#i. innocence & arrogance entwined ― ❪ musings. ❫ ❜ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

reynesofcastamere · 4 years ago

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Surface Breach(1/3)[β]

(A/N: Apologies for the longer-than-usual wait on this one. I went back and forth a LOT on which direction I wanted to take this in. and both the weather and irl things have not been cooperating with my muse. X_X. Anyway, the prompt for this was ‘Ahsoka completely breaking down and Maul comforting her’. Sequel to ‘Pressure Points’, so set about 2-3 years after ROTS with circumstances being closer to canon. Warnings for: Non-consensual abduction, emotional manipulation, possessive behaviour, intrusive thoughts, violent outbursts, violation of physical autonomy/boundaries, mentions of possible body modification/invasion of privacy, major character death and some internalized shame regarding sex and sexual practices. Once again, potentially triggering sections have been marked off with ‘****’. Unbeta’d.)

Ahsoka...drifts for an uncertain amount of time. She gets vague impressions of eating and performing other necessities as if through a thick haze. There’s a...person who helps her with these things. Someone with warm hands(which are very appreciated, wherever she is, it’s cold) and a low, pleasant voice that she could curl up and listen to for hours. Mostly she sleeps, deep and untroubled by nightmares or immediate concerns. When she comes to, there’s an overwhelming grogginess and a slight chemical tang on her tongue that she only gets from prolonged bacta treatment. Not full tank immersion, but there are a fair amount of patches stuck to her skin under the loose robe she’s currently wearing. Peeling them off carefully, she finds that most of the bruising and other marks that covered her body-like a tribute to poor decisions- are either gone or greatly reduced. And she doesn’t feel...sore in any tender places. Kind of a welcome change. Which now brings up the question of Where the kriff am I and how long have I been here?

Ahsoka catalogues her surroundings: Simple bed, storage unit, two doors presumably leading to a refresher and an outside corridor. It’s very...bare. Easily left behind or packed up. Whoever is staying here doesn’t plan to do so for long. She finds her lightsabres, clothes, and armour in the top drawer, and her boots placed neatly at the foot of the bed. Only when she is nearly finished getting dressed does she take out a long, even strip of black fabric. For a moment, she thinks that there must have been an error of some kind, until the memories of her most recent slip-up rush in like floodwater through a broken dam. There’s a hot, tight feeling in her gut that balances precariously between desire and shame. Maul has an obsessive personality. She knows this. So why am I encouraging this disaster by-Ahsoka can’t even finish the thought. It makes her sick. And so very angry. She’d made the mistake of seeking him out for something other than business, and he had flat-out abducted her. Any number of people or her objectives could be in danger right now. Her fingers fumble slightly on her wrist-comm as she checks it for tampering. Still functional. She’ll have to disassemble her equipment later, to ensure there aren’t any tracking chips or other unwelcome additions.

He might have embedded something in me while I was under. It rattles her, not remembering, not knowing what Maul could have done, given the opportunity. And he’s close. Even with apprehension curdling in her veins, she can tell that much. Slipping the blindfold into a pocket, she pulls her boots on and pauses for a moment in front of the door. So. Time to find out whether she’s a prisoner or a...’guest’. It opens seamlessly, and she almost gives a sigh of relief. Until she realizes that it leads directly into his office. Ahsoka steps through into a moderate, dimly-lit space. The glow from the screen of the datapad he’s perusing throws Maul’s left side into sharp relief. “Sit.” No need to guess whom he’s addressing, or that he expects to be obeyed. And as there are no other chairs in the room -besides the one he’s currently occupying-, her options are limited. She folds her arms and prepares to stand her ground, only to find herself pulled forward. There is a struggle, though the distance is so short that by the time she breaks out of his Force grip, she’s already right in front of him. Ever the image of arrogance, he sets the ��pad down, only now raking his gaze over her body. If it’s just to assess the state of her injuries, she might not mind. As much. Except this is Maul, so his motives are guaranteed to be awful at best and downright terrifying at worst. She takes the opportunity to loom over him, gripping the back of his chair with one hand. “You have one chance. Tell me why in the name of a Hutt’s karking diseased brood pouch you thought any of this was a good idea.” The odds are heavily in favour of him lying, or any facts being filtered through his...particular mindset. There is still a possibility that she can glean some scraps of truth from whatever pile of waste product he presents her with, though.

