#but oh my god i love allison with my whole entire heart. I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND HER STORY IS SO INTERESTING AND I WNTED TO KNOW MORE

[snailsandpuppy-dogtails]

Unspoken and Unseen

My brain told me the first part while i was driving home from the grocery store.  🤷‍♀️ I didn't intend on it being so long or doing what it did. Oh well. Garvez 16x6 retellingish wc: 2,052 ao3

It’s that smile. That breath stealing, lung crushing, heart shattering, smile- that she’d miss the most. The one that for the briefest of seconds disarms her and so she shoves up reinforcements because that smile lies, he could never love her like that, would never love her like that. But he did and he had and she knew it and that’s the part that hurts. She’s changed that smile, it’s a bit softer now, it’s guarded. She’s muted it and she hates that. She hates that she’s hurt him, because she loves him. So she notices when they’re walking through the door how he instinctively turns towards her, but she also notices how he kind of stops…kind of leans away, giving her respectable space. But she can’t let him. She can’t let him give up, and she feels terrible about it, she wants to let him slip away, she needs to let him slip away, because she can’t give him what he wants, even after all these years and the knowledge of that hurts her heart even more, she feels wicked and evil and awful. A villain in his love story.

But she can’t, something in her won’t let her, so she pulls them both in and god she misses him so much. His heart is on hers beating together, knocking on the ribs of the other, begging to be let in. His arm around her, she’s holding him so tight, and JJ, she’s there but not really, not in this moment, all she feels is Luke. So she lets herself slip, she slips instead of letting him slip, her whole body leaning into him, her head resting against his shoulder, a sigh of relief. He groans in protest, too tight, too much, but she finds his hand on JJ’s back and holds it with her own. He's alive.

The bomb scare confirmed why she wouldn’t be with him, but it didn’t alleviate anything, in fact it exacerbated it. Digging up old and polishing off to make new again.

Tyler’s free, she watches him go, too preoccupied with her own feelings to be cognizant of the situation. She realizes when it’s too late that he might need someone too. But he’s stubborn and she only grudgingly likes him. Under different circumstances, given more time, she could have befriended him, would have gotten along very well with him. They were like peas in a pod deep down, two sides of the same coin; Tyler is who she used to be. She watches as the doors close on his angry face knowing it won’t be the last time she sees it. She’s not surprised when she gets the call a few hours later. So she goes, because she’s a helper and a fixer. She knows what it’s like to find out the person you love has died. She also knows what it’s like to find out they haven’t died. She’s experienced that one far too many times. Somehow, the knowledge of them being safe doesn’t entirely wash away the fear and grief your body starts the process of digesting even while you still consciously cling to hope.

She picks him up. He’s drunk. He comments on how Esther looks just like her, he shouted as they were leave the precinct “OH don'ttellme I know whossyours” It was slurred and silly. She glared at him irritated at the dig and rolled her eyes because the corner of his mouth picked up. He was teasing her. She kept the window rolled down the whole drive and kept shoving his shoulder to keep him pointed out of her car, there was no WAY he was puking in here. His fingers curled over the rim of the window frame and he twisted his head just so, cheek resting on the cool metal, “I loved her you know,” She thinks he's talking about Allison, so she tries to be courteous and listen, “The Black Queen.” he clarifies. Penelope glanced at him, eyes leaving road, then back. She wishes he wouldn’t bring it up, wishes he’d leave it. “My friends and I, we’d meet up for LAN parties, but the games would get boring after a while and we’d end up going places we shouldn’t, trying to find people we couldn’t. We’d find the message boards talking about what they’d done, logging it all in awe. All of us had a crush on her. But I found her.” He ends sing-song.

She didn’t like this. She still valued what she did back then, it felt meaningful, but she was a hurt person letting another hurt person control her. She wouldn’t ever do that again, she wasn’t her anymore. “There’s nothing to find. She’s gone.” She’s still thinking about Luke. A hurt person, hurting someone else. She was the Shane in this situation. But, no, that wasn’t really right. She thinks about how she told him he can’t just show up anymore, even though she knew it would crush him. But he couldn’t because, really, he could, it would be a welcome intrusion any time.

She can’t let him be alone, she’s sure if he had anyone else near by he would have called them instead of her, so she takes Tyler to her house. She thinks he’ll make some comment about how cluttered and immature it is like he did her cat screensaver, instead it’s more flattery, he likes the colors, likes the vibrancy. He’s not so bad, Tyler Green, he’s even a color, she like’s colors. He’s like a hurt puppy, she thinks, a stray she’s taken home. Shouldn’t take stray home, no telling what they’ll do. She leads him to her couch and he promptly slumps over, head still spinning. She gets him a bucket, because well, he hasn’t thrown up yet, but she’s sure it’s only a matter of time, and a little green froggy icepack for his face. They talk. He tells her what happened. He wasn’t out for revenge, he wasn’t out to cause trouble. But it found him. She knows that feeling.

He sleeps for most of the day. While he’s resting she video chats with the team letting them know what she’s found, and runs pictures through facial recognition to help find the man in them. Their theory is the man locked up, Silvio, chose to stay locked up, take the blame for the murder to protect the man he loves. He’d rather them be apart thinking Juan was safe than together knowing it could lead to death. She knows that feeling too.

Tyler wakes up, his face or head or both making him moan out in pain while she’s on with the team, nearly blowing it- she needs to keep it quiet that he’s here, that she’s taken him home. They wouldn’t understand, they’d tell her it was dumb and unsafe. Luke even asks her if she’s safe. He plays it off as a joke, but she knows he knows, it’s why she lies. Tyler makes her tea, very sweet of him, and he only shows up at her side once he sees the computer close. No chance to be discovered. He’s sober now, he tells her about Allison, tells her about his pain, about how he thought it would make it all better- the knowing. And how it hasn’t. Again, a feeling she’s not unfamiliar with. Something she’ll never get used to.

But this script is comfortable, familiar, it’s one she’s been a part of for years, decades. Someone tells you their pain, you reciprocate, tell them your story so they know they’re not alone. She goes through the motions, the same lines she's said year after year in her grief group. The tears still well up, because even after decades to accept it, and therapy to adjust to it, she still feels guilty and she still misses them. But they meet on some plane, her and Tyler, understanding met, and he’s looking at her, and she can’t look away, the pain, the confusion, the realization that someone knows exactly how you feel, he’s leaning in and she starts to lean in before,

“Gahh!” Not right! Not right! Danger! This is why we don’t bring stray home!

Gut knotting, she pulls away in terror, rambling, putting physical and emotional distance between them. This place is too charged, this place is too small, out, they need out. She ushers him out, for a walk. Walk it off, Garcia. But while they’re out they continue to talk and it’s so nice, she’s missed having someone to talk to, someone to talk with. He’s talking about nothing, and she’s wondering what’s wrong with her, when she became so broken, when she became so isolated. With Luke it was the job, right? It was so obviously the job…but Tyler, he’s passionate, and caring, and sweet, and guarded, and dumb, and she pulled away. She won’t let herself get wrapped up with him either. Why? There are no charges being pressed, he’s free, he’s in the clear, he’s not a suspect anymore, he understands what she’s gone through, she understands what he’s feeling, and she wants to be there for him, through all of it. But she also knows she can’t. She knows it’s not right. But she doesn’t care, she’s not part of the FBI, right? And she’s been so lonely and he gets her…He's kind of comforting and comfortable even in the short amount of time they've known one another. If I feel so much now, what could it be like with time for more?

He’s talking about how he hasn’t been where they are in a while, it’s near Delilah’s, which despite wanting to figure out the personal conundrum she was in, sends her work-brain whirring. It hits her, it’s here, it’s this place, that’s the connection. His subtext is that he hasn’t been there because it reminds him of his murdered sister and oh god this was a terrible place to take him, but she needs to tell the team, she needs to go.

She rushes away, calling a cab. This could be it, she could have it, and then they could have him, and then she could just go back. Go back to her lonely life filled with platonic interactions to help distract from not having him. But Tyler, she thinks…and she turns back. She can’t leave him in this state a second time, here of all places, so she gives him her key, telling him she’ll meet him at home and runs away again. Running away. Again. She owes it to him, she owes it to herself- to see, to find out. She’s filled with hope and excitement and an overwhelming bubbling at having got it. The rush. It’s lucky, maybe this will be lucky. She runs back, stopping herself short, hands planting for balance as she brings her lips to his, a little sound of surprise trapped between their pressed mouths. She kisses him goodbye and it’s

nothing

She pulls away, looking at him, almost sad that it’s nothing, but can’t help the smile that spreads. It’s nothing and she knows what a something kiss feels like. And all the kings horses and all the kings men can’t save her or put her back together again.

On the cab ride over she thinks about Luke, about her, about Silvio and Juan, even Tyler and Allison and her parents to an extent. She realizes it doesn’t matter about trying to save someone from the hurt that might get them, because we can all get hurt regardless. Action, non-action, involvement, abandonment, carefully placed distance. Wasting time, that's all it was. Wasting time you could be with them, could be happy making the other happy, she didn’t want to do that any more. She wasn’t going to feel for anyone like she did Luke, even someone as weirdly fitting as Tyler didn’t fit, only Luke fit. But she’d hurt him in the process, he restrained himself and held back because he thought it hurt her, smile tarnishing, his heart tarnishing. She wanted to restore it, she wanted it to shine for her again, she needed it.

She was done not seeing that smile every day.

After this was over. She'd tell him, when it was over.

#criminal minds evolution #16x6 #garvez #penelope garcia #tyler green #luke alvez #criminal minds fanfiction #ao3 #angst #snail's tales

[boyancient]

i just finished rewatching t.ua s1 (with my sister) for the first time since i first watched it when it came out and my perspective on characters apparently changed drastically since then sjhdjsbc

#five is still five #but oh my god i love allison with my whole entire heart. I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND HER STORY IS SO INTERESTING AND I WNTED TO KNOW MORE #she's SO INTERESTING SND NUANCED AND FRESH AS A CHARACTER?????? LIKE EXCUSE ME I LOVE HER ?????????????? #also every time luther showed up on the screen or said smth my heart grew three sizes. i love that big sensitive lonely man w my whole heart #but vanya :). i sympathized w her a LOT the first time i watched this show but now im like :) vanya shut the hell up #JSHFKCHKSHDKS i mean ... shes still a great character but oh my goooddddddddd. s t o p. #the show and fandom dont hold her accountable nearly enough :) #the book alone is 😌😌😌😌😌 a huge problem l o l like ok writing it out and taking charge of the narrative of ur own trauma is valid. #but PUBLISHING THE BOOK. HOLDING SIGNING SESSIONS. AND READING SESSIONS. VANYA THATS NOT ABT UR TRAUMA ANYMORE SJHFKDHCKDHCJD #plus she was also writing abt everyone else's trauma from HER perspective w HER opinions and HER words. which was not only unfair but #actively cruel and malicious. not everyone of the har.greeves processed their trauma the way she did or even processed it at all. #everyone was going at their own speed and putting together their own perspective on what happened. she took that away from her siblings #purposely #and got paid a lot of money and got a lot of exposure and validation for it #she had NO RIGHT. NONE. and she didnt know everything that everyone was going through either. just wrote what she thought happened #the way she thought it did. her words. her opinions. AND PUBLISHED IT JSHFKDJF LIKE?!?!?!?! #and so many ppl in the fandom get up in arms when u bring up the book like SHE WAS PROCESSING HER TRAUMA! no she wasnt. #not when she PUBLISHED the book and reaped the benefits both financial and personal. she was being spiteful and vengeful and #actively hurting the rest of her siblings #all t.ua characters are deeply flawed and dynamic and it would be REALLY NICE to see more ppl explore it realistically smh #ooc. #child abuse tw #trauma tw

[annabellelux]

Favorite Books of 2021📚

So, as anyone who has me on Goodreads has probably gathered, I read a lot. In 2021, I read 186 new books (far surpassing my goal of 120), so I thought I’d share my top 10 personal favorites and my thoughts on them! 

In no particular order, and under the cut because this rec list is long: 

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

synopsis: the Spare™ princess gets married off to a God King to save her kingdom (and her sister who was supposed to go in her place). genius plots ensue 

none of the rest of these are ordered but THIS is my number one 

honestly every single book my brandon sanderson i read this year deserves my number one spot. i’m only putting one of his books on this list purely because if not he’d be half the list 

highest fantasy imaginable in the sense that the world is vivid and relatable but not in the sense where you’re bogged down with details. brandon sanderson just knows how to build a spectacular world 

the jumping on the bed scene killed me. if you know you know

the kind of book that makes my writer self so envious that it’s a physical thing 

if you aren’t currently reading this book i don’t know what you’re doing with your life

read when you want to actually be blown away by how perfect a plot is 

Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun

synopsis: dating show producer and dating show star accidentally fall in love while making me accidentally fall in love with both of them 

i would actually and honestly die for Charlie, my awkward king

Dev needs to be my best friend yesterday 

great mental health rep

this made me feel all the things 

i squealed on more than one occasion 

cute and charming and kept a smile on my face the whole time 

the ending is honestly all i could’ve wanted and more 

read when you want to feel like you’re watching a reality dating show “ironically” with your best friends and then find yourself overly invested in the storylines and somehow, suddenly, you’re out here actually believing in love 

The Big Bad Wolf Series by Charlie Adhara

synopsis: secret agent and werewolf reluctantly team up to investigate werewolf related crimes while not trusting each other even a little bit

but also being like. damn, he’s hot  

five book series (and hopefully more!? charlie i’m begging) 

hot but somehow also adorable 

Cooper is clueless and prickly and oh so gay 

puts new meaning to the phrase “too gay to function” 

man will be in a life or death scenario and be like “but does he like me back????” 

Park is the baddest werewolf on the block AND a cinnamon roll 

every other character: he’s so scary and tough 

Cooper: that man needs a hug, stat

the mysteries are somehow ALL GOOD !? i can usually guess a plot twist but this had me screaming WHAT so many times but upon rereads i was like OHHHHHH

a masterclass in character and relationship development 

they learn how to communicate in such a realistic way. they both have their own hang-ups but they slowly learn how to open up about them and it’s genuinely so realistic and heart-warming 

ALSO made me care about a relationship that is ESTABLISHED for most of the series??? i cannot stress how rare this is for me 

i read all five books in like 3 days, staying up until 4 am on multiple occasions to do so. take from that what you will 

read when you want to explore the mysteries of love and murder 

Reputation by Lex Croucher

synopsis: regency girl moves in with her aunt and uncle a bunch of cool friends who spend their time being hot, wild, and hilarious 

the Mean Girls comparison is accurate in the most delicious ways 

genuinely laugh-out-loud hilarious

Lex is a genius with the one-liners  

but also insightful and poignant and gut-wrenching at times

there is NUANCE here 

all the heavy themes were handled with expert care

Thomas deserves the entire world 

amazing and varied queer rep

this book honestly made me feel like i could thrive in the regency era despite literally all the evidence to the contrary. it made me want to be mean and hot in a ballgown

read when you want to feel like the human equivalent of a glass of champagne and an expert hair flip 

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

synopsis: prickly girl helps her nemesis out in a highly unconventional way and then ends up being the school’s resident Weird Favors Girl 

a bunch of misfit teens doing stupid and hilarious stuff

every character was real 

Aideen is the perfect kind of flawed character. she’s an extremely authentic and she made me like her and root for her even when i didn’t love what she was doing or saying

the romance was WELL DEVELOPED and made my sapphic heart explode 

also the friendships were such a high point. i loved watching them navigate the complexity of it all 

exactly what i’m looking for in a sapphic romance. i will read every ciara smyth book forever probably 

read when you want to feel like you’re a teenager on a friday night having shenanigans with friends who feel like they’ll last a lifetime

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen 

synopsis: sapphic jock and cheerleader rivals-to-lovers AND fake dating 

make this into a movie yesterday. this has cinematic gold potential 

rom-com to end all rom-coms 

relationship development I can get behind 

teenagers who make mistakes but ALSO actually have enough braincells to find appropriately mature solutions 

recovering from a bad breakup in a healthy, non-toxic way 

when they finally got together it was like, perfect. it was so so so easy to root for both of the main characters

read when you want to feel like you’ve just looked out your window to see your crush with a boombox 

Camp by L.C. Rosen 

synopsis: boy changes literally everything about himself to get another boy to like him. but it’s at gay summer camp 

i know i just said the main character does something pretty yikes to get a relationship going but hear me out 

it is such a lovely exploration of toxic masculinity with such care and nuance 

it’s really about learning how to love yourself

character growth all around 

healthy sex positivity 

also. did you hear me say GAY SUMMER CAMP. i cannot tell you how much this made me crave a gay summer camp 

all the queer rep you could ever ask for 

read when you want to feel wrapped in a blanket of queer culture  

All For The Game Series by Nora Sakavic 

synopsis: boy with literally everything to lose risks life and limb to play stick ball 

i wish i was joking about how much Neil is willing to lose to live out his little jock dreams but i am unfortunately not 

Neil, at all times: a little murder is not enough to stop my good time. fuck you 

i am not going to lie to you. i hate-read all of book 1. i spent a majority of the time in absolute shock at what the fuck was happening. but i could not deny that i was thoroughly and honestly enjoying myself so i continued

by book 2 the author is ready to bring out the BIG GUNS and i honestly was hooked in a way that i did not see coming 

by book 3 i knew that i had found a new obsession 

to say there is a lot of trauma in this book would be a gross understatement. this series should not be read if you are not in a place to mitigate your triggers. please google a TW list beforehand if you are worried about this 

BUT I did really enjoy a lot of what the author had to say about living with trauma. i loved how all the characters had such weighty backstories how that was what brought them together and helped them work as a found family

can we talk about andrew and his knives????? because that is honestly my favorite thing about him 

you WILL spend several days/weeks/months/years in an ao3 rabbit hole afterwards. the fandom is alive and well and thriving out here 

read when you want to watch the world burn and laugh in the face of chaos 

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

synopsis: a couple has grown to hate each others’ guts, and are trying to passive-aggressive their way out of their engagement without having to be the one to lose the wedding deposit 

essentially one big game of chicken with the person who is supposed to be the love of your life 

i could not stop laughing at how ridiculous this couple was. at the beginning i genuinely was like “how the hell did these two EVER fall in love????”

