#edward is just a long internal scream at this point | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

midnightlizard · 1 month

Note

hey, could you please do a Amelia Shepherd x fem!reader where the reader is jealous because of Edwards and Amelia reassures her that she only loves her etc...? (they've been together for about 3years)

Jealousy

Amelia Shepherd x gn!reader

Summary: when someone constantly tries to get at your girlfriend it can be irritating, very irritating, but thankfully Amelia doesn't care about anyone else.

Warnings: sexual talk at the end but nothing happens

A/N: I combined this with another request, ("Amelia Shepherd x reader where an intern keeps looking at Amelia in a OR and reader gets mad")

also because I don't write fem reader I changed it to gn reader

Word count: 1247

It happened again.

You and Amelia had another surgery together.

Which is great, you loved working with your girlfiend. You two operated on different parts of the human body so whenever the rare opportunity of working together presented itself, you always took it. This man had a puncured lung so you had to act quickly and asked the neurosurgeon to make sure the brain never stopped receiving oxygen.

What you didn't particularly like was working with someone else.

Amelia chose Edwards to work on this man with her, because of course she did. Your girlfriend was an excellent surgeon so you trusted her judgment and never tried to change her mind about her residents.

You just wish she did about this one resident.

Edwards wasn't bad at her job per se, but it just bugged you how her attention was half on your girlfriend and only half on the things she was supposed to be learning. It was highly unprofessional.

"right answer Edwards" Amelia chirped from behind her mask after the woman correctly answered her question.

"thank you, doctor Shepherd" you rolled your eyes at that, you were surprised at how she even got it right, since she never stopped looking at her face.

Your feet were starting to ache for how long you've been standing but thankfully the surgery was almost over. "Edwards how's his blood pressure?" of course, she didn't hear you. So you repeated the question.

"uh" she hesitated for a second, probably because the vitals weren't written in Amelia's eyes "110 over 70" she turned her head to look at you, as if she was expecting a scolding "it's good" she added.

"yea I know that, I'm a surgeon" you bit back, your eyes never leaving your patient's lungs. Amelia gave you a look from her spot behind the man's head, but said nothing.

After a minute of silence you breathed out a sigh of relief as you could finally take your hands out of his chest.

"forceps and gauze" you weren't talking to Edwards this time, since it wasn't her job to hand you what you needed, but when your free hand still felt empty after a second and you were about to yell at the intern, he frantically shook his head and pointed at the assistant, who held the tools in her hand, while talking to your girlfriend.

"Edwards!"

You raised your voice to the point even Amelia furrowed her eyebrows at the shift in your behaviour. It wasn't loud enough to be called unprofessional, you have seen much worse under Bailey's guidance. But you were never one to scream without a valid reason, especially in an OR.

The woman instantly whipped her head to look at you with widened eyes, while her shoulders visibly tensed.

"I don't know if you have noticed since you've been staring at Dr. Shepherd all this time" you vaguely pointed at her, your other hand never leaving the chest tube, keeping it in place between your patient's lungs "but we are actually in the middle of an operation. So I'd really appreciate it if you gave me my tools so I can close him up and go tell his family he survived."

You clenched your jaw when silence fell into the room right after your words, only now realizing the tone of your voice. But you didn't regret it, not really.

Especially when your hand was still hanging empty in the air.

Truth was, Edwards didn't hear you the first time and was afraid to give you the wrong tools.

"forceps and gauze." you repeated, your voice lower but still firm "now."

"right yea, sorry"

- - - -

Once his wound was properly sealed and Amelia assured you his brain was completely fine, you instructed your interns to take him to his room and keep an eye on him, and quickly stormed off.

Stephanie took her mask off and approached her mentor with the intention of apologizing for her behavior, but Amelia stopped her, and went looking for you.

She found you in the waiting room, talking to the man's family. "no need to thank me, I just did my job" she could only see the back of your head but she knew you enough to recognise the smile in your voice. "your husband is strong and he's going to have a quick recovery"

Your girlfriend stopped behind you without interrupting your conversation, and kindly smiled at the family as they walked away.

"okay what was that?" she searched for your eyes once they were out of earshot.

"what?" you run a hand through your hair, finally free from the surgical cap "people hug us all the time" and it wasn't a lie, but you knew it wasn't what she was referring to.

"no, not that" she shook her head and crossed her arms.

You opened your mouth while your eyes moved around the room, but the only thing that came out of it was a sigh.

You sat down on one of the chairs, looking up at her "I don't, I don't like Edwards"

"she's good at her job" Amelia didn't waste time defending her resident, but her tone wasn't aggressive.

"I know that, I know she is" you took a big breath, trying to find the right words. This whole thing has been bugging you for months now and you never said anything because you didn't want to sound controlling or irritating. But you couldn't hide it anymore.

"I don't like how close she is to you."

Amelia uncrossed her arms and slid her hands inside her pockets. She had a feeling of where this was going.

"She's fascinated by your work and by your mind and I get it, I love it too. And I get that she wants to learn so she assists your surgeries but she follows you everywhere."

Somewhere along your words, Amelia took a step closer and was now standing between your legs, looking down at you.

"Every time I want to talk to you she's always there, we can't even have lunch together without her sitting with us and asking you questions."

One of her hands came up to rest on your cheek to make you look at her "you're jealous of Edwards?" and despite the amused tone, her smile seemed gentle.

"You don't have to be, (Y/N)" she continued after a small silence "she's interested in my work and yes, she asks a lot of questions. But it's just that"

She saw you shake your head and took both of your hands in hers "and even if it wasn't, I don't care. I'm your girlfriend, not hers. You're my partner, she's not. I'm sorry if it made you jealous, but there's really no reason to worry. I love you, just you, okay?"

You softly nodded your head, and your smile quickly mirrored her own when she squeezed your hands "okay. thank you"

"of course" she muttered. Then she pulled on your hands, pulling you up "come on, I think we need to get our heads off of it and I know just the place"

You chuckled at her words and raised your eyebrows "you want to have sex in an on-call room?"

Amelia's smile never left her lips, if anything, it only got bigger "yes, and please stop acting like it hasn't happened already" she shrugged her shoulders and started guiding you to the room "besides, I need to show you who I stare at all day"

Amelia Shepherd Masterlist - Grey's anatomy Masterlist

General Masterlist

#greys anatomy #greys anatomy x reader #amelia shepherd x reader #amelia shepherd

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katz-chow · 4 months

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i remember everything...

synopsis: in which johnny deals with the lingering feelings he has with his coworker 🏷| fluff, american!reader, gn!reader, reader is described as having hair long enough to have to towel dry (its like one sentence), mostly in johnny's pov, prompt 29, culture clash, part of @glitterypirateduck's soap it up challenge

masterlist | taking orders | main menu

“Strange words come on out of a grown man’s mouth when his mind’s broke. Pictures and passing time, you only smile like that when you’re drinkin’…”

“Do you like it?” You ask him, as you both sit on your respective beds in the hotel room. The soft glow of the hotel lamps mixed with the pristine, white sheets gave off the allusion of an ethereal heaven. You both untucked the sheets and wrapped them around you and on the bed in your nests of bedding, shielding away from the blasting AC air.

Johnny groans, falling back onto the firm queen-sized mattress. “If I have to hear another Southern accent, I’m gonna blow my brains out. Yours is enough!”

“Bitch!” You scream and laugh as you throw a pillow, aiming for his crotch. A sharp breath stopped itself in his throat as he groaned in discomfort. Another laugh was pulled from you as you too, squirm around in bed.

Eventually, he recovers and sat back up. “Bonnie, you remember when we first went on this world tour of ours?”

A world tour, that’s what you both referred it to. In reality, it was just a guest speaker program on international joint bases. You were there in the UK as an American, part of a joint company operation. Then Kyle pointed you out when you shared some memories in North Carolina together. Hitting it off with Johnny was just pure fate (maybe, he thinks).

The first time he saw you, you and your squadron stood shiny in the unfamiliar dress blues in front of that board meeting. An hour later, he discovered you’re all American service members, here on an ally program.

The second time, fate forced you both together. Chow Hall at dinner time proved to be both bliss and the Thunderdome at the same time– which was no foreign territory for the Americans. They were loud, Johnny thought. The more he heard their wide range of accents, the more intrigued he became with this new group.

He gazed at them, you included, deciding when would be the right time to bud into the conversation. That’s when you spoke up, hinting at the cutest, slowest speech he’s ever heard; a real, Texan accent.

“I dunno about all this, y’all…It kinda looks, like, bland…” You say as you look at the food on your tray. Kyle right over your shoulder with your friends crowding around the “experimental plate”.

Kyle laughed and cut open the pastry with a knife, moving the peas around. The meat inside spilled out of the puff pastry as everyone oo-ed and ah-ed and not in a good way. “You telling me you’ve never had a meat pie?”

“Closest thing would be chicken pot pie…and even with that the peas are inside and I don’t have to look at it when I eat it.” One American laughed. Johnny noted that his accent sounded “standard” compared to your more regional one.

Another woman piped up as she shoved his arm with hers, “Chicken pot pies aren’t all that, Johnson, you’re fucking weird.”

“Cut that shit out, Phillips…I’m gonna…fuck your husband.”

Johnny snickered and interjected himself into the appropriate conversation. “How about you shag me instead? A true Scotsman right here.”

“I mean, if you want…” The Standard American, now he knew as Phillips, responded as he turned towards him and smiled.

He noticed the group of Americans all turned their bodies to include him in their small circle, even when he was about three feet away and on a different table. They were kind and eager, friendly even.

From then on, he decided to always stick around the group of funny Americans, who always seemed to do the weirdest things. He also got to know the mirage of people within this seemingly rag-tag team. From Edward Phillips, the Washingtonian Linguist, Michelle Hernandez, the New Mexican demolitions expert, and then you, the Texan.

After that, he just gravitated towards you, like an asteroid in your presence. He revolved around you, hovering when you need him and jumping in. Never far for you to hold onto, he was right beside you, an equal rather than someone to catch you if you fall or a subordinate waiting upon your every command. You liked that about Johnny, how he’s a partner, and thus on par with you. Your strengths are his weaknesses (reading comprehension) and your weaknesses are his strengths (chemistry).

Johnny often questions whether fate is real or not, must be the Catholic in him, but the critical, logical part of his brain won’t let him fully believe. He wonders if fate is real if there truly is a bigger spirit that predetermines whether or not he will die horrifically in battle, or how many kids he’ll have— if he is allotted more than one. More often than not, however, he finds himself wondering if he somehow made the right choice to speak up with that lewd comment that led to meeting his best friend. Or was it how God had intended it? Or, perhaps, it was the Roman Moirai that had strung your paths together. In either case, he could only hope that he was making the right choice now.

The AC continued to blast in the dim light, something he had to get used to. Months ago, when you were merely just a coworker, he had to adjust to the fact that you were afraid of sleeping in the dark. Teases and playful jabs seemed relentless, night after night as soon as you went to turn on the bathroom light and crept the door closed. But now, as whoever’s above fated it, he quite likes the addition to his nightly routine.

Things are simpler, more clear, and more concise. It’s a lot different building bombs, and awaiting the next mission than simply giving a briefing on demolition safety and code of conduct. One might even say it’s boring, but what’s more boring than your job? At least he’s talking about something interesting! Says the man who eavesdrops on your talk whenever he’s not busy.

Johnny has more time to journal, draw, and…think. It became routine, you getting ready for bed while Johnny props himself up on his pillows, thinking and scribbling away. So here he is, nightstand lamp casting its low, orange glow against his even yellower pages. Odd drawings of the desk chair in front of his bed, some notes about your lecture, and an odd sticky note drawing on your side profile he did while he waited for you to finish your talk.

Never leave a man with his thoughts, one of the lessons he had learned when he started to let his mind wander from station to station, train of thought visiting back on when you caught his eye, or when you fell down the stairs and your nose started to bleed (Johnny had never felt his stomach sink so low), and just last week when you convinced him to try authentic Indian food…he thinks of you.

It's almost as if he no longer even lets his mind wander but now he lets his thoughts loose into Your World. His bonnie. His. Fuck him, He rubbed his face with his palms, exasperated.

“You good?” Your voice snapped him away from his consuming thoughts, hands falling to close his leather-bound journal with a snap.

He looks at you. You had your head tilted, hair falling into the towel that you’re crunching up to dry it. “‘m fine, Birdie.”

Birdie, his songbird. His ears hear the way you scoffed, swinging back into the bathroom to set the towel up and get yourself into the twin bed next to his, the space separated by just a small nightstand holding the phone and now his journal.

You hop onto bed, throwing the already jostled-up sheets onto you as Johnny stands to turn off the light on the opposite wall. Your laptop, which had now been turned off per his request, tucked itself under your bed, barely peeking out just for a reminder for when you both leave the next morning.

“I don’t want to go on base tomorrow. I hate Newport.” You say to break the silence between the both of you, simply sitting in the not-so-dark.

Johnny groans, having heard you say this since the two of you had landed here in Rhode Island. “Oh haud yer wheesht, we’re only here for another day,” he reasons.

You’ve heard that phrase a lot lately, especially as your World Tour is coming to an end soon. Two more bases, a fortnight left. But you can’t blame him, your whining was getting a bit much.

A comfortable silence fills the air again as you hum in reply to him. Both of you find yourselves lost—or leashed in your worlds, thinking about what’s next.

He’s going to miss this; miss waiting for you to get ready for bed, miss listening in on your colloquies, miss the way your body wash smells, miss your awful music…”Fuck, I’m gonna miss you.”

“What?”

Johnny freezes, he takes back about the time you fell: this was when his heart dropped the furthest and fastest it’s ever fallen. Almost like the New Year's ball in New York. Fuck, fuckfuckfuckfuck.

“Johnny, what did you just say?” In his peripheral, he sees your head turn to look at him. he turns his head to you.

He prays that you don’t see the way sweat begins to fall from his skin or hear the quiver in his voice. “I said, I’ll miss you.”

You giggle a bit, letting your head fall back onto the plush headboard, eyes up at the popcorn ceiling. “It’s not like I’m going to die anytime soon, I’ll still be here.”

“I don’t want you to ever leave.” He blurts out quicker than his brain can even pick up. Blood rushes into his ears, he feels his body get hot as he awaits your reaction.

The tension grows thicker, even as the AC hums. He sees your feet under the sheets moving side to side, you’re thinking of how to respond, formulating the perfect response. God, you were perfect, thinking about what you wanted to say rather than just blurting things out like how he is. You’re so different than him, so precise in your doings, always thinking ahead, always planning for the worst outcomes. And not to mention how good of a teacher you are with those in your field, you spoke eloquently, formally– yet just enough casualty that not only demanded respect but provided a sense of comfort.

He looks back over to you quickly, your head still in the same position as before, eyes closed, however. For a quick moment, he sighs in relief, thinking you had fallen asleep from talking and whining too much. But instead, when he snaps back into reality, he sees your face smiling at him.

“I think I’d like that a little too much.” You scrunch up your nose just a bit at the end of your sentence.

He doesn’t know what to make of them, but he smiles back nonetheless. “Yeah?”

You hum again, thinking. Silence washes over the two of you again. You two don’t look at each other, Johnny can feel disappointment wash over him, ready to just retire for the night.

“You wanna watch a movie?” You blurt out, already reaching down to pull your laptop out from under the bed. He looks at you quizzically, but agrees anyway.

To his surprise, however, you find yourself throwing the laptop gently on his bed, shooing him over (which he obeys), and getting under the sheets with him. His heart flutters as he instinctively rests his arm behind you. You scoot closer to him, pulling your laptop onto your lap. But you stop, and his breathing does to match.

“Is this okay?”

Johnny nods and smiles softly at you, seeing your worried expression dissipate. You decide that Johnny gets no say in what the two of you watch, and honestly, Johnny seems more interested in the fact that he can smell your shampoo and feel how soft the tips of your hair are in between his fingertips. He zones out after that, rejoicing in the moment as your breathing steadies his old heart.

You turn your head up to look at him, raising your head slightly from his chest. He looks down at you, an eyebrow raised. “Hm?”

“I’m tired.”

He smiles wider at how your eyes droop down, even after insisting the two of you watch a movie. The screen pauses as he presses the spacebar, timestamp at 23:09. He huffs a laugh. “It’s late, I ken, I ken…”

“Can I sleep here?” You ask, already resting your head on his chest and sinking further into the now-warm sheets. Johnny shifts over a bit, closing your laptop and tossing it carefully over to your empty bed. The strands of your hair lift up a bit as he absent-mindedly messes with them. Your arm found itself hooked under his bicep, the other arm thrown over his chest.

His lips reach down and places a soft kiss on the crown of your head, burying his nose into the inviting smell of almonds and cherries.

You hum in contentment, yet sleepily mumbling out something just a tab bit too quiet for his ears to pick up. “Speak up, Bonnie.”

You whine and his heart skips a beat. He wonders how long this can go on before he dies of cardiac arrest. Hopefully for decades. “It was always going to be you.” You pout, before nuzzling into him again, not once opening your eyes.

Johnny freezes, and the stands of your hair fall from the tips of his fingers. He looks down and sees how your chest rises evenly now, body heavy and warm against his. “Birdie?”

When you don’t respond, he knows you’re dead asleep. He sits there for a while thinking about the choices he made that led him to this position, as a body pillow for you– not that he is complaining. Surely it wasn’t when he tripped over a pinecone in year 5 right? Or when he decided to disobey orders and blow up a base anyway right? No, it has to be much simpler than that– when he had decided to skip lunch that day the two of you met? He thinks about the choices he made, and how he could’ve missed all the signs you gave him showing him that you were also in a state of yearning for him. And why did you turn on a lame rom-com, knowing you were going to fall aslee– oh. Oh.

Was this your plan the entire time? Clever Birdie. Of course, you had planned this out, had planned on turning the AC up, whining about the cold. Leaving your laptop on a movie website already, drying your hair even when you never really do. You just had to find a window of opportunity: him.

It was always going to be the two of you. He was just a bit behind.

masterlist | taking orders

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 1 year

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What if Edward is showing off the painting of Carlisle and the Volturi and then Bella is like "Oh hey, I know those guys! The nice one said they'd come back later..."?

Caveat

This wouldn't happen.

Bella's old enough (and having learned from the Alec and Jane debacle) that had he met her in Phoenix or the airport she's taking a trip to Volterra where she's turned into a crystal cannibal person. (Bella would take this shockingly well as she's now very hot and cool).

