#looking forward to DD Born Again | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

daresplaining · 3 years ago

Photo

[ID: A page from Devil’s Reign-- three identically-structured panels. The first is Daredevil against a blank blue-and-black background, from the shoulders up and facing forward. He pulls off his Daredevil mask to reveal an identical mask underneath.] Fisk (caption): “It all rushes back to me. Daredevil dug into my mind and stole so much.” [ID: The Kingpin from the shoulders up, wearing a white collared shirt, facing forward and grimacing, with sunlit windows behind him.] Fisk (caption): “The greatest violation I’ve ever known. He stole my victories. He stole my memories...all so he could deny the world the fact that he was sloppy, that he was...” [ID: The same as the first panel, except it’s Matt’s Murdock, mask-less and grinning creepily. His eyes look like black pits.] Fisk (caption): “...Matt Murdock. Matt Murdock Matt Murdock Matt Murdock” Devil’s Reign #5 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Marcio Menyz, and Clayton Cowles

I’ve been enjoying “Devil’s Reign”, which has been a huge relief to me after failing to connect with the Daredevil run that led up to it. This event is going some compelling places, introducing fun concepts (I love the team of Otto Octaviuses from different dimensions), and-- most exciting for me-- engaging with plot points from previous Daredevil runs that are long overdue for some development. Specifically, the conflict at the core of this event is the same conflict that defined Daredevil volume 5: the Purple Children’s mind wipe, which undid Matt’s public identity.

The mind wipe, for anyone who wasn’t reading DD at the time or has maybe forgotten, had an almost immeasurable impact on the Daredevil landscape. Matt officially made his identity public in 2014 at the end of volume 3, but it had been unofficially public since the “Out” storyline all the way back in 2002. And of course, many people in Matt’s inner circle-- Peter Parker, Ben Urich, Elektra, Matt’s mom-- had known for decades, with that knowledge being a central component of their relationship. The mind wipe erased all of that, building a sudden new wall between Matt and all of his loved ones, nullifying years and years of character-building. Matt didn’t ask for this and the Purple Children had good intentions, but it was a huge shift, highly amoral, and damaging to Matt’s important web of personal connections.

And of course, it isn’t just Matt’s loved ones who were affected. The Kingpin, who famously discovered Matt’s secret identity in the “Born Again” arc in 1986, was thrust back into the dark with this change, losing his big, prized weapon against his nemesis. At the end of Daredevil volume 6 (after “Devil’s Reign” we’ll be moving into Daredevil volume 7, with the same creative team but a new #1), he finally found concrete evidence of what had been done to him-- not just of what he lost, but of the fact that he had lost something: papers claiming to reveal Daredevil’s secret identity, which now looked blank to him thanks to the Purple Children’s mental block. (Side note: does this mean the Murdock Papers were real after all? Food for thought...). He was understandably upset.

[ID: Excerpt from Devil’s Reign. The Kingpin, wearing a black jacket with a purple collar, is yelling at Daredevil from an intensely close range. The street behind them is lit up red and blue from police car lights.] Fisk: “I can feel it! You! You did something to my mind! WHO ARE YOU?!” Matt: “Sorry, Wilson. But it’s called a secret identity.” [ID: He swings away as Fisk watches.] Fisk (caption): “You are the devil. And I’ll tear everything down to destroy you. Because nobody knows you like I do. Nobody else knows your true Achilles’ heel: your guilt.” Devil’s Reign #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Marcio Menyz, and Clayton Cowles

Thus, underneath Fisk’s scheming to win the mayoral reelection is a new, burning goal: to regain that prized knowledge and crush Daredevil with it. It’s a great motivation to drive the plot of this event, digging into the very real emotional toll that the mind wipe would have had on its victims and taking advantage of one of that plot point’s few positive side-effects: getting to see big, important identity reveals happen all over again, in new ways. The Kingpin learning that Daredevil was Matt Murdock was a huge moment in Daredevil history. It was a huge moment in both characters’ journeys. And I don’t think I can overstate how much Fisk loved having that information.

[ID: Excerpt from Daredevil volume 1. The Kingpin, seen from the back, wearing his iconic white shirt and purple pants, is standing in front of a huge window, looking down on snow falling on Manhattan.] Caption: “He is the lord of crime. He has gathered the warring gangs of the city, organized them into an army-- no, a business, so efficient and so profitable that the city’s economy depends on the thieves, extortionists, and murderers at his command. He is the Kingpin-- and Matthew Murdock has become the light of his days.” [ID: A close-up of Fisk’s face from the side. He is smoking a cigar and the smoke swirls around him.] Caption: “As Daredevil, Murdock had cost him little, but hounded him, annoyed him, as a fly would. Now, with all the joy of a malicious child, the Kingpin tortures the fly. It began with the revelation of Daredevil’s weak side-- his secret identity. With a few brief phone calls, the Kingpin shattered Murdock’s life, beyond all hope of reconstruction. That would have been the end of it-- were it not for the sweet discovery...” [ID: A extreme close-up of Fisk’s grinning face, lit green.] Caption: “...that Matthew Murdock is a man on the edge-- that even before his ruin, he was nearly mad. Were Murdock tied to a rack, slowly torn limb from limb, begging for mercy, the spectacle could be no more pleasurable to behold. The Kingpin looks at his city and thinks of how wonderful it is to be alive.” Daredevil vol. 1 #228 by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, R. Lewis, and Joe Rosen

Now, that’s a guy having a good time.

Not only was his mind invaded by an enemy-- a hideous violation all on its own, as he points out-- but something precious and intimate was stolen from him. And as much as you may or may not like Wilson Fisk as a person, the horror, disgust, and rage that he experiences at discovering that this was done to him is easy to sympathize with. I really appreciate this being finally acknowledged, because the more disturbing aspects of the mind wipe-- of which there are plenty-- weren’t explored nearly enough in Soule’s run, in my opinion.

The big, climactic event leading into Devil’s Reign #5 and the scene above was a resolution of Fisk’s quest: his discovery that he could use the distilled Purple Man powers that he’d been experimenting with (another really creative and fun aspect of “Devil’s Reign”) to force himself to remember, thus undoing the mind wipe. (This is huge.) He Purple Mans(TM) himself, and it all comes back. Zdarsky even tosses a little “Born Again” mention into the scene to make the situation extra clear. One of Matt’s most dangerous enemies knows who he is again, and just like last time, Stuff is about to Go Down.

As mentioned, I love the emphasis here on the horror of what was done, and particularly Fisk’s assertion that Matt committed this sick atrocity just to cover up the fact that he was a little sloppy with his secrets (which is...not entirely incorrect). His hate and disgust come through not just in the writing but in the art as well, with Matt’s creepy grin and shadowed eyes in that last panel. From Fisk’s perspective, Matt is inhuman, demonic, evil, and while that’s obviously an exaggeration, you can’t blame him for feeling this way. That rage breaks through the pristine mayoral façade that he’s still been trying to maintain. He has just been struck with the full force of his decades-long blood feud with both identities of one of his most hated enemies, an enemy who invaded his mind in order to rip those memories away from him, and that is more important than anything else in his life right now. It’s an intense, powerful moment, in conversation with many previous runs while also being impactful on its own.

#Devil's Reign #Daredevil #Matt Murdock #Kingpin #Wilson Fisk #Commentary #Adventures in Continuity

71 notes · View notes

riding-with-the-wild-hunt · 3 years ago

Note

Hii! Me again. Celegorm headcanons?

i am so excited to talk about my trash son; you have no idea how happy you're making me here :DD

he's only a little shorter than Maedhros (second tallest in the family, go him!), but he comes off as taller because a. he's broader and stockier in build, b. his hair gives him a certain--and frequently intimidating--amount of added height, and c. he is literally and figuratively taking up the space of three to four people at any given time.

he’s very athletic and also a very, very sore loser. the moment he’s not the best on the field, he’s moving on to something else. it’s kind of the same with everything he does.

mr. mommy issues of the Fëanorian kiddos! his relationship with Nerdanel is difficult through his childhood and adolescence and only gets worse post-Valinor. she was the only person growing up who really pushed accountability and a recognizing-when-we’ve-messed-up-and-making-amends-accordingly mentality, and Celegorm interprets this more and more as rejection, especially with the stark contrast of Fëanor’s “we’re always in the right” take on things, and Curufin’s single-minded subscription to that.

early on, he gets a reputation as the dumb one in the family, which is something he actually goes along with and conforms to, because it makes people get careless with their guard around him. most of the information Curufin gets is actually through Celegorm, they just put forward the illusion that Curufin’s the sneaky dangerous one and Celegorm’s just a kind of party-boy goofball with fuzz for brains so that people get their priorities mixed up.

he’s the only one who really hesitates about going along with the Oath, and in general, he’s the most skeptical and least hero-worshipping towards Fëanor. as third kid after Proper Noldorin Golden Child & Heir™️ Maedhros and Obvious Genius Since He Was Born Maglor, he didn’t get as much special attention and never had the kind of bonding Mae and Mags could have through scholarship or craft or talent. he knows, even though no-one would ever say it, that he’s the misfit in the family; that the expectations for him have always been lower, which is what gives him his more dispassionate and removed perspective.

he sort of keeps worshipping Oromë in Beleriand, but he keeps it very much on the down-low. everyone just politely pretends not to know about it if they find out.

his smile freaks people out, even when its genuine. maybe especially when its genuine. it just looks too big for his face and never seems quite right.

he likes knife-throwing and is actually really good

he’s Celebrimbor’s favorite uncle and will talk about him in the same way as a grandmother on a plane pulling out her wallet to show you pictures of her grandchildren.

his relationship with Curufin gets progressively more co-dependent and unhealthy over their time in Beleriand. they simultaneously can’t function separately and hate each other more than anyone else in the world. there’s also definitely a healthy (perhaps not the best expression here, pardon me) dose of sexual stuff going on between them, especially during their stint in Nargothrond.

Celegorm’s strategy in Beleriand is to just Not Care. “you can’t be morally corrupt if you don’t subscribe to ideas of morality anymore” is kind of his logic. he doesn’t ever seek to justify his actions, he just does them and then shrugs it off. he buries any guilt so well that he eventually starts enjoying watching people jump when comes into a room.

he’s the child-snatching bogeyman in lots and lots of Sindarin ghost stories and cautionary tales. towards the end, he even starts purposely acting and dressing like he’s described to frighten people even more.

he gets wild adrenaline kicks. his hobbies get more and more dangerous as his emotional state goes downhill.

he absolutely hates Orodreth. the whole time they’re in Nargothrond, he’s going out of his way to mess with him or make him the butt of the joke. he takes a lot of joy from frightening Orodreth and purposely gets really friendly and chummy with Finduilas to make him constantly nervous that Celegorm is planning on doing something awful to her or that he’s done it already. he and Orodreth do have somewhat of a sexual relationship, but it’s just meant as another way to kind of make Orodreth’s life hell.

anyways, i’m cutting it off here because i could talk forever about my horrible boy, so thank you again for letting me blibber on. i am spiritually buying you chocolate and flowers and delivering them to your door.

#call and response #brought to you by me #sad disaster boys #the professor’s world #the silmarillion #celegorm #frens

22 notes · View notes

theji · 4 years ago

Text

我的世界守则 The Rules of My World: An Analysis

I came across this video while browsing Weibo last night. It was taken during Yibo's rehearsal for his 'The Rules of My World' performance. I've listened to the song countless times and I like it, the rhythm and all, and the dance. But as with many rap music, I don't pay attention to the lyrics. I suddenly realised I don't really know what the song is talking about, save for the few phrases that stood out. That sparked my interest and inspired today's post. I had previously done some analysis of Zhan's songs, so it's Yibo's turn.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional translator or lyricist. And obviously I'm not Yibo nor do I know him personally, so I can't say for sure what the song is really about. The following analysis is purely based on my personal interpretation. It has CPN components. Please skip if you don't believe that BJYXSZD.

'The Rules of My World' is the 2nd song that Yibo penned the lyrics to himself. The fact that he wrote the lyrics is significant and makes the song worth analysing. 2019's 'Wu Gan' was more 'inward-looking'; about Yibo expressing his own thoughts on navigating the entertainment industry. To me, 'The Rules of My World' is him making a statement, a stand, at the same time, he's sending a message to those he cares about - GG and his (real) fans. Yibo released this song on 30 Dec 2020. The timing is interesting cos it like he's summing up his sentiments based on the events that took place during the year. To outsiders, 2020 was a good year for Yibo. He had many endorsements, projects, high exposure, his commercial value rose. But in CPN reality, 2020 was terrible for so many reasons. GG's incident, him being overworked, crazy fan wars and antis etc etc..anyone who cares about Yibo would be delusional to think he had it good last year.