BUT 

the turnaround was so deliciously worth it because they had to work for it 

they both needed so much character development that they should have been wearing “DANGER: PERSON UNDER CONSTRUCTION” signs 

but that was what made the character and relationship development GLORIOUS  

i went from not rooting for these two monsters in the slightest to literally wanting the world for them. and THAT is literary talent 

Naomi is so dramatic in the funniest possible way and has some of the best one-liners of all time 

Nathaniel grows on you as he grows on Naomi and she slowly understands him better and then you realize, hey, this man is actually lovely 

get you a man who will learn from his mistakes 

i literally know no one who has read this book and i want someone to so i can scream about how wild it is 

seriously guys i’ve read it three times in three months. it’s my new comfort book 

read when you want to see the power of communication and self-improvement 

The House in The Cerulean Sea

synopsis: bureaucrat goes to Magic Orphan Island and learns the meaning of life 

i know everyone and their mother already read this but i was a hold out for like a year because I was being weirdly contrary. i wasn’t really in the mood for this book for like, over a year 

and then I read it and I Got It. the hype suddenly made sense 

and now I would die for the World’s Best Dad, a constantly flustered rule-follower, a little girl with a beard, a blob that just wants to be a hotel concierge, a shy boy with a big heart and at times a wet nose, a small but mighty sprite child, a dragon who just wants coins, and the LITERAL anti-christ 

i can’t really explain this book. you kinda just have to read it and let yourself feel things 

read when you want to simultaneously be crying and smiling 

The Spanish Love Deception by  Elena Armas

synopsis: i hate my coworker but he's going to be my date/fake boyfriend at a a wedding across the globe anyways because my ex is going to be there and he deserves to rue the day he crossed me 

Catalina is not actually vindictive. I am vindictive. I wanted her ex to rue the day

WORK RIVALS. TO. LOVERS. NEED I SAY MORE 

Catalina says jump and Aaron says “when, how high, do you want me to get you a doughnut while I’m at it?” 

basically he’s a simp. and men must always be simps for me to love them 

i had a crush on this man. i’m brave enough to admit it 

this won a goodreads award as it should 

i was having fun literally every minute of this book. i could not get enough. 

the banter was top-notch 

read when you want your stomach to hurt from butterflies and from laughing 

HONORABLE MENTION: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston. 

I only didn’t include this because it’s not out yet (i got it as an ARC) so I didn’t want to go on and on about something most people can’t read for over six months 

But put that on your TBR immediately and circle back so we can scream about it together 

If you got this far, I love you 

#Book recs #Favorite Books of 2021 #some of these books are actual masterpieces #others are here based on vibes and vibes alone #basically the criteria was books i'd reread again and again because i enjoyed them that much

[fruitcoops]

Hi!! I was wondering if you could do another fic involving jules and coops together? Just like sweet moments between the three? I loved the baby sitting series you did and could not stop thinking about it❤️❤️ Thank you!!

Yeah, of course! I love writing my boy at any opportunity. SW credit goes to @lumosinlove, but the relatives are my ocs!

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Sirius asked under his breath as Remus finally—finally—appeared from the mass of people.

“It’s fine,” Remus said around a forced smile to a middle-aged man across the yard.

Sirius hid his mouth by pretending to look down at the nearest casserole dish. He didn’t even know what was in it; nobody had bothered with labels, and everyone’s dishes were the same basic florals in different colors. “I love you, Re, and I totally get the whole ‘meet the parents’ thing, but this is a bit much if I’m being honest.”

“Honey.” Remus’ shoulder pressed against his own. “I’m sorry you’re not having a good time, but my Aunt Jen would skin me alive if I didn’t bring the man I’m marrying to the family reunion. We can leave tomorrow if you really hate—oh, no.”

“Remus!” a shrill, excited voice called. Sirius felt his fiancé straighten up as a tall, redheaded woman in star-painted jeans hurried across the grass with three other women in tow. She reached up and gave Remus’ cheeks a squish, then leaned in a planted a lipstick-stamped kiss to his forehead. “How are you, my duckling? Was your flight alright? Make sure you stay away from the salt or else your feet will swell.”

“Hi, Aunt Jen,” Remus said, grimacing a little at her rib-crushing hug. “I’m doing well, and our flight was fine. How are you?”

“Peachy keen,” she assured him. Dark brown eyes lasered in on Sirius half a second later and he felt his fight or flight kick in. “And who are you?”

“Aunt Jen, this is—”

“It was rhetorical, honey,” Jen interrupted with a pat to Remus’ arm as she stepped closer to Sirius and immediately hauled him in for a hug. She was as tall as Remus, but broader in the shoulders and hips; he had never felt so engulfed by someone. It was a strangely enjoyable feeling.

“Aren’t you a handsome one?” the shortest of the group cooed, as if she was talking to a particularly small dog in a purse. “Our Remus always knew how to pick them.”

Remus furrowed his brows. “Aunt Lisa, this is the first boyfriend I’ve—”

“But he’s not just a boyfriend!” Jen trilled, giving Sirius’ cheek a pat. “He’s a fiancé, something I learned from your mother. Not from your father—oh, I gave him a talking-to about that—and not from you, duck.”

Sirius bit back a laugh at the nickname and spared a glance to his left, where Remus had gone pink all the way to his ears. “Sorry.”

“Introduce us!” the shortest insisted, taking the other two by the hands as pulling them forward with an eager smile.

“Everyone, this is Sirius Black, my fiancé.” Remus gestured between them, and the four women beamed at him. “Sirius, this is Aunt Jen, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Allison, and Aunt Mary, my dad’s sisters.”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Sirius said, holding a hand out.

“No need to be so formal,” the brunette grumbled with a teasing grin. “We have heard so much about you from Lyall. After those damned pictures—”

“Allison,” Jen hissed.

“—after the damned pictures,” Allison repeated with a pointed look. “I was about ready to drive up to Gryffindor myself and give that lousy son of a bitch a piece of my mind—”

“Allison!”

“—but Lyall talked me down and I have been waiting to meet you ever since.” She finished with a soft huff and gave his arm a quick squeeze. “Remus is a lucky boy to have you. It’s very exciting to see you in person at last.”

Sirius’ heart gave a happy little ka-thump and he smiled. “I’m glad to be here. Thank you for having me.”

“He is so polite,” Lisa said to Remus out of the corner of her mouth with a wink and a thumbs-up. “Good choice.”

“You know what I just realized? We haven’t said hello to Jules yet. We’ll see you in a few, yeah?” Without waiting for an official answer, Remus wrapped an arm around Sirius’ waist and practically carried him away from the table. Once they were out of earshot—and the aunts had busied themselves with one of the younger Lupins—Remus relaxed with a slow exhale. “I am…so sorry.”

“For what?”

“I had no idea they were going to corner you like that. I mean, I did, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be for another few hours. They tend to move in a pack at reunions, like sharks. Or wolves.”

“They’re really sweet.”

“They are,” Remus said grudgingly, though Sirius could read the affection dripping off him like his favorite book. “My dad’s the youngest of five, and I was the first nephew. You can imagine how that went.”

“Baby of the baby?”

“Exactly.”

“Can I ask one thing?” Remus nodded, visibly confused, and Sirius found he couldn’t keep his grin down any longer. “Duckling?”

“I hoped you didn’t hear that,” he groaned as they headed toward the kids’ play area beneath a large oak. “Long story short, it involved five-year-old me, a pond, and a sinus infection that made me sound like a duck when I sneezed.”

“Oh my god,” Sirius laughed, earning himself a light elbow to the ribs. “And the name stuck?”

“Considering she was the one that had to stay with me while my folks were working, she could call me whatever the hell she wanted. Please don’t ask her about it unless you want a thirty-minute TED talk about the ins and outs of my sinuses.”

“She’s a doctor?”

“No, she just overshares.”

“Sirius!”

Sirius looked up and saw a herd of small children racing toward them, led by his favorite person under the age of eighteen; Jules crashed into his legs and squeezed him tight around the waist. “Hey, I missed you!”

Jules propped his chin below Sirius’ sternum and stared up at him with the classic hazel-gold eyes that were far more common than Sirius believed before they arrived in the Lupins’ backyard. “I missed you, too! How’s the team? How’s Harry? Is he still super small or did he do that weird thing that babies do where their legs grow and the rest of them still looks normal? How was your flight? Did you have turbulence?”

Sirius thought for a moment. “Good, also good, growing normally, and yes.”

“Sweet! Come play cornhole with us!” Jules grabbed his hand and dragged him along the grass at the closest thing he could manage to a sprint with Sirius’ added weight—the pre-teen years had lent him gangly legs, though he didn’t seem quite sure how to use them yet. He looked more like a foal than a sixth-grader.

“What the hell is cornhole?” Sirius muttered as the flock of kids ran ahead to grab armfuls of beanbags.

Remus grinned. “Something I’m about to kick your ass at.”

------------------------------------

By the time the sun set, Sirius was exhausted. He had been introduced to dozens of people who looked just enough like Remus to be eerie, as well as plenty who seemed to have been acquired by one Lupin or another over the course of their life. Jules fluctuated between laminating himself to Sirius’ side and disappearing for an hour at a time, only to return more grass-stained and rumpled than ever as he begged Remus to swing him around by the ankles again. His ass had been thoroughly kicked at cornhole and freeze tag; it was a true miracle he hadn’t already passed out into a food coma. For all of his earlier griping, Sirius couldn’t think of a time in recent months when he had been more content.

“You’re a brave soul,” Remus remarked as they sat in the grass together and watched the fireflies wake. Though it was a warm night, it seemed the citronella candles littering the tables were doing their job of chasing off mosquitoes.

Sirius leaned his head on Remus’ shoulder. He smelled like grass and summertime and sunbaked warmth. “Am I?”

“Mhmm. I’m sure most people would have run screaming by now.”

“I like your family.”

A beat of silence passed; Remus rested his temple against the top of Sirius’ head. “I’m really glad to hear that. They’re weird and loud, but I love them.”

“And I love you.”

“Are you saying I’m weird and loud?”

“On occasion.”

“Asshole,” Remus laughed, giving him a nudge that hardly qualified as more than a gentle sway.

“Language, there are eight million kids around.”

“They’re busy.”

Sirius watched as small group run by in a wave of giggles, all clutching mason jars of fireflies with their names written on masking tape. “Thank you again for asking me to come with you.”

“Like I said, Aunt Jen would—”

“Remus.” He fell quiet. Sirius didn’t remember the last time he said Remus’ full name aloud. “Your family loves you so much. They’re everything I ever wanted growing up, and it means the world that you wanted to share them with me. All they want is to see you happy. It was amazing to finally meet them.”

“They really, really love you,” Remus said softly, his voice a little thick. “I had about twenty people tell me how wonderful you are. They all thanked me for bringing you, and not a single one mentioned the celebrity thing. Even my Uncle Jay didn’t say a word about hockey.”

“He was the one in the jersey?”

“I’ve known him for my entire life and I’ve never seen him without one.”

“Huh.” Sirius tucked his face closer to Remus’ neck and let the sound of the bullfrogs in a distant marsh lull him. “What time is it?”

“Almost eleven. The adults will be up for a while, but the kids will start crashing soon.”

Footsteps on the cool grass rustled to their right and Sirius looked up. “Who wants pie?” Aunt Allison singsonged, breaking their quiet bubble with paper plates and utensils. “This one is blackberry, but we have peach, pumpkin, and a few others on the table if you’re still hungry.”

“Just a small piece, please,” Sirius said.

Allison paused and cocked her head, then burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re funny!”

“I am?”

“Don’t fight it,” Remus whispered.

“You are a growing boy,” Allison said as she cut a thick slice and plonked it onto his plate. “And there’s no such thing as too much pie.”

I’m 26, Sirius wanted to say, though he held it in. “Just a small one for me, as well,” Remus said.

“Ha!” Allison snorted. “You’re already too skinny. Eat your pie or you’ll end up a string bean like your father. The NHL might have given you muscle, but it’s useless if you don’t enjoy some of your favorite aunt’s—”

“—woah, hey now—”

“—pie once in a while.” Allison kissed the tops of their heads once both plates were secure and bowing in the middle. “I’m going to make sure the kids aren’t poking around in the river again. Sleep well, you two.”

Sirius stared down at his plate as she wandered away. “I’m honestly going to die if I eat this.”

“Yeah, please don’t make yourself sick on pie. You really don’t have to eat all of that. The aunts and uncles are convinced that none of us are eating properly once we turn eighteen.”

“Really?”

“I wish I was kidding. You’re going to sleep so well tonight, though.”

As if on cue, Sirius stifled a yawn with the back of his hand and cuddled under Remus’ arm again. A familiar shadow bounded over not two seconds later and he barely held down a groan. “Hey, can I join you?”

Remus shrugged. “ ‘course.”

“Sweet.” Jules settled himself across their laps, staring at the sky with his head pillowed on Sirius’ thigh. “Did you have fun? I’m really glad you could come.”

“I had a great time,” Sirius answered honestly. Now please move on so I can take a nap.

“Mom and dad and me got here yesterday, and Aunt Jen kept checking the door for you guys even though she knew you weren’t coming until today. She was worried you wouldn’t like us, I think.”

“That was never an option, Jules.”

“Yeah, I know.” A devilish grin flickered over his face. “Remus is the weirdest of all of us, and if you want to marry him—”

“Get off,” Remus grumbled, shoving Jules’ legs onto the picnic blanket. “You know, you were a lot nicer before you turned eleven. Can I return you and get a new one? I have the receipt somewhere.”

“Nope.”

“That’s all a birth certificate is, right?” Sirius raised his eyebrows. “If you bring it back in good condition, I hear they give you a ten percent discount.”

Jules scowled. “That’s so not true.”

“How do you think I got Regulus?”

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Remus asked with a pointed look. “Run along, problem child.”

“Of the two of us, I’m the least problematic.” Despite his words, Jules clambered to his feet and dusted his hands off over Remus’ head. “I’m not the one that got a secret boyfriend and got engaged in a year. I’m so easy. Mom and dad want two of me.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Remus sighed as he stretched out on the blanket. “They had a second kid because they wanted two of me.”

“You’re adopted.”

Remus cracked one eye open in disbelief. “No, I’m not.”

“How do you know?”

“Because—y’know what, go to bed. Or go find the stampede, I think they’re by the river.”

Sirius whistled lowly as Jules scampered off again. “That was impressive. Isn’t your aunt over there?”

“Yep.”

Realization clicked into place. “She’s going to make him go to bed.”

“Yep.”

“You’re brilliant.”

Remus smiled without opening his eyes, and tugged Sirius down by the sleeve to lay next to him. “You’re just figuring that out now?”

The stars were brighter than anywhere Sirius had ever seen; for a moment, he was struck speechless by the endless rivers of sparkling white overhead. He stared until his eyes burned from dryness, then put his head on Remus’ chest and kept on looking. There was no way he could tear his gaze from it. A few shooting stars streaked across the clear sky and he felt his heart skip a beat in pure amazement when he realized there was nothing else he would wish for in that moment. He could listen to Remus’ heartbeat and the sound of his new family talking against a backdrop of the night, relishing in a full belly and cool wind, and simply stay there for as long as he liked.

#sirius black #remus lupin #julian lupin #coops #lupin family #sweater weather #lumosinlove #my fic #fanfic #family reunion

[in-tua-deep]

idk if you still do au ideas but what if delores was a real person in the apocalypse? how it woul dbe done i have no idea but i love all your aus and thought it would be cool

okay okay I don't tend to go for real!Dolores aus admittedly because I find her much more compelling as what she is: a reflection of five himself and a symptom of his crushing loneliness

but i started thinking about it and you know what?? i think five deserves a little socialization, as a treat

so say like, 0.5% of the population is resistant to abilities. Allison would really struggle to rumor them, Five wouldn't be able to jump with them, and, most importantly, whatever the fuck Vanya's ability does has like, reduced damage or something

and the og apocalypse isn't the moon apocalypse, so let's say that it was pure waves of Vanya's powers that fucked over the earth

so 0.5% of the population survives the apocalypse. though, let's be honestly, the real number is a lot smaller than that. People who might have survived Vanya's initial power wave (miraculously) did not survive buildings crushing them or survive the car/plane/bus/train/other transportation crashes or survive being left alone when they are too young to reliably look after themselves, or the variety of other problems that come with 99.5% of the population dying at once

So, Five arrives in the apocalypse and is met with ruin and fire and a whole lot of dead people. He finds his siblings, but it doesn't matter. They're dead. He doesn't even recognize them at first, these strange grown-ups who he identifies not by their faces but by the umbrellas on their wrists that match his own

As he realizes the full impact of his situation, he hears a voice that says, very succinctly, "holy shit!"

It's a girl a few years older than Five himself, maybe 15 or 16, and she is very excited to see another survivor.

And here's where I u-turn this au around bc i'm not all that interested in real!Dolores, but I would be down to talk about Five meeting survivors in the apocalypse, because if Dolores is real I don't buy no one else survived.

So Dolores shows up and see a Literal Child crying over the corpses of his family and assumes that Five is a fellow survivor, and she immediately grabs him up. Five is incoherent with grief at this point anyway, so he doesn't even protest when she basically hauls him away from the bodies. She's babbling at him, but he doesn't really hear anything she's saying

And then she takes him to her dad

(Why not, let's have the 1% potentially be a heritable thing)

and her dad, let's call him just some dad name. like Rick. it has been a fucking WEEK for him, okay. he had his daughter with him, his ex-wife is on the other coast for her work, and by some miracle he survived the apocalypse and so did his child, and he's been wracking his brains trying to figure out what the fuck to do next

and then his daughter shows up with a traumatized thirteen-year-old in tow

now rick is a good dude. he's a dad. they get out of five that his name is five ("what the fuck" dolores mouths to him over five's shoulder and rick can't help but agree) and the bodies he found were his siblings ("Dad and Ben and Vanya weren't there though," this child cries desperately and rick feels his own heart clench in response, "They might still be alive!")

"We can look for them." Rick assures his new adopted child, because he is an adult in a fresh apocalypse and this kid has presumably lost everything he's ever known (more than rick even knows at the time)

and they do. They each get wagons and they go out and find supplies and look for other survivors. Five is... surprisingly helpful and also surprisingly docile as he is able to rely on Someone Else to give orders while he attempts to (dissociate) process what the fuck has happened

and here's the thing: Five prides himself on being independent, sort of. He's independent for a child soldier, but he's used to taking orders from a male authority figure and Rick happens to be just that

The first time that Five does something dangerous and Rick yells is a revelation

(Rick isn't sure if he hopes that Five's dad is alive or not, because if they find that man alive then Rick might just kill the jackass himself. Also like, Five is bizarrely knowledgeable out survival skills, like way too knowledgeable about it, which is helpful for them but also very concerning)

they find a newspaper and Five finds the article that mentions his father's recent death ("Huh. Heart attack." Five says, and there is no emotion in his voice)

(Years later, years later, Five and Rick talk. "I don't think I wanted to find him, either." Five admits, softly because Dolores is asleep, "I think I was more scared of finding him alive than I was of finding his body. He would've been so mad at me, I think.")

this newspaper is how Rick and Dolores find out about Five being Number Five, Umbrella Academy Missing Person

"Dude, what the fuck." Dolores says, wide eyes, "You're like, thirty?"

"I'm thirteen." Five says, and then checks the date on the newspaper again, "Also I think I would technically be 29 if I lived through all of it, 'cause it's April and my birthday is in October."

"You... time travelled?" Rick asks, which is honestly the more relevant question, "Can you go back?"

And Five just,,, crumples on himself. Because he tried, he tried really hard. It didn't work. "I'm gonna figure it out. I'm gonna go back, I'm going to save them."

