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legends-live-in-memories · 4 years ago

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“How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoire by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng 1

Soooooo I decided to write this. much longer than the other things i posted, also very tonally different. I will definitely continue that other fic tho. I was just brainstorming and now this exists. Yeah.

without further ado

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

People Fucked Up and Now It’s All Marinette’s Mess to Clean Up I

This was not how Marinette planned for her night to go. Granted, she also could not envision it going literally any other way. The woes of making a deal with the hell-raiser himself, John Constantine, she supposes. She truly hoped Adrien was having a much better time than her with his cousin in London. After the circus that was the past three years, he deserved some reprieve, even if it was with his bratty doppelganger. Regardless, Marinette. Was. Not. Pleased. No matter how many times she thinks over her plan, recalculates every step and decision, she could not fathom this night ending well for her, or anyone really, but mostly her. And no amount of old Ladybug or Guardian luck could help her. Now, if one were to wonder what kind of tragedy had befallen Marinette on this disgraceful night, a brief history of the last three months could enlighten such a person. Or better yet, let’s start at the beginning. The Real Beginning.

So, things existed. Obviously. First there was nothing, and then, something. And as more things began to exist, as new schools of knowledge and concepts and ideas began to, well, exist, Kwamis formed as well. Each Kwami was the physical manifestation of these ideas or abstracts. Creation was the first, coupled with Destruction. And as more things began to exist, more things began needing to be protected. Thus, the Kwami of Protection. This went on. For a while. Soon thereafter there were Kwamis of all types. Jubilation, Time, Strength, etc, etc, and etc. Now these Kwamis did not linger in one spot. They roamed across the far stretches of existence and interacted with the life they found.

Some Kwamis decided to form a magical pact which intergalactic historians would later dub the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. Sounds familiar? The Kwamis themselves were completely blissfully unaware of this title, lest they would have explained to these beings, Maltusians they were called, that they were not in fact, electromagnetic but more so a part of the Powers that Be. Kind of. But this side-story involves the formation of a few universally known Lantern Corps, and that is a barrel of monkeys our exasperated narrator does not want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Or ever.

Other Kwamis, who stuck close to what would become known as the Milky Way, were discovered by a mage who granted them the ability to interact with humans. This mage— and Marinette was silently cursing his descendants, herself included, for if it weren’t for this absolute mad lad, none of the subsequent events of this night would have transcribed—had bound the Kwamis to magical jewelry called Miraculouses. An interesting side effect of these Kwamis being bound to the miraculouses was that the wearer could call upon the powers of the Kwamis for their own usage. The mage feared what could become of the world if this kind of power became so easily accessible, so he created the Order of the Guardians. The Order was dedicated to training young mages to protect, wield and harvest the powers of the miraculouses. The Order swore to true neutrality; wishing not to impose their will on one side or the other, to maintain balance and to not upset the natural order of the world.

This went surprisingly well for a few millennia, that is, of course, if you ignore the sinking of Atlantis, the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Black Plague, the creation of the Lazarus Pits, Pompeii, to name a few completely egregious instances—not necessarily in order of course—and well, the point stands that it could have been astronomically worse. Until it was.

One young mage and Guardian in training had caused the downfall of almost the entire Order of the Guardians. All the centuries of history, teachings, artifacts and even the people at the head temple, were lost to the calamity. Dozens of Miraculous Boxes were lost, destroyed in the fray. The Kwamis themselves were relatively unaffected, being immortal and all, but the magical jewelry binding them to the earth were broken, thus those Kwamis were lost to mankind once again. Only one singular box, and the young mage himself, survived. The new Guardian of one miraculous box was left to scour the earth in solitude. Well, about as much solitude one could have with 17 pocket gods as company. The fact that the only box that survived was missing two more miraculouses caused the already stressed guardian to grey further. But that tidbit of information would be a problem for later. And for someone else entirely too. Oh joy.

But before that sequence of events, aptly named “Marinette’s Trial by Fire,” however, the young guardian had a couple more life mistakes to make before he reached his internal quota apparently. Rather than travel to another sector of the Order on the other side of the earth, this young mage stumbled upon another organization, one similar in architecture and hierarchy but a pendulum swing in the total moral opposite. Yes, that’s right, the guardian found himself upon the League of Shadows, led by Ra’s Al Ghul in his endeavor of global cleansing; by acts of ecoterrorism, but who sweats the small stuff, right? There, the young guardian, who adopted the name of Wang Fu, met his first love Ming Hong and they had a son. The son had a daughter he named Mei. Now Mei was only a few weeks younger than Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson, Damian. Now with an appropriate heir, and someone to procreate with said heir, Ra’s Al Ghul gained a special interest in the small Fu family that originally flew under the radar of the League.

Now this is where things continue to go downhill, but not until much, much later in this story. Ra’s Al Ghul, despite his radical ambitions, was particularly good at playing the long game and understood when he couldn’t accomplish a task directly. This being said, he recognized that, due to prolonged exposure to the Lazarus Pits, his soul could not bear the strain of being a wielder of a miraculous and so he waited. Waited until a suitable heir was sired and could copulate with an heir to the guardian of the miraculous box, desiring to create a bloodline of genetically suitable successors and wielders who were loyal to him and his cause.

Ra’s ordered for the Fu family to have a place on his court and ordered for Mei Fu to be trained in mastering the secrets of the miraculous. And master she did. By age 6 she was fluent in the coded language of the magical text, or as fluent a 6 year old can be in any language, and she had mastered 7 out the 17 miraculouses. By age 10 she was as skilled as the grandson of the Demon Head in combat and could handle simultaneous wear of 3 miraculouses. Her training, however, had to be put on hold as somebody thought usurping the Demon Head was of the utmost importance that glorious Tuesday and staged a coup. She wished Deathstroke had lost more than an eye that day, but a girl can dream she supposes. Mei and her grandfather were separated from the rest of the League and journeyed west. Somehow they ended up in Paris, France. After one too many run ins with the authorities, Mei was removed from her grandfather, who was deemed too unfit to support her. It was a miracle he wasn’t deported.

Mei was put into protective custody where she resided until she was 13. Recently adopted, and thoroughly done with the plebeians of her daily encounters, Mei Fu became Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of the best bakers in Paris. All was well and good for the new Dupain-Cheng until the start of the new school year.

She met her grandfather again. And apparently he had a job for her and her soon to be new partner.

Hawkmoth, that bitch, had somehow acquired the two last surviving miraculouses and the only surviving grimoire and thought domestic terrorism was on the agenda for the next few years. Why? Because investing in a family therapist was too much of an inconvenience for local recluse, Gabriel McFucking Agreste, Marinette would shortly learn.

After dealing with all of that and juggling between her reignited guardian training, and ‘normal’ girl life—because her parents don’t know that she’s a magical girl in the making—, Marinette was ready to sleep for a thousand years. Or commit murder. Whichever gave her enough serotonin to complete her current passion project. But, alas, no rest for the totally-over-it or however that saying goes. Because after declaring Paris safe once again, sending off her brother-in-arms, Adrien Agreste, to family in London (marginally decent but anything beats the abusive prick of a sperm donor), in waltz one drunken John Constantine.

Ah yes. Him. That absolute bastard who doesn’t deserve nice things in life. That guy.

This unpleasantry approached Master Fu and Marinette, who has been regulated to errand-girl in lieu of training, with a job that he proclaimed that only one blessed with magic, and specifically NOT connected to the Justice League could accomplish. Apparently, a group called the Cult of the Kobra resided on Santa Prisca and was in possession of a dangerous magical artifact that had been the backbone of their organization for years. Constantine came to them asking them for assistance in retrieving it as the Justice League could not interfere in the Caribbean due to new UN legislation. It was a mission of utmost urgency for he feared the cult leader, Kobra himself, was planning on enacting a ritual that could bring calamity to Earth. Which is just what the doctor ordered. Not. In exchange, he agreed to add to her magical training as while master Fu was good, he was still young when he ran away from his problems the first time and thus was limited in his magical knowledge.

That was three months ago. Three months of planning, training, and convincing her parents that letting her go on an extended retreat for an undetermined amount of time with her mostly absent biological grandfather was totally reasonable for the seventeen year old to do. Like, come on. She’s almost old enough to drink, almost ready for university and has been praised for her independence and self-sufficiency for years. She’ll be fine is what she told her parents and she was almost able to convince herself of that too. She would be perfectly fine. Right?

Wrong.

Marinette was anything but fine. She was stressed, she was tired and she was abso-fucking-lutely pissed at anything that even breathed in her direction. Why? Well that brings us back to the beginning of the story when everything on this mission did not go according to plan. So here she was along what was once upon a time the eastern coastline of Santa Prisca. Oh and look. The Junior Justice League has arrived.

Purrrrfect.

Some one asked for a taglist. Ask and ye shall receive

@deathwishy @neakco @ virtualreading @f-rget-lt @your-resident-chicken-nugget

#maribat #marinette x damian #daminette #i was bored and left unattended #no salt in case you were wondering #yes i am looking at you antis who feel like stalking this tag #im not tagging characters cuz reasons #badass!marinette dupain cheng #idk what plot this is going to have or how heavy the romance is but this just exists so #i wrote this at 1 am #hdath #thats the fic tag im gonna use if i post more

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blossom-hwa · 4 years ago

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Danger: Crown |2| - JUYEON

Pairing: Juyeon x gender neutral!reader

Genre: fluff, angst, fantasy, royalty!au

Triggers: death, semi-graphic depictions of blood

Word Count: 4.3k

Lesson 7: allies can be found in unlikely places.

Previous: Onyx >> Crown: Part 1 | Part 2 >> Next: Stalemate

TBZ Masterlist | Danger | Kingdom

[ Taglist will be reblogged! Send a dm or an ask to be added! ]

Younghoon isn’t lying. The pull of magic only grows stronger as he leads them through winding tunnels, never once braving a reveal on the surface. As wary as Juyeon feels of the Ivory king, he has to admire the sharp ease with which he traverses the underground. Even after so many years in his own palace, he still sometimes needs a guide. Like when he first left.

When they stop, the tug of the stone is so powerful that Juyeon physically has to root himself in place as Younghoon turns around to speak. “There will be two guards in this hallway,” he says lowly. “Somin has them there at all times to watch over the crown jewels. Be ready.”

Juyeon nods, impatient. “Fine.”

“One more thing.” Younghoon doesn’t budge. “Haknyeon leaves now.”

“No.” Juyeon grits his teeth. “Absolutely –”

“I’m unarmed,” Younghoon snaps. “Even if I had a weapon, I’m far less skilled than you at swordplay and you could pin me down in less than a second. And if I remember correctly, you have a mage on your side, and Kevin is a very good shot with a knife.” He fixes Juyeon with his gaze. “If we are caught somehow, Haknyeon cannot be part of this. I can talk my way out of trouble and I have status as king. Somin still needs me, however much she may hate it. But she doesn’t need him nearly as much. He is preferable, but any other citizen could take his place if he... disappeared.”

Which means, if Somin finds Haknyeon with them, he’s dead. Juyeon swallows.

Younghoon’s eyes turn pleading, though a fire burns in them that Juyeon knows he can’t douse. “Haknyeon leaves now.”

He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like having to put his trust in a king he barely knows, doesn’t like having to let Haknyeon go and lose half of the leverage he has over Younghoon.

But Younghoon only has concern for his friend. There are no secret messages passing between them, no subtle eye contact or hand movements that Juyeon can decipher. Younghoon’s eyes remain fixed on Juyeon’s. He doesn’t move.

Juyeon nods sharply, turning to Kevin. “Let him go.”

The knife leaves Haknyeon’s neck. He steps forward, almost, but a warning gaze from Younghoon stops him. The servant swallows, looking supremely unhappy with this, but starts backing away in a soft swish of robes. Then he turns around, but only to hand Kevin his lantern. “You’ll need this more than I will,” he says before disappearing into the darkness.

Younghoon’s already pushing open the door by the time Juyeon turns back, peering out for any sign of life. “Two guards,” he whispers. “Take them by surprise.”

Juyeon slips into the hall and lunges.

The guards are too late. They shout, which makes Juyeon wince – great, now people might hear them – but with a clanging of metal and several well-placed hits on the head between him and Kevin, the guards fall to the floor. Jacob nudges them with his feet when he passes by. They don’t stir.

“Hurry,” Younghoon hisses, running down the hall. “People are going to come soon.”

He’s right. As Juyeon sprints after the king, he hears voices beginning to grow in volume. Several cries have just sounded when Younghoon comes to a stop in front of an unassuming wall. “Here.”

Juyeon almost rips Changmin’s insignia off his neck with one hand as he shifts the other over the wall, looking for a groove, a panel, anything to signal a door hidden in the stone. It isn’t exactly the same as the store of jewels at home, but a piece of the wall finally gives way under his touch, producing a small keyhole. He shoves the insignia inside and twists.

For one heart stopping second, nothing happens. Juyeon’s hands are slick with sweat as he grips the tiny gold symbol between his fingers, hoping, praying –

A click sounds. The wall shifts open.

Jacob stumbles inside, followed by Kevin and Younghoon. Juyeon takes one moment to pull the insignia out of the lock before slipping into a room full of gold and gems sparkling in the light of the lamp in Kevin’s hand.

The wall slides shut, cutting off the shouts in the hall behind them. Juyeon gasps for breath, trembling fingers returning the insignia to its rightful place around his neck as he surveys the glittering walls.

His breath catches in his throat.

There, in the middle of the room, stands a glass case. A silver crown, curiously empty of jewels, shines in its depths, lantern light glinting off the metal to illuminate the black stone lying next to it.

That’s his gem.

And that’s his crown.

Jacob places his hands on the case, closing his eyes as they roam over the glass. “Ten spells,” he says.

Younghoon nods. “One for each of her mages.”

Juyeon clenches his jaw. “Can you break them?”

“Yes.” Jacob opens his eyes. “But I need time. Every spell I break will only make the mages aware that someone is tampering. And…” He swallows. “Some will require my fire.”

A stone drops in Juyeon’s stomach. A mage’s fire is sacred. It’s up to Jacob whether or not he can use it – Juyeon doesn’t know enough about magic to make that decision – but if Jacob rules it as desecration…

Kevin steps forward, placing a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “Do what you think is right,” he murmurs.

“And hurry about it,” Younghoon adds, eyebrows furrowed. “They’re coming.”

The urge to snap at the king grows, but he’s right. They’ll be secure in here as long as Somin doesn’t come running with her key, but who knows when that’ll happen? Shouts were sounding when they entered the room – someone will sound the alarm soon if they haven’t already.

Jacob closes his eyes. Takes a breath. Opens them.

He looks at Juyeon and nods sharply. “Give me as much time as you can.”

Juyeon allows a grim smile to cross his face as he unsheathes his sword. “Of course.”

. . . . .

If dousing a fire is like cutting threads, breaking a spell is like snapping branches in half. There’s a delicacy to it, knowing where to place pressure so the wood will split most easily, but a large part of it is brute force as well, much more than when he was choking the life out of Mage Jung’s flame.

Sweat rolls into Jacob’s eyes as the first spell breaks, then the second, and then the third. They were the easiest, the simplest. They required none of his fire.

Heat bubbles beneath his skin as he focuses on the next. His hands weave patterns along the glass case, grabbing tendrils of invisible magic that shimmer slightly in the air, infusing them with the energy that flows out of his veins. A fourth snap, then a fifth.

He’s overheating. Too much magic. Jacob doesn’t need to see the red tint of his skin to feel the uncomfortable warmth beginning to spread through his body, especially not when Kevin hisses just from standing a little too close.

But he’s only halfway through. And as much as his head feels like it’s about to split in half with how much magic his hands have directed into the shimmering spells surrounding the crown, he can’t give up. Not now, not when they’re so damn close.

The sixth spell snaps. Jacob’s throat grows raw with blistering heat. It burns his insides now, painful warmth crawling through his veins with the magic that bursts from his hands. Only unlike the magic, the heat has no way to escape.

Seven. Even with the roaring of blood in his ears, Jacob dimly hears loud yelling outside the room. Eyes blurred with sweat take in Juyeon standing in front of the wall, sword at the ready.

Give me as much time as you can.

There isn’t much left.

His skin might actually be smoking. He can’t tell. Jacob draws on the dredges of magic hidden deep within his blood, sends it flowing out of the tips of his fingers. The eighth spell bends under his onslaught.

But it doesn’t break.

A stone drops in Jacob’s stomach. He’s reached his breaking point. There’s only one way he can complete this job and it means using his fire.

Anxiety wraps around Jacob’s arms, freezing them in place even though no more magic flows.

A mage’s flame is sacred, the rawest form of power they hold. It is the most powerful and most dangerous form of magic possible, which is why there are strict rules regarding its usage. One of the first things a mage in training learns is how to control it.

Control isn’t a problem for Jacob. That came almost as easily as breathing.

Letting it go, however…

He takes a deep, shuddering breath. Air warm with the heat of his magic blisters his throat further and he chokes, almost falling against the glass. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Younghoon look over with concern, but he can’t register it.

Another breath comes in, slightly cooler this time. Jacob steadies himself on shaky feet. He’s only ever let go of his flame once in a situation that wasn’t meant for practice. He can do it, he knows. But is it a desecration of his magic? Will using his fire in this one instance upset the balance of the Board further?

Will he prove himself the same as his former teacher and current traitor to the orders, High Mage Jung?

A loud yell pierces Jacob’s ears, barely muffled by the wall. His head snaps up as Juyeon stiffens by the wall, hand clenched around his sword. Next to him, Kevin readies a blade.

No time.

Jacob closes his eyes. High Mage Jung proved he was unworthy of magic when he used his flame to aid Somin’s agenda. Jacob is not the same. He has used his magic time and time again only to maintain the balance.

Releasing his flame will be no different.

Taking a breath, Jacob unclenches a fist, one he didn’t even know he’d made. He calls on the stirrings in his heart, warmth and pain and power. Even more heat begins to fill his veins.

Slowly, slowly, a tendril of orange fire wisps out of his palm. It curls around a section of the tenuous spell wrapped around the glass case.

Sweat dripping into his eyes, Jacob snaps his fist closed.

The spell breaks.

A tiny, tiny smile makes its way onto Jacob’s lips.

Two more to go.

. . . . .

When a ragged gasp cuts through the uncomfortably warm air, Juyeon’s attention turns from the wall where the door is hidden. Either Jacob has managed to break through all ten spells or he’s failed and they’re all about to be trampled under the feet of Somin’s soldiers.

He whips around just in time to see Jacob shove himself against the crown’s case with the last strength in his limbs. Glass shatters on the ground.

Juyeon lunges, catching the mage before he drops onto a bed of glass shards. They poke through his clothes and Juyeon grits his teeth as a few cut into his flesh, but he manages to lift Jacob up slightly, hands burning against the mage’s skin before he deposits him on empty ground, groaning.

Glass crunches under Kevin’s feet as he scoops up the fallen crown and the onyx jewel. They glitter in the sputtering light of the lantern as he places them in Juyeon’s hands, metal and stone cool against his burning skin.

Disbelief fills Juyeon’s throat as he stares down at the two objects. They’ve done it. They have all the stones and the crown. They have everything they need to put the Juyeon’s crown back together, but it doesn’t feel real.

Queens. They’ve somehow done it. Now they just need to get out.

Easier said than done.

“Jacob.” Juyeon kneels next to the prone mage, whose eyes have just begun to flutter open from when they lay closed before. “Jacob, can you shift us out of here?”

Jacob sits up with a pained grunt and wiggles his fingers slightly. His face is still flushed red with magic overuse, and Juyeon isn’t surprised when his hand falls and he shakes his head. “Can’t get us far,” he croaks. “Not enough magic. Just…” He swallows. “Just have enough to disappear the crown and stone for now. I’ll get them back later.”

Wordlessly, Juyeon hands over the jewels. As Jacob spins them into nothing, he tries to think of other options. There are no tunnels in this room, no way to escape unnoticed. If they leave, a group of guards stands ready outside to cut them all down. There’s no option other than to wait for Jacob to recover enough to shift them out, but that requires time.

Time they might not have, if Somin comes rushing in with her own key.

“Use me as a hostage.”

Juyeon turns to Younghoon, eyebrows furrowed. “What –”

“Use me as a hostage,” he repeats. “If you say that you’ll kill me the second anyone tries anything, they won’t have a choice but to let you go. Soldiers won’t risk hurting their king.” His jaw clenches. “You know that.”

He does. He knows it very well. Knights are loyal to their kingdom – it’s part of their training and an aspect that the orders evaluate when deciding to ordain a new soldier. But –

“What if Somin comes?”

The ghost of a dispassionate smirk flits across Younghoon’s face. “She needs me more than she likes to pretend,” he says. “If you play your pieces right, she won’t do anything, either.”

It might work. It just might work. If they can get to the tunnel, if enough of Jacob’s magic has returned to shift them away (or, at the very least, he has the strength to run), they might be able to make it out. Juyeon turns to the mage, who’s being forced into drinking water by a belligerently caring Kevin. “Jacob, can you stand? How long will it take your magic to return?”

Some of the red flush has faded from Jacob’s face, which is promising. When Kevin helps him up, he still leans most of his weight on his cousin, but he looks marginally better as he steps carefully around shattered glass. “Give or take some minutes,” he rasps. “I’m not sure.”

Not the answer Juyeon would like, but he doesn’t have a lot of options left. It’ll have to be enough.

Wordlessly, Kevin hands over a knife. Juyeon twirls it around in his fingers, raising an eyebrow at Younghoon. “All right then.” He grabs the king, placing the blade under his chin. “Let’s go, hostage.”

. . . . .

Juyeon fends off exactly one soldier after Kevin slides the door open. They’re extraordinarily well-trained, he muses, staring into the throng. Not a single one moves a muscle once it becomes clear their king is at Juyeon’s mercy.

“I have your king,” he says coldly. His voice doesn’t betray the shake of his fingers as he keeps the knife pressed against Younghoon’s neck. “If one of you so much as touches any of us, I will have him killed.”

One of them, obviously the woman in charge, grits her teeth. For a moment, she stares back at Juyeon, ivory uniform a contrast to his black clothes stained with blood. Will he have to fight?

Then she lowers her sword. Steps aside.

Juyeon walks forward in the silence, knife clenched between white knuckles. Two sets of footsteps and soft gasps for breath reassure him that Kevin and Jacob aren’t far behind. Younghoon walks carefully, slowly, as Juyeon’s arm pins him to his side.

They make it to the end of the hall. Juyeon turns, heading for the tunnel.

And comes face to face with the woman he’d hoped to leave behind at the sword fighting arena.

Feral anger flashes in Somin’s eyes, even as her lips curve into a sweet smile. “So nice to see you here, Juyeon.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Juyeon replies, unconsciously pressing the blade a little further into Younghoon’s neck. “Would you be so kind as to let us pass?”

A sliver of sharp metal glints in Somin’s hand, twisting and twirling between deft fingers. “I’m afraid my answer is no.” She grins. “Though perhaps you’d be so kind as to stay still while I kill you on my palace floors.”

Juyeon scoffs. “Your palace floors,” he mocks. “You say that as if you didn’t order your family killed and aren’t controlling every person around you with someone they love.”

“Finders keepers,” Somin sings, stepping closer. “I fought my way to the throne and the Board ordained me. You, on the other hand…” Her gaze shifts to the side, eyes turning sharp and flinty. “You aren’t king just yet, are you?”

“Maybe not.” Juyeon allows a barbed smile to spread across his face, infusing it with every bit of loathing he’s ever felt for Somin. “But you won’t have your own king much longer if you don’t step aside.”

She sneers. “Why do I need a king? Can’t a queen rule on her own, with or without a useless king by her side?” She leans forward, white skirts swishing ominously against the ground. “If you hadn’t noticed, I am creating a new country, one united across the Board. Who says I need a king in this new world, hm?”

“You destroyed any chance at unity when you stole my crown,” Juyeon snarls. “My people will remember your actions, regardless of whether or not I live.”

Somin waves an infuriating hand. “What does that matter when I will crush them where they stand?” She steps forward again. “And speaking of the crown…” Her smile disappears, replaced with barely-repressed fury. “Where is it?”

A real spark of satisfaction races up Juyeon’s spine. His own grin isn’t faked anymore. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“You will tell me,” she snarls, raising her knife. “You will tell me, or you can say goodbye to your life right here and now.”

“Touch me and Younghoon gets it too.” Juyeon tightens his grasp on the king, who doesn’t even so much as twitch a muscle. He has to admire his ability to remain calm. “I thought you were smart enough to know this?”

“What part of I don’t need a king do you not understand –”

Younghoon’s voice cuts through Somin’s tirade. “Liar.”

The hallway falls silent. Even Somin stops speaking.

“Liar,” he repeats, an ease in his one word that belies the knife pressed under his chin. “You need me, Somin. You know you do.”

“Oh, really?” Somin laughs, wild, nearly hysterical. “Really, Younghoon? You want to tell me that I need you when you are about as useless as a fly stuck on the wall?”

“This fly on the wall is half the reason your popularity among the common pawns hasn’t fallen to the negatives,” Younghoon snaps. “If you didn’t need me at all, why would you threaten me with Haknyeon? Why would you even bother to make a pretense of keeping me under control if you truly had no use for me?” His smile turns sharp, grim. “You need a king, whether you like it or not. Not simply because you are a queen and it is tradition. You need me because you are an unpopular queen who cannot inspire loyalty among her own people. I dare say that Juyeon’s sister might not need a king by her side, but of course, you are no Jisoo.” He smiles. “You are not your sibling, either.��

Juyeon almost wants to clap. He settles for loosening his grip on Younghoon’s arm. Behind him, he hears Kevin whispering a very low “wow” under his breath.

Somin snarls, an ugly flush rising in her cheeks. “If you don’t stop speaking right now, I will –”

“What will you do?” Younghoon interrupts. “Kill him? Haknyeon?”

Dead silence reigns.

“You won’t.” A sharp smile flashes on Younghoon’s face. “Kill him and you lose your only leverage over me. Kill him and you have no other way to control me. There is no one left that I love, not friends, not family. Choosing a citizen at random for execution would lower your popularity even more, and most of them would not believe it if you told them it was under my orders. They know me better and like me better.” An empty smirk crosses his lips. “I believe we are at a stalemate, Your Majesty.”

