Alright, and here it is. I am so sorry for writing this.
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Phrygia
Characters; Garvin (Midas), Aries, Akira, Briar, and Fintan. Karma and Kostas are there too but I don’t know how to write them so they don’t talk. Rest of GRAIN, Devery, and Clio, and probably others are all at least kind of implied and/or mentioned too.
Word Count; 3,055.
TWs; Swearing, self worth issues, arguing (mostly one-sided), dissociation, ‘mild’ flashbacks, panic/anxiety attacks, nausea, implied past abuse, implied past child abuse, implied past sexual abuse/rape/gang rape, implied past child sexual abuse/rape/gang rape, manipulation, gaslighting, emotional/mental abuse, victim blaming, pretty obvious consequences of programming, implied sexual assault/oral rape, rather graphic thoughts of violence/murder, mentions of waterboarding, implied mention of gang rape, violence/injury, electrocution, a seizure, threats of cannibalism, threats of sexual violence/rape/gang rape, threats of violence/injury, threats of death, implied threats of trafficking, kind-of transphobia (???) (you’ll see), and messy ending/writing. There might be more, but I’m not too sure. Anyways, uh. Be careful. As you can tell, this gets so incredibly heavy.
Notes; The very beginning starts in Midas’ POV and then pretty much immediately switches to Aries’ POV. Also, the DID would definitely have been diagnosed by the time of this. Little reminder that Fintan is like… The same height as Garvin, though much more in shape, oops. Anyways, uh, yeah. A little AU thing where they, like, try to confront Fintan after he somehow starts messaging Garvin, causing Midas (who had been trying to become a protector) to, more or less, get front-stuck. Midas goes with them in order to prove that he isn't going to fail at being a protector/he isn't going to leave the way nicer people/he can handle seeing Fintan in any capacity without totally breaking down and losing all his progress Basically. More or less. There’s probably a good ending version somewhere but this one isn’t it. Nope. This is the bad ending version.
*~*~*~*
The way to Fintan’s house was second nature, even with all the time that had passed. All the progress he’d made. Midas fiddled with one of his sleeves, trying not to look at any of the people that had come with him. He didn’t think he had been supposed to come with them, if the way he’d had to convince Akira to let him was anything to go off of. Not like it mattered anymore. He was already standing in front of Fintan’s door, just as nerve wracked as he had always been doing so.
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He tried not to think too much about the message he’d sent to Fintan earlier that day. About how much it felt like playing into his hand. He reached out and knocked before anyone else could, and tried not to slip back.
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Seconds passed, he kept his eyes on the door as it opened. He tried not to think about how small he felt as yellow eyes found him. “Finally, Mi—”
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The pause seemed sudden, but it was easy enough to figure out why it happened. It was easy enough to track where Fintan was looking, gaze shifting to the people around. Shifting to the clematis flowers covering the vines on his hands. It didn’t seem to silence him for long though, tone still far too calm for his liking. The gun on his hip almost explained it. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing friends.”
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Midas shifted, trying not to think about how it felt like his throat was closing up. He thought that he might have seen someone shift next to him out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn’t tell, it wasn’t sticking past Fintan speaking again, eyes on the people around him, a hand starting to reach for him. “Well. Thanks for escorting him but—”
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A different hand reached out in front of him, followed by the sound of Akira’s voice basically growling, “Don’t touch him.” He didn’t like the look that passed Fintan’s face as he looked in Akira’s direction and then at the flowers on his hands.
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Fintan stepped back through the door though, hand retreating and still smiling. He glanced at all of them, and settled his gaze onto him. Then he turned, walking further into his house again with a simple, “Come inside, Midas.”
-
Time passed in silence where it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He was watching as Fintan walked down the front hallway and he couldn’t breathe. Hadn’t he wanted to come with them so he would have a chance like this? To prove that they didn’t need to worry about him running back to Fintan? He was being handed a chance to do just that. He choked on nothing for a moment, forced himself to take a breath and speak as his throat closed on itself. It felt like tunnel vision, almost, where all he could see was Fintan. “…N-No.”