That, Rick thinks, is a lot of weight to put on one person's shoulders, but especially the shoulders of a child.

"Alright." Rick says, because what else can he say after finding out his new child has superpowers and is from like, 2004? "What do you need?"

("Oh my god I have so many memes to teach you." Dolores says later, reverently. Five blinks in confusion and Rick mentally prepares himself for the recitation of so many vines)

And it's easier, somehow. Five sometimes feels like it's a betrayal, but he settles into apocalypse life with an ease that surprises him.

He lets Rick fuss over him and help tie his scarf securely around his head every morning before he sets off on supply runs with Dolores. And they're kids! Five has never had a friend before, and Dolores is funny and smart and she's struggling just as much as he is.

"I don't know if my mom's alive." She says to him, in solidarity when he checks the face of every corpse to see if they're Vanya.

Five is practical in the way only a child soldier can be. He's economical with the room in their wagons, carefully examining what might and what might not be useful.

Dolores, on the other hand, constantly takes up space with what Five sees as useless shit.

"Excuse you," Dolores says, shoving a game of monopoly, the entire discworld series, and a pack of glitter gel pens into her wagon, "These are absolutely vital apocalypse supplies."

She challenges him, plays with him in a way no one ever has. "I bet you I can find more batteries today than you can," She grins at him, "Winner gets to pick dinner first?"

"You're on." Five says, directly before Dolores pulls two packs of 24 AA batteries from behind her back, like a cheat.

Dolores makes him take a ten minute break when they find a playground that has been mostly not-destroyed. They rummage around kids backpacks and mother's handbags for some good loot, too numb to corpses to even be bothered all that badly about the corpses they belong to.

"I'm getting on the swings." Dolores says when Five starts making noises about moving on, "I haven't been on a swingset in ages."

"What's the point?" Five grumps.

"Don't be sour because you can't swing as high as I can!" Dolores laughs, getting higher and higher as the swings creak ominously.

Five grumpily gets into the other swing and grudgingly kicks himself back and forth until Dolores takes pity on him and teaches him how to properly move his legs and body to get higher and higher.

Dolores jumps from the swing seat and lands with a flourish and smile. Five jumps out of his seat and then jumps, warping right in front of Dolores and making her yell and hit at him in outrage. Five smiles the widest he has all week.

This is how Five grows up in the apocalypse, with Dolores teasing him into taking breaks and leaning over his shoulder to look at his math and scandalizing him by stating that she'd only just started on matrices in her own high school math class.

Every night they huddle around Rick while he picks up whatever book Dolores picked out that day because it is a travesty that Five has never read hunger games or whatever, and then they read together because it would be a genuine blood bath if they all took turns. The first time Five accidentally mentioned a spoiler and Dolores genuinely considered murder was the birthday of this tradition

Some days the air is too smoky or there are dust storms or it's just plain too dangerous to go out, and they all stay in. Dolores regales Five with stories about public school, and Five tells them about his siblings.

Then they all cry

"I shouldn't be crying." Five sobs.

"Shut the fuck up," Dolores sobs back, "You literally watched me lose my shit over remembering my shitty eighth grade dance and listened to me sob-sing toxic for like four hours."

"In fairness I also wished you would shut up then."

"Let me hug you or I will start singing songs that I only remember the chorus for again you absolute fucker."

"I could always sing some -"

"No, Rick/Dad."

And Five grows up. Rick shows him how to shave very carefully in front of cracked mirrors. Dolores teases him every time his voice cracks. Rick tells Five in no uncertain terms that he loves and cares for him, and that Reginald was a little bitch. There are a lot of heartfelt conversations around that, honestly. Rick telling Five that he and the siblings deserved better, that they were children and deserved to have a childhood.

And that he has faith in Five. Rick and Dolores both do, they bring him back paper and pens and pencils and chalk and anything Five can use to write equations. They poke around any libraries for books on theoretical mathematics and quantum physics. Rick and Dolores go out scouting for food while Five stays home and can work longer.

They also make him take breaks, make sure that he's looking after himself.

They're a little better off than OG!Five when it comes to food, because some animals survive. Enough that Rick figures out how to hunt. Five is the first one to each bugs, and even though Dolores makes faces they all start eating bugs as well.

"Pretty sure there's loads of cultures that eat bugs." Rick says grudgingly, wondering if he should try stirfry the cockroaches and if that would improve the taste. "There's even, uh, cricket flour or whatever, right?"

"Plus you eat like, five spiders a year when you're asleep." Dolores says cheerfully, just to watch her dad's face scrunch up in displeasure.

"That doesn't sound true, but I don't know enough about spiders to dispute it." Five mutters, and Dolores gives him such a proud look that it makes him roll his eyes.

They're in their thirties when Rick dies. He's out foraging and hunting, and the rubble he's standing on gives way and he ends up with a gash in his leg. He manages to stop the bleeding, but the world is filthy and they don't have any antibiotics.

He gets an infection.

"It's okay." He tells both of his kids, "It's okay. I'm just so glad that you guys have each other, y'hear? I'm so glad."

"It's not okay." Five says, voice thick and choked, "It's not."

"Yeah, well, you're going to figure out how to go back, right? Go back in time and save everyone. Then I'll have never died, right?" Rick smiles, "And even if you don't, I'll be waiting for you on the other side and we'll see each other again anyway."

"I'm going to fix it."

"I know. I have faith in you, Five." Ricks says honestly, and that's more than Reginald ever said.

They sit quietly together while Dolores is out scavenging. They've been taking turns sitting with Rick.

"I won't remember you, in the past, will I?" Rick says rhetorically, but Five answers anyway.

"I don't think so."

Rick hums, "Well, doesn't matter. If you need help in the past, you come to me, y'hear?"

"You won't remember me."

"Doesn't matter. You come find me, and you tell me your crazy story until I believe you, and then I'll help you." Rick says firmly, "You're family. You're my son. Timelines? Don't matter. If you need help, with anything, even if it's just with - with filling out a bowling team or something -"

"I have never been bowling in my life and you know it." Five interrupts, but it makes him laugh just a little bit which was clearly Rick's intention.

"Well who knows what you'll get up to in the past! You'll be able to go bowling, you know. Get to wear those uncomfortable shoes. Hey, you go far enough back maybe you can go to Dolores's tenth birthday party and put me out of my misery."

"Was she bad at bowling?"

"Oh, she was wiping the floor with me. No contest."

"Honestly, that sounds absolutely accurate."

"Shut up, bowling just wasn't my sport. Regardless, the point was that I'm giving you a free pass to come and get me. Because I know you, I know how you think." Rick brings up his hand to tap his finger against Five's forehead, "You get it into your head that you need to go it alone, take it all on your shoulders. I'm telling you that if you do that I'll somehow manifest my memories and come smack you over the head for being stupid, you hear?"

"I'm not dragging you into anything." Five says firmly, "I'll have my siblings."

"Who were also children." Rick points out. "And dragging? Dragging is such a strong word for a volunteer."

"A volunteer who won't remember volunteering." Five shoots back.

Rick just shrugs, and then winces when the movement jolts his bad leg. "Five, I'm going to be honest with you here. And sappy. Can you handle a bit of sappiness for a minute?"

"No."

"Well too bad. Can't leave a dying man, you'd feel too bad. So you're stuck with me. But you listen good, okay? Because you aren't dragging me into anything. Whatever life you have, I want to have a part of that. Because you're my son. Wherever you are, whatever you do, I want to help because you're family. What you'd be doing by leaving me out of it is depriving me of someone I love, depriving me of knowing one of the best kids I've ever known."

"Shut up." Five says, choked.

"Nope, it's sappy time." Rick states, "Maybe asking you to come find me is selfish, but I don't care. No matter what version of me exists, I want to be in your life."

"My life is a walking joke, why would you want any part of that?"

"It has been my privilege to watch you grow up. To help you. To be here for you. Of course I'd want to be there to watch you grow up the rest of the way."

"But -"

"Shut up, just let me tell you that I am so proud of you. You never give up, and your heart is so big. You love so much and so loudly, and it's been the highest honor of my life to be included in your family."

Five pauses for a moment to collect himself before simply saying - "You're the best dad I've ever had."

Rick snorts, "Considering my competition, I'd sure hope so. That bar was so low old Reggie was practically limbo dancing with the devil. Now get over here and give an old man a hug."

They don't bury Rick, when he dies. They don't have time and the ground is too hard and they don't have the heart to move him. Instead the pack everything up and seal him in the shelter they'd lived in.

Dolores pulls out a bottle of ancient nail polish and painstakingly writes Rick's name on the wall with his birth year and an approximate current year. They aren't 100% sure though, since time blends together out in the apocalypse, but it's something.

They continue by themselves. They get older.

Dolores jokingly calls him her husband because the way his face scrunches up makes her cackle. They see other people very occasionally, usually passing through. Usually groups. Dolores and Five get to flex their hosting skills, though more than one group declines their cockroach stirfry.

("It's a family recipe." Five says with amusement in his eyes that usually manages to drown out old grief.)

"Jeeze, that kid couldn't have been older'n twenty-three." Dolores complains, "Makes me feels positively ancient."

"They wouldn't have known any world 'cept for the apocalypse." Five muses, pouring some boiled water into wine glasses because they might be living in the apocalypse but they can be fancy.

"Do you ever think about that?" Dolores asks, turning to him with no judgement, just curiosity. "When you go back, you'll be like, erasing them from existence."

Five shrugs, "Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe this place will just split off into an alternate timeline."

"Maybe none of this is real." Dolores says, amusement coloring her voice. "Maybe you aren't talking to a real person at all. Maybe this is just a symbol of your insanity and cracked mind."

"Dolores, I literally have a scar where you stabbed me. Did I somehow manage to stab myself in the back?"

"Scraped you, I scraped you. By accident."

"So you maintain." Five says haughtily, swirling his water in his wine glass like a pretentious prick.

"I could totally be fake. You don't know my life."

"I know way too much about you, Dolores. Like, way way too much." Five scoffs, because Dolores and him have literally no secrets from one another at this point. Five even knows the truth behind what happened at Janet Scranton's thirteenth birthday party. Like, he said, way too much.

"Maybe you made it up. Maybe that's why you know so much."

"Dolores, I'm going to be honest with you right now." Five presses the tips of his fingers to his chin, "If you were a figment of my imagination, you would be so much better at math."

"Hey!" Dolores squawks indignantly, "I didn't even get to finish high school you pretentious prick!"

"Neither did I!"

"You didn't even go to high school, you brat."

"I'm fifty-two I think I've outgrown 'brat.'"

"Tell that to your attitude." Dolores says haughtily, "You're still younger than me."

"Won't be when I go back in time." Five says cheerfully, completely ignoring Dolores's venomous look.

"That's cheating."

"Sucks to suck." Five says loftily, taking another sip of his water.

Sometimes they talk about The Plan, with capital letters. What Five is going to do when he goes back in time, depending on when he pops out. Is he going to adopt his siblings? What about Reginald?

"You don't think I could kill Reginald?" Five says, holding a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"I think you should let me do it. I'll even give you control of tonight's music if you do."

"What are you doing to do? Bite his ankles? What if you're like, seven or something?"

"All the better to get away with it since I'll be too young to convict or whatever."

"Pretty sure that's not how the law works."

"How would you know? Just for that I'm playing Istanbul on repeat again."

"I don't know why you think that's a threat. That song slaps."

It takes a few more years before Five is close enough that the Commission comes to interfere. Because that's what I think happened - Five was getting too close and they stepped in because they might as well distract the man as much as they can with missions, right?

So the Handler shows up. And she offers Five a job, telling him that they have the ability to travel through time. And Five - hesitates.

"Give me some time?" Five asks, and the Handler graciously gives him 24 hours.

And he and Dolores talk it over, because now that his goal is more in sight than it has ever been and Five is scared.

"What are you waiting for? You have the chance to see your siblings again." Dolores says patiently.

"Yeah," Five says, and what he doesn't say is clear. But I won't see you.

"Five." Dolores says, and she cradles his face between her palms like he is something precious, "I have had so much time with you already. More than I would have ever. We have been so lucky, to have this time. How can I demand more than what we have already been given?"

"When have you ever not demanded the world, Dolores?" Five asks, his own hand coming up to cover Dolores's own.

"We've had decades together, Five. We're getting old. I was always going to lose you, one way or another. Nothing lasts forever."

"I don't want to lose you."

"I know. But if I had to choose a way, if I could decide where our story ends, this would be it. Letting you go, because this way you get to live. You get to see your family again. You get to save the world. I could ask for nothing more than for you to get your happy ending."

Five removes Dolores's hand from his cheek so that he can cradle it between them, "I'm happy here with you. I've never been happier. Isn't that silly? That I was happier in the apocalypse?"

"I bet killing Reggie would make you happy." Dolores laughs rustily.

"One day you're going to see the mysterious disappearance of a famous billionaire in the paper and feel a twinge of satisfaction and now have a clue why." Five laughs as well, shaking his head.

Dolores pats Five's hands, "Five, look at me. We've had our time. And you're going to give me even more of it. More time with my father. More time with my mother. I'll never know it, but you'll have saved me."

"What if this is - what if this is an alternate reality? What if I leave you here alone?"

"Then you'll be saving a 15-year-old girl from the same fate as me. Because as much as I love you, as much as I have loved this time we have had together, this is still an apocalypse. This should never have happened, and if you have a chance to go back and prevent it, then I want you to take that chance with both hands."

"Even if it means leaving you alone?"

Dolores smiles at him, "I'm not going to be alone. Far too many creepy crawlies in the apocalypse for that."

"Shut up, I'm being serious."

"Hmm." Dolores hums consideringly, "Maybe I'll head North, to that new settlement that last group said they'd heard word of. Sure they'd find some use for an old woman who's survived this long in the wilderness."

"You can have my half of the record collection." Five says, pulling her against him into a hug that she easily returns.

"As if I wouldn't have stolen them as soon as you left." She scoffs, but it's a little wet, and Five pretends his own eyes aren't leaking tears.

When The Handler comes back, Dolores gives him another hug. She also slips something into his pocket - some photos. They'd taken it a year into the apocalypse, when Dolores had found an ancient looking polaroid camera and towed it home despite Five's protests about practicality. The photos are worn and faded at the edges, but the smiles on Five's little apocalypse family's faces are undeniable.

"You'll have to see if they magically fade when you change the timeline." Dolores whispers to him with a grin, "Like in the movies."

"Okay." Five whispers back.

"You have the list of movies to watch, right?" Dolores says. Five rolls his eyes and nods because he wrote the list last night into his Vanya-book while Dolores hovered over his shoulder and critiqued his handwriting.

"And you promise to try a proper non-expired twinkie at some point?"

"That I do not promise. I think even looking at one would make me lose my lunch. I have twinkie-trauma."

"Shut up and get going." Dolores says, because the Handler is starting to tap her foot impatiently.

And off Five goes to become an assassin. Though - he's much more gentle this time. He's careful, he doesn't kill children and he usually takes jobs that don't require killing at all. He distracts and manipulates events as much as he can without killing.

He's actually much more well socialized, thanks to Rick and Dolores. Less feral child and more determined man on a mission.

Which is why he's so frustrated when he finally, finally manages to get the equations to work and falls through and falls - directly back into his stupid thirteen-year-old body.

"Shit." Five says, loudly, and revels in the surprised look on his siblings faces.

He strides into the kitchen, and they all follow him like ducklings. They look exactly the way they did when they died.

"Wow this is actually way harder than I thought it would be." Five muses, looking at their dead faces. But as Dolores would say, life is hard but you have to keep on trucking sometimes. "Whatever, what's the date?"

"Five, where have you been?" Diego demands, looking irritated. It makes Five snort in amusement.

"The future. The past. If you want like, an exact list of dates you'll have to hold your horses. I spent like, two weeks in Peru once. No souvenirs though, unfortunately."

They look taken aback, like they didn't expect Five to have quite this much sass. Oops. That is definitely Dolores's influence. Or maybe he was always a little asshole. In fairness, what teenagers aren't tiny assholes? He has an excuse.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Diego's eyebrows are furrowed in anger. It kind of takes Five aback for a second, because he remembers a Diego who stutters when he argued.

"When did you learn the fuck-word?" Five asks, raising an eyebrow before her can help it, "Grace ought to wash your mouth out with soap."

Diego immediately goes red, "Shut up!"

"Wow you're so easy to rile up. Aren't you like, twenty-something? Actually, I could figure out for myself how old you are if you gave me the date."

"I'm twenty-nine." Diego growls, like that was the point.

"Haunting!" Five says cheerfully, because that means there is way less time than he would like, narrowing his time down to a six month window.

It's extremely funny how his cheer makes all of them make faces.

It's Klaus who leans forward, "Why do you need to know?"

Klaus's face is open and curious and - (looks exactly like he did when Five found him all those years ago) - and Five can't help but answer him. "The world end on April 1st, 2019. No it isn't an April Fools joke, yes I have heard that joke like a million different times. I just want to know how close I landed so I can, you know, start working on how to fix that."

"Woah woah woah, roll it back." Allison says, holding a hand up, "What?"

"The apocalypse occurs on April 1st, 2019." Five says, slowly. "I have traveled from afar to prevent this from happening, because like, everyone dies."

"Everyone?" Vanya says weakly from the side.

She's clearly expecting to be ignored, so Five turns his head to address her directly by wiggling his hand back and forth a little. "Sort of. Like, not too many people survive at all. A handful of the human population, you know."

"But you survived?" Diego recovers admirably, if bitingly.

"Well, no." Five says rolling his eyes, "Wouldn't you just know it, Klaus here has managed to figure out a new ability!"

Everyone turns to look at Klaus, who immediately holds up his hands like he's being arrested or something, "I did not!"

"Wonderful! Now that we've established that I'm alive -"

"Why should we trust a word you say?" Luther says for the first time, looking pensive.

Five blinks, genuinely taken aback. "Because... I'm your brother? Because I can clearly and obviously time travel? Like, yeah, it would have been more convenient if I'd arrived in like, my old-body for proof-purposes, but like. I mean. Thirteen is still a pretty convincing age to be to prove time travel considering if I hadn't, I would be like, almost thirty."

"Roll it back again." Allison says firmly, "What do you mean by 'old body'?"

"Great question!" Five says pointing at Allison and smiling. Everyone looks at him weird again, and Five takes a moment to wonder if they've ever experienced positive reinforcement. Knowing Reginald, probably not. "Wait! Is Reggie alive? Wait, no, answer that in a second. Uh. When I time traveled I fucked up my body I guess, I was like, old. White hair and wrinkles-type old from spending decades in the apocalypse. But I fucked up the calculations and got booted back to my thirteen-year-old body, I guess. How, I have no idea."

"What?" Vanya says, still equally weakly.

"You have no idea how fucked up time travel is." Five whispers conspiratorially to Vanya, loud enough for the whole table to hear, "There are so many ways to die. Or permanently tear a hold in space time. But like, with life as we know if ending soon-ish, I figured I couldn't possibly fuck it up worse than it already was, y'know? Speaking of, anyone have the date again?"