There’s no warning before the knife goes flying through the air. Only the raising of Somin’s hand, a flash of silver, Juyeon’s eyes widening as it whips past him and towards his friends –

A clang of metal sounds, and Somin’s blade falls to the floor. Juyeon looks back just slightly to see Kevin holding a knife of his own, a trickle of blood running down his hand. “You’ll have to be faster than that,” he says, the curve of his lips mimicking the blade between his fingers.

Somin’s chest heaves. Juyeon smiles. “So will you let us pass?” he asks sweetly, ingraining his words with as much artificial sugar as he can muster. “Your Most Excellent Majesty?”

Silence. A low sound of feral anger.

Then she steps aside.

. . . . .

It takes long, too long to walk down the two halls left to get to the tunnel Younghoon took them through the first time. Especially with Somin’s eyes following every step they take.

But they finally descend into darkness, Juyeon removing the knife from Younghoon’s neck to slam the door shut behind them.

Shouts immediately sound as soon as the tunnel descends into darkness. Footsteps pound outside and Juyeon holds tight to the handle, keeping it shut as Jacob shakily crafts a new door in thin air. Five heart-stopping seconds pass before it’s finished and even then it doesn’t look too stable, parts of the wood frame flickering in and out of existence, but finally Kevin’s holding the door open for Jacob and they’re both stepping to the other side.

“Go,” Younghoon says, taking the handle from Juyeon even as the door begins to shake with the force of those pounding on it. “You need to leave.”

Juyeon nods, stepping towards the door still set in air. Then he turns back. “You could come with us.”

A flash of hope flits across Younghoon’s face, but it leaves as soon as it appears. “No.” He shakes his head. “I would only be a hindrance. I can’t fight very well, and I have no magic. Besides, I have people to protect here. Haknyeon. My kingdom. At least with my status, I can try to minimize some of the damage Somin causes.”

If Juyeon was in the same position as Younghoon, he’d probably do the same. It doesn’t stop him from wanting to take the Ivory king with them, though, if only to have another person safely out of Somin’s clutches. But he nods. “You’re a good king, Younghoon.”

Younghoon smiles. “I hope to say the same thing to you soon, Juyeon, when you are no longer a prince.” His expression turns grim. “Now go. Don’t waste any more time.”

Juyeon steps through the open door with relief and terror shuddering through his veins. The door shimmers into nothing the second he topples onto green grass barely visible in the early morning light.

“Queens,” he mutters, rolling over to face the sky. “Queens.”

Kevin groans next to him. “You can say that again.”

A small swish sounds in the air, and then something tumbles to the ground with a clang. Juyeon sits up, barely in time to catch the crown and onyx stone before they roll past him.

Jacob pulls himself half up. His skin still radiates heat, even this long after he finished breaking the spells, but his eyes look clearer than when they left. “We did it.” He coughs. “We have everything.”

They do. They have the crown and all five stones, four sewn into Jacob’s cloak, the last in Juyeon’s hand. After months of no sleep, pain, death, and endless running, they have everything they need to put Juyeon’s crown back together.

He can barely believe it.

“Do you have the energy to fuse the gems back?” Kevin asks, looking at Jacob with concern obvious even in the dark.

The mage shakes his head, coughing again. “Not now,” he replies. “I need… we need to get somewhere we can rest. Putting the jewels back might require more magic than I even have. There’s a reason Somin had to get the most powerful mages on her side to dismantle it.”

“That’s fine,” Juyeon says. “As long as you can shift us back, Taemin and Sunmi and some of the other mages will be able to help us. We’ll take short trips so you aren’t too drained, Jacob.” He smiles, really smiles. “We have a bit more time, now.”

Jacob returns the smile, sitting up with Kevin’s help. “We do,” he says, the sparkle in his eyes radiating real joy for the first time since he found them back in the woods so many months ago. “We do.”

For a moment, they all sit in silence, sleepily resting under the early morning light. Then Kevin stirs. “We should move,” he reminds them, smile disappearing slightly. “Put as much distance between us and the palace before we actually take a rest.”

“Right.” Jacob stands shakily, hands poised to form a new door. “Where to?”

“As far as you think your magic can hold,” Juyeon says. “We’ll take it from there.”

A door appears, shimmering white on the bed of grass. The pristine handle looks out of place in his bloody, grimy hands, fingers stained red and black, but the sight doesn’t bring Juyeon as much revulsion as it might have before. Because this time, the door doesn’t signal another leg of the journey. It doesn’t represent escape, doesn’t mean they’re running away.

Juyeon turns the handle, smiling a smile so wide it almost hurts.

It’s time to go home.

If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3

(1 reblog = 1 prayer for everything to go right for once)

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nicco-needs-love · 3 years ago

Text

Oh boy. I did it. I wrote this damn thing. It's kinda long (5k) so I'm splitting it into three parts because that's how I wrote this fic. The full thing will be up on ao3 tomorrow because it's 6am :,) my ao3 is HoliGAY if you wanna see the whole thing because I'm gonna edit it and make it look pretty on there! :,,)))

TW//quick desc of gore, and romanticizing of marriage! The gore isn't in this chapter so no worries! I would say this chapter would be rated G!

This is only chapter one! I'm gonna post the other's tomorrow! Sorry for any errors! I didn't read it over!

(1/3) White Proposal

"Is it normal? Y'know… To fall in love with one of our Eves?"

"Do you really think that's a good question to ask me?! Hell, I've fallen in love with every damn one of them!"

Ildio shrugs, realizing that asking Hyde was not the smartest idea.

"Well? There's a reason you asked that. Catching feelings for your Eve?"

"Yeah, I wanna propose."

Hyde inhales his water, coughing everywhere; caught very off guard at Ildio's sentence.

"Huh?!"

"It isn't that strange. Mother married one of her old eves. Double Doubt and his eve are engaged. You and yours?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But it's normal for us to fall for our eves! You, however, haven't done that once!"

"Well… Nicco's different."

Ildio looks away, thinking about the long haired guy he'd hopelessly fallen for. Ildio isn't sure about even asking Niccolò to marry him. They're dating, been dating for a few years. It's just there has never been a good instance of Servamps marrying their Eves. It's just a sad thing to think about. Servamps are immortal, they'll never die. Their Eves aren't. Ildio was never close to any of his previous Eves, he was one of the very few Servamps who has never fallen in love. Of course, that was until he met Niccolò. It was a curse until Ildio eventually gave up fighting off those butterflies he'd get when Nicco would smile.

"Uh-huh… Okay. Do you actually wanna do it? Propose I mean. Think about it, would it work? Sometimes I wanna propose to Licht but there's so many reasons I can't. Our schedules, his job, he's popular with "everyone" so I can't imagine the problems he would get if people found out he was married. Hell,I'm not sure Licht would even say yes."

"I'm just thinking about it, if I was gonna do it, it wouldn't be extravagant, we wouldn't even have to wear rings."

"Then what's the point? Could be the romanticism in me but, that's such a beautiful thing about marriage. Wearing rings? It's so romantic, the glimmer of each other's face reflecting on their wedding rings! Being able to see your love in a metal band on someone's finger is just a beautiful thing! I've been married a few times and wedding days are some of the best days of my life."

Ildio sighs, definitely regretting his decision of talking to Hyde about this. He definitely should have talked to Kuro instead, none of the theatrics or excessive romantic details. Honestly any of his siblings would have been better to talk to about this; except for Hugh. Hugh has always been against Servamps falling in love. Especially ever since the incident with Hyde many centuries ago. Then Jeje's past with the Alicen family. There have been many, many times Servamps have fallen in love. Every time they had talked about those things to Hugh, there would be a very long conversation about the problems with a romance like that. That's one of the reasons that Ildio has always been weary of the idea of love. In fact, he thought he would never fall for anyone. All his previous Eves were asses who would break Ildio's rules almost immediately. Yet again, Niccolò changed his mind on that.

"I'm gonna go, Law. I'm gonna think more about it."

"Mkay! Invite me to the wedding! I wanna see it!"

Ildio laughs aloud once, closing the door behind him.

The thing is, Ildio already bought a ring for the proposal. It was an impulse buy, he was shopping for snacks and a bright ring caught his eye in a window. The ring is one of a kind, a gorgeous onyx black band, with a shining silver inlay. Apparently there was a second ring similar to that one, however it sold a while ago. Ildio knew immediately the ring would fit Nicco. Don't ask how he would know that, many hours watching Niccolò's hands move would certainly not be Ildio's answer. The ring, inside a white velvet box, feels heavy inside his pocket. He could propose, just give Nicco the ring and walk away. Although he knows there's no way he could do that. After all, the worst thing Niccolò could say is no, right?

"He's been gone for hours… Not so far that the distance effect would take in, but far enough that I can't find him."

Niccolò sighs, sinking down against the vinyl chair he's sitting in. A few hours ago, Ildio told him to meet him at this diner. Nicco didn't expect to be waiting for hours. It's not like he has anything to do today anyway. Besides the piles of phone calls he has to make with other bosses of families because there have been many issues in the workplace. Nicco puts his head down on the table, considering giving Ildio a call. Not because he's impatient, but starting to get worried.

"Hey, Nicco."

Niccolò opens his eyes and looks up, seeing Ildio. Nicco isn't sure when he took a nap, but he certainly did. Ildio looks nervous? Niccolò isn't sure why he would be, but he sits up, tapping the spot next to him on the seat for Ildio to sit down.

"Hey… Sorry I fell asleep, I meant to call but, I fell asleep…"

Ildio doesn't say anything, just nods. It isn't rare for Ildio to not say anything. However, it is rare for Ildio to look this nervous. Or nervous at all. Nicco notices Ildio has his hand inside his jacket pocket, it looks like he's fidgeting with something? Or, it could just be Niccolò projecting. You see, something has been weighing on his mind for months; marriage. Niccolò knows that's the very last thing he should be thinking about. First of all, he's a mafia boss with many people who rely and count on him, he still has to prove he can be just as good as his father one day. Secondly, he would be married to a vampire, a Servamp. If Niccolò proposed, would Ildio even have a choice to say no? If that's the case, Nicco would never want to propose. Still, he bought a ring, specifically for Ildio. He was just window shopping for rings when he saw it. The ring is a shining silver that shines beautifully in the sun. Inside the ring is a deep black inlay, the ring is gorgeous. He sighed a sigh of relief looking closely at the ring, he knew it would fit Ildio perfectly. Niccolò being the hopeless romantic he is, he got an engraving into the ring's inlay. 'Mio dio'. Translating to 'My God' in italian. It's a very cheesy thing that Niccolò thinks about a lot, he thinks of Ildio as his God.

Nicco can't help but idly roll the black velvet box between his fingers. He bought the ring about two weeks ago, he's been thinking about the moment over and over. The imaginary proposal in his head. Niccolò honestly is far too shy to do something so forward. It's completely different to hold hands or soft kisses, this is marriage.

"S-so uh...Why were you out for so long, Il? I was getting worried…"

"Just thinkin' about stuff."

Silence. Niccolò shifts in his seat uncomfortably, not too sure what to say. Ildio is thinking the exact same, he isn't sure which way to go about this.

"So uh-"

They both start talking at the same time. Meeting each other's eyes, Niccolò looks down first, a blush dusting his face. Ildio obviously takes notice of this, realizing that Nicco is more nervous than usual; which is hard to be.

Ildio stands up, grabbing Nicco's hand and taking him out of the diner. In the corner of his eye, he can see many of the Carpe Diem members giving him a look of suspicion.

Outside the diner, around seven feet away from the entrance, Ildio can't stop fiddling with the box in his pocket. Nicco isn't touching the box in his pocket, however, it feels like one-hundred tons weighing in on him.

Ildio inhales, getting a grip on the wedding ring. He's doing it; he's going to ask Niccolò to marry him.

Looking at Ildio, Nicco can see a look of determination? Seeing that makes Nicco want to propose. He reaches within his coat pocket, grabbing the white box.

"Niccolò."

Nicco stops in his tracks, the severe tone in Ildio's voice making him stop. Has he done something wrong? Does Ildio suddenly just want to turn their relationship into business only? Does he want to leave the business and have nothing to do with Nicco anymore? His hands turn clammy, swallowing down a lump of anxiety.

"Y-yes?"

"I uh… Listen, augh- dammit."

Ildio's stuttering just makes Niccolò feel much more nervous. Thousands of different things race through Nicco's head. Thousands of negative things. He tries to brace himself for whatever words Ildio is going to say. Unfortunately, Nicco knows that if Ildio says anything negative, it will most likely break him.

"...I wanna marry you."

Ildio pulls out the white velvet box, opening it up to show the ring to Nicco. Part of him doesn't want to see Niccolò's reaction. He doesn't want him to say yes because Ildio doesn't want to get any closer to this anomaly. He also doesn't want Nicco to say no, because honestly… Ildio wants to marry Nicco. If Ildio's being completely honest with himself, he's hopelessly in love with the man before him.

Nicco gasps, audibly gasps, a… a proposal? He can't believe his eyes. The ring is absolutely stunning, it looks uncannily similar to the ring that Nicco bought for Ildio. He looks up to meet Ildio's eyes from the ring; it feels like hundreds of butterflies fly from his heart. Ildio's eyes are warm, soft. The breath leaves Nicco in a rush. Niccolò is sure Ildio is a literal god, not a vampire.

"I- the funny thing is…uh…"

Niccolò pulls the open black velvet box from his coat, showing the ring to Ildio. Nicco turns his head away from Ildio, not wanting to see his expression.

Ildio blinks a few times, looking at the gorgeous ring in Nicco's hands. He can tell immediately that it's the opposite version of the ring he purchased a few nights ago. Looking closer, Ildio can see some italian engraved into the ring. Since Niccolò knows italian, Ildio was able to know it immediately when they made their contract. "Mio Dio". It's a term that Nicco would use very affectionately towards Ildio. A term that Ildio doesn't agree with, but hearing those words from Nicco is, ironically, heavenly.

"Jesus Nicco… This is beautiful. So, I'm guessing it's a yes?"

Niccolò laughs, nodding. He pulls the ring out of it's black box, gently sliding it onto Ildio's finger. Ildio mimics the action, both of them wearing the ring the other chose.

Ildio grabs Niccolò's tie, tugging him into a gentle, loving kiss.

#servamp #gluttony pair #servamp niccolo #niccolo carpediem #ilnico #servamp ildio #fanfiction #chapter 1 #wedding theme #fluff #ff fluff #in which i write #not me projecting again #that's a tag now #not beta read #shipping #i love this ship sm #it needs more love

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evakuality · 3 years ago

Photo

Mia, episode ten

1. I like this little pile of girls she has going on here (and I love that it was recreated in s4). I really do enjoy this group together and it’s nice when we get to see them all in one group like this. ‘If he found out through someone else, that’d be worse’ - yeah it would, and I’m glad someone is finally working out that talking to each other is the best way to deal with things. The most frustrating thing about this season so far (apart from the Noora bits) is how so much could have been avoided if people just actually spoke to each other rather than making assumptions. I don’t feel like this was as big a problem in the other seasons. Hanna was built around how unhealthy this behaviour is and Matteo was actually relatively good at communication, at least in ways that didn’t end up with this sort of issue.

2. Druck: here are some shots of this school. Me: 💜💙💜 - every damn time. I really really love this school and its environs. It’s such a great place to create interesting shots and scenes in!

3. Okay, this bit seems better than the og. I absolutely loathed that William refused to listen to Noora at all and chose instead to believe someone who is absolutely 100% proven by him to be an asshole and manipulative. Here at least a) Mia genuinely did go and do something with Bjorn kind of on purpose and b) Alex is at least willing to talk; he hasn’t entirely shut her down. Alex has far more genuine reason to be upset in this case (she chose to hang out with Bjorn rather than go see Alex after all unlike Noora who was at William’s house and sort of pressured into doing stuff against her will while she waited for him). So the fact that Alex, while clearly hurt, is still willing to listen is a good change.

4. Hmm, this is a very interesting shot of Mia. Her costume is so dark and the background is so dark that her face stands out so starkly against it. It’s another sort of black and white thing, except that where Mia and Amira were both black and white (signaling that both had aspects of each), here Alex is white and Mia is black (meaning they’re framing him as ‘right’ here). I don’t necessarily love the way this season (and the og) tried to frame the William character as a misunderstood lovely guy when they both acted like absolute dicks. But I do like the way Druck uses costuming and cinematography.

5. I don’t think any of this backstory really absolves Alex of any of what he did or how he’s acted. But I will say, the acting is very nice and the things he’s talking about are quite poignant. Clearly, Bjorn shows all the signs of a classic abuser and this must have been a hard thing for a young guy to watch. But I guess the issue is that in order to stick to the og, Alex had to act like a similar sort of guy. Which doesn’t make sense. If he was as badly affected by all of this stuff as it seems he was, why start acting like the same sort of guy as the one who did this?

6. Interesting that by the end of the clip we’re back to a share of the black and white. Mia is absolutely in the right here, so this ‘nuance’ bothers me (there really is no reason for Alex to beat up Bjorn, and Mia’s right - she should be the one to deal with this in this instance). But I do like that again, Druck is using colours and light (there’s a lot more light on Mia and a lot more dark around Alex by the end of the clip) to make their point. It’s not absolutely one I agree with but I appreciate what they do with this stuff. It was great in Hanna’s season and it’s great again here. ‘Honestly Mia, this thing hasn’t worked between us from the start’ - hmmm, for once I agree with you, Alex. This is/was a high school romance that lasted for a couple of weeks. They’ll both get over it and move on, particularly if they’re going to be in different places. One thing I do like about the s4 stuff is that the show does acknowledge that and allows them to split up. That’s just life. That doesn’t mean they weren’t important for each other, but just that it was something that was with them for a short time, and it doesn’t have to be more than that. I know that isn’t how this season ends, but overall I like where it goes.

7. Oh, the often-talked-about ‘beanie boy’ scene. Sad that I have never seen this episode and yet I recognized it from what Jonas is wearing. Yes, I’ll admit it: I am a David fanatic and I’m so glad he had this little moment in this season. Also, Hanna my dearest love looks so lovely here. I’m not surprised Jonas hasn’t got himself over her yet. I mean, look at her!!! I do like how awkward this is. Hanna did the moving on, she grew up and made a decision and it’s great that it worked for her, but I have been in the place where the other person wants to be friends but it hurts too much so I get Jonas as well. This is a hard situation and I have to heap praise on the acting once again. They’re both doing such a a great job here of selling just how tough this is.

8. I have very few thoughts about the whole ‘sitting around smoking’ thing except that those glasses really suit Abdi! But big sigh... here we go having Amira being the ‘reasonable’ one and telling us what to think about Alex. Like Sana. she’s supposed to be the moral centre of the group and so we’re supposed to listen to her, and she’s telling us that we should understand him because of what he went through. But there’s no nuance here again - yes, he went through something really awful and yes he has some qualities that aren’t entirely awful. But he still did some manipulative and often plain horrible things and he shouldn’t get a pass for those just because he has a sad backstory. If he actually did something to make up for what he did, if he acted like he was sorry rather than ‘right’ (again, a hangup from the og so I get it, but I still don’t like it), then I might have some sympathy for this line of reasoning but as it is ‘he has a sad backstory’ isn’t the ‘gotcha’ these shows think it is. And ‘Jonas is actually worse than Alex’ is SUCH a terrible take. Is Jonas perfect? No of course not, but at least he didn’t deliberately do a lot of the awful things to girls that Alex did. He at least genuinely liked both Leonie and Hanna when he was with them, and didn’t string them along for cheap sex. Why do they always use the Sana character in this way? Kiki of all people has the right take here. It’s not up to outsiders whether they should or shouldn’t be together, but rather the two of them. All we can do in the end is support our friends.

9. Interesting placement with the message now being ‘follow your heart’ - again, I personally don’t think we should be making such a big romantic deal of this whole thing but if we listen to Kiki (rather than Amira’s ‘all men are assholes’ thing) then I guess we should applaud her. This whole thing has clearly been difficult for Mia and it’s good that she wants to fight for what she wants. Again I’ll slip in some praise for the acting - Druck (as with the og of course) really did seem to find some talented performers and then coaxed some lovely performances out of them.

10. Wow, Matteo even looks thoroughly uninterested in Sara even at this point. How did she not pick up on it? I do feel for Sam, though. She wants a boyfriend and what she gets is an Abdi which was just a hook up thing really. I wish we’d got to see her find someone good for her in all ways (and I’ll also never be over that we never did get resolution on some of Matteo’s and Amira’s stuff either... oh for even a short one-off like the abiball where we got some sort of closure).

11. In really shallow news, I love this place where Mia ia talking to Alex - it’s really cool and with the lighting and graffiti it looks really interesting. However, I know I talk a lot about pacing, but her again is an example of the issues I have with it. I know they had to condense 11 episodes from the og (some veeeeeery long) into 10 more evenly sized ones. But, this reunion in the last few minutes of the episode seems really rushed (though I am grateful that it’s not like the overly dramatic car reversing after William was yet again an asshole to Noora that we got in the og). Alex is still talking about how Mia doesn’t trust him, how much they fight etc etc and Mia is calling him out for all the awful things he di at the start (which he continues to deny!!!!!!). And it’s all true, and they don’t have time to actually talk about it before we get whatever fairytale they’re going for here. It’s too short. They could or should have rearranged a few clips (particularly earlier in the season) so we could get a better and stronger resolution of the problems they’re raising here. ‘Yeah we’ll still do and be all those things’ isn’t the romantic ideal they’re suggesting. They still don’t communicate properly, which I personally would have liked to see before this big reunion.

However, overall I much preferred this ending to the one in the og. William was a much worse character in the last episode than Alex is here. I don’t like him, I don’t think he’s a good match for Mia but I do appreciate that he didn’t do what William did in the final episode. And Mia was more at fault than Noora was and so there’s more balance between them. I’ll never like this type of relationship, and I’ll certainly never like the Alex type of guy, but at least there was some acknowledgement of the issues and some suggestion that they can work on them together.

#druck #og druck #mia - episode 10 #update on feelings about Alex - I still don't like him

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andromedasstarship · 4 years ago

Text

faceless, nameless - chapter 2

photo credit - unknown

pairing - kylo ren x reader

warnings - canon-typical star wars violence, torture, fighting, angst.

summary - You took a moment to examine this guy and that’s when it hit you, FN-2187, a stormtrooper was wearing Poe’s jacket and you could’ve sworn you saw red.

blog rules

a/n - i dont claim any ownership over dialogue pulled directly from the films :) this chapt is like 3.5k so buckle up!!!

masterlist // read it on ao3 here

chapter 1 // next chapter

-----

the stars

Present Day

Starkiller Base.

A few months ago, you had given everyone on base a lesson in First Order torture techniques. Personally, you thought it was a rather pointless activity, knowing full well that none of them would ever be even slightly capable of standing up against Ren. Poe blabbed on about ‘hope’ and ‘they need to be able to find comfort’ and other random ‘good guy’ optimism nonsense. At the end of your lesson you stressed that the best chance they had of keeping their mouth shut was to find a memory- a good one-, and latch onto it as tight as possible until the Order was finished with them.

Poe was really glad he talked you into giving that lesson, seeing as your advice had helped him withstand the past few hours of near constant torture at the hands of the Order. Various troopers and officers had come and gone, all failing in their attempts to extract what he had done with the last piece of the map to Skywalker.

Around hour three his body began to give out and all he could think about was how you certainly hadn’t been lying in your constant complaints about how cold Starkiller was. As he faded into unconsciousness, he silently prayed you weren’t having a full blown breakdown and that BB-8 had somehow managed to find you on Jakku.

When he woke again, no clue how much time had passed, he was greeted with a deep modulated voice from the other end of the room. Ren.

“I had no idea we had the best pilot in the Resistance on board.” Ren stated, voice flat. “Comfortable?

“Not really.” Poe responded, voice equally as flat. Behind his mask, Ren was staring quizzically down at him. Ren was more than used to the feelings of intense hatred that his prisoners projected towards him- if anything it was the expected response-, but there was something so different about the emotions Poe was projecting, unlike anything he’d ever experienced. It was so... personal.

“I'm impressed, no one has been able to get out of you, what you did with the map.”

It didn’t take a genius to know what was coming next. Not bothering to respond, Poe started to slip back away into his happy memory. In his mind, you were there, back turned to him but he could still hear you laughing as the two of you ran through the field by his childhood home

He was forcibly removed from the memory when Ren reached outwards, slamming Poe back against the chair, with the Force. “I see.” Ren said darkly, twisting his hand ever so slightly, watching in enjoyment as Poe began to strain against the pressure building in his brain.

Poe’s mind was panicked, trying in vain to hide the memory of you, but it was too late, as Ren had already caught the tail end of it.

“Is it a girl that holds the last of the map Dameron?” Ren taunted, forcing his way deeper into Poe’s mind.

Poe’s face was scrunched up in agony, desperate in his attempts to shield your identity from Ren. Ren mistook the admirable struggle as proof that it was this girl who held the key to the map, rather than Poe’s personal attempts at keeping you safe. Ren continued his mental assault, breaking down every mental wall Poe tried in vain to put up.

A flash of your masked face. Ren was getting closer.

Then there it was, you- unmasked, no disguise-, staring up at Poe in his memories.

Poe in his panic started thinking of every single thing he could- what he ate for breakfast before he left, the color of his favorite shirt, the list of chores he had to do on base-, anything to try and divert Ren from you.

It was like time stopped, the mental probe retreated only for an instance before Ren was back in Poe’s head with a new unrelenting force, pulling up Poe’s most recent and clear memory of you.

“I don’t like the idea of this.” You said quietly.

“Have I ever let you down Princess?” Poe said with a grin. When that didn’t seem to amuse you, he put a hand on your cheek, angling your face up towards him. “Three days, I’ll see you on Jakku then. I promise.”

And then the memory was gone.

----

Jakku.

It had been two years since Poe and blondie- you later learned his name was Leokai-, had stumbled upon you bleeding out in the sand. Adjusting to Resistance life had been difficult and for months you thought you’d never gain their trust. It wasn’t until you had accompanied Poe to a Resistance ‘recruitment’ meeting and noticed a First Order operative slinking around the crowded room. You had quite literally dragged Poe as far away from the building and off the planet in a matter of minutes, effectively saving him from giving a ‘we’re right here’ speech directly to the Order. After that, the general opinion about you among Resistance members turned positive.

