#the leopard was actually something that my dads said happened when he took me to the zoo when I was a baby 😂 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

20moonchild21 · 3 years

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𝗦𝗲𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘁 [𝗯𝘁𝘀]

⇉ 𝗰𝗵𝗽𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 17

[pairings]

JK x female!oc, Bunny!JK x human!female!oc, Jin x female!oc, Leopard!Jin x human!female!oc, Jimin x female!oc, white Tiger!Jimin x human!female!oc, Taehyung x female!oc, black Tiger!Taehyung x human!female!oc, Hobi x female!oc, Fox!Hobi x human!female!oc, Namjoon x female!oc, Wolf!Namjoon x human!female!oc, JK x Jin x Jimin x Taehyung x Hobi x Namjoon x female!oc

[warnings]

none

[words]

4.0k

[author]

It has been a long time, but I am back now, and I am more than excited to start updating Sehnsucht again!

I hope you you all checked out the story of my lovely friends @starlightauroras-main. Inferiority complex is super cute story about Hybrid!Jimin. Please, check it out!

I also hope that you like this chapter. Almost all Boys have entered the story yet, only Yoongi is missing. But it still needs a little while until he will be arrive. 🤭

Stay healthy and safe!

Mꨄ

[chapter 16 ||| chapter 18]

Hobi watched in amazement how the girl’s hand was sliding over the piece of fabric back and forth, turning it upside down and back up, before laying it on the table and smoothing it.

“Look.” She said proudly, as she held up the once ripped shirt. “It’s like nothing has happened.”

Despite all the advantaged that came with being a Hybrid, like having extra sensitive senses, there were also more than enough disadvantages too. Especially, when he had never had such expensive clothes to know how to handle them the right way. He had tried to find the right way out for his arms and head but ended up with his head and arm in one hole, which obviously had been too much for the fabric.

At first, he had been scared to tell someone about this accident. Not just because he had felt embarrassed, but also because he had been scared to upset someone to whom the clothes belonged. Sadly, he was like an open book to read for everyone, so Jin had noticed pretty fast that something had been odd with the fox Hybrid. When Hobi had finally told him what happened, Jin began to laugh warmly, telling him that no one would be mad at him.

When Hope had come home from her work, Hobi had bundled up all his courage to tell her all by himself, hoping that she would react in the same way as Jin. Indeed, she had smirked a little bit when he had told her the story, but she quickly had offered him her help to fix the shirt. His old owner would have never reacted in such a kind way.

When he was younger, the man who owned the circus had bought him from the people who had bred him in their laboratories. He brought the small fox boy all the way over to America, just to lock him up in a cage there. But Hobi had never complained though. After all, the man had offered him a place to sleep and something to eat every day.

But of course, he had also been a curious child back then¸ wanting to explore his surroundings and borders. That had often brought him in troubles, leaving him more often locked up in his cage than he had planned. At some point, he had learnt that it was only him who brought himself in such position and from that day on, he had just kept following the rules like he was supposed to do.

Hope meanwhile had put a small, wooden box on the table that was filled with all kinds of needles, threads and other supplies one could need for sewing. He had not even needed to wait long, because as soon as the girl had been sitting, she had already been fixing the small rip in the shirt.

While she had been worked concentrated on the blue piece of fabric, Hobi had grabbed himself a small piece of fabric out of the box as well, trying to copy her movements. Obviously, he was not as talented as her.

“Wow.” He stunned, as he laid his own piece of work down and reached out for the shirt. “I can’t even see where the rip was. Where did you lean this, Hope?”

The girl smirked slightly, while she cleaned the table.

“I was a pretty wild child.” She told him, reaching up to put the sewing box up onto the shelf on the wall. “I always came home with a lack in my trousers. At some point, my mother was tired to fix all my clothes, so she taught me to fix them myself.”

Hobi head the sadness in her voice when she talked about her mom. Beside the picture of her on Jungkook’s favourite wall, Hobi had never seen Hope’s mother in person, so he guessed that she probably was missing her much.

“Your mom was a pretty good teacher then.” He smiled widely at the girl. “Maybe she could visit us some day, so you can show her how well you fixed my shirt.”

If it was possible, the girl’s expression dropped even more, while she clutched her hands onto the mug in front of her. Hobi immediately regretted what he just had said.

“I don’ think that she will be visiting us some day.” She said, as she sadly smiled at the confused boy. “My mom died a few years ago, you know?”

Hobi sunk his ears low when he heard her words. He had never had a mom or a dad, but he could imagine the pain the small girl was feeling right now.

“I am sorry.” He just whispered, not wanting to say anything else to make her sad.

“It’s okay.” Hobi watched, as the girl’s mouth suddenly pulled up. “You know, I like thinking about her. She was a wonderful and strong woman. When I was younger, I always wanted to be like her. She was kind and courteous to everyone, even to Hybrids. She taught me to respect every living, because all of them have a soul and feelings. I am sure she would have loved to meet you guys.”

Hobi could clearly imagine the woman Hope was describing him, because it fit perfectly on the description of Hope. He was glad that her mom had taught Hope all those things, because only she was the reason, he now had a safe place to stay.

“I would have loved to meet your mom. She sounds like a wonderful person.” He carefully spoke, as he reached over and grabbed the girl’s hand that was loosely laying on the table.

It was the very first time that Hobi had made such a big step and actually touched the human girl. Her smaller hand felt so warm and soft, almost fitting perfectly into his bigger hand. It also felt different from when he was touching Jin’s or Jungkook’s hand. He had never felt those little sparkles when touching one of the boys, but he liked it though. Hope gladly accepted this small way of physical affections, squeezing his hand back.

“Diner was so delicious, Jin.” Hope smiled at the older boy, before she put her plate into the sink and kissed the boy’s forehead. “Thank you for that.”

Jin stayed in the kitchen to do the dishes, while Hope walked back into the living room where the other boys were already waiting for her. They all had bombarded her with questions since she had been home again, and now they were waiting for their answers.

“Hope!” Jungkook’s ears were standing up high in the air, as he petted the spot next to him on the sofa, gesturing for her to sit down there.

As soon as her bum met with the soft fabric, the bunny had already laid his head down in her lap, while from the other side, Taehyung was now leaning his head onto her shoulder.

For the next hour, they asked her questions over questions about everything that had happened at work. They asked her about all the Hybrids she had met, about the people she would be working with and about thousands of other things that sometimes made her smirk, because sometimes they were like little kids.

When she told them about the wolf Hybrid, Namjoon, the room suddenly felt silence. All of the boys sitting around her knew fully how that poor boy felt and what he was going through.

“He must be so scared.” Jimin said, wrapping his tail around himself, as Jungkook wrapped his arm around the smaller one’s shoulder. “I wish we could help him somehow.”

The bunny kept Jimin in his arms for a little while longer, before he suddenly jumped up and ran down the hallway towards his room. Hope looked confused at Jin, who was also just shrugging his shoulders. After a few seconds, the slamming of the bunny’s bedroom door rang through the apartment, and Jungkook came running back into the living room.

“Here.” He stopped in front of Hope and held out one of his favourite Hobbit books towards her. “You can give him my favourite book. Maybe he will like it, too.”

“But, Jungkook.” Hope gasped at that sweet gesture of Jungkook, before she stood up and took the book out of his hand. “You love that Hobbit book.”

“Yeah, I do.” The bunny scratched his neck, as his cheeks turned red. “But I – I read it so many times that I can’t count them anymore. I just think that he has absolutely nothing and maybe he will feel more comfortable if he would have something he likes.”

Hope was absolutely touched by Jungkook’s gesture. She knew how much he loved that book and how sad he had been when he had almost given it away a few months ago. She had always known that he had a very big heart when it comes to other people he cared for.

“I will give it to him. Thank you, Kookie.” She whispered, as she stood on her tippy toes and hugged the taller boy tightly, before pressing him a big kiss on his cheek.

“Okay, guys.” Jin announced, looking at his watch just to realized that it was already late at night. He yawned and stretched his arms, tail and ears out at the same time, which looked pretty funny. “I will go to bed. I am pretty tired. Goodnight.”

He went around and gave Taehyung and Jimin a linger hug, Jungkook and Hope a kiss and Hobi a lovely pet on his head, before he went into his room. Next were Taehyung and Jungkook who wanted to play a few more video games in the tiger’s room, and also Hobi stated that he would go to bed, leaving only Jimin and the girl back.

The white tigers sat shyly at the edge of the couch, with his tail wrapped around his legs and a slight shade of red on his cheeks. He looked up at the girl for a second, before he carefully moved closer towards her on the sofa. When he was close enough, he carefully put his head on her shoulder and laid his tail in her lap for the very first time.

“Do you think you can help that wolf in your company.” Jimin carefully asked her, as she begin to stroke his fluffy tail.

“I hope I can.” She whispered back, leaning her head onto his. “But he needs to trust me in the first place, and this needs a little more time, you know?”

Jimin just hummed at her answer.

“I think he is lucky to have you as his lawyer now.” He suddenly smiled. “I know you will safe him, just like you saved us.”

Hope closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back at the time where she first met Jimin and Taehyung. Both tigers had definitely brought some changes into that family, but in a good way of course. Suddenly, she remembered the conversation from earlier, when Namjoon had asked her about their adoption.

“Jimin.” She mumbled into his thick hair. “There is something I want to ask you. You know, Taehyung and you have been living here for a few weeks now, and I think the both of you fit in in our crazy home pretty well. If you would be okay with it, I would like to adopt you and your brother.”

Immediately, Jimin’s head shot up from her shoulder. He looked with wide eyes at the girl, before he nodded wildly and threw himself onto the her, hugging her tightly and whispering ‘thank you’ a thousand times. This sudden movement caused both of them to fall over and fully onto the couch. When both young adults realized in which position, they were now in, with the girl on her back and Jimin over her, they both turned bright red.

“I am – “

“Sorry.”

They both stuttered at the same time, before they broke out in a laugher together. Hope looked up into Jimin’s eyes when she had calmed down again. From the first day, Hope had adored those beautiful, dark orbs that would form into halfmoons when he was laughing or smiling. Slowly, she brought her left hand up towards his thick hair, driving it towards the back of his head and back towards his cheek.

Her heart was pounding in her chest like crazy, when Jimin’s face came closer and closer, until their noses were touching each other and their lips just inches apart. They stayed like that for another few seconds, before the boy was the first to make the move forward.

The kiss was shy but full of emotions. They lips stayed still on each other, before Hope carefully started to move. After a few seconds, Jimin also began to press his lips on her stronger and braver, before, after a few minutes, they both ran out of breath and let go of each other.

Hope didn’t know if it was possible that her face was even redder now, but before she had the chance to say something stupid that could ruin the moment, Jimin pushed himself off the sofa and pulled her with him.

She gasped slightly from the sudden movement but giggled at the same time when Jimin pulled her close towards his chest in the middle of the living room. She leant her head against the white tiger’s chest, while Jimin wrapped his arms and tail around the smaller girl. The pair was now standing in the middle of the living room, rocking slightly from side to side, doing some twists and turns from time to time.

“When did you learn to dance?” Hope whispered into the comfortable silence.

“I watched a video on the YouTube today.” He whispered back, rubbing his nose against her hair. “One day, I want to take you out on a dance date, you know?”

Surprised by the tiger’s words, Hope lifted her head and looked into Jimin’s eyes. Never in her life had someone wated to take her out on a date, and the fact that Jimin was asking her out in his cute, innocent way, let her heart swell with pride a love.

“I would love to go on a dance date with you, Jimin.”

“Okay, I don’t know what you did or how you did it but somehow, you got Namjoon to talk to you – willingly?” Laura was walking next towards the smaller girl down the hallways of the company. Hope just nodded proudly, clutching the book Jungkook had given her for Namjoon tightly under her arm. “And now you want to give him – a hobbit book?”

She looked confused at the book and then back up at Hope.

“Yes, Jungkook thought it would be a nice gesture to give him that.” Hope simply replied. “I think Namjoon just needs time. He will talk to us at some point.”

Laura hummed in response, before she cocked her eyebrows up and began to smirk slightly.

“Is Jungkook your boyfriend?” She teased the smaller girl.

Hope’s face immediately went red. Though both of them had already kissed, they never decided on what their relationship would change after that. There were also the other boys that Hope had takin inside her heart.

“I – no.” She just smiled, her face still red. “He is my – Hybrid – at home. We – “

“You have a Hybrid at home?” Laura suddenly stopped walking, before she grabbed Hope’s shoulder and turned her around so she could face the taller girl.

“I even have 5 Hybrids home.” Hope almost didn’t dare to say it out loud, not knowing how to interpretate Laura’s facial expression.

“You have 5 Hybrids home?!” Laura’s voice was now loudly bouncing through the hallways, before she began to smile widely. “Girl, you are crazy, but I love it! I think you will achieve great things in that world, Hope.”

Hearing those words from someone who already had much more experiences than her made Hope proud. She wanted people to see that there was no need to be a superhero or to be powerful to change something. Everyone who had the will can change something, everywhere and every time.

Together, both girls took the same way as the previous day until they reached the interrogation rooms. Laura told her that she would wait outside, not wanting to inhibit the progress Hope had achieved the previous day.

Taking a last deep breath, Hope carefully knocked at the door, before she pushed it open and entered the door towards the interrogation room. Like the previous day, Namjoon was standing at the window with his back turned towards the door. He didn’t turn around when she entered the room, but Hope could clearly see his ears twitching into her direction for the split of a second.

“Good morning, Namjoon.” She calmy said, before making her way around the table. “How are you feeling this morning.”

The boy didn’t reply though. He just kept looking outside the window. It was one of those beautiful winter mornings in New York. The sun was just rising behind the skyline of the big city, flowing the streets with it’s warm and golden sun beams. The small park that had been created between the big building of the company and the smaller building where the clients were living was shining with all kind of golden colours.

When she looked at the boy’s profile, she could clearly see that he was looking at that scenario outside as well. But in difference to her, he was not looking like would be amazed. He was yearning for seeing the world outside and not just through a window.

Suddenly, Hope remembered the small gift that Jungkook had asked her to give to Namjoon. She carefully pulled the book from under her arm and placed it on the window sill, before pushing it into Namjoon’s direction. The tall boy noticed her gesture and looked confused from the small book upwards to the girl.

“The boys at home wanted me to give you this.” She told him. “It’s Jungkook’s favourite book, but he said that you can have it. Maybe if you are bored you can try and read it. It’s pretty good.”

Namjoon was now looking with wide eyes at the girl in front of him, as he wrapped his tail tightly around his right leg.

“You told your Hybrids about me?” He cocked an eyebrow up.

“Yes, I told them about you.” Hope carefully replied, no sure if he was okay with it or not. “I mean – I just told them that I was working with you from now on, nothing more. We are a family, you know? We tell each other everything.”

The wolf Hybrid sunk his ear down, before he whispered a small ‘thank you’ and turned his attention back towards the morning sun, sighing slightly. The room fell back into silence, as both young adults were looking out of the window again.

Hope noticed that Namjoon was still trying to process everything that had happened since the previous day, but she would give him all the time he needed, even if that meant that they would both spend the whole day with just looking out of the window.

“I sometimes whish that I just could walk out of this room like you do.” He suddenly stated after a few minutes of silence. “But I can’t. I need to stay here and wait for the day they lock me away.”

Like the previous day, Namjoon’s voice sounded tired and powerless, without any hint of emotions.

“We could go outside – “ She said back, but Namjoon was already shaking his head.

“No.” He cut her off in her mid-sentence. “People don’t trust me. They would never let me walk around just like that and if, I need to wear those stupid hand cuffs and foot locks.”

Before his could voice get louder, Namjoon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His hands were holding onto the window sill tightly, as if he was trying really hard to not burst out. Hope was shocked by all those bad emotions he obviously carried inside himself.

She didn’t want to make him feel like she would pity him. That was not what he needed right now. He needed to realize that there were people on this world who truly wanted to help him, and that one of those people was already standing in front of him. Hope excused herself, before she quickly walked towards the door and peeked her head outside, gesturing for Laura come closer.

“Did you make any progress?!” She whispered-screamed, as she excitingly stepped closer.

Hope took a glance back at the boy, who was still looking outside the window. Maybe he was not looking into their direction, but Hope saw that he had his right ear turned towards the door.

“You can talk normally, Laura. There is no need to whisper.” Hope said in a normally volume, leaving a red shade on Laura’s face. “I wanted to ask you something. Is there a chance that Namjoon and I can take a walk across the site without him wearing any cuffs?”

Laura looked at the smaller girl in shock, before she snapped out of her state, shaking her head carefully.

“I am sorry.” She said. “But he showed aggressive behaviour. I wish I could change that, but it is not in my hands.”

Hope sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Namjoon would never open up while being locked in that small room.

“Can’t you call your boss, please?” She tried again. “It would be just for a little while.”

“Hope, I can’t just call him and – “

“Laura, please. I take the full responsibility.” The blonde girl was almost begging Laura by now.

The two girl kept staring at each other for another few seconds, before Laura gave in first and sighed heavily. She hesitantly took her phone out if her purse and dealt her boss’s number, giving Hope a playfully angry look, before she energetically discussed with him for a few minutes. Luckily for the blond haired girl, their boss was a nice man, so he allowed her and Namjoon to leave the building.

Of course, with his extra sensitive ear Namjoon had already heard what you had asked Laura. He hesitated at first, not moving when Hope held the door open for the both of them. His eyes flickered between the window and the open door, before he carefully made his way around the table, his tail still wrapped around his leg.

The walk through the company was silent, but Hope felt the tension falling from the taller boy’s shoulders, until they finally reached the door that lead them outside. The fresh air hit the girl’s face when she took the first step outside. Even though winter had already begun, the morning sun was warming the air up, making it comfortable to walk around.

When Hope turned her head to look at Namjoon, she saw him doing the same. He had closed his eyes, letting the sun warming his face up and taking deep breath of the clean air. Hope knew that it seemed like a simple thing to just take a walk outside, but she had learnt from all her boys that she had taken those simple things for granted for too long.

Nothing she had done or what she had ever possessed in her life was normal for all people around the world. Maybe she had been lucky so far, but also she needed to be thought that ever moment in life needed to be appreciated, because other people didn’t have the luck like she did.

That day, there were no other words spoken between Namjoon and the girl. Just the situation as its own was enough to make another development in their relationship towards each other. They were just able to enjoy the moment together. No pressure, no words, no worries.

[taglist]

@fangirl-nonsense I don’t know what’s going on with tumblr, but somehow Can’t find you. I am so sorry 💜🥺

[Inspirations ||| Recommendations]

@starlightauroras-writes

@wishesunderthestars

@agustdakasuga

@ditttiii

@angelicyoongie

161 notes · View notes

mochiiwrites · 3 years

Text

🍁✨Autumn Troupe Headcanons!✨🍁

Hooray for more uncensored swearing! Sorry, this took so long! It’s hard to think of things for the Autumn Troupe since I don’t know them super well!

🍁🧡Banri Settsu🧡🍁

Whenever it's time for practice, Banri begins by smacking the back of Juza's head! (Not super hard, but enough for it to piss him off)

Diluc main, that is all. Before he got Diluc he was an Amber main, and somehow was good. Still uses her every once in a while!

Slightly intimidated by languages sometimes, I dunno how to explain it, so hopefully the dialogue does!

“Banri, come here for a second.”

“Hell no, I’m in the middle of a match right now.”

“Banri.”

“Sit your ass down and wait, Chikage! I’m busy!”

"Halika dito! Huwag kang humintay na papatayin kita at iwanan kitang dumugo sa lansangan! Inumin ng mga aso ang iyong dugo at kukunin ng mga uwak ang iyong laman. Gusto mo yan?!" ("Come here! Don't wait for me to kill you and leave you bleeding in the street! Dogs will drink your blood and crows will take your flesh. Do you want that ?!" ) I'm unsure of the translation, since the filipino was from Irumaaaaa_saaaaamaaaaa's comment on my Ao3! I just put it into google translate

“Damn! Fine, fine, I’m comin! Chill out!”

His older sister gave him a leopard plushie when he was a kid, which is why he’s fucking obsessed with animal prints!

Plays drums and almost broke the coffee table because he “jammed too hard” on it!

Constantly messing up Taichi’s hair, or he’s drumming to songs on his head.

*boom boom bap boom boom bap*

“Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise, playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday! You got mud on your face, you big disgrace! Kicking your can all over the place, singin'-”

“We will, we will rock you!”

“Haha! Hell yeah!”

🍁💜Juza Hyodo💜🍁

Likes carrying Muku or Kumon on his shoulders! Sometimes they still parade around!

“Are you sure about this, Ju-chan?”

“Yeah, you’re real light, y’know.”

“What the hell are you doing, Hyodo? Practice is soon.”

Chews on things a lot when he’s nervous! He always has gum or a lollipop to avoid chewing on his shirt, his nails and other inedible things!

Uses shorter Mankai members as an armrest, but only the ones who are okay with it! He’s polite like that.

On nights where he just can’t sleep, he’ll go on walks or drive around on his motorcycle!

Terrible with eye contact and looking like he’s paying attention. Sakyo has to snap his fingers at him to make sure he’s listening!

Y’know the awkward sibling hug from Gravity Falls, he and Kumon have done that...a lot. It’s not actually awkward though, they just liked the show!

“Awkward sibling hug?”

“...Awkward sibling hug.”

*embrace*

“...pat, pat.”

....

“Hyodos, what the hell?”

🍁💖Taichi Nanao💖🍁

Cried twice when he got his piercings, the first time was because he was very, very afraid, the second time was because he was so happy that he looked good with them!

Has Heelys! One time, he tried to 'heely' into the rehearsal room, but he immediately fell over!

Plays the ukulele! He wanted to play guitar because he saw someone serenading their partner with it at school! He borrowed Masumi's guitar but bar chords suck and his hands are kinda small, so he settled for the uke!

"Aghhh! How do you play that! That hurts my fingies!"

"I have bigger hands and more experience."

"But you're only like an inch taller than me!"

"Height doesn’t really have anything to do with this."

Has a Tiktok! He doesn't post often, it's more for looking at memes or sick outfits. (He does the dances though! He's pretty good at them but they're all in his drafts since he's not super confident in them!)

Y’know how kids crawl up the stairs really fast. He does that. Constantly. Kazunari joins in, sometimes. It pisses Sakyo off a lot, but he gave up on trying to get them to stop.

"Taicchan, what are you doing?"

"Kazu-kun! I got the zoomies!"

"Nice! Can I join ya?"

"For sure!"

*Rapid thumping up the stairs*

"Aren't you gonna stop them, Sakyo?"

"...If I had that ability, they would've stopped a long time ago. Those idiots don't listen."

He LOVES Sk8 The Infinity! Langa's his favourite character! He's also probably a Reki kinnie!

🍁💙Omi Fushimi💙🍁

(It's blue like his regular shirt and Tumblr doesn't have any other colours ;-;)

Despite being tone-deaf, he hums a lot when he cooks! No one seems to mind it!

Enjoys scrapbooking! He kind of prefers scrapbooks to albums, since scrapbooks have a more homemade vibe, you know?

Gives the best hugs, and tends to hold hands with the younger members when they cross the street!

Regularly has this conversation!

“Banri, have you eaten?”

“I dunno Omi, have YOU eaten?”

“...I have. But that's not what I’m concerned about.”

“...I had a granola bar like, an hour ago.”

“...I’m making you something.”

When he first joined the company, he took notes on what everyone liked and didn't like to eat, plus if they had allergies! He still has it, he just doesn't need to use it anymore!

I feel like something like this has happened once!

“Ah, Omi! Can you help me grab something?”

“Oh, sure. What do you need, Sakuya?”

“Homare asked me to get some of that tea, but I can’t rea-”

*lifts Sakuya like Simba*

“Ah! Omi, haha! What are you doing?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it! Do you want me to stop?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine! It’s kinda fun actually.”

🍁💛Sakyo Furuichi💛🍁

Absolutely blind without his glasses, like it’s really bad. He walked into a doorframe without his glasses. Thankfully, no one noticed (he thinks).

He has a bit of bubble-wrap in his a pocket all the time and sometimes he uses it as a threat! (Hopefully that made sense...)

“Settsu, move over.”

“I literally can’t! Your fat ass is taking too much space!”

*pop*

“Just scoot your lazy ass over.”

*pop*

“I can’t I already-”

*pop*

“...Alright, I get it! I’ll shut up! Jeez, how is that so threatening...”

“...Asshole.”

*pop*

“...Sorry.”

Definitely told Azami that Santa wasn’t real when he was like 6.

Sakoda got him a mug that said #1 Dad but he crossed it out and replaced ‘Dad’ with ‘Aniki’! Sakyo still drinks out of it, sometimes!

Azami also made him a friendship bracelet when he was a lot younger. Sakyo doesn’t wear it (because it doesn’t fit him anymore) but he still has it! He likes rubbing the beads between his fingers.

Good at trivia! Like, really good. He somewhat enjoys Trivia Murder Party. (I just watched a play through and skipped to a random question, I have no idea if it’s actually hard lol.)

“Which body of water connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean?”

“Wh- How are we supposed to know that?!”

*Sakyo answers ‘The Strait of Gibraltar’ and is the only one who answers correctly*

“Fuck, my thumb slipped.”

“That shouldn’t be allowed. Sakyo’s shitty and old, he shouldn’t be able to know and remember things.”

“Oi, brat. I’m not that old. You’re not the one who got the answer right.”

“You’re not the one who literally never learned this!”

🍁❤️Azami Izumida❤️🍁

Has smacked too many cans/cups out of Itaru and Tsuzuru’s hands!

“Wh-”

“Drink actual water. And jeez, go take a nap or something. Your skin is even worse than I thought it could get. Aren’t you supposed to be the responsible one in the Spring Troupe?”

“Ah... I guess, you are right. Thanks for looking out for me.”

“W-well! W-we can’t have you on stage looking like a raisin! S-so!”

Often criticizes Izumi’s eyeliner and ends up just doing it for her. N-not that he minds or anything!

Played Love Nikki at some point, I do not take that much criticism.

Because I think the troupe/play themes are canon, he definitely helped with Shake the Shape and wrote some of RESPAWN!

Always has extra hair ties on him, even though most of the others don’t really need them. Most of the time, the hair ties end up being used for...other purposes.

“Ready.”

“What?”

“Aim.”

“Azami, I swear to whatever god is listening, if you fire that elasti-”

“Fire.”

“...You shitty brat-”

“Oh shi-”

Part of the ‘wears nail polish’ squad! He hates stickers. (Most of the time they somehow fall off) His go-to is an alternating pattern of black and red.

#a3! incorrect quotes #a3! headcanons #Autumn toupe #Banri Settsu headcanons #Juza Hyodo headcanons #Taichi Nanao headcanons #Omi Fushimi headcanons #Sakyo Furuichi headcanons #Azami Izumida headcanons #Autumn Troupe headcanons #akigumi

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solara-bean · 4 years

Text

Shirou's Secret :

Shirou Ogami x Human Reader

( reader might be slightly oc )

For as long as you can remember you've been fascinated by beastmen. This was most likely due to your love of animals and curious nature. It became a habit of you annoying adults with all of your questions.