欢迎你们来加入我的世界 (You're welcome to join my world)

入场券上面有正义的光源 (There's a light of justice on the admission ticket)

DD is giving fans an open invitation to enter his world, to understand him as a person and not just an idol. And he also hopes that his world can bring some light to the fans' world, to bring some positivity, encouragement and guidance to them.

此生面对严厉又仁慈的一切 (In this life we'll face harshness but also kindness)

轻松一点，我们一起度过黑夜 (Just relax, together we'll overcome darkness)

In the entertainment world (or life in general), there will be ups and downs, criticisms and compliments. Regardless of what may come, we can overcome any challenges together. Darkness here could also refer to the antis who seem determined to bring GGDD down. This could be a message to fans - to tell them that they don't always have to rush to defend him, and they don't need to retaliate (aka fan wars). It could also be a message to GG, to make a stand of solidarity and to reassure GG that DD will face any challenges alongside him.

新的征途 (A new journey)

愚蠢的，不好相处 (These fools, they aren't easy to get along with)

愚蠢的，不会打住 (These fools, they won't stop)

但衬托明天更耀眼的路 (But they will set off a brighter path for tomorrow)

It was said that DD matured considerably after the 2*7 incident. Took up more responsibility, became more focused on his career and mindful of future advancements etc. Started to take on more serious acting projects and to shift his career trajectory towards something more sustainable and less 'idol'. The new journey could be a reference to this new path. The fools - the antis, those against GGDD - may have caused damage but their actions have also sparked off DD's desire to do better and to find his footing in the entertainment industry. He now has a clearer view of what he wants, the path he wants to take.

我是我的样子 (This is how I am)

我生来就固执 (I was born stubborn)

讲自己的故事 (I'll tell my own story)

活独特的气质 (Living my unique self)

Follow me, 找到自己的价值 (Follow me, find your own value)

不去迎合别人活才会觉得有意思 (Life is interesting if you don't cater to others)

我的世界不退让 (It's my world I won't give in)

Here, DD is being assertive. This is me, I follow my own rules, I'll make my own decisions, I'll forge my own path, I won't be influenced, I won't give up on my beliefs. So antis, capitalists etc can f*ck off.

It could also be seen as an advice to his fans - to follow his lead and live their own lives. This is also something that GG has repeatedly said to fans - to focus on their own lives, personal relationships, studies, careers etc. Don't devote so much time on chasing idols, online fan wars etc.

阳光耀眼 (The sun is dazzling)

乐观地，走向前 (Just move forward with optimism)

阳光耀眼 (The sun is dazzling)

无所谓，多危险 (Doesn't matter how dangerous it is)

阳光耀眼 (The sun is dazzling)

这是我的世界 (This is my world)

我世界的守则，不许你诡辩 (These are the rules of my world, I won't allow any sophistry)

I see this as DD's words of encouragement, to himself and to GG. Despite all the challenges and hardship, darkness will pass and the sun will come out eventually. And it's shining brightly, there is hope left in this world, there's is much to look forward to. So don't fear, be brave and forge ahead.

Sophistry: the use of clever but false arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving

Poor DD is always hit with industry rumours, about him dating his co-stars etc. Last year, someone even made a false police report against him. Just look at the number of statements his company had to put out. There have also always been ongoing rumours about rivalry between GGDD, tales of backstabbing etc, especially in 2020 at the height of the incident. DD is saying that this is his life, his world. No one knows better than the both of them. So to those who don't know better but continue to spew nonsense about his life and relationships and spread hate, know that I don't care about your antics, they don't hurt me but I won't tolerate them as well.

在我世界行走 (Walking in my world)

什么人生主题你透露 (What kind of life theme do you envisage)

是胆大勇猛所向披靡 (Is it to be bold, courageous and invincible)

或胆小逃避钻进壳里 (Or to be timid and escape into your shell)

喧闹倾诉众人party (Is it to pour out your troubles at a rowdy party)

寂寞相思不停地哭泣 (Or to cry silently non-stop out of loneliness and love-sickness)

都欢迎你来我这里 (All are welcome)

只要跟从自己的内心 (So long as you follow your heart)

跟限制和噪音说一声 bang bang (I'll say 'Bang Bang' to restriction and noises)

怪兽都退散 (Monsters, be gone)

What kind of person am I in your eyes? The cool guy or soft sweet babie Yibo? Here, DD is acknowledging that the public has many different perceptions of him, and fans love different personas of him and he's ok with that. But if you love him, then let him be. Don't try to restrict him, don't quarrel or force him into a certain mould of your preference. He won't hesitate to shoot the haters (monsters) down.

迈出轻盈的步伐 (Take a light step forward)

一声令下 (With a single command)

来宣布告别孤勇 (To announce a farewell to having to fight alone)

On this new path, with a new-found realisation of what he wants, DD is clear of what he wants to achieve and he is no longer burdened by fear, uncertainties etc. Both GGDD now have each other by their sides, they share a common purpose as they navigate the intricacies of the entertainment industry together and work their way to the top. And I think this is something that we're seeing more in the fandom since end 2020 - GGDD seemingly becoming more bold in their actions and messages they put out (silent or otherwise).

想要做盘旋的龙 (Wanna be a hovering dragon)

还想做懒散的虫 (Or a lazy worm)

别打扰我走开没空 (Don't bother me, go away, I have no time for that)

In public, DD is that proud and confident king. He's not a pushover. But behind the cameras, he just wants to chill and relax (and play games). Please don't bother me, give me some privacy to lead my own life, don't tell me what I can or cannot do.

Cue DD's message. He meant it.

Follow me, 找到自己的价值 (Follow me, find your own value)

不去迎合别人活才会��得有意思 (Life is interesting if you don't cater to others)

我们永远不退让 (We will never give in)

This is a repetition of the earlier verse but what has changed is the last 2 lines. From <It's my world I won't give in>, DD now says <We will never give in>. This was actually the first thing that sparked off my CPN, and hinted to me that this song concerns GG in some ways. Who's We? We all know how GGDD almost always use the word 'we' in their CQL promo interviews and bts, as though they come as a package and all views represent both of them as a entity. This also echoes the earlier sentiments - both of them, after the 2020 incident, have developed a steely resolve. They won't let the antis or challenges or societal views hold them back anymore. Their world, their rules. They will fight for their rights and what they believe in, and they are determined to reach their goals.

阳光耀眼 (The sun is dazzling)

乐观地走向前 (Just move forward with optimism)

阳光耀眼 (The sun is dazzling)

无所谓多危险 (Doesn't matter how dangerous it is)

阳光耀眼 (The sun is dazzling)

这是我的世界 (This is my world)

我们的世界不会被改变 (Our world will never be changed)

Again, similar to the above 'we' example. From this part of the song onwards, DD is referring to them both. The last line could also be viewed as an affirmation of GGDD's commitment to each other. Whatever is it, our relationship will not change. We will go through it all together.

Don‘t stop, get it, get it

Let me see you work up on it

Don’t stop, get it, get it

Let me see you all up on it

Let me see you work up on it

Don‘t stop, get it, get it

Don't stop

Hey

I interpret this as DD's words of encouragement to GG. Like don't stop fighting, continue to work hard towards your (our) goals. Go for it, you can do it!

在我的世界 (In my world)

本能很关键 (Instinct is the key)

坚持自己 (Stay true to yourself)

就是你们的世界 (It is your world)

DD's parting words to fans: to stay true to oneself, to build and enrich your own worlds, to fight for your goals, like how he is trying.

Well, I had fun working on this. Maybe I'll do Wu Gan another time. Reminded me of literature class during my schooling days, although I never did Chinese literature back then. Feel free to share your thoughts on the song with me. =D

#wang yibo #bjyx #bjyxszd #yizhan #the ji's song of the moment

103 notes · View notes

slygirl666 · 4 years ago

Text

the thin line

Warnings: sex language all that shit

authors note: this is one of those drafts I promised because why not, not edited and not my favorite

words: 3453

You flopped onto the couch. Fred, who was nursing a glass of scotch, looked up at you shocked.

“Bad date, I reckon?” He looked sympathetic, a rare trait for him.

“The absolute worse,” you groaned, moving to lean on his shoulder. “First off he was constantly talking about his exes, yes multiple, and not even twenty minutes into the date he tried to put his hands up my skirt.”

“No,” Fred mock gasped. “You wait till at least the third date to let a man publicly get you off.”

You slapped his shoulder but couldn’t hold in the laughter what he said. “What about you? Huh, Fred, correct me if I’m wrong but you're going through a dry spell yourself.”

“This isn't about me Y/N.” he glared at you. You seemed to have struck a nerve.

It was true you and Fred have no secrets between you, having lived together for the last year. In the beginning you had often met women he kept around for a week at most, at times even playing the angry girlfriend when a one off overstayed their welcome. Fred often caught you doing the walk of shame through the joke shops door after your latest night out.

“I’m sorry your date sucked, love.” he stroked your arm soothingly. “If you’d like I can draw you a bath, get you some wine.”

You nodded, It was a ritual. Failed love life, he drew you a bath and let you relax; if he had a stressful day at work you would read to him (something he didn’t enjoy doing himself, but loved listening to) while he rested his head on your thigh.

Fred walked to your bathroom running the water, before moving to the kitchen getting you a glass and bottle. “Bubbles?”

“Always,” you shouted to him.

In a few minutes time Fred was at the doorway to get you, “come on princess Bath is ready.”

You smiled, moving to twist your hair up as you walked into the bathroom. Once you were undressed and in the tub, which was filled to the brim with bubbles, Frec came back in lowering the toilet seat so he could sit and talk with you.

“How many dates is that this time around?” Fred asked, pouring a glass for you.

“Three this week,” you sighed while drinking some of the bitter liquid. “I’m I that horrible to look at? I mean not to sound vain but I have a decent face, and my tits aren't half bad either.”

Fred choked on the drink he took. “I mean-”

“Don’t answer that, let me wallow in self pity for a few hours,” you rolled your eyes kicking up some water. “Tell me, anything new happening in the shop?”

Fred talked excitedly about his newest product. The two of you sat there until your skin started to prune. You shooed him out so you could get ready for the night.

Once again you found yourself on the couch with Fred's head in your lap. You ran your fingers through his ginger hair. He made small appreciative moans that you felt lower in your body than you should have.

“We should get some sleep Fred,” you smiled down to him, before shocking him off lightly to go to your own room.

You spent a couple hours tossing and turning, Pressing your legs together to create some form of much needed friction. It had been months since you’ve slept with someone and the fact that you needed to get laid was more evident in the fact that sounds your best friend made had you hot and bothered.

It was well past midnight, Fred had to be asleep, so you gave in.

“Fuck it.”

You allowed one hand to trail to your underwear teasing yourself through the fabric. You were already wet and frustrated but you didn't want to give in just yet. You trailed your pinky finger up and down your clothed heat applying the slightest bit of pressure over your clit.

You bit your lip to muffle the goan escaping your lips, before moving to your dresser pulling out a bullet vibrator. You clicked it on the sound of the light buzz increasing your ever growing excitement. You pressed it against your navel before guiding it down past the elastic of your underwear it was centimeters away from your center, a loud moan dripped from your lips as it touched that aching bundle of nerves.

A knock at the door interrupted your high. “Y/N, you okay?”

“Yes Fred,” you clicked off the bullet, shoving it under your pillow. Just in time to see Fred peak his head through the door.

“I thought I heard something,” Fred sat on the edge of your bed. “Came to check on you, only to hear it come from your room. Are you alright?”

You refused to meet his eyes, the smirk that played on his lips told you he had some idea of what you were up to.

“I’m fine fred, thank you for your concern.” you tried to end the conversation, but you felt the mattress shift beside you as fred got comfortable.

“So Princess, what were you doing?” his voice was low in your ear, making your breath hitch.

“Nothing, Freddie,” you were breathless and he knew what he was doing. “I’m going to bed.”

You felt him pull you to his chest, his soft breaths lulling you to sleep.

The next morning you woke to Fred stirring awake, he was not a morning person so you struggled out of his grasp to the kitchen.

You put on a pot of coffee before jumping up to sit on the counter next to the machine. You sat there listening to the coffee drip, thoughts flooded with the cheeky bastard you woke up next to.