Aro would not meet up with her, say "hey", and then come back for her later when anything in the world could happen to her (and would as she'd end up in Forks and nearly killed 12 billion times).

But Alright, It Happens

Well, this would have likely changed canon. Bella now has met people who look like the Cullens prior to the Cullens. She's probably going to bring that up earlier and have all sorts of theories about who these crystal alien people actually are. She might even theorize they're here for her given her recent run-in (with someone who said they'd be back) and that they're here, in all places, her home town.

Bella's conversations with Edward turn into baffling, "I'm onto you, sonny," things that Edward has no idea what she's talking about.

BUT IT HAPPENS

Honestly?

Edward stares at her dumbly for a moment and tells Bella that no, she didn't. If she had, after all, she would have been dead as these vampires eat people. Likely, Bella's just confusing them with someone else/some other piece of famous art.

Bella protests that she totally did.

Edward still doesn't believe her and Bella eventually has to pout and let him move on. Except, like Edward, Bella's innately stubborn and can't give up.

While Bella has no contact information, Edward dropped a terrible terrible hint "Volterra". Bella now knows which phone numbers to look up.

Bella doesn't realize how very stupid this is.

Bella calls the Volturi so that they can confirm to her vampire boyfriend that she totally met them. She has a fight to win, you see.

"Your what now?" Aro asks, and Bella gushes all the details of how she's dating this new vampire named Edward Cullen (and he's keeping her human) and he lives on animals and he's wonderful and attractive and wonderful...

"Well, my dear, you can't date him while human," Aro points out.

Bella awkwardly notes they haven't been dating long and um Edward um doesn't um seem to want to... turn... her...

"Nonsense," Aro protests, "He likely doesn't have the experience."

Then, out of the goodness of his heart, Aro offers to turn Bella. He'll fly into Seattle personally and they can get this done in three days. Of course, she'll have to come back to live in Italy for a while to prevent her eating people but Edward can come and visit.

Bella, overjoyed at the thought of being able to be with Edward forever (in Tuscany!) agrees. She does not tell Edward wanting it to be a surprise.

Edward is in an absolute panic when Bella then disappears the next morning and, only three days later, does he get a call from an international number from what is clearly a vampire woman claiming she's Bella and has been turned.

"FILTHY LIES!" Edward claims, believing that this female vampire murdered Bella, and somehow knew to call Edward (Bella doesn't have a cellphone so no contact lists so... Edward... yeah...)

Bella in Volterra is devestated and desperately asks how she can fix this situation.

Aro wheedles out of dragging Edward kicking and screaming to Volterra and notes Bella won't be able to meet with Edward for several years until she's fully under control.

"But you said his father's name was Carlisle?" Aro questions (because he's been really interested in this part).

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #bella swan #aro #edward cullen #meta #headcanon #opinion

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the-celluloid-correspondent · 7 months

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The Creator Movie Review

Amidst a future war between humanity and artificial intelligence, a hardened ex-special forces gent grieving the disappearance of his wife join a mission to destroy a mysterious weapon with the power the end the war and mankind itself. But what he finds is entirely unexpected, AI in the form of a young child.

In the day and age of franchise blockbusters, it was a breath of fresh air to see a film like The Creator get made. The worldbuilding is impeccably original and its a refreshing twist on our complicated relationship with AI. With this creativity leading The Creator, it should not have fumbled the bag as much as it did. The Creator is a 4+ hour long story crammed into less than 2.5 hours. It's lightning fast past to hit certain plot points and locations, causes the world, characters, and themes to never be properly explored. Yes, it is a visual treat that puts many $200+ million dollar movie to shame, but it fails in execution.

There is a good story within The Creator, it was just never given a chance to properly breathe. There are many themes, dealing with AI, American aggression, racism, and militarization. However, none of these themes are never given a chance to be explored as it is very surface level in its exploration. Thus causing the story to feel shallow with its commentary as it is sacrificed in the name of visual spectacle. Even the action pieces are still something left to be desired as I found myself internally screaming at the battle logic that I witnessed. For example, there is a military space station that only appears when the story demands it to destroy something. It's a waste of that concept that should have been a constant presence.

With that stated, The Creator is still incredibly entertaining. The world that Gareth Edwards has created stunning and fascinating. It has a tangible, gritty aesthetic that separates it from its predecessors like Blade Runner and The Matrix. This is primarily due to the stunning cinematography, and nearly all sets being on location in the real world. Its a perfect showcase of the power of filmmaking in the real world, not a virtual one.

Furthermore, despite nearly all the characters being stunted because of the runtime, all of the actors deliver good performances. John David Washington, Gemma Chan, and Ken Watanabe all give great performances with the material they are given with. Allison Janney is really the only cast member that feels truly wasted as she does nothing but scream orders at everyone. However, the real star of the show is Madeleine Yuna Voyles. Despite being only 7 years old, she masterfully portrays the gravitas and innocence of her character. She is as cute as a button, but her innocent eyes will make your heart melt.

Overall, I believe my thoughts regarding The Creator is that I respect it. I respect its vision, imagination, and what it attempts to do. However, it fails in its execution that it becomes limited by its tight runtime.

My Rating: C+

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midori-laboratories · 10 months

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Frozen Ashes: Chapter 18 - Part 3: Homecoming Queens V

Book 3 of The Calendula Chronicles.

Story synopsis: Albert Wesker molded his captive into the perfect, pliable bait for taking out Rockfort Island's paramilitary facility, and cracking open the Ashford family’s secrets. But who’s really in control, once chaos breaks out?

The stakes have never been higher for Marigold, but she may not be fast enough to save everyone.

Book 3 of the Calendula Chronicles series. Written as the other side of The Antarctica Incident.

Want to catch up? The story's a ways ahead on AO3

Chapter summary: Marigold remembers to aftermath of that initial accident, and a plan is put into motion to head off the worst case scenario.

October 1, 1968: A manor in Devon, England

The day was shaping up to be bright, and unusually warm for October. Nineteen-year-old Marigold was steady enough to leave her bed by now for prolonged periods since the ‘accident’, but her father had cautioned her against going down into the rest of the house until her health had fully stabilized.

Meals had been brought up to her, and Poppy, already exposed when she had rushed out to greet them on arrival, was assigned to be the sole point of contact between her and the rest of the house staff.

The situation screamed quarantine. It wasn’t something she could justifiably do anything about.

Dr. Edward Ashford had been documenting her vitals since they’d come back home. Her father had called in a favor at a London research hospital when they’d touched back down on English soil, taking over a room filled with bulky machinery and screens in the dark hours of the morning. His own lab would have equipment…but the ultrasound machine, an innovative new technology, was the thing that had consumed his attention.

Alexander had been by his side, whispering. He’d startled when Marigold had asked why he was being so bloody loud about it. The headache she was trying to fight off had taken up far more of her attention at the time, but she didn’t miss the look the two shared, while they moved quickly to set up.

Earlier that year, she’d had an…indiscretion. She’d been the only truly unlucky one in the whole sordid mess (oh, but Luisa owed her, now, and she intended to collect, one day). The end result had left her insides scarred, rendering her sterile and with chronic pain. A mule for the marriage market. Joining her family in Africa had been a means to redirect her boundless energy to the family’s blossoming venture.

Drained from her ordeal, the young woman in the hospital gown initially missed how they’d stilled when the screen started to show images of her internals. After a moment, she narrowed her eyes. “What is it?”

Alexander had blinked owlishly, asking carefully, “How are you feeling?”

“Like I didn’t eat or move for far too long, and then got bundled into a plane for over a day,” she snapped back. “I’m tired, and I want to sit in the bath for a week. Assuming that my plumbing hasn’t officially gone AWOL, instead of just being broken. What’s happening?”

Her father spoke softly. “Lysis reversal. I was right…Marigold, dear, look at your hands.”

She’d down so, puzzled, realizing after a moment that all of her little nicks from fencing, the tiny scarring of living had disappeared. Even the smattering of freckles across her arms had gone away. “I don’t understand,” she had said finally, mind refusing to process the implications.

Her father had squeezed her hand then, and told her to go dress. They could discuss it when she was rested, and in her own home.

She finally spoke up an hour into the drive back. “Why the secrecy? Isn’t this the goal of what you’re trying to do?” Marigold had kept her eyes down, looking at her hands. Edward Ashford had paused for a long moment, settling upon, “The manner in which this happened worries me. I think it’s best to get you home and work out what’s happened before bringing Oswell into the loop.” There had been an edge in his tone, and Alexander had glanced at her with some worry.

There had been a hard glint in her brother’s eye that hadn’t been there before. Whatever had happened had malicious intent backing it.

Someone had tried to hurt her, and now something was rolling back all of the damage that she, and others had done to her body in the past. Making her into a blank slate.

Her father and brother had started the trip open and trusting to that little circle of researchers they’d gathered. Now they…weren’t.

Marigold had kept her eyes trained on her hands, only glancing up to gauge their faces. After a long moment, she finally spoke again, voice quiet. “Anything could happen, and no one would ever know, would they.”

The three of them fell silent for the rest of the drive, never quite realizing that those words had held the chilling weight of prophecy.

Now, Marigold made her way to her father’s study, letting herself in to sit in front of the huge desk which dominated the room. On the wall behind the desk, Edward had mounted his old messer blade from his university days. A faint dueling scar from a similar blade was on her father’s jaw, the old badge of honor of the men of the ruling classes.

She still felt tired, though it was a normal sort of tired, not the consuming fatigue that had defined the last week and a half as…Sonnetroppe…had settled into her system.

The desk was piled with diagrams, notes. Not all of it was research, Marigold realized. Some were schematics of a building.

Edward found his daughter hovering over a blueprint, not quite willing to actually touch to document. “You don’t leave these out,” she said slowly, trying to work out the shape of the reason he’d asked her to meet him in here.

“No,” he allowed. “We took control of an old iron mine a few years ago. It’s ideal for deep research- the climate is a bit hostile, but it manages any containment risk we may run into. Whoever runs it will have to live there, of course. Oswell was finished with these plans, so he passed them along.”

Marigold watched him, wary. “You weren’t planning to tell me this before.” It was said as a flat statement, an expectation. There had been no reason to bring a young girl with no real scientific acuity into such a sensitive enterprise, and they’d all known it implicitly. It hurt being cut out, certainly, but they had always seen- and more importantly, expressed -it as a protective measure.

Edward gave her a sad smile. “You didn’t seem interested, dear.” His jaw shifted in that way he had when he was skirting the truth. “And that was fair enough, letting you get on with your own life. But…this infection ties you to the project. No one else knows what’s happened, but eventually, they’ll need to. As soon as we understand what we’re dealing with.” He pulled out a plan from the pile, unfolding it. “Alexander mentioned that your memory retention has been improving, and you have your mother’s eye for security. If something-“

Marigold looked up sharply at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Alexander’s looking for something. Probably rifling through the waste bin again.”

Edward chided her as gently as he could manage. “It’s not like anyone had time to take baseline samples to compare what’s changed. Everything happened so quickly…”

A perfunctory knock came at the door, and Alexander let himself in. “I just got a call from the Paris lab. They’ve finished setting up. I told them we’re booking passage on the ferry for two days from now. We can pack light and have the rest sent later.” He looked up from his notes and seemed to brighten. “That’s for the new lab? You’ve decided, then.”

“Decided is a strong word, but it seems like I’m in for the ride,” Marigold said, a touch waspish. She frowned, pointed to a spot in a hallway that had been crossed out. “This goes nowhere. Why?”

Alexander drifted toward the desk and looked at where she was pointing on the blueprint. “You were serious about putting that in? I understand the need to keep quiet, but this…”

“It’s a contingency,” Edward said in a tight voice. “If James really did try to…” his voice faltered a moment. “He clearly felt secure enough to try it, and there was almost no reaction in the camp about it. I don’t wish to be caught flat-footed like that again.” He sighed. “The stakes are higher than I originally thought.”

Marigold looked at the blank space behind the marked wall on the plan, looked at the floor number. Whatever it was led below the very bottom of an already cavernous facility. “You’re hiding something in there? Why…” She stopped. four years of Swiss boarding school had taught her a thing or two about civil defense. “You’re building a bunker. In your remote lab.” She looked between the two men before her who seemed suddenly uncomfortable. “And you’re trying to hide it?”

Alexander grimaced. “It’s just something on the plans for now-” he started, but fell silent at Edward’s look. Alexander sighed. “I need to finish packing, if you’ll excuse me.” He stepped aware from the desk, and left the study.

Edward sighed, looking older than he had a moment ago. “He still wants to trust them,” he said wearily. “So do I, but I can’t ignore what’s right under my nose.”

“Why on earth would we need to go so far?” Marigold asked, watching her father closely. “The project seemed to be going well for all of you. Doctor Marcus seemed unhappy, yes, but that seemed normal enough, for him.”

“Oswell and I have…differing opinions on what the virus can be used for. Studying a virus and weaponizing it overlap so heavily that it seemed like there was no real, practical problem with the project at large.”

Marigold’s brow creased, and Edward waved his hand as if to clear the dark atmosphere from the study. “These are contingencies, at present, nothing more. I simply mean to be a bit more alert going forward. Harman should be returning from Arklay soon, and we’ll have a little more security in the future.”

Marigold could sense that her father desperately wanted to talk about anything else. “So, why has Alexander been raiding my toiletries bag? What’s the baseline even for?”

Edward seemed to sag with relief at the merciful change of topic. “Alexander’s been mapping its genome. Even if what happened to you can’t be replicated - and I think that might be true - he’ll be able to identify which switches get thrown when Sonnetroppe finds a viable host. That might be something we can work with.”

Marigold stared at her father, then bit back a laugh. “His Veronica project. Well, both of yours. You mean to tell me that he’s going to identify the intelligence gene by studying the most-“ she broke off, but still gave a bitter little laugh. “That’s a bit much to swallow.”

Edward fixed her with a sharp look. “No one thinks that of you, dear. Your brother always made it clear that you’re far cleverer than you let on- probably more so than is really good for you, to be honest. I really thought giving you some structure for the last few years would make it easier for you out in the world when you were grown.”

Marigold darted a wary look up from the plans at her father, and he made a small derisive sound in response. “Oh, come off it. I know I let you run a little too wild after…when your mother died. You looked after your brother like raiders would come carry him off if you stopped. I thought it would do you some good to get some distance.”

Marigold said nothing, but recalled how his researcher ‘friends’ had helped the decision to send her to a Swiss boarding school along. Prison does teach you to be a better class of criminal, she thought, so he’s not exactly wrong.

He reached out and tipped her chin up. “Besides, the family can only manage one genius per generation, anyhow. Too much ego, otherwise. There has to be a lot of muscle, a lot of cunning, to leverage that into something that’s actually usable. That’s your job.”

Marigold’s jaw tightened, mouth firming into a hard line. When she spoke again, her voice had grown small. “What’s going to happen to me?”

Edward took his daughter’s hand, gave it a squeeze. “You’re safe. We’ll monitor what we can - especially once we’re settled in Paris - and figure this out. It’s safer if you stay out of sight of the researchers, especially Stateside, but we will all work the problem out together.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about me, not with everything ramping up the way it has been. I’ve been…” Marigold grimaced, thinking of all the trouble she’d gotten into. All that heartache.

Edward looked at her. “You aren’t a burden, dear. Do you not see how much you carry?” He laid the diagrams on the desk, beckoning her over to fold the young woman into a rare hug. “You simply need to learn to carry it properly. You are my daughter, and you are a part of this family. What does that mean?”

Marigold smiled, in spite of herself. “None of us are in this alone.”

December 1998 (alongside Chapter 14)

“All of us have been in this alone, haven’t we.”

Alexia glanced at her, still a touch rattled from their discussion. She shut the front door to the mansion behind her, and the two walked side by side across the covered courtyard towards the elevators. “I suppose. Why?”

“I’m just thinking of something my father said to me. I don’t think any of us came through whole, carrying all of this alone. No one’s been safe.” Marigold’s mouth was set in a taut grimace. “Speaking of which, you know where the safe room is, yes? Alfred’s probably not steady enough to fly for a while.” Somehow, she had come out of this nightmare strangely sheltered, in a twisted way. She’d had people protecting her, some knowingly, some…less so. Don’t think that you can manage this, Annette’s voice rang in her memory.

Alexia shook her head. “Safety is relatively for the next few days, I think. I know of it, but not how to access it.” The faint worry line between Alexia’s brows deepened. “I don’t like this. No one felt they needed to share critical emergency protocol with me before. Grayson’s down there, and there are people down there. I don’t like it. Are you sure you should go alone? The infestation’s quite heavy.”

After a moment's contemplation, Alexia added, “Also, Grayson’s mentioned that the head of maintenance stole data when he was locked down in the stasis room. Donald McNally stole data and locked him down there before I woke. I’m not sure where he is, which means he’s staying away from the hyphae. He’s about…actually, your age. Large Scottish man, I believe.” Alexia frowned. “Grayson liked him, but, well, you know how trusting he is. I never liked him.”

“You don’t like - no, wait.” Marigold stopped herself. Alexia wasn’t fond of most people, but she was telling her about this man specifically for a reason. “What was the matter?”

“He used to scare me, before. There’s something wrong with a man who can seem that jolly without it touching his eyes. Now he’s just a man, but…if Grayson is worried about someone, they’ve gone very visibly rotten.”

Marigold fished a gaiter mask out from under her collar and slipped it up over her nose and mouth. “I’ll keep my face covered, then. Just to be safe.”

Alexia sighed. “You said that you were pregnant. How can you be sure it wasn’t a false positive? Those patches are strong- they would have kept you fully viral for…”

“Three weeks. I’m lucky I caught it when I did, the patches started about 10 days later. And… there have been other indicators.” Marigold fidgeted with the cuffs of her coat.

“How far along? Hypothetically speaking. If you find the infirmary, you should find more tests, by the way. They’re more accurate than the store-bought variety, from what I remember. No one was willing to risk a false negative during a season where no one could fly out.” She paused. “Bring as many as you can find back, you can get statistically significant results.”

“Six weeks, as far as I can tell.” Marigold's face was grim. “I haven’t let myself dwell on it. I’ve barely processed that it happened at all.”

Alexia nodded. “You said that’s an issue for later, and I happen to agree. We are going to revisit that bit of whiplash when the time comes. You’ve dealt with an outbreak? The corridors are rather narrow.”

