#and then there's hazel who was literally abandoned by her father and left to wander aimlessly in asphodel but won't side w gaea

[ruegarding]

nah bc hazel despised the gods she thought her dad was an asshole she thought cursing ppl (children especially) was a dick move she is NOT sweet and submissive the part of her life where she kept her head down and did as she was told is OVER and she sided w the gods bc she had beef w gaea not bc she cared abt the gods

#she and percy should've been talking shit on the argo ii #percy and hazel: what if we let gaea and the gods duke it out. maybe they'll kill each other #the rest of the seven: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh #anyway i'm thinking abt hazel #and i'm always thinking abt percy's response when he sees alaska. going if this is gaea's plan maybe it's ok #like there's percy who was irreverent w the gods from the beginning and then betrayed by them who sided w his friends to protect them #and then there's hazel who was literally abandoned by her father and left to wander aimlessly in asphodel but won't side w gaea #and how all of this was underutilized #and hazel's motivation completely changed to be abt her father??? abt proving herself????? bffr #hazel levesque #heroes of olympus #hazel #percy #hoo crit #rr crit #min talks pjo

[rwbyremnants]

=Chapter 18

“I tried to stop her,” Kali Belladonna snarled at her steering wheel as she drove them outside the Vale city limits. “But she had it locked into her head that this was the only way to resolve the conflict. Didn't want to hear a single thing I had to say!”

As the car went screaming around another corner, Weiss gripped the dashboard with both hands, heart pounding in her throat. She could never remember seeing Blake’s mother in a state like this! Moreover, she was trapped in the car and had no way out other than to hopefully calm her companion. “Please, what's going on? It sounds like a much more sensible solution to me!”

Her amber eyes barely flicked over in Weiss's direction, mostly staying focused on the road. “Oh, yes. Very sensible and safe for everyone involved - other than the two racers! And Hazel, that old coward… always hated fighting, needless bloodshed, and of course this solution would thrill him to death. He literally sighed with relief when Yang suggested it.”

“But it's just a race,” she insisted. “You make it sound as if they're risking life and limb. I know motorcycle accidents happen, but is that really so much worse than getting into an actual fight? Some of those boys had lead pipes! One of our Dragons had a chain - that was scary!”

“Weiss…” With a long sigh, Kali began steering the car around the bend toward the abandoned area in question. “What do you know about Mountain Glenn? Besides that it's close to Vale and no one lives there anymore.”

At least Kali didn't think she was that uninformed. “Well… that the Depression came, and everyone gave up on expanding the city for a while. A lot of potential homes and businesses that were being started are just empty husks now. My father thinks it’s a waste. Why?”

“That's not the whole story.” A motorcycle roaring past them made Kali pause before she continued. “The Mountain Glenn project was abandoned due to the instability of the old mines underneath. The copper veins dried up many decades ago when Merlot Industries plundered it all, but the tunnels are still down there, spiderwebbing under what was once known as Glenn Bluffs. There was a proposal on the table for reinforcing those tunnels with steel beams, trying to salvage their plans to help Vale grow and prosper, but as you say, the Great Depression put a damper on everyone's enthusiasm for the project. There was no strong evidence that building support structures would have made enough of a difference, anyway.”

“Ohhhh,” she breathed, thinking about how frightening it would be for her house to suddenly collapse into the ground. “Well… yes, that really is unfortunate. But I don't understand. What does this have to do with the race?”

“There’s a reason it’s off-limits. Even though a few teenagers occasionally sneak up there to make out with their beaus, it’s unwise. The ground isn’t stable. Especially not for a hundred-something pound girl on top of a six-hundred-pound Harley. Times that by two, and it might just be enough to… well…”

As Kali made a thumbs down gesture very briefly before returning the hand to the wheel, Weiss gulped. That certainly didn’t sound like a “safe alternative” anymore.

Apparently, there was a method to this inter-gang madness. Kali parked on top of a higher bluff amidst quite a few other cars and bikes, one which overlooked the skeleton that was Mountain Glenn. A handful of buildings had begun construction, but the rest were mere concrete foundations. The main road itself was fully built, winding around a fountain that was never finished in the center of the proposed sister city.

At the far end of said road were six bikes. She knew Blake would be down there with Yang, and probably Cinder. Even from that far away, she could see the Huntsman at the “starting line” had blue hair; so it was that boy she would be racing. The other two weren’t recognisable from that distance.

“We can watch everything from up here,” Kali whispered as she grasped Weiss by the waist and easily lifted her up onto the hood of the car. She felt a slight flutter from the thoughtful assistance but tried not to think about it too much.

“I wish I could go down there with her.”

“I know. But if you did, you would only watch the beginning of the race; by the end, Yang would be around some corner and you’d never see her victory.” Her hand flipped in the general direction of where two other bikes were idling; the finish line. “So you see, this is the best seat in the house.”

“Everybody seems to agree with you,” she sighed uncomfortably, glancing around at the dozens and dozens of other gang members gathered there. A small gap separated the two factions, but they were all contented to watch how things played out; no one was threatening to breach the temporary truce. “Maybe there really is honour among thieves.”

“Hmm?” Following her eyes, she smiled a little. “Oh, that. I’ve told you before, Vale is a small town; we can’t afford to tear each other apart over nothing. The rumble was a last resort, and you see that we jumped at the chance not to go through with it.”

Around that time, Emerald wandered over to their seat and leaned against the car on her elbows. “Stepping around on Yang already, huh, Schnee?”

“Jealous, Sustrai?” Kali answered without missing a single beat. Weiss didn't even have time to fully process the question and its implications before Blake's mother was answering. How was her mind that quick?

“Hardly. Well… you are a lovely woman, but I have my hands full.”

“Do you think Yang can do this?” Weiss asked nervously, fingering the zipper of her jacket to give her hands something to do. “I mean… yes, of course she’s a skilled rider, but that doesn’t mean she’s better than her opponent.”

The green-haired girl shrugged a caramel-hued shoulder. Where was her jacket? “If anybody can, it’s Yang. She and Cinder are probably the best of us. Of the ones who are still around, anyway.”

“Still around?”

“Raven,” Kali sighed wearily. “Yang learned from the best. Well… the best at riding motorcycles.”

So many questions blossomed in Weiss’s brain, but she heard the bikes revving and no longer had time to contemplate what exactly had transpired between Blake and Yang’s mothers. Even if she was starting to suspect one hypothesis over others.

Velvet was pacing out in front of the starting line. As the only non-Dragon who had come along for the ride, she was tasked with signalling for the others to start. Her arm raised high in the air, with something white gripped in it - probably a handkerchief, even though they were too far away for Weiss to make it out. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, leaning in closer to squint. She noticed Salem and the leader of the Huntsman - Watts, she thought his name had been - had telescopes.

Then the white thing dropped, and two bikes took off from the starting line.

“YEAH!” Emerald burst out immediately. “Wipe the floor with him!”

“Send her back to the kitchen!” laughed one of the Huntsmen.

“Well!” Weiss said under her breath, offended at the implication that housework was all that women were good for. Even if she knew most women spent all their lives cooking and cleaning, not all of them did.

But their commentary was not important. The two bikes were tearing down the street at breakneck speed. Yang seemed to be at the top of her game, weaving only when necessary - other than one time when she dipped a little too close to her opponent, hoping to throw him off. The boy paid no mind, only barely strafing out of the way and then correcting. They both focused on running a clean race, gunning for the finish line as fast as possible.

The fountain presented the first significant challenge. The two went different ways, favouring the side that they were already on, and looked as if they might collide once rounding the concrete basin - Weiss held her breath again - but they corrected and continued toward the finish line…

And then both swerved to the left.

“What?” Weiss breathed. “What are they doing?!”

“The race isn’t over. See those markers?” Kali pointed to three red cones that had been placed in that intersection. The first was near the center, and the next two led in the direction they had turned. “That’s the course. Have to make it interesting. Idiots.”

“Hey, I think it’s exciting,” Emerald protested with a frown.

“Of course you do. It’s not Cinder risking her life and limb.”

That seemed to silence the other girl. Which confirmed something Weiss had been relatively certain of: Emerald had a thing for the alternately gruff and oily Dragon. Admittedly, Cinder did hold a certain appeal; she was confident, passionate, and loyal to a fault. Never mind how attractive, though most of the Dragons were in one way or another. Even the older, “rougher” ones who were so masculine they were almost handsome instead of beautiful. And Weiss was beginning to realise that was alright.

Meanwhile, the two racers both rounded a couple of turns in quick succession. The boy had nearly lost control during the second one but caught himself just in time. Now they were racing along the edge of town, which wasn’t exactly right at the dropoff but was a little close for Weiss’s comfort level. Also…

A lamppost began to sink. At first, she thought she was imagining it and was annoyed with her mind for trying to distract her from the race itself, but looking again, she was right; it was sinking!

“Look!” she hissed, gesturing to the phenomenon.

“Oh…” Kali sat up a little straighter. “Damn. I really hoped I was wrong about-”

Gulping, she fell silent as an extra roar of engines went up, her attention forcibly returned to the race. Weiss saw they were weaving around trees and brush that had sprung up over the past years since the area had been abandoned and left to Mother Nature. Now, every swerve made Weiss’s pulse seem louder in her ears, every second brought a new sweatdrop to her brow. Were they going to be alright? Even if she cared about Yang more, she didn’t wish any harm on the boy, either.

They raced around another corner. This stretch was a little more straightforward, but she still found herself biting her fingers to keep from crying out.

“YES!” one of the Huntsmen shouted, seeing that the boy was ahead by a nose. But he was on the outside right; the next curve was to the left and it would cost him a few precious fractions of a second. Weiss hopped up from the car, trying to rush toward the edge of the bluff before Kali caught her by the forearm.

“Hey!”

“Don’t!” was all she breathed. It may have saved Weiss’s life; a few of the rocks crumbled from the very edge. Perhaps she would have been safe, and perhaps not; she found it hard to care when Yang was in peril.

The finish line approached. The two drifted in and out of the lead, but it looked like Yang might really have a shot-

The ground gave way. It was unlike anything Weiss had ever seen, and much worse than the lamppost because it was so much closer - and because Yang and the boy were driving on the section in question. This had two very different effects on the two racers. The Huntsman’s bike shot out from under him and he went cartwheeling back into the opening sinkhole. Yang didn’t get caught in the hole itself, but the shaking completely ruined her ability to stay upright - she began to skid across the pavement, and then rolled once separated from her vehicle, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop.

“NO!!!”

Weiss’s shriek echoed off the bluffs, and there was another slight rumble. Nothing more happened; this one was too high, too far removed from the worst of the mining to truly impact its stability. But she didn’t care. Immediately, she began to race toward the dirt road, but Kali caught her around the middle and held her fast.

“Let me go! I need to-”

“I can drive us!” Kali tried to explain. “Weiss, stop struggling, you’re not-”

“I need to GO!”

“We will go together!” Finally, she calmed down enough to take in the words, and she went slack, gaping down at where the others who had been parked at the finish line began to race toward their respective gang members. “Good… alright, good. Get in.”

“No, I’ll drive you,” Emerald told her, face deadly serious as she shrugged back into her jacket and straddled her bike. “Get her there faster. Kali, can you follow?”

The older woman nodded, pushing Weiss toward the bike to help her start moving again. In seconds, they were astride Emerald’s Harley and racing down the dirt trail toward Mountain Glenn, terror gripping her throat all the while. This was awful. Now she understood why Blake’s mother was so against this solution to their petty squabbles over territory; it might only have been two people risking their safety, but each life was precious.

Yang’s was precious. And now…

No one parked as close as they would have before this incident. They didn't want to risk adding to the danger. Once they were relatively close, they began to race toward the crater on foot as fast as they could, Huntsmen and Dragons alike. Luckily, Weiss had some athletic tone or she might have been further back; as it was, she kept pace with some of the younger boys, though they went past Yang toward the hole.

“YANG!” she screamed as tears rolled down her face, crouching over her bruised, bloodied figure. Luckily, she looked whole, but the awful angle at which her right arm was twisted made her feel sick. But that had to wait. “Speak to me! Yang, wake up, wake up!”

By that point, Coco and one of the older Dragons had joined them. The former rolled her until she was straightened out, and the latter patted her cheek, eliciting no response. “Out cold,” she reported.

“We need to get her to a hospital,” Coco breathed, putting her wrist under Yang's nose. “She’s breathing, but she could have a concussion.”

“No hospitals.” Salem had arrived, and was crouching over her from afar - assessing the situation without interfering. “Watts can take a look at her.”

After a moment, the man in question turned to glare at them. “Are you seriously expecting me to deign to stitch up one of your pet bitches? After this stunt you pulled? Obviously, you knew the ground was unstable along the route and rigged this stretch to collapse - because, as anyone could tell, your racer did actually cross the finish line, while ours did not.”

Salem’s eyes narrowed, and the air seemed to drop in temperature within the bluffs. “Her life may hang in the balance, you old fool. Stop grandstanding and get your kit. Or have you been lying about your medical degree all this time?”

Abandoning all hope of them resolving things between them, especially with the way Watts was folding his arms over the lapels of his expensive grey suit, Weiss shot to her feet and begged him, “Please! Sh-she might not make it! I don’t care about… about any of this! Just save her!”

“Really?” he snapped immediately, cold green eyes stabbing down into her soul. “So I should abandon my own boy to save your girl? You really don’t understand loyalty - family. Do you?”

Weiss spared a glance at the hole where they were trying to figure out how to descend, to search for their man. Already, the blonde she had observed him with before was tugging at his hair, tears streaming down his cheeks while some of the others readied a rope, trying to figure out what they might tie it to.

“I’ll go.”

It was Salem who snapped, “What? Go where?”

“I’ll go down there and look for him.” Her shaking finger pointed at the tall man. “If you help Yang, I… I’ll save… the boy who’s down there.”