"Wait, what was that about dad?" Luther asks, very focused.

"Oh, you still call him dad? Big oof." Five says automatically, because apparently his verbal filter is shot to hell after living with Dolores. It does make Klaus bark out a too-loud laugh.

"What does that mean?" Luther asks aggressively.

"It means Reginald sucks and doesn't deserve the title of 'dad,' what did you think I meant?" Five asks, and now both Diego and Vanya and both cracking smiles, though Vanya is covering hers with a hand.

"Have some respect for the dead." Luther growls, standing up and looking very large and threatening.

Five sways back, craning his head up, "Woah there big buy, sit down before I injure my poor growing spine looking up at you. Jeeze, did Reggie force feed you steroids or something? I wouldn't put it past him but like, I just want to know he at least went over the side effects of the drug with you. Also like, thanks for narrowing it down. Also terrifying! Seriously though, exact date please because if I have less than 24 hours I am going to break down crying and that is a threat."

"I love this Five." Klaus says reverently.

"March 21st." Vanya offers, finally.

"Wow! Terrifying!" Five says, clapping his hands together, "Hate that. Ten days, huh? Well, who wants to get on board the save-the-world express?"

Klaus immediately flings his hand in the air, Five points at his brother appreciatively. "Yes, excellent! I'll take the volunteer in the lovely skirt as my first team member. Any other volunteers?"

"Danke!" Klaus simpers, grinning widely like this is the vest entertainment he's had in weeks.

"I'm not just going to stand here and listen to you badmouth dad and boss us around." Luther slams his hands on the table.

"Well not with that attitude." Five snarks.

Diego raises his hand, "I would like to join team fuck dad as well."

"We can certainly debate team names later." Five says, nodding wisely as Luther gives some sort of scandalized gasp.

"Honestly, I just want to see where this is going." Klaus confesses.

Five shrugs, because he doesn't really care about the reason. "Don't you want to prove me wrong them? Prove what a well-adjusted young man Reginald Hargreeves raised?"

"Shut up." Luther grinds out, looking a moment away from throwing a punch.

"If this is all true, I have to get home." Allison cuts in, looking concerned, "I have - I have a daughter."

"I mean, if you want to give Claire a world to live in then I'd stick around, but that's just me." Five shrugs.

"You know her name?" Allison asks, obviously taken aback.

Five is almost offended, "Uh, yeah. I have her photo as well. Y'all get on like, a bizarre number of gossip magazine covers did you know that?"

Allison manages to outdo herself in terms of being taken aback once more.

There's a beat of silence, and then Five turns, "Vanya? You in?"

"Me?" Vanya blinks, looking shocked. "What can I do?"

"Yeah, what can she do?" Diego asks, crossing his arms and suddenly looking grumpy.

It baffles Five, who scrunches his nose, "Uh, like, a lot? I assume? I mean. I'm going to be honest here, just looking at y'all right now is a lot. In more ways than one! Hashtag trauma and all that, but like, name a single one of you that wouldn't be the most obvious person in the room as soon as you walked into it. Except Vanya, who somehow manages to look like a well adjusted adult, by some miracle."

"Did you just verbally say the word hashtag?" Allison asks, looking so deeply confused.

"More concerned about the trauma he tacked onto there, but y'know, to each their own." Klaus immediately cuts in.

"You think I'm well-adjusted?" Vanya asks, looking oddly touched.

"I would like to direct your attention to Diego's leather pants-scowl combo and Luther's general aura of daddy-issues." Five says pointedly, "I can practically smell the tragic comic book backstory in this room. If I'd jumped back a decade earlier this would have been Batman's wet dream of orphan selection."

"Alright! Game plan!" Five says, waving Diego's knife in his hand.

Diego's hands immediately go to his weird harness looking thing, "Hey!"

"Give me just one moment to get the tracker out." Five rolls his eyes, "Then I'll give it back, I promise. Also if someone could ask Grace for like, some antibiotics that would be good."

"What?" Allison asks, directly before Five stabs himself and there is suddenly panic at the table.

"Relax!" Five says, allowing Diego to remove the knife from his hands. He doesn't need it anyway and his hand immediately drops down to root in the wound.

"Five what the fuck!" Diego yells, but Five just pulls up bloody fingers and waves the tracker into Diego's stupefied face.

"What the fuck is that, Five?" Allison demands, looking very shaken.

"I literally just said it was a tracker." Five points out, "Now, I think our first team activity should be voting on whether we destroy it or take it out to bumfuck nowhere and ditch it to confuse the Commission."

"What the fuck is the Commission?" Diego barks.

"Man. Maybe I should just hit up Rick." Five muses, "This is going to take so much explaining."

"Who is Rick."

"So much explaining."

#survivors au #well adjusted five au #five actually has some social skills! #and an idea of what an actual parent looks like as well #klaus absolutely adores this version of five #who quotes vines and uses gen z slang with the best of them #five has been reliably informed that public education is worse than the apocalypse #but he's also pretty sure working with his family is worse as well #five: i have so much trauma lol #klaus: oh big same #vanya: mood #five is somehow the most well adjusted hargreeves #and the most responsible #he doesn't legally exist and he doesn't pay taxes but somehow he has his shit together #five showing up at rick's house: you don't know me but i know you in the future #rick: what the fuck #five: don't make me bring up bethany midler from highschool because you gave me so many embarrassing stories to convince yourself with #rick: okay okay i believe you and you are??? #five: your son from the future lol what's up dad want to help save the world #five arriving back at the manor like: WHAT'S UP LOSERS RICK IS NOW YOUR DAD TOO BC GOD KNOWS Y'ALL NEED AN ACTUAL FATHER FIGURE #klaus calls rick a dilf and five kidney punches him hard enough that klaus can't even properly introduce himself #it's better for everyone that way #delores: 15 and ready to fuck someone up #delores: i'm not staying with this weirdo (diego) while you go off with my dad #five threateningly: don't make me bring up what really happened to dad's good suit in 2012 #delores: i will stay right here #rick: wait WHAT happened to my good suit #five: unimportant don't you want to save the world #long post #far tua long

[inabottlelikelightning]

End of Year Review

thank you my beloved @attempted--eloquence for the tag :)

What fandoms did you create for ?

only teen wolf works published, but my wips have some others

How many works did you make this year? Fics (posted on ao3 or tumblr or wherever), edits, gifsets, moodboards, playlists, fanart, vids, meta?

20 fics, probably a couple gifsets. did Not expect the number to be that high because it feels like I haven't been writing a lot recently, but hey! a pleasant surprise :)

Any stats you wanna tell us about?

managed to make it to 300k words this year :) which is SO weird to think about but !!!!! so glad I took the leap last year to start writing again, it's been a Blast

What inspired you this year? Any specific works or creators?

read a lot during quarantine: ocean vuong, susan sontag, anne carson, others. read shitty romance novels, watched comfort movies. met great people, made phenomenal friends, got into a relationship.

regarding specific creators!! love spiraling w/ my love @chcrrysprite and my favorite writing partner @attempted--eloquence, my girl @ttp5000, and the man who runs through full literary analysis with me and i love him for it @thecenturiestrickle. they're all completely unhinged and i love them with my whole heart

okay I wanted to do like an appreciation post at some point during the year but it just Sat there in my drafts, so we're gonna do it here. here are some works/creators that really inspired me! and recommendations, i guess, to anyone who needs them--

every time i read @eneiryu i'm in genuine and complete awe. they weave words together and worldbuild like i've never seen before. the expedition set out to chart the distance from me to you ruined my whole entire life but, like. in the best possible way.

every time i read @spikeface, i feel like i'm going feral. i read the boy who swallowed the earth last night and it felt like the world was coming apart at the seams and me along with it. no one writes scott like they do. would also Highly recommend the family of things because it makes me feel like i'm losing my mind in the best possible way.

anything by @thecenturiestrickle will make you think a lot about society and interpersonal relationships. everything he's written hurts a lot because he's mean but i like Gather Back All That Dawn Has Put Asunder for the ruminations on growth.

no one does introspection quite like @chcrrysprite. would recommend her entire bibliography, but if i had to pick one from this year, where the spirit meets the bones will make you cry like a baby

everything @attempted--eloquence writes is genuinely award worthy. i don't even know where to begin. staking claim to the mess you've made has inspired SO many of my theo thought tangents. so has Still waiting for the end of the world, leave a message when it comes. Handle With Care, obviously, is a fandom classic. and the 2 of us poured a Lot of love into in time of daffodils who know.

@honeyscapes's Inglorious Roommates is so, so good. i've been binging published romance novels in the past week and nothing has come CLOSE to the chemistry and relationship development they've managed.

Quintessentia is phenomenal with language and characterizations. everything i've read from them makes me feel well and truly breathless. would highly recommend my skin's smothering me, help me find a way to breathe.

Teen Wolves by nothoughts_headempty is written in script format and is the season 7 we deserved. genuinely 10/10, they should have replaced the scriptwriters.

been going by a non-name by dramaticgasp haunted me for days.

@hidesourcheeks legally owns scallisaac, i think. or at least they should. Better to Die on your Feet is a scallisaac hunger game au that I would take Any Day over either canon, because Oh My God. Who Are You, Really? is an allison pov and also the best allison-centric thing i've read in my entire life? canon WISHES it could have that much character exposition. and while i'm here, i might as well recommend On the Side of Caution, their isaac-centric piece. screaming and crying and throwing up because i have Never seen something that un-romanticizes beacon hills so beautifully

not yet a corpse but still, he rots by @yikeshereiam because [screams into the void] angsty theo introspection!! also i've never read a sentence by them that hasn't knocked the breath out of me

that's all i'll give for now. there are definitely some i'm missing. might fuck around and make a rec list

What are you most proud of?

i had so much going on in the spring and somehow still managed to write a Lot?? also did my first collab (daffodils) wrote my first thiayden fic (which i've been wanting to for a Long Time!), wrote my first non-tw fic (should be posted soon :) ) and experimented with a new writing style. i feel like my growth is visible from the beginning of the year to the end, and i'm so, incredibly happy about it. also, the college au?? it started out as a christmas gift last year and then Completely took on a life of it's own.

What’s a piece you didn’t expect to make? Why?

Daffodils w/ bee :) never expected to collab, but i am Inordinately pleased with the results. it was so, so fun to work together

What are you excited to work on next year?

super excited to finish a multichapter fic for once!! i've been working on yofoe again recently :) planning to finish it this year! i would like to finish at least one of the thiaydens i started, and hopefully some of the others. keep an eye out for a regency au :) and when I finish yofoe, there's a chimera pack fic that i've been wanting to write for literal MONTHS but i've been holding myself back because i knew i didn't have the time. well. now i do :) also. ratatouille thiam, because chef theo is my weakness.

tagging @chcrrysprite and @thecenturiestrickle

#end of year tag

[hepaidattention]

denial

part 5

where Allison never died in s3 and Lydia and Stiles are going strong in the flirting game but still stubborn, so Allison decides to set them up (with Scott’s help of course).

read part one, two, three and four here 

Scott was shaking his head, his arms propped up on the lunch table with hands intertwined and placed in front of his chin. “I don’t know...” he looked deeply concerned, like he didn’t trust any plan that didn’t come from the mouth of Stiles. “Are you sure, Allison? ‘Cause it seems...”

“Genius? Brilliant?” she smirked, plopping a tater tot in her mouth with sass. 

“I was going to say messy.”

“Scott, relax. It’s going to work.” Allison was sure it would. Lydia was the most jealous person she knew - there’s no way this wouldn’t. 

Before Scott could voice more of his doubts, Lydia dropped into her chair with a huff. “God, I despise this school’s feeble attempt of a sustainable meal. I knew I should have packed my own.” Lydia grumbled. Neither Scott nor Allison answered though. They were just looking at her. Lydia felt uncomfortable under their insinuating stares so she looked over her shoulder, then over Scott’s head for a distraction. “Where’s Stiles?”

Allison was eating tater tots with a face that was purely devious. “Don’t know, haven’t seen him since class. Got any plans?”

Lydia’s head dragged back to meet Allison’s treacherous gaze. “No, I was just going to ask him how his test went.”

“Right, right,” Allison spun her fork between her fingers, the tot sitting on the ends of the four prongs. “What was his test on again?”

Lydia’s cheek smashed into her fist as her other hand used her fork to pick at the questionable food on her plate. “Uh, I think it was A&P,”

“Oh, well that’s great, Lydia - you know plenty about that subject, right?” Allison had a teasing tone, but even Scott found it slightly cruel. They could both tell where she was going with it. Lydia kicked her from under the table in, but Allison continued with, “Maybe you could help him study next time, you know, give him a few anatomy lessons of your own.”

Lydia threw a tater at her head. Allison dodged it. Lydia looked at Scott and he was avoiding all eye contact, so she knew that meant he knew now. If he didn’t, he’d just be looking at them like a deer in the headlights. “You told him?” Lydia hissed across the table.

Allison shook her head, trying everything not to laugh. “No, I promise I didn’t.”

“I- I sorta already knew,” Scott awkwardly scratched his chin, his voice timid and sweet. “Stiles told me, you know, when it happened.”

Lydia was trying not to shrink into her seat and cower. “You’re evil.” Lydia told the grinning Allison. 

She shrugged, her eyebrows dancing as she ate the tater tot from her fork. “You know, you’re right, Lyds. I am being unfair. Obviously you’re just friends with Stiles, and I realized - I just want to see Stiles happy. I mean, don’t we all? He’s had a such rough year, and I think he deserves some happiness - so me and Scott think we should try to set him up with someone.” 

Lydia’s face fell, her eyes unblinking. “You... want to set up Stiles...Stilinski?”

“Yup, kind of the only Stiles we know,” she nodded enthusiastically. “At first I clearly had you in mind, but once you said how you’d be happy to see him with someone else I realized you really were just friends and I’m not going to push something that’s not meant to be. Now, now I’m thinking about Ginny Green. She looked really into him, and I mean she’s super sweet.”

“And hot,” Scott meekly added, still feeling morally wrong in this plan. Also morally wrong in subjecting people, so he added, “But more importantly, she’s sweet.”

“Yes, so true,” Allison gestured towards Scott and dramatically dropped her arms to the table. “So hot. What do you think, Lydia? I mean, obviously you know Stiles way better than I do, so we really need your help in this whole thing.”

Lydia pursed her lips, her cheek still resting on her fist like she was bored with this conversation. “I think you’re full of bullshit.”

Allison scrunched up her nose, her eyes squinting with it. “Tell that to Ginny Green.” She pointed behind her. 

Lydia whipped around, seeing Ginny making her way to the table with a tray of food. Lydia looked back at Allison in horror. “You didn’t.”

Allison was waving at her, her face appearing innocent and friendly. However, the look Allison gave Lydia was nothing but conniving and wicked. “Why? Do you think someone else would be a better fit?”

Lydia gave up on Allison. She looked at Scott for help, but he just ducked his head and pretended he had been eating this whole time. Ginny sat down beside Allison, and Lydia wanted to punch her right of her seat. God, Lydia hated Ginny Green. No, it wasn’t because she liked Stiles either. Ginny Green had been more of a bitch than Lydia herself since 2nd grade. Everyone knew her as sweet Ginny but Lydia could smell a bitch a mile away. It was always the bitches who pretended to be nice that made her skin crawl. At least own up to it, god. 

“Hey everyone,” Ginny gave a sickly sweet smile that made Lydia was to puke. 

“Hey Ginny,” Scott was genuine, it hurt Lydia’s heart just how genuine and nice that boy was. 

Ginny grinned and looked at Lydia. “Hey Lydia,” The stink eye she gave her, with the pursed lips and carping glare she bestowed, it was enough for Lydia to just leave the table. However, Stiles just then flopped in his chair beside her before she could make a move to leave. Now she couldn’t leave, then Allison would be proving her point, as well as trying to set up loyal, unwavering-love Stiles with the Wicked Witch of the East. Stiles was not about to become one of her flying monkeys - not if she had anything to do with it.  

“Hey,” he said just to her. It was quiet and warm, and he meant it for Lydia and Lydia alone as he smiled at her with her golden honey eyes. 

“Hey back,” she felt her nerves calm some. Stiles said hi to everyone else at the table, but mostly to the new guest. He was enthused to speak to someone new, so engrossed into a conversation about things that weren’t supernatural for once, that Stiles failed to notice the not very subtle hints of flirting Ginny kept offering to him. Stiles never reciprocated, he was too oblivious for it. But he never once stopped talking - Ginny knew all the right questions to ask. Almost as if someone, and by someone she meant Scott and Allison, had given her a Stiles 101 guide book beforehand. 

At one point, Lydia wasn’t entirely sure when, Kira and Isaac joined the table. Kira and Scott were quiet and she thinks flirting, its hard to tell with them. They’re both so awkward sometimes. Isaac didn’t say much, he just listened to Ginny and Stiles blab while he held Allison’s hand under the table. 

Lydia had said nothing, not even once. She didn’t want to interrupt, Stiles clearly was enjoying himself, but she also was very quiet due to her growing hate for Ginny Green. Not to mention a new found hate for a certain Allison Argent’s antics. Not Allison herself, she could never, but her devotion to making her life a living hell was becoming a new found loathing for her. 

Much to her surprise, when the conversation transferred from Ginny and Stiles to Ginny and Kira for a moment, Lydia felt a hand reach in her lab and grab her hand. Lydia looked down, Stiles’ fingers entangling with hers. She looked up to meet his eyes, wondering what on earth he was doing, when she realized he was silently asking her if she was okay. There was a flutter in her chest, squeezing his hand and forcing a smile up at him. That seemed to satisfy Stiles, but he didn’t let go of her hand. They were holding hands under the table, and she didn’t want to let go. The thing was, it was obvious, too. The way Stiles’ arm had to angle, anyone at the table who had eyes could tell his hand was in her lap. Lydia wasn’t sure if maybe she too was a little evil, because she couldn’t make herself let go, despite the gaze of Ginny Green looking between them with a flicker of sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Stiles was clueless too, using his free hand to eat his lunch as he continued to talk about whatever their conversation had headed to now. 

His hand stayed there for a couple minutes, Lydia appreciating his tender concern and the feel of his hand in hers too much to make them separate. It wasn’t until Lydia felt like she was being stared at that her grasp loosened. She looked over at Allison (across from her), and Scott (who sat at the end), both watching them with smug expressions. This immediately made Lydia snap her hand away from his and suddenly stand up at the lunch table, excusing herself abruptly. 

Allison was happy with the outcome, but Scott was not. Scott looked guilty, Stiles looked confused, Ginny looked pleased, and Isaac and Kira just shrugged it off as moody Lydia. 

“... You know what I mean?” Ginny said, talking to Stiles. His mind, however, was a little preoccupied with watching Lydia storm out of the cafeteria. “Stiles?” Ginny questioned, but everyone knew that he was a goner. A few seconds later he got up, without excuse, and followed Lydia's trail.

