[August 27] [Fire Emblem 9/10] Inevitable
Aug. 27th, 2008 04:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runicloreInevitable
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: August 27 - Slightly out of character
Series: Fire Emblem 9/10
Character/Pairing: Sephiran, Zelgius
Rating: Tis for 'trauma'?
Warnings: crossdressing? A literal interpretation of the theme? NO REDEEMING VALUE. NONE.
Words: 1060
Notes: it's one of those dumb fangirl things - you know, when you ask your friends, "What if they were stuck in a closet together and..." which inevitably leads to a predictable writing disaster. I didn't try very hard to avert it.
There aren't any closets in this entry though, unless we're talking figuratively.
.............................................
Sephiran didn't know the streets of Sella, but his companion seemed to have no trouble; they ran, pursued by the clank of armor and hard-shod boots on the cobblestoned street, and Zelgius led him around a sharp turn and down an alley that took them to the back of their agent's home. The sound of pursuit faded, but did not disappear entirely. They burst through the back gate and into the house, and Sephiran slammed the door, leaning against it and trying to catch his breath. The kitchen was dark, the stove cool - she wasn't home, then. "There was a bird laguz," he said, sucking in deep breaths. "From the hunt--"
"Alive?" Zelgius sat down heavily on a stool at the table, adjusting the sword belted to his waist. "There were seven following us. What did you do?"
Sephiran looked away. "Nothing. He was dead. I just--" He closed his eyes. The hawk had been small, probably young, and the feathers at his breast were caked with blood - so he must have been dead when they hung him from the eaves by his feet. A trophy, perhaps? He stretched his hand to the stove, whispered a word, and the wood ignited. "I thought ashes on the wind would be a better burial than what the townspeople had planned. That's all."
His companion breathed deeply and released in a long sigh. "It's a good thing I ran into you. They're going to search."
"That's absurd. I didn't get the chance to do anything!"
"It's standard procedure. Half-breed sympathizers are traitors in Daein." Zelgius braced his knees and stood. "You should change. Did anybody see your face?" A few, Sephiran thought, and his companion's lips thinned to a line. They stood a moment by the stove, silent. "That will be a problem," Zelgius said, turning away. "Come."
The staircase was narrow and dark. Sephiran followed him up to the bedroom, where their belongings were stowed in an iron-bound chest beside the armoire. He pulled his cloak off and swept it over the vanity bench. The sound of gauntlets banging on doors echoed from the street. They only had a few minutes. "I'm not that different--"
"You're too pale to be a man of Daein," his companion said. "And if you'll forgive me, your face is hard to forget. They'll know you immediately."
He looked around the room for a place to hide, but there was only the dressing screen, the armoire and chest, and a space beneath the bed he didn't believe would accommodate him. "There must be something--" His eyes settled on the wardrobe again, and he went over to pull it open. There wouldn't have been room for him - there were shelves on one side, occupied by neatly-folded clothing, and the space where the agent's skirts and dresses hung was too narrow. "Zelgius." He looked over his shoulder. "Would you say..." He scanned the collection again. Nothing was overtly feminine, aside from the obvious. "Would you say I am of a similar size and build as--?"
Zelgius was silent a beat. "You can't be serious."
"What else is there? They'll be expecting a male." Sephiran shoved a wool skirt aside and pulled out a white dress that didn't look to be form-fitting and a long, silk ribbon. "This should do," he said, rounding the screen. Downstairs the patrol banged on their neighbor's door. "Let them break their way in."
"But my lord--"
"Zelgius." He unclasped his shirt, pulled it over his head, and tried the dress on. His pants were thin enough to wear beneath if he removed the belt.
"It's-- it's undignified. You shouldn't have to. We can cut them down and be out of Sella before--"
"No." Why did the bloody dress lace up the back? There was no point to that when it buttoned on the side. "They have families, and we have business here." He tried to weave the ribbon in, snagged a nail, bit back a curse. "Do Daein women like to torture themselves? How do they do this?" He heard Zelgius snicker and threw his belt over the screen in the man's general direction. "You wear the dress, and I'll--"
The Daein soldiers pounded on the door downstairs. His companion went silent. Then, "My lord, you must hurry."
"Get back here." Sephiran turned to face the corner and pulled his hair around to the front. "Help me. If we're lucky--"
Zelgius snatched the ribbon from his hands when the door downstairs was kicked open, and voices echoed up the stairwell as he wove, tightened the laces, and tugged the dress straight. That's too tight Sephiran whispered, but his companion yanked on the ribbon and said you want to fool them into thinking you have a figure don't you? He knotted it at the bottom and Sephiran turned around. They were almost of a height, but Zelgius drenched the space behind the screen with his shadow.