You still donned a disguise for their safety, lest their mind was ever blended up by Ren. It was incredibly simple, a well designed wig and different colored contacts. Natural enough that you’d never attract undue attention, but still enough that unless Ren had specific intel to look for this version of you, he’d never double check a fleeting memory that might include you; luckily no one had been unfortunate enough to test this theory. During any official Resistance business or battles you donned a plain white mask that wrapped securely around your face.

When you first got the mask, you and Poe had had a field day with it, trying to figure out how much movement it could handle before falling off; Leia had actually caught the two of you trying to tie yourself to Poe’s X-Wing to see if that would finally get the thing to move.

All in all, life with the Resistance was treating you pretty well. Except for right now, as you anxiously waited for Poe in a small nondescript ship on the outskirts of the Niima Outpost in Jakku. Poe, you had quickly learned, was one of the biggest idiots you had ever met. You weren’t exactly sure how he had talked you into splitting up for this mission. Splitting up was never a good idea, how had every horror HoloNet show not taught him that already? But Poe had made an undeniable point, the First Order- the Knights of Ren specifically-, were hot on his trail for the last piece of the map to Skywalker and you couldn’t risk being caught up in that fight.

So, you agreed to split up. But Poe was late. Late enough to warrant the uncontrollable worrying. Ever since ‘the incident’ you had developed a horrible case of ‘abandonment issues’; everyone reassured you it was a perfectly reasonable response, but you hated it, the complete lack of control over your own brain drove you nuts. You were pacing back and forth, doing your best to calm your nerves. Wherever Poe was, for his sake, you prayed he had a damn good reason for being late. Knowing that you were full of nerves, Poe had even given himself a very wide arrival time so you wouldn’t worry. But here you were, worrying .

Unable to wait around any longer, you decided to gear up and make your way to the outpost. If you were lucky, maybe someone had seen him or maybe you’d even find him yourself. You pulled your hair tight to the back of your head, clipping it in place, before sliding your mask on. As you headed out the doors of the ship you grabbed your staff, slinging it around your shoulder. A year ago, you managed to finally access funds that you had left behind on your home planet. Not only did it help purchase a lot of life saving supplies for the Resistance, it also meant you were able to buy and build a brand new staff for yourself. It wasn’t as advanced or sleek as the one you used in the Order, but it did the job just as well.

The trek to the outpost would only take less than an hour, giving you adequate time to try and calm your nerves. You made a list as you walked, you made a lot of lists these days, having found it greatly helped in controlling your anxiety.

Poe was just a bit lost, his sense of direction was never as good on the ground as it was in the air.

Poe was being his charming self and chatted up someone a little too well and lost track of time.

You still had your ship and if he wasn’t back by the end of the day you’d be going back to D’Qar and putting together an official search party.

You struggled for a solid fourth item, but by then you were just reaching the outpost. It was loud and dirty and unlike anything you’d ever been to before. No one gave you a second glance, which you were grateful for. As you made your way through the many stalls you were growing more and more antsy, none of the people you saw being Poe.

Nearly two hours had passed and you had thoroughly walked through the entirety of the outpost, not that there was much, at least ten times. Just as you were about to turn around and head back to the ship, a familiar shade of orange and beeping caught your attention. You almost fell to your knees in relief when you saw BB-8. Except he wasn’t with Poe, but rather a...scavenger girl? It was like BB-8 could feel your eyes on him, because he turned around to look at you and began beeping excitedly. The girl beside him turned to face you as well and without thinking you got a better grip on your staff and ran at her.

The girl’s face morphed in confusion, but quickly put together what was happening and got her own staff into position, giving you one last look before she turned and started to run as well. Her hesitation and your own speed meant you easily caught up, swiping at her legs which sent her topping down. She hit the sand hard, not letting it stop her as she rolled to her back and instinctively pushed her staff upwards, expecting yours to come down.

What she definitely didn’t expect was the electrical end of your staff, on and buzzing, pointed straight at her face.

“You stole this droid.” You hissed.

Before she had time to respond, BB-8 was rolling up to the two of you, beeping like hell. It was a funny mix of ‘I’m so excited to see you’ and ‘please don’t hurt this girl’ and ‘I’ve got so many stories to tell you’ and ‘I promise this girl did not steal me’ and other random beeps. He was talking so fast and your head was still clouded with adrenaline, so it took you longer to process what BB just said. As soon as you realized the girl hadn’t just not stolen him, but rather saved him, you turned the electrical current off and pulled your staff away from her face.

You stuck your hand out, glad she was unable to see the look of pure embarrassment on your face. “I um, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have chased you like that, I just saw BB and…,” you trailed off, unsure of how to explain yourself.

Luckily, the girl grasped your hand and lifted herself off the ground. “I would’ve done the same, I think.” She replied, giving you a tentative smile.

You still had so many questions unanswered, but before you could say anything BB-8 started beeping like crazy again; saying something about how he could see a man up ahead-staring at the three of you-, that was wearing his master’s, Poe’s, jacket.

Not bothering to apply any of the lessons you had just learned from storming the girl, you switched the electrical end of your staff back on. A quick look at the girl told you she had the same idea, both of you getting better grips on your staffs. Both of you took off in a sprint towards the man and you almost felt bad for him- you were clearly taking him by surprise, the way his eyes widened like saucers-, but he was wearing Poe’s jacket.

His attempt at escaping was short-lived. The girl swung out in front of him, shoving him to the ground- quite similar to what you just did to her-, and you quickly took up the rear, positioning the electrical end right at his throat.

Everyone was breathing heavily, no one had expected to do so much running today. You took a moment to examine this guy and that’s when it hit you, FN-2187, a stormtrooper was wearing Poe’s jacket and you could’ve sworn you saw red. You pressed the tip of your staff to his chest, not enough to seriously hurt him, but enough to send a shock through his body.

“I’m only going to ask once,” you started, glaring up at him from behind the mask, “where, did you, get that jacket?” Punctuating each pause with the lightest of electrical taps.

“Ow! Ow! Quit that! I’ve had a pretty messed up day, alright? I’d appreciate it if you stopped accusing me-”

“Liar!” You yelled, putting the end back in his face. “You stole it from his master,” you said, tilting your head towards BB-8 who was beeping in agreement, “I’ll give you one more chance to answer honestly.”

FN-2187 raised his hands up in surrender. You studied his face for a moment, searching for any signs of deception; there weren't any, but that explained nothing. “I swear! I swear, his name is Poe. That’s right? Poe Dameron.”

At the sound of Poe’s name your shoulders relaxed a little bit, but the relaxation was short lived as you FN-2187 continued.

“He was captured by the First Order.”

No.

“I helped him escape okay, but we crashed a little further out,” FN-2187 was silent for a moment, “Poe didn’t make it.”

No No No No No No No No No.

“You’re…, you’re lying.” You said angrily, unable to accept that as truth. When all FN-2187 did was give you a look full of pity, you hit the switch on your staff, pulling it back to your body. “You’re lying…” You repeated, much weaker this time, glad that they were unable to see the tears forming behind the mask.

“I’m sorry. I really am.” FN-2187 said quietly, in a voice that was just the right amount of sincere to be true.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw BB-8 start to roll away, you couldn’t let him get lost now. “If you even, think, about running away while I go get the droid, you won’t live to see another day.” You threatened, quickly turning on your heel to go catch up with BB.

In your absence, the girl and FN-2187 were both still quite winded. At least you had gone into the outpost knowing there was potential for action, the two of them were completely caught off guard.

“Are you with the Resistance too then?” The girl asked.

A fleeting look of confusion appeared on FN-2187’s face before he jumped up and nodded. “Yes, yes I am. I am part of the Resistance. A Resistance member.”

“I’ve never met a real Resistance member before. And now in one day, I’ve met two.” The girl replied, with a gentle smile on her face.

By the time you managed to get BB and ‘drag’ him back to where the other two were standing, they had finished their conversation. FN-2187 tensed up when you reappeared, something you were okay with, not wanting him to feel too comfortable around you.

No one had time to say anything before the sound of blaster fire diverted all of your attentions. A quick look up at the sky confirmed your one of your worst fears, the First Order was here. FN-2187 grabbed both of your hands and started pulling.

“Don’t grab my hand!” You and the girl both shouted out, but running alongside him anyway. The three of you weaved your way out of the Outpost, doing your best to avoid the unrelenting fire of bullets and bomber shots the Order was raining down on you.

“They’re gunning for me!” FN-2187 screamed, causing you to roll your eyes.

“They’re gunning for all of us, especially the droid. Now keep up!” You yelled back. It didn’t take much mental strain to understand that if Poe had really been captured and had really crashed on Jakku after escaping, that the Order would’ve followed him here. Your feet pounded the sand, pushing yourself ahead of FN.

“We can’t outrun them!” FN-2187 called out from behind you.

The girl was ahead of you and she pointed out towards a quad jumper. “We might! In that quad jumper.” All of you running towards it as fast as you could.

Of course, as soon as the words left her lips, the TIE fighter tailing you blew the thing to smithereens. All three of you seemed to pause for a moment before the girl started running towards a hunk of,- oh my god was that the Millenium Falcon- junk to her left.

“Hey! We still need a pilot!” FN-2187 screamed, still running a few paces behind you.

“I can pilot anything!” You yelled out, not bothering to look at him over your shoulder. The three of you, plus BB, raced up the walkway of the ship, slamming the door shut behind you.

“Gunning position is down there.” Rey said hurriedly, pointing at a set of stairs. She didn’t look back as she rushed ahead to the pilots seat.

Just as FN-2187 got ready to mount the stairs you grabbed him by the back of Poe’s jacket and yanked him around to face you.

“Not the time-”

“If you do anything down there to make me believe you’re still working for them, FN-2187, I won’t hesitate to come down here and gouge your eyeballs out myself.” You spat, relishing in the way his eyes widened at the use of his official call number. You didn’t give him the chance to reply, just let go of his jacket and made your way to the front of the ship to co-pilot.

The girl was already pulling the ship into the air by the time you made it up there. You wasted no time, quickly throwing yourself into the chair beside her. Both of you fumbled to pull on headsets as you worked the controls. “Stay low.” You ordered.

She gave you a confused look. “What?”

“Stay low,” you said more urgently, “it confuses their tracking.”

The girl went low and you were glad you were strapped in. You didn’t expect the smoothest of rides, but it was certainly jerky .

The constant sound and feel of blaster shots hitting the exterior of the ship were making it difficult to focus. “What are you doing down there!” You screamed into the headset. “Shoot back!”

“I’m trying,” FN screamed back up, “are the shields up?”

You blindly reached over and smacked a button. “Yes! Now shoot !” You yelled.

Where FN-2187 was lacking, the girl was making up for it tenfold with her piloting ability; this girl was good. Internally, you knew you were being unreasonably hard on him; it wasn’t so far fetched to believe that someone would defect from the Order, hell you defected- even if it wasn’t necessarily your choice-, and your position and relationship to the Order had been much more intimate and substantial than a ‘trooper. Pushing those thoughts to the back of your head, you focused on helping the girl pilot the ship. The two of you working in unison to attempt to shake the TIE’s trailing you.

“Hold on!” She shouted and in the background you could hear FN asking what for. The girl pulled on the steering hard and you went veering to the right before she rolled the ship around, giving FN the perfect shot at the last TIE. You internally promised yourself, that if he missed this fighter you’d be fulfilling your eye gouging promise. Luckily for all of you, but especially FN-2187, he blew the TIE fighter right out of the sky.

“Wooo!” In the rush of the moment, you weren’t exactly sure who was whooping and hollering, it might as well have been all of you.

Once you felt the ship was out of imminent danger and safely gliding through space, you relaxed back into your seat. Looking over at the girl you smiled, even though she couldn't see it, you hoped she was able to read the emotion from your eyes. You think she could, by the way she smiled real big back at you.

She stuck her hand out and said, “My name is Rey. The guy downstairs said he’s Finn and he’s with the Resistance too.”

-----

a/n - im having so much fun with this yall dont even know. likes/replies/reblogs always appreciated and if youd like to be tagged just ask!

taglist: @egguuuu @sunflowersandotherthings @clarizuliani10 @kylorendrip

no permission is given to copy or republish my writing on any other platform or account. if you see this story outside of my blog or my ao3 it is stolen work. i do not own nor claim to own star wars or any of the character involved in it.

#kylo #kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren/reader #kylo ren x you #kylo ren/you #kylo x reader #kylo/reader #kylo x you #'stori writes #faceless nameless #star wars #star wars fanfiction #kylo ren fanfiction

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regrettablewritings · 4 years ago

Note

If requests are still open, could you do the love one w Bruce Wayne please??

Sure, they’re still open, and I can most certainly try! Though I must admit that quite a few of these headcanons have actually been mentioned or featured in separate sets I've done throughout the years. While some aspects may have changed since then, not much really feels like it's changed to me. As such, I'll try my best to answers these, but will also provide links that go into further detail. Hope that's alright!!

Who said “I love you” first?: You say it first, though the effort to do so makes you nervous. After all, you weren’t even sure if Bruce returned your feelings: Certainly, you were his longest-lasting and seemingly the most engaging relationship he’d had to the date, but you were most certainly not the first girl he’d brought home or shared some interesting experiences with. You wanted to trust that Bruce did hold some feelings for you deep down beneath that stoic and calm exterior, but some part of you worried: Maybe you were a passing phase of some kind? In actuality, no, you were definitely someone special. The problem (if it could be called that) was that Bruce just doesn’t use the phrase, “I love you” so lightly, much less often: If he’s going to use it, he wants it to really stand out and mean something. It therefore calms your nerves a great deal once he finally does it in the quiet of your home, just as you’re both about to depart for your respective work days. Suffice to say, your day is absolutely made, knowing that by the end of it, you’ll be going back to the home of someone who you can confirm, without a doubt, loves you.

What are their primary love languages?: Bruce enjoys physical touch, but not quite for the reasons people think he does. Being touch starved resulted in him seeking the hold of someone -- anyone -- in far too many cases of desperation. And sadly, it’s resulted in a lot of heartbreak and manipulation.But what makes it all so different when it comes from you is that you don’t take advantage of him by playing to his needs; you just provide the hugs and kisses because you actually want to. You’d really be surprised how many strings were attached to Bruce’s past instances of spooning, or how many threats lingered in the lipstick stains on his cheeks. There’s nothing so malicious in yours. Only ever desire or good will. And for this, you tend to be rewarded with Bruce’s zeal for giving gifts. Well, not so much zeal as it is how he feels he can best present you how much he cares. It took a bit of time (much to his embarrassment [world’s greatest detective his ass]) but eventually he did realize that it wasn’t necessarily material and superficial goods you sought after: It was in little things like small gestures of his love for you, or in the kitschy post cards he would sometimes send you with codes littered on them. Little unique items, wrapped or postmarked with his heart, destined only for your ownership.

How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?: Not very often, at least not any extensively intense PDA. Sure, you’ll hold hands while in public, or he’ll place a hand at your waist as you attend a gala together. But despite Bruce loving physical touch, this doesn’t mean he wants to over-do it, much less in a way that might make you feel uncomfortable. Besides, anyone can share a kiss. But only someone he truly trusts can share a touch that sticks with him. When you’re at home, he’s not adverse to you joining him in his study and keeping him company as he looks over files both for Wayne Enterprises, and for Batman-oriented content. There have been plenty times where you’ve fallen asleep against his chest, his arm wrapped about your waist so that you won’t fall over.

What are their favorite things to do together?: It depends. Date nights are actually a bit more difficult for the two of you than the average billionaire’s, mainly because the average billionaire doesn’t also double as a vigilante. You’ve managed to do some more typical things like go to events that support the arts like operas or the ballet. Other times, you try to keep it decidedly lowkey -- though it’s a bit hard to do a lowkey paint-and-sip when all the people around you are either sneaking photos of your boyfriend, or eyeballing him because, hey, he’s far prettier than whatever subject the group was set to paint. But sometimes, these things can prove to be a headache: Because where there aren’t regular nosy civilians, there are the even nosier paparazzi. So when the time permits it, the two of you might rent out a place like the museum or a restaurant and just enjoy yourselves. But ultimately, not everything can beat just spending the night in, catching up on one another’s week or just plain resting. Snuggled up together, of course.

Who’s better at comforting the other?: You are, even though you may not always think so. You would think that cheering up or comforting the man who has everything would be a tough job, but the reality is that it really isn’t if you actually make an effort. To be quite frank, sometimes the fact that you made an effort at all is enough to lift his spirits even by 1%. You may have your doubts about the extent to which your attempts work but the truth is that when Bruce so much as smirks in your direction, you’ve done a damn good job. You worked for that smirk; own it. Bruce just simply isn’t the world’s most emotive person, even in private. But that doesn’t mean you should be so quick as to doubt your competency. Talk to him; hug him; rub his back consolingly; tell him an awful joke. He’ll appreciate you for it.

Who’s more protective?: Bruce is. The deaths of his parents kickstarted his protective streak in some form, and it’s really only evolved since then due to various incidents (including but surprisingly not limited to the Kryptonian Attack). And as dreamy as it can be, knowing that you’ll always have the protection of this massive wall of a man and his arsenal of weaponry and physical attacks, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt: Bruce can and has gone off the deep end, becoming overzealous to the near point of destruction. If he fears a threat may be directed at you or will effect any of his loved ones, there is very little that will stop him from going on the attack and sparing no expense.

Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?: Physical. Now that he’s aware of how much meaning and care can actually be packed into a single touch, Bruce seeks yours out. In addition, he doesn’t mind being able to return the favor by even just holding your hand and rubbing it with his calloused thumb.

What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?: Ironically, “Aquaman” by Walk the Moon comes to mind. It’s not that Bruce is incapable of expressing or experiencing love: It’s more like occurrences both romantic and non-romantic have resulted in him becoming protective of his heart and increasingly reluctant to be even 90% open and vulnerable. (Remember: The two most frequent examples from his love life are women who ultimately used him or manipulated him in some way, so who could really blame him?) But you’ve been almost saintly patient with him, holding his hand the entire way not to be condescending or even pull him along, but to guide him and show him your constant support of his efforts and progress. And lo, the Crown Prince of Gotham eventually let his head underwater: And he can breathe there. He wasn’t wrong to be afraid of going in -- he just needed the right swimming partner. But for something more in-universe, look no further than a few jazz standards because fun fact: Bruce is actually a talented singer. No, seriously. He’s a crooner! And next to nobody knows about it because he makes a constant effort to hide it. Hell, even you didn’t know about it until the day he slipped up. And you had the addicting voice of the late and great Ella Fitzgerald to thank. Not even the world’s greatest detective could refuse her crisp yet calming voice, allowing her rendition of “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)” to take up space in his ears and head until he could no longer bear it: Without even noticing it, he was singing it quietly as he fumbled around in the kitchen, fixing himself some coffee. He nearly dropped the mug when he turned around and saw you wearing a stunned expression on your face. And ever since then, Bruce singing jazz has become a lot more common in the house than ever before. When you’re upset, you might ask for him to sing. You need to sleep, you listen to a recording of him you sneaked. And sometimes, you just want to hear him sing: Of trips to romantic places, of candle lights on little corner tables, of two lovers who walk on the streets like dreamers . . . The foolish things that remind him of you.

What kind of nicknames do they call each other?: Bruce isn’t exactly the most creative when it comes to nicknames. A lot just don’t sound quite right coming out of his mouth, at least to him, especially since he’s aged up some since his more notorious playboy days. “Babe” or “Honey” have always been a part of his repertoire, but he’s noticed that “Darlin’“ and “Sweetheart” seem to flow a lot more smoothly with time. You, on the other hand, at least try to be more personal and creative. But it’s a lot harder than it seems, given that Bruce isn’t exactly the easiest name to derive nicknames from. Of course, you stumble your way to cheesy ones like “Prince Charming” or “Handsome”, but you always find yourself crawling back to throwing “Babe” and “Sweetie” right back at him.

Thank you for the request!

#bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bruce wayne imagines #batman imagines #bruce wayne imagine #bruce wayne headcanons #batman imagine #dceu x reader #dceu imagine #dceu imagines #regrettablewritings #character ship meme

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sondepoch · 4 years ago

Text

Part 1/2

Have Strength, My Lady (Barbatos x Reader)

Where there is the jewel of the heavens, there is the pearl of the abyss—a title that you have the misfortune of bearing. It’s only natural that Lord Diavolo wants to add you to his collection of treasures, you’re not surprised to find yourself engaged, despite feeling entirely unprepared for it. Thus far, you’ve done a good job of hiding your fear with a smile, of hiding your emotions away so that no one but you knows how you feel. But on the way to the palace, a certain demon butler sees through your facade. And when his involvement in your life increases, you can’t help that you’re falling in love with the wrong man.

Part 1 | Part 2 | ✔

MASTERLIST

It's been centuries since you last wore this many pearls.

Your maids always make sure the balls of light are somewhere on your body, be it a single one centered on a collar, or two delicate studs in your ears, or a subtle bracelet that peeks out when you raise your arm—but today, they've dressed you from head to toe in the gemstone of your namesake. No matter how you turn your head and body, the shimmer of the pearls never fails to catch the light.

"Isn't it lovely, m'lady?" One of your dressing maids asks, smiling fondly as she gazes upon your figure. "Your father said he wanted you to wear this. Fitting, for the pearl of the abyss, wouldn't you agree?"

You nod your head, casting the maid who's been serving you for the past four millennia a soft smile.

The woman has the truth of it: if your natural beauty doesn't shout pearl of the abyss, then the dress does. The fabric alone is mesmerizing: a silky satin, blacker than the midnight sky. The color is a stark contrast to the pearls that decorate it, perfect spheres of white that trail delicate patterns around your dress. They dip low and high, at the base of the gown where it ghosts over the floor and around your the V-neck where they trail deliciously around the hints of exposed skin.

You twist your body, hypnotized by its beauty.

The way the dress ripples as you move makes it look like ebony water, little pearls floating on top to bless it with their brilliance, and of course wherever there's a chance for an accessory your maids have taken it—pearls decorating your ears, neck, wrist, and hair like snowflakes eternally bound.

"It's at times like this when I see you that I can't help but think you must be even more beautiful than Asmodeus himself, m'lady." Your maid wipes a tear from her eye, knowing all too well that this is the last time she'll be dressing you.

You nod, holding your tongue.

You've always disliked being compared to Asmodeus—it makes you feel guilty. He was the original, the jewel of the heavens whose beauty was unrivaled in all of the Celestial sky. Your birth was exclusively to maintain the balance between the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, to give Hell its own gem to be proud of. If not for Asmodeus, no one would have needed a pearl of the abyss; it never would have been created. You would never have been created.

"M'lady?"

You blink, realizing that your maid had been calling your name.

"Sorry," You murmur, forcing another smile to your face. It's all fake, a mask you wear to hide the sheer terror within, but you maintain the facade. "Father said that I'm to leave now, right? I shouldn't waste any more time."

Your maid smiles gently, kissing your cheeks. "Tis been an honor serving you. May you find eternal peace with Lord Diavolo, m' lady."

You return the smile, curtseying lightly as your teachers have taught you. Your words are scripted, memorized long ago with all the other manners you've been taught: "Thank you. I will never forget your service."

Your goodbyes with the rest of your family are even briefer, each one of them eager to see you off. It comes from a good place in their hearts, you know. They simply wish to see you wed and happy—and who better to give you eternal happiness than the prince of the Devildom himself? But still, the laughter you force past your lips comes out choked, and you're holding back tears the entire time as you bid your family farewell, not a single one of them realizing just how desperately you don't want to leave.

Your act is convincing.

You're sure of that much, at the very least. For the past month, ever since you learned the details of this arranged marriage, you've been practicing your facial expressions in the mirror: how to hide your fear with a smile, how to mask your quivering lips with a sigh, how to stop yourself from crying with a laugh.

It works well for you.

The beaming grins of your parents and siblings are a testament to that, none of them the wiser to your true feelings.

But the moment you enter the carriage sent to deliver you to Lord Diavolo's palace, the mask begins to crumble. You've been maintaining it for barely two minutes, and you're already so drained.

In front of you, the butler who came to fetch you from your home lets out a light laugh. "You look exhausted, my lady."

You glance upward into a pair of olive eyes, calculating as they stare into your own. Instantly, you avert your gaze. "I am a little tired, good sir. That is all."

He stays quiet as he continues to study you, and you're grateful for it. This is perhaps the first time someone has gazed upon you and not instantly made a comment about your ethereal beauty. Indeed, being created to be the most beautiful woman in the world has its merits, but there are more downsides than one would think.

"I might suggest a remedy for the fatigue, if my lady wishes to hear it."

"Go on," You say, trying to be polite. The way to Lord Diavolo's palace is nearly two hours from here, and you'd rather the carriage ride there be as pleasant as you can make it in the company of this strange man.

"Anger." The butler flashes a cryptic smile your way, one that makes you suspect he's masking his emotions just as much as you are. "Find a person to blame for this situation you fear so, and the flames of your fury will burn too brightly for any lassitude to slip through."

"Your words are noted, but I'm afraid you are mistaken. I do not fear this situation at all." You flash him the same graceful smile you've been practicing in the mirror, repeating the words you've said half a hundred times: "It is an honor to have been chosen to be the bride of Lord Diavolo."

Once more, the butler chuckles.

"Very well," He says, though you're certain he doesn't believe you. "Though might I offer a piece of advice?" At your nod, the demon continues speaking. "You hide your fear from your face well, but it shows in your hands. Flatten your palms, my lady, and I might not notice next time."

A blush creeps onto your face, suddenly realizing that you had absentmindedly been clutching the satin fabric in an attempt to quell the sick feeling in your stomach. Taking his words to heart, you smooth your dress out and lay your palms flat on top, sitting up straight as you avoid the demon's gaze.

You can't be sure whether he hears your quiet "Thank you" before the sound of hellhorse hooves beating against the ground takes over, the two of you falling into a comfortable silence. If you strain your ears to listen, you can hear a soft gasp every now and then as people gaze upon the royal carriage you're in—undeniably aware that it's you, the pearl of the abyss, sitting inside.

It's not surprising, though. Lord Diavolo's engagement has hardly been a private matter.

The moment your father accepted his written proposal on your behalf, the entire realm seemed to enter a period of celebration. It's barely been a month since the headline hit the newspapers, and over that short period of time, every demon in the land has come to know of the engagement. It's common knowledge that you're set to arrive in Lord Diavolo's palace today, and the gaudiness of his royal carriage leaves little to the imagination. Doubtless, every single passenger who crosses your escort knows that it's you sitting inside.