“You were incapacitated, and your stability is, shall we say...currently less than sound.” He answers, lazily resting the curve of his jaw against one set of knuckles as he sprawls. “I acted as I saw fit.” Even when appearing relaxed, Maul is still a coiled serpent. She can never forget that. “Although I am curious...What you might have done had you woken up alone.” “Gone back to work with a few new bruises.” Ahsoka retorts flatly. Which is true, minus some details. It might have at least given her more motivation to stay away from him; knowing with certainty that she is viewed as a plaything for him to use roughly and toss aside on a whim. If only.

“A poor deflection. Nevertheless...” Maul hooks two fingertips under her chin, pulling her oh-so-gradually towards him as he leans in close. The resulting kiss is unexpectedly gentle. She didn’t think he wanted... But he’s-this is-good. Not hurried or violent. She finds herself angling her head to get a bit more contact, tongue peeking out to tentatively flick at his lower lip. He purrs, and she feels...oddly pleased as the physical connection deepens. Their tongues entwine and slide in a tantalizing dance to the point where she hums. Ahsoka is dizzy from either a lack of oxygen or budding arousal when they pull apart, chest heaving slightly as she takes in some much-needed gulps of air. Still, there has to be a catch.

“Explain why I should allow you to leave, Ahsoka Tano.” Sometimes, she really dislikes being right.

“That’s not something you get to decide.” Ahsoka practically spits in retaliation.

“You ran.” Maul hisses. Like she’d had any other choice. It doesn’t matter if he’s gentle, fucking is just one more way for them to hurt one another. “And avoided direct contact for months only to slink back beaten and exhausted to the point of collapse. I have spent the last four days looking after a husk.” Ahsoka nearly hates the look in his eyes right now. Because he is so very good at pretending to truly care that she almost believes it.“Is martyrdom so much more appealing?” The Dark Side seems to slither over her as he purrs, deceptively pleasant even while it attempts to invade.

**** She sinks into his lap as he tugs her down, thighs parting instinctively under his touch. He fills the space between them with far too much ease. She refuses to urge him to get this over with, already. Bad enough that she wants anything from him in the first place, that trading pain, degradation and cruelty with a monster gets her off at all. Except that it does. Ahsoka had hoped at first that it was just the physical aspect; That finding someone who could bite and claw at her in the right way would satisfy this...twisted craving in her off-time. There had been satisfaction, and a few personal revelations, yet it wasn’t enough. “Rex and I buried the men you killed. So many more innocents are dead, dying or suffering under the syndicate.” Any mention of Satine Kryze or Adi Gallia sticks in her throat. She cannot bear to see his pride over those victims while he’s touching her. “You’ll betray everyone and everything for power or revenge.” What good has it done, pushing herself to the absolute brink to fulfill her duties, all but throwing herself into the arms of strangers? She’s still here, on the receiving end of that searing and inescapable gaze. “And you still don’t get why I can’t stand to look at you when you’re-” Finishing the sentence is impossible, both because she cannot bring herself to say the words and suddenly she cannot stand him, his presence, his touch, any of it.

“I should have just killed you then.” Her shoto is ignited and at his throat in the span of a heartbeat. Maul doesn’t retreat or let go, fingertips pressing bruises into her hips even as he half-bares his teeth in a silent snarl. Taking his head off would be right. The Rebellion needs his resources, not him. Criminals are easily manipulated, and Ahsoka will be free of these urges-The lightsabre is actually burning his skin now. He’s pressing into it, practically inviting-His eyes are-Her mouth is dry. Maul has always been a reminder of who she might have been, and what she might become if she ever loses herself. Everything comes crashing down on her at once, and the next thing she is truly aware of is that her weapon is deactivated and re-holstered, eyes leaking copious amounts of tears. **** He guides her hands to his chest, fingers automatically digging into the material of his vest once he lets go. Her face lowers to rest in the crook between neck and shoulder, breathing stuttered and wracked with quiet sobs while she trembles. Maul doesn’t embrace her. Merely...accommodates her current state of being. The pulse against her lips drops from frantic beats to a measured, steady rhythm. Ahsoka doesn’t want to be like him. Doesn’t want to go further down the path to becoming a desperate, selfish, manic person that would sit back and watch everything burn to ashes.

