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my-brothers-corrupted · 4 years

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My Brothers, Corrupted

Chapter 2 : Section 3 : The Chains that Bind Us

Dapper, overwhelmed by months of abuse, finally struck back - literally. Anti needs to put him and the rest of his family back in line and hide the magical signal Blue won’t stop radiating, as well as trying to care for Trick through a depressive episode, and in his stress he’s violent and distressed and out-of-control. Dok is trying to survive the punishment for Anti’s failure and Red works to hide Blue’s magic constantly, determined to keep his family safe, even from the threats within it.

Trigger warnings for torture (character hanging by throat, non-fatal), major abuse, mind control, dehumanization, and ableism, including infantilization of a disabled character and taking away ability to communicate. Remember that sexualizing the abuse in this fic is the surest way to get yourself blocked.

Find Chapter One here.

Find Chapter Two here.

Section Two of Chapter Two: The Chains that Bind Us

Anonymous asked: yo is it just me that has No Clue what just happened to anti or do any of you guys know what's going on

Red and Blue peer out from beneath their hiding spots. Blue’s neck is a vivid purple.

“Is he gone?” he mumbles, glancing around.

Red gets to his feet and dares to open the door, peering around the hallway, gone quiet now, with medicine rolling around the clinic floor.

“He’s never really gone,” he says, maybe for his twin, maybe for himself, maybe for you. “But sometimes he goes off on his own. It’s not my place to question him.”

He scratches at his beard, worried. “Wish he’d brought me with him, though. I could protect him - I could hold him and he might even let me. Might even lay his head down on my chest, and tell me he feels safer when I’m with him.”

Red’s eyes shine.

spicydanhowell asked: is he gone? wow. i think he just... had emotions. i think he remembered trick's OD and.... was upset. i love that for him.

“Oh, don’t tease him,” chides Red, sighing and retreating into his room.

“That attempt really upset him,” mumbles Blue. “We have to get this figured out. It’s not good for anyone to be living like this.”

He keeps glancing out the window. Red comes to sit beside him and throws an arm over his shoulder, and the two of them relax back against the wall as best they can.

Anonymous asked: hey red, blue, are you guys ok?

Red and Blue sigh in sync and Red glances over at the little brother beneath his arm.

“Wish he hadn’t done that to Dok,” Blue mumbles.

“Don’t think about that,” answers Red, putting his head down on his shoulder. “We’ll go get him tomorrow morning. He’ll be okay. We’re fine, right? We got each other, huh, buddy?”

Blue chuckles, and then coughs, rubbing at his throat.

“Yeah,” he rasps. “We do.”

spicydanhowell asked: hey if he's gone maybe... y'all could give dok a little relief? did he just leave trick and dap alone, like???

“Well, I’m sure he’s watching through the cameras. Or maybe he sedated them or something so they’re safe.” Blue pulls himself up to glance out his window, where he can see the corner of his shed. “I don’t know what he did to Dok, but the door is all locked up again.”

Anonymous asked: wow wow wow the great antisepticeye feeling Emotions?? imagine

Blue giggles, only to earn himself a pinch on the arm from Red. “Hey,” he protests, brightening a little and pouncing on his twin, tackling him to the ground and grabbing at his ear in revenge.

“Ow, ow,” Red pretends to whine, only to flip him over onto his back a second later, and then they’re wrestling, laughing softly as they try to forget what’s going on around them all the time. Red lets Blue have the attack, minding his twin’s injured throat, and soon he is pinned down to the ground, rolling his eyes as his twin laughs and laughs above him, warm and cheerful and safe, safe for now. There is little else that matters, because there is little else he can control.

spicydanhowell asked: dok won't last more than a few hours before he's strangled to death, guys. if theres anything you can do to help him... please do. he's kind of in horrible pain atm, even if he's not "dying" persay

Blue sighs and draws away from Red again. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do without bringing punishment down on our heads too. Tomorrow, I’ll take care of Dok all day if he wants. But this is master’s decision and it would be bad to interfere.”

He stares out the window again, his mouth slightly open, like there is more he could say, but he does not speak.

Anonymous asked: Hey Dok! Kann ein Känguru höher als ein Haus springen? Ja! Weil ein Haus nicht springen kann! (Eng: Can a kangaroo jump higher than a house? Yes! Because a house can't jump!)

Dok’s eyes blink at you for a moment, confused. Then he lets out one short, rasping bark of a laugh.

“That sounds like something Trick would say, back when he was happier.”

cest-mellow asked: dok, is there anything we can do for you? tell something to trick, maybe send his message back?

“No, no, please don’t tell him I’m in trouble like this, I don’t want him to worry. Anyway, let him rest, it’s getting late. Is he resting? Will you tell me if he’s alright for tonight? Does he look very pale? Very thin? I hope he is eating and maybe taking his medicine and maybe not so sad so much? I hope Dap is with him, I hope - I…”

Doktor groans and struggles on his chain, sighing.

Anonymous asked: How are you holding up, Dok?

“Oh, I’m okay, I’m okay. Honestly he could have done much worse. He didn’t even get the dog out or make me eat the mice or anything.”

He glances down at the squirming pests near to his feet and flinches, closing his eyes.

“I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay,” he murmurs to himself. His face is still calm. There is little he cannot tolerate.

Anonymous asked: Maybe we could keep you company, Dok. I know talking might be kind of hard right now, but do you have a favorite song? Maybe you could hum it. I hum when I'm tired or sad.

He pants slightly, trying to think.

“I… I’m not sure. Long time since I heard any music. We used to have a little music player, Trick and I. Anti gave it to us when he first gave us to each other. He told us we could only listen to it together, so we would lie next to each other as the sun went down with one earbud each. And Anti had picked out the music for us, but some of it was still good. Or Trick liked it, anyway, ha… he likes… he likes that album where all the songs are named after planets. I always thought it was kind of sad, but they gave him some comfort, I think… I miss that music player…”

florenceisfalling reblogged: sLEEPING AT LAST-

“That’s the one,” chuckles Doktor, finding a higher spot of earth and managing to set his feet more firmly on it. Relieved, he closes his eyes, and for a long few minutes, he is quiet.

“I’d give anything to hear you say it one more time,” he whispers, his lips faintly blue. “That the universe was made…”

He trails off, licking at his lips.

“Maybe I will never hear him say anything again. Let alone to see that light in his eyes, when he was happy, at my side, staring up at the universe… but still I have that song.”

reverseblackholeofwords asked: You'll see him again, Dok. It might take time, but you will. Family has a way of sticking together no matter what. You know that better than anyone.

“I really do hope so,” says Doktor softly, weary on his chain. It’s getting hard to speak. It will be a long night. He prays that Red comes to get him first thing in the morning. “Yes, we’ve all stuck with each other, haven’t we? Not going to lose my Trick just yet…”

Anonymous asked: Dok I literally don’t know how else to say this, you are amazing and you’re so so resilient. And you’re right, no matter what Anti says you are not a failure or anything close to that. You are exactly what your brothers need and you shouldn’t need or have to prove that to anyone when you already have by being yourself. We love you so much and we’ll do whatever we can to help you.

