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new keychain everybody what are your thoughts (yes it’s VERY BADLY homemade hot glue my beloved) (don’t try saying it’s not this is actually below my bare minimum i have done so much better than this 😭😭😭😭😭 BUT. it’s funny and very fucking sturdy so it’s still on there)
man i wonder what character that could be lol. i’m sure it’s like rook or something idk
Ben put him up to it.
plot twst (heheh) ending
after everything rollo ends up as a die hard simp for malleus and raven
maybe he even ships them when he finds out they’re not in fact related
[Related Posts: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8]
We skipped over the battle atop the bell tower part 😂 and immediately went to the resolution--
WELL. Seeing as how Rollo still seems super resentful and stubborn about his beliefs even by the time of the masquerade 🤡 probably not?? Maybe a burgeoning, begrudging smidgen of respect for stopping him before he did something unspeakable, something that would make his departed brother sad--even if he doesn’t openly or explicitly acknowledge that.
Malleus pressures Rollo into having a dance with him, so maybe the prince could pass him off to Raven afterwards (who’s dancing with Sebek--).
Something like...
“Pardon, may I cut in?” Malleus inquires, nodding towards his flustered knight.
“M-Milord wishes to share a dance?! OH, JOYOUS DAY!!” Beads of glistening tears collect in Sebek’s eyes. “B-But of course, that is not to say that I also do not enjoy dancing with Milady!! NOT AT ALL!!”
“You’ve been acting quite strangely this entire time,” Raven grumbles, relinquishing her grasp on Sebek. “He’s all yours, Malleus-senpai--”
Her voice fades away when she takes a look at Malleus’s partner--at the cold, pale hand slipping into hers. The diamond-cut jewel upon his middle finger catches a ray of glitter-cut moonlight and comes to life like a dancing flame. Raven’s heart jumps.
“... Miss.” Rollo’s tone is as pointed as glass. His eyebrows are creased with displeasure. “May I have this dance?”
Raven glances helplessly at Malleus. “Is Silver-senpai or Rook-senpai avaliable?” she squeaks.
He folds his arms, his expression turning stern. “Young Crowley, you must not waver. Let your conviction be known. For your words to be heard, and for them to resonate with those who need it most... That is what you desire most of all, is it not?”
What I desire most of all.
Raven stares at him, unable to argue. He speaks the truth, and she cannot deny it.
Then, like a fairy godmother or a genie of the lamp having granted the final wish, Malleus turns away and vanishes. Not with sparkles or with fanfare, but by quietly gliding across the dance floor, Sebek trailing after.
“Hmph.” Rollo sniffs stiffly, letting his hand drop. “You must truly detest me.”
“... Not at all.” She tries to sound friendly, and she can’t tell if she’s successful or not. “I think we’re a lot alike. And maybe... just maybe... that might be why I’m a little scared of you--and why I feel so sad too. Because it’s scary looking into the mirror and seeing the ugliness of your soul reflected back.”
The surprise lasts for only a second before a glare wipes it clean off. “What nonsense. What could you possibly understand about me?”
“I understand more than you believe I do.” Raven sadly shakes her head. “... You once described magic as being a ‘cage’ that keeps me locked in. You said that I should be set free from it.”
Whether Rollo-senpai realizes it or not... Back then, he was also talking about himself. She ached at the thought, her cheeks heating up and her eyes threatening to burst into tears.
“But I don’t think that’s true at all. It’s not the magic that’s caging me or holding me back. I think... it’s this.” Raven taps at her chest. “Guilt, self-hatred, and fear—but I was fortunate enough to go to Night Raven College, to meet people that changed those doubts into hope.”
“I believe I asked for a dance, not for a lecture or your pity.” Rollo takes an abrupt step back. His handkerchief of moons and stars flutters into view, hiding his nose and mouth—but his eyes burn with a smoldering disgust. “The fault was not my own, so why should I be forced to endure your self-righteousness?”
Her feathers quiver, as if set aflame by his scathing words. Yet she does not balk from the heat.
What I desire most of all is…
Raven inhales shakily and presses on. “If you look around, you’ll realize that there are others that care for you and want to see you at your best. You don’t need to face your pain alone anymore.”
Raven tilts her head, and Rollo follows her line of sight. Nestled away in the corner of the room are his vice president and aide, glasses of punch and ours d'oeuvres in hand. They’re excitedly chatting about something with a stocky, animated gargoyle.
Rollo frowns, his face crumpling into a complicated expression.
“That’s something I had to learn for myself, so... I know it’s possible for you too, Rollo-senpai. Let others in. Reflect, repent, and forgive yourself. Only then can you rediscover joy.” Raven gives what she thinks is a reassuring smile. “I’m sure he would have wished for your happiness as well.”
At this, Rollo startles, crushing his handkerchief in his fingers. Hot and cold, fire and ice, rage in his veins. Through gritted teeth, he hisses, “... As if it could be so simple. Do not lump me in with you, the sort of degenerate that relishes her captivity.”
But there is a tug at his conscience. A discrepancy in his observations. They give him pause.
The merciless Malleus Draconia, condemning him to his thoughts. The merciful Raven Crowley, pleading for him to change his ways. Two sides, opposites.
“You…” Rollo narrows his eyes, the fire in them dimming from hate to hesitant curiosity. “Just what ARE you? You’re clearly nothing like the others from Night Raven College. No--you’re too... kind, too fuzzy, like some Royal Sword Academy student.”
"I’m a raven. I just made my nest and found a family of friends where the wind took me.”
“... Nfufu. I see it now.” Rollo crosses his arms, smirking. “It appears I was gravely mistaken. Of course. You are not the same as that man.”
There is no conceivable way that a fool as soft as this one would be related to Malleus Draconia.
“... I don’t know if I enjoy whatever conclusion that you’ve come to just now. It feels as though you’re looking down on me.” Raven sighs. “Well... as long as you take my advice to heart--”
“I never said I would.”
“... Has anyone told you that your attitude is positively infuriating?”
“Were I a mirror, I would say the same to you--since you claim that we are so alike.”
“………………………. If I am like you, and you are like me, then I will be your reflection and repeat your words back to you.” She extends a hand. “May I have this dance?”
ANYWAY I’M TOO TIRED TO WRITE MORE SO JUST PICTURE THEM ALSO SHARING AN AWKWARD DANCE WHILE THEY GLARE AT EACH OTHER LIKE ROLLO DID WITH MALLEUS
I find the “Rollo ships Raven with Malleus” angle difficult to incorporate, since I don’t really think Rollo would assume such a thing. I don’t personally see the ship either. If I had to describe Raven and Malleus’s relationship, it doesn’t really come off as romantic. It’s more like a clear mentor and mentee relationship, with Malleus as the strong, confident leader that Raven quietly admires and tries to learn from and live up to. At best, maybe Rollo would leave the masquerade thinking they’re co-conspirators against him.
Meanwhile, Sebek leaves the event still thinking Malleus and Raven are distant relatives because no one bothered to clarify for him--
Jacob: "I uhh don't exactly know how to say this...."
Dep.*with hearts in their eyes* : "Oh, just say it!"
Jacob: "Worcestershire"
Elite skins!!!
Rooker in The Lost Episode aka Asylum of the Dead (2012)