He was not impressed. “His name is Neptune. As if you care. What good are you to me at all, what can you do that my boys can’t?”

“I’m smaller,” she offered, already stripping off her jacket. “Most of your boys are tall and bulky, and would get stuck in a tight space. And I’m stronger than I look. Please, I can’t- we don’t have time! Just let me do this!”

“Weiss,” Kali whispered, laying a hand on her arm. “This isn’t sound. You’re going to get yourself killed, and when Yang wakes up, that will be the worst news to wake up to.”

“I don’t CARE!” she shouted, shoving her away. There wasn’t time for rational thought. “Just let me save Yang by saving Neptune!”

No one objected further. Her eyes retained a fleeting image of Kali looking completely stricken before she raced over to the edge of the sinkhole, only slowing down when she got near. The blonde boy was still losing his mind, so she addressed his friend with the long red hair hanging into his eyes.

“What do I do?”

“Well, I dunno,” he said in a heavy English accent. Though he wasn’t quite so emotional, he was certainly not left unaffected by his associate’s plight; his voice shook slightly as he continually wiped his hands on his white jeans over and over. “Just… do somethin’, willya?”

“Here,” said another Huntsman with green hair, handing her one end of a rope. With some help, they both fashioned a loop that could work as a harness, and several more men lined up to anchor her at the top. Everyone else remained ringed around the hole, gazing down and hoping to be the first to figure out a better plan.

“Hey, Schnee!”

Glancing up just in time, Weiss caught the gleaming Zippo lighter being hurled at her, the metal stinging her palms. Cinder merely flashed her a fierce look before continuing past the rest of the crowd on her bike toward the ring of Dragons trying to help Yang - giving the sinkhole a wide berth.

“Ready, then?” asked the Brit. Nodding at him and the others, she stepped into the loop and allowed herself to be lowered down.

Luckily, the hole wasn’t deep; it merely looked that way due to shadows. When most of the light from above was blotted out, she flicked the Zippo to life, just barely able to catch what was rising to meet her from below. Once she touched down next to a groaning form, she could breathe a brief sigh of relief.

“You alright down there?” called an unfamiliar voice.

“YES!” she shouted back. “I’m at the bottom! Hold on!”

Weiss didn’t know the first thing about treating an injury victim. Sure, she could feel for a pulse, but that was fairly basic stuff; did he have broken bones? Internal bleeding? She had no way of knowing. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for her to come down there. Coco would have been a better choice, but she was probably still busy tending Yang.

The boy coughed, and she moved to his side, supporting the head and wiping some of the dust from his face. “Hey! I… are you alright? Speak to me!”

“What… oh… are you an angel?”

“Ugh,” she scoffed as she tried to help him up. “Hurry up, we need to get out of here!”

Coughing again, he sat up and clutched his ribs. “Oh my God… everything hurts…” Little by little, she got him crawling toward the rope. “What… what happened?”

“You fell in a hole, goofus. What’s your name?”

“Neptune.”

“Neptune.” That was right; they had said. But it was probably helpful for him to have something else to focus on. “I’m Weiss. And I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Why? You’re… a Dragon…”

“Yang was hurt,” she admitted, voice cracking. “And I… and we needed your Dr. Watts to fix her up, or… or she might-” Her voice cut off and she had to stop for a brief moment to recover. Then she cleared her throat. “So you have to help me by g-getting out of here. Then everyone will be alright. Alright?”

“Alright,” he echoed with a groan as they came to a stop by the rope. “But… I don’t think I can… climb…”

For a moment, Weiss tried to think of how to best secure him. She didn’t know that much about knots, or harnesses. “Why didn’t I take that nautical class at the yacht club?!” she swore at herself.

“Oh… I know… something about that… this loop sucks, though.”

“What?”

Sitting up, he reached for the rope. “Here, let m- whoa, I’m dizzy…”

“What’s going on down there?!” called a voice from above. It wasn’t the British man, so she couldn’t be sure who.

“HANG ON!” she shouted back up, and Neptune flinched, covering his ears for a moment. “Oh, sorry!”

“It’s fine. Here… I’ll show you. This is a bowline knot, and it’s going to be our best friend…”

It actually didn’t take long for him to tie his own harness. Weiss felt highly useless, but she was glad things were working out reasonably well. Before long, a mess of square knots and fisherman’s knots had him wearing what looked like some kind of clandestine rope-lingerie around his pelvis. By this point, he looked exhausted, so she leaned him back against a craggy wall.

“Shh, just rest a moment.” When his breathing evened out, she tried to wipe more sweat and dirt off his face. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

After a moment, he flashed her a weary smile. “I’d… ask if you wanted to get a malted after this, but… I don’t think Sun would appreciate that…”

“Sun? Is that your blonde friend I saw you kissing before?” When he gulped, clearly discomfited that she knew, she waved a hand back and forth. “Please. You do know I’m in the Dragons, right?”

“Oh… so it’s true? Most of you are…”

Eyes narrowing, she said, “Yes, most of us. Why? Are most of the Hunters that way?”

“Not as much as the Dragons. But a few of us.” He tried to sit up a little higher and grunted in sharp pain; Weiss settled him again. “Are you… going with one of them?”

“Yeah.”

“Yang?” When Weiss didn’t answer right away, he nodded. “Now I… get why you jumped down here.”

“I would have, anyway,” she swore vehemently, even while he was chuckling weakly. “Seriously! I don’t want to see anyone get hurt! Don’t be such a pest!”

Neptune tried to keep chuckling, but it turned into a coughing fit. Though she did privately think he deserved it, she still petted along his upper arm until he was able to breathe freely again. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just… hold on until we can get you out of here.”

Weiss tugged on the rope and they began to hoist him up. One of her hands helped push his boot up to take some of the strain off the men at the top, but then he was out of her reach.

And she was alone in the darkness with only a flickering light for company. For a few minutes, she began to worry she would simply die down there. It was a possibility. After all, the only Dragons she found herself truly trusting were Yang, Blake, and Kali, and one of them was unconscious the last time she checked. They were vastly outnumbered. And the Huntsmen had no reason to really keep her alive now that she had finished the job they cared about…

“Hello?” she called up nervously. “Is anybody up thBFF!”

She felt pretty silly for panicking when the pre-tied harness hit her in the mouth.

Once at the top, she saw that both Neptune and Yang were gone. She felt a momentary flare of panic as the other Huntsmen made sure her footing was secure before turning her loose, but Kali was already approaching. That set her at ease that maybe not everything was lost.

“She’s going to be alright. I’ll take you to where they’ll be patching her and the Vasilias boy up.”

“Okay,” she breathed, dazed. “Let’s… let’s go.”

Even as they walked away from the site of the sinkhole, she could hear a few more broken bits of concrete coming loose and toppling into the abyss. Weiss looked back in time to see the men backing away from its confines. Sun was already missing - as was Blake. Along for the ride with those who meant the most to them.

Fresh regret welled up in Weiss at having taken away the one person Blake probably wanted to be with more than anything in the world. Maybe, if she survived her injuries and treatment, they could do something about that.

#princess and the dragons #freezerburn fanfic #rwby fanfiction #rwbyremnants #yang x weiss

[yjsangjun-blog]

                       𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖌 — 𝖇𝖆𝖊𝖐 ‘𝖘𝖆𝖒’ 𝖘𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖏𝖚𝖓.

hi hello. i’m cait, i’m 25, i go by she/her pronouns and i live in cst! i am a hot mess who loves causing her characters pain & angst…. i also love ruining their lives on a daily basis.

this is my babe sangjun who’s a lil bit messy ( much like most of my characters ) and you can find basic stats / bullet point bio / basic personality info / basic plot ideas & stuff like that for him under the cut! if you want more in depth info message me bc honestly this intro post is … oof !!! it’s also kinda long so lemme apologize for that as well !!!

but i am super excited to be here and i can’t wait to plot with ya’ll & love your babies !!!! if you’d like to plot, please feel free to IM me on here, ask for my discord or like this post & i’ll come to you !!!

tw: mentions of alcohol / alcoholism, drugs / drug abuse, bullying & violence.

                                         BASIC INFO ( PT 1. )

FACECLAIM: min yoongi + suga + rapper. CHARACTER NAME: baek 'sam' sangjun. PRONOUNS: he/him. GENDER: cismale. AGE/BIRTHDAY: twenty-six. + june eleventh. ZODIAC SIGN: gemini. ROOM: haean + 2e.

                                           OTHER INFO

POSITIVE TRAITS: determined, hard-working, charismatic & adventurous. NEGATIVE TRAITS: hedonistic, short-tempered, impulsive & blunt. OCCUPATION: bouncer at club arena / underground fighter. ( future ceo ) SONG THAT DESCRIBES THEM: i'm not sorry - dean. HOW LONG HAVE THEY LIVED AT THE YUJAEN?: six years. FOUR MUSE AESTHETICS: leather jackets, bruised knuckles, blurry evenings, late night snack runs.

                                      BASIC INFO ( PT 2. )

full name: baek sangjun. nickname(s): sam, san, jun. hometown: seoul, south korea current location: yongsa, south korea. ethnicity: korean. nationality: korean. gender: cismale. pronouns: he/him/his. orientation: pansexual. occupation: bouncer / underground fighter. language(s) spoken: korean, english, japanese, spanish, french, chinese.

                                PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.

face claim: min yoongi. ( suga ) of bts. hair color: frequently changes, currently platinum blonde. eye color: brown with a small hazel ring. height: 5'10". weight: 169. build: athletic. tattoos: he’s got a few stick-n-poke tattoos scattered across his body, though most aren’t visible when he’s wearing clothing. piercings: these, double helix in left ear & tongue.

                                             HEALTH.

physical ailments: alcoholism, allergies, drug abuse, lactose intolerance. neurological conditions: back pain / muscle spasms, carpal tunnel. allergies: shellfish, pollen, mold. sleeping habits: all over the place, usually tosses & turns for a while before falling asleep. rarely gets more than 4-5 hours of sleep a night. eating habits: horrible, relies on fast-food & take-out most of the time. loves 'comfort foods’. exercise habits: goes to the gym at least three times a week, less if he’s been in back-to-back fights. body temperature: hotnatured. addictions: alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, gambling, sex. drug use: frequent. alcohol use: frequent.

                                       PERSONALITY. ( PT 1. )

label: the cataclysmic. positive traits: determined, hard-working, charismatic & adventurous. negative traits: hedonistic, short-tempered, impulsive & blunt. fears: heights, flying, confined spaces, drowning, commitment. hobbies: arcade games, astronomy, billiards, board games, boxing, card games, comic books, cooking, motorcycles, poker, reading, video games, weight training, yoga. habits / quirks: believes in demonic possession, believes in ghosts & spirits, believes in karma, carries a 'lucky’ item with him everywhere, fights for animal rights, fights for gender equality, fights for human rights, fights for the legalization of cannabis, fights for marriage equality, meditates, always has change in his pockets, owns an outrageous amount of shoes, counts stairs, experiences episodes of depression, boxes, collects packs of playing cards, doodles on everything, gardens, loves board games, paints, plays with fire, plays poker, plays video games, randomly wanders around when bored, sings well.

                                               FAVORITES.

season: fall. color(s): army green, black, red, gray. music: all genres, doesn’t care for country. movies: action, comedy, horror, suspense. sport(s): hockey, basketball, baseball. beverage(s): whiskey, soda. food: comfort foods. animal: dogs.

                                                    FAMILY.

father: baek jaejin, sixty, ceo. mother: baek chansook, fifty-four, ceo. sibling(s): younger sibling, nineteen. children: n/a. pet(s): a siamese cat named ramen ( back at home with his parents ), a bengal cat named shiva ( back at home with his parents ) & a seven month old austrailan sheppard puppy named indy ( lives with his sibling. ) family’s financial status: upper class.

                                                   EXTRAS.

mbti: entp-a. ( the debater ) enneagram: type 8. ( the challenger ) temperament: choleric. hogwarts house: slytherin. moral alignment: chaotic neutral. primary vice: wrath. primary virtue: diligence. element: fire.

                                                BIOGRAPHY.

born in seoul, south korea.

parents were very well known ceos, both running very successful corporations.

and of course, they wanted sangjun to follow in their footsteps.

parents were pretty strict and didn’t really allow him to do well.. anything.

however, they did buy him whatever he wanted and spoiled him in that way.

and due to both of those things combined, he started to rebel at a really young age. ( i’m talking like 10 )

so he’d sneak out, graffiti people’s houses and break things and the likes.

never got caught for it, though, knowing that if he did his parents would have kicked him out and probably disowned him for his behavior.

but one of the reasons he never got caught being a rebel was the fact he was bringing straight a’s in school, was always the very top of his class and from his parent’s perspective? he was a model child.

however, he hated that, hated having to live under his parent’s shadows and be this cookie-cutter version of himself they wanted him so desperately to be.

but he played it off, juggling the 'angel’ side of him with the rebellious tendencies that continued to grow worse and worse with each passing year.

god, high school was so different, though. he’d rebel more and more every single day, pushing the limits of getting caught.

however, word got out pretty quickly about just how wealthy his family was and kids started to bully sangjun for it, causing his anger to get the better of him until he lashed out so bad it landed one of those bullies in the hospital for copious amounts of injuries.

of course, his parents were pissed. grounded him for a solid month and in that time, he learned each and every way he could sneak out of his house at night, wandering the streets of seoul at all hours.

one of those nights he happened to run into a group of people who also went to his school, but instead of them bullying him for whatever reason, they commended him on standing up for himself like he had & told him there was a way to let out the pent up aggression that ended up sending a kid to the hospital.

his curiosity was lit up that night, eager to figure out what the hell they were talking about and a few days later, he was introduced to a scene that’d become far more intoxicating that anything he’d ever experienced before.

underground fighting. no rules, no shadows he had to live under, tons of money for each win under his belt? it was the life he never knew he wanted, but the second he got a taste of it, he wanted more.

so those late night strolls turned into him sneaking out of the house only to meet up with his new group of friends, all of which were clad in full black outfits .. traveling to some random person’s basement ( or abandoned buildings of numerous kinds ) only for sangjun to be able to release every single bit of pent up aggression he carried out on some stranger who’d never remember his name.

his parents? they were just as clueless as before, though, sam continuing to excel in school as well as his fights so much so that he found the perfect balance.. learned how to hide the scrapes and bruises from his mother & father all while continuing to be the top of his class.

not to mention he was juggling all of that and his acting career all at once, trying to hide certain things from his parents and the rest of the world because he knew it’d ruin his reputation.

however, due to the amount of stress that sat upon sam’s shoulders on a daily basis, he let himself slip up on his 21st birthday, parents stumbling into his apartment only to catch him drunk & high with a bunch of strangers surrounding him.

it was a moment he’d been scared of his whole life, worried his parents would just disown him right then and there...

but in all honesty? it was the most freeing night of sam’s life.

he didn’t have to pretend to be someone he wasn’t anymore, didn’t have to pretend to be a pure and innocent little thing who never did anything wrong. didn’t have to live up to the high expectations he’d set for himself so many years ago and god, he was hooked.

his parents not disowning him and continuing to pay for everything he wanted only fueling him to continue the downward spiral, living his life to the fullest, doing whatever the hell he wanted to... whenever the hell he wanted to.

