. The chaste kiss is held for a moment before you both start to kiss each other, open mouth and quickly are your tongues dancing.

“Yo, Spooky finally gon hit Joker’s fine ass sister!”

You hear loudly, pulling back and turning around to see one of the Santos standing near the house. You groan as you flip him off and cover your face with your hands, “So get the fuck away, foo.” Oscar says with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

The Santo laughs backing away with his hands up in defense. Though partially embarrassed, you can’t help but laugh. Oscar’s hands rest on your hips, rubbing gently and pulling you back to lean against his body. He doesn’t say anything else, placing a kiss on your bare shoulder. Trailing kisses til he reaches your neck where you know there will be markings the next day.

Oscar’s hands feel your body, rising up your torso to cup your breasts. All of it, leaning against him, his hands, the kisses... it’s all too much to not react so when you moan, he laughs and kisses your neck more. One of his hands leave your body and pulls your face to the left and his lips meet yours.

While you two kiss you grab his other hand, bravely pushing down towards your heat. He doesn’t waste anytime and slips his hand in your shorts feeling you over you underwear, your body feeling weak when he massages your sensitive bud.

“W-we gotta go inside.” You mumble against lips and you feel him smile, his hand in your pants dipping lower to spread your arousal, earning more moans. “Nah, mami. Just relax, those foos not gonna come out here again.”

That’s when he releases you and steps back, you pout at the absence of his touch. You turn around as he grabs the waistband of your jean shorts and swiftly pulls them down to your knees, you gasp loudly trying to reach down to pull them back up, “Are you crazy? I’m not gonna fuck you out here. I don’t care if your homies won’t come back here, you have neighbors and I’m woman enough for you to take me inside!”

He only laughs, picking you up to sit on the car, the cool metal making you squirm, “No one can see us, just trust me. I ain’t tryna fuck you out here, just curious.” Oscar unbuttons his flannel and pulls it off, balling it up and putting it behind you, pushing you back to lay your head on it as a pillow. He swiftly pulls off your shorts and spreads your legs, his finger hooking your panties to the side, “Oh my god, I cannot believe you are gonn-”

His tongue against your clit shut you up quickly. It causes your breath to hitch and words lost as he licks more swipes against your heat. He tortures you with the way he does it slowly, but the sensation feels like bliss, “Sweet as peaches, mamas.”

You feel relaxed, letting your legs rest comfortably over his shoulders. His lips covering your entire cunt now, tongue swirling on your clit and then dipping down into your entrance. And when he pulls back then back down to suck on your swollen bud like sweet nectar, your back arches. And you’ve had guys go down on your before, but something about the way he does it. He doesn’t shove his fingers in like you are use to having and it makes the moment more enjoyable.

“What no extra pleasure with your fingers? Fuck.” You squeeze your breast together, eyes closed. Thanking sweet baby Jesus in heaven! “You gonna tell me how to pleasure you? I know what I’m doing. Shhh.”

He bites the inside of your thigh, a moan let out a little too loud. You cover your mouth with your hand. You sit up on your elbows to watch him work his way to your release but the darkness makes it hard to see much, “Take me inside.”

Oscar licks your cunt once more before leaning up to kiss you, your arousal on his tongue and lips, “Ever taste yourself before, hm?” He kisses you more not letting you answer.

“Hm, yeah. I’ve tasted other girls too, but you’re right, mine is sweet like peaches.” You whisper as you peck his lips then looking into his eyes, his mouth slightly agape at your confession. You’re smirking as your hands move under his tank to feel his skin.

He doesn’t say anything as he collects your shorts and his flannel, picking you up and placing you on his shoulder, your ass cheeks bare in just your lace thong. “Oh my gosh, Oscar!”

Oscar smacks your ass he walks to the two of you into his house. You won’t lie to yourself that you’ve fantasized about getting into bed with him. The guy is not just beautiful being but sexy as fuck as well and he knows it too.

He drops you on his bed and rids himself of his tank, you doing the same. He climbs onto the bed and hovers over you, you wrapping your legs over his hips pulling his face down to kiss you. No more slow moving, no more games. It’s freaky business NOW.

You reach your hand between the two of you to feel him through his pants. And he does not disappoint in his size. You unbuckle his annoyingly long belt, finally getting it free for you to unbutton his jeans. You move your hand inside and wrap your hand on his semi-hardened member, stroking it entirely. He groans into your mouth as you do so.

“I’m wet and you’re hard, com’n.”

He stops kissing you and reaches between the two of you to take your hand out of his pants. He shimmies out of it and sits up to remove your panties. And with your demand to hurry, he spits on your mound and smears it around before guiding himself in.

The slight burn passes quickly as the pleasurable sensation hits you soon after. You bite your lip as Oscar stands at the foot of the bed, moving your legs up to rest against him. He starts slowly for the two of you to get familiar with the feeling of each other.

You arch your back to reach under to unclasp your bra. He marvels at your tits as you kneed them, looking at him in the eyes with lust, “Show me how Spooky fucks, Papi.” The sultry way you say his street name makes him hold your legs against him tighter.

And he pushes himself into you as deep as he can possibly go and out just as fast, hitting your cervix and creating a pleasurable pain that you’ve not experienced before. His hips like a piston, drilling you into his bed so much so that you’re sure there’ll be a indentation when he is done with you.

“Oh. shiiii, mhm.” You moan out, gripping the sheet on the sides of you, biting down on your lip to suppress the moan that is threatening to escape. His low moans isn’t helping you either, you can’t hold it in.

This only makes Oscar grin when you moan out loud and he loves it. “Hm, louder, bebecita. Let them hear how good Spooky fucks you.”

His voice when pleasuring you is an entirely different thing, it added to the already overload of goodness you are receiving from him. Oscar, or Spooky you should say, pushes your legs apart so that he can climb on top of you, him still inside you as you scoot closer to the headboard. Once your head is on the pillows, you rest your legs wider to give him the adequate space he’ll need for a good pounding.

Once his hands grip the headboard, it is game over for you. He is angling his hips to hit spots you never knew you had, deep and slow for one moment and then at speed lighting the next. With the different speeds it leads you feeling the building sensation. It saddened you that you are reaching your peak so quick.

“I-I’m gonna cum.” You tell him and he releases the headboard, sliding his hands underneath you, gripping the flesh of your ass. It confuses you for moment, as he snuggles his face into your neck. But when he begins to drill you into oblivion, you gasp loudly. His low grunts into your ear, his hot breath harshly hitting the side of your neck.

Skin slapping and animalistic groans. Oscar can feel how close you are, your walls squeezing him like a vice, “Fuck, cum. I’m about to.” He mumbles.

As if his wish is your body’s command, the feeling hits you harshly. You clench onto him, your arms hooking under his and nails digging into his back, “Oh! oh! Yes, fuck yes!” The orgasm hits you harder than you expect.

Oscar groans once more before pushing himself up and grabbing himself, pumping his length only for a short moment when his seed spurts onto your slick with sweat torso. His eyes close and head tipped back, “Fuck.”

Still lost in a haze you release a deep breath, maneuvering yourself to get a taste of him. From the source. You take his entire length in his mouth, the after sex sensitivity hitting him, he flinches but watches you swallow him whole.

“Hm, I gotta get you to cum in my mouth next time, hm?” You sit up on your knees and he backs off the bed, handing you a towel to wipe yourself clean, he only laughs.

“Nena, who says we’re done here?”

#Oscar Diaz #oscar spooky diaz #oscar diaz imagine #oscar diaz x reader #oscar diaz x y/n #oscar diaz smut #omb #on my block #on my block imagine #spookysmujer

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extemely-thoughtful-person · 3 years

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Epel Felmier Appreciation post, Unique Magic Theory, and... His Possible Role in Chapter 6

Here's that Epel post I thought about making way back in February. Sorry for being late on this one.

For those of you who somehow don't know who I'm talking about, Epel Felmier is a first year student in the Pomefiore dorm. He's one of the shortest characters in the game, and at first glance, he seems like one of those quiet people. This has lead to some not taking an interest in him before the game's release due to the fact that he seemed like a bland character.

Then chapter 5 happened, and...yeah. He was not what we were expecting.

Sure, he has a quiet attitude most of the time, but as it turns out that's just an act. He's actually really brash, harsh and he does his best to try and be strong. Vil has been trying to teach Epel that strength isn't just physical, but you can also have strong points in other ways as well.

As far as we've seen, Epel has come to terms with his adorable (but also deceptive) appearance. In chapter 6, we are going to be getting his help along with the rest of Pomefiore. Even though Epel learned about his greatest strength, he has yet to put that strength to use in a way that will confirm that, yes, he has excepted himself. Of course, he already does except his appearance, but he has yet to use it for something useful.

And this is where the catastrophe of chapter six comes into play.

Harnessing Potential

Now, I don't agree with Vil all the time, but during the recent chapter, I have to admit, he was right about a lot of things. One of the things that seemed to make the most sense was indicated by Vil and even Epel's parents: Epel has a lot of potential. And in my opinion, if there is one thing that he can do, and become a master of the art, it would be one of the lessons Vil was trying to teach Epel: Acting.

I think that out of all the career choices out there, Epel's best suited career would be as an actor. And maybe that was intentional in game, because there is a part of acting to be played.