Sephiran reached up to twist his fingers into the other's hair. The fingers tangled in his laces clenched, boots and spears clomped on the stairs. "You'll forgive me, I hope," he said, pressing his other hand to his companion's cheek, and leaned in to kiss him.
Zelgius was still for a second that seemed like forever. Then his lips softened and Sephiran's back met the wall, his bottom lip scraped between the general's teeth and nipped until it felt bruised. "Forgiveness," Zelgius said, breath hot against his lips, "isn't what I have in mind."
The screen was ripped down, the wood clattering to the floor and the paper ripping. Light flared into Sephiran's eyes until Zelgius shifted, shielding him, and pressed him harder against the wall while he glared at the interruption.
A Daein officer stood frozen, staring, the corner of the screen still in his hand. Another peered over from the stairwell. "C-Commander Zelgius?"
"Ah--" Zelgius's ears pinkened slowly. "Um."
Silence.
Sephiran let his head fall to a muscled shoulder. Commander. Why hadn't he thought of that?
......................................................................
1. IT CAME OUT SOUNDING TOO SERIOUS.
2. I don't think I really have a grasp on how these two interact. I'll have to work on that.
3. This is the only Sephiran pairing in which I think he'd top 98% of the time, but he's not strong enough to take Zelgius against a wall in the usual way. Too bad.
4. 'Up against a wall' needs more love.
5. NO TIME NO TIME NO TIME. (I had a better end planned, but I RAN OUT OF TIME. ;_;)
...
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: August 27 - Slightly out of character
Series: Fire Emblem 9/10
Character/Pairing: Sephiran, Zelgius
Rating: T
Warnings: crossdressing? A literal interpretation of the theme? NO REDEEMING VALUE. NONE.
Words: 1060
Notes: it's one of those dumb fangirl things - you know, when you ask your friends, "What if they were stuck in a closet together and..." which inevitably leads to a predictable writing disaster. I didn't try very hard to avert it.
There aren't any closets in this entry though, unless we're talking figuratively.
.............................................
Sephiran didn't know the streets of Sella, but his companion seemed to have no trouble; they ran, pursued by the clank of armor and hard-shod boots on the cobblestoned street, and Zelgius led him around a sharp turn and down an alley that took them to the back of their agent's home. The sound of pursuit faded, but did not disappear entirely. They burst through the back gate and into the house, and Sephiran slammed the door, leaning against it and trying to catch his breath. The kitchen was dark, the stove cool - she wasn't home, then. "There was a bird laguz," he said, sucking in deep breaths. "From the hunt--"
"Alive?" Zelgius sat down heavily on a stool at the table, adjusting the sword belted to his waist. "There were seven following us. What did you do?"
Sephiran looked away. "Nothing. He was dead. I just--" He closed his eyes. The hawk had been small, probably young, and the feathers at his breast were caked with blood - so he must have been dead when they hung him from the eaves by his feet. A trophy, perhaps? He stretched his hand to the stove, whispered a word, and the wood ignited. "I thought ashes on the wind would be a better burial than what the townspeople had planned. That's all."
His companion breathed deeply and released in a long sigh. "It's a good thing I ran into you. They're going to search."
"That's absurd. I didn't get the chance to do anything!"
"It's standard procedure. Half-breed sympathizers are traitors in Daein." Zelgius braced his knees and stood. "You should change. Did anybody see your face?" A few, Sephiran thought, and his companion's lips thinned to a line. They stood a moment by the stove, silent. "That will be a problem," Zelgius said, turning away. "Come."
The staircase was narrow and dark. Sephiran followed him up to the bedroom, where their belongings were stowed in an iron-bound chest beside the armoire. He pulled his cloak off and swept it over the vanity bench. The sound of gauntlets banging on doors echoed from the street. They only had a few minutes. "I'm not that different--"
"You're too pale to be a man of Daein," his companion said. "And if you'll forgive me, your face is hard to forget. They'll know you immediately."
He looked around the room for a place to hide, but there was only the dressing screen, the armoire and chest, and a space beneath the bed he didn't believe would accommodate him. "There must be something--" His eyes settled on the wardrobe again, and he went over to pull it open. There wouldn't have been room for him - there were shelves on one side, occupied by neatly-folded clothing, and the space where the agent's skirts and dresses hung was too narrow. "Zelgius." He looked over his shoulder. "Would you say..." He scanned the collection again. Nothing was overtly feminine, aside from the obvious. "Would you say I am of a similar size and build as--?"