                                      PERSONALITY. ( PT 2. )

hides behind a wall of sarcasm, cockiness, anger and lust.

doesn’t really care to get to know people and had a tendency to push people away before they get too close to him. ( though it’s all a ruse. )

wears glasses to read and mess w computers, but hates them a lot and probably won’t wear them if people are around.

has two different wardrobes, one for when he’s around his parents. that consists of suits & dressy attire. and then one for when he isn’t that consists of ripped jeans, t-shirts, sweats & everything in between.

is …. stubborn as hell and refuses to ask for help with anything.

his motorcycle is literally his baby ??? like he ?? has a problem ??

fluent in a lot of languages, picked them up so that he didn’t need translators at his parents meetings and the likes.

lowkey worried that people will figure out that he’s actually v scared & stressed on the inside because that’ll cause him to start having to deal with his feelings, and he doesn’t wanna do that.

is the biggest flirt you will ever meet?? like if he’s speaking to you… its usually flirty as hell unless it has to do w business ( both his parents & his fights ) or he’s just known you for centuries ?

will try to get everyone to go to bars n parties with him because that’s his life in a nutshell ??

drinks..heavily..  like every night?? it’s a problem tbh.

nerd on the inside though like owns so many comic books, loves to play video games, read books, plays piano.. loves to sketch, paint & the likes.

he cares… god he cares so much about people and the world but he pretends to hate everything because it’s easier than letting people in.

full of horrible and cheesy pick up lines and jokes and frequently texts people said pick up lines and jokes.

owns a book that is full of nothing but blank pages and keeps it on his coffee table because he ‘relates’ to it.

is a highkey hoe but he tries to keep it on the dl ( he fails… miserably. )

super into fitness as it’s a way to keep him away from drinking every evening. ( that doesn’t work for him tho, oof.. )

also has bruised knuckles 24/7 & some other injuries he gets from his fights, plays it off like he’s just clumsy.

anger issues af. needs to get them in check.

actually super kind and caring once you’re able to see get past his wall?? which is really hard tbh but if you’re able to? he’s so loyal and caring it’s unreal.

has a bad habit of smoking whenever he’s stressed out, which is usually all of the time so he smokes…. more than he should ( though he won’t admit to being stressed out,,,,, ever in his life. )

highkey into cuddling and all the cute shit like that but would literally never tell a soul because then they’d see that he isn’t the ‘hardass’ he pretends to be on a daily basis.

is a burnt cupcake who has 'decent’ intentions but has extremely horrible execution skills.

                                                 PLOT IDEAS.

bad influence. ( on your muse. )

best friends.

childhood friend.

competition.

confidant.

cousin.

current hook up(s).

drinking buddies.

drunken hook up.

enemies that used to be friends.

enemies.

exes who ended on bad terms.

flirtationship.

frenemies.

friendly competition.

friends that used to be enemies.

friends with benefits.

good influence. ( on sangjun. )

hate sex.

one night stand(s). ( past & present. )

partner in crime.

party buddies.

past hook up(s).

ride or die.

social media friends.

trouble makers.

unlikely friends.

#yj:intro #✶ — › 𝔞 𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔱 𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪 𝔬𝔯 𝔞 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔢 — ⌜ out of character. ⌟ #pls come lov the SINnamon roll

[lostinthe-pines-blog]

Pain Can Heal

One-Shot Story about Chris x MC dealing with Chris’s past abandonment and loss from his father and how it affects them now. 

My September 10th “Loss” addition to @i-dream-so-i-write ‘s September Fanfic Challenge ( @choices-september-challenge)

NOTE: This is a fictional story based on Pixelberry’s Choices App. *The Freshman books. I am not affiliated with Pixelberry nor do I own the rights to their original characters.

Late June, light breeze and a burning sun; not as bright as it would be in the following months but still burning like a growing fire. It didn’t matter how many years had past June would always haunt Chris. As the eldest sibling in his family he was the only one with a distinct memory of this month. Even now, with kids of his own late June hung over his head.

Looking crossed the cotton white sheets he saw her, the woman he’d fallen for, literally. Almost 12 years ago on the quad he’d bumped into the hazel eyed, auburn haired novelist he didn’t know he’d been dreaming about. He can remember every fight and every touch with her. He knows her every move and aspiration, even still in her thirties she wanted to take on the world. She inspired him.

Sometimes he still felt his heart skipped a beat just looking at her, and even more so these days. He loved looking at the forming smile lines and wrinkles that mirror his own as age became them.  In his two beautiful children he saw her come alive. But with late June looming over his head the thoughts and memories fell back to his childhood.

Chris had been trained on the streets surrounding his house, he’d learned every house every neighbor and every route home from his elementary school. Summer had just begun, he’d be going into the fifth grade in the coming fall and he fully intended on making him and his misfit friends the kings of the playground. They needed to take advantage of the jungle gyms and allowed recesses before they were stolen from them by the growing of age. He road his bike around the blocks waving to Mr. and Mrs. Prince the elderly couple who’d given him this bike when their own grand kids had grown out of it. As he approached his house as the sun began to fade he admired the home, it was small but it was his. Chris loved his life, the cares and worries of the world had yet to sink into him, but they would. Sooner than he thought. Looking up his driveway he noticed his Father's old red truck missing, strange but not enough to worry him. He ditched his bike near the front steps of his house running inside quickly. There was a tone in the air that even a child could feel.

“Mom, I’m back” he called kicking off his dirt covered tennis shoes. Not noticing the many shoes now missing from the pile behind the door. He noticed his little sister, almost one years old sleeping in portable crib, most of his friends had mocked their sisters but he loved his. She was small and gross with her screaming and spitting. He was fascinated by her. Continuing his walk through the small entryway he heard a noise that his innocent and young ears should never have had to hear. The sound was chilling the cries of his mother, the noise was laced with pain and tears as she screamed not knowing her eldest had entered. The sound unfamiliar still startled the young boy as he wandered to the kitchen finding his mother, head in her knees sitting against the light tan wood and rusting hinged cabinets.

“Mom?” he asked again, he’d only seen tears like that come from the infant in the next room. The eyes that loved him, the eyes that tucked him in at night were now tear stained and red staring up at him shocked.

“Christopher!” she spoke startled through her shaking breath, Lily, Chris’s mother had her own emotional past. She’d become good at hiding her pain, only showing it when completely necessary. As she saw her son she also saw him, she saw the man who only hours ago had left her life, forever. She wiped her tears quickly pushing back the anger that her ten year old had instilled in her with nothing but the features of his face. She knew he was not his father, and her current state was not a sight her son deserved to see. She stood quickly hiding her emotions though her legs felt like broken twigs. “Chris, I’m sorry… How were your friends.. I..” she trailed trying to find a perfect excuse for why she was sprawled out on the kitchen floor.

Chris would learn a lot about growing up and what it meant in the coming months but for right now the only reference he had for what he was supposed to do in this moment was the memories of his siblings as infants. When they cried his parents would hug them, so his small and growing mind did just that. He ran over to his mother hugging around her stomach where his height had landed him, he closed his eyes squeezing tight and hugging her to stop the crying as she had when he was younger.

“Good morning” The weak sound of MC’s voice spoke as the familiar greys of her eyes met with his own. Chris had taken a business trip for two weeks and last night had been his first night home. He longed for her warmth every single day, he couldn’t imagine walking away from her as his father had his own mother.

“It’s June 26th” he spoke letting the blues of his eyes fade darker with is tone, this pain of loss what something Chris would never shake. Not as a 15 year old, nor as a college student and now as a parent he still questioned his father's actions.

“I know.” MC said pulling her hand from the covers of the bed and placing it gently crossed his cheek. “And you’re Christopher Powell.” she smiled “You’re a father, and a husband and you have a wife who does not fear you. Your last name does not belong to him, it belongs to us, to the Powell family you’ve created”

“We’ve created” he corrects her softly.

She shows her white teeth now moving closer to kiss him softly as she pulls away her face winces with a sharp pain.

“MC?” Chris asks worried now, but his face softens when her pain turns to laughter.

“Guess our baby is awake too.” she smiles taking his hand his her own and placing it on her stretched abdomen. “Only a little over a week before she makes her appearance, a family of five, do you think we’re ready?” she jokes.

“More than ready.” he lies with confidence, ever since she’d told him she was pregnant last fall he’d worried more and more about his family's history.

Frank Powell was a father of 3, two young sons and a bouncing baby girl. The families around the block admired his masculinity. The young Powell lovers had made a life for themselves in the backstreets of Maine. He worked every day for his family and Lily too. She’d been teaching piano lessons and tutoring the kids from neighborhoods far richer than her own. Frank would come home at the same time every day, and not a minute later. He’d kiss his wife first and then his eldest son moving next to the truly neglected middle child and ruffling his hair. It the final months before he left he’d add a tickle to the infant girl usually wrapped in his wife's arms. There was no sign of straying, no sign of unhappiness. Frank had become very good at hiding his doubts, fears and emotions.  But one day, he snapped in more than just a mental way. It was years before Lily told her son the full truth behind the events of June 26th. But Chris as an 18 year old readying himself for college life was old enough in her eyes to know now...

“Senior year wasn’t easy to you but I think you came out on top.” Lily spoke as she spread a thin layer of butter crossed an only slightly burnt piece of toast. The breakfast she’d made her son everyday since the first day of kindergarten. “I can’t believe you head off to Hartfeld next week.” she spoke laughing through the pain that it caused her. “Mom, I’m only 6 hours away and I’m going to call you at least once a week, probably even more.” Christopher spoke taking the breakfast from his mother, he wasn’t foolish he noticed the tone changing in her over the past few weeks. He knew that he looked like his father, that his blue eyes haunted his mother for the rest of his life. He was aware that him leaving would bring back unwanted memories, the scars on her heart were aching with the idea of it. He didn’t realize the details being unveiled to him as their conversation continued but he almost believed he was living in that moment, seeing things the way his mother had seen them...

Lily had started to notice her husbands attitude change over the course of the past weeks, he became more tidy and quiet. He’d been cleaning and organizing all his things like he’d never done before. She didn’t want to question it, figured it was the result of stress from work. Regardless of his change in behavior he still seemed overjoyed at the sight of his children, especially his youngest, his perfect newborn girl.  When Lily woke on June 26th that year she didn’t expect at all the events of the day. She tied Chris’s shoes and sent him off on his bike for the day, he was supposed to be meeting with friends a few blocks away. She trusted him to make his way back in time for dinner. Her youngest son, the recent 5 year old was always dropped off at Daycare by his father before work, so when his room was empty she knew right where he was. She was going to be home almost completely alone just her and little Josephine who’d been a refreshingly calm child compared to her older brothers. She planned a trip to the grocery store which ended up tuning into running countless errands and taking hours out of what was supposed to be a relaxing day.

When she arrived back home she was shocked to find the red pick up truck in the driveway, she’d fallen in love inside that truck, it’d created so many happy memories for her and today it would unknowingly create the most painful of her memories. So shocked to see it there mid day she didn’t even acknowledge the back end full of boxes.

“Frank?!” she called, “What are you doing home?” she quickly placed Josephine in her crib and searched the house for her husband. Turning to climb up the stairs she saw him at the top, two large suitcases in hand. Her heart sunk in that moment, she began to notice things missing from her home, but nothing that was hers. She swallowed hard the dryness of her throat like sandpaper. “Going away on business?” she questioned, knowing she was wrong.

“Lilian.” Frank said flatly, it was almost disconnected, he’d never called her Lilian not since they’d met, she’d always been his Lily Flower. “I’m leaving.” he spoke stepping down the stairs not thinking twice about pushing past her. But Lily wasn’t weak, she was stronger than most women, it’d been what Frank found most attractive about her. Lily was quick to block the bottom of the stairs. Her voice shaky and hard now.

“Why!” she yelled letting denail set in, as her stages of grief began.

“The family is better off with out me. I’ve made my choice Lilian, move.” Frank spat back at her, showing an unfamiliar anger in his eyes.

“No! We’re a team, we work through things, we have three kids what am I supposed to do? You’re leaving me with them alone! What kind of man does that make you?!” she screamed now rambling in her panic, her face only inches from his own.

“I’m half the man you deserve, half the man these kids deserve.” he said his head hanging low as frustration built in him. “Now move I won’t ask again.” he voice dark.

“I won’t. I can’t” Lily responded and she wasn’t lying her body and mind in shock she felt as if she was trapped where she stood “I love you.” she said softly in a last a desperate attempt to keep him with her.

