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shinymisty-blog · 3 years

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Puella Magi, Sonic Magika (Side Story Underground)

Yep. I told you I had a new AU in my brain.

Before we begin, things to know about the Puella Magi universe. -A Magical Girl is made by signing a contract with a small creature called Kyubey. Without Kyubey, it wouldn’t really be Puella Magi, so I cannot remove Kyubey. -In signing the contract, the girls receive a Soul Gem, a symbol of the contract and contains their magic (Among...over things) so they can fight Witches, which are creatures that spread curses and feed off of the misery of others, hiding in their own Labyrinths and lure unexpecting humans in with their Witches' Kiss. In return for all this, the girls get any wish they ask for granted. Their wish is what determines what their magic is, for the most part. -Using up their magic causes their Soul Gem to darken with impurity, so they need to remove the impurities with Grief Seeds, which are dropped by Witches when defeated. If not careful, The Grief Seed will hatch into a Witch. -Witches also summon Familiars to defend their labyrinth and, eventually, turn into Witches themselves. Familiars do not drop Grief Seeds. -Only young girls can turn into Magical Girls, and only those Kyubey deems worthy of it.

In this particular Universe, a few things are changed to better fit the Madoka concepts with the Sonic world. -Instead of Magical Girls, they are Magical Mobians. Which means only Mobians are able to be granted wishes. -The character’s powers, like Sonic’s speed, are from their Soul Gems. -The knowledge of Magical Mobians is a little more known than it is in Madoka. This doesn’t mean all Mobians are Magical, however.

Another thing I need to bring up before I begin, I NEED to clarify again that this AU WILL contain Spoilers for the anime Puella Magi, Madoka Magica. Plus, Puella Magi, Madoka Magica, while service level seems like your typical magical girl anime, if it was just that, I would obviously not be here making an AU of it with the Sonic Characters. The Manga adaptation of PMMM is rated for Older Teens for a reason. If you are unsure if you can handle the darker tones the series can go into, which this AU would follow the same dark tones, I suggest looking up how dark the series is and if you can handle it. You have been warned!

--Into the AU, My original idea of this AU spawned from a particular ending credit theme from the anime. Replacing the two characters of the anime (in the song) with Sleet and Dingo, who, at the time, were all I was fixated on. No Soul Gems, no Witches. Just that song and them.

But I am now older and more bored, I have put context into the idea I had back in 2016/17. This is a rough, spoiler free idea of the Sonic Underground side plot of this universe. Sleet and Dingo are, now, Magical Mobians and live in this universe where magic is present. The conflict of Underground is now that the Sonic, Manic and Sonia also have been granted a wish each and are Magical Mobians. Robotnik, who is still a human but also seems to know about Kyubey and how Magical Mobians work, is after their Soul Gems for unexplained reasons and asks for Sleet and Dingo to take receive the Soul Gems intact, being promised endless supply of Grief Seeds in working with him. This, at least, fills that gripe I, personally, had with Underground that Robotnik wanted them captured alive. In this universe, he is after their Soul Gems.

Sleet’s wish is simple. “I wish to be regarded as the best Bounty Hunter in all of Mobius!” His wish is granted, and his weapon are different kinds of guns that he can swap out when he feels the need, though his magic is very...bad. Dingo’s wish is also pretty simple. “I wish I could be helpful to Sleet.” Because of this particular wish, he doesn’t really have a weapon. Instead, his magic is determined by what Sleet needs at that given time. Hense his ability to transform.

The three Hedgehog’s also had made wishes. Sonic: “I wish to be able to save all of Mobius,” Manic: “I wish I could beat down Robotnik,” and Sonia “I wish I was able to find mother.” Their wishes are all granted, given them their own magic. Their powers would need to be...reworked, however. Sonic would still have his speed, being able to run around and save people, Sonia would be able to locate things, maybe through soundwaves (to keep with the music motif) and Manic would be more in strength, maybe using drum sticks as tools to beat the ground and cause damage that way.

I bring up their wishes word by word because HOW someone asks for a wish is important. For example, Sonia could have easily asked “I wish mother was here” or “I wish I knew were mother was” and it would result in a completely different result, and requires different amount of magical energy. This is also important because of Sleet’s wish, being that he wished to be regarded as the best Bounty Hunter, and not just “to be the best Bounty Hunter.” Because of how he worded his wish, people see him as this great bounty hunter, but his skills might not be all up to snuff. In the end, it is just a label.

Anyway, Sleet and Dingo fight the witches as they are meant to, with Sleet hording all of the Grief Seeds that are dropped and only giving Dingo use of them whenever his Soul Gem gets to dark. They leave the Familiars alone, wanting them to grow into Witches for their Grief Seeds, turning a blind eye whenever there are people in danger if it isn’t a Witch causing it. Shortly after the hedgehogs gain their wishes, Robotnik calls for the two and requests their assistance. Get their Soul Gems, and you can have all the Grief Seeds you want. Sleet is very much on board with this, as he sees the hedgehogs as competition for Grief Seeds. He is informed, though, that the Soul Gems must be intact and whole. He didn’t care for the body, just the gem.

Events play roughly the same, though now the hedgehogs are constantly saving the civilians from Witches and Familiars alike, and quicker than Sleet and Dingo had been. All while constantly beating Sleet and Dingo in clever ways. Sleet starts getting more and more frustrated over each defeat, and is realizing first hand that his magic is far weaker than Dingo or the hedgehog’s magic. He desperately tries to hide his insecurities, but it starts to show through his Soul Gem, which is darkening much more quickly than Dingo’s ever has. After all, they aren’t fighting Witches anymore, so they aren’t getting any Grief Seeds.