Zelgius was silent a beat. "You can't be serious."
"What else is there? They'll be expecting a male." Sephiran shoved a wool skirt aside and pulled out a white dress that didn't look to be form-fitting and a long, silk ribbon. "This should do," he said, rounding the screen. Downstairs the patrol banged on their neighbor's door. "Let them break their way in."
"But my lord--"
"Zelgius." He unclasped his shirt, pulled it over his head, and tried the dress on. His pants were thin enough to wear beneath if he removed the belt.
"It's-- it's undignified. You shouldn't have to. We can cut them down and be out of Sella before--"
"No." Why did the bloody dress lace up the back? There was no point to that when it buttoned on the side. "They have families, and we have business here." He tried to weave the ribbon in, snagged a nail, bit back a curse. "Do Daein women like to torture themselves? How do they do this?" He heard Zelgius snicker and threw his belt over the screen in the man's general direction. "You wear the dress, and I'll--"
The Daein soldiers pounded on the door downstairs. His companion went silent. Then, "My lord, you must hurry."
"Get back here." Sephiran turned to face the corner and pulled his hair around to the front. "Help me. If we're lucky--"
Zelgius snatched the ribbon from his hands when the door downstairs was kicked open, and voices echoed up the stairwell as he wove, tightened the laces, and tugged the dress straight. That's too tight Sephiran whispered, but his companion yanked on the ribbon and said you want to fool them into thinking you have a figure don't you? He knotted it at the bottom and Sephiran turned around. They were almost of a height, but Zelgius drenched the space behind the screen with his shadow.
Sephiran reached up to twist his fingers into the other's hair. The fingers tangled in his laces clenched, boots and spears clomped on the stairs. "You'll forgive me, I hope," he said, pressing his other hand to his companion's cheek, and leaned in to kiss him.
Zelgius was still for a second that seemed like forever. Then his lips softened and Sephiran's back met the wall, his bottom lip scraped between the general's teeth and nipped until it felt bruised. "Forgiveness," Zelgius said, breath hot against his lips, "isn't what I have in mind."
The screen was ripped down, the wood clattering to the floor and the paper ripping. Light flared into Sephiran's eyes until Zelgius shifted, shielding him, and pressed him harder against the wall while he glared at the interruption.
A Daein officer stood frozen, staring, the corner of the screen still in his hand. Another peered over from the stairwell. "C-Commander Zelgius?"
"Ah--" Zelgius's ears pinkened slowly. "Um."
Silence.
Sephiran let his head fall to a muscled shoulder. Commander. Why hadn't he thought of that?
......................................................................
1. IT CAME OUT SOUNDING TOO SERIOUS.
2. I don't think I really have a grasp on how these two interact. I'll have to work on that.
3. This is the only Sephiran pairing in which I think he'd top 98% of the time, but he's not strong enough to take Zelgius against a wall in the usual way. Too bad.
4. 'Up against a wall' needs more love.
5. NO TIME NO TIME NO TIME. (I had a better end planned, but I RAN OUT OF TIME. ;_;)
...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 10:51 am (UTC)Hmmm. While I generally don't think Sephiran was a liar, I think a big part of his reasoning for wandering the continent was probably related to his grand plan - tweaking it, and stuff. Although knowing him, he would have helped anyone he could.
Encounters with the Black Knight... that could be interesting. Possibly traumatic in the good way.
Re: Spritzer, it looked like something about settling in, and wasn't all that specific. The artist might've gotten a new job or something; I've seen other fanartists take their sites down temporarily for that reason. It sounds temporary though...? Without Rikai I'm
too lazy to look everything upa wreck.Epics really are masochistic. >_> The one I'm doing now is planned and everything, and... yeah, agony. Mmmkay, I think you have a point there. Maybe randomness is a better idea. Being so anal about my writing, though... every one of the snips will somehow end up with a plot.
Innocent Sanaki/Sephiran? On your journal? :D;
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 11:17 am (UTC)Sehiran is too nice! He fails at being the big bad villain. His path to world destruction kept being impeded by him having to stop and feed every stray kitten he found~
The interesting point is how far the act goes. Zelgius really is one of the most well, enigmatic characters out there. Even after several explanations, his reasonings still make me go "...what?"
Ahhh~ Hopefully they'll come back soon! Until then, I posted most of the S/Z I have in another comment~
Well, it could be sort of controlled randomness? You could have sections for each country he traveled in, interspersed by travelogues, focus on the gen aspect of the countries, etc?