A soft smile pulls at your lips when you hear a child call your name in the distance, begging to see your face.

The butler in front of you hears the request, too, eyes instantly flitting to yours.

"Can we?" You ask, heart softening at the child's continued cries to catch just a single glimpse of your perfection.

"As you wish, my lady." The demon snaps his fingers, and the hellhorses halt in an instance, and you can hear the sound of a child racing to catch up with the carriage. The butler opens the transport, offering his hand to you as you step out, eyes watching carefully as the child exclaims in joy when he realizes that his wish has been heard.

"You're... you're so pretty!" The little boy exclaims, mouth wide open as he stares at you in disbelief. You can't help but chuckle at his inability to glance away, knowing that it's the youngest of children who are most swayed by your beauty. And, of course, they're also the ones who have yet to develop the sense not to stare—but you don't mind.

"Thank you," You bemd down to the child's level. You wish you could give him something, a token to remember you by, but all you have are the pearls on your dress, and you doubt the butler behind you would approve of you tearing one off and giving it away.

"C-can I touch?" The boy asks, eyes round. You give him a small nod, watching as he lifts a finger to your cheek and gasps. "It's so soft!"

A smile blooms on your face, the most genuine smile you've worn since learning about your arranged marriage. "You're a very kind boy," You tell him. Deciding that you can't give him a souvenir of this exchange, you settle for kissing his cheek. "Thank you."

Standing back up to your full height, you watch as the boy waves you goodbye while the butler helps you back into the carriage, the hellhorses moving forward once more with another snap of his fingers.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," He says, studying you with a perplexed expression. "There was nothing to gain in showing your face to that boy."o

"Why not?" You respond, still smiling softly at the memory of the child's eyes round in wonder. "It made him happy, even if only briefly."

"You would go out of your way for the happiness of a mere child?"

"Of course," You respond. "You wouldn't?"

The demon shakes his head, an amused smile appearing on his face once more as he pulls out a handkerchief. He offers it to you, and you glance at the lettering. Barbatos, it reads in cursive embroidery.

"What is this for?" You take the square of fabric from the demon's hand, staring at it in confusion.

"When the boy touched you, he left a smudge of dirt on your face." The demon, who's name you reason must be Barbatos, points to his own cheek. "I assumed you would want to wipe it off."

You nod your head, grateful that he told you. Suddenly thankful that you have no need of makeup, you rub the left side of your cheek harshly, hoping that you got the dirt off.

In front of you, Barbatos grimaces.

"You made it worse, my lady."

"Oh," You mumble, flustered once more. You stay seated with the handkerchief in your hand, not quite sure what to do, when the demon in front of you sighs. He holds his hand out.

"Give it here. Let me assist you, my lady."

You return the dark green square to its owner, shifting forward as Barbatos folds it and begins swiping at your cheek, lifting a gloved finger under your chin to turn your cheek into the light, angling your jaw up and then to the right until he's confident that all traces of the child are gone. It takes all your effort to fight back a blush, ignoring the fact that your family never allowed any boy to get this close to you, much less touch you so comfortably.

"Thank you..." You begin, once the demon is done. "...Barbatos?"

Your words sound like a question, hesitant and unsure whether you got the demon's name right. To your relief, he nods. "Correct." He folds his hands in his lap.

"Barbatos, as in the duke of hell?" You say, eyebrows raised.

"Duke of hell, butler, what's the difference?" He wears a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, and you can't be certain if he's joking or not. Though it's obvious that he finds humor in your confusion. "I serve both Lord Diavolo and the realm, however unorthodox my methods may be."

"Ah," You finally say, still not quite understanding. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Barbatos."

"And you, my lady." The edges of his lips curve upward as he glances down at your dress. "I suppose you might be even more beautiful than the rumors say. A good deal more foolish, as well, but that matters not."

"Excuse me!" You exclaim, crossing your arms. "I have done nothing that warrants being called foolish!"

"Nothing?" Barbatos asks incredulously, shaking his head. "My lady, you are to be a queen soon. Danger lurks where you will least expect it, and letting little children close enough to touch you will only cause problems in the long run."

"But didn't you see how happy the boy was?" You ask, eyes softening at the memory. Your voice is hopeful, recalling the moment with bliss. "His eyes lit up like a thousand suns."

Barbatos sighs, deciding not to make any further comment. You're certain he disagrees, that he believes a child's smile is not worth risking your own safety for, but he stays quiet for the rest of the ride, staring at the landscape as it passes by.

You keep track of the time by the location of the sun: it was perfectly overhead when you departed from your home, and it had slowly crept lower and lower as the carriage ride progressed. It was ghosting over the treetops when you stopped to meet that little boy, and by now, it's dipped low enough to be considered sunset.

You swallow, realizing that it's been long enough that you should be at Diavolo's palace any moment now. You pull your gaze from the sun, opting to study the buildings around you.

It's no longer an empty plain you're traveling through—rather, the land you're passing through has been settled, lived upon. It looks almost like a city with how modern the buildings are, though you're not riding on the formal roads you see in the distance. After another long minute of staring, you slowly begin to realize that you're in the heart of the Devildom: the campus for the Royal Academy of Diavolo.

A sick feeling roots itself in your stomach as you glance at the buildings, realizing that they are indeed classrooms and dormitories. Just two months ago, your family had been waiting for your five thousandth birthday so that you could apply to the RAD and attend the most prestigious academy in the entire Devildom, though it seemed that they had dropped all those plans when Lord Diavolo requested your hand in marriage.

You blink back tears, trying not to think about the life you could have had, if only you weren't summoned to be Lord Diavolo's bride. If only you weren't so beautiful. If only you weren't the pearl of the abyss.

"Palms, my lady."

You turn to Barbatos, eyebrows raised. What is the demon on about?

He gestures to his own hands, making a motion of flattening them before you catch his meaning. Your gaze flits down to your own hands, and you're embarrassed to find that they're clenched into tight fists once more, almost turning white with how hard you're squeezing them.

"Not afraid, you said earlier?" For the second time today, his smile seems to laugh at your flustered state, catching you in another uncomfortable situation. "Do not worry; I will not run to Diavolo and tell him his bride is afraid of this marriage."

You hold your tongue, not sure how to respond. Is Barbatos doing you a kindness? Or is repeatedly calling you out a cruelty?

The opportunity to find out never comes, and the sound of hellhorse hooves, which has actually grown somewhat comforting over the course of these past few hours, comes to a stop.

"We're here?" You ask Barbatos, remembering to wear a pleasant smile before your true emotions can surface to your face.

"Quite so. Welcome to the royal palace of Diavolo," He responds, exiting the carriage and offering his hand to you. "The grounds of your future."

Lord Diavolo's palace is in the middle of the RAD campus, and students are still walking around on the grounds, all of them stopping to study your figure as you exit the carriage.

"Do not look at them," Barbatos says quickly, stepping in front of you when one of them attempts to take a picture. "Come, my lady. My lord awaits you within."

You follow the butler's fast pace as he walks forward, suddenly thankful that the heels your maid had dressed you in aren't especially high. The walk through Lord Diavolo's palace is long, almost long enough for another bout of anxiety to root itself in your stomach, but Barbatos finally stops in front of an unusually large door.

You don't need him to say a word to know that Lord Diavolo is inside.

The demon halts, hand raised to open the door before he abruptly turns around, studying you from head to toe. "You're terrified to the core," He comments, not an ounce of hesitance in his voice. "But no one will be able to tell."

A small smile appears on his face when he glances at your hands. To your merit, they're hanging loosely at your side, not even quivering. You let them dangle delicately, acting as though it doesn't take all your effort to ensure as much.

"I'm ready," You say, a confident smile appearing on your lips. Barbatos can see past it, you know. He can tell that you're trembling inside, that you the only reason you haven't thrown up in terror is because you've yet to eat, that your heart only beats the thumping rhythm of fear as you prepare to meet the man who has already changed the course of your life.

"You are not," He answers smoothly, turning around. "But, by now, the students at RAD will have raised enough of a fuss on Devilgram over your arrival, so Diavolo most likely already knows that you've arrived."

Barbatos sighs at your silence, probably feeling bad for you. He places his hand flat against the door, readying himself to open it, when he pauses.

"Have strength, my lady," He whispers enigmatically, before turning away.

And then the doors have opened.

The words stay with you as you follow Barbatos into what appears to be the dining hall, drawing closer and closer to not just Lord Diavolo, but the infamous Lucifer himself—another demon you've grown up learning about, never imagining that you would actually be in the same room as him.

Have strength, you tell yourself, pushing your shoulders back as a delicate smile comes to your face, the same smile you've spent a month practicing in the mirror. Confidence is easy to fake as you continue walking, only further advanced by the way both Lord Diavolo's and Lucifer's eyes widen as they take in the sight of you. You're certain it's the first time either of them has witnessed such beauty.

As soon as you're an appropriate distance from Lord Diavolo, Barbatos pauses. You follow suit, curtseying gracefully as you lift your dress. The words that roll off your lips are automatic: "It is an honor to meet you, Lord Diavolo."

As soon as your voice breaks the silence, the two demons in front of you seem to be snapped back to reality, freeing themselves of the natural stupor that your charm induces. Lord Diavolo speaks up, his princely voice filling the room, "The pleasure is all mine, young MC. You are even more beautiful than all the rumors say."

The prince approaches, and for a moment, you can't help but marvel at the sheer size of the man, already looking like a king. He's standing proudly in his demon form, showing how he's made of nothing but muscle and more muscle. He gently takes your hand and bends low onto one knee, laying a kiss over your knuckles as he stares up at you, eyes still slightly round in wonder. "The pearl of the abyss is even more enchanting than the jewel of the heavens, I dare say." Lord Diavolo rises, letting your hand fall to your side. "Wouldn't you agree, Lucifer?"

The ebony-haired demon glances away, seemingly uncomfortable with the question. "Her beauty is unrivaled," He mutters softly, the light pink dusting on his cheeks enough for you to know that he is telling the truth.

You maintain your smile, fake as it is lovely.

Lifting your eyes for a moment, you can't help but marvel at Lord Diavolo's fiery red hair and amber eyes. Indeed, he's what every little demongirl dreams of marrying one day—a literal prince—but you suddenly wish that Barbatos had taken longer while walking you here. You feel nauseous. Nauseous, hesitant, and afraid, standing here in front of this man whom you've been engaged to for a month, despite having only just met him.

"Come, my love," Lord Diavolo says, walking over to the table. He pulls a chair out for you, the seat closest to his own at the end of the table, while Lucifer sits across from you. It feels strange, and somewhat unnatural, for you to be sitting next to not only the prince of hell but the fallen Morningstar himself, before you realize that you, yourself, must be just as foreign to them: the pearl of the abyss, MC of hellfire.

"Tell me," Diavolo begins, eyes still drinking in the sight of you, "Is it true that you were shaped to perfection by the very same flames that nurtured Cerberus?"

You laugh, smiling sweetly at the man. "A woman must keep some secrets, no?"

A quiet laughter bounces around the table, the two demons seemingly comforted by your false sense of normalcy. It's easy for you to pretend to be fascinated by Diavolo, to act as if you understand what Lucifer is saying. Where other girls had learned needlework and laundry from a young age, your father sent you to teachers who helped you master the art of being a woman. Learning how to charm men was a natural part of that.

"How are you feeling?" Diavolo asks after a brief silence. "Your father mentioned to me in a letter that you haven't been looking well as of late. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, Lord Diavolo." Your response is mechanical, though the word you'd use to describe yourself right certainly wouldn't be 'better.'

"Just call me Diavolo!" He exclaims, grinning widely. "Or you can call me 'honey,' or 'dear,' or whatever else you'd like!"

You can't help but laugh at that, your smile becoming a little more genuine. "Alright, Diavolo. It is a pleasure."

The demon smiles at you, and continues to make polite conversation. It feels almost normal, with the redhead eagerly talking on and on at both you and Lucifer, while both you and the fallen Morningstar exchange glances of amusement every now and then at your prince's words. Indeed, it feels like something you could grow used to, and by the end of the hour, you've almost forgotten your fear at marrying the man.

But it's at this end of this hour, when the sun has finally dipped beneath the horizon, that Diavolo's expression turns serious.

"My love," He says, voice no longer merry. "There is one thing we need to address."

You fold your hands in your lap, gazing at Diavolo expectantly. Eyebrows raised just the slightest, you try to maintain your mask of delicate tranquility. "Go on?"

"I'm afraid our marriage will be rather unorthodox. Specifically...the timing may be shorter than what you are accustomed to."

You nod your head, following along. A typical demon engagement will last for a few centuries, or whatever the age difference is between the bride and the groom. It is not rare for royal engagements to be shorter, as princes and princesses attempt to come into power, but even so, you should have a few decades at the minimum.

"My personal goal is to bring the Devildom closer to the Celestial Realm and human world. Over the years, our realms have grown apart, and I wish to reunite them."

You hold your smile like a mask, still not understanding what the 'unorthodox' part is.

"My current plan spans over eight thousand years in the future, ending with all three realms reunited and in balance once more, but when you account for a margin or error with diplomatic relations and all the trouble that traditionally accompanies revolutionary changes like this, it grows even longer, and..." Diavolo sighs, folding his hands and turning to you. "It is imperative that I am crowned as soon as possible, so that I can execute my plan in a time-efficient manner. As such, it is critical that we shorten the traditional engagement period as much as possible."

You nod, the sick feeling you had before entering this room suddenly returned, and twice as strong. You can't help but remember Barbatos's words when you told him you were ready.

You are not.

Had he known?

You force a smile to your face, trying to look as encouraging as possible while Diavolo hesitates. The prince glances into your eyes, searching for something that you're not sure he finds.

"My love, we are to marry in one month."

And with those words, the sick feeling in your stomach spreads to every inch of your body except your face—which you keep painfully frozen. Your eyes are locked onto a figure in the distance, locked onto a set of eyes that are staring straight at you.

Barbatos, you think, as he continues to smile cryptically. You search his face for answers, for advice, for something that can help you figure out how in hell you should handle this situation, but then you recall his words to you from earlier, a quiet whisper that you weren't even sure you were supposed to hear.

Have strength, my lady.

Barbatos's smile seems to turn genuine as you remember his earlier whisper, and within moments, you've turned away, looking into the amber eyes of Diavolo.

"I understand." You smile. The fear that had previously settled in your stomach has bloomed into a gigantic tree of terror, only further nurtured by the prospect of sealing your hand away in marriage so soon, but you ignore it. "I'll do my best to learn the ways of this household so that I may serve you as a worthy queen."

***

When you next wake, you're in an unfamiliar room. It takes a moment for your memory to return, vaguely recalling being escorted here by Barbatos after an uncomfortable dinner with Diavolo. Looking down, it seems that you passed out on the bed without even changing your clothes.

What a wonderful way to start the morning, you can't help but think. The thought weighs heavily on your mind as you drag yourself from bed, memories from last night continuing to flood through your mind. Diavolo had apologized profusely over dinner about the shortened engagement period, but you could only smile and tell him it was alright. Your facade threatened to collapse when he revealed that your training would begin today, giving you literally no chance of a break, but you had managed to accept his words with a tight smile.

Training.

You groan.

It's customary for the bride in any wedding to be trained in the ways of the household so that she may seamlessly transition into her new role after the wedding, but your training will be on another level entirely. You're literally going to have to learn the ways of being a queen, not to mention all the extra nuances that accompany the title. Just the thought makes you groan.

A knock pulls you from your thoughts, likely a repetition of the very thing that had woken you in the first place.

"Coming," You call drowsily, not even bothering to straighten your appearance before opening the door. You blink the sleep from your eyes, expecting to see a maid here to help you dress, but it's none other than Barbatos who stands on the other side, his expression amused as ever when his eyes take in your still-sleepy form. "You!" You exclaim, it still being too early for you to remember your manners.

"Yes, it's me. I do all the bidding of Diavolo at this castle, so you can expect to be seeing me quite often." Barbatos glances down at you, the disheveled dress that you were wearing yesterday. He looks unimpressed. "May I come in?"

You immediately step back, allowing the butler into your room. He does all the bidding of Lord Diavolo, you think. All the bidding. All.

"A-are you here to dress me for the day?" You ask, fingers fidgeting.

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," You say smoothly, sighing to yourself. You've only been dressed by women before, young maidens you've known all your life; but you suppose that this will be just the beginning of the many changes about to overtake your life, so there's no point in fighting it. Suddenly registering that the only people you've seen in Diavolo's castle have been the prince himself, Lucifer, and Barbatos, another realization dawns upon you. "I assume you're also the one who'll be training me this month?"

Barbatos nods.

You sigh as he opens a drawer and hands you a stack of smallclothes, guiding you to the bathroom and instructing you to prepare for the day. The process ends up being simple enough; you don't want to question how the drawers are equipped with the very same face wash and cleansers that you used at home, or how the underwear fits you perfectly, or how even the toothpaste is the same flavor that you've been using for the past two thousand years. You simply go with the flow, laughing to yourself when you see that the circular laundry basket is also familiar, the same model as the one that used to be in your room.

It's rather uncomfortable to exit the bathroom in nothing but underwear, but Barbatos barely looks at you, pulling your body to a mirror where he lifts your arms into a T-pose and begins dressing you.

"Starting tomorrow, Diavolo wants to have breakfast with you," He says as he works, tightening a corset behind your back. "You'll be at his side for all parties and important events, and perhaps for a few RAD student council meetings. The rest of the time, you'll be with me," Barbatos tugs sharply on the strings of your corset, and you have to bite back a gasp. "Learning how to best serve Diavolo as his future queen."

You flinch as Barbatos's fingers tug on your corset once more, the man prioritizing efficiency over gentleness. His gloved hands are cold against your skin, and you're not used to the roughness with which he handles you. "Too much?" He asks, noticing your grimace.

"I'm fine," You lie, but you can tell he doesn't believe you because when he resumes working, his pace is slower. It's not quite gentle, but certainly less painful. "Tell me more. You said I am to have breakfast with Diavolo from now on. Does he not eat the other two meals?"

Barbatos laughs. It's a short, abrasive sound, but it's charming in its own right. "I also told you that you would be with me for the rest of the day, my lady." He pauses, stepping back to study your figure before lifting a deep blue gown from your drawer. He raises it to your chest, wrapping it around you before beginning to lace up the back. "I assure you, you will be too exhausted to give Diavolo proper companionship under my training."

"Is there a reason he does he not wish to dine with me this morning?" You ask, somewhat concerned. You thought you had done a good job yesterday acting like a lovestruck girl, but could Diavolo have recognized your apprehension over the marriage?

You glance at Barbatos uneasily in the mirror, silently recalling all the instances where he had called you out on your fear. Could he have said something to Diavolo?

"Do not fret, my lady. As president of the RAD student council, he had to attend their meeting today. There is no other reason."

You nod your head at the butler's words, letting your mind drift as he continues to work.

What will this month be like? You have nearly an eternity of being a queen laid out in front of you—it seems impossible to learn everything you'll need to know in a short thirty days. Then again, if Barbatos approaches teaching the way he approaches the process of dressing you, it'll go by quicker than you're used to, and will be twice as efficient in the process.

You stare at yourself in the mirror, mouth slightly agape, when you realize that the demon has successfully dressed you in barely five minutes.

"I'm sure it's less extravagant than you're used to," Barbatos says, gesturing to the blue dress he's put you in. "But you'll find that it's much more practical, this way."

You can certainly see where he gets that idea from. The dress you're wearing is pretty, no doubt, but it's far from beautiful. Still, you can't help but savor the blissful freedom you have in this specific gown. It has three-quarters length sleeves and hangs just above your knees, tight in all the right spots but equally loose where you desire—and it allows the perfect mix of comfort and movement. You can't deny that you find the velvet fabric preferable to the stunning satin gown you'd donned yesterday.

"So, where do we go from here, Barbatos?" You ask, turning around. You notice the demon's eyes widen just the slightest as he takes in the sight of your body first hand, vision unobstructed by the mirror, but he masks his momentary awe soon enough.

"Breakfast, my lady." He gestures for you to follow him as he leads you down to the dining hall. "And then your training will begin."

***

Breakfast with Barbatos may very well be the most uncomfortable thing you've ever endured. The demon stands in front of you as you eat, studying your posture and your dining manners with calculating eyes as you try to ignore him.

"I thought you said training would begin after breakfast," You protest, almost laughing, after his staring gets to be too much. "Stop gawking at me like that!"

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asks, an amused smile on his face. The butler leans in close to you, temporarily halting your breath as he smirks. "You are going to be queen, my lady. Not only that, but you are the pearl of the abyss. At all hours of the day, men will be staring at you, be it because they are enchanted by your beauty or because they are waiting for you to make a mistake. Get used to it."

You flinch as the demon abruptly pulls back, taking your plate of breakfast with him.

"I-I'm not done!" You protest, staring open-mouthed at the butler's retreating form.

"Close your mouth!" Is all he responds, chuckling as he dumps the dish in the kitchen.

It's a moment before he returns, but when he does, he's gesturing for you to follow him once more as he continues to lead you around the castle. You almost think he's wandering around aimlessly until he finally brings you to a large hall, a single throne in the center.

"Come, my lady. This is your first lesson: I want you to sit on this throne."

You raise your eyebrows, walking forward without a hint of hesitance. "My first lesson is in sitting?" You ask, tone reflecting how ridiculous the prospect is. You take your seat with ease. "I'm afraid I learned proper posture early on, Barbatos."

The demon chuckles at your confidence, eyes gazing over your form with satisfaction. No doubt, he recognizes that your posture is impeccable. "You can sit properly, yes. But for how long?" The demon raps his knuckles on the back of the throne, walking around you. "As queen, you'll be sitting on this throne for four hours straight, twice a day, six days a week. Let's see if you can last a single hour."

Your mouth instinctively curls into a smile—a real smile. You like the challenge in Barbatos's voice.

You should have the upper hand in this, you know. As a child, your education had never been centered around the sciences or the arts, but on learning how to be a lady: prim, proper, and perfect. Not only was posture taught, but also the ability to stay still for hours on end without fidgeting. This lesson should be easy for you.

But five minutes in, your confidence begins to waver.

"Starting to understand the purpose of this exercise, are we?" Barbatos is amused, noting the way your throat bobs as you swallow and shift uncomfortably in the chair. The bottom of your butt is tender, only used to cushions and luxury. Even the carriage that had driven you here was rather uncomfortable. But it's not just the thin padding that makes this throne uncomfortable. The metal underneath seeps through, chilling your thighs with an intensity that makes you think your rear will be ice by the time you're done. Another five minutes, if not an hour, will be torture.

"Distract me," You mutter, frowning. "I might be on this throne for hours on end, but the queen of the Devildom hears the requests of her people. I will never be on this throne aimlessly, with nothing to think about but the uncomfortableness of this seat."

"Very well," Barbatos says, nodding. He looks somewhat impressed with your request, as if he hadn't expected you to be so assertive. You're thankful that the pleading inflection of your voice went over his head. "Let me give you a scenario, then. A thief has been caught stealing a handful of jewels from a local store. He insists that he stole them not for his own gain, but so that he could sell them and feed his family. What do you do?"

You bite your lip, thinking deeply. The Queen's Justice is law in the Devildom, and your wish is everyone's command—but for that same reason, it's critical that your rulings are sound. You hesitate for a moment before coming to a decision. "I ask him how he stole the jewels, and using that information, I help the jeweler protect themself from future attempts at thievery."

"And then?" Barbatos asks, eyebrows furrowed. Whatever he expected to hear from you, that clearly wasn't it.

"I return the jewels he stole to the jeweler and give him and his family food so that he won't need to steal again?" You say, though it's more a question than a statement. You won't pretend to be confident—you know your solution is poor.

Barbatos shakes his head, sighing. "Your idea is bad, but not as bad as I would have expected for one who has never been educated in this field."

Is that a compliment?

Barbatos doesn't give you a chance to dwell on it, moving on immediately.

"There are various methods of dealing with thieves. You are aware of the fact that the Queen's Justice is the only justice in the Devildom; even Diavolo will honor your rulings. But for that reason, you must decide how you wish to deal with these issues. There is a gradient of strictness, and you will traditionally want to fall in the center. Some queens might cut off the thief's hand, while others may let him go with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Your idea of finding out his methods and revealing them to the jeweler was intelligent, but it is incomplete if it stands on its own."

"Fine, then. What would you do, Barbatos?" You can't help but ask as you stare at the demon in front of you.

The butler raises his eyebrows, amused. "Do you truly wish to know?"

You nod, somewhat interested in finding out.

"I'd flip a coin," He says, smiling. "Heads—and the perpetrator becomes Cerberus's next meal. Tails—he goes home free."

"That's awful!" You exclaim, eyes wide with horror. Stealing jewels doesn't warrant death, nor should it go entirely unpunished. Both alternatives to Barbatos's punishment are equally awful, making the solution as a whole entirely ineffective. You stare at his unnerving smile, quietly hoping that this is just a joke. "You don't truly mean that, do you?"

Barbatos lets out a light laugh, circling behind your throne once more. "I might not, but that doesn't change the fact that whatever punishment I'd deal would be infinitely crueler than anything you could. Justice is meant to appeal to reason, which is why we call it the Queen's Justice, and not the king's. A king can rule however he likes, but queens are always selected for their good sense."

You raise your eyebrows. Now it's your turn to appear amused. "Do you take me for that much of a fool? I was chosen for my looks, Barbatos." A light laugh spills from your lips, a soft sound you haven't heard in a long time. "I could have been crazy, for all Diavolo knew."

"Perhaps, but my training would have remedied that." Barbatos smiles, turning to you. "So tell me, my lady. How will you rule as a queen? What will be your justice?"

You lean back in your throne, understanding the weight of Barbatos's question. He is here to train you, to develop your skills and turn you into the woman who will serve the realm for thousands upon thousands of years. Your decision here will mark how he educates you, what he teaches you, and where he guides you.

"A queen who makes her people happy," You say, more to yourself than him.

"Pardon?" The butler seems entirely shocked by your response, his eyebrows furrowing together almost cutely. "You're choosing to prioritize happiness?"

"What else?" You ask, lowering your eyes. "We are blessed to live in a time of prosperity. Does it not make sense that those in power should do everything they can to make sure that those in the lower rings of society can share in our happiness? They deserve joy just as much as we."