Deutsch hums lowly, his eyes flickering shut. He’s found a high enough spot he might even be able to get some rest, as much as this can be called rest.

“I am resilient,” he mumbles. “Everything my master gives me, I survive, and continue to do what I can. I am… nothing to prove…”

He gives a deep, shuddering sigh, growing faint as the light fades around him, dipping under the tall peak of the mountain that has become his home.

“Thank you.”

Anonymous asked: maybe someone should go check on trick, now that he's alone. he might do something to himself if there's no one there for him

“Yeah, we should see how he is.” Red sits up, glancing at the door. Blue steps over to open it and -

“Goddamn!” he hisses, rubbing at his throat and backing away. “He locked us in again! What did we even do?”

Red sighs, staring at the door, where an electronic lock blinks irritably back at him.

“He has his reasons.”

Red is calm, but Blue looks betrayed, slinking back to his mattress.

“Let’s go to bed,” he mumbles, rubbing at his eyes, coughing a little.

There is no bedtime routine. Their toothbrushes are outside the locked door and they’re out of toothpaste anyway. There’s no such thing as pajamas in this house. It is hot even at night here, so Anti has given them no blankets, and no pillows, and no light when the sun goes down.

Their mattress are disarrayed from hiding and tussling. Red gives his twin a few minutes to sulk in the corner before picking up his own mattress and pushing it over to sit right beside Blue’s. Eventually, in the night, Blue will turn towards him, and when they wake up their legs and arms will be tangled and their heads close together.

“Good night, Azul,” whispers Red, adjusting on his mattress. “I love you.”

And for all his irritation, Blue always answers with warmth, like he can’t even help it, cause maybe nothing is stronger than that promise they make each other every night.

“Night, Roser. Love you too.”

Anonymous asked: yo trick you doing ok buddy?

Trick, to his irritation, wakes up with the sun. Groaning, he flops over on to his side and curls up closer to the body sleeping next to his own. You can see him from a lop-sided angle on the drawer by the door, where Anti apparently left you to make sure he could keep an eye on his boys during the night.

Eventually, Trick stirs again, and begins gripping needily at the shirt of his companion, looking for some early-morning attention from Anti, only to pause at the feeling of a scratchy dress shirt underneath his fingers.

A moment later he jerks back so hard he halfway tumbles off his bed, clutching at his chest and laughing nervously.

“Holy shit,” you hear him laugh, getting up to peer over his brother. He turns to you and hurries over to show you too, giggling.

“I thought that was Anti, hahaha. It’s Dap! Why’s he sleeping next to me?”

Trick sits down next to him again, playing with a strand of Dapper’s slightly curly hair. Most of his concept of personal boundaries has washed away in the last couple weeks and he doesn’t seem worried about waking up his little brother. Dapper’s face is chalk-white, with dark circles beneath his eyes, his mouth slightly open as his raspy breaths break the morning silence.

“Maybe he can stay with me a while,” wonders Trick, sounding excited. “Then someone can be here with me all day and it won’t be so lonely and boring, haha.”

He rubs his thumb up and down Dapper’s cheek, invigorated by a visitor.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Dap...? You making out okay, buddy?

Dap stirs with Trick’s petting and Trick decides to let him come awake slowly, lying back down at his side, setting you on his stomach, and relaxing again. He pulls his crinkle paper out from beneath his pillow and runs it steadily through his fingers while Dapper blinks blearily awake.

Dapper breathes thickly, staring between Trick and the camera, his eyes a little glassy. Trick murmurs something that sounds like a mix between a greeting and a checking-in, an old sound from the days when they had no one but each other, and knew better how to look after each other as they changed into people they eventually stopped recognizing.

Dapper gives him no answer, so weak he can barely pull his head off his pillow. Alarmed by his frailty, Trick sits back up and leans over him again, setting a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

“Did you take something?” murmurs Trick, pulling gently at his eyelid to look into his pupil and checking his heart-rate. “A tranq or something to keep you down? Why did Anti need to sedate you, bro?”

Dapper licks his dry lips and stares up at him wearily. For a second, he reaches up his hands to try and give him an answer -

Oh, oh. His hands are bound up in thick, cord-like strings. His fingers, white with struggling blood, can barely move.

Shocked, he stares down at his poor bound wrists, and Trick does his best to soothe him, trying to massage some feeling back into his fingers while his eyes follow the strings back to their origin. Tied to the headpiece of the bed, they will keep Dapper from moving more than a few feet from the corner of the room.

White-faced, Dapper puts his head back down on his pillow, and wishes he could wake up anywhere else.

Anonymous asked: Dapper, Trick, are you two alright?

“I’m not sure,” mumbles Trick, helping prop Dapper gently up against the board of the bed. Dapper purses his lips in his best attempt at an appreciative smile, one of his stiff hands coming to rest on Trick’s thigh, perhaps to steady himself, perhaps asking for comfort. Trick’s replies as best he can, sitting himself up beside his little brother and letting Carver sink down against his shoulder, panting softly in the early morning light.

“He must still be hurting from that time Anti had to stab him.” Trick carefully lifts up the hem of Dapper’s shirt, checking to make sure his bandages are clean. For a moment, he smiles at the sight of his brother’s careful, steady, loving wrapping. He rubs gently at Dapper’s shoulder and tries to keep him sitting up and breathing clear.

“So Anti decided he needed to keep an eye on you, huh?” grins Trick. Dapper manages a rueful grin in return, his eyes hurting. “Or - maybe he just wanted some company for me? Yeah? We’ll be okay back here while you heal, okay? I can look after you if you need anything. I can do anything you need.”

He smiles bright. Anti’s poured a great deal of affection out on him, but in more than three weeks Trick has not had a single chance to give any affection back.

Anonymous asked: dap, can you not sign at all? do you have any other way of communicating?

Dap licks his mouth and lets out a small sigh. You watch as he does his best to curl his aching fingers, but even when he gets them to respond, you can tell he won’t be able to bring his hands fully together while he’s bound up like this. Perhaps when the sedative wears off a little better, he’ll be able to give you some sign. He offers you a small click of his tongue and falls quiet again, slumping on Trick’s shoulder.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Trick. You good, buddy? Hanging in, at least? Your twin is in trouble..

“I’m good! Or I’ll be good as long as Dapper’s good.”

He’s strangely buoyed by a visitor, in fact, his fist drumming against his thigh so fast he’s probably bruising himself, his eyes a little bright, talking fast.

“It’s been a long time since I had anything to do but sit here trying to make myself feel better, and I’m pretty shit at that, to be entirely honest, but I’m working on - wait, what?”

Trick straightens up, staring at you.

“Dok’s in trouble?”