The two go to Robotnik asking for some so they can continue hunting for hedgehogs and their Soul Gems. But Robotnik declines, reminding them that the deal was for them to get the hedgehog’s Soul Gems first, then they get paid. Sleet is furious about this, but goes off to continue hunting anyways. He doesn’t quite understand just how important clearing his Soul Gem is, as he never had to deal with it getting darker in the first place. He just thinks that it is just a side effect and just makes him a little weaker.

However, Sleet and Dingo continue to fail at catching the hedgehogs, and Dingo is now noticing how much weaker Sleet has started becoming, unable to even use his own guns to fight. The three hedgehogs also take notice how dangerously dark Sleet’s Soul Gem is getting and, out of the kindness of their hearts, offer some of their Grief Seeds for the two to use. Dingo, who has more magic and his Soul Gem is stronger, hence his Soul Gem not being as Dark as Sleet’s, happily takes one of the Grief Seeds and goes to clean Sleet’s Soul Gem first, noting just how much darker Sleet’s is, but Sleet violently declines, saying that he wasn’t going to take anything from the enemy and goes to talk with Robotnik once more, growing more and more stubborn and upset.

Sleet confronts Robotnik, asking why he was withholding any of the Grief Seeds that he was promising them, as they needed them to fight the hedgehogs in the first place. Robotnik explains that there were no Grief Seeds to begin with, that he didn’t have any and had used the promise of an endless supply to win over the greed within Sleet, who only fought the Witches for their Grief Seeds to begin with.

Sleet is furious, but is now starting to feel serious pain within his Soul Gem, causing him to question what was going on and why Robotnik needed these three Hedgehog’s Soul Gems particularly, adding that things would have been easier if they could have just shattered their Soul Gems instead. It is then that Kyubey appears, the first time since they made the contract with Sleet and Dingo, and explains to Sleet that Robotnik just wanted the hedgehog gone, as he knew what their wishes were and knew that they had the powers to overthrow him. Kyubey convinced Robotnik to hunt for their Soul Gems, specifically, because their Soul Gems contain their actual souls, and that the hedgehog’s bodies were just a husk being controlled by the souls. They mention that Sleet’s Soul Gem is also his soul, Robotnik adding that he had learned that Sleet’s soul was much smaller and weaker than any of the other Soul Gems, so he felt he was a Magical Mobian to throw at the hedgehogs, as not much would be lost if he was killed.

Sleet is very much upset over this, demanding more answers. Robotnik happily explains that the three hedgehog’s Soul Gems, when they are captured, would turn into Grief Seeds and hatch into dangerously evil Witches, which causes Sleet to become confused. “But they aren’t Witches, they are Magical Mobians. They aren’t the same things!” Kyubey explains that all Magical Mobians turn into Witches once their Soul Gems are at their limit, casually adding that Sleet’s Grief Seed was already starting to form. Sleet, panicked, looks down at his Soul gem to notice that it was breaking, and was starting to look more like a Grief Seed. He feels himself quickly spiriling into a state of dispare.

Dingo then rushes into the room where everything is happening, and notices Sleet on his knees, holding his Soul Gem, and, in a state of panic, tries to use the Grief Seed he was given to purify his Soul Gem, only to watch in horror as it fully forms into a Grief Seed. Sleet falls, lifelessly, into Dingo’s arms and Dingo watches as Sleet’s Grief Seed start to hatch into a Witch. Robotnik leaves the room, saying aloud how Sleet’s Witch was going to be rather pathetic and easy to kill, telling Dingo that even he could deal with it himself. And that he would have to deal with it himself, as his partner was now the Witch. Dingo, still holding Sleet’s lifeless body tightly, watches as the room around him turns into Sleet’s Witch’s Labyrinth.

Dingo is very distraught over this, watching as Sleet’s Grief Seed hatches into the Witch La Pendu. At first, he tries to fight it, but realizes that, without Sleet, he is pretty much useless, and tries to escape. However, because he is still holding Sleet, he is having serious troubles. He feels a sudden wave of guilt of his own wish failing him. He wasn’t helpful to Sleet now, quite the opposite. He had failed Sleet, and now feels he has no meaning himself. He feels himself falling into despair himself, his own Soul Gem quickly turning black. But before he lets his Soul Gem turn into a Grief Seed itself, the three Hedgehog rush in and, quite easily, defeat La Pendu, causing his labyrinth to vanish and his Grief Seed to drop. Sonia takes La Pendu’s Grief Seed and cleans Dingo’s Soul Gem with it, telling him that he was dangerously close to becoming that Witch’s dinner, and should be more careful.

While going to purify Sleet’s Soul Gem, they realize that his Soul Gem was gone and starts to question what had happened. Dingo explains to them all that had happened, and they are mortified, but vow to avenge Dingo’s partner, offering Dingo a place in their team to help avenge his friend. Dingo politely declines, saying he was only around to help Sleet. That his wish was made in dedication to help Sleet and to keep him safe. He adds that he knows Sleet more than anyone, and know that he would be scared if he was left alone and, calmly, holds La Pendu’s Grief Seed close to his own Soul Gem, saying that it was still Sleet’s Soul Gem, and that he wasn’t going to leave him alone. He suggests to the siblings to leave, and deal with Robotnik. They are ushered away by Manic, who quietly tells them he knows what Dingo is wanting to do.

They return a few moments later, unable to find Robotnik, seeing Dingo lying beside Sleet, holding his hand. They grow closer, unable to sense Dingo’s magic, with Manic quietly noticing that his Soul Gem was shattered in his hand, along with La Pendu’s Grief Seed. The siblings vow to avenge the two.

