#imprisoned series

[trektown]

why they lock him up. free my boy

[wojakgallery]

Title/Name: Soy Boy must watch Squirrel making almond butter Wojak Series:  Soyjak (Variants), Animal (Variant) Image submission by: wrenchwenches on Tumblr Image by: Unknown Main Tag: Soyjak Wojak

[another-lost-mc]

Pet

When the demon brothers put you in harm's way, Barbatos steps in to save you, whether you want him to or not.

BARBATOS & gn!Reader 1.4k words | NSFW | Yandere Barbatos | Forced Imprisonment Content warnings: Yandere thoughts/behaviours, memory flashbacks, forced imprisonment, mentions of starvation/forced feeding, mentions of animal cruelty/death, minor mentions of blood, Stockholm Syndrome. A/N: Without giving too much away, their relationship is platonic in this installment. Please read the content warnings before continuing. The Creepy Castle AU [Part 3] PREVIOUS

Barbatos waits for his young master to settle into bed for the evening, and then he heads to the kitchen. The castle is quiet this time of night and he doesn’t worry about being observed. He hums quietly when he sets a tray on the countertop and begins preparing a late snack for you. 

Your appetite still isn’t what it used to be, and you can’t stomach the rich foods he would normally make for you. It doesn’t take long to heat up a piece of dry toast, and he puts a handful of plump, purple hellberries into a small bowl. Once he’s satisfied, he leaves the kitchen with the tray. He can’t help but smile - you used to be so stubborn about eating before.

When Barbatos first brought you to his room, you refused to eat everything he offered you. He knew you must be starved by now - it’s been far too long since you last ate something. You weren’t tempted by the food he gave you, or the desperate bargains he tried to make with you to get you to eat.

Barbatos did what he needed to do, and he frowned when you squirmed in his hold. “I don’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice,” he reminded you when he finally forced your mouth open to feed you himself.

“I promised to take care of you. I’m all that you have now.” He shushed you when you sputtered awkwardly and liquid dripped from the corners of your mouth.

After he fed you, he made sure you were cleaned up and kept warm. He held you close to his chest until you stopped trembling. He hoped you found his heartbeat against your ear comforting. “I’ll bring you something to eat tomorrow, so please try not to be stubborn. I don’t want to force you again - but I will, if I must.”

When Barbatos slips into his room and locks the door behind him, he sets the tray on his nightstand. He’s excited to see you after a long day by the prince’s side. Sometimes he’s able to find a few spare minutes to sneak away and see you, but most days he’s simply too busy and can’t leave his post. You occupy his thoughts when he’s not with you.

You’re still fast asleep when he checks on you. You’re buried under the plush bedding he purchased specially for you. He hides you in a dark, secluded part of his room where no one would dare think to search for you. He even modified the space with magic to make it larger and more comfortable.

You must sense his presence because you stir and blink sleepily, looking around in a daze before you realize he’s kneeling beside you. He offers his hand to help lift you out of your bed, and you greet him happily. Barbatos believes you trust him now, finally. It didn’t always used to be this way.

Barbatos flinched when you bit him. He expected some resistance from you, perhaps some anger while you adjusted to your new living conditions, but you never tried to hurt him before. 

He was livid.

“You take for granted everything I’ve done for you,” he hissed, and you cowered away from him. He wasn’t yelling, but his tone was sharp and deadly; his eyes flashed with a hint of violence. “I’ve changed parts of myself to accommodate you, because I wanted to help you.”

He glanced away, convincing no one that he was unaffected by your rejection. “Perhaps some time apart will remind you not to bite the hand that feeds you.”

In the days since that incident, Barbatos was true to his word and avoided you. He brought you food like clockwork - you started eating on your own, thankfully - but he barely spared you a glance when he left the dish by your side.

He left you as quickly as he came, and he refused to acknowledge you or speak to you. He shrunk your living quarters so they were even smaller than before, barely giving you room to move about freely, and he left you shrouded in darkness.

