#“nope I’m definitely not equipped to deal with this level of emotion” | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

evelinamox · 4 years

Text

Mammon x MC - Bewitched

*Side note before reading; I wrote this a few weeks ago. Been really out of practice writing, my peak was in 2017, so please go easy on me. ❤️ Also I should have named this something more like “Fell For You” 😂*

"Is he always late?" You groan to Satan as you wait outside RAD for Mammon to show up. Leaning against a wall, visibly pouting.

Satan shrugged and thumbed through one of his books. "Knowing him, he probably fell asleep in class or another teacher is scolding him for his grades."

You slid down against the wall until you were sitting on the ground. "Sadly I wouldn't be surprised," You looked down and picked at a loose thread on your RAD jacket. "Why did I even agree to meet with him here when he can't even try being on time? I'm never late so how come he can be whenever he chooses?"

Satan closed his book and looked down at you. "I have heard that exact line from you five times now. If you hate waiting on him then say something. I need to get going, good luck." With that he stepped away before you could even come up with a rebuttal.

Has it really been five times now? I mean I enjoy going with him places, especially photo shoots, but him always being late.. I think I'd rather be stood up at this point because at least it'd be clear how little he cares.

While lost in thought, Mammon snuck up to your side and attempted to scare you by grabbing your hip. Being an easily spooked, you let out an embarrassing yelp of fear that caught the attention of any demons within earshot.

"Grr Mammon!" You yelled at him as you jumped to your feet. Even while standing straight and trying to appear angry, you weren't near intimidating to him.

Mammon laughed at your attempt to be scary and ruffled your hair. "That's right! The Mammon has bested you! Say my name again for my victory!" He beamed a smile at you and put a hand behind his ear waiting for you to say his name again.

Crossing your arms at him and pouting, you shook your head in refusal. "Nope! Not happening!"

Mammon exaggerated a shocked look and clutched at his chest, pretending you physically hurt him. "After I grace you with my presence and you refuse my simple request?" Though still upset, his goofy nature caused you to crack a smile despite your annoyance.

Seeing you had cheered up some, Mammon did a "after you" hand motion, you started the walk together from RAD to Majolish.

Even while feeling a little better, Satans advice kept nagging at you until you spoke up. "Ya know... Not much of gracing me with your presence if you're making me wait every time." You said sounding dejected while kicking the same pebble every few steps to keep from looking at him. "I don't want to keep waiting for you on stuff you invited me to. I'm never late when it comes to our plans." The truth in your words hurt as they came out. You wanted to spend more time with him but being late for every plan he made got old fast.

Mammon at first became defensive at your words, "Why should I change my habits for a mere human?" but when you started picking up speed to get away from him, he quickened his pace to keep up with you. "Okay, fine! I will try to be on time from now on."

Due to his words you stop walking and so does he. "Promise?" You ask him with a hopeful tone.

He rolled his eyes at your question before saying "yes, I promise."

Without thinking you grabbed his hand while smiling at him. "Thank you!"

He became a bit flustered at first before nervously scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "N-no problem, (y/n)."

Unintentionally he looked down at your joined hands, but when you noticed and tried to pull away he held on tighter. "We'll keep it this way for now so I know where you are." He said while blushing brighter than you thought possible. You began blushing too since he wouldn't let go, but you went along with it as you both walked on.

Watching the shoot was intense as usual for all the workers. To avoid being caught in the hustle of all the other workers you took your usual spot against a wall between some unused equipment. You didn't ever mind your hide away nook since it also gave a decent side view of the action, and it was better than staying home studying.

After some time passed while watching the shoot, it started feeling awkward just watching Mammon. You liked him and he was undeniably hot, but you had a creeping feeling later he was going to say something like "Couldn't keep your eyes off me huh? Can't say I blame you though." Plus you weren't just tagging along to be some weird fan as much as it was entertaining.

Just as you took out your DDD to check Mononoke Land, you catch a glimpse of him winking at you which seemed to be anything but what the camera man wanted.

Was that intentional? Some kind of signal? You asked yourself. After that you continued to watch to see if it'd happen again. Before you knew it you forgot your plans catching spirits of Mononoke. Distraction. Definitely a distraction tactic that worked too well.

Finally the camera man ended the session and one of the assistants brought him a towel while a second assistant brought him a drink. It was noticeable that she tried to hold a conversation but he clearly just wanted to get away with how disinterested he acted.

Seeing him walk your direction you wanted to gather items and be ready to leave together. Rushing to pack your bag you didn't notice how numb your legs and butt were, causing you to stumble forward. Before you could fall face first Mammon caught you with his left arm wrapping around the front of you. Effortlessly he pulled you back up but then didn't let go. "Oh human, what would you do without me?" He laughed while still holding you against him.

Blushing from his bare muscles wrapped around you in what could best be described as a hug from behind, you glance around and notice a few staff looking at you two. Out of all the glances, there was a particular set of eyes glaring you down from the assistant that was trying to talk with him earlier.

"Probably have a few extra bruises." You try to laugh off how awkward you felt and lightly pushed off his arm that was still wrapped around you. "How much longer?" You nervously ask, feeling like a sheep with a wolf across the room planning its next meal.

"Aww want to know how long till we can leave and you can be alone with me?" Mammon beamed his same cocky smile.

Though you weren't sure it was actually happening, it felt as though the second assistant was starting through your back harder than before. If looks could kill, a crater would've been in your place. "Thanks." You sigh the word under your breath avoiding looking in her direction.

Completely oblivious to how uncomfortable you were, Mammon continued. "I'll get changed and we'll go. I'm not getting paid for cleanup so I'm not staying."

"I'll wait for you outside." You quickly answered before making a break to get out, not wanting to be alone in what felt like a lions den.

Waiting outside and taking in a fresh breath of air, you felt a dozen times better at the least. Mammon didn't take long either, but you did notice him shoving a strange crumpled piece of paper in his pocket while stepping out.

Awkwardly stopping at your side he extended his hand out to you while also bashfully looking away. "Let's get going."

