comment_fic 862-866: Tolkein, Glee, SN. TW
Title: untitled
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: spoilers for Gollum’s plotline; takes place during The Hobbit
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Point of view: third
Wordcount: 100
Prompt: Lord of the Rings, Gollum, the dark under the dark
The precious whispers, down in the deep dark, away from the grasping goblins and the booming king. Smeagol, , it purrs, my own, my precious.
“Gollum, Gollum,” he coughs, sliding deeper down, away from all the light, into the dark water of the deep.
Smeagol,the precious purrs.
“Mine,” he hisses, slipping it onto his finger. “Mine, mine!” he laughs before coughing again.
The king booms; the goblins howl and gibber, and he glares back towards the light.
No light here; the precious is all he needs. “Gollum, gollum,” he coughs again.
“My precious,” he whispers, going deeper into the dark.
Title: untitled
Fandom: Glee
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: Cooper exists
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 39
Point of view: third
Prompt: Glee, Blaine, the 5 most important men in his life
Kurt, of course. And Cooper. Burt, too, for being the awesomest that ever awesomed. And Sam, for being a better friend than anyone before Kurt had been. And then… maybe Mr. Schue?
Yeah. Mr. Schue. Definitely not his dad.
Title: we shall thirst in Hades, in the blood of our children
Fandom: Supernatural
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Denise Levertov
Warnings: violent imagery
Pairings: none
Rating: PGish
Wordcount: 275
Point of view: third
Prompt: SPN, Torture-Master Dean, being this bad shouldn’t feel so damn good
It was easy. That's what haunts him later, out of the Pit and in a (soft) bed, listening to his brother snore, angel brand aching on his shoulder.
It was so easy. Closing his eyes as he whispered yes, baring his neck to Alistair (a name he doesn't know doesn't know doesn't know topside), taking the razor with a smile. It was all so easy.
But he's out now. He's out and he's up, angel tap-dancing on his (branded) shoulder, brother giving him shaky grins, pretty little demon in a new meatsuit watching him warily (yes, he knows he knows he knows that stench).
Even spread out on the rack, torn wide open and cut into pieces, it was easier than this life he's been forced back into.
And he misses it. That's what he won't admit to Sammy's puppy eyes or Castiel's righteousness. He misses the Pit. He misses Alistair and the razor and the bloody screams of agony that danced to his tune out across the lakes of fire.
There isn’t a lot that Dean’s good at. Killing things. Manipulating people. Anything he can do, Sam can do better, and so could Dad, way back when.
Dad was in Hell, too, and he never broke. Alistair made sure Dean knew that by telling him every day. (That’s how Dean knew days passed.)
Dad never broke. Dean did.
No, there’s a lot of things Dean isn’t good at, and his fingers ache for the razor, and his ears for the screams, and he has to take a deep breath, hold it, exhale -
It was easy, in the Pit. So easy.
And fuck, does he miss it.
Title: we dance the best we know (2)
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV)
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Kate Seredy
Warnings: Goes AU during Letharia Vulpina, and AUish for everything that came before.
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 545
Point of view: third
Prompt: Author's choice, author's choice, "Death plays dice with a knucklebone, and the Devil cheats at cards. Ain't nobody sayin' what game God's playin', but it's goin' the whole nine yards."
Previously
" Stiles is quiet, in the aftermath. He keeps his head down at school, doesn't really speak at pack meetings, lets his dad eat whatever he wants.
"Stiles is not okay," Scott announces at a pack meeting Stiles never got an invitation to.
"Would you be?" Kira asks.
"No," Scott admits quietly.
.
The sheriff is worried about his son. He talks about it with Melissa and Chris sometimes, and even with Derek once. They reach no conclusions, but the sheriff feels a little better after.
“Just give him time,” Melissa counsels. “What he’s been through - he just needs time.”
So the sheriff does. He waits for Stiles to come to him, and he talks about inconsequential things, and he sits at the table with Stiles as he catches up on his schoolwork.