George came in through the door looking exhausted, he looked to you then to the slowly filling up pot of coffee.

“You are an angel, L/N.” George went to the covert to bring out three mugs. When it was finished he poured the dark liquid adding milk and sugar to the three mugs.

The smell of the coffee seemed to drag Fred out of bed. He walked into the kitchen groggily you picked up and offered him a mug that he took with a sleepy smile. “Morning Princess, Georgie.”

George quickly told Fred about the plans for the shop before the two men parted. Fred to get dressed, and George to their office to do paper work.

Fred came out of his room in a nice suit using his wand to do his tie as he walked towards the front door.

“See you tonight, Y/N.” he smiled at you, straightening his tie.

Being a Saturday meant you didn’t have to go into work for the weekend, you used your wand to clean up the mess you had all made before moving onto your room.

You debated upon making your bed, before moving the pillow you slept under. You were shocked to find your vibraitor not under your pillow but on the nightstand. There was one explanation you didn’t even want to think of.

You laid yourself down back onto the bed, deciding a few more hours of sleep would be best.

Fred came back after work to find you watching a tv show. He settled onto the couch.

“What are you watching?”

“Muggle tv show.” you took your eyes off the tv. “We should go out tonight.”

“Should we?” Fred kicked off his shoes, “does this have something to do with last night? Or maybe what I found under my pillow this morning?”

“Yes,” you answered plainly. “And to be fair you invited yourself into my room, what you found was your fault.”

You got up going to your room to find something to wear to a club. You found a black leather skirt and low cut tank that had lace framing your breast perfectly.

You walked out of your room to find Fred had discarded his jacket and suit vest leaving him in a pair of dark slacks, a lavender shirt and his tie.

You walked to him face to chest with him. You moved to loosen his tie and remove it, “you are still a bit too formal for clubbing. Undo the top tree buttons and roll your sleeves up.”

You instructed going to the shoe rack for your heels, before slipping them clumsily.

“Where are we going?”

“Muggle club, in London,” you put your arm through his. “A lot of uni students go there, so plenty of people our age.”

The two of you disapperated to the three broomsticks to go through to Muggle London.

You pulled Fred around till you found the place you were looking for, a place a muggle born friend of yours had shown you straight out of hogwarts.

You waited in the line of people until you were allowed in. the two of you made a B-line for the bar.

Fred ordered your drinks while you looked around the club, “tall blond, near the door. She’s checking you out.”

“You sure?” He looked in the direction you told him. “She’s pretty, might do for a night.”

He handed you your drink walking off to the direction of the blonde woman. You knew you wouldn’t see him for a while, possibly all night. You sat at a seat overlooking the dance floor, you saw a familiar flash of red hair under the neon lights as he danced jokingly with the girl you pointed out to him.

You sat back enjoying your people watching. “You look far too pretty to be sitting alone.”

You turned to see a man, he was handsome with dark curls and light eyes contrasting with the carmel color of his skin. “Something must be wrong, let me guess you were cheated on?”

“No,” you smiled at his assumptions.

“Girls night out and you are the DD,” you lifted your drink and he thought. “Heart broken?”

You tilted your head giving him a small smile, “it feels like it but i'm not sure, can someone who never had your heart break it?”

“That’s way too poetic for a girl in a trashy club,” he laughed. “Calen Collens.”

“Y/N L/N,” you offered him a hand to shake. “Would you like to dance?”

He smiled taking you to the dance floor, the movements the two of you made close and slow.

Soon his lips found your ear. “Be mine tonight, Y/N?”

That was too much, too forward. Sure she let him flit and held him close but the fact he would be so forward. “I’m going to go to the restroom.”

You ran as fast as you could in heels, you found Fred pressed against a wall with the blonde on his lips.

“I'm going home,” you walked past them out into the cold night tears threatening to fall. It was dark and Muggle London wasn’t the safest palace at night, you just had to find somewhere secluded.

There were footsteps behind you, you ducked into an alleyway hoping they would stop. They didn't. You felt a hand grab your forearm and you drew your wand.

“Merlin, it's me,” you were spun around to be face to face with Fred. his eyes softened when he saw the tears on your face, he brought a hand to wipe at them. “Princess lets get you home.”

He pressed a kiss to your forehead, bringing his own wand out taking the two of you home.

* * *

The two of you were on the couch you had put on a movie and were resting with your head on Fred’s chest. He stroked your hair, “do you want to tell me what happened?”

“I met a man, he was charming and nice. But the moment that he asked if i could be his tonight I broke.” you laughed humorlessly, “i complain about the lack of sex in my life, hell you almost caught me getting off. Yet a hot man approached me and I had a breakdown like no other, and then I ruined your chance for a bit of fun. It’s pathetic.”

“No it isn’t,” Fred sighed leaning his cheek onto your head. “You just aren’t one for casual nights.”

“It would be easier if i was,” you rolled your eyes. “I also want trust and respect, but that's a bit much I guess.”

“It really isn’t Princess,” he lifted your chin to face him. “I think that's admirable.”

Your eyes met his, his hazel ones flicking from your lips to your eyes. You brought a hand to trace his jaw line, something you’ve done many times before but felt different now.

You felt his breath first, his nose bumping yours. He was giving you time to back away, you didn’t want to.

He pressed his lips to yours, they were softer than you could imagine. You brought your hands to his neck as his hands went for your waist.

You pulled him down guiding him on top of you.

“Room?” Fred breathed into the kiss, You let out a soft hum in response.

Fred guided you up, once you were on your feet he pulled you into him, leaning down to give you a breathtaking kiss.

He pulled away slowly dragging your bottom lip between his teeth.

You let out a moan, he pulled you by the hand as he rushed to his room.

“Are you sure about this?” He was hesitant once this line was crossed it could never be forgotten.

“We can freak out tomorrow,” you pushed him onto his bed. “Right now take your clothes off.”

“Gladly,” he moved to take off his shirt. You watched appreciatively as his arms flexed.

You sat with legs on either side of his waist, your fingertips tracing the exposed skin. His lips met your neck with light nips as he tugged on your tank top. You leaned back allowing him to pull it over your head.

You shivered at the sudden exposure to the cold air, Fred stared at you in awe. His hands came to cup your breast, the rough pads of his thumbs traced your nipple teasingly.

Your breath hitched and he threw you a cheeky smirk before bringing his tongue out and flicking one.

You moaned at the contrast of the cold air and the heat of his mouth. Every movement he made every lick, nip and suck felt expertly practiced.

His hands fell back to your hips using them to push you off him and have you land with your back pushed into the mattress. He kissed down your navel before making eye contact with you.

“You are fucking perfect.” he brought a hand under the elastic of your sleep shorts, his eyes went wide in surprise. “No underwear? You princess are in trouble.”

He pulled your shorts to your knees before continuing to trail his lips down to your center. His right hand following his lips while his left kept you in place.

He lifted his head as he brought his fingers to your core, letting out a breathy chuckle when you moaned. He put two of his fingers into you. He put the two both into his mouth, he hummed smirking at your reaction.

“Okay, Fred, that- that was hot.” you let out an airy laugh completely off guard. He kissed your inner thigh, the tip of his nose teasing where you want him the most. “Freddie-”

His name shifted to a moan as he trailed his tongue to your entrance.

A mew left your lips as he worked the flat of his tongue around up and down your entrance. He stopped the movement to allow his fingers back inside you. He got a bit bolder using his teeth to lightly nip at your clit. You moved your hands into his hair back arching as he continued to allow his tongue to flick at it, letting his teeth work in sync as well.

You gripped his hair slightly with a tug. “Fuck, Princess.”

You leaned up meeting his eyes, the sight of him between your legs, his mouth a mess, his torso exposed was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. “Are you ready? because I absolutely am.”

“Just be inside of me freddie,” you looked up at him through your eyelashes. Got up to remove his pants

The anticipation that you felt watching him stroke himself was insane. You watched him in what felt like slow motion as he pumped his cock, a look of blissful relief crossed his handsome features.

The trob between your legs felt unbearable, “hurry up Fred, please.”

“Needy thing aren't you?” he chuckled, moving his hand back to line himself up to you. When he finally entered you you moaned happy to feel him.

* * *

You woke up sore tangled in sheets that aren't yours,as the weight of the bed shifted. Fred moved to find his clothes.

“Morning, Freddie.” you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. It wasn’t the first time you woke up in his bed but this time was extraordinarily different. You found your shorts discarded on the floor before moving to pull them on, you felt his eyes watching you. “What time is it?”

“Seven,” you turned to find him sitting in just a pair of boxers. He looked lost so you found your way back to him standing between his legs. “We’ll talk after I finish up at the shop, right?”

You moved your fingers to trace his worried face. “I’ll be right here like I always am.”

You threw on a shirt and went for the door.

“George will be suspicious if we were out at the same time, I’ll make you coffee.” you walked out going to your own room to throw on a robe.

When you put coffee grounds in the machine and clicked it on George walked through the door, pulling you in for a side hug. “If i weren’t engaged I would marry you L/N, Freddie should.’

“Angelina ban coffee again?” you laughed finding three tall mugs for all of you.

“If I didn't love her or the child that we made I would leave because of that coffee ban.” he sighed dramatically.

“You don't mean that, shut up and get the cream from the fridge,” you rolled your eyes watching the drip of the coffee finish.

Fred emerged from his own room with a sleepy grin, faker. You poured him a cup with all the fixings before handing it to him. “Morning Princess, sleep well?”

He winked at you over the brim of his cup. “No, something had me rolling around all night, nothing I can't fix.”

He laughed as George looked between the two of you, “I don't get you two.” he walked out the door down to the office.

Fred pulled you close, “ tonight?”

“tonight,” you tiptoed to kiss his nose.

He smiled with a boyish charm and walked out the door with a small hop in his step. Now was the time to overthink everything.

Was it a mistake?

Did he hate it?

Were you bad?

Would you guys ever be the same?

You went into the kitchen and pulled out Molly’s baking cards. If you were going to talk may as well have something sweet while you were at it. With the wave of your wand music filled the room from the radio. You moved your hips along with the beat. Looking through the cards you decided on her tentacle tart recipe, not finding everything you went out to the store.

You spent your day doing small things, organizing your stuff in the bathroom, doing your laundry and reading two books.

When the door to the apartment opened you jumped up from the couch. “Fred.”

“Y/N, how was your day?” you watched as your usually overly confident best friend shuffled his feet bashfully.

“Sit down Fred,” you laughed. “We don’t have to be awkward, let's be grown ups now freddie. Tentacle tart?”

He nodded letting a carefree chuckle escape him. “Please, so we had sex.”

“I'm pretty sure we were both present, what should we do now? Pretend it never happened-?

“No, I don't want to pretend it never happened.”

“Neither of us have dated any since our school days, and we live in such close quarters I don’t think casual will suit us.”

“We don’t have to label it you know, we can just be us.” Fred finally met your eye, his usual smirk finally finding his face. “Bet mum would be happy.”

“We could just let them figure it out,” you chuckled. “Ginny told me the whole family has money on us.”

#fred weasley #fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x reader #harry potter fan fiction #Harry Potter

112 notes · View notes

siuilaruinofthegale · 3 years ago

Note

yes hello Sirius for the directors commentary >:DD

from chapter five of melodies of the war-born (always wondered why Shisui of all Uchiha (i was VVVV excited to see him bc i LOVE HIM) and just your overall thoughts while writing these goofs :D)

“Good afternoon, Sakura-san!” Shisui says, his eyes smiling just as much as his mouth. “Isn’t it a lovely day outside? Why, it’s almost as pretty as you are!”

She chokes a little and then laughs, looking away to hide the way her cheeks flush. Over the last few weeks, she’s run into him in the streets more than once, often enough to know he flirts like he breathes: constantly. It reminds her of Genma, but something about Shisui’s flirting feels a little more honest than Genma’s does. “Good afternoon, Shisui-san,” she replies after a minute. “I hope you’re well.”

“Better now that I’m with you,” he says, joining in her aimless wandering down the sidewalk. “I don’t suppose you’d care for some donburi or udon?” She opens her mouth to answer, and her stomach answers for her with a thunderous growl. Shisui laughs, and she flushes with embarrassment. “That sounds like a yes to me!”