Haha! I rarely do WIP fic because I tend to wander off and never update! I can get by with ficverses and semi-connected drabble pieces, but my bad habits come in when it's actual chapterfic. Gotta cure that~~~
Kink meme :D!
I did the painfully innocent Innocente (http://ooh-shinies.livejournal.com/523.html?thread=140043) (pun not intended) and This (http://ooh-shinies.livejournal.com/523.html?thread=62731#t62731) S/Z which is...less innocent.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 11:30 am (UTC)I did join up, against my better judgement. It's not that hard to write a thousand words, but the idea part of it is going to be difficult because FE is EATING MY BRAIN WAIT I NEED SOME FOR CLASS----
Yes... yes he does do that, doesn't he. Oh, these Crimean soldiers are hurt, must heal them~~ (and get caught and put in prison and) poor Ranulf is going to be skinned alive, must do something about that... Oh Sephiran. He'd have been much better off as a villain if he could attack Sanaki and the herons, too. He couldn't even stay dead because he felt bad about Sanaki. Hahaha.
That's not a bad idea, to write it in sections like that. I considered having them scour the known world basically, trying to find Micaiah. It'll probably end up 100% gen without my even trying, too. Curses.
If I do one chapter fic at a time I'm usually okay. Which... means I'm breaking my rule right now, oops.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-29 02:25 am (UTC)Oh! I didn't think you did, but then, gen would probably come pretty easy for you.
you could always do a plausible crossover with Sephiran and Sai and Kurthnaga and Touya and--Actually, I'm suffering the same problem. I keep going "...BUT ALAS, I MUST FINISH XYZ FIC BEFORE I FALL TO THE BLIND GO CURSE!111" (XYZ fic being IkeSoren fic, and possibly some genish slightly au Pelleas/Micaiah fic~!)
Now Reyson would've made a far better villain. He obviously has no problem KILLING ALL HUMANS! TIBARN, THAT HUMAN LOOKED AT ME FUNNY. NAESALA, YOU OWE ME ONE. GO KILL, MY MANBITCHES. KILLLLLL!
Sephiran: Would be taking over the world (to destroy it) but he's too busy saving kittens.
Well, you could make it genish with a subtext-y hints here and there? That way you can appease both the fangirl and the editor ~!
Fufu~ FE demands more, does it? I'm not allowed to start any more WIPs, no matter how tempting until I finish the second chapter of another project I was working on~ (Not Nekofic, semi-gen childhood epic I was working on. Sigh, must go finish the next chapter...~)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-29 09:40 am (UTC)... I admit, there's something about Pelleas/Micaiah that makes me think it would work better than with Sothe. But it could go either way. I think Sothe has something to prove though, because she still sees him as the child she took care of. THAT CAN SURELY BE GOTTEN AROUND, but Sothe doesn't have the whole "I rule the largest country in the world and know more than most of you" thing going that a certain other young person does. >.>
So biased. SO BIASED it's sad.
Oh god, Reyson. XD TIBARN WOULD DO IT. Anything for the sparkly bird
as long as he gets to tie Reyson up later. I kind of want to write a very-dominant!Reyson/Tibarn, but... but no, must focus. I wonder if that would get any responses at ye olde meme.I want to see more of that childhood fic~
no subject
Date: 2008-08-29 12:44 pm (UTC)Also, just imaaagine a talk between Sai and Sephiran. A game of Go, maybe? There would be so much pretty long hair, it would be ridiculous. And all that existential angst under it all~!
Actually, when I started out I had no particular bias with Micaiah pairing, but Pelleas/Micaiah snuck in from “oh, that’s cute” to become my het OTP for Tellius. (The other one is Rajaion/Ena. But there’s only so much you can do with that with him being dead and all.)
My issue with Sothe/Micaiah isn’t even the incest factor, I have apparently been really desensitized to incest via FE and all the VC Andrews I read as a teen. (That doesn’t mean I’ll ship random baseless incest like say, Ron/Ginny, but if there’s hints I’m usually not squicked.)
Anyways, my issue with S/M is the same I have with Ike/Elincia, or one of them anyways – he gets boring around her. He becomes flat and every few chapters goes GRR MICAIAH I WILL PROTECT YOU!!1111 Over and over. On the other hand, Pelleas opens up around Micaiah and verges between being utterly adorable and actually growing a spine! Basically, he shows more facets around Micaiah while Sothe shows less because he's stuck on the same GRR PROTECT MICAIAH note. In the end Sothe is more interesting around Astrid or Tormod where his personality actually shows and isn't overshadowed by his Epic Incestuous Love For Her.