Que the song that started this whole idea, “And I'm Home.”

#Puella Magi AU #puella magi madoka magica #sonic the hedgehog #Sonic AU #Sonic Underground #manic the hedgehog #sonia the hedgehog #Sleet and Dingo #Sonic Underground AU #magical girls #magical mobians #Puella Magi Sonic Magica

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the-desolated-quill · 6 years

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The Woman Who Fell To Earth - Doctor Who blog (Change, my dear. And it seems not a moment too soon)

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Never before have I gone into a Doctor Who episode with such a mixture of excitement and dread as I did with The Woman Who Fell To Earth. On the one hand we’ve finally got a female Doctor, something most Whovians have been waiting decades for, but on the other hand she’s being written by Chris Chibnall, a writer who (and let’s be generous here) has never exactly managed to win me over in the past. His past Doctor Who episodes were often derivative, stupid and poorly written and while yes he did create Broadchurch (a show that people assure me is good, but I still have little to no interest in watching), he was also the showrunner of the god awful spinoff Torchwood, which was essentially Doctor Who’s Suicide Squad.

So yeah, the thought of him sitting in the driver’s seat and at such a crucial moment in Doctor Who’s long history didn’t exactly get me hyped for the new series and if I’m honest, come Sunday 7th October, I was bracing myself for the worst.

Then the most pleasant of surprises. The Woman Who Fell To Earth turned out to be really, really good. I’m actually gobsmacked by how much I enjoyed this episode. I never thought I’d see the day where I’d be praising a Chibnall episode, but here we are.

I think one of the reasons why I enjoyed this episode so much is because it feels like all the aspects that annoyed me about RTD and Moffat’s respective eras have been sheared away. There’s no convoluted plots. No dangling arcs. No forced whimsy. No smart arse dialogue or pretentious speeches. In fact this had a lot more in common with a classic series story in terms of its pacing and scale. It’s not some global threat where everyone is dashing about like headless chickens on speed. The threat is contained to one town in Northern England where only a handful of people are in danger. Even the music has mercifully been restrained. While I do have a fondness for Murray Gold’s work on Doctor Who, his music often had a tendency to go too overboard, bombarding the senses and drowning the audience in slush. New composer Segun Akinola offers a much more subtle and moving score. It enhances the action and certain emotional moments without bashing you over the head and, crucially, Akinola knows when to shut up and let the actors carry the scene.

I must say it’s such a relief to see some humanity injected back into Doctor Who again. After years of convoluted, timey wimey Moffat nonsense, Chibnall has had the good sense to bring everything back to basics. It’s not about the aliens, the special effects, the exotic locations or the overly pretentious plots that require a fucking flow chart in order to make sense of them. It’s all about the characters. And what wonderful characters they are. Ensemble casts rarely work on Doctor Who, but I have to say I really like this cast. Out of all the new companions, Ryan is probably my favourite. Tosin Cole gives a really good performance and I really like how he’s written. In particular I like how the episode portrays his dyspraxia. The way New Who has handled things like disability and mental health in the past has left a lot to be desired, but here Chibnall gets it just right. He never makes a big thing out of it and the episode never comes across as patronising or condescending. It’s treated like any other character trait, which is exactly how it should be.

Mandip Gill is also good as Yasmin Khan, a police officer who feels like she’s not getting the most out of her life or career. She reminds me slightly of Rose Tyler, but unlike Rose, Yasmin is more proactive. She doesn’t sit around waiting for something to happen. She pursues new opportunities when they come up and gets frustrated when someone puts a wall in front of her. It’ll be interesting to see how she’ll adapt to time travel over the course of the series.

And then there’s Graham, played by Bradley Walsh. To all my non-British readers, let me give you a quick education on the wonders that is Mr. Walsh. He’s one of our most versatile performers. He’s been a footballer, a comedian, an actor and a gameshow host. He’s an incredibly funny man as well as a great dramatic performer. Having seen him in Law & Order UK, I knew he’d be perfect and he didn’t disappoint. There’s a weariness to him that’s incredibly charming and likeable, but then he’s able to go from comedic to emotional at the drop of a hat. The eulogy he gives at Grace’s funeral was incredibly powerful and moving, as are the moments where he tries to bond with Ryan, who’s clearly sceptical of any kind of father figure in his life due to how unreliable his dad is. Both Graham and Ryan are the ones to keep a close eye on I think. Ryan in particular will be carrying a lot of baggage as the series progresses. His determination to ride a bike shows not only the pain he feels toward losing his Nan, but also the guilt. If he hadn’t lost his temper, chucked his bike down a cliff and then pressed the weird glowing shapes, none of this would have happened. He clearly feels he’s responsible for her death and I’m looking forward to seeing not only how he grows and moves on from that, but also how Graham will step up and help him, being the grandfather Ryan needs if not necessarily the one he wants.

It’s the characterisation that is The Woman Who Fell To Earth’s greatest strength. Not just the from the main cast, but the supporting characters too. Little moments like the old man telling his granddaughter he loves her before getting killed by the Stenza or the crane operator listening to self motivation tapes is what gives this episode more depth and soul. And then of course there’s Grace, played wonderfully by Sharon D. Clarke. I’m hard pressed to think of a single character from the Moffat era that I gave anything resembling a shit about, which is why it’s so remarkable that I’m able to care this much about Grace despite the short time we get to know her. She’s caring, supportive and energetic. She feels like the perfect companion for the Doctor and I would have loved to have seen her in the TARDIS with everyone else, which is what makes her death so heartbreaking. She’s not some random redshirt getting axed because the script requires more tension. She’s a three dimensional character we really like coming to a tragic end.