" Teacher, why don't we learn about beastmen?"

" Mr. Zookeeper, do elephants and elephant beastmen eat the same kind of food?"

" Ms. Librarian, why are all the books about beastmen so mean?"

You were normally met with a prejudice and ignorance that you didn't understand. Your mother was the only one who ever bothered to give you an unbiased answer. But even she didn't know everything.

Then you met Izumi. A snow leopard beastmen. You were both only eight at the time when you found her hiding under a playground set. Izumi was understandably afraid of you while you were the exact opposite. Soon you two became the best of friends.

Until the incident happened.

The same event that was playing over and over again in your mind as Shirou's body covered yours. His fur stained with blood from the multiple bullet wounds in his chest.

" S-shioru..." you whispered.

" Izumi!! "

" ..s-shirou..." your trembling hands clutched his shoulders, too afraid to nudge him off of you.

" Izumi!!!!! "

It all came back to you at once. The screams. The smell of blood. The pain. You couldn't feel anything but the pain in your head and the fabric of Shirou's coat.

" ..I...."

You heard a familiar deep voice, snapping you back to the present.

" I'm ok Y/n. "

Your vision focused on Shirou and your eyes widened. He was....he was healed! How?!

Before you could question it any further Michiru appeared to check on you both. That's right. Now you remembered. You were helping Shirou with a case when you were ambushed. It was suppose to be safe. At least safe enough to bring you along but apparently it wasn't.

" Y/n?" asked Koichi from the front seat of the mayor's car.

You came out of your daze once again. It seemed like it had been mere seconds since the mayor arrived with the police, questioned Shirou and Michiru then offered to escort you all home. The only thing you didn't vaguely recall was Shirou telling her " They know. " Except you weren't exactly sure what you knew or what happened at all.

" Yes Mr. Ishizaki?"

" I asked if you wanted us to take you home."

You were in front of Shirou and Michiru's place. They were already out of the car, watching you.

" No I'm not far from here. I can walk. "

As the car drove off you turned to Shirou and Michiru. You were all silent. They looked like they wanted to tell you something but you couldn't bare it. You had to get home now before your emotions fully took over. So you waved goodbye and started in the direction to your apartment.

" Y/n."

You stopped.

" Please we need to talk."

You stuffed your hands in your pockets so that they wouldn't see your shaking fists.

" If it's about what I saw don't worry. I'll forget it ever happened."

You began to leave again but Shirou grabbed your wrist.

" Y/n just let me explain."

" You don't have to explain anything! Just-" Your stopped before your voice cracked, tears threatening to fall. " Just please let me go home. We can talk about this tomorrow if it's so important."

He sighed as if to calm himself down. His hand slid from your wrist into your palm.

" It is important," his voice was low, almost a whisper. " That's why I have to tell you now."

You still didn't face him. You did your best to focus on anything to distract you from crying. His warm hand gently squeezing yours almost did the trick. Then you felt another hand on your shoulder. It was Michiru.

" Hey everything's gonna be alright. If you come inside I'll make you some tea. Would you like that?"

You wiped a few strands of tears.

" Y-yeah...yeah I'd like that."

-----

Before long you were sitting on the edge of Shirou's bed. Tea half drunk and now room temperature but still soothing all the same. Shirou sat on a chair that he moved in front of you. He made sure to still keep enough space between you so that you could breathe.

He wasn't always this considerate of your feelings. Your relationship started off rocky because of his hatred for humans, even though it had been lessened thanks to Michiru. But over time he saw how genuine you were about helping beastmen as an avid activist for beastmen rights.

Not only that but you were overjoyed by every new thing you saw, heard, ate, learned and even smelled in Anima City. You somehow made friends with just about every new beastmen you came across. You had this talent of lifting their spirits and making them feel comfortable around you as a human. Sure there were those who tried to harm or kill you but you held up a pretty good fight against them without his or Michiru's help.

A moment that nearly brought him to tears was when you reunited with your old friend Izumi, who was now a man. He could only imagine his hardships as a beastmen and as a transgender man. But he was happily engaged and utterly ecstatic to see you again after all this time.

So he let a few barriers down around you. You hung out a lot more without Michiru or Nazuna. It got to the point where some moments seemed much more than platonic. But he couldn't go that far with you. Not without telling you the truth. And now might be his best chance.

" Ok I'm ready. You can talk now." you set the teacup aside and faced him with a determined look.

He pondered on where to start. In the middle of his thinking his hand traveled to yours. Your knuckles were bandaged from the previous fight.

" Is your hand feeling better? Lizard beastmen have very tough skin."

" I'm fine Shirou," you placed your hand over his. " Just please explain to me what I saw. How .....how did you heal so fast?"

" I guess there's no avoiding now," he sighed then locked onto your gaze. " For starters I'm the Silver Wolf..."

He told his story to you as best as he could. When he was done he took a minute to analyze your reaction. Except it wasn't what he was expecting.

" You don't seem surprised."

" Oh I am. I just....uh..wow your not what I imagined at all. Not that it's a bad thing. And you're that old?!"

" Yes."

" You must've seen a lot of shit."

" Trust me. I've seen more than anyone needs to."

You laughed at his dry humor. He smiled from seeing you happy for the first time that night since the attack. But he knew it wouldn't last long with his next question.

" Why did you react that way when I got hurt?"

Your face instantly faltered.

" What do you mean?"

" You looked terrified."

" Of course I was! You were covered in blood and bullets."

" Y/n," he took your hand again. " I know trauma when I see it. Please...talk to me."

You didn't speak for awhile. When you did your voice was low.

" You know my friend Izumi?"

" Yes."

" Do you remember what I told you about him?"

" You were childhood friends, correct? Then he had to move away."

" Yeah but I never told you why he left," you took a deep breath. " We would always meet up at the park before sundown. No one was there that late so we could play without getting stared at but then-" your body shook. " I was late one day and some kid told their dad that Izumi scratched them a-and-" your voice hitched. " they were hitting him and kicking him and one of the guys pulled out a bat so I tried to help but I got hit in the head and blacked out-" your gasped in a breath and continued to ramble on. " then I woke up in the hospital. My mom was arguing with the doctor because he refused to help Izumi. Eventually they did but Izumi's family saw how in danger they were around humans so once he got better they left town for good."

You took a moment to catch your breath again and wipe the tears you didn't know had fallen.

" I know it was years ago but everytime I see a beastmen get attacked or hear about one getting killed at a protest or something I just-" you sniffed. " My mind goes back to that night. And I can hear screaming for his family again. And smell the blood. And I.....he was just a kid Shirou. He was just a kid! He'd never hurt anyone. Hell! Snow leopards don't even attack humans in the wild! It wasn't fair!-"

Before you could continue Shirou pulled you into his chest.

" It's alright Y/n. He's ok now. You did your best. In fact you probably saved his life."

" I could've done better. If I wasn't late none of that would've happened." you sobbed.

" You can't know that for sure. Izumi is ok now. Even better he's happy. All thanks to you and your kindness."

That was your final breaking point. You cried into Shirou's chest for what felt like hours. When you calmed down he let go of you and stood up. As you wiped your nose on your sleeve you noticed him moving some of the furniture around then closing his window's curtains.

" What are you doing?"

Instead of answering you he knelt down in front of you and morphed.

" Could you take off my collar?"

" Uhh..." ok this was getting weird really fast. " Sure?" you gently reached through his fur and undid the collar.

You were quick to notice the large scar underneath. Without thinking you reached out to touch it but stopped before you could. Shirou however took your hand and guided your fingers to it. You were about to ask how he got it when a bright blue light poured out of it. Within seconds he was a large wolf beast with glowing fur and blades on his shoulders.

He had to kneel down so he wouldn't hit the ceiling, which positioned his head over your lap. He looked up at you with shining eyes that left you speechless.

" So," he spoke although his voice was slightly echoey. " Is this what you pictured the Silver Wolf would be like?"

An old memory played in your head. You went to visit Izumi at the hospital. It was actually the last day you saw him.

" You know I bet it was the Silver Wolf that saved us." he said while laying the hospital bed with his face still bandaged.

" Who's the Silver Wolf?"

" They're this really cool god that protects all beastmen."

" Wow! That's so cool. Are they fluffy?"

" Yep! They're the fluffiest biggest wolf that ever existed!"

" I hope we get to meet them someday. I wanna thank them for saving us."

Another tear slid down your face. This time out of joy. You hugged Shirou's face and petted his flowing fur.

" Thank you Shirou. And no. You're even more beautiful than I imagined."

#bna #brand new animal #shirou ogami #shirou ogami x reader #angst #fluff #i dont know how to cut posts so this is really long sorry😅

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feverdreamfantasies · 4 years

Text

The Birthday Gift

Pairing: Human!Hoseok x Human!Yoongi x Human!Reader, Snow Leopard Shifter!Jimin x Human!Reader

Featuring: German Shepherd Hybrid!Taehyung, Doberman Hybrid!Namjoon, Neighbor!Jungkook, (Jin to make an appearance later)

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Angst, Poly AU, eventual Smut, Producer!Yoongi, Scientist!Hoseok

Warnings: Brief mention of blood, Mention of Hybrid abuse, Some adult language, Mentions of a poly relationship between M x M x F

Summary: “Hobi! What is he?” Yoongi repeats himself looking from me in the corner over to his boyfriend.

“He’s a shifter.” Hoseok mumbles, hand rising to scratch the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“He’s a shifter! Okay. I adopted our girlfriend a shifter for her birthday.”

Author’s Notes: This was an idea I’ve had in my head for a little while and I thought I would go ahead and start writing it. Also since this is the first chapter there’s a lot of background information in this one but moving forward there will be less filler and hopefully more story line progression. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter One: The ultimate Birthday gift

Sometimes I wonder how I got here in my life.

After nearly 5 years of being with Yoongi, I thought I was prepared for anything, but standing here in our neighbor Jungkook’s living room watching his sweet arctic fox hybrid, Sooyun, turn into the vicious predator she truly is; I began to question the choices I’d made that lead me here.

Let me backup a little bit to how I came to witness the scene before me. I was quietly having breakfast earlier this morning when Hoseok made his way loudly down the staircase that led into the kitchen.

“Have you seen your boyfriend?” He asked with an emphasis on “your”, clearly perturbed with the man in question.

“What’s he done now that makes him ‘my’ boyfriend?” I say while taking a bite of my toast.

For all the time I have been in a relationship with Yoongi, Hoseok has been with him longer. The two met in their first year at university and began dating shortly there after. I came along about four years later, back when I was a shy, young intern for the music company Yoongi was—and is still— a big time producer for.

I had heard rumors when I first started there that he had a bit of a different romantic life than most. Everyone loved to whisper about the open relationship he and his boyfriend supposedly had. I tried not to listen to the rumors, but I couldn’t deny the big fat crush I had developed on Yoongi either. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest every time he walked into the same room as me. And when he asked me out for drinks one day, all I could do was nod in response because I didn’t have the courage to give a verbal yes.

I was nervous and apprehensive about possibly going on a date with an already taken man. But my curiosity got the best of me and I showed up to the bar he had suggested. He was sweet and kind to me. Being patient with my quietness until I warmed up enough to be able to contribute to our conversation.

He was also very straightforward and honest with me.

“I know there are rumors about my personal life in the office.” He stated matter-of-factly, taking a sip of his jack and coke before continuing. “So I’ll admit that I’m kind of surprised you agreed to come out with me tonight.”

I brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear, a nervous habit of mine that brings me an artificial level of comfort. “To be honest” I swallow “I’m not really sure I was even going to show up.”

“Well I’m glad you did.” He said with his adorable gummy smile.

“And to be upfront about everything, the rumors are true. I do have a boyfriend, and we are in a serious, committed relationship.”

I raise my eyebrows at this.

“I know what you're thinking. So then why would I ask a beautiful woman like you out on a date if I’m already spoken for?”

My heart speeds up when I hear him use the word beautiful. He leans across the high top table we are sat at, so he can speak lower and not have the other customers at the bar listen in.

“Hobi and I have always been open to the concept of a polymorphic relationship. We’ve tried in the past with potential romantic partners; but they usually ended up ghosting on one of us, once they figured out what we were looking for.”

“So why do you think I’ll be different?” I question finding some confidence in my voice. Afterall, it isn’t like Yoongi is talking about some small, trivial thing. He’s openly discussing with me the potential of starting a romantic journey with him and his boyfriend. Journey being the only way I can truly describe it because honestly what if this actually became something, what do I say to my parents then? “Mom. Dad. Meet my boyfriend Yoongi and his boyfriend--slash my other boyfriend--Hoseok.”

Yeah...this was most certainly going to be a journey.

“Honestly, I’m not sure you will be. But I like you, Y/N. And from what I’ve told Hoseok so far, he’s interested too.”

I snort at this response. What possibly could I have done to get Yoongi’s attention that he’d like me, let alone know anything about me enough to want to tell his boyfriend.

“Up until tonight, I’ve barely said anything to you.” I state to the dark haired man across from me.

Yoongi shrugs at this like it doesn’t matter. “People speak louder with their actions than with their words.”

“Yeah? And what do my actions say about me?” I ask genuinely.

He doesn’t miss a beat with his response.

“You’re smart without being pretentious. You have confidence without arrogance. And most importantly you’re kind.”

“I’m kind?”

Yoongi nods.

“A couple of weekends ago I saw you inside the hybrid rescue downtown. I was going to go in and say hi, but thought that might intimidate you a little bit.”

He says this last part with a laugh, as my cheeks turn red from the fact I know that would have been true.

“I asked one of your fellow interns, Ilsung, about it. He said you volunteer there whenever you can. That you have a real soft spot for hybrids and their rights. Not many people are as compassionate to their causes. And as someone who has had the honor to adopt two myself, I’m really drawn to others who want to make a difference for them.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m making a difference.” I say sheepishly. “But when I was a kid we had a family cat hybrid named Wendy. She and I did everything together until they came and took her away when we were both 12. And let’s just say that made an impact on me.”

When my parents were kids, hybrids were just starting to be introduced to society. But years prior to that, governments and militaries had been creating and breeding hybrids for years as an experiment to get a defensive edge when it came to warfare. It proved not to be as promising as they had hoped and what ended up happening is they sold their hybrids and hybrid secrets to the highest bidder, which turned out to be a large corporatation. This corporation in turn introduced cat and dog hybrids to the rest of the world. Claiming that they were a step above your average household pet and could provide a more fulfilling companion experience. Hybrids quickly became a hot commodity. And the black market was soon taking off with their own hybrid creations of more exotic and “dangerous” hybrid breeds. Soon the hybrids were beginning to outnumber humans 2 to 1 and fear of who they are and what they can do began to take over.

Laws were passed as a means to protect humans. Rather than create laws that stopped the unethical treatment and breeding of hybrids, they were created to limit their rights. Not completely human but also not completely an animal either, hybrids fell in a category with many blurbed lines. The laws state all hybrids must have an owner and must either be accompanied by that owner at all times or have a microchip implanted within the back of their necks that can be scanned to indicate they belong to someone. Any strays were in extreme cases euthanized and in less extreme cases placed in overcrowded shelters and rescue centers, where they would more than likely spend the rest of their lives.

For those who did get adopted or were bought by breeders, their lives may not be as lucky as those who did not. It isn’t uncommon for those hybrids adopted to end up in underground hybrid clubs. These clubs offer humans all sorts of sick fantasies to play out with hybrids. This can be anything from deadly hybrid fight rings to hybrid brothels where they can use and abuse any female and male hybrids of their choosing. In my time volunteering at the rescue center, I have listened to stories I wouldn’t even wish for my worst enemies to have to endure.

“Wendy came into my life when on my 5th birthday. My Mom and Dad had decided I needed a companion. As an only child with parents who weren't able to have any more kids, my parents thought adopting a hybrid could be the next best thing. But the year we both turned 12, is the year Wendy started to go through her changes.”

Yoongi listened to my story with great intensity.

“Of course as humans we all go through puberty between the ages of 11 and 18. This isn’t uncommon for hybrids either except their changes aren’t typically of the reproductive kind until later in their late teens and early twenties, but what they do change in is behavior. Their animal instincts can have the potential to become more dominant, leading to aggressiveness and in some cases violence.

When Wendy and I were playing outside one day, a neighbor's hybrid wandered into our backyard where we were. He looked to be some small wild cat hybrid, probably bought in some shady back room of an outdoor market. He was around our age if not a little bit older. He’s name was Yongho and he could hear our laughs from inside his house. He asked if he could play with us, saying he was lonely being cooped up inside all day. I was glad to have another person to play with so I said yes immediately without noticing that Wendy was apprehensive. Her tail was flicking side to side and ears were slightly pinned back, but I thought that was only because she may be jealous of having some of my attention shared with another hybrid. I chose to ignore her warning signs and suggested a game of tag.

It all seemed to be going fine. At first I was ‘it’ and although they were both faster than me, Yongho decided to slow down so I could catch him. But once he was ‘it’ that’s when everything would change to become one of the worst days of my life.”

I paused so I could take a sip of my drink to try and calm myself down. I hadn’t thought of this day in a really long time and I was struck by the fact that I was so easily sharing it with Yoongi when not even most of my close friends knew what had happened. Yoongi reached across the table and gently rubbed his thumb over my hand to encourage me to keep going.

I cleared my throat.

“Because Yongho was a predator hybrid, a game of tag can quickly turn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. When Wendy and I ran off in opposite directions after getting a 10-second head start that’s when Yongho’s animal instincts kicked in. As a slow and small human girl, I became easy prey to the hunter and Yongho began to come after me. Naive to noticing that anything had changed, I giggled as I tried to dodge around the trees in our backyard to create obstacles between us. And when I turned around to see how close he was that’s when I saw the predatory look in his eyes. I gave a small but effective scream which in turn caught the attention of Wendy. She halted in the direction she was going before quickly turning around. I in the meantime froze out of fear. Yongho slowed but didn’t stop moving toward me. He staked his way closer in the same way you would see a lioness do through the brush on a nature show before she pounced on an antelope. And unfortunately for me, I was that antelope. Just as Yongho pounced with claws out, Wendy intercepted him and they both tumbled to the ground, rolling around and making animalistic noises I had never heard before.

This got the attention of my mother. Who once she came outside to see what was happening began yelling for my dad. He ran out and grabbed me. Easily picking me up and throwing me inside the house ordering me to lock the door and telling my mother to call HES (hybrid emergency services). My dad tried to get Yongho off of Wendy when he had managed to pin her to the ground while I burst into tears once the adrenaline started to wear off. HES showed up quickly, but not fast enough to stop Wendy from accidentally scratching my dad. She was aiming for Yongho when my father’s arm got in the way and left a deep wound along his forearm which instantly began to bleed. Because hybrid laws take all cases of violence toward a human seriously, HES not only took Yongho away but they also took Wendy. My father spent the next several weeks in court trying to get her back saying she had scratched him with no ill intention but they wouldn’t listen. The only thing they could offer was for us to send her off to a reform facility, where she would spend the next three years, in hopes that maybe once she had gone through the proper reform training then she would be able to come home. My parents agreed to send her off, but 6 months after she arrived they claimed she had ran away, only to find out in the news a few years later that this reform facility was secretly selling desirable hybrids off to private sellers and the black market. I haven’t seen her since.”

Things between us got really quiet after I told my story. Yoongi continued to rub my hand before noticing that my eyes were watery. Tears threatening to come cascading down. He sprung into action and leapt off his stool scooping me up into a hug.

“I’m so sorry” he whispered.

I could hear the sincerity in his voice and felt overwhelmingly comforted within his embrace. I thought right then and there that I never wanted him to let me go. And I didn’t care if that meant I had to share him with someone else because at that moment it felt like I was always supposed to be his.

Shortly thereafter I met Hoseok face to face. The three of us went on a date to a nice restaurant to see how we would all get along. The date went exceptionally well, as did the next one, and the one after that. After a couple months, the three of us went away for the weekend and discussed the next steps for our future. It was decided that we would all move in together and start a relationship that would define my next five years.

Looking over at Hobi now with his brows crossed and a mild look of exhaustion on his face. I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“He promised me he would come home last night so he could be here for your birthday this morning.”

“Yoongi is here.” I say. “Also nice of you to wish me a Happy Birthday.”

He rolled his eyes before walking over to me and kissing me on the forehead. “He didn’t come to bed last night.” He responds as he releases me.

“That’s because he came to my bed,” I say with a teasing grin.

Once we moved into this house, it was decided that Yoongi and Hoseok would share a room while I had my own. I didn’t mind it much because Yoongi would often sneak into my bed once Hobi fell asleep. Or if Yoongi was at the studio all night then one of our hybrids would cuddle up with me, especially Taehyung.

Speaking of which, the German Shepherd hybrid came bounding through the backdoor. A smile on his face and a bouquet of wildflowers clutched in his hand.

“Happy Birthday Y/N!”

“I got you these!” He thrust the wildflowers toward me. Tail wagging rapidly behind him.

“Thank you Tae.” I take the flowers from him smelling them in the process. “These are beautiful.”

He’s smile grows wider. Taehyung was one of the two hybrids Hoseok and Yoongi had adopted before I joined their family. Well adopted was not really the correct term to use. Hoseok worked as a scientist for the government. And though they had supposedly moved on from the hybrid world, the three of us knew that wasn’t true. Hoseok started working there right out of college. Initially he was told he was there for human medical purposes, specifically in terms of medicine and vaccine studies. However, while that was mostly true, Hoseok discovered one day by accident that there were also medical experiments being done on hybrids in ways that they would never imagine doing to humans.

From that moment on, Hoseok took it upon himself to make changes but he’d have to climb his way to the top in order to make any real change. Now being the second in command to the head of the medical research team, Hobi had more privileges to know what happened in the hybrid labs but still didn’t have full command of what went on in there. But that didn’t stop him from managing to rescue a couple in the process.

I didn’t really know all that had happened to Taehyung and Namjoon--our Doberman hybrid--while they were in that lab, but I knew that it made them respond to things in opposite ways. Taehyung was clingy and loveable. Namjoon was a little standoffish at first but if I played my cards right he could be putty in my hands.

“Where do you want to eat tonight?” Hobi asked.

“You guys aren’t going to make me a homemade meal.” I whine.

“If you want food poisoning then I would be more than happy to make you whatever you would like. Or if you don’t mind eating until almost 2 in the morning then I’ll ask Yoongi what he wants to make tonight.”

I stick my tongue out at him. I hate his reasoning sometimes.

“In that case, I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

“We all know that you’ll choose the same place you always do.” A sleepy Yoongi says with a yawn. His hair slightly sticking up in the back indicating he had just climbed out of bed.

He walks over to me, sliding into the booth of our breakfast nook and kisses me gently.

“Happy Birthday Princess.” He says in his deep groggy voice.

“I’m surprised you're up already.” I state as I fed him some of my breakfast. He takes a bite and swallows before responding.

“Someone made a pretty severe threat of laundry duty if I didn’t show up this morning. And we all know if I’m on laundry duty for a full month, we will all be deeply sorry.”

We enjoy the rest of our morning with happy banter and cuddles on the couch. With a momentary appearance from Namjoon with a quick Birthday greeting before he went on his jog.

As I flipped through the options on Netflix with Tae asleep with his head in my lap, Hoseok’s phone rang which he picked up and answered in his office down the hall. Yoongi and I gave a brief glance at each other figuring it was probably from work before Hoseok quickly ran out of his office and out the front door as though the house was on fire.

We look at each other again before quickly getting off the couch to follow him. Taehyung whines in protest as he loses the warmth of my lap before climbing back onto the couch and quickly falling back asleep.

Hoseok goes over to our neighbor’s house, lifting his arm up to knock on the door when Jungkook opens it with a “Thank God!”

“I thought you said he’d be fine here.” Hoseok says as he follows Jungkook into his living space noticing the low growls of Sooyun coming from within. He hesitates a moment before seeing why Sooyun is making that noise.

He quickly gets his answer as he sees Sooyun with teeth bared at a cowering figure in the corner. He realizes her aggression is toward his Birthday gift for Y/N. While he knew that Y/N was easily loved by Taehyung and Namjoon, they weren’t necessarily her hybrids. Tae belonged to Yoongi and Namjoon was Hoseok’s, who he adopted at the first chance after that fateful day he walked into the hybrid lab by accident. So he figured Y/N needed her own companion and it gave him an excuse to bring home another rescue.

“Well aren’t you going to do something.” He says to Jungkook, calmer than he felt.

“Me? He’s your hybrid.” Jungkook says incredulously.

“Technically he isn’t a hybrid.”

“Then what is he?” Yoongi says behind Hobi, scaring his younger boyfriend in the process. I stand beyond them watching Jungkook’s normally sweet hybrid looking like the true predator she is before moving my eyes to the other hybrid--or rather not hybrid--sitting in the corner with his knees up to his chest. My heart instantly breaks at the sight in front of me and I feel the need to protect him.

“Hey! Enough.”

My voice is loud and clear. Commanding but not violent, just enough to get Sooyun’s attention. A skill I learned at all my years volunteering at the rescue. She backs away and hides behind Jungkook as though she hadn’t done anything wrong to be treated this way. Jungkook pats the hand she rests on his arm, clutching onto his shirt sleeve. White ears pinned back to her equally pure white hair.

I take that time to move to her victim. Taking slow movements making sure not to scare him even more. “Hello.” I say getting him to look up at me with his light grey eyes. He has soft features but an intense gaze. I reach my hand out to help him off the floor. He hesitates before deciding to trust me and stands up into his full height. He isn’t large but he is taller than me, about the same size as Yoongi.

“Hobi! What is he?” Yoongi repeats himself looking from me in the corner over to his boyfriend.

“He’s a shifter.” Hoseok mumbles, hand rising to scratch the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“He’s a shifter! Okay. I adopted our girlfriend a shifter for her birthday.”

It gets suddenly very quiet. I look back over at the shifter in question, his hand still in mine. Yoongi is visibly getting angry, but still trying to remain somewhat calm.

“What the fuck is a shifter, Hobi? Like a werewolf. Did you bring home a werewolf?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Werewolves aren’t real. He’s a snow leopard shifter.”

For the genius Hoseok actually was he could really do some dumb things, I think as Yoongi comes towards us and pulls me away but not with some resistance from the other person holding my hand. Yoongi drags me aways while also grabbing Hoseok by the shoulder to guide us outside.

Once we step into the front yard, Yoongi turns Hobi around to look at him but doesn’t let me go.

“You know you’ve done some stupid shit in the 9 years we’ve been together, but this might easily top the list. I mean what the hell were you thinking! Where do you even get a snow leopard shifter?”

“The same place I got Taehyung and Namjoon. Just there was more paperwork involved and lots of background checks. And possibly some surveillance on the house for a week or two.” He throws the last part in quickly as though we won’t notice that he agreed to have us be watched by a government entity without getting our consent first.

“He’s going back.”

“What?! No!” This protest comes from me this time. I don’t know what a shifter is, but I do know some of what happens in the labs and he isn’t going back if I have anything to say about it.

“Yes. He. Is.” Yoongi states, as though the decision is final and begins to walk back toward the house only to stop halfway when he realizes none of us are following.

“We can’t keep him.” He states again.

“But why not?” Hobi and I pout at the same time.