Marigold waggled her hand in a non-commital gesture. “Only the edges of an outbreak. They really didn’t want Umbrella to know I’d survived Arklay. I don’t either. The zombies don’t notice me, exactly.” She squared her shoulders. “I can fight, If I must, but I may be able to just walk through.” She huffed. “I can maintain a bit of control on a few at a time. It’s not a comfortable thing to be aware of, to be frank. Someone showed me something called Thriller after Raccoon City. Let’s just say it wasn’t appreciated.”

Alexia gave a sharp, nervous laugh. “Less Michael Jackson, more Ellen Ripley, with that look. Here,” gives a copy of her keycard. “Hold tight to that, and avoid the ants. They’re…active. He’s…still sealed in Grandfather’s old lab. I’d be worried otherwise, as he’s rather venomous. If anything goes wrong, ‘knock’ as you did earlier. What did you do?”

Marigold tugged her mask down, licking her lips and rubbing the tips of her fingers across them before replicating the touch on one of a mass of hyphae in the hallway, across from the elevator. Alexia shuddered a little, both at the sensation and the sight of the hyphae withering into ashy nubs. Marigold grins at her. “That’s precisely the face I made. I’m sure of it.” She chuckled a little. “Oh, I missed our strange little family. No one else truly gets this.”

Her smile faltered a little as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “It’s the roses all over again,” she said. Alexia looked at her sharply, just as the lift doors opened. The two stepped inside.

#frozen ashes #calendula chronicles #marigold ashford #albert wesker x oc #resident evil fanfiction

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thefamilyeldritchabomination · 2 months

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Chapter Twenty Two: Don't Fear the Reaper Pt. 3

The sight was truly sickening to behold, a rotting husk of a human being suckling away at the pooled up blood that would put Gluttony’s feeding to shame. The slathering of that rotted tongue caused Dolly to wrinkle her nose in full disgust at the action of Dante, taking in every single drop of the blood. The blood stained Dante’s mouth like a milk mustache as she grinned in satisfaction, waiting for that promised rejuvenation to a much more glamorous version of Dante’s decayed malice. Instead, Dante’s rotted meat vehicle started to convulse violently as she landed on her back, writhing as her internal framework attempted to wriggle its way out. Dolly stood there, looking down at Dante with one of the most malicious smiles she could produce. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?” Dante screeched as her decaying flesh started to split like a horrible human cocoon to release the worst butterfly in existence. “Oh Mother Dear, you didn’t even recognize me? I must say, I truly outdone myself this time around. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the blood you had sought after, that one was proudly donated by Lust.” Dolly just stood over the writhing Dante, grinning away as she awaited for that hideous butterfly to emerge as she pulled out a blood pouch that was hidden inside the long sleeve.

“WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT!? I ONLY HAVE ONE CHILD!” Dante flopped to her side as her face started to peel away violently. “Exactly, one child. Think very carefully right now.” Dolly stood there, waiting a bit before Dante’s eyes dilated in horrified realization.

“....NO….ENVY!?” Dante looked on in horror as her left eye leaked out of her socket like sticky syrup as Dolly laughed. “Bingo! You got it! Looks like your brain hasn’t gone completely out of commission yah old hag.” With a grin and some sparks, Envy shed the disguise after posing as Dolly for this mission, sharpen teeth and hints of green to their skin. “HOW!? JUST HOW DID YOU EVEN RETURN!?” Dante’s skeleton was pushing through as she screamed at Envy in pure horror. “Because unlike you, I have people who did in fact care about me. Dolly cared about me so much that she brought me back from the horrible state you placed me in. Though, I might have some greenish hue for a while now. Upside, I look great in green.” Envy shrugged rather proudly at being a semi green little booger as the skeleton came running out of Dante’s body. “ENVY YOU LITTLE ARRRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Dante’s skeleton was liberated from the curse of flesh as her bones came running out in gory splendor. “Well, I guess this is farewell Mother, may you rest in piss and rot in hell.” Envy happily watched Dante’s Skeleton running about in agony, smiling that she was suffering finally as the others arrived in time for the horror show.

“Great, I’m never going to sleep again, thanks Envy.” Edward said as he watched in horror at the screaming horror skeleton after shedding the flesh like tissue paper.

“Brother, I’m scared.” Alphonse said as his innocent eyes were forever destroyed by such a ghastly spectacle. “I am too, I am too.” Freddy couldn’t help but agree with what happened as he hid behind Alphonse. “Geeze, you three whine a lot. It’s just a skeleton, you guys own one even.” Envy looked very disappointed that everyone was grossed out by a skeleton. “She should’ve been done by now.” Lust commented as Dante’s skeleton stopped running, turning her attention towards Rose and the baby.

“I got this, a knife to the brain should put the wrench out of her misery.” Hughes calmly said, taking some knives from his jacket before being stopped by Gluttony. “No, she’s too close, too close.” Gluttony said, gently pointing out that Dante got herself a meat shield in the form of a young woman and her child. “SLOOOOTHHH….GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME…..” Dante hissed, Sloth unphased by everything she had witnessed, walked over slowly as though it weren’t a massive emergency.

It was a horrifying standstill with the still very much alive Dante and Sloth the uncaring holding Rose as well as the infant as hostages. It was clear that Dante wasn’t going to let this go, not by a long shot. Dante WAS going to be given that blood, she WAS going to get into that new fresh body to live out her horrifying fantasy of being forever young, and she WAS going to win this one way or another. What the rest didn’t realize, including Dante, Survive’s trap had just been triggered as Rose started activating her infant’s special little trick as a glow started emanating from its core. Sloth couldn’t care less about what this meant, but Dante, oh Dante was horrified that this was even happening. “Guys…I may have never held a baby before, but, I don’t think they’re supposed to glow like that..” Freddy said as the infant glowed brighter than the city lights at night. “Yah think?” Envy snapped back as they watched on in wonder of the glowing infant before that sinking feeling came back from long ago. “IT’S THE GATE!” Gluttony screamed as he hid behind Lust, Dante and Sloth being pulled through it. With a flash, Dante and Sloth disappeared into the gate with the thunderous boom, everyone staring in shock over what just happened as the baby returned to normal in Rose’s arm. The Elrics naturally came running towards their old friend, surprised that she had a baby at some point. Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Hughes inspected the scorched stage where the two horrors had once been standing. Freddy kept at the doorway, not sure if there wasn’t sort of invisible dangers of being near where the baby blast happened. The four homunculi shared a four way glance to one another, the one question plaguing their minds at that moment: Where had Dante and Sloth gone?

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ladyluscinia · 2 years

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Edward Teach Meta - Remember Edward Hasn't Always Been a Muppet...

...and honestly he's still just mostly faking it.

I see a lot of posts about the whole dichotomy of Ed vs Blackbeard, and - because I live in the Izzy Hands tag for this show - a lot of it takes a very... simplistic (?) approach. Mostly along the lines of Ed is a traumatized real guy who just wants love and softness while Blackbeard is the violent persona he puts up because he thinks he has to (and Izzy makes the situation worse with a fixation on a fake person).

This... does not really make sense to me. For one, if we're going to acknowledge "Blackbeard" is a persona then we should probably acknowledge "Ed" is equally fake. The dichotomy is two wildly different masks, and the same real Edward is behind them both. And I want to talk about that guy.

Warning - this got insanely long

---

So let's start with Edward's whole situation:

Since Stede is the focus of OFMD S1, Edward's character and arc is explored heavily through parallels and mirrored situations. Both of them were feeling trapped by masculinity-related expectations and are still struggling to fully free themselves. Both have internalized issues that make them feel fundamentally flawed and unlovable. Both are starting to fall in love and discover their truest selves in a very "self recognition through the other" kind of way. It's very sweet. Very romantic.

But there's a really big elephant in the room.

See... Stede's issue is seeing himself as unacceptably weak, and thinking that weakness is ruining everyone around him. It's - to be blunt - 90% self-loathing bullshit. Like, the resolution of his main guilt arc is having it knocked into him that, no, chasing his own happiness is not inevitably going to hurt Mary. He doesn't have to feel guilty for failing the husband role. And once he gets over it, he can realize he's not ruining Ed by being "weak" either.

Obviously Stede's character arc is more complex than that - the man is deranged after all - but this isn't about him. It's about Edward, who in true mirror fashion contrasts Stede's internal trauma around failing be violent and masculine with his own internal trauma around being excessively violent and masculine.

If Stede thinks he can't be happy / loved because he's an enfeebling poison to society and men, Edward thinks he can't be happy / loved because he's a violent psychopath hauling around a legacy of bloodshed that sends soldiers screaming. And he's... significantly less wrong than Stede.

"Blackbeard"

We can agree Blackbeard is a persona. The "myth" and "legend" to Edward's "man". The real question is where is the line, and I think Edward has a lot more of Blackbeard in him than people are giving him credit for.

First - and this is absolutely essential - Edward enjoyed being Blackbeard. I've said this before when Izzyposting, but literally the basis of his whole arc is that he enjoyed being Blackbeard. That's why he's bored and unhappy now. From 1x04:

Edward: "Blackbeard always wins - that's the thing. He can't fail! It's not even a challenge anymore. People just see the flag and they freak out - 'Blackbeard!' - and they basically just give up. They surrender. And what's the point? I don't even need to be on the boat. I'm a ghost. There's no chaos, there's no drama, there's no fucking LIFE!"

Edward must at minimum be cool with a lot of the stuff he did as Blackbeard and more likely have honestly enjoyed it. The excessive violence, for example. We know killing is personally traumatic to him (and Izzy seems to have been both aware of this and relied upon to handle it), but we learn that in the exact same scene as the "Love a good maim" line. This guy may fancy a fine fabric but his moral compass is basically nonexistent.

In 1x04 he seems bored by the thought of ordering Stede's whole crew massacred as Izzy suggests, but not reluctant to do so. The French captain in 1x05 targets him with a racist insult and he has Fang skin and drown him. He has an admitted history of feeding people their own toes for kicks in 1x09. End of the day, Blackbeard is an outlet for Edward's violence, not the home of it.

Another Blackbeard trait that seems more like an Edward trait is his enjoyment of "fuckery". In fact, Blackbeard is a fuckery. Specifically one Edward and Izzy have been collaborating on for years. This meta is great and the bit about his confidence really hits. After all, the legend of Blackbeard doesn't include the behind the scenes cut. The fuckery planning is all Edward... and probably Izzy seeing as he's trusted / skilled enough to say in 1x06:

Izzy: "Much as I hate to admit it, Captain Bonnet's theatrical instincts are finely honed. He's more than up to the challenge."

And when Edward calls him out for lying it's because he knows that Izzy knows better, i.e. that Izzy has an excellent sense of what planning a fuckery entails.

(Izzy was totally Edward's creative team and sounding board wasn't he? The crew can carry out the instructions, but they fundamentally needed to buy into the myth of Blackbeard too. Brainstorming sessions where Edward might have a dumb idea had to stay behind closed doors until the plan was perfect. Ahem.)

So what is purely Blackbeard? Mass murder, for one. The conversation with Calico Jack in 1x08 is one of the few instances where Edward seems uncomfortable with violence, implying he might have done stuff like burn that ship of trapped sailors just because someone like Jack or Hornigold was there goading him. Also appearances in general. Blackbeard maintains a certain air of menace that Edward seems disinclined to - notice Edward stops ominously smoking as one of his first changes after 1x04 (he does pull it out again for ghost stories). If I had to guess, I'd say Edward likes inspiring awe and begrudgingly accepts that Blackbeard ought to inspire fear.

In fact, inspiring too much fear eventually becomes a problem, leading to...

Edward Teach

Our best look at Edward as himself - no masks - is the guy in 1x04 (plus glimpses in the previous episodes). This is also, judging from how Izzy reacts, both Edward at his lowest point in a long time and part of a fairly normal cycle of low points that Izzy seems responsible for pulling him back out of.

Edward is flighty. Easily distracted. His mood swings wildly and he spirals into listless depression on a hair trigger. He's more than happy to do a long introduction with the crew of the Revenge and roll his eyes at Izzy being the hardass taskmaster making everyone get back to work, despite the fact that a) Izzy just established he's trying to repair the ship quickly because it's all he's got to keep them alive right now, and b) Edward doesn't actually use his authority to overrule Izzy OR reiterate his "don't brutalize our guests" policy when Pete gets hit again. That whole exchange is literally just scoring some likability points with zero effort. (Do you think he does this often?)

The scene with the model ship is his first moment upset with the Blackbeard role, but crucially he's angry about being sick of it (and his vaguely suicidal ideation might be more of a threat to Izzy, especially since we learn Edward already had a plan here). Meanwhile he's enjoying the trappings of Blackbeard - his sly grin when he tells Stede who he is, leaning on his authority for the clothes swap prank, and saving his dramatic plan reveal for the last possible second even as Izzy is completely losing it.

Edward is also extremely caught up in his own head. The example that strikes me the most is Izzy starting his "get your shit together" rant by pointing out several of Edward's men died to save Stede Bonnet and getting in response:

Edward: "Kinda their job - they're pirates."

That's fucking cold, and it's hardly the only example. Edward in general is very bad at recognizing / caring about when stuff is going on with people around him (which I suspect gets worse the more he's personally dealing with), from dismissing the threat of Izzy's increasingly obvious frustration to entirely missing what's going on with Stede in 1x07 (humorously) and 1x09 (tragically). In this same conversation he's mocking Izzy's description of all the handling he's been doing recently - "Sounds stressful, Izzy" - and he still looks earnestly surprised when it turns into a very pissed off "I quit" moment?

And slight sidebar about that resignation - when he sees Izzy actually leaving, he looks down and we get:

Edward: "I should deal with this."

And he does - by making up a plan to kill Stede, selling Izzy on it by telling him he needs him, and then making an expression the instant he turns around that pretty much screams that he just lied to Izzy's face. Because he didn't want Izzy to leave.

My guess is he's assuming that Izzy will just chill out and get with the program like usual, but perhaps more importantly I think this is symptomatic of one of Edward's biggest issues in S1 - he doesn't think his actions should have any unwanted consequences. He's fucking Blackbeard! Blackbeard gets what he wants, always. At this point he's got the idea of "Ed" in his mind and he must at least suspect that it's incompatible with what Izzy wants, but Edward still stops Izzy from going at possibly the only moment in Izzy's life he would have been willing to do so. Because he didn't want Izzy to leave, and therefore Izzy shouldn't go.

And then he throws himself into becoming...

"Ed"

You can say a lot about Ed with two statements:

This persona is arguably faker than Blackbeard but with the caveat that Ed is aspirational - Edward wants to be more like Ed

Edward kinda sucks at being Ed

The second point is really the problem, and while it starts as a simple lack of experience it ends up going a lot deeper. His first foray into Ed isn't even "Ed" - it's "Jeff the Accountant" and it goes poorly (mainly because the aristocrats are awful people). And when the Jeff mask fails we get - in rapid succession - Edward, getting extremely upset and storming off in a rage when he realizes they're insulting him, and then Blackbeard, pulling out a gun and resolving to make them stop laughing.

A proper attempt at Ed is born from Jeff's ashes, when Stede gives him that touching bit of reassurance under the moonlight. This starts showing up in 1x06, with stuff like the erotic stabbing and the murder attempt confession that both filter his desire for closeness through a more (acceptable) violent context, but once that is through (and Izzy has temporarily taken the looming shadow of Blackbeard off the boat with him) he gets more "Ed" every episode.

(Interesting how Izzy leaving is ok but upsetting now that he's several weeks into being Ed, though he still blames Izzy with "You shouldn't have dueled him, Iz" and, more importantly, doesn't consider for a second that Izzy might cause problems. No consequences, remember?)

Edward in 1x07 and 1x08 is feeling antsy - some of those internalized issues rearing up and making him excessively focus on how he's being perceived / not getting too comfortable (notice he repeatedly tries to avert what he thinks are inevitable unwanted consequences by making them his decision first) - and dealing with the Calico Jack backslide, but he's trying to embrace the more Ed parts of himself. Flirting with Stede, bonding with the crew, drinking tea with way too much sugar in the morning and fine brandy in the evening. Being around Jack also emphasizes the parts of his old (and pre-Blackbeard old) life he really is done with, like the 24 hour frat boy party energy or living without fancy soaps or having no friends.

And then the English raid happens.

Edward's reaction in 1x09 starts as desperation, but it's also rooted in a collapse of pretty much his whole life. Izzy of all people has betrayed him (consequences strike one), and in the process brought the spectre of Blackbeard's past up to remind him he carries it like an anchor around his neck. Then just as quickly, he's deposited at the Privateering Academy where they take his clothes, shave his beard, and erase Blackbeard entirely. He wants to be Ed and suddenly Ed is all he is. And it's a relief... for now.

Going calmly into service and "accepting his fate" is the most passive decision he's ever made. The running away plan is peak fantasy of everything being nice and nothing having consequences. His history of being Blackbeard is fucking shit up (along with Stede's past) so why not just leave Blackbeard behind entirely and sail to China with no plan? Surely this will work great and nothing will ever go wrong and Stede will be completely on board.

This is the most completely "Ed" we see (and also the most fake). He waits on that dock, wistful, and Stede doesn't show up. That's unwanted consequences strike two.

On the Revenge, Edward doesn't give up on being Ed immediately, but he was always going to. Izzy is not being manipulative in the 1x10 scene, he just pisses Edward off. Like somebody, somewhere, eventually would have done. And Edward grabs him by the throat and shoves him against the wall, because a few weeks of leaning into the side of his personality that likes fine fabric didn't erase decades of the side of his personality that likes violence. Ed is a mask, and the mask slips.

Not quite consequences strike three, but a reminder that it's definitely coming. Edward can't keep the trappings and benefits and good parts of Blackbeard - command over Izzy, general awe and respect - while shedding Blackbeard so entirely that he genuinely asks:

Edward: "Guys, the sheer level of talent we have on this ship - why are we even being pirates?"

And moreover, Edward doesn't really want to. He wants to be more like Ed, but he doesn't want to truly be Ed any more than he wanted to truly be the mass murdering terror of the seas that made up the Blackbeard mask. He has parts of himself in both masks, but the masks themselves do not overlap. If he becomes one fully, he loses bits of himself with the other.

And at the moment "Ed" is sad and hurting and lost Stede, so if Edward's going to panic about being trapped in a corner and force himself to pick, then he picks Blackbeard / the Kraken.