“I no longer can say the same.” he said his familiar blue eyes now black with regret. Something in him was different now and he used it against her, pushing her harshly aside as she banged her body into the banister. The harshness of the force had him touching her in ways he’d never done before, his hands that were full of hate and would leave bruises on her for weeks reminding her that the husband she knew was gone forever.

Losing her balance at the attack of his hands she fell to the ground watching him walk out the door, she came too soon enough to watch his red truck leave forever, to watch the memories of her college years in the bed of that useless medal fade away. She collapsed to complete nothingness on the floor of the kitchen where she’d stay for hours before the best man she knew, -no matter what his age- came to save her.

Chris listened to the hidden secrets of that day, he’d never felt so sorry for his mother before, he’d always known her to be strong and independent since then. But he’d never known that she carried injuries with her that were more than just mental. “Are you going to be okay?” Chris asked.

Lily knew her son, she knew family was the most important thing to him and that he would give up everything he’d worked for just to be with them still. She was sad to watch him leave, to watch him grow. But she knew he needed to go. Tears pooled around her eyelids at the end of her story as she nodded to her strong son “Yeah.” she smiled as her squinting eyes let the tears spill over. “We’ll be okay Chris, we’ll certainly miss you but we’ll be okay.” Lily said turning to nurse her coffee as she had for so many mornings before.

MC saw through the lies of her husband, but didn’t dwell on them. June 26th was not the day to dwell, it hadn’t been. Not since she met him, she’d made a point to make every June a celebration of how far he’d come. Of the accomplishments he’d made without the need of a father. “I love you Chris.” she smiled now sitting up in bed just in time to meet the small face peeking through the door.

“And what do we have here…” Chris asked sitting up staring back the small blue eyes walking toward him. His eldest, Claire. The little girl who softened his already soft heart. The two of them shared may traits, his sandy blonde hair and his bright blue eyes. While the soon to be middle child shared the traits of his mother.

“Good morning!” the seven year old beamed climbing up onto the bed and finding her rightful place on her father's lap. “Hows my little sister” Claire smiled at her mother placing her hands on her large stomach.

Chris could help but chuckle at the sight of it, it wasn’t because it was funny by any means. It was sweet, to sweet and his laughter had come out of his pure happiness. He quickly wrapped his strong arms around his daughter. A girl who’d inherited the sarcasm of her mother.

Dramatically she reached for air gasping, “You’re choking me!!” Claire screamed with laughter “I can’t go on!” she laughed as the tight arms around her turned to tickles. Her playful yells filled the air of the entire house, and it wasn’t long before her 4 year old brother Gabriel joined them on the bed.

The family was picture perfect, something from a book or a movie. They were happy, an emotion that the two parents had been certain to instill in their kind hearted offspring. Gabe jumped up and down despite the hesitation from his mother, Chris’s strong arms wrapped both of the rambunctious children up squishing them together. When he released them they all sprawled out on the bed. Claire’s hand landing near her mother she pulled away quickly shocked by the change of texture in the sheets, before looking to her father.

“Mom wet the bed!” she mocked playfully.

Chris looked over to MC who now wore shock in her eyes as she held her stomach, a smile wiped crossed her face as she knew the hours to come would be long. “It’s time.” she grinned nodding to Chris “Family of five here we come.”

“Everyone off the bed!” he yelled as the children scrambled to the thick carpeted floor. “To your rooms, go change go! Go! Go!” Chris instructed them “Operation baby sister is in full swing.” as the kids ran to their rooms he watched as his beautiful bride climbed from the bed. It wasn’t long before he was on his feet and at her side.

MC wasn’t in any discomfort yet as her water had only just broken. She’d done this twice before, she knew how to listen to her body. She was completely calm but found it comical again how worried and unaware her husband was now and had been with the two children before.

“June 26th?” she laughed taking his hand tightly in hers.

“June 26th.” he smiled in return.

This day would no longer hold loss and pain for him. He would no longer have to think about the abandonment and selfishness of his father. Late that evening almost on the turn of the date to the 27th he and MC welcomed their newest child into the world. Even through her tears, sweat and pain MC was happy. She was happy for her family, for her husband and for the day that her sweet little girl had decided to arrive. Chris had been clear since learning the sex of the child that he only had one name for her. Lilian. MC didn’t fight it, she thought it was truly perfect. 

#choices #play choices #Chris Powell #chris x mc #The Freshman #the sophomore #the junior #the freshman fan fiction #the senior #choices fan fiction #xoempine #choices september challenge

[hufflepuff-ravenclaw-reviews]

The Umbrella Academy Season 1 Episode 5

We start off the episode, not with a flashback, but with a flashforward. To when Five jumped ahead to the future. He's mainly just walking around a lot, carting Deloris and various things in a wagon. Deloris goes through various fashion statements depending on what time of the year it is (a fur muff hat in the winter, sunglasses and a tanktop in the summer). He does seem to have a sort of make-shift home when he's older.

One day, he's approached by a woman from the time traveling agency that Cha-Cha and Hazel work for. She tells him that the agency works to keep history on the right track. Five asks why didn't people stop the apparent apocalypse, but she laughs and says that it was meant to be. It's not the end of everything... just the end of something. She then offers him a job as an agent.

He worked there for a long time, but not as long as he should have according to the contract he made. Which is why Hazel and Cha-Cha are currently after him: for breach of contract. When he was supposed to...??? Assassinate JFK, I guess? He finally figured out what it would take in order to return to his own time. And then he jumped back to the academy the day of his father's funeral. And you know the rest from there.

He tells all of this to Luther back in Diego's boiler room bedroom. Luther takes it a lot better than Vanya did, and wants to help stop the end of the world.

Diego comes in and says about how his friend died, and demands that Five start talking. Five briefly mentions that he knows the people after him, but that they'll kill Diego if he tries to go after them, too.

Meanwhile, I guess Klaus accidentally time traveled. Back to the 1960's, for a year. And he was drafted, apparently, because he comes back with an army tattoo, dog tags, and a “military uniform”. Five later finds him, and says that he recognizes the symptoms of time travel “jet lag”. Klaus brushes him off, and leaves the house, but runs into Diego as he's leaving to get revenge on Hazel and Cha-Cha. Klaus is oddly silent in the car, which is something Diego remarks upon, because it's so strange. Klaus asks to be dropped off, and then goes into a “veteran's only bar”. There, he wanders around a bit before he starts crying before a picture up on one of the walls. The other vets, who are older, are getting kind of upset about the entire thing. Diego comes in before any vet can say anything, and asks Klaus what's going on.

Then, one of the vets tells Klaus that he has to leave, because this bar is only for veterans. Klaus gets upset and defensive, and says that he is a vet. He also tells the older vet to “fuck off”. Diego tries to defuse the situation by saying that his brother is drunk, and just wants to be on his way. The other vet says that he'll let them go when he gets an apology... from Klaus. Which Klaus gives to him... sort of. “I'm sorry... that you're such a stick in the mud!” Or something like that. This leads to a bar fight... which is both worrying and comical, considering that all of the bar patrons are older.  

While that's going on, Hazel and Cha-Cha are in deep shit because Klaus took off with their time-travel what-have-you. And their bosses know it, because every trip is recorded in some office somewhere (somewhen).

There's this really bizarre scene where Hazel flirts with the doughnut shop waitress. This has been going on for some time now, but I feel like it reached a weird peak with this episode, where he activly hung out with her while she was on a break.

As he's leaving the shop, Diego and Klaus see him leaving. Diego I think recognizes the suit that he's wearing, and maybe the build. Klause recognizes him because he was unmaked during the second half of torturing him. They follow them back to the new motel that they're staying at, where Diego puts a tracker under their car.

However, Cha-Cha sees Diego outside. They get a message from the motel manager; it's from Five, saying that he has the briefcase, and wants to meet them. They sneak out the back, but Diego is on to them. However, while he and Klaus are away from the car (and Klaus shows some life-saving moves he learned during the war), one of the two slash the tires on Diego's car.

Back at the academy, Luther finds Five scribbling all over his walls with chalk. He asks what Five's doing, and Five says he's pin-pointed four individuals who he should kill in order to prevent the end of times. Luther asks about the first guy on the list, and is horrified when Five says that he thinks the guy is a gardener. Five says that it's the difference between one life vs billions... which when you've literally seen the wasteland, that's kind of a big deal. He pulls out a gun that used to belong to their father, which only upsets Luther more. Luther then grabs Deloris and hangs her out the window, and says that Five has to pick. Five picks Deloris, which means that Luther ends up with the gun.

They go out to the meeting spot, and Luther insists that he be the one to hold onto the fake time travel briefcase. Hazel and Cha-Cha show up, and Five asks for a meeting with their boss; he refuses to tell them why. Cha-Cha makes a call on a nearby payphone, and they all settle in to wait.

However, before any time traveler can show up, a creepy rendition of Ride of Valkyries starts to play. It's Diego and Klaus in a stolen ice-cream truck that was by their car in the motel parking lot. They crash into Cha-Cha and Hazel...

And all time stops, except for Five. The same agent as before shows up and chastises him in his efforts to save the world. She then offers him a job... in time travel management. Because he's a good agent. He scoffs over this, but he does make a deal with her: that he only just wants his family to survive. She promises to see what she can do. Before she unstops time, Five tosses Hazel's gun away, and moves a bullet so that it's not going to hit Luther.

Time unfreezes, the bullet hits the car, and the truck crashes into Hazel's and Cha-Cha's car. Luther tosses the briefcase away, which Hazel runs over to grab. Luther then grabs Diego and Klaus from the now ruined ice-cream truck, and they speed away, abandoning the time traveling duo in the middle of nowhere. (Five meanwhile, left with the lady. Luther seems baffled by Five's disappearance, but he rolls with it.)

While that's going on, there's a subplot with Allison, Vanya, and Leonard. Allison keeps insisting that Leonard is creepy, but Vanya is angry at her sister, stating that she doesn't get to just be out of Vanya's life for so long, and then come in and say weird things like “don't date this guy!”

Vanya goes to meet Leonard for breakfast, where she tells him that the first chair violin player (the nasty bitch from an earlier episode) has “mysteriously” disappeared. (We'll get to this in a moment.) Leonard encourages Vanya to try out for the first chair spot, because it's her time to shine. Vanya is happy because nobody has ever actually encouraged her before.

Meanwhile, Allison looks through microfiche at the library, in search of Leonard. (At the same time, across the table from Allison, Cha-Cha does research on the Umbrella Academy, and ends up reading Vanya's book, but I don't know how much good that actually researching did either of them...) Later, Allison goes back to Vanya's apartment to tell her that she tried to look up Leonard in the paper, and couldn't find much of him. Vanya scoffs over this as actual evidence, because most people aren't in the paper on a daily basis, Ms. Super celebrity.

Allison still isn't convinced over this, so she breaks into Leonard's house. I don't know if she found anything in the main part of the house, but before she's about to pull down the door to the attic, Leonard comes home, so she sneaks out. (And we'll get to the attic in a moment, too.)

Vanya goes to her audition, where the conductor still doesn't know who the fuck Vanya is. However, as Vanya starts to play, a weird energy drifts out from her, and falls over the conductor and two ladies who are sitting behind him.

She later goes to Leonard to tell him that she got first chair (and the solo being first chair comes with). She says that she was uncertain about it,because it's the first time that she's ever played without her medication. Which is something that we've seen her taking throughout the series so far. In the previous episode, after Leonard made breakfast plans with Vanya, he was seen dumping out her pills into the sink. They kiss, and start to get hot and heavy on the sofa.

As they're doing that, the same strange energy radiates from Vanya, through the house, and up to the attic. There, we see what Allison did: the shitty violinist, wrapped in plastic and clearly dead. Reginald's journal that Klaus threw away. And probably a bunch of other stuff like that that I can't identify.

The energy leaves the house, and travels to the academy. I think Pogo senses it. He then turns to Grace, who he has repaired. He asks that she keep something a secret from the children.

#the umbrella academy #The Ravenclaw mod

[gin-and-stardust]

Come to Me, My Lost Brother

There was a heaviness in her chest that Hazel had never felt before. Everyone was relieved, the Breach was no longer spreading and the Herald of Andraste was here to personally deliver them from the demons. Whenever she saw Ally, she saw the heaviness in the woman’s gait. Hazel wanted to help, help Ally who had been nothing but kind to her, but she couldn’t force herself to move from the bench near the window she claimed as her own.

Arthur and the Templar patrol were meant to be back by now. She knew that they likely had run into demons and if anyone was equipped to fight them it was a group of Templars. Still, the fact that they hadn’t made it back in the week since the explosion at the Conclave worried. C’mon Artie, don’t do this to me. Don’t make me tell mom.

Hazel perked up when she heard footsteps echo down the hallway. She turned her head slightly from the window to see Cullen walking towards her. He hesitated slightly before, unaware that she had already spotted him.

Cullen cleared his throat.

“Can I help you?” She mumbles.

“Uh, I,” Cullen coughed, “Leliana’s scouts received reports of a Templar group about a day’s ride away from Haven.”

Hazel sat up straighter.

“Her scouts say that one of the Templars match your brother’s description,” Cullen rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’re sure?” Hazel said slowly.

“The report came in an hour ago,” Cullen replied, “Leliana wouldn’t appreciate me sharing this information, but I thought you deserved to know.”

“Thank you,” Hazel smiled.

Codex Entry: Crumpled Note

Dear Mother and Father,

I regret to inform

I’m sorry I didn’t write to you sooner

After the Conclave

I fear Arthur has

-The ink is smeared making the rest illegible-

Hazel rested her head on her arms staring out of the window once more. The sun was low on the horizon. She’d been waiting anxiously for the group to ride through the doors but as the day progressed her heart sunk lower and lower into her stomach. Leliana’s scouts were rarely wrong, so that meant something must have happened.

When she heard footsteps, she just rolled her head on her arms let out a long sigh.

