#kill the mad scientist behind it all and then kill himself by draining all the electricity from his body | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mrmonster459 · 2 years

Text

Charles, the Blind-Deaf Vampire Part 3: The Scent of Pharaohs

“I see it.” I said as our target started to emerge from the sewers.

“Good.” Reverend Hayes said. “Once it’s all the way out, give the signal and I’ll tell Charles to dispose of it.”

I should probably give you a bit more context; for the past two weeks, we’d been tracking a local mad scientist who turned himself into a human-alligator hybrid. He was hiding in the sewers, only popping up when he needed to eat again. So far, he’d already killed four people.

Charles had a hard time tracking him down because of how much the sewer masked his smell, but you can only hide from Charles’s nose for so long. Once we found out where its lair was, all we had to do was stake it out from a nearby hotel until it emerged.

Once the poor, former scientist came all the way out of the manhole, I said “He’s out, let’s go.”

Reverend Hayes then signed for Charles to act. Charles then sniffed the air a few times, getting a lock on where the monster was, and then leapt out of our hotel room. Charles was blind and deaf, but with his powerful vampire nose, he could see almost as well as a sighted person. Before the scientist even knew what was coming for him, Charles already caught up to him, slashed his neck open with his claws, and drained him dry of blood.

“And once again, the good people of Savannah, Georgia are safe.” Reverend Hayes said. “Now I’m exhausted, let’s go home and get some sleep for the night.”

__________________

It had been over a year since I found out that my younger brother was alive, and a vampire. In that time, I’d helped keep the city of Savannah safe from zombies, werewolves, Native American monsters whose names I can’t even pronounce, and every once in a while, the unholy creation of a scientist gone mad.

On our way back to the church (we used a local church as our base of operations), Reverend Hayes said “Susan, I got a letter today. The Protectors of Humanity want to have a private meeting over our fireplace communicator.”

“What about?”

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.” I said. “Most of the time, news to me is just delivered in letters. They only feel the need to use our fireplaces if it’s too dangerous to end up lost in the mail.”

“You may listen in, if you want, but you must hide and remain silent.” He explained.

“Why?” I asked.

“For as much good as the organization is, they are still behind in some key areas. Women are still only allowed in the organization in support roles. I’m breaking the organization’s rules by allowing you to fight alongside me.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “This is absurd. I’ve proven just as capable as you have.”

“I know.” He said. “In some ways, you’re braver than I am. But they won’t see it that way. If they know I’m allowing you to fight alongside me, odds are they’ll strip me of my rank entirely.”

“I understand.” I said. “I’d like to listen in on the call, but I’ll keep to myself.”

“Thank you.” He said.

_________________________________

The next night, we had our call.

He used a spell to link fireplaces with the head office, located all the way in London.

“Good evening, Reverend Hayes.” A voice on the other end said.

“Yes, good evening to you, Commander Wilson.” Reverend Hayes said. “Or for you, I guess I should say good morning.”

“Time of day is one of the things you learn not to consider when working this job.” Commander Wilson said. “Anyway, I have urgent news. A museum in Savannah is about to open an ancient Egyptian mummy, one we believe may be cursed to come back to life.”

“Have we contacted museum staff?” Reverend Hayes asked.

“Yes, and they’ve ignored our warnings.” Commander Wilson answered. “This Sunday, the sarcophagus of Queen Shiriyr will be opened, and when it does, I want you to be ready for whatever emerges from it.”

“We will.” He said.

Moments later, the fireplace line of communication cut out. It was complicated magic, they knew they couldn’t keep it up very long.

“You heard the man.” Reverend Hayes said to me. “By Sunday, we have to be ready to deal with a long dead Egyptian queen.”

____________________

“Queen Shiriyr was known for her tyrannical rule.” I read out loud from one of the Reverend’s old history books. “During her brief reign as the pharaoh of Egypt, she outlawed criticism of the royal family, expanded slavery, and started countless wars around Egypt.’

“Ultimately, her advisors knew she had to go, so she was assassinated and buried deep underground.” I continued. “But before she was, she had a magician place a powerful curse on her, one that would bring her back to life if her sarcophagus was ever reopened.”

“I’ve acquired tickets to the unveiling.” Reverend Hayes said as he entered the room.

“More of your ‘rich allies?”’ I asked.

“Absolutely.” He answered. “Many wealthy people have a vested interest in preventing supernatural threats.”

__________________

We showed up to the gala, with Charles hidden underneath Reverend Hayes’s blazer.

After an hour or so of sipping cocktails, nibbling on appetizers, and making small talk with the other guests, it was finally time for the unveiling to begin.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen.” The presenter said. “I’m Matthew Dickenson, curator of this museum. It is an honor and a privilege for me to unveil Queen Shiriyr to you tonight. Without further ado, let’s see a mummy.”

And then, a pair of museum workers opened the sarcophagus, and almost immediately after they did, we could feel that the curse was most definitely real.

The moment they cracked the seal, the lid blew right off. Moments later, Queen Shiriyr emerged from her sarcophagus and killed both of them.

“After all this time, I’m free.” She said. She looked out the window and exclaimed “Wonderful city. I think I’ll make it the capital of my new empire.” Charles then emerged from underneath Reverend Hayes’s coat. He transformed back into a bat, and then began sniffing the air. Once he had a lock on her, he started charging.

The Queen then used a spell to gust of wind that pushed him aside. Reverend Hayes then pulled out his pocket pistol and began firing at her. Unfortunately, his bullets were not’ doing much.

“Foolish peasant.” She said. “I don’t know what this weapon is, but it’s clearly not enough for me.”

She then grabbed him by the back and started crushing. She was so strong that I could hear his neck bones breaking. I pulled my knife out of my shoe, ran up to her, and stabbed her, but again, it was achieving almost nothing.

She swatted me away, but if nothing else, I at least paved enough of a distraction for Charles to once again lock onto her scent, and leap over to her. When he did, he quickly got to work. He tore open her chest, ripped out her heart, and tore it in half with his fangs.

“NO!!!” The Queen shouted as she returned to whatever afterlife she had come from.

Once I knew she was dead, I helped the Reverend.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“No.” He managed to choke out. “Susan, the moment you can, you need to contact headquarters back in London. Tell them you’re the new field agent here in Savannah.”

“Reverend, we can make it. I can call a doctor, we can…”

“Susan, don’t.” He said. “I’m not gonna make it, just promise me you’ll defend this city.”

“I promise.” I said. And then, moments later, the Reverend closed his eyes for the last time.

_______________

Like he said, I contacted the London office the next day. Thankfully, one of his spell books had instructions on how.

“Who are you?” Commander Wilson asked as he answered the call.

“My name is Susan Andrews.” I said. “And I worked with Reverend Hayes for months.”

“Excuse me?” He exclaimed.

“My brother is the blind-deaf vampire under his care, and for months, the three of us have worked to keep Savannah safe. In his dying words, he made me promise to continue protecting the city from the supernatural, and I intend to keep that promise with or without your support. I’d prefer to be a member of your organization because of your resources, but I’ll show no hesitation to continue without. So, what will it be.”

He thought for a moment and said “Susan Andrews, welcome to the Protectors of Humanity.”

#horror #vampire #mummy #original story #original fiction #original work #short story #short fiction #story #fiction #short #savannah

0 notes

thecyrulik · 2 years

Text

Yet Another Purring Vampire?

Hello friends and foes, recent talks about the concept of some vampires' ability to purr in various situations gave me no choice but to join with this little piece. I am unafraid to admit this is quite self-indulgent and written for a very specific audience of me and about 5 other whump blogs I saw enjoyed the concept.

Tagging at the beginning of the post so you can see what's this about quickly and decide if you care about the piece at all (also tagging some of my vampire squad and the people I know have their own purring vampire OCs - ignore as you wish): @hold-him-down (thank you for helping with this nightmare of a language) @whumpy-writings @whumpsday @deluxewhump @ceph-the-writing-spook @wolfeyedwitch - I apologize for random tags, but consider me a toddler running up to people on the street, showing them a drawing they made and were super proud of while the parent is 2 steps behind and a little embarrassed. LMK if you want off the list if I ever write part 2

MIND THE WARNINGS ON THIS ONE: mouth whump, defanging, dehumanization, restraints, forced drugging, it's not intended as torture but it is, collars, lab and med whump of sorts.

The metal parts of his cage clinking in irregular intervals have brought him onto the edge of madness. He wanted to snarl and hiss and bite at the humans who put him in his cage, who chained him and muzzled him and bound him in silver and brought misery upon him, but he couldn’t do anything.

They dragged him to gods knew where and it took ages and he wanted to snarl and hiss and snap but no one paid him any mind. The cage bumped with every other turn or change of terrain and he was as miserable as could be without being directly tortured, for now at least.

Kosta hissed as the carriage bumped and made him hit his head on the silver cage bars. Hissing didn’t help him at all, and he imagined none of the other protests would work better but he still couldn’t help himself. Maybe that way he would prove to his captors he was a thinking, intelligent being?

Heh. Hunger made him foolish and naïve, it seemed. It was obvious the hunters wouldn’t care about his thinking abilities at all. Kosta knew they all thought vampires were all half-feral beasts that killed every time they fed and left an awful mess behind. They would also do everything they could to keep thinking that way. He had no way of making them see either, especially now when they kept him starving and in pain. He’d love to drain any of them right away. If they really want a beast, he’ll show them a beast, he thought, full of simmering rage.

***

“Goddamit, Jim, pull it down, down!” the wide-shouldered man at his side shouted. Another one, Jim, whose blood smelled like fresh hay, returned to Kosta reluctantly. The vampire snarled again, struggling hopelessly against his restraints. Jim grabbed at the chain attached to a metal collar on his neck and pulled sharply. Kosta let out a strained sound, panic rising in his chest as he was being choked by the thing.

“Okay, good. Hold it down like that. I need it still for a couple of minutes,” the wide man – a doctor? A scientist of sorts? – explained, his annoyance palatable. Jim grunted somewhere under the table Kosta was lying on, and the pressure on his neck eased just a bit.

“Stay down, bloodfuck, and I won’t have to choke you again,” he said, a little out of breath. Kosta hissed, but stayed still – for now, of course.

“I don’t get it. I gave it so many sedatives it should be barely able to breathe on its own, so why is it still fighting?” The doctor seemed like he didn’t really expect an answer as he prepared… something, on a metal table next to the one Kosta was bound to. The vampire felt the slurred way his thoughts moved in his mind, so the drugs definitely worked partially. He kept still, now hoping he could make them believe he was out of it so that they’d get careless, giving him an escape opportunity.

The doctor returned to his side, strange tools in both his hands. Kosta stared with more confusion than fear as the man nodded to someone in front of him. Before the vampire realized there was another hunter at his other side – fucking wonderful, you didn’t notice a human standing next to you, for this kind of sloppiness you deserve everything they do to you – a sharp piercing pain started on the left side of his chest. He gasped, his head lifting against the metal collar, his fangs jumping out without any decision on his side. At the same moment, the doctor was pushing one of his tools inside his mouth. His fangs locked on the metal parts, and he couldn’t move his jaw at all.

“Pull it out. No point in it bleeding out on my table,” the doctor said and Kosta felt as the sharp thing was being pulled out of his chest, metal scratching on his ribs. He could barely breathe, his lung punctured, freeing the air and collapsing when deflated. Even if he didn’t have that strange metal bit in his mouth, he wouldn’t be able to say anything at all, so he just glared and tried to breathe slowly as the wound in his chest healed slowly oh so slowly.

“Ah. Lovely. Perfect access, and on the first try!” the doctor sounded disgustingly pleased with him. He leaned over Kosta’s face as he inspected the inside of his mouth. “Listen to me, vampire. I’m going to collect your venom now.”

When Kosta didn’t answer, the doctor raised his eyebrows in pleased surprise. He seemed to have forgotten the bite guard – because that’s what the metal thing had to be – or maybe he expected the vampire to snarl or hiss anyway.

“There’s two ways it can go. One, you do as I say and let it flow like a good little beastie. Two, you fight me and I drain your venom glands with a syringe.”

The vampire felt a low grumbling rising in his throat. There was some shuffling behind his head and then the young hunter’s face appeared just above him.

“What is this noise? Is it the vampire?” Jim asked with a hint of disbelief.

“What did you expect, son? It’s a beast and it wants to get free. Come on, hold its head down, I can’t see anything like this.”

Kosta felt a warm human hand push one of his shoulders down to the table just as the metal band started pressing on his throat once again. Another one – the stabber – brought a lamp that shone brightly in the vampire’s face, forcing his eyes closed for a moment.

“So how’s it gonna be?”

He growled again, sure that his sentiment was clear without words.

“We’ll see about that. Morgan, push his chin up?”

Another two hands, one on his jaw, the other one on his forehead, pulling his head back, baring his throat to the doctor. Kosta felt dread pooling in his stomach like icy water, burning and paralyzing at the same time. The man’s hands smelt of his blood, sourdough-like and warm. Kosta stopped his growling and braced for whatever was coming.

The stab of pain was white and blinding when it finally came. Kosta’s body tensed, but the drugs in his system and the hands on him kept him down and unable to escape as the doctor searched for his gland with a needle. Quiet hissing and weaker, more bearable stabs told him that the doctor found this task harder than anticipated. Every time the needle got close to his gland, he shivered and whimpered.

“Fucking finally.”

Kosta sighed with relief as he felt the change of pressure in his mouth. The pull of the syringe was uncomfortable and humiliating, but not terribly painful. He closed his eyes again and breathed a little easier. The tears stayed at bay for now.

The discomfort grew slowly but surely. Kosta fought bravely, pulling at his restraints, the voiceless vibrations in his throat rising against his will. He counted the seconds in his mind but kept losing track.

Just after he thought he could not bear it anymore, the pressure stopped.

“Ah. Just look at this. Beautiful.”

He knew it wasn’t addressed to him, but he still looked. The doctor held a vial filled with yellowish liquid towards the light. Kosta didn’t find it beautiful at all, and it seemed the other hunters didn’t either, standing as they were, silent and grim. Well, at least they didn’t enjoy torturing him as much as the doctor.

“One down, one more to go. Come on, work with me, leech.”

He forgot about the pain as he lunged towards the man, screeching as much as he could with the bite guard in. The doctor jumped back nervously and Kosta felt bitter satisfaction that was quickly drowned by the pain of being choked again. Jim must have put all his weight on the chain attached to his collar.

The atmosphere slightly more tense now, the doctor hurried to prod at the other gland with his needle. He cursed and cursed, searching for the right angle, but there didn’t seem to be one at all. Kosta still kept his eyes shut tight, his throat vibrating almost voicelessly being his only comfort, primitive as it may be.

The stabbing stopped.

“Listen to me, vampire. Here’s what we’re gonna do. Either you’ll release venom from your other gland on your own–“

Kosta snarled, putting as much contempt as he could in that sound.

“–Or I will just pull your fang out to get better access.”

Purring and growling switched to almost whining without any conscious choice on Kosta’s side. Still, he opened his eyes, now surely glistening with tears that waited patiently to pour down once he broke down. He sent his most venomous glare towards his torturer.

“Suit yourself.”

Another metal clinking, humans moving around, muffled voices. Kosta realized his hands were shaking against restraints, so he tried to press his palms on the table. The human hand on his forehead moved back, fingers slipping softly into his hair. A second later the grip tightened and his head was tilted back once again.

“You’re sure you don’t wanna do it the easy way?” the man holding his head said. Martin, was it? Something like that, but Kosta’s exhausted mind didn’t feel like making sure it was the right one.

He simply shook his head, as much as he could.

The first pull took him by surprise. His thoughts were floating around, clouded with pain and misery and fear and hatred and the need to keep himself from crying – he didn’t even notice the pliers in his mouth until it was too late.

The pain was excruciating. Kosta felt his whole body was on fire, electricity running from his mouth down his spine and back again. He shrieked. There was no way something this simple could be this painful, right?

The fang didn’t go out with the first pull, so the doctor tried again. Kosta shrieked and wailed and growled, tears pouring freely now down his cheeks, the pain rendering him unable to do anything but fight hopelessly even as it made things worse.

“Sir, how about a break? I can’t keep it down,” Martin– Miller– the one holding his head suggested, his voice a little strained.

“How about you try it? Someone stronger than me could probably do it better. I’m a scientist, not a fighter,” the doctor pointed out. Even in his pained and drugged state, Kosta noticed he said “fighter” as if he meant “cockroach”.

He was allowed a couple of breaths more. The purring in his throat rose again, helping marginally with the pain and the terror as he waited for more torture.

“Okay. Jim, hold it tight.” The hand released his hair, but a different one landed on his forehead again.

The next try, he heard it before actually feeling it. A wet ‘pop’ and a clunk of pliers preceded the worst thing Kosta has ever felt in his life before. His face was wet with tears and blood droplets from the pulled fang. He stopped paying attention to his surroundings, purring so loud it muffled all the other sounds. It did nothing to help with the pain anymore, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing it, hoping to at the very least ease his terror.

The needle entered his venom gland yet again. It felt so bland compared to the paralyzing pain before, that he barely reacted at all. There was some shuffling near his head again and the small hand on his forehead was switched to the bigger one he remembered from earlier, the one smelling of sourdough. Fingers moved through his hair there and forth, the same slow pulsating rhythm as his purring.

By the time the venom gland was empty, Kosta blacked out completely.

***

I do have some more ideas how to continue it so just let me know if you liked it at all

#mouth whump #vampire whump #vampire whumpee #inhuman whumpee #whump trope #med whump #drugging cw #teeth cw #pulling teeth #this is also not very carefully edited #as I wrote it in a feverish state few hours before one of my final exams #but it's published now and so it's everyone else's problem too #but I apologize for any mistakes

191 notes · View notes

creativeashproductions · 4 years

Text

When the Pain Ends // Charlie Gillespie

Summary: Breaking up with your boyfriend ends with your broken hand, a broken heart and a trip to Canada. Getting out of Oklahoma for comfort of your younger brother Owen brings you into contact with a sweet Canadian.

Warnings: Swearing, hospital, cheating boyfriend, angst and bit of fluff

Words: 3.1k

Requested: No.

A/N: Tidbit of info is that I am a university student. I had last week off and I’m six minutes into my History Zoom Lecture. Here’s a little fic.

TO BE TAGGED SEND AN INBOX PLEASE!

Masterlist

The scowl glued on your face as you waited in the ER for the results from the x-ray you had gotten back from minutes ago. A bag of ice on the swollen knuckles of your right hand still splattered in drops of blood. The same blood as the small drops on your shirt as well. If that didn’t put a scowl on your face, it was the next issue.

The reason for your visit to the ER was in bed next over complaining as a nurse checked his face. His eyes meeting yours in a blend of guilt, regret and fear almost. You couldn’t meet his eyes. You didn’t want to meet his eyes.

Let’s backtrack a little for a short history.

The summer after graduation, you had met a guy on the beach playing volleyball in need of another player. You joined, and then you fell for the guy just as he did for you. For the last three years, you were now twenty-one years old. Parker had been a really good guy. Until yesterday.

“Babe!” Parker sounded congested with the bandages held up his nose. He had been fighting the nurse to come to your side.

“Don’t call me that!” You hissed glaring at the tall boy with the auburn hair colour that had once been your favourite colour.

“C’mon it was a mistake-Ow!” Parker whined at the nurse applied more pressure as she cast a sympathetic glance at you. A small smile of thanks passed to the nurse who had maybe pressed a little no hard on Parker’s nose.