Ginny looked insulted. “What’s their deal?” 

“They’re like in love or something,” Isaac informed, before anyone else could interject. Once everyone made it blatantly obvious that was the wrong answer, Isaac tried to laugh it off with a, “Uh, hell, like I know, right? Ha, they’re uh... I’m sure they’ll be right back.”

The table went silent. Ginny, without another word, stood up and left the table (leaving her untouched food for them to deal with). 

Scott let out a chest rattling sigh. “Are you happy now?” he said to Allison, his face in the palm of his hands.

“Yes, perfectly.” Allison shimmied her shoulders and popped another tater tot in her mouth in enjoyment of her success. “It’s all going just as I planned.”

-

read part 6 here

#stydia fic #stydia #teen wolf fanfiction #denial stydia series #my stories #my stydia fics

[stanfordsweater]

tagged by @rollthatbeautifuldeanfootage​ to list five comfort characters! i won’t lie, the whole concept of comfort characters stresses me out because of how people act about it, buuuut going by the definition of characters who give you comfort? let’s go:

1. hinata hajime, super dangan ronpa 2: the first character who truly rewired my brain. soooooo empathetic but blunt to the point of absurdity, always willing to give people a second chance, and the reason i believe so strongly in kindness. HE LOVES HIS FRIENDS ;-; no sense of self-worth, but full of great things-- god. GOD. i love himmmmm. when the anime came out i full-on sobbed over how sweet he looked.

1. donald “jared” dunn, silicon valley: sweetheart. poor, done-unto sweetheart. my favourite neurotic mess, my put-together business boy, my oblivious, intelligent babe. my half-feral, fucking hilarious fave. he looks like he gives good hugs. (can you tell i like tall brunettes with gigantic hands?)

3. allison hargreeves, umbrella academy: i’m not into this show in a fandom-engagement way at all, but allison owns my entire heart. conflicted and soft and full of longing, but capable and strong enough to protect the ones she loves. i think her character was a really fresh take on ‘superpowered woman afraid of her powers,’ and her relationship with vanya is so fraught and layered yet full of love.

4. roxy lalonde, homestuck: i haven’t read any of the post-canon material, so keep that in mind. roxy is so kind. she’s here to have fun, but her arc about learning that it’s okay to be herself and not always be the fun friend hits. she’s so strong, overcoming substance abuse and wanting to make rose proud when they finally meet, and her depth of feeling is phenomenal. i literally adore her. there’s something about her live and let live attitude that i hope i bring across in my life. and i know she would give good hugs :) also. wizards. what’s not to love.

it took me so long to think of another character that i almost gave up and put down moss (it brings me comfort!!) but i thought of one from YEARS ago:

5. n, pokemon black/white: do you know how many times i rode that fuckin ferris wheel? god damn. n was IT for me when i was 11. i’m not gonna lie i can’t remember most of the game but i was obsessed with him and looking at photos of him made me feel really relaxed so i think he qualifies. boom done.

oh shit, actually, better option that i actually remember:

6. hiro nakamura, heroes: SWEETHEART!!! and badass. and kind. and empathetic, and-- i really do have a type, huh. he’s a huge contributor to my passion for life and for the goodness of humanity. every time the rest of the cast were ready to give up, hiro’s there to push them forward. i loved his relationship with ando (cuties!) and his dynamic with sylar; deeply interesting character work between those two. his relationship with his dad is heartwrenching as well.

#about #tag games

[wellhalesbells]

✨✨ TOP FIVES FOR 2020 ✨✨

2020 was, i think we can all agree, a massively chaotic year but i have never consumed as much media before in my life, so i thought others might benefit from my slothery uh, connoisseur.... ship?  yes, that.  below are the books, comics, shows, and movies that got me through!

B O O K S .

the starless sea, by erin morgenstern - i loooove this book because it loves me back.  it says: ‘oh, you’re a reader, well i have just the thing for you.’  it luxuriates in language and story and riddles and fairy tales and it feels like an entire library in a single tome.

they never learn, by layne fargo - oh fuuuuuck, this was satisfying.  i thought it might feel a little exploitative as it is very aware of the zeitgeist and likely would not exist without the #metoo movement but it never ever did.  this was a fucking ROMP, period.  reading about a woman getting away with murdering skeezy guy after rapey guy after shitty human just made me happier and happier.

moonflower murders, by anthony horowitz - this is the second in the susan ryeland series (and the first was hardcore good fun too) and really feels very classic mystery with the artful twist of catering to the literary community.  mainly because: susan isn’t a detective, she’s an editor and she gets drafted in this time because the clue to what happened to a missing woman is in a book she edited, if she can find it.  both of the books in this series have such an excellent coming together moment that is rare af to find.

the invisible life of addie larue, by v.e. schwab - the writing in this is just so good.  it has that feel to me where i just want to drop the book and open up my own page and let my fingers fly.  it’s that inspiring kind of writing that reminds you of all the things language can do.

crown of feathers/heart of flames, by nicki pau preto - aaahhh, this series is SO FREAKING GOOD!  why is there not more of a fandom for it, why???? it is so many of my favorite tropes all resting perfectly together to the point where you almost forget they’re tropes because they just so naturally evolved there.  ugh, it’s just.... it’s so heart-bursty good.

.... number 5, part 2?  raybearer, by jordan ifueko - this was just so original and i was invested af.  like, what a brilliant idea though and an even better execution??  i loved every character and am so looking forward to the next in the series so i can get to know them even better!!

honorable mentions (sh*t i still liked a whole heckuva lot): you/hidden bodies, by caroline kepnes // writers & lovers, by lily king // i’ll be gone in the dark, by michelle mcnamara // the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, by joseph fink & jeffrey cranor // girl, serpent, thorn, by melissa bashardoust // a little life, by hanya yanagihara // the guinevere deception, by kiersten white // obsidio (and the entire illuminae series), by amie kaufman & jay kristoff // the bone houses, by emily lloyd-jones // house of salt and sorrows, by erin a. craig // we hunt the flame, by hafsah faizal // savage legion, by matt wallace // blacktop wasteland, by s.a. cosby // crier’s war, by nina varela // the empress of salt and fortune/when the tiger came down the mountain, by nghi vo // upright women wanted, by sarah gailey // the monster of elendhaven, by jennifer giesbrecht // a deadly education, by naomi novik // you let me in, by camilla bruce // when you ask me where i’m going, by jasmin kaur // the lights go out in lychford/last stand in lychford (and the entire lychford series), by paul cornell // the devil and the dark water, by stuart turton // serpent & dove, by shelby mahurin // one by one, by ruth ware // ruthless gods (this was SUCH an upshot from the first book - it’s worth sticking with if you’re on the fence), by emily a. duncan // cemetery boys, by aiden thomas // the inheritance games, by jennifer lynn barnes // the fortunate ones (2021 release), by ed tarkington

C O M I C S .

cosmoknights, by hannah templer - the art was gorgeous, the gayness was glorious, and just.... hot HOOOOOOOOT lady knights in space?!  a princess winning her own hand?  find something not to love in there, i dare you.

don’t go without me, by rosemary valero-o’connell - wow. wow wow wow wow wow.  the writing was stunning, so lyrical and atmospheric and deep, and rosemary has to be one of my favorite artists but even that managed to come as a beautiful surprise because it was just so freaking bold.

through the woods, by emily carroll - i loooove emily carroll, the convergence of spine-tingling horror and art that feeds into it, that is both visually and aesthetically pleasing, is hard to beat!  p.s. i also read beneath the dead oak tree from her this year and it was also a BANGER.

the impending blindness of billie scott, by zoe thorogood - zoe is someone that i just want to follow.  she’s just starting and i want to be there for every single step.  i love her art style and her ability to tell a story with it.

above the clouds, by melissa pagluica - this was so unique, and such a baller concept, as nearly half the entire book is conveyed only through the art and yet you’re never once lost, never once confused as to what any character is thinking or feeling.  it’s a story within a story and only one of those gets words though they both are chock full of emotion!

um.... number 5, part 2? crowded, by christopher sebela - everything about this series is fun af.  crowd-funded assassination and a hirable bodyguard who’s rated like an uber driver???  and the chemistry between the two mains is so great and gay!!

honorable mentions: monster and the beast, by renji // long exposure, by kam ‘mars’ heyward // fence, by c.s. pacat // invisible kingdom, by g. willow wilson // ms. marvel, by g. willow wilson // heathen, by natasha alterici // not drunk enough, by tess stone // giant days, by john allison // die, by kieron gillen // be prepared, by vera brosgol // ascender (sequel to descender, which is also great), by jeff lemire // the unbeatable squirrel girl, by ryan north // bang! bang! boom!, by melanie schoen // gideon falls, by jeff lemire // life of melody, by mari costa // cry wolf girl, by ariel slamet ries // the tea dragon society, by katie o’neill // ptsd, by guillaume singelin // heartstopper, by alice oseman // solutions and other problems, by allie brosh // finding home, by hari conner // the magic fish, by trung le nguyen // something is killing the children, by james tynion iv // the weight of them, by noelle stevenson // spill zone, by scott westerfeld // skyward, by joe henderson // miles morales, by saladin ahmed

F I L M S.

parasite, dir. bong joon ho - oh it was satisfying, oh it was suspenseful, oh i had to watch some of it through my fingers but i loooooooved it.  such a good story and so well made.

knives out, dir. rian johnson - okay, everything about this movie was amazing.  every single character was fun as hell and i could’ve watched an entire movie about each of them.  what a great fucking mystery!

blindspotting, dir. carlos lopez estrada -  this made my heart hurt so damn much.  what glorious writing, acting, and story!

portrait of a lady on fire, dir. celine sciamma - gooooorgeous cinematography, amazing chemistry, and such a soft, atmospheric film.

the farewell, dir. lulu wang - i cried and my heart felt so full and i love it so so much.

um.... number 5, part 2? someone great, dir. jennifer kaytin robinson - no part of me expected to love a netflix movie this much but it’s a love story that doesn’t get told that often??  the end of a relationship and the true love of friendship and i love these girls and i love jenny and nate’s broken relationship.

honorable mentions: eighth grade, dir. bo burnham // booksmart, dir. olivia wilde // midsommar, dir. ari aster // the curse of la llorona, dir. michael chaves // the secret life of pets 2, dirs. chris renaud & jonathan del val // jojo rabbit, dir. taika waititi // the invisible man, dir. leigh whannell // the favourite, dir. yorgos lanthimos // can you ever forgive me?, dir. marielle heller // troop zero, dirs. bert & bertie // ready or not, dirs. matt bettinelli-olpin & tyler gillett // brave, dirs. mark andrews & brenda chapman & steve purcell // the half of it, dir. alice wu // palm springs, dir. max barbakow // doctor sleep, dir. mike flanaghan // uncut gems, dirs. benny sadfie & josh sadfie // birds of prey, dir. cathy van // bloodshot, dir. dave wilson // the old guard, dir. gina prince-bythewood // enola holmes, dir. harry bradbeer // hocus pocus, dir. kenny ortega // always be my maybe, dir. nahnatchka khan // finding dory, dirs. andrew stanton & angus maclane // die hard, dir. john mctiernan

S H O W S .

black sails (2014) - this show, this shooooooooow.  i cannot, it just makes me want to cry with how good it is.  the characters, the EMOTIONS, the story, the plaaaaaan.  like, the creators clearly had a plan for every single step of this show and it was a gOOD, GOOD PLAN.

the untamed (2019) - truly, cheesy good fun with one of the best gay romances ever.  i love these characters and their relationships to each other and the way it glories in its own ridiculousness.

the righteous gemstones (2019) - one of the things that bothered me about my next choice (the ratio of female to male nudity) was so much more realistic in this one (i mean, we’ve all gotten five thousand dick pics and i know like three people?  so the fact that there is so rarely male nudity in shows when there are tits everywhere..... no, how does that even make a tiny bit of sense?).  this show was such great, wonderful, awful fun.  they’re not great people and the show is under no delusion about that and it’s GLORIOUS!

the witcher (2019) - this was just hella fun, i loved the characters and the fantasy elements.  i’m excited for the next season, it’s just entertaining swashbuckling through and through!

fargo (2014) - all of this was really very enjoyable with the through line being somebody fucks shit up and gets involved in something they really shouldn’t be involved in that’s going to swallow them whole.  season one and season three were my stand-out favorites but they were all so violent, clever, and vicious!

um.... number 5, part 2? central park (2020) - um..... so many of the hamilton actors in a muscial cartoon drawn and written by the bob’s burgers team? WHAT ABOUT THAT DOESN’T SOUND AMAZING?!  it was such a joy to hear daveed diggs and leslie odom jr.’s voices again!!

honorable mentions: schitt’s creek // the mandalorian // mr. robot // broadchurch // mindhunter // jack ryan // the good place // the end of the f***ing world // big little lies // elite // kidding // servant // letterkenny // curb your enthusiasm // i am not okay with this // ozark // buzzfeed unsolved: true crime/supernatural // you // runaways // dear white people // dickinson // brooklyn nine-nine // will & grace // 9-1-1 // dead to me // solar opposites // never have i ever // killing eve // what we do in the shadows // grace and frankie // avenue 5 // roswell, new mexico // the bold type // evil // tuca & bertie // impulse // the umbrella academy // watchmen // infinity train // corporate // search party // on becoming a god in central florida // a.p. bio // criminal: uk // the morning show // mythic quest // last week tonight // prodigal son // the great

#the starless sea #the invisible life of addie larue #the untamed #knives out #2020 favorites list!! #i tried to stick to shows i both started and finished in 2020 otherwise like schitt's creek and the good place would be in top five #same for comics #uh oh i've found the keyboard again

[frunbuns]

Fics that punched me in the face and stole my lunch money

one more time with feeling by Soulykins (Not rated, 4009 words)

When Five Hargreeves is four-years-old, he discovers his power.

He also discovers a whole lot more than that.

They’re all figuring out their powers, and as a consequence they all move out of the nursery into their own rooms after a somewhat unfortunate incident regarding the discovery of Six’s powers. Regardless, Five isn’t very fond of the new arrangement because he’s lonely.

He can’t sleep without the sounds of his siblings around him. One’s sleepy whuffling and Four’s random exclamations, Six shuffling around and Two kicking his blankets off in the night. It’s too quiet.

That is, of course, when the man falls into his room.

Probably one of my all-time favourite fics. It hits hard and is honestly the reason this rec list was made. I swear the ending knocks the breath out of me every time I read it.

little white lies by Soulykins (General Audiences, 3750 words)

The first time Five lies, really lies, he's four-years-old and taking the blame for something he didn't do.

And then he doesn't stop.

--

Five lies to everyone. He lies to his father, to his siblings, and even to himself.

(Five has broken himself apart and put himself back together so many times over the course of his life. When you're broken, you use whatever is at hand to glue yourself back together. Love and loyalty and determination, of course. But hate and spite and fury all work as well.

Five never noticed when he started gluing himself together with lies. Lies are not very good glue, they come apart too easily.)

Five protecting his siblings? Angst and hurt? Yes. It hurts, but in a good way. Like all good angsty fics do. The ending? My god. A very nice way to end all that angst. Thank you very much.

Delusions of a Practical Nature by KnightNight7203 (Teen and Up, 5045 words, 3 chapters)

This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. He was supposed to get through the next layer of his equations, finally narrow down the limits he’s been searching for for the past month and a half. But maybe he should sit down with his family more often. For the first time in a long time, he feels something akin to peace.

In which Five doesn’t always have to make it through an apocalypse alone.

You think this is nice. A few things that make you go “That’s weird”, and then it punched you in the gut with the ending and you realize; “oh shit” and it’s actually really sad. This is yet another one of the fics that made me make this list lol.

Don’t waste your time (or time will waste you) by rosewitchx (Teen and Up, 4408 words)

He was an old man. He is sixteen. Ben dies next week. How does he know that? “I think I broke it,” Five stutters, and for the first time in her short life Vanya sees absolute terror in his eyes.

- Or, Five travels back again. Something goes wrong.

Heartbreaking in all the best way. This one hurts, but it wraps up nicely at the end and I like that in a fic (or anything tbh). It kinda feels like one long gut punch at times.

losing you to the gutter by tiesmp3 (Teen and Up, 2328 words)

fire, it burned my skin but i still want to play with it. - “baby boy”, mother mother

or, five is teetering on the edge of a very steep cliff—or, maybe he always has been, but no one’s ever really cared about it, anyway.

Hurt and comfort. Five’s PTSD being adressed. Getting the help he needs. All the good stuff.

and i'll be back (again and again and again) by artfulacrostic (Teen and Up, 3560 words)

Five stumbles to his feet and looks up at his family.

They seem so...startled. Staring, like they can't believe he's back, even though he's been back over and over and over.

Of course, they don’t know that. They never do.

//

Five relives the eight days before the apocalypse over and over again in a whirlwind of equations, alcohol, and failure.

This one’s a ride, y’all. Oh my fucking god. It’s so good. The feels, holy shit. I have no words. Just read it. This was also one of the fics that made me make this list.

Bolt from the Blue by TheArchaeologist (Mature, 84665 words, 39 chapters)

When they were sixteen Klaus successfully escaped for the night, and to celebrate went to the disco with a girl he barely knew. He was young, terribly misguided, but overall the night had been amazing.

He just didn't expect to have a baby dumped in his arms nine months later.

Or,

The author takes a throw away joke in the show and runs with it.

This is a looong one, I have to be honest with you all. It really is. It’s so good and heart wrenching and sweet and oh so sad. In an Alternate Universe Five is Klaus’ son and we follow him and Ben as they try their best to raise him with the little they have, until it all goes to shit. It’s part of a longer series and let me tell you; It’s a wild one.

And I Will Run Fast, Outlast by beastboy12 (Teen and Up, 27345 words, 7 chapters)

Five is fine. Getting his siblings to see that is a different matter entirely.

In which Five has a very difficult time accepting that he may not, in fact, be okay.

This one’s also on the longer side, but not terrifbly so. It’s another fic where Five struggles with his trauma and gets help. Some recovery. A very nice read. Make sure to read the warnings though, as it covers some difficult things. Be aware of that when reading this.

Side Effects May Vary by CivilBores (Teen and Up, 6565 words)

Allison crosses her arms. “Five,” she says firmly, “when was the last time you slept?”

“I don’t know,” Five says honestly. At Allison’s expression, he quickly adds, “But it doesn’t matter. I don’t know what it’ll take for all of you pea-brained idiots to realize that.”

“We may not be as intelligent as you, Five,” Allison says, “but at least all of us are smart enough to know how to take care of ourselves.”

OR

A week after the world is saved, Five convinces himself that he is still experiencing lingering side effects of paradox psychosis. His family has something to say about that.

Five’s falling apart and he thinks it’s paradox psychosis. The siblings try to help him. It takes some time, but eventually they get through to him. Turns out it’s not that serious, but Five is a disaster so what do you expect?

we are alive, here by pilotpoison (General Audiences, 1364 words)

The Apocalypse was diverted, and Five finally gets to feel.