“I do not know what to say, other than to apologize,” Cullen said slowly.

Hazel furrowed her brows, “why?”

“I gave you the report and it proved inaccurate. It was unfair of me to raise your hopes like that.”

She shook her head, “no, it isn’t your fault.”

Cullen opened his mouth and then closed it but rubbed the back of his neck instead. Hazel turned her gaze away from him and back towards the gates of Haven.

“Do you mind,” Cullen coughed, “do you mind if I sit here for a while?”

Hazel shrugged, “if you want to.”

Outside the low light was making the shadows of the villagers long and she couldn’t make out individual people. Along the wall the, she could make out the guards and one person that seemed to resemble Ally with double daggers peeking out over her shoulders. Next to Hazel, she could hear paper rustling. She sighed and continued to guess at who was walking around the Chantry courtyard.

An hour passed before Hazel noticed in a change in the nighttime atmosphere of Haven. She lifted her head when she heard a guard shouting, but she couldn’t make out the words. A quick glance at Cullen told her he heard the same as he was halfway to his feet already. She nimbly leaped to her feet fearing they were under attack.

Cullen nodded at her before he set off on a brisk pace down the hallway. Hazel went the other direction to grab her bow before running down to the gate. By the time she arrived, Ally was already stationed on a ledge just below the wall, so she could see who was approaching but they likely couldn’t see her. Cullen was more casual, resting with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Templars approaching!”

Hazel stilled. Templars?

Cullen quirked an eyebrow but otherwise remained stationary. Ally jumped down from the wall.

“Are you expecting a patrol, Commander?”

“Yes,” Cullen shifted, “but at the moment I don’t know if this is the one we were expecting.”

Ally crossed her arms, “we’ll find out soon, they’re half a mile from the gate.”

The next several minutes were tense. Hazel paced along the back of the group. She wasn’t sure how to react when the guards opened the gate and she could faintly make out a group of riders. Seconds later she could see the Templar sword crest on the front rider.

“Rylen!” Cullen greeted, and the tension evaporated.

The front rider, Rylen evidently, reined in his horse before dismounting.

“Commander,” Rylen pressed a fist to his chest, “I apologize for falling out of contact, but when the sky opened, we weren’t prepared for demons.”

Hazel slowly made her way to the front of the crowd. She glanced at the heads of the still mounted Templars, most had their helmets off but, longer she looked the more unfamiliar faces she saw.

“Hazel?”

She whipped her head to the side and couldn’t help the grin that broke across her face. Arthur’s hair was mussed from wearing a helmet and she could see a recent cut along the side of his head. It would scar, but he was alive. They stared at each other for a second longer before Arthur rushed her and crushed her against him.

His armor was uncomfortable against her body as she was only wearing a cotton tunic She didn’t care as she hugged him tighter. Her brother was alive. It was a good emotional whiplash.

Against her shoulder, she could feel Arthur laughing and she ignored the wetness growing there.

Codex Entry: A Neatly Folded Letter

Dear Mother and Father,

I would have written sooner, but the Templars have kept me busy since the rebellion began. Then demons literally fell from the sky… so that was something that had to be dealt with.

Good news, I’m alive and Hazel hasn’t killed me for worrying her. I’ll count that as a victory.

Bad news, it looks like we’ll be stuck in Ferelden for the time being helping with this Inquisition. Really, the only bad part about that statement is we’ll be stuck in Ferelden. It really does smell like dogs here, and it’s cold.

Hopefully, when this is all over, I’ll be able to visit. Just make sure Kenneth is properly prepared for my arrival.

                                                                                   Wishing you the best,

                                                                                               Arthur

Arthur stretched and groaned as his spine cracked. The beds in the Chantry weren’t comfortable, but they were better than camping in the woods. He rolled over onto his side and squinted his eyes against the early morning light. Hazel was in the bed next to him, blanket pulled over her head, he laughed and swung his legs over the side.

The relief he felt at seeing his sister alive was immeasurable. He’d been watching the temple when it exploded, in his heart, he knew that no one could have survived that, but the faithful part of his mind prayed that out of everyone Hazel would be able to survive. Apparently, Andraste had been listening because Hazel had walked out of the rift with the Herald of Andraste.

Slowly he stood his knees protesting the movement. Hazel shifted slightly, and the blanket was pulled taut over her head. Arthur carefully eased the blanket out from underneath her head and instead settled it high on her neck. Mother’s warning coming to mind, Hazel, if you keep pulling that blanket over your head you’ll suffocate during your sleep. Of course, Hazel didn’t listen, but Arthur had taken it to heart, and since they shared a room had taken to untucking the blanket in the morning.

Hazel grumbled and gripped the blanket but then settled down.

Arthur smiled and quietly moved around the room, pulling on a loaned cotton tunic and a pair of threadbare linen pants. He eyed his armor for a moment before shaking his head, there was no need to put it on yet this morning. It would be too much of a hassle to find someone to help him in the first place. The majority of Haven hadn’t woken up, except for the blacksmith and the guards.

The Chantry should be empty. He preferred doing his prayers in private and not amongst the services.

Arthur stepped into the main hall, the pews were empty, and he walked more confidently until he reached the altar and saw someone kneeling. On closer inspection, he saw that it was the Commander. He hesitated before he shrugged and knelt next to the man.

Maker, my enemies are abundant, he began, but my faith sustains me; I shall not fear the legion, should they set themselves against me.

Cullen shifted next to him preparing to stand. Arthur flicked his eyes back to the ground. In the long hours of the night, when hope has abandoned me, I will see the stars and know, your Light remains.

He stops and instead looks up into the face of Andraste. Had they failed the Maker so horribly? Arthur shifted on his knees to be more comfortable. Cullen was still standing next to him.

“You’re Lady Trevelyan’s brother, are you not?”

Arthur nodded, “I wouldn’t call her that to her face, that’s our mother’s title.”

“I will bear that in mind,” Cullen nodded, “it is a relief to see that the patrol returned alive.”

“It was a near thing,” Arthur replied.

“I believe we’ll have to take our victories where we can,” Cullen adjusted his sword, “perhaps if you have time later you could help me instruct the recruits.”

“I don’t have much patience for teaching, but I can help with demonstrations.”

Cullen dipped his head and turned to leave.

At least there are Templars in the Inquisition.

Now that Cullen left, as minimal of a distraction that he was, Arthur was able to focus more on his morning prayer.

Hazel wandered down to where the troops were training. Arthur had been spending his afternoons helping with them, and this was too good of a chance to get blackmail material. Her brother teaching? Surely something hilarious will come of it, she doubted he had the patience for someone who was not getting it after the fourth or fifth time.

It didn’t hurt that Commander Cullen was usually supervising the troops. She knew she should probably focus on trying to help the inquisition, become a scout of Leliana’s or maybe help Josephine with nobles. Except Hazel wasn’t overly eager to be away from her brother after fearing him dead. Cullen was a magnetic presence, and for the moment while the world was falling apart she would allow herself to indulge in such fantasies.

“Hold that shield up!”

Hazel snickered to herself as the soldier attempted to correct himself and instead his partner’s blade skittered up the shield and into the side of his head. It reminded her a lot Kenneth’s and Arthur’s spars growing up.

Speaking of Arthur, it looked like he was in the middle of an intense battle against a warrior wielding a two-handed sword. Despite the strength in the blows landing on his shield, Arthur brushed them and kept pressing forward.

“He’s quite good,” Cullen remarked as she drew nearer to him.

“It’ll go to his head if you tell him that,” Hazel laughed, “but his instructors have always said his defense was ingenious.”

They watched the fight for several more seconds. Arthur finally caught the blade on the ridge of his shield and shoved it away opening the warrior’s guard which Arthur took advantage of by sliding his leg forward to keep the solider off balance and then swung the hilt of his sword into the soldier’s side.

“Good movement,” Cullen mumbled.

Hazel nodded and glance around at the rest of the soldiers, “they’ve improved.”

Cullen glanced at the solider that he corrected the shield position on, “yes, I hope it is enough for when we seal the Breach.”

“Was it hard for you to leave the order?” Hazel asked suddenly.

“It was not as difficult as I would have thought,” Cullen shrugs, “after Kirkwall, perhaps I was looking for a way to change things.”

“And the Inquisition is that change?”

“Yes. The Chantry lost control of both the Templars and the Mages and now they argue over a new Divine while the Breach remains.”

Hazel raised an eyebrow.

Cullen continued, “the Inquisition can act when the Chantry cannot. Our followers would be a part of that. There’s so much we can-”

He suddenly cut himself off, “I’m sorry, I doubt you came here for a lecture.”

She blinked, surprised to have seen Cullen so impassioned. It was different from his usual no-nonsense manner and it was nice. Very nice.

“No,” she said drawing the word out, “but if you have one prepared I’d love to hear it.”

Cullen chuckled, “another time perhaps.”

She grinned at him.

“I, uh-”

“And she graces us with her presence,” Arthur leaned against her back slowly pushing her down.

“Knock it off, you oaf.”

Cullen’s lips twitched, but his face became neutral once more, “I’ll leave you two to it.”

“You’re just going to let him crush me?” Hazel called after him.

“I know better than to get between the middle of a sibling dispute.”

Arthur finally removes himself from her back, only to place his elbow on her shoulder and prop his head up, “he’s speaking from experience you know, he’s got, siblings. If Cullen already has someone in mind, then you still have hope for settling with his brother.”

Hazel kicked Arthur in the exposed part of his knee causing his balance to falter, he flailed wildly for a few seconds, “why do I care if he’s taken or not?”

“Come, sister,” Arthur chuckled, “you’re positively enthralled.”

“You’ll have yours one day, brother dear.”

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #female Trevelyan #male trevelyan #da:i #dynamic:nothing like us #otp:I'll take care of you #Worldstate:Warden Inquisitor #Arthur Trevelyan #Hazel Trevelyan #Warden Alessandra #Cullen Rutherford

[vehementdaze]

Grief manifests

In sudden places, like rain in a desert sky

Heartbreak had ruled my world until I hit rock bottom and my father pulled me out of it by a yank of my arm.

Love had found me and essentially broke me down, and that brought me to an ultimate low. My father, Sergio, had to pay off a girl’s family when I had fought her in a club during the family’s vacation. I was arrested, and it took months for the charge to fall off my name as the family purposely didn’t want to settle.

It was possible that the girl’s family was exaggerating the issues when she had brought it upon herself, in my opinion. The fight happened during the summer her heart was broken. When her friend finally happened across a man she was interested in, another girl was constantly attempting to get between them. Quite literally.

My irritation with the girl grew with every attempt made. Until I finally snapped and threw a punch at the girl one night.

Sergio rambled for hours on end that I had to grow up and invest in the family business. Or I was going to have to wander off, party and get into trouble on her own. The latter meaning he wasn’t going to the rescue any longer.

That’s when I decided to dive into the business with him.

Immediate downpour from a blue span:

For years, the family had been producing cocaine in Mexico. It was safer than production in the States, also less expensive to a degree. The warehouse where it was produced and the ship it was boarded in to get to Cali was connected. Both under a fake name that was meant for my mother; sure, enough digging would bring my mother down, but no one cared about that. Not even my mom.

I attended many business meetings. Sergio assigned all business dealings with Cuba over to me. Cuba was mine, and I was in charge of production.

Over time, the realization came that production was not enough if the business was going to grow. I needed to purchase another warehouse on the island to increase the production and the sells of their cocaine. However, my father wouldn’t let me.

No, Sergio insisted on making a deal with another family. This other family, the Castillo’s, wanted millions of dollars in exchange for their cocaine that was 80 percent purity. I was against the deal. However, the underlying agreement was that the Busquets could not have any other cocaine except for the Castillo’s.

Strong enough to carve boulders in two,

The agreement made with the Castillo Family caused arguments with myself and Sergio. I knew it was a bad idea to converse with that family as they want their cocaine to be the only supply we were leaning on. But that was never going to be the case. Sergio had no plans of stopping production. He needed more; maybe that was his flaw, his greed.

“God, you are so stupid!” I shouted at my father from across the way of the foyer. Sergio entered the mansion a moment prior; he had been out on business that called for meeting with the head of the Castillo’s. “I hope you told them we are retracting the agreement!” I exclaimed the words. High heels clicking against the marble floors with each step I took to my father.

I was visiting my parents’ home. I knew Sergio had been out, having told me he didn’t want me along for the meeting. I spent the time with my mother, Emilia.

The two of us were mostly civil for a mother and daughter pair that did not have much in common. Emilia was stuck in a marriage with a man she never loved. She was a gold digger, only wanting Sergio for his money. When she had found out she was pregnant with me, the woman stayed and married him because she knew the kind of lifestyle both her and her child could have. But then she cheated a couple years after I was born. That was when Jocelyn came along.

While he had taken care of Jocelyn, Sergio certainly favored me; Emilia favoring Jocelyn. And, for the most part, that was okay. Jocelyn had a better childhood as the parents made sure to never fight in front of her. Emilia seemed to care for Joce more, and that, along with me being the only true child of Sergio, allowed her to slip under their noses a lot while the kids grew up.

Emilia quickly followed me from the kitchen to the foyer where I was yelling at my father. “Camilla,” the woman spoke in a soft voice. Footsteps halting when I stopped several feet shy of Sergio, Emilia standing less than a foot behind me.

“I should have never gave you Mexico,” Sergio huffed, shaking just head as he voiced his regrets to his child. The dress shoes he wore sounded against the floor as he moved towards the staircase. “You’re going to screw up the whole business, our whole fucking name when you’re in charge! Go sit back at the table in there and let your mother feed you. I’ll handle the business.”

It was an insult for being a child. Also a reason I disliked my father. “Camilla, honey. Calm down and let’s go out,” my mother piped up as Sergio gestured to the two of us with a swift wave of his hand before he turned and headed up the staircase. I was speechless, unsure of what to say next. After all, I was a disappointment to him.