(It's obvious but important to note that picking Blackbeard doesn't work - he's still Edward and still has the parts of himself that are distraught over Stede. There's a reason the last shot of Edward is him crying, and I suspect the Kraken will be less "concentrated horror" and more "the most erratic mood swings of Edward's life". And from Izzy's face I think he does too.)

What does this mean?

Well for one, Izzy isn't in love with an illusion / persona / mask / etc. Izzy helped create Blackbeard and he knows the man behind the mask probably better than anyone else. Edward and Izzy's relationship is a mirror opposite of Stede and Mary's. They did choose each other, they do know each other, and they are a mutually toxic clusterfuck anyway because they are both historically and currently fairly toxic people from a fairly toxic environment (which Izzy has zero inclination to change, though it is possible).

Stede, meanwhile, has seen and shared most of the tiny but significant category of "Edward things that don't get shared with Izzy" but would be way underprepared for dealing with the worst of Edward's toxic depths (though not frightened off or disgusted, because he's still, you know, deranged and kinda into it). He's not the healthy option because of some fanciful notion that he's the only one to ever know the real Edward, but because he knows that Edward wants to heal and become better and he's willing to support that process to whatever result.

And Edward... he needs to figure out his shit. Reckon with his past, including the people he dragged into his toxicity with him (symbolically Izzy but literally his whole mysteriously vanished crew). Make an effort to firmly establish who Edward truly is - good and bad - and then learn to live with that.

Because he's not Blackbeard, but he's also not Ed.

---

EDIT: I didn't really get into racism / colonialism but here's an interesting post on that

#our flag means death #this is so long and i had so many thoughts but i think i laid them out fairly well #obviously there's a bunch more lenses you can look at this through. i know there's probably some great colonialism takes i didn't touch on #(and my izzy hands derangement is definitely present)#but yeah. tl;dr edward is not a soft cinnamon roll at heart and his attempt to just *be* one overnight was doomed #my meta #blackbeard ofmd #izzy hands ofmd #character arcs #ofmd #blackbeard #edward teach #ed teach #blackbonnet #and related >#izzy muppet meta #ladyluscinia #ofmd meta

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adatheromcomaddict · 3 years

Text

How You Meet the Cullens + Jacob

Hi! I've decided I'm going to put some of my stuff from Wattpad, over here. If you want to see my Wattpad, its the same username as I have here. Anyway, this is how you meet the Cullens, + Jacob. Probably intended for female readers, but it could mostly go either way... I think. And I do have the girls as well in here.

Edward Cullen:

Edward and you met at school. Of course.

"Um, excuse me?" You asked a small girl, with short brown hair.

She turned around, revealing her pale white skin, and beautiful golden eyes.

"How can I help you?" She asked.

"I was wondering where Mr. Molina's classroom is?" You replied.

"Oh, yes. I can show you the way!" She grabbed your hand, and pulled you down the halls. (Wow, this is turning into an Alice preference)

"Thank you!" You said, when you two arrived at the classroom.

She pointed inside the room, towards a beautiful boy, with golden hair, and dark, dark, eyes. He glared at her, with his hand over his mouth. I turned to look at her, and she winked back at him.

"Uh, thank you. Oh, I never got your name." You said.

"Alice. Yours?" She asked, still smiling.

"Y/N."

"Well, Y/N, looks like you'll be sitting next to my brother, Edward, in there." She waved, and skipped away.

I walked inside the class, towards the boy, and sat down. He looked away, took a deep breath, then turned back to me.

"Hi, um, I'm Y/N. You're Edward, right?" I asked.

"Yes. I-I am." He seemed like he was in pain or something.

Weird.

Jacob Black:

I had lived in the outermost part of Forks for as long as I have lived. (Sounds like a wedding vow)

We were right next to the border of La Push. Therefore, I go to the school in the reservation.

(I have absolutely NO clue what the school is like there, so I'm making it up)

But, I didn't really talk to anyone. I had a few friends from down in the more central part of Forks, Bella Swan was one of them. She recently moved here full time. I hadn't seen her since I was little.

There was this one kid named Jacob who I had met a couple of times, mostly when he played with Bella snd I while our parents went fishing or whatever.

But, since Bella was going to school in Forks, I decided I would try and re-connect with this Jacob, to see if I could hang out with him.

So, I asked around one day at school for what classes he was in, and found out that he was in one of my classes. How did I never notice? Oh, just me and my oblivious self. (Sorry, if you're like- not oblivious?)

Well, I found him one day.

"Jacob, right?" I asked him.

"Oh, yes, oh, oh! Y/N! Hi!" He seemed to be a very nice boy.

"Yes, it's me. Um, I haven't talked to you in years, I'm surprised you remember my name." I explained.

"I'm surprised you remembered mine." He laughed.

"So, uh, I"m kind of wondering if you want to like, hang out or something. Anywhere works. I just need some company." (Bella who?)

"Sire! You could come by my house today after school and we can catch up. Do you like cars?" He asked.

"Depends." I laughed in response.

"Well, you can come help me too. I like to re-build them."

"Sounds like a plan."

Emmett Cullen:

(for this one you are a vampire already, and yes I basically stole Rosalie's life. Also, if I get facts wrong, don't come for me, just tell me *kindly* and I will fix it)

I became a vampire in 1920. Two years after my brother Edward, and one year before my mother Esme.

I'd been a vampire for 15 years already. How time flies

One day I was running through the forest when I heard screams coming from a small patch. I sprinted towards the place, and saw a boy, probably 20, getting attacked by a bear. I shoved the bear off of him instantly, and bit into it, getting it's blood.

I remembered that the boy was watching, and was probably shaken up, not to mention, he was most likely dying. I turned back towards him, wiping a small bit of blood off of my lip, and said,

"Hello, I'm Y/N Cullen."

"E-Emmet. How did you do that?" He asked, very weakly.

"I have my ways. What hurts?" I asked.

"Everything." Of course-

"I'll be right back. Don't move." Not that he really could. I sprinted back to my house. I opened the door, and Carlisle, Esme, and Edward turned towards me.

"Y/N? What is it?" Carlisle asked.

"There's a boy, Emmett. He got attacked by a bear. He's very weak. You need to turn him Carlisle."

They all sprinted into the woods, and I led them towards where Emmett lay. He was still there, but weaker.

Jasper Hale:

(you're a vampire)

Jasper became a vampire in 1863. (I think)

He was telling me his story.

I had recently been turned into a vampire by Carlisle, after he rescued me, and I hadn't really met the rest of the family yet. (You can make up why you had to become a vampire)

When Jasper had finished the story, I said, "Wow."

"That's all I could get out. His story was just, wow....

I forgot, Edward could read my mind. I only remembered when he chuckled after I thought that.

I gave him an internal glare.

Bella was sitting in the corner, with him.

"So, Y/N, tell us your full story." Jasper smiled.

(Sorry, his is kind of short..)

Carlisle Cullen:

It was my first day working at the Forks Hospital and I needed some directions.

I walked up to mid-height man, with blonde hair, and very pale skin.

"Hello, sir?" I asked him, and he spun around.

"Yes, Ms. Y/L/N?" He asked.

"H-how do you know my last name?" I asked in response.

"I heard someone talking about you coming, and you're the only new face around here. We don't get them often." He smiled, and my heart fluttered. Good thing he wasn't like a super-hearer or anything. {;)}

"Well, uhm, I was just wondering where the surgical ward is?" He pointed towards the left, and I smiled slightly, walking away, and quietly looking back at him after I was sure he couldn't see me.

Alice Cullen:

(You had already seen Alice before, but never interacted with her much, like most of the students)

I was walking around in the forest, when I heard footsteps.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Y/N!" A girl replied, I noticed it was Alice Cullen.

"Oh, hello, Alice." I was a bit confused to how she knew my name, but to be honest, I knew her's too and that's a bit strange. But, everyone does talk about the Cullens.

"What are you doing out here in the forest?" She asked me. I didn't have a valid answer. I could say "Just felt like taking a stroll..." or "Oh, I'm working on my steps." but, none of those were true, I really didn't know what I was doing here.

"Uhm, working on my steps, and taking a stroll....??" I questioned myself.

"Oookay then. Would you like to come with me? I can show you some of my favorite spots to relax." The way she said relax made me think she wasn't relaxing, and probably meant running around and exercising. Just what I needed.

"Sure, sounds great." I smiled.

Rosalie Hale:

Everyone that lives in Forks knows about the Cullens. Even the people in the reservation.

There's the three boys, the goofy one, the silent one, and the constipated one.

Then there's the two girls. Alice and Rosalie.

I've talked to Alice, we've said hi.

But in general, I know nothing about Rosalie.

All I know is she is incredibly smart, beautiful, and did I mention gorgeous?

I've never had the guts to talk to her. Maybe it's that I'm a wimp, or maybe it's that she is very intimidating. Probably a mixture of both.

But today, I got lucky, and didn't have to talk to her. She talked to me.

I had noticed her eyeing me a few times, and I never knew if she was looking down on me, in a bad way, or if she was interested in me. Both ways scared me.

Today, she came up to me.

I was sitting at the lunch table with Angela and Jessica, and the new kid, Bella.

"Y/N, can I talk to you really quick?" She asked.

"Uh, uh, yes, yes, sure." I stood up quickly, and while walking away with her, I turned towards Angela and Jess, and they smiled and winked.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Well, I wanted to know... did you want to hang out sometime?"

"Like, a date...?"

"Uh, yeah. Like a date." She smiled and we both laughed.

"Sure." I smiled back.

Bella Swan:

Apparently, today Chief Swan's daughter is moving to the school.

I'm looking forward to it, I want to make more friends.

I was standing outside, waiting to see if I spotted her, when a big, orange-red truck pulled into the parking lot.

It must be her! I've never seen that truck before.

I ran up to it, when I saw people laughing at it. Whatever, I think it's cool.

She climbed out of her truck, and I probably startled her, standing there.

"Hi! I'm Y/N Y/L/N. You're Chief Swan's daughter, right?" I asked.

"Uh, yes. Bella Swan." She stuck out her hand, and I shook it.

"So, do you want to know anything, anything special?" I asked.

"Um, I'm not sure...." She said, tucking her hair behind her ear. (Ugh, a classic Bella move)

"No worries. Let me show you to your first class." I smiled, and took her hand, pulling her down the hallway.

Esme Cullen:

I was walking around town, alone. A kind of dangerous move, since there have been so many mysterious attacks lately.

I was looking through random stores, when I noticed Esme Platt, (we're just saying she isn't a Cullen because I guess they aren't married...????) Carlisle Cullen's old friend. (I don't even know how to write this...)

"Hi, Esme." I said.

"Oh, hello, Y/N." She smiled.

"How have you been?" I haven't seen her in a while. We've talked a few times.

"I've been good, how have you been?" She replied.

"I'm great. We really should catch up sometime." I said, trying to be subtle.

"Yes, we should. Do you want to go to lunch tomorrow?" She asked.

"Of course! Where do you want to go?"

"Don't worry about me. I won't eat much anyway."

******

So, yeah, that's it. I'm aware that these aren't perfection, bur they were fun to write so, yeah!

I will be posting a lot more now since I'm getting really into writing again ;)

Thank you all for reading, (not that a ton of people are going to read this lol)

And yeah, see you soon! :3

-Ada

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superhero--imagines · 3 years

Text

Part 1 here! / Part 2 Here!

* The flight feels shorter than you remember, maybe it’s because you don’t need to sleep anymore.

* When you land, you expect to see Carmen there, but instead it’s the entire Coven.

* They look like a group of supermodels, and they’re all holding gifts, you see several people staring at them. Every teenage boy’s fantasy no doubt.

* They’re holding balloons, and a woman (the one you believe is Carmen) is holding one of those giant teddy bears. They even have a sign that says “Welcome Home (Y/N).”

* You didn't think vampires could feel embarrassed.

* But here you are, living proof that they’re wrong.

* Tanya brings you into a hug before you can even be worried about being an unwanted addition.

* “Welcome home, we are so glad to have you here”

* “We have an important question for you,” the woman beside her asks, her long straight hair sparkles under the dark sky.

* Kate, you presume.

* “Which do you like more, pink flowers or yellow flowers?”

* The question catches you completely off guard, and when you look down you see she’s holding out a bouquet of sunflowers and hydrangeas towards you.

* You’re not sure if this is all a test, and maybe you’re overthinking all this, but you remember sunflowers mean loyalty.

* “Um... the yellow ones I suppose.”

* “See Irina I told you they would love the yellow ones.”

* Irina rolls her eyes, but she’s grinning. She’s the one holding a bouquet of balloons

* “I bet they like the balloons I picked out better though, they’re a nice touch.”

* “Is everything alright?” Tanya turns to you. Her eyebrows are threaded in concern. “Are you thirsty?”

* You shake your head, you feel bloated if anything.

* You’re happy, you really are. It’s just...

* “I’m just a little overwhelmed,” you admit.

* Back at the castle you did have company, but it was sparse. After you were transformed, you only saw Alec or Jane once every few days, if at all.

* So this much attention, all at once, it’s a lot to handle right now.

* “Let’s give them some space, it’s been a long day.” Eleazer nudges them all away, and towards getting your luggage in the car.

* While they’re all busy taking your things, and arguing about where they parked the car, you’re left alone with Carmen

* Carmen who is holding a very large stuffed bear.

* You gulp. You’ve been so busy worried about Tanya you haven’t thought about Carmen. Her husband disappears after he received a call from his old coven, and then he comes back with some newborn.

* You wouldn’t be happy if you were in her place.

* She clears her throat beside you.

* “Do you like bears?”

* A long second of silence passes as your mind tries to comprehend what’s happening.

* “I-yes I like bears.”

* She thrusts the bear out towards you, and you take it gingerly, balancing the two bouquets the Denali sisters had given you earlier.

* “If there’s ever anything you don’t like,” you whip your head to look at her, her eyes are focused on the horizon, they’re narrowed like she’s picking her words carefully. “Or if you would rather have a lion, or something completely different all together, you can tell me.”

* She turns to look at you, and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear.

* “Okay,” you smile back.

* It’s a long drive to their home, they live deep in the mountains.

* “We’re here,” Tanya sings from the driver's seat.

* The house is secured by an ivy ridden wall, so high you can barely see the tree branches hang over the ledge

* There’s a large iron gate at the front, and past it, what appears to be a gravel road.

* Tanya cracks her window down, pressing her finger to sensor.

* “We’ll have to add your fingerprints later, little one”

* “Tanya don’t call them that, it’s offensive,” Irina hisses from beside them.

* “Ah, sorry darling,” she meets your gaze from her rear view mirror.

* “No offense taken,” you mumble.

* The house is exactly the opposite of what the Cullens’ home looked like in the movies.

* It’s a four story home, well it’s a mansion, all dark brick, with a rugged face. You can count on one hand how many windows you currently see.

* It looks exactly like somewhere Dracula might live.

* The inside is equally intimidating, there’s actually a suit of armor near the entrance, like this is some Scooby Doo-esque castle.

* Kate leads the grand tour, walking you through their living room, fully equipped with a wall of swords, a 90 inch flat screen TV, and a family portrait hung over a roaring fire.

* She only waves at the kitchen.

* “It’s just for show.”

* She explains the living situation to you.

* “Irina, Tanya and I all have our rooms on the second floor,” she points to each room, all in completely different directions.

* “Carmen and Eleazer use the third floor,” She waves to the right end of the hall.

* “There’s also a movie theatre and another living area on this floor,” Irina adds from her other side.

* You expect to be staying near the happy couple, so they can keep an eye on you.

* You’re surprised when Kate keeps climbing the stairs,

* “On the right is the library, and on the left is a stairwell that leads to the roof”

* “And right here,” Irina grins, “is your room.”

* The second she opens the door you’re engulfed in light.

* It’s so bright.

* When the place comes into focus, you’re amazed.

* The entire room aside from the entrance wall, and the ceiling, are made from glass.

* There’s a roaring fireplace on one side, several cases full of books, a large plush armchair, and a bed.

* It’s like a queen’s bed, with mahogany spirals and creamy white bedding.

* “What’s with the bed?” It adds a nice touch to the room, but it’s not like you need it.

* “Oh well we thought maybe-“ Kate breaks off mid thought, looking to Irina for help who nods.

* “We thought maybe you might want it to pretend to sleep,” she finishes for her sister. Then noticing your confused expression she quickly adds “or as a comfy place to read, or for... other activities.”

* “Irina!” Kate shouts at the same time you cover your face in embarrassment. Sex is the farthest thing from your mind.

* “What? They need to know this is an open household.”

* “What did you mean about pretending to sleep?” You quickly interject.

* “Well you know,” Irina exchanges a look with her sister.

* “You just shut your eyes, and imagine things,” Kate finishes.

* “I did it a lot when I first transformed, helped me feel more human” Irina adds.

* “I still do it every so often, it’s a nice way to relax” Kate tells you.

* “I never thought to do that.” You mumble to yourself, sitting on the bed. The two exchange another look.

* They want to ask you questions, about the Volturi, and about your past.

* But thinking better of it, they decide to leave so you can get settled.

* As soon as they’re gone, you fall back into the bed.

* Pretending to sleep, what a strange thing, the books never talked about it.

* You turn your head to the side, looking out your window walls.

* “It really is a beautiful view.”

* The pine trees sway in the wind, the grey sky beyond it.

* You sigh, you’ll try and give that “pretending to sleep” thing a try.

* You close your eyes and imagine all sorts of things. You imagine being in your old body and doing crunches so that you could get abs. You imagine eating soup on a cold day while it rains outside, and you think about reading in the library with Alec and Jane. How you would sit in the nook, right below the window and bask in the sun.

* You’re abruptly broken out of the dream when you hear your door creak open.

* You sit upright with a start, eyes open, and your head turned to face the intruder.

* All you see is Eleazer shaking from laughter, as he hides his mouth in his hand.

* You turn to look at the clock, it’s 3 in the morning and it’s dark outside.

* “Thirsty yet?” He finally manages to say after a solid minute of laugh at you.

* You are growing a little parched.

* “We’re about to go hunt,.” Eleazer actually grins as he tells you.

* You move to stand and follow him outside.

* Tanya and Carmen are already waiting for you outside, they don’t need to explain much, it seems pretty obvious.

* Stalk the animal, and then kill, totally easy.

* Tanya and Carmen even corner a deer for you.

* You should be able to kill it, you should WANT to devour it, your throat is so dry, even a bit of relief seems nice right now.