His voice shakes hard, his eyes burning. He turns to you and Dap and back again, reaching over to give his little brother a small shake. “Wait, wait, no, no, no - Dap, explain to me, what’s going on, where’s Deutsch? Is he okay? What do you mean he’s in trouble? Is that all you have for me? He’s in trouble? He’s in trouble?”

He pulls away from Dapper and gets to his feet, rushing to the door and falling to his hands and knees to stare through the crack beneath the door.

“Doktor!” he cries. “Deutsch, Allemagne! Anti, where are you? Hey, someone come talk to me, Red, Blue? Where’s my twin, where’s my brother! I want my brother, let me out! I want Dok! Hey!”

His joy is all vanished, his face distraught and turning red as he begins to cry. Dapper clicks his tongue and whistles from the bed, trying to get to his feet, without success, worried for Trick. He’s not used to his big brother showing so much of what he feels like this.

Anonymous asked: "Trick.. I really hate to be the bearer of bad news but Anti kind of beat the shit out of Dapper before he brought him to you. That's why he's sedated and tied up. I don't think you should be this excited, unfortunately." PF!A

“Oh,” whispers Trick, his voice shattering. He gets up from the door and stares back at his little brother, who looks back with aching blue eyes. After a moment, Trick returns to his side and puts an arm back around him, his reddened eyes fixed on the floor.

Dapper sinks back down against his shoulder.

“Sorry that hap - sorry that - sorry that happened,” manages Trick. “I don’t know what you did, but I’ll help make sure it doesn’t happen again, okay?”

Dapper sighs. Trick puts his head down on top of his little brother’s.

“It’s gonna be okay. I got you.”

Anonymous asked: "I-I can take a message and pass them between you two, if it'll help, Trick-? Please calm down.." -PF!H

“I n-need to know that he’s okay! What’s going on? Does he need help? Can you send someone?”

Anonymous asked: hey trick, do you know where anti is? he got really upset about something and left

Trick looks up, surprised. “What, he’s not anywhere in the house? Well, he must have had something to do in the city or the neighborhood if he’s not in his room. That’s where he usually goes to sulk - ah, ah, I mean, uh, think, to think. Sometimes he comes home with blood on his hands or supplies. Maybe he’s fetching something? I would think he would have come home by now, though. It’s weird for him not to even lie down with me for a couple hours.”

Anonymous asked: "He's in the shed for defending Dapper after what happened. ..Anti decided to punish him because he thought he 'wasn't good enough' to look after his brothers.. He's been tied to the roof but he can breathe. Then.. Red and Blue are locked in a room. I can give all I can to help you at least feel a little better or know what's going on, but this is a really isolating problem. I'd help if I could.." -PF!H

Trick chews on his lip, his eyes lighting up with something you haven’t seen for some time as he thinks. He glances between the window and the door.

“Red and Blue are locked in their rooms most nights, but the locks are electronic, and usually set to let them out around seven.”

He glances out at the sun.

“That should be soon enough. You can usually hear roosters crying around the same time. If it’s an emergency, there is a window in their room. It’s locked, but I know they can sneak out of it.” He grins conspiratorially. “Because one time I saw Red leap out to get Blue cough medicine in the middle of the night. I didn’t tell Anti but I could. Anyway, if their doors don’t unlock and Anti isn’t back by the time the roosters are calling, they can go help him. They’ll get in trouble for it, but that’s their job cause they’re bigger than me, so it doesn’t really matter.”

Trick sighs, leaning slightly back. “I wish anybody outside of the room was allowed to talk to me. Even poor Dap can’t talk to me like this.”

He picks uselessly at his brother’s strings.

“I hope Dok’s doing okay.”

Anonymous asked: dap, do you know morse? you could try tapping using that to communicate!

“I’ve never seen him use that,” frowns Trick. “I don’t know it. It’s kind of a hassle, but if he knows that maybe he could use it in an emergency. Do you?”

Dap kind of nods, kind of shrugs. Been a long time since he used that.

Anonymous asked: doktor's being punished by anti, unfortunately. but he should be fine, trick. anti wants to keep you away from him. he thinks he's a bad twin, even though we know that's not true

Trick’s expression slackens. He stares at the floor, playing with his crinkle paper.

“Miss him,” he mumbles.

spicydanhowell asked: anti where the fuck are you. you locked everyone up with no water or food or toilet and several of them are injured or tied up are you Stupid???

“Hey, don’t snap at master,” snarls Trick, something venomous filling up his face. “First of all, we all have bathrooms here. This place was designed to be a medical facility - I know because I saw the medicine cabinet and the sinks and everything in every room, and the doors are really wide so wheelchairs can fit through. See? So, look, each room has a little space for sleeping and a little bathroom. It’s meant to be used for people who are injured to come stay here as long as they need to while somebody takes care of them. But that never happened, because this side of the mountain is so poor. They built the building and left again.

“Secondly, Anti’s always watching.”

Trick glances right at the camera and straightens up proudly, simpering for his master’s attention. Dapper has closed his eyes, turned slightly away.

“He’ll be back when he needs to get back. He wouldn’t - ”

There is a loud click as the electronic locks change for the day.

Trick turns to you with a self-satisfied little smirk on his face, playing innocently with his hair.

“See? Master wouldn’t let anyone get hurt. That’s my big brother. I’m his little pet. He looks after me at least. If he’s gone, it’s because he has to be.”

Trick rubs at his eyes, trying to keep up his enthusiasm. He has to prove that Anti is good, after all, and not only to you.

“Maybe he’s getting stuff for Christmas. He said we could celebrate.”

He sits up for a while longer, staring at the door, waiting for his brother to appear.

But Anti doesn’t.

Tired, Trick eventually leans back, the light in his eyes fading, Dapper pressed against his heart.

Anonymous asked: Red, are you scared?

Red jolts awake to the unlocking of his door, sneezing.

“Hngh, what? Scared? Of what?”

He glances around the room and finds his twin standing at the window, staring out at the shed.

“No, no, we’re fine,” mumbles Red, as Blue rushes past him to open the door and head out towards Dok. “What’s there to be afraid of? Not that weird for Anti to be gone, you know, sometimes he leaves us for days.”

He yawns, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. “It’s okay to leave me in charge, you know.”

Anonymous asked: do you have anything to do in here, trick? like any entertainment at all?

Trick’s mood has soured. He stares blandly at the ceiling and shrugs, proffering his crinkle paper just a little. Dapper glances up at him and then at you, more concerned the more he wakes up.

Anonymous asked: so trick, are you feeling better? after, you know, everything that happened?

Trick groans a little, closing his eyes.

“I… yeah. Of course. I mean, I should be, right? I have everything I need and all of Anti’s attention and I’m okay and I’m… I survived it and…”

He stares out the window, tears welling in his eyes.

“Shouldn’t still want to die,” he rasps, fatigue flooding down his face.

And Dapper, with aching, stiff white fingers, reaches gently out to squeeze his hand.

There’s something bigger than gratitude in Trick’s eyes when he turns to meet his gaze. They set their foreheads together, warm in their little bed, and they hold each other close.

