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felassan · 3 years

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Thoughts on Dark Fortress #1

(This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)

NB, my thoughts on the first pages that came out in the preview are collected here [spoilers at link], so I won’t repeat myself.

Okay here we go :D I’ve posted up my fav panels but always want a space where I can burble at length.. (I’m late in posting this bc recently for the last few days I’ve been obsessing over politics in my country as it’s the run-up to election time.. I haven’t read anyone elses’ thoughts on it either so I could be behind on prevailing speculation or whats known or something) The preview pages ended at the panel when Aaron says “Vaea is right”, so that’s where I’m beginning.

I can’t put my finger on why but I really like the “don’t tell me I’ve had too much to drink” panel showing a Tevinter street. It’s a neat blend of “Tevinter is advanced relative to much of the rest of known Thedas, but also ominous, but also a place where people live and go about their lives, and also not going too heavy on the cyberpunk angle”. I dig the composition ‘leading’ the eye up the street and the consistency with the recently-seen DA4 materials that have red lighting in Tevinter buildings, similar building shapes etc. ig I’m pretty obsessed with the idea of the DA4 PC & party walking up streets like these.

I wonder how Aaron felt witnessing Tractus’ drunken scenes in the pub :(

Tractus’ attitude towards the barman here shows the influence and power Magisters wield in Tevinter, and the fear of them common among the mundane populace

digging the Tevinter-y motifs & design of the bartop, bar shelving etc. it feels like thought went into it

I’d watch a spinoff show or read a story where Marius and Ser Aaron have to team up in order to achieve something

Vaea is so badass and agile! I appreciate that the shot of her up high was tasteful and didn’t like, weirdly contort her body, have a weird leering angle or emphasize things in that way comic art often does for women at moments like these

so in Tevinter, lamps give off red light (seen in the bar scene). are the windowpanes themselves also red?

good thinking Vaea grabbing the staff. great sense of snappiness and motion in this panel. her landing reminds me of squirrels doing the superhero pose landing actually :)

tfw you and a dog burst out of a wardrobe

Tractus recognizing Fenris, it seems - did they encounter each other when Tractus was young, or does he just know of him (distinctive markings and all that)? if the former, I have a feeling we might get a flashback scene to that time in a future issue

cutting to look at Francesca when Tractus talks about Fenris murdering his father is GENIUS. look at the sadness on her face here; “you murdered your father” is exactly what she’s been telling herself and struggling with all this time

nice to see staff-less magic in action

Tractus seems to have drawn power from the red orb set in his staff. he reaches out to it and it responds by glowing and the staff moving, but he wasn’t doing a Jedi ‘use my Jedi powers to make my thrown lightsaber [staff] return to my hand’, as you might expect, he was instead charging up and drawing magical energy/power from it [the orb], as seen by the red light in his hand in the next panel. this reinforces my earlier wonderings that the red orb is notable and that there’s some connection between it and his red eyes. later in the panel when he’s trying to cast on the floor his eyes seem lit up (altho it could just be lighting & dramatic effect)

I wonder if Fenris thinks of Anders and Justice when Tractus says “justice”. There was once a mage in Fenris’ life who was really focused on justice..

the combat scenes are beautifully drawn, thought out and colored

Fenris’ lines here are really metal, badass and impactful. I could hear Gideon Emery’s voice in my head as I read these bits - the word choice of “hounded” helps with that I think, it immediately recalls Fenris talking with anger about how Hadriana denied his meals and hounded his sleep. they nail how Fenris speaks, the pattern and words he tends to use, etc

PHASING POWERS in action!! this is very cool to see, this ability of his didn’t get touched on much at all in DA2 outside of combat or a few scenes

I enjoy the contrast between the red and blue glows

Fenris is understandably merciless

“Perhaps if you had it carved into you” feels like foreshadowing for the ‘red wraith’

:( the reminder that the very thing Fenris struggles with feelings of hate and fear towards is carved into his skin for the rest of time and always will be

Vaea is brave to step in, standing up for what she believes is right and also re-centering focus on the critical mission at hand

;___; Autumn helping keep Tractus on the ground. she is such a good girl. she Help