Barbatos is silent, letting your explanation wash over him.

No doubt, he's recalling all the previous times your actions have said the same thing: when you stopped the carriage to speak with that little boy, when you protested Barbatos's apathy afterward, and a certain other detail that you pray goes over his head.

It's a long time before he speaks, and when he does, he's looking straight into your eyes for the first time since you entered this room.

"My lady, why did you agree to this marriage?"

He noticed.

You try to look away, try to avert your eyes from Barbatos so that you can attempt to come up with an excuse, some more innocent justification for your words. You forgot your place when you were speaking, you forgot that this is Diavolo's butler you're speaking to and in equal parts someone you should be fearing, not man you can trust the emotions you're keeping hidden. But before you can turn your face, Barbatos's finger somehow ends up under your chin, and you're forced to continue staring into those impossibly green eyes, never faltering.

"It makes the realm so happy," You whisper after the longest time. "The night my father accepted on my behalf, I couldn't sleep through the cheers. For the past month, they've lit fireworks every night, the festivals in honor of our marriage have already begun, and even the youngest of children are excited at the prospect of getting to watch our love."

"So what is it that you are so afraid of?"

You smile softly, hearing the question you were hoping so desperately he would ask. You're certain Barbatos is recalling your fear-stricken expression from yesterday, your body's instinctive response whenever the subject of your marriage came up. Still, you keep quiet. He studies your expression, but his question is one you cannot answer—one you refuse to answer, as long as you are in this palace.

Barbatos sighs, lowering his finger from your chin. It still feels like you're locked in by some invisible force, keeping your gaze fastened to the demon as he turns away, hiding his expression.

"Very well then, my lady." His tone is cold, far away once more. "A queen who makes her people happy you shall be."

He continues walking, leaving the prior moment behind in favor of continuing his lesson. "Now tell me, how does such a queen handle thieves?"

You swallow, realizing that Barbatos's tutelage will consist more of him guiding you to answers rather than giving them to you outright, and you strain your brain to think. It's a while before you respond, but you eventually find the words: "The same way she handles all crime, right? To ensure happiness, she will have to get to the root of the issue. She'll need to understand it's source, and work from there."

"Indeed. But the thief has already told you: the reason he committed his crime was because he needed to feed his family."

"But surely there must be a reason why he was so poor in the first place! For him to resort to thievery while knowing the risk means that he has tried other things. What if the underlying cause is that the district he comes from doesn't have enough jobs, or that a drought is approaching and food is growing too expensive to afford?"

Barbatos nods encouragingly, forcing a smile to his face. "Very good, my lady. Those would be true underlying causes, but should you wish to eliminate them, you would need a means of doing so. Let us say, in this specific example, that the reason the thief was unable to afford food was because he could not get a job. In his district, he is among many others who are out of work, and this issue is spreading. What do you do?"

You pause, turning the butler's question over in your mind. What would you do? The answer that comes to you is hesitant, but it's the best you can think of: "I would ask Diavolo to start a project that requires workers. Perhaps a construction project? Something located near the district in question, so that it can employ those without jobs as construction workers, but also something that can continue to create jobs for them when the project is complete."

"Can you think of any specific examples of what might serve as a useful building to be built?" Barbatos asks, eyebrows raised. Even when you shake your head and tell him no, the somewhat impressed look never fades from his face. "Regardless. That plan wasn't entirely awful, my lady."

He chuckles, and you have to physically stop yourself from pouting at his words. You're certain he saw the millisecond where your lower lip jutted out, because when he next turns to you, his eyes are filled with mirth. The demon grins. "You may be more ready to be a queen than I thought."

The remainder of the hour passes by quickly. Barbatos continues to provide you morally questionable scenarios and you try your hardest to distinguish right from wrong, the two of you working together to brainstorm creative alternatives to conventional punishments.

By the time the demon is telling you to rise from your throne, you've almost forgotten the initial purpose of the exercise—but your attempt to stand brings the crushing realization crashing back to you.

"I cannot."

Barbatos blinks, raising his eyebrows. "Pardon, my lady?"

"I cannot," You repeat, a blush creeping onto your cheeks as you glance away. "Rise, I mean. From the throne. I cannot."

Barbatos stares at you in puzzlement, evidently not having expected this of all things. "My lady..." He begins, his words coming out slowly. "Do you mean to tell me that you actually allowed your legs to go numb while sitting on this throne?"

A meek nod.

"Goodness," Barbatos mutters, closing his eyes in exasperation. "I take back all my compliments for the day. You are a bigger fool than I had ever imagined."

You stare at your feet, trying not to wonder how you hadn't realized earlier that there's no feeling in anything lower than your back. It's a moment before you break the silence. "So...what now?"

"What do you think, my lady?" Barbatos walks over to you, scowling profusely as he offers his hand. "Hold on to me," He mutters.

Hesitantly, you palm your hand into his—and then his other hand has snaked around your body, lifting to your feet as you awkwardly stumble on your legs. "Relax," He says quietly when your first flailing attempts to find your footing fail. "I will not let go, my lady."

His words have a calming effect, and he grips your upper body tight enough for you to stabilize your legs, hissing as the feeling begins to creep back into your body.

"Help!" You exclaim when you lose your balance, and instantly Barbatos is bending his knees with you, wrapping a hand around your waist as he steadies you once more. Against your will, you begin to hear the familiar thump of your heart as it beats faster and faster when he quietly tells you to calm down, to take your time in regaining stability on your feet.

You're hesitant, unsure of what to do other than cling to Barbatos as he supports you. This is entirely uncharted territory for you, unfamiliar in every regard! You've never been allowed to get this close to a man. Your parents had explicitly forbidden it! Yet still, there's nothing you can do to tame the fast beating of your heart or the blush that spreads across your cheeks like wildfire, your only mercy being the fact that Barbatos is looking away from you as he continues to hold you.

"Barbatos?" You ask, once you're confident that your voice will not betray you.

"What?" He responds swiftly, and you're certain that he means for the word to come across as irritated, but his voice is soft. It's strange, you can't help but think. For the first time today, his grip is gentle as he holds you in place—a stark contrast to the rough pace at which he had worked when dressing you this morning.

"Thank you," You murmur.

And as he whispers a quiet "You're welcome," you don't need to look up to know that there's a shyness in his expression, both of you suddenly pink with embarrassment at the undeniable intimacy of the moment.

It's quite lovely, you can't help but think.

For the third time since meeting him, a genuine smile forms upon your lips as you stare at the ground. You are unfamiliar in the language of affection, always kept far from anyone who might taint your pearly innocence—but there is no denying the strange feeling in your heart.

Thump thump, it beats, but not with fear as it had yesterday.

The rhythm is slower, steadier, gentler.

You smile, exhaling lightly as you bring the hand clutching Barbatos's shoulder down to his chest. Indeed, it's not just you: under your touch, his heart accelerates as well.

Thump thump, you feel in his chest, and you hear the same sound your ears.

You gasp lightly, eyes round in wonder as you strain your ears and feel your hand tremble, listening and feeling the sound of your hearts.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

They beat in unison.

MASTERLIST

Word count: 8.7k

Part 1 | Part 2 | ✔

Notes: The sheer amount of times I had to rewrite this is insane >.> i have three other drafts all over 5k because i could not decide how to characterize our favorite butler T^T Also part 2 is going to be hella angsty, just a heads up ;)

Comment & Like

Next Update: 5/31/20

I do not own the rights to Obey Me! or any of the characters within it.

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angelofbenignmalevolence · 4 years ago

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Virgil Tracy, John Tracy, Scott Tracy Additional Tags: Mentions of the incident with EOS, Brotherly disagreements, Sibling fight Series: Part 4 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:

John descends from on high after EOS reveals herself. A full medical scan needs to be run. And there are some words that need to be exchanged between brothers.

This is for my "Bad Thing Happen Bingo Card." The prompt here was John and Pinned to a Wall. It was requested by @kenzie-running-free and @ohsheasus. A very special thank you to @thunderbird-one-ai for the help getting out of the corner I had written myself into.

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John was one of the brothers that didn’t mind visiting the infirmary so much. Alan hadn’t yet grown into hating the infirmary, since his scrapes had been relatively minor this far and thus he had only had a slightly stern Virgil and a doting Grandmother to deal with in the infirmary. Gordon tried to avoid the infirmary like the plague after his hydrofoil crash and so many subsequent instances where Thunderbird Four had gotten into some serious trouble. Virgil didn’t mind being the medic, but when it came to his own injuries, he made himself scarce in the infirmary. And Scott…well, Scott seemed allergic to the infirmary where his own injuries were concerned.

John wished that allergy to the infirmary applied to the brothers’ injuries as well. Perhaps then, Scott would not be standing across from him in the infirmary, glowering. Scott’s arms were folded across his chest, a sign that didn’t bode well for John. It was obvious that Scott was waiting for Virgil to finish full medical before giving John a piece of whatever was on his mind. John wouldn’t have needed three guesses to know what that was. Virgil stepped back as he completed the scans and battery of tests on John.

“Well, it looks like all your scans appear to be coming back normal. There doesn’t seem to be any long lasting effects from earlier,” Virgil said. John had been so close to death when Alan had pulled him into Thunderbird Three that Virgil just wanted to run all the tests again, as if he was afraid that this was some kind of an illusion and that John was still dying.

“So does that mean that I am clear to return to Thunderbird Five?” John asked. He was anxious to get back to his bird and fulfill the promise he had made to the AI that had, only hours ago, tried to kill him. Scott’s lips thinned into a line, a change of expression that Virgil didn’t miss and only barely managed to suppress himself.

“Medically speaking, I have no reason to deny you a return to Thunderbird Five, but it looks like Scott might have something to say about that,” Virgil said. John hopped off the bed in the infirmary.

“Well, he can tell me while I prepare the space elevator to take me up,” he said. If Scott was going to ream him out, he didn’t exactly want an audience. He didn’t give either Scott or Virgil the chance to protest as he headed for the infirmary doors. A set of footsteps following behind him told him that Scott had followed him. John kept walking, knowing that it was only a matter of time until Scott couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Are you going to slow down so we can talk?” Scott asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. John kept walking.

“I suppose that depends on your definition of talk,” John said. “I’m not in the mood for a lecture.” Scott grabbed his arm and wheeled John around. He had been so close to making it to the hangar. John could see the stormclouds in his brother’s eyes.

“What the hell are you thinking, John?” Scott asked as John wrenched his arm out of his brother’s grasp. John took a breath before answering. Getting upset was going to get them nowhere fast, not with Scott’s volatile temper and John’s penchant for glacial fury when he was pushed to anger.

“I’m medically fit to continue to do my job,” John said. “To do that, I need to go back up to Thunderbird Five.”

“Back up with that thing that tried to kill you.” It wasn’t a question.

“She didn’t—”

“Don’t you dare try to tell me that thing didn’t mean it,” Scott said. “Or that it didn’t know what it was doing. It’s made from your code. You’re the smartest person I know and the one that calculates everything in advance. Your code taught itself how to evolve to near human intelligence. It knew exactly what it was doing.”

“Her prime directive was self preservation,” John said. “The same prime directive that we all have.”

“We don’t have a prime directive! We are humans, John! And what is to stop it from resorting back to that prime directive, from labeling you as a threat?” Scott said. John shook his head.

“I managed to get through to her. She has me at her core, Scott,” John said, trying to use his cool logic to defuse the situation.

“That didn’t seem to make a difference when it locked you out of your spaceship without any supplemental air,” Scott said. The sight of John’s lifeless body on the hologram projector, the glassy eyed stare as the oxygen in his suit thinned, these were images that would haunt Scott’s dreams for too long.

“Dad would have given her a chance,” John said.

“Well dad isn’t here right now,” Scott said. John folded his arms.

“You’re right. He isn’t. So stop trying to pretend like you’ve become him. You’re my brother at home, my commander in the field, but you will never take the place of dad,” John said.

“Goddammit John,” Scott said, grabbing the front of John’s uniform and pushing him roughly against the wall, eliciting a soft oof from his brother. “You aren’t listening to me!”

“Get off me, Scott,” John said, pushing against his brother’s wrists. Scott held fast, letting him up off the wall only enough to push him back against him again, forcing John’s attention back on him.

“No. You’re going to listen to me,” Scott said. “I watched you as you slowly started to suffocate up there, because of that thing. That thing pretended to be you so well that we nearly lost you.” Scott’s voice shook with suppressed fear. “I nearly lost you because that thing isolated you from us. And once we got you out of there, you went straight back in and put your life in its hands.” John could feel his brother’s knuckles shaking through the fabric of his uniform, holding on not as a threat, but instead out of fear that if he let his brother go, it might be for the last time. John laid his hands over his brother’s wrists.

“I’m still here Scott,” he said. Scott rested his forehead against John’s.

“I don’t trust that thing,” Scott declared softly. “I don’t trust that thing with you. I can’t lose you as well as mom and dad. It would break me.” John let go of his brother’s wrists to put his arms around Scott, assuring him of his presence. After a moment, Scott’s grip on his brother shifted to an embrace.

“You don’t have to trust her, Scott,” John said, pulling Scott close to him. “Put your trust in me. Trust that I won’t leave this family…I will do everything I can to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.” Scott’s arms tightened around his brother as he heard the space elevator descending.

“Please, John,” Scott asked, barely audible over the creak and groan of the machinery. “Please…just…stay here on earth tonight…for my sake.” John pushed Scott back slightly to get a good look at his brother. His brother’s eyes were glistening with desperation and his shoulders were tight with panic. John nodded.

“Ok, Scott…I’ll stay tonight…I’ll stay…” John said. “Just let me smooth things over with EOS and then we can go relax, yeah?” Scott frowned at the mention of the AI but he nodded slowly, letting John up off of the wall. John moved over to the control panel for the space elevator and Scott let out a soft sigh.

John’s heart was far too big, and his trust often misplaced. But Scott knew his own trust in John was never misplaced, even if it meant compromise when Scott would rather exert his will to keep his brother safe. He waited until John had a brief conversation with the AI and dropped the tension he hadn’t realized he was holding in his shoulders when the Space elevator began to ascend again. John moved over and put a hand on Scott’s shoulder.

“Come on,” he said, leading the way out of the hangar. “Let’s get you to relax a little.”

#thunderbirds are go #scott tracy #john tracy #virgil tracy #bad things happen bingo #fanfiction #my fanfiction #one of mine

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ts-unpopular-opinions · 5 years ago

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Side Tracks opinions part 1: Janus

(Yes I’m staring with Janus and going backwards, I just need to talk about this snake man right now!)

Alright, I’ve seen lots of people give their takes on each of the sides playlists, and honestly... I feel like they’re not all that similar to my interpretations. I mean yes anyone can interpret the songs how they’d like, but some people just flat out ignore canon to see the songs as their ship instead of what I believe they are actually meant to be seen as. Anyways... Janus! Yes let’s go through each song one by one 💛

1) Black Hole Sun: I’ll admit this one was hard for me. The song is obviously so Janus, with plenty of references to snakes and lying, but I can’t seem to put a finger on the exact meaning. If I had to guess, it’s showing Janus’ fist instance of fearing society. He’s realized that the world is not a safe place for Thomas and no one can be trusted (“Times are gone for honest men” “no one sings like you anymore”). He longs for the ignorance of childhood when society didn’t seem to pose a threat and Thomas wasn’t aware of the dangers and lies it held, but he knows that someone has to protect him from it, and that is Janus (“my youth I pray to keep” “hang my head, drown my fear”).

2) Seemed the Better Way: To me, this is a song about Janus knowing his place as a dark side and knowing that the others will not listen to him (“I better hold my tongue” “better take my place”). He initially trusts the core sides to do what needs to be done and take care of Thomas adequately, but when he realizes that it isnt enough, he finds it hard to keep in hiding (“Seemed the better way” “now it’s much too late to turn the other cheek”).

3) Anywhere: A BIG middle finger to society (“It’s a beautiful world, if youve been lied to” “No no no, nothing in this world is beautiful”). Janus basically trusts no one in society, not even the people closest to Thomas because he believes that everyone will do whatever it takes to get what they want (“Every man standing on another man’s back”). He also believes that society has been a huge detriment to Thomas and, AGAIN, is very dangerous (“It’s the world’s excuse for being disfigured and lying to you”).

4) Talking at the same time: This song is about Virgil. The song begins with explaining that a hard time for one person can be a triumph for another in multiple different metaphors (“Umbrellas cost more in the rain” “hard times for some, for others its sweet” “someone makes money when theres blood in the street”). The next part of the song practically shoves it in your face that it’s about virgil leaving (“Well she told me she would leave me, I ignored all the signs” “I know you're leaving and there's no more next time”). Janus was clearly hurt by Virgil leaving and it seems like he was almost in denial about it happening. A line near the end of the song that I found particularly interesting was “Well we bailed out all the millionaires, They've got the fruit, We've got the rind”. This line to me shows that Janus and the other dark sides let Virgil go, possibly in an attempt to get all of the dark sides accepted. Virgil capitalized on this opportunity and of course, got accepted, however, he left the others behind. Despite wanting Virgil to get accepted by the light sides, Janus remains bitter that Virgil was the only one. Virgil got the fruit, and the rest of the dark sides got the rind.

5) All the Good Girls go to Hell: Janus believes that Thomas needs to listen to him if he is going to stay safe and healthy. He thinks that his assistance, above all other sides, expecially Patton, is crucial for survival in this messed up world. (“And once the water starts to rise, And heaven's out of sight, She'll want the devil on her team” “Look at you needing me”). You’ll find it a common theme in this playlist that Janus refers to himself as the devil or an evil entity of some sort... Just thought I’d point that out.

6) Denial: Well, its in the title folks! Thomas is (or was) in denial. Janus is aware of the moments when Thomas thinks about consulting him or using one of his functions, but almost as soon as he gets the idea, he drops it and acts like the thought never happened (“Don't just shut your eyes closed” “You know that I can hear you thinking, I've heard you all the way from here, But if I look you in the eye though, It's like your thoughts all disappear”). Thomas is struggling for answers to questions that only Janus can answer, but he refuses to listen to consult him and Janus desperately wants this to stop (“I know you're looking for direction, I know where you wanna go” “Please don't turn the light out, I don't think the conversation's over”).

7) Trust in Me: Obviously, the original song has much more sinister undertones, but when listening to the song from Janus’ perspective, I get a different vibe. Basically, Janus just wants Thomas to trust him and give him more reign over decision making. Not much for this one.

8) Razzle Dazzle: JANUS IS EXTRA! Is anyone shocked? Also a HUGE showman. But again, no one’s surprised. Janus believes that the only way to get the light sides to listen to him is to practically put on a show to cover up whatever his true intentions are (“How can they see with sequins in their eyes?” “Razzle dazzle 'em And theyll never catch wise!” “How can they hear the truth above the roar?”) I could keep listing lines but theyre literally all just different versions of the same sentiment.

9) When the Chips are Down: The title right off the bat shows that, again, Janus believes that Thomas needs to look to him when important decisions are on the line. There are also a lump sum of jabs at patton in this song, lines like “Aim for the heart, shoot to kill” and “Cast your eyes to heaven, You get a knife in the back”. Theres also a lot of lines, yet again, of Janus practically begging Thomas to trust him and no one else (“Ain't nobody but yourself to trust” “Help yourself, To hell with the rest, Even the one who loves you best”).

10) Mandy goes to Med School: Soooo this one... Honestly, I don’t really have a lot. The original meaning of the song is not very applicable to Janus, so its a bit hard to pinpoint its meaning. The only thing I can think of is that Janus is again hating on society and the crazy things that people have to go through in it. If you weren’t aware, this song is about coat-hanger abortions.

11) I put a Spell on You: This one seems pretty striaghtforward to me. Janus knows that Thomas doesn’t want him, and it drives him up the wall, but he does what a snake boi does and slithers his way in anyways (“And I don't care if you don't want me, I'm yours right now” “I can't stand it 'cause you put me down”). I suppose you could argue that you could replace Thomas with Patton (mostly because daddy is used like 10 times in the song 😂) but a later song covers their realtionship extremely well.

12) Evil Night Together: Another toughie. My gut feeling is that this is a song about Remus and Janus just going out and having a wild night together. As I read into the lyrics more, though, it seems almost like Janus is doing this for Remus. Like he wants Remus to feel accepted and loved by him (something that can’t be said by Thomas). I just can’t read some of these lines without getting big Momceit vibes... i mean... theyre so supportive! “I'll hold your hand while they drag the river” “I'll cuddle you in the undertow” “I'll hold you close while they dust for prints”. Then theres of course this line... “Who's gonna make you a hero?” And to me, that is Janus saying that, if Thomas only sees Roman as his hero and not Remus, then it is Janus’ job to make Remus feel like a hero. Janus also saying “No need for cake or flowers” also feels like him reassuring Remus that he doesn’t need to be like his brother to be perfect and loved.

13) Don’t tell Mama: I think I’ve seen some people interpreting “mama” as Thomas in this song, but to me Patton seems like a better fit, especially after their interactions in the most recent episode. Basically this song is all about how Janus doesn’t mind people knowing about the bad things he does, but he can absolutely not have one person know. Janus seems to have grown a soft spot for Patton in the new episode and if you ask me, he would definately not want patton finding out about some of immoral things he’s wanted Thomas to do. I mean he literally waits for Patton to sink out and then the second he’s gone he starts scheming about pushing people down stairs and sabotage.

14) You’re a Cad: Another Virgil one, but this time it’s after Virgil’s acceptance. I think Janus has little faith in the beginning that Virgil would get far in his journey to the light side. Whether that is because of envy or just plain pessimism, I’m not sure, but he definately doubted Virgil would ever be able to escape his past (“So now you want the whole world to notice that you've come around, Now you expect, We'll see how you're really so much better now, But I know the truth” “What's the point pretending that you could be a better man, Just give in, since you always end up right back where you began”). Despite his reluctance to support Virgil’s endevors, Janus shows a softer side for Virgil that has gone completely untalked about in canon (“You're a rascal and a rogue, a villain and a crook, Still I tug at your line, I'm a fish on your hook” “Still I know the truth, but I have a sweet tooth for a Cad and a bounder, a dog and a cheap”). Janus really misses Virgil and I would go as far as to say that he regrets the things that he’s done to make Virgil want to leave (“I should be better, but I'm worse” “You're reckless with my heart, still I wait by the phone”).

15) As far as I can See: A sadie but a goodie. Janus doesn’t really understand love, but he’s sure that no one loves him (“As far as I can see Nobody loves me”). No one listens to him, no matter how much he shouts and cries. He doesn’t believe that anyone could love him if they are unwilling to hear him out and communicate with him (“As far as I can see, Nobody's listening” “And when I'm crying out, Nobody cries back for me”).

16) Criminal: AH MY FAVORITE SONG ON THE PLAYLIST! I LEGIT CRIED MY GUYS! Anyway. Janus LOVES Thomas. I would go as far to say that Janus loves Thomas more than any other side. Despite his lacking knowledge of love and what it feels like, he knows for a fact that what he feels for Thomas is the closest thing he will feel to love (“Because he's all I ever knew of love”). Now that thats out of the way, lets get to the juicy stuff... Janus feels like a criminal as he’s been taught over and over again that his opinions and thoughts are bad and harmful (“Cause I'm feelin' like a criminal” “I've done wrong and I wanna suffer for my sins”) This song is ultimately about Janus wanting to improve for Thomas, the one he loves the most. He knows that Thomas needs him, and the only way to get Thomas to listen is to get some help. Whose that help you might ask? Patton. Janus wants to be more helpful, but he doesnt know how. He’s envious of Patton’s ability to be accepted so easily, so he goes to him for advice (“I've come to you cause I need guidance to be true, And I just don't know where I can begin”). Janus wants to be redeemed in Thomas’ eyes, he wan’ts to escape the criminal appearance he’s been doomed to (“And I need to be redeemed, To the one I've sinned against”). He HATES some of the things he does to Thomas and some of the things he makes him think, but he doesn’t want to be forgiven, he believes that he deserves to be punished, but he still wants to get better for Thomas. He just doesn’t know how to do that (“Oh help me, but don't tell me to deny it, I've got to cleanse myself Of all these lies til I'm good enough for him”). Also, Janus sees Patton in a very very high place. He goes as far in this song to liken him to an angel while comparing himself, again, to the devil (“So what would an angel say, The devil wants to know”).

17) Change: The song is about, you guessed it, change! This to me is a continuation of the last song. Janus finally feels like things are changing in his favor (likely after the most recent episode). He was beginning to feel like there was no point in caring or trying, but now that he’s begining to see the light, he’s grown a bit hopeful (“Lately I've been thinking it's just someone else's job to care, Who am I to sympathize when no one gave a damn?” “Trying to find the power in me to be faithful” “Change is a powerful thing, I feel it coming in me”). With Patton’s help and acceptance, Janus is begining to feel worthy of Thomas again and begining to see the he has a voice (“Maybe by the time this song is done I’ll be able to be honest, capable, Of holding you in my arms without letting you fall when I don't feel beautiful Or stable”).

18) Devil in the Details: Janus worries again about his ability to help Thomas. He doesn’t believe that he can tell the difference between good and bad and he looks to Patton for that differentiation (“There was love I meant, there were accidents, So tell me which is which. 'Cause I just can't work it out” “I have, no way, of knowing,…”). There’s also an odd underlying message about doing something that he doesn’t want to do, but continues to do despite this and I’m not quite sure what that could be referring to (“And I know the cost, and I want to stop. But I can't do it, I just can't do it.”). It could simply be referring to him lying or deceiving others, but that seems too simple. I wish I had a better answer.

19) Come Little Children: ALSO MY FAVORITE SONG ON THE PLAYLIST! This is really big guys. This song practically confirms the fact that Janus was in charge of taking in and hiding the dark sides from Thomas (“Come little children, I'll take thee away Into a land of enchantment”). The song literally uses the phrase “My garden of shadows”, a clear metaphor for the hidden parts of Thomas’ mind where Janus keeps the dark sides. But it gets better... Janus pities these poor sides. He hates the way that society has forced them away from the light and into the shadows (“Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way Through all the pain And the sorrows”). Not only does Janus feel bad for these sides and longs to protect them from the cruelness of the real world, but he LOVES them. He values every aspect of them and thinks they are beautiful and perfect. He cannot fathom why society wouldn’t also love see them this way and it frustrates him to hide such amazing traits from the world (“Weep not poor children For life is this way, Murdering beauty and passions”). Despite this sadness and dissapointment, Janus does his job and keeps the dark sides hidden away, knowing that society would never accept them for what they are (“Hush now dear children, It must be this way”).