Stiles doesn’t really listen to music anymore, but the sheriff plays some of Claudia’s old favorites.
(The second MRI came back clean. Stiles is in the clear. The nogitsune is gone. No one knows where or why.)
Once, Stiles asks, “Dad, why did you forgive me so easily?”
The sheriff answers honestly, “Because it wasn’t you.”
.
Something’s wrong, Lydia thinks, watching Stiles watch the pack train. The twins are trying to take on Derek and Isaac while Scott tries to take them all down. Kira is trying to ignite Allison’s arrows as she shoots them into the air.
She didn’t see Stiles while the nogitsune was in him. Only Scott and Deaton did, and Scott cried while he talked about it, and Deaton said only, “The shadow is gone.”
Nothing about him sounds different, but she doesn’t trust her senses anymore. She hasn’t mentioned the feeling of wrongness to anyone, not even Allison, the first one to trust her about them.
Stiles meets her eyes with a small grin; Lydia shivers in a sudden cold breeze that no one else seems to notice.
.
Chaos, the nogitsune said. Strife. Pain. Alan sits in his office, running his fingers through rowan ash, and thinks. There is no trace of the nogitsune, all of the oni are gone, and the two kitsunes in town don’t sense the shadow anymore.
But where did it go? What was its purpose in Beacon Hills? Why Stiles Stilinski?
Since he was a little boy, Stiles Stilinski was always playing pranks, getting into trouble. Never anything too dangerous, no one ever came to harm - just little things. Mischievous.
And then he dragged Scott McCall into the woods where an alpha werewolf prowled.
What is it the sheriff always says? Once is an incident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times? A pattern.
Why Stiles Stilinski? Because of his history as a troublemaker? Because of the surrogate sacrifice? Because of his place in the pack, or as the sheriff’s son?
Stiles can still use the ash, which is the only reason Alan hasn’t mentioned his concerns to anyone. He can still use the ash which means that the nogitsune has truly left him.
.
The pack is worried, they think. Dad, too. They turn the page of the biology book, stare down at the fox’s skeleton. Smile.
We’ll just have to do better, they think. But the chaos… it sure does taste good. They laugh and leave the book, going to start dinner for Dad.
Title: we dance the best we know (3)
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV)
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Kate Seredy
Warnings: Goes AU during Letharia Vulpina, and AUish for everything that came before. Talk of death and violence.
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 985
Point of view: third
Prompt: Any, any,
Delicate in every way but one (the swordplay)
God knows we like archaic kinds of fun (the old way)
Chance is the only game I play with, baby
We let our battles choose us
- 'Glory and Gore' by Lorde
The next thing that comes to town is an alpha werewolf after Peter. If he was only after Peter, they might not have gotten involved. But first, he goes after Derek, while Scott is taking werewolf lessons, and of course Scott gets in-between the alpha and Derek, and that. Well.
Together, Derek and Scott beat the alpha, but barely.
What’s yours is mine, the fox had said. Had promised. I will give to you… all that I am.
Stiles had been a spark, and the fox a shadow. But now they are both. Now they are both, and the pack is theirs, and nothing touches what is theirs. Nothing that lives.
.
“A vote,” Scott says. “He only wants Peter, and none of us should die to protect him.” A part of him doesn’t want to say it - but if anyone in the room shouldn’t live, it’s Peter Hale.
Peter rolls his eyes. “I can be a great help to you, Scott. Don’t forget - you are an alpha now only because I bit you.”
Stiles scoffs loudly. “That was by pure chance, you asshat, and you know it.”
The whole pack, plus the pack auxiliary of the sheriff, Mom, and Argent, turn to look at him. “I offered you the bite, Stiles,” Peter practically purrs. “You would have been magnificent.”
“You did what?” Derek, Scott, and the sheriff all shout at the same time.
Peter shakes his head, chuckling. “You’ve been advocating my death since I came back to life, Stiles,” he says. “But you know what a help I can be.”