Reaching out to grab his hand but stopping, you couldn't help but feel flustered. "Are you sure you want to still lead around a clumsy human?" You poked fun at yourself thinking back to him catching you.

Even after your question he still held his hand out but then looked back down to you. "It'd be for my own amusement, I'm not concerned or anything like that." He argued back, trying hard to not let his emotions show through.

Knowing he was trying to hide that he wanted to hold hands, you couldn't help but be a bit excited. Quickly you took hold of his hand and left together.

The walk home was fine, if not a little tiring. As a thank you gift you left a kiss on Mammon's cheek which left him so flustered that he was speechless as you quickly stepped away to hide your own embarrassment.

Next few days passed like any other school days, save for a few exchanged tsundere level flirting lines from Mammon and the usually shenanigans from the other brothers.

Early Saturday morning while sleeping you were suddenly awoken by rapid knocking on your door followed by a visitor coming in without permission.

Without even giving you a chance to comprehend his presence, Mammon deemed it appropriate to jump onto your bed in excitement.

"The hell do you want?!" You yelled while throwing a pillow at his face.

Mammon still excited ignored the pillow assault and showed you what looked like a paystub. "I got paid and decided you deserve a night out at a restaurant as thanks for coming with! We'll leave at 6p.m., so don't keep me waiting!"

He seemed so excited but you still wanted to pelt him with more pillows for waking you at 7 a.m.. "If you let me go back to sleep I'll give you a night to remember," you said, not really thinking on the meaning of the phrase.

Mammon's eyes widened and before you could take it back he ran out of the room while saying "Deal!"

"Nice one." You sighed sarcastically to yourself when you realized what you just said. In a short time you rolled back over hoping to sleep more but as soon as you closed your eyes many questions started running through your mind: Is this a date? Which restaurant? How should I dress? Did I really say I'd give him a night to remember? I mean I guess I wouldn't mind but... I must know if this is a date! It must be a date if he got that excited right? How long has he been planning this? Since when has he been a morning person?

After a fitful attempt at sleep that only lasted a few more hours, time passed and you began to obsess a bit too much over finding a outfit that wasn't too casual but also not to fancy either. Asking Asmo for help near noon, his shopping trip for you ended up taking another four hours before you could break free and retreat to your room.

Finishing putting on your favorite outfit of the assortment Asmo picked, you worry seeing that it was already 5:20p.m. and you haven't even attempted to help your hair yet. Sitting down at the vanity in your room, suddenly you noticed your face in the mirror appeared distorted. Your reflection appeared... Dead?

-Mammon's view-

While looking at his phone Mammon noticed it was already 6:20p.m.. Already annoyed he paced by the floor. "I gave (y/n) plenty of time to get ready. How dare that human make me wait." Getting tired of waiting Mammon marched up to your room about ready to pull you out of the room for the date. Nearing your room he felt dark magic in the air similar to what the witches have tortured him with. He made an audible gulp knowing that something wasn't right.

Knocking on your already open door he cautiously stuck his head in. "(Y/n)?"

Stepping into the center of the room he glanced around his eyes landed on a broken mirror and some strange green liquid he's seen before with the same witches he feared.

A churning feeling settled in his stomach and he ran to the first brother that came to mind that could help.

Slamming on the door to the twins room he started shouting. "Beel! Witches got (y/n)! Open up!!"

Beelzebub opened the door quickly when he heard that his favorite human was missing.

Completely panicking that two of Mammons worst fears became one, he didn't know what to do but he knew he needed help. "Beel! Can you sniff out (y/n)?!"

Beelzebub disappointedly shook his head at Mammons idea. "I'm a glutton but I'm not a dog! I will help you look though."

Mammon honestly thought it would be a solid plan for Beelzebub to sniff out (y/n).

Belphegor overhearing the conversation rolled his eyes at his greedy idiot brother, then got out of bed. Without a word he left the room and went down the hallway.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Mammon shouted to his youngest brother. Half tempted to grab Belphi by the back of his neck like a kitten and make him help.

"Getting Lucifer, (y/n) is screwed if you're in charge." Belphie answered with his back to Mammon, still walking down the hall.

Before much time passed all the brothers were searching the property.

When it turned 6:35p.m. it became established there was no sign that a human left on foot.

Lucifer shook his head while thinking over all the information the brothers have gathered. "There's no sign (y/n) left in a normal manner. This means either (y/n) was taken by teleportation magic or managed to break the enchanted locks to the roof. We should all contact with any mages we know to see if they know what happened."

Mammon ignoring the last of Lucifers plan, his eyes widened in realization as all the pieces came together. At the photo shoot the other day he received a message from one of the assistants that was the key to all of this. One side had a phone number but when he checked it the note again later on the numbers were replaced with the message, "A tragic fall at dusk the day of Sabbath."

Mammon didn't think long on this note, thought it was a bad poem from a fan.

Without giving a explanation, he ran as fast as he could up the stairs till he reached the roof exit that only the best at magic should've been able to unlock. Much to his surprise and dismay he was right. Seconds away from dusk, you were stepping to the edge of the roof.

When you stepped off you regained control of your body, giving you a chance to scream out as you fell. Your scream was cut short, not because the ground or form impact, but because you felt someone grab onto but also falling with you. The scent and feel of the person holding on from behind was familiar, but everything was happening so fast you couldn't even think. Mammon had twisted you both in midair so you'd land on him. The feeling of the air engulfing you two before the landing deafening all the senses.

Crash landing together with a loud thud, Mammon let out a gasp while still holding your back tightly to him. "I got you. I have you." He said between gasps.

Opening your eyes you looked up at the building seeing that easily the fall could've severely hurt if not killed you.

Mammon let out a groan before rolling you over to the side of him so he could see your face. "(Y/n)... are you hurt?"

Slowly pushing yourself up into a sitting position, you nodded to him, feeling more concerned of his physical condition, though he didn't appear to be grimacing.

Mammon then sat up facing you, without a chance to ask his condition he pulled you to him in a tight hug.

Forgetting that witches were involved, only thinking of how his heart nearly lurched out his throat at the sight of you stepping off, he started shaking without realizing it. "Why? Why would you do something like that?! Do you hate it here so much that you'd rather die?!"