Her chest is full of broken transparisteel and every breath hurts. The tears are a deluge that take far too long to dry out, and when they do she wants nothing so much as to sleep again; curled around a warm body for comfort and safety. Obviously she can’t do that for a number of reasons, but it would still be nice to have the option. “Does this-” A light brush along her flank. “-mean I am forgiven?”

“No.”

“Good. What I am, my actions...They do not affect who you are, Ahsoka Tano.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Is it not? When the Empire falls, you still intend to bring me to whatever ‘justice’-” Maul scoffs. “-Your reborn Republic sees fit to mete out. Our alliance has always been one of convenience. Physical intimacy does not change that.” “What the Republic will do to you is the least of what you deserve.” Ahsoka states with firm conviction, raising her head to make eye contact once more. “And am I really supposed to believe you’re not going to try and twist this to your own benefit?” “No.” He replies simply, though she can see that eerie, devouring light in his eyes beginning to emerge. “You already know what it is I want from you. And it means nothing if you come to me unwilling and utterly broken.” “Hm. We’ll see how long that stance lasts.” Her response is justifiably skeptical. “I have work to do, so if you could point me in the direction of your hangar...”

“Of course.” Maul lists off directions as well as the model of ship she’ll be ‘borrowing’, her own presumably still hidden where she’d left it. “Close your eyes.” “What are you doing?” “Providing incentive. Return to my side when you are ready.” The pad of his thumb traces her lower lip sensually before he tries to close the remaining distance between their lips, only to have her lean away.

“If you want it that badly, you’ll have to catch me, next time.” She can practically feel the air crackle once the hushed provocation leaves her mouth. If she is to keep succumbing to these desires, it will be on her terms.

“It is not wise to tempt me when you are so close to freedom.” The rasp in his voice and the dilation of his pupils indicate that he is seconds away from pushing her down onto the desk and ravishing her senseless. The thrill of it is enough to make her grind down against him, once.

“Try it. We need to have a talk about boundaries anyway.” Ahsoka smiles, a challenge in her eyes as she loops and ties the blindfold around his left wrist before getting to her feet. “I’ll be in contact.” Maul actually lets her go when she walks away, this time. She feels...better. Not healed or whole, but better than she was. In any case, the work of toppling a tyrannical Empire waits for no one, and she has a lot to catch up on. (A/N: Ahsoka’s still planning to see a med-droid ASAP, since they haven’t had that discussion yet and it’s been thoroughly established that Maul is Bad With Boundaries. I’m sure that most of you can guess what the second part will involve. [I’m predictable that way, lol.] In any case, I will be trying to get my WIPs out sooner and my inbox is still open to all interested parties. Cheers, everyone!)

#maulsoka #recurring tag: Ahsoka needs all the hugs and therapy #(Maul needs the latter as well but good luck getting him there)

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anodyne-sunflower · 6 years ago

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Moment to spare-TheseusxReader (Req.)

A/N: Requested by @ourbrokenwings Thanks for the Theseus request, in spite of your neutrality towards him lol 😂

MOOD MUSIC: Heeheehaheho by Mamamoo

***

Life was a never ending circle of work for a man like Theseus, and you had learned to respect his career path. You were proud of him, of course, but there were certain moments that reached out and made you realize there needed to be a little more time placed into the smaller things. Like say, a nice short break together, or even a simple split second to kiss your lover and tell him you couldn’t wait to go home for the day.

“Ah, Theseus-“ You held a finger up, attempting to gain his attention the moment he walked by the Auror offices. His head was settled down, eyes scanning the pages of a report that apparently held some fantastic information, because the man could barely tear his eyes away.

“Just a moment, my dear.” Theseus swept by you, softly reading aloud the details as he traversed the maze of the cubicles and people scattered around. You had to admire his skill of multitasking, but your focus was spent on racing after him, apologizing to others for your clumsy attempt to mimic his graceful movements.