Okay. Okay. Let’s get to the main topic of conversation. How’s the new Doctor? Have the ‘feminazis’ ruined it? Is she swapping makeup tips with the Cybermen? Is she struggling to parallel park the TARDIS? Did she accidentally kill a whole species because it was her time of the month? (these are all things I’ve seriously heard butthurt fanboys say since Jodie Whittaker was cast and I think we can all agree it’s beyond pathetic). Well, quelle surprise, turns out the Doctor’s sex change didn’t jumpstart the SJW apocalypse after all. Who’d have thought women could be Doctors too? What a novel concept.

The minute she fell into the train, I was sold. Whereas Peter Capaldi took three whole series to finally come into his own (not that Capaldi is necessarily to blame for that. Blame the monkey at the fucking typewriter for that one), with Jodie Whittaker it’s instantaneous. She is the Doctor.

It helps that Chibnall largely dispenses with all the usual post-regeneration bullshit. With the fainting and gurning kept to a minimum, we can get on with actually learning about this new Doctor and I love what I’m seeing so far. She’s quick-witted, compassionate and quirky, but not to the point where it becomes annoying like Matt Smith’s often did (in my opinion. Tastes differ, obviously. I personally found Eleven to be unbearable at times). After the Twelfth Doctor, with his borderline misanthropy and his inability to even so much as blow his nose without a companion to hold his hand, Thirteen comes like a breath of fresh air.

One thing I especially like about her is her complete lack of arrogance and boring machismo that previous New Who Doctors were sometimes guilty of. Rather than having her boast about how clever she is, like Ten or Eleven would have, she just shows us by building a new sonic screwdriver out of spoons. And she never tries to lord her moral superiority over others. Quite the opposite in fact. This is a Doctor who clearly values teamwork and can recognise strength in others. There are flashes of darkness too, like when she manipulates the Stenza into killing himself with his own DNA bombs, but she’s not driven by some inherent belief that she is right and they are wrong. She’s driven by the fact that she has gotten to know these people and doesn’t want anything to happen to them. Thirteen is quite possibly one of the most down to earth Doctors I’ve ever seen and I’m extremely excited to see more.

As I said, The Woman Who Fell To Earth is largely about its characters, which is just as well because the plot is... I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but it’s definitely the least interesting thing about the episode. I liked the look of the Stenza, with the teeth embedded in his face, and the gathering coil. I liked that it was a small scale threat and largely self contained, and I liked the way the plot slowly unfolds over the course of the story. However it is a bit derivative. The Stenza is pretty much a PG-13 version of the Predator and he is a bit one note. That being said, it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment factor of the episode. By keeping the plot simple for the most part, it allows Chibnall to fully explore the characters, who are clearly supposed to be the main focus.

In short, I’m pleased to say that I really liked Chris Chibnall’s first offering as showrunner (never thought I’d ever type this). The Woman Who Fell To Earth is without a doubt one of the most confident starts to a new Doctor I’ve ever seen and I’m very much anticipating where the series goes from here. For the first time, in a long time, I’m excited for the next Doctor Who adventure :D

(Oh, btw, all those idiots who were saying that Doctor Who’s ratings have been falling and that a female Doctor would kill the show off, so far this series the ratings have been at its highest since the show came back in 2005. Guess the reason why the ratings were low during the Moffat era wasn’t because of the World Cup, warm weather, streaming television or SJW propoganda. It was because Steven Moffat is a really shit writer. Go figure)

#the woman who fell to earth #chris chibnall #doctor who #thirteenth doctor #jodie whittaker #graham o'brien #bradley walsh #yasmin khan #mandip gill #ryan sinclair #tosin cole #bbc #review #spoilers

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canadian-buckbeaver · 6 years

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Edgeberry’s Second Chance - Chapter 23 - Battle Front

MTT has shown that he is more than willing to fight his ex-lover and sweet Berry. The question is not if Edge will spare him, but will he survive the encounter?

- I also went through and updated Chapter 22 -

If you like what I do, please leave me a kudos/like and a comment, or buy me a ko-fi!

Undeterred at the weapons, his fans cheered. Finally MTT was showing them new tricks. He wasn’t just up there on the stage, dancing and singing horribly, nor was he trying to tell his off-colour jokes. Here was the real entertainment. He was a Human Killer after all, what could two skeletons do to him?

“STAY BEHIND ME,” Edge ordered Berry. One of his swords came up to guard the little skeleton. “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE IS NOW CAPABLE OF. STAY BEHIND ME AND, AT THE FIRST CHANCE, RUN AND HIDE. I WILL FIND YOU LATER.”

“But Edge… I…”

Edge looked over at him. “I WON’T LOSE YOU AGAIN, BERRY…. NOT TO HIM.” There was a sincere light to his eyes. Gone was the madman and the wild Fell warrior, the one who would dust or kill anyone at the chance of raising his LV. Here was the monster that Berry had seen deep inside, the calm warrior, the one who only wanted to do what is right.

There was a sound of chainsaws and Edge had just enough time to raise and cross his swords in time to catch MTT’s blow. In his hands were two chainsaws, both smoothly purring, silver glinting in the spotlight. The chainsaws sang and whirled desperately against the red bones as Edge’s shaking arms tried to push him back.