Unable to see his face or know what he was thinking, all you had to go on was the fall and the sound of him choking back sobs. "I.. I don't remember," You admit, wrapping your arms around his neck. "I was in my room, then next thing I knew I was falling in your arms."

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" He cried out, a few sobs escaping his mouth afterwards.

Forcing some space in his hold, you leaned back to look into his deep blue eyes. Instinctively you wiped away one of his tears rolling down his cheek. For longer than you could remember you had feelings for him, but could never get a full grasp of his emotions. For once his eyes and actions reflected how much he cared for and feared the thought of losing you. It hurt knowing how scared he was, but that made you all the more sure if there was ever a time to confess how you felt, it was then. "I love you too much to leave now." You whispered as you leaned in, your forehead against his.

In response to your words he placed his hand on the back of your head to push you into his kiss, it was a unexpected but welcomed surprise. Soaking in his emotions, a real feeling of love came from him. No force to it like lust, or void of emotions like pity. No, his kiss was perfect and reflected the bond you two built over the past few months.

When the kiss ended, his concerned expression was replaced by content. Hugging you to him once more he whispered in your ear. "I protect the things I love most, that includes you... (y/n)."

Epilogue

With help from all the brothers, Mammon found the witch responsible for the bewitching of (y/n). It turned out that a witch was helping the demon assistant steal Mammon's attention away, but the demon hoping to have just a disfiguring curse done to (y/n) was double crossed by the witch.

As it turned out this witch and Mammon held a contract but when he wasn't able to help with her most recent request, she decided to hit him where it hurt; by killing his precious human.

Though Mammon and the witch had a contract, no contract could save her from the brothers ripping her apart.

#obey me #mammon x oc #shall we date mammon #mammon x reader #please go easy on me #first work in years #out of practice #humans also fall like angels

154 notes · View notes

loveisblindfanfictionbka · 3 years

Text

Love Is Blind: Chapter Three

Marcus smirked as he watched Chris mess with the straw in his drink, “Man, whoever she is has got you messed up bad.”

Chris jerked his head up and frowned in confusion, “huh?”

“You have completely zoned out on me, Bro. What’s going on?”

“Just thinking.”

“So your divorce? What happened?”

“I wasn’t any good for her. It just wasn’t gonna work out.”

“How’d she take it?”

“Not good. I’m surprised she hasn’t put a hit out on me.”

Marcus chuckled, “that woman loves you too much.”

“Loved.”

“Loves. I said what I said.”

“Do you know something I don’t?”

“Do you know she hasn’t dated since your divorce?”

“No. I never bothered to keep up with her.”

“Really?”

“I don’t have the right to. Why keep up with her life if I didn’t have the decency to stay in it?”

“You got a point.”

“So who is the new girl?”

“There is no new girl. Just somebody I’m getting to know.”

“So there is a new girl.”

“No.”

“Chris, we can play with semantics all night but be honest, do you like her?”

“Yes but we’re just friends.”

“For now.”

“She’s still in love with her ex-husband. I’m not in control of my life and neither of us are looking for anything serious.”

“Then what’s the harm in making her your new girl. You both know whats the deal up front.”

“Besides she doesn't want to meet me anyway.”

“You’ve never met?”

“I met her online. I only have a vague idea of what she looks like but we’ve never actually seen each other or spoke to each other.”

“Really? I didn’t know you were into that.”

“I set it up out of boredom but I got lucky with talking to her. She’s really nice.”

“What she do?”

“She’s a Vet. Owns her own clinic and shelter”

“Nice. Is she local?”

“Not sure. I know her business is in the city. Never asked if she lived there or not.”

“Chris, you might know her already.”

“I doubt it besides I think the not knowing her is the best part.”

“No identity, no expectations.”

“Exactly.”

“Well more power to you. Hope you don’t miss out on an amazing woman wanting to be all mysterious and shit.”

“I’m not concerned.”

A: How has your day been?

C: Hectic. My daughter caught the flu so I’m out of commission for the next few days

A: Aww...poor baby. Is this the first time she’s been sick?

C: No so I’m pretty prepared for the theatrics that will be coming my way

A: She’s that kind of kid, huh? Lol

C: Lol regardless of the fact that she’s three, she gets sick and reverts to an infant but I love babying her. Just don’t tell her that

A: Lol, your secret is safe with me

C: How have you been?

A: Good. Finalizing details for this gala a certain someone got me to attend

C: Lol, you made the deal, I just accepted

A: Yea. Whatever.

C: Did you decide on a date for our virtual outing?

A: I mean you have the child

C: It’s not like I’m gonna be leaving my house though

A: That is true

C: Are you nervous?

A: No, it’s not like you’re gonna hear my voice or see me. What’s there to be nervous about?

C: I don’t know I’m asking you

A: Are you free this weekend?

C: 8 pm Saturday?

A: Works for me

C: Cool

A: You know you could’ve just picked a time and told me

C: Yea but it was your idea so your choice

A: Hmm...I guess

C: What you thinking about?

A: If I should send you a sneak peek of my dress

C: You have it already? I thought the gala wasn’t for another month

A: A month goes by fast especially if you own your own business, time is not of the essence

C: Ah, very true. Are we still doing text to speech or?

A: I have some equipment I can use for voice changes. You?

C: I work at a college, I’m sure I can find some

A: Cool

C: Is your voice that distinctive that I’d be able to figure out who you are from hearing it?

A: Yes.

C: Ah, now I’m curious

A: It’s not that I’m worried about knowing you but I’ve been interviewed and stuff before so hearing my voice would definitely be a dead giveaway and ruin the mystery

C: I understand.

A: Does any of this make you uncomfortable?

C: No. It keeps things simple and uncomplicated. No complaints from me

A: Cool

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robyn quickly composed herself as she posed for the picture in front of her phone. The self-timer clicked and she grabbed the device to see her handy work. She smiled at the successful shot. No identifying marks but it captured her body and clothing perfectly. She sat down and logged into her dating app to send the picture to Chris. Not wanting to be consumed with nervousness, she logged out completely before taking off her clothes and heading to take a shower. Their double blind virtual outing was tonight.