Now, allow me to direct your attention to the Hercules movie, to a character that was charming enough to play both sides in the Hercules vs Hades showdown. It's Megera.

Meg was able to make Hercules flustered enough for him to mess up during his "hero moments" Even though eventually the feelings of true love were returned in the movie, before that, Meg was an enemy in disguise. She was able to easily wrap Hercules around her finger, and though it wasn't intentional for her because she didn't hate Hercules, Hades still saw Meg as Hercules's weakness. And this was the very weakness Hades exploited against Hercules.

And guess what? That strategy almost worked. Hades would've won because he used Meg against Hercules. If Meg just went through to the end, Hades would've taken over Olympus.

It's funny how one key player can decide the fate of the game.

Act One

As we all know, Pomefiore is going to lend us a hand in the upcoming chapter. For Epel, I think he's going to play in two acts. The first act is going to take place for the tournament, and the second will be during the Overblot battle against the Shrouds.

Act one is actually very simple: getting into contact with the enemy team.

How this works is, well, it starts with an accidental encounter. It's probably going to take place at the remaining culture festival time, and the interactions will be between Twist!Hercules, and Epel. Now, Twist!Hercules is most likely an athlete, and he looks strong. Epel still admires physical strength and will be fascinated.

Now throw this piece of the puzzle in: the gangsters on the beach in chapter 5 thought Epel was a girl.

So Twist!Hercules is going to believe that at first as well, and he's going to get flustered. Before Epel can correct him, maybe they have a conversation, or maybe they establish some kind of long term contact like exchanging phone numbers or something. But one things for sure, it takes a while for someone from RSA to point out the Twist!Hercules just befriended the enemy.

As for Epel, at first his fellow Magift club members are gonna be mad, but someone (Most likely Idia or Leona) actually thinks that this is a good thing. If Epel is able to wrap a strong enemy Magift player around his finger, then maybe they can get ahold of whatever winning strategy that RSA uses.

Of course, maybe Idia also plays a part in taking Twist! Hercules out of the match, but Epel's going to make things a lot harder for RSA. He has stated that he's working on surprise attacks, and with his appearance to serve as a distraction, Epel's going to be a tough character to beat.

Along with Idia's unique magic being involved, this game is going to be a close match. Of course, the outcome is already decided. Through unfair means of course.

Act Two

When Idia Overblots, he's going to reunite with his separated brother, Ortho. And one of the people responsible for separating them is Vil Schoenheit. He agreed to separate them to help Idia, but didn't know about the Magic stone situation. When the Shrouds have Overblotted and are reunited, Ortho might ask for revenge on Vil for allowing the Olympus Tech Company to take him into custody.

What I'm getting at is that they're going to imprison Epel as a form of revenge.

It's a callback to Megera dying. Epel is going to be imprisoned and is probably going to have some kind of death countdown to being killed. Or he's just going to be contained. Twist!Hercules and Vil are going work together to free Epel. And Epel is going to unlock his unique magic in this battle.

Silencing the Overblot

Now, I would say that we don't know what Epel's unique magic is, but that would be a lie. I believe they've already given us the answer:

"I feel a strong power rising in me, like an ice-cold poison. Now it feels like I could put anyone to sleep… maybe?"

This is one of Epel's level up voice lines for the tutorial. I think that this is hinting what unique magic Epel will get: the power to put someone to sleep. This might not seem effective, but it's actually very powerful, and it makes perfect sense too.

Epel has a desire to become stronger than others. And even though he works hard, there are going to be people which he will never surpass in strength alone. So how do you defeat someone stronger than you?

You make them weaker than you.

And what is the most vulnerable state a person can be in besides sickness?

Sleep.

So, Epel will be able to beat his enemies in a fight by putting them to sleep, literally making them fall before him.

Of course, the spell is much more complicated than just putting someone to sleep. Maybe he can control what they dream about, learn their worst fears, or manipulate them even. None of this is solid of course. Maybe Epel doesn't have control of his magic when it first manifests.

But when this power does reveal itself, I think Epel's going to accidentally test on one unsuspecting student who was trying to rescue him: Neige. This is referring to the time Snow White ate the poisoned apple, yet Neige still never got put to sleep until now. At least he'll be out of harm's way.

The people who are actually successful in the rescue of Epel are the Twisted!Hercules person and Vil Schoenheit. Perhaps it's a race to get to him first, perhaps they decide to work together. Who knows? Anyway, then Vil provides a distraction while Epel uses his new power on Idia, effectively knocking him out.

That leaves an Overblot Ortho on the lose. I think Twisted!Hercules is going to be the one to take him down. He'll most likely smash Ortho to pieces, which might seem cruel, but under the circumstances, they have no choice.

Of course, Ortho might get taken down first, and then Idia. It can go either way.

Or I could be wrong. Thanks for reading!!😊

P.S. I managed to make a pretty stupid, but interesting connection with the Pomefiore trio and the Fates from Hercules. This was mainly made because of the similarities in all of the characters heights. And this suggests that Rook was actually originally the first dorm leader of Pomefiore, until Vil took the position. And Epel has hinted at overthrowing Vil and becoming the new dorm leader.

So drawing parallels to the Fates, Rook would be similar to the Fate of the past (Laecesis[ I probably spelled that wrong]), Vil would represent the Fate of the present (Clotho), and Epel resembling the Fate of the future (Atropes).

And get this: it's the Fate of the future that warns Hades about Hercules, just like Epel gathering information from the enemy team, and warning Idia about the key players to watch out for.

Have a nice time of day!

#twisted wonderland #i did a thing #ignihyde #twisted wonderland idia #twisted wonderland epel #twst #rook i swear if you know what's going on but don't tell us i give you a taste of my shoe #twst ortho #night raven college #royal sword academy #royal sword assholes #Twisted Wonderland #twisted wonderland theory #eat your heart out dire crowley #chapter 6 #disney twisted wonderland

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ahyacinthblossom · 3 years

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So... about the Titans (chapter 2 spoilers)

Aight I already did a whole text post about Gaster so I wanna talk about the Titans now and their significance in the story. I think it goes without saying that these beings are going to serve as major enemies later on, maybe even the final bosses of the game. First off, let’s discuss some popular theories that have been thrown around by various people. 1. The Titans are just “adults” and the Roaring is just cleaning up the area where the Dark Fountains are located and removing all the inhabitants to whatever place they came from. How does this make any sense at all??? The Titans being just adult Lightners would make no sense, as the Darkners viewed ALL Lightners as gods to serve. Not just the adults but all of them. This theory is not one that can be easily backed up by much. Plus, Kris opening up a fountain in their bedroom would have inadvertently caused the Roaring if this were true, as it’s likely Toriel and other adults from the Light World will be joining the adventures in the Dark World in the next chapter. I think that Kris may end up jumpstarting the Roaring somehow, just not in THAT way. 2. Ralsei is a titan. Ok, I gotta be honest, this one might be true. Ralsei does say that he takes shape from the Fountain, which lines up with the way he describes the Titans. This could be furthered by the fact that the eye symbols we see on the main titan in the vision of the Roaring are the same ones that exist on the cliff walls in Ralsei’s Dark World. This could be the body of a deceased Titan, maybe from a previous Roaring that Ralsei somehow survived. If he himself was indeed a Titan, it wouldn’t really make sense for him to be worried about the Roaring, you’d think he’d be excited if he was truly one of them. But, maybe he is in fact a Titan who rebelled against his mission and stopped the previous Roaring from occurring by sealing the main Titan in his Dark World. Or, maybe he was merely a survivor, a Darkner who’s family was murdered by the Titans. In any case, I’m not one to immediately jump to the “Ralsei is evil” theory but I think it’s possible he could be a Titan. Maybe. 3. My personal theory (and Gaster’s possible connection with and plan for the Titans) So, the eyes on the cliffs in the Dark World are probably connected to the Titans. I think that entire area might be the corpse of one of the Titans. Maybe a sleeping one and not a dead one, who knows. In any case, I think the reason Gaster’s involved in all of this is purely to find a new body for himself. He’s been trapped between existence and non-existence, simultaneously existing in and outside of both Deltarune and Undertale’s stories at the same time. He was shattered across time and space, and he’s probably looking for a temporary vessel until he can achieve his grand plan, finding a new, stronger body for himself. I brought up in my last big text post that I think he might want to assemble himself as a Titan or maybe possess one, which honestly might be a stretch but eh. He’s fighting for control over Kris to use them as a way of opening Fountains and bring about the Roaring. We, the player, are fighting over control with Gaster. Now, it’s been implied that we’re not the good guy in this scenario either. In fact it’s heavily implied that we are the Angel that needs to be banished according to the Prophecy. It’s easy to assume that when Kris takes out their soul and is limping around, that it’s THEM in control of their body. Just Kris, no one else. But I think that’s not the case, I think when they move like that and open Fountains, it’s Gaster controlling them. It’s an elaborate game of chess, except in this case we’re fighting over the same exact piece. The Knight. Dark vs Light. It’s the struggle of chaos vs order, but when both extremes overtake the other, it causes the balance to be disrupted. The times we see Kris acting outside any influence from us or Gaster are times like when they yell after the fight with Spamton. They are obviously showing strong emotions whenever puppets or strings are brought up, hinting at the fact they are aware of the struggle that is happening around them. The Roaring is the triumph of the Dark World over the Light World. It’s the opposite of what will happen with the Angel’s Heaven, which is probably something we, the player, would bring about if we had total control over Kris. Ralsei brings up both sides of the prophecy, but he didn’t tell us everything in one story, leading many to believe he’s hiding stuff from us. I don’t think this is necessarily the case. He MAY be aware of the player controlling Kris, but I don’t think his intentions are evil. I do think there will be more than one ending to this, either the Darkness prevails and we get the Roaring, or the Angel’s Heaven prevails and we have to engage in some fight against the Heroes of Light. Either way, it’s gonna be one hell of a climactic showdown, and Gaster is probably going to play some role in it no matter what happens. Honestly I just wrote all this because I want the final boss to be a giant twisted multi-armed Gaster titan.