“You’re lucky the mabari is here” - having Fenris in a dark light here relative to the rest of the panel is nicely symbolic

oh shit!! some plot advancement in terms of the ongoing story of the wider world. The Antaam have now reached Neromenian!! the invasion is progressing further and further into Tevinter. how far will it have come by the time of DA4? will there be an active war front not far from Minrathous? I appreciate the comics from this team a lot, here and there they push forward the ‘story of Thedas’ not just the story of the comic’s focus. also, I like that the Qunari soldiers here aren’t clones of one another but all look different. different hairstyles, sizes/bodies, clothes

love how our group work together, everyone has a strength and a role to play, the teamwork, the delegation, they’re like a DA basegame party or a D&D party

the way Fenris’ hand and arm glow in this sequence has been drawn/colored is smart - calling to mind the image of blue veins running through someone’s arm or below the skin on the backs of their hands

Fenris has surely picked up Fereldan sayings from Hawke.. stop .. my heart ;__;

the Fenris/Autumn exchange

this is so intense.. why do I get the feeling that Fenris has used this sort of torture technique before in his hunting and extermination of Danarius’ adult children campaign and/or his hunting of slavers as the BW with Shirallas campaign. it feels like he has done this sort of thing before in the time post-Kirkwall. I like that they didn’t hold back with a bit of gore here and there in this issue (phasing a hand and then solidifying it inside someone’s body, the Qunari attack portion in the street etc), while at the same time not being excessive with it.

this miniseries so far has good pacing, things moving along nicely and not being too slow or meandering

it’s smart having Tractus’ explanation of how to get in stay off-screen to the reader while we follow Francesca calling the alarm. It means we get to find out as we watch them infiltrate

omg those puncture wounds from his talons

when Fenris is about to kill Tractus after he tells him what he wanted to know, I’m strongly reminded of how he promised to let Hadriana go then killed her anyway, regardless of player choice. he has his ruthless streak and it feels like a callback. and before, when he was standing over Tractus when he was on the floor, echoes that scene in A Bitter Pill when he stands over Hadriana on the ground, who also reached for her staff

Tractus pale with bloodloss and fear

lmao @ Fran and Autumn’s faces when they walk in on this scene

Fenris listening to Vaea is nicely consistent with his character too imo - there are times in DA2 when Hawke can be like “Fenris no don’t do the Thing” and he doesn’t do the Thing

I have missed the way Fenris’ nose bridge crinkles when he’s angry

I wonder what the consequences of leaving Tractus alive will be. [tv announcer voice] FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON DARK FORTRESS

so the ritual will only take minutes to complete huh 👀

wow Neromenian has truly fallen, reeducation of the people of Tevinter continues as in Three Trees to Midnight in TN

explaining that they are speaking in Qunlat is a nice immersive touch and shows attention to detail of the lore of the world

bobbly-shoulders Qunari, Legolas hair Qunari, septum piercing Qunari, bobbly-brow Qunari, undercut Qunari. I wonder if the shoulder and brow protrusions are aspects we’ll see in the Qunaris’ latest design in DA4?

poor Tractus can’t catch a break lol. it has Not been Tractus’ day

Karasten: an infantry field commander

bit of Tevinter lampshading, lil fourth wall break with “This land and its obsession with magic. There is always a forbidden ritual with them” hhhhhh

Ringwraith on a horse moment at the end there

strong ending, can’t wait for next month weww.. 👀

#dragon age #bioware #dark fortress spoilers #dark fortress spoiler #spoilers #spoiler #fenris #the Fenaissance #dragon age: dark fortress spoilers #dragon age: dark fortress spoiler #video games #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #gore cw #blood cw

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crowned-ladybug · 7 years

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Something Just Like This

Aka five times Jackie and Marvin refused each other’s help and the one time they didn’t.

Oh look, I finally wrote it. This has been in the plans since like four fics ago. Title has no relevance aside from the fact that the song makes me think of Jackie. Also, “Superman” by Five For Fighting came on my playlist while writing the fourth part and I can definitely recommend it for some extra feels.

Hey @magic-marvin-protection-patrol may I offer some stories about these two in these tiring times?

Dedicated to @sunkistjello bc they’re awesome and I promised them this fic like ages ago

Characters: Jackie, Marvin

Word count: 5.4k

Warnings: a little bit of blood an injury, but that should be it. Marvin and Jackie are dumb dorks in love they just don’t know how to go about it.