“Theseus, wait.” He easily slipped through the doorway, still captivated by his work. You almost loathed him for being so tall and taking those long strides, knowing you would barely manage to catch up to him. Luckily for you, he finally stopped, shifting the file closed and glancing back over his shoulder the second he arrived at his personal office.

“Love, you look particularly flustered...” Charming as your tuckered out appearance was, he felt a sliver of sympathy for you. Of course, he was actually busy working, but there was always a spare wink of time he could lend to teasing you along. “Care for a rest?” He gestured inside his office, tilting his head to beckon you in with a small laugh. You were throwing him that irritated gaze he adored so much, the one that spelt his doom and yet he knew nothing would ever come of the silent threat.

“You’re impossible, Scamander.”

“Hm. So I’ve heard.” He gently placed a hand on your lower back, shoving you inside and closing his door behind you both. He didn’t waste time to take a seat at his desk, sighing happily at the brief relaxation he felt. Today seemed an endless loop of files and detainments, but he was grateful all the work from the last few months was officially coming to an end. “Any good news from Travers?”

You could’ve scoffed a thousand times over. “When is he ever spewing out good news?” That earned a chuckle from the Auror, his fingertips working at his temples in a lame attempt to relieve the headache he’d been having.

“One can hope.”

“Are you alright?” You laid down your paperwork atop his desk, moving around it so you could gain some advantage and aid him in his recovery. He brushed you off at first, not wanting you to worry or fuss over him. It wasn’t a rare occurrence, after all, and he was often in between cases so much that stress was a mere occupational hazard by this point.

“It’s just a headache, love. Nothing more.”

The nerve of him, always thinking he could play down his troubles just to placate you. “Nice try.” You stood in front of Theseus, your scowl only amusing him the deeper the annoyance behind it went. “Here. Let me.”

“Darling, it’s fine, really.” He wasn’t opposed to the comfort of your touch, but he truly didn’t enjoy causing you concern. “It’ll pass.”

“Alright, Scamander. You have two options, then. Let me help you, or have me be worried the entire day. Dealer’s choice.”

Theseus released a defeated sigh, holding his hands up in surrender towards you.

“Fair enough.”

The Auror could be such a stubborn man sometimes, but you supposed that was another reason he was able to charm you so easily. “Smart choice.” You moved closer to him, taking the lead and straddling his lap as you took a seat in his chair as well. The position was suggestive in nature, even if you were only taking his place and massaging the pulsing pains away from his head. However, Theseus decided it could be more than that, and the innocence of your help became corrupted under his now seductive gaze.

“Now,” He snaked his arms around your waist, looking up at your concentrated features adoringly while he pulled you closer. “Is this why you were truly chasing after me?”

You could feel the pressure of his hands splayed along your back, the warmth coming from them subduing you into a sweet sense of pleasure. How he so smoothly led you to these intimate affairs was beyond your grasp, but you were impressed by it. “Yes. I only wanted to get you alone and have my way with you in the confines of your office. Does that sound like me?” You lovingly swept your fingers along his forehead, rubbing gently and only taking a break when he swiftly leaned forward for a kiss. His lips brushed yours fondly, giving you just a taste of what this respite could offer.

“It does sound like you, love.” Theseus raised his brow at you, reminding you of the few times you both had abused his office hours for your own blissful gains.

“That was different!” You exclaimed, trying to move the conversation back to a subject that didn’t involve the Auror teasing you for the rest of your days.

“How so?” He swept one palm down, fingertips caressing lazy circles into the small of your lower back. There was a momentary pause between your words, the effects of his touch already taking hold of you. He absolutely thrived on those occasions, noting every fine detail of how you exhaled or shifted above him in your pursuit to prove he held no influence over you.

“Well, our intentions were pretty clear those other times, and now-“

“And now?” Theseus leaned closer, taking advantage of the proximity and bringing you into a short but fiery kiss that would leave you breathless for more.

“And now, I-“ Your lips were lured in by the heat of his own, eyes drifting shut for a good minute while he made his intentions perfectly clear for you.

“You are far too tempting when you’re aroused and speechless.” He mused, arm embracing you closer until you were flush against his body.

“That was unfair.” It came out needier than you anticipated, but how were you to remain at ease when he had just kissed you so passionately it left your entire body wanting. “You pretend to be too busy for me then trap me in your office to seduce me.”