Usually if one of us goes against Yoongi we don’t stand a chance at winning, but if we team up together then things inevitably go our way.

“He’s probably dangerous. I mean I still don’t know what he really is.” He stares at Hoseok on this last point.

“Shifters are what the military attempted after the hybrid experiment failed. Essentially, through their research they found that though hybrids are stronger than humans they still aren’t as strong as a real true animal. But you can’t fully control or command an animal, especially not a predatory animal like a tiger or lion…”

“Or a snow leopard.” Yoongi offered.

“Right. Anyways, there was a researcher about thirty years ago who thought what if you could create a breed of human that could, when needed, shift into full animal form. Lots of people laughed at him for this, but that didn’t stop him from running experiments on his own before a top personnel in the government decided to back him on his research. It didn’t take him long, about five years before he got his first successful generation of shifters. Listen, I know you don’t like it Yoongi and you probably think he’s dangerous. But he’s been kept in that lab his whole life. And I promise you that we have nothing to fear with him. In fact, shifters are much safer than hybrids.” Hoseok added as a last minute plea.

Yoongi slowly let out a sigh. “Fine. But…” he quickly adds before Hobi and I get too excited. “If anything happens to a member of our household because of him, then he has to go somewhere else.”

“You have my word that nothing will happen.”

I grab Yoongi and Hobi into a hug in my excitement. “So what’s his name?”

“Jimin.”

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strangeradventuresofp · 4 years

Text

emotions (klaus x reader)

Run Boy Run - 2

warnings : swearing i think??

word count : 3936

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

On the 12th hour of the first day of October 1989, 43 women around the world gave birth. This was unusual only in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day first began.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves, eccentric billionaire and adventurer, resolved to locate and adopt as many of the children as possible.

He got eight of them.

~~~

The all-so-familiar bell rung to signal your wanted presence from below. The sound of all of your footsteps echoed as you and your siblings quickly made your way down the stairs, passing your Mother as your feet led you to the kitchen. You stood behind your seat, smiling at Klaus who was opposite you as he pulled a funny face before your Father walked inside to join you all at the table.

“Sit.” Gladly following your Dad’s instructions, your fingers wrapped around the top of your chair, pulling it out before you took your seat on it, tucking yourself back in so your blazer brushed against the edge of the table ever so slightly. You began to poke at your food with your cutlery, suddenly developing an appetite as the delicious scent flooded your senses. Wanting nothing more than to wolf it all down but knowing you would quickly be disciplined for bad manners, you kept your composure and dug in, praying to not get the hiccups afterwards. Klaus’ eyes looked up from his plate to you, the ends of his lips turning up into a smile. Returning it as best you could with your mouth full, the boy opposite sniggered almost silently.

Your eyes rolled as you chewed, watching Luther and Allison make love eyes at each other from across the table. Flicking your eyes over to Diego, you looked intensely as you tried to make out what he was carving into the table. Slowly, your eyes rotated to look back to Klaus, who was rolling a joint not so subtly under the table. Ben held a book in his hands, one leaving the page to pick up his fork and shovel some food into his mouth every now and again. At the end of the table, Vanya kept her eyes fixed on her plate; she was probably thinking about leaving quick so she could play her violin. Eventually your eyes rested on Five, your brows knitting together as you noticed he hadn’t eaten anything, twiddling a utensil around in his fingers instead. He kept his eyes firmly on your Father who was seated at the other end of the table, taking a casual sip from his glass before placing it back where it was.

You jumped as Five stuck his knife into the table with force, causing other bits on the table to clang against each other quite loudly. Gulping down the food that was in your mouth, your eyes fell back onto your brother, his fingers still wrapped around the knife that had been jammed into the table. Your siblings’ eyes also darted over to him and anxiety pulled at your insides as your Father opened his mouth to speak.

“Number Five?”

“I have a question.”

“Knowledge is an admirable goal, but you know the rules. No talking during mealtimes. You are interrupting Herr Carlson.” Diego’s eyes locked with yours for a brief moment before turning back to his plate and then back to Five as he roughly moved his plates away from him. This wasn’t going to end well.

“I want to time travel.”

“No.” You prayed at your Dad’s very blunt response that Five wouldn’t push the matter anymore, but you had a very strong feeling that the boy’s stubbornness and curiosity were too loud for any being to answer your call. Turning back to your brother, meeting his eyes, you shook your head at him, silently pleading that he wouldn’t do anything stupid before his head snapped back to the end of the table.

“But I’m ready; I’ve been practising my spacial jumps, just like you said.” In a matter of seconds a blue light appeared where his chair had been pulled out, another appearing beside your Father only moments later. “See?”

Your eyes begged with your brother’s while Reginald continued to give reasons as to why he wasn’t ready, worry beginning to consume your legs and torso. Vanya’s hair swished left to right at the motion of her shaking her head like you had done minutes before, your concern-ridden face matching hers. Klaus sought out your eyes before attempting to silently reassure you that nothing bad was going to happen, your fingers digging into your thighs with intensity, your throat drying up as you grabbed for your drink, gulping it down.

“Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore.” Five turned sharp on his heel as your Dad spoke his final words on the matter, causing you to stand, eyes following him as he continued to walk away, not looking back. “Number Five. You haven’t been excused!” You whimpered as your brother moved further into the lobby, his hands resting on the front door. Rushing after him, you heard your number being called, a few tears dripping down your cheeks while you followed him outside. Beneath the pounding of your heart and your unsteady breathing, you heard your Dad call out another number before you grabbed Five’s wrist, looking up at him through misty eyes.

“Why are you doing this, Five?”

“I have to do it. To prove I’m ready. To prove that bastard wrong.”

“You don’t have to. C’mon, let’s go back inside, please!” The grip you held on your brother’s wrist loosened as an overwhelming wave of sadness washed over you, knees making unexpected contact with the ground. He hesitated, turning to you in alarm but spinning around and disappearing into a portal of blue electricity. A pair of arms abruptly surrounded your figure, and you recognised at the softness that it was Number Four. He held you, rocking gently back and forth as you cried into his shoulder.

~~~

Your imagination forbade you from falling asleep after what Five had admitted to you the night before. His words resonated and danced around your head, horror filling your vision whenever you closed your eyes or even blinked. The world ends in eight days. Eight days is all you had left. The thought of only having eight days left before everything and everyone you knew was going to be wiped out for good made your head throb and ache like no amount pain you had ever felt before.

You sighed, standing face to face with the door of the Umbrella Academy once again, hoping Five was in so you could talk to him about what he had said. After he had told you, you didn’t exactly speak much back to him, your brain was too busy trying to process the terrifying information. Gently pushing the door open, stepping inside, listening to the voices coming from the living room. You made your way over to the doorway quietly, peeking in to see who the voices belonged to.

“Items from your father’s office have gone missing. In particular, an ornate box with pearl inlay.”

“Really?” Klaus’ voice was thick with fake disbelief and you rolled your eyes. “You don’t say.”

“Any idea where it went?” A streak of genuine concern flowed through Pogo’s voice as Klaus seemed to recall something, sighing.

“No, no, no. No idea.” It took you moment to actually realise what he was wearing; nothing but a skimpy pair of leopard-patterned underwear and a white tag on his wrist. His hair was messier than usual, as if he’d had a rough night’s sleep and he held a cigarette -or a joint- between his middle and fore finger, wrapping his lips around the end and taking a drag from it.

“The contents of that box are… Priceless. Were they to find their way back to the office, whoever took it would be absolved of any blame or consequences.”

“Oh, well, lucky bastard.” Guilt flooded eyes and as soon as Pogo left, he let out a deep breath as if he had been holding it for hours. Frowning, you stepped out into the living room, watching him stare at the couch like someone was there before you opened your mouth.

“You should really give it back.”

“Christ on a cracker! Would everyone stop doing that?” His body circled to face you, his free hand clutching the centre of his chest, locking his eyes with yours after remembering what he was wearing, or rather what he wasn’t wearing, turning his lips into a subtle smirk.

“I know you took it, what Pogo was talking about. You need it to give it back.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Rolling your eyes, you stormed over to him, pushing his cigarette away from his lips, your hand on his wrist, your other on your hip.

“Can’t you be serious for a minute?” It came out a lot more aggressive than you had intended it to, but he didn’t seem to mind, smiling down at you – it had been so long since you had been close like this. Your heart beat so loud in your chest that you wondered if he could hear it, your breath hitching in your throat at the close proximity, missing the intimacy that you two once shared.

“Are you still mad at me?” His voice was soft and gentle, almost like a whisper. He had never been afraid to show you his vulnerable side and you felt the same way about him, but that was your exact problem. You had let your guard down around him one too many times. He’d hurt you.

“I’m always mad at you.” The words barely escaped your throat and Klaus let out a breathy chuckle, your heart leaping out of your chest. His hand reached up to gently cup your cheek, and you felt yourself smiling, his mouth mirroring the actions of yours. You hardly noticed the space between your faces getting smaller and smaller, until you could feel the warmth of his breath on your cheek, his facial hair just gently tickling your top lip.

Once you noticed the closeness, you quickly moved away from him, releasing the grip you held on his wrist and pushing his hand from your face. As you moved Klaus winced, sorrow riddling his face. It pained you as much as it did him, but you were still angry at him for what he had done, and you had better things to do than stand around in the lounge with him, who was still basically naked. His sad eyes grazed over the floor and awkwardly, you cleared your throat.

“Have you seen Five? There’s something I need to talk to him about.” You asked quietly, looking over at him, avoiding his eyes. He shook his head before bringing his cigarette up to hold it between his lips, taking a drag before turning around, mumbling to himself. Sighing, you walked away, going to check the local coffee shops to see if they had seen your brother.

~~~

While you roamed the halls of the Academy once again, after hours of searching for the boy, you could hear footsteps along one of the nearby hallways.

“Five?” Turning the corner, your body ricocheted off another and you flew back in shock, exhaling in relief as you saw you who it was. “Oh, hey, Vanya. Sorry about that.” You smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck awkwardly and she shook her head, muttering that it was okay. “Uh, you haven’t seen Five by any chance, have you?”

“Oh, he’s upstairs, I just saw him.”

“Thanks, sis.” Walking past her, you notice a sadness behind her eyes, causing you to turn back around, placing your hand gently on her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?” Your eyes were flooded with concern, attempting to look through her melancholy ones to see what was wrong.

“Yeah, I… I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” She nodded and you decided not to press anymore, hugging her gently and flashing her a smile before running up the stairs, two at a time to try to find your brother. As you neared the door, items cluttered loudly from within and you could hear mumbling, not being close enough to make words out from it.

“Would you shut up? She’ll hear you! And I thought I told you to put on something professional.”

“What? This is my nicest outfit.”

“And you look pretty as a peach.” Smiling sarcastically, leaning against the door frame, staring at your two brothers. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“I was right he-“

“I was talking to Five.” You glared at Klaus, crossing your arms over your chest before flicking your eyes back to the boy.

“I’ve been trying to find out who the eye belongs to.”

“Okay… so?”

“I need you to act as my parents so the asshole will give me a name.” Five’s eyes turned back to Klaus, who was messing with the hem of his shirt. “We’ll raid the old man’s closet.” The three of you walked out, Five leading in front. You didn’t exactly have any questions, other than where you were going and who you were going to be talking to, but you decided they were irrelevant and you would find out soon enough.

“Okay, but, just so we’re clear on the finer details, I just gotta go into this place and pretend to be your dear old dad, correct? But, what’s our cover story? Like, was I really young when I had you, like 16? Young, and… Terribly misguided?” Five stopped, turning to Klaus as he talked. You could almost see the annoyance seeping out of him, giggling slightly as Five muttered a very blunt ‘Sure’. “Your mother,” Klaus grabbed at your sleeve, pulling you next to him, his arm strung lazily around your waist. “We met at… The disco. Okay? And, oh my god, the sex was amazing!” Your face flushed pink, hoping Five wouldn’t say anything, and you were grateful when he didn’t, instead just walking away into your Father’s room, picking out a suit for Klaus to wear. Your eyes widened with dread as you looked towards your Mother’s closet, then back to Five.

“I don’t have to change, do I?” You whined, shooting a glower at Klaus as he held a dress in front of his frame, pretending to dance like he was in a ballroom scene.

“There’s no time. Come on.”

~~~

“Like I said to your son earlier, any information about the prosthetics we build is strictly confidential. Without the client’s consent, I simply can’t help you.”

“This is ridiculous.” Sighing, Five’s words turned into mumbles as you rubbed your forehead in frustration, closing your eyes. Surely, there had to be another way. Upon opening your eyes once again, you noticed a glass snow globe sat elegantly atop the desk, lightbulbs going off in your head. While Five kept the guy busy, you nudged Klaus with your elbow, signalling to the snow globe, grinning as you watched his eyes widen with an idea.

“And what about my consent? Who gave your permission to lay your hands on our son?” Barely being able to contain your laughter at Klaus’ dramatics, you nodded your head in agreement, a disapproving look crossing your face as you folded your arms over your chest. Klaus continued to sob pathetically.

“I didn’t touch your son.”

“Oh, really? Well how did he get that swollen lip, then?” Suddenly, Klaus lifted his arm up to punch your brother in the mouth, earning a gasp from your lips as well as Lance’s. Five grunted, looking up at Klaus as if he could murder him then and there with his bare hands, but Klaus continued, Five meeting your eyes whilst you threw him an apologetic look. “I want it. Name, please. Now.”

“You’re crazy.” He stared up at Klaus in horror, his eyes widening as he picked up the snow globe, reading the inscription before smashing it on his head, blood pouring down the side of his face, yelling out in pain. Lance attempted to call security but once he had pulled the phone from the receiver, Klaus grabbed it, wrestling with him for a few seconds before shouting into the phone.

“There’s been an assault in Mr Big’s office and we need security, now. Schnell!” After throwing the phone to the floor, his hands turned flush with the surface of the desk, and he leaned over it, honestly looking rather intimidating. “Now, here’s what’s gonna happen, Grant.”

“It’s Lance.”

“In about 60 seconds, two security guards are gonna burst through that door, and they’re gonna see a whole lotta blood, and they’re gonna wonder, ‘What the hell happened?’ And we’re gonna tell them that you… beat the shit out of us.” Klaus sobbed a few more times before they turned into breathy chuckles, grinning at the man who called him a ‘sick bastard’, to which he obviously replied with a ‘thank you.’

After feeling too coerced -and probably too scared- to refuse, Lance began to rummage around in file cabinets looking for anything to do with the eye. Sighing, you played with the hem of your sleeve as Klaus jumped over the desk to stand next to him.