It's such a nice, pleasant evening, one of those quiet ones Jackie cherishes the most. No running around fighting crime, no worrying Marvin or sitting alone on the couch because Marvin is so immersed in working on his magic that he doesn't even notice Jackie is there. They're almost like normal people, and Jackie is sitting in the living room trying to choose which movie to watch while Marvin is getting up to lord knows what in the kitchen.

Jackie's head shoots up and he turns towards the kitchen when he hears the sudden sound of plates tumbling onto each other. He heads over to investigate, knowing full and well that he'll either find Marvin seriously needing his help or just in an amusing situation, and both of those are worth getting up for.

Marvin, as Jackie discovers, is balancing at least ten different plates of varying shapes and sizes with such intense focus that he doesn't even notice Jackie at first. He only realises he's got company when Jackie tries to take some of the dishes from him before he causes an accident.

Jackie takes the top few plates off the stack and leans closer to Marvin's face with a small grin. "You need any help?"

Marvin snatches the plates back and turns on his heel with surprising speed, and even more surprisingly he doesn't drop anything. "I'm fine, I've got this!" he shoots Jackie a reassuring grin before he starts sorting through the dishes, stubbornly without putting the original tower of them down anywhere.

Jackie watches with slight worry. Marvin doesn't pay him any mind.

He's got the plates sorted out quite quickly and without accident, and Jackie feels like he should applaud him for it, up until the moment Marvin turns and shoots him the widest grin, that little shit.

"Ha! Told ya!"

Jackie just chuckles to himself and gives him a fond shake of his head. "Sure you did," he agrees jokingly.

He moves to stand at the counter next to Marvin and starts putting the dishes away. He playfully knocks his hip against Marvin's, who reciprocates by shoving him so hard he almost falls. Marvin isn't sure if he should be laughing or apologising for a moment, but the next second Jackie jumps him shouting that this offence demands blood. Before he knows what's really happening Marvin is screeching and flailing, trying to escape Jackie's tickling.

"Okay, okay! I give up!" Marvin shouts, breathless from laughing. Jackie listens and his hands come to rest on Marvin's hips instead of running over his sides. Marvin tries to calm his residual giggling, but to no avail. "I hate you."

"Sure you do," Jackie grins and presses a kiss to his cheek. The smooth bastard. Marvin can't keep his giggles down again.

Jackie finally lets go of him to properly start putting away the clean dishes. Marvin runs a hand through his hair a few times to make it orderly again, then he joins to help him.

Though there's still a small smile playing with his lips, Jackie's thoughts circle back to earlier. He takes a mental note of what he's just learned – Marvin does not like accepting help.

Apparently neither does Jackie.

"No, really," Jackie waves his hands about, immersed in the story he’s telling. "There were four of them, all armed with knives and who knows what else. One of them almost got me. I barely got away!"

He stops when he notices that instead of his usual enthusiasm and excitement, Marvin seems so be very serious and deep in thought. Serious Marvin is never a good sign.

"Okay, what's up?" Jackie nudges him.

"You know I'm a magician and all that, right?" he starts, without any hesitation to his voice. "I could be useful to you out there. I could help you fight and escape easier. If you would let me come with you, y'know."

Jackie's expression darkens, but Marvin either doesn't notice at all or he just pretends he doesn't.

"I don't wanna take your title or anything! I'm totally okay with being just a sidekick!" Marvin shrugs and looks at Jackie with a hopeful grin. "We could fight crime together!"

"No."

"But...why?" Marvin looks confused. Jackie has never shut any of his ideas down so quickly before.

"Because I said so," Jackie crosses his arms. "I'm not going into a debate about this."

"But Jackie, I could help you! And it would be so much fun!" Marvin doesn't listen. Of course he doesn't listen. "Look, I can do fire magic pretty alright, illusions are easy, and healing magic isn't exactly my thing but I could try learning it for you!"

"I said no, Marvin. I'm not changing my mind about this."

"But-..."

"No," Jackie cuts in coldly. Before Marvin could say anything else he pushes himself up from the couch and makes for the door.

Marvin is dumbfounded. This is not the Jackie he knows. "Okay, but why?" he asks, maybe a little too loud.

Jackie stops in the doorway for a moment and shoots him a sharp look which undeniably means that he considers this conversation over. "Because I'm not willing to risk you getting hurt out there," and with that he turns and leaves. Marvin doesn't have the chance to respond, but then again he doesn't really know what to say anyway.