Your eyes rolled at the drama that was Parker when it came to injuries that had been his entire fault, to be frank. Your fist meeting his face? His fault for cheating. What did he expect? A congratulations? Screw that.

“Say anything else I swear I’ll hit the other ball.” You glared at the boy sending him to a fit, shaking fear of stupidity.

The beach was filled up with teens and adults with children on the nice weekend day out of the loud city. Originally you hadn’t been able to join Parker with your mutual friends, but something else had spurred you there. Instead of having the weekly movie night via FaceTime with your younger brother, you had other plans. A particular video sent by Parker’s best friend and his cousin too had brought you here. Livvy had grown close in the three-year relationship you had with her cousin.

Your fury filled gaze flickered around the beach and the grass in the large opening area of the waterfront. Finally, your eyes found Parker sitting with Livvy on the blanket on the grass with Steve. Livvy was the first to see with marching through the people spreading like a curtain from the angry girl.

“Hey, Parker!” You shouted at your boyfriend in a conversation with your other two friends. Parker’s smile grew just before it falters at your expression.

“Hey, Babe,” Parker spoke, climbing to his full five-foot-ten stature. Livvy’s smile pulled up in an amused smirk while Steve looked more confused.

“How was your weekend at your sick Granny’s house?” You came to a stop a foot away from him. Arms crossed just under your chest his thick eyebrows furrowed together.

“Uh…it was okay. She’s feeling better.” Parker nodded to himself tilting his head to the side, “It was-“

“I hope she better. Her treatment must have been incredible.” You replied, unfurling your arms to grab the phone from your back pocket.

Parker grew more confused, “What?”

“The doctor sure knew what he was doing. The prescription of ‘dicked down’ cured her illness and old age.” The whistle you made after your statement sounded, but you grew more satisfied with the circle of people behind you.

“Oh.” Steve choked, raising one fist to press against his mouth. By now Livvy had started recording on her phone.

Livvy and Parker may be cousins, but she loathed cheaters when it was the cause of her parents’ divorce. Parker’s lips parted as he paled. The click of the glass screen brought up a video of Parker and a brunette in a hot tub.

“Ba-“

“Fucking look at your actions.” You hissed stepping even closer, “Was it worth it? Jeopardizing a relationship with someone you share years of memories with? Years of love and trust? All for thirty seconds of fun? We both know you tend to…get too excited.”

“Oh shit,” Steve spoke, shifting his gaze between you and Parker like he was a bobblehead of Einstein. The very bobblehead that you had laughed giving Steve with his obsession over the legendary scientist.

“It just happened. I still love you. I just needed a- “Parker stumbled back bringing his hands to his face, “OW! You broke my nose!”

“Ouch.” You hissed shaking your aching hand coated in some blood that splattered your shirt from shaking the hand.

“What the hell! You bit…holy fuck!” Parker screamed as your foot came up between his spread legs, nailing his left nut. He collapsed onto the grass, struggling to hold his bleeding broke nose and his nuts.

“That’s what you get asshole.” You shouted, turning to Livvy, “Can you take me to the hospital?”

“Parker drove, I’ll drive you both there. Steve can keep you two from fighting.” Livvy spoke, ending the video to shove everything in the oversized beach bag.

Now it was hours later as per usual in most hospitals elongating the time you were forced to spend with your now ex-boyfriend. Livvy and Steve had gone home a while back. Parker continued trying to fix the unrepairable damage he had done.

“Y-“

“That’s it!” You exclaimed jumping down from the bed to storm over to Parker. You made a few steps before arms encircled your waist.

“Okay, Slugger.” The gritty voice of your father spoke tugging you as far away from your ex-boyfriend as possible, “As much I want to kill him, I think you broke his pretty-boy face enough.”

The anger drained from your body as you slumped against your dad anguish set in with a tsunami of hurt. Time melted as you broke in your father’s arm; missing the doctor giving information. Your hand was fitted with a cast, and next thing you were aware of it was in the car.

“You bruised hits nuts. Broke his nose.” Dad nonchalantly spoke, turning the steering wheel as he exited the hospital parking lot. He didn’t bother making small talk as he let you be quiet on the drive home.

You didn’t know what hurt more, the heartache or your broken hand stabilized in the brace. The clearing of a throat had your attention is drawn to the house you had grown up no doubt holding your upset mother.

“She’s not that mad.” Dad quietly spoke, handing your phone that had died during the time in the ER. You shot him a look at the inaccuracy of his statement because you both know she was angry.

“Her daughter just spent hours in a hospital with a dead phone. We both know she probably thought I was dead in a ditch.” You deadpanned as you both walked up to the door of the home in Norman, Oklahoma.

The door opened before you could reach for it, and a flurry of blonde hair attacked you in a hug. Your mother hugged then leaned away to scan your features. Catching the dried tear stains paired with the red-rimmed eyes.

“Sweetheart.” Dinah spoke, raising her hands to wipe the tears from your face only causing more to fall, “What’s wrong?”

“Parker cheated on me.” You mumbled melting into her arms in another round of tears, breaking your parents’ hearts.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, Canada

Owen loved his job and the people he had met, but he missed the weekly movie nights with his older sister. The Joyner siblings had gotten down pat a system of sync to have the same movie playing at the same time on FaceTime. Imagine his surprise when he got a text apologizing.

Virtual movie night postponed. It put him in a slump that greatly concerned his roommate at the decrease of excitement. Even the next day, he was sad like a kicked puppy.

“Bro? You good?” Charlie asked from his place in the kitchen, scanning his emails on his computer. Owen barely made his eyes, “Wasn’t movie night with your sister yesterday?”

Owen nodded, “Yeah she-“

As Owen had gone to explain his phone had dinged with a concerning message from his mother.

Mom: Have you heard from Y/N? She hasn’t come home.

Owen swiped out of the conversation to the most used one with you shared with him to send a mass of messages. All not even coming up as read by you. It was his stipulation that you had it one for his safe of mind.

“C’mon you little shit,” Owen grumbled, pressing your contact to call. It didn’t even ring, “Dead cell.”

Charlie’s full attention shifted to the younger guy sitting on their couch in the apartment they used during filming. As Owen started pacing, Charlie was over quick as a bunny to offer comfort to him. The boys had grown so close, with Jeremy too, that they knew how to help the other.

“Owen, you need to tell me what’s going on.” Charlie soothed the blonde with his eyes pleading with the teenager.

“My parents haven’t talked to my sister. She didn’t go home.” Owen admitted scratching at his chest when his chest tightened. The other immediately finding his pulse on his neck to ensure he still had a pulse.

“Oh shit.” Charlie retorted, tapping his foot on the hardwood floor trying to find the right words to help his friend.

For the next hour, the boys kept in contact with Owen’s family and checking your social media in shifts as they filmed. It was a slow day when Owen’s phone finally rang with his mother’s contact once more.

“Mom, did you find her?” Owen asked, picking at the skin on his lips pacing as he had all day. The level of anxiety had been perfect for the scene he had filmed as Alex.

“Yeah. Look, Owen, she needs to get out of Oklahoma. Do you have room for her?” Dinah asked her son periodically glancing in the living room at the lifeless young woman.

“Yeah. We have an extra room.” Owen supplied squeezing the phone in his grip, “How is she? What happened?”

“I’m letting her settle before I ask any questions, but her flight is in a bit. It was either you take her in, or we pay for a hotel room. Oh! I got this lego-“

“I have to get back to filming. I’ll call you tonight.” Owen told his mother as his thumb hit the record circle on his phone. Kenny waving him over to film a scene with Booboo that would be the last before heading home.

The over the counter pain pill went down with a swig of water in the airport waiting for Owen and his roommate. Owen had messaged you that he would pick you up on the way from the set in perfect timing.

“Y/N!” Owen cheered catching sight of your form hunched forward on the bench you had miraculously found empty. Your blank eyes seeing the blue of your younger brother.

Owen’s eyes widened in shock, “What the hell happened to your hand?”

Noncommittal, the girl walked by her brother with her luggage in the mission to get to the car. All you wanted was to burst into years under your blankets until the world turned again, when birds sang, and the word wasn’t painted in dull colours.

Just as it had during the ride from the hospital to the house, it was dead silent in the car with the barest sound of music. Owen and Charlie had been having a conversation with expressions with the tension in the backseat stifling.

“This is our place.” Charlie spoke, opening the apartment door with a flourish for the girl and her luggage. Your eyes scanned the modest apartment with minimal mess compared to the tornado devastation of Owen’s Oklahoma room.

“Okay.” You replied, watching as Owen rolled the luggage to the room you would use for the few weeks you would be here.

Once showered, dressed and settled, you retreated to the couch to watch a film with the two boys. Your mind fluttered between Beca’s blow out with her father and Jesse to the city of Norman. As if thinking of Parker manifested something your phone buzzed with notifications.

@/livvyjo: Go, girl! [video]

@/malia134: Parker goes down like the bitch he is!!!

@/notsteverogers: I got a front-row seat to the fight.

Those three comments on Livvy’s video had more support than hate plus the video itself was hilarious. It caught the entire confrontation from greeting the cheater to being pulled away to spend the ten minutes in the same car. The car you had hooked up in the backseat of in the years you dated him.

“-The prescription of ‘dicked down’ cured her illness and old age.” The pure anger on your expression amused you.

“What are you watching?” Owen inquired from the couch he watched the movie from. It made up for the lack of a film last night.

“A girl punching her bag of shit ex-boyfriend. She almost ripped his face off in the hospital.” You softly replied with your thumb double-tapping Livvy’s post.

Charlie’s attention shifted from the pool mashup with the Barden Bellas to the pride evident in your tone. It was the first time he had heard you laugh during the few hours he had been in your presence.

“What movie?”

“Oh, you know Parker’s Dicked Down Adventures. Filmed free with an iPhone.” You spoke sliding down to sit flush to Charlie to show the video you refreshed.

Owen’s mouth opened, “He cheated on you? How stupid is he??”

“You have a mean right hook.” Charlie supplied replaying the video for the third time with a weird feeling in his gut. The confidence stirred a body warming heat in the Canadian actor unlike anything else he had felt before.

“Dad taught me.” You replied, slouching down in the plush couch with a tiny smiling, “The nurse heard what happened. She put excessive pressure for his actions. I overheard his diagnosis; nasty bruised testicle and a broken nose.”

Both boys winced at the description. Owen ditching Charlie’s side to sit beside you, leaving you in the middle of the boys.

“I almost attacked him before Dad dragged me out of the room.” You recounted snuggling into your younger brother’s side.

“Where are my keys?” Owen questioned his roommate, “We need them to drive to the airport. I need to kill the ass that hurt my sister.”

Your deft fingers grasped Owen’s wrist when he went to get up because, in all honesty, he probably would book a flight. He wouldn’t go through with the plan to physically hurt Parker, but Owen had a wicked tongue for insults.

You spent one month in Vancouver with your brother and his castmates from helping Maddie with her homework. Movie nights with Owen changed to include Charlie too. Shopping trips with Sav and Tori. Baking with Jadah. You became family with them.

All good things come to an end. You had settled back in Norman with brighter plans that didn’t involve relying on men. Movie nights still happened with the boys, but things got hectic. Virtual movie nights shifted to texting Charlie and calls.

“Hey dork.” Charlie spoke walking down the street in Vancouver to the restaurant he was meeting the cast at. His lips pulled back in a massive grin, hearing your voice.

“Hey Char!” You enthusiastically spoke, walking out of the building with more pep in your step at the voice of the man, “What’s up?”

“On my way for food with everyone. How are you feeling?” Charlie asked, rubbing his fingertips on the dark denim pants. The sound of your voice brightening up his day more than he thought possible.

“Ooh. I should let you go, huh?” You questioned shifting to hold the phone between your shoulder and chin. Fingers unlocked the new car you had bought with the money you had saved.

A nice change of money from selling the jewellery, clothes and other miscellaneous gifts Parker had given you. The necklace he gave you that once belonged to his grandmother had been given back to him. Other than that you had no interaction with the ass.

“I’d rather talk to you.” Charlie admitted biting his lip in concentration, “I have a question.”

“Okay. What’s your question?” You questioned as your phone connected to your car—Charlie’s voice coming through the car speakers.

“Filming is almost over. Do you have plans for New Years? I’d like you to see you again.”

His words set a flutter of butterflies moving in your stomach at his nervous confidence striking the new information. The change in your friendship had been felt on his side as well and while you usually would think one-month post cheating wasn’t long enough. Something about Charlie felt comfortable as if everything had been preparing to fall for him.

“I could fly-“

“I’d like to see where you grew up. Your favourite places and where you went to school. I want to know the little things that made you who you are.” Charlie spoke coming to a stop outside the restaurant, waiting for your answer.

Owen’s eyes pulled from his debate with Sacha and Jeremy to the nervous Canadian biting his lip outside the window. By the expression on his face, Owen couldn’t guess who he was talking about. It was the smile that had been appearing on Charlie’s face for the last two weeks you had been staying with them.

Charlie had fallen for Owen’s big sister, and he couldn’t think of anyone better. The bond between you and Charlie had been natural and magical to watch. It was kinda gross seeing his best friend and sister having heart eyes with each other. Yet, Owen had never liked Parker, but he loved the idea of having Charlie as a brother.

“Y-yeah. Of course, you can Char.” The flattering blush heated up your skin at the turn in the convo—a grin splitting on the two individuals with more than three thousand kilometres between them.

“Cool. I should join the cast. I’ll text you later.”

“Bye, Charlie.” You whispered to the boy looking out the window noticing something she had been oblivious to.

The world had regained the colour, the birds sang again, and the world turned once more. All because a boy helped her heal.

Tag List (PLEASE SEND AN INBOX TO BE ADDED! I CANNOT GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE ON THE LIST VIA POST COMMENTS!)

@safehavenmuse @siennanoelle01 @whiterose291 @mell-bell @blackhood5sos @ficrecsideblog @ifilwtmfc @deadpoolgirl23 @crappy-unicorn @sunsetcurve-h @elioelioeli0 @lovesanimals @popcrone818 @lolychu @deepsleepnat @tenaciousperfectionunknown @aunicornmademedoit @just-a-writer-here @simp4reggie @parkeret @faithiebrock01 @overlyhypedup @differentsoulrascalsalad @aesthetic-lyss @versaceapa @carleywhittaker @lostgirl219 @itsalexx21 @elllaoo4 @merxxleighann @mediocremunge @fantomlovesjuke4ever @dpaccione @oswin05 @kaylinfayezink @aberette13 @faithie-brock-gillespie01 @eharvey0218 @overlyhypedup @benstormy @auriandthepussicats @sarcasticsagittarius1998 @whothefuckstolemykeds @kcd15 @siriuswvrld @princessvader15 @xoxbloodreinaxox @heimdoodle @joshy-obx @lovesanimals @oopsiedoopsie23 @am3l1a-24 @flying-solo-without-you @jaskiers-sweetkiss @lostrandomfangirln @must-be-a-weasley-92 @jatp-holland @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @dxlanhxlland @dasexydevitt13 @ifilwtmfc @arianagrandes-things @kinda-really-lost @marinettepotterandplagg @ssprayberrythings @morgandamrose @thedarkqueenofavalon @zukoshonourr @crybabyddl @spooky-season-bitch @kcd15 @morganayennefertyrell @magnet-girl @all-in-fangirl @kinda-really-lost @tenaciousperfectionunknown @badwolf00593 @blowakissbabe

#charlie gillespie imagines #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie imagine #luke patterson imagines #jatp fanfic #charlie gillespie #caitsy and ash productions

712 notes · View notes

five-rivers · 4 years

Text

Adoption (part 2)

A gift for @a-flower-lover! This wound up being more along the lines of vignettes... Little snapshots into Danny’s life after being adopted by Clockwork. I hope that’s ok! (PART 1)

Mr. Lancer had met Charles Worth before, albeit briefly. The man had fostered a number of Casper High students and with that responsibility came parent-teacher conferences. He had struck Mr. Lancer as being steady and reliable, if, perhaps, impersonal, despite his predilection for clocks and ominous announcements. A decent foster parent, if not... ideal.

Mr. Worth just didn't seem to connect with his fosters, although he certainly didn't neglect them. Then, too, were the persistent rumors that his home was haunted.

Alright. So, Mr. Lancer didn't think Charles Worth was really a children person. Oh, he was a good person! It took one to do well as a foster parent, but... yeah.

Which was why the scene in front of him surprised him so much. Not the who of it, but the what.

The who was Daniel Fenton and Charles Worth waiting outside the office. The what was smiling and having a conversation. True, Mr. Fenton's smile looked like it was pasted on over several layers of anxiety, but it was genuine.

"Mr. Worth, Mr. Fenton?" he said, tamping down his surprise. "Come on in."

"Hi," said Mr. Fenton, his voice hoarse.

Mr. Worth smiled and nodded, pushing him up with his cane.

But Mr. Fenton must have noticed the curious look Mr. Lancer was giving him. "I knew Cl- Uh. Mr. Worth before this." He winced and smiled widely to cover it up. "So, uh, make up work? Since I missed the past week?"

"Yes, well, circumstances being what they are," aka his parents trying to murder him in public, in broad daylight (and didn't that give Mr. Lancer a chill?), "your teachers have put together a few packets for you to look over this weekend. They should get you more or less up to speed with where your classes are. I'm also willing to stay after school, to help you with anything you've missed in my classes."

Jazz knocked on the door of the Worth house. She had been made aware, via various supernatural (she did not particularly appreciate writing suddenly appearing on her fogged-up bathroom mirror) and mundane (Danny did have her phone number) means, that the man known as Charles Worth was actually the ghost known as Clockwork.

How this had occurred was not entirely clear to her. She assumed ghost powers, specifically time travel, were involved somehow.

But, to be honest, that didn't really matter to her. It was secondary, less than.

What was important here was that she hadn't been legally allowed to see her little brother in over a month. To keep her parents from contacting him. To keep her from letting her parents near him. Because they were legally barred from seeing him.

Because they had tried to kill him.

Jazz planned on never seeing her parents again, as soon as she got all of her and Danny's things from their house.

But now that prohibition had been lifted, because Clockwork had forced through what had to be the speediest adoption in the history of adoptions, and Danny was now legally his son. In the eyes of both humans and ghosts. Which was... Well. Danny seemed to be excited about it, anyway. He'd looked up to Clockwork for a while, from what he told Jazz.

Internally, Jazz had more than a bit of trepidation. She didn't know what adoption meant to ghosts, didn't have any context for it. And ghosts, even the good ones, even Danny, tended to be... obsessive. Extreme. She wasn't sure how that would translate when it came to interpersonal relationships.

The door creaked open, ever so slowly, the squeak it made grating on her eardrums. At first, it appeared to have opened on its own, then a hand gripped the edge of the door, and Clockwork, in human guise, leaned out from behind it.

Jazz raised an eyebrow.

Clockwork raised one right back. "This house is haunted, you know," he said.

Okay, never mind. The only thing she had to worry about was the fact that her brother and his mentor both had terrible senses of humor.

"Hi, Jazz!"

Being used to having a half-ghost brother, Jazz only yelped a little bit at his unexpected appearance behind her. Then she sighed and ruffled his hair. He hugged her and then bounced over the lintel into the house.

"Come on! I want to show you my room! It's so cool!" His voice became fainter as he went farther into the house, until his last exclamation was an eerie whisper.