* But when you look into it’s eyes, wide with fear, it looks just like a dog.

* You can’t do it.

* But everyone’s waiting for you to drink, how are you going to survive from here on out? There’s no Alec, bringing you a blood bag every few days, you can’t drink from humans and you can’t drink from animals what are you going-

* You’re broken out of your internal monologue by a pained scream, when you look around you, you see Carmen and Tanya kneeling on the ground.

* Crap your powers.

* The deer crumples to the floor, the fearful look in its eyes intensified.

* “I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

* And then you run, you climb up the tallest tree you can find and crumple into yourself like a collapsing star.

* What was your end game here? To raise hell on this world? Right.

* How are you going to do that when you can’t even control your emotions or even feed yourself.

* Geez, even Edward managed to eat rapists and murders.

* You feel the branch you’re crouched on shift a bit and look up to see Carmen.

* She instinctively reached for you only to flinch back, your power to reaching her.

* She must notice the look on your face because she smiles and says:

* “Don’t worry I’ve felt worse.”

* Well you don’t have time to unpack all of that.

* “I can’t kill an animal,” you finally admit.

* You’re waiting for her fury, but she just shrugs.

* “That’s alright, you know, I hate pretending to be a student, so I don’t do the school thing.”

* She continues on, “Kate hates going to the grocery store, Irina hates making small talk with the mail man, even Eleazer hates having to deal with their forgery, especially when it’s time to move

* “What about Tanya?”

* Carmen scoffs.

* “Tanya hates having to see Edward,” then realizing you might not know Edward she adds, “One of Carlisle’s coven.”

* You knew in the book Tanya felt scorned, but you didn’t think she hated him.

* “The point is, we all have things we don’t like to do.”

* Ah here it comes, the whole “but we do them for the better of the coven” spiel.

* “So we do them for each other.”

* Well this is unexpected.

* “Eleazer and I get supplies, Kate and Irina handle going to school and keeping our front, and Tanya handles the big picture stuff.”

* She puts her hand on top of your own, you hadn’t realized she had gotten so close, or that you were feeling calm enough to let her get close.

* “The point is, if there’s something you don’t want to do, it’s okay. You’re apart of our family now, and we help each other.”

* You nod.

* “Come, let’s go home.”

* When you get home, you see Tanya and Irina literally draining the blood out of a bear in the kitchen.

* “Ah you’re back! Look what we got you!”

* Tanya says it like she got you a new desk, not that she’s literally draining the blood out of an animal into a reusable starbucks cup.

* “Maybe we should do this for ourselves too, it’s much more convenient, and this way my blouses won’t get dirty” Irina comments, sealing another bottle and putting it in the fridge.

* “Tanya I’m sorry about before, I-“

* “There’s nothing to be sorry for little one,” she cradled your face in her blood stained hands. “I am sorry, I thought you seemed uncomfortable, but I thought it might be the thirst.”

* You nod slowly, they’re being so kind to you. You don’t know how to handle it tbh.

* “Tanya! We talked about this, you can’t call them little one, it’s condescending.” Irina hisses, and Tanya sucks her teeth.

* “Ah yes, sorry darling, you are just so young.” She pats your cheek, and then grins. “More importantly, you are so powerful!”

* Tanya’s beaming like a pageant mom who’s child just won first place.

* “You should have seen it Irina, she had me AND Carmen on the ground! It was incredible!”

* “I’ve never seen anything like it except with-“

* “Except with Jane,” you finish.

* The similarity had been noted by Aro, the type of power that only came once a century.

* Tanya’s expression darkens for a moment, Jane had been the one to carry out the order to kill her mother.

* Then it’s gone, her eyes fill with warmth once they settle onto you once more.

* “Eleazer, what is their power?”

* You hadn’t even realised he had come into the room

* “It’s an aura” he says it all matter of fact, like everyone in the room should know what that means. Upon noticing the confused looks he elaborates.

* “Basically whatever emotions they feel are felt by those around them, right now it seems to be a limited range of emotions.” He meets your gaze, he must mean the despair you feel.

* “But given time, it can extend to all emotions.”

* Well this is news to you, does that mean one day... you might be able to give happiness to others as well?

* You take a sip of the blood and have to hide your cringe.

* It’s disgusting, what the hell was that bear eating.

* “Delicious” you murmur, taking another disgusting sip.

* “Fantastic! This finally gives us an excuse to stock the fridge!”

* Irina opens the fridge to show several bottles full of blood.

* Great.

* The next few days pass in a haze, you “dream” every so often, drink the disgusting bear blood, and read.

* Oh and you also spend a lot of time with your new family. Getting together for a morning run is compulsory

* The only cringe worthy thing is drinking that gross blood.

* If you had to describe the taste, you would say it had a rich flavour at first, but it’s masked with a game-y aftertaste, it only gets worse over time, developing into a straight up skunky after taste.

* You sit on your bed, looking out your many windows/walls, to the frost covered estate.

* You wonder if humans taste that bad when you find them at random, it makes sense why the Volturi’s main racket were wellness retreats, three days of cleansing the blood with vitamin rich food.

* And then you’re struck with an idea.

* “Hey Carmen, you said I could ask if I need something right?”

* “Yes of course.”

* “I was wondering if I could have the far most corner of the estate?”

* She shrugs.

* “Sure.”

* You spend a few days making the fence, sanding down the wood.

* It’s actually pretty easy when you never get tired, or need a break, or when you’re not afraid you might get hurt.

* And, because Alaska is known for cruel weather, you make a barn with Kate’s help.

* “If I knew you were building something out here I would have asked Esme to draw something up for you.”

* “Nah, I wanted to do it myself.”

* Between the two of you, it’s pretty quick work, but it’s basically a rickety poorly built box.

* But it will do.

* It’s a good parcel of land, at least a quarter of an acre.

* Now comes the hard part.

* You’ve finally cornered a deer, probably the same deer from a few weeks ago.

* “Do you want to be friends?” you hold out an apple, and it watches you with a curious glance before running away.

* Well, it’s not a dog, it’s not going to follow you home because you just because you gave it food.

* You repeat the process with several other deer, but you don’t make much progress.

* You repeat the process for a few days, until you finally get the deer to eat the food you offer, and another several days until one will follow you back into the pen.

* You’re not really sure why it did, it’s trembling and afraid, but you guess it’s probably close to starving at this point.

* “Here,” you give it a healthy meal, before leading it to the barn you’ve sloppily built.

* You’re about to go inside, but noticing that it’s still trembling in fear, you decide to spend the night with it.

* “Dreaming” isn’t any different in your bed than it is in a creaky, poorly built barn.

* After that night, you and the deer are closer.

* “I think I’ll name you Henrietta, that’s a good name don’t you think.”

* You get a few more after that, but none of them like you as much as Henrietta.

* They’re mostly following you for food, well at least they won’t die as long as they’re with you.

* And so three days pass, you deer have healthy nutrient rich blood flowing through their veins.

* “Hey Eleazer?”

* He hums in acknowledgement, his hands are busy nailing in the nail on his birdhouse.

* “Do you think Carlisle might visit sometime?”

* Eleazer’s hands stop moving.

* “Do you want him to visit?”

* Well of course you do, he’s the only person you know with any kind of medical experience. He has to show you how to -hygienically- extract blood from your deer without killing them or contaminating the blood.

* “I think we were making a lot of progress with my powers before we stopped.”

* Eleazer nods.

* “I’ll give him a call soon.”

* Another few days pass, time seems to move differently now. You can’t tell how much time has passed, even the nights and days start to blur together, after all the nights are so much longer here in Alaska.

* And yet, it’s peaceful, you read books, and drink your disgusting bear blood. You watch Irina and Tanya play chess, and Kate sharpen her sword. Carmen likes to embroider when she can, and Eleazer enjoys wood work.

* It’s nice here

* You’re reading in your room when you hear them, Carlisle’ss soft gentle voice from down stairs.

* You haven’t seen him in so long, you convince yourself you’re rushing to greet him because you’ll always be grateful for what he did for you.

* But you know it’s actually because you miss him.

* He was the first person to show you true compassion.

* You get to the bottom of the stairs expecting to see Carlisle, and you do, but there’s someone else.

* He’s tall, at least he’s taller than you.

* His hair... it’s -what’s it called-, not quite red, not quite brown either.

* Auburn.

* Auburn hair as thick as a lions mane, hangs around his face, deep gold eyes, and a splatter of freckles across the bridge of his nose.

* This is actually the first boy vampire around your age you’ve seen. Alec was close, but he was younger than you by a handful of years.

* If your heart could beat, you’re sure it would be drumming.

* He’s beautiful. Chiseled cheekbones, and full lips.

* You’re suddenly starting to feel very conscious of the baggy sweatshirt and leggings you’re wearing

* His eyes meet yours, and they stay there, narrowing into a glare.

* Well that’s rude.

* Carlisle doesn’t seem to notice, pulling you into a hug.

* “You look well,” he says, his eyes are so warm as they gaze down at you that you can’t help but smile. “How are you handling the transition?”

* You know he really means to ask if you’re happy now, if you’re free.

* You nod, this is more than you could have ever hoped for.

* His smile widens.

* “I’m glad to hear that,” then noticing he hasn’t introduced you yet, he looks over his shoulder.

* “(Y/N), this is the son I told you about, Edward.”

* This is Edward?

* You turn to look at him again, this amber eyes narrowed.

* It’s not a glare, it’s concentration.

* He can’t read your mind.

* “Edward, this is (Y/N), my friend from Volterra.”

* Carlisle says it in such an easy way, like he didn’t meet you in the brink of despair, when you were pleading him to kill you.

* You gulp as Edward lifts his hand, and you gingerly take in yours.

* “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

#twilight reader insert #twilight headcanon #twilight imagine #twilight saga #twilight #alec volturi #Alec Volturi imagine #Edward Cullen imagine #Edward Cullen x reader #edward cullen #Carlisle Cullen #Denali coven

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therealvinelle · 3 years

Note

What if the entire human cast were turned into vampires? (those who stay human throughout the saga)

Well, the first question we must ask ourselves, is who’s turning them? Who would do such a thing?

It’s a very stupid thing to do, after all, and a surefire way to earn yourself a visit from the Volturi.

Now, who in the post-Breaking Dawn world would want to turn all the humans near the Cullens into vampires, ensuring another confrontation between the Cullens and the Volturi?

Answer is, drumroll-

The Romanians.

As of Breaking Dawn, the Volturi are extremely vulnerable. Jane, Alec, even Chelsea have all been neutered. Renata is Schrödinger’s shield. She might work, might not. The more time they’re given to regroup after this, however, the worse news for their would-be usurpers.

Now is the time for a rebellion, but there’s no rebellion without Bella. Bella, unfortunately, is in a coven led by ultimate pacifist Carlisle, and Carlisle isn’t going to greenlight storming Volterra with an army. It’s time to get creative.

This could go many places, but the path of a biting spree in Forks and La Push is certainly one of them.

So, Vladimir and Stefan bite the entire human cast, and open Pandora’s box.

One of the first things to happen, I think, is that Billy, Quil senior, Emily, Kim, and Rachel are killed, maybe even before their transformations can complete. They would not want to live as vampires, to them vampirism is a fate worse than death. A mercy killing before they can hurt anybody would be the only way out.

As for the rest...

This would break the secret.

In this globalized age of internet, viral videos, and live TV, several hundred people all falling mysteriously ill with the same inexplicable symptoms, screaming and begging for death for days, slowly turning into something else as baffled doctors watch, before becoming massacring demons that tear the hospitals they’re in to pieces within minutes and proceed into the streets, killing everything in sight-

Aro hasn’t had a headache like this since ever.

This doesn’t even have to do with the Cullens anymore, though they’ll have to testify that they had nothing to do with this. Caius will be out for blood, though, any blood, and his ire will fall upon them.

This, of course, is the part the Romanians did it all for, because everyone knows that the Volturi are corrupt and would execute them regardless of guilt, so the Cullens will have to bring a new set of witnesses to this confrontation. And this time, of course, the Volturi are showing up to get massacred. Stefan and Vladimir high five each other.

And this time the odds are entirely in their favor.

In Breaking Dawn, standing by the Cullens was a suicide mission. No one knew Bella would be able to pull off what she did, none of the arrivals even knew she even had a gift when they agreed to come. Carlisle gathered only his bravest and most devoted friends.

In this scenario, now that everyone knows Bella’s gift neuters the Volturi, every single vampire who’s ever wanted the Volturi gone are going to want to be there. From random nomads to Maria with her newborns, everyone who’s anybody is going to want to be there, and they’re likely already squabbling over who gets to be top dog as soon as Aro’s a pile ashes.

And Aro can’t avoid this.

He can’t barricade himself in Volterra because there are hundreds of newborns loose in Washington. If he does nothing this will mean that the Volturi rule is officially void. They can’t enforce their law anymore, they may be alive down there in Italy but the era of the Volturi is over in all the ways that count.

If he goes to Washington, he can’t avoid the Cullens for the same reason as above. If he doesn’t collect their testimony to ascertain their innocence it’ll mean they’re now above the law, which in turn means that the Volturi don’t have the strength to punish them.

He has to go to Washington, and he has to deal with the Cullens.

Now, Carlisle may think the best of everyone, but even he would know the plot of the movie 300 when he sees it. The Romanians showed up at his doorstep, they totally didn’t create all those vampires wink, oh and here are eighty thug vampires who are already drawing straws on who gets to kill which Volturi.

More, what happened in Forks and La Push is only a taste of what’s to come.

Not only are the Volturi needed to help stop this madness, but if they should fall then what happened in Forks and La Push will only be a blip on the radar against the chaos that will be unleashed. It’ll be a genocide of the human species.

And Carlisle will have a culpability in that. The reason why this mass vampire creation tragedy is happened in the first place is precisely to see the Cullens go to war against the Volturi.

Last problem, it would be a massacre of the Volturi. Carlisle is a pacifist who cherishes life, even if it there would be no repercussions to the Volturi falling, forty-something vampires would still be killed.

I think at this point it would be unconscionable for Carlisle to allow this confrontation to happen. Question is, how to prevent it?

I have no doubt that the Romanians would be filling Bella’s head with conspiracy theories and what have you, for starters, explaining how her family will never be safe while Aro lives. It would be effective, even if Bella is told by Carlisle what this means for humans she’s not necessarily going to internalize just how bad that would be. Bella also has the problem that she romanticizes her love for Edward, to the point where she i Eclipse would let his family die if it meant she could keep him. Letting civilization fall to protect her lover would be acceptable to Bella.

More, the Cullens like humans well enough, but they’re not altruistic.

Likely, they would be convinced by the Romanians and the other vampires there that this was a fight for liberty, the human population would be fine, this is really no worse than Heidi fishing 40 people a week, we’re just more honest about it! The Cullens would want to be convinced, because the Volturi are scary and have proven evil in the past. If they’re not overthrowing them, they’re not just agreeing to live in danger, they’re agreeing to be slaughtered. It’s been established, to them, that Aro’s just itching for an excuse to kill them.

Carlisle can make his plea that they fuck off to Isle Esme while he alone stays behind to testify to Aro, so there’s no Bella at the confrontation. They’d refuse both because there’d be nothing stopping Aro from killing their allies and then coming after them when they’re alone, and because there’d be a real chance they were leaving Carlisle to his death.

Besides, with Bella’s gift they can hold the Volturi hostage, act nice or she’ll let these 80 vampires kill them. Nevermind that the vampires would just attack the Volturi anyway, and Bella couldn’t not shield them.

Bella and the rest of the Cullens aren’t going to go along with Carlisle.

Now, if Carlisle were Aro, the hard but effective solution here would be the Didyme route. Kill Bella, one life to spare the many.

Carlisle is not Aro.

What options does he have, then?

He could sneak away to intercept the Volturi, speak with Aro, hope to in some way initiate talks. It’d be a desperate, futile gamble, one where even if he gets Aro to listen it still won’t make their army-shaped problem go away, because Bella will never believe it if Aro says “we’re friends now! No quarrel! I’m definitely not going to kill you at first leisure if you let your army go.”

It’s an empty lead.

I think, given everything, Carlisle would swallow down the bitter taste of irony, call up his old friends whom he can still rely on, such as the Irish and the Amazonians, and ask very nicely if they would - sigh - like to witness that the newest Cullen-Volturi encounter goes over peacefully. The shapeshifters should be on board as well, after what happened to their loved ones and the countless other innocent humans killed or turned, they’ll never forgive the Romanians and not Bella for standing with them either.

So Aro shows up, and there’s Bella and the Romanians with an army of thugs, and there to the side is Carlisle with his tiny squad of witnesses. Who, should a fight break out, will try to defend the Volturi and get themselves killed in the crosshairs.

There’s a long silence.

Everyone is giving Carlisle their most exasperated eyerolls, his own squad included. Carlisle wishes he was rolling his eyes too, but the situation is a bit too serious for that. He just stands there feeling very uncomfortable.

Quite damningly for Bella, if she now allows the fight to happen that means the shapeshifters will be killed. None of the Cullens are particularly keen on the fight now that Carlisle’s likely to die.

Frankly, I think this would be an unbearably awkward encounter where absolutely nobody acknowledges aloud the reason why they’re there, or what was supposed to happen, and act as if it’s a normal trial, for the several first few minutes.

The Romanians know this is it, this is their chance, so right about the time where Aro is saying “How excellent that we’ve established the Cullens didn’t do it! Who, then, could the culprits possibly be?” they launch their attack.

All, at this point, depends on Bella’s reaction. If she keeps up her shield, then a glorious battle occurs, and most if not all Volturi die, the Carlisle squad are also goners, and most if not all of the Romanians’ army die as well.

The thing is, to win the Romanians don’t have to win - they just have to make the Volturi lose. So, even if they’re wiped out, if they can take out the key members of the Volturi then the Volturi will still have lost.

And this is where Aro’s planning enters into the equation.

Would he bring his key players to what was certain to be a slaughter? Would he even come himself?

Is it not perhaps wiser to send the twins, who in a fight without their gifts would be the first and easiest to be killed, to a secret location? Hope that, should the Volturi fall, then they can at least hope to take Bella down with them so that Jane and Alec will be able to keep the world from succumbing to a fiery hellpit?