You were used to listening to him talk about his day, usually while he held you in his bed in the late hours of the evening. This new, unusual silence hurt you. You missed the warm candlelight of his room, and his soft voice and gentle touches. You missed him, but you didn’t know how to tell him.

Barbatos became increasingly distracted as the tension with you weighed heavily on his mind. He had no doubt what he was doing was the best for you. He didn’t want to punish you like this. He only wanted you to understand that he was trying to care for you the best he could. He knew it was worth it. He cared about you, and he hoped one day you would care for him too.

He must’ve been so distraught over you that his mask of indifference cracked. One afternoon, Diavolo sensed something was bothering him and took pity on his friend. Barbatos was dismissed earlier than normal from his duties. He wasn’t used to having this much spare time, and he didn’t want to waste this chance. It was nearly two weeks ago when you hurt him - perhaps you would be more reasonable now.

Barbatos went straight to his private quarters, but he sensed something was wrong as soon as he entered the room. He heard the rat before he saw it; it was making quiet, snarling sounds as it approached the dark corner where Barbatos kept you.

Instinct took over, and the disgusting creature didn't stand a chance. He was only grateful that you didn’t have to watch what happened next. He cleaned the blood off himself and the floor before he checked on you.

He visibly sighed in relief when he realized you were startled but otherwise unharmed. You shook with fear in the corner of your bed. Perhaps you weren’t very fond of rats either. 

“It’s gone now,” he promised quietly, eyes suddenly blurry with tears. All his anger and frustration melted away when he realized nothing else mattered except that you were safe. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner. I’m sorry for everything.”

When he offered you his hand again, you didn’t hesitate to accept him.

Barbatos watches you eat and sets aside the leftovers once you're finished. He lays on his bed and settles against his pillows. He lifts you to his chest so you can rest against him.

Even he has to admit that this arrangement was uncomfortable at first, and more than a little bit strange. When he looks at you now, safe and happy with him in the quiet sanctuary he’s built for you, he’s sure now he made the right choice to bring you here.

It’s only by a stroke of luck that he’s the one that found you. The accident happened nearly two months ago. He knew he couldn’t trust your safety to Lucifer and his brothers - not when they’re the ones that got you into this mess to begin with.

Barbatos is gentle when he strokes you, and he watches you fall asleep. You’re so delicate.

“Oi, what was that for, Levi?!”

“You haven’t paid me back the money you owe me!”

You were putting alchemy supplies back on the shelf in the potions lab when you heard the demon brothers arguing nearby. You’re not sure who knocked into you from behind, but you grunted from the force and lost your balance. You stumbled forward and banged into one of the storage shelves. When you regained your bearings, you looked up just in time to see the bottles of strange liquids and substances rock haphazardly before they fell towards you.

A booming explosion rocked the floor, and your demon friends rushed towards the cloud of noxious fumes that the volatile mixture of ingredients created.

“No one is allowed any closer until we make sure it’s not dangerous—“ the professor said when he stepped in front of Mammon.

“But someone is in there!” Levi yelled. Mammon and Levi both shouted your name desperately even as the rest of their classmates dragged them back.

By the time Diavolo and Lucifer arrived to investigate the accident, there was no trace of you. The only evidence of your survival was your pact marks with each of the brothers that remained intact, but they couldn’t find you anywhere.

Barbatos strokes the little mouse sleeping on his chest with the gentlest touch of his bare finger. Sometimes he thinks about changing you back. He knows he should. It took him so long to accept you like this, but he admits that he enjoys it now. It’s difficult for him not to, not when you curl against his hand and trust him to keep you safe.

Perhaps he’ll keep you like this a little longer.

[cits-kirby-brainrot]

[raayllum]

It's like, where do I even start? The parallels to their last confrontation in 3x03 in the dungeons where Soren was physically free but always depicted as being behind bars while his father gaslit him, and now Viren is the one in literal and framed as in jail? Soren being so rightfully cold and furious but he can't quite get it, because like Viren says, he has a good strong heart, he doesn't want to see anyone suffer.