*snerk* Sanaki is on the same topping tier as Reyson, I swear. Sanaki/Kurthnaga and Sanaki/Pelleas are two of my pet crack pairings just for that reason~ Mostly because she would boss them around and top them like crazy. They would be utterly whipped. Might as well not even call them Emperors, they'd be demoted to consort.
But like I said before, the father/daughter aspect was very much added from the North American release. They reallly babied it down. In the J-translation I saw, it was more along the lines of him saying he was sorry he lied to her, but he never meant her harm and he always loved her.
There was a couple Tibarn/Reyson at ye olde kink meme~! Including one that either wanted Reyson ravished or being really dominant.
I want to get farther in that too! I keep meaning to transcribe what I have of the second chapter, but I hate notebook transcription so~! ..Actually, there was Sephiran/Zelgius near the end, and a significant Sephiran+Sanaki platonic relationship. I actually would’ve gotten it done much more quickly had my computer not eaten all my notes. Overall it was semi-short WIP-wise, only about ten chapters planned.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-30 02:44 am (UTC)It's a sweet pairing though, and I like it. Pelleas bothers me because he's so damned spineless, but it's true that he attempts to come out of his shell more when he's talking to Micaiah, or being encouraged by her. I can see it both ways. I also think he's got it for her REALLY BAD in the game regardless of whether she sees it, so I mean.
I see what you mean about his character kind of draining away. His overriding concern for her actually seems a bit smothering, but that's just me. I don't think she sees it that way. Pelleas, on the other hand, puts a hell of a lot of faith in Micaiah and her skills. I wonder if maybe Sothe actually doesn't (or can't) look at her as an adult would.
... yeah, Sanaki tops everyone. Sephiran would probably be able to equalize a bit, and mshe wouldn't top Tibarn, but that isn't a pairing I want to contemplate. The only reason Reyson tops Tibarn, I think, is... well, to uncomplicate the idea-- no, I really can't. Basically, he respects Reyson's heritage as a heron so much...? Never mind, I'll devote an entire entry to that. I saw that particular prompt, but... but if I can barely do het, I seriously doubt my ability to do slash. ;_;
YAY more Sephiran and-- well, I like both Sanaki and Zelgius. My preference is obvious, but either one makes me fangirl.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-30 05:22 pm (UTC)It's not 'real' incest, but as you mentioned, she does tend to treat him like a child, 'she's like a sister to me, but we're not related' pops up more than once. In essence, there's still some sibling/maternal bond going on there.
Well, it is somewhat justified considering her squishy mage status. But it gets boring after a while. We get it, you want her safe. We got it the first 40 times, man. Even Soren doesn't run screaming through the battlefields I WILL SAVE YOU IKE!!11 ....He just sticks close and Elwinds like crazy, as seen in Greil Mercenaries CG. ♥
SO YEAH, LESS TALK AND MORE ACTION, SOTHE.
It was pretty cute up until “please kill me” where it got rather tragic (though there’s always the second playthrough!) But yeah, his “;_; ♥!”is adorable, and she’s willing to even take a blow for him. D’aww.
Actually, after some thinking through, I’ve got a take on Pelleas – in essence, he would’ve likely latched on to anyone who treated him so kindly because he’s so love-starved. Just like he trusted Izuka even when it was obviously a Very Bad Idea because he was thankful for Izuka to have helped him find a ‘home’.
I think Pelleas is in general far too trusting, possibly from living a rather cloistered life? He strikes me as this bookish kid who always huddled in a corner with books in the libraries while the other children were outside playing. It’s likely he was never accepted by the other children, which also might account why he clung so steadfastly to the first people who showed him a shred of kindness. He’s like an inverse of Soren. He’s naive and gullible and too trusting.
So yes, he likely adores her to a very high amount, but if say, Elincia had been the one to show him that kindness, he would’ve latched to her instead. Pelleas is basically this starved little puppy who follows home the first person who gives it food.
However, it should be noted that Micaiah's belief in him was unwavering, even when it was unwarranted. Which probably helped with him fixating on her an all.
That’s easy! Reyson tops from the bottom. All he has to do is insinuate that Tibarn will be sleeping on the couch for the next week and Tibarn tends to comply right away. Unless it’s about the battlefield where the answer is NO NO NO WHY DO YOU CRAZY HERONS KEEP TRYING TO KILL YOURSELVES?
XD I'm afraid the shippy parts didn't come until near the end. There was one-sided hints thrown around during the story, but Zelgius is largely absent until the last chapter. The actual Ike side of the Ike/Soren doesn’t happen until the last three chapters, Tibarn+Reyson is always in the background