“Come now, my intent wasn’t that malicious.” He laid his hand on your thigh, gradually leading it higher before it came to rest dangerously close to your center. “Besides, you followed me, remember?”

He wasn’t wrong there. Initially you had only wanted a moment with him to relax. Somewhere along your run from the offices to his, that idea changed into something more private. “That’s fair. Perhaps, next time we should simply come up with a word to alert the other.” It was meant as a joke, but the way he looked at you spoke volumes of his intrigue.

“Now there’s a resourceful idea.”

“So, what will it be then? Scamander?” You knew he had a fixation with the way you said his name. There was just something entwined in the syllables of it that riled the Auror up. It even worked now, a soft hum of approval coming from him as he kissed along your neck.

“Much as I like that, it’ll just make me think of you any time someone has the nerve to get my attention. I hardly need to be aroused in a meeting.”

You laughed at the image of that, knowing how irritated he’d get if he had to sit through one and endure it without you. “True. Alright, then...” Words slipped by your mind, each one being denied until you remembered what the Americans referred to their significant others as. It had been a while since you visited MACUSA, but you recalled overhearing the women there in their gossip. “How about Daddy?”

“Daddy, is it?” You could see the endearment amused him, possibly far greater than either of you expected it to. His eyebrows raised momentarily, lips pursed as he considered it carefully. However, Theseus didn’t shy away from the way it rolled off your tongue. In fact, he appeared to marinate on it, a slow grin stretching on his lips the more the word hung in the air. “Say it again.” He demanded, a provocative glint to his eyes. Testing just how far you’d go to please him.

“I-“ There was a bit of confidence bursting through before, but having him await such a request made you nervous. Theseus did enjoy toying with you every now and then, if only to watch you squirm and blush like a fool. The Auror was kind and romantic, but he was also arrogant if given the chance.

“Aw.” Theseus reached up, fingertips stroking the edge of your jaw with a playful smile. “Gone shy, have we?”

“No, I just-“

“Then say it.” He was provoking you on, gripping your chin steadily, and leading you closer to his lips.

“You like it, then?” You felt his breath across your pout, the sensation making you whimper gently in need of more.

“I’m warming up to it.”

***

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#theseus scamander fanfic #theseus scamander #theseus x you #theseus x reader #theseus scamander x you #theseus scamander x reader #theseus scamander x y/n #theseus scamander imagine #callum turner

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unfocused-overwriter · 5 years ago

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Song ask: My Mistakes Were Made For You by The Last Shadow Puppets (Alex Truner's voice is my muse)

Thanks for the ask!

Ooh, not gonna lie it took me a few listenings to get the lyrics, but I think that would fit pretty well if you picture that the singer is Aldan, “she” is Dereneia and “you” is Lith. It covers the complexities of their triangle pretty well.

My mistakes were made for you

is about how Aldan does genuinely awful stuff, to Lith, notably by driving Neia away from him, but in his weirdly wrapped mind, he’s doing him a favor.

And its the fame that put words in her mouth

She couldn't help, but spit ‘em out

Innocence and arrogance entwined

In the filthiest of minds

is a perfect description of Dereneia in Aldan’s POV. She is very innocent but at the same time ambitious and proud. He does see the innocence, but he thinks that overall, if you should weigh good and evil in her she’s not a good person. But he’s also projecting a little a lot. Mostly because if Neia is evil, then it’s is good of him to seduce her away from Lith, to protect him.

I hope I’m making sense ^^”

youtube

#also hashtag not my work but it totally fits Yennefer too imo #in a different way though #reply stuff #Allastra story

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merryfortune · 6 years ago

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Wind-Up Toy

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Ship: Yusaku/Jin

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Angst, Canon-Typical Depictions of Trauma, Bad Ending AU

Synopsis: Playmaker loses to Lightning and Lightning erases him. The consequences are unforeseen.

Playmaker – no, Yusaku – opened his eyes.

He was alive. But he didn’t feel it. He didn’t feel dead either and he thought that he was quite accustomed to such a feeling, but this wasn’t it either. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t blinking, and he couldn’t feel his fingers.