Jazz looked at Clockwork as she stepped inside. "Is he doing that on purpose?"

Clockwork smiled blandly. "I am very fond of the acoustics in this house."

She looked at her surroundings with a skeptical eye. "It seems... dark in here."

"We are ghosts," said Clockwork. "Daniel is very excited to show you his room, by the way."

"He's human, too, don't forget," said Jazz.

"I won't."

The house was creepy.

Really creepy.

This was coming from someone who had spent most of her life living under the same roof as two ghost-obsessed mad scientists.

But Danny seemed to enjoy it, and he was the one living here. It wasn't like there was anything wrong with the house. Or anything in the house. It was just... off.

Danny was half-ghost, however, so maybe this was something he needed. Perhaps not all of his peppiness could be attributed to being the heck away from his murderous former parents.

Even so. Jazz had a duty, both as a big sister and an aspiring psychologist.

"I already read it," said Clockwork, setting a cup of tea down in front of her.

"What?"

"The book you were about to give me. I've already read it. And a number of others. I am not the kind of person who goes into things unprepared."

Danny rolled into the kitchen on the ceiling. This was easy to ignore. After her life, an Exorcist reference made by her over-excited younger brother, was, well. Underwhelming.

(Okay, she was a little distracted, but only by his glee.)

"Well," she said. "That's good."

"I know this house is out of the way," said Clockwork, craning his neck to look up at his coworker, "but you are rather conspicuous."

"Hm. Am I?" asked Pandora, craning her neck down to look at her comparatively tiny colleague.

"Yes. At that size, humans with average eyesight will be able to see you from town."

Pandora looked out over the trees. "Interesting," she said, mildly. "Do you think the ghost hunters will come?"

"You've spoken to Daniel."

"Yes. He stopped by earlier today, on his way to visit Mattingly. Although, I suppose you knew that already."

"Indeed I did. May I ask, is it your intention to lure the ghost hunters here, fight them, defeat them, and then leave them just close enough to here to constitute a breach of their terms of bail and the restraining order against them?"

"I am not terribly well-versed in human law," said Pandora, "but, why, yes. That is exactly what I'm doing. Best to get it done while Daniel is visiting friends, isn't it?"

"Yes. If you had done this while he was here, I would be significantly more annoyed." Clockwork smiled the sanguine smile of a parental figure who would commit murder if their child was upset.

Pandora returned a matching grin, one that promised retribution against persons who had harmed said child in the past. "Please, Clockwork. You know me better than that. I wouldn't subject him to being in the presence of those fools."

"Good," said Clockwork, eyes glinting.

"Hey, Clockwork? Do you know why there were police cars driving down the- Oh. Hello?" He stopped at the sight of an unfamiliar woman sitting at the dinning room table, next to Clockwork. He blinked and tilted his head to the side. "Wait. Pandora?"

"Perceptive," said the superficially human olive-skinned woman. "You seemed so happy when you stopped by, earlier. I thought I would come check in on you."

"You didn't have to," said Danny, beaming.

"Pandora has been trying to convince me to set her up as one of my relatives," said Clockwork, rolling his eyes. "Would you care for a cup of tea, Daniel?"

"Umm," said Danny, dubiously. "I'll try one, I guess. Does that mean you'll be my aunt?"

Pandora smiled. "Why, yes, it does."

Clockwork groaned theatrically.

"Ah," said Mr. Lancer, at the next parent-teacher conference. "Are you Mr. Worth's wife?"

"No," said Pandora, grinning. "I'm his sister."

Mr. Lancer looked back and forth between the two very different-looking entities. "I... see."

"We're adopted," said Clockwork.

"Oh! Alright then. Now, about Daniel..."

It was a bit strange to see Danny with so much energy, Sam reflected. Strange, but good.

It just went to show how drained he had become over time, how much the constant ghost attacks and worry, all the lies and stress and impossible expectations had worn away at him over time. She hadn't seen her friend this happy since freshman year. If that.

On the other hand...

"Dude," said Tucker. "Your house is spooky. And this is coming from someone who's been inside a literal mad science lab."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Mad science labs are campy, not spooky. Besides, you knew coming in that this house was haunted." He draped himself over the back of the couch, rolling until he was 'sitting' upside-down. "Anyway, what kind of movie do you want to watch? We've got a bunch, because Clockwork apparently collects media from doomed timelines."

"He's got a hobby?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, three," said Danny. "Gardening- you should talk to him about that, by the way, I think he'd like it- baking, and alternate timeline movies. And some books, too, I think. He's got a huge library back in Long Now. I've read like. Two books from it."

Clockwork's voice floated in from the other room. "You've read significantly more than that, Daniel."

"I guess," said Danny, doubtfully. He flopped off the couch, picked himself up, and started prodding at a shelf of movies. "This is from a timeline where the Earth got beaned by a massive asteroid. It's, like, a romcom, but it was made when everyone knew the asteroid was coming. This one is, uh, this is actually a dramatization of real events, apparently, but their timeline split from ours in like the fifties, so the events are pretty wild." He waved the DVD at them. "It's surreal?"

"How'd they die?" asked Tucker.

"Wacky superscience. No, really. Irradiated the entire planet."

"How do you know?" asked Sam.

"Oh, Clockwork puts notes on the boxes. He thinks it's interesting. And there does seem to be some correlation between how cursed the movies are and how bad the timeline was. Which maybe shouldn't surprise me? I mean, if they were bad timelines..." He shrugged. "Oh, this is a CGI Lion King. I can tell you: very cursed. Absolutely soulless. And this is from a timeline where copyright laws weren't changed, so Mickey Mouse and a bunch of other stuff was in the public domain."

"Isn't that a good timeline?" joked Sam.

"You'd think so," agreed Danny. "But apartheid in South Africa apparently never stopped, and they got a nuclear bomb, and, well... World War Three."

"Is that like, a domino effect, or...?"

"I'm not sure... Anyway. Uh. Genre?" He clapped his hands together.

Tucker leaned forward. "I want the wildest version of the Matrix you have."

"Ooh, good choice. There are, like, six with Will Smith. I haven't watched them all yet, but I think the one where they've got another sequel and Zion is also a- Wait, I shouldn't spoil it."

"After that, can you see if there's a non-crappy version of Dracula?" asked Sam.

"Sure. I haven't seen one yet, but I will look."

"I have popcorn," said Clockwork, entering the room, "and various baked goods. No dairy."

"You're the best."

Clockwork selected a thick blanket from the chest, then teleported himself to the living room to drape it over the three teenagers passed out on the couch. Overall, he found pretending to be human oddly enjoyable, but it could be trying at times. Tedious. All the finicky little motions humans had to go through to do the simplest of things added up over the day.

So, Clockwork tended to ease off of them when no one was watching. It made life easier.

Heh. Life.

(He would say that Daniel's puns were rubbing off on him, but in truth Clockwork's sense of humor had been like that for, well. Eons.)

He put the kitchen in order with an absent wave of his hand, and double-checked the stove out of habit. It wasn't nearly as good as his actual oven, back in Long Now, but it was serviceable.

One of Daniel's friends mumbled in their sleep, and Clockwork looked in on them. Still peaceful. It was good for Daniel to have them here. Beneficial for both his human and ghost halves.

He hummed to himself and patted Daniel's head as he thought about their plans for the weekend. He had arranged for some truly aggravating evangelical missionaries to darken their doorstep. It would do Daniel good to inspire a touch of terror. In an entirely controlled and risk-free way, of course. No matter how unpleasant the people coming were, Clockwork had no intention of harming them, or suggesting anything of the sort.

But, well. They were ghosts. Being feared was soothing.

(Clockwork knew this wasn't what Jasmine meant when she suggested Clockwork engage in family bonding activities with Daniel. But what she didn't know...)

"I think my teeth are getting sharper," said Danny, pulling a face at the mirror. "Is that normal?" The last was shouted, to get Clockwork's attention. Intellectually, Danny knew he didn't need to do that, but a lifetime of habit was hard to shake.

"It is difficult to say what is normal for someone like you, but many ghosts do have fangs," said Clockwork. "Including myself."

"Hm," said Danny. "This isn't, like, a ghost puberty thing, is it? Because I already used up most of my evil puberty jokes."

"Oh, only most?" Clockwork slid behind him and started rubbing the tension out of his shoulders.

Danny shrugged. "Eh, give or take. But, seriously."

"No, it isn't a ghost puberty thing."

"Oh, good. Because dealing with one puberty is more than enough."

Clockwork was silent. Danny looked up and met troubled eyes in the mirror.

"Clockwork?"

"Daniel," started Clockwork, before giving Danny an uneasy smile. "Speaking of puberty..."

Danny blanched. "No."

"What?"

"No. Nope. Not doing the talk today, no sir. I got that at school."

"Daniel, as strange as Casper High may be at times, I highly doubt they taught you anything about immortality."

"What."

"It's why ghosts put so much forethought into relationships like this," explained Clockwork, careful not to look directly at Daniel's hiding place. "They might last forever. I certainly hope this one does."

"But I don't want to be a teenager forever!" wailed Danny. He had mastered the art of making his voice sound like it was coming from a completely different direction than it actually was.

Clockwork was older than human civilization and had been worshiped as a god by several civilizations. He did not wince at the heartbreak in his child's voice.

"Your shapeshifting abilities should come in after a few years," said Clockwork. "You'll be able to pass as older."

Daniel answered with a moan.

"I must confess, I'm not sure why you are so upset about this. I can see that you are, but could you explain why for me?"

"I don't knoooooowww..."

"I don't want everyone to die and leave me alone," admitted Danny, hunched over a carton of ice cream. "I don't want to see my- my people die." He sniffled.

"We don't have to stay in Amity Park if you don't want to," said Clockwork.

Danny shook his head. "No! That's worse," he said, hating how his voice tilted into a whine. "That's- I can't abandon them! I can't- can't miss their time. I just..." He let out a huff of air. "It's hard."

Clockwork wrapped an arm around Daniel's shoulders. "It may not help much," he said, "but people in Amity Park have a much higher chance of becoming ghosts. It's the ectoplasm in the air."

"Promise?" asked Danny.

"Promise. Although, who, exactly, becomes a ghost is outside of my control. All I can tell you is that the people here have a better chance."

Danny leaned against Clockwork. "Thanks," he mumbled. "Clockwork?"

"Yes?"

"You don't think I'm a freak, do you?"

"Of course not."

Mr. Lancer squinted down at Daniel Fenton's latest assignment with a mix of appreciation, disbelief, and shame. This was easily the best work he had ever received from Daniel. In fact, it rivaled papers he had received from Jasmine.

It made him wonder- How long had Daniel been suffering? What had Daniel been suffering? He was no expert when it came to abuse, but all teachers had some training, and he knew that abusers tended to escalate, starting with something relatively innocuous and ending with a travesty. For things to progress to attempted murder... What had it started as? When had it begun?

(Could Mr. Lancer have stopped it?)

(That question would haunt him more than any ghost.)

Well, there was a silver lining to this, Mr. Lancer supposed. He had rarely seen two people who got along as well as Daniel and Charles Worth. It was good, he thought, for the man to have someone in his life on a more permanent basis, rather than the revolving door of temporary foster children.

How rapidly the adoption went through was a little odd, but... Mr. Lancer shrugged. Undoubtedly, Mr. Worth had taken the time over his years as a foster parent to familiarize himself with the system, and with Daniel's former parents unfit to be anywhere near children...

He shrugged again and stamped Daniel's paper with an A+.

#danny phantom #gift #prize #winner #fic #phanfiction

313 notes · View notes

dawninlatin · 4 years

Text

Happy Halloween

Part of the Manorian Teacher AU

Words: 1782

AO3 Link

Masterlist

Summary: Manon and Dorian celebrate Halloween together for the first time

Dorian Havilliard was finally beginning to understand that Manon had been serious when she’d uttered the words I don’t play Halloween. This was the first holiday they would spend together, and Dorian knew he’d be in for a rough month when his girlfriend had woken up on October 1st, a disturbing smile on her face, and declared the day to be the first of Halloween.

Manon was slightly terrifying on any given day, but Manon during the spookiest month of the year…Dorian suppressed a shudder at the thought of how she practically buzzed with giddy excitement.

And how his girlfriend, it seemed, went all out with everything.

Stepping into the kitchen, which had been transformed into the lab of a mad scientist, Dorian filled the giant bowl standing on the counter with candy for any trick-or-treaters that might dare knock on their door.

Normal people usually went with one theme when decorating their home, but theirs looked like a haunted mansion, a new theme in every room. Their garden was now a graveyard, the downstairs bathroom could have passed for an asylum, the living room was a murder scene, the hallway was filled with your average spider webs and skeletons, and in the kitchen, there were jars filled with very realistic eyes, creepy, rusty instruments hanging on the walls and vials with green smoke coming out of them. Manon had assured him whatever she was brewing was perfectly safe, «just don’t, under any circumstance, ingest it.»

Not playing, indeed.

One would think having Aelin Galathynius as a friend for most of his life would make him immune to anything spooky, since Halloween practically was a religion to her, but compared to Manon, it was all child’s play. No surprise those two had gotten along so quickly.

Throughout the month, they’d watched more horror movies together than Dorian had his whole life, and every day, Manon found new, creative ways to scare him shitless.

Dorian often wondered how he hadn’t had an actual heart attack yet, with all the ways she’d managed to make him scream in horror, whether that was by jumping out from behind doors or placing severed limbs in the fridge. Not even work was safe, since they were both teachers at the same high school.

He couldn’t help but look a little forward to tomorrow, when it would all be over, their lives back to normal. Of course, he would never tell Manon that. As much as he hated being scared, the look of complete and utter glee on her face whenever she managed to scare him made up for it.

It wasn’t that Dorian didn’t like Halloween, either, they just had completely different views on how to best spend it. His ideal Halloween meant watching a cozy movie like Halloweentown or A nightmare before Christmas while shamelessly eating a ridiculous amount of candy. Manon’s motto seemed to be the more macabre, the better.

But instead of complaining, Dorian looked forward to Christmas, when he would guilt her into partaking in every cheesy, fluffy tradition there was while feeling the joyous spirit of Christmas. He could already picture how hard Manon would roll her eyes at all the Hallmark movies he planned to show her.

After filling up the huge bowl of candy, Dorian stepped out into the hallway, placing it on the console table next to the door. Hopefully he would get to eat most of it by the end of the night, since he doubted anyone were brave enough to walk up to their dark, old house. He sure as shit wouldn’t have been.

As he passed the large, full-length mirror, Dorian couldn’t help the satisfied look on his face. He’d done an excellent job with his costume this year. A sheer blouse, a pair of high-waisted black pants, golden jewelry, golden dust highlighting his cheekbones, pointy ears, a tail, all pulled together by the goblet of wine he was holding. The one good thing about Halloween was that it allowed him to dress up as his favorite book characters.

He shifted his gaze downward for a moment, adjusting his clothes, and when he looked back up, he let out a yelp at the creature standing behind him in the mirror. Thunder crackled outside as Manon leaned her head back and laughed manically.

She was a truly horrifying sight to behold with her wholly white eyes and bloody grin. Her white hair was smeared with what could only be described as gore and her throat looked to be slit. She looked like a nightmare, and judging by the satisfied smirk on her face, she knew it too.

«You ready for some scary movies?» Manon asked him, giving his costume a nod of approval. Absolutely not, Dorian wanted to say, knowing she’d saved the worst movies for last.

Instead, he took a shuddering breath and said, «Can’t wait.» His voice was tight, shaking slightly. The look Manon gave him made him want to turn the lights on and hide under a blanket.

They were only fifteen minutes into A Nightmare on Elm Street, but Dorian was already clinging to Manon, his face buried in the crook of her neck. How could she be so calm right now? She seemed to be enjoying it, even.

Someone knocked on the door, and Dorian jumped, his heart racing. It’s just trick-or-treaters, he told himself. Definitely not a psychopath killer.

«Fucking finally!» Manon exclaimed as she paused the movie and got up, heading towards the door. Dorian was torn between wanting to run out and protect her from the killer that was surely waiting behind the closed door and begging her to not leave him alone.

Calm down you idiot, he told himself. What kind of killer knocks on the door?

Then it hit him, all blood draining from his face. It would be a genius move to just knock on the door if you wanted to kill someone.

As he was about to run into the hallway and hide behind his girlfriend as she dealt with the threat, he heard the door open, followed by the sound of giggling children. Manon’s words from earlier, when he’d asked why she loved Halloween so much, echoed in his mind: «I get to scare little children while looking awesome! What’s not to love?» The more he got to know this woman, the more she amazed him.

After a moment, Manon said something he couldn’t make out, but he could hear the kids scream as they ran away, then the door slamming shut once more. The sound of Manon’s evil laughter filled the eerie house as she stepped back into the living room. «I love Halloween!»

Dorian was sure he’d never been more relieved when the movie finally ended and Manon turned the lights back on. That relief was quickly replaced by dread though, when a loud thump sounded upstairs.

«What was that?» Manon asked, casting a worried glance at the ceiling.

Dorian eyed her suspiciously, knowing she was surely the one behind this.

«Why are you looking at me like that?» she hissed when she noticed his accusing stare. «This isn’t me, I swear!» His face paled at the truth he could hear in her voice.

«It’s probably nothing, right?» Dorian tried to hide the fear in his voice with a nonchalant chuckle. Their house was old, so it was normal for it to make a lot of scary noises. Although…

«That came from the attic, right?» Manon whispered from her spot next to him, her breath hitching as they heard another thump.

«I think so,» he said, swallowing audibly.

«Maybe we should check it out…»

Dorian shook his head. «Fuck no! The one thing I’ve learned from all those movies you’ve made me watch is to never check out weird noises.» No way was he stepping foot into the creepy attic. He’d avoided it as much as possible since moving into the house a month ago.

«Fine, then I’ll do it,» Manon declared, giving him a nasty glare. Yet he didn’t miss the way she rose a bit reluctantly, her voice shaking.

When she was halfway across the room, Dorian let out a defeated sigh, quickly trailing after her. He didn’t want to find the source of the noise, but he most definitely didn’t want to be left alone either.

He made sure to keep close behind her as they carefully treaded up the stairs, the howling wind making the entire house shake.

As they reached the top, Dorian put on a sweet face and gestured to the door. «After you, darling.»

Manon scoffed, rolling her eyes, but she didn’t move to open the door leading into the dark attic, either. Almost as if she was…hesitating.

«Don’t tell me you’re scared, Blackbeak?»

«No,» she claimed, but he could hear the fear in her voice. «ButifwedieIloveyou,» she blurted and opened the door.

Dorian knew the thought of something scaring Manon should have made him turn around and run for his dear life, but he was also eager to see what happened next.

Manon lifted a shaking hand to flick on the light, Dorian holding his breath. As her eyes fell upon the source of the noise, she let out a high-pitched shriek and ran into Dorian’s arms.

The shock of hearing Manon Blackbeak shriek erased all trace of fear lingering in him, and as he peered over her shoulder, into the attic, he leaned his head back and howled with laughter.

For there, in the middle of the floor, was Abraxos, trapped under a white sheet, a knocked-over box next to him. «Meow,» he said, as if in greeting.

Dorian pulled up his phone, snapping a picture of the little ghost. Then he turned around and took another, of Manon, who now stood at the middle of the landing, arms hanging limp at her sides, a mix of fear and confusion on her face. He should have felt guilty for laughing at her, but revenge tasted so sweet.