Sakura flushes darker. “I… my rent is due tomorrow, Shisui-san, I’m afraid I shouldn’t be going anywhere for lunch.” She swallows, trying to calculate what she can spare, and offers meekly, “If you’d like, I could make —“

“Sakura-san, I’m an idiot, but I’m not a rude idiot,” Shisui chides her, voice surprisingly foreboding for someone so genial. “I asked you. That means it’s my treat.”

“But —“ she starts. Then she spies the bright specks in the corners of her eyes, the ones she knows precede the migraines she gets if she doesn’t eat soon, and she gives in. “…only if I get to treat you to something sometime.”

“It’s a deal!” he says, grinning down at her. “Got any preferences? Given how often you take Naruto-kun into Ichiraku, I didn’t think I should put ramen on the table, but…”

She wrinkles her nose at him. “No. No ramen,” she answers. “Do you like chicken katsudon? Umehara’s stand isn’t far, and her chicken’s the best.”

(this ask is a reference to This Post, and here's a link to chapter five of melodies of the war-born; I'm tagging Shisui/Sakura because it's a tangential ship in melodies that's being discussed here, but the fic itself is Kakashi/Sakura)

Gonna put this behind a cut because it's gonna be long.

Honestly, my initial plans were completely different from how it ended up turning out... which is why I rarely outline things. They never stay the same. Initially, Shisui or Genma was going to play Kenta's role, and Kenta was going to play Shisui's role. The more I read and poked around, though, I became more and more certain that would be a disservice to both Genma and Shisui. Hence Kenta's existence.

I went with Shisui for the romance because I'd already tormented Genma in an earlier chapter, and I also.... well, I liked the path forward that a ShiSaku romance laid out, as well as a lot of the parallels between Shisui and Sakura. They're both emotional, they're talented, they care more than they should, and they (at least to me) have very staunch ideals about What's Right. Shisui's a lot more loyal to Konoha-as-a-concept, and consequently the Hokage, than my melodies!Sakura is, and I thought that'd be some really interesting conflict to explore.

For this scene in particular, it's something that I had planned by the time I finished the last scene in chapter four. It's really important to me that I write main characters (which Sakura definitely is in melodies) being wrong, and mistaken, and having conflicts that aren't just Me Right You Wrong Me Good You Bad. In chapter three and four, Shisui flirts with Sakura, and she gets an impression of him as a womanizing jerk. When Kenta hits on her, and she finds out why, her impression of Shisui changes to a womanizing jerk who doesn't care about anything, because he 'lets' Kenta do this weird rivalry thing and harass women.

Then she confronts the Hokage about Itachi in chapter four, and later, Shisui thanks her for standing up for Itachi and reveals why he's so grateful for it. I'm putting that section here, for reference:

“Believe it or not, they called me a genius once.”

“They still do,” she interjects.

He smiles a little and keeps talking. “As far as those things go, I got pretty lucky. Once I got old enough to figure things out, all I had to do was be an idiot. Then — poof! No more high expectations!” Shisui swallows. She slows her steps as she figures out where he’s going. “Itachi… he doesn’t have that option. He’s from the head family. He’s going to be heir. If he tries to do what I did, they’ll just make Sasuke heir. Itachi cares about his brother too much for that.”

He glances at her, like he’s checking to see if she follows his train of thought, and she nods. “Itachi’s never had the chance to be a kid. I don’t think I ever saw him touch a toy. Fugaku-sama pushes him so hard…” Sakura stops and nods upwards, to her balcony, and he follows her up. He keeps talking, following her into her apartment. “So… that’s why I’m saying thanks. Everyone else just looks at Itachi and sees the Uchiha genius. I don’t even know if Mikoto-sama fought against Itachi being ANBU. They’re just proud.”

That changes her impression of him to 'womanizer, not necessarily a jerk, cares about family'. It puts her perception of him off-center and takes it from "this is the truth" to "this might be true", and primes her for the events of chapter five, which further change that perception.

This scene is an intersection of events and consequences that make Sakura do things she wouldn't normally do. She's short on money because of her demotion, so she's being a lot more frugal than normal. She's shopping alone because she's prideful and doesn't want Kurenai to see her being "poor", which allows Shisui to accost her alone.

She's run into Shisui enough to know he just flirts as a way of life, so she's revised her opinion of him to 'sassy, family-loving idiot'. That being said, she's also noticed he's not much for lying, and he always gives her genuine compliments. When compliments are both genuine and unexpected, it's much harder not to accept them and enjoy them.

She hasn't eaten enough for the day, so she's both hungry and embarrassed enough to accept his invitation for food, which sets her a little farther off balance -- inviting him into her home again would've set her off balance in a different way, because it'd feel more like she had the 'power' there...

Which means it wouldn't have affected her quite the same way if she'd felt like it was her bequeathing knowledge rather than sharing it, once Shisui asks for resources to help Itachi. It makes her feel more like a friend and less like an authority.

Farther on, he accosts her again, and asks questions that are both insightful and challenging -- something most people don't manage. Her perception of him changes again, and again, until she realizes near the end of the chapter that he's just as multi-faceted as her, and he seems to like her, and that they just click in a way she's not used to.

And then THEY HAVE SMOOCHIES.

#siuil stuff #shisaku #ask games #multisaku

25 notes · View notes

secret-engima · 4 years ago

Note

I am enjoying reading these snippets you're posting SO MUCH. I was head over heels when you posted the first meeting/reunion between Oscar and Ozpin (I fully intend on leaving a longer, more detailed response/review when RL permits) and this one? Of Neo, Mercury, and Emerald teaming up to kill Marcus Black? Wow. Your warning of 'blood and gore' was accurate, but it was amazing to see their teamwork in action - and just as amazing to see it demonstrated, once again, just how /devastating/ (cont)

hamelin-born

said:

(cont) illusions can be when applied by someone who knows what they're doing. And Neo and Emerald working to *combine* their respective illusion-based Semblances? They're /lethal/. To paraphrase a story I once read, the best illusions incorporate/play off of a person's own expectations - and that's showcased perfectly here. And - quick question? According to wiki, Marcus is stated to have 'stolen' Mercury's Semblance - did that happen here? Or does Mercury still have his Semblance?

hamelin-born

said:

And then, you think about it, and you realize - Oscar. Oscar has won the loyalty, the respect, and the admiration of this group of cold-blooded killers. He's helped them become their best selves - and you realize, once again, just - how /good/ Oscar is. And, in turn, how lethally competent /he/ can be, in turn.

Me: :DD I’m so glad you enjoyed! And I look forward to whatever review/response you give for the Reunion shot :D.

Yeah I’m gonna have to tag the entire fic for blood and gore probably, because- *flaps hands* Underworld. Team of bad guys saving the world the only way they know how XD.

Illusions like what Neo and Emerald can use have the potential to be so DEVASTATING, either on a large scale or a little one, and put them together. Whooo boy.

We don’t know when Marcus Black stole Mercury’s Semblance in canon, but I’m going to assume that it had to manifest first, so in this AU we’re taking pity on Merc and saying that his Semblance hadn’t shown up yet (it would have in like- two more months and then immediately get stolen), so he still has it! Yay! Mercury is going to be so shocked, because he’s so used to not having a Semblance that when it does pop up again he’s going to *flail*.

And yes. YES. This was kinda the big reason I wanted to do this AU. The idea that these people are killers and thieves, liars and cutthroats ... and they are Oscar’s. OSCAR won their loyalty, their trust, their faith. Oscar leads them not just to victory but to being BETTER than they were. And they love him, they trust him, and oh how strange and powerful it is, to hold the love of killers and thieves in his hands. And it’s touching.

And then you remember that people like them do not follow the weak. So no matter how gentle and kind Oscar chooses to be, one look at the people who follow him and there is no mistaking how deadly he can be if he decides it is necessary.

#SE asks #hamelin-born asks #Secret Engima Rambles #Team Gremlin verse

47 notes · View notes

sideblogformindtrash · 4 years ago

Text

CW: Deshumanization; conditioning; Death; Pet/slave whumpee; drugs mention; self-hatred; touching;

for context: is a few years before events with Haru and others.

The pet was unnerving him. He wanted to do something. Orfeu tumbled their fingers on the table, but that wasn’t helping, so they clutched their arms instead. Arms far too thin, nails that easily dug onto the skin.

But people were already looking at him weird from the moment he stepped in. He had money today – he really had. He paid for his food, and even if he looked ragged and filthy, he still had the right to be there. Right…?

But of course, he was still the demon and he would always be a demon. A fairly ragged one right now. And people already thought he was weird so… So what did it matter if he made even more of a scene?

He used to enjoy the company of the ghosts, their stories and peaceful slow half-existence. They were always so mysterious, and quiet too… But not the pet ghosts, those were something else. Anyone who had suffered just… too much in life… and couldn’t face death.

And he only saw those once he came down the mountain, into the mundane world. The priests always told him about how corrupted and evil the people downhill where and… sometimes it really seemed like it was true.

There were no pets up on the mountain. Not alive, and not dead. Everyone was a slave of god, sure, but that was fair and kind and just. No man was slave to one another. He didn’t knew the pets even existed. And it made him nauseous when he found out. He wanted to run up the mountain again but… He could never go back. He belonged to the mundane world now.

…And here, there were pets, alive and dead. The pet was crying, pleading, desperately begging and trying to grab the attention of a man eating on a table, completely oblivious to the absurd suffering of the creature at its feet. Judging by the looks – the long, black clothes – it might be one of the trainers. The ghost was clinging so hard to the person who might just be the cause of their pain in the first place. But what else did they knew?

He sighed. Fuck it, he decided, gathering the courage to walk up to them. People were already looking at him weird anyway so what did he care?

He walked up to the trainer’s table and kneeled by the side of their chair, right in front of the flickering, colorful person, half-defined by lines of neon-displaced colors that shifted and changed. Just enough so that he could see them.

The trainer immediately glared at him. The man was obviously used to having people kneeling by them… but not a strange, ragged teenager, at a dinner. And he knew the trainer must have thought he was a stray or something like that. He spoke before the man could.

“Stop. Pet. Stop, you have to stop. Look at me.” He was harsh, sure, but he doubted he could get the pet’s attention otherwise, when they were so badly crying and wailing. Besides… it worked. “Yes, good. He can’t hear you. So stop. He can’t see you either. You need to stop.”

The trainer raised an eyebrow, now with a perfect ‘what the fuck’ look. He was about to speak again, so Orfeu quickly turned to him and smiled, pretty sure that seeing his perfectly sharp teeth would be enough to make the man quiet for a few more seconds.

“T-t-trainer T-To-dd- s-s-aid I-It h-had t-t-to be g-good…” The ghost sniffed, managing to look at him “T-they won’t… Won’t t-t-talk e-even i-it is. I-is it b-being p-punished? C-can Sir t-talk to pet?”

“You aren’t being punished. They can’t see you, or hear you. They really can’t.”

“-W-wh-why?” they looked desperate. And Orfeu hated that question because the truth was painful and no lie would ever suffice.

“Because… Because you are dead” He bit his lip, letting the tiny points show trough.

“Kid, just what the fuck are you-“ the man said, on an annoyed voice.

“I’m helping you trainer Todd” they said, with a mocking tone on that last part, basically hissing at them “Unless you want to get haunted forever. You probably deserve it. But the poor ghost doesn’t”

“Wait… is that a runaway?” Someone asked to the trainer, who shrugged, picking up their phone to snap a picture.

“I think it’s just high!” a lady cut, shaking her head in disapproval.

“High on Christ, lady. I’m doing God’s work here.” He raised his hands up, just like at the sermons “Y’all with me? Singing hallelujah, hands to the air!”

“Th-tra-trainer is i-is a-angry” they lost the ghost’s attention, shit. They were staring at the man again, ready to go back to its babbling.

“Not at you” he cut quickly, so that the ghost wouldn’t get lost again “Look. You can’t do this forever. You can’t keep following them. Please. You are dead.”

They shook their head clutching their tiny hands against the trainer’s leg, incapable of letting go. The man must have felt a shiver, with the ghost touching them… without really touching. But they were cold. The dead were cold.

“H-h-how c-can y-you S-sir s-see pe-e-t i-if i-it’s dead…?” They asked, clinging so hard to the fucking bastard that hurt them… Just like Orfeu remembered doing so many times too. Who the fuck was he to judge?

“I made you a question! How do you know my name?” The trainer said with his hands into a fist. Yes, he definitely was thinking he was one of theirs. And that was a headache he didn’t want to deal with right now. He wondered if they had noticed the whip lines on his back. He looked with the deadliest expression he could manage.