“If you’d bitten me, Peter,” Stiles says, head tilting, “I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
Scott and all of the wolves cringe as Stiles’ fingers flick and a circle of - something settles around Peter. “That… that is not mountain ash,” Peter says, voice shaking just a little.
Stiles smirks. “You learn a lot when you can’t sleep,” he says conversationally, stepping forward. “When you stay awake all night, reading the most obscure texts someone thought to upload. When there’s a darach and an alpha pack and fucking demons.” He stops at the circle and Scott doesn’t recognize the smile on his face. “You learn things to protect your own.”
“Stiles,” the sheriff calls, moving towards him.
“Dad,” Stiles says, holding up a hand, “Peter is not one of us. He never has been. And I vote we leave him staked out for that alpha, and then if the alpha doesn’t leave, we cut him in half.”
“That has my vote,” Lydia says, raising her hand.
“And mine,” Allison adds.
The twins nod, hands raised, and then Mom, after a moment, eyes only on Scott. Argent raises his hand, too, and Isaac.
Peter looks around the room and finally focuses on Scott. “That’s eight votes for my death, True Alpha. That’s the majority.” He looks back at Stiles. “You’ve changed.”
Stiles laughs, bitterly and cold. “No,” he says, “I really haven’t. I’ve just learned.”
With a deep inhale, Stiles turns to face Scott. “It’s up to you,” Stiles tells him.
Scott steps up beside him and orders Peter, “Leave Beacon Hills. We’ll tell the alpha you’re gone. What happens after that is not my concern.” Scott waits a beat. “Everyone out.”
The twins leave first, then Isaac, pulling Allison and Kira with him. Argent, then Mom and the sheriff. Lydia shoots Peter a truly hateful smile on her way out, and then it’s just Derek and Stiles and Scott.
“I’ll… I’ll give you some time,” Scott tells Derek. “And then Stiles will break the circle. And if you’re still here tomorrow, Peter, then I - I’ll let Argent handle you. Okay?”
“Of course, alpha,” Peter says, a smile that looks more like a snarl on his face. “Thank you for your mercy.”
Scott leaves.
.
“Do you… you want me to leave?” Stiles asks after a moment. Derek doesn’t look up at him, or at Peter. Doesn’t say a thing. “Oh, okay, so I’ll just hang here,” he says.
Finally, Derek looks up, looks with his blue eyes, and says, “Goodbye, Peter.” He rushes out the back, away from the pack, away from his sister’s killer, away from it all.
He doesn’t slow down when Isaac joins him, or Scott. He just runs.
.
“I know what you are,” Peter tells them as they break the circle. “What’s to stop me from letting everyone know on my way out of town?”
They glance at him, smiling, letting their teeth sharpen just a little. “Fox’s got your tongue, wolf,” they say. “If you’re here at dawn, we’ll get the rest of you, too.”
Peter chokes as his tongue burns, doubles over at the pain - and then it’s gone. He tries to ask, “What the fuck was that?” but he can only move his lips. His tongue is completely still.
“You can eat,” they explain, walking towards the door. “You can drink. You can lick your lips, even your balls, if you want. But you can never say another word to our pack.” They throw a smile over their shoulder, adding, “You can’t write about it, either, or text, or email. Nada. Zilch, zero, zip, the empty set.”
And they close the door. The only person waiting outside is Dad, and he asks, “You had the chance to be a werewolf?”
They nod. “I didn’t want it then, Dad,” they say. “Not like that, and not from him. I don’t want it now, either, but if - if those scans hadn’t been because of the nogitsune, Scott was gonna turn me.”
Dad nods, reaching out to clutch their shoulder. “Good,” he says, voice shaking. “That’s good, son.”
They throw their arms around him. “Let’s go home, Dad.”
Pain, they think, as Dad starts the cruiser, glancing back towards the warehouse and the werewolf that has yet to take a step out of the circle. It tastes kinda like fire.