And Jane and Alec couldn’t do this alone. They’re kids, for one thing. More, there are no men like Aro. His gift and personality both have been how he kept the vampire world under control for over a thousand years. It is a romantic notion to go down with your ship, burn with your empire, but it’s an impractical one. And Aro is nothing if not practical.

If he doesn’t show up to the trial it’ll just be sending his Volturi to be slaughtered, and as I explained above, not going at all isn’t an option either.

I think the twins would be safely whisked away to some faraway place, while Aro arrives with plans for an effective escape for himself and the core members, and as many vampires Chelsea was able to get to redshirt themselves.

This, in turn, means that even if Bella doesn’t use her gift, it’ll still be a slaughter. Alec and Jane aren’t there.

In the scenario where Bella doesn’t use her gift, this forces the Cullens to fight alongside the Carlisle squad and the Volturi. The odds are not so uneven as they originally were. Could be Aro still escapes, or given the tipped balances he could try and luck it out, to increase the odds of his side winning.

There are many outcomes this battle could have, but the Volturi would not escape unscathed from this. No coven would, the fighting would only end when there was only the victor remaining.

I, personally, like the outcome where Carlisle and Aro both survive, and find themselves living with a new world order. The secret is out, the Volturi are a shadow of what they once were, and the Cullens can never live as humans again. The two form a tentative alliance (because at no point has anything been cleared up between them) to keep this new world from descending into interspecies war.

Edward, now a Volturi, wonders where it all went wrong.

(There’s also the outcome where Renesmée joins her grandpa’s squad as a teen rebellion thing, and since no one wants to harm her the fight is cancelled.

Aro repeats his ramble about nukes and missiles, the vampire community needs him to smooth things over and have Chelsea make all world leaders adore vampires or it’s over for all of them. Carlisle supplies in that poorly scripted random member of the audience says exactly what the magician needs him to way, “Yes absolutely the humans have weapons that can take us out!”

It’s awkward for everybody.)

#Anonymous #ask #long post #this was an oddly difficult one #too many variables #and it's never easy to predict the actions of people more intelligent than me #not in a scenario like this one where they'll be at their most strategic #aro #carlisle cullen #edward cullen #bella swan #twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight meta

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barbecuebabybackribs · 4 years

Photo

Being Bella’s little brother and Seth Clearwaters Imprint:

When the two of you met he had no idea Bella had a little brother, let alone that you were his imprint

But when he catches your eye for just a split second- he nearly chokes on the sandwich he had been eating

Suddenly nothing else around him matters, his whole world shifts and he want’s to stay in that moment forever, holding your gaze.

You had only been there to drop something off, Jacob had apparently left something at Bella’s- probably purposefully hoping Bella would come over to drop it off but boy, was he glad you came instead.

The whole packs eyes shift in between the two of you

“Well, he’s not what I was expecting.” Quill snickers, bumping Seth’s shoulder snapping him back to reality.

“Is Jacob around?” You asked, feeling a little uneasy at everyone staring at you, “Bella asked me to drop this off...” You trailed off shifting uncomfortably.

“He’s out on a run- but you can wait here.” Sam said, a smirk on his face as he listened to Seth’s racing thoughts

“Oh, that’s okay, I’ll just drop it off with you if that’s alright.”

Seth’s shoulder’s dropped hoping you’d accept Sam’s offer and he’d be able to actually talk to you

You put Jacob’s wallet down on the table, hoping to get out of there as quickly as humanly possible because at this point the stares were deeply disturbing you

Paul threw his shoe at Seth, yelling at him in there heads to say something.

“Uh! Hi!?” He said a little to loud and obviously panicked

You just smiled at him, a little awkwardly but it was enough to get Seth hyped up

“I’m Seth Clearwater, Did you just move here?”

Ah, maybe that’s why they’ve been looking at you so strange, you think to yourself, A random stranger walks into your house and drops off there friends wallet. You assumed Bella had mentioned you coming over, apparently you assumed wrong.

“No, well kind of, I moved in a week after Bella got here.”

“How do you know Bella?”

Oh so they don’t know about you at all, you laugh slightly, oh course she didn’t, she was such a nice sister but damn, not even mentioning her own brother.

“She’s my sister...”

Suddenly everyone else was the one’s falling silent and Seth was chatting away about how you should come to there bonfire they were having tonight- they technically weren’t going to be having one but he was gonna be damned if he let you just walk away

You reluctantly agreed and then took your leave

You thought he was nice but were still unsettled by the awkward encounter

Seth however was over the moon, rambling about how nice you seemed and how they needed to throw the best bonfire, when Jacob came back he was attacked with hundreds of questions about you- Most of which he hardly knew the answer to like, what’s there favorite color, do they like muffins, what’s their favorite food, ect.

All the other pack members slightly dread having to listen to this forever.

Boy is excited but nervous when he waits for you

You take one step out of your car and he’s standing there practically jumping with joy

He can’t calm down, he’s just so excited to spend time with you

The pack have to warn him not to scare you off multiple times

Once you get over how excited he is you realized he’s actually pretty fun to be around, you spend all night talking about your lives and interests

Before you leave you both agree you should hang out again soon- you actually suggest it and Seth can’t agree fast enough

When you leave Seth is so giddy- the entire pack is happy for him but they all start to poke fun at him

He doesn’t care, he’s over the moon happy

Since that day he’s almost constantly around you

You two become quick friends, You finally feel like you’ve connected with someone since you moved to Forks

You adore how happy and innocent he can be, loving his long ramblings about random things and interests he has

He loves how you actually listen to him, not brushing him off or just thinking he’s some silly kid

He invites you too the beach almost constantly- completely forgetting your human and you get cold

One time you ruffled his hair and he’s been obsessed with it ever since

Neither of you meant to fall in love

For you, you realized almost immediately you were starting to get a small crush on him, which only grew the longer you knew each other

He however was clueless for a long while, the pack started to suspect by his thoughts that you weren’t a platonic imprint

All Seth knows is one day it finally clicked in his head one day when you were grabbing fast food for eachother- you remembered his rather large order since this was a regular occurrence for the two of you- he was sitting at a table and suddenly it hit him

He was in love with you

Our man panics at the thought- he knew you cared about him but how much? He was clueless.

He hasn’t even told you that he’s a shifter- and you don’t know about vampires so he has no idea how you’ll react

You notice he’s slightly quieter then usual and you put your hand on his shoulder asking if everything is alright- He nearly jumps out of his skin

He assures you everything is fine while reading into almost everything you do or say, wondering if it’s a sign your just friends or that you like him

When he goes back to the pack that night he tries to clear his thoughts but they’re just full of you.

Paul ATTEMPTS at giving him advice

“Look, man, I don’t know what its like to... ya know be in love with a dude... but I am a dude and I’ve been in lots of relationships so If I were you I’d just come right out to her- I mean him- look just tell him you like him, I’m sure they feel the same way about you... I mean I think... probably.”

“Paul, your horrible at this.”

“Well then, you try since your so good at this, Quill.”

Seth thanks them quickly and leaves, he’s thankful that Paul gave him advice but just telling you almost gave him a heart attack to think about.

That night he writes almost a three paragraph text to you, but ends up deleting it- to nervous to tell you

Leah is sitting in the other room trying not to snoop on his thoughts but unable to keep them out

Ends up giving him some advice, that if he loves you to not let you go, to not rush things, and when he feels like he’s ready to ask you out.

He thanks her before heading off to bed

Turns out he feels ready in three days

The entire pack is internally hyping him up when you pick him up- He invited you to the beach, wanting to have you undivided attention.

Ends up rambling for an hour as he talks around his feelings.

Internally at war on whether or not he’s ready to tell you

“Do you want to go on a date?” He blurts out after a moment of silence

...

“Like... a date date?” You ask hopeful but not wanting to misunderstand

“Yeah... you don’t have to if you don’t want- I just thought it might be nice cause I really like yo-- you know what just forget I said anything it not importan--”

“I’d love to go on a date with you.” You answered, attempting to hide the severe blush rising to your cheeks.

Seth does not stop smiling the rest of your hang out- when he get’s home the pack doesn’t even need to hear his thoughts to know.

“Alright way to go Seth!”

You go home that day also unable to wipe your smile off your face

“what’s got you so happy about?” Bella asks, she secretly already know, Edward told her the minute you walked in the door.

She knew you two had become friends but she had no idea you were gay

“Nothing!” You chimed happily grabbing a soda from the fridge

“Okay.. Hey Y/N can I ask you something and you promise to tell the truth.”

“Sure, Bells, what’s up?”

“Are you... gay?

You both just look at each other for a few minutes before you finally answer “Maybe a bit.”

“Oh.. cool.” She says before going back upstairs, reeling from the new information.

Your left confused on what just happened and how she knew, but deciding it would be best to just accept it and move on

The next time you were in the same room it was very awkward

She didn’t exactly care, but she was raised where it was out of the norm

You thought she did care, and you couldn’t look her in the eye

Once Edward told her that how you felt, she decided it was time to talk

“You know, I don’t hate you... right?”

“... You don’t?”

“Uh no, I was just shocked... I’m glad you told me.”

“Well you did force my hand.”

“Yeah, sorry that was wrong of me.”

“It’s alright.”

Things were still awkward but that was your normal- living in a house with Charlie and Bella meant there were a lot of uncomfortable moments

Although you were glad she knew

On the day of your date both of your guys nerves were high

Everything felt very awkward

You went to see a movie, an action film he really wanted to see, you didn’t like it but were glad he enjoyed himself.

Seth didn’t really know what to do on a date, all he had to go off was Paul and romance movies- neither of those were the best things to base your knowledge off

When he saw you shiver slightly and pull your jacket closer he thought he had the perfect idea in his idea

He did the classic yawn and arm move, and you almost jumped out of your skin when you felt his hot arm lay across your shoulders

Unknowingly he timed his smooth moves with a suspenseful scene in the movie- and you were already on edge so him wrapping his arm around you scared the hell out of you

You felt guilty when he quickly recoiled and whispered a sorry

After a few moments of silence you decided you’d pull the same move on him

He was internally screaming at himself for being so stupid when you slithered your arm around him

You stared straight forward to nervous to meet his eye, however you could see in the corner of your eye he was looking at you

After a few seconds he relaxed into your touch, leaning slightly into you

He couldn’t focus on the movie after that, he was far to excited and if it weren’t for the fact that he was in a theater he would have been nervously rambling

You both went home, punching the air you were both so excited

He went to bed thinking about how good it felt to be in your arms

You went to bed gushing at how cute his face was when you left, his face was a red mess

After that day you guys talked everyday and saw each other every other day

On your third date, he works up the courage to kiss you, sweating nervously while he did it

Is so giddy when you press another kiss to his lips

You would’ve liked to continue but he was so excited he nearly pounces on you with a hug

It becomes a common occurrence to steal a kiss or two here and there

You dad was suspicious you were seeing a girl and not telling him

He tried to give you ‘the talk’ because he ‘was a teenage boy to and know’s what its like’

You were uncomfortably sitting on the sofa, wishing to be anywhere else

“Uhm dad... I should probably tell you something.”

“Oh god... is she pregnant?’

“NO! no no no, it’s not that... actually you won’t really need to worry about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a... seeing someone who’s not.. a girl...”

“So like a...”

“I’m seeing Seth Clearwater.” You decide it’s better to just rip off the band-aid

“Ah... well that’s good then... he’s a good kid.”

An uncomfortable silence falls and you both sip nervously at your drinks,

“You know you still need to use protection right...”

“Oh my god... yes dad I know.”

“I’m just making sure!”

Things are a little uncomfortable for awhile but Charlie really doesn’t give a damn- he’s still not happy you were seeing someone behind his back, but he let’s it slide

Next time Seth comes over Charlie makes you leave the door cracked

Not that you minded, you just played games and talked- laughing together whenever you’d see Charlie checking on the two of you

The time to tell you about him being shifter finally come and he is terrified but excited to not need to hide it from you any more

“Hey Seth, Why are we going into the middle of the woods?”

“You’ll see!”

He leads you away from the others, before nervously stopping and turning to you

“Uhm so I don’t know how to say this so I’m just going to show you... uh don’t panic please.”

The words ‘don’t panic’ made you panic, “Oh god please tell me your not a serial killer.”

“No, not a serial killer.”

“A... Cannibal?”

“Uh, also no. You’ll see.”

When he takes his shirt off you get extremely uncomfortable- When he takes his pants off you look anywhere but to him, “Uh... I should... I should go.”

Your about to turn around when in the flash of an eye the man that was standing before turns into a ginormous wolf

You just stare at him for a few minutes, not saying a damn word

You question literally everything you’ve ever known

“Okay.” You sigh, Finally looking him in the eye, “I don’t really know what to say at that but thanks, for not being a cannibal- your not going to eat me right now are you?”

He shakes his head, laughing internally at how that’s your concern right now.

“Okay then...” You trailed off, taking a few cautious steps forward- I mean.. it’s not exactly normal but it could’ve been worse, you thought to yourself.

“Can I... uhm..” You don’t finish your sentence, wearily raising your hand to touch him.

He nuzzled into your hand, you gently stroked his fur behind his ear- it was weird but you were trying your best to accept it, you did love him... all of him and if this is something you’d have to get used to, you were willing to do that.

“Okay,” you say patting his head, “Can you, ya know, unwolf-i-fy please, so I can talk to you.”

He takes a few steps away from you before you shifting, you quickly look away while he get’s changed

“So, what do you think?” Seth asks a little nervous but happy that you didn’t immediately run away

“My boyfriend is a werewolf... I mean that’s cool but, could’ve used a heads up.”

He explains the whole pack history, who is and isn’t werewolves, finally explains what happened to Emily- answering a question you hadn’t dared to ask, when he explains imprints to you, you get lowkey jealous.

“So... who’s your imprint then?”

“...”

“Seth.”

He laughed and motions towards you, it takes a second for it to click.

“... What’s that supposed to-- OH ME?”

“Yep!”

When he walks you back to the pack, Quill groans slightly- he had bet 20 dollars you would’ve ran for the hills

You just squint at the lot of them, not really knowing what to say but deciding you had to say something, “So all of you then?”

“Yes, we’re all shifters.” Sam says, cautious not to say to much.

“Well that’s... cool.”

Seth pulls you away and you decide it’s time to go

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” You asked, and he quickly replied with a “Yep!”

After you take a day to think and process, things basically go back to normal

You get so excited to see him shift that he get’s excited, which get’s you excited, and it just continues to loop

He can show you his strength and agility now so he decides to start sneaking in you window- with your permission

You’ll start hearing little taps on your window almost every night

You’ll look over and see his dopey smile.through the window

Him coming clean to you about his supernatural side means he finally feels comfortable to sleep with you- not the way your thinking

Quite literally cuddled up to you and sound asleep, arms and legs tangled together

Forks is a cold, cold place so you obviously need to sleep cuddled up to your warm boyfriend.

“So you could say your hot in both senses of the word.”

“I-”

He BLUSHES when you flirt with him, he get’s so flustered

When he flirts with you it’s all cheesy pickup lines- if they came from anyone else you’d gag but it’s cute from him

“Are you french?”

“No-”

“Because Eiffel for you.”

He’s a dork but you love him.

It takes a long while for you to get physically intimate

He’ll only be comfortable doing a few smaller things at first, not wanting to go all the way

You kind of expected it, he get’s embarrassed when you kiss him, so sex? Boy would probably die that instant

At the end of the day, he’s so happy he found you and so in love with you it almost overwhelms him

He makes sure to remind you how much he loves you everyday for the rest of your lives together

(SO I THOUGHT I POSTED THIS YESTERDAY MORNING BUT I CLICKED SAVE TO DRAFT AND IM REALLY DUMB. Also this is a request but I lost there request so I’m really sorry and hope you can see this bud. Love y’all, stay safe)

#Seth Clearwater #Seth Clearwater x reader #Seth Clearwater x male reader #male reader imagine #Seth Clearwater imagine #Wolf pack #Twilight wold pack #Seth twilight #twilight x male reader #Twilight imagine #Twilight x reader #Dating seth clearwater would include

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juju-on-that-yeet · 3 years

Text

Overdue

Whumptober Day 30: Now Where Did That Come From? Prompt: Ignoring an Injury/Internal Organ Injury

Dr. Iplier has waited months to go out on a date with Host again, he’s not about to get sidelined by an injury from earlier in the day - even when that injury won’t go away.

Warnings: Blood, vomiting

Read on AO3 (Full Whumptober Series)

Enjoy!

It’s date night.

And Dr. Iplier’s stomach hurts.

Earlier that day, he’d been seeing an unruly patient. A man off his head on PCP, with a gash on his arm from some escapade he’d gotten into. It was nothing Dr. Iplier hadn’t seen before, and he hadn’t batted an eye as he paged Plus and waited for his help. The man was already restrained, but extra backup couldn’t hurt. And it was a good thing he’d done that, because the man managed to brute force his way out of the restraints shortly after. Dr. Iplier had tried to calm him, tried to give him a shot to sedate him, but the man had screamed and shoved the stretcher he’d just been lying on into Dr. Iplier with enough force to knock him down. The end of it had gone dead-on into Dr. Iplier’s gut and left him winded as Plus finally arrived and subdued the man. Once the man was sedated, Plus had offered to check on Dr. Iplier, but Dr. Iplier had waved him off. He was sore, sure, but he didn’t see any reason to be concerned. The stretcher was over a hundred pounds, of course his stomach was still sore. It would go away, he just had to walk it off.

But the soreness hadn’t gone away. It’s now a couple hours later, and Dr. Iplier can feel how swollen his gut has become, how much it hurts to touch, and the pain that spikes up his chest when he bends or twists. He should call Plus back and have him look things over.

But it’s date night.

Dr. Iplier and Host already see each other fairly often and spend a lot of time together, but their date nights are special. The pair will dress up and go out, away from the other egos and to fun places around LA. They’ll see a show or a movie, or go out to dinner, as they plan to tonight. They’ve been postponing date nights for ages since the pandemic started, so they’ve both been looking forward to tonight.

Like hell Dr. Iplier is going to let his injury ruin his first date with Host in months. It doesn’t matter if his wound protests when Dr. Iplier pulls on his dress pants and shoes, it doesn’t matter if he catches a glimpse of his stomach’s bruising as he buttons up his white dress shirt, it doesn’t matter if he has to pause while pulling on his navy sweater to keep down the pain in his gut. He ignores it all, adjusts his collar in the mirror, and brushes his hair. He even sprays on a little cologne that smells like a campfire, which he knows is Host’s favorite.