When Jackie wakes up in the middle of the night at first he has no idea why. He lies still, eyes trying to pierce the darkness around him. Then he hears it – heavy thuds and startled cries, coming from the direction of Marvin's room. Jackie jumps out of bed so quickly he has to hold onto the wall for a second as the world around him goes fuzzy.

He stumbles through the darkness as he makes his way to Marvin's room, not bothering with his glasses and thinking to himself that maybe they should put up some nightlights in the hallway. He knocks on Marvin's door for politeness's sake, but doesn't wait for longer than a few seconds before entering.

He doesn't know what he was expecting to see but it surely wasn't this. In the moonlight filtering through the thin curtains the image is more surreal than it should be considering Jackie's past experiences with living with a magician.

There's objects floating all around the room – books, drawing supplies, a few clothes, a couple of empty cups. They tremble in place and occasionally one or more of them give in to gravity and fall to the ground, then slowly float back up again. At least Jackie knows where the thuds have come from now.

But the worst part is when Jackie finally notices Marvin. He's nothing but a lump curled up on the bed, as small as he can get, shaking like a leaf. His blanket is thrown off, lying in a heap on the ground. As Jackie watches in startled silence, Marvin cries out again, flinching violently, and three or four of the floating objects plummet to the floor before rising again.

Jackie rushes to the bed dodging flying books so thick they could probably smash his skull in if they decided to fall the wrong moment. He drops to he knees next to the bed, grabbing Marvin by the shoulders. He's very clearly having a nightmare and Jackie needs to wake him from it somehow.

He has no idea how. He's never had to deal with Marvin having nightmares before. He doesn't know if they're a very rare occurrence or if Marvin is just very good at hiding that he has them, but this definitely has to be the first time they got this bad. Jackie has never woken up to something like this before.

"Come on, Marvin, wake up!" he shakes Marvin again, trying to be gentle.

Jackie doesn't know if it's the sudden physical contact or if he just got lucky with his timing and Marvin was about to wake up anyway, but Marvin’s eyes snap open and his body tenses, and all the floating objects fall down for the final time. He flinches violently at the noise and curls in on himself more, crying and trembling. Jackie's heart breaks seeing him like this.

"Hey, Marvin," Jackie whispers, careful not to startle him more.

Marvin peeks out from behind his hands, eyes wide in terror, but once they focus on Jackie's face he lets out another sob and reaches for him desperately. Jackie reacts immediately and pulls him into his arms as well as he can while still sitting beside the bed. He strokes the back of Marvin's head with his thumb as he buries his face into Jackie's neck and cries.

"It's okay," he whispers. Damn, he teases Marvin a lot for being shorter than him, but this time he actually feels so small. It scares Jackie a bit. "You're safe now, I'm here."

He can feel Marvin's nails digging into his back as he holds on for dear life. He ignores the little pricks of pain and doesn't stop whispering reassurance until Marvin's crying subsides. As soon as it does, Marvin pulls away. He's still shaking and Jackie watches him carefully.

Marvin falls onto his back and takes a couple shaky breaths. "Thanks," he mumbles, staring at the ceiling instead of anywhere near Jackie. "I'm good now."

"Are you sure?" Jackie asks. It's a genuine question, but he's not sure Marvin understands that. He reaches out to wipe Marvin's tears from his face. Marvin tenses under his touch for a moment before relaxing again. He's not wearing his mask, the scars running across his face are on full display and that always puts him on edge.

"Yeah. It's nothing."

Jackie hums. He doesn't want to argue. "I can stay here if you'd like," he offers. It's as much for his own peace of mind as it is for Marvin's, but he doesn't mention that. He'd feel much better sleeping next to Marvin tonight after an episode like this.

"No, it's fine," he considers trying for a reassuring smile but decides he wouldn't really be able to pull it off right now. Instead he just rolls over so that his back is turned to Jackie. As much as he loves Jackie he doesn't want him to see him in such condition.

Jackie sighs. Here they go again, Marvin and his stubbornness. Jackie won't argue, he hates to. He just hopes one day Marvin will come to him for help on his own.

"Alright," he nods and pushes himself to a stand. He picks up the discarded blanket and drapes it over Marvin's curled up form. For a moment he contemplates if he should, but he leans down and presses a kiss to Marvin's temple. "But do wake me up if you need anything."

Marvin only hums and shuts his eyes. Jackie knows he's not okay and he wishes Marvin would just admit it. It hurts to leave him when he's like this.