“Because I’m an aberration of nature and god has cast a curse on me upon my birth” Answer worked for both questions –trainer and ghost-, but he said it a bit too harshly, then regretted it as the pet flinched. This almost was enough to send the colors that formed them into a prism.

Orfeu wanted to beat himself for it now the pet really doesn’t need to see him angry. He is the last person he can interact with and… He should at least be kind. He didn’t have to help, it wasn’t his problem but… he decided to do it so now it was his problem. They seemed to stabilize a little bit after a moment.

“See? He is high!” the lady repeated.

“…He looks sick” A worker from the store suggested, trying to de-escalate the situation.

“Please. You can’t cling to them forever. I know is scary but… But nothing can hurt you anymore.”

He offered a hand, a bit hesitantly. He hated hated hated being touched by the ghosts but… they needed the warmth. Those lost eyes carried only fear and loss and pain. They deserved a little bit of warmth, just this once.

The ghost hesitantly leaned forward… and let their hands touch, just slightly. Their eyes lit up as they felt… touch. Real, solid touch, like they hadn’t felt since… Who knows? They got a bit too excited and jumped on them, craving a hug… eyes absolutely glimmering with joy. Their colors stabilized so much they almost looked like a human again. Orfeu gasped, but tried to stay still and let them.

The touch wasn’t nearly as nice on his side. It was only half-real. And it was like ice. A shiver ran through his spine, color drained of his face and all his body feeling cold.

“What the hell? Is he having a stroke now?” noise of people around him. Someone threw a… table towel over his shoulder. He didn’t move. The trainer seemed to be on the phone.

“E-e-enough” he said, teeth clattering. The ghost backed down, and stared at him, horrified.

“D-did it… caused this?” their eyes widened, they blinked in and out of reality “is…is it…really…?”

“…Is fine… Y-your suffering has ended. The worms have been fed. You can rest” he said, trying to keep his head in place, make sense of his own thoughts “You… you remember your name?”

“It… It has a n-number….006778… b-but n-name…” they looked down, at their hands, multicolored, multi-dimensioned “No… it-it doesn’t. I-it d-desn’t… have one”

They cast a terrified look to the trainer, who was somewhere on the back, still on the phone. There is people moving around them awkwardly too, discussing something. Someone seems to be making a video.

“Kid are you okay?” some employee was kneeling in front of them now, their image somewhat merging with that of the ghost.

“I’m fine. Let’s get out of here. I’ll help you, I promise” Orfeu says, clutching the table cloth to retrieve his warmth faster, as the worker frowns, confused “I can go and ask for your files. If you feel like you need this to… to go on.”

“..G-go…w—where?” they asked again, tear streaming down their ghostly face.

“Kid, you don’t look okay. You need some water?” the worker’s voice is less real than the voice of the ghost now, and it doesn’t matter.

The pet lifted their eyes, glimmering and fearful. The people around them were closing in, so despite having nearly no heat left… they grabbed the pet’s arm and pulled them up, before they became too un-real to be held.

They walked out of the store, despite protests of the people around him. He couldn’t force the pet to follow him but… Luckily they did. At least they wouldn’t spend years tied up to the asshole trainer-guy until the man died too… And then wander alone forever wondering when the punishment would end.

“…I… I don’t know” Orfeu admitted, frowning “…Back home I guess. Same place where…. Where you were before you were born.”

“D-d-darkness” the ghost whispered, now not even bothering to… walk, just floating behind them “t-t-that’s what… was…”

“…And rest. Isn’t… Isn’t that right?” Orfeu asked, uncertain. People on the street now being disturbed by the weird teenager talking to fucking nothing, drapped on an ugly table cloth, half-running away from the diner.

The ghost didn’t answer, letting their head hang low.

“T-they… T-t-the t-t-rai-ner w-was p-punishing it… i-it thinks” they said, after a while, as Orfeu led them into less populated streets “i-it… i-it…r-reme-member… a… n-needle a-and… p-pain…. A-a lot o-of … pain… i-it c-couldn’t… h-handle i-it…b-but t-trainer s-said i-it ha-had too…”

“…But you really couldn’t.”

“I-it… really couldn’t”

Orfeu looked over their shoulder wondering if someone had followed them. Apparently not… But looking back wasn’t a good think for an Orfeu to do, he reminded himself. Only forward.

“You… You know you are outside now? It’s… It’s no longer the white hallways”

“I-is it?” they clutched the hands to their chest, looking around… and seeing for the first time, it seemed “Oh!”

“See… It’s… It’s not so bad now, is it? You like the flowers?”

“T-they… are pretty…” they nodded then closed their eyes, letting their non-body fall down on the floor, sitting crossed-legged.

“It… It is tired” they said, stopping, in the middle of an empty street, looking at the sun, and the houses and the flowers “I… I am tired”

“…You… You can rest now” he stopped too, looking as the ghost’s shape was less and less visible, a glimpse of foreign color under sunlight “I’ll… I’ll find were you are and leave you flowers.”

“I… I think I will” they stared a little longer “C-can you hold me? Just another moment… please? If… If you are not too cold”

He nodded and opened his arms again, giving the poor ghost a sad smile, sitting on the floor with arms opened. The ghost leaned into him, a sad, but peaceful expression. Acceptance.

They slowly faded, this time, for real. The ghost was un-made, leaving Orfeu alone, shivering on an empty street, despite the blazing hot sun, wrapped on an ugly table cloth of a dinner they could probably never go back into.

tag: @whump-me-all-night-long @whumpzone @twistedcaretaker @cupcakes-and-pain @oofthatsgottahurt

#oc whump #whump #orfeu and haru #screams in trying to interact with four different planes of existence at the same time #whump writing #is this confusing im sad #he pulling a ghost whisperer episode here

60 notes · View notes

bigskydreaming · 4 years ago

Text

thehollowprince said: I am looking forward to seeing how this all unfolds, because its a great premise, though I don’t know if I would have attempted to juggle all the chimeras the way you are. Although, speaking of chimeras, where’s Theo? I have a hunch he’s the one “helping” Hayden’s sister, and I’m curious as to what happened to the other chimera? The big one with the Garuda talons? Belasko?

Belasko is long dead and gone in this, he was a willing accomplice/minion of the Dread Doctors and official in-story fate for him is that he thus eventually died from incompatibility with his ‘donor’ material the way several of the other chimeras did in canon and Hayden was going to without Scott giving her the bite. The reason the chimeras are all werewolves here is because as Corey briefly alluded to while he and Lucas were investigating the creepy Fae Murder-House, they WERE chimeras created/experimented on by the DD just like in the show.

And when Scott and his core pack of Malia, Aiden and Ethan plus the surviving members of Satomi’s pack who escaped Kali with them like Brett, Carrie and Lori, like....when pre-story, they tracked down the Doctors’ most recent lair in the hopes of finding Theo, who Scott, Malia, Aiden and Ethan hoped was still alive even though they believed he died in their original escape from the Doctors, they found the other chimeras and took them with them instead. Eventually, of course, some of them like Hayden started dying because of their chimera natures, and since the Scott of this AU has different issues with the bite and his werewolf nature because of how things went down here versus how they happened in canon.....one of the ripple effects of that is here he’s less opposed to offering the bite when it seems needed, and so he offered and they all accepted rather than risk the poisoning fate that they had no way of knowing whether or not it might happen to them all at some point or not.

The not in-story explanation for the lack of Belasko is I simply said, with feeling, “Oh FUCK no, that is NOT remotely what a garuda is, Davis you freaking hack, Garuda isn’t even something you can freaking pluralize since he’s a being not a supernatural species, and I already oh fucked no this with Hayden and your nagual shit and oh fucked no this with your wendigo and skinwalker shit and I just effin’ refuse to oh fuck no this again so y’know what, Belasko’s dead, he died, oh no, much sadness, no more ‘garuda’ chimeras. And what the fuck was even up with his plot vehicle of a power anyway, like why the fuck did you even decide that ‘garuda’ was the best and only match for ‘a supernatural being that takes other peoples’ powers.’ Like, we get it, you made the chimeras to be the X-Men story nobody was ever going to pay you to write, but Belasko’s no fucking Rogue, and know what? Now you did it, I just decided in fact he’s just dead. You only have yourself to blame. Shouldn’t have made him suck, then maybe somebody would give a shit.”

Ahem. Anyway. Yeah that’s the backstory for the lack of Belasko. In shorter news, Donovan also died offscreen simply because I was fucking sick to death of everything said about him and that stupid shoe-horned ‘schism’ resulting from his canon death so I just made the executive decision to just nope him out of existence and just Not with him instead.

The only other remaining chimera was Noah, the berserker chimera played by Jordan Fisher who as you know, I very much like and felt was wasted by the show, so he’s still very much around and kicking, as was briefly mentioned when they were talking about Hayden’s sister.. He accepted the bite the same as the rest of the chimeras, but he still had a home and family he felt missed him and was worth going back to, so he went home with Scott and the rest of the pack’s blessing and well-wishes. That was very much laid in there as a Chekhov’s gun of a plot point to pay off later. (Hayden of course misses her sister a great deal, but she suffers from some insecurities and doubts pre-existing from her and Val’s parents’ deaths that made her feel that going home would just mean danger would follow her there, much like the reason Scott left and stayed away from Beacon Hills. Whereas Noah doesn’t have similar reasons or Peter-related issues for feeling this way and mostly was just sure if his mother could hear him expressing such a sentiment, she’d ground the shit out of him for even thinking that was an acceptable explanation for staying away. He was always meant to show up eventually though).

ACTUAL SPOILER-Y SPOLERS I guess, if anybody is concerned on that front at this point, lmfao:

And yup, Theo is absolutely the ‘anonymous source’ behind Hayden’s sister suddenly deciding out of the blue that there was some clue to be found in New York. He did survive and has been playing a longterm game of his own all along, because I stan a villainous Theo who isn’t an inherently just evil or irredeemable character, but one who has believed himself to be the only one looking out for his best interests and used to doing so for long enough that he has as of now convinced himself he can explain or justify most any actions he takes for this reason, at least enough to satisfy his own conscience. I just find Theo incredibly more compelling as the teenage version of canon Peter to act as a foil to Scott, as opposed to the teenage version of fanon Peter to act as a victim to Scott, y’know, the way most everybody decided to view him as.

The spoiler-y part is that like Aiden and Ethan briefly mentioned to each other when they first showed up in Beacon Hills, Theo was one of the original DD captives in this universe, along with Scott, Malia, Aiden and Ethan - a werewolf being experimented alongside the other four by the Doctors, for their ‘unique’ traits. (Malia and Theo’s full-shift abilities, Aiden and Ethan’s ‘twin connection’ and Scott’s seemingly greater-than-average resistance to magic like mountain ash circles, with this of course actual being an indicator of his future status as a True Alpha. The one and only difference I made to Theo’s backstory here is that he’s actually a werewolf and not a chimera here. He was changed by a rogue Alpha’s bite at one point, much like he’d claimed originally on the show). Anyway, at one point, the Doctors’ experiments finally triggered Scott’s ascension to True Alpha by essentially pushing at his protective instincts in regards to the others.

But while this was something the Doctors were aiming for, having their own uses for a potential True Alpha’s power/nature, there was an unexpected side-effect they hadn’t planned for, given that there wasn’t much data for them to go off of when it came to True Alphas because of how rare they are (at least by the time the Dread Doctors came along, though that wasn’t always the case, as Alberich expressed to Lucas and Corey).

What they didn’t account for stems back to that long as fuck meta I wrote ages ago about how I view ‘the shape you take reflects the person you are’ in canon, and True Alphas. Basically, my take has always been you either are a True Alpha or you’re not. There’s no ‘level-up’ process, no ACTUAL ‘ascension.’ To me, TA just means like.....a werewolf who is ALWAYS more of a leader than ever a follower, since even other Alphas like Derek, Peter, and the Alpha Pack have demonstrated that at least before they were each alphas, they were all more than capable of and willing to exist as betas to another alpha, even if that alpha was just their direct predecessor and a born relative. Scott’s unique-ness within the Teen Wolf universe ultimately comes down to one thing and one thing only for me.....no matter how his personal views and morality evolved and changed over time, the one thing that was a constant was that no matter what, he was never willing to follow anyone he didn’t believe had a ‘right’ to lead him or command him, and he wasn’t swayed by the usual arguments of why a werewolf like him, a seeming beta, SHOULD view someone like Peter or Derek having the ‘right’ to command his allegiance.