He leaves his room and heads to the library, passing a couple egos on the way. They do double-takes, not used to seeing Dr. Iplier dressed so nicely. He can’t help but grin to himself. His stomach aches worse if he tries to walk too fast, but he won’t let it ruin his mood. Once he reaches the library, he enters and goes to the very back of the room, where Host’s room is tucked into a corner, rather like how Dr. Iplier’s room is attached to his clinic. Dr. Iplier knocks on the Host’s door.

“Ready yet?” he asks.

“Just about,” Host replies from inside, “Come in, make sure I’m decent.”

Dr. Iplier laughs and enters.

Host looks great, of course; he always does to Dr. Iplier. But he’s outdone himself now, wearing a fitted black turtleneck and black-and-brown pinstripe pants under a knee-length caramel-colored coat he’s currently putting on, one a good bit nicer than his usual bloodstained trench coat. Also changed are his eye bandages, traded out for a pair of dark sunglasses. Underneath, Dr. Iplier knows, Host has squares of gauze taped over both eyes. They’ve learned that, so long as Host keeps his narration to a minimum, this should be enough to keep blood from dripping down his face for a few hours. If not, though, Dr. Iplier knows that Host has more gauze and tape in one of his coat pockets. His hair is slicked back like usual, but Host has clearly taken extra care to tame any flyaways and make sure his gold streak is clearly visible.

“Well?” Host says, “Anything off?”

“The knots on your shoes are pretty heinous,” Dr. Iplier chuckles. After years of being blind, neatly tying his shoes is the one thing Host has yet to master. “Want me to redo them?”

“Sure,” Host replies, “Can you grab my cane for me when you’re done?”

“So much work,” Dr. Iplier huffs jokingly, managing not to wince as he bends down to retie Host’s shoes. He suppresses another wince when he stands back up a few moments later. By then, Host’s shoes are tied into neat little bows. Luckily, grabbing Host’s white folding cane and handing it to him doesn’t aggravate his sore abdomen. Since Host can’t rely on his narration in public, his cane helps him navigate instead. As Host takes his cane, Dr. Iplier catches a familiar scent.

“You’re wearing your minty cologne, aren’t you?” Dr. Iplier asks, grinning. Mint’s his favorite scent, and Host definitely knows.

“Of course,” Host replies, grinning right back. “And you’re wearing your campfire one.”

“Well, it’s our first date in ages,” Dr. Iplier says, “I wanted to go all out.”

Host can’t resist sparing a few lines of narration to find out what Dr. Iplier looks like, and nearly chokes once he has a clear image. Dr. Iplier manages not to burst out laughing, though a few snickers do escape.

“So rude,” Host huffs, though he’s grinning again, “You can’t dress so nicely and make fun of me for liking it. I could’ve made fun of you for going speechless a minute ago, but I didn’t.”

“You sort of just did, though,” Dr. Iplier points out.

“Keep being a smartass and we might have to end this night early,” Host scolds, but there’s a note in his voice that suggests that that wouldn’t be much of a punishment.

The pair leave Ego Inc. arm in arm. The walk to the restaurant is uneventful, and the couple make it to the nice sushi restaurant they’ve reserved a table at easily. Dr. Iplier fights yet another wince as he sits down, but since Host isn’t narrating, he isn’t able to notice, which Dr. Iplier prefers. Sitting turns out to be pretty uncomfortable, and no matter how much he squirms, Dr. Iplier can’t figure out a way to sit that doesn’t cause pain. Host may be blind, but he’s not deaf, and that’s how he ends up noticing just after the waitress takes their orders.

“Are you alright?” Host asks, “You’re moving a lot, I can hear it.”

“Ugh, I’m fine,” Dr. Iplier sighs, “I just had a crazy encounter with a patient earlier.”

“Oh? What happened?”

“He was on drugs and broke out of his restraints. When I tried to sedate him he pushed his stretcher right into my gut.”

Host straightens to hear that, his expression goes dark.

“Did he now?” Host asks, angry and foreboding.

“Hey, no need for that,” Dr. Iplier tells him sternly, “Right after he did that Plus came in and helped me get the guy under control, nothing else happened. The guy’s already left the clinic, no sense trying to find him and get revenge now.”

“Fine,” Host grumbles, clearly disappointed, “But you’re still hurting? How long ago was that?”

“A few hours, but I’m not surprised it still hurts,” Dr. Iplier sighs, “Those stretchers are heavier than they look. I’m fine, I swear. I’m not gonna let it ruin my night, and you shouldn’t let it ruin yours, either.”

“If you insist,” Host says, managing a smile. “I will say, love, the weirdest things seem to happen in your clinic.”

“You’re telling me,” Dr. Iplier groans, “Did I ever tell you what happened last week, with the…”

Dr. Iplier shares strange tales from the clinic and Host tells him about bizarre stories he’s read as they wait for their food, and even as they’re eating. They laugh so much they both almost choke on their sushi, which only makes them laugh even harder. But despite how much fun he’s having, Dr. Iplier’s pain is becoming harder to ignore. What was once an ache that got sharper with certain movements is now a throbbing pulse getting sharper by the minute even when he’s still. Dr. Iplier tries to press down on it, but that only makes it hurt worse. He finds himself no longer eating, despite how good the sushi is and how his plate is only half-empty. Host’s words start to fade into the background noise of the restaurant’s other diners as Dr. Iplier tries not to let his agony show. But Host is sharp even without narration, and notices Dr. Iplier’s sudden silence.

“Edward?” he asks, “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” Dr. Iplier manages, through clenched teeth. “I just need the bathroom, I’ll be back in a minute.”

He gets out of his chair, and almost gasps at the pain that rushes up his chest when he stands. His walk to the bathroom is long and plodding as he tries not to aggravate his abdomen even more. Once he makes it into a stall, he pulls up his sweater and dress shirt to see his stomach, and swears to himself at the sight.

His abdomen is covered in awful purple and red bruises, deep and ugly and spanning where the stretcher hit and then some. It’s swollen too, hot and painful to touch. When Dr. Iplier tries to tuck his sweater and shirt back into his waistband, the agony is so terrible and blinding that it makes him gag. He only has a moment to turn toward the toilet beside him before he retches. When he opens his watery eyes, he expects to see the remains of his half-finished meal. Instead, dark red blood is floating in the toilet bowl.

“Oh, no,” Dr. Iplier gasps.

He’s a doctor, he knows what this means. The stretcher must’ve hurt him worse than he thought, caused a tear somewhere, and now blood is filling his gut. No, it’s been filling his gut for hours now. Not quickly, obviously, or he'd be dead already. But clearly steadily, continuously, because the blood he’s just vomited doesn’t look hours old. It looks fairly fresh.

Meaning Dr. Iplier is still actively bleeding, and needs medical attention now.

He’s cursing himself as he flushes the toilet and leaves the stall. He catches sight of himself in the bathroom mirror, takes in how pale and sweaty he looks. He wants to rinse his mouth out, but he doesn’t want to bend and make himself puke again. He settles for wiping his lips with a paper towel before beginning the walk back to his and Host’s table.

Now that he knows how bad off he is, everything feels ten times worse. The pain is deeper, the vomiting only made it worse. He walks even slower than before, but even the slightest movement makes the pain increase. One hand instinctively goes to hold his stomach, and he can feel the heat and swelling through his clothes. He starts panting, the pain making his walk exhausting. Host hears Dr. Iplier coming before he’s even reached the table, and stands to greet him, concern written all over his face.

“Edward, what’s going on?” he asks. “You look sick, are you alright?”

Dr. Iplier must not have done a good job of assuaging Host’s worry if he’s used his narration to see Dr. Iplier’s appearance. Dr. Iplier imagines he looks terrible, with his pale, sweaty face and his shirt and sweater still untucked.

“Isaac, I’m sorry, but we have to go home,” Dr. Iplier gasps.

“Of course, love,” Host says, stepping towards Dr. Iplier, “Sit down a minute first, get your breath back before we go.”

Dr. Iplier opens his mouth to tell Host that sitting down won’t help, and that they should just go before things get worse.

Instead, he throws up blood onto the restaurant floor, so violently that agony steals his strength and whites out his vision, and collapses.

He only half-hears Host’s shout of alarm and the cries of other restaurant patrons who saw him fall. He only half-feels Host catch him at the last second and hold him. His eyelids flutter to see Host’s face staring into his own, twisted in fear. He must’ve narrated to catch Dr. Iplier, because a trickle of blood slowly sneaks out from under his sunglasses down his cheek. Host says something, but Dr. Iplier can’t tell what. People start running over to help, but Dr. Iplier can’t tell how many. Everything is fuzzy, blurry, hard to keep track of. The only thing that’s clear is the unceasing agony of his abdomen. He feels like his stomach is going to explode, or like he’s going to puke again.