20) Into the Unknown (no not the Frozen song): This song is VERY IMPORTANT. I have seen so many misinterpretations of this song, and granted mine could also be wrong, but please hear me out. This song comes right after the last song for a reason. The sides that Janus had once hidden away are now being shown to Thomas. He is literally going into the unknown (“Led through the mist, By the milk-light of moon, All that was lost, is revealed.” “Somewhere lost in the clouded annals of history, Lies a place that few have seen. A mysterious place, called The Unknown. Where long-forgotten stories are revealed to those who travel through the wood.”) Thomas is figuratively traveling through the wood by learning more about himself and traveling deeper into Janus’ previously mentioned Garden of Shadows. The song ends, beautifully framing Janus’ love for the sides he’s raised and hidden away, calling them “ The loveliest lies of all”....

(Ahhh! I’m sorry that was so long guys 😅 Thank you if you read the whole thing or evern part! I’d like to hear your opinions, so let me know 💛💛💛)

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #ts sanders sides #ts unpopular opinions #ts janus #janus sanders #janus playlist #ts side tracks #janus’ playlist #sanders sides playlist #long post #ts sidetracks

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aconstantstateofbladerunner · 4 years ago

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Complete Butterfly Outline

Howdy friends. The following is the complete chapter by chapter outline for Butterfly. Now that the fic is finished and some people want to see it, I figured there was no harm in sharing. Maybe this will help some of you better your own outline process. Note that not everything that appears here made it into the fic, and some things that did don’t appear in this outline. Some events are also in different order due to me changing my mind during the actual writing. Feel free to ask me questions about those discrepancies or anything else. Please enjoy!

Butterfly

The first over-night trip off campus since the training camp is supposed to be a break from anxiety. But between concerns of history repeating itself, a major research project, and a bleak introduction to chaos theory, Izuku has too much on his mind to properly enjoy the fresh air. But those worries are a light breeze compared to the thunderstorm that accompanies what he finds on the outskirts of town. Or rather, what finds him.

1. Chaos Theory -thankful -comic book assignments -sound of thunder -butterfly effect -field trip

2. Yakku -bus ride -small town hero work -interject about butterfly -Cheat-A demonstration -talk with all might

3. Small time -community engagement -reports of stolen food -first day tour and fun, photos with fans -heat lightning -second day early morning patrols -groups: Sero, Toruu, Deku with hero -different route than normal -bullies, can’t threaten with quirk, but has his body -investigate diner -dead bodies

4. Let’s Talk About Anything Else -deku falls back on a table -kitchen covered in blood and black feathers -body: slash across stomach and eyes, other exposed shoulder blades -three form a perimeter while hero investigates -backup arrives, kids dismissed -hug -might have gotten there sooner had they taken a different road -statements and debriefs -return to hotel, can’t eat -hang out in room, read to pass time -talk about comic projects -nightfall’s, others return -Momo makes plushies -animal jokes -can’t sleep

5. The First Rung of the Spiral -third day, more patrols -stolen food in the night -seminar “That was... definitely higher than in practice.” “Oh good, it wasn’t just me.” -feels like a warm hug, full body feeling of when all might ruffles his hair -“this is mine. This is me.” -izuku gets through but get sick afterwards from anxiety -secret lake, something in the distance, canceled -watahashi - cross bridge -hibiki - echo -takuya - open also -dead deer -sleep on bus by All might, anxiety subsides

6. Nothing is Okay -week passes -Tsuyu dreams of drowning, talks to Deku -anxiety returns with a vengeance -occasional intense back pain -counseling with hound dog, recommends something from home -pissed that they didn’t receive immediate grief counseling -speak with recovery girl about pain, nothing physically wrong -prescribes a sleep aid, anxiety meds left open -return to dorm to find his leftovers missing

7. Part of the Job -training: escort -dread and erased quirk -deku’s team loses fake civilian -takes it hard -stays later to talk to Aizawa -more complaints about missing food -Mineta brings thank you gift, gourmet popcorn -pain hasn’t stopped -return for movie night: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths -brief talk with iida -if we were to meet ourselves, we wouldn’t recognize ourselves -“saying the same thing over and over isn’t exactly helping either.” -deku can’t sleep, returns to his own bed

8. Yakku’s Finest -small town investigation inconclusive, murderer remains at large but reports of stolen food have stopped -diner money left untouched but larder picked clean -blood set, attacked in the night -quirk discussion, vague, strained relationship, -teleported in from somewhere, teleported away -DNA testing to be done on feathers “Did you ever go to investigate the houses with stolen food? When was the last instance reported?” “Four days after the murder.” “How far back can your quirk see?” “One day.” “How many days has it been?”

9. Dread -awake from pain -reading news updates -school forum rumors about stolen food

10. The Mind Killer -earthquake rescue training -keep notes on others to make up credit -dread not as bad -still has brace, sleepy and sick from concussion -pretends to be better -argument after almost throwing up -getting late -all might was never able to find his all star Superman trade reading online -picnic table with mirio, suneater, and eri -babysitters -talk about projects, mirio did shadow cat and suneater did animal man -brings up Superman’s suneater -all might approaches, chastises him for staring at a screen while he has a concussion, offers Superman trade instead -discuss the fall -what’s one more scar? -“why didn’t you tell me?” -“I don’t know” -“you could have been killed.” -dread tells him he only cares for one for all -phone call -mom going out of town -izuku lies -banging down the hall -getting closer -deku hides behind door -thing hesitates in his room, goes to door -wing claw and eye reveal -calls for help, thing vanishes -no evidence -“I felt it breathe on me.” -most don’t believe him

11. Ache -hospital -nothing wrong -can’t enjoy getting the brace off -another little scar -recoverygirl argues with nurse -all might arrives with stuff -tells izuku to call his mom -confesses to illness -schedule specialist appointment -nothing on cameras -explain Midoriyas condition -compare notes with Jakku -all might calls Gran Torino about izuku’s symptoms -aoyama thinks about Midoriya during earthquake simulation -others ask about the seizure but he doesn’t have answers -put together a card and nice dinner to welcome him back -try to make food himself -update from Aizawa : Midoriya coming back, tired, don’t bother him -izuku breezes past everyone, uraraka follows -has an attack on the stairs -never happened before -retreats to room, leaving uraraka behind

12. From the Outside -bakugo dreams of the sludge villain -sees deku in the crowd, yelling sorry -wakes up, goes to bathroom -finds a black feather, thinks it’s a prank -realizes he would have done the same thing back in middle school -destroys it (invisibitch) -thinks he’s being merciful -izuku keeps thinking he sees the creature out of the corner of his eyes -pain comes randomly -can’t sleep -anticipation of pain keeps him awake -rubbing against ribs -move up appointment -talk with midnight -fanmail activity -“I am the American father waiting on the porch with a shotgun for whatever pathetic excuse for a date is gonna try and take my little angels to the prom.” -wants to hug him, he hates hugs -“I can only do so much” “so much is better than nothing” -rumors of people suddenly unable to use their quirks -might be an illness or one for all hurting him -gives in to anxiety medication -needs to get in contact with a specialist for nerve damage -takes up hound dogs suggestion of something from home

13. Nostalgia For The Future -deku goes home for a plushie, brings todoroki -mom isn’t home -todoroki likes his house, feels small but full -nothing about his dad -“would being his son make his obsession more or less weird?” -declares intent to become a hoarder -confesses to dream about losing his quirk and father hurting him for it -Despite recent trauma, deku hasn’t dreamt at all -swaps a book from all might for one of mom’s -nerve specialist, dendrite -rash -“as a fan I was impressed, but the doctor in me couldn’t help but cringe”. “See? He gets it.” -neurotoxin as anesthetic (but why) -all might watches procedure -“the scene brings to mind ritual sacrifices from old movies” -maybe attacked during procedure, mess with vitals and life support -chemical evidence that izuku’s brain is firing off pain response -common fixation in young empaths, recreate perceived trauma in themselves -“was there?” “...I could see bones poking out...” -basic testing comes up negative -“When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras”. Here we have a zebra -someone is using an empathy quirk on him -someone ate his leftovers -old all might plushie pats bunny -he was so done. So done, that as he laid down to make a futile effort at sleep, it crossed his mind that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to never wake up. -izuku did wake up; to see Mini-him standing on the ground with a hole in his chest and a slash across his eyes. -wake up to bunny plushy with tears that mirror original victims

14. The Rolling Thing With Wings -Aoyama saw it this time -“Midoriya’s villain is real”, -something is for sure on campus -Aizawa and other teachers immediately go out and search -cold rain -lights catch black feathered mass that rolls away -Aizawa can’t get a good look -thing tries to flee but keeps getting cut off -uses dread quirk, flattens teachers -finally sees it, it cancels his quirk before he can -vanishes -hound dog smells izuku -back to dorm, all might and students comforting izuku -plushie remains the same but camera footage shows nothing -Aizawa and izuku compare dread effects -realizes it may go after his mom

15. Bittersweet Release -Inko arrives at mustafu train station early in the morning -phone call from Aizawa telling her not to go home -wait to be escorted by heroes -calls izuku, he confesses to what’s been going on -doesn’t want to risk putting her in the line of fire -kids spend the nights in the dorm shelter -“The villain was able to hover right over Midoriya’s bed while he slept. Any one of those nights he could have killed him. And since we didn’t have any evidence, we assumed he was having nightmares like everyone else. Do you understand the gravity of what your inaction could have brought on?” -discussion of feelings with hound dog -apologies for doubt -rejoin students -news, villain warning issued -connections to missing food -anyone paying attention could figure out victim is izuku -harsh criticism of UA -izuku elects to take responsibility -hound dog leaves for meeting

16. Table Scraps -hound dog comes in late, cloth tied around mouth in place of muzzle -villain smelled like Midoriya, that close -teachers check security, limited evidence, suggest a quirk that can reverse/move outside of time -connection to missing food -Noumu theory is proposed due to multiple quirks and black appearance -all for one still in prison, twice? -similar to Yakku, get in contact -pathfinder shows map of trails -only found perimeter -entered town to chase the bus -villain seemed to stop existing -one missing quirk: night vision -meanwhile, pro heroes patrolling near apartment -“oh please. All mights had a kid at UA since my parents were in school.” -spot a figure go up the stairs and enter with a key/silhouette in the window -nobody from the family is supposed to be nearby -go inside and confront the middle school-aged boy, mass under shirt -find him wandering the house, ignoring them -introduce themselves -he goes to sit on the main bed, eating, heroes angry -“waiting” “for who?” “My family” -“my house” -“NO”

17. Voight-Kompff -stitches out -out running for the first time in weeks -one for all makes him feel whole, pictures the previous users welcoming him back into their embrace -breath deeper -“this is mine. This is me.” -“izuku wasn’t a spiteful person. Not at all. He got angry at villains for hurting people, yes, but he couldn’t recall at time where it felt personal. So it came as a bit of a shock when he found himself pondering if the villain’s wings were hollow, like in birds. They would break easier that way.” -“hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. But knowing his luck, he’d treat it like an inevitable.” -full cowl practice interrupted -“once it’s gone I can be with mom.” -medical exam with officers present -increase in students asking for sleep aids -izuku called back again, this time with teachers -karma for complaining about uraraka -gives back minihim -2 heroes murdered in his apartment the previous evening -it isn’t the artificial dread, it’s real -Like before: no security footage, food stolen, wiped search history, this time it seems clothes and personals were also stolen -“quirkless virus” show similar symptoms as victims of all for one -some have different quirks than before, usually minor -most are regular civilians, no hero, cop, or medical staff until murders -murder of diner owners still unclear -pattern, no pain on nights food is stolen -stealth quirks, likely to make another attack -DNA of feathers came back -same as izuku

18. Powder Keg -toga told to investigate league contact -warehouse trashed, dead everywhere -“Oh, yeah, no, they’re dead. And whoever did it was super sloppy.” “Hang on, Dabs, I’m getting another call.” -answers dead guy’s phone -“how did I ever survive without the preserve jars?” -rumors of someone who broke into UA by themselves, after Izuku -elects to investigate -Superman presentation -outside heroes on campus -Outfield, izuku debates talking to him -unsure if they know the dna connection -calls mom, asks about family -we didn’t want you to feel like you were being replaced -class exercise, warned not to push it -izuku does something during exercise that spooks outfield -sleep in shelter past three nights -villain warning issued -other students don’t know about Izuku’s DNA -sleep in shifts -all might stays close -tries to text mom good night, signal can’t get through the concrete -eri is there, tries to cheer him up “Zawa said there’s a bad guy after you.” “She’s your biggest fan.” “She might have to fight Kota for that.” -tells her she should go somewhere else since the bad guy is targeting him -she’s having none of it -later, eri and all might asleep on either side of him -keeps an eye on the door -hears sato’s phone buzz, he waves him off to signal his shift is over -lays back, tries to relax -sudden tightness in chest, opens eyes to see the other one standing on the ceiling directly above him

19. Fish in a Barrel -Aizawa realizes its a set up -the other one tries to stab him with the wing spike, eyes glowing red to erase his quick -rolls to cover eri and calls to the others -hits him in the head, disabling quirk -takes out lights -everyone tries to go for him, easily thrown back -slashed across multiple chests -the other tries to go for the door, todoroki freezes it -the other burns and breaks it down, vanishes -chase with bakugo, find toga -“my dad could breath fire” -teacher question how it could have gotten in with so many standing guard -it must have come in with them -mislead the heroes -comfort eri -wounds tended to -Tooru seriously hurt, crying, outlined by blood -idea floated to move izuku somewhere else -toga found wounded at the edge of campus

20. Walk Without Rhythm -“you’re sending me away?” -talk about moving izuku to protect the others -say goodbye outside, the want to lure it -switch trains last minute -dread fades -Aizawa says goodbye -appearance change -tooru wake up in hospital with parents -They met all might, other kids here and awake -tiger comes in with brace, izuku broke his shoulder -all might went back to help -discuss, don’t think the nomu was intentionally hurting them -tell that to midoriya -what are they doing with him -encounters old bullies who act like fans -Aizawa back with the others, discuss -public place. Hundreds of people. Broad. Fucking. Daylight. -pathfinder there, nomu was inside for hours, quirk that displaces itself -nomu is intelligent, understands aizawa -only superfans and former students know him -izuku mentioned his father was as much of a fan -toga unresponsive -maybe move him to another safe house, evidence that the other is locating quirks through police records, he’s gotten through most defenses -victims have minor records -mom moved around too, discouraged from contacting her -better to hide, all might’s house -end of the day, tired and sweaty -brush appearance change out of his hair, hug -it’s the first time all day he’s felt like a person -“I’m sorry I left you behind”

21. All in All -izuku stays up late to call his dad -argue about timing -“sorry I didn’t call. I wasn’t sure of your schedule in this mess and I didn’t want to bug you. “Sure” -mostly unaware of what’s happening, mom told them to talk -changes the subject to the Jakku seminar, tries to relate to quirk hurting him -thinks his dad only likes him for his quirk -“you can’t keep crying like this every time you’re stressed. Youre sixteen, way to old to be crying like this. You’re a hero. Villains aren’t going to wait for you to get yourself together.” -“look, if you’re not gonna be invested in the conversation, maybe you should hang up, and we can talk later, ‘Kay?” -Skype call with Toga -managed to talk to it briefly, voice changer -the villain didn’t like her, in denial -said he would fix it -crusty and gross, waste of a healing factor -deku-kun is here, isn’t he? -tells jokes to distract from Dad -all might’s in specialty housing for tall quirks, modestly decorated with comic merch and newspapers -device to hide his life signs -fanart from Young Izuku on the fridge, bought the magnets just to put it up -old classmates posting about him online, he’s a cool hero -forum trolls, could probably take them -“I thought you were supposed to be discouraging me from picking fights with villain’s every other month.” “Oh hey look at that, you made a quip” -talk about feelings ⁃ is my rambling annoying, endearing -“it’s okay to still be upset, you know. You don’t have to move on right away.” -year newspaper -butterfly returns to U.A., breaks window, noises, squeezes through naked -students pretend to sleep, half in costume -it passes over them

22. Idle Imprisonment -day 2, report comes in, three critically wounded policemen not far from u.a. -izuku does class work ⁃ all Might pins points on a map, far off -day 3, more reports of missing and mismatched quirks: tracking and radar -day four: 4 civilians and 1 hero murdered, several others injured -feathers through the eyes -mt lady back in action -izuku can’t take it, wants to go out and confront butterfly -massive argument with all might, hides in room again -“cabin fever!?” -all might figures he’ll try to sneak out, overhears him struggle, his windows don’t open

23. It Matters -later that night, all might offers dinner, goes to watch tv -izuku slinks out and eats with him on the couch -“think I don’t know how it feels? To be stuck inside safe while the thing that hurt you is running free to do more harm?” -“I miss it sometimes, but I get to spend more time with you” “I’m not worth it.” -“if it hadn’t hurt me, I might not have met you. Either my time limit didn’t force me to hear you out or I might not have come back to mustafu at all.” -back and forth about izuku’s worth, “are you trying to convince me to be happy or regretful” -“ok, lets try this: what do you hate about me?” -“I hate that you don’t trust me.” “And you constantly treat me like a little kid! Hate that too!” “You are a kid!” -“I want you to tell me one thing you don’t like about me. As a person.” “Why?” “If I have to be honest about how I feel so do you. You only ever say nice things. You act like there’s nothing wrong with me but there is. If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to keep guessing.” “... back in the shelter, after the villain attack... that was the only time I’ve ever heard you truly laugh.” “... that’s it?” -“I, I’m not a fan of how you talk about that video of my debut.” “But, But It was a great rescue-“ “It was awful,” he snapped. Midoriya recoiled. Good. “It was so awful. Hundreds of people died. Most of the people I pulled to safety didn’t pull through. I hear them screaming still in my dreams. I hated every second of that night. And I hate that you love it.” -“That shot one shot, the one people plaster everywhere, of me coming over the ridge carrying a dozen people? Half of them were already dead.” -“How did you even see that anyway?” “Mom said the news was running a special for the twenty-five year anniversary... I watched it with my dad...” “and you would have been what? Two, three?” -talk about debut -tells him about Nana and his childhood -hid from villain’s like this “I loved her like my mother.” “Did she love you as a son.” -“it doesn’t matter.” It does. -talks about how izuku is great -never initiated a hug before, what else could he do besides pull him closer? -“I hate yelling at you. You’ve had too much of that in your life. I just want you to be happy.” -“and I’m going to keep you here until you realize how much you matter” -caught between child and adult, wonder what he’d be like had he never influenced him -will the scars on his arm grow with him? -he wanted to just keep holding him, to make up for all the times he should have but didn’t. -carries him to bed -“I can walk.” “I want to carry you.” -he’s going to be okay. He’ll grow up. Conquer the world with his smile. Be the unshakable pillar the world needs, all Might had no doubt. But not tonight. Someday, but not tonight. Tonight, he is a small terrified child, separated from his family, and on the run from an unknown horror. Tonight, he deserves a moment to be scared and sad, and be comforted. -life sign hider gone -prays he stays just this small forever -he’s like a son to him -he stays for a while after he falls asleep, just to be sure

24. The Other One -all might dreams of his death at the hands of all for one/wolfram -wakes up to alarm, needs to eat -izuku inspired him to keep living, gets up to check on him -remembers the dream theory, goes to check his fridge -closes it, butterfly is right there -smells him before he sees him -running down a list of ways to get a hit in, major blood vessel in the temple -“Hello” silence, “are you all might?” Ask about fighting the ‘same’ villain Beat him with the help of his student Butterfly gets angry, the other one -“he’s almost shocked to here a human voice come out of it... a young voice.” Other what -comes into the light, more scar than skin -talks him down, reaches out to touch him -doesnt believe -same shoes, faded and frayed and falling apart, but the same -never one to talk down hostage/suicide -says his name -butterfly stunned, cries at the kind touch -hug -same eyes -he’s izuku again

Reveal post - https://lckhr.tumblr.com/post/175255988293/okay-villaindeku-is-so-popular-right-now-but

I want to add to this real quick because I just dug up my original notes I wrote at 2 am last summer when I first thought of this fic and it reminded me of some stuff. The world of My Hero Academia is set up in such a way that whatever bullshit power you can think of will probably fit. A lot of superhero universes have that, but something about MHA makes it so much more pronounced. Combine that with the idea of All for One, a quirk that lets the user wield an unknown number of powers, and there is some serious potential to absolutely abuse the setting. The idea was to create a lone villain that could perfectly counter everything thrown at it, to the point where it feels like a supernatural monster. Security? Quirk that prevents cameras and sensors from recording its image. Evidence? Quirk that rewinds time on displaced objects. Witnesses? Quirk that prevents people who are already asleep from waking up.

25. Butterfly: Origin -“as hard as he tried throughout his life, Toshinori knew he could never be Superman.” -“He wants to hurt your boy/ but he is my boy” -all might feeds him, too thin, still heavy -talks him into taking a bath while he makes him a warm meal -Texts his izuku to be silent and contact Naomasa -stolen possessions with his clothes, folding quirk, , flattening, sticker quirk -cries at the red shoes -butterfly comes back out, reveals wings -all might makes him a cutout shirt and sling for vestigial wings -its a cold night,hairdryer, hopefully izuku sees the opportunity -“he’s so gentle. The boys arms are thinner than his. It’s wrong. He feels like any pressure greater than a brush will shatter bones. He could break his fingers with a pinch. But maybe he should. This is a villain. It tried to kill my boy. But he is my boy.” -“did you ever fly?” “Once” -“it’s okay, you didn’t know.” -getting scolded for hurting himself is universal -so is being a chatterbox -considers Christmas present in the closet -tells him to lay down on the couch and watch tv -butterfly asks about one for all, consent -admits to killing Mirio -all might asks about all for one, vague backstory -noticed something was wrong after usj -“he said there was a time where there wasn’t a single child in Japan born without his permission.” “It was a mercy killing at that point.” -more time in a day, imprisoned for seemingly twice as long -drawn to yakku by picture of lodge that looks like apartments -“I heard someone say my name” -lie, offered to trade quirk, got in a drunken fight -has both parents quirks, implied to have killed Dad -wanted to scare his izuku into going home, no one was there, took it out -has mom’s quirk, “someone else lives there now.” -tried to find mom, “once he’s gone, I can be with mom.” -“I’m only hurting me. I’m not worth it -inter-dimensional quirk, -Inching closer to all might -you didn’t say that, the other you did -all might confronts him on his crimes, defense is that they started it -“you’re not right” -puts head in all might’s lap and moves his hand to his head -found izuku, jealous of his life, not sure what to do -realizes that izuku has one for all -“WHY” -describes the sludge villain incident -compare outcomes -butterfly gets upset, prepares to strike -all might says sorry

26. Bizarro -izuku listening in the whole time -attacks butterfly as he’s about to strike -wounds all might in the chest -butterfly screams accusations -brutal fight, bitten ear -izuku stands up to dread -ripped vestigial wings clean off -fight, flees at approach of heroes -wind and rain enter through broken window, mess up all mights hero shrine -izuku still feels like he has grime on his hands from the wing -its me -hospital, all might severely injured but stable -sneaks into room -stabbed where his lung used to be -“Did I ever apologize for saying you couldn’t be a hero?” -apologizes through tears for saying izuku can’t be a hero -sad hugs -tells nurse that he’s his son

27. Same -thinks butterfly is holding him -Aizawa says nurses told him all might was with his son, calls it inappropriate -hesitant to leave all might -please don’t take him from me -all might holds onto him for as long as he can -Aizawa wants to call them over dramatic, but this feels warranted -it’s me, i know -news from kids perspective -Sero -escorted everywhere, never alone -no way to tell what’s going on -wake up, check the news -need to confront butterfly -meeting in a moving vehicle -Pathfinder there, special sunglasses -how many were killed, lie -Butterfly’s notes, crinkled and overfilled, izuku can read them -addresses, quirks? -safe places, food, Trying to find home -plan A, swan dive -he was trying to get me to kill myself -plan b, kidnap to other dimension and kill, pose as the same one having been tortured -what’s plan c? -more missing quirks and murders, offensive capabilities -pathfinder attacked, quirk stolen -team of heroes go over what they know about him -analysis of wing he ripped off -rapid nerve death, theorize that his healing quirk is killing him -why hasn’t it? Quirk preventing organ failure -once the body runs out of fat, it goes for muscle -after muscle, it goes for cardiac muscles -that’s what the dread is, empathy -perpetually on the brink of a heart attack -means they might be able to go all out against him -uses inter dimensional quirk to conceal movement -ask izuku what he could mean by the right quirk -memory alteration, body swap -all might Skyped in “You’ve been trying to clean up the mess the other you made, let me do the same.” -you didn’t fail, the other you did -how to restrict movement, only ever does it outside -shelters never built in his world -set a trap, need a place that doesn’t exist in butterfly’s world

28. The Net -go through the tunnels to the main shelter under the school -can’t discuss the plan Bakugou tries to ignore him and unpack his stuff Izuku flinches from contact -says goodbye to classmates I love you all, thanks for being my friend... you have no idea what it’s meant to me -don’t talk like that, it makes it sound like you’re not coming back! -hugs -midnight cries -talk with Bakugou -shapeshifter butterfly -it’s a forced smile. “Forced” is the only way to describe it yet if feels like it isn’t enough. -new bunker at UA -limited air conditioning -pathfinder walks him through messing with his quirk -i got your letter -did you know them? They were good people -didn’t mean to be so harsh, people get hurt when you aren’t good enough -step outside briefly, the world is so much more vibrant without his quirk in the way -“it’s a tomb” “yeah. Let’s make sure it’s not yours” -obvious trap, he won’t be enough -need bait -all might about to be discharged -agrees to stay as the casualties of the trap will be sent to the same location -inko enters, told to wait for her son there -got stolen stuff back -izukus first all might toy -talk with all might, maybe izuku’s Dad, left around the time he was quirkless -I want to push him forward, but also want to shield him from the world -welcome to parenthood -asked for blood drawn

29. You Shoot It -dream of deer in the woods, all turn to look at him together, one missing a face -toga disguised as izuku’s mom, distract him long enough to ceil the doors -no sign of butterfly -concern -butterfly enters by bending the door, an army of bugs -Izuku watches from another room, he’s a last resort -toga tries to convince him to stop fighting, can’t -something off -tries to stab him, nothing -turn around -cut to Aizawa -Bakugou seizing, that’s not Deku -“suit up” -strangled -fight -Cementoss seals the door -upgraded -pain sharing, metal feathers, ribbon skin, black bone, fero blood, wing spears, teeth bombs, throw feathers, telekinesis, fire breath -attacks do nothing -it’s an illusion -turn around, butterfly strikes while looking at him reveals partially healed form, antlers Flee out the room, fighters overrun by cockroaches Erasure is his most powerful quirk Izuku flanks him and kicks him in the skull, blocked by antlers -antlers become bendy and grab him Butterfly tries to go for izuku’s eyes using mom’s quirk -other heroes quickly tossed aside -chase down izuku through the maze -fold hole in the wall -punch in the jaw, teeth explode -izuku nearly overpowered -held down completely -strangled

-Aizawa and the class rush to the entrance, blocked off -must be a fail safe, butterfly was meant to break in -break down the doors -what if butterfly manages to escape -mina’s acid, strong punching, laser, explosions Aoyama asks for braces or someone to hold him while he blasts the ground -anger he doesn’t have the right quirk -knows his is the only one that can disable butterfly -they have to take the risk

-held down completely, erasure flickers -Pathfinder hits him with a baton and tries to choke him, distracting him -only one eye -izuku breaks free with 100% -smashes Butterfly’s eyesocket with his knuckle -blood splashes in his face as he flees -scream behind him -arm strained, can’t tell if it’s broken -pathfinder’s fate unknown -brief visions, body swap quirk Realize butterfly has been holding back because he wants a healthy body Test how much

-aizawa run through the maze -find pathfinder -hear screaming

-leap though illusion and snap off one of butterfly’s wings -tear membrane with own feather, cut between broken bones -it tries to crawl back to him -illusion breaks, revealing deer skull -flee, openly crying, bleeding tears -lock hands, izuku breaks others fingers, -wings burst from his back, heroes hold back wings -powers through pain and dread Leaps up and smashes the floor to pieces -butterfly screaming at him Jump at each other -Spears izuku in the back Break through the ceiling -Aizawa erases his quirks -restored appearance fades, more decayed than ever -izuku kicks and breaks his neck

30. YU SHOOT ITT -izuku was fading -a round face, a thin face, green eyes both -something shiny bobbing in and out of sight -butterfly stream of conscious -reuse lines from before -senses izuku in the other room -force shared pain and empathy as he’s dying -izuku screams in agony -felt his stomach split again. A candle to a forest fire. Pathetic. “This is mine. This is me.” -shared perspective -why do you deserve to be happy and i don’t -you kill people, tired to get me to kill myself -but before, i didn’t do anything wrong -why did it all go so bad? -gets up, floats with his quirk -barely copies normal movement -Floats to the door -Aizawa stops him -hard to breath -feels his mom and all might comforting him -that’s really mom -force the connection harder -stop screaming i wanna hear what mom’s saying Aizawa cuts him off again, he cries Feels his bones sink -“do you think if I die in this world, I can still be with my mom?” -goes down struggling -“it’s not fair”

31. At Rest, At Last -izuku flatlines but is revived -undo the latches on his costume Taken back for surgery Sit in the hall and cry for hours -a defibrillator is for a different kind of heart attack -so that’s what it was? A heart attack? Doctor rushes by with an ice box Explain to aizawa that izuku flatlined -butterfly is dead, new despair -took his stomach for izuku -inko and all might go to see butterfly -inko wants to see him, takes a moment to recognize him -that’s her baby -screams -hugs and apologies -all might would have gone to stay with him -they both despair but are thankful for their son -“he was barely five years old, and he was ready to accept that his family didn’t want him.” -goes back to izuku -his hand is bigger than hers, when did that happen?