Continues here
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: spoilers for Gollum’s plotline; takes place during The Hobbit
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Point of view: third
Wordcount: 100
Prompt: Lord of the Rings, Gollum, the dark under the dark
The precious whispers, down in the deep dark, away from the grasping goblins and the booming king. Smeagol, , it purrs, my own, my precious.
“Gollum, Gollum,” he coughs, sliding deeper down, away from all the light, into the dark water of the deep.
Smeagol,the precious purrs.
“Mine,” he hisses, slipping it onto his finger. “Mine, mine!” he laughs before coughing again.
The king booms; the goblins howl and gibber, and he glares back towards the light.
No light here; the precious is all he needs. “Gollum, gollum,” he coughs again.
“My precious,” he whispers, going deeper into the dark.
Title: untitled
Fandom: Glee
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: Cooper exists
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 39
Point of view: third
Prompt: Glee, Blaine, the 5 most important men in his life
Kurt, of course. And Cooper. Burt, too, for being the awesomest that ever awesomed. And Sam, for being a better friend than anyone before Kurt had been. And then… maybe Mr. Schue?
Yeah. Mr. Schue. Definitely not his dad.
Title: we shall thirst in Hades, in the blood of our children
Fandom: Supernatural
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Denise Levertov
Warnings: violent imagery
Pairings: none
Rating: PGish
Wordcount: 275
Point of view: third
Prompt: SPN, Torture-Master Dean, being this bad shouldn’t feel so damn good
It was easy. That's what haunts him later, out of the Pit and in a (soft) bed, listening to his brother snore, angel brand aching on his shoulder.
It was so easy. Closing his eyes as he whispered yes, baring his neck to Alistair (a name he doesn't know doesn't know doesn't know topside), taking the razor with a smile. It was all so easy.
But he's out now. He's out and he's up, angel tap-dancing on his (branded) shoulder, brother giving him shaky grins, pretty little demon in a new meatsuit watching him warily (yes, he knows he knows he knows that stench).
Even spread out on the rack, torn wide open and cut into pieces, it was easier than this life he's been forced back into.
And he misses it. That's what he won't admit to Sammy's puppy eyes or Castiel's righteousness. He misses the Pit. He misses Alistair and the razor and the bloody screams of agony that danced to his tune out across the lakes of fire.
There isn’t a lot that Dean’s good at. Killing things. Manipulating people. Anything he can do, Sam can do better, and so could Dad, way back when.
Dad was in Hell, too, and he never broke. Alistair made sure Dean knew that by telling him every day. (That’s how Dean knew days passed.)
Dad never broke. Dean did.
No, there’s a lot of things Dean isn’t good at, and his fingers ache for the razor, and his ears for the screams, and he has to take a deep breath, hold it, exhale -
It was easy, in the Pit. So easy.
And fuck, does he miss it.
Title: we dance the best we know (2)
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV)
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Kate Seredy
Warnings: Goes AU during Letharia Vulpina, and AUish for everything that came before.
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 545
Point of view: third
Prompt: Author's choice, author's choice, "Death plays dice with a knucklebone, and the Devil cheats at cards. Ain't nobody sayin' what game God's playin', but it's goin' the whole nine yards."
Previously
" Stiles is quiet, in the aftermath. He keeps his head down at school, doesn't really speak at pack meetings, lets his dad eat whatever he wants.
"Stiles is not okay," Scott announces at a pack meeting Stiles never got an invitation to.
"Would you be?" Kira asks.
"No," Scott admits quietly.
.
The sheriff is worried about his son. He talks about it with Melissa and Chris sometimes, and even with Derek once. They reach no conclusions, but the sheriff feels a little better after.
“Just give him time,” Melissa counsels. “What he’s been through - he just needs time.”
So the sheriff does. He waits for Stiles to come to him, and he talks about inconsequential things, and he sits at the table with Stiles as he catches up on his schoolwork.