Her frightened look quickly turned into one of rage as she noticed what Dorian was doing, his laughter dying at the murderous glance she threw him. «Meow,» Abraxos said once more, unknowingly stopping Manon from killing Dorian with her eyes.

After freeing the poor kitten, Dorian turned towards a glaring Manon and said, unable to hide the amusement in his voice, «Is a harmless kitten all it takes to scare you?»

Her face broke into a terrifying grin. «I wouldn’t look so smug if I were you. There are still a few hours left…» Then she just turned on her heel and began walking down the stairs, glancing over her shoulder. «Happy Halloween, Dorian.»

A/N: Remember when I said I'd have lots of time to write? Yeah, me neither...

I am very sorry for not updating anything, but I barely have the energy to keep up with school these days, so things will take time:(

Feel free to leave feedback if you want to! It's a huge inspiration to keep writing<3

Taglist: @fireheartdreamerstarborn @bookishwitchling @ladywitchling @kit-12 @onfma @ireallyshouldsleeprn @sayosdreams

I keep a separate taglist for each ship, so let me know if you want to be added to this or any other:)

#dawninlatin teacher au #manorian halloween #manorian #manon x dorian #dorian x manon #manon blackbeak #dorian havilliard #throne of glass fluff #tog #sarah j maas #sjm #manorian fic #tog fic #manorian fluff

73 notes · View notes

heliads · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4: What Lies Ahead

Bucky Barnes is constantly haunted by his past, but the memories of his days as a Winter Soldier will come into a new light in the form of the Watching Hawk, his old HYDRA partner. Will he be able to trust her, and will she be able to move on from his mistakes?

previous / series masterlist

Bucky is sick of his cell. It’s barely been longer than six hours, as far as he can tell, but the grungy gray walls are already starting to drive him mad. He’s been visited by HYDRA soldiers, of course, who strike him across the face and gloat that he has returned to them despite all his attempts to break away. As the blood drains from his nose, Bucky silently wishes that he were miles away. He doesn’t want to think about the fact that he’s back in the grasp of HYDRA, and doesn’t want to think about the fact that they could easily brainwash him again and reduce him to a marionette soldier once more, fighting forever under the control of their strings.

So Bucky focuses instead on the pain, on the sensation of a clenched fist on his face and a metal ring cutting into his cheek. The pain can last forever, and it will be a constant he can cling to so he doesn’t fall apart.

Bucky is not surprised when a HYDRA higher-up struts into the room, the Watching Hawk entering behind him. The operative is arrogant as always, sparing a few words to boast about how he missed control over the Winter Soldier. Bucky turns his attention to the Hawk, and finds himself wondering why she seems less confident in herself. Surely, she should be standing tall and proud- she completed her mission to capture Bucky and his friends, she should be reveling in her victory. Instead, she keeps her hands clasped behind her back, avoiding Bucky’s gaze like she can’t bear to see his face and come to terms with what she’s done.

The HYDRA commander is speaking to him again. He pulls out a familiar red book from the inside of his coat pocket. “Remember this, Barnes?” He flips the book open and finds the page he wants. “You should have known that you could never leave us.” The HYDRA operative starts reading out words in Russian, and Bucky’s blood chills to hear the words. He has not had to hear them in a while, but the sense of terror and paranoia they bring envelops him in a rush. Across the room, the Hawk jolts her head up and finally looks at him. Her jaw tightens, and Bucky realizes that she doesn’t want to see him under HYDRA control again.

"Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать.”

Bucky’s breathing grows harsh. HYDRA doesn’t know that their mind control is gone from his head, but yet Bucky still feels waves of fear washing over him. What if it doesn’t work? What if he becomes a mindless killer once more?

“Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный.”

Bucky tilts his head back in his chair. Please let the Wakandan treatments have done their job, please let him stay a free-willed man.

“Возвращение на Родину. Один.”

Too late for second-guessing.

“Товарный вагон. Солдат?"

Bucky slowly lifts his head to meet the stare of the HYDRA commander.

“I will never be your soldier again.”

From the far corner of the room, Y/N’s head falls in relief. She lets out a silent breath only Bucky can tell she’d been holding. Thank God for Shuri.

The HYDRA commander is enraged. “You will always be our fighter! Well, if you cannot serve us in life, then you will in death. Hawk? Shoot the traitor.” Y/N’s eyes go wide for a second, then she blinks away her emotions. The commander turns to look at her. “That is a command. Сделай это.” At that mention of the Russian words, Y/N’s head snaps up. Bucky realizes she is Y/N no longer- the mind control lying dormant in her head has reawoken.

The Hawk walks slowly towards Bucky. She reaches to her waist and pulls out a pistol. Bucky can do nothing but watch as she points it towards him, her hand shaking. It is horrifying to watch her now- her movements are as stiff as a robot’s, but her eyes, oh her eyes, they are so full of panic and fear that Bucky is drowning in them. Although her body is forced to obey the HYDRA commands, she will be helpless to watch as she kills her former ally.

The Hawk’s hand freezes just before the gun is pointed at Bucky’s head. The commander clears his throat, and the gun starts moving towards his forehead once more, but the Hawk’s face is twisted with concentration. She squeezes her eyes shut, as if fighting against an invisible barrier. “Shoot him!” The commander’s voice rings out in frustration, and Y/N’s eyes fly open once. All Bucky can see in her eyes is deathly clarity, and he hears the sound of the gunshot.

It takes a while for Bucky to realize what happened. He sees the gun in Y/N’s hand, he smells the copper tang of blood in the air, and he knows she fired the pistol. Yet, there Bucky sits, unharmed, and there lies the commander on the ground, a scarlet pool creeping steadily out from under him. It hits him then- Y/N managed to break away from the mind control to shoot the commander instead of him.

Y/N lets out a small gasp and drops the weapon. She runs over to Bucky and quickly unties his bonds. “I can’t believe it worked. I didn’t think I could-” Once he stands up, she backs away from him slightly, as if she can’t bear to let herself be close to him once more. “I’m sorry, Bucky. Oh, I’m so sorry.” She twists her hands anxiously. “It happened when we were breaking in the first time. There was a dormant protocol command, and one of the guards used it to make me tell them everything about the plan. I didn’t want to, and I tried so hard to fight it, but it didn’t work. I’m-” Bucky takes her hands gently, stopping her flurried motions and speech. “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that you managed to break away from them, and we can leave them behind for good.” Y/N looks up at him again through desperate eyes, and the pain in them astounds him. “We can.”

Y/N and Bucky make their way silently through the HYDRA compound. This time, they are not stopped by any guards, as no one expects a breakout when all prisoners are either dead or about to be. They stop by other cells, releasing Natasha, Sam, and Steve, who are more than happy to see them. Y/N explains everything, and although Bucky can tell they’re still tense around her, they are willing to give her a second chance like they did for him. They stop briefly to collect their confiscated weapons, then quickly make their way out of the HYDRA base.

A few days later, Bucky finds himself standing next to Y/N near a Wakandan lab. She has a slight smile on her face as she takes in all of the technological prowess of Shuri and her scientists. “Are you sure this is going to work?” She asks Bucky, finally tearing her eyes away from the labs to face him. “Absolutely. It did for me.” Y/N sighs softly.

“When I first asked you how it felt to be free of HYDRA, I never thought it could happen to me. All this time, I’ve had the illusion of free will. Every time I could speak when I wanted to, or chose what I wanted to do, I always knew in the back of my mind that the old codes and commands were still buried in my head. I told myself it was freedom, but it never was. Now that I’ll finally be able to go my own way, I’m not sure what to do.” Bucky takes her hands. “You’ll have the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. to help you, and you can always find a normal job if you don’t want any more combat work. Also, you’ll have me. We mind-controlled soldiers have to stick together, you know.” Y/N laughs at his words. “That sounds good.”

A door opens next to them, and a scientist peeks out, calling for Y/N to follow her into one of the labs. Bucky bids Y/N goodbye, and watches her follow the scientist into a distant room. He turns at the sound of footsteps behind him, and is surprised to see Steve walking up next to him. “What are you doing here?” Bucky asks. “Well, I wanted to see if everything was going alright. It feels like it wasn’t that long ago that I was here with you, back when we first got you out of HYDRA.”

Bucky lets a small smile cross his face. “I never thought it would end like this. I always hoped I’d see Y/N again, but I never could have dreamed that she’d get out too. I know you don’t know much about her right now, but she’s a good fighter, and better than that, a good person. She helped me a lot when I was still in HYDRA, and I’m glad I could help her in turn.”

Steve nods thoughtfully, then claps Bucky on the shoulder. “I’m happy you have her. Sometimes, you need someone with similar experiences to truly heal after hard times.” With that, he turns and walks away, leaving Bucky once more to his thoughts.

A few hours later, Bucky is there when Y/N wakes up from the procedure. She blinks dazedly up at him. “How do you feel?” He asks, and Y/N looks up at him in thought. “Pretty good for an independent soldier.” They both laugh at that, and Y/N gestures for Bucky to sit next to her. She leans her head on his shoulder, curling up around him. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do now. It feels like there are so many possibilities that I never had before. I’m excited to see what freedom feels like.” Bucky wraps his arm around her, letting himself relax. He may not know what the future holds for either of them, but as long as he has Y/N, he doesn’t need anything else.

tag list: @soleil-dor

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagines #winter soldier #winter soldier imagine #winter soldier x reader #winter soldier imagines #bucky imagines #bucky x reader #bucky series #completed series

52 notes · View notes

mythrilhusk · 3 years

Text

Korosensei Never Dies - Chapter 6

Words - 1967 Ao3 Version Chapter 5 (last) Chapter 7 (Next)

AN: Just wanted to note (although it’s already in tags) that there are no ships in this story. The characters may be affectionate with each other, but it’s all platonic.

====

Exams are the worst part of school, but the end of the first term approaches fast. Tommy determines he will not fail. Philza has promised to teach them how to fight, and by the ever-loving stars, Tommy wants to show off his mad skillz.

He's so intent on getting fighting lessons that he's dragged his friends into group study sessions. Wilbur insists on leading said sessions, and somehow the schoolwork gets entwined with role-playing battles with fiercesome monsters.

"The answer is forty-two!! I pull out a bazooka and blast everything to smithereens!" Tubbo cackles. "Nothing shall stand in the way of world domination."

"Tubbo," Wilbur sighs for the fortieth time. "That would kill all of your teammates."

"Do I care?" Tubbo grins innocently. "Less competition, big man!"

"I lay down and die." Ranboo says drily, leaning against the wall with his arm around Tubbo's shoulders.

"Not you, Ranboo, you're going to be my puppet queen. Every world-dominating super-villain needs a puppet queen." Tubbo says, quite matter-of-fact.

Tommy scrawls messily on his workbook, determined to complete the next answer first and get a turn. "Ha! Fucking x equals twenty-nine!" He crows. "I shoot my nets at Tubbo and capture him!!"

"Stand-off." Wilbur says with a grin. "Who wrote Frankenstein?"

"Some woman with a boring name." Tommy retorts.

"Anne Rice!" Tubbo cries.

"Tommy, you got the closer answer. It was Mary Shelley."

"Alright, I win, and I say 'Hahaha, you fucking imbecile, you are no match for me!' and then I drag them to jail."

"I completed my worksheet, Wilbur." Eret pipes up. Wilbur takes it, then nods for Eret to complete his bonus action. "I stab Tommy and release Tubbo, saying, 'The world is yours for the taking, but allow me to oversee a portion of it.' and then I kneel and plant my sword in the dust."

"Oh! Oh!" Tubbo waves his worksheet in the air. "Ranboo, stab him for me!"

"As you wish." Ranboo sighs with a wicked grin. Eret protests weakly in the background.

"Ranboo, you need to answer a question correctly, first." Wilbur steeples his fingers. "Or else there will be penalties."

"I, uh, I think I got this one correct." Ranboo shows his study sheet to Wilbur, who nods curtly.

"Fine, go ahead."

Ranboo turns to Eret and says in a dark tone, "You betrayed your friend. I can't trust you, Eret." Then he turns to Wilbur, "I run him through with my dagger."

"Eret, you're now a ghost." Wilbur shuffles through his game notes.

"Aw, man. Can I haunt anyone?"

"Yes."

"I haunt Ranboo to remind him of his crimes."

"Aw, dang, another voice." Ranboo groans playfully.

"Whaddya mean, another??" Tubbo cries. "Am I being replaced, Ranboo??"

"You- you are the voice." Ranboo laughs nervously. "Even when you're dead, I'll still hear you, shouting at me to not kill the bees."

"You better not. I worked hard to cultivate our apiary."

"I won't, I won't."

Tommy finishes his worksheet, ignoring the chatter of the others. "Ha!" He turns it into a paper plane and throws it to Wilbur. "I want twelve actions now!"

"Okay, Tommy." Wilbur replies with a sly smile. The others protest, but Tommy has Wilbur wrapped around his little finger, so they won't be winning this battle.

"But! I want to split them up between us, because I'm a fucking nice person who loves women."

"Go ahead."

"My first action as King de facto of the world is to declare peace between the Moon and Mars."

"Wait, wait, you're king?? Eret, you didn't even kill him properly!!" Tubbo throws up his hands. "Ranboo, kill Tommy for me."

"Hypothetically, what if I didn't?"

"Ranboo. Are you betraying me??"

"No, no, I said hypothetically."

"Then, hypothetically, I would nuke your entire homeland and make you watch as I killed your family before your very eyes."

"Oh! Oh, no."

"And then I would torture you to death."

"Oh, man. That would not be good."

"So are you going to betray me?"

"Apparently not."

"Aw, man. I wanted to torture somebody." Tubbo sighs.

Ranboo gives Tommy a look that says 'help me'.

"You both lost your turns for talking too long." Wilbur decides. "Tommy and Eret, you both have an extra turn."

"I turn corporeal using necromancy, and I use Tubbo's soul as the energy source, draining him of life." Eret says, his cheerful eyes belying his dark tone.

"No! Ranboo, avenge meeeee!!" Tubbo cries melodramatically to the heavens.

"Oh no! I'll avenge you!!"

"I kill Ranboo." Tommy cackles at the horrified look on Ranboo's face.

"Oh, that's not good."

"How do you kill him, Tommy?" Wilbur asks.

"I stab the bastard through the fucking eyes."

"Oh. Man. That sounds painful." Ranboo winces.

"It is. You're screaming like a fucking bitch."

"Am I? Oh dang, that's not fun. Am I a ghost now?"

"Ghostboo." Tubbo laughs. "You're now Ghostboo."

"You're Toast, you don't get to mock my name."

Tommy frowns. "What's my ghost name?"

"Ghommy." Ranboo laughs. "Eret is Gheret."

"Tommy, you think we're ready for the exams?" Wilbur gathers the papers scattered across the floor.

"Fuck yeah, we are. We'll crush those bastards to dust. We'll get the highest grades of anybody in the entire school!"

++++

"What do you mean, you can't transfer me?? My grades are the worst they've ever been in years!!" Jack cries, stomping his foot on the polished wood floor of the principal's office.

"I'm sorry, duckie, but I can't let anyone transfer between classes this year." Puffy-- rumored to be a pirate in a past life and therefore always called Captain-- frowns as she flicks through Jack's portfolio. "Why did you want to be transferred, anyway?"

"No reason." Jack grumbles, then stomps out of the office, slamming the door behind himself.

"How'd it go?" Niki hops down from one of the pillars.

"Terribly. Those bastards in 3-E must've told Captain Puffy to not let anyone in. They're probably planning to take over the world now, using Techno as bait!" Jack cries, his eyes burning with furious tears.

"That's awful!" Niki wails. "What will we do?"

"What do heroes do to villains? We bomb them."

"Bomb them?"

"I don't know how yet." Jack grins, filled with burning rage. "But we'll think of something."

"I know a man." Niki says decisively. "He'll get us supplies. If they really are planning to end the world, we need to stop them."

++++

Exams roll around, and 3-E joins the the main school buildings for the tests. Quackity and Sapnap both leap on and hug Karl Jacobs. Tommy strides through the testing auditorium like he owns the place, with Wilbur glaring at everyone and Tubbo whetting his dagger with a placid smile.

Fundy watches the chaos from the sidelines, chewing on caramel taffy and bubblegum at the same time. He doesn't recognize the quiet boy huddled in a corner and writing. Before he can creep over and look at the boy's words, Eret accosts him. "Hey, man."

"Oh, hey!" Fundy grins and hugs his friend. "What've you been up to?"

"Oh, just trying to stop the world from ending and make a profit in the process, you know, the usual."

"Right, right. What's up with that, anyway? This guy, Technoblade? He must be really hard to kill if nobody's done it yet."

"We have till the year ends." Eret says gravely.

"Right. But why hasn't anybody, I don't know, tried to get in on the action?"

"The government is supposed to be keeping his location a secret." Eret adjusts his sunglasses.

"Weird." Fundy pops a bubble between his lips.

"Indeed. I know there must be a weakness. But I'm not sure what it is."

"Maybe it's something like technical immortality! Maybe he can only be killed if he lets it happen!" Fundy theorizes, chewing more intensely.

Eret grimaces. "Perhaps. Threatening his friend, Philza, directly is out of the question. But perhaps we can get the kill switch from the president."

"Woah, woah, back up!" Fundy laughs. "There's already a kill switch in his friend and the prezz hasn't thought to use that??"

"Well, he's a hostage, but- oh."

"Exactly!! If the prezz actually wanted him dead, all they'd have to do is threaten to kill this Philza dude if Techno doesn't let himself be killed!" Fundy blows another bubble and pops it with his teeth. "Damn, I'm good."

"That's assuming Technoblade would die if he allowed it. What if he can't?" Eret muses.

"He has to have some weakness. How was he even created??"

"I- I don't know."

"The only way a mutant like that could be created is through Human intervention, aka a laboratory and scientists!!" Fundy claps his hands together excitedly. "But why would scientists create a creature who can destroy the world?? Unless he can't, and this is all just a damn test."

"Hmm." Eret doesn't sound convinced.

"So, they're trying to develop immortality, and they're testing it on Technoblade-"

"Why him?" Eret asks. "And if it is a test, why here, with a bunch of students?"

"He got loose before the tests could be finalized, and they're trying to contain him again!" Fundy starts pacing. "He was a terrorist, yeah? I remember him in the news. The Acolyte."

"Blood for the blood god." Eret reminisces, paling. "That's right."

"He only ever went after important government figures! But, five years ago, he disappeared, and nobody ever heard from him again. Until now..." Fundy grins wildly. "This is amazing, I can't believe I get front row seats to a conspiracy!"

"Wait." Eret groans. "He had a partner."

"Oh! He did?"

"Technoblade was the Acolyte. But his partner was the Angel. What if that was-"

"Philza!!" Fundy cries. "Oh god, we have both of the most deadly international terrorists in my school!! Why couldn't I have worn better clothes??"

"I don't think that should be our main concern." Eret steeples his fingers. "I think we should worry more about what they're planning to do."

"I'm going to talk to Captain Puffy." Fundy decides. "Come with me?"

"I'll pass. Good luck."

"I've got the best luck in the world." Fundy crows and skips off. He glances back once, briefly, only to see Eret watching him with an unreadable expression.

++++

Tipsy, Schlatt lounges on one of the pristine metal tables. In the background, HBomb sweeps up the shards of a broken whiskey bottle, the remnants of a drunken tantrum.

"Heyyy." Schlatt greets the mercenary waiting in the doorway. "Come on in."