Anonymous asked: "...Your Master isn't a good person, Trick. He really isn't. But.. Sure, I guess. ...Maybe you should lay down?" -PF!H

“Nothing else to do,” mumbles Trick, staring at the ceiling. He reaches out to help Dapper lie back down, but he shakes his head, pulling away, still trying to get to his feet. Trick watches him struggle for a moment before lying back down, drawing the blankets around his shoulders and burying his face in his pillow.

spicydanhowell asked: trick, you know you have depression, right? and you know that's a chronic illness that even anti can't cure. you need actual therapy and several months of daily medication and sunlight and exercise to get better. what anti is doing for you is not a solution.

“Not Anti’s fault,” answers Trick through the pillow. “Stupid fucking shitty-ass brain. Nobody else is fucked up like this. Everybody else can take it.”

nikkilbook asked: “Shouldn’t” is a tricky word. Of course you’re not the kind of person who *wants* to leave your brothers and never come back, to stop existing forever. But it’s a trick your brain is playing on you, a heavy filter that’s been slid over everything while it tries to cope with chemicals that are out of whack and overwhelming situations. The chemicals and the situation haven’t been successfully addressed, so of course your brain is still confused. This isn’t your fault, Chase.

“Actually I think I like that ‘stop existing forever’ option just fine.”

He sighs deeply, running his fingers through his greasy hair.

“But Anti and Doktor would be so upset, so I guess my ghost would be even more of a problem than I am now.”

Anonymous asked: Dok? Are you okay? Blue is coming to let you out.

The beeping of the camera draws blank eyes back into focus. Dok’s aching arms let his weight onto his calves again as he stares at you, his mouth open, thin breaths passing in and out. He manages something that might be a nod.

spicydanhowell asked: trick, your brain is not healthy, but that's not a personal failure. hell, dap and red have "different" brains too, and they struggle, and it's not their fault either. it's nobody's fault that you have depression, but you say you have everything you need when you really don't. you need treatment and time to heal

Trick watches Dapper make his way to his feet and stand panting beside the bed.

“Maybe,” he grumbles, closing his eyes like he’s in pain. “But I hate hospitals and even if I would go, I can’t. Someone would be able to track us through the hospital system, or even a therapist, Anti says. Besides, doubt we can afford it. Anti has to feed the others before anything, you know? And sometimes we even struggle there, so…”

He rubs at his face, watching Dapper move despite his hurt. Maybe he should get up too.

“I don’t think Anti knows what to do with me,” he admits frailly. “I don’t think anyone would.”

Anonymous asked: Has Dok been in the shed before?

Blue races out the door to his own room, and then the backdoor of the house, setting his bare feet on the craggy earth, barely avoiding splinters of glass and sharp stone in his haste to help his little brother.

He finds the shed door chained.

“Goddamn!” he hisses, slamming his hand against the door, hard. Gritting his teeth, you watch him pace round the shed looking for a hole to enter through, but it’s a sturdy structure, and as the sun rises, it grows hot to the touch.

“He’s going to fucking boil in there!” snarls Blue, stalking back to the door and yanking on the chains. You hear the door creak as Red steps out of the house behind him, wearing his own shoes and carrying his brother’s.

“Blue, take it easy, I can go find Anti if we need to.”

“Yeah? How’re you going to do that? For all we know he’s in the middle of something dangerous.”

“He would have told me if he were going to do something dangerous. Or taken me with him.”

“Sure,” spits Blue, trying to twist the chains with his bare hands. “Sure, I’m sure he would, Red.”

cest-mellow asked: blue? have you gotten dok yet?

“We’re working on it,” Red answers calmly, watching Blue scurry around the shed a second time. He’s beginning to look at the roof in a way Red doubts will lead to good things. “Blue, we might have something under the sink that can get him out.”

“Go check! Please!”

“Okay, but put your goddamn shoes on before you cut yourself. Hey, Dok? We’re out here, bud, we’re coming. Hold on.”

spicydanhowell asked: blue, do you have any tools or do any neighbors have some? you might have to cut the chain

“Red, did you find anything?”

“Give me two seconds! We’ll get him down, okay?”

“He’s in pain, can’t you hurry?”

“Getting freaked out won’t help, Blue. Hell, I don’t know… there’s not really anything down here anymore. I thought we used to have a bolt-cutter. Hey, maybe it’s one of the keys Anti has us look after? I’ll go check.”

Blue hisses impatiently. For a second, the sun makes his eyes flash a very vivid blue.

immabethehero asked: Find a treestump and bash the door down!

“Fuck, I don’t know if Anti would like that much. Maybe I can find something. There aren’t many trees up here, though, I’ll tell you that much.”

Anonymous asked: Blue please hurry and get Dok out of there. He can barely breathe.

“He can barely breathe,” repeats Blue anxiously, as Red heads back towards the house. “He could choke, I don’t know how much strength he has, if Anti beat him or hurt him… And it’s so hot, it’s so hot! He’ll cook, he could get hurt, I bet the chain is so hot on his poor throat.”

Blue squeezes the chains tighter, close to the door, his eyes flickering. He staggers slightly, closing his eyes as the world spins around him. Fuck, maybe Red was right, maybe he does need to calm down a little. But Doktor is in there, his little brother, for all that he acts tough, suspended by his neck, wheezing and gasping as the sun rises hot over his head and he grows frailer and frailer, his muscles aching and his body shaking -

Something is dripping through his fingers.

Startled, Blue frowns at his hands.

And then he yells aloud, jerking backwards as molten metal singes the ground in front of the shed, the chain melted clean through between his fingers.

He stares at the twisted metal, shaking.

“Blue, we’ve got three different keys here, one for the medicine cabinet, and we can try the other two, but - ”

Red stops short behind him.

Trembling, Blue turns to his twin, his hands held out in supplication, in fear, in apology.

Red takes a long look at the situation, his eyes fixed on the faint whisps of blue trailing from his brother’s hands.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, in a voice all too calm.

Blue shakes his head, his pupils blown wide.

Red stares only a moment longer.

“Well,” he says, eventually. “Doktor is. Go get your brother. Go on, now, Blue.”

Blue nods shakily and bursts into the shed, leaving the chain behind.

Red stands there watching for a long time, his mouth calm.

His eyes afraid.

Anonymous asked: Oh, oh, Blue, be careful! Your magic! Anti will be angry again!

Red leans slowly down.

Picks up the chain where it’s cool.

Brushes away the broken or melted pieces from the ends.

And places what remains inside his hoodie pocket, heading back towards the house, where, in his room, you watch him carefully place the chain inside of his backpack.

Anonymous asked: could blue use his magic? i know he's technically not allowed, but anti's not here, and your brother could be hurt really bad if you don't help him! and you needed to find an outlet for your magic anyway, right?

Red pushes his backpack behind his door, trying to plan when next he’ll be allowed out of the house. Maybe today. He’ll have to see.