Chris smiled as his phone pinged and he clicked on the new message. The long-sleeve navy blue dress hugged every curve of Anna perfectly. She was completely covered but it still felt just as sexy as if she was naked. That was an art. The message read, “I probably could’ve waited a few weeks to send you this but I figured what the hell. What do you think?”

Chris rubbed his hand along his chin then through his hair as he stared at the picture. Was he making a mistake letting this stay just an online thing? Could she really be as amazing as she seemed? Maybe it was just the lust talking. He had sworn off women the past few years so it wasn’t like he had many outlets for any kind of attraction. Anesa was with his sister and cousins for the night while he had his virtual outing with Anna. He really didn’t understand why she just didn’t call it a date but then again they aren’t supposed to be dating so it makes sense.

Robyn shook off any nervousness as she sat down in front of her computer. It was easier to not be tempted to use the camera if she didn’t have one so she decided to use her desktop instead of her laptop. The older monitor was wired for sound but not video. She had emailed Chris a link to the video chat site with its autoset to start at 8pm. She glanced at the cover of the screen and sighed as the clock flipped from 7:59 to 8:00.

“Hi Anna,” an auto generated voice came through her speakers

“Chris, it’s nice to hear your voice.”

Chris laughed, “well something like my voice. How are you?”

“I’m great. You?”

“I’m good. Thank you for the picture.”

“Eh, I was trying it on and thought why not. You never answered my message”

“Well, I knew I was gonna talk to you soon so I figured it’d be easier to say what I was thinking than writing it”

“Ah, so what do you think?”

“I think you look incredible. It’s hard to be sexy and completely covered from neck to toe but you definitely pulled it off.”

“Why thank you. My friend was a little upset that I picked that dress.”

“Why?”

“She thinks I need to show more skin.”

Chris laughed, “well you’re single, no harm in doing that.”

“Single and not trying to mingle though.”

“If you look as amazing in the face as your body does. Nothing short of staying home would keep people, men especially, from trying to talk to you.”

“Oh don’t say that.”

“Why? It’s the truth.”

“Still don’t say it.”

“You’re afraid of dating?”

“No, just not prepared for it. I don’t really want to like anybody else.”

“Not even me.”

“You are a very pleasant and partially unwanted surprise. I don’t think I could not not like you though.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment”

“Good because I meant it as one,” Robyn laughed, “Feel weird yet?”

“Nope. This is a lot easier than typing though.”

“It is.

“So how was your day?”

“It was good. I had the start of auditions for my upper level songwriting and music composition classes.”

“Really? How do those work?”

“The student either performs live or brings in a recorded piece that they wrote and/or composed.”

“Do they have to be the performer?”

“It is preferable but no. I get my share of duos from time to time.”

“Is it easier to audition as a duo or solo?”

“To me, neither. I try to be equally as hard on all my students.”

“Did you work in the music industry before?”

“Actually no, just a dream deferred, I guess.”

“What about your divorce made you switch careers?”

“Music has always been healing for me. I had no desire to be famous or anything like that but I wanted to deal with music. Teaching did that for me.”

“Were you healing from your marriage?”

“No. My mother had passed away and it just threw my life into a spiral.”

“Were you close?”

“Not like we should’ve been. I was raised by another family member and my mom wasn’t really around most of my life.”

“That’s sad.”

“It’s life. You learn to make the best of it.”

“It doesn’t sound like you did.”

“To be honest, I didn’t at first. I was mad at everything and everybody. I just gave up.”

“And your marriage was a casualty of that.”

“Yup.”

“And you still love her?”

“I don’t want to but I do.”

“I know that feeling. So you were adopted by the family member or they just took you in?”

“Just took me in, nothing official.”

“Oh ok.”

“You have a good relationship with your family?”

“Yea, I think we still sit on different sides of the fence when it comes to my ex but other than that nothing major.”

“Why?”

“They loved him. He was my high school sweetheart so we kind of grew up together.”

“Same here. Do they want you guys to get back together?”

“Absolutely.”

Chris laughed.

“Sometimes I wonder if there were things he told them that he couldn’t tell me.”

“It’s possible. It's easier to open up to somebody you don’t feel responsible for. Men worry a lot about looking weak in front of their spouses. We wonder if women will still trust our judgment if they think we’re more emotional than logical.”

“Any woman worth her medal knows men are more emotional than logical, y’all just like to play with semantics. Just because you don’t deal with your emotions doesn’t mean they don’t exist or magically go away. Y’all just have different methodologies than we do.”

“Were you a therapist in a past life?”

Robyn laughed, “No, I took basic psychology classes in college.”

“Definitely sounds like you took more than the requisite elective.”

“I did. Almost had enough for a minor but I overloaded on vet classes to try to finish my bachelor’s early.”

“Did you?”

“Just a semester early, nothing too major.”

“That’s awesome. Were you always a vet?”

“Actually no. I took a few years off after veterinary school, did a bunch of odd jobs before I came back to my chosen profession.”

“Ah, good deal.”

“It had its perks.”

“How’d your husband feel about that?”

“We weren’t married initially but he didn’t seem to mind even after we did get married. He had a bit of an old school rearing and liked being a provider, I can admit.”

“And all that time you never had children?”

“I don’t think he could’ve emotionally handled children but then again, we might have fought for our marriage more if there were some involved.”

“You think so?”

“We both grew up in separated families, raised by a single parent or guardian. Two parent households weren’t the norm for either of us.”

“Ah ok.”

“We had always maintained the idea of having children once we got married but then we got married and things just didn’t work out. I wanted to try immediately after the ceremony but he kept stalling. First, it was getting his career off the ground then the timing just wasn’t right and by then we were divorced. I don’t think he wanted children with me.”

“You know being a parent isn’t something to take lightly, from what it sounds like it wasn’t you, he just wasn’t ready. At least, he was self aware to know that.”

“And your wife?”

“After the first year, we barely had sex.”

“Were you not attracted to her anymore?”