“This can’t be right. That eye… It hasn’t even been manufactured yet. Where did you get that eye?” Your brows knit together at his words, placing a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder as he looked completely defeated. He had told you that it was his only lead but now, you had nothing to go on.

~~~

Klaus giggled and sat down on his bed, swigging from the full glass that you had assumed he had gotten from your Father’s bar in the lounge. You sighed, frowning, picking it up and placing it on the bedside table before sitting down next to him on the bed, fumbling about with a first aid kit as he mumbled.

“Who are you talking to?”

“I- uh… No one. Just myself.”

“You know, that was pretty cool. What you did earlier. Your acting skills have certainly gone to waste.” Chuckling, you tried to lighten the mood, smiling at him as you delicately wiped the blood from down his face. He smiled, leaning into your hand slightly.

“Oh, I know! They should have cast me in Allison’s movie instead; I would’ve done a much better job than those amateurs.” His face seemed to light up when you giggled at his words and his eyes chased yours, moving his head with yours as you looked back down for something to help with his wound.

“I don’t know if I would have smashed a snow globe into my face but, it worked.” You smiled, gently patching up his wound so you didn’t hurt him. His eyes were fixated on your lips, hardly blinking, afraid they would be gone if he did. Klaus missed you. He missed holding you. He missed kissing you. He missed waking up beside you. Sometimes you would let him brush your hair. He loved to run you baths after you had had a long day at work and he would make you hot chocolate and all the sandwiches in the world, mainly because it was the only thing he could make. You felt his breath on your face as he sighed and you gulped, moving away and closing the first aid kit. Standing, gently hitting Klaus’ hands away from his forehead, frowning.

“Leave it alone, it’ll clear up faster.” As you stood, clutching the kit in your hands, you moved towards the door, turning back to the boy on the bed when he called out your name. In honesty, he looked timid, afraid of what he was planning on saying or what your reaction would be. Your heart raced as your mind flooded with thoughts of what he would say, and his seemed to be doing the same thing. His eyes darted around the room in a panic before he took a deep breath, locking eyes with yours and you swore tears began to well up in his eyes.

“I’m sorry. For everything.” As your heart burned and ached in your chest, anxiety and sorrow tugged at your gut and you felt weak, holding onto the cabinet for support. Klaus watched you with concern and intensity, wondering if you were okay but also thinking if you would accept his apology. He knew it wasn’t much but he hoped his sincerity would be enough. He stood, coming closer as your knees gave in, but somehow you still managed to hold yourself up. You muttered something of a ‘thanks’ before scurrying out of the door, leaving him and his thoughts trapped inside.

Upon leaving Klaus’ bedroom, soft voices caught your attention and you decided to move to where the voices where coming from, noticing Allison and Luther talking quietly to each other.

“You were right… about Dad. Come on, I gotta show you something.” As the two took off, you followed them silently. Clearing your throat, your siblings turned around, Allison nodding at Luther before you started walking with them to wherever the girl was taking you. Gulping as you heard footsteps, you were shocked when Five appeared before Luther, carrying a giant duffel bag over his shoulder.

“Five? What the hell happened to you?” Allison spoke with genuine concern, noticing the blood that stained the boy’s collar whilst you studied his face. He was defeated.

“Are you okay? Can we help?” Luther seemed at unease at Five’s silence, gently raising a hand to place it on his shoulder when he rapidly caught Number One’s hand in his own, a shocked look spreading across the larger man’s face.

“There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing any of you can do.” The boy’s voice was almost a whisper, pain seeping through the syllables. As he walked off to his room, your mind debated between following him or Allison and Luther. The three of you looked between each other, as if asking who would go to check on him and you nodded at them.

“You two, go. I’ll check on him.”

After a few minutes, Five turned at the sound of a quiet knocking on his door, smiling slightly at the sight of you stood there. You felt timid, despite him being your brother. You felt useless to him, like you could never understand what he meant, or what he had been through.

“Are you okay? Wait, of course you’re not, sorry. That was a stupid question.” You sighed, stepping into his room, taking a seat on his bed. “I’m sorry about the eye.”

“It was the only lead I had. The only thing that could possibly help me to stop the apocalypse. The only thing that could help me to save you all.” His eyes were so defeated, and your heart dropped at his words, feeling a couple tears well up in your eyes. He looked over at you, not knowing what else to say. You couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. Looking up at him, you did your best to plaster a smile of confidence over your face.

“We’re gonna work this out, okay? I promise.”

Honestly, you had no idea if you would work it out, or even if you could. You just knew that your family, despite how awful they were sometimes, were the most important people in your life and you would do whatever it took to save them, no matter the sacrifice.

my masterlist

#the umbrella academy #tua #the umbrella academy season 2 #tua s2 #tua season two #the umbrella academy x reader #klaus hargreeves #klaus hargreeves x reader #klaus x reader #tua s2 spoilers #tua season 2 #reader insert #x reader #canon fic #tua season 2 spoilers #tua x reader #tua fic

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theravencawsatmidnight · 4 years

Text

On the Prowl... a Fathers Day Special

Kittens. Bagheera; The oldest and self proclaimed sibling protector. Kovu; the second oldest & the independant one . Kazu; the third oldest & the lazy one. Katsu; the fourth one & the one with the temper. Shinsou; a Panther beastman . Reader, a Human

You and Shinsou had traveled far away from the den and settled in a quiet open area with a nice river to its left. In the middle was a large cave that Shinsou had marked as his. Aizawa never found him and Shinsou was free to raise his kittens without worry or looking over his shoulder. The kittens were all three now and you couldn't be happier.

You were asleep in the sun with Shinsou behind you holding you close with his large purple paws, he nuzzled into your neck purring in his sleep waking you up. You saw your third oldest kitten Kazu all curled up in your arms sleeping. He was the most fuzzy out of everyone and it was a chore since he down right refused to have you brush him. ‘Its time consuming’ he says, ‘I gotta sit up for a long time mommy’ he tells you as if he can argue. All it takes is one eyebrow raise from his father and he sits pretty.

Pulling your lazy kitten close, you looked around for the rest . Katsu was by the river snarling at the passing fish with Baggy nearby watching , just in case Katsu fell in, again.

“Koooovuu..” you chirped low.

“Rr..”

You smiled rolling onto your back with Kazu on your chest. “Vuuu..”

“Rr..!” The top of Shinsous crazy hair moved and a little purple head appeared out of it looking sleepy.

“What are you doing up there?”

“Mama… im swheepin.” He rubbed his face on his father's hair yawning loud.

“What if your father rolls over, hm?”

“Then.. i.. fall on mama!” He flopped down and you caught him giggling and nuzzling his happy face. “Oh your so silly.” While you were nuzzling him you heard a splash and Shinsou opened an eye growling deep waking up Kazu. Kovu looked up at his father and so did Kazu. You looked towards the river and Katsu was dragging a huge fish over with Baggy following, he was soaked.

“Oh dear.” You sat up putting your kittens with their father and you pulled Baggy close. “What happened baby.”

“Katsu!!! Jumped in the river again!!!” He said crossing his arms . Katsu was also soaked but had the smuggest grin on his face. He dragged the fish over to his father and Shinsou yawned in his face .

“Ack!! Old man!! “ roared the angry kitten.

Shinsou sat up yawning again and pulled you between his legs squeezing you till he heard Baggy yelp.

“Dad!!” He fussed.

Shinsou pet his sons head. “Sorry Baggy.”

“Look what i GOT!!!!” Katsu was impatient.

“Yes yes. Next time wake me up Katsu. You can show me how you catch them.” He placed his heavy paw on Katsus head. The little kitten was over the moon at his fathers words.

••

“Mama…”

“Yes Kazu..”

The fire cracked and Shinsou turned the fish that was above it.

“So if i jump in the river . My fur will go down . And i wont be poofy”

You rolled your eyes smiling and Shinsou chuckled pulling you closer.

“Then I don't need the brushin, right?”

You looked up at Shinsou and he laid his tail on your head winking at you. You let Kazu go from your arms and he rolled to his feet. “Okay baby. You go do that.”

Kazu had never moved so fast in his life, he was in that river in a second.

Katsu had asked his father if he could turn the fish and Shinsou lifted him up to do just that. Kovu was tugging your grass dress and you sat him between your legs to pet him along with Baggy.

••

Kazu returned a few minutes later and you told him to sit by the fire so he does not get cold. He was very proud of himself, he outsmarted you yes he di-

Poof. Big time.

“Mama!!!!”

Shinsou laughed, grabbing him before he could run off and took Kovu from you and gave you the poof cat. You pet his head humming and Kazu had his poofy arms crossed looking very upset. Katsu gave everyone some fish and sat by Baggy to scarf his food down even though Baggy lectured him that he might get sick. Katsu slowed his eating and Baggy wagged his tail leaning on his brother. Kovu was in his father's lap eating and Kazu was being brushed . You leaned on Shinsou and he kissed your head.

“I love you.”

“And i you, Shinsou.”

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Permafrost. A Fathers Day Special

Kittens; Tai Lung; the oldest kitten. Lou; the second oldest. Twins. Todoroki; white Leopard/snow. Reader;Human

Todoroki and you had found a quiet little cave up north, far away from Aizawa and the rest of the pack. He was not really worried , he was sure Chizome told Bakugou why he had left though. It had been 5 years since he left, and if that lion wasn't here by now then he must of found someone to give him kittens, or hes killing them before they carry to term…He often thought about Shinsou, he did not disagree with his decision he made back then to leave anymore , understood actually.

It was a little hard for you to adjust to this life but you finally had what you wanted most. You could live out your fantasy instead of reading it in a book. Todoroki was a little odd during the pregnancy, he had only ever seen Shinsous mate carry to full term before so when you started to show he was excited but nervous.

You had two little snow leopard twins.Both boys and both equally furry. Oh you loved them to pieces, the oldest was Tai Lung and he was very quiet and cautious like his father. Lou , the second twin was full of energy and always making his father bite his claws like a nervous parent watching their kid do something risky.

You were already awake and brushing Tai Lungs long tail. Lou was running around his father's legs trying to get him to wrestle with him. Todoroki looked to you and nodded in approval . Todoroki picks his son up running around with a smile on his kittens face.

“Mommy?”

You look down. “Yes baby?”

“Tell me a story again.”

You stopped brushing and pulled your cuddly son close smiling. “Of course Tai Lung.”

••

Todoroki was on all fours growling at his son and Lou was doing the same doing his very best to intimidate his father. He pounced biting Todorokis ear and Todoroki rolled over yowling in fake pain . Lou climed onto his fathers side roaring in accomplishment untill Todoroki grabbed him and pinned his gently under a arm.

“Dont think you've won so quick Lou. Remember to focus and read your opponent.”

“Aaugh !! Okay okay!!” He kicked his legs and Todoroki let him up , licking his face. Lou was upset and whenever his father pinned him he did what he did best.

“Mama!!!!!” He yelled running to you.

••

Tai Lung was all curled up in your lap with a big smile on his face and huge eyes staring up at you. You pet him lovingly while you told him a story about fairies and dragons, his little tail swished all around .

Lou’s screaming made you look up to see your kitten running to you and Todoroki giving you a ‘it wasint me’ face.

He jumped on his brother and Tai Lung hissed and then Lou hissed and then they started fighting…

“Hey.. guys cmon.. Todoroki!”

They rolled all around till Todoroki picked them up by the scruff of their necks looking at them both , growling low. Tai Lung immediately submitted to his father, ears down and eyes big. Lou crossed his arms looking away.

“No fighting. Apologize for jumping on your brother Lou”

“..sorry..”

Todoroki sat down with you giving you back Tai Lung and set Lou on his lap petting him till he calmed down. You pet and kissed both kittens and everyone was happy again. Todoroki pulled you close and you snuggled in with both your kittens in your arms.

“I love you so much.” Todoroki whispered in your ear. You looked up kissing him.

“I love you too, Todoroki”

••

@iron-underoos @mauvette268 @geld-sama @squeaky-ducky @sinclairsamess

#ontheprowl #permafrost #shinsou x reader #todoroki x reader #shouto todoroki #shinshou hitoshi

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toothpastecanyon · 4 years

Text

Mizar the Mediocre, Chapter 1

Alcor gets a summons from a strange Mizar. Maybe there's still something to recognise, here.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

Mizars. Alcor had known so many of them through the ages, and he’d seen that they tended to follow a theme. They were somebody bubbly. Somebody spontaneous. Somebody who stood out from the crowd. He’d seen Mizars who were doctors, lawyers, adventurers, cultists, demon hunters, people who led radically different lives from Mabel… but there was always something to recognise.

And he liked that.

______________________________________________________________

You’d think a place nicknamed ‘Sin City’ would get a lot of visits from Alcor, but he’d been to Las Vegas relatively few times. Maybe he just wasn’t the demon that came to mind when one was down on their luck in the casinos… regardless, he was mildly interested to find a summons drawing him there, and he was very surprised when he realised what soul was summoning him.

A Mizar? Huh. Well, he’d better go see what she wanted.

The first thing that caught his eye was the view. They were high up in some sort of hotel room, and the tall windows opened wide to cloudless skies above and the sprawling city below. The carpet was zebra print - it made his eyes vibrate a little - and the two perfectly laid double beds looked like they’d never been touched by a living being, much less slept in. A school bag slumped at the foot of the further one.

Alcor frowned. There were a couple of candles encircling him, but no chalk… and no summoner, it seemed. It didn’t take long to find out where they went; there was a gasp from behind the bed, and he quickly floated over.

“Hello?” Alcor saw his summoner huddled against the bedframe, clutching a metal tray to his chest. “Mizar?”

Mizar was… certainly different this time round. He looked like he was in his forties, balding, dressed in a leopard print dressing gown and pink camo crocs. He squeaked when he saw Alcor floating over him, and cowered under his tray.

“Why aren’t you in your circle?” He pressed himself up against a bedside table. “The website said you were going to stay there!”

Alcor blinked. “Uh… you didn’t draw a binding circle, dude. You didn’t even draw a summoning circle.”

“Don’t blame me! I tried, but it just wasn’t working on the carpet, so I thought I’d wing it, and-”

“You thought you’d wing it? Wing a demon summoning?!” Alcor watched him curl up tighter. He pinched his nose. “Okay, well, I’m here now, and lucky for you, I’m not going to hurt you. What do you want?”

There was a moment of silence, and then Mizar peeked up at him from behind his tray. “You’re not gonna hurt me?”

“No, you got very lucky. You should never summon a demon without a containment plan; other ones wouldn’t hesitate to-”

“Oh, that’s great news!” He popped up and tossed away the tray with a giant grin. “Ashley’s gonna love me for this!”

“Ashley?”

“My daughter! She loves demons - watches that Magical Mizar show of yours all the time. She’s not gonna believe that I got the real Alcor the Dreamlender to show up!”

“She- wait, Dreamlender? It’s Dreambender!”

“Oh, it is?” He tied up his dressing gown. “Huh, guess I misread it. Well, anyway, wait there for a second, will ya?” Then he turned towards the bathroom at the other end of the room and called, “Oh, Ashley! Sweetie? You there?”

There was no reply. The man shot Alcor a nervous smile.

“She, uh, said she wanted some alone time to chat with her friends - but that was a whole fifteen minutes ago, I’m sure she’ll come out any second now! Ashley, darling?”

In the awkward silence that followed, Alcor just stared. This… was Mizar? This was where his sister’s soul had ended up? In this weird older guy whose aura tasted of cheap motel food and desperation?

Okay, maybe he shouldn’t jump to conclusions. This guy was probably cool, somewhere. He cracked a smile.

“So, uh… what’s your name?”

“Hmm? Oh, I suppose I didn’t introduce myself yet!” The man stuck out his hand. “I’m Martin! But you can call me Mart. Mart the Fart. That’s what my ex-wife calls me, it’s, uh… it’s all in good fun!”

“Okay…” Alcor took his hand, and then frowned when Mart put an arm around him. “Are you trying to steal my wallet?”

“Whaaaat? Noooo… I just, uh, I wanted a hug!”

He rolled his eyes at that, but before he got a chance to reply, a scream rang out from the front of the room. Mart jumped up.

“Ashley?”

“Dad, run!” A terrified teenager had flattened herself against the front door; she stabbed a finger at Alcor. “That’s - demon! Oh my stars!”

“What? Oh, Ashley, sweetie, it’s okay! I summoned him!”

“You… what?”

“He’s with me, it’s fine!” Mart tried to jump over a bed, but tripped on his robe and fell down the other side. “Ow, uh, yeah! Surprise!”

“Wh- Surprise?!”

“Cause you like Magical Mizar, right? He’s the Alcor actor!”

Alcor winced at the waves of horror-turning-to-fury coming off of Ashley. He raised a hand. “Uh, just for the record, I’m not planning to hurt anyone. Also I didn’t actually act in Magical-”

“What the fuck, Dad?! You put everyone’s lives in danger just so you could reference some stupid show?”

Mart’s smile froze on his face. “Uh… do you like it?”

Alcor cringed. Bad question. Bad, bad question.

“No!” She snapped. “Absolutely not! I haven’t even watched Magical Mizar since I was, like, six! It’s like you don’t even fucking know me!”

“Sweetie, I-”

“Just leave me alone!”

With that, she slammed the door in his face. Mart stood there for a second, then shot Alcor a nervous smile.

“Uh… teenagers. Wow.” He jabbed his thumb at the door. “You know, she must’ve learned those four letter words at her mother’s place. Which is fine! I just, I didn’t teach her those.” He tried for a chuckle. “Surprising.”

Alcor pursed his lips. “Yep,” he said, in the ensuing silence. “Very surprising.”

______________________________________________________________

They ended up watching TV for a little while. Mart sat on the bed and started flicking through channels, and Alcor - seeing no obvious summons in need of his attention - awkwardly floated in the corner of the room.

“Ugh, golf. Bor-ring. Let’s find something exciting, right, Alcor?”

He tried to keep his eyes on the screen, but they kept straying down to the man in the leopard print dressing gown… the Mizar in the leopard print dressing gown.

“Oh, My Strange Curse is on!” Mart pointed to the TV. “You heard of this show, buddy? I saw an episode once where a guy got cursed so that nobody would believe a word he was saying. I thought it was kinda fake, but hey, it’s a fun bit of reality TV!”

“I see.” Alcor stared at the screen, where a guy was talking about how everything he ate randomly turned into Christmas ornaments. “So what do they do in the show? Do they hire cursebreakers to come in and help them?”

“No? They sorta… just talk about how weird their curse is for thirty minutes then say they should do some exercise and eat better. It’s… it’s kinda mean, actually.” He changed the channel. “Let’s watch something else. Ooh, Babyfights!”

Alcor rolled his eyes, but he looked up at the sound of a door creaking open. Ashley was peeking out of the bathroom; her eyebrows raised a little when she caught sight of him floating in the corner of the room, but she didn’t scream again. After a moment, she closed the door behind her, and came walking over to sit on the other bed.

Mart didn’t seem to notice, so he cleared his throat.

“Hi.” He tried for a wave. “Ashley, right?”

“Wh-? Oh, Ashley! Hi, sweetie!”

“Hi, Dad.” Ashley’s eyes flitted over to Alcor. “So, uh, is he just a thing, now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is the big, all-powerful demon floating on the ceiling just hanging out with us now, or what?”

“Oh, Alcor?” Mart looked up at him, and shrugged. “I mean, I’m okay with it! The more the merrier, right?”

Ashley didn’t say anything to that. He gave an awkward smile. “I can leave you guys alone if you want.”

She kept staring at him for a second, her eyes dull, her lips turned down, her aura grey and guarded. Finally, she turned away, and looked to the TV.

“Whatever.”

And they sat there, for a little while. Nothing much happened. Mart looked over at Ashley and smiled, but she was looking down at her phone all of a sudden. He went back to flipping through channels.

Alcor twiddled his thumbs. He looked outside, at the great big city just outside this little room. Las Vegas looked strange in the middle of the day; the neon lights were dulled, the concrete bleached by the desert sun. There was barely any green, barely any relief from the greyish-white that stretched all the way to the mountains far in the distance. Without the cover of darkness, the City of Lights just looked… sad. Bland. Out of place.

Boring.

He looked over at Mart and Ashley. “Hey,” he started, and tried for a smile. “So, uh, what do you guys do here, usually?”

“Huh?” Mart looked up and grinned. “Oh, in Vegas? What can’t you do? It’s my favourite place on earth!”

“Dad likes the casinos.”

“Not just the casinos, sweetie.” He cracked a grin. “Though those are pretty good. There’s tons to do here!”

Alcor cocked his head. “Like what?”

“Well, there’s, there’s a restaurant downstairs. Serves really nice food.” Mart pointed at the phone. “You can even get it delivered up here!”

“Dad, I think he was asking about stuff you can do outside the casino.”

“Oh? Oh, yeah, you can do stuff outside too! There’s… um…” he scratched his head. “Oh, there’s like a cool water show every night! I took Ashley there once, it was really pretty, I loved it.”

“It was alright.”

“Yeah!” He grinned at her. “We should do that again sometime!”

“Ehh.”

“No? Oh, that’s okay too.”

Alcor looked over at Ashley. “What do you want to do?”

“Me?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t care. I’ll probably just, I dunno, be here. Why?”

“I was just curious.”

She gave him an odd look at that, but before she could say anything else, Mart suddenly let out a loud laugh.

“Oh, my stars, look at this!”

“What?”

“They’ve got a mini golf tournament on TV!”

Alcor cocked his head. “You like mini golf?”

“Oh, yeah! I used to work at a mini golf course - they even let me sleep in the windmill!” He pointed. “Like one of those! Except it was smaller. And not that clean. And you had to know where to lie, so the nails wouldn’t... the pros always have more of a budget, y’know.”

“I see.” He smiled, despite himself. “So I bet you’re pretty good at it?”

“Am I good? Well, I don’t wanna brag, but I’d say I’m pretty c’est la vie at it.” Mart shot him a grin. “Why’d you ask? You think you can beat me, Mr Dreamputter?”

“He probably can, Dad.” Ashley didn’t look up from her phone. “Don’t start betting stuff.”

“Wha- oh, hah! You know me too well, sweetie. Don’t worry, I totally wouldn’t do anything crazy, like… bet a demon fifty bucks I can beat him in a round of mini golf.” He winked at Alcor. “Unless he wants to make things interesting.”

Just the sight of that sleazy grin made Alcor’s demon instincts go into overdrive. He grit his teeth. “I was thinking it’d be… more of a friendly game.” He managed, resisting the urge to take the easiest deal he’d seen in ages. “What do you two think?”

“Aww. Well, I’m still up for it!” Mart sat up and looked at his daughter. “Ashley, sweetie, you got your phone out. Think you could google where the nearest course is?”

“Mhm.”

______________________________________________________________

“Alright, just… move stuff around if you need to.” Mart pulled his seat forward to let Alcor in. “Sorry, backseat’s a bit of a mess. I wasn’t expecting a friend!”

A ‘bit of a mess’ was an understatement, Alcor thought as he shoved a mountain of scratch cards into the middle seat. All the legroom was taken up by crumpled hawaiian shirts and neon-coloured jeans; they gave off a faded but still-distinct stench of alcohol. He was almost afraid to move them aside.

“Alright, sweetie, seatbelts! You good back there, Alcor!”

“Yeah?” Alcor pulled a sleeping bag out of the way. “Why do-”

“Camping! I don’t sleep in my car.”

He blinked. “Uh-”

“Just, heh, wanted to make that clear. I don’t sleep in my car.” He reached over and patted Ashley’s shoulder. “Your old Dad’s doing great for himself, don’t you worry about a thing, uh… mini golf! Yeah! Let’s addios!”

Mart peeled off and took a hard right out of the parking lot, burying Alcor in scratch cards.

“Hey, Ashley! Put on my good tunes, will you?”

“No.”

“Hah, uh, alright! I’ll do it myself.”

A stream of loud pop music filtered into the back seat. Alcor perked up at the voice.

“Is this…?”

“Marcia Sinderson’s greatest hits, volume twenty-one?” Mart turned up the volume. “I found it in a bargain bin a few months back - I don’t even think she was alive when they made half these tracks but I love it!”

The music did contain a lot more ‘whoaaa’ s than lyrics, but Alcor chuckled when Mart rolled down the window and started singing along. Ashley sank into her chair, groaning.

This was… interesting, he thought. Strange in many, many ways, but somehow… familiar. And he liked that.

He’d missed hanging out with his Mizar.

#transcendence au #martin #toothwrites #not beta read

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greekbros · 3 years

Text

"greek-Bros: The Return of an Old Enemy"

Chapter 8: A Sour Deal

After a full day of preparation, training and anything that shouldn't take less than 24 hours to do, the "Dionysian Games" were ready as soon as the sun rose. Which is when Apollo discovered, his brother was at it again.

Apollo rode his chariot arcross the sky, toting the sun along for the day to begin. To him it was just part of his daily schedule, as he glanced over, looking down on Delphi. "Wait a minute....isn't it early in the year for the games to start?", the thought stewed in his head for only a few seconds when it suddenly dawned on him the Olypmic games, in deed DID NOT, take place in Delphi. He looked down and was shocked to see that Dionysus broke his promise, "as soon as I'm done with the sun, I'm going to give Dionysus the dressing down of the millennia!", he angrily told himself.

Back in Delphi, the Delphians were preparing for the games. The teams have been set up into 5 large groups, in Delphian fashion, no can tell which team is which. Being a mock-Olympics game, there was nothing to worry about representing a country or anything, so it was just harmless fun. There was no prizes outside of bragging rights.

Meanwhile, Dionysus attempts to get a hold of Ares for the joust. Communication between the gods was always complicated considering that the gods communicate better humans than they do themselves. In Dionysus's case, the best way to get in touch with Ares...was to get him to come to you via the most complex ritual involving two of his favorite things: Aphrodite and dogs. He knows for the best results, he had to do the ritual in private.

Dionysus prepares the ritual at an effigy made to resemble Ares he had created the night before. As it turns out he woke up in morning remembering that he hadn't even talked to Ares about the joust. Using a small puppy he borrowed from one of the farmers and a plate of extra rare steaks, lights some candles and places a sensual picture of Aphrodite. ".....Come on Ares. Come out.", Dionysus spoke to the effigy, he waited a few seconds for anything to happen but nothing did. "Oooookie dokie, I'm just going to "enjoy" myself with this really sexy picture of Aphrodite", Dionysus taunted the effigy hoping it would get his attention. He takes the picture of Aphrodite and slowly hovers it near his groan, as he was about to even let the picture touch, the loud thunderous sound of an explosion echos outside of his winery shed. "Aaaaaand just in time." he grinned from ear to ear, now with the star of his joust just outside his door, he could finally get the event going. He walks to the door, opens it and sees Ares nearly towering over him with the biggest frown he's given so far.

Ares quickly gabbed the photo from Dionysus. "Ok you fat fuck what do you want?" He growled. He looked behind Dionysus to see the crudly made effigy, pushed him aside to at least eat some steak and make sure the dog was ok.

Dionysus didn't expect much from Ares outside of agreeing to joust. "So buddy, ugh I was wondering....you don't having any plans this afternoon do you?" Dionysus nonchalantly asked. He turned to see Ares chewing on the steak with his bear hands while sharing his steak with the puppy. "I know you're ugh.... busy man....but I know you're going to.love this." He continued.

Ares wasn't much for Dionysus's brand of fun unless it resulted in copious amounts of bloodshed. In fact, most of the time when he would come to Dionysus, it was mostly to get wine or get drunk before certain battles. He was skeptical, but than again there really wasn't any current wars he could participate. It had seemed the entire country was focused on other matters, so indeed he was very much bored. "Wut is it?" He spoke with a full mouth.

Dionysus grinned, "well... would you like to joust with me? For my little 'games'? I mean, I know it isn't much....buuuuuut the people will love it."

Ares was interested but not convinced yet. A joust wasn't going to satisfy him enough, there had to be more to it. "Ok....what's in it-", he swallows his mouthful of steak,"- for me?", He asked as took another bite of meat, giving a little piece to the puppy again.

Scratching his head at what could Ares possibly want, "well...I know that if I win...I just win. After all, the audience likes it when the local god wins right?", Dionysus bargained. "I mean, it's not much but that all depends on what you want, big guy.", he knew Ares wouldn't be creative enough to want something outside of anything material or in some cases bragging rights.

Ares paused to think of the best way to painful screw Dionysus over. He thought of how Dionysus prided himself for his wine, but what was a god of wine going to do with wine. He remembered Dionysus's love for his big cats, he could always get Dionysus to kill his precious leopards, but no....he wants something far more precious. "How about this...." he lightly scratched the puppy behind it's ears, "...if I win, I get to be the local god and keep Delphi, you stand down...aaaaaand I fuck your wife.", he said through a menacing smile.

The mischievous grin that Dionysus sported had died into a panicked look, "wait wait hold on man, this is for fun." he responded hastily. Never would he have expected Ares to actually name such conditions. "Seriously, you can't just take my town and my wife if you win, that's....just fucked up....plus NO, I refuse to agree to those terms.....", Dionysus was flustered, what started out as an innocent challenge between brother quickly escalated into something a little more mean spirited.

Ares stood there looking at Dionysus, mildly disappointed that he wouldn't agree to what he believed was completely reasonable terms, "ok whatever drama queen, than I'm leaving.", he walked out of the shed. "Fucking wasting my time with your little circus act and shit. I mean I thought you liked having fun, whatever I guess you're too much of a pussy." he continued.

As much as the ownership of Delphi, the safety of the residents and his wife's honor was at stake, he couldn't just let Ares walk out from the joust. He didn't care about why or what Ares thought of him in the second, he was already too deep into the situation given not only he was not allowed to sleep in his own bed until after the Dionysia, but he disappointed Ariadne with his stubborn attitude. "Hold on, ok if you're going to play "Mr.Edgelord", than if I win......I become the new god of war aaaaaand...you have to wear a dress....for an hour and I will NEVER let anyone forget that", unlike the rest of the brothers, Ares was too prideful of his masculinity to ever wear a dress and the idea of his title as "The God of War" would also be a stake. This was too juicy of a bet. Dionysus's whole world was either going to include the chaotic attributes of war....or he was going to lose everything.

In mid-step, Ares turned around, his button has definitely been pushed, but the challenge was too irresistible. "Now you're talking fun.". He walked up to Dionysus, took his arm and gave it a sportsmen's shake. "Fine, I'll join your little circus. When...and where?", he stared down Dionysus hoping to throw him off even before the joust.

Dionysus wasn't really sure what Ares was doing and why was he staring at him for so long, but now he had to put up some effort in the joust, perfect for a performance. "Ha, you're on...just ugh go over there in the meantime...chill...I don't know it will be hours before we do it.", he informed. He pointed at tent in a field that was overlooked by the winery shed, it was prepared for the participants of the games, which was loaded with all the essentials any Dionysian needed.