“Let’s have no more talk of magic,” he says, getting back to his feet. “Let’s have no more talk of this.”

Anonymous asked: blue! is dok ok!! can you get him down!!!

Blue knocks a blood-stained crate towards Doktor and stands up on it, hooking one arm underneath Doktor’s legs and another around his waist. It is the work of a moment to lift him up enough to remove the chain from the hook on the ceiling.

Dok is so stiff it hurts to be held.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” chants Blue, sliding down to the earth with his brother in his arms. “It’s going to be alright, that’s all for now.”

Doktor might scream. He is clutching to Blue’s shirt so tightly he has torn it.

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Blue hows doc doing

Blue brushes his brother’s overgrown hair from his eyes, clutching him to his chest. “He’s hurting,” he admits, reaching out to massage one of Doktor’s trembling arms. “It would be awful just to have to stand for that long, let alone to hold throat up to breathe. He’ll be stiff for a long time, I’m sure it hurts terribly.”

It feels like his muscles are doing their best to escape from his bones. Everything inside of him is fucking peeling, splitting, twain. He can’t feel his calves anymore.

Anonymous asked: is dok hurt?

“Did Anti hurt you?”

Doktor’s mouth parts dryly.

“What?” he coughs. “Other than this?”

His throat is fervently black.

“No… No, I’m fine. Let’s go inside, p-please.”

He seems, for a moment, to strain himself to stand, but then his muscles scream out again, and he collapses back into Blue’s arms.

Anonymous asked: Get him some water or something, Blue, please

“Here we are, Dok-Dok, it’s okay.”

Blue heaves him into his arms and carries him back towards the house, where Red is uncapping a bottle of water. He’ll need to go get more from the well soon, but for now they have enough.

“Why don’t you lie him down in his room?” suggests Red. “Nice and quiet in there.”

“Is Dapper still asleep?”

Red heads past him into Doktor’s room, sitting down beside the mattress with the water and grabbing his first aid kit from the corner.

“Dapper’s not in here anymore, Blue.”

“What?”

“Let’s worry about Doktor for now, okay? There we go, bud. Is it easier to lie down or do you need to sit up?”

In response, Doktor slumps down on the mattress.

“Permission to scream, sir?” he rasps up at Red, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

“Permission granted, medic,” answers Red, grinning a little despite himself.

Doktor opens his mouth -

“Nein, I don’t have the strength.”

Red leans down and presses their foreheads together for a long time, one hand set solidly on Doktor’s shoulder, a warm, steady pressure.

“You kept Dap safe,” he whispers. “You did good.”

Doktor’s eyes water. Slowly, he nods, biting down hard on his lip.

“I did good,” he whispers. “I did good.”

Blue is massaging his arm again, determined to give him some relief. “We’ll get some water in you and you can have a nice cool shower and some clean clothes and food and anything you need, okay? Poor Dok, hanging up like that all night. We’re going to take it nice and easy.”

“Yeah,” agrees Red. “You can have whatever you want.”

“Does that include the sweet release of death?”

“Doktor,” snap the twins in perfect tandem, and Doktor can’t help but laugh, staring up at his brothers with a mouth that hurts to smile.

“Don’t joke!”

“Yeah, too soon, man.”

“Little pansy, one night in the shed and he gets all sardonic on us.”

“Oh, ‘sardonic,’ aren’t you fancy?”

“Shut up and give Dok his water, can’t you see the man is thirsty!”

And Doktor closes his eyes and lets his brothers look after him.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Are you guys going to watch Dok all day? Can you check on the others?

“Fuck, give us a minute,” grumbles Blue, blinking back into appearance before you. He’s up and about now, standing over the sink and using water from a bottle to clean their three plastic plates. “We take two seconds to look after our brother who’s been tort - disciplined and you’re impatient?”

He sighs and tries to relax. At his side, Red is chopping up potatoes, his eyes faraway.

“Anyway, what do you want us to do? No, we can’t check on the others. We’re not allowed to talk to Trick in his room, let alone go in there. You know the rules by now. You were here when we had an attic. Besides - ”

He’s cut off by a sudden flicker of the camera that catches his eyes. Blue brightens immediately - though his cheeks also flush slightly - and he turns to see Anti step out of nothingness in the corner.

“Anti,” he cheers, while a relieved smile, only trembling a little, appears on Red’s face. Blue saunters cheerfully over to Anti and -

“Oh,” he breathes, his face falling. “You’re hurt.”

Anti scoffs and takes off the backpack on his shoulders, letting it drop to the ground with a heavy thud. Not only is his neck bandaged as usual, but there is a damp dark stain on his shirt, spreading as Blue watches.

“Anti, let me look at it, please.”

“No, Blue, it’s fine. I’m not hurt.”

“Where were you?”

“Selling drugs,” says Anti.

Red and Blue exchange glances.

“Ha ha?” Red ventures. “You’re, uh. Kidding.”

Anti glances up, frowning. “What? No. We don’t need that much pain medication in the house. Speaking of which, Blue, you keep the key to medicine cabinet for me, okay? So if Dok needs anything out of there, he can explain to you why and you can open it up for him if he’s got a good reason. No sleeping medicine, though, and no pain stuff unless it’s for visitors or you’ve run it by me. You understand me?”

“Oh, yes, Anti, I can do that.”

“Good boy. Here.”

Anti hands over a tiny silver key.

“Anti, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Shut the fuck up, Blue. Listen, make yourselves scarce today, alright? I’ve got work to do and it’s better if you’re not around for it.”

Blue opens his mouth like he might protest, but Red steps up beside him and silences him with a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, Anti,” he says, meeting his master’s eyes calmly. “We’ll fill up all the water after lunch.”

“Mh, good boys.” Anti wipes at his face, slightly sweaty. “Oh, here. If you go into the city, you can do me a favor and pick up some candles for me. I got everything but that.”

“Some candles?”

“Yeah. Like a shit ton of them, actually, I didn’t realize how many. Like fifty, okay? By tomorrow. I’ll pick them up myself if I have to but - ”

“No, no, no,” Red insists, accepting a small wad of cash from his brother. “No, I’ll fetch it for you, Anti, of course. Whatever you need.”

“Good. Good. That’s my Red.” Anti tugs on a lock of his hair. “The next couple days will be happy if everyone is good, okay?”

“Yes, Anti.”

spicydanhowell asked: anti? red is worried about you

Anti pauses on his way back to his room, and low flush creeps over Red’s cheeks at the message.

“Worried about what?” he demands snippily, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders. “You getting paranoid on me too, Red?”

Blue moves to stand slightly in front of Red, but his brother pushes him away and puts the butter knife he was using to cut the potatoes in his hand, shoving him towards the counter. Irritated, Blue nevertheless obeys his older brother’s silent command and begins cutting potatoes.

“Um, Anti.”

Red slinks down the hall towards him. Anti straightens up, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot. “What?” he snaps. “What is it now that I have to deal with? Huh?”

Red stares at him for a moment, his mouth slightly open, his eyebrows drawn back.