Jackie still does, not knowing what else to do. He shuts the door behind himself quietly and screws his eyes shut for a moment too. He just wants to help.

He doesn't hear any more noises from Marvin's room that night. For a while he believes it's a good sign, but his stomach drops ten feet when the next morning he sees Marvin exhausted and barely upright on his feet. He knows Marvin hasn't slept the whole night just to avoid his nightmares and his need for Jackie’s comfort.

Jackie sways as soon as he lets go of the doorframe. Hmm. Maybe he's lost more blood than he had originally thought. As he stumbles to the bathroom he prays Marvin is already asleep. The last thing he wants right now is to worry Marvin.

Okay, so maybe he looks like a hungry werewolf just took a tasty bit out of his shoulder. So what? He's a superhero fighting crime almost every day, heroes get hurt and then they move on and go back to their duties. That's how it works.

Marvin doesn't seem to understand that.

Jackie isn't mad at him, of course he isn't. He knows Marvin's worry comes from love and he loves Marvin back just as much. But whether Marvin worries or not, Jackie is still going to put himself out there, fight and inevitably get hurt every now and again. The only difference is that if he hides his wounds successfully then they won't hurt Marvin too. And so that's what he does, sneaking around the house when he comes home injured, pretending he's fine, promising Marvin to be more careful next time even though it's not up to him.

He gets lucky. Lucky in his book, at least.

Marvin seems to have already gone to sleep. It's rare that he doesn't stay up waiting for Jackie, but it happens. Jackie is glad he's not exhausting himself more than he already does by his magic.

The wound on his shoulder hurts like a bitch. Advil doesn't exactly work for this kind of stuff and so he bites down on a rag while he cleans it for himself. It would probably be much better if Marvin did it for him, but he doesn't want to disturb him. So he sits in the bathtub, getting blood all over himself, messing up the bandaging for the sixth time and grasping hopelessly after the gauze when it rolls away from him again. He manages.

He's almost done cleaning himself from blood when the bathroom door opens and Jackie freezes. Marvin comes stumbling in, looking incredibly sleepy. He's wearing his mask out of habit and comfort, and one of Jackie's flannels over his pyjamas. His hair is a mess, falling across his forehead because he can't be bothered to brush it back and Jackie oh so desperately wants to run his hands through it.

Marvin blinks confusedly at the light and at the sight of Jackie sitting in the tub before it clicks. His expression melts into a mix of hurt and worry, and Jackie curses his bad luck.

"What happened?" Marvin shuffles over, clumsy with sleep, and crouches next to the tub.

"Nothing serious," Jackie shrugs only with his intact shoulder. "I'm gonna be fine."

"You always say that."

Jackie's expression softens and he leans a little closer. "Would I ever lie to you?"

"No. Stop that," Marvin's eyebrows knit together and he looks dead serious.

"Stop what?" the innocence in Jackie's voice is genuine. He's not exactly sure what Marvin means this time.

"Sweet talking yourself out of this...situation you've got yourself into."

"Oh..." he looks away and tilts his head a little. "I promise I am going to be okay though. It's not as bad as it looks," he turns back towards Marvin and offers him a small smile.

"Why won't you just let me help..."

Jackie sighs. He looks genuinely sad. "Marvin, we've been over this."

Marvin's shoulders sag and he lowers his head. Jackie is still surprised by how quick his pride can drop into defeat.

"I just wish..." Marvin cuts himself off, not sure if he wants to continue. He screws his eyes shut and shakes his head, biting his lower lip. His eyes are dry and he's glad he's finally learning not to cry every time Jackie gets hurt. He'd want to, but he can't just guilt Jackie into staying every time instead of pursuing his dream as a hero.

Marvin leans his elbows onto the edge of the tub and stares blankly at the frayed bits of gauze lying at the bottom next to Jackie's bare legs. He feels numb.

"I can't just quit being a hero," Jackie shakes his head. He's torn. Again.

"I know."

Jackie takes one of Marvin's hands and presses his knuckles to his lips. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Marvin whispers again. He's sorry too.

They're at a standstill. And neither of them know how to proceed.

They're both having a bad day.

Marvin has been struggling with a spell for days and he's making no progress. It's infuriating and he's not exactly known to be the most patient person either. He's getting incredibly close to just lighting this whole thing on fire and giving up on it, then lighting a few more things on fire just to let out his frustration.