#gaster #deltarune gaster #deltarune theory #deltarune chapter 2 spoilers #deltarune spoilers #deltarune titans #deltarune chapter 2

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bookwyrminspiration · 2 years

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Hi!!! I was wondering if you have any thoughts on Keefe and Sophie’s role in “ending” the war. I have a feeling Lady Giselas gonna die… and after Sophie’s little “unless someone kills her” moment in Unlocked, I feel like there is going to be a final showdown between her, Keefe, and Sophie. That being said, I’m kind of rooting for Keefe to have the final blow and just symbolically show him taking his life back and freeing himself from the abuse.

I always have thoughts!! Especially about Sophie and Keefe as there's just so much about them in the series that it's like we'll never exhaust it all. They are infinite inspiration (I got distracted from the Lady Gisela prompt, my apologies)

Concerning their roles in the war, both characters are central to what's going on, so it's impossible to exclude them from the story and it's conclusion--in this case the "ending" of the war as you put it. Sophie will be the main force acting against the Neverseen, both because she's the Moonlark and it's what she was made for, and also because she's proven to have different application of shared values and morals than that of her peers and mentors. She's more forward, more willing to lead that charge and take the step against the Neverseen.

I think that's what her role will come down to in the end: taking initiative. She's been very good at listening to people for the most part in the past, letting herself be guided. She listened a lot more in the past with things like the Black Swan's notes, Alden's advice, just generally leaning on adults the way that makes sense for her to do as a child. But even though she's grown up, she still listens to them, still relies on the adults in her life for support. I think her role in ending the war will be the end of her listening. Not because she doesn't love them or hates them, but because she'll come to the realization that nothing is happening and nothing ever will. They aren't winning, they just aren't fully loosing. And if they keep doing the same thing over and over again, they'll get the same result.

Think about it for a moment: when have things actually changed in the series? When did things really get going? When Sophie took charge and made decisions the well meaning adults in her life didn't want to. Bottling the everblaze, reading King Dimitar's mind (though that was also still a bad idea and she probably shouldn't have, it did make a change), when she chose to join the Black Swan (the adults did support this one but it was originally her decision), and all manner of other decisions. Then there's the most recent one: burning down the storehouse. And because she's done all these things of her own volition (almost always against the advice of the others), the story has changed.

When it comes down to ending the war, I think she'll be scolding herself over disappointing people before stepping back and looking at it, making the connections, and then stepping into her true role as the Moonlark and become that new perspective and actually using that wisdom she brings to her story. She's been half-way there, but always under the tutelage of someone else. Now, she can step out of those expectations and do what she thinks is right, the whole reason she exists, and take initiative and be more forward in this war. And whether her friends are at her side or not...well, she loves them, but I think she's tried to hard to fit in for too long, so she'd be willing to take that step without them. She's been alone before, and if it ends the war, she'd sacrifice anything for her friends, even their company.

That's Sophie, but what about Keefe? He's become a main character in nearly every sense of the word aside from being the primary narrator, so he's just as integral as she is in terms of plot. But he wasn't made to be like Sophie and is largely a mystery in terms of what his Legacy is and how he'll impact everything.

I think his big impact/big moment is going to come down to self-acceptance. A huge part of who he has been throughout the story is fueled by self-hatred, or at the very least a deep seated dislike of himself. It's true that he frequently calls himself handsome or compliments his hair, but that's all surface level. When it comes down to who he is as a person, he hates himself. His family makes him miserable and he can't separate himself from them in his mind. he's always trying by being a troublemaker and trying to renounce their expectations, but they are always there in the back of his mind. Especially in the elven world, you can't get away from family and he hates his family. And he's tied to the Neverseen, his mother a primary member who planned for him to have involvement with it. That is a big thing about him and he hates it. No matter how much he ignores it or tells himself he won't go along with his mother's wishes, the fact that it just...exists is too bad for him to deal with. All of that reflects back on him and I highly doubt there is a single thing about himself (aside from appearance) that he genuinely enjoys. Everything he sees himself as is colored by that, influenced by that.

And the most recent installment in this self-hatred is his new ability, merged as it is. Here is yet more evidence of how he can't escape his family, can't escape this miserable hell he's lived his entire life. No matter what he does, it finds him. And now it is him. it's an ability he can't turn off, can't run from, can't escape, a constant reminder of everything he hates about his life and himself. It's his breaking point. For the ending of the war, the same way Sophie will accept herself as different and take initiative, I think Keefe needs to accept himself as himself, stop holding on to all these strings he keeps trying to cut without realizing he's putting them there in the place. I think his role is to like himself, or to at the very least not hate himself. To see himself and just...acknowledge it's him. Which includes his new ability, every aspect of it. And then that can be used in any battle that occurs, Sophie leading the charge.

those two things might happen simultaneously like on a battlefield or something, like everything is going downhill and the two of them independently have this internal revelation and use it to defeat the Neverseen. Maybe Sophie had a plan and the Black Swan didn't like is, so they compromised and created something they were happy with but she wasn't. But during the fight she realizes that it won't work and that she was right and so she goes off the plan, taking that initiative to put everything to a stop. Keefe, at the same time, realizes that things are going bad--but he could do something about it. he could be a benefit, he could help, him. And in that moment come to Sophie's aid, using his new ability/resolve to help her enact whatever plan that everyone told her not to follow.

This could be something involving Lady Gisela as you mentioned, as she will probably always be a problem unless she's dead. I wouldn't put it past her to find her way out of a broken mind at this point. I don't know if Keefe could handle killing his mother or if he would want to--as satisfying as it might be to us, I don't know if it's Keefe and in line with who he is to kill her. I'm still on the fence about that one. he's had a complicated relationship with her, but maybe it would be similar to Fitz wanting to kill Alvar in that he's not a murdered. He's not like her. And instead it would be better for him to just...walk away. He's fought against her so hard in the past, but that's still giving her his time, effort, and energy. So instead, cutting off all that and finally just...letting her go, disconnecting from her. There could be a satisfying moment of Lady Gisela realizing that she's lost him, that this isn't the same as all the other times he's defied her. He's turning his back on her and he means it.

There's a lot of possibilities for the ending of the series and whatever it culminates to, this is just a few of the ideas I have for what I think could make sense! And I'm realizing I got...way off track from the Lady Gisela thing you were talking about, so if you'd like we can go back over that and focus on it more!! I kinda saw Sophie and Keefe and then just took off with that.

But whatever happens, I'm very curious to see it play out!

#the way both of their characters are about acceptance of the self...poetic #sophie accepting her power and her influence and her thoughts as valuable and her own #and keefe accepting the core of who he is as good and untarnished and belonging to him and not his past and family #oh the parallels #I could do a whole post on that on its own #(genuinely. I have many thoughts about it)#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #quil's queries #nonsie #sophie foster #keefe sencen #kotlc character analysis

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wits-writing · 3 years

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What’s so Funny About Vengeance, the Night, and Batman? – Two Superhero Parodies in Conversation

Back in 2016, the first trailers for Director Chris McKay’s The Lego Batman Movie hit. A spinoff of the take on the iconic hero, voiced by Will Arnett, from 2014’s The Lego Movie. Those trailers spelled out a plot covering how Batman’s life of crimefighting is turned upside down when Robin unexpectedly enters the picture. It was a funny trailer, promising another insightful comedy from the crew behind The Lego Movie. A promise it handily delivered on when it came out in February 2017 with an animated feature steeped wall-to-wall jokes for the sake of mocking Bruce Wayne’s angst filled crusade that can only come from understanding what’s made the character withstand the test of time.

But there was a thought I and others had from seeing that trailer up to watching the actual movie:

“This seems… familiar.”

Holy Musical B@man! is a 2012 fan-made stage production parody of DC Comics’ biggest cash cow. It was produced as the fifth musical from YouTube-based cult phenomenon Starkid Productions, from a book by Matt and Nick Lang, music by Nick Gage and Scott Lamp with lyrics by Gage. The story of the musical details how Robin’s unexpected entrance ends up turning Batman’s (Joe Walker) life of crimefighting upside down. Among Starkids’ fandom derived projects in their early existence, as they’ve mainly moved on to well-received original material in recent years, Holy Musical B@man! is my personal favorite. I go back to it frequently, appreciating it as a fan of both superheroes and musicals. (Especially since good material that touches on both of those isn’t exactly easy to come by. Right, Spider-Man?)