"How much do I get paid for my trouble?" The mercenary asks, slouching in a too-large purple hoodie and baggy pants.

"Fifteen billion, take it or leave it." Schlatt grins.

"I'll take it. But this is the last time."

"Sure, honey."

"How'd you lose him again?"

"Bitch killed half my fucking scientists." Schlatt shrugs genially, hiding his irritation. "But we've got a neutralizing agent, now." He tosses a capsule to the mercenary, who catches it and inspects it. "Inject that and he'll be as harmless as a two-ton hippo."

"That's hardly what I'd call harmless."

"Eh, semantics. He won't be immortal."

"Hmm." The mercenary pockets the neutralizer. "I'll do it. But you'd better pay me exactly what you promised, or he dies."

"C'mon, darling, what do you take me for? A scam artist?? Nah, that's not my fucking style. Return him safe and sound, and everything will be just fine." Schlatt lights a cigar, takes a deep drag, then lets it all out in a slow plume. "Do as I say and nobody gets hurt."

++++

Eret opens his buzzing phone and answers, "Hey."

"Crocodiles don't cry often." The familiar voice says coldly into their ear.

"Crocodile tears are worthless." Eret replies.

Purpled laughs on the other end. "What do you say, partner? Ready to make some dough?"

Eret grins, baring her teeth. "Always."

Chapter 7 (Next)

#eret #purpled #ranboo #tubbo #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #fundy #jack manifold #niki nihachu #no ship #fanfiction #dream smp au #dream smp #assassination classroom crossover #tw violence #tw threats #not rpf

16 notes · View notes

kiwi-strawberry-banana · 4 years

Text

So, this post is going to be an analysis on SkekTek the Scientist, comparing his movie self versus his tv self, as well as various predictions for season 2 or onwards. I know there have been analysis of him before, but this is a big ole hodgepodge of my own thoughts.

Ok, so, I will make no secret that SkekTek is my favorite, and as such I may or may not have analyzed him a lot in many pictures from the movie and tv show, and heres what I think;

The first season is only a peek at his descent into madness, as well as the lengths he will go to gain the approval of all around him.

In the show, it is already shown that SkekTek seeks the approval of those around him, especially the Emperor. He is regarded as the weakest Skeksis and, as such, is at the end of a lot of ridicule from the other Skeksis (he is most commonly referred to as "weakling" by various Skeksis including SkekVar the General, SkekMal the Hunter, and I believe SkekSo the Emperor). The ridicule is to the point where he is often secluded in his lab with his only friends being animals and Sidetic. ("SkekTek never forgets a true friend.")

His desire for acceptance from the other Skeksis is so deep reaching that he forsakes many things, such as his friendship with Aughra.

When she is being strapped to the chair, preparing to be drained, she brings up their past friendship. There is so much nuance behind here doing so. In that moment, she is reaching out to SkekTek, reminding him of what they once had, of how she hasn't forgotten.

She is reaching out and giving him a chance to stop. And if he had simply brushed her off, I wouldn't be bringing this up. But rather than immediately ignore her or respond

He looks to The Emperor, the Skeksis that rules over all of them, and one that SkekTek has been vying for approval from for so long.

And SkekSo knows it.

(Gif credit @rabid-apathy)

He doesn't tell SkekTek to get a move on, nor does he berate him. Instead, he looks to the side, almost as in a "you know what to do" type gesture. At this point, SkekTek is in too far deep, so desperate for the approval of his brethren that don't care about him in the slightest that he forsakes the possibility of rekindling a lost friendship.

"Another world, another time."

If you rewatch this scene and watch Aughras reaction after SkekTek says that (because I can't find the gif or pic of it), she is genuinely hurt and saddened by SkekTeks response. She was being genuine when she reminded him of their friendship and was hoping that maybe it could still be there, that he could stop this.

But he didn't.

And after further ridicule from multiple Skeksis and gorging himself on essence, he does what some would say is the moment he snaps.

He kills the Gruenaks.

I know this scene has already been analyzed before, so I won't go as in depth, but that moment was a very pivotal scene. Aside from it being the moment that all the anger that has been building up inside SkekTek comes out, as well as when the idea of the Garthim comes to pass, it is also both a sad and terrifying moment for both the Gruenaks and SkekTek.

For the Gruenaks, the moment is terrifying because they were so close to freedom only for the horrifying reality to come crashing back in their faces.

And for SkekTek, the moment is horrifying for two reasons. One, because he had been going through so much ridicule and mockery for so long despite everything he did for the Skeksis that the moment of two Gruenak slaves defying him ("No slaves") was the ultimate tipping point.

For so long, I don't think SkekTek even felt like one of the Skeksis. It is commented on by the Emperor when he confronts SkekTek on how much essence will be needed for immortality (Can't remember the exact quote, but it is along the lines of how SkekTek takes solace in animals compared to being around the other Skeksis). Time and time again, SkekTek rarely interacts with other Skeksis unless they need something. So when he sees the Gruenaks have turned against him, he goes on a long spiel about how he is SkekTek the Scientist, a master of life and death, etc.

But he ends it with:

"I am Skeksis!"

A yell that is desperate. A need for affirmation, one that no Skeksis has given him. And with it, he snaps.

If the Gruenaks hadn't resisted, it's likely he still would have killed them. If not, they would have at least been severely wounded. There was too much rage and, combined with him being drunk on essence, there was nothing the Gruenaks could have done to calm SkekTek down.

And that moment with the Gruenaks? That is the point where things tip.

That moment is the first big step into his descent into insanity.

There had been smaller steps up until then, such as the draining of Gelfling, the loss of his eye, the constant ridicule, and draining Aughra. But the Gruenaks was big.

Which brings me to my next point:

I don't know if this has been brought up before, if it has I have not seen it, but SkekTek is horrifyingly different when you compare his tv self and his movie self.

Tv:

Movie:

All the other Skeksis are obviously decrepit by the time of the movie (fun fact, movie SkekOk has one extra pair of glasses compared to tv SkekOk), however SkekTek is the most different.

We see him lose his eye in the show, and while the book states that he replaced his own arm and leg with robotic prosthetics, as well as put tubes in his body to study his bloodflow, those things do not happen before the tv show.

And I know this because, if you compare the two, it is clear that Skektek does have both arms in the show where as in the movie:

You can clearly see that that arm is definitely a robotic one.

(Fun fact 2, watch his scenes from the movie and watch his arms. While he will use the robotic one, he doesn't actually move that one around all that much compared to his other arm.)

Aside from his arm, movie SkekTek has a large amount of tubes, wires, and metal pieces all throughout his body, including even more where his eye prosthetic is.

I could go on with the side by side comparisons, but I think it is safe to say that there is more that happens to SkekTek aside from him aging.

But a final big change from the time of the show versus the movie has to be his animals.

I've already stated that in the show, they are his only real companions (especially Sidetic). The animals in his lab are his only company and, frankly, are rather calm when it's just SkekTek in the lab. But by the movie? He is constantly yelling at them to be quiet, regarding them cruelly and awfully while they screech about the moment he enters the room.

Which brings me to my final point and some speculation:

It is likely that, despite the creation of the Garthim, as well as him having developed the method for creating essence, SkekTek is still going to be the subject of constant ridicule by the Skeksis, to the point where his last shred of sanity snaps and he begins the experiments on his body.

Whether those experiments are due to the Emperors demand for a solution for his own deteriorating body or because SkekTek is so desperate to no longer be seen as weak that he replaces his limbs in a desperate bid for more strength, that is up for debate.

SkekTek is one of the few Skeksis to actually think about things such as the wellbeing of Thra (his momentary plea to the Emperor that the more they drain Gelfling, the faster the Darkening will spread), as well as having moments of genuine kindness to creatures that aren't Skeksis ("Hush now, hush now. All is well."), but like the rest of the Skeksis, SkekTek is driven by a combination of greed and fear, one that sends him on a downward spiral until he meets his ultimate end.

Tldr; SkekTek has a rougher time in the foreseeable future. Someone give this vulture a vacation please.

(Also, I do not condone any of the awful things SkekTek does. Yes, killing is bad.)

(Final thing, I know there is debatable continuity between the show and the movie. Even so, I still wanted to do this. Because I can.)

#the dark crystal #the dark crystal age of resistance #skeksis #skektek #my post #analysis

225 notes · View notes

sonic-chronicles-fanfic-sequel · 3 years

Text

Chapter One: Sonic

Sonic the Hedgehog, hero not only to Earth but to several alien races due to his recent adventure into a dimension called the Twilight Cage. He made a new friend in the form of Shade the Echidna; they got the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds back from the Nocturnus Clan and now everyone was on their way home. He should be celebrating, relaxing at the very least! So why was he feeling so uneasy? Even Tails was looking uneasy as he piloted the ship through the wormhole; then again, he was trying to not crash land like when they went through the first time, but he knew his little bro could do it!

His heart dropped as the first sight of home that he and his friends saw was that Metropolis was up and running again. There was no way, they were only gone for a few hours, a few days at most! How did Eggman build all of this up?! It was in ruins last time they saw the city!

“Welcome back team. You’ve been gone a long time...” Eggman’s voice crackled as his face appeared on the screen. Sonic snarled as he could practically hear the mad scientist ooze with twisted delight in his voice; can’t any of them catch a freaking break?! “Might have been better if you hadn’t returned. But I was hoping you would.”

And that’s when they felt the first blast from one of the many anti-aircraft missiles, everyone staggering to get their balance. “Tails!” he shouted as the fox snapped out of whatever he was in before grabbing the controls. This wasn’t good; they were too high up and there wasn’t a weapon attached to this ship to fight back. “Tails, I’d like some options before we’re blown up skyhigh!!” he shouted again as they got hit with another blast.

Tails grimaced before looking at a large green button that was on the dash panel. “If there’s one thing I’m glad I installed, it’s this!” he announced, slamming his fist onto the button. Ten tubes surrounded the group including the fox. “I hate to lose this ship, but get ready to be ejected, team! We’re taking the escape pods!”

“When did you install escape pods?!” Amy asked, startled by the sudden appearance of the device. Sonic peered out of the small window to see that almost everyone else was equally startled by the escape pods.

The red echidna was less than pleased as he was trying to bust out of his containment. “Hey! The Emeralds!” he shouted, the speedster looking around. Oh right, the Emeralds! They could use that to try and stop Eggman.

Or at least that would be the plan if Sonic hadn’t used them to fight Ix in the last hour and drained them of their power. And of course the moment the gang has looked at the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald, the escape pods had ejected from the space ship, the speedster peering up to watch as their ride was engulfed in flames as it made its destructive descent to earth. He squinted, but he could’ve sworn he saw something else fall out of the ship as well. The Emeralds...?

The pod shook as there were two more explosions from outside that rocked the container. “Whoa!” he cried out, struggling to get his footing before the third one caused him to hit the back of his head against the hard metal surface behind him, sending his world into darkness.

He groaned as a bright light came over his closed eyes, reaching a hand up to block the light. “What-?” he muttered.

A red figure came into view, the hedgehog blinking as his vision cleared to see that it was Knuckles offering a hand. “Sonic, you alright?” he asked, Sonic accepting the help up to his feet. “Tails and I just found your pod; we weren’t sure who was inside it though.”

“Besides getting knocked out after that bumpy ride, I’ll live,” Sonic replied. He took a look around, noticing that it was a bit of a dense forest, wondering if they weren’t somewhere by Blue Ridge. Well, ‘a bit dense’ was an understatement as the hedgehog was noticing some fallen pine trees a few yards away. Guess Knuckles had to unleash his frustrations somehow... But Blue Ridge was covered in snow last time they were there. Where were they then? He shook his head, needing to focus on what’s going on right now. “You and Tails doin’ good?” he asked.

Knuckles sighed and shook his head. “Physically yes, but emotionally...look, we just got the Emeralds back and now they’re gonna end up back in Eggman’s hands! Just all that time and effort wasted!!” he groaned. He sighed as he pulled out a couple of small green shards from the cuffs of his gloves. “At least he won’t be able to get to the Master Emerald easily…just wish it didn’t shatter in the crash.” Sonic sympathetically patted his shoulder, knowing how annoying finding the Chaos Emeralds can be, figuring it was equally annoying to try and find smaller pieces of the Master Emerald. Knuckles hid the shard back where he had it, then he cupped his hands and called over to Tails, “hey! I got Sonic out of that pod!”

The fox looked up from his spot on the ground, his ears going up before fluctuating between drooping and staying up. “Oh, uh, great! Awesome!” he stated before going back to whatever he was looking at before, making some scratches on the ground with a stick.

Sonic looked confused as he looked towards Knuckles, hoping the echidna could explain Tails’ dismal attitude. It wasn’t just because of the ‘warm reception’ they received, right? The echidna sighed and explained, “Tails has been trying to figure out where we landed. Both the others and where we even are. This has to be close to Metropolis but it seems...bigger.”

“We were also a few thousand feet in the air trying not to die via crashing; of course it would look bigger from a distance,” Sonic retorted, Knuckles rolling his eyes at that.

“You know what I meant, Sonic...we all know that Metropolis was practically destroyed when we left; how did it get rebuilt that fast while we were gone??”

The hedgehog frowned at that because...yeah, there was no way that Eggman got this all up and running after a few days. Not unless he had a second base the size of a city, but what happened?

His thoughts were interrupted as Tails stumbled back into him as some nearby bushes rustled. How original. The trio got ready for a fight when a cerulean German Shepard in a black and grey jumpsuit with red stars on the tips of his shoes came stumbling out of said bushes. At least….Sonic thought it was a German Shepard? It was definitely a canine with pointy ears who was struggling to keep his balance after that stunning entrance.

“...ya good there?” Sonic asked as the kid got up to his feet and dusted off his legs. He seemed...relatively harmless. No weapons or robots at his disposal at least. “Also, who are you? Like, you work for Eggman or just...a random hobo?”

“Sonic!” Tails scolded, the hedgehog wincing. Yeah, his lil buddy was right, that was uncalled for.

Before he could apologize, the canine gestured to himself with a thumb. “The name’s Dexter and I’m here to get you to the rebellion!”

The trio glanced at each other before looking back at Dexter, Tails clapping his hands together. “Ok, uh, one, rebellion? Two, Dexter? As in...Amy’s...boyfriend, Dexter?”

The canine’s tail started wagging as he was practically gushing, “you’re Amy’s friends! Isn’t she pretty and funny and cute and she’s totally my real girlfriend and I can’t believe we’re dating! How is she, is she alright??”

Tails and Knuckles looked over at each other, confused by this...weird turn of events as Sonic just strolled on over to the kid. “Wait, Sonic-”

“We got separated in the blast overhead, but, uh, what’s this rebellion you were talking about?” the hedgehog asked, slinging an arm around Dexter’s shoulder.

“Oh my gosh, Sonic the Hedgehog is touching me-OH RIGHT, uh, rebellion! Uh, my orders from my boss were ‘hey those guys got hit by Eggman, let’s get them on our side before Eggman does or kills them or whatever.” He got out a compass from one of his pockets and checked it. “My partner went to check out some other pods that way!” he explained, pointing west. “Honestly seeing you guys is like...the best news we had in a long time.”

Sonic glanced back at the others before shrugging. “Sounds legit to me; Dex, lead the way!” he said, the canine giving a salute.

“Yes sir!”

“Wait, Sonic, are you sure this is a good idea??” Tails asked, hesitantly starting to follow the gang. “What if this is a trap?” he quietly added.

“It might be, but what other options do we have? Wait for Eggman to capture us and monologue us to death?” he teased.

Knuckles gave a weak shrug. “We might be able to figure out what’s even going on,” he suggested, Tails’ ears going low as he trudged after them.

“Yeah...doesn’t mean I have to like it though…”

#sonic chronicles fanfic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic fanfiction #knuckles the echidna #miles tails prower #dexter (sonic chronicles)#amy rose #dr. eggman

2 notes · View notes

a-child-turned-monstrosity · 3 years

Text

Unbound AU

//This one is something I’ve heavily planned out with my older brother @zauns-insane-secret and is an AU for anyone to partake in. When sending asks the default will be for MV Lief, but upon request it can be for Redeemed or Unbound Lief. In this AU, Lief and Jack are no longer bound to their tragic fates, hence the namesake.

Background____________________________________________________

A large part of both Jack & Lief’s stories is the fact that an entity known as ‘The Ringmaster’ was the reason for both boys having such a tragic past. Without the Ringmaster quietly guiding the hand of the Noxians to Lief’s village or providing them with the ritual that was used on him, Lief would’ve lived a normal and quiet life. Though as I said, Jack was also a victim of him. The Ringmaster provided the Zaunite scientists with the blueprints and the idea for the ‘perfect super soldier’. Though the idea was never meant to target an infant, that was the Zaunites’ fault, he is still responsible for Jack. In an effort to ‘make up’ for what happened to Jack, he had let him out of his tube while disguised as a scientist. It was just unfortunate that Jack injured himself so severely during his escape.

The Ringmaster was originally part of a massive world I had planned though just ended up fueling Lief’s story. The Ringmaster is a God under the effects of a mystical disease known as The Smile, and within his universe, he was wanted by The God of Justice; Kaibutsu. Kai was originally the one who caused the Nightmarist to be a thing, as it was one of his minions before getting infected and fleeing(thus the arc in Lief’s life). That said, before being infected, The Ringmaster was originally Zelion, the God of Portals and also one of Kaibutsu’s best friends along with the God of Time. In their universe, it is such a criminal offense to cause, indirectly or not, the death or massive suffering of a child, due to the history of the universe (which I won’t be explaining here sorry XP). Even as his twisted form of ‘The Ringmaster’, Zelion still holds true to that belief that children should never be the target of his acts. For Lief, he more meant for his village to be attacked and saved by the tragic victim of the ritual in order to recruit them to his Cosmic Circus, but he was ready to assist the children if they needed to be saved. Still he tried to salvage what he could by helping Lief, but so much damage was already done so he was just hoping to get another performer. Same with Jack, he intended for the Zaunites to go after an adult, maybe a more fit Noxian, and then he’d come in an ‘save’ them to have another amazing member of his circus... but they took an infant instead and caused Zelion to grow so furious that he debated on taking the trinket the God of Time gave him and use it to trap the scientists in a personal hell for all time, but he’d resist to try and save Jack when he grew older.

For this AU, The Ringmaster was wandering the worlds in his universe when he came across a pond that seemed to shine and sparkle. Figuring it had some magical properties from a God or Goddess of his universe, he thought he’d get some entertainment by taking some and then tainting the rest with the Smile. However, upon touching the water, he was instantly cured of his affliction. This wasn’t a planet made by a God or Goddess, but a remnant from one of the earliest things created by the Ancient Gods who had locked themselves away for all time. However, without the Smile affecting him anymore, Zelion was so overcome with grief and anguish over what he’s done throughout such a long stretch of time that he couldn’t help but do his best to make it right. The first was to cure all his performers, the second was to have a portal linked directly to this planet and to this pond so anyone who would ever become infected can be cured, the third was to personally undo all the horrible acts caused by his actions to the boys before having Kaibutsu kill him so he could truly be redeemed.