Jackie shuffles into the room looking uncharacteristically tired and frail. He's been having one of those days when just nothing works out. Everything seems to break under his touch, he can't get anything right, there's a lump in his throat and his hands won't stop shaking. Above everything he just really, really needs a hug.

He approaches Marvin tentatively, and the little voice in the back of his head won't stop telling him that if everything he tries goes wrong today, why wouldn't this too? He can see the tension in Marvin's shoulders and the smouldering fire behind his eyes, and his instinct to help and comfort overrides his need to be comforted.

"Hey, Marv," he tries for a soft, happy voice. "You need any help?"

Marvin turns around swiftly to glare at him. "I'm fine," he snarls pointedly, then whips back around so quickly he doesn't even see the hurt in Jackie's eyes.

Jackie all but runs to his room. Marvin didn't mean it, he's just frustrated, he didn't mean to hurt him, don't cry over something so stupid, don't cry, don't you dare cry...It's really hard not to cry. This day just had to deliver another low blow before he gave up on it, didn't it?

He sits curled up in the corner of his bed, knees drawn to his chest, hugging a pillow. He wishes it was Marvin in his arms instead. He needs comfort, desperately, the kind he can only really get from cuddling or goofing off with Marvin. He wishes he could just go back, pull Marvin up by his hand and ask him for a dance like he usually does when Marvin is having a bad day and Jackie wants to cheer him up.

But usually Marvin doesn't snap at him and usually Jackie doesn't have this bad of a day. But now he does and he doesn't know what to do about it. If only he could spend time with Marvin or find another way to pick himself up, but Marvin is busy and frustrated and Jackie doesn't want to bother him.

His mind wanders, but it always winds up with darker and darker thoughts. Jackie doesn't like them.

He's painfully aware of how stubborn Marvin is, and how stubborn he himself is, too. And he slowly starts to think it's going to tear them apart. He's scared Marvin will one day hurt himself when he just won't ever ask for help to deal with his own demons. And Marvin is scared Jackie will die of his own stubborn hero complex one day.

They can't keep doing this. Jackie finally admits that.

He kicks himself off the bed, discarding the pillow in the process. He needs to talk to Marvin about this, he doesn't care that Marvin is in a snappy mood and armed with powerful magic he could blow up in Jackie's face. They can't keep avoiding this.

He finds that Marvin had moved to his room to keep messing with whatever trick he's been struggling with recently. Jackie knocks on the door and Marvin cracks it open, just wide enough so that Jackie can see his face. He doesn't even say anything, just gives Jackie a pointed look that tells him to hurry up and get it over with.

"We need to talk," okay, that's a horrible start. Jackie anxiously brushes a hand through his hair. "We can't keep doing this, avoiding problems and never accepting help. It's not healthy," he sighs. He really hopes Marvin understands, but sometimes it's hard getting things through that thick skull of his.

Marvin lets out a sad chuckle. "It's just what we do, isn't it? Running headfirst into walls before thinking about going around," he shrugs, and before Jackie could ask what he means he shuts the door again.

Jackie is left standing there. He feels alone and lost. He has no idea what to make of Marvin's response, whether he's content with their current situation or if he's just too tired to try and change it for the better, or something entirely different even. Jackie wishes this was just a bad dream he could wake up from, or a fairy tale so that he could snap his fingers and make it all okay again.

Marvin is within arm's reach, just on the other side of the door, yet he feels miles away. It's not an entirely new feeling, Marvin does get distant from time to time, but this time it really scares Jackie. It puts an unwelcome ache in his bones, the fear that he's alone and doesn't know what to do.

He's scared. Both for himself and for Marvin.

That night Jackie hears it again. The thuds, the muffled cries – he knows, it settles painfully in his chest, that Marvin is having nightmares again. It's the third time just this week. He rolls over to his back and stares at the ceiling, or as much as he can see from it in the darkness at least. He wants so badly to get up and go over to Marvin's room to comfort him, but at the same time he isn't sure if he even should. That hurts to think about, too, how just a day ago Jackie would have rushed to check on Marvin and hold him until he calmed down regardless of Marvin's stubborn nature, and now he's here doubting if that would be the correct choice. It hurts.

He mentally kicks himself for even making that a dilemma. Marvin is stubborn and proud, but Jackie still loves him all the same. He can't just sit around while Marvin is hurting and needs his help.