And Viren's path of truth, him finally seeing clearly, allows him to see that Soren made all the right, good choices along the way no matter the obstacles or pain that Viren put personally in his path. ("Weak choices" and "bad choices" are no longer synonymous; Viren has fully come to value another kind of strength).

Claudia: But Dad, Soren could've died! Viren: That doesn't matter! Soren: Dad? Viren: I do not mean to be cruel, but we must be willing to sacrifice, even the things we love. (3x03)

Soren: I know what this is like. I know how you feel. He's cruel, but you don't have to be. (5x08)

[crying] I was confused, and I didn't want to do it, but I do want Dad to love me, and be proud of me. Dad is so smart, so I figured there must be a good reason. (2x07)

No wonder Soren Snaps

[sacchiri]

Hellsing 2002 calendar illustration.

Ein wunderliche und erschröckliche Hystori von einem großen Wüttrich genant Dracole wayda Der do so ganz unkristenliche marrter hat angelegt die mensche, als mit spissen als auch die leut zu Tod geslyffen

A wondrous and frightening story about a great berserk called Dracula the voivode who inflicted such unchristian tortures such as with stakes and also dragged people to death

[stoat-party]

“How dare they burn everything the Courier loves to ashes!”

*imagines my courier reacting to watching everything she loves burn to ashes*

“…that’s some good stuff. you got me this time todd.”

[jordanstrophe]

Hallow Island, 2

[part 1] [Series Masterlist] [Part 3]

CW: Back-handed slap, gagged, bound, manhandled, controlling whumper, kidnapping/imprisoned, sliiight failed escape attempt if you squint

The strap around whumpees wrists and ankles were undone and they were tugged out of their airplane seat by an arm.

Immediately whumpee tried to rip the gag out of their mouth, but whumper took it as an opportunity to get their other arm.

"Easy! Easy now. I don't want to hurt you. Calm yourself." Whumper lulled. The words sickened whumpee to the core as they got one more burst of adrenaline and managed to rip an arm loose.

"HEY!" Whumper yelled, swiping to grab them but whumpee twisted free and bolted out the plane exit just as it opened.

The second their foot was out the door, they ran face first into two guards who seemed like they were waiting right there for them. They each grabbed an arm and pinned whumpee between them, neither budging their grip.

Whumper sniffed angrily and motioned for the guards to turn them around; before striking whumpee hard against the cheek. They whimpered as the side of their face hit the guards arm by force.

"I really tried being gentle with you... Try anything like that again and you'll lose that privilege." Whumper spat, grabbing whumpees face as they flinched.

"Nod if you understand." Whumper hissed.

Whumpees eyes flickered between defiance and fear, before giving a small angry nod. There was nothing they could do between the two guards aside from giving in.

"Splendid. Take them to the hollow. I want them clean and ready for tonight. And check their cheek before they go up for auction, I don't want to see a bruise. It's bad for business." Whumper fixed their sleeve and waved them off.

Whumpee felt weightless between the two guards. If they fought they got yanked so hard their feet went off the ground. The island was surrounded by a sandy beach, their toes left skid marks from where they struggled. They tried burying their heels but all they did was get sand in their shoes.

Despite it being an island, they could see massive glass buildings in the center beyond the palm trees. Up ahead there was a cave with a built in iron wall and door. Whumpee tried to plead with the guards, but all they could do was make sad muffled noises.

The guard on their left never looked at them once. The guard on their right occasionally glanced to make sure they weren't squeezing too tight, at least not enough to leave a mark.

Someone from the inside opened the door. The halls got dark quick and soon enough, whumpee was gently laid down in a cell where they sunk to the floor on their knees. That would be their chance to run if they had the energy; it took the plane nearly a day to get wherever they were and they spent the last energy in pitiful efforts.