Glaring at the overly lavished tent on the field, then his glance glazes over the rest of the field, it really was a bit like a circus. Ares takes a deep breath, rethinking if it would be worth winning given he will have to wait for a few hours before the joust, than be remembers he gets to turn this land into a training ground for an army fit for a king. "Ok.....do...you have anything I can do?", he asked.

He looked at Ares and said in a serious tone, "if you're planning on lifting bro, you're shit out of luck....you can....drink, you can.....fuck.....you can......eat.....you can take naps.....some of the folks are doing improv....I mean THATS something you do....I don't know. Just....relax or something.", Dionysus knew nothing worsened Ares's mood then a lack of exercise and anything he liked. "Aaaalso there is only wine.", he added. If Ares was going to be serious about his wager, he needed to insure that Ares was going to lose.

"Dude...that's ..... fucking lame.....I'm just going to take laps, can't wait to fuck your wife.", Ares left without saying another word. Dionysus was a bit floored, but the day was young and there was plenty of time to make sure he would win the joust. He was about to run to find some of his more "violent" maenads when he heard someone shout his name from the field.

"DIONYSUS YOU ARE NOT GOING TO FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!", it was Hermes, he ran through the field, up the hill passing Ares (who apparently didn't even notice him) and right up to Dionysus. "Ok holyshit you're never going to guess what me and Artemis found a few days ago! I was going to tell you about it but I had to find dad and I can't find him than I had to run around Greece looking for him an-" he felt Dionysus placing his hand on his head in attempts to calm him down.

Dionysus unfortunately wasn't in the mood to hear Hermes, but he was in the mood to ask him for help. "Hermes.......I've made a horrible miscalculation.", he told him, looking at Ares angrily uses a log to do bench presses. ".....I got what I wanted...but my....fucking self....I am in quite a pickle.".

Hermes was still processing all he has been doing the past four days, but somehow he had to know what happened. ".....what....are you talking about?", he calmly asked. He looked at the field, than looked at Ares, than he looked at Dionysus. "Why is there a circus in front of your house?", he can see Dionysus's face.

Taking a deep breath, "Hermes do you remember that time I joked about the idea of me and Ares.... jousting or something?", Dionysus asked.

"ugh....yes I think.", Hermes was now starting to worry if there is something even worse than semi-immortal wolf people. "But seriously man there's some weird fucked up things happening.", he continued.

Dionysus chuckled a little, "well....I hope you're ok with cheating. I really need your help.", he looked at Hermes in hopes he knows he serious. Hermes however, whom just arrived, is getting a terrible feeling there will be hijinks.

End of Chp8

#greek bros #greek gods #greek-Bros #greek bros: the return of an old enemy #dionysus #hermes #ares #chptr 8

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saraspamz · 4 years

Text

this is the second part of my Elippoweek. Again, thanks to Rebe for being my beta :)

Day two: past and future

Promise?

The first time Elia and Filippo had talked about the past, they were decorating their flat for Christmas. They'd been together for a month, and things were going on very well between them.

«What are you looking at, darling?»

Filippo hugged his boyfriend from behind, placing a soft kiss on his neck. Elia smiled, caressing Filo's hair. The older boy had dyed his hair blue a week before, and Elia seemed to like his new look very much.

«Nothing, honey. I've just found this in your Christmas box!»

Elia showed Filippo his new discovery, a Christmas ball with a child's face on it. Baby Filo's face, actually.

Filippo covered his face with his hands, embarrassed.

«I thought I threw it away!»

«Why should you have done it? It's a cute photo!»

«It's embarrassing! I was wearing this stupid Santa suit and eating panettone, it isn't cute at all!»

Filippo seemed to be very angry, and Elia didn't know why.

«Sorry Filo... I just thought it was a funny foto, I didn't mean to offend you.»

Filippo felt the sadness in his boyfriend's words, and immediately regretted using that tone of voice. He knew that when he screamed and when he got mad at him it remembered him of his father. And that was the last thing he wanted, knowing that Elia hadn't got over yet on the last fight they had had.

«No, baby. You don't have to say sorry, it's my fault. You couldn't know why I hate so much that Christmas ball.»

Elia's expression changed from sorry to worried. He took his boyfriend's hand and guided him to the couch, making him sit on his lap.

«Do you want to talk about it?»

Filippo sighed and nodded, knowing that it was time for him to open up to his boyfriend.

«That picture, the one of me eating panettone dressed up like Santa Claus... It was taken by my dad.»

Filo took a deep breath. It wasn't easy for him to talk about his family, especially about his dad. Elia seemed to understand that, because he held him tight, encouraging him to continue.

«It was the last time I saw him. I mean, last time I saw him in person. The day after that damn Christmas, he left. I was seven, Ele was three. She barely remembers him.»

Elia stopped Filo's story and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

«I'm so sorry for what happened to you Filo, you're such a strong boy.»

Filippo smiled widely to his boyfriend, taking up where he left off.

«When I understood dad had left, I couldn't believe it. I started to spend all my days sitting in front of the door. I hoped that someday the door would open and dad would come back home and tell me "Don't worry, Fili, it was just a dream.". But obviously it has never happened.»

Filo sighed loudly and Elia held him closer, starting to cuddle him.

«You're so brave and strong baby, I can't believe you managed to endure all this shit by yourself. And you were just a kid!»

Filo snuggled closer to Elia's chest. Elia was the one for him, he was sure.

The second time Elia and Filippo had talked about the past, they were walking in the park near their house.

It was a warm day, the first warm day of the year actually, so they had decided to go for a walk together. They had spent a beautiful afternoon chatting and kissing in the trees, and they were coming back home.

Elia was telling Filo some old story about Luchino and a suitcase (yes, again), when he suddenly freezed.

Filippo was very worried about him. He had never seen Elia so scared before, not even when a bunch of homophobes had harassed them in a club.

Then he felt Elia take his hand and whispering: «Please Filo, take me away from here.»

Filippo nodded and started to walk, holding Elia's hand tight, but someone stopped them.

«Santini! Long time no see!»

A tall blond boy with a black hoodie walked across them, and Filippo could feel Elia stiffen. Instinctively, he put himself in front of his boyfriend to protect him.

«Who are you?» asked Filo aggressively.

«Chill, zì. I'm Andrea, I was in Elia's class in middle school.»

Filippo knew there was something wrong with that Andrea guy. And Elia's scared face confirmed his thoughts.

«Who are you?»

«I'm Elia's boyfriend, Filippo.»

«Boyfriend? Well, Santini, a leopard can't change his spots, mh? See you soon!»

And then he left with a smug face. Filo turned to his boyfriend and he saw him shaking with terror, so he took his hand and ran home as fast as he could.

«Who was that guy, Eli?»

Elia sighed, than he said:

«Andrea, my middle school best friend. We've known each other since we were three and we used to spend all the time together. But then everything changed.»

Filippo took his boyfriend's hand, encouraging him to continue.

«What happened?»

«When I was 11, I realized I am bisexual. Now this doesn't bother me anymore, but at the very beginning it was hard for me. I've been living in a very conservative family and I thought I was wrong for a while. Than I understood that I was born that way and that I shouldn't have blamed myself for that. I started to be very proud of who I am, and I found the courage to tell my best friend.»

Elia stopped talking, and Filo could see that he had tears in his eyes. He immediately hugged him and caressed his hair to calm him down.

After a while, Elia resumed his story.

«When I told Andrea I was bi, he started acting strange. He didn't want to play with me or to be seen with me at school. A few weeks later some boys I barely knew started calling me names in the schoolyard. Andrea had told everyone about my sexuality. He put me through hell. People bullied me at school and at football practices, I used to cry every night and I started hating myself again. I had to change school in the middle of the year, and then I met Marti and Gio. They were my salvation. I finally found real friends and I stopped blaming myself for liking boys.»

Filippo didn't know what to say. His boyfriend was so strong, he had been able to deal with that shitty situation and to rise up.

«You're so strong and brave, darling.»

Filippo and Elia were lying on their bed. Elia's head was on Filo's bare chest and they were sharing a cigarette.

«What are you thinking about, love?»

«I was thinking about what you told me yesterday, about what you had to deal with when you were in middle school.»

«Don't think about it, Filo. The past is the past, and I'm willing to move on. I don't want to think about the past now, I just want to think about the future and forget what made us suffer.»

«You're so wise, Elia. Let's think about our future. You're an amazing person, and I want to spend all my life with you. »

Elia smiled widely and kissed his boyfriend.

«We'll build our future together, honey.»

«Promise?»

«Promise.»

#elippoweek #elippoweek2020 #elippo #skamit

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monochromeofficial · 4 years

Text

DISSILLUSION ( broken rose part one )

GENRE. angst with a bit of fluff at the end, overal this is pretty sad

CHARACTHERS. miran ( miranda huang ), huang family

TRIGGER WARNINGS. slight depressive thoughts, mentions of drinking, mentions of smoking, arguing and yelling.

SHANGHAI, CHINA 2014

When Miranda woke up, she was more surprised to see her brother standing in front of her than having spent the night on a bench in some random public park.

She furrowed her face once a light of sunlight came in contact with her eyes, blinding her for a few seconds. Slowly she sat, moving her head a little to look up at him. Lisandro had both arms folded over his chest, observing her clumsy movements with a stare that she knew to perfection. Full of disappointment. That kind of looks tend to not affect her when they came from other people, but he made her feel uneasy.

When he stared at her that way Miranda wished she had a time machine to go back in time and fix every mistake that ended with that look on his face.

“Get in the car.” He said in his typical calming voice.

If she didn’t know him so well she could swear he wasn’t that angry, but his clenched jaw and the way he stirred the fingers of his left hand gave him away.

Lisandro was like that. As angry as he was he would never raise his voice. At least not to her. Miranda was his beloved little sister. It didn’t matter how little was left of that image in her; she would always be his beloved sister.

She got up from the bench and followed him. Once inside the car she greeted Mr. Minghao —the family driver— with a slight handwave, before the men could return the gesture Lisandro pressed the bottom to close the window that divided the back of the car, leaving both siblings in an uncomfortable silence. The car started moving minutes later and Lisandro begun the conversation.

“Explain to me how you ended in a park almost at the other side of the city” He spoke in spanish, surely to prevent Minghao from understanding,

Truth is, Miranda didn’t know how she ended in that place. She didn’t remember much about last night actually, as far as she could recall she was at a club she went to more often than she likes to admit in front of him.

She hated clubs, but it was the only place where she could drink until losing track of time, with music so loud she couldn’t even hear her thoughts, and full of people who didn’t care who she was or what she did. It was so easy to get lost there. And she likes that, she likes it so much she believes that place has become her safe zone.

But it was momentary.

Everything good in her life was momentary.

The next day all she was left with was a hangover and an intense desire of coming back.

“I don’t know.”

“I left a meeting because my assistant told me a co-worker called and told him he saw an unconscious girl who looked a lot like my sister. I was so scared of going there and finding you de—“, he stopped right away not wanting to finish the word “I don’t even want to think about it”

There was again the blame eating her alive. She bites her lip looking everywhere except her brother’s eyes. She couldn’t answer.

Miranda will be lying if she didn’t say deep down she craved that ending. Maybe that’s one of the main reasons why she acted so recklessly without caring about the damage she inflicted in herself, hoping that if she keeps going one day everything will be over.

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again”. She replied more than anything to reassure him.

Lisandro took her hand between his and gave her a small squeeze. Her response didn’t fully comfort him, he was still deeply concerned. But that’s how things work between them. Miranda fucks up. Lisandro gives her a talk. She apologizes, he accepts the apology. And they leave it there, until it happened again.

Miranda Huang was lost.

For years she’s been struggling with a series of mental illnesses that made her life feel like a task she had to carry out. It used to be easy to deal with, she had the full support of her family, therapists ready to help her get over it, and a life ahead to heal at her pace. But as she grew older she realized most of her improvements didn’t last long, no matter how hard she tried by the end of the day she ended up in her room crying until she fell asleep.

Slowly her desire to continue trying vanished. What was the point of wasting her energies on something that didn’t work after all?

She was aware of how privileged she was, that’s why she didn’t want other people to know the real thoughts going through her mind, she was scared of being seen as an ungrateful brat who’s always miserable. Miranda was a skilled actress; she attended drama classes for years, that’s why she decided to start using several techniques offstage to project a more likable image of herself that could please others.

Miranda got so used to faking her emotions that she almost couldn’t remember the last time she felt something real that wasn’t sadness.

“We should leave,” she said, approaching Xiaowen´s hear so he could hear her above the loud music.

Xiaowen was something like her boyfriend could be said. Both attended the same high school and during their senior year, the boy confessed his feeling for her. Miranda accepted despite feeling nothing for him, but she hated being alone and he could give her company. Anyhow, Xiaowen seemed to be me more in love with her money and her face than her actual persona.

“Eh? You wanna leave so fast? We just got here.” The boy asked surprised. He was usually the one who had to drag her out of the club all the time.

She nodded.

The colorful lights of the place made her dizziness worse and she was sure that if she drank one more shot of vodka she’d end up throwing up in the boy’s brown curls. At that point, she would usually go out to get some fresh air, smoke a cigarette, and then continue to drink until passing out. Now she didn’t feel like it, she wanted to go home.

“Fine, i’ll take you after we finish this bottle”

Miranda sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. Of course, he would say something like that.

“Do whatever the fuck you want i’ll go”

Without waiting for his response she advanced to leave the place.

Outside she was received by the cold night wind of Shanghai’s busy streets. She closed her leopard coat trying to get some warm as she lifted her left hand to call a taxi. After getting one she let her body relax against the leather seats laying down her head in the window. Her eyes closed straightaway.

She was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

Nights like those were the worst when her ephemeral fantasy disappeared before than expected and she was still sober enough to feel her pains. They felt like thin paper cuts in her skin, individually they didn’t hurt so much but combined it was distressing.

The worst part of all; she couldn’t complain. It was her punishment. As long as she carries the guilt of that day pain will be present in every breath she takes.

The taxi driver’s voice announcing she arrived snapped her from her thoughts. She paid and thanked the man before walking to the entrance of her house.

“I’m home”, she announced once she was inside.

She took her off her shoes unaltered by not receiving a reply. At that time all employees had gone home and her parent and brother must be asleep. She headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, pausing for a second after seeing Lisandro there too. He drummed his fingers on his cup staring at her intensely. Her shoulder lowered, all of sudden she felt small and weak, while she opened the fridge she wondered how long it will take him to start interrogating her.

“You went to the club again, right?”

Miranda nodded dodging his gaze, her grasp in the water bottle becoming tighter.

He rubbed his temple and ran his hand through his hair giving a mirthless laugh.

“Why i’m not surprised.”

“Look, i know i said i won’t go there again but—”

“Save it. I’m done with your petty apologies; i’m done protecting you when it seems like you put zero effort on improving… i can’t keep doing whatever the fuck this is. I need to tell mom and dad everything.”

She stiffened. “You can’t do that, please don’t do that.”

“Yes i can, and i will. This needs to stop now.”

She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by her father’s entrance into the kitchen.

“What’s going on here? I heard you two arguing, did something happened or what?” He furrowed his eyebrows looking at them. They both stood quiet. Then he noticed the flashy clothes she was wearing, “Miranda are you going out? It’s three in the morning.”

“Where is she coming from it’s the question” Lisandro replied bitterly.

“Just stop.” she said under her breath.

“I don’t understand anything, weren’t you in your room sleeping? Can someone explain to me what it’s going on…?”

“He’s right. Miranda, please explain to dad what where you’re doing.”

They both stared at her anticipating her answer. Miranda remained silent; she chewed her bottom lip and lowered her head embarrassed. Words seemed to be stuck in her throat.

“Since she doesn’t want to i will.” Lisandro said “She was at some club drinking like she’s been doing for a while now, while i hide it from you like an idiot because i believed she would get better before anything bad happened to her. And now I found out she hasn’t even been attending her therapy sessions.”

Her eyes widened. Suddenly her body went numb.

Fuck

“They called from the clinic to ask for her because they haven’t seen her in months.”

“Miranda is that true?” Her father’s voice sounded worried.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck…

Every second was a torture. Her brain begged her to say something, anything, but at the same time, she didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry.”

The apology leaved her mouth by instinct.

“At least you can come up with a new damn excuse!”

He yelled.

Lisandro yelled at her, and it felt worse than she could ever imagine.

Lisandro was like a barrier preventing her from falling to the void, it was obvious that if she continued to push his boundaries over and over one day he would get tired and nothing would secure her when she crashed.

“It’s enough!” Her dad tried to stop the mess that was coming, but it was too late already.

“Sorry for being a fuck up” she wasn’t sure if they could hear it, her voice was barely a flimsy whisper, but she didn’t stay to find out neither. Miranda turned around and left right after that.

She heard how both men started discussing, surely about what just happened, as she climbed the stairs in a hurry. She just wanted to lock herself in her room hoping that if she spent enough time there she would disappear.

When she arrived she found her mother sitting on her bed. She looked up from her lap with a sweet smile on the lips. As long as she remembers she always had a smile when she looked at her.

“Did you heard everything?” Miranda asks and she nods.

“It’s okay, come here.”

She pats the space next to her, telling her to sit down. She does so, laying her head on her mother's lap as the woman begins to run her hands through her hair gently. She closes her eyes trying to hold back her tears. She didn't wanted to cry in front of her.

“We don’t need to talk if you don’t want to. We can just stay in silence and cry.”

She shakes her head a little. “You deserve an explanation, you, dad, and Lisandro, all of you deserve one.”

“Mi vida you don’t have to explain anything to us, we know it’s not your fault.”

“Of course it is. It's my fault, everything it’s my fault… He hates me and it’s all my fault. I’m a horrible person.”

"Listen to me, you're not a bad person and i forbid you to say that about yourself again. You’re just…sick Miranda, and you have no control over that. But you'll see that someday you’re going to get better and everything will be alright, you'll be fine mi vida. We can do this if we're together we just have to try harder until it works. but i'm not going to give up on you, and i'm sure they won't either, so please don't do it yet.”

Miranda lifted her head from her lap to face her. Her eyes flooded with tears, yet she didn’t shatter none, there was something in them that showed an incredible strength and it gave her some confidence.

“I won’t. I won’t disappoint you again.”

This time it was true. She wanted to get better, she had to get better, not just for her but for her loved ones.

“I’m sure you won’t.” She said engulfing her in a hug.

Miranda settled on her chest and before she knew she began to cry. Allowing herself to show what she truly felt for the first time in years.

#kocsociety #MONOCHROME› s c e n a r i o s #miran.dev #tag.miran #kpop oc #kpop fake gg #kpop fake idol #kpop au #Idol!AU #idol addition #kpop addition

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cilliansaccent · 4 years

Text

The Peaky Designer - Cillian Fanfic, Chapter 20

Hello, welcome back. Below is the next instalment of my fanfiction!

Leave a like or a comment if you liked it, or if I can do anything better! Please, it would mean the world and to understand if anyone is enjoying my writing. Also, sharing/reblogging would be even better.

PLEASE READ:

I will not be including Cillian’s family as it’s kinda weird since he has children lmao. Just a mention of his parents and a previous lover.

I will indicate in a chapter if there is smut in the beginning and before the actual scene!!

I will add trigger warnings if there is any!!

There is a variety of levels of swearing during a chapter, I will not hold back, everyone swears.

The timestamp for the Fic is now 2016 and onwards!!

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Background: Gabrijela Babic is a Croatian girl from Sydney, Australia. She is born in the year 1991 on the 24th of December. She studies a Fashion degree in a University with a major in Game Design as well. Her teacher in the fashion designer class managed to nail an Internship on the set of Peaky Blinders with the shows very own Costume Designer, Allison McCosh. There, she travels to London for under a year to learn how to be one, working alongside the actors as well the man she admires, Cillian Murphy. But, her platonic feelings for the man begins to grow into something more, and she wonders whether she should pursue them or let him go for fear of her strict parents and her three older brothers…

Characters:

Swantje Paulina as Gabrijela Babic (swalina on Instagram)

Cillian Murphy

Word Count: 4,972

!!Warnings!!: None!!

Date: February 2017

Chapter Name: Disaster

Brief Chapter Outline: Her Sunday gig went fine till Lucia came along and spilled some information to Leo, Gabrijela’s brother. The next day Gab faces off with her parents about who she’s been seeing with. It ends badly...

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It came around to her Sunday gig and tonight it seemed more people had joined in the club.

"God! I've never seen this place so packed!" Maya said as they were readying themselves on the stage.

"Literal madhouse." Ben nodded as he plucked his guitar to tune it.

Gabbie giggled and glanced up, Cillian was seated right at the front, drinking his favourite beer. He raised it and gave her a smile then mouth 'I love you'.

She blushed and repeated it in the same manner before it was time to start the show. They played mostly rock again this time, replaying some fan favourites from last night.

Cillian watched from his vantage spot since he had to move now as people crowded around the damn stage to dance and take photos. He was unable to see his love so he stood a little farther back drinking his beer. He took some photos but not much, he liked to remember the moment and not have a phone to aid him in remembering.

He was minding his own business when someone brushed up against him, "Hey, Cillian."

Glancing over, Cillian frowned and moved away. The girl was dressed in a leopard patterned tube top with a matching mini skirt that really was sitting at the edge of baring her ass. She had curly black hair and eyes that seemed to gobble him up and readying him for sex.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" He did not like how the girl had come on to him so strongly, and she stayed way to close for comfort.

"What? How can you not know me?" She looked totally hurt. "Lucia. You know, Gabbie's only best friend in this whole fucking world." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Ah... Yes. Lucia. Hi." He kept his guard up, he wasn't going to let this girl do anything to him. He remembered when Gab had told him what happened between Logan and Lucia.

"Hi. No how are you? Wow, thanks. I'm fine." She raised a brow. "You gonna get me a drink or should I stay here looking like a moron?"

Cillian was in total shock as to how she was acting. Rude and pushy. He never really came across anyone like her and so he stuttered when he tried to speak. No use.

"Of course. I know. I am so fucking gorgeous, I know that's what you are thinking and why you are so dumbfounded and not speaking. So, I shall forgive you for that." She touched his arm and gave him a smile that made him shiver. "Oh? You liked that?" She had backed him to a pole and he frowned.

"I don't. Please stop touching me." He had set down his empty beer glass and gently pulled her hands off him.

"What? You like, shivered so of course, you liked that." She went to reach for his shirt and he grabbed her wrists.

"Stop. I will call the security to kick you out. Now leave me alone, please." He stayed entirely calm.

"What's happening here?" Gabbie asked as she weaved her way through the crowd.

Cillian hadn't seen them finish and sighed, "Nothing. I was telling Lucia to leave me be."

"Shall I call the security?" Gab asked as she stepped to his side, locking her arm around his. She looked at Lucia, no hint of emotion.

"No! Oh my god. I wasn't doing anything at all, how can you think that? God, I missed you!" Lucia went to go hug Gab but she threw her hand out to stop her.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked with a deep frown.

"What? Nothing is wrong. I miss my bestie! Can't I hug you?" Lucia placed her hands on her hips.

"No. And I am not your bestie. I'm nothing to you. Now leave us alone, I don't want to see you at all." Gabrijela tugged Cillian away as Lucia watched them go with pure anger and hatred shining in her eyes.

"Sorry about that." Gabbie said as they came to the bar.

"No, no. Don't be sorry. Not your fault." Cillian leaned down and kissed her forehead. "What are you gonna have?" He asked her as he pulled out his wallet to pay.

"Uh. Nothing if you're paying." Gabbie placed her hand over his. "I got this. I swear."

"No, please. You've been playing all night. Let me treat you to something." He held her hand and smiled in a way that would so make her comply with him.

She groaned, "Fine. Only cause you're cute." She giggled and he ordered her a mocktail.

"I'm gonna head to the men's toilet, you good here by yourself?" He asked.

"Yep. I'll wait here." She kissed him softly and he slipped away.

Gab stood there, sipping her drink and enjoying the atmosphere. Until someone stepped up beside her.

"Who was that?" Leo, Gabrijela's brother, the youngest of the three older brothers she had.

"Wh- Leo! Hi, hello. Who was who?" Gab raised a brow. Her heart instantly kicked in fast mode, no one in her family knew she was dating a guy. Especially a much older guy who had knocked her up now.

"Gabrijela. The one you kissed." He raised a brow, dark eyes bore into hers in that familiar overprotective instinct.

"No idea what you are going on about. You must've mistaken me for another couple beside me." She turned away, facing the bar as she twirled her glass.

He muttered a curse word in Croatian and was about to tell her off when Lucia wedged herself between them.

"Hi, Leo. Nice to see you again." She battered her eyes at him.

"Lucia." Leo wasn't fond of Lucia one bit.

Gabrijela was getting worried now. She wasn't ready to tell her family that she was dating Cillian and Lucia was here now... Oh fuck.

"Has Gabbie told you the good news?" Lucia smiled wickedly at Leo.

"What news?" His brows furrowed.

"Jeez, she's been real secretive now, huh?" She turned to Gab. "Go on. Tell him."

"There is nothing to speak about. Now get lost, Lucia. I have no idea why the fuck you are here." Gab was going to lose her shit. She truly hated Lucia. She ruined her life and she wasn't going to let her do it again.

"Oh my god. Fine, I'll tell him." She sighed and rolled her eyes and turned to Leo, "She's fuckin' Cillian Murphy. You know, the dude from Peaky Blinders. Plays Thomas Shelby. The super old guy." Lucia dumped the news on Leo. "They practically fucked the first night she was in London, I saw it when I was speaking to her-"

Gabrijela snatched someone else's drink and used her own to just dump it on the bitch, "You son of a bitch! Stop ruining my life!" She screamed, totally losing her shit now.

Lucia screamed out and faced her, and gave one mighty shove which made Gabrijela hurtle backwards with Lucia on top of her.

Cillian saw it all unfold as he had arrived over and he and Leo jumped into action and yanked off the screeching woman off Gabrijela who almost clawed her face off.

"Fuck you! Why can't you see I'm helping you?! I am your best friend! Forever!" Lucia hollered as a security guard came over to drag her dumb ass out.

Gabrijela was in shock as Cillian's arms came around her and helped her to her feet, "Holy shit. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He did not let her go.

"I need air." She whispered to him as she held on to him for dear life.

"I got you." He whispered gently as they walked out of the bar and away from the people to a bench along the street a little way down the path.

Gabrijela sat and took in deep breaths, her hand subtly on her tummy as she calmed her nerves.

"What the fuck was that, Gab?" Leo had found them outside and wasn't too happy. "Talk to me now."

"Excuse me, it's clear she needs a moment, whoever you are." Cillian stood and kept himself between the guy and Gab.

Leo glanced at him, "She's my fucking sister. I need to talk to her."

"Give her a moment, then you may," Cillian repeated with a much more clear and authoritative tone.

"And who the fuck are you? You the guy that's fucking my sister? Huh? Are ya?" Leo was getting up into his face now.

"Leo. Fuck. Off." Gabrijela looked up, "Seriously. I do not want to talk to you right now. I need to be on my fucking own." She stood and began to walk down the street.

"Don't you talk to me like that, I need you to come right back here! Now!" Leo shouted.

"I said leave me alone! Do you not get that? LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!" Gabrijela shouted back.

Cillian was at her side and arm around her, "Hey. Relax. Come on. Let's go back to my hotel yeah?"

"Oh hell no she isn't. She's coming back home with me. Mum and Dad want to talk to you and I think I know what it is." Leo's eyes focused on Cillian now.

Gab saw the look and felt sick suddenly, then threw up all over her brother.

"Gah! The fuck!" He stumbled back as he glanced at himself then at Gabrijela. "You go back with him, Mum and Dad are gonna be so mad."

"Don't care." Gab stayed close to Cillian as he hailed a taxi and they got in.

"Gabrijela, come on- Fucking hell get out of that taxi!" Leo yelled as he watched the cab drive off.

Gab wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head. "My god." She whispered.

"That was a mess," Cillian said, placing a hand on her thigh gently.

"It was." She murmured and leaned against him some more.

They reached the hotel finally and her phone had not once stopped buzzing from Leo or her friends. She replied to her friends she was okay and not to worry much. She sat on the bed as Cillian prepared a bath for her in which she was grateful for then undressed and eased into the warm water.

Cillian stayed close, "Want me to put music on?" He asked as he stroked her hair gently.

She glanced over and nodded, "I'd love that. And... Is it okay if I could be alone for a bit?" She murmured softly.

"Of course my love. You can take as long as needed." He leaned over and kissed her lightly and set the music up, turned the lights low which she was eternally grateful for and she was alone. She sunk back into the water a little and soaked up the oils and scents.

Tonight had gone good and then ended badly. Lucia had once again ruined her life and she had not expected Leo to be there. And what the fuck did he mean by Mum and Dad wanting to talk to her about? She thought hard and... Maybe... Oh god. Gab felt panic rise in her but she tried to push it away.

She had to find out tomorrow whether she liked it or not.

-----

Cillian had been the best to her all night and all morning. He had made sure she was comfortable, happy and well-fed. And by fed not just by food.