While I glibly summarized the similarities between them by oversimplifying their plots, there’s a lot in the details, both major and minor, that separates how they explore themes like solitude, friendship, love, and what superhero stories mean. It’s something I’ve wanted to dig into for a while and I found a lot in both of them I hadn’t considered before by putting them in conversation. I definitely recommend watching both of them, because of how in-depth this piece goes including discussing their endings. However, nothing I can say will replace the experience of watching them and if I had included everything I could’ve commented on in both of them, this already massive piece would easily be twice as long minimum.

Up front, I want to say this isn’t about comparing The Lego Batman Movie and Holy Musical B@man in terms of quality. Not only are they shaped for vastly different mediums with different needs/expectations, animation versus stagecraft, but they also had different resources at their disposal. Even if both are in some ways riffing on the aesthetic of the 1990s Batman movies and the Adam West TV show, Lego Batman does it with the ability to make gorgeously animated frames packed to the brim with detail while Holy Musical often leans into its low-fi aesthetic of characters miming props and sets to add extra humor. They’re also for different audiences, Lego Batman clearly for all-ages while Holy Musical has the characters cursing for emphasis on a regular basis. On top of those factors, after picking through each of these for everything worth commenting on that I could find, I can’t say which I wholly prefer thanks in part to these fundamental differences.

This piece is more about digging through the details to explore the commonalities, differences, and what makes them effective mocking love letters to one of the biggest superheroes in existence.

(Also, since I’m going to be using the word “Batman” a lot, I’ll be calling Lego Batman just “Batman” and referring to the version from Holy Musical as “B@man”, with the exception of quoted dialogue.)

[Full Piece Under the Cut]

Setting the Tone

The beginning is, in fact, a very good place to start when discussing how these parodies frame their versions of the caped crusader. Each one uses a song about lavishing their respective Batmen with praise about how they are the best superheroes ever and play over sequences of the title hero kicking wholesale ass. A key distinction comes in who’s singing each song. Holy Musical B@man’s self-titled opening number is sung from the perspective of an omniscient narrator recounting B@man’s origin and later a chorus made up of the Gotham citizenry. Meanwhile, “Who’s the (Bat) Man” from Lego Batman is a brag-tacular song written by Batman about himself, even playing diegetically for all his villains to hear as he beats them up.

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Holy Musical opens on a quick recap of Batman’s origin:

“One shot, Two shots in the night and they’re gone And he’s all left alone He’s just one boy Two dead at his feet and their blood stains the street And there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can do!”

We then get a Bat-dance break as the music goes from slow and moody to energetic to reflect Batman turning that tragedy into the driving force behind his one-man war on crime. Assured by the narrator that he’s “the baddest man that there’s ever been!” and “Now there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can’t do!” flipping the last lyric of the first verse. For the rest of the opening scene the lyrics matter less than what’s happening to establish both this fan-parody’s version of Batman and how the people of Gotham (“he’ll never refuse ‘em”) view him.

Lego Batman skips the origin recap, and in general talks around the death of the Waynes to keep the light tone going since it’s still a kids movie about a popular toy even if there are deeper themes at play. Instead, it continues a trend The Lego Movie began for this version of the character writing music about how he’s an edgy, dark, awesome, cool guy. While that movie kept it to Batman angry-whiteboy-rapping about “Darkness! NO PARENTS!”, this one expands to more elaborate boasts in the song “Who’s the (Bat) Man” by Patrick Stump:

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“In the darkest night I make the bad guys fall There’s a million heroes But I’m the best of them all!”

Batman singing this song about himself, as opposed to having it sung by others aims the crosshairs of parody squarely on the hero’s ego. His abilities make fighting his villains effortless, like this opening battle is more an opportunity to perform the song than a life-or-death struggle. Even Joker’s aware of that as he shouts, “Stop him before he starts singing!” This Batman doesn’t see himself as missing out on anything in life, even if he still feels that deep down. Being Batman is the coolest thing in the world that anyone would envy. He’s Batman, therefore everyone should envy him.

The songs aren’t only part of the equation for how these two works’ opening scenes establish their leading hero. While both songs are about Batman being cool, they’re separated by the accompanying scenes. Lego Batman keep the opening within the Joker’s perspective until Batman shows up and the action kicks in. Once it does, we’re shown a Batman at the top of his solo-hero game. Meanwhile, Holy Musical’s opening is about B@man building his reputation and by the end of the song he has all the citizens of Gotham singing his praises with the titular lyrics. Both are about being in awe of the title hero, one framed by Joker’s frustration at Batman’s ease in foiling his schemes yet again and the other about the people of Gotham growing to love their city’s hero (probably against their better judgement.)

That’s woven into the fabric of what kind of schemes Batman is foiling in each of these. Joker’s plan to bomb Gotham with the help of every supervillain in Batman’s Rogues Gallery is hilariously high stakes and the type of plan most Batman stories, even parodies, would save for the climax. Neatly exemplified by how that’s almost the exact structure of Holy Musical’s final showdown. Starting with these stakes works as an extension of this Batman’s nature as a living children’s toy and therefore the embodiment of a child’s idea of what makes Batman cool, his ability to wipe the floor with anyone that gets in his way “because he’s Batman.” It also emphasizes Joker as the only member of the Rogues Gallery that matters to Lego Batman’s story, every other Bat-villain is either a purely visual cameo or only gets a couple lines maximum.

The crime’s being stopped by B@man are more in the “Year One” gangster/organized crime category rather than anything spectacle heavy. Though said crimes are comically exaggerated:

Gangster 1: Take these here drugs, put ‘em into them there guns, and then hand ‘em out to those gamblin’ prostitutes! Gangster 2: Should we really be doing these illegal activities? In a children’s hospital for orphans?

These fit into that model of crime the Dark Knight fights in his early days and add tiny humanizing moments between the crooks (“Oh, Matches! You make me laugh like nobody else!”) in turn making the arrival of B@man and the violence he deals out a stronger punchline. Further emphasized by the hero calling out the exact physical damage he does with each hit before warning them to never do crime again saying, “Support your families like the rest of us! Be born billionaires!” Later in the song his techniques get more extreme and violence more indiscriminate, as he uses his Bat-plane to patrol and gun down whoever he sees as a criminal, including a storeowner accidentally taking a single dollar from his own register. (“God’s not up here! Only Batman!”)

A commonality between these two openings is how Commissioner Jim Gordon gets portrayed. Both are hapless goofs at their core, playing more on the portrayal of the character in the 60s TV show and 90s Burton/Schumacher movies than the serious-minded character present in comics, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and other adaptations. Lauren Lopez’s portrayal in Holy Musical gets overwhelmed by everything thrown at him, eventually giving up and getting out of B@man’s way (“I’m not gonna tell Batman what to do! He’s Batman!”) Hector Elizondo’s Gordon in Lego Batman clearly reached the “stay out of Batman’s way” point a long time ago, happy to have “the guy who flips on the Bat-signal” be his sole defining trait. While the characterizations are close, their roles do end up differing. Lopez’s Gordon sticks around to have a few more comedic scenes as the play goes on, where Elizondo’s exist to set up a contrast with his daughter Barbara and her way of approaching Batman when she becomes Police Commissioner.

These opening sequences both end in similar manners as well; the citizens of Gotham lavishing praise on their respective Batmen and a confrontation between Batman and the Joker. Praise from the citizenry in Holy Musical comes on the heels of a letter from B@man read out on the news about how much they and the city of Gotham suck. They praise B@man for his angsty nature as a “dark hero” and how they “wouldn’t want him any other way!”, establishing the motif of Gotham’s citizens in Holy Musical as stand-ins for the Batman fandom. Lego Batman uses the praise of the Gotham citizens after Batman’s victory in the opening scene as a lead in to contrast their certainty that Batman must have an exciting private life with the reality we’re shown. Which makes sense since Lego-Batman’s relationship to the people of Gotham is never presented as something at stake.

Greater contrast comes in how the confrontations with the Joker are handled, Lego Batman has an argument between the hero and villain that’s intentionally coded as relationship drama, Batman saying “There is no ‘us’” when Joker declares himself Batman’s greatest enemy. The confrontation in Holy Musical gets purposefully underplayed as an offstage encounter narrated to the audience as a Vicki Vale news report. This takes Joker off the board for the rest of the play in contrast to the Batman/Joker relationship drama that forms one of Lego Batman’s key pillars. While they take different forms, the respective citizenry praise and villain confrontation parts of these openings lead directly into the number one common thematic element between these Bat-parodies: Batman’s loneliness.

One is the Darkest, Saddest, Loneliest Number

Batman as an isolated hero forms one of the core tenants of the most popular understanding of the character. Each of these parodies picks at that beyond the broody posturing. There’s no dedicated segment in this piece about how these works’ versions of the title character function bleeds into every other aspect of them, but each starts from the idea of Batman as a man-child with trouble communicating his emotions. Time’s taken to give the audience a view of where their attitudes have left them early in the story.