"Someone will be by soon to look you over. Just try and get some rest, mmkay?" The last guard spoke, looking over their shoulder. Whumpee ripped the gag out of their mouth and shouted "PLEASE HELP ME!" Before the door slammed shut.

Whumpee let loose a broken cry they had been holding in since they shoved the gag in the first place. 

To be continued- [Series Masterlist]

@enigmawritesstuff

[endykelopaedia]

they assassinated tf out of vi's character for that sex scene like girl ur sister is about to KILL HERSELF and your focus is eating kkkupcake's cupcake????????? you left ekko to save her life by his lonesome and you DONT EVEN KNOW THAT BC U DIDNT ASK oh my god BROOOO

[dramioneasks]

Curses and Compromise by ummltu83 - M, 30 chapters - In the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy find themselves bound by personal curses that neither can break alone. Hermione, enduring relentless pain from her Mudblood scar, seeks Draco's assistance in breaking the curse with blood magic. Draco consents to offer his assistance on the condition that she grants him a year of her platonic companionship. Unbeknownst to Hermione, Draco harbours his own concealed affliction, a hidden torment that is slowly consuming him. Considering a year with the irksome man to be a manageable compromise, she agrees to the arrangement, little anticipating the burgeoning feelings that would arise.

Nuisances and Negotiations by ummltu83 - M, 22 chapters - In the sequel to 'Curses and Compromise', the once-controversial Malfoy family has now become a high-profile fixture in the public eye, their every move scrutinised by media and critics alike. Known for their outspoken views on social and political issues, the Malfoys have inadvertently made themselves the prime target for radical factions eager to silence their influential voices. Compounding their troubles, a new antagonist emerges who has personal vendettas against the Malfoys and their allies. As tensions rise, alliances are tested, and the family's unity is pushed to its limits.

Conversations and Revelations by ummltu83 - M, 10 chapters - They would spend their days immersed in reading, tending to the garden, and engaging in meaningful conversations and lively debates. Mornings began with a quiet ritual of tea and books, each absorbed in their own literary worlds before sharing insights over breakfast. Their afternoons were dedicated to tending the garden, enjoying the simple pleasure of working side by side in the fresh air. Evenings were reserved for deeper discussions, exploring a range of topics from pureblood philosophy to magical healing with arguments often centred around discussions of their favourite opinion columnist, Ursa Major (clearly a nom-de-plume), from The Discerning Digest. A further delve into Draco and Hermione’s conversations that occurred in the beginning of ‘Curses and Compromise’ when they slowly fell in love. This is a supplementary story with excerpts taken from the first story of the series. Feel free to read the full stories in Curses and Compromise and the sequel Nuisances and Negotiations. SPOILERS in this fic.

[jewishcissiekj]

Preview pages for Jango Fett (2024) by Luke Ross - coming out March 20th

[not-poignant]

The latest UtR update on AO3 got me hooked and I could no longer constrain myself and had to read the other chapters on Patreon. Now I need to know: does Lucien have any redeeming character traits in the series or can I add him straight to the list of characters that deserve the worst? That attitude of his towards Faber made me so mad lmao

Hi anon!

This actually reminds me of the ask I got recently about how awful Augus is as a character and how it's impossible to consider him through a positive light after reading Falling Falling Stars. Because that's how he seems if you've never read him in anything else of mine!

My narrators are unreliable, anon. We only ever see Lucien very briefly through the jealous eyes of an insecure man.

(Spoilers for a future brief verbal encounter between Lucien and Faber in Underline the Red).

Lucien is an extremely vulnerable omega who is in an institution that has temporary custody of him. They control what he eats, what he does, whether he leaves or not (i.e. he's functionally imprisoned), who fucks him, if he gets to see anyone else, if he can talk to his partner and family back home and how often. He has significant psychiatric issues around his own insecurities re: jealously and his partner, and he clocks Faber as being in love with Caleb, and he's right.