“I was. I just didn’t really like myself anymore and it made it hard to be physical with her. We had years of having sex and making love. I wasn’t the same so it didn’t feel the same, I felt like I was shortchanging her.”

“Sounds like you made a lot of decisions for her.”

“I know she would’ve stayed if I didn’t leave but I also knew she wasn’t happy. I couldn’t say I love her and subject her to an unhappy marriage, it’s not fair.”

“Why didn’t you just get help?”

“I did that’s what led me to ask for a divorce.”

“Your help told you to get divorced?”

“Not explicitly. My therapist told me that I needed to take time to focus on myself with no distractions. My mother had died, My father showed back up in my life. It just felt like everything was falling apart and then I had my wife. Trying to be supportive but completely unhappy and walking on eggshells. It felt like I was torturing her and I didn’t want us to live like that. I didn’t want her to live like that. When I tried to explain what was going on, it just made everything worse.”

“What you mean?”

“I broke her. In such a short marriage, I broke her and I didn’t know how to undo what I had done. I also wasn’t in the space to undo it. I just wanted to die and I didn’t want her to see that.”

‘Did you try to-”

“It was a week after she had moved out. Complete nervous breakdown.”

“Chris, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was bound to happen. The mind can only take so much before it has to reset itself.”

“Did you tell her?”

“No. I made my family promise not to say anything to anyone either. I made her leave for that exact reason. Sometimes you can just feel when you’ve reached your breaking point.”

“True. So she had no idea?”

“No. If she had, she probably would’ve came back and never went through with the divorce. I didn't want her spending her life fixing my mess, that’s my job.”

“Wow. I appreciate you telling me this.”

“I’m surprised I did. Had this been a year or two ago, I probably would’ve stopped talking to you as soon as you asked about her.”

“Really?”

“Yea. Failure sucks.”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like you failed. It’s not like all avenues had been exhausted.”

“If your ex-husband had did this, would you be so accommodating?”

“If he had actually told me all this happened with him, absolutely. This is so much different than the silence and moping around that I got.”

“What if it wasn’t?”

“I mean I definitely have to get over feeling so betrayed first. Ten years of a relationship and he couldn’t trust me enough to let me in, that’s a hard pill to swallow.”

“Yea but it happens. I imagine my ex-wife would probably feel that exact same way.”

“I might not know you well enough to say this but I really think you should find her and talk to her. The years may have softened her.”

“I don’t think it would be right. I caused her enough issues, the last thing she’d probably want is to be reminded of me.”

“There you go making decisions for her again. You never know until you find out.”

“I guess.”

“Unless you don’t want to find out.”

“What you mean?”

“I think you’re afraid that you really did break her and she never bounced back. I think finding out that she hasn’t moved on scares you more than anything.”

“I-”

“You love her and I don’t think you will ever stop, so you want her to be happy. You want her to have forgotten about you and got everything she ever wanted in life. But if she hasn’t, you’d have to realize that though you did everything to protect her, you made the biggest mistake making her go especially when she didn’t want to. As a woman who’s been there and still there, you didn’t give her a chance to be what you needed because you were so worried about not being what you thought she wanted, even though you never asked.”

Robyn pulled her covers up under her chin as she laid back staring at her ceiling. Talking to Chris, really got her to thinking about her ex-husband. Did something happen to him to make him shut him down? Did he really walk out to save her like he told her? If so, why didn't he trust her to be there for him? At least this Chris is healed but clearly she has a penchant for damaged men. Is she a damaged woman? Did her ex really break her to the point she could never recover?

Chris sat on the phone with Anesa, half listening to her ramble about her day. He was going to go get her from his sister’s house but after talking with Anna, he needed the night to himself, to regroup. He couldn’t say that she was wrong. He never really thought about if his ex-wife was happy or not since he left. At least not out loud. Like what right did he have to shake up her life again after shaking it up in the first place? That’s why he never asked about her. It wasn’t right to be about her life if he made the initiative to walk out of it. Anna really showed him the other side of the situation, it really wasn’t as pretty and hopeful as he thought it would’ve been. He never thought of his divorce as a mistake but did he really ruin something that could’ve been fixed?

#loveisblindfanfiction #chrianna

7 notes · View notes

anneapocalypse · 4 years

Text

RWBY 7.01 - 7.02

There is so much to talk about here. Spoilers!

(Please note that I’m not currently a FIRST member, so please don’t spoil me, thanks!)

We’re in Altas now! I love the aesthetic of Mantle, and I like that they didn’t go for the kind of full-on steel-and-glass futuristic aesthetic you might expect for all of Atlas. Instead, it’s more of a Victorian-futuristic look, with brick buildings and cobblestones and narrow streets.

Qrow’s new voice actor is killing it. Jason Liebrecht delivers a performance that is virtually indistinguishable from old Qrow if you aren’t listening closely for it. akisawana pointed out to me that he’s emoting more, which I think tracks for his character growth, but his voice and inflection is spot-on Qrow.

Themes of distrust build immediately, with Qrow uncertain if they should take to Ironwood. Weiss is concerned about the increased military presence in Mantle. We see the face of Winter Schnee on a screen, apparently the public face of Atlas military, and perhaps despite Weiss’s confidence we wonder if our heroes can trust her.

There is a fair amount of talky exposition in these first two episodes and some of it is rather on the nose, as the story quickly tries to get us up to speed with the situation and the general atmosphere in Mantle. People don’t love the surveillance state—we see some children throw a rock at one of the camera bots. But people love Atlas, and they’re proud of their city, even if difficult times.

And we meet Giapetto—I meant Pietro! Something of a convenient character, as he’s both high up in Atlas security and living and working down among the common people; he knows Ironwood, and Maria Calavera, and of course, his daughter has told him all about Team RWBY.

And as many of us probably suspected as soon as we laid eyes on this man, our sweet Penny has returned! I loved it through and through. “I thought you were dead” is one of those tropes in fiction that just always gets me, so Ruby’s face when she realized her friend was a live, and Penny’s face when she saw Ruby and recognized her… I needed a minute. It was just a truly delightful moment, made even more so by Penny’s exuberant tackle-hug.