Both heroes show their loneliness through interactions with their respective Alfreds. Holy Musical has the stalwart butler, played by Chris Allen, try to comfort B@man by asking if he has any friends he enjoys being around. When B@man cites Lucius Fox as a friend he calls him right away, only to discover Lucius Fox is Alfred’s true identity and Alfred Pennyworth was an elaborate ruse he came up with to protect Bruce on his father’s wishes. Ironically, finding out his closest friend was living a double life causes Bruce to push Alfred away (the play keeps referring to him as Alfred after this, so that’s what I’m going to do as well.) After he’s fired he immediately comes back in a new disguise as “O’Malley the Irish Butler” (same outfit he wore before but with a Party City Leprechaun hat.) That’s unfortunately the start of a running gag in Holy Musical that ends up at the worst joke in the play, when Alfred disguises himself as “Quon Li the Chinese Butler” doing an incredibly cringeworthy “substituting L’s for R’s” bit with his voice. It’s been my least favorite bit in the play since I first saw it in 2012 and legitimately makes me hesitate at times to recommend it. Even if it’s relatively small bit and the rest holds ups.

That disclaimer out of the way, that conversation between B@man and Alfred leads into the title hero reflecting on his sadness through the musical’s I Want Song, “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight.” The song’s split into two halves, the first Alfred reflecting on whether he played a part in Bruce’s current condition and the second B@man longing for a connection. The song does a good job balancing between the sincerity over the hero’s sadness and getting good laughs out of it:

“Think of the children Next time you gun down the mama and papa Their only mama and papa Because they probably don’t have another mama and papa!”

The “I Want” portion of the song coming in the end with the repetition of the lryics “I want to be somebody’s buddy.”

Rather than another song number, Lego Batman covers Batman’s sadness through a pair of montages and visual humor. The first comes after the opening battle, where we see Batman taking off all his costume except for the mask hanging out alone in Wayne Manor, showing how little separation he puts between identities. Compared to Holy Musical where the equivalent scene is the first we see of Bruce without the mask on, which may come down to practicality since anyone who’s worn a mask like that knows they get hot and sweaty fast. Batman is constantly made to appear small among the giant empty rooms of his estate as he eats dinner, jams on his guitar, and watches romantic movies alone.

Ralph Fienne’s Alfred coming in at the end of this sequence witnessing Batman looking at a photo of himself as a boy with his parents for the last time. Alfred outlines Batman’s fear of being part of a family again only to be met with Batman denying he has any feelings ever. Pennyworth’s role as a surrogate father gets put into greater focus here than in Holy Musical, as we get glimpses of Alfred reading a book titled “How to Deal with Your Out-of-Control Child.” Also shown in smaller scenes of Alfred dealing with Batman’s insistent terminology for his crime fighting equipment, like calling his cowl an “armored face disguise.”

Batman’s denial of his pain contrasts how B@man wallows in it. Though he’s forced to confront it a little as the Joker’s plan ends up leaving him with no crimefighting to fall back on to ignore his issues. This montage gets set to the song “One” by Harry Nilsson and details Batman, unable to express his true feelings, eventually letting them out in the form of tempter tantrums. There’s also some humor through juxtaposition as Batman walks solemnly through the streets of Gotham City, rendered black and white, as the citizens chant “No more crime!” in celebration, while flipping over cars and firing guns into the air.

A disruption to their loneliness eventually comes in the form of a sensational character find.

Robin – The Son/BFF Wonder

Between both Bat-parodies, the two Robins’ characterizations are as close as anyone’s between them. Each is nominally Dick Grayson but are ultimately more representative of the idea of Robin as the original superhero sidekick and his influence on Batman’s life. The play and movie also both make the obvious jokes about Dick’s name and the classic Robin costume’s lack of pants at different points. Dick’s origin also gets sidestepped in each version to skip ahead to the part where he starts being an influence in Batman’s life.

Robin’s introduction to the comics in Detective Comics #38 in 1940, marking the start of Batman’s literal “Year Two” as a character, predating the introduction of Joker, Catwoman, and Alfred, among others. Making him Batman’s longest lasting ally in the character’s history. His presence and acrobatics shift the tone by adding a dash of swashbuckling to Batman’s adventures, inspired by the character’s namesake Robin Hood, though both parodies take a page out of Batman Forever and associate the name with the bird for the sake of a joke. Robin is as core to Batman as his origin, but more self-serious adaptations (i.e., the mainstream cinematic ones that were happening around the times both Holy Musical and Lego Batman came out) tend to avoid the character’s inclusion. These two works being parody, therefore anything but self-serious, give themselves permission to examine why Robin matters and how different characters react to his presence. Rejection of Robin as a character and concept comes out in some form in each of these works, from Batman himself in Lego Batman and the Gotham citizens in Holy Musical.

The chain of events that lead to Dick becoming Robin in Lego Batman are a string of consequences for Batman’s self-absorption. A scene of Bruce barely listening as Dick asks for advice on getting adopted escalating to absentmindedly signing the adoption paperwork. Batman doesn’t realize he has a son until after his sadness montage. Alfred forces Batman to start interacting with Dick against his will. The broody loner wanting nothing to do with the cheery kid, played to “golly gee gosh” perfection by Michael Cera, until he sees the utility of him. Batman doesn’t even have the idea to give Robin a costume or codename because he clearly views the sidekick’s presence as a temporary measure for breaking into Superman’s fortress, made clear by how he lists “expendable” as a quality Dick needs if he wants to go on a mission.

This makes Robin the catalyst for Batman’s shifting perspective throughout Lego Batman. When Robin succeeds in his first mission, the Dark Knight is hesitant to truly compliment him and chalks up his ward’s feats to “unbelievable obeying.” Other moments have Robin’s presence poke holes in Batman’s tough guy demeanor, like the first time Batman and Robin ride in the Bat-mobile together, Robin asks where the seatbelts are and Batman growls “Life doesn’t give you seatbelts!”, only for Batman to make a sudden stop causing Robin to hit his head on the windshield and Batman genuinely apologizes. They share more genuine moments together as the film goes, like Batman suggesting they beatbox together to keeps their spirits up after they’ve been imprisoned for breaking into Arkham Asylum. Robin’s representative of Batman gradually letting people in throughout these moments.

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, B@man needs zero extra prompting to let Robin into his life. Nick Lang’s Robin (henceforth called “Rob!n” to keep with this arbitrary naming scheme I’ve concocted) does get brought into his life by Alfred thanks to a personal ad (“‘Dog for sale’? No… ‘Orphan for sale’! Even better!”) but it’s a short path to B@man deciding to let Dick fight alongside him. The briefest hesitance on the hero’s part, “To be Batman… is to be alone”, is quelled by Rob!n saying “We could be alone… together.” Their first scene together quickly establishing the absurd sincerity exemplified by this incarnation of the Dynamic Duo. An energy carried directly into the Act 1 closing number, “The Dynamic Duet”, a joyful ode between the heroes about how they’re “Long lost brothers who found each other” sung as they beat up supervillains (and the occasional random civilian.)

That song also ties into the contrast between the Batman/Robin dynamic and the B@man/Rob!n one. While Holy Musical is portraying a brotherly/BFF bond between the two heroes, Lego Batman leans into the surrogate son angle. While both are mainly about their stories’ Batman being able to connect with others, the son angle of Lego Batman adds an additional layer of “Batman needs to take responsibility for himself and others” and a parallel to Alfred as Batman’s own surrogate father. It also adds to the queer-coding of Batman in Lego Batman as Batman’s excuse to Robin for why he can go on missions is that Bruce and he are sharing custody, Robin even calling Batman’s dual identities “dads” before he knows the truth.

In the absence of the accepting personal responsibility through fatherhood element, the conflict Rob!n brings out in Holy Musical forms between B@man and the citizens of Gotham. “Citizens as stand-ins for fandom” is at it’s clearest here as the Act 2 opener is called “Robin Sucks!” featuring the citizens singing about how… well, you read the title. Their objections to Rob!n’s existence has nothing to do with what the young hero has done or failed to do, but come from arguments purely about the aesthetic of Rob!n fighting alongside B@man. Most blatantly shown by one of the citizens wearing a Heath Ledger Joker t-shirt saying Rob!n’s presence “ruins the gritty realism of a man who fights crime dressed as a bat.” It works as the Act 2 opener by establishing that B@man and the citizens conflicting opinions on his sidekick end up driving that half of the story, exemplified in B@man’s complete confusion about why people hate Rob!n (“Robin ruined Batman? But that’s not true… Robin make Batman happy.”)

Both Robins play into the internal conflict their respective mentors are going through, but what would a superhero story, even a parody, be without some colorful characters to provide that sweet external conflict.

Going Rogue

Both works have the threat comes from an army of villains assembled under a ringleader, Zach Galifianakis’s Joker in Lego Batman and Jeff Blim as Sweet Tooth in Holy Musical. Both lead the full ensemble of Batman’s classic (and not so classic) Rogues at different points. As mentioned before Joker starts Lego Batman with “assemble the Rogues, blow up Gotham” as his plan, while Sweet Tooth with his candy prop comedy becoming the ringleader of Gotham’s villains is a key turning point in Act 1 of the play. Part of this comes down to how their connections to their respective heroes and environments are framed, Sweet Tooth as a new player on the scene and Joker as Batman’s romantic foil.

Lego Batman demonstrates Batman and Joker are on “finishing each other’s sentences” levels of intimate that Batman refuses to acknowledge. Shown best in how Joker’s plan only works because he can predict exactly how Batman will act once he starts playing hard to get. When he surrenders the entire Rogues Gallery (without telling them) and himself to police custody, he describes it as him being “off the market.” He knows Batman won’t settle for things ending on these terms and tricks the hero into stealing Superman’s Phantom Zone projector so he can recruit a new, better team of villains for a take two of his masterplan from the start. Going through all this trouble to get Batman to say those three magic words; “I love hate you.” Joker as the significant other wanting his partner to finally reciprocate his feelings and commit works both as a play on how the Batman/Joker relationship often gets approached and an extension of the central theme. Batman is so closed off to interpersonal connections he can’t even properly hate his villains.