I had backed down to my father then, leaving the home with my mother. We went shopping at the local mall. My eyebrows remained furrowed as my frustration over the entire Mexico and cocaine ordeal was still there, lingering within me. Emilia catching onto that after the second store they visited. She turning to me, reaching a hand up to soothingly rub over my bicep. The action earning her a glare. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this shit with you either,” I snapped. The pressure my parents were putting on me finally was getting to me.

“Why are you here? Why are you pretending to love me, pretending you’re happy?” I swiftly spun around to exclaim at her. Frustration leaking from me. “You married your fucking sugar daddy and you want me to calm down over /actual/ business? Have you even worked a day in your life? And I don’t mean lying on your fucking back!”

Without another word, I left her standing there speechless in the middle of the mall. Other people were staring but I couldn’t care; I was leaving, retrieving my cell phone to call for a driver to pick me up.

Cactus choking down water, drenched spines drowner’s arms

No changes were made in Mexico. While I stayed in California, my cousin stayed behind to ensure production ran smoothly. Vanessa, the cousin, wasn’t even made aware of the agreement with another family when the warehouse was ambushed.

The meeting Sergio had a week prior? That meeting was the acknowledgment of Mexico continuing production. Sergio was told to cut it off; there was a threat, but it was unknown. That is until the warehouse was raided. Vanessa was mildlyinjured, as well as several other workers. Five lives were lost, all because of greed.

“We cannot stop! We need the coke,” Sergio spoke in a firm tone. Turning to his niece, he pressed on a soft smile. Vanessa had several cuts and bruises from the raid but she still gave the man a decent smile, which made his tone soften for her. “Replace the lost workers. Continue on.”

“Are you serious?” I exclaimed. For months, Mexico and cocaine was on my plate, making me crazy. That frustration continued to boil inside of me. “Do you really think no more lives are going to be lost?” My heart ached for those families that had now lost someone they loved.

The older man shook his head in disapproval, even releasing a humorless chuckle. “Hopefully you will learn from all this. Sometimes loss is necessary.”

And that? That was all I needed to hear from him. I wasn’t even sure of who the man was anymore. Was that really my father?

The sunlight. Over.

Weeks had gone by before anything happened. Cocaine continued to flow from Mexico to South Cali, Sergio was a cocky shit, my mother bought me gifts in an effort to get my attention. Emilia only wanted to show affection to me when Jocelyn wasn’t around. And, while my sister deserved all the love the world had to offer, I never wanted to fill that void. And I felt that I never really could.

Weeks passed until it happened.

They owned a home on the island, many miles away from the warehouse. It was a small town version of the vacation home in Florida. Emilia strode through the foyer, the front door being left wide open as she made her way to the kitchen. “Camilla, honey!” She called out.

It was breakfast; my father and I silently eating eggs and bacon at the counter of the island bar. Both turned our hazel eyes onto the woman entering. Emilia had a brilliant smile over her lips. “Come see who I have found! You will never guess!” Excitement was written clear as day across her features.

We were visiting for a couple days to spend time with the other members of the family that lived on the island. Emilia was almost always clueless when it came to how important safety was to us, especially when someone was out for our heads. My father and I exchanged confused looks before we abandoned the food to follow the woman into the foyer.

“I went to school with Kimberly. She moved out here years ago and I just ran into her at the fish market!” Emilia squealed with so much excitement. My eyebrows furrowed. It had been so long since I had seen such enthusiasm from my mother for anything than wasn’t clothing or shoes. “She—”

It was all the woman got out. I stepped forward, entering the small area of the foyer; Sergio two steps behind me. At that same instant, the sound of a gun going off was heard. Emilia made an attempt to spin around and face us when she tried to speak again. Only that one word left her before she collapsed. The bullet piercing her forehead and colliding with a picture hanging on the wall a couple feet from where I stood. The glass covering the photo cracked with the impact of the bullet.

I couldn’t process anything. Everything happened in slow motion. There was someone standing in the threshold of the entrance of the home but, before I could tear her gaze away from my mother, the person was gone. Sergio was the first to react, pushing me a step over to rush passed me. It was his attempt to run after the culprit.

My focus was on my mother after that split second of a lifted gaze. Emilia was beautiful, certainly my sister and I had gotten their beauty from her. She was in her late forties with no grays, no sign of wrinkles forming. But now? Emilia’s forehead had a hole, blood continuously flowing from the wound. I knew there was nothing that could be done. Maybe that was why I was frozen, standing there. Watching her only existence left to the world pour from her injury.

Tears welled in my eyes. My father did this... His greed killed her. And, while I didn’t always get along with the woman, while I craved a completely different lifestyle than her, I still loved her. And I watched her take her last breath, say her last words.

Moisture sucked already into forgetful earth.

She was dead.

The pain of it didn’t register. My entire body was numb to it. I wasn’t even sure if I was blinking. Was it all a daze? Was it even real?

[haisai-haitai]

*

Woodpecker Children’s Home

Minor Characters (from Mika’s past edition 6/6?)

*The little house’s official name in modern human AUs, because I like to make references to their original selves. Otherwise it didn’t really have a name in the ancient days

**I’ve tried searching for the Okinawan word for youkai, like the kijimunaa are tree spirits and there are other supernatural creatures, but idk I just can’t find one? The closest thing I’ve found is from my wordbook: yanamun (“demon, evil spirit, apparition; villain; a bad thing”) which well literally breaks down to “bad thing” so no… And then there’s bakimun (cognate to bakemono; “monster, ogre, goblin, witch”).

***part one, two, three, four, five (although this, part six, is pretty much unrelated to the other ones)

Tan-mee

たんめー

Nicknames/Alias:

Tanmee actually. The word itself means “grandfather” however it’s said a toddler started this. They called him something like tana/tanan/tantan (apparently imitating a woodpecker’s knocks), then either that child when they were older, or other children, affixed -mee「前」to it (a respectful honorific meaning “before; previous”) thus creating tan-mee.

Tui-gwaa「鳥小 (とぅいぐぁー) “birdie, little bird"」

Taarii …or at least the children would like to call him “father”

Real name: unknown… kind of. It’s some whistle-chirp.

Species: Okinawa woodpecker bakimun

Looks: Straight wine-red hair, shoulder-length and tied in a low ponytail, straight bangs, and two thin chin-length locks that framed his face. Black eyes, with a tired but kind expression.

The eponymous woodpecker who takes in those in need (mostly children).

More about him will be in a different post.

THE CHILDREN

Most had an affectionate nickname during their stay; these ended with -gwaa or -ngwa (a diminutive suffix in Okinawan; think like - chan for Japanese). For some this was the first name they ever had; others had a name before they arrived. They usually leave with a different name.

Nee-ngwa

苗小 (ねーんぐぁ); "sapling"

Species: Okinawa or Ryukyu flying fox

Admission: deformed/underdeveloped wings, cleft lip; uknown/undecided arrival

Looks: Hair worn in two low side ponytails. She always wore a bandanna over her nose and mouth

The oldest (an adult) of the little house, and de facto "eldest sister.”

Tan-mee would sometimes leave her in charge if he had to take care of something.

Seemingly mute, but she does talk/whisper as she’s passed on information/tales from the past - regarding what she has witnessed, and what the children who were at Tan-mee’s when she arrived had told her.

She willingly keeps on the bandanna even though she’s been told it’s fine to not wear it.

Ami-gwaa

雨小 or 雨子 (あみぐぁー); “rain" or “drizzle, light rain”

Species: half-human, other half is something along the lines of a water or rain sprite/nymph/spirit

Admission: likely for being a halfling; entrusted into Tan-mee’s care as a toddler

Looks: Straight black hair, different locks in braids but with plenty of hair still loose. She had ice-blue eyes with cloudy-gray ring in the middle.

About 8 or 9 years old when Mika showed.

She was very caring but could sometimes demonstrate a cocky wisecracking streak. A confident and responsible girl.

She was Shirunna’s buddy, and was the first to braid Mika’s hair.

She made wunai-tiisaaji (kerchief made by a sister and presented to her brother to keep him safe while on a journey) for Kaaroh (a light blue one) and for Mika (a red one).

Chii-gwaa

釣小 (ちーぐぁー); "fishhook"

Later Name: Chiigani (fishhook)

Species: human

Admission: around the age of 5 or 6 was accidentally separated from family and lost in the woods; was found by Tan-mee

Looks: Straight black hair, a bit spiky. He had a very squinty eye, that half the time was closed.

The oldest boy at the time, so de facto "eldest brother.” About 12 or 13 when Mika showed, and ‘assigned’ to be his buddy. A happy and dependable brother.

Shirunna

蜆 (しるんな); “basket clam"

Species: demon(*?)

Admission: runaway, abuse, fear of men; found by Ami-gwaa around the age of 7 to 10

Looks: Light hair that draped over her face. Light eyes with partial heterochromia.

Incredibly timid and nervous due to trauma, clung to Ami-gwaa who she also spoke through.

About 9 to 11 years old when Mika showed, whom she eventually and very slowly partnered up with to work through some of their troubles together.

Kaa-ngwa

川小 (かーんぐぁ); "river"

Later Name: Kaaroh (both rivers)

Species: Ryukyu scops owl bakimun

Admission: fell from nest, broken wing; saved from a river by Tan-mee as a newborn

About 3 or 4 years old when Mika showed.

A chipper little boy who left a few years later to travel around the coast.

It appears that his nest may have been attacked, as he had a damaged wing. He was originally a mortal owl, but the night after he was saved he turned into a youkai out of grief.

Miitsichi

三月 (みーつぃち); “three moons” March

Nickname: Chijuu (a person with curly or wavy hair)

Species: dog bakimun

Admission: stray, abuse, ill; brought in after collapsing near the house at an estimated age of 9 to 12

A stray dog, of poor health mentally and physically when found. Eventually recovered enough to reveal a boy that was lively, sharp, and feisty.

He left a few years after Kaaroh, but returned decades later.

Ohsa-gwaa

青葉小 (おーさぐぁー); "leafy vegetables"

Species: half-human

Admission: being a halfling + medical complications; left on a path near the little house at the estimated age of 6

Looks: Undecided, but hair was tied in a ponytail that leaned more to one side. Had one leg.

A happy boy who was a little slow, who ended up in Tan-mee’s care after Mika but before Juu-gwaa.

Tan-mee suspected that someone else must have been caring for him, before (for reasons unknown) he was left on a path near the little house.

He suspected the boy had a weak heart from how he tired after a while of playing. He eventually passed away.

Juu-gwaa

尾小 (じゅーぐぁー); "tail"

Species: human

Admission: born with a tail, abandoned out of suspicion/superstition; found by Tan-mee as an infant, likely left in the forest to die

Looks: Dark brown hair and dark eyes

A human baby boy who ended up in Tan-mee’s care a couple of years after Mika showed. It looked like he was becoming a good kid.

*When Mika returned decades later, all "the children” he had known had left Tan-mee’s with the exception of Ami-gwaa. It’s known that Chiigani lived to become an old man with grandchildren; he had passed by the time Mika returned to the island. The size of the house varies across years, and it was rather small when he returned

Saajaa

鷺 (さーじゃー), “white heron"

Species: human

Admission: albino, nearsighted as side effect; undecided/unknown arrival

Looks: Light hair either very light blond or white, and pale blue eyes which looked red/violet under certain lighting conditions. Wrapped a cloth/sheet around his self to protect himself from the tropical sun. 

A very helpful boy, always willing to try his best.

Fuu-gwaa

福小 (ふーぐぁー); "good luck"

Species: demon(*?)

Admission: deaf; unknown/undecided arrival

Looks: Short brown hair and hazel eyes

Younger than Saajaa. She was calm and willing to approach people.

Yuuna

大浜朴・黄槿 (ゆーな), "sea hibiscus"

Species: human

Admission: found wandering in the forest in her mid-teens; unknown/undecided reason

Looks: Long brown hair, tied half back. Dark eyes.

A young lady who ended up in Tan-mee’s care a few years after Mika’s return.

(*?) = I haven’t decided if they have human blood too yet, so they may be full-blooded demon or half or idk. Also I haven’t decided what kind of demon they are.

#yaashigwaaぬscraps #(行逢りば兄弟 ～ no man is an island) #[long post because it's lots of a names #[but each entry is really short okay #[because they're not fully developed especially the later ones] #[i mean... the month of 'march' didnt exist yet...]

[gruumpy-cat]

The Art of Being Nonchalant (Or Not) / Chapter Three

It seemed that waking up in the middle of the night, or not even falling asleep, has turned into the new normal for me. I was lying down in my bed, staring at the moon through a crack in the drapes and listening to the first Sons of Tyr record I ever bought, Season of Bitterness. It fit my current mood. Which was dark. I couldn’t pinpoint what my problem was but even trying to decipher my own feelings made me frustrated. Especially since I didn’t quite know what in the seven hells was bothering me.

My thoughts wandered off to grandad. Today was the anniversary of grandma Olivia’s death. Even years after her death, he still spent days like these holed up in his study with a bottle of aged Firewhisky and his pipe. Not even dad, who suffered just as much, has ever managed to lure him out. After a couple of years, he stopped trying. I have no clue what he does every year, I just know he���s never home. There is no grave to be visited, no flowers to be left anywhere. Her grave is literally in the wind. Just as she wanted it.

I wasn’t sure if James remembered what day it was, and knew I needed a distraction, or whether it was just coincidence that he wanted to get together with the rest of our friends (and his family) in Diagon Alley today of all days. But I was certainly glad when yesterday I heard my name coming from the two-way mirror James gave me when we were fourteen and he found it hidden in his father’s study. We were supposed to meet at the Leaky Cauldron around noon. Realising I haven’t sent a letter to Ash asking her to come with us, I got up from the bed, turned off the music, picked up a bit of parchment and a quill and went to the kitchen where grandad’s barn owl Odin was munching on some treats he presumably left for him before going to bed.