Gab flopped back on the bed beside Cillian. She was grinning, she had ridden him for most of the fuck session which his morning wood had woken her.

"God." Cillian looked at her, his smile wide, "You really take the breath out of me." He reached over and cupped her face.

"Do I now? Is that good?" She rolled over and placed a hand over his chest, fiddling with that fine hair.

"I think so. Or it's showing how old I am getting." He chuckled softly.

"Nah. I think you just haven't had someone like me." She leaned in and kissed him deeply.

"Mm, true." He murmured as he turned to pull her close to his body. He made to move on top of her to continue but her damn phone rang. Again.

"Ugh." Gabbie groaned as he laid back as she sat up and padded to her bag. She pulled out her phone and cursed.

"Who is it?" Cillian sat up, his back to the headboard.

"My Dad. And Mum. Called me like eight times." She let the phone ring to the end. Then listened to the voice message.

"Hi, Gabrijela. I've been calling you all morning now and you are not picking up. Leo informed me of who you got into the taxi with and you need to come home right this instant. We need to have a chat of what you have been up to and what you have been hiding from us. Get home now."

She rolled her eyes. Her dad was very pissed off. She listened to her Mum's.

"Hello, darling. Please pick up I want to know if you are safe, that is all. Your father is cursing up a storm here and it would be good of you to at least call one of us. Please come home, we need to discuss some things."

Gabrijela knew her mum was trying to be nice but she knew she was very disappointed in her. She sighed, "I have to head home, Cillian."

"Your parents?" He frowned as she began to dress.

"Yep. I am going towards a war zone right now. I need to mentally prepare myself." She had hoped nothing bad would go this arvo. She had plans for tomorrow with Cillian as it was Valentine's day. A surprise for him and she was quite excited about it. She had done the organising yesterday morning when they lazed around in bed.

"And you have to go now?" He asked as she came to the bed and sat down.

"I do, sadly. I'm sorry Cillian." She frowned and took his hand, "I don't want to but for the sake of my parents... I must." She let out a sigh through her nose.

He squeezed her hand, "Okay. I'll figure something to do today." He smiled, "I love you. Call me later if you can?"

"Always. Also, be ready by ten tomorrow morning." She leaned over and kissed him deeply.

"Why?" He returned it, moving closer.

"Can't tell you. It's a surprise." She giggled and patted his cheek as they kept kissing and she was the one to pull away. "Bye-bye. I love you forever, Cillian." She murmured and he watched her leave the room.

Upon arriving home, she was glad her parents were not home and had gone to work. She spent time with her niece Tijana and her sister-in-law Tatiana who was married to Leo. She had spoken to Tatiana about what was to come tonight and she was happy that her sister-in-law was supportive.

"Leo was all mad." She said as they sat outside in the backyard, Tijana playing with her toys.

"I bet he was." Gab sighed as she took a drink of her coffee. "He yelled at me last night after Lucia attacked me and demanded me to go home. I seriously did not want to go home."

"You stayed with that man? What is his name? What is he like?" She asked with a small smile.

"I did. His name is Cillian." Gabrijela found herself smiling at the thought, "He is the most amazing man I've ever met. We got so much in common, we always have something to talk about. He cares for me, knows my likes and dislikes... He knows me very, very well."

Tatiana watched her and could see the pure love radiating off her, "You love him?"

"I am. So, so, so deeply in love with him. I cannot think of myself with any other person but him." Gab whispered, "I am unbelievably happy, Tatiana. I really am. I've never been in such a good mind before. He makes me crazy."

Tatiana laughed, "And... How old is he? I don't want to judge you or anything but..."

"He's forty-one this year," Gabrijela said softly.

"Wow. Uh... Yeah. That's a big gap. Mum and Dad don't know how old he is, don't think Leo has figured that out yet." Tatiana said. "Though, is he good though?"

"Good in what?" She raised a brow.

"You know. Sex! You must be having sex with him, right? Or is this just a no sex relationship?" Tatiana giggled.

"Of course I am having sex with him! Ugh, he is amazing. Like holy crap amazing. I'm always breathless afterwards." They both laughed and Tatiana beamed.

"And he treats you good?"

"Always. Trust me. He treats me good in many ways, not just in bed." Gabrijela blushed.

The girls spent their day in the backyard before it was time to head inside.

Then it was the sounds of hell rattling down the road and her fathers truck pulled up and parked in the driveway beside the house. Gabrijela was stressing when her mum came home soon after her dad had walked in. The usual discussion of how was his day and making coffee for him then for her mum.

It was about an hour that had passed, Leo home as well when Gabrijela came to the table with her family. She sat at the head of the table for a first and knew she was in for a ride tonight. The worst kind.

"Why didn't you come home with me last night, Gab?" Leo started.

"With the way you spoke to me, no way," Gab said bitterly.

"So you went back with that man? Is that where you went?" He asked.

"Yeah. Back to his hotel room cause I wasn't feeling well and stressed out, Leo. I got attacked by Lucia and almost had my face ripped off!" Gabrijela raised her voice.

"What happened now?" Liljana, her mother, asked with wide eyes. As if this was new to her.

Gab stared at her brother in shock, "You left that bit out? Yeah, Lucia attacked me after she was pestering me all night. She's a damn psycho. I poured wine on her to shut her damn mouth up." Gab shook her head.

"Yeah to shut her up from telling me that Gabrijela is dating a man. Who I know is an actor and a much older actor. I've seen him in that show I've been watching with Gab." Leo bristled.

Gab glanced between her parents, "Fine. Yeah. I've been dating a man who I am very much in love with, alright?"

"How'd you two meet?" Her mum asked.

"When I was overseas doing that internship for the show Peaky Blinders. He's the main character for that show, I had to prepare his costume for each day and help him dress and all that." Gab explained. "We talked. Got close but not close enough since I was with another guy, Logan. Though I had a bad falling out with him as Lucia had come to see me and she slept with him. After that, Cillian, the guy I am now dating, was there for me when I needed someone. And it... Just happened. We clicked after that and now we are inseparable." Gabrijela explained the best she could.

"And how old is this man, Gab? Hm?" Her dad now chimed in.

Gabrijela swallowed. This was it, "He is turning forty-one this-"

"Forty-One?! Gabrijela what is wrong with you? He is too old for you! No! I do not allow this stupidity of yours. You cannot see this man anymore. Whatever it is, it will not last. You are so young, you can do so much better!" Her dad yelled with anger.

"I love him, dad! I am not going to throw all that away just because you don't like it!" Gabrijela was beyond angry now. She was hurting.

"No! You do not know love. You got no experience in what is love. This man, clearly only using you because you are young and agile. He will not want you in a year or two. Do not make a fool of yourself, Gabrijela." Nikola shook his head, "Unbelievable. I thought I raised you better."

"Darling. We only want the best for you and this is not what we had in mind. Please, do not hurt yourself for such an old man. Really? Could you not have found anyone else?" Her mother tried to soothe the pain.

Gab felt tears in her eyes, "No." She pulled her hand back from her mothers, "Cillian is the one. Whether you like it or not. I will continue to be with him-"

"No, you will not. I forbid you from seeing him. If I see you with him I will make sure he-"

"What will you do, huh, dad? You gonna punch him? Ruin your daughter's life just because you can't accept my decisions? You never accepted anything I did. I had to always do what you both wanted me to do. I never got to choose what I wanted. I'm twenty-five years old. I can decide what I do with my life, not you. Not anymore." Gabrijela stood up.

"Not under this roof you don't. I make the rules here, Gabrijela! I do, and you better fucking listen to me." Her father snapped which made her wince.

"Nikola! Don't swear-" Her mother tried to calm him down.

"Yeah? And if I don't? Huh? What are you gonna do, huh? You can't do shit to me, dad." Gabrijela now faced off with her father.

"You will not speak to me like that. I am the leader of this house and you are to follow them. I don't care if you are twenty-five. That does not matter to me. What matters is you living under this roof and you making an absolute fool of your life. You are wasting it! What will happen when he is sixty? Huh? Like me, old and wrinkly. Will you still sleep with him? Hm? Will you still kiss him and be with him when you are in your prime life?"

"You don't know me as well as you do, dad. I love him and I will love him to the end of my fucking life. You better accept it because I will not change anything to suit your wishes. My life dad. My problems." Gabrijela kept her ground. She would not be trampled on like this.

"Enough! Stop it. Gabrijela you are not listening to us. You-"

"Oh, I am listening quite clearly. That's all that I've been doing my whole damn life. I'll take in your considerations but I will not put them into motion. I love Cillian, I will be with him and you have no way of stopping me."

"Get the fuck out of my house then," Nikola said, nothing but rage and spite in his voice.

"Nikola, you will not kick out our daughter," Liljana said.

"Tata, don't do this." Leo seemed afraid and shocked now as how much this had escalated.

"Shut up. She can leave if she wants to do whatever she wants. I do not want to see it then. Pack your shit and get out." Nikola slammed his hands on the table which made everyone jump.

Gabrijela let her tears fall as she stared hard into her father's eyes. "I want to know one thing though," She whispered, "How did you find out?" Gab never posted anything online whatsoever.

It was her mother who replied, "Lucia had told us this morning when Leo mentioned it to us. We did not believe him but when your friend-"

"She is not my friend. I hate her. She is a scumbag. And so, what she tell you exactly huh? Come on, tell me." Gab urged. Her heart hurt.

"She said that you were being taken advantage of some old man and seemed lost by his charms. We are worried that you might be but we can help you get out of it." Her mother said with pure worry.

Gabrijela laughed with no emotion, "Wow." She said shaking her head with utter disbelief, "Just... Wow. So you would take her word rather than mine?"

"It's not like that," Liljana said quickly.

"It clearly is. She's lost her mind, mum. She is becoming obsessive over me. I am not her friend no longer. It truly hurts to know you took her word than listening to your daughter. Really shows what kind of person you are. I'm glad I'm being fucking kicked out." Gab turned and then ran upstairs to her room. She grabbed her suitcase and began to pack her clothes in. Then her duffle bag for more items as books, chargers and her laptop.

"Gabrijela, don't listen to him. Stay. Let us work this out." Her mother had come up to see her.

"No." Gab shook her head, unable to stop her tears or her sobs. "I'm going to leave. I don't need this shit in my life right now. I really don't and you standing there staring at me as if I am some fucking failure isn't helping either." Gabrijela looked at her.

"Swearing isn't nice," Liljana said, arms crossed.

"Nor is kicking out your daughter which you clearly support. It's cool. I'm glad I've been kicked out. Don't have to be fucking trapped in this shit hole." She shoved as much as she could. She was surprised she had taken well over half her wardrobe.

"Gabrijela-" Her mother started.

"Move." She sauntered past her and headed down the stairs. She grabbed last bits and pieces as well as her car keys and dumped her shit in.

"Gabrijela come on. Don't be like this." Her mother raced out after her.

"Don't try and make me feel bad. This is your fault. Not mine. I feel bad for Tijana living in this house. I hope Tatiana and Leo get out before they're corrupted by your bullshit." Gabrijela did not listen to any more accusations her mother threw at her and she drove off.

Gab drove into the city, messaged Maya that she was using the car spot for their apartment for unknown lengths of time. Maya mentioned they had hidden the key in the walled-off spot if she needed the apartment to herself. She thanked her but she wasn't going to use it. Just needed a place to leave her car without paying stupid fees.

She grabbed her shit out and dragged it to the main street and headed to the hotel where Cillian was staying. It was already dark and she wasn't a fan of walking the streets alone in the city but thankful the hotel was in view.

In the foyer, she sat on a couch and called up Cillian.

"Hey, love. How are you?" Cillian's voice made her instantly better.

"Not okay. I'm in the foyer. Can... You get me? Please?" She asked in a small voice.

"Of course. I'll be there in a moment." He hung up and some minutes went by and he was there walking to her. "What is all this?" He frowned before she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His arms automatically wrapped around her as he held her as she cried into his chest.

When the sobbing subsided, Cillian helped her up to his room with her suitcase and duffle bag. Then they laid back on the bed, her head on his chest and her explaining what had happened.

"God... I am sorry, Gabrijela. I really am. I can't believe they would treat you like this." Cillian was in total shock as to how she could be kicked out. Just for dating someone.

"It's fine. Not your fault. They just can't fathom their daughter dating someone who is twice her age. I really don't care about the age gap, Cillian. I'm just hurt that they couldn't see how I am in love and happy for a change. It's always been their way and no other way." Gab sniffled.

Cillian stroked her hair. He could see her parents point but to kick her out for her decision? Unacceptable. "Parents should always be there." He murmured more like a spoken thought.

"I wish they were, Cillian. God, I can't even imagine now to tell them of the pregnancy." She felt fear shoot through her. There was no way she was going to live in that house ever again.

"We'll do that together if you want." Cillian offered and she looked up.

"You want to?" She cupped his face.

"I'd love to. I want to be there for you and support you. I don't want you to be alone." He placed his hand over hers.

She smiled, "Okay... Well, I guess I'll wait until this cools down before we nail them with another shit storm."

"Not a shit storm. A miracle." He kissed her softly.

After that, she showered and put on a nice dress and he took her out for dinner at a restaurant he had found earlier that day. They ate good food and talked about baby things and when to tell his family as well. They would do it tomorrow morning and Gabbie was very excited. She loved his family to the moon and back.

They walked along the harbour, hand in hand. The night was warm but comfortable, they went to a bar for a bit then headed home to relax in bed and watch a movie together.

Gabrijela was only in her bra and panties as she fell asleep in his arms, despite the day being fucked, she was happy in her lover's arms. She was warm and safe and loved. That was what mattered to her. Cillian being with her.

#cillian murphy #peaky blinders #thomas shelby #fanfiction #cillian murphy fanfic

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aubreyweston · 4 years

Text

vignettes from a visit home

When: Monday, May 4-Sunday, May 10

Where: Mostly Saint Paul, Minnesota

Who: Aubrey and his brother, mother and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Kyle the roommate

Warnings: excessive alcohol use, violence, brief fatshaming of a dog

Word Count: 5,615

When Aubrey spotted his brother waiting for him as he emerged from the arrivals door at the airport, he nearly sagged with relief. He weaved past people, shooting Brody an exhausted smile once they were close enough to talk.

“Hey man, thanks for coming to get me,” he said.

Brody reached over to ruffle his hair, and then grabbed his bag from him. “Anytime, twerp.”

Once they were in the car, Aubrey reached over to turn the radio on but Brody batted his hand away. “Nuh uh. Nope. Not that easy. What’s up, dude? Not that we’re not thrilled to see you but… this is pretty sudden. Mom said you were coming home after your exams.”

Great. He couldn’t escape the third degree anywhere it seemed. His head throbbed. He’d really taken advantage of Quinn’s generosity.

“Stuff just happened. I… I needed to get out of New York.” He stared at his palms, clenching and unclenching his right hand. He really hoped he hadn’t broken Kyle’s nose.

Brody was quiet for a moment, focused on the road, but Aubrey knew his brother and knew it wouldn’t last.

“You still talking to Dr. Banks?”

There it was. Aubrey thunked his head against his seat’s headrest.

“Yes, Brody. I’m still talking to Dr. Banks. I’m still taking my meds. It’s —” he bit his lip hard, and then ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

“I’m fine. I missed you. I missed mom. I missed Hansel and Gretel. Am I not allowed to impulsively fly home every once in a while?”

Brody looked dubious, but he shrugged. “Yeah. You are. Of course you are.”

“How’s Olivia?” Aubrey asked, desperate to change the subject. Getting Brody to talk about his fiancee was low-hanging fruit, but he’d take him droning on about his future sister-in-law if it’d get him to stop asking questions.

It worked. His brother immediately launched into a detailed explanation of their wedding plans and how happy he was to finally be marrying her, and Aubrey was able to lean his head against the cool window and shut his eyes as Brody rambled on.

After what only felt like a few minutes, Brody was shaking Aubrey awake, but sure enough they were in front of their house. Aubrey had complicated feelings about the place. It inspired both a healthy dose of fear and an immense wave of calm all at once. He supposed that was the warring influence of both his parents.

Before he could even get to the door, it was opening, and his mom was standing there, and before Aubrey even realized what he was doing, he’d flung himself at her, hugging her tightly and burying his face into her neck. “Hi mama,” he mumbled.

Just the feeling of her good arm wrapping around him had him sniffling. “Welcome home, baby,” she said.

He finally pulled back, wiping at his eyes and forcing a smile onto his face. He was sure he’d already freaked her out. He didn’t want to make it worse.

She took his chin in her hand, examining him for a moment. Aubrey didn’t know what she was looking for but she didn’t seem to have found it because she made a soft tutting noise before pulling him inside.

Aubrey’d been busy steadfastly ignoring the semi-constant vibrations coming from his phone when Brody had unceremoniously invited himself inside without bothering to knock, and took a seat on his bed.

“You smell like alcohol,” his brother said matter-of-factly. “If I can smell it, mom definitely did too.”

Aubrey rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling instead of meeting his brother’s eyes. He wondered in the back of his mind if Brody ever resented having an absolute basketcase for a sibling.

“Are you going to arrest me for being underage, officer?”

“That’s not the point and we both know it. Does your shrink know?”

Aubrey blinked, and then lied through his teeth, hoping Brody wouldn’t see through the cracks.

“He knows, Brody. I’m fine.”

A scoff, and then Brody was elbowing him over so he could lie down next to him.

“Seriously, Aubrey, what happened?”

Aubrey was quiet, and thankfully Gretel padded inside and hopped onto his chest. He smiled at her, and then scratched her behind the ears. Her purrs eased the icy grip of anxiety that he’d felt around his throat since Santana’s party. “I missed you Grets,” he whispered, giggling a bit as she started to kneed his chest with her itty bitty paws.

“I’m taking Olivia to Como Park in a bit,” Brody said, cutting through the shreds of peace he’d finally managed to grab onto. “You’re coming too.”

It wasn’t a suggestion, so Aubrey didn’t bother responding. Instead he pressed a kiss to Gretel’s little nose.

When Brody stood up, Aubrey finally looked at him. “Can you take my phone? If it buzzes one more time I might smash it and I can’t afford a new one right now.”

Brody watched him for a long moment, and then sighed, grabbing the device and pocketing it before finally leaving Aubrey alone.

Como Park had been fine. Olivia had kept up a steady chatter, and responding to her in a decently normal manner had kept him sufficiently occupied. The plants in the conservatory were breathtaking as usual, and he’d actually found a spark of something resembling joy in the pit that’d taken over his chest once they’d wandered through the zoo.

“Which one was your favourite, Aubrey?” Olivia asked, shooting him an enthusiastic smile. Aubrey felt kind of bad for her. She made such an effort and he knew he was giving her barely any back.

“I kind of loved them all,” he said slowly, tilting his head to the side. “But I think the polar bear was my favourite… or the snow leopard.”

“I liked the tamarins. Both kinds. They were so cute. Weren’t they cute, Brody?” Olivia directed this question at his brother, and swung their clasped hands between them. She looked disgustingly fond.

Aubrey’s ember of a good mood abruptly flickered out. He wondered if it was too late to go back and throw himself in the tiger cage and wait for one of them to decide it was hungry.

When they’d gotten home, he’d immediately scooped up Gretel and then gone to pry open one of the kitchen cabinet’s toe-kicks while his mom, Brody and Olivia were all distracted. He’d stashed alcohol in there all through high school and when he’d quit he hadn’t bothered to get rid of what was left. If luck was on his side, no one had found his cache and emptied it.

It turned out that maybe the tides were turning in his favour for the first time this week, because he emerged victorious, a dusty but untouched bottle of Smirnoff clutched in his hand.

Thank fuck. He kicked the toe-kick into place, scooped up Gretel, and did his best to hide the booze behind her flank in case he ran into anyone on the way back to his room.

His fears were unfounded because he safely made his way back to his room. None of the bedrooms had locks. His dad had taken them all off the doors, demanded to know what any of them could possibly want to hide from him. No one had bothered to put them back after he was arrested. There didn’t seem to be much of a point.

Still, the lack of lock was inconvenient now. He kicked the door shut and then deposited Gretel on the ground, and then grabbed his desk chair and dragged it over to the door, wedging it under the handle to make it harder to open. That’d have to be enough.

Satisfied, he sat down on his bed and opened the bottle he’d pilfered. He hadn’t meant to get as drunk as he did but his tolerance had gone down drastically compared to when he’d get drunk behind the bleachers in high school.

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out instinctively, and then squinted at it. Sebastian’s name was bright on the screen. His heart lurched, and he couldn’t stop himself from thumbing the messages open and reading them all.

He tried to untangle the knot that was his feelings. Part of him ached to reply. Something about the messages warmed him up from the inside. Stupid Sebastian, with his dumb smirk and pretty eyes and endless persistence. Aubrey wanted to strangle him.

He also really, really wanted to kiss him again.

He took another long sip and got onto his feet, pacing around his room in circles, the bottle still clutched in his hand.

Fuck, Sebastian. And not like that. This… this was his fault. He didn’t know how exactly or why but it was. Ever since they’d met it’d been the same pattern. It was inescapable, despite every one of Aubrey’s best efforts to get him to knock it off.

He’d just kept trying. Fucking stubborn, persistent prat. And now… and now...

Before Aubrey’d realized what was happening, he’d already driven his fist into the wall. The drywall broke inwards, and Aubrey’s hand throbbed. He pulled back, though the pain had felt good. Felt familiar. He punched at it again with the same hand, letting the ache in his knuckles roll over him. The pain was good. Real. Something he could control. He whirled back towards his bed, grabbed a pillow and screamed into it until his throat was sore.

A series of texts to various people in his phone and another hole in the wall later, Aubrey finally felt tired enough to shove his phone under his pillow, close the vodka and roll it under his bed.

He burrowed his head under his blankets to block out the setting sun and closed his eyes.

Someone was being loud. And letting in light in. Aubrey hissed and burrowed his face into his pillow, trying to cling to sleep for as long as he could.

“Mom told me to wake you up. Come on, Aubs. Rise and shine,” Brody said, sounding like he was trying way too hard to ignore whatever damage Aubrey had wreaked on the walls.

He made a disgruntled noise and ignored him. His head hurt. He wanted more sleep.

When Brody tried to pull his duvet off, he swung at him blindly. “Leave me ‘lone,” he muttered.

Brody backed off, but clearly not for long because he’d started trying to reason with him again.

Aubrey swore under his breath, and then reached over to his bedside table where he’d left one of his social work textbooks.

He grabbed it as Brody continued to explain their plan for the day, and without opening his eyes, he aimed for the sound of his voice and hurled it with as much force as he could.

“Fuck off!”

There was a loud thunk as it hit something that sounded a lot more like a wall than flesh, and then silence, before Aubrey heard Brody sigh and pad out of the room.

Deep down he felt a little apologetic, but mostly he was glad he could sink back into his pillow without further disruption.

He dragged himself out of bed eventually, and mumbled an apology to Brody for the textbook throwing.

He was hungry though, so he shuffled into the kitchen and started digging around for pancake ingredients. It was getting dark out but… time was a social construct. He could have pancakes at night. Who gave a shit? They were all slowly inching toward death anyway.

He grabbed a few things, and a bowl and started mixing. Pancakes were good. Safe. He could literally make them in his sleep.

He grabbed some orange juice from the fridge and poured it in a glass, leaving some room at the top, and detoured back into his room for some Smirnoff to mix in. That way he’d be able to pass his drink off for something normal if no one else in the house came too close. He downed his pills with the vodka, and then took a few more sips from the bottle for good measure, and then tucked it back under his bed.

Aubrey returned to the kitchen and sipped some of the screwdriver while he heated up a pan.

Hansel shuffled into the kitchen and whined at his feet, tail wagging. Aubrey glanced down at him, and sighed. The chunky dachshund was giving him wide, sad eyes.

“Bud. Seriously? You’re supposed to be losing weight.”

He leaned down to give him a good scratch on his little snout, and then got up again and grabbed some of the pancake batter, pouring it into the hot pan.

“The first one always sucks. I’ll give you some of it,” he promised. The batter was so slowly bubbling, and once it looked ready, he flipped it.

“Smells good in here,” a female voice said behind him, and Aubrey turned to see Olivia smiling at him.

“Um, thanks Liv,” he said, shifting his weight and taking another sip of his drink to distract himself. “You want any orange juice?”

Olivia shook her head, and crouched, laughing as Hansel waddled over to her. “Thanks, Aubs. I’m good. Just came to find the little fella. My friends won’t stop begging for pictures.”

Aubrey downed the rest of his screwdriver, and then took the first pancake out of the pan, breaking off a good chunk for Hansel who’d returned to nosing at his feet. He poured a new scoop of batter into the pan, and then glanced at Olivia who’d been recording Hansel’s enthusiastic consumption of the pancake.

“Anything for the ‘gram, eh?” He joked. He wasn’t sure what came over him, but he grabbed the spatula holding the remainder of the first pancake and swung it wildly. “We’ve got a pancake here ladies and gentlemen,” he said, laughing before whipping it in Olivia’s direction.

She shrieked before dissolving into giggles as the pancake sailed past her and then slammed into the wall.

Aubrey started laughing again too. “Fuck,” he whispered, going over to examine the splatter on the wall. Olivia was laughing too, and she handed him some paper towels, but he shrugged them off, instead batting at the chunks of pancake ‘til they were on the floor too.

“Hansel will get it,” he said, shrugging, before he swore under his breath as the smell of smoke hit them. The second pancake! He’d forgotten all about it.

“Shit,” he muttered, grabbing the pan and taking it off the burner.

Olivia had fallen quiet behind him, and when he turned, she was looking less amused and more concerned.

“I’ve never seen you burn anything before. Are you okay, Aubrey?”

Aubrey gritted his teeth, but then forced a smile. “Sorry, Liv. We were having fun. Just… got distracted.”

She nodded, still looking worried, and scooped up Hansel now that he was done with his pancake.

“I’m just going to go call my dad, but I’m in the other room if you need any help.” She said, before finally leaving him alone to scrape burned pancake off the pan.

He’d been trying to be productive for at least a little bit in between drinking binges and panic attacks, so he was blasting white noise in his earbuds and studying for finals when his bedroom door opened and his mom came inside.

There was a soft but serious look on her face when she took a seat next to him. Aubrey felt something twist in the pit of his stomach. He shut his psych textbook, pulled out his earbuds. “Hey mom.”

“Hi baby bear,” she said, reaching out with her good arm to push his hair out of his face. “Seeing you this week has been wonderful but something’s bothering you. I know it is. Mothers always know… the same way they know about the bottles in the toe kick.” She fixed him with a look, and Aubrey glanced away, ashamed.

He stared down at his hands. His mom was the person he hated disappointing the most. She deserved better.

Her hand was under his jaw, tilting his head up. “My sweet boy. You were the sweetest little child and I know he’s still in there. Under all this fear and pain.”

Aubrey swallowed thickly, tears welling up, and had to wipe at them frantically.

“Mama,” he asked quietly. “What happened to your soulmate?”

It was not a subject they talked about often. The part of her arm she’d lost was also the part with her souldate. He didn’t know if his dad had done that on purpose or not. Aubrey couldn’t remember for the life of him what it had looked like before she’d lost it.

“My mark turned into a scar when I was eleven,” his mother responded smoothly. There wasn’t any pain or anger in her voice. She was merely stating a fact, as accepted as the colour of the sky. “It’s hard when you don’t know who they are. You can’t even find out what happened. But I was young and I adapted.”

He nodded, pulling his knees up to rest his chin on them as he watched her. He couldn’t even imagine. While he’d always resented his mark, he found it hard to think about how he would’ve reacted if suddenly it had scratched out like that.

“What made you decide to…” he paused, unsure how to phrase it. His mother, perceptive as usual, finished the sentence for him.

“Marry your father? He was a sweet talker. Said he didn’t care about his date, that he was focused on the here and now and that he’d take care of me,” she said, pursing her lips. “It must sound silly to you now, that I believed him but… he was very convincing.”

She reached out to stroke his hair again. “And I wanted a family. As much as I hate the man now, he did give me you and your brother.”

Aubrey smiled at that, but it was still weighing on him.

“And now? Do you ever think about… finding someone?”

Her eyes sparkled, but she shook her head. “Do I wish I had some great epic romance? Of course. Do I think there’s still someone out there who could give me that? Of course. But I’m happy now. I want to focus on you. On Brody and his wedding. If someone stumbles into my life then maybe I’ll give it a chance, but I’m not missing anything right now.”

Aubrey nodded, though a part of him thought it was supremely unfair that his mother didn’t get to have someone looking for her. He hated the idea as a whole, but if anyone deserved it, it was her. He certainly didn’t and somehow he had it? And she didn’t? It was another piece in his mounting pile of evidence that the universe was profoundly cruel and unfair.

“Aubrey, listen to me.” His mother’s voice broke him out of his reverie. She fixed him with a steady gaze.

“You are complete. Soulmate or not. Every single one of us is complete,” she assured him. “There is nothing missing. I’m not missing out. You’re not missing out. Your brother wasn’t somehow lacking until he met Olivia. I want you to always remember that. It’s something I should’ve remembered when I was young.”

Aubrey nodded, his eyes welling up again, and this time when he went to wipe at them, she grabbed his arm with her hand, and then held it carefully.

“But don’t build walls either. You hear me? Let people in. Me. Your brother. Whoever is out there and wants to see the real you. You don’t need them, the same way you don’t need a 5th copy of the Communist Manifesto. But they will enrich your life. I don’t want you to run away from that.”

She leaned in and kissed his forehead, and then let go of his hand, and patted his arm instead.

“I’ll let you get back to your studying.”

Aubrey had somehow managed to catch a cold, amidst all the other bullshit that was currently going on in his life. His voice being shot hadn’t stopped him from playing so much guitar that even his calluses hadn’t stopped his fingers from getting sore.

He strummed, starting a new song, and determinedly blaming the cracks in his voice on his sore throat and not the fact that there was a ball in his chest that ached.