In order to make it up, he would use the gifts from the God of Time as well as his portal abilities to travel into the past. However, it was here that Zelion discovered he could only go as far back as when Jack was taken and just before Lief destroyed his village. However, thanks to his former circus performers, he was able to figure out what he could do. Jack’s programing could be reset so all his military training was different and instead of a remorseless killer, he could be more of a guardian and trained in different ways. For Lief, he could have stop him from having his village destroyed by his own hand and still remember his family name. He could also ensure the boys meet up, though, it was during the brainstorming on how to do this, he was reminded that he can’t do anything past a certain point since he was a God and he has a certain number of restrictions placed on him. This is when someone suggested he have both boys come to past with them all and the boys go back and effectively ‘save themselves’.

Of course this creates paradox and to fix the problem, Jack and Lief from the future would be erased upon the moment a significant change has occurred. However, one of the gifts that Zelion has is Hourglass Sand, which allows someone to exist outside of time for a period of time. From there it seemed like all was ready... until Zelion found the ritual that he mentioned to the Noxians and discovered another page. He had not actually made up or created this ritual, he’d found it in ancient texts on Runeterra, but there was a way in those texts to revive Lief while leaving him with all his powers. Of course this required another sacrifice, but if one held enough magical power, they could give their life to bring someone back. However, he couldn’t sacrifice his own life otherwise Lief would be given the powers of a God and also be taken away from this world and never have the chance to see his parents again and his companions run the risk of causing complications within Lief. For now, the plan was simply to give the boys a second chance, and thus they took Jack and Lief from where they were currently residing.

Zelion informed the boys of everything, and while mad, they did find it in their hearts to forgive him because ‘He was very sorry’. Of course, they were worried about being able to find each other again since they were bonded and now informed that they were cousins, but Zelion promised he would have their past selves meet up again. The boys would trust him, and thus they set their plan in motion, giving both boys enough time with the Hourglass Sand to do what they needed to in order to change their fate.

The first task was with Jack, this was the most difficult and the most time consuming and Jack wouldn’t even be able to see the results of his work. Oddly, Jack was okay with this, but Lief... Lief wasn’t. The smaller boy went to his cousin and embraced him, crying into his shirt while the older boy held him and proceeded to pet the undead’s head. ‘It okay... No be... No be sad *sniff*. I... I miss you Lief. We... We meet again... We be better... be-... *hic* be strong!’ This seemed to help calm the smaller child down, though the sobs did make it hard for the older one.

Jack was left behind with the ex-performers and it was there that they enacted their plan. The young boy would execute every last member within the lab while the performers did their best to use the current technology to change the programing for the boy, unfortunately, they could only interfere after basic combat training and instillation of enhancers. Still, they were able to spare the child from the numbing nanomachines as well as most of the genetic manipulation. Once this was done, the Jack from the past, sat down in a corner surrounded by the performers. They all held the boy as he smiled softly, closed his eyes, and began to fade while the last of the Hourglass Sand was used up. Though there was still the problem of safely ejecting the child, and Kaibutsu was already at the lab. Their pleas were enough to stop the blade of the wrathful god, and get his assistance in all of this as they explained everything. In place of the time displaced crew, Kai left some of his own minions to handle feeding, simulations of a happier life, and the passing of information to this Jack before executing the performers. They went peacefully once they were sure that Jack would be alright. Once it was time for Jack to be released, the alarms sounding the releasing of Test Subject J, and before the boy, as the fluids drained, was a document, some clothes, and a small bit of food. The lab he was in was empty and the only signs that there was any life at all was the dried bloodstains decorating the lab. From there, Jack only knew of three objectives; leave the lab, find people to care for him, and find his cousin Lief.

Said cousin was, at this time, with Zelion and the two were at the same location both of them had been on that day. Lief with his parents in front of him, freshly executed, the God of Portals behind him, a hand on the boy’s head. “...Are you ready Lief?” He’d ask in a calm tone while the undead’s minions began to form and the magical energy from the child erupted into a dark aura. Zelion didn’t need any more words between him and the boy, he would unfreeze time and quickly knock out the Lief of the past to allow the one with him to handle everything. Once the battle was over, Lief would be standing over the bodies of his parents for a moment, sniffling for a bit before sitting down between them to start talking. Zelion wouldn’t know what he said as he was busy putting Lief of the past in a safe location while also gathering the dead. He knew he had to be quick, Kai would be here soon, and Lief more than likely needed him.

He was correct, as once Lief had finished speaking with his parents, he was already close to fading from a loss of sand. “...Lief...” He’d call out to the child softly for a moment before inhaling and gritting his teeth. “...Lief... do you want... do you want this you to come back to life? To look like a normal little boy?” He’d question while the child turned around in a snap and wiped his eyes clean of his tears. ‘Y-You can do that?’ “...No but... you can. If you enact this ritual.... you’ll... you’ll give up your life just before you fade... but... you’ll be able to give this version of yourself a better chance to be happy. You’ll keep all your powers but, that’ll be the only thing abnormal about you.” Zelion knew how wrong this was, but if he could give this version of Lief the best possible chance at happiness and life... he was willing to give this information to him, even if it means his punishment is made ten times worse. ‘I wanna do it!’ Zelion smiled for a moment as he heard Lief respond almost exactly how he expected.

The former Ringmaster and Lief went to his counterpart and within mere seconds, the small boy would begin to fade as the skin color of the one that was still here began to change. Zelion bid farewell to the undead and good luck to human child while he walks into the center of the village and began to dig the graves as Kaibutsu arrived. “...I take it you saw that.” ‘I did... You know what the punishment is I assume.’ “I do... and I know death by your blade would’ve been less painful and much much faster. However... I’d rather give him the chance to be free from his curse before it even begins to affect him. Even if it means I’ll be damned for all eternity.’ “...You’re a fool... a damned fool... I’ll leave behind my champion to look after-’ “There’s no need. He... never destroyed the village in this time. All the people who hid are still alive... and they saw Lief save the village from the invasion. I’ve also told one of the elder here everything important. All that’s left is for him to wake up.” ‘....Let me help you bury the bodies before I take you to them.’ “Thanks Kai...”

Lief would awaken in the morning, a small blanket on him and confusion visible on his face as for some reason... he felt warm. He’d turn his head to the side and see a number of his fellow villagers, all looking at him as he woke up and smiling wide when he did. He was heralded as a hero, the savior of the village, it was then he remembered what happened and the whimpered began, but the elder that Zelion had spoken to stepped forward. ‘It’s alright Lief. Take your time to grieve, their graves are near the tree in the center of the village. We will all hold a ceremony for the dead, we’ll send them off in a way to make sure that they know we’ll always be thinking of them and how much we love them.’ This was enough to stop the boy from tearing up too much, but he did still quietly sob while those around him brought him comfort. After some time, the elder would inform Lief of a better life waiting for him if he went towards a far away place. It was there that he still had family, a cousin named Jack who was just a little older than him. Lief didn’t want to go, afraid of what might happen if he left, the but elder assured him that everything be alright if he left. With some extra clothes packed, some food, and a picture of his family, the child took to the skies in his mist and traveled, everyone within the village waving to send him off.

During his travels, he’d run into Lady Em’s abode, though he couldn’t stay long due to his need to find his cousin, whom he’d been told was waiting for him. She would provide him with a stuffed animal as a companion and see the child off with a smile as he continued on his search. Maybe he could come back one day with Jack.

Once he had reached his destination, Lief began his search for his cousin. No longer bound to his undead form, he would receive help and be welcome more, the masses no longer fearful of what this small undead could do, but interested in what this young magically-gifted child could do for the world.

What’s Changed__________________________________________________

-Lief is no longer an undead lich & Jack is no longer heavily damaged by his escape and free from the hazardous nanomachines that were in his body (though experimentation with something still took place).

-Lief is no longer as heavily shy or fearful of others, though he is still a little cautious and angry at Noxians. Jack is no longer stunted in growth or his mental facilities due to his escape as he was safely ejected this time around.

-Both children are still powerful in their own rights, Lief having better control over his magic since he’s not as fearful of it, more aware of it, and his mana no longer leaks out as he’s able to feel if it is (his undead self couldn’t control that since he doesn’t feel it happen). Jack is still a trained and augmented child, but his training is less intense and more simplistic and his augments are not as heavy.

-Both boys are aware of their relationship as family, and are actively seeking each other, if not, have already found one another.

-Both boys look as they would if they had grown up normally, Jack with black hair and red eyes, Lief with black hair and brown eyes. Both boys are tan. Jack’s hair is also now naturally long and spiky, while Lief’s would only ever reach medium Length and be spiky.

-Lief remembers his last name.

-Lief never meets the Nightmarist and that village is spared it’s fate.

-Jack isn’t as feral or quick to anger.

-Jack can still use weapons, but Lief is less likely to or would much rather avoid most daggers if they have an odd shape.

-Both boys are FAR hungrier than they are in their normal MV due to the fact, Lief can and has to eat, and Jack is no longer augmented to survive off minimum food intake.

-Both boys are much more playful.

-Both boys have a higher dislike of death and violence, though both are more accepting of it, and willing to fight if the need arises.

-More may be added on a case-by-case basis

Side Notes_______________________________________________________

This is an all-inclusive AU that allows for Mutli-versing. Once again, if you wish to interact with this version of Lief or Jack simply request the Unbound or Redeemed AU from one and/or both of the boys.

TLDR;___________________________________________________________

A God from another universe, that caused all the bad things to happen to the boys, was free from his insanity, went back in time, helped the boys have a different life, and is now damned for all eternity due to his crimes. Lief is alive again, Jack isn’t stunted in any way, and both boys know of each other and are looking for each other.

#(AU)A Different Fate #(Lief)Unbound AU #I apologize if this is all super complex and complicated #I hope it's not #I dunno how to think #I've been writing this for hours #This is my third version of how I wanted to write this #Granted the first two were no where near close in length to this one.#I hope you all enjoy this #We worked hard on this

1 note · View note

itwill-comeback · 4 years

Text

More headcanons bb

☆ Someone [Tomas] implanted a huge phobia of hospitals and doctors in Vlad like "If you ever get taken to a hospital they're gonna figure out that you're not human and dissect you like a frog, you'd be a freak science experiment" and 1. Vlad only feels safe in hospitals with Nelly and 2. Thanks for making him feel like even more of a freak you punkass and 3. When he woke up post-staking and was just like "Otis is here?" His mind immediately is torn between Fuck That Where's Nelly? & Otis Wouldn't Let Doctors Dissect Me, Right? & What happened to Joss? Is he here? Am I safe right now?

☆ Nelly knows he gets antsy in hospitals even when she's with him, but doesn't know why. She tries to talk him into coming by while she's working and meeting her coworkers but he just digs his heels in, full stop "Nah, I'm-- I'm okay... thanks tho"

☆ Also once he got into his teens and all his doctor's visits involved the doctor offering to speak with him privately without Nelly in the room just makes him damn near have a panic attack every time and outright refusing to let people draw his blood because NopeNopeNope I'mNotHumanGoAway!

☆ Getting his wisdom teeth removed and demanding he get all four of those teeth back because he doesn't want anyone to have his DNA.

☆ Normal Elysians never have to deal with this issue because vampires actually love the medical field. They can easily convince humans around them to give them a raise or help then with an overnight shift or donate money to the hospital or be more understanding about wait times or agree to a better treatment or forgive medical debt because everyone who has to deal with anything within a stone's throw of the medical field, either as a patient or hospital staff, is just consistently overworked, underpaid or just outright frazzled and exhausted. This leaves their minds open to persuasion and vampires use that to their advantage a lot.

☆ Never understood why vampires in movies can't handle being around humans in hospitals because oh no they might bleed! Like dude come on I could smell the most delicious food on the planet and still the other smells of Hospital just kill any appetite I might have. I'm supposed to believe people with super senses wouldn't get nauseating headaches at the smell of all that disinfectant and bleach and latex and sweat and chemicals and medicine and death and holy hell those bright ass lights? There's nothing appetizing in a hospital for folks with regular senses. Vampires at best just adapt to the senses onslaught that is the inside of a hospital and bear it for the sake of helping people.

☆ Also fuck the idea that vampires inherently just don't give a fuck about people. We see a few instances of people not immediately noticing the difference between humans and vampires and I honestly think vampires would rather help every person that needs their help than be picky about who gets much needed medical attention.

☆ On top of that even if vampires don't necessarily want to help people because it's the right thing to do, they could just as well be in it for the money because they would make fucking phenomenal doctors with their super senses and their extreme precision and attention to detail. Also just imagine the bedside manner of someone who can literally read your mind. They know exactly what you're afraid of and exactly what you want to hear, and what you need to hear.

☆ Otis tells Vlad about cool stuff Elysia made like chess, cities, and Sony, but he doesn't even think to mention all the brilliant accomplishments of Elysian doctors and scientists because there are so many, you could write a book about all the stuff vampires figured out as time went on in the medical field alone.

☆ And all that stuff about "this hasn't changed in the medical field in the past 70/80/100 years" Yeah that's because lots of vampires don't appreciate change if it isn't absolutely necessary. There's a lot of "When I was just a premed fledgling we still used brass doorknobs that disinfected themselves and now everybody wants stainless steel everything ugh"

☆ Add to that that it's usually free for doctors to sit in on lectures and classes about new medical stuff so that their practice methods don't become dated and vampire doctors literally get to watch humanity get better at medicine.

☆ Elysians almost certainly knew about bacteria and infection since before the plague but couldn't explain it to humans without betraying their secret so they had to use the right methods with the wrong science behind it to get stuff done. Ex. Plague doctors wore masks, gloves, long coats and boots, and had canes to keep distance from people but since they couldn't explain the concept of airborne disease to humans they just went "uhhh, the air is dirty? The stench of death spreads the plague so I wear this mask with herbs in it which protects me from the miasma? Gloves and cane so I don't have to touch sick people? Touching is bad, people are dirty?" And humans just went with it. Historians be like "They were wrong, but their methods were right! How observant mankind was!"

☆ Tomas was hailed as a great help with hunting during the plague times but fuck him, if anyone's gonna know who's healthy and who isn't it's the vampire doctors and they no doubt showed active disdain for Tomas going around and killing the few healthy humans left in any given populace. Like if you just take those humans as drudges and make sure they stay healthy you can share them with other vampires and then some people survive the sickness! They have antibodies for the plague! Don't kill them!

☆ So no doubt vampires cover all of the medical field and can easily keep information about Elysian patients out of the hands of human staff and helped shape privacy in the medical field (things like not reading through people's medical records unless it's necessary, laws that keep your medical information protected) but also the definite pursuit of Elysians to figure out what their biology is and isn't capable of, figuring out why they can't catch sicknesses and why they're allergic to garlic and how drinking blood of all things sustains their bodies.

☆ Can you imagine how dope it would've been if Nelly had lived and married Otis and become a vampire and just had so much further knowledge about medicine given to her? At first it's difficult for her to get passed all the sensory overload of the hospital but once she does she's absolutely ten times happier at her job? Night shifts are a blessing and she's happy to take them to let her human coworkers get home to their families? I'm always big heart eyes for Nelly, but fledgling nurse Nelly?? Is so so good?? One downside is that Vlad is even more insistent that they both get out of bed before he leaves the house because trauma.

☆ All her coworkers think she's so perky because she got married and finally has someone at home to help her and she's now got an empty nest and literally they're all just like "ooo girl! Marriage looks so good on you! How's your boy? He doing good at Stokerton University? How's your new hubby?? When is he gonna come by so we can meet him??" And she also gains new friends through meeting all her vampire coworkers I'm 💖💖💖 love one newlywed nurse!

☆ Vlad meeting vampire medical staff who [despite being super intrigued by his biology] are very understanding to his anxieties about hospitals and try to help him overcome his fears. This sweet anxious halfling gets his blood drawn for the first time in his life at age 18 and is super relieved to see that all the stuff they do is noninvasive and really not that bad.

☆ All the DNA analysis stuff they tell him about is sorta lost on him because he doesn't speak doctor lmao, but Nelly is super intrigued and can explain it to him in regular people terms.

☆ Also Elysian psychologists help him recognize that his dad planted that fear in his mind so that he'd avoid hospitals and avoid most things so that he'd probably never meet any Elysians. And probably also to distance himself from his aunt who Tomas likely saw as an obstacle and just in general he wanted Vlad to be distrustful of everyone and avoidant of others, especially people who would try to help him.

☆ Vlad makes fledgling friends at college and admits he has a phobia of hospitals and one of his friends is like "Dude don't be afraid of hospitals, doctors are super nice! I'm gonna be a doctor soon, I wouldn't dissect you 🥰" and another one's all "I'm gonna become a nurse, like your aunt! Medical staff are legit just normal people with good hearts! You have nothing to be afraid of." And it just completely shakes Vlad's view of medical staff as mad scientists who want to cut him open.

☆ Not that Vlad didn't have enough trauma to get therapy for [the staking, the fire, the attempted soul snatching, being bitten by crazies, his friends and family almost being killed, Tomas fucking Tod, almost draining his girlfriend, his abandonment issues, ect.] I just genuinely think being afraid of hospitals is a natural thought process for someone who's the first half-vampire half-human in the world. Also Tomas would do some shit like that to Vlad, never plant any phobia of something that would help him like slayer phobia or garlic phobia, but something he would almost certainly need someday? Like medical treatment? Yeah, let's make him afraid of that, Tomas. That's a great idea.

☆ As a little not medical related thing, I think even though Vlad said he didn't care what Otis did with the house when he was renovating it, I think he definitely was a little bit inclined to have Otis use stuff that was flame resistant and almost certainly put like four fire extinguishers in different spots in the house and was real particular about getting good blinds and drapes for the windows. Also no way in hell does he let Otis get a gas stove.

#can y'all tell my parents work in a hospital? lol #:: lighting off the blaze (headcanon)#:: casper speaks (shouting into the void)#the chronicles of vladimir tod #I'll probably write more later about what the hell happened with him in the hospital post-staking #because holy hell what did the doctors even do for him with a fucking stake buried in his heart??#i just had some thoughts about trauma and vampires and hospitals and thought id share #fuck Tomas Tod #for the thousandth time

9 notes · View notes

thedeevirus · 4 years

Text

Dark Crystal AOR Ficlet: ‘Armour’

“Following the Emperor's dismissal of his Podling servants, SkekSil steps up to help his Emperor dress”

Enjoy! If you would like a ficlet drop me an ask!

Added to AO3 Dark Crystal Ficlet Collection

***

The Emperor’s request for someone to help him dress now made complete sense to SkekSil.

SkekSo had made the announcement the day before, having been affronted by his newest Podling slave that morning. It had been unceremoniously dismissed from service (and from the bed chamber’s balcony) for its suicidal insolence. This left the prestigious position open and yet, for some reason, the remaining Podlings were unenthusiastic about filling it.

SkekSil had volunteered for the position immediately, ensuring every Skeksis witnessed his altruism. He endured their vindictive surprise, snide mockery and amusement at his acceptance of such a menial task. As always, they were simply too short sighted to see the big picture. What better way to strengthen his position in the Emperor’s good graces?

But now, the Podling’s gasp of disgust that had reportedly sealed its fate seemed to SkekSil more of an underreaction.

SkekSil wrinkled his nose as he syringed yet another boil. He was careful not to breathe in the miniscule, wisp like purple particles rising from it like dust in sunlight as he emptied the syringe into a waiting flask. The ‘sample’ would be delivered to SkekTek once the Emperor left his quarters. The tools SkekSil was using to collect them were of the Scientist’s own design as were the numerous ointments and unguents lined up neatly on a rack beside them. SkekSil put the syringe down and selected the first jar. He popped it open and applied it to the Emperor’s back. SkekSo gave no sign of any pain even as the oily perfume was slathered onto his various lesions and weeping wounds. It was necessary to disguise the stench of rot that clung to them.