* * * * *

“What’s wrong Papy~” MTT asked, “seems like you were a little distracted there. Perhaps a little dust in the old eye socket?” he taunted, pushing forward with the machines. Edge lost a little ground with the chainsaws, boots gauging the floor, gritting his teeth as he struggled to push the robot back. The crowd was cheering, like a horde of hounds desperate for blood. This was the best performance that MTT had put on in a long time.

“BERRY…” Edge whispered, his eye lights leaving the robot’s and risking a quick glance around. The little skeleton was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had taken Edge’s advice and had been able to hide. He hated asking the little skeleton to do that, yet Berry was obviously untrained in this kind of fighting. Berry would be more likely to survive if he hid himself away. Edge was trained in this act of war, he knew how to act and what to do.

He hoped so… worst comes to worst, he didn’t want Berry to see him die.

Things were bad. He could see that MTT’s LV and stats were higher than when they had last seen each other. They had always been high though not as high as his. But now… now those numbers even higher than Edge’s. He was a huge, deadly threat. And now the robot had his arms trapped by his chainsaws. If he even moved one of the swords he risked having the metal teeth cut into him and his armour. He briefly debated allowing it to happen, if only to give Berry time to escape, but he threw the idea away.

No. He was Edge, Captain of the Royal Guards, and beloved mate to Berry. His mate tattoo still glowed with fresh magic, his bones still warm from Berry’s heat.

He wouldn’t give up so easily.

He was Determined.

His hands and arms may be trapped, but when had that ever stopped him? He had been named captain for a reason. Taking a step forward, he angled his toes behind the robot’s. Fixing the angle of his bone attacks, he pressed himself forward. First MTT took a small, almost tiny, step back, and then another, stumbling over Edge’s feet and causing him to let off some of the pressure of his weapons. The crowd began to get excited. This wasn’t going to be such a one-sided match after all. Papyrus was fighting back.

With a great shove, Edge pushed MTT back, causing him to wobble backwards and release him. Now, with adequate distance between them, now he could show MTT exactly what he was holding back.

Taking a charging step forward Edge cut down on MTT on an angle, nicking one of his prized chainsaws. The blow, although looked useless and merely cosmetic in nature, gave the motor a small hiccup. Luckily the other monsters, as well as MTT, seemed to be unaware of this. They jeered and cheered, hands clapping and feet stamping. Exactly what go MTT riled up. As he and MTT began to dance with his chainsaws and blows, red sparks began to fly and sizzle around them. Metal teeth met bone, time and time again. Their feet moved effortlessly over the floor, crossing and coming close, retreating and teasing.

There was a slight change to their routine. Their blows echoed louder in the hall, and they became closer to their targets, only for MTT to move out of the way in the nick of time. He began to see it in MTT’s eyes. The robot was now showboating, gladly showing off what moves that they could pull off together and building the crowd’s excitement…

Or was it for a more sinister reason…?

Faster and faster they danced. Arms and legs were a blur of sweat and sparks. They were equal titans in this field. Neither one of them seemed willing to give up so easily, each of them had something that they were fighting for. Something that, to them, meant something.

MTT’s chainsaw, the one that Edge had damaged, was beginning to blow white smoke. There was a stutter in its engine, its speed uneven. MTT was looking at it puzzled, the previous blow still not computing with him. Edge flipped his sword in his hands, preparing to slice through the glass stomach that housed his borrowed soul.

“Edge!” A voice cried out from the crowd, drawing Edge’s attention away from the fight. Blue! His eyes fell to the audience, looking for him…

Realizing his mistake a second too late.

MTT kicked him in the chance, sending him off of his feet and onto his spine. As he grunted in pain his bones disappeared,

And a red and yellow stiletto boot came down on his armoured chest.

“Typical voice recording, darling. Hopefully you don’t mind me using it. Figured that you would at least like to hear his voice one last time before the end.” MTT smirked evilly at him, single chainsaw in his many hands now. The crowd was frantic in its cheering, screaming for the robot to kill him.

As MTT raised the chainsaw in triumph, Edge closed his eyes. He thought of Berry’s open arms and large smile, complete with the hearts in his eyes…

“BERRY…” he whispered as the chainsaw began to scream towards his soul.

There was a thunking sound, but no pain.

Edge’s eyes flew open and he saw the long, blue bone impaling the chainsaw into the stage, jamming the mechanisms. MTT had looked away from Edge and four more bones shot towards him. These bones cut through his elbows and knees, lacing through the metal like water, and skewering him to the wall behind them. It reminded Edge of those insects that were put on display for humans to look over…

But who…

“That was a dirty trick Mettaton. And Edge was going to beat you fair and square.” Berry’s voice came from beside Edge, his left eye still shimmering with magic. For a moment he resembled Cherry… “Luckily, he has me to even up the odds.”

The robot tried to pull himself from the wall but the bones stuck him fast, even damaging his HP when he tried to move. Instead, he settled to scowl at Berry. “So what is it that you intend to have me do? Write lines? Send me into the corner or in my bedroom for a time out? Spank me? Because I’ve been a very naughty boy, Berry. I could use some punishment.”

The double meanings were not lost on Berry. A small flush had come to his cheeks but he did not respond to them. “And have risk you entering the land of Swap again? I don’t think so. How did you enter to drop off that letter?” he demanded.

MTT only chuckled as a long, metallic tongue wiped at some loose oil. “It was simple really. I had long since figured out how and where Papyrus goes to visit you… it was only a matter of turning it on.”

Edge wanted to growl. Of course… he couldn’t blame Cherry for his mistake. He had felt eyes occasionally when he had booted up the teleporter before but had dismissed it as his own feelings of paranoia. But rule number one…

You can never be too careful in UnderFell.