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Fintan stopped where he was in the front hallway and turned towards him, eyes narrowed. “No? The fuck do you mean no? Why not?”
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The gaze felt like a blade against skin. He was almost tempted to… He gritted his teeth, set his jaw, tried not to think about how much it hurt to say no to him, tried not to think about the way his vision blanked on him for a moment. He shifted, taking a half-step back and forcing his voice to work. “You- You hurt us.”
---
Gwyar had, admittedly, gotten a little distracted by the gun on Fintan’s side when the door had first opened. His friend shifting backwards caught his attention though, almost shocking him. He didn’t really know Midas, in all fairness, and maybe it was just one difference between them— But he did know Garvin and he knew that, for whatever reason, he had never shifted back like that during a confrontation before. At least not in front of him. Not with fear in his voice, not without some sort of anger in it instead.
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But that… Didn’t really matter. Not at the moment, not with the quickly building distance in his friend’s eyes. So Aries shifted a foot in front of Midas, not nearly enough for if Fintan decided to use the gun he had. But it was something, and he watched as Fintan didn’t reach for his gun at all. Watched as, instead, his face softened and he spoke, his voice almost a coo. Far too soft for what, admittedly little, Gwyar knew about him.
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“Oh, baby.. Is that what these people have been telling you? You know that isn’t true. I only ever helped you— I only ever loved you, you know that.”
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The words made him feel sick. The tone made him feel sick. Really, everything that had happened so far was making him feel sick. The way he could see most of the others tensing from the corner of his eyes told him that it was probably making them feel sick too. Aries shifted some more, in time with Akira taking a step forward, anger clear in their voice.
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“That wasn’t—”
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“L-Loved?” Gwyar glanced over as Midas interrupted Akira, his voice small and eyes far away even as he popped the sound of the d. As if it were the past tense that didn’t make sense. He almost made eye contact with Akira, their gaze turned towards Midas. He almost wished he had made eye contact. They had to get him away. The gun on Fintan’s side wasn’t going to let him get Midas away. It wasn’t going to let any of them get Midas away. They shouldn’t have brought him along.
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Fintan was still smiling, voice too gentle for what he’d done. “Come inside, Midas, and we’ll forget this. All of it. You trying to tell me no, you letting them cover up my vines… I’ll go back to loving you and I’ll get a friend here to fix the vines, won’t take but a short call. How’s that sound, baby?”
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His skin crawled, and if not for the gun on Fintan’s hip, Gwyar had no doubt that they would’ve already won against him. Out of the corner of his eyes though, he saw Briar push forward until they were mostly in front of Midas. He thought to reach towards them for a moment, to make sure they didn’t keep walking forward, a gunshot clear in his mind, but stopped himself when they spoke. “He’s not going anywhere with you.”
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Fintan’s smile finally faltered, though not as nervously as Gwyar would’ve hoped for. Really, it didn’t seem like a nervous falter at all. It made him nervous. The sigh he let out didn’t help, the smile back with it as a hand pulled out his gun. “I don’t quite think I’m talking to you. But, either way, how about you let him decide, hm?”
-
The gun wasn’t being pointed at Briar, thank the stars. It wasn’t being pointed at anyone yet actually, but Aries could still feel the way his heart skipped a beat in his chest at the sight of it. He didn’t doubt it was loaded. Fintan seemed the type to keep a loaded gun on him. He wasn’t sure if the safety was on or off though. He couldn’t see it. Not that it made much of a difference. Turning the safety off didn’t take long, especially for someone who knew what they were doing. He wondered, for a moment, how many people Fintan had killed before. He wondered, for a moment, if he had any right to judge based on that.
-
Midas standing stock still next to him, ever so slightly behind Briar, kept his focus away from his thoughts though. He hadn’t moved in a while, and his breathing definitely seemed off. He hadn’t said anything either. Gwyar knew they needed to get him away, the gun wasn’t at Fintan’s side anymore though. He glanced at Akira, trying to figure out if they had some sort of idea of what to do. Trying to figure out if there was anything that he could do. Instead, Fintan’s voice forced his eyes back to him.