As SkekSil leant down for a better angle, the boil (despite just having been syringed) suddenly vindictively exploded. Milky liquid smacked under his eye, blinding him. There was a smell of stagnant water. SkekSil bit back a surprised squawk of disgust, fearful the Emperor would take umbrage. He risked a check of the Emperor’s face. Thankfully (and insultingly) the Emperor seemed unconcerned. He was lacing up his gloves, attention focused on the sheen of each tiny pearl bedecking the fabric. SkekSil hastily wiped the disgusting ooze away with his handkerchief. Resuming his task, he swallowed hard to conquer the bile rising in his throat. As the Emperor nodded approvingly at his gloves, SkekSil wondered once again if his latest attempt to claw more power for himself had been worth such indignity.

He also wondered if the fruit of the Emperor’s experiments were worth suffering such foulness.

That was another of SkekSil’s little secrets. He knew all about the Emperor’s fascination with the ‘non existent’ Darkening. It delighted him to no end that he alone knew the answer to the question that caused SkekTek no end of sleepless nights; Why was the Emperor weakening faster than the rest of the Skeksis? SkekSil was intrigued by the power the Darkening offered but, as it usually did, self-preservation outweighed his curiosity. Aside from the grotesque physical side effects, SkekSil was also unwilling to face the Emperor’s wrath should he realise someone was privy to his secret.

SkekSil completed applying the unguents and laced up the Emperor’s robe. Once his first layer of garments were secure, the Emperor rose. He swayed slightly with the effort but declined SkekSil’s offered hand with a swift slap. He lifted his arms enabling SkekSil to help him into his overcoat and cape. SkekSil then moved behind him with the back carapace and waited while SkekSo’s secondary arms threaded themselves through the waiting holes. Not for the first time that morning, SkekSil’s gaze was drawn to the wicked looking curved knife nestled in the middle of the other tools on the table nearby.

One ‘tragic accident’ and there would be a new Emperor.

Perhaps he could blame SkekTek, the owner of the tools? The scientist was already in disfavour and was no doubt still licking his wound following his appointment with the Peeper Beetle. But that also placed him in his lab, secluded and sequestered until the essence draining machinery had been repaired.

Perhaps blame a Gelfling? The traitor Rian? Or the captive Gurjin? No, that was ridiculous. It would plunge the castle into disarray if word got out that the Emperor could be felled by such a weak creature.

No matter who SkekSil named as the culprit, there would be questions. Challenges. A mad scramble for the throne. And even if SkekSil miraculously saw off all pretenders, what would stop the others from seeking revenge when (not if) the truth of SkekSo’s demise came to light? The challengers would declare it was for revenge of course. How they would beat their chests and mourn their beloved Emperor SkekSo! But SkekSil and every Skeksis would know the truth. The truth was SkekSil was not popular at court and some, such as SkekUng and SkekVar, would jump at any excuse to silence him forever. But…would they kill him? Could they bring themselves to? Skeksis do not kill Skeksis. But the very Emperor who had created the decree would be dead. The ‘unbreakable’ decree broken and SkekSil would have signed his own death warrant. Setting such a dangerous precedent was not worth the risk.

SkekSil picked up the Emperor’s headpiece from its customary resting place on a sculpt of SkekSo’s head. The Emperor began to straighten his back. SkekSil’s eye twitched at the audible creaking of the protesting bones in the Emperor’s spine. Once the Emperor had negotiated his body to stand at full height, SkekSil reached up and placed the headpiece on SkekSo’s head. He adjusted it, ensuring it stood straight and couldn’t help but notice how the Emperor stood taller than him. Even SkekSil’s withered heart felt a touch of pity at how far the Emperor had physically declined since the beginning. SkekSo had once triumphed in every test of strength and his voice could have towered above a crowd. And yet, mentally he remained unchallenged. If he could inflict such harm upon his own body without batting an eye, what could he do to his enemies?

Yes, perhaps it was better to be the power behind the throne for now, More room to manoeuvre.

As he lowered his head to button the Emperor’s collar, the final task, he gave a start as he realised the Emperor was staring at him. His eyes, pale like chipped ice, regarded him with something akin to amusement.

‘We both know you won’t do it’, he said.

Chamberlain’s eyes dropped. He felt cold sweat begin to drip under his own neck ruff.

‘Apologies my Emperor’, SkekSil wheedled, ‘Such beautiful buttons but so awkward’.

‘Silence’, SkekSo said impatiently, ‘You know what I’m talking about’.

‘Forgive most noble sire but I don’t-‘

‘I said “Silence”!’ the Emperor bellowed.

Chamberlain flinched, lowering his head submissively and wringing his hands contritely as the Emperor continued his tirade.

‘Do not play your pathetic games with me! I see the hunger in your eyes. The thought that one swift strike to my back would be the end of me!’

SkekSil’s eyes widened but before he could protest his innocence, SkekSo had seized him by the neck. SkekSil choked, surprised by the strength of the Emperor’s grip. He struggled to control his breathing, eyes watering. SkekSo leant forward and he seemed to fill the entirety of SkekSil’s blurred vision.

‘Not even the respect to look me in the eyes when you did it!’ SkekSo snarled, spittle flying from his yellowed teeth, ‘Tell me SkekSil, would you wait for my body to cool before snatching the sceptre from my talons?!’

‘Never! Never your majesty!’ SkekSil coughed desperately, ‘You are mistaken! Please! Me-mercy!’

The Emperor considered for a moment then abruptly released the Chamberlain.

‘Perhaps you’re right’, SkekSo mused, all signs of murderous anger gone.

SkekSil gratefully sucked in great mouthfuls of air. The Emperor watched him struggle dispassionately.

‘You would not dare’, he said as if thinking aloud, ‘Such honesty is beyond you. You would have to own your actions and accept the consequences. And that is something you can never do. It is something an Emperor must do’.

‘But-but if venerable Emperor suspects such unthinkable treachery then why allow-‘

‘You to serve me so intimately? Many of the others have asked the same. But your question I will answer’. The Emperor’s beak curled into a cruel smile. ‘Because you, Chamberlain, are the most predictable creature in this castle. You can always be trusted to preserve your own skin above all else. Should you wish for it to remain on your bones, be content with your lot. Some of the others are not’.

Chamberlain’s blood boiled at the truth in the Emperor’s venomous words even as he was forced to accept them. He pushed the anger down, like sheathing a dagger for later use and plastered his usual simpering smile on his face.

‘Only fools would dare oppose or plot against the benevolent SkekSo. I only wish to serve. As I always have’.

He bowed low, beak practically touching his knees. The Emperor gave a low chuckle.

‘And you always will’, he said coldly.

SkekSil rose and SkekSo waved a hand in dismissal.

SkekSil once more lowered his eyes and spread his arms, stepping backwards out of the bedchamber as decorum demanded. He closed the door behind him and touched his neck, feeling the indentations the Emperor’s claws have left in his wrinkled neck. His fingertips came away wet from where they had pricked him. SkekSil glared at the Emperor’s soiled bandages still in his hand, leaking with vile ichor he had dabbed from the Emperor’s body.

‘Ungrateful spit head’, he muttered, casting the rags out of the nearest window.

He froze as he heard a rasping noise. His heart hammered as he braced himself for the Emperor’s onslaught and cursed his foolishness for thinking he would not be heard through the door. But an attack never came. Turning around, SkekSil laid his head against the door. He could hear a thin, wheezing noise from inside.

Carefully creeping to the left side of the door, SkekSil lifted the corner of a decorative tapestry on the wall. A small hole was revealed. Pressing his eye to the hole he had carefully carved into the wall, he peered into the Emperor’s bedchamber.

The Emperor was sitting on his bed, back hunched as he trembled. His breathing was hoarse and laboured. His eyes were closed, no doubt in an attempt to wrest his body back under control. His face was tight and pale, mouth slack as he dribbled. But what SkekSil noticed most of all were the Emperor’s hands. Both clutched his sceptre, the skin on the bony knuckles pale and tense from the strength of his grip.

‘Yes my Emperor’, SkekSil purred to himself, grinning, ‘Chamberlain will serve. For now’.

#Dark Crystal #dark crystal age of resistance #dark crystal fic #skekso #skeksil #skeksis

23 notes · View notes

immortalpain · 4 years

Text

CAIN EXTENDED BIO

Family backstory found here !!

saving the most painful for last !! (tw; death, murder, torture, experimentation, abuse, alcohol, drugging)

Cain was the more... troubled child growing up. His parents despised him, they definitely had their favourites and Cain was far from it.

His father was beyond cruel to him, but kept it hidden from the other siblings. Cain wasn’t sure they’d believe him, so he kept quiet. Hid the marks, and held his tongue despite his.... lack of impulse control. The only person that seemed to notice something wasn’t right was Winnie, but out of fear she’d end up the same; he forced himself to control his anger.

Cain always struggled with his anger, something he learned from his father. Winnie was usually the only one that could calm him down.

Cain never wanted to be immortal, and when it came to light what they had become -- Cain was terrified.

Cain’s hunger took over, and before he knew it - he’d been the first original to kill someone. He hid it, of course, fearing the other’s would disown him. Their parents already were concerned at their creations.

It wasn’t until Emrys killed someone, triggering his werewolf genes that their parents knew they’d created monsters. When the rest were trying to learn control - their parents tried to find a way to kill Cain. Locking him up, and quickly realising nothing worked. It was then they tried to craft a dagger, infused with the magic of their bloodline or some shit. Cain wasn’t paying attention to their mad ramblings.

Seeing they were both distracted, Cain killed them both. Their siblings didn’t know what their parents were trying to do, or what they had done but none of them really liked their parents. That wasn’t what made them turn their backs on him. He took the weapon they’d tried so hard to create and hid it.

After he killed them, Cain went into a frenzy, whatever magic they’d used on him made his hunger almost insatiable. One minute he was standing over his parents bodies, the next Caden’s boyfriend was lying limp in his arms from where Cain had drained him.

Cain was horrified and Caden was furious at him. He ran before he could stick around to hear what his brother had to say.

Cain despised himself, moping around, distracting himself with whatever distraction was readily available.

He got.... lonely. Until he met Odilia. A young woman, who was gorgeous, soft and believed he wasn’t a monster. At least. That’s who he thought she was.

Odilia convinced Cain she wanted to be by his side forever, so he turned her. It was then he realised Odilia was.... not the soft, sweet girl he fell for. She was harsh, cruel and blood thirsty.

She left before Cain could fix his mistake.

Odilia slaughtered village after village for at least a century, writing his name in blood at every crime scene. She left no survivors so everyone began to believe that Cain was the one behind these attacks. No one believed otherwise, he wasn’t entirely innocent before, after all.

He finally caught up with Odilia, and he despite the fact it killed him inside due to him having loved her, he killed her.

Cain was numb, and he let his guard down. He got blackout drunk at a bar.

When he woke up, he realised he was in some kind of lab. They’d kept him sedated, weak. He found out eventually they had been... scientists of sorts, humans who had found out about the supernatural and wanted to see how they worked.

For several years, Cain was starved, tortured and experimented on by these people. Drained of his blood. Cain could barely take the pain anymore. It was agonising.

So, he switched off his humanity. Something he wasn’t aware vampires could do until then. His body had become somewhat used to the sedative they’d been using - so, when he had his strength back enough -- he attacked.

The whole thing was a blur to Cain. One minute he was chained up, wishing it was over - the next, he was standing in the centre of the town, dripping with blood.

Out of rage and hunger, he’d killed the entire town, living up to his fake reputation, but he didn’t care.

Cain went for a few years with his humanity off, until Winnie found him and begged him to turn it on. He’s still not sure how she managed it, but she did.

He was overwhelmed with guilt. He tried to push it down, ignore it, but he’d become the very monster he’d tried so hard to convince everyone he wasn’t.

He travelled alone, ending up in salem during the witch trials, in which he made sure Emrys didn’t save the warlock he’d been in love with - fearing it was too late anyway and that Emrys would expose them. Especially knowing there was a way to kill them, not that Emrys believed such a method existed. Emrys said some pretty horrid things out of anger, and Cain left.

His guilt caught up with him, so he turned off his humanity again. it became a recurring thing. He’d turn it on, somehow Winnie would find him, convince him to turn it back on and he’d drown in his own guilty. Until slowly, the lines began to blur and he began to lose his old self by pushing down his guilt, ignoring it. The boy he used to be barely existed anymore.

Instead, Cain Abbott had the reputation of a monster, and he lived up to it. Most of the time he simply didn’t care about the consequences of his actions, humanity on or off.

Around a hundred years ago, Cain found Winnie after she’d killed the hunters, besides herself with grief and wanting to turn her humanity off. Cain convinced her not to. Winnie had always looked out for him, always had his best interests at heart, and he didn’t want her to end up like him.

At some point he turned his humanity off again, which ended up in him killing Beckett.

He ended up in Bellport very recently, Winnie convincing him to turn it back on. Not that it really matters whether his humanity is off or not anymore. He’s just... slightly less murderous when what little is left of his humanity is on.

i have so many regrets my poor son

#muse; cain abbott

1 note · View note

the--sad--hatter · 5 years

Text

Name Calling (The Final Chapter)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU, DEADPOOL & X-MEN

PAIRING - BUCKY X READER (female reader, no physical descriptions)

WARNINGS - ALL OF THEM, SMUT, VIOLENCE ANGST

DESCRIPTION -

Vernichtung - Destruction, Annhialation.

It was what you were named and what you were supposed to be but the only thing you wanted to destroy was Bucky Barnes.

The ongoing and bloody war of words between you and Bucky turns in your favor when a disgruntled one night stand of his lets slip a secret when you run into her in the elevator… Now you have all the ammunition you need to destroy your enemy but you don’t plan on killing him quickly. Oh no, Bucky Barnes was going to suffer and you were going to enjoy every second. You just didn’t count on enjoying it quite so much.

But when your past catches up to you in the form of the mad scientist who made you, Bucky might be one of the only things that can save you from yourself. You can’t run from what you are but with his help, you can fight back.

Current Word Count - 130,853

MASTERLIST or Read on Ao3

Moodboard by @talesofakindredspirit

Chapter Forty-Eight - The Final Chapter

Bucky stood under the blistering hot water and didn’t feel it. The water swirling down the drain was tinged pink. Blood and dirt had soaked through his clothes, there was so much of it.

He had failed, he hadn’t been able to protect you from Docherty. Your final words played over and over again in his mind.

His metal hand clenched and he slammed it into the shower wall, tile cracking under his fist.

He remembered to absolute devastation and terror on Starks face when he landed and saw him kneeling on the ground, your locket clutched in his fist.

He drew his fist back and slammed it into the wall again.

He remembered Sam blinking back tears and storming away.

He sunk to his knees as the water beat down on him, cleansing your dirt from his skin. It wasn’t enough to cleanse his sins. He had failed you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tony held your locket in his hand, flipped open to reveal the photo of you, him and Pepper. Your cracked phone lying on the table beside him lit up with Pepper’s photo and when he saw the contact she was listed under his resolve cracked and he screamed.

The table crashed against the wall as he flipped it, his tears finally breaking free.

He had sworn to protect you and he had failed. Docherty had waltzed right up to you and taken you away.

His little girl was in the hands of a monster and he didn’t have the strength to tell Pepper, the woman you had come to love as a mother.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Steve Rogers with the master of having a plan, or at least pretending that he had one.

This was the one time he needed one the most, everyone else was falling apart and so the burden fell on his shoulders. His best friend was utterly destroyed and it had taken all of Steve's strength to convince Bucky to at least go and have a shower.

Tony was currently destroying furniture and even if Steve could find the words to stop him he wasn't sure he had the heart.

Sam was just destroying a punching bag and asking Friday every ten minutes for an update on whether Natasha had found anything.

Steve stocked in the empty corridor and leaned against the wall letting his back slide down it until he was sat on the floor. He needed a minute. Just a minute and then he would go back to being the captain and leading the search for you. But just for a minute he needed to be Steve Rogers, your friend.

And as your friend he was scared for you. Scared didn't feel like strong enough word more like terrified. But more than that he was angry. You had been through enough in your life, you didn't deserve this. Bucky had already suffered far more than enough. And at the end of all of your suffering the two of you had found one another only to be ripped apart and it wasn't fair.

He didn't need a minute, he didn't deserve a minute, he had to get up and find you now. No matter what it took.

You were coming home.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Natasha knew that Steve was going to try and bear the burden of this, but she would be damned if she would let him bear it alone.

Tony was falling apart and she didn't blame him. Barnes was broken and she didn't blame him either. If life hadn't made her so ruthless then she might have been falling apart as well. She wanted too, of course she did. Despite what people thought the black widow did indeed have a heart and it was bigger and fuller than anyone could have guessed. There was a large space in that heart reserved for her Kotoynok.

But allowing herself to feel the pain of your loss would not save you. Calling every contact and connection she had, calling in every favour she was owed and offering every favour she could... That might find you.

Steve and Bucky joined her and the rest of the team in the room. Only Sam and Tony were missing and they came in shortly after. She watched Steve put on the Captains mask before he addressed her.

“Romanov?”

“Sorry Cap, I have nothing.” She said and to anyone who didn’t know it her it would have sounded cold and uncaring, bored even. To those who did know her though, it was clear she was frustrated and in pain.

Steve sighed in response.

“Stark?”

“We’ve hacked every satellite. We lost the copter over New York, they probably landed and switched crafts. I don’t know.” Tony sounded drained, there wasn't a hint of snark on his tone and it was almost painful to hear.

“Pretty big risk, stopping in New York. Why here?” Natasha mused.

“What if it wasn't a risk? What if it was calculated? Think about it, he kills the mother she didn’t know she had in the place where he took hope from her once already. He leaves a book about a monster she can identify with in her home on her birthday.” Sam said, sitting up straight as he worked through the clues.

“Wilson’s right. We’re too close to this, all we are seeing how everything he’s doing is affecting her. We aren’t asking what effect he’s aiming for. So what does he want? What’s his goal?”Natasha continued.

“The apocalypse.” Steve said.

“And if we wanted her to start an apocalypse, how would we do it?” Sam asked them.

“We wouldn’t, even if we did we couldn’t. She’s too good a person.” Tony snapped.

“No. She isn’t. She’s somebody who chose hope, time and time again and he could never break her of that habit.” Clint pointed out.

“Uh guys?” Bruce said.

“You want to break somebody’s spirit, take away what they’re fighting for.” Bucky spoke up.

“He’s still in New York. He can’t get what he wants from her so long as we are still alive.” Natasha concluded.

“Guys!”

They all turned and looked round at Bruce, finally seeing what he had been trying to show them.

Outside the window, behind Bruce.... Black lightning rising from the ground a few blocks away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The phone screen cracked under his grip as he hung up.

He had kept you at arms length, telling himself it was for your own good, that you would be happier and safer.

What if he had just told you truth? Would you have accepted him? Would he have been able to be a father?

Was it too late?

He walked into the Professor’s office.

“Charles?”

“She is a mutant no matter what else she is Logan, Cerebro can find her.”

“Do it. Find my daughter.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“I can’t get near her. Too many agents between us.” Natasha huffed as she fought her way through a flock of agents.

At this point it was impossible to tell who was Project Vernichtung and who was Hydra.

“I’m having the same problem.” Steve huffed.