But he could still see. He could still think and articulate thoughts. He couldn’t speak them. He tried to move his head, so he could gauge his surroundings better but alas, he was robbed of such a privilege in this state. Whatever that state may be. So, he had to understand from what he could see and from what he could see, he could not understand.

It was white. Pure white. A brilliant and blinding white which was harsh on the eyes, but he couldn’t squint so he could fair it better. He didn’t know where he was, but he was on the floor. He felt like he was sitting, legs sprawled apart and arms by his side; like a porcelain doll on a shelf.

He sifted through his memories and immediately, a great sorrow pierced his heart like the edge of a blade. A specific blade. Yusaku could vividly recall the blade which had hurt him. It had belonged to Armatos Legio Legatus Legionis, Lightning’s ace monster and the realisation caused him to crash.

His mind blanked. His eyes widened but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t writhe in pain as phantom electricity bolted through his body, through his veins and he couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t rationalise it as the echoes of memories from a decade past. They felt fresh and real, even though he knew otherwise but he couldn’t bring his body to behave as such.

Yusaku wanted so dearly and desperately to open his mouth and scream in agony but he couldn’t. His suffering was all contained to the realm of his mind and behind closed lips in an unbreathing body.

He was supposed to be dead. That wasn’t even a hyperbole borne of his trauma. That was a fact. Lightning was supposed to have killed him because he had lost the duel. Yusaku’s mind flashed to the thoughts of his comrades – Soulburner, Blue Maiden, Ghost Girl, Ai, Flame, Aqua, Kusanagi – where were they?

Were they…?

Yusaku could not bring himself to think such thoughts. They choked out before they could even finish themselves. He could feel his eyes brimming with tears – hot, sorrowful – and yet he could not cry. They wouldn’t well up and streak down his unfeeling face. Instead, he had to stew with these emotions so desperate to escape him.

“Oh? You’re awake. Good.”

A cold voice pierced the room and in a blink of yellow light, Jin appeared before him and his arm bore Lightning. He stood tall and arrogant despite his diminutive size and cartoonish appearance as an Ignis. As they approached, the whiteness which had encapsulated him dropped. Like a curtain, unveiling a façade and Yusaku was shown the truth of where he was. Lightning’s hideout. The castle. His chest tightened as he realised what he was. Captured. A prisoner of war.

“I have decided that I have use for the Origins… well, most of them. With Earth dead, I see no use in collecting his – not to mention, his happens to be allied with the Knights of Hanoi and that does not suit me.” Lightning said.

Yusaku listened. His eyes sharp and he tried to project all his scathing hatred outwards. He intended to externalise all the rage inside of him, but his expression was emotionless. His mouth was stern and his brow level.

“I have decided that in order to have the rest of the Ignis oblige my will, I will use their Origins as a bargaining chip. After all, Ai, Flame, Aqua are… unnaturally attached to theirs. I don’t understand; they want to be together forever, and I am providing a method to such a goal, and yet? They reject me.”

Yusaku wanted to cry out. He wanted to ask questions and make his voice known but he possessed no such ability within him. And he was drawing closer and closer to the void that Jin was no doubt within. After all, this was the torment he was enduring and had endured for so long. He wished he could have done things quicker or better, but he couldn’t see any hope in hindsight.

“You know, I see point in collecting remnants of the past.” Lightning mused. “Perhaps this solution to that problem is better. After all, when humans are annihilated, we ought to honour the six who had birthed us. Doctor Kogami may have created us but you… our Origins… are so much truer than he as our creator.”

Lightning paused and stared up at Jin. His eyes squinted.

“He’s happy, you know.” Lightning commented. “He’s happy to be my servant. This is an increase of quality of life for him, actually. No pain, no memories, no obligation to reply to questions which regardless of intention, however good, were always rhetorical, no annoyances from the uncaring, outside world – he’s truly at peace.”

Yusaku, again, wanted to scream out. That had to be wrong. That was Kusanagi that Lightning was talking about. He had no doubt in his mind that Lightning was turning implications unto Kusanagi, Jin’s kind older brother who had taken him in as well. Those had to be lies. Surely Jin, who Kusanagi described as sweet and gentle, did not hold such cruel despair in his heart that he would forsake even his brother who had laboured to give him as much love as he could in the aftermath of the Lost Incident and wanted nothing more than to see him heal?