Because even though he wasn’t technically an Alpha until 3A......Scott by Derek’s own admission was never really a beta or an omega. To be a beta, he would have had to ACTUALLY accept Peter or Derek’s ability or right to command his allegiance, which he never actually did, and he was never really an omega either, because as Derek said in S2, he realized the reason he had so much trouble convincing Scott to join him was he was already the alpha of his own pack. Since, like Scott’s later pack always included non-werewolves, there was never actually any reason why Allison and Stiles COULDN’T have been considered his pack all along.

The only reason IMO that Scott wasn’t a True Alpha from day one, is because he came into the werewolf world not having a clue what the ‘rules’ were, and from day one, every single person to fill him in on what the rules were, did so according to their traditional/more common views of how ‘things worked.’ He didn’t immediately reveal himself as a TA because he didn’t realize such a thing even existed, or it was even possible to be one, and so for a time it kinda existed....in flux, as it were. He wasn’t truly a beta or omega because neither was in his nature - he was very much a social creature, a pack entity more suited to being surrounded by others than a loner, but he was also not remotely someone willing to set aside his own views, beliefs or goals in order to follow someone else’s, even if the price for that unwillingness was being essentially outcast as far as both ‘normal werewolf society’ and normal human society viewed things. He simply reflected the IMAGE of being a beta or an omega, gold eyes and all, because as far as he knew, as far as he’d internalized as of that point, that was who he was supposed to be or all he COULD possibly be.

What changed this for him wasn’t just being made aware that True Alphas were a thing, albeit rare, like in 3A when Deaton first mentioned it. Because after all, the only REASON Deaton brought it up, was because Scott and others were ALREADY confused by the occasional flickers of alpha red they witnessed his eyes showing, like in the fight with Ennis, and technically, going all the way back to Night School in S1, where his eyes flickered red when he defied Peter’s efforts to mentally exert dominance over him and make him kill the others. Basically, just like when he matched Ennis blow for blow, even if just briefly, even though as the bigger, stronger, and more experienced and ALPHA werewolf Ennis should have swatted him aside like a fly, not just knocked him back a few feet......the flickers of Alpha red showed up just when Scott seemingly defied the ‘rules’ of werewolf nature and refused to give way to an Alpha’s dominance the way that most other betas and omegas typically were seen or believed to.

IMO its as simple as ‘at these times and others, Scott SHOWED that he was simply NOT a beta, he refused to follow any convictions MORE than his own, and he was consistently SHOWN to never truly be an omega, because how can someone be packless when someone has people already willing to follow HIM’.....and thus, he was a True Alpha all along, simply because Alpha was the only word left to describe him, even if he never inherited the ‘power’ from another Alpha or ‘stole it’ by killing one. The only thing that ever actually changed for him, was that he existed as a werewolf long enough and in enough defiance of ‘the way things worked’ that he just stopped ACCEPTING that beta and omega were the only two options that existed to define him, and he just for the first time fully internalized his own belief that he didn’t NEED others to define him, that it was enough that he just exist as he already was. His own self-image, self-WORTH, was all that he needed.

And that’s why the pivotal moment in which he ‘ascended’ to True Alpha once and for all, was basically when he was once again saying ‘fuck you’ to the ‘rules’ when he broke through Jennifer’s mountain ash circle, something he shouldn’t have been capable of. He was able to do it, and manifest fully as the True Alpha he’d been all along, because in that moment, he deliberately and with INTENT, like with full conscious awareness of what he was doing, that he was fully attempting to accomplish what everyone else claimed was impossible, he basically said “the rules don’t matter to me, the fact that everyone believes I SHOULDN’T be able to do this doesn’t matter to me, the only thing that matters to me is I’m going to do it whether anyone else believes I can or not. Only I and I alone get to decide who I am and what I’m capable of.”

THAT in my opinion is what True Alpha always meant, and its why Scott was the only one we saw on the show....because his narrative, deliberately from day one, was ALWAYS one of self-determination above all else.

So basically, the same logic and reasoning all applies to LC and his ‘ascension’ to True Alpha there....it was the same thing. He was one all along, but only became one when his conscious AND subconscious reflection of ‘the way things worked’ gave way to his stronger self-determination and refuses to just ACCEPT the way things work. And because here the Dread Doctors, like most everyone else in universe, like except for those like say, Alberich, because they just innately didn’t understand the real nature of True Alphas and what made someone one and WHY they’d become so rare (essentially, it became like a self-fulfilling prophecy - the more rare True Alphas became, the less of them there were because the less new and young werewolves believed let alone ACCEPTED that there was an alternative to following those they didn’t believe in, if they simply....refuted it enough via their own self-image).....but because the Doctors didn’t fully GET that Scott wasn’t just a potential True Alpha, but was already kinda a....True Alpha in-cocoon so to speak....they didn’t fully realize all the potential repercussions of them trying to PUSH him into manifesting as one the way they were.

And so the thing where it was mentioned that the twins, Scott and Malia all kinda ‘share’ each other’s unique traits now, with all of them able to full-shift, all of them sharing a lesser degree of the same psychic connection the twins do, and Scott’s seeming greater-than-average resistance to magic....that happened all on its own, the second Scott ‘fully’ became a True Alpha, and its the part the DD didn’t prepare for and didn’t understand. Because by not getting that Scott had already been an Alpha the whole time, they didn’t realize that these shapeshifters they’d been keeping in close proximity to one another, in shared predicaments, and clearly developing bonds because of it....like, just as Scott was already an Alpha by then, they were ALREADY a pack by then. They just didn’t know it, because well, a pack needs an alpha and they didn’t realize they already had one. So basically, they already HAD a pack bond, and thus when that combined with the Dread Doctors’ actual experiment and the kinda.....magical reaffirmation of Scott’s own self-image and alphahood rippled back through the suddenly VERY REAL and very CLEARLY real pack bond all at once, like it’d simply magically sprung into existence instead of just showing what had already been there in a different shape or form.....this all added together to kinda create this supernatural compounding effect. And thus, pretty much by accident, the Dread Doctors managed to completely unintentionally create a REAL throwback to the werewolf packs of old, like Alberich and the other Fae had ORIGINALLY ‘designed’ them to be.

Because just like the power of a werewolf comes from essentially being the supernatural embodiment of their strength of self, of their inner power, who and what they really are....(and why the shape an Alpha takes in the show varies so tremendously based on how the various Alphas viewed THEMSELVES and their own power)....

So too, is the power of a werewolf PACK the supernatural embodiment of the idea of the pack in full....the idea that the whole is GREATER than just the sum of its parts. Which is why the more werewolves get added to a pack, the more EACH individual pack member’s strength, healing, etc, increased as a whole. And thus here, that was true, but in addition, these various unique shapeshifters also ended up sharing the same traits that made each of them ON THEIR OWN fairly distinct....which actually is the way it was always intended to be, and once had been true of ancient packs.

(As of now, only the core pack of Scott, Malia, Aiden and Ethan share in this ‘level’ of their pack bond, but as for why that is, the answer is actually in the above explantion, lol).

So yeah, Scott manifested as a True Alpha, instant pack bond whammo, and reacting pretty much on instinct to the surprise this created for the DD, they escaped, largely by instinctively pulling on EACH OTHER’S individual gifts...because while the way the DD held them captive took into account their respective gifts, like say, Malia’s ability to full-shift, it DIDN’T take into account the possibility of all of them suddenly being able to full-shift without warning.

And then Scott, Malia, Aiden and Ethan escaped and spent the next several months wandering, stuck in their full-shfit shapes because they didn’t entirely yet understand what had happened or how, and so with that and the trauma they’d endured, it took them awhile to like....remember how to shift BACK, essentially.

At the time, the four of them all believed Theo had died in their escape attempt. But after they eventually got free of Kali and Julia, and had added the surviving members of Satomi’s old pack, they decided to try and track down the Dread Doctors in the hope that Theo was still alive....because now, with a better understanding of what had happened and what they were capable of, they were convinced they could still feel Theo through their initial pack bond.

Instead they found the chimeras and no sign of Theo, and with the urgency of at least getting these latest prisoners of the DD safe and sound, they kinda accepted that maybe they were wrong and it was just wishful thinking that they’d been so sure they could still feel Theo.

Or at least, Scott and Aiden did. Ethan and Malia, not quite.

You remember when Josh, Tracy, Lucas and Corey met with Malia in the park at night while Lucas and Corey told them about meeting Alberich and everything he’d said and hinted at, and the ‘offer’ he’d asked them to take to Scott? And how Malia firmly shut that shit down and all but ordered all of them not to say a word, because as she said, Scott absolutely would take Alberich’s deal without a second thought, to keep the rest of them safe, no matter what it meant for him? When they asked if that meant not telling the twins either, and Malia said yes because Ethan would agree but Aiden never would, and Lucas asked if this meant she and Ethan HAD ever before kept something from Scott and Aiden specifically and she said yes but refused to elaborate further.....this is what that was referencing.

Because when they went back for Theo and found the chimeras instead, Ethan and Malia ended up on their own at one point, and this is when they discovered that Theo had been a plant all along. Yes he was a werewolf in this AU, but he’d still ended up working for the Dread Doctors in exchange for getting away from the Alpha who’d turned him. They’d put him in with the others under the guise of him just being another experiment, in order to utilize him as a kind of control variable to nudge the others in ways and at times they expected them to be resistant to just going along with the Doctors’ latest experiment.

At the time, they didn’t find any proof that Theo was still alive after all, just this, so Malia and Ethan did still very much believe that he was dead at this point, same as Scott and Aiden now.....and so they felt that there was no point in telling them this and disillusioning them with Theo’s betrayal/complicity the way they felt betrayed by this information, and that it would just make things worse. They honestly felt they were protecting them by doing this, or at least Scott as he was the one they were concerned would take it the worst given how much responsibility he feels for everything and everyone.....but they also agreed not to tell Aiden as they didn’t think he’d agree to keep it from Scott. As Aiden in this AU is extremely ride or die from Scott and hates subterfuge as a general rule (but also, because hiding the info about Theo and this deal about Alberich is absolutely doomed to bite them in the ass, and Scott needed to have at least ONE of the inner circle who wasn’t hiding anything from him, specifically BECAUSE they knew he wouldn’t agree to it, just like Josh is of course, Very Not Happy about being asked to hide this stuff about Alberich and his offer).

So yeah, Theo of course did survive the original escape attempt and escaped himself and decided to stay that way and that he’d had enough of the Doctors’ ‘help’/employment.....

But also in no small part because he’d ended up getting hit by/included in the pack bond the same as the others when it manifested, and considering he was as clueless why as any of them at first, he had no doubt that if he stayed in the Doctors’ reach, they’d be quite keen to use him for all their experiments into why and what it meant regardless of his ‘allegiances.’

Ever since then, he’s kinda been on his own doing his own thing, and he had no plans to go after the others or do anything more to them at first, as this Theo DOES still have a conscience and while he believes in looking out for number one, it DID still at times ping while lying to the others.....but that kinda changed once he worked out for himself a little bit of what it meant that he still could ‘feel’ the others, as well as being more resistant to magic now than he’d been previously. Because to ACTUALLY partake in the pack bond that’d been created, that meant that at least some of the bond he’d ‘faked’ creating with the others actually HAD been real. It wouldn’t have been enough for just THEM to believe it’d been real, and him to benefit from getting their portion of things as a result, like he’d originally tried to convince himself. Because see, once he did track down the others and observe them from afar, just to test his own theories, he found out that just like him....Scott and the twins now could full-shift into coyotes, like Malia. That, after all, was what they’d all gotten from her.

But, they - and Malia - ALSO could full-shift into wolves. Just like him.

And that, they could have ONLY gotten from HIM. The others didn’t get just a full-shift ability from Malia....they got the ability to shift fully into BOTH their wolf selves, and a coyote version of themselves, due to how closely related wolves and coyotes are, and thus they just sort of manifest slightly different selves via that shared family connection. It probably wouldn’t have worked the same way if Malia had been like a were-bear shifter or something, but another canine, yeah. They don’t use the other shape much at all, because for Scott, Ethan, Aiden and Theo, the wolf is what FEELS most like ‘them,’ whereas the coyote feels like a comfortable, well-fitting disguise they can slip into from time to time, while for Malia its the same in reverse, but its still something they each have.