And then he reaches out and wraps his arms around his little brother’s shoulders.

Anti stiffens like a mannequin beneath his grip, breathing a little faster than he did a moment ago. After a long three seconds has passed, his hands come up to rest, just barely, on Red’s back.

“What is this?” murmurs Anti. “What’s wrong?”

Red shakes his head against his shoulder.

“You’re having a meltdown or something. Go lie down.”

“No, Anti, it’s not that, it’s just - ”

Red draws away and Anti shifts uncomfortably at the look in his eyes. Worried, worried Red. Loving Red. Ah, fuck.

“You don’t have to do this alone, okay?”

Anti sighs through his nose, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

“You’re so stressed all the time lately, I worry you’re getting sick, but you never take a break or come out of the room anymore, and - I just - Anti, I’ll do anything to keep you safe. You know that, right? I’d do anything for you.”

Anti softens, humming warmly, the discomfort slipping away. “Really?”

“Yes, of course.” Red’s eyes shine. He presses in for another hug, clutching at Anti’s shoulders. “I’ll protect you from anything that ever comes after us. I’m never going to let you get hurt. I - I - I love - Anti, I love you so much, I - ”

“Aw, Hoodie, don’t cry, darling, don’t cry.”

Anti is smiling now, stroking at Red’s hair and kissing at the side of his face.

“What a good boy you are. What a good boy.”

“I don’t want you to feel alone!”

“I know, Red. I know. Sh, calm down, love. Everything’s okay. Master’s okay. Little brother’s okay. Listen, I have work to do - ”

“Right, right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stop you, I just… I just love you. Okay? And if you need anything…”

“I know, Red. I know.”

“Okay.” He wipes at his face, embarrassed. “Okay.”

Anti’s eyes are brighter now. He strokes his thumb fondly across Red’s beard, smiling a little too widely up at him. The stain of blood on his shirt is gone.

“Go back to your twin,” he orders in a purr, pushing Red away. “Go on. There’s a good boy.”

Red retreats obediently. Anti turns to open the door to his office, and as soon as he is alone, he looks directly at you.

“’I just love you, Anti,’” he mocks, barely suppressing a giggle. “‘I don’t want you to feel alone!’ What a fucking child he still is!”

He bursts into raucous laughter, clapping his hands together and shaking for joy.

Anonymous asked: How's Doc doing now then? Can't have been a fun night :/ Wish I could hug that poor guy.

“Let’s check on him.” Blue picks up the camera and steps down the hall, popping you and his head into Doktor’s room.

His little brother is deep asleep on Dapper’s mattress, clutching a spare shirt to his chest for comfort. Blue lets out a soft little sigh, looking down at him, and Doktor lets out a quiet hum in his sleep, his peaceful face twisting into something more afraid for just a moment.

“I think he’ll be okay,” murmurs Blue, drawing the door almost closed behind him again. “I’ll leave him with some lunch and water and stuff. Maybe later I’ll make good on that hug offer, too. My tough little brother.”

“Blue,” calls Red, stepping down the hallway past him. “Get your backpack and help me gather up the water jugs. We’ll fill up everything before we go into town.”

Blue heaves out a sigh. They have a lot of water jugs. It’s good - but it’s also heavy when they’re full.

Anonymous asked: That's not very nice, Anti...

“‘That’s not very nice, Anti,’” he repeats, pacing around his office and giggling wildly. He’s making a mess, opening up spare backpacks and shoving through his closet, searching for something. Red’s devotion has re-invigorated him. “Let’s not forget, little ones, between the haze of the world I’ve created - I fucking hate Red. And there is nothing in the world that I like better than seeing him brought so low he doesn’t even have to be asked to try to comfort me.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: If you hate him that much, Anti, then why keep him so happy? If you hated him, it would have been preeeetty safe to assume that you'd want him to suffer, no?

“Oh, he has,” says Anti. “For my sake. More than you can fucking dream.”

He pauses for a second, staring at you.

Then he brightens again.

“But you have to make puppets happy sometimes, otherwise they’ll catch on to the falsity of it all! And then who runs my errands for me and guards the door at night? He can have a little time of joy, running around with his twin. I don’t mind. It only makes him more devoted. And Red - aha!”

Anti has found what he’s looking for. Delighted, he reaches into a box at the very back of his closest and pulls out a pair of collars, one yellow and one black, and the black muzzle he showed you once before.

Anonymous asked: Hm, you say that like Red wouldn’t do that for anyone. You forget the type of lifestyle he left, he protected and saved people. Sorry to say Anti, but I don’t think you’re very special.

“Red only ever killed men on my command. And kill them he did, with my name, adoring, on his lips. And when he wept, later, to realize what he had done, it was me that he came to, and my chest where he laid his head down.”

Anti stares at you. His eyes are brown.

“Is that special enough for you?”

Anonymous asked: so what do red and blue do during the day when anti's not here?

“Well, most mornings we go for a run on the other side of the mountain.” Blue looks up at the height of the mountain, not far off from their little home. “See, the rain washes down that side instead of this one, so while this side is dry as a desert and barren entirely of plant life, that side blooms green all year round. Want to know the funny part? This side is populated by thousands of people all working their asses off just to put food in their stomachs. The other side is owned entirely by one man, who lives far away and makes no use of it. He’s waiting for the property value to increase to sell it. So of course we slip through a gap we cut in the electric fence and we run around his property for miles. Safer back there, and nicer to look at, and easier on our feet. Right, Red?”

Red heaves his backpack up on his shoulder and turns to smile at the little camera mounted on his twin’s shoulder. He wears his hood up with a pair of cheap sunglasses he stole from the pharmacy truck yesterday. “Right,” he agrees, as they head out of the house and begin making their way down the dusty, rocky trail, dirt sliding dangerously beneath their careful feet. “And then most days we get drinking water.”

“There’s only one place to get it for miles. A truck comes and fills it up everyday. Luckily, there’s plenty for all - it’s just a pain to carry around. What else do we do, Red?”

“Whatever Anti tells us to. Stealing and errands and shit. It’s been nice lately, though, cause he’s letting us have so much freedom now that we can look out for each other. We can go into the city just about whenever we want and we’ve got a card full of bus money. We’ve practically been tourists.”

“Yeah, we even went to the library the other day. Anti said we couldn’t bring anything home, but we hung out and read for the longest time.”

“We do a lot of cooking now that we have a real stove and Blue made a sort of fridge for us.”

“We go to the markets for fresh food because that’s just how people buy things around here. Things are cheaper here so we’ve been eating more.”

“Yeah. So we do that. And we, you know. Talk.”

“Yeah. We talk.”

Red smiles back at his brother.

Anonymous asked: blue, is anti gonna be mad at you for taking dok down?

“Oh, no.”

“Blue has special privileges,” Red calls, his smile teasing now. “He’s a special boy.”

“Lol,” says Blue out loud, looking unamused.

“Haha.”