Probably one of the shortest ones on the list. Five has a bit of a breakdown after finally stopping the apocalypse for good. Angsty with a hopeful, nice ending.

(i heard a rumor) i put a band-aid on a bullet wound by telm_393 (Teen and Up, 3220 words)

Allison tries to figure out who she really is. Allison tries to calm her brother down. There are no quick fixes.

Allison centered fic where she struggles with the loss of her voice and powers. It delves into Allison’s feelings towards the sitauation and her siblings (mostly Vanya). Basically she kinda learns how to live without the use of her voice, which has been such an imprtant part of her before and she also has a nice moment with Five where she calms him down after a nightmare. It’s also an interesting look at what Five’s trauma might look like from an outside perspective.

Derivation by obvious_apostate (General Audiences, 3199 words)

Grace wants to give the children something special for their birthday. She succeeds for six of them.

Your typical fic of the siblings recieving their names, expect in a slightly different direction. Grace sends out letters to the sibling’s mothers to ask what their names should have been and Five’s the one that never gets one. It’s sad and it hurts, but it’s so good.

#tua #Umbrella Academy #The Umbrella Academy #tua netflix #tua fanfic #tua fic rec #allison hargreeves #five hargreeves #number five hargreeves #number five #tua five #tua allison #fanfics #fanfic recs #fic recs #mine

[isnt-it-loverly]

little birdie (4)// five hargreeves

Warnings: blood

Summary: When Five lands in the Sparrow Academy, he must convince one of them to help him reset the timeline. 

Word count: 1800

Author note: sorry if this is bad, ive been in a rut as of late. Once again thank you so much for all the love and support. I hope you enjoy :)

part one, part two, part three part five

You knocked softly on the door of apartment 217. An elderly lady opened the door with a bright smile on her face. 

“Hello, my little birdie! It's been so long!” She said while pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. The wool of her sweater scratched against your skin, and the smell of freshly baked cookies and wild flowers filled your nose. She pulled away and placed her gaze on Five. 

“Oh, you’ve brought a friend!” She added gleefully. 

“Yes, Granny, this is um… Aidan! We met at the karate class my father has me in,” You explained. You hated lying to such a sweet old lady, but you knew the truth would be too much for her to understand. Plus you really didn’t have the time to explain everything. 

You turned back to Five and have a shrug of your shoulders. He was right, he didn’t need a normal name. Five was just too fitting. She moved closer to him and grabbed his cheek, making him very uncomfortable. 

“You’re father is just terrible for making you kids do that! Look how roughed up the pair of you are, come inside and we’ll get you cleaned up” She said solemnly. 

Five walked beside you and grabbed your arm firmly. Pulling you to the side he whispered a quick “what the hell” in your ear. 

“She thinks she’s my grandma,” you replied bluntly, “just go along with it.” 

Five sighed in exasperation, this was not helping him find his siblings. He followed you into the apartment begrudgingly, trusting that you were not just yanking his chain. The old woman excused herself and said she would bake a fresh batch of cookies. After she left you grabbed his sleeve and whispered, “follow me.”

You lead him into a side bedroom. It was small and quaint, very homey compared to the academy. 

“Remember when I said that I’ve lived a million lives? Gertrude was one of my first, I got stuck in her mind for weeks, and I learned a lot about her. Her husband died right before I got trapped in her noggin, so I switched some memories then added some new ones. I’ve been visiting ever since,” You explained. 

“Do your siblings know?” He asked, worry dripping in his tone. 

“Not to my knowledge, I don’t think they’d appreciate me having a life outside the academy,” you answered with a shrug. 

Five was utterly perplexed by you. You were an enigma, so eager to trust others, so kind, and selfless. How did you end up so different from the others? He watched as you opened a drawer of the cedar chest that was in front of the bed. 

“Sometimes, I like to take things from the people I’ve been. Just as little reminders. I think I have some clothes in here that might fit you,” you said with extreme focus. You pulled out a tee-shirt and jeans, something Five was not accustomed to. He turned his nose slightly.

“I’d rather choke on my own tongue than wear that,” He groaned. 

You shook your head in annoyance, pulling out a set of clean clothes for yourself as well. You enjoyed civilian wear, it made you feel normal and secure- something your academy uniform could never. 

“Just put on the damn clothes before I make you short stack,” you snapped back. Your eyes glowed s brighter blue for a moment and Five now knew he didn’t have a choice in the matter. 

“At least turn your back,” he grumbled in response. 

You gave him a small laugh and did as you were told. You crawled to the other side of the bed and slipped on your new clothes as well. After a few minutes, Five gave you the clear. 

“Wow, unknit that eyebrow and wipe that frown off your face, and you look almost normal,” You said with a smile. 

It was true, he looked like a regular ole teenager. Something you know that he has never been. You give him a look over before your eyes stop at his forearm. An umbrella tattoo, of course, he would have one. 

Five noticed you staring, he followed your gaze to his arm. He lifted it so you could see it better, and an ever-present scowl on his face. 

“Do you have one?” He asked. 

You nodded solemnly and pushed up your sleeve. You placed your arm against his, the bird and the umbrella practically touching. You wondered why your Father loathed them so much and then it was quiet for a moment. 

“The houses of Capulet and Montague,” you spoke up in a mocking tone. 

“I didn’t ask you to betray your entire family,” He said. His voice was deep and rough, a sense of anger could be detected. 

“No, but you really twisted my arm showing me the whole apocalypse thing. I’m an empath idiot, your feelings became mine,” You were quick to snap back. 

Five liked that about you. You were nice and helpful, but you also knew when to stand your ground. He could compare you to a coin, two different sides yet well balanced. A perfect equilibrium. 

“I’ve helped you,” you murmured, “now I think you owe me.” 

He raised an eyebrow at you, curious and intrigued at what you were going to say. 

“I’ve only done this once and it didn’t end well. I need you to keep me grounded, do whatever it takes to get me back. My father believes that I can project my consciousness onto someone without looking into their eyes, so I’m going to try to do that to your sister, Allison,” you explained. 

“You said it didn’t end well? What happened?” Five asked, very concerned. 

“It takes a lot out of me, I couldn’t get into anyone’s mind and it almost killed me,” You confessed. 

“I’m sorry, did you say killed?” He responded wide-eyed. It warmed your heart that he was at least concerned about you. 

“Look, do you wanna find your family or not? Unless you have a better plan?” You asked with a slight raise of your voice. 

Five shook his head, knowing that this was the best plan You sat on the plush bed, curling your fingers around the soft comforter. You took a shaky breath and closed your eyes tightly. Running the fabric between your fingers you counted every stitch. You pictured his sister’s face in your mind, paying extra intention to her eyes. Five watched intently as you did, he was worried about you- you were an important asset and a powerful ally. It would be a shame if you died. Your eyes opened abruptly and to Five’s amazement and horror there was just white and a soft blue emanating from them. 

When you opened your eyes again to find yourself sitting at a kitchen table. Looking up you see Allison sitting across from you, intently reading the newspaper. If she was there, then who were you? Looking down and the palms of your hands the words ‘hello’ and ‘good-bye’ were splayed across them. 

“Well shit, I’m the pretty one,” You mumbled to yourself. Although you were very glad and very surprised that you had managed to pull this off, you would have to thank your father for the extra training the past few months. 

“What are you on about now, Klaus?” Allison said utterly unamused. 

“Actually it’s number five. Not your Five, the other five. Sparrow Five. Ya know what I’m rambling, I’m (Y/n),” You spit out quickly. Holy shit this man’s brain was fried. Everything was happening at a million miles an hour, you couldn’t keep up.

You watched as her expression changed, she stood up abruptly in the same fighting stance Five had used earlier. Her eyes watched you like a hawk and if looks could kill you’d be dead. 

“Your family killed my brother, now I swear if you harm one hair on Klaus’ stupid head. I’ll end you,” She spat venom dripping in her words. 

“He’s not dead! Five is very much alive, and we’re looking for you guys. So all we need is an address and we will be on our way,” You replied with a smile. 

“Yeah right, why would I trust you?” She questioned. 

“Look, Five is hurt really badly. This astral possession thing is gonna knock me on my ass, I won’t be able to protect him from my siblings. If you don’t help us, well, we’re both already dead,” You said in a somber tone. 

 You could tell that the gears we’re winding in her head. You felt a pain in your head that radiates in your chest, you coughed slightly and blood appeared on your hands. Shit its starting, you couldn’t stay much longer. You felt blood begin to slowly drip from your nose. Double shit with a cherry on top.

“What are you doing to him?” She yelled.

“Allison,” you choked, “he needs you.”

“Fine, just stop whatever you are doing to him!” She yelled in fear of her brother, Moments later she revealed the address, perfect that’s all you needed. Now you could get back and share your triumph. 

You closed your eyes tightly and the world began to spin. Round and round, faster and faster.  Until finally, you felt your legs give out but you didn’t hit the floor. You opened your eyes slowly to find yourself in Five’s arms. He was looking down at you, fear present in those emerald eyes. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God, you started pouring out blood like a fountain. I thought you were dead,” He scolded. He sounded like an old man when he spoke, it was almost endearing. 

You touched your nose and wiped away some of the fresh blood, staring at it intently. You felt so weak, that was too much and you vowed never to do that again. The cost was far too high. You sat up and you felt Five’s hand on your back- ready to steady you if you need it. You had really scared him, he didn’t know why. He had just met you, so why did the thought of losing you hurt so badly.

“I did it,” You mumbled hoarsely. 

“Did what?” Five whispered in a soft voice. The tone was foreign even to him, but right now he felt like you needed a friend and not a sarcastic asshole. 

“I found them, I found your family. They aren’t far from here,” You breathed out. 

Five hugged you tightly and gave you a sincere thank you. You hugged back gently, you couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged you. It was a feeling you could get used to, warm, secure, and safe. You also couldn’t remember the last time you felt any of those things. Perhaps these umbrellas weren’t so bad after all.

“Come on,” You said breaking away, “let’s get some of those cookies, hit the road, and get you back to the right timeline.”

Taglist: alexander-hamilhoe

#number five #five x reader #five hargreeves #number five x reader #five hargreeves x reader #number five x you #five x y/n #five #Umbrella Academy #The Umbrella Academy #tua #aidan gallagher

[ofstoriesandstardust]

whole-Luther Hargreeves

a/n: if you’re new to my blog, I’m asexual and I’ve been feeling pretty down about it lately so I wrote this to make myself feel a little better. this is entirely self indulgent. yes, this is a asexual!reader x luther but the hargreeves siblings are here for moral support. 

masterlist | prompt list

warnings: post season 2 (no Sparrow Academy), Ben is alive, food, coming out, references to Sex Education, swearing

word count: 3,857

The first person you told was Klaus. It only made sense; you were the first person he came out to, you could trust him. He wouldn’t reject you or scorn you or laugh at you or tell you you weren’t valid. Still, your heart pounded as you thought about what you planned to do as you unlocked the door to your apartment, Klaus following you inside. The two of you had decided to have a night in, with you teaching Klaus how to make pasta from scratch. You didn’t think he’d really learn, but he’d been binge watching cooking shows and had practically begged for you to teach him. You agreed, because pasta wasn’t really that hard and it gave you something to do with your hands while you thought about what came next. You moved your hair up into a ponytail after setting the groceries down. “Klaus, grab the eggs out of the fridge would you?” You asked as you wiped the table down. He nodded, pulling them out and sidling up next you. You took a deep breath as you spread the flour out of the counter, showing Klaus how to set his up. Breathe. Just focus on the pasta. You could do this. The whole process went smoothly and turned out a very nice meal. Klaus had even momentarily distracted you from your thoughts as he took a strand of pasta, draping it over his lip as some sort of mustache and you had laughed so hard you almost started crying. 

You gripped your fork as the two of you ate, and you felt so close to throwing up your food. “....and then, Five said ‘Well Diego-”

“Klaus.” You said and he stopped, looking at you. Your eyes flitted up to meet his in a panic and you were certain your dinner was going to resurface. You sighed, setting your fork down, and put your face in your hands. “I’m asexual.” You mumbled out but you didn’t feel any better. 

“Sorry, love, didn’t quite catch that.” He tugged your hands away from your face, moving to set next to you from his place across the table. “Want to try again?” You sighed as Klaus tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear, still holding on to your hands. 

“I’m... asexual Klaus. I’m asexual.” 

“Oh darling.” He said softly, practically pulling you into his lap as Klaus only knew how to show his love through physical affection. “Thank you for telling me, I’m sure that was very hard.” He said genuinely and you looked at him. “I’m proud of you.” He whispered and you tucked your head into his shoulder, trying to ground yourself from the tears that were threatening to overwhelm you. 

“Thank you.” You mumbled, picking at your nails. 

“Does... does Luther know?” He asked. The sweet blonde had been your boyfriend for only a few short months and you were not ready to tell him. The fear that had gnawed at you was now back. 

“No. No and you can’t tell him.” You said, eyes wide, lifting yourself off Klaus. “Please don’t tell him, I’m not ready for him to know yet-”

“Hey hey hey, I won’t tell him, okay? Secret’s safe with me. Promise.” He said sincerely and you nodded. 

“Will you finish telling me that story while I eat now that I don’t feel like I’m going to throw up?” Klaus nodded, letting you slide off his lap to finish eating as  he resumed his story of the latest Hargreeves family dinner. 

-

The next was Ben. You’d been watching Sex Education at the recommendation of one of your college friends, and you had talked Ben into watching it with you. You watched as Jean told Florence “Sex doesn’t make us whole. And so, how could you ever be broken?” You felt your throat close up as you thought about all the ways you had doubted your self worth based on your sexuality. You could feel the way Ben looked down at you. The episode came to a close and Ben turned the TV off. The two of you sat in silence as you mulled her and Klaus’ words over in your head, debating if you should tell him. 

“Ben.” You said softly, and he shifted ever so slightly to make eye contact with you. “I’m asexual.” 

Ben raised his eyebrows and then smiled. “Thank you for telling me.” He responded, soft tone matching yours. 

“Do you think Luther will break up with me?” He remained silent for a moment, taking time to choose his words. He ended up shaking his head. 

“I don’t think so, no. He’s crazy about you, and this is a part of who you are, there’s not any reason to like you less.” You nodded, tears pricking at your eyes. “You want a hug?” You nodded and the boy pulled you in. “Your sexuality is a part of who you are, but it doesn't define you. And there’s nothing to be ashamed of, you do know that?” You looked up into Ben’s sincere eyes and nodded. Maybe you weren’t ready to tell Luther just yet, but telling the others didn’t feel as such a daunting task.

-

Then there was Vanya. You hadn’t planned on telling her, at least, not when you did, but it had just sort of... happened? Vanya lived across the hall from you, and from some reason, you’d gotten some of her mail by mistake. You’d gone over to return it and she had invited you in to catch up real quick. You were showing her a picture of a celebrity you both liked when she blurted out, “I’m bisexual.” You looked up at her. “I don’t... know.. if you knew that.” She said uncertainly. 

“I’m asexual.” You responded, without really thinking. She began to laugh which prompted you to laugh. 

“I was so worried over what you were going to say but we’re both just struggling.” You laughed harder at her words. “Oh shit, my popcorn!” She exclaimed, running over to the microwave to get the now burning popcorn. You laughed even harder. “Wait, is this why Klaus has been going around explaining sexualities to everyone the last few days?” You straightened up. “Something about how to be accepting when someone you care about comes out to you.” 

“I’m gonna fucking kill him. “ You responded. “What the hell, he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.” You responded, rubbing your temple. She sighed as she put a new bag of popcorn in the microwave. 

“Well, I don’t think Luther or Diego has caught on if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t even think they pay attention.” Vanya’s door opened and Ben walked in, followed by Diego and Klaus. 

“Speak of the devil.” You muttered. Diego reached over to give Vanya a hug and  you grabbed Klaus by his jacket as he went towards the living room. You pulled him close and got near his face. “What the fuck Klaus? You promised not to say anything.” You hissed. 

“Well, technically, I didn’t tell anyone anything-” He said shrugging, feigning innocence.  Fortunately for Klaus, Five and Allison, along with Luther walked through the door and you quickly let Klaus go. You stood up from your chair and Klaus moved back. 

“Okay, well, thanks for the nice chat Vanya, but I have to go call my mother.” 

“How fun.” Allison teased and you rolled your eyes. You gave Luther a quick kiss and hugged Diego. Ben pulled you in for a hug as well. 

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” He whispered. 

“How did you-” 

“I grew up with him. I know what he’s like. He won’t say anything but I’ll make sure he doesn’t until you’re ready.” You nodded, squeezing him. You pulled away, and headed towards the door. “Have fun.” You called, shutting the door behind you. God, that just confirmed to you needed to tell Luther, and soon.

-

The next had been Allison, and accidentally, Five. You stood in the Academy’s kitchen with Allison as the two of you talked over coffee. The two of you had been good friends since Diego had introduced you to the family and you were both busy catching the other up on your lives. “So, how are you and Luther?” The girl asked as she sat back in her chair. You smiled slightly at the mention of the sweet boy and shrugged. As happy as the thought of him made you, there had been quite the cloud hanging over you with the looming decision to be honest with him about your sexuality. 

“We’re good.” You responded quietly. She quirked an all-knowing eyebrow and you turned your head back to your coffee. 

“You don’t sound good.” The two of you sat in silence for a moment before she spoke again. “Cmon, telling me what’s going on.” You sighed, straightening up in your chair and faced the girl. For the millionth time, you felt like you were going to cry once again. “(Y/N).” She said seriously and you finally met her eye. “He’s my brother, but you’re also my friend. What’s going on?” You shook your head, trying to get the words out without breaking down. 

“I.. have to tell Luther something and I’m just.. scared.” 

“So practice on me.” She responded. 

“What? And pretend you’re Luther?” 

“Well, sure. Why not?” You stared at her. “I’m serious. You can practice on me, whatever it is, and then you’ll feel more confident telling him.” 

“If I do, you have to promise you won’t tell him. I’m not quite ready for him to know yet.” She nodded and you sighed. 

“What do I even say?” 

“Just.. whatever you want to say, say it to me.” You sighed and nodded. You looked down at your hands, playing with your cup. Boy, you shouldn’t have had two cups of coffee, your heart was racing. 

“Well, I guess.. there’s something I want you to know. And I guess.. I haven’t wanted you to know because I wasn’t ready yet, but I am now. And I guess... okay, well, the thing is... I’m asexual.” You spit out. 

“That’s all?” You jumped in your chair, hand clutching at your chest, as you turned to see Five standing in the doorway of the kitchen. 

“Oh my God Five, you scared the shit out of me!” You exclaimed. The boy smirked, shrugging. “And you weren’t supposed to hear that!” He turned to face you as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He took a sip of it as he seemed to contemplate your words. 

“Let me ask you something. Why are you so scared to tell him?” 

“How do you...” 

“I’ve been standing in the doorway longer than you realized.” You swore under your breath as he continued to wait for your answer. 