Sweet Tooth, while clearly being a riff Heath Ledger and Caesar Romero’s Jokers fused with a dash of Willy Wonka, doesn’t have that kind of connection with B@man. Though there are hints that B@man and his recently deceased Joker may have had one on that level. He laments “[Joker]’s in heaven with mom and dad. Making them laugh, I know it!” when recalling how the Clown Prince of Crime was the one person he enjoyed being around. This makes Joker’s death one of the key triggers to B@man reflecting on his solitude at the start of the play.

What Sweet Tooth provides the story is a threat to B@man’s new bond with Rob!n. Disrupting that connection forms the delicious center of the Candy King of Crime’s plan in Act 2. He holds Rob!n and Gotham’s people hostage and asks the citizens to decide via Facebook poll if the sidekick lives or dies (in reference to the infamous phone hotline vote from the comic book story A Death in the Family where readers could decide the Jason Todd Robin’s fate.)

With the rest of the villains under the leadership of the respective works’ main antagonists, there’s commentary on their perceived quality as threats. When Holy Musical has Superman talking to Green Lantern about how much B@man’s popularity frustrates him, he comes down especially hard on the Caped Crusader’s villains. Talking about how they all coast by on simple gimmicks with especially harsh attention given to Two Face’s being “the number two.” Saying they’re only famous because B@man screws up and they get to do more damage. Which he compares to his own relationship with his villains:

Superman: You ever heard of Mr. Mxyzptlk? Green Lantern: No. Superman: No, that’s right! That’s because I do my job!

Lego Batman has commentary on the other villains come from Joker, recognizing that even all together they can never beat Batman, because that’s how a Batman story goes. The other villains get portrayed as generally buffoonish, struggling to even build a couch together and described by Joker as “losers dressed in cosplay.” Tricking Batman into sending him to the Phantom Zone provides him the opportunity to gather villains from outside Batman’s mythos and outside DC Comics in general. Recruiting the likes of Sauron, King Kong, Daleks, Agent Smith from The Matrix, and the Wicked Witch of the West, among others. When I first saw and reviewed The Lego Batman Movie, this bugged me because it felt like a missed opportunity to feature lesser-known villains from other DC heroes’ Rogues Galleries. Now, considering the whole movie as meta-commentary on the status of this Batman as a children’s toy, it makes perfect sense that Joker would need to go outside of comics to break the rules of a typical Batman story and have a shot at winning.

The Rogues of Holy Musical get slightly more of a chance to shine, if only because their song “Rogues are We” is one of the catchier tracks from the play. They’re all still more cameo than character when all’s said and done, but Sweet Tooth entering the picture is about him recognizing their potential to operate as a unit, takeover Gotham, and kill B@man. The candy-pun flinging villain wants all of them together, no matter their perceived quality.

Sweet Tooth: “We need every villain in Gotham. Cool themes, lame themes, themes that don’t match their powers, even the villains that take their names from public domain stories.” (Two Face’s “broke ass” still being the exception.)

Both Joker and Sweet Tooth provide extensions of the shared theme of Batman dealing with the new connections in his life, especially with regards to Robin. However, Robin isn’t the only other ally (or potential ally) these Dark Knights have on their side.

Super Friends(?)

The internal crisis of these Caped Crusaders come as much from how they react to other heroic figures as it does from supervillainous machinations. In both cases how Batman views and is viewed by fellow heroes gets centered on a specific figure, Superman in Holy Musical and Commissioner Barbara Gordon (later Batgirl) in Lego Batman. Each serves a vastly different purpose in the larger picture of their stories and relationship to their respective Batmen. Superman reflecting B@man’s loneliness and Barbara symbolizing a new path forward for Batman’s hero work.

Superman’s role in Holy Musical runs more parallel to Lego Batman’s Joker than Barbara. Brian Holden’s performance as the Man of Tomorrow plays into a projected confidence covering anxiety that nobody likes him. Besting the Bat-plane in a race during B@man’s Key to the City ceremony establishes a one upmanship between the two heroes, like Joker’s description of his relationship with Batman at the end of Lego Batman’s opening battle. Though instead of that romantically coded relationship from Lego Batman, this relationship is more connected to childish jealousy. (But if you do want to read the former into Holy Musical B@man, neither hero has an onstage relationship with any woman and part of their eventual fight consist of spanking each other.)

B@man and Superman’s first real interaction is arguing over who’s the cooler hero until it degrades into yelling “Fuck you!” at each other. B@man storming off in the aftermath of that gets topped off by Superman suggesting he should get the Key to the City instead, citing his strength and longer tenure as a hero (“The first hero, by the way”) as justifications. This only results in the Gotham citizens turning on him for suggesting their city’s hero is anything less than the best, which serves both as a Sam Raimi Spider-Man reference (“You mess with one of us! You mess with all of us!”) and another example of the citizens as stand-ins for fandom. Superman’s veil of cocksureness comes off quickly after that and stays off for the rest of the play. Starting with his conversation with Green Lantern where a civilian comes across them, but barely acts like Superman’s there.

One of the play’s running gags is Superman calling B@man’s number and leaving messages, showing a desperation to reach out and connect with his fellow hero despite initial smugness. Even before the first phone call scene, we see Superman joining B@man to sing “I want to be somebody’s buddy” during “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight” hinting at what’s to come. The note it consistently comes back to is that Superman’s jealousy stems from Batman’s popularity over him. This is a complete flip of what Lego Batman does with the glimpse at a Batman/Superman dynamic we see when Batman goes to the Superman’s fortress to steal the Phantom Zone projector. The rivalry dynamic there exists solely in Batman’s head, Lego-Superman quickly saying “I would crush you” when Batman suggests the idea of them fighting. Superman’s status among the other DC heroes is also night and day between these works. Where Lego-Superman’s only scene in the movie shows him hosting the Justice League Anniversary Party and explaining he “forgot” to invite Batman, Superman in Holy Musical consistently lies about having friends over (“All night long I’m busy partying with my friends at the Fortress… of Solitude.”)

Superman’s relationship to B@man in Holy Musical develops into larger antagonism thanks to lack of communication with B@man brushing off Supes’ invitations to hang out and fight bad guys (“Where were you for the Solomon Grundy thing? Ended up smaller than I thought, just a couple of cool guys. Me and… Solomon Grundy.”) His own loneliness gets put into stronger focus when he sees the news of Rob!n’s debut as a crimefighter, which makes him reflect on how he misses having Krypto the Super-Dog around. (The explanation for why he doesn’t have his dog anymore is one of my favorite jokes in the play and I won’t ruin it here.)

Where Superman’s a reflection of B@man’s loneliness, Rosario Dawson as Barbara in Lego Batman is a confrontation of Batman’s go it alone attitude. Her job in the story is to be the one poking holes in the foundation of Batman as an idea, starting with her speech at Jim Gordon’s retirement banquet and her instatement as commissioner. She has a by-the-book outlook on crimefighting with the omnicompetence to back it up, thanks to her training at “Harvard for Police.” Babs sees Batman’s current way of operating as ineffectual and wants him to be an official agent of the law. An idea that dumps a bucket of cold water on Batman’s crush he developed immediately upon seeing her, though that never fully goes away.

Her main point is that Batman “karate chopping poor people” hasn’t made Gotham better in his 80 years of operating. A contrast to Holy Musical’s Jim Gordon announcing that B@man has brought Gotham’s crime rates to an all-time low (“Still the highest in the world, but we’re working on it.”) She wants to see a Batman willing to work with other people. A hope dashed constantly dealing with his childish stubbornness as he tries to foil Joker’s schemes on his own, culminating in her arresting Batman and Robin for breaking into Arkham to send Joker to the Phantom Zone.

Barbara’s role as the one bringing grown-up attitudes and reality into Batman’s world does leave her in the role of comedic straight woman. Humor in her scenes comes from how she reacts to everyone else’s absurdity rather than anything she does to be funny. This works for the role she plays in Lego Batman, since she’s not there to have an arc the way Superman does in Holy Musical. She’s another catalyst for Batman’s to start letting people in as another character he grows to care about. Which starts after she lets the Dynamic Duo out of prison to fight Joker’s new army of Phantom Zone villains on the condition that he plays it by her rules. Leading to a stronger bond between Batman, Robin, Alfred, and her as they start working together.

The two Batmen’s relationships to other heroes, their villains, Robin, and their own solitude each culminate in their own way as their stories reach their conclusions.

Dark Knights & Dawning Realizations

As everything comes down to the final showdowns in these Bat-parodies, the two Caped Crusaders each confront their failures to be there for others and allow themselves to be vulnerable to someone they’ve been antagonizing throughout the story. Each climax has all of Gotham threatened by a bomb and the main villains’ plans coming to fruition only to come undone.