And thus while the others could make the assumption, given that they thought Theo was dead or dead and a fake the whole time, that both full-shifts came from Malia’s ability just combined with the wolf nature of the other three.....for Theo, there was no denying that the reality was that the wolf full-shifts came from him. From him - unknowingly or not - ACTUALLY offering it up through the pack bond....something that only could have happened as something he GAVE, not that they just TOOK. Something, that was proof that somehow, without realizing it, the bonds he’d formed during that initial time had actually become a lot more real than he’d convinced even himself.

And Theo does NOT care for that realization.

Because see, if ANY of that was real, on his end, that gave those pings of his conscience from way back then renewed life and intensity, and frankly, he doesn’t care too much for his conscience. Its loud and annoying and inconvenient, and he’d quite like it to go suck a dick when he’s being comfortably amoral and doing whatever he damn well feels like doing for no other reason than because he feels like it. But now the thing’s always peskily droning away in the background reminding him its there, and Theo unfortunately tends to make some of his worst decisions when he’s testily trying to prove to his conscience that you’re not the boss of me and bitch, I do what I want.

Plus there’s the fact that on top of this, the very idea of MUTUAL pack bonds gives Theo very icky feelings of things like...obligation, and concern, and other four letter words that he very much just does not fuck with, thanks ever so much. With the cherry on top of his “I Did Not Ask For This, Please Take It Back To The Kitchen But No Not The Added Powers Too, Those Can Stay, I Like Those” Pie being that, well.....like I said, the reason none of them or the Dread Doctors realized ahead of time that they were already a pack, is because a pack needs an Alpha.

Which in time, makes Theo realize, that if on some level, he’s actually and still actually PACK, in his own subconscious as much as theirs.....then this by extension means....on some level, he views and accepts Scott as his alpha.

Theo: OH HELLLLLLLLLL NO.

Which, to my mind, is why Theo was always the perfect foil for Scott. Scott is a True Alpha who THINKS he’s okay with following but in actuality is never truly comfortable allowing another’s will to supersede his own, and would rather be on his own than with someone he’s uncomfortable following. Theo is a lone wolf who THINKS he’s okay being one and would never follow anyone but himself, but in actuality, he’s never truly been comfortable alone and he’s willing to allow others’ will to supersede his own if they offer comfort that outweighs his discomfort with the idea.

So Theo’s around making moves in the background because he has his own agenda for Fixing This and making things more in line with how he’d like them. There’s definitely an end game for that but I wouldn’t say its total redemption-oriented as he has absolutely Fucked Stuff Up before this point and will continue to do so, and with gusto, because he’s kinda his own worst enemy, but neither is it outright vilifaction and death and/or total ostracization/exile-esque. Its more...Theo is very much still in flux, somewhat like Scott was between being bitten and ‘becoming’ a True Alpha, and nothing that doesn’t go smoothly is totally without consequences. Its just.....Theo’s complicated, and he’s going to remain so, but what that means exactly tends to change over time. But like, Malia is also complicated, and so are Ethan and Aiden, and so is Scott, and they are all very different versions of complicated, so.......basically all I’m saying is I don’t think I could ever write a Theo that’s fully a ‘Good Guy’ but as much as I detest show Theo, like the twins, its because he could have been written a lot differently and been a lot more compelling for it, all without ever being a ‘Good Guy’ and so I’m not actually all that interested in writing him as an out and out no holds barred villain either.

9 notes · View notes

higuchimon · 5 years ago

Text

[fanfic] Choice Is Yours

Edo didn’t like sitting around in gardens, doing nothing in particular. Of course, there was never the Healer born who simply sat in a garden and did nothing, even if they weren’t moving. Sitting in the garden meant that they absorbed the energy of the earth, storing it to use later if they needed to heal someone, or taking care of a different gaden. Healers and the earth and the products thereof were inextricably twined about one another.

But even just sitting and absorbing wasn’t what he wanted to do. He’d already caught DD up on his latest duels – his string of victories in the pros didn’t look to end any time soon – and he’d also checked in with Saiou. There wasn’t anything new going on there.

So now he sat with his laptop and prowled around the internet searching for any hints of the Ultimate D. He picked up most of his information there, only going out to check in person when he’d achieved enough to be certain whoever his current target was had some interesting card.

Over the last few months he’d caught card thieves and false card creators who had a dozen Blue-Eyes White Dragons, four with cards that had been deemed unplayable by official regulations, and two duelists who liked to steal the decks of those they defeated in the back alleyways. He had a few leads that he suspected would lead him to the fabled underground duels at some point. So far he didn’t have enough information to know where to go.

He lazily prowled through some of the darker, more mysterious areas of the internet with one hand, while with the other he ran a finger over one of his favorite flowers - orange lilies. It quivered under his touch, nuzzling against his fingers. He’d grown this particular bush since he’d Bloomed at the age of six.

Well, he’d Bloomed at six. He’d planted the orange lilies a few months after that. Wherever he spent time, he made certain that a cutting of the bush took root and grew.

He moved his hand away from the laptop long enough to pick up his cup of tea and sipped at it. The moment he did, he knew something wasn’t right – he knew every flavor that his tea could and should have, and this wasn’t it. He set it down at once, staring at it, eyes narrowed.

There were few moments when he regretted not cultivating any close bonds with other Healers. Not many approved of his driving quest for revenge and none of those close to him – he shuddered at the sensation that ran through him and swept the tea cup off of the plate, sending it crashing to the ground.

Mizuchi. He needed to talk to Mizuchi. Now that he’d drunk it, his own powers weren’t going to work on it. He’d be happier if someone had tried to poison him. He could laugh that off – the poison hadn’t been invented that could affect a Healer beyond a few moments of queasiness. Some of the strongest Healers made a habit of lacing their own food with poison for the flavor.

But this wasn’t a poison. This was a drug that went by a thousand names throughout the world, and each name boiled down to one meaning: forced bond.

It had been a strong dose. He’d barely had a sip of it and already his pulse pounded and his heart raced and he didn’t want a Firestarter anywhere near him right now. Not that he’d ever wanted them near him, but this was different.

Mizuchi. No – not just Mizuchi. Edo staggered to his feet, barely noticing that his laptop tipped over, and stumbled his way out of his garden. He closed his eyes and rested for a few seconds on the gateway, trying to breathe and not having a great deal of luck doing it. With every moment it became harder to think.

No. He had to focus. He had to find Saiou and Mizuchi. Mizuchi would be able to clear the drug out of his system and Saiou would be able to find whoever did this to him.

The flowers whispered to one another and to him. Their words weren’t as clear as they’d been only a short time earlier, but then one word made it through his muddled hearing.

Firestarter.

Not what he wanted to hear. Not now. Though he bared his teeth in a savage smirk at the same time. Whoever this was, this had to be the one who’d dosed his tea. Why else would they be there now when he would be at his most vulnerable?

His hand dropped down and he could feel the lump of a cell phone in his pocket. He tried to get to it, his fingers twitching, but he couldn’t get a grip on the phone and it tumbled to the ground even as he pulled it. Edo wasn’t one to swear that often but a few words that he wouldn’t have wanted many others to hear tumbled from his lips as well.

All right. He could still think, even if it wasn’t very well, and the points remained clear – he needed to get out of here and he needed to get to Saiou, who could call Mizuchi. He needed to stay as far away from every Firestarter until he could get the drug cleared out of his system.

For a second he wondered if he should just stay in his garden – where he would be protected by every single plant in there – and try again to contact Saiou. His lip curled at the thought of just cowering there, no matter how safe he would be.

He could feel that Firestarter getting closer, though. The flame burned in his mind, clear and bright and possessive, wanting him and he would have none of it. So he pushed himself forward, stumbling down the hallway to the elevator. He wasn’t sure of where the Firestarter was – he couldn’t track them very well when every second that passed increased his desire to find that Firestarter and throw himself into their arms, regardless of who they were.

That was the peril of the bonding drug. It could force a bond on anyone regardless of their desires. All it would need would be for that Firestarter to find him and touch him and the bonding process would begin.

The very thought of doing that, of bonding to someone that he had not chosen sickened Edo. He would rather bond to a Frostflame than bond to anyone else because they wanted him and he didn’t want them.

So now he stumbled on farther, dragging in breaths by force of will. He knew where to find Saiou. He was three buildings over, behind a few bodyguards that would never have let anyone who wasn’t Edo see him. Not that Saiou needed them. He would always know if anything were going to happen.

Perhaps Saiou had foreseen this. Edo couldn’t be certain of that. He couldn’t be certain of anything right now. He simply forged ahead, his heart rate faster and faster with the effort.

“Edo Phoenix.” A Voice that he’d never heard before. A Voice laid with flame and fire, a Voice that like the voice of any Firestarter was that of fire incarnate. Not all of them made a point of it. This one did. It was a voice of flaming black velvet, rich and refined and demanding. “You’re not well. You should come here. I can make you feel much better.”

Oh, he knew exactly who this was. Not by name; this wasn’t a person that he recognized. But from what they said and the way one hand reached for him, he knew who they were.

The one who had done this to him. Or hired it done; there were always those who could break the law for their own benefit. Edo almost wished that he had bonded either to a true Firestarter or to a Fire Cat. Either one of those would protect him from this fool – probably by turning them into a small pile of ashes, easily swept up and thrown into the trash.

“No,” he croaked, his throat dry already. The drug had that effect, among others. It was meant to cause the victim to drink more, presumably of the drugged liquid, and reduce whatever resistance they’d been able to keep.

What made this more annoying than anything else right now was that this Firestarter stood between him and the elevator. What was second most annoying was that he couldn’t get hold of the plants in his garden. He was too far from them. He wasn’t sure right now if staying there would have been better or not. But he’d made his choice and he would slug through it no matter what.

The Firestarter laughed softly and took a lazy step forward. “I don’t think you have that many options. I put enough into that tea of yours so that we’ll be very happily bonded by tomorrow. Where else do you think you can go?” A lash of a smile that conveyed a disgusting sense of pleasure. “You’ll feel much better after we bond. You’re exactly the right type for me, and I for you.”

Edo took a step back. He tried to remember the layout of the building. There should be another exit from there, one that would lead to the ground floor and a way he could get to Saiou's as fast as possible. The closer this Firestarter got, though, the harder it was for him to keep his focus on what he wanted. Those flames beckoned, strong and burning and demanding.

“I wouldn’t have had to do this if you hadn’t turned me down at the mixer,” the Firestarter said, speaking as if this were a very normal interaction. Again another step was taken and again Edo shifted backwards. Under normal circumstances, he would have either summoned one of his favored plants or simply made a leap out the nearest window, trusting to his skills and strength to see him safely to the bottom.

Now, with his reactions spinning out of control and it becoming more and more difficult to string words together, he had to find another way to get out of this. The burning desire to find Saiou remained at the top of his thoughts, but doing so wasn’t as easy as thinking so.

“The mixer...” Oh. Yes. He remembered, ever so vaguely, now. There were plenty of mixers for Healers and Firestarters to find suitable folks to bond with. Not all of them did, but the Guild rather insisted that every Healer and Firestarter attend at least one a year. He’d gotten his for the year out of the way as soon as possible.

And he did remember this Firestarter now. Not the name – he didn’t think they’d ever been formally introduced – but he vividly recalled being approached, with this Firestarter addressing him as if Edo had existed in stasis for all of his life before now, merely waiting for the “perfect” Firestarter – who clearly this Firestarter believed themselves to be – to approach him.

“Oh, yes. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for such a long time now. And you turned me down.” Thin lips twisted. “I’m the only Firestarter for you. You’re the only Healer for me. I’m terribly sorry that I have to do it this way but you’re being so stubborn.” Again that twisting. “I suppose you have reason to be, of course. But you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

There were times when Edo wished he’d been born a Firestarter instead of a Healer. If he had, then right now he would have easily incinerated someone saying this to him. Just on the edges of his awareness he could sense his garden’s fury rising. If only they were closer -

Somehow, and he wasn’t certain if this Firestarter was just too close to him already and he hadn’t noticed or something else, they were within touching distance. They hadn’t touched yet; he thought they were enjoying how furious he was and what would happen if they did touch him.

He didn’t wait another second. He couldn’t. All that needed to happen was just one brush between them and he’d be overwhelmed by those flames, unable to get himself away from them. So he did what they would not expect him to do.

Edo darted forward. It still took more effort than he wanted to breathe, and he had to writhe around to make certain that no skin on skin contact happened. The Firestarter’s eyes widened and one hand began to move, reaching to grab him, and Edo dropped down low, rolling forward until he found himself out of reach and much closer to the elevator.