He's just about to jump out of bed and make his way to Marvin's room, not even noticing the absence of noises, when his door opens. It's Marvin, standing in the doorway and holding onto the door for support, shaking and crying silently. Jackie almost trips over his own feet in his hurry to run to him and hug him. Marvin clings to him weakly as soon as he gets within his reach.

He half leads, half carries Marvin to the bed, because he's so shaky he can barely stand on his feet. Jackie keeps whispering to him. "It's okay, I'm here, you're okay, you're safe, it's okay..."

Marvin curls against him as soon as they sit down on the bed, hiding his face in Jackie’s shoulder as he cries. Jackie holds him close and rocks the both of them, back and forth, back and forth. He doesn’t stop talking for a moment, whispering reassurance over Marvin’s sobs and whimpers. After a while Marvin seems to calm down and he pushes himself away, breathing deep to calm himself. He doesn’t get far before crying takes him over again and he collapses back against Jackie. Jackie rocks him and mumbles over and over again that it’s okay, they’re okay, he’s got him and everything is going to be fine.

Marvin eventually runs out of tears and of breath. He remains holding onto Jackie, heaving tiredly and still shaking. An annoying voice at the back of Jackie’s mind nags at him, tells him that this is exactly what he’s been afraid would happen.

Except it isn’t. Because Marvin came to him on his own.

“Hey? Any better?” Jackie asks gently, burying his nose into Marvin’s hair tiredly. He can’t lie to himself, he’d love to just fall asleep like this. When he feels Marvin weakly hum and nod, he plants a kiss onto his head.

“You know, I...” Marvin speaks unexpectedly, his voice small and shaky. He shudders as he takes a deep breath. “I do need your help. I need you. And I do know that, I just...” he’s rambling, he knows he is, but it’s late and he’s tired and Jackie holding him like this just feels so nice, and he can’t stop himself. “I don’t wanna burden you when you already have...so much to deal with. And I don’t want to accidentally hurt you, with all my freaky nightmares and magic and all that,” his voice cracks and he does his best not to start crying again. He presses himself closer to Jackie. “I should be able to deal with all of this on my own, but...but I’m not.”

Jackie doesn’t know how to respond. There’s just too much to say. He squeezes Marvin for a moment, enjoying having him in his arms so much, and then he pushes him a little farther away. Marvin looks like a mess, a beautiful mess in Jackie’s eyes but a mess nonetheless. Jackie presses a kiss to his forehead, his bare forehead, no mask, just Marvin and his scars.

“We can talk about this in the morning, okay?” he asks softly. He knows he had been the one finding this more urgent than anything, but right now they’re both sleepy and not at all emotionally stable. They will need clear minds and daylight to sort this out.

Marvin agrees. They go to sleep together.

Jackie is slow to wake up. It’s the perfect start to the best kind of morning, feeling sunshine through his eyelids and a warm body curled next to his. He moves closer, pulling Marvin against himself more and he feels Marvin laugh.

He cracks his eyes open just for a moment, then presses his nose against Marvin’s neck and mumbles into his skin. “Morning, sunshine.”

He feels Marvin laugh again. This is perfect.

Marvin holds him tight and runs a hand up and down his spine, and in his sleepy, blissful daze Jackie wishes the moment would last forever.

He can feel Marvin sigh. “Why can’t everything just be this easy and perfect?”

And it’s over. That sentence successfully wakes Jackie up, making him remember last night and the day before, and all the things they have to sort out. Cuddling is great, but since Marvin just had to go and open a can of worms in the middle of it all Jackie cannot blissfully ignore the problem any longer.

Jackie sits up and stretches, his spine straightening with a satisfying pop. He can feel Marvin shifting too, but he doesn’t make any moves to get up himself.

“Alright,” Jackie leans back on his hands and looks down at Marvin, still stubbornly buried between the sheets but very much awake. “We seriously need to talk.”

Marvin only gives him a look at means “okay then, you start”.

And so Jackie starts. “We can’t keep doing this. You can’t go around fighting all your demons on your own. I just...I can’t watch as this happens to you. I want to help you. I love you, damn it,” he rubs his hands over his face, not noticing the shocked look Marvin gives him. It’s a little strange when he thinks about it, because sure they’ve been sharing a house for a good while now, they give each other occasional kisses and they cuddle and they don’t necessarily sleep in their own bed every single night but...love confessions? That was an entirely new thing to happen. But Jackie doesn’t even seem to notice. “We both need each others’ help, okay? We gotta learn that. It’s not easy, I know, but we have to.”