I’m curious how it is that flightless Grimm are getting into Atlas, since I would think part of the appeal of a floating city in the first place is to keep them out. It wouldn’t stop flying Grimm, of course, but these monsters weren’t flying. EDIT: They weren’t in the floating city, they were down in Mantle, that’s my bad. Anyway, it was a fun battle to watch, as Oscar has learned a few things, and Blake backing up Yang and giving her that little nod was very sweet.

I am still banking on Oscar becoming the official new leader of Team JNR, making them Team ORNJ. Oscar’s outfits even have orange in them, and for nothing directly to do with his name. It’s a sign, I tell you!

Sadly, Qrow’s optimism must never go unpunished! and our heroes are promptly taken captive by the Aesop’s—er, I mean, the Ace Ops. ;) This feels more for drama than anything else, and it’s kind of reminiscent of Wash, Donut, Sarge, and Lopez being taken captive by the Feds in season 12 of Red vs. Blue. But there’s a valid reason: the did steal a ship.

I love how Weiss says, “Ironwood’s Ace Operatives” like they’re a big deal, but as soon as someone else acts impressed by them, she’s like, “They’re not that big a deal.” Oh Weiss! Some things about her never change, and the way she throws shade is one of those things.

I also think it’s pretty obvious that Weiss is still influenced by her upbringing, both as an Atlesian and as a Schnee. “Tyranny” honestly isn’t that much of an reach from what Ironwood’s doing. It’s easy to sympathize with him, because he’s just so goshdarn likable and he make a sadface and we do kind of know his heart’s in the right place—but he’s misguided as hell and even the people close enough to give him the benefit of the doubt can see it. Ironwood puts his faith in technology, and when his tech failed him he only doubled down, trying to make it stronger. And now that we know who the leak is from Atlas security, we can pretty much assume it’s only going to backfire on him harder next time.

“Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses” sounds very intriguing, and I’m always excited to meet new female leader characters! I’m also thrilled to hear we have an old Winter Maiden, and I can’t wait to meet her. Really appreciating the introduction of cool old ladies in recent volumes.

I love Blake’s expression of trust in Ruby’s leadership, which seems representative of everyone present. Ruby really is the reason they’re all here—it was her journey to Haven with team JNR that brought them all to where they are. She is not just the leader of Team RWBY but the leader of this whole expedition, especially with Ozpin having lost the trust of so many of them, and now absent entirely. They all trust her.

Ruby, by contrast, is not sure if she can trust Ironwood. I really like this. I like Ruby learning to be cagey and not bestow her trust and optimism on everyone she meets. This feels more like character growth than frankly anything we’ve seen before, and I will take it!

Ironwood has brought Penny and Winter into the inner circle. That alone I don’t really question; they’re both loyal and responsible. What I do question is his decision to tell the Ace Ops, given that… well, I know they’re supposed to be the best, and they did capture our heroes, but it’s also been kind of hard to take them seriously thus far and I question that their discretion and judgment is up to the level required.

But Ironwood doesn’t just want to tell them. He wants to tell everyone. And this is where we’re reminded, not just of the constant threat of Grimm, but that they’re drawn by negative emotions. This is a world where fear brings literal monsters, and in a world like that… the rules are just different. It’s easier to understand Ironwood’s protective instincts, I think, in that context. Managing the emotions of the public is a question of national security. It doesn’t make him right, but… it’s important context.

And here we come back to Ironwood’s reliance on technology and military might. He believes the Atlas military can keep the Grimm at bay and keep people safe. I think he’s vastly underestimating how little anyone outside of Atlas trusts the Atlesian military anymore. They won’t feel safe under his protection, especially in Vale—they might even actively resist his aid. And the more afraid and angry they are, the more Grimm will come.

There is something comical about the fact that Ironwood’s grand plan is… to rebuild Amity Arena. Oh, with a comm tower. That latter part makes perfect sense! Why it needs to be attached to a colosseum, less so. Style points, I guess? Morale booster? Sure.

It’s also comical how much our heroes buried the lede on Oscar being the new Ozpin. And here, we get confirmation that Oz is still gone. Not present, not communicating with Oscar. I thought maybe they’d come to an understand, but… nope. He’s just gone. Which feels ominous, but also makes me wonder: what if Ozpin really is gone from Oscar? What if he’s in someone else? We’ve kind of assumed that couldn’t happen, but we don’t really know for sure. It’s a far out theory, and I don’t really think it’s true, but wouldn’t it be wild if he was now in Ruby—if Ozpin’s presence were at the heart of her reticence, her keeping Ozpin’s full story from Ironwood.

Of course, it’s probably better character development for Ruby if she just did that on her own.

But that leads me to another point, which is that it just kinda seems foreshadowed at this point that Ozpin will probably, somehow, be removed Oscar. Everyone’s been thinking of the aura transfer machine from volume 3, and at this point I’d say it’s likely that’s what the machine was always for in the first place: Ozpin, who after so many lives might be tired of having to inhabit the bodies of unwilling hosts. Ironwood, with Pietro’s help, was probably trying to find a way to free Oz from the cycle of death and rebirth, by transferring him permanently into a synthetic body. It seemed like a possible solution when Amber was attacked. But the machine had to have been in development before then.

When Ruby tells Ironwood that according to Ozpin, all the lamp’s questions were used up, Ironwood says “Right… right” in such a way that makes me think he either knows, or suspects, that this isn’t true. Probably suspects. He walks to the window and says thoughtfully, “Oz told us that too, a long time ago.”

So Ironwood no longer fully trusts Ozpin. And Ruby can’t fully trust Ironwood. Even Qrow is uncertain. I think Leo’s betrayal was a real blow to him.

But the moment that I think truly cements Ironwood’s character is that despite all that, he returns the relic to Ruby for safekeeping. It is a gesture of good faith that I think is pretty unlikely to be anything but genuine. I cannot imagine him parting with that relic if he truly only wanted power for himself.