And that's incredibly unethical of Faber, honestly, to not have disclosed any of this to Dr Gary (like Dr Gary will be right to consider firing him over this in the future). It puts Lucien's mental health in direct and severe jeopardy, and is ironically likely what causes his relapse that causes Caleb to suggest domestic discipline in the first place (oh, Faber, the irony).

Because Lucien's there to learn that actually a lot of his jealousy and insecurity is unfounded. Instead, he learns the opposite, that no matter who he bonds with, someone else is there loving his potential partner while he perceives himself as having very little control (and in the case of Hillview - this is true, all he has are his words).

He's a chronically disabled omega who needs a disability aid (walking stick) to get around, he's a second class citizen, he's agreed with his partner to stay at Hillview because they both recognise how sick he's getting.

Faber is not a mental health patient/omega like Lucien is. He's a staff member who is nursing unrequited loved to an alpha companion, that he's refused to disclose, while still interacting with Caleb and his omegas. Imho, while Lucien is very good at lashing out, he's not wrong to, and that's why Faber fully acknowledges what Lucien is saying and listens to him, and basically never interacts with him again, and avoids Caleb where possible.

Lucien's mean about it, but Lucien is right re: Faber trying to hide his feelings because he knows what will happen if people find out, and that it's also wrong/unfair to put Lucien in that position.

And Faber knows that.

So yeah. The reader is meant to hate Lucien on a surface level, in the same way that Faber does.

But consider that Faber also sometimes seems to hate all omegas. He finds the smell of their heats disgusting. It's actually pretty normal for people to go through a phase of rejecting the thing that they are, if that's something hated in society. Faber's oscillating mixed feelings of bitterness, resentment and cutting attitude is actually mirrored in Lucien.

Faber has thought extremely savage, scathing and unforgiving things himself to the people around him (and himself). Lucien responds to Faber like Faber is an omega (something Faber doesn't recognise yet), because Faber...kind of acts like one in moments like that. (Efnisien also picks up on this, Faber is not great to him in the beginning of Underline the Black, in a very specific way designed for Efnisien to pick up on, and for Gary to miss. Faber behaves jealously, and constantly suggests to Gary that he should get rid of Efnisien, before he finally adjusts to the absence of Gary in his life. Faber is possessive and manipulative!)

Lucien ultimately doesn't need any redeeming characteristics because he's a victim who is at Hillview to heal and Faber is jeopardising that. We can hate him, but that's just the fact. He didn't try to kill Kadek when he arrived at Hillview, he hasn't tried to destroy memories of James, things Efnisien has done even though we love him all the same (ideally). Lucien felt understandably jealous/insecure (literally the thing he's at Hillview to be treated for, safe from people who will be in love with his lover until Faber) and he lashed out meanly.

If a staff member of Hillview can't handle some rude words, they shouldn't work there.

But yeah, I like the Lucien and Faber encounter because they are both extremely similar people in some ways. They are both bitter, jealous, resentful people capable of very scathing thoughts (and words). The only difference is that in that moment, Faber is the recipient and we feel bad for him. I mean, I do feel bad for him. Faber is in a bad place psychologically, it's a horrible thing for him to experience.

If we were getting Lucien's story from his perspective, and saw the panic attacks he had afterwards, and the regression he went through, etc. it might be different. But it doesn't have to be! Lucien in that moment functions as a reality check for Faber, and a very effective one at that. We're meant to hate him, but also meant to understand that Faber's love for Caleb is not as subtle as he thinks it is in the sense that - omegas can see it for what it is.

I personally like the one moment where we see that Lucien might have a heart when Faber admits his parents are dead, and we can see that he doesn't react with savage satisfaction, but like Faber broke the narrative he'd built for himself in his own insecure, jealous, scared mind.

[stackslip]

some unbelievably fucked up and genius shit happening in the fifth laboratory arc

[raayllum]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how the framing of Ezran compared to Viren in the dungeon scenes (and how Soren is framed with the latter), regarding what we know about AtLA really framing Zuko as the one imprisoned rather than Iroh despite Iroh being the one in jail.