His eyes watered, and his mouth was dry. His throat was hoarse and yet, the rest of him was so unfeeling and uncaring and numb that Yusaku could barely feel like he was attached to a body at all. His heart wrenched.

“And he is even happier now that he can have a human companion in his bliss.” Lightning continued.

Yusaku’s head reeled. Human companion? Bliss?

“He gets lonely with just us and the other AIs. But, make no mistake, my choice of collecting you, Origin of the Dark Ignis, and the others is not for affection for my own Origin. It is a benefit, perhaps, but not an intention.” Lightning said.

Lightning stepped off of Jin’s Duel Disc. He then walked, unnaturally so, up Jin’s arm and at angles which were impossible. He was eerie in his movements, however fine-tuned and straight-backed they were. He arrived upon Jin’s shoulder and looked away.

“Unfortunately, I must keep you two here. I have other arrangements that need to be made.” Lightning said, and he snapped his fingers.

In a dash of light, Bohman and Haru made themselves known.

“Bohman, Haru? I will accompany you both without Jin. I need to wean myself of these humans lest I become too reliant on them, but I have tasks for you both and we have inspections that need to be made.”

“Understood.” Haru chirruped.

Bohman nodded. He silently offered his arm and Lightning made the switch. He found a new podium upon Bohman’s Duel Disc and from there, he would lord over his precious humans in his collection. Haru glanced over his shoulder at Yusaku and smiled an insidious smile before he, and the others, pardoned themselves and left in another brink of light.

Yusaku feared that the world would become white again, but it did not. Instead, he was still left on the floor and with Jin who staggered towards him. His movements weren’t as controlled now that Lighting had left him. It was like watching a wind-up toy take jagged steps towards him and eventually, he had no energy left. He crashed onto Yusaku. It was as though he were unable to maintain his own weight upon his feet.

He went head first against Yusaku and both of them moved. Not in pain, just in physics. Inertia. Jin’s movements were like a crash-test dummy in real time. Yusaku was just reacting as his body was pushed by outside forces. They became entwined. Almost in farce of an embrace. And Yusaku’s head was pushed downwards by what remained of the force Jin had enacted upon him and he looked down on Jin.

His hand was on his chest. His eyes were closed, like he was sleeping, and there was a faint expression. He looked like he was content. The slightest curve upon his otherwise straight lips. Maybe it was true…? What if it was true…?

Was it possible that at least some of this was Jin’s doing? That perhaps he was not the bastion of innocence that Kusanagi, and Yusaku, thought he was. That perhaps he wanted to live like a toy on the ground, played with and made to be played with by others. The thought sickened Yusaku from deep within his soul, as clipped and clamped as it had become in the wake of his loss to Lightning.

Yusaku begged and pleaded that it wasn’t true. This wasn’t how he wanted to live. This wasn’t how he wanted Jin to live. If this could be living at all. They were just members of a collection – others to come – and so much of them had been erased. He wished he could feel his heart beat once more in chest. He wished that he could feel again with his hands.

And then Yusaku noticed what he was wearing. Jin obscured most of it, but he could still see the fabric beneath him. Yusaku was still wearing his Playmaker catsuit, but it had been changed severely. The colours to the white, violet, and yellow and motifs added: the four-pointed spark. Lightning’s insignia.

Thus, he really was just another thing to be collected. Another toy or doll to be had for Lightning to use and abuse whilst Jin preciously watched on, possibly approving of it all in his empty head. And, Yusaku feared, it would be like that for all eternity since he was a prisoner of artificial intelligence: the inheritor of the world.

#writing tag #daybreakshipping #yugioh vrains #vrains #yugioh #yusaku fujiki #jin kusanagi #lightning (vrains)#someone had to do this au and i wanted to do it first #inspired by the al.ice c.oop.er song #<- censored so it doesn't show up in the tag bc i feel like c/oop/er fans won't want my weird ass ygo fanfic in their tag #i'll probably post this to dreamwidth and ff.net later #i won't be posting it to ao3 until i've posted my rev//olver/bl///oodshep///herd fic #long post

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