Manipulate Me
Series Metadata
Listing Series
-
Tags
Summary
The band has a "talk" after the filming of Aries, and the subsequent Friday 13th video. 2D isn't having any of Murdoc's shit anymore. He's had his time to think, to examine, and he's had enough. He's too old for this, too tired of it. Twenty years. He'd been abused by Murdoc longer than not. And he's tired of it. Murdoc was going to get a piece of his mind.
A Song Machine era look at the evolution of abuse and what the band has molded into because of it over the phases that lead to today.
Now a multi-chapter fic.
Series
- Part 1 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
2D is not Stuart Pot. Yes, it's his name. But he is not Stuart Pot. Stuart Pot died from a car bumper to the face. He'd never been able to put that into words, but he had never been asked to. But he was older now. And so was Noodle. And so were Rachel and David Pot.
A "Song Machine" era look at D Day.
Series
- Part 2 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Silver lining's getting lost... But at the end of a waterfall is a rainbow. An odd outcome to a bullet of the noose.
A "Humanz" look into the creation of the song "Idaho."
Series
- Part 3 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Twenty years is a long time to form bad habits. It takes time to learn new ones, and unlearn toxic ones. When old trauma rears it's ugly head, even the most stubborn can learn a little. Maybe there's hope for Murdoc yet.
A pre-and-post Song Machine look at Murdoc's growth towards 2D.
Series
- Part 4 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Stuart Pot got hit with a car. 2D is the one that woke up. And he has no idea who the fuck he is. Seems no one else does either. How do you quantify the mess a dead guy leaves behind, when you're the one picking up the pieces?
Pre-phase one look at D-day, and the immediate aftermath.
Series
- Part 5 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Everyone was just... Okay. They came back, and everything and everyone was happy, and okay, and it was like nothing had happened. But it HAD happened. It was STILL happening. And he was reaching a breaking point of no return. Hitting rock bottom, a helping hand can start lifting you up, and begin healing.
The start of The Now Now, and the hurt and healing it brought.
Please mind the tags.
Series
- Part 6 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
They needed a break. All of them. They all needed to go away, and live different lives, and have a hard reset. Just for a little while. The Now Now was finished, Murdoc was home, time for another album to be made, Ace had to go..........
Ace had to go...
How the break between The Now Now, and Song Machine came to be. Romantic pairing update, please see notes.
Series
- Part 7 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
It's about time they all got therapy. And Dr. Emily Jay is a crisis therapist. With a focus on physical trauma. She'd seen some interesting patients in her day. But none of them could quite match getting eaten by a whale. Or harpooned. Or almost murdered on a flaming flying island.
There was a lot of work to do.
The start of The Now Now, and the road to healing.
Series
- Part 8 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
California! Sun, surf, roller skates. A working vacation of sorts, they did have a video to film. But they could have fun too! Kinda.
The trip at the end of Humility.
Tags updated! Sorry!
Series
- Part 9 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Horrible things hide in the dark. And when you can't sleep, it's all you focus on. It gets louder and louder, until it's all you can hear. A break from the dark, from the noise, is more welcome than ever realized. And Ace is that break.
Set during The Now Now.
Series
- Part 10 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Ace has arrived at Studio 13. Ace hadn't been around very long. But even he could see that not all was right in the world of the Gorillaz. There was an open wound there, festering and rotting, and hidden under layers and layers of... Something. He didn't know what it was. But there was something just not being acknowledged or spoken about. And Ace knew it would reach a breaking point somewhere.
Ace's first few weeks living with the Gorillaz before work on The Now Now.
Series
- Part 11 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
With nothing to do, thoughts creep up where they don't belong. When outside is dim and dark, inside is too. With some understanding, he can put one foot in front of the other.
Post Song Machine Season One look at mental health and family you make.
Series
- Part 12 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Two and a half years on this godforsaken island.
A look at captivity on Plastic Beach.
Series
- Part 13 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Ace and 2D have a moment alone after Humility, and they have a talk that's been much needed. Truth, and trust, make them stronger.
Only good steps forward.
Series
- Part 14 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Noodle had always been a driving force of 2D's life. She was his little sister, and he would protect her with his life. Not that he held much value in his own life. But if she needed it, it was her's. Always and forever. But she's not a little girl anymore.
A look at Noodle and 2D, and Murdoc, from Demon Days to The Now Now.
Series
- Part 16 of Manipulate Me
-
Tags
Summary
Ace and 2D have a bonding moment near the end of production of The Now Now. Ace learns something about how 2D lives and sees the world, and 2D loves his partner just a little bit more because of it.
Having to be so far apart sucks. But distance helps 2D understand just what Ace means to him, and what love actually feels like.
Series
- Part 17 of Manipulate Me