“Well, I just... it’s stupid.” 

“It’s not stupid.” Allison assured you, the first words she had spoken since your confession. 

“Clearly not for you to be so distressed over it.” Five added, sitting down next to you. “So again, why are you so scared?”

“I just... In the past... I’ve had... really bad reactions. Well, not terrible, but I did have a family member tell me I wasn’t valid and then one my room mates in college thought I was hitting on her, not to mention all the boys that have left me once they found out I wasn’t a quick fuck or planned on sleeping with them.. really ever, and I know Luther’s not like that, but I just... worry.” Five looked at you and then stood up from his seat next to you. 

“You should tell him. He deserves for you to be honest with him.” His words seemed to deflate something inside of you. He moved towards the door and then stopped and looked back. “But don’t worry about it so much. The boy looks at you like you hung the moon and stars all for him. It’ll be fine.” He left the kitchen and you turned back to Allison. She laughed.

“Well, I don’t say this often, but for once I agree with Five. Telling him won’t change things the way you think it will.” 

“Yeah, but...” 

“But what?”

“Diego doesn’t even know.” 

“Diego doesn’t know? How does Diego not know?!”

“Allison-”

“He’s your best friend (Y/N), how does he not know?!” You looked back at her and something in your face must’ve tipped her off because she softened. “Holy shit, you’re really scared, aren’t you?” 

“I’m terrified.” You whispered. “You take the two most important people in my life, and it shouldn’t change anything, but I’m so fucking scared I’ll lose them.” She shook her head. 

“You won’t lose them. They care about you too, and they care most that you’re honest about who you are and that you’re happy.”

“You really think so?” She nodded. 

“And, for the record, I’m glad you told me. But you need to tell them. Your experiences make sense; your concerns are valid. But I promise, they won’t have a bad reaction.” You sighed and nodded. Diego first, and then.. and then Luther. 

-

It was Diego’s turn to learn the truth. You had texted him early in the morning, just a few days after speaking to Allison. 

Can you come over today? I need to talk to you. It’s important.

It was all you could manage without losing your nerve but also conveying how important this was to you. He hadn’t texted you back which was a bit of a concern because he was usually an early riser. Your book and Cheerios sat in front of you, long forgotten, as you bit your lip, staring at your phone. You sighed, moving off your chair to clean up and get ready for the day, when keys jingled in the door, as Diego strode through. You turned to face him and he stopped short, taking you in. 

“Okay, you don’t look like you’re dying. Is someone else dying? Friends house burn down or something?” 

“Do I need to be dying for you to come over?” You asked, setting the now empty bowl in the sink for you to wash later. 

“No, but you don’t usually text me things like ‘I need to talk to you’ at,” His eyes looked up towards the clock on the microwave. “At 6:30 in the morning.” You shrugged as he moved closer to you. “What’s going on (Y/N)?” You sighed, wringing your hands together. 

“I have to tell you something, and you can’t tell Luther, because he doesn’t know yet, and I’m not ready for him to know yet, but I’m going to tell him, I promise, but you can’t freak out, and I don’t think you will, because you’re my best friend but-” The boy grabbed your hands, effectively cutting off your falling and rambling. 

“You can tell me.” He said softly, looking at you honestly. And you could, because he was your best friend and the two of you had seen each other through much worse. 

“Diego, I’m... I’m asexual.” You whispered. He let go you, taking a step back, and began to... laugh? You sighed, shooting him a look. 

“That’s all?” he said, chuckling. You reached out to smack his shoulder, which he easily dodged. He pulled you into a hug, despite your resistance, your shoulder leaning up against his chest. 

“Diego.” You whined, pout very present on your face. 

“What? You nearly gave yourself an anxiety attack over telling me; you really think I was going to run for the hills just because my best friend doesn't want to sleep with anyone?” You looked up at him and he pulled away. “Holy shit, you did, didn’t you?” You shrugged. “For how long we’ve been friends, I’d really think you’d know me better than that.” He said seriously. 

“I’m sorry Diego. It’s not that I don't trust you but I just- I’m so tired of being told I’m not valid or that there’s something wrong with me and I just... I was scared.” He sighed and pulled you back into his chest. You wrapped your arms around him. “Luther’s going to hate me.” You whispered and for a moment, you weren’t sure he heard you. 

“He’s not going to hate you. According to Five, he looks at you like-”

“Like I hung the moon and the stars for him, yeah I’ve heard.” You said laughing. 

“He won’t be mad, I don’t think. And even if he is, I’ll beat him up for hurting my best friend.” You laughed, nudging him. Diego let you go from him, leaving you with a few words of encouragement. You sighed as you picked up your phone to text Luther. You could do this. 

-

You had asked Luther to come over for dinner that night and he had agreed, letting you know he’d pick up takeout from your favorite Thai place on his way over. In the meantime, you decided to call a room mate of yours from college (not the one who thought you were hitting on her) to keep your mind off of it. But of course, it had all come out while you were on the phone and she’d been adamant you tell Luther. However, talking to her could encompass many different topics and you ended up losing track of time as you talked. “All I’m saying is, it’s not hard to understand where the conspiracy about Diana’s death comes from.” You laughed as you agreed. However, Luther knocked on the door, and you walked over to let him in. 

“Hi.” You said, smiling up at him. 

“Hi?” You friend said back in confusion. You sighed, looking down at the phone as you shut the door behind Luther. He set the bags of food down on the counter, looking over at you. 

“Not you, stupid. My boyfriend is here.” 

“WAIT!” She yelled. “Wait wait wait, is this the new one you can’t shut up about?” 

“New one? How many boyfriends do you think I have?!” 

“Whatever, the one you always talk about. The blonde one.” You nodded. 

“You want to say hi?” She nodded and you moved over, angling the phone to show Luther. 

“Luther, this is my room mate from college.” He waved awkwardly. 

“He’s cute.” She said, and you looked back up at Luther as he blushed. “He’s definitely your type.” She added and you looked down at her.

“What does that mean?!” You exclaimed, causing her to laugh. 

“Nothing, nothing. Just can’t believe you’ve been dating for almost six months and this is the first time I’m meeting him.” 

“Well, you’d have met him a lot sooner if you came out to visit me once in a while.” 

“Yeah, but if you came out here, we’d be able to go on that road trip we’ve been talking about.” 

“Yes, but it’s much more convenient to have you come out here.” She laughed. “Well, I have to go but I’ll call again soon.” 

“Wait, (Y/N).” You stopped and looked down. “You need to tell him.” She stated seriously. You sighed. 

“Okay, I’ll call you later.” You quickly hung up, moving towards Luther, giving him a quick kiss. “Sorry, that was one of my good friends from college.” He waved.

“No worries. She seems nice.” You nodded.

“She is, but... well, she’s a bit like Klaus, quite chaotic at times but I love her anyway.” He chuckled, pulling your food from the bags.

“So... tell who what?” He prompted, raising an eyebrow. You sighed. 

“Yeah... that. Do you mind... can we go in the living room before we eat and talk? I have something I need to tell you.” He nodded, but you didn’t miss the confusion and panic that settled on his face. The two of you walked over to the couch and you sat down, facing him. “So... I’ve been keeping something from you and I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. I’ve just been scared about how you might react.” He grabbed your hands and you squeezed them gratefully. “So... I’m asexual.” It was the most confident you had felt saying it, but there was a still a twinge of nerves behind your words. 

“That’s great! I just.. I don’t know what means.”

“Oh! Well... it means that I don't experience sexual attraction. To anyone. I’m not really interested in the whole sex bit.” He nodded slowly. 

“So... does that mean you want to break up?” He asked tentatively. 

“What? No!” 

“Well, Klaus was just talking the other day about people who don’t want to be in relationships with other people, but I’m not entirely sure what he meant...” 

“Oh, he must’ve meant aromantic people. They don’t experience romantic attraction to anyone, they don’t want a relationship. Some people are asexual and aromantic, and some are like me, and are only one. Sexuality is fluid and I could explain it to if you’d like but I feel like we should address the elephant in the room first.” 

“Which is?” 

“Well, just that, I’m very happy with you. But I don’t know if that changes anything for you. I mean, if you want to break up with me, I’ll understand.” You said softly. 

“Why would it change anything?” You shrugged. 

“I don't know.. I just don’t know if that's something a priority for you s’all.” He shook his head. 

“I’m guessing Klaus has never told you the story of the rave then.” you looked up at him. 

“No?” You said, laughing out of pure confusion. “Should he have?” Luther was quick to shake his head. 

“No, no, and don’t ask him to tell you. It’s just... that’s not something that’s a priority for me. And I’d never want to make you feel pressured or uncomfortable, so I appreciate you telling me. Just... I’m going to need you tell me what’s okay and what’s not? I don’t want to push anything.” You nodded. “I like you because you’re you. Short of you killing one of my siblings, I don’t think you could do much to change that. This won’t change anything.” You smiled and nodded. You leaned over, hovering just above his face. 

“Well, I can tell you one thing I like.” You whispered. The boy didn’t respond, just pulled you somehow closer without actually connecting your lips. 

“Can I kiss you?” He whispered and you nodded. It was sweet, but short. You pulled away, sitting back on the couch. 

“That.” You said, laughing slightly. He smiled and you patted his knee. “Well, the Thai food smells amazing, so let’s eat shall we?” He nodded and the two of you headed to the kitchen. He kissed you the cheek swiftly as you grabbed drinks from the fridge. “What was that for?” You asked. He shrugged, smiling at you. You laugh, smiling to yourself. The butterflies that boy continued to give you...

As the two of you cuddled on the couch later that evening, you felt a smile grace your lips as you fell asleep in the arms of your boyfriend. For the first time, you really began to feel whole. 

#luther hargreeves #luther hargreeeves imagines #luther hargreeves fic #luther hargreeves imagine

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

TUA PIRATE AU

(of the Caribbean? Sort of? I guess?)

(please understand that by AU, I mean they share an incredibly small amount of things in common with the original source material which I barely remember BUT the “story” takes place in the setting of the books/films) (not to be misleading or anything :p)

(BEWARE: abuse, murder, pirates and all of their violent shenanigans, etc.)

(If you can handle watching Umbrella Academy, this will be fine for you.)

Luther is the captain of the guard, and pirates are the bane of his existence. He hates Diego most of all, the man who’s stolen unspeakable amounts of gold from Reginald, Luther’s employer. But as annoyed he is at all of the theft, he purposefully never catches Diego, because he knows Klaus loves him. And Luther may be a man of the law, but he’s also Klaus’ beloved brother-in-spirit, even if Reginald wants them to marry each other for some idiotic reason. (Something about getting Klaus to settle down - ha, he can try.) When Klaus disappears, Luther follows him, having no connections left here - and that’s when he meets Allison. And there are copious laws against getting involved with married women and outlaws alike… so Luther starts to think that maybe bending the rules wouldn’t be so bad. (Klaus is so proud.)

Diego grew up poor, and became a pirate in his early teens when Grace took him in. When she fled the colony, Diego went with her, leaving his childhood best friend Klaus behind. He’s got his own fleet and crew now, and mostly uses his scores as excuses to flirt with Klaus, who’s still just as drawn to him after all these years and often sneaks him into his bedroom when Diego’s in town. Diego’s kept in close touch with Lila and Eudora, both of whom he grew up with once Grace took him away, and they both help him when it comes time for him to crash Klaus’ wedding to Luther (fuck you dude) and steal Klaus away for a life at sea. (Klaus absolutely LOVES this. They kiss a lot. They swing from ropes. Klaus is screaming at all the guards as Diego carries him away bridal-style (ha, I’m so funny). It is delightful.) (His ship is a terror they call The Kraken. Ha, get it? Get it - because Diego’s name - and the monster from legend - okay yeah I’ll shut up now.)

Allison is a badass goddess, covered in colorful tattoos with gold in her hair. She was a prostitute for awhile, stealing a bunch along the way, but one day one of the pirate captains who approached her tried to take more than he paid for. She broke both his hands and killed him in cold blood, then defeated his entire crew in a sword fight single-handedly, earning their respect. She now rides with that same crew as their captain, in one of those off-the-shoulder poet-blouse-corset dresses and high brown boots. Ray is a leutinant who’s been chasing her for years, the two of them flirting back and forth forever… but he’ll never catch her. It’s bad form to arrest your wife.

Klaus is the governor’s bastard son, a totally wild spirit who wears dresses all the time, drinks his weight at parties, and has slept with half the town (marriage is not a problem for him, this is Klaus, we all know he is very down for threesomes). He’s stolen half of Reginald’s shit for Diego over the years, and has been sneaking off to see him just as long, completely in love with his pirate king. Though he’s loved others before - Dave, for example, a soldier whose death broke Klaus into give in to Reginald’s plan to marry him off to Luther (who Klaus loves, just, Not Like That™). The day Diego kidnaps him from his own wedding is the best fucking day of his life - okay, no it wasn’t. That was second best. The best day of his life was the day he and Diego watched Diego’s ship and treasure burn and sink into the sea, and Klaus asked him if he was alright, and Diego just shrugged. Said, You’re the only treasure I need, and kissed him like the world was ending. Yeah. That was the best day of his life, because Diego is the best anything in his life.

Five was a pirate queen until he transitioned a few years ago, though only by word of mouth. No one’s ever seen him. Anyone who works for him doesn’t make it a month outside of the job, usually by his own hands, but people keep coming because nobody knows who he is. He sails alone, though he offers Klaus refuge on his boat for a few days under the moniker Aidan, because he knows Diego loves him, and Five actually respects Diego (if only because he respects Lila who he only respects because he respects Eudora). He hates the Handler for leaving him stranded on an island when he was just a child, an unwanted product of her crew’s hard partying, and has vowed to kill her one day for leaving him alone for so long, ageless in misery. He talks to the mermaid on the front of his ship named Dolores and kills without mercy, and when he finally reveals himself as this skinny pale thirteen-year-old with the grandpa haircut, he revels in the looks on his family’s faces as they try to rebuild their blown brain circuits.

Ben loves Klaus more than life itself, which is, in hindsight, probably why he’s dead. Oh who is he kidding, it’s definitely why he’s dead. Klaus is sort of, kind of, maybe, just a little bit a witch, and they hang witches where they’re from. So when they needed someone to blame for the odd happenings Klaus had caused recently, Ben had taken the blame and worn the noose proudly. Klaus still talks to him all the time, his ghost anyway, and it’s fine - but Klaus lives on the sea now, with Diego, and Ben gets seasick like all the time. (And then he steals Davy Jones’ heart and gets trapped as a tentacle monster, which is honestly not that bad. It helps him scare birds, and Ben likes scaring birds.)

Vanya works as the blacksmith’s apprentice, sad and lonely. She’s been having an affair with the duchess Sissy for years, also working as her maid and a nanny for her son Harlan when asked, but mostly she’s alone, with no one else to care for in the world. (And that creep officer Leonard keeps asking her to marry him, which, just. Ew.) When Five shows up, his hands in his pockets, and offers her a way out, well - what else could she possibly do?

Lila is a badass pirate princess who don’t take no shit from anybody. She wears bright pink ballgowns while skewering people like kabobs, which is funny because she’s a well-known maneater. Literally. (Yes I included a Hannibal character in here because it’s my AU and I can do whatever the fuck I want.) She fell in love with Eudora, and thought she had corrupted the kind sergeant until she found out Eudora had been an undercover pirate the whole time, helping Diego smuggle Reginald’s gold and goods in and out of port. (That’s hot as fucking hell, she blurts when she realizes. Fuck, I’m gonna marry this woman.) She has a serious rum problem she will not be addressing and a collection of pet parrots that will forever prevent her and Ben from becoming friends. When she and Eudora get married, it’s in the middle of the pouring rain while thunder and lightning and gunshots crack around them and they’re killing people and shooting canons left and right (because I may not have shipped Will and Elizabeth but by god if their wedding wasn’t the best fucking thing I’ve ever seen). Now if only she could find the king of the pirates… she’s been hunting Five for years, hoping to prove herself to him, but he just… won’t show up.

Eudora is the sergeant in Reginald’s legions, and has been using her position to help Diego pirate goods since before he even left with Grace. She makes a lot of deals with him, having him carry her cargo and speak with her connections in exchange for her keeping an eye on Klaus for him, which to be honest they both know she’d do anyway. She helped Diego get to Klaus’ wedding and kidnap him, confusing the soldiers in pursuit of the bride, and follows them off to sea, finally home. She feels she owes an eternal debt to Klaus for not being able to save Ben from execution, though she tried, almost desperately. She flirts with Lila all the damn time, and believes in magic, wanting to travel the world looking for it. Most importantly, you should know that she will and has killed for a cheeseburger. (I know they weren’t invented yet shut up.)

Reginald is the governor of the colony, and Klaus’ father. He’s an asshole, one who constantly hunts the pirates because his wife Grace left him to be one. He only has one eye because Grace cut the other out viciously in their last fight, and he’s an abusive piece of shit who lives to terrorize and tax people. Pogo is his assistant / advisor / let-me-stand-here-and-give-you-good-advice-that-we-all-know-you’ll-ignore person. Reginald refuses to die before he catches Grace and sees her hanging in the square - something that seems more and more likely by the day. (HA, Grace says. He wishes.)

Grace is the original pirate queen, and lives in legend. She faked her death after living a double life for years, leaving Reginald and taking her son Diego with her. She knows Reginald doesn’t believe in her death, because she cut his eye out and nearly killed him right before she left, but everyone else believes it. She jumped from the bell tower and Klaus himself “went mad with grief” at the sight of her body, though he of course knows she’s alive and keeps up the story for her benefit. She injured Reginald so severely because he killed Ben, knowing that he wasn’t guilty, and that the witch in question had done nothing wrong anyway. She is known to be fiercely protective of her children, and kind in nature despite her ability to kill you using a historic number of methods. Her crew is made up of refugees who she offered shelter and a better life in exchange for their servitude, including Five, for awhile, who was running a scam. She knows who he is, and remembers his face well - but she keeps it to herself. Though she could match him in a fight easily, she has no interest in battling the boy she has grown to love as a son. (She’s also the one who officiates Diego and Klaus’ wedding, but that’s unrelated.)

The Handler is another pirate queen, and Grace’s greatest rival. She has two pistols at her waist and is not afraid to use them, having such deadly aim that she’s never missed a target - except Diego, which she hates him for. Also for encouraging her first mate and daughter Lila to mutiny, but that’s a whole other can of worms. Her ship is followed by an entire shiver of sharks, who let her use them like water skis whenever she wants. She abandoned Five on an island when he was born into her crew, as she hates children with a burning passion. (There are rumors she eats little boys’ bones. They have yet to be disproven.) Hazel is her snivelling first mate and Cha-Cha is her willing servant and second captain, a master at the wheel and with a sword. Agnes is an old psychic (ha, she’s faking it. She’s got no fuckin’ clue where Five is and will continue to lie whenever asked) she keeps in the brig after kidnapping her years ago, hoping to get a read on Five, who the Handler hates for constantly stealing her goods before they even make it to port. (She has no idea he’s the same boy she left on that island all those years ago - he’s certainly not the only child she’s done that to. But countless are out for her blood… almost every person Grace has rescued was left to die on an island by the Handler.) She eventually dies at Klaus’ hand, who plunges a sword through her heart in defense of his family, who she made the fatal mistake of coming after. (It happened in the same rainy battle where Lila and Eudora were married. He was wearing a yellow ballgown.)