Berry helped Edge stand, refusing to look at the robot. “Let’s go home.” he said, suddenly looking tired. “I… my brother…”

Would probably be worried sick about him now, especially if he realized that Edge himself was with him, Edge thought. Picking up Berry, he grabbed the blanket that he had used to wrap him in to come to UnderFell and began to carry him out.

“And what about me, I ask again?” MTT’s voice broke the little bubble between the two skeletons.

Edge turned to him, scrutinising him with his clear eye lights. It was a tempting thought to dismantle the ego-mantic but, at the same time.

“You’re not worth it. The EXP, the LV, none of it.” Berry said, looking to him. “There are other, more pressing and important things to worry about.”

The crowd was becoming restless again. Loud whispers to one another, and sinister chuckles could be heard. “BESIDES METTA, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN ACT BECOMES OBSOLETE… THEY GET THE HOOK.” Edge said before walking out the door again. Walking quickly, he and Berry had exited the hotel and were well on their way to the teleporter. Edge didn’t dare look back or look at the faces of the audience.

“The hook?” Berry asked, looking up at him. “Is… is that a pun?”

Edge shook his head just as there was a loud, glitching scream from behind them. Walking faster he pressed Berry’s skull closer to his chest, not allowing him to look back, not even once. “It’s a torturous procedure that was once only used in traitors of war…” he said simply. “HE MAY HAVE BEEN SOLD OFF TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, OR THEY MAY HAVE ALL RUSHED HIM. BUT I DON’T WANT TO FIND OUT.”

Berry looked slightly pale, his mouth posed for another question before Edge made it to the little house in UnderFell. So many memories… memories of him and Sans as baby bones, some foggy ones of their father, Gaster. Countless memories of watching TV or goofing off or cooking. Good and bad, young and old, the house had been with them every step of the way. And yet, when he looked to the little, sweet, blue skeleton in his arms, he knew that he had all that he needed.

Without looking back at his hometown, Edge strode through the machine, holding tight to Berry. As they walked through the glowing portal, Edge magically turned it off behind them, removing a single screw and tossing it into the universe behind him. That would be enough to prevent any further access.

Now no one could access the sweet world of UnderSwap… and he could no longer return to where he was now a traitor, to where his life was in ruins… he had murdered a famous celebrity, probably defied the orders of the king…

It seemed like a fair trade.

#edgeberry #papyton #us!sans #uf!papyrus #uf!mettaton #fighting #canon-ish mtt fight #underswap sans #underfell papyrus #Underfell mettaton #character death #torture #weapons

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statusquoergo · 7 years

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I HAVE! A LOT ACTUALLY! Harvey helping Mike picking up a suit for the wedding at Renes. And like he eould look at Mike trying one and just knows... like not realizing he loves him, but accepting, embracing it. He would just get lost in his thoughts for a moment and Mike would go like "Harvey? What do you think?" and... i'll leave to you to continue. Happy ending pleaseee

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It’s a long drive over to Rene’s.

Actuallyit’s not, not even close, but Harvey lost his sense of temporal recognitionsometime during the brief drive from his condo to Mike and Rachel’s place; onceMike slides into the backseat beside him with a giddy little bounce, bitingdown on a perfectly innocent smile, the next fifteen minutes somehow bothstretch out to three hours and condense to approximately zero seconds. ThenMike grins at Harvey and opens the car door again, and Harvey thinks he pausesfor a second or two before he gets out (which would be confusing if true), butat this point it’s impossible to know for sure (so it doesn’t mean anything).

Mike has the good graces to hold the shop door open andallow Harvey to enter first; Harvey gifts him a gracious little quirk of hislips, and Rene is upon them the moment door snicks shut.

“Harvey,” he dotes, stepping forward with his handsclasped behind his back. “Come to discuss a new palette for the upcomingseason?”

“Not today,” Harvey says with as much authority as he canmuster, given the circumstances. “Rene, you remember Mike Ross.”

“But of course,” Rene says smoothly, turning hisattention to Mike with far more respect than he probably did when they firstmet. The man knows good taste; he can see how far Mike’s come. (Harvey smilesproudly.)

“Interested in opening your own account, Mister Ross?”

Mike laughs clumsily; to his credit, Rene seemsunaffected.

“I don’t think so,” Mike tries to recover. “I’m gettingmarried, actually, and I figured if I wanted to look my best, I needed to…go tothe best.”

Good boy.

The polite deference in Rene’s smile softens his featuresfor only a moment before it’s time to get down to business. Ushering Mike tothe fitting area, hidden away in the back behind a subtle corner, Rene beginsflicking through a rack of sample suits, commenting a little snidely that themeasurements he has on file from Mike’s last fitting are surely outdated, butat least the fabric will hang better this time around that he’s not such alittle slip of a thing.

Mike doesn’t look even remotely offended, craning hisneck to survey the samples for himself, and Harvey marvels silently at how wellhe’s begun to fit into this world. It’s no wonder, of course; he’s alwaysbelonged here.

Abruptly, Rene stops muttering under his breath and pullsthree suits from the rack; holding a decent brown one up in front of Mike, hefurrows his brow and then scowls briefly, putting it back and taking a darkerblue in its stead. Harvey nods his approval at the swap, not that anyone’spaying attention.

“In this order,” Rene directs, handing the suits to Mikeone by one. “Come along, Mister Ross,”he presses when Mike only holds them nervously, “I am a busy man.”

Mike nods and looks around for a chair or something tolay the two remaining suits on in the meantime; when Harvey offers his arms, hesmiles widely in relief and hands them over.

Harvey steps back to wait.