The Ironwood and Qrow hug was beautiful. Whether friendship or romance, there is definitely some kind of deep connection between the two of them. Enough that Ironwood needed to tell Qrow, personally, that it was good to see him, and underscore his sincerity. And Qrow, when James hugs him… he smiles. He looks affectionate. It’s honestly really sweet.

Our heroes are about to get weapon upgrades! I do think it’s interesting the way Winter says this: “While assisting the military, we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise.” And if they are no longer assisting the military…? Yeah, I do highly suspect our heroes will fall afoul of Atlas military again at some point.

This feels a strong opening to the new volume, and it’s laying out these themes of trust and distrust quite heavily, which I think will be very interesting to watch play out among all the characters involved. Most of all I’m looking forward to more of a character arc (read: any character arc) for Ruby, but there is a lot going on here in this new Atlas-centric part of the story. I’m excited to see more.

#rwby7 #rwby spoilers

24 notes · View notes

medjaichieftain · 7 years

Text

Silence Watches The Mummy and The Mummy Returns – Musings, Headcanons, Criticisms, & Observations About Ardeth, Horus, and the Medjai - [Part 2 of 2]

(Continued from here.)

[12.] All the commanders were able to be in one place on short notice? How big is a region, how far apart are these tribes, and how the hell did they get there so fast? Like how did Ardeth get word to them, have them decide to join him, and then have them all travel to that central location at literally a couple days’ notice? That really does not compute, heh. Then, once there, he told them, okay now all of you line up so I can just say who you are, and then you can go back to your tribes again? I mean, if I were them, I would’ve told Ardeth to go to hell, heh. Like thanks a lot asshole, we just traveled here at the speed of light and now you’re waving and smiling to us like okay bye-bye? Jerk. XD

[13.] So lemme get this straight… The Medjai can get to all the locations in the second movie while moving slowly on horseback, but the baddies need a train and a caravan of camels and the good guys need a dirigible? Uhm… let’s talk about distances and travel times, shall we? Haha. This is another aspect of writing these kinds of stories that needs to be paid attention to. Horses do not travel at the same speeds as camels, trains, and dirigibles. Also, if they knew the legend and knew that the big showdown with the Scorpion King would only occur at the last location the bracelet showed, then why did the Medjai travel around to all the locations? Why didn’t Ardeth just wait until they found the last location (which, didn’t they already kindof know it was in Ahm Shere anyway? Ardeth said the freaking legend right in the beginning of the damn movie, heh) and then just have them travel there? Because I doubt it was a linear path. He probably had these poor people trekking all around the frackin’ desert like, “Come on Ardeth, cut to the chase already!”

[14.] Okay, I love Horus. I do. But. There is no way… that a falcon… no matter how well trained… can go back and forth between two groups of people if he doesn’t know where they’re gonna be! I mean really?! Falcons are taught to fly to specific people (and yes, they have favorites) and specific locations. So he’s used to flying to Ardeth and he’s probably been familiarized with one or two other chieftains/commanders at least if not more. Okay. That’s fine. Now… Ardeth is in one place. He gives Horus a message and sends him off. Horus is trained to fly back to the location he last saw the other person! So he would go there and give the message and then fly back to Ardeth in the last place he saw Ardeth! And when he got there, Ardeth wouldn’t be there! XD And even if he managed to find him… the next message he was given to take to the other commanders… where would he bring it? Back to where he saw them last! (facepalm) I mean he can’t anticipate where they’re going to be and you can’t talk to a falcon and tell him where to go, heh. They’re trained specifically to go to certain places and people. There is a chance that he will go back to where he saw them last and circle for a while looking for them, but if they were covering as much ground as the bracelet was showing us in the movie, I doubt Horus would circle that wide looking for these people, heh.

[15.] Ardeth’s first thought when faced with a wall of Imhotep-shaped water that could bring down the dirigible and kill him and everyone else in it was to save Horus by telling him to fly away. FEELS. I mean, I possibly also think he let him fly to show them the best way out of the canyon (because the falcon is more instinctive than humans are), since Rick watched Horus and then told Izzy the way to go based on where he flew, but still… I like to think that Ardeth was kindof telling Horus to save himself. Well I don’t like to think it, I do think it. =)

[16.] Why is Ardeth commanding the entire Medjai army at the end of the second movie? Maybe Ardeth is a regional chieftain, but when all the tribes come together, he should be outranked by the higher commanders. So it is my understanding that there are twelve tribes, each with its own commander, and then regional chieftains within each tribe. The way I write him, I’ve kindof blended chieftain with commander, largely because to me Ardeth seemed to function much more like a commander. So screw it I’m making him one as far as duties are concerned heh. But in his particular religious warrior society, I would guess that three things should be respected above all: experience, age, and religious conviction. He’s got the last one, but he’s only in his late twenties in the first movie and early to mid-thirties in the second. Some of the other chieftains looked to be 40-60 years of age. Ardeth should not be commanding the whole combined army of all the Medjai tribes against the Army of Anubis at the end of the second movie, in my opinion. I mean, he looked amazing doing it so I’m really not going to complain, but... It seems unrealistic to me based on how tribal societies and religious organizations like his should normally be run. Did his actions during the first movie make all the other chieftains/commanders think hey, this guy can really handle his shit, let’s put him in charge even though he’s 10-20 years younger than us? I mean yeah, Imhotep got out, but Ardeth & Co. successfully imprisoned him again. That probably earned him a lot of kudos with the higher Medjai. Also, perhaps because the waking of Anubis’ Army pertained also to another awakening of Imhotep, it fell within the “jurisdiction” of his region, so since he was charged with all things Imhotep, it was his deal to lead all of the Medjai to help destroy him again? But the Army of Anubis had nothing to do with Imhotep, really. It had to do with Anubis and the Scorpion King. It was just that they woke Imhotep up to kill the Scorpion King and take over the Army… which I guess is reason enough. Whose jurisdiction did the locations in the second movie fall under? Were they all in Ardeth’s region? Because… that’s a big ass region, heh. I feel like at least one other chieftain should have been involved? But then also… he introduces the twelve commanders of the tribes of the Medjai like they work for him, heh. And they listen to him! So… I mean… there either has to be something else going on with Ardeth that we just weren’t privy to, or he had a history that was never explained, or they just saw a ton of potential in him and were maybe grooming him to take a higher leadership position? I am exploring all of those options in RPs because I can. XD