“You’re not going to be able to get out of here. I have friends,” the Firestarter warned, that sickeningly seductive voice taunting at him. “Even if you get down to the ground floor, they’ll find you and bring you back to me. Or even better, take you to my home so we can start bonding.”

Edo’s stomach churned and he couldn’t have said if it was because of what they said or if the drug just affected his stomach that badly. It didn’t make a great deal of difference. “Unwilling bonding is punishable by law,” he grated out, fingers scrambling to find the elevator buttons.

“I have to be caught first,” the Firestarter replied smugly. “And even then, you’d have to try to press charges and I don’t think you’re going to be in any condition to do so after we’re bonded. Not to mention there’s not a single Firestarter in this entire region that I couldn’t take in a firefight.”

“Perhaps. But there are other ways that combat can be held and I don’t think you can win at all of them.”

Edo’s eyes widened at the sound of that voice. Smooth in its own way, like tea, and ever so welcome now.

Though he didn’t have the faintest idea of how Saiou got there in the first place. The elevator hadn’t opened. There were stairs, but why would Saiou take the stairs?

It didn’t matter. Saiou stood there, just a few steps to Edo’s left, and he moved forward. From behind him came Mizuchi, hurrying over to Edo and resting one hand on his forehead. Edo would have paid more attention to what she was doing if most of his attention wasn’t taken up by Saiou.

Saiou stood there, his violet eyes staring intently at the Firestarter, who sneered back.

“And who do you think you are? This one’s mine. You can’t have him.”

Saiou shook his head. He almost seemed regretful. Edo didn’t think that he was. He’d seen Saiou regretful and this wasn’t it.

“I’d never take Edo against his will. Nor will I allow you to do so.” Saiou raised his head slowly and met the Firestarter’s furious gaze directly. “I’ve already disposed of your associates below. And now it is time for you.”

The Firestarter started to open their mouth, as if to protest. Not a single word escaped those lips, however. Nor could they move, though Edo could see them straining to. Fear started filling their eyes.

Good. Let them be afraid.

Edo wasn’t entirely certain of what Saiou did. Mizuchi moved in front of him so he couldn’t see, her fingers resting on his forehead. Her Fire Cat, Hina, sat beside him, offering support and nothing more. Edo wondered if perhaps he should find a Fire Cat of his own. He’d never wanted one before, never thought he could find one that would truly match him, just like a Firestarter had never matched him…

If only Saiou were a Firestarter. Now that he would consider.

When Saiou moved back from the other, the Firestarter’s eyes were glazed and shoulders slumped. Slowly they moved forward, but they didn’t so much as glance at Edo as they headed to the elevator.

“They’ll never attempt something like this again,” Saiou said, coming over to Edo and Mizuchi. “In fact, I believe that they will completely rethink their life and decide to return to their hometown instead of attempting to grasp what is forever beyond their reach.”

Edo blinked a little. He knew how Saiou's power could overwhelm the minds of others – he’d seen it before, though only on rare occasions. He’d just never seen it used to clearly in defense of him.

Of course, no one had ever tried to force a bond on him before either.

Mizuchi held out a hand to him as she got up. “We should go back to your garden,” she said quietly. ‘You’ll need to rest there to work the remainder of the drug out of you. I’ll make you some good tea as well. And find out how he got that drug into yours.”

Edo wanted to know that as well. That added another thought to the concept of bonding to a Fire Cat. It would be all but impossible to slip something like this past a Fire Cat.

“Also, I cleared a lot of it out of you, but there will still be side effects. You’re going to feel very much like cuddling to the nearest Firestarter you can find for the next few days until it gets out of you,” Mizuchi said, touching one finger to his chin before she turned to her brother. “I think you should reschedule his next two duels.”

Saiou considered for a few moments before he nodded. Edo very much wanted to ask how he’d known and how he’d gotten there in the nick of time. But as much as he felt better from Mizuchi’s ministrations, he couldn’t quite yet bring himself to coherent speech. The idea of cuddling mildly revolted him, especially since he knew quite well that he’d never want that if it weren’t for the drug.

Edo started to reach for Saiou's hand. Saiou hesitated for a few moments before he reached out to take it, his eyes flicking briefly over to Mizuchi and then back to Edo. At the touch of their hands, Edo shivered all over. He’d always known that Saiou had a special warmth to him, one that wasn’t quite a Firestarter’s warmth. But right now, there didn’t seem to be much of a difference.

Saiou and Mizuchi helped him back into his garden step by step. Edo wanted to stay awake. He wanted to ask questions and get answers, but his body had other ideas. Mizuchi helped him settle down on his favorite stretch of soft moss, the orange lilies and red zinnias nodding over him. Being in here would drain away the drugs and restore his mental balance over a period of hours or days. He would be himself again – and not clinging to someone else – as soon as possible.

He kept hold of Saiou's hand the whole time. It felt far better than it should have. Not on the level of a bond; but comforting and reassuring. He could trust Saiou. He did trust Saiou.

Saiou would never hurt him. Saiou promised to help him find whoever had murdered his father and stolen the Ultimate D. Saiou guided him in the Pro Leagues. Part of why he’d never chosen a Firestarter was the knowledge if he were truly meant to bond to someone, Saiou would have already told him who it was. Since Saiou hadn’t told him, then there wasn’t anyone.

And for that, he would do whatever Saiou needed him to do.

“How did you get here?” Edo managed to wrench the words from his lips, even as Saiou settled a soft blanket over him. He’d never felt this comfortable in his entire life. He’d be asleep in no time. But first, he just had to know.

“I sensed something wasn’t right with you. I tried to call but you didn’t answer.” Saiou settled cross-legged next to him, still holding Edo's hand in his own. “I contacted Mizuchi and came over to you.”

Edo nodded, his eyes trying to close and he forced themselves snot to. “I want to go to the Cat Adoption Center. I think – I think I need a Cat.”

Saiou agreed. “I think it’s time. I’m certain they have one that will be to your taste.”

So far as Edo cared, that meant there would be one. No doubts about it. Now he just had to find them. He thought he would want to ask more questions, but none of them came to mind now. Instead he closed his eyes and let himself drift off into the deep embrace of sleeping off the drugs.

And all through the hours of his sleeping, he kept his hand in Saiou's, and dreams filled his mind of days long past and days that might be to come, not one of them he remembered when he finally opened his eyes.

The End

Notes: I enjoyed writing this. And I know who Edo's Firestarter will be. Also, orange lilies mean 'revenge' in flower language and red zinnias 'loyalty'. Finally, I'm not ruling out a companion fic that would tell this from Saiou's point of view.

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #ygo gx #edo phoenix #saiou takuma #saiou mizuchi #au: firestarter/healer

4 notes · View notes

alwayslilmisstreated · 6 years ago

Text

Later - Seth x MC Fluff

Written for: @ikemen-discord-writers and anon ^^ Thank you so much for requesting this piece! Everyone knows I am in love with Seth Hyde (I consider myself, P.O.S.H. [Property of Seth Hyde]) and literally the only thing I could think of to write (that’s appropriate for the group, anyway) was this. Literally the ONLY thing Seth could do that would make me cry is reject me, so..... this fic was born.

This was rewritten about ten times (no bullshit), but due to certain things happening in real life, my writing has been put on the back burner for now, so I really hope you like this version I chose to go with. I am thinking about writing some NSFW fics for my blog with this prompt ^^ if you are interested, feedback is always welcome.

~~~~~~~

Seth shifted his weight in his seat uneasily as he glanced at the clock that was swiftly approaching midnight. He wasn't sure why, but time always ceased to exist whenever he was spending time with her. "It's really getting late, Alice," he grinned apologetically as he began to get to his feet, "I really should go so you can get some sleep." Before he'd had a chance to move too far away, a small hand reached out and caught him gently by the wrist, a pleading look in deep blue eyes stared up at him as he paused, sending a dull ache through his heart. "Just a little longer, Seth?" Her voice was coming out in an alluring whisper and as if possessed by someone else, he found himself sinking back down on the couch to settle his body beside hers. How could he say no when she was so eager for his company? How could he resist how cute she looked in her light, silk nightgown? Seth cleared his throat and turned his warm brown eyes up to stare at her again, "Are you still having trouble sleeping?" His gaze slid over the delicate features of her face, focusing on her lips especially. It was getting harder to fight the ravenous urges that plagued him daily the more time they spent together. How long could he keep this gentleman facade going? He swallowed hard as her small tongue slid out to wet her parched lips. "Yes," she smiled sheepishly at him, her cheeks darkening a degree that he couldn't help transfixing on. "I keep having the same dream." Alice's face slid down into a soft frown as she recounted the events of the dream in her head once more, her hands were clenched tightly together in her lap and she was wringing them, nervously to hide her shaking palms from him. Did he know how he affected her? Seth knew he needed to keep her at a distance, but this melancholy mood that was flowing off of her made his heart lurch even more and he soon found himself reaching with concern towards her, and taking her clammy hands in his. "Tell me about it," his words were as soft as honey, and the silky tone soon had her talking despite the fact that she promised herself she would never tell him about her true feelings. "Well," she started nervously, glancing at him as if asking for permission to continue, but he was listening, his attention focused solely on her alone, "there's this really amazing guy..." Seth felt his eyes narrowing in something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he felt himself nodding, urging her to keep talking. "Really," he murmured, unaware that his hands were still holding hers, his fingers rubbing soothing circles into her satiny skin. "And is he as crazy about you as you are for him?" His question sent her thoughts reeling and her response came out in a stutter. "I- I dd-don't really know," she looked down at her lap where their hands were entwined, her hair sliding forward to hide her expression from him. "I don't think he knows I exist." The last part came out as a breath, but he still heard. "Nonsense," Seth smiled down at her, taking one of his hands from her grasp to push her thick chocolate locks behind her ear, "any man who doesn't know you exist is a bloody fool. You are absolutely perfect, my sweet, Alice." "Seth?" She looked up at him in shock. His words were sweet, but they held a hard edge to them that sent a shiver down her spine and she soon found herself leaning into him, both of them supporting the other's weight in their bittersweet embrace. Their hands had come apart and his fingers were running through her hair, his touch was almost electric as waves of heat shot throughout her entire body, settling down in her core with a throbbing need that was completely new to her. "Look at me," he whispered, his breath hot in her ear. His fingers gently turned her chin to face him, his hand continued to cup her cheek, his thumb stroking the soft skin rhythmically. Their noses were less than an inch apart as he pulled her tighter against his hard body, setting both their heart rates off at a furious pace that they could both hear. "I love you, Seth." Alice nervously stared into his eyes, her irises dancing back and forth sporadically until his words brought her back to reality. "Don't. I can't be the man for you, right now, Alice." But I really would like to be, he thought. "What?" Her voice croaked, and hot tears betrayed her as they began pouring steadily down her cheeks. "Please don't cry," he begged. "You just- you have no idea what you're asking for when it comes to my heart. If I even have one, that is." "I'm not crying," she sniffed as the tears began to flow heavier, "I just have something in my eye is all." She made a show of rubbing her face against the soft material of her nightgown. Seth sighed audibly and held her tighter, afraid she might disappear if he let her go before he finished telling her what he wanted to. What he had to. "I'm not who you think I am, Alice. I'm not a good man and I'm definitely not worthy of your affections." "Right now," he said again, emphasizing the last word. "I'm not a suitable man for you, my darling. But if you would do me the honor of giving me a little more time and waiting for me..." he paused to study her face, leaning in to softly place his lips against the corner of her eye where the tears were flowing the most freely. "Seth did you just-?" The words failed her as Seth began to gently lap at the salt water that her body was giving. There was something about the way he tasted her pain that left her feeling completely bare and vulnerable to him. His words had stung until they settled in her mind and she was able to focus on his confession; for now. There would be a later. "Do you feel better?" He asked, as he sat back and wiped the last bit of pain from her face. Alice smiled softly and nodded at him, nuzzling her face against the rich material of his jacket, giving in to the heaviness her body was feeling. "I still love you, Seth Hyde, whether you want to accept it or not," she whispered into his collarbone before drifting off into a dreamless sleep in his arms. Seth sat frozen in her room, holding her in his arms as the early hours of the morning approached, even as her words drifted back to haunt him. "I love you too," he whispered to her sleeping form as he placed a chaste kiss against her lips.

#ikemen discord writers #ikemen revolution #ikerev #cybird #fanfiction #seth x mc #seth hyde #fluff

46 notes · View notes