Besides Odin, I also found Ziggy unsuccessfully trying to steal the owl treats. Odin would try pecking him every time he came near. Ziggy will doubtlessly be plotting his revenge during the next few days. The two of them had some kind of frenemy thing going for them. For two very solitary and sometimes difficult creatures, you could occasionally find them, for lack of a better expression, hanging out. If you call Ziggy lounging and Odin sleeping with his head under his wing next to him hanging out.

Scrawling a few sentences together, I tried giving the letter to Odin. He looked at it like he was outraged by the idea I would interrupt him in his munching with such a lowly task as delivering a letter.

“Come on, Odin, I’ll give Ziggy all your treats if you don’t take the letter,” I whispered to him as I stroked his head. Now he stared at me with an outraged look and hooted, letting me know in no uncertain terms he wouldn’t negotiate with terrorists. Why does my family only have pets with an anarchistic streak?

I rummaged through the kitchen cupboards searching for the special treats he wasn’t supposed to eat more than once daily. We used them to bribe him into doing what he was supposed to do. I found them stashed behind a stack of fancy looking plates we never used. As soon as I opened the box, Odin shifted a bit closer to me and nibbled my ear. At that moment, Ziggy finally snatched one of Odin’s treats and ran away with his bounty. Odin made a disgruntled sound, but was soon placated by the Eeylops Premium Owl Treats. He ate them all up with lightning speed, gave me another hoot, took the letter from my hands and flew off into the night through an open window.

After a few minutes of looking out the kitchen window, I went back upstairs, opened the door to my room and nearly had a heart attack.

“Hey,” James said with a massive grin. He was sitting in the brown leather bean bag chair next to the window, his face illuminated by the early dawn.

“It’s the middle of the night!”

He had a confused expression on his face, “It’s not, actually, but so what?”

I closed the door behind me as I came in the room and leaned on the windowsill. “So, you’re lucky I didn’t have my wand on me. Or my bat. What, in the name of Merlin, are you doing here? Did someone die?” I really hoped someone didn’t die. I hated the idea of funerals. They sounded dreadfully sad and boring and I didn’t want to take part in that.

He casually put his hands behind his head and leaned back, “Nobody died. Would you have really hexed me?”

“I would’ve both hexed you and beat you with a bat. Why are you here?” I started pacing around the room until I eventually settled on the bed, my head in my hands as I stared at James.

“You sounded off yesterday. I wanted to cheer you up!” James said and got up from the chair. He sat down next to me, “Besides, I didn’t come empty-handed.” He took out a bottle from his backpack and handed it over for inspection. It was a ten-year-old bottle of Ogden’s Old Firewhisky.

I frowned and said, “I don’t need cheering up.” I wouldn’t admit I did need a distraction if not cheering up.

James put an arm around my shoulders and with his other hand tenderly turned my chin to face him. The sun was slowly rising, causing the whole moment to feel surreal, both of us bathed in faint sunlight. We were too close, his hazel eyes too understanding, his breathing even while I felt my heart hammering in my chest and being unable to breathe in. I had to stand up and get away so I could catch my breath.

What the fuck just happened?

He was messing up his hair. I looked out the window just so I didn’t have to look at him. And possibly stop breathing again. I didn’t want to die. Obviously.

“Listen, Quinn,” he started, “your family is fucked up,” I looked at him sharply as he said this, but he continued, “and they pretty much abandon you the one day in the year you’re supposed to deal with a grandfather who doesn’t even want to leave his room. So, you don’t get to mope around on your own this year. I’m not letting you.” He peered at me and made a funny face, trying to make me laugh. It didn’t succeed, but at least I wasn’t frowning anymore.

I leaned out the window, breathing in the fresh air. I could feel James standing behind me, he had that specifically James scent, a mix of mint and something else I couldn’t define but I’ve grown familiar to over the years. It was a strange feeling, wanting to be alone and, at the same time, being glad he was here.

“Have I ever told you that grandad, during one of his rare reflective moments, said I remind him of grandma?” I asked.

“No. Is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t think it’s good or bad. But I sometimes wish it were true,” I sighed and turned around. “Are you ever going to open that bottle?” I nodded towards the Firewhisky I left on my bed before I got up.

James grinned and took the bottle, opening it. He stopped before drinking and looked at me with an amused look. “You think we drink too much? It’s not even ten in the morning yet.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “We can say it’s not even morning so we’re fine, everyone drinks at night. Besides, we’re still on holidays so it doesn’t count.”

He offered me the bottle and I took it. Sitting down next to him I swallowed a bit of the Firewhisky and it seared my throat. A feeling I was used to. We drank in companionable silence.

The sun was up by the time one of us said anything.

“Quinn?” James said in a low voice, nudging my shoulder.

“Yeah?”

He seemed like he was contemplating if he should continue, but I was curious, so I said, “What is it?”

“Why did you say that before,” he quickly added, “about your grandmother, I mean?”

I thought about what I should say. Or even if I should say anything. I decided on the truth because it was James and he didn’t judge me.

“Because I’m nothing like her,” I rolled my eyes and continued, “she had a huge heart and felt everything. Too much at times. I don’t think I feel enough.”

James was silent for a while. I didn’t want to look at him and see the truth behind my words on his face.

“I think you’re wrong,” he muttered.

I grinned at him, the warm and fuzzy feeling caused by the Firewhisky making me feel better.

“You have to say that because you’re my best friend,” I hugged him and he gave me an intense smile, hugging me back.

Someone should’ve probably told James that Apparating while buzzed wasn’t the greatest idea. Right now we were both lying on two benches in the Leaky Cauldron, surrounded by Fred, Lily, Al and Ash. They were yelling around us, but while James was laughing his ass off, I was trying to stop my head from spinning too much.

“Look at them! They’re wasted!”

“Naah, they’re just –”

“Fred, you can’t really defend them!”

“What? Why not?”

“Are they crazy?”

“Well, Quinn –”

“It was a rhetorical question!”

“I think we should –”

“Shut up, Al! It’s all your fault, anyway!”

“How is it my –”

“If you weren’t so slow in getting ready because you had this crazy idea of winning one of these idiots back we could’ve borrowed grandad’s car and got them!”

“Scorpius said I needed to –”

“Enough!” Ash was probably staring them all down. She was a master at that sort of thing. My eyes were still closed, but I could guess.

“Quinn?” I cracked one eye open and saw Ash’s face, framed by her signature, almost untameable, curls, hovering above me with a deep frown.

I tried to sound normal, “Yeah?” James got into another laughing fit at my tone. I could even hear Al snickering, but he stopped as soon as I caught his eye and turned an embarrassing shade of red. Lily was throwing me dirty looks like it was all my fault when really, it was James who brought the Firewhisky. And we honestly weren’t wasted. I ignored her.

Ash was still frowning at me. “You okay?” she asked.

“Fantastic! Never felt better!” I sat up since I wasn’t feeling like I was in a vortex anymore. Looking around me, I could see that the Leaky Cauldron hasn’t changed at all since the last time I was here.

“You got my letter then?” I asked Ash as I dusted myself off.

“You mean the few scribbles that woke me up in the middle of the night? I did. Why can’t you be a normal person who sends letters at a normal time?”

“You’re lucky I wasn’t too lazy to send even that,” I made a face at her, “or you wouldn’t have the wonderful opportunity to hang out with us today.”

“Oh, the horror!” She was grinning, “By the way, Odin refused to leave until I petted him for almost ten minutes and gave him chocolate.” That did sound like something Odin would do.

Al thrust his hand towards me and gave me one of his smirks, “Let me help you get up.” He was still hot and his green eyes were still the same fuck-me eyes I was used to seeing on him. So I took his hand and let him help me. He turned the same shade of red as before. Shame about his feelings or we could’ve been having a lot of fun right about now.

“Mate, I think you can let go of her hand,” James said, putting an arm around his brother and awkwardly patting him on the back.

“Right, sorry, um…,” he trailed off, but then he looked me in the eyes with a wistful expression, “Can we talk? In private?”

Fred shook his head at that and Lily looked ready to hex me. James opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Al.”

Al looked ready to try another tactic, possibly one that involved snogging, he had that look about him, but Lily jumped in, “Are we going to stand here all day while Al brings awkward to a whole new level, or are we actually going to Diagon Alley?”

James gave her a small smile. She squinted her eyes at him and said, “You’re an idiot.” She turned towards Ash and took her hand, “Let’s go!” Little Potter was bossy. Ash gave me an apologetic look, but went off with Lily, Fred and Al following close behind them. James fell into step with me.

“Where’s Dom? Don’t tell me she blew us off!” I exclaimed, “Did anyone even ask her? I mean, I just assumed her actual family would –”

Ash interrupted before I could continue, “She’s meeting us for dinner later.”

“Dinner?” I asked, “But what about lunch? Are we having lunch?”

Lily whipped her head around, her long auburn hair hitting Ash in the face, as the brick wall formed the archway in front of her, “Some of us already had lunch while we waited two hours for some people to grace us with their presence.”

I rolled my eyes at the back of her head, Fred saw me and sniggered. Al was avoiding having to look at me.

“I think,” I said in a conspiratorial tone to James, “that we, good sir, are on your sister’s hate list right now.”

James laughed at that and threw a hand around my shoulders, “Only because we didn’t share!” he said with a wink.

In the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley, with James and the rest of our friends and a tiny bit of liquid happiness, I almost managed to forget my mournful grandad, drinking his sadness away. And the fact that my family was extremely good at avoidance. I refocused my attention back to what Fred was saying.

“We can go to Flourish and Blotts first? Professor Thomas wrote the new DADA textbook! I bet it’s loads better than the old one…” I was more interested in Transfiguration than DADA but Dean Thomas was one of the most favourite teachers at Hogwarts. He used to tell us about how he went into the Battle of Hogwarts without a wand, succeeded in tackling a Death Eater, punched him in the face so hard he knocked him out and won his wand the Muggle way. He was big on the practical side of things.

“But, Fred, Quidditch! It’s more important than school books!” James whined and even made Al laugh.

Ash rolled her eyes and said in a mocking tone, “Is there anything more important than Quidditch?”

James pretended to think hard before answering, “I could think of one or two things,” he had a sly smile on his face.

“Please don’t tell me you’re talking about sex!” Lily said in a horrified voice, “I don’t want to hear about your sex life.”

“How can you not hear about his sex life, little Potter?” I teased, “I think all of Gryffindor Tower hears about it on a regular basis. James, maybe you should stop hooking up with screamers.”

“If I stop hooking up with screamers, which I’m not inclined to do, you have to stop hooking up, period.”

“What kind of a stupid deal is that? You still get to shag but I don’t?” I asked, glad to see Lily getting redder and redder. I don’t know what her deal was, it’s not like she hasn’t had boyfriends. And they talked. And James and Al heard them. And I was the one who pretty much stopped Al from literally killing her last boyfriend. James was much more relaxed because he was certain Lily could take care of herself. Of course, he spent a lot of time teaching her useful curses she didn’t yet get to in class.

James squeezed my shoulder, “Well, from what Al tells me, you can get pretty loud, too. So that’s the deal,” he smirked at Al above my head.

“Maybe I should start talking about Al’s manly parts…” I mused.

“Wha—He’s lying, I never!” Al sputtered and glared at James.

“Can you all please stop talking about your sex lives so we can go buy books?” Fred asked, waving his hands around looking like an old lady while doing it. Ash had a smile playing on her lips when she saw him, but she stopped herself from laughing at him.

“But I want to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies first!” James was stubborn as a mule when he set his mind to something. In this case, Quidditch supplies.

“We’ll split up then, okay? So everyone can go wherever,” you could count on Ash to be the problem solver. Lily was nodding her head at that.

“I have to go meet Scorpius anyway,” she said and Al looked at her suspiciously while Ash perked up at the mention of her cousin.

“Scorpius? Why?”

“No reason,” she answered him, but to the rest of us, she gave a meaningful look towards Al. I interpreted it that she was meeting Scorpius to talk about an intervention for Al. But who knows what she wanted to say, I’m not a Legilimens. Everyone else was also nodding along.

“I’ll go to Flourish and Blotts with you, Fred. I need new quills, too,” Ash said, her and Fred waving goodbye to the rest of us. Lily went off in the direction of Pluto’s Planetarium before Al could interrogate her more.

“Al, you coming with us?” James asked him. Al looked awkward which was an unusual look for someone who was usually so cocky.

“Er, I don’t –”

“Of course he’s coming with us, we won’t leave him all alone,” I said before Al could get even more embarrassed. I didn’t want our friendship to be completely ruined. He smiled at my words. “This doesn’t mean we’re getting back together. Just so we’re clear.”

Al nodded, “Okay. But we’ll see about that,” he said with a smirk. James didn’t say anything, though his face had a weird expression. We started walking towards Quality Quidditch Supplies, the guys on each side of me.

“Where are we meeting Dom?” James asked.

“The Sleeping Dragon Inn,” Al said. I tried remembering if I ever heard of it before but drew a blank.

“Never heard of it.” I looked at James to see if he had any idea but he just shrugged his shoulders.

Al opened the door to Quality Quidditch Supplies and said, “It’s near Gringotts, though I’ve never been, I’ve heard about it.”

We browsed through the busy shop. A crowd was forming near one of the windows where a small stage was set up. I noticed a poster Spellotaped near the cashier’s desk and saw that today they were getting the first shipment of the Stormwind with Riz Khan as a special guest. I hoped we would be gone by the time the event started. I didn’t want to be stuck in a crowd of Quidditch fans and journalists.

James was casually strolling around, not looking like he planned to buy anything. “Do you actually need anything from here?” I asked him.

“Nope.”

“Then why did you insist we went here first?”

“Because he’s a crazy Quidditch Captain who likes to hang around in here, why else?” Al quipped in a teasing tone, “And he likes to be contrary.”