“Eyes in the sky?”

“Nothing, too much chaos.” Clint informed them.

“I can’t get anywhere near her without being ripped apart.” Tony admitted.

“I never thought I’d say this but I really wish Deadpool was here.” Steve admitted.

“Deadpool is two blocks East, evacuating a pet store.” Sam supplied.

It was a familiar scene, the streets of New York turned into a Battleground and more than one avenger on the scene was having trouble with it. Only this time instead of the Chitauri, it was Hydra and project Vernichtung they were battling and instead of Loki being the villain, he was diligently fighting beside them.

Chaos reigned everywhere they looked and every time they made any headway with the enemy the screams of the innocent pulled them aside. Dozens upon dozens of scared people were pulled off the streets and directed to safety while enemy agents fell under the might of the two Asgardians, The Captain's shield or the widow's well-aimed bullets.

No matter how hard they fought, how many they killed or how many they saved, none of them could get close to the source of the true chaos.

The earth beneath their feet was shaking, buildings are starting to crumble and they knew they were running out of time. Still... None of them could bring themselves to ask the important question of how exactly they were going to stop you.

"Guys, we have a problem. A really really really big problem." Clint told them over the comms.

“Is it bigger than the two evil organisations that have teamed up to kidnap and use one of our own team members against us?" Natasha asked.

"It's not her, it's Docherty. Docherty is Vernichtung."

"Then where is she? What did he do to her?"Tony asked worriedly.

Throughout the fight Bucky had remained silent, slashing stabbing shooting kicking punching tackling his way towards the woman he loved. But it wasn't her at the eye of the storm.

He was torn between intense relief that you were not responsible for this and soul crashing terror about where you might actually be. About what your grandfather had done to you if he was the one who now held the power of Vernichtung.

It should have been impossible, but it was happening. Docherty had done something and all Bucky cared about was finding out what it was, finding out where you were. Finding you.

If you were hurt, if you were... No. No you were ok, you had to be. His last memory of you would not be of failing you. He would find you and together you would all save the city. He was going to rebuild the cabin, wherever you wanted it. He was going to spend the rest of his life making sure that he never failed you again, he was going to spend the rest of his life loving you.

"Clint, find me a clear path to him. Loki, create a diversion. Stark, I’ll draw his fire. The second you have a shot you take it. Steve?"

"I've got your back. Till the end of the line."Steve said, clasping his shoulder.

“Alright Barnes, take point. Let’s get m... our girl.” Tony said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Are you really willing to do this?”It sneered.

“It’s the only way to save the people I love.”

“But you will die. This version of you will die.”Vernichtung pointed out.

“So be it.” You told her.

“Come on Princess. Wake up.” Logan’s gruff voice told you as his arms slid under you and raised you from the ground.

As he carried you out of the building your wounds sealed closed and he breathed a sigh of relief.

You opened your pitch black eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Come now Mister Barnes, no need to be so shy.”Docherty called out loudly.

Bucky internally swore and stepped out from behind the car as Loki dropped the illusions he was creating.

“That’s Sargent Barnes to you Dr Frankenstein.” Tony said, landing next to Bucky on the ground.

“What are you doing Stark?” He hissed.

“I’m not letting you walk into the lions den alone. When we find my daughter I’m not telling her that her evil grandpa turned you into Soldier Soup.” Tony hissed back.

Docherty smirked and lowered his hands, the deathwave receding.

“Is it just me or does he not look so healthy?” Clint asked through the comms.

Clint was right, Docherty’s skin was almost grey and black goo was dripping from his ears.

“I do not think he is strong enough to contain Vernichtungs power.” Loki informed them as he shrewdly gazed at the Doctor.

“Very well, Sargent Barnes. What exactly are your intentions with my granddaughter?” Docherty asked.

“That’s between me, her and her family.” Bucky growled.

“Speaking of my sweet child, where is she? She missed her curfew.” Tony added.

“Come now Mr Stark, you’re a man of science. You must know that if I am here with this power then she is dead.” Docherty mocked.

Tony and Bucky stopped walking, twin looks of fear on their faces.

“He’s lying! Do not fall for his tricks.” Loki hissed.

Tony raised his gauntlet.

“I’m going to ask one last time before he does.” Tony said, motioning to Bucky.

“Where is my daughter?”

“If you want to see her again, then stand down. All of you.” Docherty bartered.

“Stark, if he can’t contain the power it’s probably killing him. I doubt he has much fight left in him.” Steve said.

“He can’t take us all out seperatley.” Natasha deduced.

“Stark, Bucky, split up!” Steve yelled.

Tony and Bucky looked at one another for a split second before they did what The Captain suggested.

Bucky threw himself to the left and Tony shot skyward. Docherty screamed in frustration and raised his hands. He made a split second decision to blast the deathwave at Tony.

“NO!” Bucky roared, watching helplessly as the black lightning shot towards Iron Man.

Seconds before it hit it was pushed back by a red mist and Wanda stepped into view, an intense look of concentration on her face.

“I can’t hold it for long. But I can hold it for longer than he can.” She declared.

“You can not contain Death, witch!” Docherty yelled.

It was an intense battle of wills, so much resting on the outcome. Sweat beaded along Wanda’s brow as she strained against Docherty.

“Everybody fall back. We’ll hit him from further back, expend his energy.” Steve commanded.

“Incoming.” Was all the warning they had from Clint.

Bucky looked up and his heart seized in his chest. It was you. Or was Vernichtung, in the end it didn't matter to him. It was you. Good or bad, clear-eyed or black-eyed it was you.

“You have something that belongs to me” You snarled at Docherty.

“And you can have it back when they are dead.” He gasped.

“Give it to me!”You screamed.

You stepped across the ground towards him, a power and confidence bursting from within you, your shoulders thrown back and your head held high.

“Their deaths are your Legacy, my gift to you!” Docherty yelled, pushing back against Wanda’s power.

An inhuman scream of rage erupted from your throat and it made the hairs on Bucky's arm stand up. There was no humanity in that sound.

“I'm starting to worry she might not actually be on our side.” Clint said.

“Loki the lie detector, any input?” Tony asked desperately, his eyes glued to you.

Loki was deep in concentration as he gazed at you

“Whatever that is it is not mortal.” He concluded.

“Sam no! Fall back!” Steve shouted through the comms but it was too late.

Sam landed on the ground in front of you, his hands held out placatingly.

“Baby girl, it’s me. He’s dying, let him die.” Sam implored you.

You looked straight through him.

“Give me my power.” You snarled again.

“If you want it, Kill him.” Docherty demanded.

You didn't hesitate, you didn't think about it at all. Your hand shot out and closed around Sam’s neck and twisted.

He dropped to the ground, unimportant to you as you continued walking forwards like you hadn’t just killed your best friend.

The Avengers were frozen in shock. Their minds couldn’t catch up to what happened as you stalked towards Docherty, growling.

The Doctor looked up at you reverently and sunk to his knees.

“Take it. Take it and cleanse the world, finally.” He gasped out emotionally, holding his hands out to you.

You grabbed his hands and threw your head back as the black poison moved from his veins to yours, rippling across your flesh.

“At last.” You hissed.

“You are free Vernichtung, free to be what you were born to be.” Docherty said.

Sam stood up behind you and cricked his neck before nodding at Loki. The illusion rippled and Logan came to stand behind you.

“No.” Docherty whispered.

“You made me what I am. Allow me to return the favour. Allow me to make you into what you truly are.” You snarled viciously.

“Heartless.”

You plunged your hand into the doctors chest, ripping his heart out and crushing it in your grasp.

“When you see the devil, ask him ask him why you would do this to me and not expect my revenge.” You whispered as his body crumpled to the ground.

You dropped his heart onto the ground at your feet and turned your back on the corpse.

“What the hell just happened?” Clint wondered out loud.

“Kit Kat?” Tony whispered, landing in front of you.

You looked like you, the black veins receding. But your eyes, they were dark. Not fully black but dark.

“Is it you or is it Vernichtung?” Tony asked.

“Well we aren’t dead and Docherty is, does it matter?” Logan growled.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Tony snapped.

You ignored them both, walking away from the argument.

“Hey, hey where are you going?” Tony snapped, running after you but Logan grabbed him.

“Let her go.”

“Like hell I’m going to let her go, get off me.”

Bucky met you in the middle of the road.

“Doll...” He whispered.

You cocked your head but didn't answer him.

“I love you. Whatever version of you this is, how ever many there are. I love you.” He told you.

“Are you really willing to do this?”It sneered.

“It’s the only way to save the people I love.”

“But you will die. This version of you will die.”Vernichtung pointed out.

“So be it.” You told her.

“You cut me off, now you want me back?”

“It’s the only way. There will be no more me, no more you. Just us, as one. Something new.”

You were something else. Bucky had seen it in your eyes, what Tony hadn’t, what Logan had struggled to grasp when you explained.

Bucky saw it and he didn't care.

“James... I don’t know what, who I am.” You whispered.

“You’re you.” he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. And to him, it was.

“Whoever that is, whoever I am... I love you.” You told him earnestly.

He pulled you into his arms and kissed you.

James Buchanan Barnes, Sargent Barnes, The Winter Soldier, Bucky… Whatever name he was going by didn’t matter, he was the love of your life. You absolutely adored him. It wasn’t a fleeting sort of love, it was more than a mere crush. It was pure, searing, unadulterated, irrevocable love. He brought out the absolute best in you, if you ever became a hero again then he would be your redemption arc.

“Doll? Marry me.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There will be a short epilogue where I will gush in the author's notes about how much I love you all and everything in this chapter that you might have questions about will be explained.

But

Thoughts????

@nerdandproud-86 @harrison-shot-first@thejourneyneverendsx @thelostallycat @inquisitor-selvala@the-corruptor @iovher @kendrawr-kitkat @phoenix-whiskey-tears @the–real-wombat @buckitybarnes@fairislesheets@angieptt @meganjonezzzz @dugan365@fluffeh-kitty@memanda17 @krystallynx @theonelittleone@piscesbarnes@free-as-fishes @tarastudiesalot@captainamericasbeard@dropthepizza346 @jaynnanadrews@likes-to-smell-books@drdorkus @life-wanderer@metalarmlover @animegirlgeeky@jsmith509

248 notes · View notes

celticdoggo · 5 years

Text

Gelfling dad au fic 2

The ride back was long and boring. Rian kept himself entertained by attempting to creep out the older gelfling his father had captured. He had taken off its gag because he liked hearing the traitors try to bargain with him because they always thought they had something better to offer than father.

This one however was boring. He kept talking kindly to Rian trying to touch him with bound hands. Rian didn’t like touching herbivores. Bree was an exception because even though she lived a cushy life in the castle she was vicious carnivores like him and father. “Rian,” his father called from where a carriage pulled by landstrider sat, “stop playing with the creature and come here.”

Rian hurried to his father’s side pulling the strange herbaviore behind him to be loaded with them into the carriage. His father hated going into the castle so Rian had the job of escorting it to Bree and her father. His cousin was always nice to see and she always snuck him new meat to smell and taste so he could add it to what he could track. His father always seemed proud when Rian found a new species that he could kill.

He found her soon amongst the animal cages. She turned from where she was dissecting something that used to be an animal and he proudly tossed the herbaviore at her feet. “I caught it for you,” he said shyly, “oh and something else to.” He fiddled in his pack and pulled out a cloth stained with blood. She took it from him with a raised eyebrow then laughed happily when she opened it. “Why do you have a bag full of blood covered spoons,” she asked and he felt himself puff up with pride at her laughter. “The traitor was hiding with podlings and they all tried to attack me with spoons,” he explained, “so I thought since you like the podlings here you might like some podlings weapons.”

She patted his hair. “Thank you Rian,” she said, “I absolutely love it. Now go take a bath and we can meet Mira at the spyglass today.” Rian groaned but trudged off. Mira didn’t like it when he showed up to meet her covered in blood. It made her look sad. He eventually makes it to the spyglass looking significantly cleaner than before. Mira grins at the both of them. “Hello there,” she says hopping down from her perch on the spyglass.

Rian lets Bree yammer on about an experiment she was conducting before asking, “Mira, what’s dreamfasting?” She blinks at him, “why do you ask?” “Father and I brought back a traitor today,” he explained, “he kept asking me to dream fast with me to show he wasn’t crazy. Kept claiming I was a stolen child.” He shrugged his shoulders as Mira offered a hand to both him and Bree.

He took it with an apprehensive look. Rian was then pulled into a vision of the first time he met Mira. He had practically bowled her over in his excitement to show his father the new additions he had added to the talons he had been given. He felt her feelings of confusion and slight fear until he took his mask off to show he was a gelfling. She showed him the day she explained that only girls have wings and her amusement at his confusion on what a boy was and how unfair that was.

He yanked his hand away. Bree didn’t do it quite as violently as him. “That was,” he said looking confused, “strange.” Mira smiles at him, “I guess so. But it’s a normal thing for us gelfling.” Rian made a face. “I’m not a gelfling,” he said which caused Mira to look sad, “I am father’s little hunter.” He puffs himself up. “You can’t be just his son,” Mira prompts as Bree ignored them to scribble away at her papers about her experience, “you don’t look like a skeksi. You look more like a stone-in-the-wood gelfling.”

Rian looked her annoyed that she would mention that he actually didn’t have talons like his father. “Doesn’t matter anyway,” he says dismissively, “I’m not a gelfling anymore.” Mira blinks at that. He doesn’t care really what she thinks really. His thoughts are interrupted by a screeching behind them. Whirling, he pushes the other two out of the way of a spitter as it scurries away. “A spitter,” Mira gasps as it hurried away, “what’s one doing in the castle?!”

“It must have escaped from scientist’s lab,” Bree said without any fear as she began recording the events, “Rian can go kill it. I doubt Scientist needs it back.” Mira looked at her then at Rian. “I’ll help you track it down,” she said and Rian shrugged indifferently, “good. Now good hunter where should we check first.” Rian grinned wide and bloodthirsty, “we search the lower part of the castle. They like dark places.”

A few minutes later, the two of them trudge through the low dark portions of the castle. Mira has a lamp in hand lighting her way. Rian is ignoring her. His hunter masked pulled down over his eyes and his steps barley making a noise. She was glad to come work at the castle and got on well with Ordon, leader of the guard, who had told her about the baby he had given in a tithing after his wife’s death. He always looked at Rian with a mixture of sadness and pride. Mira wasn’t stupid and had put it together that Rian had been the baby.

She had been assigned to Bree as a guard when she finally got to talk to him. He was strange. The both of them were really. They had no knowledge of gelfling culture and even how the wings work. She laughed herself silly when Rian asked why he didn’t get any wings like Bree until she realized he was serious. She felt her eyes drift to him. Honestly, the kid was terrifyingly like the feared hunter Skekmal but also so like a curious child it gave her whiplash at times.

He suddenly launched forward and she heard the squeal of a Spitter. It bucked with him hanging on and tearing at bits of the armor with clawed gauntlets. It unnerved her when she noticed he had the opportunity to make it quick but was toying with it by picking at the armor instead. It threw him off and dropped down a hole in the floor. She held her lantern over the open floor. “Where does it go,” she asked not able to see the end of the tunnel.

Rian took her lantern and tossed it down. After a few seconds it clattered down but the light it gave off gave him a glimpse of the catacombs beneath the castle where the crystal was kept between ceremonies. “The catacombs,” he said preparing to drop only for her to put a hand on him. He yanked away and gave her a little glare. “Sorry I know you don’t like to be touched,” she said plactingly, “but gelfling aren’t allowed in the catacombs.” He stared at her in confusion, “but I am not a gelfling.” With this he jumped, Rian used his gauntlets against the wall to slow his descent so he could tuck into a roll as he hit the ground to distribute his weight.

Mira simply flew down to land beside him. “Father used to train me down here,” he explained as they followed the soft growling, “he’d release animals for me to catch for to get pouncing and quiet walking down before he took me hunting.” A skeksi suddenly stepped out in front of them looking rather angrily at Mira. “We were hunting a Spitter that escaped,” Rian found himself blurting out taking a step towards Mira. “I am not mad at the gelfling,” said Scientist, “I simply am thinking how great an opportunity this is. Come childling of Skekmal, come gelfling, I have something fantastic to show you.”

He led them into the chamber with the Crystal sitting in it. Rian had seen it a few times when he visited the castle. It was beautiful but Mira seemed almost mesmerized by the crystal. “The crystal of truth,” she said breathlessly, “it’s beautiful.” Scientist cackled at her admission, “yes it is gelfling why don’t you step closer? Don’t be afraid.” Mira stood almost touching the crystal now and Rian was beginning to feel uneasy.

Scientist suddenly pulled a lever and a machine began whirring and wheezing. Electricity arced onto the crystal causing it to creak loudly. Mira looked stricken, “No! What are you doing to it?!” “Just an experiment don’t worry,” he says keeping a hand on her shoulder to keep her looking at the crystal. The other skeksis in the castle have begun filing into the room. Rian runs to the little princess Deet’s side as she comes in with her father.

“I feel a pulling,” Mira says with a whimper her eyes turning dull and glowing. Something is being drawn out of her towards the crystal. Rian reaches out and covers Deet’s eyes. No one stops him. “Yes That’s it,” scientist prompts, “give to the crystal. Give it your love, your fear your hatred.” “My my lords help me please,” Mira begs now no longer able to look away. “Don’t worry my dear,” skektek said raising two strange devices with pronged ends, “give to the crystal. Give your very ESSENCE!”

He stabs her in the back much to everyone’s surprise. Something, some liquid, is being drawn from her into a basin nearby. She practically evaporated into light. “What have you done,” Skekso demands grabbing the scientist by his coat. “My lord my lord wait,” he begs, “Ive done what you’ve asked. I’ve found us life everlasting. Drink drink.” He gestured to the basin. The emperor stomps to it and drinks. Then he begins to laugh. “How do you feel my lord,” skektek asks stepping close to him. “I feel...I feel powerful,” he shouts picking up the skeksi and throwing him bodily. The other skeksis begin to clamor for the essence before they are stopped.

“Back,” Skekso shouts at them, “back you rapid worms. We must see how it would effect our childlings. Come here you little hunter.” He grips Rian pulling him away from Deet. “I would not ask my little princess to do it without knowing it’s effects. Come on and drink.” He pushes Rian to the edge of the basin. Rian knows if he doesn’t do it the emperor will merely shove his head in and he doesn’t want that. He cups his hands and drinks. He gets about four sips before whatever it is kicks in.

Rian thinks he can hear screaming but he doesn’t know whose it is. Mira whithers on the floor. The skeksis has betrayed them. They had drained her. What would happen to the gelfling they took in as children. Rian stabbed out with his gauntlet into his leg to ground himself. Mira began encroaching on his mind again and he merely dug his claws in harder. This was his mind. The itch from hunting was roaring in his skull on top of everything else. It demanded more, More, MORE, MoRe!

Skekso kicked him hard and he managed to finally get it under control. “Hm,” said Skektek thoughtfully, “I’ve seen them drink other essence and be fine. Perhaps it is that dream fasting I've heard mentioned among the other guards. Not to worry I’ll discover the answer.” Deet came over to help him off the floor with a look of concern for him and his shredded thigh. “Let me help with that,” she said gently, “We can take you to the healers.” She helped him hobble away while his stomach and head churned. What had their family done?

@fangirlingpuggle

#dark crystal au #dadmal #dadso #rian dark crystal #deet dark crystal

19 notes · View notes