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“King Midas, come back to Phrygia.” The name was sing-songed, the whole thing practically cooed. It stopped his brain for a second, running through the myths he knew almost by heart. Because the city they were in wasn’t called Phrygia. No, Phrygia was just the name of the kingdom that King Midas of Greek myth had ruled over.
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He glanced at Midas, in the fleeting moments after, as names clicked and his skin crawled, nausea settling in his stomach. The eyes of his friend seemed glazed over, far away and lost to the world. The gun held in Fintan’s hand kept him from reaching out as Midas stepped forward through the doorway not even a second later. Gwyar watched as Akira’s face shifted into something akin to desperate fury, as they stopped themself from trying to reach out. He watched as his own partner stood watching, stuck in place by the gun that was stopping all of them, and more felt than saw the tension in the air from the other two that had come with them.
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Fintan’s smile had darkened, twisted as Midas continued towards him. His voice was still far too soft, far too sweet for what was happening as he purred, “Good boy..”
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He saw as Akira’s face twisted more, as Fintan’s smile deepened with each step closer, as it grew with the look on their faces. Fintan’s voice when he spoke, eyes narrowed onto Akira and smile sharpened into a smirking grin, almost sounded mocking. Almost seemed amused. It sounded sure, a boast that had always been true. Just like everything else so far, it made him sick to his stomach. “Oh, don’t feel too bad.. Of course he’d pick me over all of you. I’m his life, he worships me, loves me more than he could ever even think to love any of you.” Akira shifted, Fintan’s finger played with the trigger on his gun before his face lit up. He continued speaking, the sound of a belt and zipper being messed with underlining his words as Midas just about reached him, “In fact, just so you can know how little of a chance you had…”
-
Aries tried to ignore the bile rising in his throat as Midas reached Fintan. He forced it back down, and stared at the gun still pointed towards the group of them. Fintan’s voice was a purr again as he spoke, “How about you pray to me, Midas?”
-
His skin crawled, bile creeping back up, watching from the corner of his eyes as Midas found his way to his knees in front of Fintan and his empty hand found its way into Midas’ hair. It ran through the curls too softly for what was happening, stopping near the base of his friend’s skull before turning into what looked like a harsh hold. What looked like a painful one.
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The gun shifted away from them. He followed it with his eyes for a moment before Akira took a step forward, a murderous rage painted clearly on their face, their voice just as biting. “Why you—”
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They were interrupted by the gun finding a place pointed against Midas’ head. Gwyar’s blood ran cold, and he tried to ignore the sound of a gunshot that he knew was only in his mind. He felt himself slightly shaking, his airways held tight by panic. He watched as Midas didn’t even seem to notice, and he watched as Fintan’s finger sat near the trigger. His voice was thick when he spoke.
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“Shhh, stay there. Let me make—” He grunted, hand tightening in Midas’ hair, “Let me make this one thing fucking clear. This?” He pulled Midas’ head closer to him, farther onto him, by his hair. “He’s mine. He’ll always be mine. And he’ll be staying here for as long as I decide.”
-
Aries felt sick. He wanted to vomit, he wanted to run— He wanted to watch the light go out in Fintan’s bright yellow eyes. He couldn’t move, his eyes glued to the gun pointed towards his best friend. They’d just reclaimed themselves. The new tattoo of kraken-esque Scylla on his back and neck almost seemed to burn. They shouldn’t have brought Midas with them.
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Fintan moaned, and continued speaking, amusement in his tone. “Maybe though, since you love him so much that you’d want to cover my vines— I’ll let you play with him once I’m done.”
-
Gwyar could feel as his hands clenched into fists, and he could almost feel the way they’d break Fintan’s windpipe. He could almost feel the way Fintan’s hands would claw and pull and beat at his wrists to stop him before that happened. He could almost see the smug look fall from his face into fear, and then into nothing at all. He wished he actually could. He wished the gun wasn’t in his way.
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He heard as Fintan moaned again, and blinked away the half-feelings and half-sights. A finger was closer to the trigger than it’d been before. He wasn’t sure if he’d missed something or not. He didn’t think he had. He watched as Fintan’s hips bucked, either hand tightening their holds. He thought, for a split second, he saw blood dripping from Fintan’s mouth, fear on his face. It was gone when he blinked though, and there was lust clouding Fintan’s eyes instead.