“Glen plaid,”Rene says as Mike buttons the jacket of the first suit, a nice neutral greynumber that reminds Harvey of Roger Thornhill. “Pay no mind to the fit, this isobviously a mere trial run, but you strike me as a man who has a healthyrespect for something with a bit of history behind it.”

Gripping the lapels, Mike turns slowly and looks backover his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His lipsare parted slightly, his eyes focused but just a touch narrowed, and Harvey hasno trouble understanding his thoughts; he likes it but doesn’t love it, andhe’s afraid to upset Rene by disagreeing with his taste. Mike is right—the suitis a nice shade, and the cut will work well on him once it’s fitted properly,but there’s something too somber about it for the occasion, toobusiness-formal. This should be a happy day, the happiest of Mike’s life, andhis suit ought to reflect that.

For a minute there, Harvey remembers Mike’s splittingsmile, his child-like wonder when he’d passed on that simple message, You got in, and reminds himself thatMike’s happiness is the most important thing. (That’s why we’re here, afterall.)

Rene must see Mike’s hesitancy too, because he shakes hishead and gestures for Mike to remove the ensemble.

“Not a soul will appreciate it in context,” headmonishes, “this won’t do at all. Go on now, the notch lapel.”

Mike looks blankly at Harvey, who has the good sense topass over the other grey suit; this one is darker and without pattern, andHarvey hopes to god it fits Mike to a T because he has nothing but respect forRene’s eye for color and tailoring, but Harvey’s been present for enough ofMike’s five-year fashion odyssey to know that the strong shoulders and higharmholes will flatter Mike’s figure perfectly, and that dark grey makes theboy’s eyes light up like a night sky full of stars.

Well that’s a hell of a thing to notice.

The whole journey has been quite the adventure, hasn’tit.

From the very first day, dumping his plastic bags of potall over Harvey’s meeting room at the Chilton, Mike has put a spark in Harveythat he’s been missing since… He isn’t even sure how to finish the thought. Itprobably hasn’t been missing “since” anything, whatever it is that Mike adds tohis life; it’s all Mike, irreplaceable and incontrovertible. His cockinessthat’s been tempered with practice and defeat into a more dignifiedself-confidence, but never quite lost its edge; his enthusiasm for life that’sonly grown the more he’s seen of the intricacies of the world outside his ownexperiences; his determination in the face of overwhelming odds to protect thethings and the people he holds dear, to always do the right thing, or the wrongthing for the right reasons…

There has never been a man quite like Michael James Ross.

“Harvey?”

Harvey looks up at Mike on the fitting stage.

Whatever happens, from now on to whenever, he’ll probablylove him ‘til the end of time.

Mike twists his spine and then tries to stand upstraight, smoothing down front panels and raising his chest with some dignity.

“So?”

Handing the remaining blue suit back to Rene to return tothe rack, Harvey crosses his arms over his chest. Yeah; this is the one,alright. It’ll run up some kind of bill—he estimates about five thousand, giveor take—but it’s worth it.

“What do you think?” Mike presses a little nervously atHarvey’s lack of response.

Here we are, at the end of the line.

Just give me a second, kid.

This’ll take some getting used to.

It takes a little more than a second, but Harvey smilesand nods, small enough that Mike has to pay attention to catch it; he will,Harvey knows he will, knows it in the grin that breaks out on his face inresponse, the comfort with which he puts his hands in the trouser pockets, therelief in his relaxing posture. The sparkle in his eyes, like a night full ofstars.

Rene’s assistant appears out of thin air to take Mike’smeasurements quickly and efficiently, and Harvey slips his credit card to Reneduring a particularly distracted moment; Mike catches him all the same andHarvey raises his hand to stem any potential protests.

“Don’t worry about it,” he insists. “All part of beingthe best man.”

Mike is about to say something anyway before he thinksbetter of it. His face falls, just a touch, like he’s worried about something;Harvey hopes it isn’t the money. Whatever the final tally comes to, it’ll beworth it to see that smile on Mike’s face again as he stands in front ofHarvey’s windows, maybe on the balcony if it’s a nice day, backlit by the citythey both call home, on the happiest day of his life.

Yeah.

Mike steps down off the stage, shrugging out of thejacket.

“So, Harvey,” he says as he finishes putting his own trousersback on. “What’s wrong?”

Harvey stares, momentarily at a loss—surely he isn’t sotransparent—and then smiles as though the question is absurd.

“Nothing,” he says, the weakest of defenses. “Nothing’swrong.”

“So I know that’s not true,” Mike replies, unbuttoninghis cuffs to roll up his sleeves. “But how long is this gonna take? Ballpark.”

Harvey shakes his head; they’re not discussing this now.Not ever, but especially not now.

“Nothing’s wrong, Mike, don’t worry about it.”

“Harvey.”

God dammit.

Shrugging, Harvey tries to come up with something thatwon’t sound too self-incriminating. (Thisisn’t about you.)

“You’ve come pretty far,” he says. “I’m proud of you,kid.”

For a minute, Mike’s face is completely blank; he looksat Harvey like he doesn’t know quite what to make of him, like he’s just beengiven some important information that he isn’t sure how he’s meant to react to.Then it clears, and the pit in Harvey’s stomach lightens.

“It took almost six years,” he teases; “I was this closeto giving up, but here we are: Harvey Specter has feelings.”

This again.

This is safer ground; this, they know how to do.

“Don’t go spreading that around,” Harvey warns, raisinghis eyebrows, and Mike laughs.

“It’s on the record now,” he says, “no take-backs; can Iget it in writing, I’d like to have it notarized.”