Marvin nods in understanding when Jackie looks towards him for approval. He knows Jackie must have had these thoughts for a long while now, so he lets him talk. Jackie needs to get this out of his system.

“Getting help doesn’t make you weak or any bit less or a burden,” Jackie continues. “You...you’re not a burden, okay? Don’t ever think you are. And you’re strong, really strong, I know that too, I just...” he runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. “I want to help you, because you don’t have to do this alone. And...neither do I.”

When Jackie leans forward and props his chin up on his hands, Marvin knows he’s done. He looks so tired, too, and not the “just woken up and wanna cuddle” kind of tired.

Marvin lets himself think for a moment. What Jackie had said hit him pretty hard and now he needs to gather his thoughts. He knows Jackie doesn’t want to mess up and neither does he.

“Okay, first of all,” he groans as he sits up and his joints are forced back to work. He rolls his shoulders and moves to sit closer to Jackie, who watches him curiously. “I love you, too,” he leans forward and pulls Jackie into a kiss before he could lose his courage. Jackie makes a shocked little sound in the back of his throat before he all but melts and Marvin chuckles against his lips. A proper kiss. Now that’s another thing they haven’t done before. When they pull apart, Jackie is wearing a happy, dopey grin and Marvin playfully smacks his shoulder, laughing. “And secondly,” he lets his voice turn serious again. “You’re right. I need to learn to let you help me...and you need to let me help you, too. You can’t run around saving people and getting hurt all the time and then taking care of yourself all on your own. Let me do it. Let me help,” he smiles. “I’ll let you help me and you let me help you, huh? We can take care of each other.”

The grin is back on Jackie’s lips the moment Marvin finishes talking. “That sounds like a deal to me.”

Marvin laughs. “It is a deal then.”

They smile at each other for a moment like some sleepy, lovesick idiots. They’re goofing off and joking about it now, but they both know under it they’re being serious. It’s a completely serious agreement, a promise to try and do better, and they both want to keep it.

“Okay, can we seal the deal with breakfast though? I’m starving,” Jackie cocks his head to the side with a playful expression. “Pancakes?”

“Hmm, sure,” Marvin stretches again and stifles a yawn. “We have waffles in the cupboard though.”

Jackie’s eyes widen as if Marvin had just told him the way to some incredible treasure. “Waffles?”

“Yes, Jackieboy, we have waffles,” laughs Marvin. He thanks his lucky stars for blessing him with such a lovable idiot.

“I vote waffles then! I’m too lazy to make pancakes right now.”

“You lazy bum,” Marvin teases, poking him in the side. “Waffles it is then.”

“What are we waiting for then?” Jackie cheers with over-the-top enthusiasm. He’s being a big dork, but it’s making Marvin laugh so it’s definitely worth it. “Waffle time!”

Jackie tumbles off the bed, tripping over his own feet in his hurry, and Marvin watches him in amusement. He tugs Marvin up too, then makes to let go and get his glasses, but Marvin grabs his hand. Jackie stops, a little flustered and a bit more confused.

Marvin gives him a shy smile and pulls out a red rose from behind his back. An old magic trick, nothing spectacular as far as execution goes, but Marvin hopes the gesture is genuine and cheesy enough to make Jackie happy. From the way Jackie’s face turns almost as red as the rose, Marvin guesses it worked. He laughs, pressing a kiss to Jackie’s cheek that only deepens his blush.

Then he pulls away, grinning, and takes off towards the kitchen. “Move or I’m not leaving you any waffles, slowpoke!”

Jackie takes another fond look at the rose in his hand before he follows him, shouting jokingly about how he will move all of Marvin’s belongings to the highest shelves in the house if he does that.

They have a long way to go, they are both aware of that. Learning to ask for help is one of the hardest things to do, but they’re going to get there. One day they will, they just have to give it time. But the point is that they’re both willing to work on it, if anything because they love each other.

#marvin the magnificent #jackieboy man #marvelsepticeye #fanfiction #jacksepticeye #writing #no idea if 5+1 fics are cringey or over or whatever and i've never written one before but i find it a really good format #that's very pleasant to work with at least for me #look at that cheesy ass sappy ending #sorry for any mistakes i wrote this whole thing today somehow so there might be some at the end #i love. writing. relationship. development.

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