“I kind of do, though. My job is to look after the others. Obviously I don’t interfere when Anti’s running drills or disciplining or anything, but I know that at some point Anti we’ll let me step in and help. If he had been here this morning, I’m sure he would have taken the chains off for me by the time I went to get Doktor. He would tell me if he wanted me to let someone be disciplined longer than the usual one night or one day. So no, everything this morning was pretty normal. Except for the, uh.”

Blue trails off, staring anxiously up at Red. Red does not even look back at him.

Anonymous asked: oh fucking hell anti whatever you're planning, please don't

“Now you’re just tempting me. This is reverse psychology. You really want me to, don’t you? Some of you are so funny.”

He’s gotten out other things too now - thick cord, and a tie, and… clothes you think you recognize from somewhere, another starchy white dress shirt and a dark vest. Anti runs his hands fondly over it, humming something bouncy to himself.

the-weirdest-fan asked: Anti, do you ever slip up and call them by their old names? Why did you give them those names? I get Red and Doktor and the others, but the name Blue doesn't make much sense to me. Could you explain if it's not too much trouble? Thanks!

“Ah, an interesting question, I do like this intrepid, polite one… Actually, you’re right, I do sometimes come close to slipping up. Especially when I’m angry - they just look so much like those same stupid fucking people they used to be… And Doktor is just a quieter Henrik, and Trickshot a more confused Chase, and Dapper…”

Anti sighs and shakes his head, turning his gaze to look out the window.

“The line between Dapper and Jameson has always been a thin one.

“But as for Blue, well, first of all, by the time I got my hands on that little bitch I meant for him to be Red’s twin, and I like the pairing of the names. But blue’s always been the color that reminded me of him. It’s the color of his power when he casts. He cast it against me so many times - I guess I like the inversion of it. Now Blue belongs to me. Not even to himself. It’s a name I chose for him. Nothing about him is his own anymore. And so he is Blue, because even that which he once used against me is now mine for the keeping.”

Anonymous asked: anti what the hell are you planning just TELL us you overdramatic bitch hdfgjfhdgdfgddh

“Can you give me a damn second to get ready! You ask me all these questions and then don’t want to wait for answers, damn! Anyway, when did I say I was doing anything? It’s just work. You’re the ones hyping it up. Geez.”

And he pulls a line of fairy lights and a box full of finger puppets out of his closet. You can see him trying not to laugh, fixing you with a cold grin.

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Finger puppets and fairy lights wherent those in dappers toy box thing

“Very good. My littlest puppies are acting up. There are ways to make them… revert.”

immabethehero asked: Woah, woah, woah, Anti, calm down! No need for collars!!!

“Shut the hell uppppp,” sings Anti, bouncing on his heels as he gets to his feet. “I’ll decide what they need and what they need is - ah, shit, I should get his new medicine figured out too. Something stronger. Just a second. Hey, Dok-Dok!”

A moment later, he is yanking open the first door on the hallway right, and Doktor jerks awake with a cry, both from the pain of his aching muscles and from the alarm.

“Did you decide on Dapper’s new medicine?” demands Anti, crouching down beside him, a little too close.

“His new - his new medicine?”

Anti’s voice sharpens dangerously. “Yes. Like I said yesterday. I want new medicine for him. Something stronger, less generic. Obviously the old shit’s worn off him.”

Doktor’s mouth has gone dry. “W-well, Anti, I was thinking about it and maybe he should actually stay on the Haldol?”

“No.”

“It’s just sometimes people have bad episodes even if they’re on good medication, and he’s very used to his medicine now and handles all the side effects well, it really just fits him well, he likes it, he - ”

There is a hand pressing down hard on Doktor’s bruised throat. The pain makes his vision spark.

“You really want another night in that shed, don’t you, love?”

“N-no, Anti, no, please.”

Anti lets him go.

“So! What new medicine is Dap getting? Or would you like me to keep sedating him til his freaky little brain cells put themselves right again?”

Doktor’s mouth opens dryly. He pushes anxiously at his glasses, trying to think.

“Fanapt might be okay,” he manages finally, licking at his lips. “Kind of a newer medication. But I’d like him to be tapered off the Haldol and then - ”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll handle it.”

“Oh, but, please, don’t start him with too much, it - ”

“Doktor, you know I have the whole fucking internet under my fingertips, right? I’ll read the goddamn research report or whatever. There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? You can go back to your fucking nap now.”

Shaking a little, Doktor lies back down, his eyes pricking, though he couldn’t tell you exactly why if he wanted to.

Just feels like a betrayal.

“Oh, yeah!” Anti pauses to look at him one more time from the doorway. “I’m about to do some work with Dap and Trick and you might feel the… how do I put it… ripple effects. So if you start feeling weird, that’s why. Don’t come bother me about it. You’ll be fine.”

He slips off into the hall.

Anonymous asked: trick, dok's ok now! he's out of the shed, he's with red and blue and he's safe!!

Trick and Dapper are playing cards.

Dapper can’t hold them with his fingers tied up like this, but Trick found a solution.

Trick puts a six down.

Trick puts a three down.

Trick puts a six down.

Dapper and Trick slam their hands down on the card at nearly the same time, with Dapper’s hand just barely beating Trick’s, and Trick ending up slapping the top of his little brother’s hand. Chuckling, he makes an exaggerated noise of disappointment and shoves the cards towards Dapper, who pulls them into his pile.

Trick looks worn, but his melancholy face gives Dapper sudden warm smiles every couple minutes. Dapper is doing his best to smile back, grateful for a reason to keep the blood flowing in his hands. There’s a slight twitch in his right eye.

Trick glances up at your message and suddenly the warm smile is for you.

“Oh, he’s okay!” Trick rubs at his chest over his heart, his eyes glazing slightly. “Th-thank God, I was worried. Maybe Anti will let him come see me soon if he let Dapper in!”

The door creaks open.

Dapper and Trick turn towards it as one, the cards fluttering out of Trick’s hands.

“Hi, Anti,” he says softly, trying to smile for him.

“Hi,” Anti answers, reaching down to pet Trick’s hair. “Sorry I was gone last night. Let me make it up to you. Are you two playing games? I have a game we could play too.”

Trick chews on his lip, a little unnerved, plucking at Anti’s sleeve. His eyes flicker to Anti’s backpack. A length of string dangles out of it. Dapper has gone very white, staring down at the floor, silenced in every sense of the word.

Anonymous asked: Who’s the dog muzzle for, Anti? If you put that on Trick we’re going to have a problem.

“Oh, come now, my dear.”

Anti sets his backpack down and pulls out the great dark muzzle.

Trick’s pupils bloom into moons, his gaze fixed on the old muzzle.

“This was one of my best controls, when I was breaking him in,” Anti purrs, running his hands along the small, stiff spikes on the inside of the mask. Trick’s fingers drift mindlessly up to his chin, where the old scars are hidden beneath his beard. “You remember, Trick, I can see it in your eyes. You were never better behaved than that first month after I broke you in, and let you be Dapper’s little bodyguard… his twin, his friend…”

Anti steps forward. Trick does not move. Dapper shrinks back.