“Not gonna happen.”

Mike laughs again, but it trails off weakly; his eyes dima shade or two, and though he’s still smiling, some of the luster is gone.They’re not kidding around anymore, and it was wrong to pretend.

Rene steps forward with his hands behind his back and anauthoritative coolness to his expression.

“Four weeks,” he dictates. “You will be notified upon thesuit’s completion and we’ll expect you to retrieve it in a timely manner.”

Mike blinks.

“Oh—thanks,” he fumbles. “Thank you.”

Rene nods, eyeing them for a moment before he turns tothe back of the shop and disappears. Harvey pats imaginary dust from histhighs.

Mike looks at the tie racks.

“Shouldn’t I be happier?” he asks idly, and Harveyfrowns.

“What’s wrong?”

Mike sighs.

“Nothing,” he says. “That’s the thing, nothing’s wrongand I’m getting married to a wonderful woman and I got into the Bar and all mydreams are coming true and I should be…happier, right?”

Harvey steps into Mike’s eyeline and thinks about puttinghis hand on his arm (but he doesn’t).

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Mikeinsists, “everything is perfect, butI…I dunno. Something’s…missing, or something.”

He looks into Harvey’s eyes then, and Harvey’s definitelyimagining it this time, but it’s almost as though he finds a little of whathe’s looking for (whatever it is).

“Are youhappy?”

Oh, Mike, don’t ask me that.

Harvey does clap his hand down on Mike’s shoulder now, affirming and steadying and trying to remind them (himself) what’s real,what’s important.

“I’m happy for you,” he says. “Like you said, you’regetting everything you want, and…I’m proud of you. I am.”

“You don’t think I’m settling?”

If that isn’t straight out of left field. Harvey shiftsback, just a bit, and drops his hand.

“I thought you and Rachel were happy together,” he says,because this isn’t about the job, can’t be about the job (not when Mike is backwhere he belongs). “Did she say something?”

Mike laughs under his breath. “No, but you kind of did.”

Shit, shit, shit—

Harvey tries to convey skeptical derision, hoping none ofthe panic shows through. He didn’t say anything, did he? (When?) No, definitelyno. (Did he?)

“I don’t think so.”

“It’s not what you said,” Mike clarifies, “but—just now,when I was trying on the suits, you had this… I don’t know how to describe it.This expression.” He shakes his head with a little smile and directs his nextcommentary out the storefront windows. “My grandmother used to get itsometimes, when she’d given me something that had been hard to find, or hardfor her to get; like she was happy I was happy, like all her sacrifices hadbeen worth it because I was getting something I really wanted, something thatwas important to me.”

Harvey’s answering smile is tight-lipped and narrow; heand Edith would have been good friends, he’s pretty sure. He’s sorry he didn’thave the chance to get to know her.

There’s a hardness to Mike’s stare when he turns back toHarvey, a set determination that Harvey doesn’t know what to do with.

“Am I missing out on something I don’t have to be?”

Harvey’s been in this game long enough to know when anopportunity isn’t going to come around again. All the signs are there; thesingularity of the surrounding circumstances, the trepidation of the otherparty, the risk inherent in taking the plunge, in saying “Yes,” the knowledgethat there’s no turning back once he does.

It’s a yes-or-no question, man.

Harvey steels himself and holds onto the tightness in hischest.

“Mike,” he says. “If there’s anything more I can do tomake you happy; you got it.”

It’s as much admission as he’s capable of giving at thismoment. Mike searches his face with those skylight eyes of his; he knows thesame, knows that they’re about to dive over the edge of a cliff without knowinghow long the fall will last.

His smile is small and uncertain, but that’s okay. (I’mscared, too.)

There’s just enough of a lead-in for Harvey to back awayif he really wants, but that would be ridiculous; then Mike’s hands holdhis head steady as he leans in and damn, the boy knows how to kiss.

Harvey brings his arm up around Mike’s shoulders, drawinghim in, holding him close, and it feels terribly sensationalist even though itreally isn’t; they’re behind a row of mannequins decked out to the nines, andanyway, no one spares them a single glance, no one gives a fuck; no oneunderstands how tremendous this is, how abruptly the world has been tipped onits axis. Righted.

Harvey opens his eyes a moment before they part; Mikekeeps his closed for a moment after as he drops his hands away.

“Uh-oh,” he says quietly, but he’s smiling as he does.

Harvey rubs his thumb up and down over Mike’s shoulder.

“You’ve got about a month before your suit’s ready,” hemurmurs, and Mike nods.

“Kind of sucks that it happened this way,” he says. Thecorner of Harvey’s mouth quirks in a little smirk.

“What can I say,” he offers, “I was tired of waiting.”

Mike bursts out laughing, raising his hand to Harvey’sneck and leaving it there as he looks away, regaining his bearings.

“Oh, god, I love you,” he says carelessly; Harvey waitsfor the retraction, the “oh shit” moment after he hears himself, but it nevercomes. They’re bigger than those stupid clichés, anyway.

“I’m following your lead here,” Harvey informs him,because this is fun and all, but there’s the real world out there with its realworld consequences waiting for the chance to eat them alive. Mike nods, his jawclenching surreptitiously.

“I’ll do you proud,” he replies.

Harvey kisses him again, quickly.

Nodoubt about that.

—

Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), the protagonist of North by Northwest (1959), iconically wears a grey Glen plaid suit.

This is a black version of the suit Mike ends up buying. (More accurately, it’s this, but in that picture it’s just draped over a chair.)

#marvey #fanfiction #prompt #Anonymous #i hope you like it!#one down four to go!

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