“Fell out of bed, butterfly bandage, but don’t worry. You’ll never remember your head is far too blurry. Put him in the back of a squad car, restrain that man! He needs his head put through a CAT scan. Hey editor, I'm undeniable, hey doctor, I'm certifiable,” he sang.

Fuck. Fuck he was not going to make himself cry.

“I'm a loose bolt of a complete machine. What a match, I'm half doomed and you're semi-sweet.” He stopped, swearing under his breath, and wiped at his tears.

“So boycott love. Detox just to retox. And I’d promise you anything for another shot at life.”

Gretel meowed and he sighed, turning to look at her. She was curled up, but her eyes were fixed on him. She blinked slowly at him and he nodded.

“Yeah, I know. I’m all over the place.”

She made a meeeeeerp noise, and rolled onto her back, paws in the air. If she could speak English, he assumed she’d be giving him a pep-talk right now.

“You’re very smart, Grets.”

She snuffled, rolling back onto her belly and meowed again, quieter this time.

“You want me to get it together? Join the club.”

Brody’s decision to change the pronouns when he sang “New Rules” was pure cowardice, and Brody made sure to tell him that despite the fact that he otherwise enjoyed his brother’s impromptu performance.

He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching as Brody strummed his guitar absently as he tried to decide what he wanted to play next. They were alone, and having a ‘Bros Day’, Olivia having decided to take their mom out for the day. She was a kind girl. Perfect for Brody.

He sighed at the thought, and apparently that was enough to catch his brother’s attention because he was setting the guitar down.

“Kid, are we going to talk about whatever all of this is?”

Aubrey didn’t reply for a moment, biting his lip as he thought.

“Were you scared when you got together with Olivia?” He asked eventually.

He didn’t meet Brody’s eyes when he asked, even though he could feel them boring into him. He heard, rather than saw his brother get off the chair, set his guitar down, and come sit next to him.

“Terrified,” Brody replied after a moment. “But everything clicked as soon as it happened. I couldn’t let myself be scared for long. Not with her around.”

Aubrey rubbed at his face. “Sounds awesome,” he said, only a little sarcastically. Brody laughed a little and nudged him.

Aubrey glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Um, what’s your manifestation?”

“Well, you know the voice in your head?”

Aubrey’s brow furrowed. “Your… thoughts?”

Brody nodded, before tilting his head to the side and tapping one of his temples with a finger. “My internal monologue’s in her voice. Hers is in mine. Kinda trippy, huh?”

“I guess. Kind of pointless too.”

Brody elbowed him again. “Stop being such a cynical little shit. I like it. It’s like I’m always carrying a piece of her with me.”

“She’s really sweet,” Aubrey conceded. “Like too sweet. Don’t you ever worry that she deserves better? Or… or get freaked out that this is all just some higher power’s meddling and you don’t have control over it at all?”

Brody slung an arm around Aubrey’s shoulder and gave him a shoulder pat. “Nope. There’s no use thinking like that. I love her. She loves me. I don’t think overcomplicating one of the most basic things in life is productive. What’s it achieve?”

Aubrey didn’t really have an answer.

He’d hoped this conversation would do something to sway him, one way or another, but instead he was just frustrated.

He mimed gagging just to get Brody to stop looking at him with earnest eyes, like he was trying to peer into his soul.

It didn’t work.

“So, is there something you want to tell me? About someone special?”

Aubrey froze.

“Shut up, Brody.”

“Aubs…”

“Shut up,” he said, standing up and stumbling back from his brother, fists clenched. “There’s nothing and no one. I was just asking —”

Brody came closer, not dissuaded at all by his outburst.

“You’re a bad liar, squirt, seriously, talk to me.”

Something was building up behind Aubrey’s vision, making his heart beat faster and the feeble control he had over his emotions start to snap.

“I just want to help,” Brody continued.

Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet.

“I know the kiss is scary and that dad fucked us both up but you need to —”

The last thread of control over Aubrey’s temper snapped and he was shoving Brody against the wall, his fist slamming into the plaster next to his brother’s head.

“I don’t need to do anything! Fucking stop. Shut up about it,” he hissed.

Brody looked stunned for a moment, before his expression shifted into something more neutral, careful.

“Take a deep breath, Aubs. And step back. You’re better than this. You’re not dad. I know you’re not.”

He didn’t move, breathing in hard through his nose as his pulse pounded in his ears. He drew his hand back and punched the wall again, and then for a third time, the pain blossoming through his first slowly breaking through his haze.

“I hate you, why do you always have to push?” he said, his voice cracking as he finally drew back and then kicked the chair over. His shoulders slumped as he ran a hand through his hair and fought the urge to hit some more. He beelined for the kitchen, not bothering to see if Brody was following him or not, and opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of red wine that Olivia had bought, popping off the cork and then unceremoniously chugging some of it.

He wiped at his eyes, and then leaned against the fridge, his pulse still racing, the cocktail of fury and fear making him volatile.

“I’m sorry.” Brody’s voice. He was quiet for another moment. “I just want you to be happy.”

Aubrey took another swig of the wine, not meeting his brother’s eyes as all the fight suddenly left him. In its place was a mix of shame and regret.

Something was seriously broken in him. His family deserved better. So did his friends. And Sebastian, especially.

“I’m sorry too,” he said hoarsely. “I swear I’ve been taking my meds. Everything’s just bad right now.”

Brody drew closer, and reached out to take the bottle from him. He relinquished it without a fight, and then slid down onto his knees, leaning against the fridge. Aubrey watched his brother pour the contents down the sink and didn’t try to stop him.

“Get up. We don’t need to talk about this anymore but we’re having an adventure outside where you can kick and hit all the shit you want without consequence,” Brody said, fixing him with a look that Aubrey knew meant he wasn’t going to budge on this.

He held a hand out and Brody pulled him up. He still felt deeply rattled. He was sure Brody did too. “Fine. But stop stealing my phone to go on my Instagram. And posting weird creepshots of me.”

Brody grinned and patted his shoulder. “No promises.”

Aubrey’s last night in Minnesota was meant to be low-key, but somehow it had turned into Brody and Olivia trying desperately to perfect the ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’ dance, though they spent half their practice giggling and kissing.

It was disgusting. But kind of adorable.

But his mom found it precious and wouldn’t stop recording their every attempt, so Aubrey toned down his roasting to more of a simmer.

It almost felt normal. Almost.

His fight or flight response had triggered his impromptu visit to Minnesota, but now that it was almost over, he had to admit it had done him some good. He was certainly feeling marginally more stable than he’d been at the beginning of the week. Jury was out on whether that calm would last on the plane back to New York.

He glanced around the living room, scooping Gretel up and hugging her to his chest. He was going to miss home. He didn’t know when he’d be back, considering he’d blown through his savings, and even if he wanted to take Santana up on her offer, he’d been horrendously rude to her and it probably didn’t stand anymore.

So instead he committed the smiles on Brody and Olivia and his mom’s faces to memory. If he took on some extra shifts, he could probably come see them again for Thanksgiving but a summer visit was definitely out of the cards now.

Waking up at 5 a.m. just so he could catch his stupid flight to New York was seriously not it. But at least this time he hadn’t thrown anything at his brother when he’d forced him awake. It was all about the small victories.

He hugged his mom for about five minutes straight, and he was crying a little when he finally pulled back.

She kissed each of his cheeks, and then his forehead. “My baby bear. Things will look up. I promise.”

“I’m sorry for…” he trailed off. For what? The fighting with Brody? For bringing violence back into her home? The yelling and holes in the wall? “For everything.”

She reached up and wiped at his tears, and smiled at him. “Work on feeling better, and then consider yourself forgiven.”

He nodded. That was fair. And frankly more than he deserved. His mom was an endless fountain of patience.

“I love you. I’ll call you when my flight lands. Happy mother’s day.”

Brody gave him much of the same advice on the way to the airport, before reeling him in for a hug once they were in the terminal.

“Sort your shit out and quit destroying your liver,” he said, fixing him with a look once he’d pulled back.

Aubrey shot him a half-smile. “I think if my liver survived high school, it’ll survive this.”

Brody sighed, but Aubrey was very skilled in the art of deciphering his brother’s sighs by now. This one wasn’t angry, just kind of resigned. He’d take disappointed over pissed any day.

“I know it’s hard. You know I do. But just… stop self-sabotaging and let yourself have good things. Don’t let dad’s shit ruin your life more than he already has.”

Aubrey gave his brother a two-fingered salute as he walked backwards from him, pulling his carry-on in front of him. “Aye, aye captain.”

It was good advice. Brody was good at knowing the right things to say but Aubrey was never very good at listening to him.

His first stop once he got back to New York was his apartment. He needed to drop off his suitcase and his guitar.

He’d gotten tipsy on the plane, and then spent his commute back to his apartment staring at the mountain of texts on his phone. He’d read them over and over all week, and every time he did, his chest felt tight.

It was like squeezing lemon juice onto a paper cut. Pointless and painful. He couldn’t stand it. He seriously needed more to drink, nevermind the fact that it wasn’t even noon yet.

He finally reached his apartment, and let himself in. He beelined for his room, dropping his bag and guitar off, before he padded out to the kitchen to see what was in the fridge.

Chet usually had something — Bingo! — he spotted a nearly full bottle of Fireball tucked away behind some takeout containers, and pulled it out, opening it and taking a few gulps, before shutting the fridge and turning around.

Oh.

“Hi Kyle,” he said, a bit sheepishly, as his wide-eyed roommate took a step back towards his bedroom.

He rubbed at his forehead, and then took another gulp from the bottle before plopping down on the couch.

“I’m sorry about last week,” he said, chewing on his lip for a moment. “You didn’t deserve it. Even if your room does smell like you’re hiding dead bodies in there.”

Kyle stared at him for a moment, before he broke out into a grin, and came over to slap him enthusiastically on the shoulder.

“Right on, dude. Don’t even worry about it. What’s a couple smacks between friends?”

If Aubrey’d been sober, he probably would’ve disputed that statement a little further. It was probably not healthy or normal for friends to regularly hit each other. He didn’t even think of Kyle as a friend.

But drunk Aubrey was just going to take it as a win, because he was sorely needing one of those this week.

“Thanks, man.” He waved the bottle in Kyle’s direction. “You’re not gonna tell Chet about this, right?”

Kyle shook his head. “Nah, brah. Your secret’s safe with me.”

His roommate finally disappeared back into the biohazard he called a room and Aubrey took another sip of his drink, and pulled out his phone, staring at it for a minute or two before getting up and putting the Fireball away.

It was probably time for him to go see Sebastian.

#para #// FUCK IT HERE IT IS #aubrey did NOT go see his dad #mostly bc i was sick of writing and that would've required a LOT more of it #and i might as well save some ammo in my back pocket for later #maybe when saubrey start being happy or something idk #tumblr ate all my formatting on this and i was too lazy to put it back so rip 2 that

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yoyo-inspace · 5 years

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Mmmm... Top 5 hdm scenes!

all of them

Alright so there are tons of scenes in the entire trilogy that mean so much to me or that I find funny or horrifying or thrilling, etc. Had to narrow it down somehow. So I sort of settled for “scenes that stayed with me” after like, the first or second time I read the trilogy. Those that really etched their way into my head from when I was quite young. They don’t come in particular order though. I noticed going through it after I’d written it that there’s definitely a heavy bias towards moments in TAS, which I think is fair enough considering that’s the book I read last, when I was most mature, and it also has the culmination of a lot of stories - those moments wouldn’t have been half as impactful if they didn’t have the storytelling in the other books to lean on.

This got longer than I thought, but that’s generally what happens when I talk HDM. Also, obvious SPOILER WARNING for anyone who haven’t read the trilogy.

1. Lyra finding Tony Makarios in the shed.God, this scene. The build-up for it is amazing and absolutely chilling. There’s been build-up all throughout the book to what the Gobblers are actually doing. We get closer and closer to it. And then this chapter happens. The slow approach to the shed, the ominous but vague warnings from the alethiometer, the stories from the town’s people. You can really feel the dread creeping up on you. And then that last paragraph hits you.

The little boy was huddled against the wood drying-rack where hung row upon row of gutted fish, all as stuff as boards. He was clutching a piece of fish to him as Lyra was clutching Pantalaimon, with both hands, hard, against her heart; but that was all he had, a piece of dried fish; because he had no daemon at all. The Gobblers had cut it away. That was intercession, and this was a severed child.

It honestly gives me shivers every time. Nearly tear up reading it. I think it’s one of the best examples of how brilliant Pullman’s world-building is (and I do think his world-building is the strongest aspect of NL/TGC). I honestly don’t think this will be as strong in the tv show (and the movie really didn’t do it justice) - though I hope it’ll be horrifying - and that is because in a visual medium, we won’t get the horror and insight into Lyra’s mind that we have in the book. That’s okay, some things just fit better in the written medium, and I think this moment is going to be one of them. Lyra’s internal struggle with how to be brave is so good, and I hope they manage to portray a little bit of it on screen.

2. Roger leaving the land of the deadIf I tear up every time I read the Tony Makarios scene, this is the scene where I bawl. Literally, I started crying while writing the passage down. The entire sequence in the Land of the Dead is intriguing to me, and Lyra telling the ghosts of what will happen to them is beautiful, and the struggle to get there is painful. And then they get there. And Will opens the window and they’re all crowding, afraid and yet excited to be out of that horrible place. And then a little ghost of a boy, the boy who was the reason Lyra set out on this journey to begin with, takes a step forward.

The first ghost to leave the world of the dead was Roger. He took a step forward, and turned to look back at Lyra, and laughed in surprise as he found himself turning into the night, the starlight, the air… and then he was gone, leaving behind such a vivid little burst of happiness that Will was reminded of the bubbles in a glass of champagne.

That specific phrasing, the description of happiness as “the bubbles in a glass of champagne” has stuck with me for so long. It’s one I keep coming back to.

3. Lyra leaving Pan Don’t have much to say about this other than I still have such a vivid image in my head from when my dad first read that passage to me, of how I remembered it all to look, of what I felt at the time. Especially my shock at the call-back to Lyra’s betrayal. Again, a scene that in several layers is strengthened by the world-building. We’ve been so convinced at this point how painful it is to leave your daemon, both emotionally and physically. I’m greatly looking forward The Secret Commonwealth to dig into what this did to the relationship of Lyra and Pantalaimon.

[--] Lyra was doing the cruelest thing she had ever done, hating herself, hating the deed, suffering for Pan and with Pan and because of Pan; trying to put him down on the cold path, disengaging his cat-claws from her clothes, weeping, weeping. Will closed his ears: the sound was too unhappy to bear. Time after time she pushed her daemon away, and still he cried and tried to cling. [--]

”Pan, no one’s done this before,” she whispered waveringly, ”but Will says we’re coming back and I swear, Pan, I love you, I swear we’re coming back - I will - take care, my dear - you’ll be safe - we will come back, and if I have to spend every minute of my life finding you again I will, I won’t stop, I won’t rest, I won’t - oh Pan - dear Pan - I’ve got to, I’ve got to.” And she pushed him away so that he crouched bitter and cold and frightened on the muddy ground. What animal he was now, Will could hardly tell. He seemed to be so young, a cub, a puppy, something helpless and beaten, a creature so sunk in misery that it was more misery than creature. His eyes never left Lyra’s face, and Will could see her making herself not look away, not avoid the guilt, and he admired her honesty and her courage at the same time as he was wrenched with the shock of their parting.

[--] Her eyes never left Pantalaimon, who stood trembling at the shore end of the jetty; but as the boatman let go of the iron ring and swung his oars out to pull the boat away, the little dog-daemon trotted helpless out to the very end, his claws clicking softly on the soft planks, and stood watching, just watching, as the boat drew away and the jetty faded and vanished in the mist.

(Sidenote: I remember getting to the chapter titled “Lyra and her Death” and doing a big WHAAAAAT kind of face. My dad laughed at me. Either way, I find the concept of a personal Death strangely comforting.)

4. Asriel and Marisa into the Abyss This one is difficult to quote. Because it’s the whole scene, the whole part of it, the fight - which is brutal - and the ferocity of these two people who, granted, are both absolutely awful, but they do this thing at the very end and it saves everyone. It’s one of the many things that people do at the end that saves everyone, but still. Especially Marisa, who reveals earlier that she was so afraid of exactly this type of faith, just nothingness, to make that last jump, as Asriel calls her name, and she’s roaring as they topple Metatron over, the fact that they both have each other’s daemons at their side. It’s just a very haunting scene. I don’t think the tv show (or any movie) would have been able to pull of the exact way I imagined this in my head, but I’m looking forward to seeing it all the same, and I hope that we get there.

Instead of quoting the very end, I picked the moments just before, when they’re together again for a brief moment before Metatron arrives. It’s a rather sweet conversation, considering who’s involved, Marisa crying and Asriel comforting her. The “Dust is beautiful - I never knew” stuck with me especially.

He took her in his arms, and the golden monkey embraced the snow leopard’s neck and buried his black face in her fur. ”Is Lyra safe? Has she found her daemon?” she whispered. ”The ghost of the boy’s father is protecting both of them.” ”Dust is beautiful. I never knew.” ”What did you tell him?” ”I lied and lied, Asriel - Let’s not wait too long. I can’t bear it. We won’t live, will we? We won’t survive like the ghosts?” ”Not if we fall into the abyss. We came here to give Lyra time to find her daemon, and then time to live and grow up. If we take Metatron to extinction, Marisa, she’ll have that time, and if we go with him, it doesn’t matter.” ”And Lyra will be safe?” ”Yes, yes,” he said, gently. He kissed her. She felt as soft and light in his arms as she’d done when Lyra was conceived thirteen years before.

5. Lyra and Will freeing the Authority For a series that people keep harping on is about killing God, the actual death of the creature who called himself that is actually quite beautiful. It’s even a little sad. But it’s also important to me that there is actually no killing going on. All that happens, in all its unremarkable-ness - because no one else notices - is that there are two children who are kind and wants to help. And that’s what they do.

Will cut through the crystal in one movement and reached in to help the angel out. Demented and powerless, the aged being could only weep and mumble in fear and pain and misery, and he shrank away from what seemed like another threat. ”It’s all right,” Will said, ”we can help you hide, at least. Come on, we won’t hurt you.” The shaking hand seized his and feebly held on. The old one was uttering a wordless groaning whimper that went on and on, and grinding his teeth, and compulsively plucking at himself with his free hand; but as Lyra reached in too to help him out, he tried to smile, and to bow, and his ancient eyes deep in their wrinkles blinked at her with innocent wonder. Between them they helped the ancient of days out of his crystal cell; it wasn’t hard, for he was light as paper, and he would have followed them anywhere, having no will of his own, and responding to simple kindness like a flower to the sun. But in the open air there was nothing to stop the wind from damaging him, and to their dismay his form began to loosen and dissolve. Only a few moments later he had vanished completely, and their last impression was those eyes, blinking in wonder, and a sigh of the most profound and exhausted relief. Then he was gone: a mystery dissolving in mystery.

___

Whew. There we go. More crying than I was expected, though I probably should have, considering it’s me.

Quick honorable mentions, because I’m a horrible cheat, but without explanations: Lyra in the Retiring Room, Lyra leading the children through the snowstorm after Bolvangar, Mary Malone talking to the Angels through the Cave, Will and Lyra fleeing the children of Cittàgazze, all of Marzipan, Mary Malone standing on the platform and looking through her spyglass at the dust, Pan and Lyra talking about the Republic of Heaven.

#his dark materials #philip pullman #thanks for asking!! this was a lot of fun #had to replace a few elipsies because tumblr hates them #his-dark-memerials

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 4 years

Text

Winner’s Curse Ch. 19

Well this came as surprise to me. Literally, the whole idea came to me before I was going to bed so I wrote it the next morning, and here we are. Features some Aladdin quotes, see if you can spot them. Enjoy!

“And then Icarus, what a guy, he is so convincing as Hades, Pain and Panic start following him!” Calix hooted.

“No way, man that didn’t actually happen.” Jay challenged Calix’s story.

“No, no I’ve heard Icarus’ Hades impression, he’s good.” Aziz confirmed, “Hey, remember Icarus’ Hades impression after three drinks at Dionysus’ bacchanal?”

Calix gulped back the drink Circe had left in their shared room and where he, Aziz, and Jay were passing the time sharing stories while waiting around for Uma and Jordan’s arrival.

It had been a pretty placid three days since Jordan reversed Jay’s hypnosis for Malik’s last wish. At first there was a panic when they realized how suspicious it would be if Jay was no longer under Jafar’s thrall but they fixed that with Jordan giving him glowing red contacts. Allowing them to have another infiltrator at the Coven meetings besides Jade, Calix and Uma.

The door opened and Jordan slipped into the room, gingerly cradling her lamp in her hands. But no Uma behind her.

These three placid days had driven Uma to distraction since they were laying around on their asses and not doing anything so she arranged for this new meeting so they’d find something else to do besides eavesdrop for news of what was happening at next week’s Summer Solstice.

But even though this meeting was so important that she felt the need to threaten them with slow, graphic strangulation with her tentacles while Harry used his hook to disembowel him, apparently their leader was late.

“Where’s Jade?” Calix asked, throwing back another shot. It was a fair question since Jordan’s lamp was still technically under Jade’s possession. Or so the Coven thought.

“Showing makeup techniques to Lala and Malik.” Jordan answered.

“Oh right, Lala mentioned that to me this morning.” Aziz warily eyed the fifth shot Calix gulped down.

“Oh, she did? You talk about things other than the plan?” Jordan smoothly slid between him and Calix, her voice was suspiciously too nonchalant.

“Yeah, conversations spawn into different topics. That’s what happens when two people hang out with each other.” Aziz said a little testily with how Jordan was scanning his face like she was searching for some secret that he’d be careless enough to slip.

“Oh you and Lala hanging out together.” Jordan pursed her lips lightly, sounding way too similar to a disapproving aunt, “Can we have a private conversation in my lamp.”

Before Aziz could suss out whatever she was trying to pull and where this was coming from, Jordan had transported them into her lamp.

“Do you have a crush on Lala?” She blurted out accusingly.

Aziz decided to go for a joke, “I-I don’t know about me crushing her, bu-but I can’t blame her if the reverse is true. I mean, look at me.”

Jordan stared with an unamused raised eyebrow.

“Aziz, I know you.” She started, as if that explained why she was so sure she found the romance of the century after two innocent sentences, “I've seen you go through this before. You’re just hanging out with a girl but then you start talking about every topic under the sun. And then you get a crush and you’re all like “She's smart and fun, she’s got these eyes that just...and her hair wow! And her smile!”

“Then you go on a date that doesn’t really go anywhere for whatever reason and get pushed aside. Remember, Lonnie, and Ruby, and Alexandria and Alfonsa, and Arabella, and her twin sisters, woah! Now that I list them out, you date a lot of Triton’s granddaughters.”

“What is your point? What does that have to do with me and Lala? Not that there is anything happening.” Aziz felt himself gulping back the nervousness that he knew exactly what she was talking about even as he denied it.

“Oh please, you’re half smiling while you say her name!”

“I’m not!” Aziz unmanly squawked and cleared his throat into a deeper contralto, “I do not.”

“My point is it’s one thing to date an Ak. You get your heart broken. But a Vk? She’ll try to steal your throne and break your heart.” Jordan said.

“Steals your throne and breaks your heart. Sounds the title of a sex tape. Do you want dibs or can I have it?” Aziz took a shot in the dark to try joking his way out of this again. “Now is not the time to joke about the title of our sex tapes. This is serious!” “You’re still hung up on, “Can your friend do this?” It’s a bit obvious.” Aziz pointed out.

“Oh, you wanted to call your first sex tape, “A whole new world,” like that’s original.” Jordan shot back. “And the “Welcome to the Cave of Wonders” piece you did with Calix was a unique one?” Aziz retorted.

“For your information, I couldn’t choose any title but that because.. wait wait wait? Now is not the time.”

“Aziz Ali iban Aladdin, explain yourself right now.” Jordan crossed her arms. “Jordan, we’ve been over this. You’re not my mom.” Aziz huffed at the use of his full name. “You’re right, I’m not. Your mom doesn’t know about what happened in Odiferous during spring break. Now I have a phone and I have video. So tell me about your feelings for Lala.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions.” Aziz said exasperatedly which was no use since she was ignoring anything that came out of his mouth.

“When did you first feel something more?” Jordan demanded.

“Rarw. Rrrawr. Meow? Are you understanding me at all?” Aziz asked the stony faced leopard man.

Aziz had to admit some of his attempts to talk to the leopard-men was out of boredom. He was starting to get a bit stir crazy being stuck in the castle all day pretending to be Jade or Lala’s slave boy. He could understand why Uncle Genie hated being in the lamp. It was so boring, having to wait for permission to do things and the things you were allowed to do was stuck inside. No running around the corridors and flipping off roofs with wind rushing through your hair or the pit in your stomach when you almost break your neck.

He missed it.

And although Lala was pretty focused in studying the Atlantean texts her mother laid out for her, even she seemed to be getting bored because at random moments, she would angrily shut her book and demand to hear Aziz talk about Agrabah.

He had to admit that if he had a choice, he’d rather be with Jordan and the others trying to make a plan to escape or at least go outside. Talking about Agrabah was getting to be the highlight of his day.

He had started with daring adventure stories about the things his parents used to get into before the Great Uniting like when they had to fight a landshark or the time his dad literally lost his head to the decapitated wizard, Caliph Kapok, and they had to get body and head back together again. He had lots of those stories, Genie often said they could create their own tv series, possibly an animated one for kids to enjoy.

And then, upon Lala’s numerous aside questions, he started describing Agrabah with its alluring spices, chests of gold and diverse and eccentric cast of merchants and travelers that lived in the Seven Deserts. He described the bad like the previous-rampant poverty that seemed similar to the Isle albeit with more head chopping from fellow humans than from a bitter decapitated wizard. It was embarrassing but one time he looked at the ornate diamond-encrusted sand-dial and saw that he had passed over an hour talking about his home. He hadn’t meant to but it just came out. He loved his home so much and describing it felt like he was back there on the dunes for a little while.

He had never talked to anyone about his home before. Jordan already knew what it was like obviously, and no one at Auradon Prep cared beyond the merchandise they could buy at the kazbah. It was so much more than that to him. Living there was an experience, an adventure. You never knew where the smell of spices could lead you or what the secret nooks and crannies would reveal.

The thing was Lala seemed just as enthralled with the place as he was. Usually when he discussed his home, people would shudder in horror at the thought of being accidentally turned into a rat due magic gone wrong and seeing the world from down below or cringed at the thought of getting sand in uncomfortable places after intense competitions of sand surfing.

But Lala looked at him with a sparkle of excitement in her eye and would occasionally point out fun variations to try like horse racing only instead of across the desert, race under the desert, jumping to the few dry spots that were present in the muddy underbelly.

He hoped that if they succeeded in defeating the Coven, Lala would visit Agrabah one day. He had a feeling that the adventures they’d get into together would be amazing. Potentially life threatening. But fun nonetheless. He’d love to watch her go against Fashoom. Or better yet, back to back against the giant scorpions guarding kanz quadim. With his wits and knowledge and her skill and cunning, they’d be an unbeatable team. It’d be fun to go with someone who wanted to be there.

Normally, he went with Jordan but she said it was only because it was her obligation to keep him from breaking his neck and/or all the bones in his body. Her words. And his few Agrabah friends who would be game to go, were commoners who had to work during the day and it would be unfair for him to ask them to ditch just because he wanted some fun.

Yeah, it’d be fun to explore the hidden valleys of the Seven Deserts with her. He looked back to the white-haired girl where she was still bent over a book of indecipherable Atlantean words and figures, so he turned back to Kaj II, Usulan II and Muviro II. Lala’s leopard men she had named after people she knew would annoy her mother.

Aziz growled with two purrs spaced between like he had heard Raj do but the leopard men looked at him like he was an idiot. He wasn’t sure he was even speaking cat-language but it was better than accidentally challenging him to a fight so he’d take it.

“Will you stop with the ridiculous sounds, you’re not speaking leopard. Better stick to monkeys.” Lala cut through his attempts at conversing.

“How would you know? You said you don’t speak leopard.” Aziz shot back, happy that there was some element of human conversation. How the hell she lived in a jungle for days on end without human interaction was beyond his capabilities. “True. However, I know what a leopard sounds like and you don’t sound like a leopard. More like a sick alley cat.”

“Excuse me, priestess” Aziz rolled his eyes, and made another purr-growly sound at the leopards just to be contrary.

When could he go outside? When? When? When?

No, it was stupid. He couldn’t go outside and risk looking like he was escaping and ruin the whole damn mission requiring the others to get his ass out of the dungeon again.

He shuddered, gingerly touching the cheek where Staqauit had struck him numerous times, the malicious laughter of the cat twins taunting him about his impending death.

He needed to do something. Being stuck here with just his thoughts was going to drive him insane.

“Hello?”

“Huh what?”

“I said,'' Lala cleared her throat, “If you want to sound more leopard-like, start with a growl in your throat while meowing and add like you’re going to scream.” She demonstrated her leopard yowl which did get the leopard men’s attention as they looked around for sign of attack or danger.

Aziz tried to mimic what Lala did with her instructions but failed part way through as a tickle caught in his nose before his attempted scream and he fell into a coughing fit, painfully hacking his throat.

Aziz panted, catching his breath while Lala had the grace to look back at her book and pretend not to be amused, “Okay maybe talking to cats is not my thing. But you got a leg up me with your feline self.”