[17.] Again, I love Ardeth and he looks amazing when he’s fighting, but… there’s no way he would have survived the first round of battle with Anubis’ army at the end of the second movie. He had not slept at all that night and had fought through most of it. He would be exhausted and dehydrated and probably sore as hell. As a writer, I really focus on things like this because I’ve written full-scale battles just like that, sometimes after the character have been traveling for days or weeks, haven’t slept in a while, are wounded, are sick, are suffering from exposure, etc. As a writer, you need to keep track of all that. Your characters should not be super heroes (unless, you know, they are actual legit super heroes, and then okay but… make some rules and limits on their abilities and be consistent, heh). Ardeth was a normal human being with no magical powers whatsoever. He needs to sleep. And drink water. Think about it… He went from fighting in the jungle of Ahm Shere (including his fight with Lock-Nah), to what… running out of that jungle and through the damn desert to find his people because he didn’t have his horse or camel with him and the dirigible was down and Horus was dead (nope just winged, I swear, he’s okay folks)… and then went right from that into battling Anubis’ army? Soldiers that were godlike and huge and probably really freaking strong? We never saw him sleep or eat or drink any water. I’m sorry but… as cool as Ardeth is, he would have been having some serious exhaustion and dehydration issues which would have definitely affected his ability to fight.

[18.] Why is it that Ardeth ties back his hair in the second movie almost consistently in every situation but when he’s in battle and needs it out of his face? I know why. It’s because he looks a helluva a lot sexier fighting with his hair in his face, heh. But in all seriousness, as a warrior, your life depends on you being able to see clearly and from all angles. Hair in your face could spell death for you. As a supposedly seasoned warrior, Ardeth would have always had his hair tied back when he was in battle, assuming he wasn’t ambushed and had time to think about it. And really, he should want to keep it very short. Long hair is a liability. It can get caught on equipment and weapons. Your enemy can grab hold of it. Again, I’m not gonna argue to hard because his hair is amazing, but it made no sense from a warrior’s point of view to have it down in every single fight he was in.

[19.] Ardeth cries out Horus’ name when he’s shot down and starts to run after him, as if he’s a person who can respond back to the call, and as if Ardeth can reach him. It’s an immediate and emotional response. It speaks to the level of respect he had for the bird, but also to the depth of Ardeth’s love for him. He loved that damn falcon to bits. I firmly believe that. He wasn’t just a pet… or a living, breathing messenger bag, heh… he was Ardeth’s friend. Sad as hell. I hate that scene. [Stay tuned for a one shot shortly on this blog (as soon as I get time to write it) I which I change this and have Horus reunite with Ardeth.]

[20.] Omg Ardeth, you never do a sword flourish on horseback when riding at full speed toward an army of evil god warriors, haha. Wtf happens if you drop it? Great. Now you’re unarmed. Why would you even risk it? You also would not THROW the weapon. There was no guarantee that it would fall perfectly stuck into the sand such that he could retrieve it. In a life or death fight, this is simply too reckless. The stakes were too high for heroics and badassery. He should have been trying to stay alive every bit as much as fighting Anubis’ warriors. Beyond that, these people would have really valued their swords. Metal is expensive and making weapons is not something anybody can do. It is probably very difficult and/or expensive for the Medjai to make their own swords because where are they getting the metal from? They would probably scavenge weapons from the dead or buy them from cities and towns. But there’s no way they would be throwing them like they were a dime a dozen.

[21.] Ardeth is a good leader. Seriously. Like… I can see why he was put in such a position of power at such a young age, if that’s really what happened in the whole Medjai society. Like if it was decided or voted on, I mean. He does not act impulsively, and he does not risk the lives of his men unnecessarily. When Rick lights the dynamite when the Medjai attack the camp at Hamunaptra, Ardeth immediately decides this fight is over. He made his point, and if they stay longer, a lot more lives will be lost for not much more proving of the point. At the end of the second movie, when he orders the Medjai army to fight the Army of Anubis basically to their deaths, the way he does it is to make it not sound much like an order at all. He basically just yells out that he’s fighting to the death and it’s assumed that this is an order but it sounds more like “I’m with you” than “go die,” heh. He takes the time to look at the men standing closest to him. He knows there’s no other choice for them, but he places himself on their level when he looks at them. It’s not a decision made without consideration for the value of their lives. He understands the gravity of the decision and what he’s asking them to do because he’s going to die right alongside them. It’s a small gesture that really boosts morale in the moment, even as grim as their situation was. And the cool thing about Ardeth is that he didn’t even do it for that reason, he did it because he actually cared about the people he was fighting with.

[22.] When Ardeth makes the decision to die fighting Anubis’ army, and thus makes that decision for everyone else standing there with him, what is going on in his head? I mean, there really was only one choice, given the Medjai’s conviction, and even if they had chosen to flee, I doubt they would have actually escaped. There was nowhere to run. But after making that seriously heavy decision, did he feel badly for essentially telling the whole of the Medjai to die right here and now? And what about his own life? I have always headcanoned that Ardeth assumed he would not live to be an old man. It had nothing to do with skill or luck or anything like that, but he had seen countless other Medjai fall before their natural time. Such was the nature of his calling in life. So when he decides that he is going to die fighting Anubis’ army, was he thinking… “geez, I didn’t think I’d have this much time to ponder this?” He probably expected to die young, but I bet he thought it would happen randomly, in a split-second, in the heat of battle. I don’t think he ever planned on having all that time while waiting for the army to reach them to think, “hey… this is it. I’m going to die right now.” And then, when the army is banished, he had to be thanking Allah for that, and I think he might have believed that the courage of the Medjai had been rewarded. Perhaps he or other members of the society would tell the story for years to come of the time their faith and bravery was tested… and they passed the test.

#the mummy #the mummy returns #ardeth bay #horus #the medjai #meta

9 notes · View notes