-final casualty count, pathfinder dead (?) along with several police officers -doctor recounts the autopsy -butterfly was dead on his feet, practically killed him -barely enough muscle to hold his own head up, let alone stand -“in my unprofessional opinion, this was a mercy killing.” -Aizawa looks at the body, that’s midoriya -Aizawa wants to try and bring him back with eri, Might not work, Might traumatize her -argue, all Might says he was too far gone, they wouldn’t be able to shield him from criminal charges, record like his would net him the death penalty anyway, stuck in a cage again, all that hate and fear in his heart left to fester in a padded cell for the rest of his life -thinks he would come after izuku again, what do you think that screaming was? He was trying to take him down with him. -not hurting anyone else, not hurting himself -“He said he wanted, more than anything, to rest/stop fighting/for the pain to stop, and now, he has.” -“Aizawa-kun. .. Please let him rest.” -Aizawa leaves before he can break down

-toshi looks over butterfly -“an innocent butterfly, drowned in mud and crushed under the boot of the world.” -not innocent, but he felt someone should be there to see him off -Apologizes -runs hand through his hair, shushes him even though he’ll be silent for quite a while -hesitant to leave him -that’s my boy... That could have been my boy -bodyswap lingers in his mind -kisses his hairline, touch of cold lingers -goes to wash his hands and face before returning to izuku -wakes up later -“he’s dead” “I know.”

32. All Those Moments -

-aizawa drives back to ua with midnight -she tries to joke with aoyama about makeup, he’s not having it -won’t go into details about butterfly -mic greats them at the gate, hug -comes back to dorms to welcome party “Midoriya’s villain is dead.” -they cheer -Bakugou pulls him aside to try and get answers -people who’s job it is to save lives should never celebrate the death of another human being, be relieved, be thankful, but do not celebrate -don’t cheer for death -cries while holding eri -mic and midnight ask him what’s wrong -he was just a Kid

-do you want to be buried or cremated, inko can’t stop thinking about that phrase -3 services in three days -mass wake for officers -izuku makes rounds, “your child/spouse/parent” saved my life -inko almost couldn’t get out of the car -izuku said he had to come -pathfinder funeral, mention the teens and neji -he saved my life, i want to be worthy -crematorium, limited service in his home town -service in jakku -speak briefly to stripes -ask to speak at the wake, doesn’t have the best luck with speeches -mom asks why, he didn’t really know him -Jakku heroes offer him a job, we’ll save you a spot says he never wants to come back here -pass a boarded up diner -I’m his mother, i should be here -never spoke with butterfly, never in the same room when he was alive -cold gripping horror at burying her own son -service ends in slow motion -no words exchanged -silent for the whole long drive home -dotes on izuku at home -not home, couldn’t bare the thought of sleeping where someone died -all might rented a place/or all might’s apartment -he carries around his all might and blankie -makes him food, watches tv -cuddle in her bed like when he was small -her sweet baby boy grew up to face unfathomable horror -wants to promise no one will hurt him again, they both know she can’t

-villain graveyard -“Izuku Midoriya, 16 years old, at rest at last tailored clothes around his wings, buried is his shoes -izuku goes to butterfly, stares His bones wouldn’t burn He suffered 16 years old, seventeen in a few months, he’ll grow. Live. Make sure he keeps living ⁃ Took midoriya to view the body before it was buried. Stared, said nothing -all might dusts of the grave, leaves a few flowers and food -still conflicted, butterfly was worse case scenario, uses it as motivation to protect his boy -he longs for some sign. Waits for some great vision that the boy is well in the end. A butterfly wing broken wings that still flies. One on the tombstone. It’s the dead of winter. Him coming to him in a dream, face full and bright and back bare of those fowl wings that shackled him to the earth, and promising him that he’s not in pain anymore. But it never comes. Butterfly died in agony, after years of torture, alone. -“Toshinori wasn’t a religious man, but he still hoped that, if something did become of young butterfly in the en`d, that he at least got to rest.” -he might be moving into the same new building as the Midoriyas -picks up Izuku from first therapy session, not much to say -you’re my boy aren’t you? -don’t want to say anything that makes him spiral further Do you remember what happened before this all started? -we talked about Superman, you said your name was inspired by all Star Superman -and... -rumors about being his son, “I don’t mind” -cry, hug and a kiss on top of his head -sixteen years old, he’s my son -return home -izuku stares out the window Take him to the tokoyaki stand Sit on the beach wall -cuddle like they did the night before butterfly attacked -izuku crawls up his sleeve and presses his forehead -yeah. Yeah you’re mine.

⁃ When Butterfly was around, he never had nightmares. Now that he’s dead, Izuku has nothing but. -izuku can’t sleep, -home doesn’t feel like home anymore -people died here, in this world, and the other one -has nightmares when he’s awake too, they’re memories -likes All Might’s thin arms, likes to be carried, better than those too big that held him like a pet while the bones in his back pulled away from the rest of his body. -checking himself in the mirror, scars on his chest fading fast, no evidence if he covers it up -asked the doctors to remove his scars when he went back to get his stitches out, just the ones from Butterfly, back to what he was before -regrets it -looked butterfly in the face, up close, in the eyes, and though: that’s not me. It can’t be -looks at himself now, his own face in the mirror, and thinks: that’s not me. It can’t be -too thick, skin to smooth, hand in his hair to search for antlers -I’m me, aren’t I? -text from friends, excited to have him back -compulsion to go outside, he does -it’s cold out without a shirt, starting to snow -I could just go -wants to run, from what? -doesn’t want to face the others How can he just go back to normal? -if i don’t say something now, i never will -wake up mom, I’m ready to talk about it now -sees all might in the kitchen again, mom too -visions of the other ones life

-Bakugou s body, swollen and broken -desperation to find a school that will take him -walk past the gates -sell blood -luxury apartment -All for one, first quirk are the cherub wings, small, but his -not the only one, testing multiple quirks, isn’t sure when he becomes the favorite -wings are painful coming in, all for one holds him -gave in eventually -can’t see all of the wings in the mirror, shine green in the light -lakies make fun of his failure, requests quirk to stop crying -creates copy of all for one -usj, something wrong, gets erasure -flees out the window, can’t get home, returns willingly -tested on with mutation quirks as punishment, cries when he discovers minor telekinesis -isn’t there for Kamino allegory, acts desperate to save Sensei, erases immortality quirk -tries to go home again, authorities mistake him for villain, programmed to attack -he finds Dad. Dad, who hadn’t so much as touched him in a decade, picks him up and holds him like its nothing. He kisses his head and calls him baby and tells him everything is going to be alright because he’s here now. And it was for a while. He fed him and bathed him. He sleeps tucked close to his chest like when he was little, even if the wings took up a lot of space. He has to comfort his father when he cries for mom, since he can’t cry anymore. He and takes him to the doctor. They don’t know how to help him. He says he wants everything but moms quirk to go. Dad doesn’t understand why he has it. He doesn’t listen. He never does. At least you aren’t quirkless anymore Steals dad’s quirk to teach him a lesson about being quirkless Dad only came back for mom. He said so. He was missing for over a year and only came back after mom went missing. He blames him. He burns off the tips of his wings. -they think he’s a villain -Kills mirio -trades quirks for money, later just food -chase anything related to mom -wanders to Jakku, ua goes there around this time of year and he saw an ad for a lodge that looked kind of like home -hears his own name -demands the bridge quirk guy trade him, had enough -kills. Jumps. Sees himself, up on a stage in a hero costume from his dreams, smiling among deafening cheers. And he shares his dread. -sees both of himself, locking eyes in the ambulance, round face, thin face, green eyes both, watching and feeling each other die

-run back inside -wake up mom and all might -i don’t think I’m me anymore -stuck with all this anger and hatred and fear -can’t tell the difference -all might says he feels guiltily instead of angry -but i am angry -writes as he talks -it’s like one glass of water being poured into another glass of water -hard to tell where the first ends and the second begins and you can’t separate them -did he take something from you -don’t know -“after all that, do you still think you made the right choice?” “Never came into question.” -has his whole life ahead of him -going to die eventually -takes out notebook -“Butterfly” crosses it out, rights his own name -lies between the two people who love him most -all might’s hand on his chest, holding him -other arm curling mini him to his chest -mom has his blankie -izuku has his all might plushie -tomorrow, he goes back to all his friends at the best hero school in the country -people like him, he has fans -almost too good to be true -this is all butterfly wanted -all i ever wanted -more than i could have ever asked for No one stalking me, no one chasing me -I’m home -do i deserve it though? -have to make decisions, could spiral -have to go back out into the world and keep living -for now, he let himself feel happy -the two sides agree to feel happy -“this is mine. This is me. And there’s nothing I can do about it.” -and for now, I’ll let it make me happy -this is mine, this is me -deep under guilty happiness, lies dread he knew could only come from himself. -this dread could only be his own. Maybe it was always. -it’s mine. It’s me. -whoever i am, I’m alive -no matter what i do, whoever i am, I’m me. I’m me.

#butterfly #long post #writing #behold the process #and yes #all of my outlines are like this

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nny11writes · 4 years ago

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Hello there. I was reading How to Quit You again and I have a question. What is in the reports on Catra that the Moons keep referencing? Maybe I just missed it in the fic cause my english is not very good. I was just curious.

So, uh, this got a LOT longer than I thought it would and then I started including pictures and basically this got wildly out of hand. Kind of like the fic itself, so I’m not sure what I was thinking lol.

You totally didn’t miss anything! I purposefully left it vague so that people could insert whatever they thought was appropriate (well, inappropriate in this case) there. Essentially to let people ramp things up or down more to their comfort. It was also done in part because back then I wasn’t sure how intense I wanted to make things either. This fic has honestly gotten darker and more mature than I ever thought it would, so leaving it vague has certainly been a benefit to my changing whims lol.

But these days I do have a solid idea for the things that went down. So what I know see happening there is mostly a lot of her mouth getting her in trouble (and not just mouthing off, god Catra wields words like surgical scalpels), but there are a few notable cases where she did physically attack others.

Catra is still in a bit of Horde mindset here so anything she perceives as someone trying to hold power over her or kick her down demands she respond. Because if you aren’t on top, then you’re getting crushed under someone’s boot and Catra has both 1. Long grown tired of being abused and 2. Gotten used to being the one on top. So she responds with more force than needed and uses preemptive strikes to protect herself.

We need a little backstory here so:

When the whole Erlandia thing went down, Catra was 2nd in command of the Horde. Technically Weaver was, but everyone knew that it was actually Catra calling the shots. She’d had Hordak’s favor for years by that point and practically was the boss of their little posse. But Hordak is VERY vicious in this fic since we didn’t have a Horde Prime when I started writing this (If I were to do a full re-write I’d make Prime be the big guy and the characterization would fit so damn well tbh), and he operates under a fuck you model of catch 22. If you mess up you are fucked, and if you are honest about messing up you are only barely mildly less fucked. So if you can successfully lie or deflect the blame then his wrath won’t fall on you, but get caught lying? Woof.

So either way is a great way to end up dead (RIP Mantenna I will release your death fic someday), and the higher up the chain of command you are the farther you have to fall.

(Picture below of the bridge near my hometown I was picturing Mantenna being hurled from in Catra’s place for reference, because I realized no one would understand my falling joke at this point :D)

(Catra had a long way to fall whenever Hordak decided to kick her down)

Once she saw her wanted posters Catra knew she had to flee Horde territory or else she would be captured and probably brutally tortured for weeks before finally dying. And the Horde, who had suffered under Catra’s relentless pace and high expectations (look, they certainly were 400% more efficient at first and then people start dropping for exhaustion and mutiny and worse), they would’ve loved the opportunity to do literally anything they wanted to her. That’s why she ran.

So Catra’s still somewhat in this mindset of “I’m running this operation and if you try to contradict me or undermine me I have full permission to kill you for it” those first few years in Etheria.

Some of the worst of her behavior was actually contained at the Archer’s house where she was living until she got the Brakeman job. (Bow is currently being a little fickle but I am writing from his PoV for another one shot in this AU where he’ll touch on these things a bit too.) By the time she gets that job, Catra is already starting to try and be a better person. Begrudgingly and with a lot of frustration for sure. But she is trying and it’s a painful growing process.

(Hello sir, like that train and view, this is Catra chapter 3 y’all)

So those reports contain her mostly being a smart ass.

But she also verbally eviscerates people, picking them apart piece by piece in public settings. She caused at least one mental breakdown on the tracks where people need to keep their heads for safety.

Think of her like someone on twitter who keeps the receipts (and wisely spends her limited time alive compiling them into a list) and jumps on someone for making a mistake, which she then blows out of proportion while never giving them the chance to learn and grow. All while making every bad faith interpretation she can and poisoning the well. She delights in this, she loves tearing someone down to nothing because it means she WON and she was right, and in the moment people seemed to cheer her on. But afterwards, when everyone else gets tied up in the shame and guilt of their actions she doesn’t and it puts her more on the outs.

The thing about this sort of behavior is that it’s hard to prove when it’s verbal and everyone else involved is too ashamed to admit they participated. So it’s more “hearsay” than anything else. Honestly, kind of like real life there’s a lot of people being told to suck it up, ignore her, or be the bigger person while she is being an outright bully. It’s not right, but it’s what happened.

On top of that, she lies and deflects and blames as well. Nothing can be her fault (because Hordak would’ve killed her, Weaver would’ve tortured her, and worse), so she is conniving and scheming and manages to twist everything so she’s never the root problem even when she is. The higher ups are usually doing their best to interpret what they are hearing (although not always) second or third hand, and Catra can dance verbal circles around her co-workers.

This doesn’t endear her to anyone either.

I hesitate to say as a consequence of her behavior, because that is some strong ass wording, but essentially her coworkers are fed up with being attacked by her. And they decide to get back at her, and they certainly can’t do that through talking or arguing (some have tried, almost all have failed). So a small group of them do physically attack her.

She uses that as justification to be a right bastard and decides to start doling it out again because it’s proof to her that she was right. She absolutely falls back into destructive, awful behavior. Everywhere is just like the Horde, they just hide it better. Catra doesn’t ramp up, but her attacks become more vicious and more directed after that. And this is also when she finally decides that the Archer’s were an anomaly and she absolutely needs to prove that no one can try to get the jump on her.

So the later reports are fewer in number, but more about her being caught or admitting to doing something physically violent instead of her being sarcastic or verbally cruel. These reports range from throwing a single punch to implying she’d attack with a weapon. Mostly it’s small scale (this is when we see Angella talk to Catra in a flashback), but there is one very notable exception.

Catra was working top with a motherfucker who had determined that no one liked her, so he thought he could try to push her around. They were literally assigned together because no one liked either of them, and they were both known for being violent. So the bosses went, “Let them duke it out on the trains, maybe calm them both down!” (Fucking idiots. Why yes, all this gunpowder should be stored next to the lit oil lamp!) She’s trying to keep it together, but she absolutely loses it and goes feral on him. This confrontation happens when she almost kills him by dangling him over the side of the train as they approached a tunnel. It could’ve been the perfect crime, brakeman is a dangerous fucking job for many reason but falling off the train or getting drunk and getting yourself killed isn’t uncommon.

(Think like the miners at Cerro Gordo who would ride the ore carts back up from town, and be so fucking drunk they’d stand up and get their heads knocked clean off their bodies.)

Catra really almost does it too, but the last time she thought she’d had the perfect crime with Weaver she’d been caught and everything fucking fell apart. So she yanks him back to safety, and tells him to fuck off.

Somehow she really thought that would be the end of it (she made her points, made him piss himself, and is now top dog again; good job girlboss), but bastard boy ran to the bosses to report her.

(Look, picture this train going through a slightly smaller tunnel rocking side to side, depending on the rail up to a foot either side, so you would get crushed if you weren’t laying down on top or clinging to the back of the train. You’d be terrified and report someone too.)

This is what Angella is warning Glimmer away over. She’s thinking about this instance, where Catra claims that they did get into a fight and admits to starting it but denies threatening to kill him. He claims that he did nothing wrong while everyone knows he does shit wrong on a regular schedule. And everyone else says, “Well we weren’t there but it sounds like something she’d do.”

Catra is careful to never go too far where it can be proven, and in town she is as polite as can be. Everyone knows she’s a hard worker and slowly but surely she makes a place for herself in the community without even noticing. Most of the folks she works with don’t have the time, money, or energy to build their own reputation as individuals. Company housing was built specifically because the workers were known as being too rowdy. But Catra will burn the candle from both ends to see Bow, Adora, and Glimmer. So Angella is hearing stories from folks in town about that “lovely young woman” and horror stories from the rails about that “hellish bitch”, and she doesn’t know which to believe.

She’s biased in Catra’s favor because she’s seen Catra be good and lovely, she’s biased because her daughter is crushing on Catra, she’s biased for a lot of reasons.

Angella is also a coward and conflict avoidant.

It’s easier to give excuses, or look for reasoning, or even twist the narrative so that she doesn’t have to confront anyone. She won’t have to confront Catra and hurt her, which would hurt Glimmer and Bow. She won’t have to confront her workers either, no need to face them down when they are furious with her for inaction. She doesn’t have to fear a fight or even put her reputation on the line as long as she can “prove” that Catra didn’t go as far as the reports say she does.

I love Angella to death, but the woman has a lot of problems and flaws and isn’t working on any of them. She does care about her workers health and happiness, but not enough to sacrifice her daughters (or herself). Frankly she barely sacrifices her pocket book but she does. Yes she’s semi-capitalist propaganda but this version of the “wild west” is more idealized for sure for sure. :\

Essentially, Catra got fucking lucky that Angella was looking for ways to prove that she was a good person. Because if Angella had actually put her glasses on and faced the truth? Catra would’ve been fired and practically run out of town.

Aaaaaaand that’s what I think was in the reports. :)

#Catra #Angella #Glimmer #glitra #How to Quit You #HtQY #she ra #spop #fanfiction #fanfic #meta #maybe?#backstory for sure #long post #like way longer than I expected #how did I spend almost an hour writing this?????#anyhow #PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT MY FANFICS I AM DYING TO SHARE #:D #thanks for the ask!#I really love diving into the whys of things and sharing this kind of information that /isn't/ needed for the fic to work #but like #fun to know #or #well #'fun' to know you know me and my 'fun' facts!#Anyways Catra did a fuck ton wrong and literally just got lucky enough to get away with it #Catra /also/ was actually being a better person and learning to be a good person #this is a classic not an excuse but explanation type thing #half the fic we see Catra from young Glimmer's VERY idealized point of view where she can do not wrong

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fiction-in-my-blood · 4 years ago

Text

Unexpected, To Say The Least (ObeyMe Fic)

Okaaayyyy so... this turned out differently than I wanted it to, but these types of things happen when you leave a wip in your drafts for months (╬▔皿▔)╯ but it’s still good. This is a part 1, so stay tuned.... depending on how long it takes me haha.. ha.

~~~~~~

Scribbling in a notebook, a red night light from the window right next her defining the flyaway strands of hair on the top of her head, Aviyah was blissfully unaware of the stares from her classmates. Resting her chin on her closed fist, one leg crossed over the other, black boots bobbing up and down to the tune she had stuck in her head. She was so calm, so much calmer than she had been in weeks.

Aviyah, a human in a world of demons and angels, had arrived in Devildom two months ago. At first, she was unnerved by the close attention she gained from all the demons, angels and the other human she met. Lord Diavolo, who had also taken a liking to her, ensured that it was just because she was a different species to them. She was weak, a helpless being compared to the Avatars of sin she was living with and angels of heaven she had some classes with. Demons fed off souls, and it was an angel’s job to protect those bright balls of light in each human, so it was only right that they kept a close eye on her. Especially when the future king himself had ordered the seven strongest brothers in all of Devildom to keep her safe for the duration of the exchange programme.

But it wasn’t that. Aviyah was sure of it. She had gained unworldly attention for her entire life. Boys seemed to bow at her feet, begging her to let them serve her each and every whim. Girls clung to her, wanting to be friends with such a kind-hearted, beautiful, smart person- and also wanting to meet her every demand. Aviyah, having been raised by good-willed parents, didn’t take advantage of this strange power she seemed to hold over everyone she met, although she did accept the odd gift from colleagues and classmates on that one special day a year, mainly because she didn’t want to be rude. She hardly asked for anything in public because it would cause quite a stir, everyone in the room darting around to take care of the task she had so graciously offered them. All she wanted was an item from the top shelf, but now she had twenty boxes of cereal that she really didn’t need.

She expected, being in a world of magic, spells, and potions that could kill or force someone to love you, that she would be safe from all the unneeded, and frankly unwanted, attention. Yet, lo and behold, the first day she arrived here, in a much colder climate than she was used to, both the Avatar of Greed and the Avatar of Envy threw their coats at her, only for her to get consumed by the jacket of the largest man she had ever seen, the Avatar of Gluttony. And she hadn’t even made a pact with them yet!

“I’m telling you, there’s something up with her.” A muttering came from the other side of the otherwise bustling classroom. It was just before their lesson would start, everyone was getting themselves ready to learn about different species of man, except for one group of, shockingly, demons and angels.

“Mammon, won’t you admit your true feelings?” The dark-toned angel smiled softly at the second-born brother. Truly, he felt an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of his stomach too, something he couldn’t even begin to describe, but would never admit it himself. He was sure it was something sinful, something against his very being, and would only confess when the time came.

“What feelings! I-I ain’t got no feelings.” A horrendously red blush appeared immediately on Mammon’s entire face, noticed by all those involved in this small huddle over a desk.

“You don’t even deserve her. You already get to spend so much time with her! It’s so unfair!” The purple-haired otaku tried to bite his lip, he really did, but the jealousy for his brother grew too high, bubbling over into the trait he most represented. Envy.

“That was only because Lucifer made me! I didn’t even wanna babysit that human!” Mammon barked back, not meaning the words but needing a distracted from the embarrassment he could still feel colouring his cheeks. The two butted heads often, but this time it was literal, immediately starting to throw punches to defend the one they held so dear. Several people tried to get between them, the male human even getting his own strike to the jaw, and all hell brought loose in- well- hell.

“Guys! Stop!” A higher-toned, feminine cry, although thick with command and low with anger, echoed over the room, every single one of the occupants freezing in an instance, even those that weren’t involved in this little scuffle- or under the young girl’s pact.

Crouching beside her male counterpart, who had been thrown to the ground by the force of being hit, was Aviyah, the one they had been fighting over. With one hand on Solomon’s back and the other holding his hand to keep him upright, she glared at the two that had been previously brawling in what was meant to be a safe place.

Aviyah rarely used her unknown power to command people. Or was it the pact? She couldn’t tell any more, but at least it worked.

“Are you alright, Solomon?” Disappointment turning to anxiousness etched in her expression, Aviyah let go of the sorcerer’s hand and back- once she could tell he could hold himself up-, only to move her’s close to his face, cocking her head to get a better look at the cut bleeding through his white-haired fringe. Being in such close proximity to the woman, and earning so much of her undivided attention, brought many hateful gazes to the man, but he didn’t care. He was thriving off it, in fact.

“What? Are you worried about me?” No better was the time to tease her, to see that eye roll she did so well and hear that exasperated sigh as she dropped her hands, all previous nurturing gone from her posture as she stood up.

“You just got punched in the face by a demon and still have the wherewithal to joke?” She muttered, wondering to herself if he was the one with supernatural abilities. Well, he did, he could use magic, but she wondered if he had his own special ability since birth. Could that have been the reason they were the two, out of the entire human race, to be chosen for this life-altering program?

Once she got to her feet, she turned to see Mammon and Leviathan, both with their heads lowered in shame. They had angered their... Goddess? Master? Friend? They didn’t know what to call her, having been the first two to make pacts with her, but there was this force, this unspoken voice that drew them to her and made them bow at her feet. Or want to, anyway.

Before Aviyah could even start to berate them for losing control like that, they had even transformed into the demon-forms, a stern voice cut through the entire scene. Students pinned themselves to the wall, trying to get as far from the fighting as possible, so they seemed to surround them like hawks, eagerly watching, waiting for the two to be punished by such a soft-spoken, angelic figure.

Now in the doorway, however, was a man. With black hair as dark as the most inner depths of Devildom, red eyes as angry as the fire that sprouted from them, and an expression that has killed in the past, the man glared at the two, not even wanting to look in the direction of the girl in case she too saw his wrath.

“You two. With me. Now.” The words were curt and entirely ineloquent, nothing like that eldest would usually speak, showing how deeply enraged he was. The two quickly scurried after him, for once keeping their mouths shut.