“You would be so excited to see me. You trusted me completely - with your face, with your hunger, with your dignity. What little of it you had left, anyway. Maybe you always wanted me to strip it away, so you could justify the person that I’d made you into. There was no thought of suicide, then, because you knew something that you have since forgotten - ”

For a second, Anti’s eyes are black instead of blue.

“Your life belongs to me.”

Blue again.

“Of course, we ran into our little problem later, and I had to take the two of you apart. And Doktor was always so ashamed when he would hear about how his twin had let me put this on him, do you remember?”

Scarlet explodes through Trickshot’s cheeks and he turns his head away, panting.

Anti reaches forward to touch his neck.

“Tell you what,” he says lowly. “I’ll settle for the collar for now. Provided, of course, that you play nice and set a good example for your little brother, so that he can get back to where he needs to be, like when the two of you were twins, and he was my puppy too. How does that sound?”

Dapper has recoiled all the way to the corner, his eyes flickering desperately around the room. Trick, for his part, is frozen stiff, staring at the muzzle.

He can almost see Doktor’s face - the horror in it at seeing his twin letting Anti put that thing on his face. He imagines disgust too. He always imagined disgust, though Doktor never gave him anything but comfort.

“That - that - that - that - ”

He swallows and tries to steady his stammer. Anti strokes at his beard.

“That sounds good.”

Anonymous asked: ANTI DON'T YOU DARE HURT HIM PLEASE HOLY SHIT

“Nobody has to get hurt if we all play nice,” hums Anti, stepping towards Dapper with his hands out-stretched, the black collar clutched in one fist. Trick holds the yellow one in shaking fingers. You watch him fix it around his neck, his face draining entirely of color, as if the collar had sucked it all out.

“I know you have to go gentle with Dapper,” says Anti, though his voice is cold as frost. “Otherwise he goes into his horrible little snaps, and near kills everybody around him. Treacherous little brain you have there, isn’t it? Even when you convinced yourself that I was the enemy, you could never direct your insanity just at me, could you? Do you remember, Dapper? Do you remember Red’s blood beneath your hands, and the dying tick-tock of a clock unwinding?”

Dapper pants fiercely, his nails scrabbling at the wall behind him, his hands bound, muted.

“Stupid little boy. You need a stronger hand to guide you. You’ve always needed a stronger guide than your brothers. Stupid, stupid little boy.”

Anonymous asked: Special doesn't mean valuable. You're a germ, Anti, and a temporary one at that. They won't follow you forever and you know it. And it's killing you. So have fun with that.

“A germ,” Anti hisses, stalking closer to Dapper, who fumbles at his side for a knife that no longer hangs there. Desperate, his stiff right hand manages to draw a circle at the wrist of his left -

“Blue! Blue! Blue!”

The only brother he can call for with his hands like this.

“Mama bluebird isn’t coming, songless lark. It’s just me and you and the other puppy. Isn’t that right, Tricky?”

Trick sits with his back to the bed, his hands suspended around his collar. He nods blankly, shaken.

“Are you a good boy, Trickshot?”

His face is beginning to look a little green. He nods again, weaker.

“Very good?”

“V-very - very - s-sorry, yes, very good.”

“Very good what?”

“Very good, m-master.”

“Trickshot’s going to get lunch,” smiles Anti. “Trickshot’s going to get water and sleep and a blanket to curl up in. You want that too, huh, my little Carver?”‘

Dapper’s eyes are filled with tears and hatred. Shoving himself back against the wall, he kicks out as hard as he can at Anti’s stomach.

The blow never lands. Anti grabs his ankle and then he attacks.

Dapper wheezes as his face, still bruised purple from last night’s beating, is shoved into the floor of Trick’s room and his arms yanked back so hard he fears dislocation. But you know what? He’s taken it before, and he’s taken it more willingly than this, and no matter what, he survived it. He survived it. He can fucking take it. No more shoving him around. If he’s going to die, he’ll do it with his dignity. Not like this fucking coward has the courage to end his life, anyway.

He slams his head back into Anti’s chin, snarling, proud to elicit a sharp, furious cry. And then Anti has grabbed him by the hair, and he disciplines, striking Dapper’s head against the cold linoleum again, and again, and again -

There is a second where Dapper exists outside of time entirely.

His hands could move it if he only had the strength.

But blood trickles swift from the side of his head and he cannot keep his focus. His eyes slip to silver only for a second, and then they are blue again, and he is trapped beneath Anti’s hands, wailing without making a goddamn noise.

Not that anyone would be able to save him if they could hear.

the-weirdest-fan asked: Ooh what's the plot of this puppet show?

“This puppet show,” pants Anti. “Is about a very naughty little child.”

Beneath his hands, a 30-year-old with intelligence more than enough to hate Anti passionately.

“The child was born stupid, and broken, and completely unwanted. Its master took it in one day because the brothers who claimed to love it were not watching over it, and it was helpless.”

Beneath his hands, the most powerful little magician ever to walk the face of the earth, doing his damnedest to flip Anti off with bloodless fingers.

“Everything the child became, it became because of its master. Everything that the child loved, it had because its master had given it.”

Dapper hand flails desperately in front of his chin, trying to get the pointer finger to stick out - “Liar!”

Anti presses down harder on his neck, pinning him to the floor with his knee between his shoulderblades. Somewhere behind him, Trick has staggered to the bathroom to vomit.

“Its master worked very hard for it, and gave it everything it needed. But as soon as the master started giving attention to another one of its puppets, the child began to think that it hated the master. Maybe it thought that because its mind was so broken and strange. Or maybe, just maybe, the stubborn, stupid little puppet had caught on to something that all of its brothers cannot see no matter what I show them, something that changed everything about the plot of the play, changed everything about the child’s life, and purpose, and loyalty…”

Anti leans in, bowed over Dapper’s body, and he places his lips at the very base of his ear, so Dapper could feel the movement of his mouth.

“I hate you so much I would die just to make sure you and your precious fucking brothers spend the rest of your miserable lives suffering hell on Earth.”

Dapper has gone still, his wide eyes staring at you, frozen.

Anti draws away again. Blood drips through the bandages on his neck.

“But whether Jameson had understood this truth or not did not matter to its master. All that mattered was that the child was broken again, and it was up to the master to put it back together.”

The tie is suddenly wrapped around Dapper’s throat and pulled so tight he gags, spasming desperately beneath Anti’s hands, his rapid heartbeat visible in a vein on his throat.

“And the master always knew, no matter what the puppet did,” hisses Anti. “Exactly how to shatter the puppet in exactly the right way to put its broken mind back together again the way that he liked it.”

And Anti summons all the power he has left inside him, and unleashes.

The power makes your camera short out.

End Section Three of Chapter Two.

Find the next section here.

#abuse tw #see all tws #chapter two #the chains that bind us

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