Holy Musical has Sweet Tooth’s kidnapping of Rob!n and forcing Gotham to choose themselves or the sidekick they hate sends B@man into his most exaggerated state in the entire play. It’s the classic superhero movie climax conundrum, duty as a hero versus personal attachment. Alfred, having revealed himself as the “other butlers”, even lampshades how these stories usually go only for that possibility to get shot down by Bruce:

Alfred: A true hero, Master Wayne, finds a way to choose both. B@man: You’re right, Alfred. I know what I have to do… Fuck Gotham, I’m saving Robin!

B@man’s selfishness effectively makes him the real villain of Holy Musical’s second act. Lego Batman has shades of that aspect as well, where Batman gets sent to the Phantom Zone by Joker for his repeated refusal to acknowledge their relationship. Where the AI running the interdimensional prison, Phyllis voiced by Ellie Kemper, confronts him with the way he’s treated Robin, Alfred, Barbara, and even Joker:

Phyllis: You’re not a traditional bad guy, but you’re not exactly a good guy either. You even abandoned your friends. Batman: No! I was trying to protect them! Phyllis: By pushing them away? Batman: Well… yeah. Phyllis: Are they really the ones you’re protecting?

Batman watches what’s happening back in Gotham and sees Robin emulate his grim and gritty tendencies to save the day in his absence makes him desperately scream, “Don’t do what I would do!” It’s the universe rubbing what a jerk he’s been in his face. He’s forced to take a look at himself and make a change. B@man’s not made to do that kind of self-reflection until after he’s defeated Sweet Tooth but failed to stop the villain’s bomb. He’s ready to give up on Gotham forever and leave with Rob!n, until his sidekick pulls up Sweet Tooth’s poll and it shows the unanimous result in favor of saving the Boy Wonder. Despite everything they said at the start of Act 2, the people want to help their hero in return for all the times he helped them. All of them calling back to the Raimi Spider-Man reference from Act 1, “You mess with one of us. You mess with all of us.”

Both heroes’ chance at redemption and self-improvement comes from opening themselves up to the people they pushed out and dismissed earlier in their stories. Batman takes on the role he reduced the Commissioner down to at the beginning of the movie and flips on signals for Barbara, Alfred, and Robin to show how he’s truly prepared to work as a team, not just with his friends and family but with the villains of Gotham the Joker pushed aside as well. Teamwork makes the dream work and they’re all able to work together to get Joker’s army back into the Phantom Zone but like in Holy Musical they fail to stop the bomb threatening Gotham. Which he can only prevent from destroying the city by confessing his true feeling to Joker

Batman: If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have learned how connected I am with all of these people and you. So, if you help me save Gotham, you’ll help me save us. Joker: You just said “us?” Batman: Yeah, Batman and the Joker. So, what do you say? Joker: You had me at “shut up!”

The equivalent moment from Holy Musical comes from B@man needing to put aside his pride and encourage a disheartened Superman to save Gotham for him. This happens in the aftermath of a fight the two heroes had where Superman tried to stop B@man before he faced Sweet Tooth, B@man winning out through use of kryptonite. That fight doesn’t fit into any direct parallel with Lego Batman, but it is important context for how Superman’s feeling about B@man before Superman finally gets his long-awaited phone call from the Dark Knight. Also, the song accompanying the fight, “To Be a Man”, is one of the funniest scenes in the play. What this speech from B@man does is bring the idea of Holy Musical B@man as a commentary on fandom full circle:

B@man: I forgot what it means to be a superhero. But we’re really not that different, you and me, at our heart. I mean really all superheroes are pretty much the same… Something bad happened to us once when we were young, so we dedicated our whole lives to doing a little bit of good. That’s why we got into this crazy superhero business. Not to be the most popular, or even the most powerful. Because if that were the case, hell, you’d have the rest of us put out of a job!

This speech extends into an exchange between the heroes about how superheroes are cool, not despite anything superficially silly but because of it. Bringing it back to the “Robin Sucks!” theme that started Act 2, saying “Some people think Robin is stupid. But those people are pretentious douchebags. Because, literally, the only difference between Robin and me is our costumes.” The speech culminates in what I genuinely think is one of the best Batman lines ever written, as B@man’s final plea to Superman is “Where’s that man who’s faster than a gun?” calling back to the trauma that created Batman across all versions and what he can see in someone like Superman. So, B@man sacrificing his pride and fully trusting in another hero saves Gotham, the way Batman letting Joker know what their relationship means to him did in Lego Batman.

Each of these parodies ends by delivering a Batman willing to open himself up to a new team of heroes fighting at his side, the newly minted Bat-Family in Lego Batman and the league for justice known as the Super Friends in Holy Musical. Putting them side by side like this shows how creators don’t need the resources of a Hollywood studio to make something exactly as meaningful and how the best parodies come from love of the material no matter who’s behind them.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

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a-solitary-marshmallow · 3 years

Text

Rewind Chapter 10 - A Well-Deserved Rest

Me: "Now that we're reaching the end, the chapters will come a lot faster" :) Me now, a month later, sweating: "Okay so that was a lie"

My bad! Been pretty busy and I completely forgot to update this fic. Welp, hope you guys enjoy the chapter <3

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Stan’s awareness came back to him in little bits. The first thing he noticed was what his skin stung all over – like when he and Ford had gotten sunburnt on the beach, back when they first found the Stan ‘O War. It hurt when he moved his face. The next thing that came to him was the feeling of sticks and leaves and snow under his knees. His breaths were rasping in his throat, and sparks pitter-pattered to the ground before him. Ford’s fingers were digging into his arm and there was a triangle-shaped sunspot in his vision where the explosion had burned into his eyes. His heart was pounding, probably full of that chemical Ford talked about one time – ad-reny-lin?

“Oh mah lord!” Fiddleford’s voice sounded, muffled in Stan’s ears, high-pitched and breathless. “Oh my – are you two alright? Stanley, Stanford? Yer okay, right?”

“Um.” Stan did a quick mental once-over. “Yeah. I’m good.”

He tried to wriggle out of Ford’s grip but his brother was holding tight, breaths coming quick and fast. Stan managed to twist around to catch sight of Ford’s stunned expression. His cheeks and nose were a sunburned pink and he stared at where the triangle had just been with wide eyes.

“Ford, let me go.”

“What?” The scientist blinked, before quickly realizing who had spoken and bursting into action. “Stanley! Are you hurt? You were so close to the explosion-”

Before Stan could speak up Ford had adjusted his grip, grabbing Stan’s shoulders to scan him for injuries. Stan took the opportunity to look around. The whole clearing was kinda scorched, snow steaming where Bill had been only moments ago. The smell of burning filled his nose and he wrinkled his face up in displeasure, which only made it sting more.

And there was someone rushing towards them – Fidds! The thin scientist clutched the rifle to his chest with bandaged-up hands as he sloshed through half-melted snow.

Ford was still fussing, like their mother used to when one of them came home with a scraped knee or bloody nose. Stan pushed his hands away (one of which was bleeding through a temporary bandage, what happened to his hand???) “Ford, getoff! I’m fine.”

Ford snatched his hands back, a weird look on his face, before his eyes lit up as Fiddleford reached them. He grinned up at his old friend with something like amazement, and for a moment he looked kinda how Stan remembered him – a kid, all full of excitement and curiosity and shiny eyes.

“It worked. I can’t believe it worked!”

“Ah’m just glad I hit the bugger.” Fiddleford’s voice was still high and reedy – at least, more so than usual. “Look, I’m happy yer okay and all but let’s take this back to the house. Who knows what creepy things are hidin’ out here in the woods.”

Ford stood and the adults started talking about boring things. Stan did not get up yet. He took a deep breath and felt his heart rate begin to slow and suddenly realized that he was very tired.

It seemed kind of… anticlimactic, if Stan was being honest. He was expecting a huge showdown, during the pouring rain or a snowstorm, with fire in the background and maybe some lasers and explosions.

Instead he got a bully of a demon, scraped knees and Ford clutching him like his life depended on it.

Once Stan stood up, he quickly realized that those warm and fluffy boots Bill had created had disappeared alongside the demon, and his feet were numb again. It figured. He could probably walk back, but it would hurt like crazy. How long did it take to get frostbite? If he lost a toe or something it would be pretty cool. Babes loved scars, right?

Then again, seeing how every bone in his body felt like it was made of lead and his eyelids kept drooping shut on their own, maybe he couldn’t walk all the way back. He rubbed an eye with his fist and cast a glance at the two adults nearby – Ford insisting that the other man needed to go to the hospital to get his burns treated, Fiddleford retorting that he, in fact, did not. Fidds wouldn’t be able to give him a lift, not with how both his hands were injured.

Stan cringed. It was his stupid fault that Fidds had been hurt at all – he’d gotten burned trying to fix Stan’s dumb mistake. If Stan had just used his brain, not been such a moron, not messed with Ford’s experiments, then none of this would have happened in the first place. Why did he ever think he could help? Stan was just a no-good ignoramus like Pa always said-

“Stanley?” Ford was looking at him now, concern in his eyes, and Stan swallowed down his shame and instead reached out with grabby hands. Ford choked.

“My feet hurt.” Stan said flatly as a way of explanation. “Gimme a lift.” If Ford really felt sorry for saying all those mean things, then didn’t he owe Stan that much? That was how the adult world worked, right?

His brother had a confused look on his face, something that would have been funny if Stan was not falling asleep on his feet and feeling very cranky. “I – I don’t want to push your boundaries. I know I haven’t been fair to you recently, and if you don’t want me to touch you-”

“Ford I’m gonna get frostbite.”