Stiles doesn’t really listen to music anymore, but the sheriff plays some of Claudia’s old favorites.
(The second MRI came back clean. Stiles is in the clear. The nogitsune is gone. No one knows where or why.)
Once, Stiles asks, “Dad, why did you forgive me so easily?”
The sheriff answers honestly, “Because it wasn’t you.”
.
Something’s wrong, Lydia thinks, watching Stiles watch the pack train. The twins are trying to take on Derek and Isaac while Scott tries to take them all down. Kira is trying to ignite Allison’s arrows as she shoots them into the air.
She didn’t see Stiles while the nogitsune was in him. Only Scott and Deaton did, and Scott cried while he talked about it, and Deaton said only, “The shadow is gone.”
Nothing about him sounds different, but she doesn’t trust her senses anymore. She hasn’t mentioned the feeling of wrongness to anyone, not even Allison, the first one to trust her about them.
Stiles meets her eyes with a small grin; Lydia shivers in a sudden cold breeze that no one else seems to notice.
.
Chaos, the nogitsune said. Strife. Pain. Alan sits in his office, running his fingers through rowan ash, and thinks. There is no trace of the nogitsune, all of the oni are gone, and the two kitsunes in town don’t sense the shadow anymore.
But where did it go? What was its purpose in Beacon Hills? Why Stiles Stilinski?
Since he was a little boy, Stiles Stilinski was always playing pranks, getting into trouble. Never anything too dangerous, no one ever came to harm - just little things. Mischievous.
And then he dragged Scott McCall into the woods where an alpha werewolf prowled.
What is it the sheriff always says? Once is an incident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times? A pattern.
Why Stiles Stilinski? Because of his history as a troublemaker? Because of the surrogate sacrifice? Because of his place in the pack, or as the sheriff’s son?
Stiles can still use the ash, which is the only reason Alan hasn’t mentioned his concerns to anyone. He can still use the ash which means that the nogitsune has truly left him.
.
The pack is worried, they think. Dad, too. They turn the page of the biology book, stare down at the fox’s skeleton. Smile.
We’ll just have to do better, they think. But the chaos… it sure does taste good. They laugh and leave the book, going to start dinner for Dad.
Title: we dance the best we know (3)
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV)
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Kate Seredy
Warnings: Goes AU during Letharia Vulpina, and AUish for everything that came before. Talk of death and violence.
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 985
Point of view: third
Prompt: Any, any,
Delicate in every way but one (the swordplay)
God knows we like archaic kinds of fun (the old way)
Chance is the only game I play with, baby
We let our battles choose us
- 'Glory and Gore' by Lorde
The next thing that comes to town is an alpha werewolf after Peter. If he was only after Peter, they might not have gotten involved. But first, he goes after Derek, while Scott is taking werewolf lessons, and of course Scott gets in-between the alpha and Derek, and that. Well.
Together, Derek and Scott beat the alpha, but barely.
What’s yours is mine, the fox had said. Had promised. I will give to you… all that I am.
Stiles had been a spark, and the fox a shadow. But now they are both. Now they are both, and the pack is theirs, and nothing touches what is theirs. Nothing that lives.
.
“A vote,” Scott says. “He only wants Peter, and none of us should die to protect him.” A part of him doesn’t want to say it - but if anyone in the room shouldn’t live, it’s Peter Hale.
Peter rolls his eyes. “I can be a great help to you, Scott. Don’t forget - you are an alpha now only because I bit you.”
Stiles scoffs loudly. “That was by pure chance, you asshat, and you know it.”
The whole pack, plus the pack auxiliary of the sheriff, Mom, and Argent, turn to look at him. “I offered you the bite, Stiles,” Peter practically purrs. “You would have been magnificent.”
“You did what?” Derek, Scott, and the sheriff all shout at the same time.
Peter shakes his head, chuckling. “You’ve been advocating my death since I came back to life, Stiles,” he says. “But you know what a help I can be.”