“Feline self?” Lala cocked her head curiously, bringing once again to Aziz’s mind, “Curiosity killed the cat.”

“You know, your eyes, the leopards, the-”

“You think I was born with these eyes? You think I’m part cat?” Lala questioned. “Nooo,” Aziz hedged, already seeing he was going to be wrong, “Not anymore. It’s just your mom has the same eyes so I-”

“It’s spell.” Lala explained, “My mom did it when she got her staff. She did it to me when magic got through to the Isle. It helps me understand the leopards and for them to understand my orders, and it helps my reflexes. There is always a way to improve. Not that I needed improving, but I’ll admit some leopard senses are better than human’s. Like smell. Now I can smell everyone’s scent a mile away.” .

“Scent?” “Yes, your natural scent. You smell like all that baklav Jordan’s been giving you.” She sniffed the air around him again, “Sand. Jasmine. Musk.”

“What does Jordan smell like?” Aziz asked curiously, and a little relieved that he didn’t smell worse like blood and sweat and general stink from not showering for two weeks.

“Hmm I can’t get a clear smell. You know, not objects per say. But she smells like pheromones, sometimes like fire, sand and wind. Mainly reeks of desperation.”

“Well we’re all in desperate straits here.” Aziz chuckled even though it wasn’t really that funny. Well sort of. Jordan absolutely hated not being in control. Or at least looking like she wasn’t in control. She’d freak if she knew that she quote unquote “reeked of desperation.”

“What about Jay?”

“Sweat, oil, grease, brass, musk, dirt. Something else I can’t tell which usually means someone’s hiding something or lying. Not a surprise there. He’s lucky no one else can smell him, the stench of oil and deceit is unbearable on him.”

“Yeah, good thing. I doubt he’d have a lot of admirers around him if he did.” Aziz said, feeling his mind wander off to too familiar but inevitable train of envious thought.

“Admirers? He has admirers in Auradon? I thought you people didn’t like thieves and bad guys. Why is he popular?”

“He’s good now.” Aziz reminded her, but couldn’t stop the bitterness creeping into his voice as he thought of the crowds praising Jay as he scored yet another goal. All the girls and some guys ooing at him and being utterly charmed as he showed off that he stole their wallets. Or if he executed a pretty decent backflip. The guy looked so cool and attractive no matter what he did. And that bad boy act made him even cooler in everyone’s eyes.

“He’s a good thief like Aladdin,” he remembered hearing someone say and Aziz had burned. Good thief?! Jay wasn’t a good thief! Jay wasn’t stealing things in Auradon because he was hungry or wanted to give to the poor. He stole because he was greedy. Aziz could steal too, Dad taught him the tricks, but when he showed off, he got no applause. They thought he was being inappropriate for a prince of his station.

Or now that Jay was here, it was a second-rate kind of steal. He could steal a watch from someone, but Jay could steal a person’s computer and lunch bag. He got the bigger score.

“People love him and his parkor and stupid tourney goals.” Aziz genuinely growled. He felt his blood pump at how everyone were magnets drawn to his presence while he waited in the wings of the tourney field. They did all the same activities, but Jay was better. People were saying he was equal to Aladdin.

If he was forgettable before Jay came around, now he was just invisible.

And honestly useless compared to Jay. He knew Jordan invited him on this mission because she trusted him and it would be breaking unofficial rule that if one of them went on a life changing save the world adventure, the other had to come too, that was just how things were done. But had he really done anything useful?

No, he had gotten captured. They all had gotten captured but he was the only one who had almost died. Because he was mortal, untrained and weak.

The thoughts came again. Had really been less than a week since he had been in the dungeon? Less than a week but at times he still could feel it as if it had been hours ago.

He could remember it all, some of it was blurred darkness. The only thing registering was that he was in pain. But he remembered the beginning.

Staqauit wasted no time grabbing his throat with one hand and choking him, Chimera and Illusion wrapped their arms around him almost as if they were giving a comforting hug. The thought was quickly diminished as their claws tore through his shirt and dug into his skin, he could feel it, feel the slight curve of their sharpness like a hook that wouldn’t be able to get out. And they didn’t no matter how he fruitlessly thrashed.

But it was only the beginning…

Just as he saw the world fuzz around the edges Staqauit threw him to the ground with Chimera and Illusion still stuck to him.

“Squish” Aziz wanted to scream at the pain that entered his torso and at the sickening sound of his blood squirting out. It felt his insides were dipped into boiling water.

But he didn’t, he stubbornly refused to cry out. He was supposed to be a hero, he would not admit weakness like this. He would use his wits to get out of it.

But he had barely time to think up a clever escape as he vainly scrambled to stop the blood from gushing out more. He didn’t recall any of the princes or his father ever being stabbed mid-battle.

Chimera and Illusion extricated themselves from him, their low voices purring contentedly at the pain wrought.

Aziz tried to get up but he couldn’t. He felt the stabbing pain even though he wasn’t being hit anymore. He couldn’t concentrate. He just felt the agony. He struggled to his feet but the muscles in his legs gave out as he slipped on the puddle of his own blood that was seeping the floor.

“Ah ah ah, you think I’m done with you?” Staqauit’s accented voice sneered, “That was only a minor surface wound.”

Aziz didn’t look at the man. He was too concerned with trying to stand up straight again, but that was for naught when he felt the scraping cement of what seemed to be a boulder dropped on his back.

“Carry this to the other side of the room. Double time.” Staqauit ordered, his rapier scraping the ground in front of Aziz’s face.

Aziz didn’t know why he thought it was a good idea. Perhaps because he truly couldn’t think of what else to do. He rationalized to himself in some irrational way that if he did this, maybe Staqauit would get bored. Maybe he’d survive. So he did as Staqauit ordered. He tried to lift the boulder.

He felt his hands bleed as they scraped and tensed to keep the boulder steady on his back. Bent down so low that his knees touched his chest. Pressing hard on the wound.

“At least it’s stopped bleeding,” was the sole hysterical thought in his mind. His lungs felt they were burning and just pounding his chest as if to get out of his body. Blood rushed in his ears and the slow smack of Staqauit’s whip on the floor, keeping time, sounded like gunshots to his ears.

He wasn’t breathing right. He knew that. Aziz felt like he had been running for miles. His throat felt the need for oxygen and his eyes watered. But he managed to get one foot forward, his thoughts running wild.

Where were the others? When was Jordan going to come back? For he knew Jordan would come to him the moment she could as she had since he was 4. What if that ruined the mission? That she failed because he was too weak to save himself?

Then his mind took a turn to what he had been suppressing the moment Staqauit got hold of this throat. What if this was it? What if this was how he was going to die?

His knees buckled at the thought and he fell to the ground, allowing the boulder to drop from his back to feel the sting of the whip. This time he didn’t hold back the scream.

That scream was like a whistle for them as Chimera and Illusion pounced, their punches, scratches and kicks indistinguishable from one another.

And there was more…. he remembered the water boarding vaguely but he was glad he mostly blacked out of that, the boulder and the choking was enough for him.

But when he woke up and saw Lala, all he felt was shame that he had to be rescued.

Like every fight, he thought of what he should have done after the confrontation was over. When Staqauit was choking him, he should have kicked him back in the stomach. The stomach area was always a quick disable to an opponent. Staqauit would have let him go and then he could have parkored and fought his way out with the weapons that were stationed around the dungeon.

But he hadn’t done that. He had thrashed and took the assault and hadn’t been able to think up anything on the sly like he knew Jay was infamous for.

With that thought, some defeated admittance slithered into his voice. Not that it was much of a defeat. It was barely a competition when Jay was naturally better and Aziz could never match no matter how hard he tried. “People love him, he’s strong and fast.. everyone wants him or to be like him…..I wish I could be like him too.”

He hated how much it was true.

“Why?” Lala scrunched her nose in confusion.

Aziz sighed, wishing his explanation didn’t sound so pathetic, “I’m forgettable in Auradon. I’m the third in line for the throne so I’m not inheriting the kingdom like all the other guys in my class. And I’m not that talkative. Believe me, in Auradon that is not a good thing if you want people to notice you. Or at least not be forgettable, and Jay can...” he trailed off. He didn’t want to get into the time in the dungeon. She had been there, she knew he was weak.

“And how does Jay fit into this?”

“He’s like me, I guess. Only better in everything. Better thief, better at tourney, more witty, better at flirting. I just blend in...I don’t want that anymore it sucks.”

“Blending in is a good thing. It allows you to skulk and learn your enemies’ tactics so you can ambush them.” Lala said.

“Great. But that’s in the wild. I’m not willing to move to the jungle just so my introvertedness can be an asset.”

“Okay maybe the ambush thing isn’t important but it is still applicable. It’s good that you’re not as outgoing like the others. Look at those people bragging and flirting and trying to garner attention onto themselves, they’re annoying. It’s always them, them, flash and boasts. They would never survive in life because they are always thinking of themselves. They don’t observe their surroundings, they miss the details that could help in the future. Like- like? I know-A fool who does not observe will fail. They will fail and try again and fail and try again. But a person who does take in their surroundings will learn the lesson once and remember it.”

“You don’t dominate the conversation but when you do, it is sensible and important. You don’t waste words. Same with your actions. You don’t talk the talk, you let your actions show how you get things done. I wouldn’t trust those extroverted people with my life. They’re too bold and impulsive and think with their fists. I ca-People can respect you. Trust you. You are genuine, and witty because you think so much, you will be successful later on.”

“I guess so.” Aziz smudged the dirt-packed floor with his foot, watching the sight of a small mealworm that had been habitating there, crawl out, “But it sucks. I get being successful later in life but what about now? In Auradon, no one takes a second look at me. You have to be a really sociable or talented person like Jay to get noticed. I can’t do that. I try but I- And, and what about in the dungeon, my observation skills gave me nothing! If I act a little more like Jay maybe I wouldn’t be the weak link needing to be rescued.” Aziz blurted out.

Lala didn’t speak and Aziz cringed, staring at the ground. But the silence was growing so long he had to look back to gauge her reaction and saw Lala was waiting for him to look at her.

Then she spoke, “You didn’t escape but you did survive. That takes a special inner strength especially when your enemies wish to demoralize and destroy you. And it is useless to ponder what others would have done when they weren’t been in the situation. You did what you could, and if you are so concerned about your aptitude, I’ll teach you. You have the strength, you need to practice better technique. Stop the self pity it’s a disgusting habit.”

Aziz tried to protest, but felt himself only mouthing the words as a damn nervous blush starting crawling up his neck. He still felt like he should have done better but he appreciated Lala’s words. He knew she held herself and almost everyone else on the standard of their physical skill and made it known when she thought someone was weak. For her to claim that he was strong even after she healed him, rescued him and saw him beaten bloody and battered, it meant something.

And what she was about to say earlier? That little slip-up. She respected him. He hadn’t thought earning her respect was something he had wanted, but as she said it.. he felt so good that he did.

“As for the others, fuck them.” Lala interrupted, “Isn’t Auradon a place where you’re not supposed to be shallow? See beyond first impressions and get to know them? If they don’t do that, fuck them. You shouldn’t even be complaining that people don’t notice you because it means to ones who do, actually care. You’re less outgoing than others. It’s not your fault that they don’t try to see beyond.”

Lala was still talking but Aziz stopped listening. What she said, “It’s not your fault” hit him like a sandstorm. The images of his attempts to try to be better. More funny. More entertaining. More talented. More outgoing. Things that people would want to talk to him like they gathered around his father or around Chad and the other royals.

Yet he was outshone by someone better. His constant overthinking working against him as he talked, praying that he didn’t look like he was trying too hard as he was. Praying that he wasn’t going to be forgettable to people. He failed. He wondered what was so wrong with him that made him invisible. He wondered how people like Lonnie and Jordan could insist he was so fun to be around when he couldn’t make his presence known when he was in the room with the likes of Jay.

But it wasn’t entirely his fault. He was born to be more of a listener than a doer. He preferred being one on one with people. He couldn’t change that. But he could accept it. He could accept that he was never going to be the star of the room and that people may not give him a second glance.

If so, then fuck them. Because it was true. If they could write him off as just forgettable, then he didn’t need their attention anyway.

His shoulder moved and he snapped back to realize he had zoned out in front of Lala. He felt a blush crawl up his neck, making him flush more. He hated how obviously red it was against his olive skin. “Sorry I- I was listening. You really.. I realized..I mean. You’re right. You’re absolutely right, Lala. You don’t know how much I needed to hear that. Thank you.” He leaned forward to hug her but held back. Touchy-feely was not the norm on the Isle, but he felt so grateful for her words that it felt wrong just to say thanks. So he settled for leaning close and smiling. He was pretty sure it was the smile of an idiot but he did it anyway. The nice thing was Lala gave a small-closed lip smile in return and roughly booped his nose.

“I know you needed it. Anyone who is considering to act more like Jay needs to be talked off the deep end.”

Feeling a bit more generous now that he was coming around to accepting he didn’t need to be as cool as Jay to be noticed, Aziz snapped back into psychologist mode, trying to see his observances of Jay through a more objective, less jealous lens.

Not that he had much time to observe Jay since he got hypnotized which was surely a traumatic betrayal on its own since it came from his father’s snake staff. Which spoke to how uncaring and domineering Jafar must be as a father if he felt the need to control his son.

“I don’t know. I think Jay is more than the impulsive idiot you take him for. I believe it's just a facade he puts up.” Aziz mused “To annoy people? It works.” Lala rolled her eyes.

“What went down between you that you hate him so much?” Aziz asked.

“I don’t hate him, I dislike him. He’s annoying. He stole my spears for himself, he thinks he’s so great he tries to fight Mabaya on his own and almost gets both of us killed because again, he took my weapons and then broke them! What idiot tries to chuck a spear out a charging elephant? It does nothing. If he had to throw the spear, he should have aimed at a vital joint or his eye at least. I can’t respect such idiocy.” Lala huffed.

“I understand but he was a bit out of his element in the jungle and it is his fall-back to try to boast and impress. Usually people who do that are trying to hide something.” Aziz said. Then he thought of a saying of his mother. It was a bit of what Vks called, sentimental Auradon crap, but he felt it should be said, “Sometimes we only see how people are different from us. But if you look hard enough, you can see how we are all like.”

“Whatever.” Lala yawned.

“What happened to not judging people? Look beyond the surface.” Aziz teased.

“That was for you. I’m a bad person, I don’t need to follow that rule.” Lala sniffed haughtily.

It would have been so easy to take that as another little joke in their back and forth, but his observing skills struck again. She sounded haughty but her eyes were downcast, and considering what she said that she was too like her mother… she felt it was true.

“You’re not exactly like your mother, you know. I don’t think so at least” Aziz said softly in case Lala didn’t want to broach the subject and could pretend to ignore him.

“I know I’m not exactly like her. I’m only as close to her as she allows me to be. She’s always one step ahead.” Lala muttered, not looking at him. “If I was like her she’d have me be the princess of Opar. But I’m not good enough for that. Not like Tarzan’s children.” “I don’t know Tarzan’s children that well but I don’t think Queen La would find them worthy heirs. I never saw Kerchak swing from a tree or pick up a sharp object in my life. And Victoria-”

“No. Not Tarzan and Jane’s children. Tarzan and my mom’s. The ones she’s planning to have in the future. They don’t even exist and I’m not as good as them according to her because I got one stupid scar and I’m claustrophobic.” Lala scowled, smacking the ground in anger of her own weaknesses.

“You seem to be handling your claustrophobia.” Aziz encouraged.

“As long as I don’t think about it. That’s why I study so hard. It’s because it takes my mind off where I am, not because it requires my intense study. Trust me. But at night…” Lala inhaled deeply and tensed, “I hate this place. I miss the fresh air and space. Every time someone closes the door, I feel like it's going to be lock with this air that-” She inhaled deeply again.

“Let’s go to a window,” Aziz suggested motioning to leave the room. Lala took the offer eagerly and they bounded up the stairs to Lala’s room, the leopard men obediently behind them.

Lala threw open the windows to the balcony and breathed deeply. A blissful smile enveloped her features as her body relaxed. The wind was out today, and unlike Auradon, this wasn’t a refreshing light breeze. On the Isle, when the wind blew, it blew like a gust and Aziz was impressed that Lala stood straight without bending to its battering assult. But it fit her. Lala was the person who could stand strong against natural forces. Her face perfectly serene as the wind whipped her white braid about and ruffled her long sleeves.

Aziz stood next to her, keeping a hand to the side of his face as the gusts constantly pushed his bangs into his eyes and mouth and became a general nuisance. “I don’t think you’re exactly like your mom. Not just because you can’t live to her caliber. You’re not shallow considering you speak to a guy who hasn’t rung any animal by his neck. Despite your wish for a kingdom, I don’t think, at least I’m guessing, you don’t have a real desire to lord over others like a tyrant.”

“From what I’ve observed, and I’m a pretty good observer if I say so myself. You’re reserved because you know that’s the way to survive. But I also think it speaks to how genuine you are. You don’t deal with bullshit, if you respect a person you show it, if you don’t, you don’t. A little blunt but honesty is better than fakery. You seem to actually like learning and challenging yourself with the Atlantean magic. You laughed at my jokes which shows you have a brilliant sense of humor... And despite what you say, you did care about your siblings. You can’t live up to her mom and her imaginary children? Then fuck her. You’re pretty formidable by yourself. You’d be successful as a warrior or a priestess or whatever. You’d have awesome adventures no matter what you do because you’re a badass warrior princess.``

Although she wasn’t looking at him, he could tell she was listening. He could see the corner of her mouth twitching up and down, fighting a smile. So he decided to return the favor and nose boop her to get her attention.

She batted his hand away but a small laugh escaped her lips. “Badass warrior princess. Hmm you observed me very well.”

“Eh little observations here and there, some is just gut instinct. Some people may think a person’s reserve is them being stuck up but I get your’s is more than that.” Aziz coughed as a piece of his hair blew into his mouth.

“People may think you’re forgettable, but I understand you’re more of an observer.” Lala pursed her lips, catching her braid as it flew to hit Aziz’s cheek.

Aziz rubbed his cheek, his mother’s saying popping into his head again. He shrugged, feeling oddly self-conscious and nervous about repeating the quote. Which was weird because he said it about Jay just a few minutes before. But saying it, to Lala, seemed more..more meaningful somehow.

No, he was overthinking all of this again so Aziz ignored it, “Sometimes we only see how people are different from us. But if you look hard enough, you can see how we are all like.”

Lala smiled at him and there was something.. a something in the air. Energy, a vibe, he wasn’t sure but it made the fact that even though they were in the blustery air, he felt as if he were enclosed in a small world between the two of them. Time to change the subject then! “So speaking of observing, I haven’t really had the chance to do it around here much, but isn’t it fascinating to watch the people here?” Aziz asked. People watching was his go to subject for most conversations. Not that many people had much to contribute. People watching was not a thing most people engaged in which he thought was a shame. It was the most fun ever! People had such weird idiosyncrasies even when they did a normal thing like walking past whether it was an odd head bop or having feet pointed in first position or the like. Lala shrugged and Aziz nodded understandingly. He knew the topic wouldn’t probably go anywhere but then...“What's people watching?” “Oh it’s this thing where you just sit and watch random people. You know observe their habits, stuff that they do.” Aziz sighed. It was a lot more interesting action than in explanation. “Oooh!” Lala nodded understandingly, “Like observing your prey and enemies. I’ve done that lots of times. It’s entertaining.” Aziz’s eyes widened, “You think it’s fun too!”

Lala looked at him as if he was crazy for suggesting otherwise, “Yes. It’s a useful skill and people do such weird stuff.”

“Such weird stuff!” Aziz said at the same time, and then he tried to dial down the enthusiasm in his voice when Lala made the “calm down” sign, snorting at his excitement. “Remember when we were at Gaston’s bar and that Hun guy was fighting Stanley? I noticed in other fights that he does this thing with his head.. ugh I can’t describe it. But like he’d almost twist his...” ———————————————————————————————

That had been three days ago and they almost talked for an hour when Kaj II growled his warning that Queen La was arriving and Aziz had to swing off the balcony and climb against the wall to the correct balcony that would lead to Jade’s room.

Not that he had realized it but in hindsight, that might have been the moment he developed a crush on the warrior princess. Ever since then, he just… he just wanted to be around her a little more compared to the others. He wanted to hear more about her opinions or stories or anything she had to say.

And whenever she smiled at his jokes even if she rolled her eyes because it was corny, he felt like he won a tourney victory or something. And she was so..so graceful. Not cat-like graceful but beautiful, every move she makes was stunning.

Not that he allowed himself to think about it too much. There were more important things at stake like saving the world, and if he thought about how he had a crush on Lala then he’d get self-conscious and nervous and he didn’t want that. Their friendship was just fine for him. He was even teaching her monkey.

Not that it was any of Jordan’s business.

“It’s not important.” Aziz said.

“It better not be. You can try to deny it but I can see that “Can you feel the love tonight” nonsense from a mile away. Why don’t you just forget crushing on mermaids and.. and maybe a nice girl from Agrabah. Or a nice boy. You had such a good time with Mena, remember.”

“Mena was...Honestly Mena was the only guy I.. I can’t. I keep comparing other men to him which is— Can we not talk about him?” Aziz growled, partly from the memory of his sole boyfriend who had used him for the status of dating a prince and had been cheated on him the whole time, and partly because Jordan was bringing him up even though she knew it was a touchy subject.

“I know he didn’t work out but it’s like you told me, you can’t give up on the whole male population because of one cheating boyfriend. Cheating would be nothing compared to this. This crush is a mistake.” Jordan huffed.

“Why is it a mistake exactly?” Aziz raised an eyebrow at Jordan’s judgemental attitude. Usually she was all for Aziz meeting someone and start planning their dates even though her tastes were a bit extravagant like setting off fireworks when he leaned in for a kiss.

“I get the appeal, really. She was a mysterious stranger swinging on a vine. But she’s the same stranger who broke Calix’s arm! He’s lucky that he has magic on his side and could heal the arm that she broke. If he was mortal, he’d be doomed. There’s no hospitals here, we’d have to cut it off.”

“That’s not how unattended broken arms work, Jordan.” Aziz rubbed his temples at her wildly dramatic reasons why having a crush on Lala would be bad, “It doesn’t matter, I’m not going to do anything when there are more important things at stake.”

“I know. I’m just saying you shouldn’t even pursue this when we get back to Auradon. Think about, Aziz. Really think about it. Imagine what would happen if you even got together? She’s the daughter of Queen La. Allah knows that if she got jealous, she’d murder the other person and kill you for looking a for wandering eyes.” Jordan said.

“Then I guess you both have something in common.” Aziz said sarcastically, “Like when you sent your ex a box of scorpions when you found him cheating on you.”

“That’s completely different! He deserved it! You don’t deserve to feel pain. I’m telling you it’s not good to act on love at first sight.”

“Love at first sight?” Aziz scoffed. Did she not even know him? They always joked about people who thought they fell in love at first sight.

Sure, for some it was true. Auradon was practically built on it but more often than not it could lead to a very difficult marriage. That’s why Snow White took that job as a reporter so she wouldn’t be around King Florian so much.

Jordan should know him better, he may get a crush at first glance, but he wouldn’t act on it unless he was sure there was more.

“I’m not in love with her. I’m not doing anything with her.”

“You’re hanging out with her!” Jordan cried.

“I’m also hanging out with Jade. With your logic, I could be crushing on her. She’s clever, she’s daring, we have things in common, we can do parkour together. Plus she’s the daughter of one of our families’ enemies. Star crossed lovers and all that. It’s a perfect fairytale romance.” Aziz breathlessly mocked.

“Jade is not… she wouldn’t use you like Lala.”

“She’s a Vk, who says Jade wouldn’t.” Aziz pointed out.

“Jade’s like you and me.” Jordan defended lamely.

“How? What? Because she’s descended from Agrabahians?” Aziz cried. He knew she could be judgemental and superficial but really? This?

“No. I mean technically yeah but no. She and Jay. She cares about him. They’re like us.” Jordan said meaningfully, grasping his hands and looking lovingly in his eyes in a way that made Aziz feel small and childish.

He hated it when she got like this. Acting like she was so much more worldly and knowing because she was a genie. She had a duty to protect him, the poor sheltered mortal prince who didn’t know any better or understand the morally grey areas of life. He survived torture in the damn dungeon!

Which now that he thought about it, beyond the hug Jordan hadn’t asked him a single thing about the incident. It seemed to have completely slipped her mind. Yeah, she cared about his safety. But for all the wrong reasons.

“So? If that was true then why don’t you trust Jay if his bond with Jade is so much like our bond.” Aziz asked, pointing out the hole in her little argument.

“Well um I, Jay’s Jay’s complicated and I mean I don’t distrust him, it’s just after he said that thing about me giving..”

The epiphany dawned on Aziz before Jordan finished her sentence. How could he not have realized it before? It was all Jordan ever worried about.

“It’s because Jade hasn’t asked you for wishes and Lala has. That’s it.”

“She probably figured out that I’d back out of my promise so she’s trying to use you so you could convince me to give her wishes!” Jordan cried like a detective solving a case with her convoluted logic.

“And you think she’s going to seduce me to do that? Do you have so little trust in me?” Aziz used the calm steely tone that he knew would annoy her most. Not only did she act like he was a sheltered, naive mortal but a weak willed one too.

“NO no I do trust you! I know you would never intentionally do that to me. But I don’t want you to get hurt just because she’s manipulating you to get to me!” Jordan screamed, stamping her foot childishly that he was not giving into her.

“How self-absorbed can you get? Jordan, the world doesn’t revolve around you and your powers. Is it such a crazy thought that she might actually fall for me?” Aziz matched his volume to hers.

“Why wouldn’t she want me? I have phenomenal cosmic power and convenience for everyone. A lamp that forces me to obey their desires. You can’t offer her that. You’re just..you.”

Aziz stared at her, the sentence hitting him like a gut punch. He couldn’t believe Jordan of all people was saying this to him. She was the one who always helped him out on dates and assured him that anyone would fall in love with him after

….Maybe all that helping out wasn’t just from the goodness of her heart? It was because she secretly thought he couldn't get a girl on his own. Why would he with his so few talents? He wasn’t debenoir or charming enough like Jay. He wasn’t going to inherit the throne like other princes. What did he have to offer that the other boys at Auradon Prep couldn’t offer or even top? All he had was a genie friend who’d make “a whole new world” dates.

Moreover, it hurt. His best friend in the world also thought that he wasn’t good enough on his own. She thought he needed her to survive through life and love and all those trials.

Now he was glad he told Lala how he felt ignored. Clearly his so-called “best friend/wingwoman/sister” was too oblivious and selfish to comfort him. Not even that. She secretly shared everyone else’s opinion that he was forgettable!

“Me? What does that-“ Aziz snarled.

“I-I just don’t want you to spend so much time with her.” Jordan seemed to sense his anger and began backtracking, “You know I don’t have a lot of people to hang out with. So many people just want me for my wishes. You-you don’t want to use me. You’re my best friend. That’s why I need you. After everything I’ve done for you, all I’m asking is for you to be my friend.” Aziz heard her but didn't listen, her hurtful words still ringing in his ears. Besides that was completely unbelievable. She was afraid of losing him? That was a ridiculous idea and she knew that. If she was going to lie to his face, she could try to make it believable!

And what? It wasn’t like he owed her for everything she had done for him. That wasn’t how friendship worked! He didn’t ask her to do things and join adventures. She did it herself because she was his friend.

Or he had thought it was because they were sibling/friends. Apparently it was because she believed he needed her.

“You need me around forever to sooth your constant paranoid insecurity. I get it.” Aziz rolled his eyes sarcastically.

“It’s not a paranoid insecurity. It’s a fact.” Jordan claimed.

“Jordan, have you ever thought, maybe the reason people will only look at you for your wishes is because your general personality is unbearable to deal with. That’s why no one wants to be your friend. There’s nothing likable to be friends with but thank Allah, at least if they hang around long enough they’ll get wishes out of you.” Aziz snapped.

Jordan froze, clearly hurt by the sound of the crack in her voice, “Do you feel that way too?”

Aziz didn’t give himself time to think. She didn’t deserve any amount of comfort from him after what she just said. She didn’t need to act like she knew everything about life and treat him like an incapable, forgettable mortal. That was what he was to her, a mortal. And he knew from all their talks together just how little she respected mortals. And apparently he was no exception.

“Yes, sometimes I do.”

For a brief eerie moment, the wind was sucked out of the room and silence reigned. Oppressive, weighty silence that he could literally feel pressing against his chest and head and the rest of his body. He began to wonder if he should try to escape, that Jordan was about to do something they’d both regret.

“GET OUT!!” Jordan screamed.

“I can’t get out. You control your lamp.” Aziz hissed through his teeth to keep from yelling again.

“Fuck you.” The sight of Jordan giving him the finger was his last vision before pink smoke and sand fogged up his view and he rudely fell to the floor.

He glared at the lamp, imagining its arrogant, selfish, all knowing, cosmic occupant pacing the floor, creating a mini sand storm in her anger. Fine.

“Fuck you too.”

#jordan #aziz #jay #lala #my fanfic #my fanfiction #winner’s curse #calix #ocs #disney descendants #chapter nineteen

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