“It’s – what do you – you’re not wearing shoes!”

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The doctors at Gravity Falls hospital were fairly used to Ford turning up with the strangest injuries. Of course, he only went there when Fiddleford insisted. The man was terrible at following his own advice though, so Ford had to bully him into getting his injuries checked out as well. The only qualified doctor there (he was assuming the pixies that worked out of the hospital’s parking lot didn’t have valid medical licenses) took one look at the party and waved them in with a sigh.

While Ford and Fiddleford faced their treatment, Stan refused to be awake. The child had fallen dead asleep on Ford’s shoulders soon after they left the scorched clearing, and proceeded to snore in his ear the whole way to the hospital. After a quick examination (made more difficult by Stan sleepily waving away the annoyed nurse) he was declared just scraped up and ‘sunburned’. Ford, on the other hand, was subjected to the time-wasting procedure of getting stitches. Honestly, the wound wasn’t even that big! Sure it hurt, but a few painkillers and he would be back at peak condition.

Stan did not wake up on the way home. He also did not wake up when Ford placed him into his bed and tucked the blankets up to his chin. Fiddleford, hovering behind Ford anxiously, peered over his shoulder at the snoring boy.

“Is – is he okay? He’s sleepin’ awfully heavy there Stanford, are ya sure he didn’t hit his head at all?”

Ford let out a snort, fiddling with the bandages wrapped around his injured hand. “Are you kidding? Stan always sleeps like the dead. He once slept through an explosion when I messed up my chemical formulas in high school. His bed had ash on it. When he woke up the next morning he asked me where my eyebrows were.”

Fiddleford quirked an eyebrow. “Well, I guess we don’t need to worry about wakin’ him up. Come on down to th’ kitchen now – I think we need to have a talk.”

“…about what?”

Fiddleford fixed him with a stare and Ford wilted. “How about the demon ya summoned? All that junk with the portal? How yer brother got turned into a kid and ended up havin’ to shoulder all this? Or about watchin’ me go half mad and not thinking that, just maybe, the whole portal deal was dangerous?”

Ford winced. Fiddleford patted him on the shoulder, lightly – an olive branch extended across the yawning chasm between them. Ford didn’t know how to begin breaching that gap.

“O’ course, you didn’t deserve what happened to you either. So for once let’s put aside the pride and stubbornness and just talk.”

His friend’s eyes were pale blue and determined, and his hands were still shaking, and Ford didn’t deserve this kindness. He nodded.

“Okay.”

_______________________________________________________________

Stan woke up and immediately wished he was still asleep.

His skin stung all over, his face hot and itchy against the pillow he was curled up against. His feet ached and there was a crick in his neck, like he’d been thrown around on a rollercoaster. The sound of light scritching filled his ears – the scratching of a pen on paper from somewhere close by.

Being awake was overrated anyway. He tried to ignore the stinging and burrowed deeper into his blankets.

…nope, he was awake for good now. Darn it.

Stan peered up sleepily, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Ford’s room again? This felt weirdly familiar, like when he’d first woken up in the future. And like that time Ford was across the room at his desk, scribbling away in his fancy journal.

Stan rubbed his eyes and slung his legs over the edge of the bed, carefully dropping to the floor below. It was cold on his aching feet but he could stand, which was a plus! So he probably didn’t have frostbite.

Stan yawned and headed across the room to where his brother was frantically journaling.

“Mornin’, Sixer.”

“Oh! Good morning, Stanley.” Ford clicked his pen and looked around. Stan muffled a shriek.

“Oh geez! What’s wrong with your face?”

Ford’s face was green and shiny and very not normal. The scientist rolled his eyes and explained as though it was obvious, “It’s just a burn gel. I developed it to be far more effective than the regular medicinal kind. Now that you’re awake, you should put it on too.”

Stan let out a nervous laugh. “Uh, no thanks, I think I’m all better now-”

Ford caught him by the shirt before Stan could bolt. He kicked and complained as his brother produced a tube of gel.

“Don’t you dare put that on me, it looks like snot-”

Ford smeared a bit on his cheek.

It… actually made the pain go away. Stan stilled as the cool gel took effect, numbing the stinging of his skin. Ford let him go and offered him the tube. Stan wanted to smack it out of his hands just to stop Ford making that smug face, but his skin really stung…

He took the tube.

“Better now?” Ford said, annoyingly smug. Stan poked his tongue out. “Very mature, Stanley.”

“I’m not the adult! I’m not supposed to be mature.”

“That’s very true.” Ford turned around in his chair and continued writing.

Once Stan was done covering his face in gross-looking gel he stretched up on his tiptoes to see what Ford was doing. The nerd had one of his journals and he was writing in a new entry, a bunch of crumpled-up pieces of paper littering the table. Even if Stan had been good at reading, he doubted he would be able to understand Ford’s loopy scribbles.

“Where’s Fidds?” Stan asked after a moment. Ford reached the end of the page and flipped over to a fresh one.

“He’s gone home to see his family. Now that Bill isn’t a threat anymore he wants to mend bridges, so to speak. I… also need to do that.”

Ford looked around to meet his eyes and ugh, he was going to say something sappy wasn’t he? Stan reached up to try and pull himself onto the desk, but he didn’t quite have the upper body strength and ended up kicking in the air. Ford sighed, brushed his journal to the side and lifted Stan into its place. He swung his legs awkwardly.

“…I have an apology to make.” Ford said eventually. Stan tilted his head. “Listen, Stanley. I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that I – well, I haven’t been fair to you. I let anger cloud my judgment for years, I valued that anger more than my own brother. I’m sorry.” Ford lifted a head to rub at his neck, eyes darting around the room but never landing on Stan’s face. “We’ve both made mistakes, obviously, and neither of us is without blame, but… ugh, that’s not how you apologize.” He seemed to pull himself together and try again. “What I’m saying is that I was unfair to you. I was hurt so I hurt you, and I think I may have ruined your life-”

Stan burst out laughing.

He didn’t mean to laugh, honest, but the sight of Ford’s nervous, sincere expression covered in green goo was just too much to handle. He tried to stifle his giggles with his hands, caught sight of Ford’s shocked face, and burst out laughing again so hard that his ribs hurt.

“I – this is funny to you? I’m trying to apologize-”

“No, it’s not that!” The hurt in Ford’s voice made everything a little less funny. Stan opened his mouth to explain, choked on his own spit and went into a coughing fit. It turns out, it’s hard to speak when you’re hacking your lungs up. Ford seemed to take pity on him and thumped him on the back until Stan could breathe again. “It’s just-” Another cough. “You look so funny, Poindexter.”

Ford’s eyebrows furrowed, and Stan pointed at his own green face to demonstrate.

“We look like ogres and you’re choosing now to be all sappy and sorry. I mean, you gotta see that it’s a bit funny.”

“…I suppose.” The corner of Ford’s mouth lifted and he didn’t look mad, so Stan took that as a win. He paused, trying to understand everything that Ford had just thrown at him. Most of it was just confusing, and Ford really seemed to have decide that the weird dreams were memories even though Stan didn’t get most of them. He wasn’t dumb though. That science fair thing actually had happened, with Stan ruining Ford’s project and getting kicked out. Reaching out to his brother and having the curtains being closed in his face – that had really happened.

As for the rest, all those dark and depressing ones, he kinda hoped they were just dreams. If they weren’t, if they were real, he wasn’t sure he wanted to live through them.

…no, wait. He already had lived through them, hadn’t he? He just couldn’t remember it. Because these were memories he’d lost and was getting back, Ford said so. Stan wondered what kind of person he’d ended up being. Probably cool and badass. With a sword. No, knuckledusters, those were way cooler! And maybe an eyepatch.

He got the sense that a grown-up him with all those memories and experiences would be angrier, but he couldn’t imagine any version of himself turning their back on their brother.

“I mean, I don’t think you ruined my life.” Stan reasoned, making Ford blink. “It was Pa that kicked me out, right?”

“But it was my fault-”

“And probably mine too. I make plenty of mistakes. You remember that time I kinda accidentally stole Pa’s medallion because I broke the case and panicked?”

Ford let out a little laugh. Stan reached out to punch him in the shoulder.

“Look, I dunno, I’m a kid. You gotta talk to grown-up me. But I’ll always forgive ya, Ford. Otherwise I’d be a hip-oh-crit.”

“The word is ‘hypocrite’.” Ford muttered quietly, and Stan could have sworn his brother’s eyes were pink and shiny. He decided to be very cool and nice and not mention it.

“But!” Stan pointed a finger at Ford’s nose and the man went cross-eyed looking at it. “I’m still mad about you being a jerk. You gotta make up for that.”

“…what do you want me to do?”

Hm. Stan hadn’t thought this far ahead. He paused as he thought. “You have to… take me on an adventure! And I get to ride on your shoulders and be tall whenever I want.”

Ford opened his mouth to argue, and then closed it again. Stan fist-pumped triumphantly.

“Yes! No takebacks! I wanna go beat up those unicorns!”

“Sure, Stan.” Ford let out a long-suffering sigh, but not the serious kind – the joking kind that meant he was having fun. It felt nice. It felt like coming home.

#fic #my fic #gravity falls #the stans #rewind #chapter 10

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