“If you’d bitten me, Peter,” Stiles says, head tilting, “I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
Scott and all of the wolves cringe as Stiles’ fingers flick and a circle of - something settles around Peter. “That… that is not mountain ash,” Peter says, voice shaking just a little.
Stiles smirks. “You learn a lot when you can’t sleep,” he says conversationally, stepping forward. “When you stay awake all night, reading the most obscure texts someone thought to upload. When there’s a darach and an alpha pack and fucking demons.” He stops at the circle and Scott doesn’t recognize the smile on his face. “You learn things to protect your own.”
“Stiles,” the sheriff calls, moving towards him.
“Dad,” Stiles says, holding up a hand, “Peter is not one of us. He never has been. And I vote we leave him staked out for that alpha, and then if the alpha doesn’t leave, we cut him in half.”
“That has my vote,” Lydia says, raising her hand.
“And mine,” Allison adds.
The twins nod, hands raised, and then Mom, after a moment, eyes only on Scott. Argent raises his hand, too, and Isaac.
Peter looks around the room and finally focuses on Scott. “That’s eight votes for my death, True Alpha. That’s the majority.” He looks back at Stiles. “You’ve changed.”
Stiles laughs, bitterly and cold. “No,” he says, “I really haven’t. I’ve just learned.”
With a deep inhale, Stiles turns to face Scott. “It’s up to you,” Stiles tells him.
Scott steps up beside him and orders Peter, “Leave Beacon Hills. We’ll tell the alpha you’re gone. What happens after that is not my concern.” Scott waits a beat. “Everyone out.”
The twins leave first, then Isaac, pulling Allison and Kira with him. Argent, then Mom and the sheriff. Lydia shoots Peter a truly hateful smile on her way out, and then it’s just Derek and Stiles and Scott.
“I’ll… I’ll give you some time,” Scott tells Derek. “And then Stiles will break the circle. And if you’re still here tomorrow, Peter, then I - I’ll let Argent handle you. Okay?”
“Of course, alpha,” Peter says, a smile that looks more like a snarl on his face. “Thank you for your mercy.”
Scott leaves.
.
“Do you… you want me to leave?” Stiles asks after a moment. Derek doesn’t look up at him, or at Peter. Doesn’t say a thing. “Oh, okay, so I’ll just hang here,” he says.
Finally, Derek looks up, looks with his blue eyes, and says, “Goodbye, Peter.” He rushes out the back, away from the pack, away from his sister’s killer, away from it all.
He doesn’t slow down when Isaac joins him, or Scott. He just runs.
.
“I know what you are,” Peter tells them as they break the circle. “What’s to stop me from letting everyone know on my way out of town?”
They glance at him, smiling, letting their teeth sharpen just a little. “Fox’s got your tongue, wolf,” they say. “If you’re here at dawn, we’ll get the rest of you, too.”
Peter chokes as his tongue burns, doubles over at the pain - and then it’s gone. He tries to ask, “What the fuck was that?” but he can only move his lips. His tongue is completely still.
“You can eat,” they explain, walking towards the door. “You can drink. You can lick your lips, even your balls, if you want. But you can never say another word to our pack.” They throw a smile over their shoulder, adding, “You can’t write about it, either, or text, or email. Nada. Zilch, zero, zip, the empty set.”
And they close the door. The only person waiting outside is Dad, and he asks, “You had the chance to be a werewolf?”
They nod. “I didn’t want it then, Dad,” they say. “Not like that, and not from him. I don’t want it now, either, but if - if those scans hadn’t been because of the nogitsune, Scott was gonna turn me.”
Dad nods, reaching out to clutch their shoulder. “Good,” he says, voice shaking. “That’s good, son.”
They throw their arms around him. “Let’s go home, Dad.”
Pain, they think, as Dad starts the cruiser, glancing back towards the warehouse and the werewolf that has yet to take a step out of the circle. It tastes kinda like fire.
Continues here