“Actually, no. We,” he gestured to the two of us, “need to select new robes for the Gryffindor team. McGonagall sent me a letter.” I wasn’t aware of this until just now but okay.

“You don’t have a team!”

James ran his fingers through his hair, “But we will, baby brother, we will. And we’ll win every game this season. And we’ll do it in new robes.”

Al rubbed his chin in thought, “Want to bet on that?” he asked. I felt left out of the conversation so I drifted off towards the part of the shop where all the Beater gear was displayed. There wasn’t anything that I needed but it was nice to look at all the merchandise on offer.

By the time we selected the new robes, with Al’s silly remarks about the possible designs, most of them offensive to Gryffindor, and buying all the other school stuff, I was so hungry my head started hurting. Or maybe it hurt because of a slight hangover. Who knows? Though I hoped this Sleeping Dragon did not have a sleeping chef.

The inn was nestled between Herman’s Herbarium, a quaint-looking shop overflowing with various plants which looked to be in the process of taking over the place, and Solomon’s Snakes, which, true to its name, sold snakes. I nudged Al towards it so he could greet his fellow snakes. He didn’t look amused. Maybe he was secretly afraid of them. Scorpius would have a laugh at that since that guy actually owned a pet snake. He named her Solaris. Sol for short. Ash told me he sometimes talked with Sol about the meaning of life. I wasn’t concerned with such a philosophical question, but if I was, I doubt I would talk to Ziggy about it.

The Sleeping Dragon Inn had a sign above the entrance of a sleeping, unfriendly-looking dragon and a wizard with a death wish trying to poke it. When James opened the door, the dragon woke up and burnt the wizard to ashes. After Al closed the door behind us, both the dragon and the wizard went back to how they were. The interior looked like a cave, the only light came from the small fire pits on top of the tables. Almost all of them were taken, so I decided to take that as a good sign with regards to the quality of the food.

James was the tallest out of the three of us so he was the first to spot our friends at a table some ways back, near what looked like a real dragon sleeping, but I assumed it wasn’t real. That would be illegal. Not to mention dangerous.

I could see Dom, her silvery hair a stark contrast to the dark cave. She had a sneaky look to her, and my suspicion of something sneaky afoot was only confirmed when I saw Lily trying to inconspicuously spy on someone sitting alone at a nearby table. Ash and Fred were in deep conversation, but I was too far away to hear anything they might’ve said. Scorpius was there as well, looking his usual moodyhot self. I had to invent a new word for his particular brand of hotness.

“Who are we spying on?” I said as I sat down next to Dom, James and Al following. She shushed me. Scorpius snorted.

“We are not spying on anyone,” he said with a significant look thrown Dom’s way, “But Dominique is stalking Teddy Lupin.”

“Teddy is here?” James asked as he turned around and saw the guy sitting alone at the table. I presumed that was Teddy, but his back was turned towards us so I couldn’t tell.

“Don’t draw his attention!” Dom whispered but it was futile. James was already up and walking towards Teddy. “I’m not stalking him,” she huffed, “I just happen to know he always goes for dinner here after work.” Teddy Lupin worked at Gringotts, but the exact nature of his job was secret. The Goblins liked their secrets.

“That is practically the definition of stalking!” Ash said before she waved her hand at a waiter.

“It’s not stalking if he told me!”

“Dom, you’re my cousin and I love you, but isn’t Teddy pretty much out of bounds? He’s with Victoire,” Fred had a concerned expression on his face. He most likely thought Victoire would kill Dom. She was currently not working anywhere due to her anger management issues. It seems that hexing a parent for, and I quote, ‘being a fucking Devil’s Snare of a parent’ is frowned upon.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Freddie. Just leave it, okay?” Dom was nervous, I could tell by the way she twirled her hair around her finger, untwirled it and then twirled it again. James was coming over with Teddy, who was sporting spiky platinum blonde hair today. He looked like an older Scorpius. Which made sense since they were related. Dom grabbed Scorpius’ hand, I guess for show because they sure as hell weren’t together, and threw him a silencing look just before James and Teddy joined us.

Lily beamed at them, “Teddy! We didn’t see you over there! Want to join us?” He sat down opposite Dom, James next to him, and the table expanded so we could all fit without anyone getting an elbow to the head. Before Teddy could say anything, the waiter came over, a hipster with a beard and slicked backed hair. He had a moving dragon tattoo on his neck, but when the tattooed dragon saw us, it hid under the waiter’s shirt, just the eyes remaining visible. It must’ve been a scaredy-dragon.

“I’ll have a cider and – What?” Ash was looking at me with a disapproving look, “The Firewhisky wore off, so I’m going to ignore your looks.” I looked at the menu but there was just too much stuff on offer and I was dying from hunger, my stomach making uncomfortable sounds, “Just give me the largest meal you have,” I told the waiter. He looked like he was about to laugh at me but he stopped himself. Everyone else placed their orders, and all of them ordered some kind of alcohol so I don’t get why I was the only one that got a judging look from Ash, but okay.

“What are you lot up to?” Teddy asked though he was only looking at Dom. And at her hand still covering Scorpius’. Something was going on that I wasn’t aware of. That was fine with me, I wasn’t interested in other people’s drama. Apparently, some people, like Fred, were very interested.

“What’s up with you and Victoire? Are you still together? Are you getting married? Or maybe you’re getting a dog together?” Fred bombarded Teddy with questions, not even Dom kicking him under the table helped stop him.

“We’re going to The Howler after dinner. You should go with us, Teddy!” Dom said and winked at him. Teddy blushed. I stopped paying attention and started fidgeting around, trying not to think about food and ignoring the tasty smells from nearby tables. Where in the seven hells was that waiter? James grinned at me and offered me a chocolate bar. I devoured it.

“You could’ve given me this sooner! I almost died,” I said as I chewed.

“Should we start carrying around bits of food so you don’t go mental when you get hungry?”

Crumpling the wrapper and burning it above our table’s fire pit, I grumbled, “Is that even a real question?”

When the waiter finally came, it became apparent that their largest meal was something I was right to order because everyone else got the tiniest portions imaginable. Who spends time making food only for it to be tiny and eaten in two bites? I got some kind of a hipster burger that was popular these days. It was tasty but I think I would’ve found everything tasty by this point.

Teddy looked at his wristwatch and made a face, “So, The Howler? I don’t think I can go with you. Victoire is probably waiting for me at home and I’ve got work tomorrow –”

“Fuck work!” Surprisingly, this came from Fred.

“Live a little, Teddy!” Ash said and poked him.

I got up from the table, cast a shrinking spell on my shopping bags and stuffed them into my small going-out-bag. “I don’t care what you do, Teddy, but we’re going now because I’m in the mood for drinking and dancing like a Hippogriff and not giving a fuck about anything, so get moving! Dinner parties are boring.”

Dom shot up like a spring, dragging Scorpius behind her. That seemed to do the trick in convincing Teddy because he spiked up his hair even more and followed them. I stopped by the bar to order a round of Serpentgin shots for everyone to start us off before we left.

The Howler was a popular nightclub, settled in what used to be a warehouse, at a corner where Diagon Alley meets Knockturn Alley. It was packed all the time, regardless of the time of day. Often, there would be concerts by famous groups like the Eclipse or The Wayward Wyverns, but I preferred it on nights like these, with a DJ and the mood-enhancing fog it was famous, and loved, for. The Howler was owned by an enigmatic Potions Master who perfected the fog and had an appreciation for good music. She saw it as a great way to combine both of her passions.

In the half-darkness of the club, with the beat of the music making my body move to the tune, and the red lights, it was easy to let myself go. We were dancing in a loosely formed circle but I soon noticed both Dom and Teddy were missing from the group, Fred and Ash were in one of the booths nursing beers and looking sulky for some reason and James went off in the direction of the bar to get us more drinks.

With the lights pulsing everything looked like it was happening in slow motion or my head was just hazy but I could’ve sworn I saw Lily snogging Scorpius in front of me but she was now walking away so I had no idea what I saw. I locked eyes with Al, his green ones giving me a piercing stare that made me remember how good we were together and I felt myself letting even more go.

It was just me on the dance floor, my eyes closed now, bumping into other people and dancing. Soon, I felt a familiar set of arms around my waist, making me tingle, knowing all the spots they needed to press. I turned my head around and half opened my eyes, green ones meeting mine, our heads moving closer, still in slow motion, and lips finally meeting. He was rushing now, like I was air and he needed to breathe, his tongue parting my lips, dancing around my mouth in a way he knew made me weak. We parted, his soft lips travelling down my neck, teasing, probing, making me crazy.

Opening my eyes fully, I saw James standing next to us with drinks levitating in front of him with a look I couldn’t read through the haze. I disentangled myself from Al, rolled my eyes and laughed everything off.

Stumbling a bit because of the crowd, I took a drink from James, standing on my toes so I could shout in his ear above the music, “A moment of weakness!” He smiled at that, a weird smile I couldn’t decipher, moving his head closer to me, he nodded and said, “You’re corrupting my brother!” With that, he moved over to Al, who looked like he was high and they talked about something I couldn’t hear. Most likely me.

I wanted another drink so I went to the bar, a piece of rock that glowed from within. While I waited for the barman to notice me, someone slithered in beside me.

A husky voice I hadn’t expected to hear so soon drawled, “Are you stalking me, Quinn Jones?” Logan Anderson was standing next to me, in all his hot badassery, casually leaning on the bar, smoking a cigarette.

I raised my eyebrows at him, “I could ask you the same question, Logan Anderson.”

He smirked as he took a drag from his cigarette, “You look particularly hot tonight.” I laughed at that because I was in my usual black jeans and a black T-shirt.

“I look hot all the time,” I said winking at him. The barman noticed me and I ordered another shot.

“Make that two,” Logan said and threw a Galleon at the bar to pay. I noticed he had nice, long fingers that looked nimble. The barman nodded, pushing two shots towards us. We clanked our glasses and drank them.

Logan moved even closer to me, his arm around my waist now, and asked, “So, how about that dance?”

“Actually –,” I wanted to tell him I was here with my friends so I turned around to point at them and saw no one was there except James grinding against a girl, looking like he was about to shag her in the middle of the club.

I took Logan’s arm and led him to the dance floor. He was quick to pull me closer to him, dancing with me, my arms around his neck and I was taken over by the beat. His dark blond bangs were in his eyes and I moved them away. I felt light and alive with someone so different. He smelled like smoke and tasted like tequila. His lips were rough, the slight stubble brushing against my cheek and I traced my finger along his scar. A tantalising song came on and I turned around, my back to him, his arms all over me. I could feel him through my clothes, he was kissing my ear and I had to turn around and crash my lips to his. I bit him and he bit back. I could taste blood and it was enough to make me go crazy.

“Let's go to your place,” I whispered to his ear and I didn’t have to repeat myself. He took my hand and we exited the club, my friends forgotten. When we were outside, he started kissing me again, my back against the wall of the club. I put my hand on his chest and stopped him, “Your place, now.” Without anything further, I could feel the pull of Apparation and we were inside what I presumed was his flat.

I woke up, my head feeling like it was trampled on by a horse. The unfamiliar grey sheets were tangled around me, Logan lying next to me, smoking another cigarette.

“Hey.”

I threw him a look and started laughing, “Hey? That’s all? While I’m naked in your bed? You’re hilarious!”

He didn’t say anything to that, his eyes clouded over, and he sat up, leaned down above me, getting close and hovering, looking at me with dark eyes, and it was enough that I tangled my fingers in his hair and kissed him, not being able to wait until he made the first move.

Later, I got up and realised it was the afternoon. Throwing on his shirt, I went to the kitchen. Logan followed me, naked, his muscles rippling as he walked. He was distracting and a smile tugged at my lips as I remembered the night before.

“You want breakfast?”

“You mean, lunch? Definitely.”

He opened his fridge and turned around, “I only have cereal and tequila,” he said with a frown. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Cereal is fine.”

We ate in silence. When we finished he looked at me and I could see a faint blush in his cheeks.

“Er, you want to hang out? Or, I mean, not hang out, like, go on a date?”

He just couldn’t leave it at a fun one night stand, could he?

I moved closer, kissed him, “This was awesome, but no.”

He looked confused, “But, I… We had fun, right? It was good for you?”

Rolling my eyes, I started dressing myself, “It was great, but I don’t want to go on a date with you, sorry.”

He smirked, “Okay. But maybe we could do this again?”

I winked at him, “Maybe,” and with that, I left his flat and exited his building. I was somewhere in London. I waved my wand and the Knight Bus appeared. I sat by the front entrance and closed my eyes until we came to my house.

It was almost getting dark by now and I could see there was a light on in the living room. I opened the door and was met by three angry voices.

“Where –”

“With whom –”

“What the hell!”

Ethan, James and grandad were staring at me like I grew a third head.

“Where the fuck were you?” grandad yelled. Ethan was looking murderous. James was frowning.

“Er –”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going off with someone?” it was James’ turn to yell.

“Well, you were kind of busy, you know, practically shagging in the middle of the club so I didn’t want to intrude!”

“Damn it, Quinn! You can’t just go off like that,” Ethan said.

Grandad waved his hands around and said, “Enough! So where were you?”

“I was with Logan Anderson,” as I said this Ethan looked like he was about to throw up, “Ethan’s friend, you know? He introduced us the other day.” I couldn’t stop grinning even with all the yelling.

As I took off my Converse, I nodded to James, “Come on, let's go hang out.” We went to my room and lay on my bed. He was silent.

“So, you were worried about little old me?” I teased him to break the silence.

“A little,” he admitted. I turned on my side so I could look at him.

“Aww, that’s cute. You can’t take it back, you know?”

He grinned, “Actually, I wasn’t –”

I poked him and interrupted before he could finish the sentence, “No takebacks!”

#fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #james potter #next gen #the art of being nonchalant