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The gun was pressed harder against Midas’ head, a finger running along the trigger before resting under it, and the hand in his friend’s hair pulled him closer as Fintan’s hips bucked again. Gwyar tried not to get caught up in the thoughts and half-feelings of warm blood turning cold and arteries and veins split open by twin gladii blades. Fintan’s would be the only life he’d enjoy taking.
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Fintan grunted and spoke again, eyes on Midas and voice thick with a sadistic sort of lust. “Good baby boy— You fucking like this, don’t you? Choking on my—” He moaned again, finger gliding along the trigger of the gun in his hand again. “Fuck, baby— Next time we take turns while waterboarding you, instead of water maybe we’ll be using fucking—”
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“You piece of—” Akira’s desperate anger was interrupted by a finger starting to press against the gun’s trigger. Their silence was met with the finger shifting away before it could fire the gun. Gwyar couldn’t force his eyes to even glance over at them. To look away from the gun in case it was shot while he wasn’t looking. Fintan made a noise between another grunt and another moan, and after a moment—
-
Gwyar was watching as the hand in Midas’ hair let go, followed shortly by the sound of a zipper being messed with again. The gun stayed pointed against Midas’ head. A second later, he saw as a spark of electricity made its way from the gun in Fintan’s hand across to his friend’s head.
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Midas’ head jerked to the side, his body following, falling onto his side at Fintan’s feet. The gun shifted in Fintan’s hand to continue pointing it at Midas, who was starting to twitch and jerk and— His friend was having a seizure. Aries was watching as someone pointed a gun at his friend. Who was having a seizure. He tried not to feel too glad that his friend was on his side for it. Not with everything else that had happened. Not with what was happening at the moment. Fintan wasn’t even looking at Midas. Fintan was looking at the group of them, his empty hand fixing his belt.
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And then Fintan was lifting a foot, kicking Midas onto his back instead as he stepped over him, towards the group, his gaze kept on them. Gwyar didn’t look at him, staring at Midas and the gun Fintan kept pointed at his convulsing figure on the ground. He tried not to look at his face, at whatever he would find there showing what Fintan had done. Midas needed to be on his side, he’d get hurt even more if he wasn't.
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He forced his eyes away, forced himself to look at Fintan, whose mouth was open to speak. Aries beat him to it, staring him down and trying to keep his voice calm. “He’s having a seizure—”
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Fintan interrupted next, dismissively waving his free hand, “He’ll be fine. It’s not the first, it’s not the last. He’ll survive, and if he doesn’t I’m sure I have friends that’d still fuck him. Or eat him. Whichever one offers the most in return, right? As for all of you though… Oh, what to do with all of you…”
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Gwyar knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to drag Fintan through the streets, beat him to death, and then drag him through the streets some more. He wanted to drag him to the police station in this city, dump him there and tell them that if he could take down Fintan, then they could fix their city. He wanted to wrap cables and wires around Fintan, hang him somewhere the entire city could see, and see how many volts it would take to kill him. He wanted to carve Fintan’s arteries and veins out of his body. Every. Last. One. He wanted—
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Fintan grinned, his voice dark and almost amused. “Ah, right. I’ll be nice. All of you can leave. Leave my property, leave my city, and go back home. Wherever that is. But if you come back, or you tell— Anyone, anything about what’s happened here today… And I’ll find you. And your loved ones. And I’ll bring friends— Shit, I’ll even bring Midas along! And after my friends and I have had our fun with all of you and the people you care about? Well, maybe we’ll keep any kids that any of you have, but other than that? We’ll just kill you! And then I’ll have Midas suck the dicks of your corpses. How’s that? Either you’ll fucking piss in his mouth or your corpse will get off and no matter which’ll happen, it’ll be a good fucking show!”
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Fintan put a finger on the trigger, the gun still pointed towards Midas, “Now get out of my fucking city.”
Winter 
Night Weather: 
Brimstone Moon: 