~~~~~~

Biting her lip, Aviyah couldn’t take her eyes off that door, now empty after Lucifer had guided his younger brothers away.

“It was me, wasn’t it?” She spoke loud enough for the people closest to her to hear, but a whisper full of regret did not go unnoticed.

“What do you mean, Avi?” Simeon stepped up to try and ease the look of worry that they all saw on her face, but she stepped away, afraid for anyone to even touch her. What if he, Simeon, the nicest, most modest person she had ever met, went into a jealous rage too?

“They were fighting over me, weren’t they?” Aviyah’s voice cracked as she clutched her fists at her sides, avoiding looking at anyone directly, scared it’ll put them under the curse she seemed to have. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to pull families apart. She just wanted to have no one know who she was.

“Avi,” Simeon uttered again, but it was too late. Aviyah had already made up her mind, collecting all her resolve in one solid sniff and running out of the room, hoping she could catch the brothers before something too bad happened.

~~~~~~

“What do you think you’re doing, having a fight like that in the middle of class? Do you think it will make you seem strong? Seem manly? Because it won’t! It only makes you seem needy.” Lucifer’s booming voice shook the paintings on the walls, giving Aviyah some clue as to where he had taken the two. She followed the shouts of pain and anger, running as more and more tears grew in her eyes. She didn’t want to do what she was about to do, but she needed to. She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. To get jealous. Not when it was all the people she actually cared about.

Finally, in an empty classroom where the shouts seemed the loudest, Aviyah found the door still open ajar, standing just out of sight so she could listen in, waiting for the right moment before anything too serious happened. If that hadn’t happened already, that is.

“You made a fool out of me! The student council! Not only that, but you made Aviyah look so defeated! I won’t let you argue like this anymore!” Lucifer raged on with a temper that rivalled Satan’s. “I may just have to claim her myself.”

The comment, although almost a whisper, shot everyone in hearing distance into full-blown madness, both Levi and Mammon charging at him, demanding how he thought he had the right to even suggest the idea. Before they could make contact with each other, Aviyah cried out, desperately begging them to just wait.

All attention on her now, as usual, the men’s eyes went wide. She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks at the sight of the brothers, who were always so comfortable with each other, usually so familiar, fighting like this? Over her? It broke her like it broke their relationship.

“I can’t do this anymore. I want to go home! I’m not happy and I never was! Please! Let me go home!” She lied, straight through her teeth. She had never been happier than living here, in Devildom, with all their brothers. She enjoyed her time listening to them bicker playfully, not like they were now. She enjoyed watching Levi play his games. She enjoyed eating with Beelzebub. She enjoyed reading books with Satan. Being dressed up by Asmo. Listening to Mammon’s wild get-rich-quick-schemes. Napping with Belphie. Even with Simeon and Solomon, who she didn’t get to see as often as the others. Luke was fun to cook with- even though he seemed a little apprehensive of her. She enjoyed all her time here but right now, in times like these, when it felt like everything was her fault.

“Avi, what’re you saying?” Mammon’s voice broke, between all the yelling and the way his heart broke at her tone and words, and his brows knitted together tightly. Levi froze up, not knowing what to say in response to her sudden outcry, and Lucifer felt like he could steal her away right here and now. Never before had he felt so out of control.

“I’m sorry, It’s all my fault. I need to leave, go home. I need to get out of your lives because- because I’ll ruin them.” She hiccupped, choking on the tears that clogged her throat, and she tried to hide how sad she was by holding her face in her hands. Her knees shook, her body- just as frail as they had always suspected. It took so much energy for her to say these words and not completely breakdown.

“N-No, it’s not your fault. W-We shouldn’t have be-been fighting.” Levi made a move to step closer, to wrap his arm around her, to help her feel better, but both Mammon and Lucifer shot him a glare so deadly it made the room cold.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about.” Aviyah continued to stutter through her words, her tears interrupting her usually melodic, smooth voice, as she felt the indignation in their eyes.

“This always happens. It was a mistake to choose me. I... I’m going to go to Diavolo now and tell him this was wrong.” She tried to steel herself, to seem strong enough to walk through these halls alone and leave Devildom for good, but it was no use. They could all see how distraught she was.

“Always happens?” Lucifer muttered, confusion written all over his features.

“There’s something inside me, there always has been. It makes people so hateful for one another and I can’t do that to you all. You’re a family, I won’t tear it apart. I-I need to...” Aviyah led off, not knowing what else to say. Memories of her past, all the friendships she had unknowingly, unwittingly, torn apart because of what? Because she was desirable? Because she was pretty and smart and kind? No amount of adoration was worth this. None of it.

The room was silent, deathly so, no one knew what to say. Have Levi and Mammon just ruined their chances to know such a wonderful person? And not just a person, but a human. Someone they were never meant to befriend. Someone that should fear them and hate them for who they were, for what they represented. But no, she showed them care and love and compassion, what they believed only a human could give.

So, with no one left to tell her no, to not go and stay with them because they needed her so badly it hurt, she started to turn back to the door.

“Wait, Aviyah. Just... Just wait.” Shockingly at a lost for words, Lucifer turned to his desk, where his D.D.D laid, and picked it up. Aviyah started to refuse him, to say this was the right thing to do, this was the only way they could live calm, happy lives, but he continued to use the communication device, calling together a meeting that would change everything.

~~~~~~

“Tell them what you told me,” Lucifer instructed in Lord Diavolo’s conference room, having called a meeting of the student council together. Everyone looked at him with suspicious gazes, having no real information on why they were here, Levi and Mammon stressing out like they were about to take the most important, most difficult tests in their lives.

“Lucifer, this isn’t going to cha-.”

“Just say it.” The words were demanding, but the tone was soft, very shocking for Lucifer- until it was for Aviyah. He always seemed to have a soft spot for her. Like Mammon. Although for different reasons.

Aviyah lowered her head, eyes still damp from her earlier confession, thinking about what she was about to say. After a brief but deep sigh, she lifted her gaze again, but only as far as the edge of the table she sat at.

“Since before I can remember, everyone I’ve met has... wanted me.” She bit her lip, not knowing how else to say it. It always felt like someone was trying to win her over, to win her as a price to show everyone else that they were the one she chose.

“No matter who it is, they say they love me or they’d do anything for me. And no matter how much I tell them to stop, they just get more outrageous. They give me elaborate gifts or take me places I wouldn’t normally go. They shower me in a love that I never asked for until they can’t anymore.” Aviyah’s voice cracked again, tears rolling down her cheeks again as she remembered the people that bankrupted themselves to win her over and the others that have lost their health, their friends, the ones who loved them, all to impress her in one way or another.

“No matter how many times I say I don’t need it, they’ll keep doing it. It’s not until I say I don’t want them or the things they give me that they stop. I thought it’d be different when I came here, but when you guys started fighting...” Aviyah finally worked up the courage to look up, gesturing in the direction of Levi and Mammon, who blushed when she made eye contact with the both of them.

“This is why we’re here? Because those two were acting childishly again?” Satan sighed to himself, upset that his reading time had been cut short. He wouldn’t even address the panicked feeling that arose in him when he heard the solemness of Aviyah’s tone.

“You’re almost as seductive as me, Avi! Aren’t you lucky to have so much in common with me? Someday you too might be able to bring down a country with your looks.” Asmo leaned into her, ignoring how saddened she seemed by the statment. The next move she made shocked everyone.

“I don’t want to do that! I want it to stop! I hate it and I hate myself for it!” She yelled after pushing Asmodeus so strongly off her he fell right out of his seat. Every time she brushed him off she had never actually been physical. Who was she, a human, to push off a demon? Better yet, how did she have the strength?

“Hey, did you see that?” A whispering demon mentioned to his brother, noticing the flicker of light that sparked in her eyes in her yelling. Even though her words broke their hearts, it was hard not to bring it up.

The outcry caused the prince, stern-faced compared to his usual jovial smirk, to peer at her closer. “I see. Lucifer, do you think she’s..?”

“Yes, I do. It would explain everyone’s... erratic behaviours around her.” Lucifer, not wanting the entire picture drawn out for her and his brothers, interrupted the prince. The information would be hard to hear, for Aviyah most of all, and an off-handed comment was not how he wanted to break the news to her.

“But where are her features? She’s an open-book, we would have seen something by now.” Satan, catching on, eyed her as suspiciously as he had Lucifer in the past, watching the tears roll down her cheeks as she tries to calm herself down. She never yelled like that and felt awful for what she did, but was too scared to even speak to anyone else, let alone touch or apologise to Asmo for her supposed violence.

“Would someone tell us what’s going on? I-I mean, Levi might be confused, is all.” Not wanting to seem idiotic for asking, Mammon jumped up before shying away again, not being able to cope with the girl’s silent crying.

“Avi, it’s okay. You didn’t hurt me.” Asmo, along with Beel, tried to be some sort of caring figure in the room of inquisitive stares.

When Beel tried to put a hand on her shoulder, she jumped away. “P-Please! Do-Don’t. I... I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s possible she hasn’t been... awoken yet.” Diavolo couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea. It would be just like the innocent human, if that’s what she truly was, to not have the necessary experiences she needed in life to prove their theory correct. Lucifer couldn’t help but blush.

“Awoken?” Aviyah’s voice, now somewhat tamed but hoarse from her crying, looked up at the prince. Had he an idea? Could he cure her? Could he take away this curse, gift, whatever it was? Could he end all this?

“Well, depending on your immediate ancestry, it’s possible your power needs to be... unlocked, in a way. It’s clear you’re no mere human. You even seduced dear Barbatos, and he never even blushes at my comments.” Diavolo laughed again, gesturing with his gaze to the corner of the room where his butler was clearly fitting the urge to comfort the girl. She quickly looked right back at the prince the moment she noticed this.

“If I’m not human, then what am I?”

“Well, my best guess would be a succubus, but seeing as you have more human features, you could be a cambion, a hybrid. We’d have to ask your mother.” Diavolo, as usual, was much too nonchalant with the subject of Aviyah’s supposed species, a topic that would and will change her life forever.

Silence filled the air for one.

Two.

Three.

“WHAT?” Four. They made it to four seconds of silence before Mammon stood up again, shrieking, along with the female in question. Succubi and the topic of hybrids had yet to be discussed in her classes, ironically that was today’s class, but she had a clue what they were from just hearsay.

“You think I’m a demon? But I grew up in the human world! I have human par- well the people that raised me were human... But I never felt the urge to have anything in excess or trick anyone into stealing their money- sorry Mammon- but how could I be a demon?” The tears were gone, replaced with a look of pure confusion that turned to utter disbelief with a hint of ‘what if’. What if he was right?

“The people that raised you? Don’t tell me you were...”

“Adopted. I have two dads who found me on their doorstep. I have no clue who my biological parents are.” The uneasy feeling that meant Diavolo could be right started to rise as Aviyah admitted a part of her past she had never told anyone. It seemed like everything was out in the air now.

“Perfect.”

“This is a problem. Succubi and Incubi have a duty to bring all demons back to Devildom in case they go rogue in the human world. This parent of yours will have some answering to do.” Lucifer, recovered from his bashfulness in an effort to act like the vice-president he was, got furious about someone disrespecting the laws Diavolo had put in place to protect the humans he seemed to so dearly care for. “Dumping you on some couples doorstep will require some serious consequences.”

The whole room shuddered at the idea of what punishments Lucifer was thinking up at this moment, but luckily someone thought to turn the conversation away from that.

“You say she needs to be awoken? I know one way of doing that, but I don’t know… prepared for that she will be.” Satan smirked a side-eyed look Aviyah’s way as she tried to process all this information. She was a demon, or half of one anyway. To think, all those crazy white mom’s at her elementary school were right.

“I’d be more than happy to volunteer in any way I can.” Asmo started to cosy up to Aviyah once again, making it very clear what the one way of awakening a demon seemed to be.

“No! No, that’s fine, Asmo! B-Besides, I’m not a virgin, so we’ll have to find some other way to awaken this power if you think that’s what I have.” Beetred and edging off her chair to make some distance between the flirt and herself, she almost didn’t hear the snickering from some of the other demons in the room.

“Oh, deary me.” Asmo tittered to himself, Satan covering his mouth to try and suppress the chuckle that threatened to leave his lips. He didn’t want to make the girl more embarrassed. Mammon joined in, although much louder, just to not feel left out, and Levi blushed furiously, but he knew exactly what everyone else seemed so excited about. As usual, Beel was too distracted by the food laid out by Barbatos to care what was going on now that Aviyah was no longer crying.

“Aviyah, I’m afraid to say it’s not the act of sex that awakens a demon… It’s the, uh.” Lucifer tried to inform her, he really did, but the stutter that threatened his usually composed manner halted him from doing so.

“You didn’t cum, did you, Avi?” Diavolo’s brows frowned sincerely, but the wavering of his lips told her he too was trying not to laugh. Aviyah’s cheeks blossomed darker, the embarrassment from her first time flashing through her mind once again and her face screwed up in embarrassment. For her, this situation couldn’t possibly get any worse.

“Your Highness, if you wouldn’t tease her so much, there is another way to awaken her demon form.” Barbatos, unexpectedly, intervened, shocking everyone in the room but Aviyah. He had always had a sweet spot for the huma- well, hybrid.

“Yes, yes, Barbatos, you are right. My most sincere apologies, Avi. Lucifer, we’ll come to the House of Lamentation tonight. Prepare the Grimoire.” And with that, Diavolo stood to leave.

“And why not now? Wouldn’t it be best to do this sooner than later so she can learn to control it better?” Satan scowled, earning his own from Lucifer for being so upfront. The prince only chuckled.

“I need to do some… investigating first. You, Satan, of all people, should know what is needed for the ritual.” Satan’s brows frowned suspiciously at the prince as he made his final departure.

“What does he mean, Satan?” Aviyah leaned into the demon’s side in order to get a clear answer for the first time today and Satan’s gaze finally left the door.

“He needs your progenitor. He’s going to find your mother or father.”

#obey me!#OBEY ME #Obey Me Levi #obey me satan #obey me mammon #obey me lucifer #obey me leviathan #obey me asmo #obey me asmodeus #Obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me barbatos #obey me diavolo #obey me solomon #obey me simeon #obey me fluff #obey me fanfic

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hitsuackerman · 4 years ago

Text

Unpredictable (Overhaul x Reader) pt.12

a/n: so... this has a special guest in the middle >:) i hope ya’ll like this~ i was thinking of a good character to add and i found the perfect one. but the character will only stay for probs 3 chapters or so :D

warnings: this cannot be read solo, crossover

Links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 13

Masterlist to my other fics: here :)

Overhaul’s waiting list: @jjk-biased @infinite-universe-love @dirtypride @blackymomo03 @azzie @purple-rabanito @meximorrita @awesomeee19

“Sit down.”

Now, if that were coming from the person whose face you had just seen you would have obeyed like a puppy waiting for a treat. However, the person inside the room with you carried zero sex appeal. Not an ounce of it. The way he tried to sound sexy was just revolting.

“I’d rather just stand.” You shrugged. “Make this quick. I still have other places to go to.”

“Oh.” He patted the sofa once more before making his way to his desk. “I think you’d want to sit down once I tell you some news.”

With the chief’s back facing you, your eyes rolled and defeatedly went to flop on the sofa. Leaning on to the back lazily. When his chair creaked and sunk, you gestured for him to proceed.

“Regarding the Fukuo Kai case, the meeting will be held 5 days from now, correct?” Your brows furrowed as you fixed your posture. Eyes squinting as to where he had heard that information. He placed his elbows on his desk and tilted his head. A smug look on his face. “Tsukauchi will be taking your place in the stake out.”

“And why is that?”

“You will be attending a meeting with me. The HPSC wants to talk about the arson case.”

“You’re meddling with my cases again.” You snapped. “But, if it pleases you. Okay. However, it won’t be me informing Overhaul.”

Watching as the chief stood up from his desk, he nodded and walked towards you. Filling the emptiness the sofa had to offer.

“It has come to my attention that you two seem rather...close. Rather alarming is it not?”

“Teamwork among the both of us has been going well. Nothing more to it.” What was this germ up to? Your brain couldn’t figure out what his motives were. “I’m being as cautious as I can be. He has not lashed out nor attempted to hurt me in any way unlike the previous people we had to work with.”

“Yet, the mere mention of his name makes you lower your guard down by a significant amount.” Once again, he put his arm behind your neck and squeezed your shoulder. The scent of roses he once had was now replaced with sweat and leather. “You’ve slackened a bit, baby doll.”

Holding on to his wrist, you twisted it as you stood up. Bending it at a weird angle, your eyes bore holes on to his face. The playful fire in his lit up even more. It made you think, did the other women in the precinct go through this? Subtly activating your quirk, you raised his blood pressure.

“You know I’m getting real tired of your shit…” You threatened him. Hand shaking with anger.

Your head snapped to the door when a knock filled the walls. Letting go of his wrist, he rubbed it but the smug look on his face did not falter. Straightening himself and gaining composure once more, he went towards his desk and told the person to enter.

“Right on time. Ms. (L/N), for the next two days, you will be pairing up again with one of the officers from the Kyoto precinct.” His face followed the person who now entered the office. “Mr. Ackerman, we hope you enjoy your stay here.”

You bit your tongue. Internally activating your quirk, you managed to control the blood travelling to your cheeks. You’ve heard about Mr. Ackerman. A few of your previous cases had you teaming up with him. One thing led to another but it was one of your most well kept secrets. One that not even the chief caught scent of.

How many years had it been? Three or four? The scenery was still fresh in your mind. His words that stung and broke you for months. Still, he was a gentleman. Not wanting to diminish the cooperation you two had, differences were set aside and apologies were exchanged. It ended on a rather better note than you had anticipated.

Of course, there was no denying that the sight of Levi still managed to increase the steady pacing of your heart.

“Ackerman.” You greeted him. Eyes focused on the chief. A useless attempt to read him.

“(L/N).” His voice was still the same. Enticing yet dead at the same time.

“Why don’t you two catch up?” The chief gestured for the both of you to leave the office. Hearing both your responses, he watched as Levi motioned for you to leave first and followed behind. Just as you were about to exit, he spoke up. “And, by the way, update Overhaul’s profile. Put in his name.”

Your eyes widened and jaw tightened. Slowly exhaling, you continued walking. When you heard the door closing, you began to feel around your clothes for any sort of mini-chip that he had planted on you. Not feeling anything, your thoughts replayed to all the touching he had done.

“Fuck…”

“Oi, brat. What’s wrong?” Levi asked.

“He fucking bugged me. Eavesdropped on an off the record scenario a while back.” Anger was now boiling in your blood. Not for the chief but for the fact that you failed in detecting his subtle schemes. No wonder he was all touchy this morning. When your eyes met his, his eyebrows shot up and you could see how he put two and two together.

“It’s been three years, he’s still doing those things to you?” The both of you were now walking towards your cubicle. Back when you were dating, Levi could see just how devious the chief was towards you. He may have threatened him once or twice, the scene before him only fused a died out wick. “You could have just told me, you know.”

“I know.” He had told you time and time again that you should watch your back when it came to the man inside the office. Yet you always brushed it off. Basically, you were now reaping the consequences of being ignorant. “You know I hate causing scenes.”

“Tch. Not a single change from you.” There it was. That smirk that made you weak. Pulling your chair for you, he waited for you to sit till he dragged the empty seat next to yours. “What do you have on the arson case?”

Taking out a file, you handed it over to him and gave him the details so far. He simply did the typical Levi gestures. Nodding his head with the occasional comments.

“I’m honestly at a dead end, but Tsukauchi managed to pick up a straw.” You showed him your schedule. “I’ll be meeting up with Endeavor in 4 days. I can keep you updated if you'd like."

"It's fine. I can stay till after the meeting." Typical. Work was always first when it came to him.

"Where are you staying? You can crash the guest room if you'd like."

"You sure? Gei isn't visiting tonight?" That flamboyant man had always amused him but he'd never tell. He did, after all, get a few phrases from the man himself.

"Nope. You're free to crash. It will require you to buy food." You smiled and that sealed the deal. Agreeing, he stood up to take his things from the lockers as you readied to leave the office.

Moments had passed and both of you were now in your car. Levi offered to drive so you gave him the keys.

"You still into (favorite food)?” He asked. Eyes searching for what food to have for dinner. You were the host so your wants came first.

“Nah. Ov-I’ve had it this afternoon. We can go with whatever you want.” You knew where he was going. He would go to Solive Garden. He was always a sucker for their salad and made from scratch soup. Your thoughts were right when he turned on the next corner. The green sign now within sight. Lucky enough, he saw a vacant lot and parked the car.

Meanwhile, the car parked opposite from yours had a rather different aura going on.

“Mimic.” Overhaul threatened the small creature sitting in the backseat. “You had one job and that was to order food from Niller Union.”

“It wasn’t my fault, boss!” He chirped. “They cancelled at the last minute. I already told them that the leader of the yakuza was the one ordering but they just ended the call.”

Massaging his temples, he could feel the hives starting to form due to rage at the small mishap. Somehow, he had found himself in the car with Chrono behind the wheel and Mimic strapped like a child in the back. Perhaps he just needed a change of scenery since he had no interest in demolishing the whole base tonight. Or so he thought.

“Hey… Isn’t that?” Chrono thought out loud to get Overhaul’s attention.

You had just exited your car, with Levi opening the door for you. Seeing how you were all smiles with another male was something he had not expected. More so when the other male was none other than Levi Ackerman. His golden orbs followed as the two of you walked side by side, entering the establishment.

Chrono simply watched his boss through his peripheral view. What would he do in this instance? It was hidden well but he could see Kai slowly appearing from the depths of Overhaul.

“Mimic. Get out of your suit and buy the meal.”

“Aw, c’mon! Just cause your jealous of that lady with Ackerwacker doesn’t mean you get to use me to spy on them.”

Boy, did Chrono wish he had popcorn.

“You caused this mess. Now get the hell out of that suit before I kill you inside this very car. THRICE.”

Incoherent cursing soon followed. Mimic was sporting his true form. Veins popping from anger. Slamming the door, he stomped towards the store before flipping the vehicle off. Now that the two of them were alone, he waited till Overhaul seemingly calmed down.

“They’re probably just teaming up for a case.” Chrono stated. He was secretly living for the moment. It wasn’t too often he’d see the boss in that state. In his mind, he knew that Kai would ask him to trail you till you reach your building.

“Then why the hell is that troublemaker driving her car, Kurono?” His inner thoughts were thinking of scenarios as to why you would spend time with Ackerwacker. That smile you showcased was something he barely got from you. And then we have this shortstack who got it from you effortlessly. “Follow her till she gets home.”

There it was.

“Isn’t she too preoccupied to date?” Conversations were still possible as of the moment. “I thought you were slowly advancing already.”

“She never stated she was single or not.” Not that it mattered. He would do whatever it takes to make you his. No one had ever fallen asleep on the phone with him, spoke to him so freely, or even sent a rather inviting selfie at 11pm. Furrowing his brows at his thoughts, he cleared his throat and let out a sigh. “Forget it. She’s merely a pawn that I can easily replace. Go back to base after this.”

‘He’s back.’ Chrono thought. That was the end of the conversation. But, that small gesture was a sign that he was internally fighting his consciousness. ‘Shit. This is going to be a long night.’

The doors slid open once more. Ackerw-Levi and you were making your way back to your car. You were holding the take out while he held onto the drinks. The two men inside the car watched as the unwanted man stretched out his hand to grab the food from your arms. The car was hella tinted but he could see the small blush growing on your cheek.

Once more, Chrono wished he had some popcorn.

They observed as Levi opened your car door and handed you the food. His jaw tightened and fists clenched when he saw him entering the driver’s side. He was too engrossed that he had not noticed Mimic entering the car. Struggling in the backseat due to his size. When your car revved to life, all 3 men watched as the car left.

Starting the car, Chrono knew his boss’ mind flipped into Kai. Taking his time, he slowly drove out of the establishment.

“Follow them, Kurono.”

- - - -

so... did ya’ll like today’s special guest? xD I love Levi Ackerman so I decided to just use him for the sake of drama huehuehue still :) if ya’ll have comments or questions, feel free to ask :D take care!

#overhaul x reader #overhaul #bnha overhaul #mha overhaul #chisaki kai x reader #bnha chisaki kai #mha chisaki kai #chisaki kai #levi ackerman is god tier and i love him so much #forgive me if i crossover'd for a bit #but it is levi so pls accept my apologies

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