But, perhaps fortunately, all that happens is that he passes out.

~~~

When Dr. Iplier wakes up, he realizes immediately that he’s not in his clinic. The bed doesn’t feel like his clinic beds do, the light that he can sense through his closed eyes isn’t the same. Sure enough, when he does crack his eyes open, he’s in an unfamiliar hospital room, with IVs in his arm and thick bandages and stitches across his stomach. He doesn’t feel terribly sore – yet – but he’s still unhappy remembering what happened at the restaurant. He could kick himself for getting himself into this situation, for making such a scene and possibly exposing the egos to humans. When a nurse checks him over and approves him for visitors, Dr. Iplier braces himself for Dark coming in and scolding him harshly.

But no, it’s not Dark, but Host who walks in. He’s gone back to wearing his bandages, and while he’s not wearing his usual bloody trench coat, he’s no longer wearing the fancy one he had for his and Dr. Iplier’s date. It’s obvious he’s exhausted from worrying over Dr. Iplier, and Dr. Iplier can’t help but feel bad about it. Their date was supposed to be the most fun either of them had had for months, but instead it ended up here.

“I guess I have some explaining to do?” Dr. Iplier starts, sheepish.

“You told me you were fine, Edward,” Host says, voice tinged with sharpness, though the first thing he does upon approaching Dr. Iplier’s bed is grab his hand. “And I believed you, because why would you pretend you were okay when you weren’t? Especially when you scold me and everyone else for doing the same thing?”

“I know,” Dr. Iplier sighs, embarrassment growing. “At first I thought it’d be fine, but it got worse and worse, until, well, you know.”

“I do know,” Host grumbles, “And so does half the restaurant we were in.”

“Ah.” Dr. Iplier winces. “I imagine Dark’s not happy with me, either.”

“Definitely not,” Host tells him, “He’s got the Googles hunting down all the patrons who saw us, and once you’re well enough to be moved he’ll have to make sure no one remembers you here, either.”

As a group of people who look like Mark, often sound like Mark, and have the same fingerprints and DNA as Mark, the egos have to be excruciatingly careful to keep a low profile. That means no friendships or relationships with humans, no using special abilities in public where people can see, and no getting entered into the system. Granted, there are gray areas: Silver is allowed to be a hero so long as he stays out of hospitals and no one sees under his mask, Wilford is allowed to have as many one-night stands as his heart desires so long as no one gets his number or takes a photo of him, and Yandere can get into violent fights as long as the cops don’t catch him. Indeed, Dark most often has to do damage control for egos who get in trouble with the law, and that means expunging their arrest records and erasing the memories of the officers involved.

Rarer and more troublesome is when egos end up in a human hospital for one reason or another. Once the ego is removed from the hospital, every paramedic or EMT that brought them in, every doctor and nurse that worked on them, and every receptionist that signed their visitors in has to have their memory of that ego removed. Every record of the ego having been in the hospital must be destroyed. Even worse, every person who saw the ego get hurt and called for help has to be tracked down and get the experience erased from their mind before they can realize that the man they saw get hurt looked just like Markiplier. Some egos call it overkill, but Dr. Iplier can understand Dark’s fears. He remembers the time before the egos were so organized, and how he’d sometimes have to convince a patient that no, he wasn’t related to that popular YouTuber. Now that Mark’s popularity has gotten so much bigger, he can’t imagine how much harder it would be to stay secret without Dark’s strict rules.

That being said, it also means that the punishment for breaking those rules is often just as bad.

“I was expecting you to be Dark, to tell you the truth,” Dr. Iplier admits to Host, “I bet he can’t wait to yell at me.”

“You’re right,” Host says, “I had to convince him not to come in swinging at you and let me see you first, and you owe me for that, for the record. Among other things.”

Where the Author was brazenly unbothered by Dark’s anger, Host is wary of it to the point of fear. Dr. Iplier understands it, though, and he feels bad for putting Host through that on top of everything else.

“I’m sorry,” he sighs, “I should’ve asked Plus to check me over and gotten our date moved, I just…” He squeezes Host’s hand. “I was looking forward to it so much, and I knew you were, too. It’s been so long since we got to do this, I was so excited, I just…I didn’t want anything to ruin it.”

“I know,” Host murmurs, laying his free hand on Dr. Iplier’s cheek, “But the best things about our dates are that they’re with you. Maybe it’s cliche to say so, but it’s the truth. I enjoyed going out with you – until you started coughing up blood, that is – but I would’ve loved sitting by you in the library or the clinic just as much.” His voice turns into a grumpy mumble. “I won’t be doing either of those things until you get better, now.”

“You always know what to say,” Dr. Iplier chuckles softly, even as he leans forward to kiss Host. Once they pull away, Dr. Iplier whispers against his lips. “I love you, Isaac.”

“I love you too, Edward,” Host replies, “Even when you collapse and almost die in the middle of a crowded restaurant.”

“I imagine Dark won’t let us go back there again, huh?” Dr. Iplier sighs.

“Most likely not,” Host agrees.

“Damn, their food was so good and I could hardly even enjoy it. Did you remember to get a doggy bag by any chance?”

“I was a bit preoccupied, if you can imagine.”

“Ah, shoot. I mean, I agree that hanging out with you is nice no matter what we’re doing, but I sure would prefer to hang out with you while eating nice sushi.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you puked blood everywhere.”

“Oh, you’re gonna be a jerk to the guy who almost just died? You’re so cruel.”

Host laughs, and the two continue to banter, offering playful jabs at each other for many minutes. But there’s love below it all, though, Dr. Iplier can hear it in Host’s voice and feel it in his own. Even if they can’t return to that specific restaurant, Dr. Iplier hopes he can make up the date to Host at some point in the future.

Once he’s good and healed, of course.

#dr. iplier #markiplier the host #markiplier fanfiction #fanfic #whumptober2020 #my writing #markiplier #kristin says stuff #press f for dochost's date night

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x0401x · 3 years

Note

Hey, hope your doing well today, thank you so much for translating VE. I'm caught up with all that you translated so far but, I got question to you about how you feel about the world building of VE? I've always felt Violet's world didn't feel flesh out that much. Ex(4 year war never see refugees, destroyed towns, veteran talk about battle except Edward, negative economic affects etc.) Ps. Love VE just a little pet peeve of mine about VE. Thanks again for all your hard work.

Hi! Thanks a lot! I’m doing fairly well. Hope you are too!

The answer for this turned out to be rather big, so I put it under a cut.

I like the worldbuilding, although I think it sometimes mixes too much with the modern world to the point of slight inconsistence, especially in habits and clothing. In some chapters, like chapter 8 or Gaiden chapter 4, it feels like they just wear normal clothes, lol. As for habits, even though the setting is European, the characters often talk and act in a distinctively Japanese way and make decisions based on modern-day Japanese standards. I think this was especially obvious with Chris and Artemisia.

When Chris started talking about why he was trying so desperately to find a wife, I laughed many times. In a real-world 19th century Europe, he wouldn’t be trying to do that on his own. The one arranging it for him would likely be his mother or some other female relative. He also most likely wouldn’t be allowed to live on his own before marriage and I fail to see the need for him to open a business in the same industry as his father instead of striving to become his successor. But the best part was where he talks about buying more silverware because he doesn’t want to bother washing the dishes. As if a dude would have to do that in those times, lmao. Either he would have a maid or two, or he would still be living with his family and the ones doing the service would be the women of the house.

With Artemisia, it’s basically the same. Reading about gallery curators working in the kitchen and acting as waiters and waitresses to the guests on the opening day was just... no, lol. This was most certainly not a thing in the past. It’s a present-day Japan thing.

There’s also lots of characters, such as Gil, Hodgins and Cattleya, who work all day long yet apparently live completely alone, with no maid or butler or any kind of help. Just surreal. I remember that there was only one servant taking care of the Bougainvillea estate in the anime and my internal screaming was so real at that one. As if an old lady could care for a whole-ass mansion on her own.

I think the author, being Japanese, sometimes forget that the world wasn’t always as convenient as it is now. There’s a lot of technology nowadays that helps us save time so we can do much more than our ancestors were able to, but said technology could never exist in the VE world, even with it being steampunk. I’m talking about vacuums, microwaves, refrigerators and whatnot. Because that’s the only way house chores would be completely possible and accessible for people living by themselves.

That being said, I think the war scenario is pretty damn good in VE.

Those are interesting points you raised. We really don’t see refugees, but I think that’s because Leidenschaftlich was on the side that started the war. Besides, all of the countries of Tellsis were in the war, so there was nowhere anyone could run to. If Violet were to meet a refugee, it would have to be in another continent. And the refugee character would need to have a suitably complicated and dark backstory. Setting up this kind of scenario would take up a good portion of a volume. LNs have a very strict page limit, so it doesn’t seem wise to use it up in order to introduce an element that has no crucial relevance to the plot itself, although I would still love to see a refugee character in an extra story or something like that. Then again, we do see immigrants.

About the destroyed towns, again, most of the story goes on in the winning country, which was farthest away from the conflict and had minimum damage. Leidenschaftlich is also described as being a country that always had to deal with invasions, so it had its towns designed especially for wars and its population collectively educated on how to act in case of armed conflicts. They also probably know how to built everything back from scratch. Then again, we do see other places that were either destroyed or left without resources, like Ctrigall and the military base that Gil was in.

About the veteran talk, it did happen a lot aside from Edward. Violet has had it with Gil, Hodgins, Dietfried and Aidan (though that last one is very brief). Aside from her perspective, we also have this talk between Gil and Hodgins, and Dietfried and Gil. The difference is that Edward’s was more informative and less emotion-driven, but that’s because they were talking to each other for the very first time.

You’re welcome and thanks for the ask! Food for thought!

#violet evergarden

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thedreammweaver · 4 years

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You really thought I’d leave? (Burton-Schumacherverse riddlebird , trans!Oswald)

Warnings: Dysphoria, misunderstandings, accidental misgendering, Clueless Ed is clueless, brief mention of suicidal thoughts of no physical consequence, medium to mild amount of blood, forced to come out by stupid dumb uterus, so. many. penguin. tears., A N G S T, pain, suffering, the lads talk about their trauma, 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃 (it turns out okay though)

Ed was still feeling his post heist high when he threw himself onto Oswald’s bed while Oswald was hanging up his coat, hat, and umbrella. Ed looked over when he heard Oswald sigh, he was rubbing at his back like it hurt. “I’m sorry..” Ed blurted out.

“It’s not your fault.” Oswald said flatly as he went behind an ornate screen in the corner of his bedroom to change into pajamas. Ed had wondered a few times why Oswald didn’t change in front of him but after all they’d only been in a relationship for a few weeks, it felt like longer to Ed, but maybe the other man just needed more time. Ed rested his head in his hands, feeling guilty

“I was being theatrical and I took too long...if I had hurried up like you said batman wouldn’t have gotten there in time to hurt you..”

Oswald scoffed “It’s OK, Eddie! I needed to let off some steam anyways.”

“If getting thrown into a cement wall where you could’ve been seriously hurt and I would’ve spent forever wishing it had been me instead because..” ‘Because I love you. C’mon, Ed, just say it!’ Ed screamed at himself in his mind “well... because it just wouldn’t be right..I mean if that’s you’re idea of letting off steam then sure.” Ed pouted, kicking himself mentally and burying his face in Oswald’s bed, the comforter smelled like him which lifted Ed’s spirits a bit. “I don’t wanna go home tonight.” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud but didn’t regret it either. “Then stay,” Oswald said, coming out from behind the screen now dressed in black and purple satin pjs “I mean...if this- or- we work out you’ll probably be staying here half the time anyhow, right?” “Yeah, I guess so.” Ed said absently getting off the bed to peel himself out of the green glittery spandex suit he was in, he only had his briefs and a plain tank top underneath, he’d learned to wear some sort of undershirt with the spandex if he was going to Oswald’s after unless he wanted his core to feel an ice box. “Look! The bat got you too, we’re even.” Oswald chuckled pointing out bruises on Ed’s arm and shoulder as he got under the covers. Ed rolled his eyes and crawled into bed next to Oswald he had been afraid this would be awkward but the idea of falling asleep next to Oswald came naturally and he was soon asleep.

Ed was stirred awake just as easily as he’d drifted off by Oswald quicky getting out of bed and muttering curses “Shit, shit, shit...goddamnit..” Ed sat up a bit “Wha...Ozzie, what is it??” He asked groggily. “Uh- it’s- just- nothing, nothing just uh-uh stay there or you maybe better sleep on the couch instead uh...just- go back to sleep. Don’t turn the lights on.” After that panicked deluge of unclear instruction Oswald ran off to the bathroom down the hallway. Ed still drowsy, now worried and curious he turned on the lamp by the bed and looked over to Oswald’s side of the bed, all he could make out was a blurry red blob. He huffed and clumsily reached for his glasses, he’d left them on the nightstand before he and Oswald had gone on the heist as he’d gotten changed at Oswald’s too. His eyes were slowly adjusting and the red blob revealed itself to be a sizeable bloodstain, Ed’s heart dropped. He got up and ran down the hall to the bathroom as well. When Ed went to open the door there was a shrill “DON’T COME IN!!” which made him jump and step back. “But Oswald you’re bleeding!”

“I know, Ed, it’s normal...” Ed could hear that Oswald’s teeth were gritted. “That was a lot of blood Oswald! You could have internal damage from “letting off steam” with the bat earlier. I have to take you to the hospital, I know you hate doctors but-“

“It is normal, Edward! Now leave me be!!”

Ed was taken aback, Oswald had never yelled at him like this before. He put his ear to the door, he could hear plastic ripping and crinkling, was Oswald trying to tend to the damage himself? “Oswald, please please let me help. I know you have a lot of weird..stuff going on but bleeding like that isn’t normal.”

“Yes, it is. This has nothing to do with that son of a bitch Batman, this happens every month..”

“EVERY MONTH?! Since when??”

“...since I was about twelve or thirteen..I don’t remember.”

Ed was bewildered “Since you were- you mean as in years old right??? Oswald! That could be indicative of SERIOUS health problems!!”

“Ed just leave me alone please...stop worrying, it’s fine.”Oswald’s gruff voice was beginning sound shaky. Ed was wracking his brain trying to figure out what was going on. “Oswald please talk to me, if this is “normal” I want to understand why..I-I mean is it like the stuff that comes out of your mouth or-“ “No! It’s not like that...”

“Then what??-“

“Gimme a minute! I’ve never really had to..vocalize it..before..”

Ed leaned his head on the door, now he felt confused and impatient. Oswald cleared just throat nervously “So...I’m a man right except I- Except I got born with the wrong sort of...equipment for that..”

“What??” Ed asked, more a noise of exasperation than a question. “Jesus, Ed- I...got born with a chick’s body but later I figured out I’m not a chick alright, not really..not on the inside-We’re both guys but if you wanted to narrow things down to a strictly physical matter I have more in common with the catbitch than with you..”

Ed’s brow furrowed “So you’re a woman?”

“NO!! GOD NO, ED!! DID YOU EVEN HEAR A WORD I JUST FUCKING SAID?!”

“Okay! Okay! I-I-just-“

“DON’T EVER SAY THAT SHIT TO ME AGAIN!!”

“OKAY!!” There was an uncomfortable beat of silence before Ed spoke again “So.....what are are you?” Oswald scoffed, a pitiful tone to the noise “You’re just trying your damndest to make me feel like shit aren’t you?” Ed’s heart broke when he heard Oswald’s voice break. “No! No! I- Oswald, I swear I’m just trying to understand. S-So you’re a guy? Right? On the inside..that’s what you said? But you have...girl..parts? Then-so the blood.......oh......you-...you’re just..menstruating?” Oswald didn’t answer him. “Oswald??” Ed gently pushed the door open. Oswald was on the floor leaning against the bathtub, he was just in his underpants and pajama top now, the blood stained bottoms tossed aside. Parts of his thighs were also bloodstained, he was sobbing into his flippers, a pathetic gasping hitching noise. Ed got on his knees beside Oswald, he’d never seen the man cry before and it was making him panic “Oswald, please...I didn’t mean to- did-did...I get it right the last time at least..?” Oswald whined “Yes!...yes...but it doesn’t matter...you don’t like me anymore..” “What?? Of course I still lo- like you.” Ed grabbed the other man by the shoulders to make them face eachother. Oswald took his flippers down from his tear drenched face “Just wait, you say that now but in time..you’ll get frustrated and you’ll leave, your need for a “real man” will win out over any feelings you claim to have for me. Eddie, I’ve been through this before..I know how this works..” Oswald broke down into sobs again “Except it’s worse this time..because you actually fucking matter to me, you’re not someone I paid to tell me they love me just because I needed to to hear it on a shitty night.” He was beginning to hyperventilate now “I-I never needed anyone before like I need you and I-I didn’t mean to keep this from you but I got so scared! I was so SCARED!! Scared because I think if you left me especially because of this I’d-I’d just have to go and find the tallest building in Gotham and throw myself off...see if maybe one penguin an fly after all...this poor old bird couldn’t take that, not after everything....not after all this. I thought about it so much and I’d really rather die than have you leave me, Eddie, leave me like every other little sparkling thing that cuddled up to me as if I meant something to them! Like my parents the night I was born!! They doomed me to a life of being thrown away. Th-They cursed me that night do you understand?! An-and I so need you to be the one that breaks that curse cause I. AM. telling. you! I can’t stand that happening again..not one time more...please...not once more..please.....pleease...” Oswald begged as he collapsed into Ed’s arms, sobbing, burying his face in the other man’s chest. “Oh...Oswald I- please don’t talk like that...like you’re nothing..” Ed felt tears flowing down his own face as he cradled his bird. “I..love you. God, Oswald, I love you..you really thought I’d leave?” Oswald raised his head a bit “...Eddie, people get killed for being like me...you can never tell how people will react to what they don’t understand..” Ed absently rocked himself and Oswald softly “...I love you...I wanted to say it for so long but I was scared too, I thought you were gonna be like these type of guys I messed around with in school, they’d call you baby when you’re alone and act like they really care but then you see them with their girlfriends the next day, acting like they don’t know you...and you just feel like a fucking idiot all because they don’t like who they are... I never thought I could mean as much to you as...how you said.” Oswald wrapped his arms around Ed’s waist. “You love me? Why?” There was a pitiful wistfulness in his voice. Ed didn’t have to think for long “You’re warm. You’re the only thing that makes me feel held, only thing that makes me feel safe, wanted. It’s like I wasn’t even real before I met you...I was just here..barely. I carry your warmth with me everywhere now, so I can feel real all the time..instead of like I’m floating away. You...obviously love me too, why?”

“You make me feel human. I got too used to being an animal after being treated like one...manipulated like one. You talk to me like- I don’t know...like you care..” They sat there holding eachother for a few minutes more until Oswald’s crying resumed “It wasn’t enough that I had to get born like this..” he sobbed gesturing to his flippers and nose “I had to get born with the wrong insides too...as if I wasn’t a complete freak already..” Ed held the shorter man tighter “No, no, no, no, no, don’t say that, Oswald, don’t say that,” Ed cooed, stroking Oswald’s hair “I promise I’m going to learn how to treat you right, after all this time you deserve it..I promise I’m gonna learn, okay? And I’m not leaving, you don’t have to be scared anymore..” Oswald was still crying, Ed scooted back a bit so he could see Oswald’s face. “Look, look, I-I can run you a bath so you can get cleaned up and I’ll take care of the bed, then you don’t have to think about it anymore tonight. Would that be good...if I did that?” Ed offered earnestly. Oswald sighed and nodded, Ed smiled weakly and cupped the other man’s cheek “Good-..good, so I’ll- I’m gonna do that and you can stay here and just relax, please.” Ed kissed Oswald’s cheek before getting up and turning on the bath to let it fill while he stripped the bed. Before leaving the bathroom he just had to say it once more “I love you, Oswald.” “I love you too, asshole..” Oswald grumbled, while wiping the dried, drying, and still wet tears from his face. Ed sighed happily knowing that his bird was starting to calm down already, and basking in the knowledge that he was loved back.

#oswald cobblepot #edward nygma #the riddler #the penguin #riddlebird angst

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doc-pickles · 4 years

Text

love in bloom

AU: flowers bloom onto your skin when your soulmate is injured. which creates a world of mystery and pain for alex & jo.

TW// language

might or might not have written this in three hours while also ignoring everything else i have to do. don’t mind me, just enjoy this

(also i’m a SLUT for flower symbolism so you’ll see that here)

The first time Alex notices the flowers, he’s ten. They sting momentarily as they bloom fully on his arm, but the beautiful lines of ink that trace over his skin distract him from the pain.

They’re peonies and sword lilies, his science teacher tells him the next day. When he asks why they’re covering his arm, her face falls. She lifts her long skirt to show Alex a large black and white rose on her ankle. Her husband had fallen off the roof while hanging Christmas lights one year and shattered his ankle.

Alex still doesn’t quite understand, but he stares at the flowers for the weeks they stay on his body, the color eventually fading away. The lines stay for a few months, but they too fade away and Alex is left hoping no one was injured for the sight he adored.

Jo is 14 when her back is filled with anemones and petunias . She can feel the stinging sensations more in some places than others, the various shades of the flowers brighter in the more painful spots. Her whole back is covered and she wonders what the hell is happening to her.

“Soulmates,” Ashley Petersen explains when she sees Jo’s back during PE. “If your soulmate is injured, flowers will bloom on your skin. I’d love to know what your soulmate is up to.”

Jo examines the flowers again in the locker room, her mind racing trying to figure out how exactly this mysterious soul mate of hers injured their whole entire back.

Alex’s life as an intern is already challenging enough without people staring at him day in and out. He’s starting to get concerned too, because the flowers that are appearing now are always withered and dying, but they won’t stop coming.

Today he has a nasty green and blue arrangement around his left eye which he can only assume means his soul mate has an orbital fracture. His fingers run absent mindedly over the black and white flowers that still linger on his stomach, laying over his ribs in a crooked pattern.

He’s used to these sights now, the flowers have shown up regularly since he was 14 and have never really stopped. Every night before he slips into bed, Alex says a quiet prayer for the person he’s eternally connected to.

The peonies and sword lilies have begun to wilt, shriveling up over the past year. He hasn’t seen a fully bloomed one in almost a year and a half. Alex has learned that peonies stand for romance and compassion, while the sword lilies stand for strength. The flowers are a comfort somedays though, the new ones assuring him that whoever he’s supposed to end up with is still alive, still fighting.

Jo is in her night lab when the pain starts. A sharp, radiating pain from below her right breast. She thinks she can power through it, after all she’s an expert on pain, but it begins to grow and her lab partner is looking concerned.

“Oh god damn it,” Jo is screaming a minute later, her hand covering his skin as she crumbles to the floor in pain. “Jesus Christ that fucking hurts!”

The pain begins to take over all of her senses and the next thing Jo remembers in waking up in a hospital bed. Disoriented and groggy, Jo still has enough sense to peel her gown down to look at her skin.

The bright purple sword lilies have never shown up before, but their message of strength and resilience echo through Jo’s head for several weeks. They are not the petunias that symbolize anger or the anemones that mean protection, the ones that comforted her in her darkest moments.

While the color fades, the sharp lines of the flower never leave and Jo is left wondering what exactly her soulmate has been through to inflict this much permanent pain.

Alex has learned over the years that his soul mate is clumsy. He’s had more sword lilies on his fingers than he can count and the peony on his hip is almost always there.

These injuries don’t hurt anymore, though he almost wishes they did. The worst was the large arrangement over his ribs that knocked the wind out of him. Alex grimaces sometimes at the thought of what his gunshot wound must’ve felt like for his other half. He’s treated soul mates of GSW victims and it’s never pretty.

The one he gets today though, is neither a peony or a sword lily. Alex studies the flower on the left side of his stomach in awe, finally asking a nurse if she knew what it was.

“That’s a hydrangea,” the older woman smiled at Alex sweetly. “They stand for perseverance. You must have yourself a strong girl.”

Alex never sees the sword lilies again, only peonies and hydrangeas. He thinks, rather he hopes, that his soulmate has moved past the trials that had left so many permanent marks on his own body.

She’s in her final med school exam when Jo’s left hand begins to sting. She shakes it out as she continues to write, trying to ignore the pinpricks snaking up her wrist.

In a free moment, Jo looks down to see that the flower that’s appeared is a new one. There are no anemones or petunias and the lone sword lily she bares on her right side doesn’t appear either.

A small cluster of forget me nots draws a clean line across the palm of her hand. Jo clenches her hand tightly, holding on to the message of hope her soulmate has unknowingly sent her.

It’s fall now, which means a new round of interns stumbling their way through the hospital. They’ve only been here for three weeks and Alex is sick of their shit.

“Code White in the trauma bay, Code White in the trauma bay.”

Alex knows the code means a combative patient, which is never a good sign in this hospital. However, a situation like that always creates an air of drama that entertains the doctors to no end. Alex moves to walk down the hall and see what’s happening when pain splits through his left arm.

“Holy shit!”

He can’t help his reaction, mainly because Alex feels like his arm is about to fall off. He grabs onto a gurney and looks down at his arm, which sports a fully bloomed peony now. Whatever his soul mate got into today hurt like hell.

“Hey Karev,” Cristina is standing next to him now, eyes alight as if her parents just bought her a new puppy. “Did you hear? An intern just got stabbed in the arm, what a pathetic loser. This might be our worst batch yet.”

“Woah wait,” Alex looks up, brows furrowing as he stared down Cristina. His own arm throbbed in a dull pain, almost as if a reminder to ask for more information. “Which arm? And which intern?”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Cristina shrugged, sitting herself on the gurney next to Alex. “Question is, why do you care?”

Alex pushed himself off the gurney, feet traveling towards the ER as fast as he could. His arm still throbbed, the peony sprouting more blooms as he made his way down the halls. Alex heard a commotion and knows he’s heading the right way, moving towards Owen’s loud and demanding voice as he walked further into the ER.

“Someone page plastics, she’s gonna need this sewn up,” Owen’s request sends one of the interns running out of a room. Her curly black hair is familiar to Alex, his mind putting a name to the face.

“Edwards!”

The intern stops and turns to Alex, who’s hand is holding his left arm tightly. Her eyes flick from Alex’s arm to his face, a grin of realization appearing on her face.

“She’s in there, she’ll be fine,” Stephanie started to walk away, Alex’s eyes still following her. “It’s Wilson, by the way.”

Alex walks, his feet moving without his direction, towards the room Edwards just left. He can see Owen, see April, but he can’t bring himself to go further.

“Karev? I paged plastic not peds,” Owen stared at Alex for a moment, before looking to his arm that was clutched to his chest. “Let me see.”

Alex holds his hand out for the older man, Owen’s eyes scanning the newly inked skin. A smirk painted on Owen’s face as he gestured April out of the room, leaving Alex staring at Jo.

She really was beautiful, Alex had never taken her in fully but god was she gorgeous. Even with her bloodied arm and unruly brunette hair, Jo Wilson was gorgeous.

“What’re you doing here?”

“You broke your arm when I was ten,” the words come out as if Alex had practiced them for years. (Which he might have, but that’s besides the point) “When I was 22, you cut your left leg pretty badly. And when I was an intern here, you had a shitty boyfriend. And you’re clumsy as hell, how does someone get that many paper cuts?”

Jo blinked once, twice, then moved her right arm to carefully pull up her scrub top. There in black ink, was a long sword lily, just like the ones Alex was so used to seeing appear on his own skin. He knew the location far too well, his own skin scarred in the same spot.

“What the hell happened there,” Jo asked, a small grin lighting up her face as she stared Alex down. “Because that made me pass out for two and half hours.”

“Trust me,” Alex walked forward and sat in the chair next to Jo’s bed. “If I could’ve been knocked out for two and half hours, I would’ve been too.”

#greys anatomy #alex karev #jo karev #jo wilson #jo x alex #jolex #jolex fic #alternate universe #jo wilson karev #greys anatomy fanfic #jolex fanfic #nina writes

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