That's all, have a nice week (before s7 destroys us)!

I've been thinking doing a post about the show's literal framing of physical imprisonment just cause there are two shots from 3x03 and 5x08 that I think about a lot, but I wasn't thinking about Ez in the mix so time to go digging. (And yess I love that detail! I still remember watching this youtube essay about it and how exciting/illuminating it was.)

3x04 is a really interesting episode just because it sets a lot up symbolically before things reach literal standpoints (i.e. Ezran taking off one chain he's chosen — the crown, i.e. 'a child is freer than a king' — in favour of literal chains and imprisonment, sacrificing his freedom for other people's). An example is how Ezran is already shown behind bars as he prepares to give up his crown:

We see something similar with Aaravos once Viren can see him. Even though we don't Know yet that Aaravos was imprisoned (that only comes in 3x06) it shows the bars that seemingly imprison him being something he can easily pass through as he takes the next step in his plan with Viren. Viren's freedom means his freedom.

There's also some interesting things done with how Viren is presented in jail earlier on in the episode. When Aaravos is about to begin preparing his eye with little bug pal, and the eye itself, the 'bars' (the stripes in the eye's case) are prominent and total.

These emphasis on bars is shifted from as Aaravos goes to take the eye goop off, and we switch it to an emphasis on TDP's favourite light and dark motif, with Viren entirely in the dark vs Ezran in 3x05 who lies in the light. This combination of the imprisonment framing/subversion and some kind of light/dark symbolism is also frequently common. So while the chain framing for Ezran isn't really There (and he's doing the 'right' thing / isn't tethered to Freedom as a theme as much as Justice, honestly) but that sort of makes sense in its own way, favouring his light-dark symbolism contrast instead.

Case in point, in the meantime, for Ezran: Viren being in the light when Ezran comes to make the transfer, with Ezran much more in the dark in the end credits art:

We also get some nice parallels with this shot from 3x04 vs 3x01, of Viren being trapped in a circle/chain/cycle vs not (as he's being freed and simultaneously pulled deeper into Aaravos' trap as he goes).

And last but not least some framing for Viren and Ezran as they switch places, with the actual transfer having a parallel "walking in, walking out" tradeoff from 3x06:

We also get some nice set up ("sometimes a friend can help light the way!") for Bait and Soren in 3x05, and in 3x03 with Viren's visitor being just another means of control/deception through consumption rather than aid and actual sustenance (jelly tarts).

Keeping Soren shadowed, I think, isn't necessarily to make us doubt if it's him (it's not dark enough for that) but it does reaffirm us having doubts about what he's doing to do, before we see the happier turn and know we can trust him, which is Also a direct opposition to Viren's false framing with it in 3x03.

There's also Lots of great framing in the scene with Claudia, Soren, and Viren, that continually use the bars and lighting to make it look like the siblings are the ones imprisoned rather than their father and that bars symbolize the growing wedge between them. Even just the way Viren is framed with light around his head ("but we must be willing to sacrifice, even the things we love") as he portrays himself like a (false) martyr. These are the shots I always think about when watching 3x03, as referenced above.

However, Viren being placed behind bars does start to enter the framing, with the siblings being portrayed side by side (with nothing dividing them) once Claudia brings up her brother's truth:

But we go right back to the 'siblings divided by bars' symbolism once Viren is considering what to do, and then chooses the lie and gaslighting Soren. However, we never go back to Viren being portrayed without the bars to the same degree. He's trapped himself in too, which is fitting, as this is the moment he ultimately loses Soren (and Claudia) forever.

And we see this first hand in Soren's visits to the dungeon in 6x05, 6x06, and 6x08, but that might have to be a post in its own right since I'm getting close to the picture limit for this one. Part 2 to follow!

[link-is-a-dork]

[cits-kirby-brainrot]

More guardian Morpho!