Also Jack Sparrow is super great friends with Lila and he’s married to Will Turner who’s honestly so exhausted but gets along great with Ben and Elizabeth is their ace-aro friend who is a goddamn queen and who Diego has a lowkey crush on and Klaus can geek out with for hours. It’s awesome.

#tua #the umbrella academy #pirates of the caribbean #pirates #because they're fucking awesome and i wanted to write more of them okay??? #kliego #eudorla #ralluther #klaus &x ben #five &x dolores #diego & eudora & lila #vanya x sissy #agnes x hazel & cha-cha #the hargreeves #the hargreeves siblings #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #reginald hargreeves #grace hargreeves #the handler #lila pitts #eudora patch #oh and everybody else #because apparently there's a limit to tags on tumblr #(how odd)

[bbyx]

ripple effect - part eight

Summary: During her fourth year at Hogwarts, (y/n) Deauxville falls for none other than Cedric Diggory. But it's not easy when you have to deal with protecting your family's fortune, keeping your father's illness a secret and having two of your closest friends catch feelings for you.

Pairings : reader x cedric, reader x draco, reader x harry

“You’ll never guess what happened today.” Ron says, hurrying to catch up to you as you enter the Great Hall for dinner.

“What, Ron?” You say amused.

“We think Hagrid fancies Madame Maxine.” 

 “Finally found a woman his size huh.” You grin looking at Hagrid in his mismatched suit fumbling next to Beauxbaton headmistress.

“ Who do you reckon the Goblet will pick.” Says Harry, materialising beside you.

“ Krum for sure.”

“ B-but what if he gets injured, he’s the best seeker!” Ron stutters, turning pale.

“ You should come sit at the Slytherin table if you wanna meet him so bad.”

“Yeah right. They would slit my throat before dessert.” Ron scoffs.

“Suit yourself.” You say before splitting up to your respective tables.

“My mother wants you all to know that you’re all invited to the Malfoy’s New Years ball, as always, and she’s sending out the official invitations next week.” Draco says, sipping on his pumpkin juice. 

“ Oh my god! I think Astoria is finally old enough to attend her first ball. Do any of you already have a dress?” Daphnees exclaims, turning to you and Millicent.

“ Balls are boring, the only fun part is the after party.” Theo says stifling a yawn.

“(y/n), I hope you don’t mind, but my mother’s already picked out a selection of dresses for you. I tried to stop her but,” Draco says, his ears turning slightly red.  “erm she wouldn’t listen. Anyways, she’s sending them over as soon as heavenly possible.” He finishes, imitating his mother’s posh voice.

“ That’s fine, your mom has a good eye for clothes anyways.” You smile reassuringly.

You and Draco had been each other’s dates for formal events ever since you could remember. It was just easier, not having to worry about finding a date. And (y/n) also knew that  Narcissa Malfoy would have loved to have a daughter and that shopping for (y/n) brought her so much joy.

“Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision,” said Dumbledore. “I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions’ names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions.”

The flames in the cup turned from blue to red and silence overtook the hall. It sputtered and a charred piece of parchment flew out.

“The champion for Durmstrang,” Dumbledore read, in a clear voice, “will be Viktor Krum.” 

All the Durmstrand students jumped up cheering in foreign languages and patting Krum on the back. 

“Bravo, Viktor!” boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. “Knew you had it in you!” Viktor stands up, his lips slightly upturned and goes to the chamber.

The silence comes back when the Goblet starts sputtering again.

“The champion for Beauxbatons,” said Dumbledore, “is Fleur Delacour!” 

The remainder of the Beauxbaton students were absolutely devastated, some of them even crying. The other students were too busy ogling Fleur to cheer. She graciously slips into the other chamber.

The whole room is practically shaking with excitement as the cup starts sputtering again.

Not Nick please.

“The Hogwarts champion,” Dumbledore calls, “is Cedric Diggory!” Every single Hufflepuff jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly. He winks as he passes by you, making your heart melt. The applause for Cedric seemed to be neverending. Even Draco gave in and started clapping.

“Excellent!” Dumbledore called happily as the cheering died down. “Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —” 

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking. The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. Another paper popped out of it. Dumbledore looks perplexed.

“Harry Potter.”

The entire room was looking at Harry, who looked shell shocked. For a split second, your eyes meet. “Harry Potter!” Dumbledore calls again. “Harry! Up here, if you please!”. Slowly he stands and awkwardly waddles to the top table. “Well . . . through the door, Harry,” said Dumbledore. 

“It’s always bloody Potter. How did that fucking pinhead manage to trick the Goblet.” Blaise says venomously.

“ He’s Dumbledore’s little darling, that’s how.” Draco says, his jealousy leaking through each syllable. You were about to jump to Harry’s defense but decided against it, not wanting to start more conflict.

“God, the Hufflepuff party is gonna be wicked. Allison Odgen’s in Hufflepuff, Ogden as in Old Odgen’s Firewhiskey and I heard that she’s got two whole crates of firewhiskey just for tonight.” Theo says, musing.

“ I heard a couple of seventh year Puffs stole a shiton of weed from the Greenery too.” Milicent adds.

“What party?”

“The one for Cedric, duh” Daphne says while wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

“Oh. In the common room?”

“No, at the bottom of the lake.” Theo answers sarcastically. “C’mon let’s go before it gets too crowded.”

“You guys go ahead, I'll be there soon.” You say crestfallen, as your friends hurry out of the Hall. (y/n) had been looking forward to finally spending time alone with Cedric. He was supposed to show you around the Hufflepuff common room but you had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen because of the party. After a while, you find yourself alone in the gigantic Hall, which is a very eerie feeling. The candles had burned low and shapes were flickering on the stone walls. The silence makes your ears ring and you decide to just meet Cedric at the party when a voice makes you jump. 

“So,” said Cedric to Harry, with a slight smile. “We’re playing against each other again!” 

“I s’pose,” said Harry. 

“Harry! Cedric!” They both jump, not having noticed you in the dark hall. You run and grab Harry in a hug.

“Harry! What on earth happened?”

“I didn’t put my name in!” He desperately shouts, his voice cracking.

“I know, I know.” He gazes at you for a couple seconds, making sure you believed him.

“Do you want me to come to the Gryffindor common room with you?” 

Harry takes one look at Cedric’s clenched jaw and your worried face. “No it’s fine. I’ll erm see you tomorrow. Enjoy yourself tonight, we’ll figure it out in the morning” And with that he leaves.

“No hug for this champion?” Cedric says pouting.

“Of course!” You say, throwing yourself against him. “I’m so excited for you.”

The golden flickering lights of the dying candles made his lips look even more inviting than usual. The Hall that had looked so daunting minutes ago, now looked like a safe haven. His grey eyes are fixed on yours and he slowly leans in. You close your eyes, feeling his hot breath on your mouth when someone coughs loudly. Your eyes flicker open while Professor Moody limps out of a dark corner.

“P-professor!” You croak.

“You are just like your mother, Miss Deauxville, coercing well raised boys into doing your dirty work.” You look at him, mouth agape. “As for you, Mr.Diggory, I suggest you stay away from these types of women.”

Cedric looks like he’s about to pounce on Moody, but you grab his forearm.

“Ced let’s go.” You say softly, while Moody stands there as if daring Cedric to hurt him. You try pulling him away but he’s far stronger and heavier than you. Finally he gives in to your tugging, puts a hand on your back and leads you out of the hall. The two of you walk in silence. 

“Cedric” You say, grabbing his hand. “It’s not a big deal, let it go. He’s just a psycho old man.”

“It’s not about that.” He mutters, staring ahead. 

“What is it about then?” You say as you near the Hufflepuff common rooms. The hallway was vibrating with the beat of the music playing inside. 

“It’s about the fact that he interrupted our kiss.”

Cedric brings his hands up to your face and flashes you his blinding white teeth. He leans down and barely pecks your lips before the door of the common room swings open. 

A drunk Ernie Mcmillan stumbles out and you see Cedric’s eye twitch.

“Ayyyy it’s Dedric Cigorrry. The whole house s’been looking for you Cigarette.” He manages to say before vomiting the contents of his stomach in a nearby barrel. You and Cedric move past him and enter the common room. The place is decorated in an embarrassing amount of posters bearing Cedrics face, Hufflepuff banners hang from every corner and music is blasting so loud that the furniture shakes slightly. 

“I promise I will show you this place when it’s not trashed.”Cedric manages to say before a mob of girls in yellow robes swarm him. 

“Cedric! We organized all of this!” The leader says motioning to the group of girls and the posters of his face. 

“Er wow. Thank you so much.” He flashes them his million dollar smile. The crowd forming around him was making you claustrophobic so you go sit with your brother and his friends. 

“Aren’t you going to congratulate him?” You ask the boys who are sitting at a large round table in the corner. 

“Yeah of course, once the fan club’s done.” Graham says, his eyes focused on the paper he's cutting. 

“We’re having a blunt rolling competition.” Xavier says motioning to the dried leaves on the table. 

“Aah, can I join?”

“No. You can be the judge.” Your brother says.

“You’re such a narc Nick.” You say while pulling out a chair.

A clearly fucked up Jeremy laughs. “Nick the Narc. That’s funny.”

You moved around from friends to friends during the most of the night, but the only presence you craved was Cedric’s. He was surrounded by people congratulating him but finally he broke free and headed to the table with his friends. You make a beeline towards his, leaving Daphne on the dance floor. She doesn’t notice, she’s too busy dancing her heart out with a group of Hufflepuff girls. All the boys hug him and he’s smiling like an idiot. 

“Ced, have i evver told you-” Jeremy starts slurring but he stumbles forward. “Alohaa” He throws his hands up and start swaying.

“Cedric, man! You’re gonna win this thing I have a feeling.” Nick says ruffling his hair.

“What d’ya want.” Graham says motioning to the different baggies on the table.

“I’ll have whatever he’s having.” Cedric says motioning to Jeremy who was swaying back and forth with a paper bag on his head.

“(y/n) wanna have a shotgunning contest. If you win you can have my shoes. If I win you have to kiss me” Peregrine says holding a tray full of firewhiskey shots.

“Why would I want your shoes?” You say, glancing at his black tennis shoes.

“I dunno.”

“Fine, let’s do it.”

Graham starts lining up the shots, seven each.

“ My bet is on Peregrine, physically he stands a better chance.” Xavier says with all the authority of a rocket scientist.

“You have no clue how much the Deauxville’s can drink then.” Nick says, nursing his own drink.

You give Peregrine a competitive smirk. “Three, two, one, go!”

When shotgunning whiskey, the first three shots are always the hardest. The first burns your throat like you’ve just swallowed a big gulp of salt water. The second one, if done fast enough, numbs all sensation in your mouth. The third one is when most lightweights die off, it sends electric shocks through your body. After the shock of the third one, all the others seem dull. The faster you go the more time you’ll have before the alcohol in your blood reaches your brain. After that your vision will start clouding and you can maybe manage two more before you’ll collapse or hurl your brains out. Luckily for you, Peregrine dies off after your fifth shot and stumbles to a nearby basket.

“Learned from the best.” Nick says proudly. Cedric’s mouth is agape.

“Wanna go again?” You tease when Peregrine comes back. 

“Christ! You’re good” He says taking his shoes off and throwing them at you. You catch them easily. 

“Nick pass the weed!” (y/n) hollers at her brother. 

“Yeah Nick, don’t be such a weed hog.” Cedric says. 

“Nick the Hogweed student. That’s funny.” Jeremy says muffled by his paper bag. 

You take a moment to look around the room. You had to give it to Cedric, the Hufflepuff common room was beautiful. The high ceilings had copper lighting fixtures that sent golden light through the space. The walls were full of hanging plants and the floors were covered in plush mismatched carpets. Soft couches and wooden tables were scattered around the room. At the moment the room was full of Hufflepuff students, a handful of Ravenclaw and the eternity of  the Slytherin population of Hogwarts because they would rather die than have a Gryffindor champion. You spot Theodore and Draco on a nearby couch. Some blonde sixth year girl is eating Theo’s face. Draco is playing with the thick rings on his fingers not paying attention to Pansy’s storytelling. Milicent is part of a group of students sitting on the grand piano, singing furiously along to the lyrics of the song. Blaise is too drunk to notice that the girl he’s flirting with happens to be a very tall plant. And Daphne is dancing with Hannah Abott. You do a double take. Daphne is now kissing Hannah Abott.  

The kissing reminds you of the interrupted kiss between you and Cedric. You sneak a peek at his lips. Just then Xavier drops something heavy in the middle of the table. It’s a deck of cards in the middle of the table.

“Strip poker!” Peregrine shouts excitedly.

“You wish.” 

“I’m the card dealer.” Graham says, grabbing the deck.

“Xavier you forgot the poker chips dumbass.” Graham says.

Xavier sighs “Yeah, couldn't find them. It’s okay though, we can use-”

“Shoes!” Peregrine says, toppling his drink on the floor.

“Peregrine, I have your shoes.”

“Oh well fuck, i’m on team (y/n) then” Peregrine says.

You motion for Draco to come sit because he’s the best player you know. He sits and rolls his eyes at the shoe idea but agrees to play. 

“Well boys, start saying goodbye to your shoes.”

Two hours and 11 pairs of shoes later, most of the partygoers had cleared out. You were glad to find your white sneakers still clad to your feet. After the game had started, so many people joined but you and Draco were the only ones still wearing shoes. He had fared better though, with 15 pairs of shoes. 

The air in the common room was thick with smoke, the music had stopped except for some Ravenclaw playing his heart out on the piano. (y/n) is lying on a couch with her head in Cedric’s lap, her feet on top of a sleeping Jeremy. Theo as usual was nowhere to be found and you suspected that Daphne was in Hannah Abbott’s dorm. Blaise was still relentlessly talking to his plant, the boy could talk about himself for hours on end.

Cedric plays with your hair.

“I’mm tired.” You slur lazily.

He chuckles.“(y/n) you can’t fall asleep here.”

“Whyy?”  You pout up at him.

“Because Nick already looks like he’s going to hex me.” You blow a strand out of your face and turn your head towards your brother. You sigh, not wanting to create new tensions between you and your brother.

“Blondie, take me homee.” You holler at Draco.

“Gladly.” He says helping you up. 

You throw Cedric his shoes. He dodges your clumsy throw that was heading straight to his face.

“There you go Cinderella.”

“Goodnight (y/n)” He chuckles.

(y/n) and Draco are walking down a dark hallway illuminated only by the pale moonlight, your footsteps resonating. You stop in your tracks.

“Draco, I've just had a brilliant idea.”

He doesn't answer, just raises his eyebrows.

“The shoes. On the… fuck whats it called. The big light thing?”

“A chandelier.” He sighs, shaking his head.

“Yes! Chandelier. We hang all the shoes on the chandelier in the great hall.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

“ God I don't know! You’re supposed to be the smart one.”

He sighs deeply, but takes your hand and starts walking towards the great Hall.

When the two of you were done, they’re were 26 pairs of shoes hanging on the chandelier. From sneakers to dainty ballerina flats. 

“The chandelier looks so much better now, see? We should do this to all the chandeliers in our houses”

“I’ll make sure to tell  my mother to keep it in mind.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Finally,” Draco says looking at his thick silver watch. “It’s 4:38 am.”

“No point in going to sleep then.”

“You’re insane.” He chuckles, catching you as you stumble forward.

You smirk devilishly. “ I just can’t wait to see everyone’s face at breakfast tomorrow.” 

#cedric diggory #harry potter #draco malfoy #hp and the goblet of fire #cedric diggory x you #cedric diggory x reader #cedric x you #cedric x reader #harry potter x reader #draco malfoy x reader

[awakenatmidnights]

aftg hc where they visit a ghost town because i can't see why not????

andrew: take a guess, come on, it's not hard. of course this motherfucker had to pick every single lock in the town. the weird thing about it? he picked the lock, looked around the inside of the house and if he didn't find what we was looking for he just left. what he was looking for, neil didn't know. (also he might have locked neil inside each house more than a couple times, relishing every time he got out after just a few seconds wearing the most unimpressed look on his face) ((++ also, the thing he was looking for in the houses? graffiti. sometimes he found real, beautiful paintings, other times just dicks. well, he wasn't there to judge. better take what he could get.))

kevin: spent the three weeks prior to the trip researching all kinds of facts about the town and made sure to tell everyone every single detail about them ["someone once pushed their newborn from these stairs" "how the actual fuck have you even gotten this information kevin-"]. and to repeat it a few more times just in case, you know. for the people in the back. not because he couldn't stop talking about it, nah-uh. not him, wrong bitch.

dan: needless to say. pictures. pictures of everything. pretty flowers, the panorama with the mountains, last century's street lamps, old street signs, everything. and yes, she sure as hell climbed throughout the highest houses to make the picture fit more into the ✨aesthetic✨. that building is too tall for her to climb on it you say? fucking watch her. she can and she fucking will.

neil: at first he couldn't make out why everybody was so excited about this trip. i mean, what's so exciting about an abandoned town? people used to live here, now they don't, what's so special about it? he just followed andrew around for a while, listening to his probably made up ghost stories, making out with him in the deserted streets and basically living the dream until he figured out his own thing to do, which is? every single illegal thing imprinted in the what-you-can’t-do-in-a-ghost-town global agenda. stealing souvenirs, writing on the walls (in most cases something related to exy or a simple ‘hi:)’ bc this boy has no sense of civility smh), stomping on the rotten floorboards. you know, the basic. he also wanted to stay the night just so he could traumatize aaron and kevin but one can’t have everything, can he?

matt: found a random cat in the streets and proceeded to gave them food, water, his dorm keys, his heart, fifty bucks, every single thing he could find in his (dan's) bag. AND when the cat started purring in his hand oh boy was he gone. if someone asked him literally anything about the trip, the only thing he’d be able to talk about would be the damn cat. after he ran into it he couldn’t give one single shit about the town and he still strongly stands by that.

allison: she did not come to play, i can tell you that. when they got there some fucker had the guts to laugh at her 6 inches heels (about 15cm for my fellow europeans like me) and not only she made sure to kick him in the balls with said heels, but also managed to go back and forth the entire fucking town with them. not to demonstrate the fucker something, but because she can. the fucking power she holds. (++ insert here renee being a big lesbian™ watching her from afar)

aaron: he literally walked (mostly) alone around every single corner of the town ["aaron we're ready to go home, where are you?" "at the church" "there is a church????"] and asked kevin for the creepiest, weirdest facts about everything. it was a win-win situation for both of them, really. he is a sucker for these things and as he SHOULD leave him alone 😤

nicky: tried to follow aaron around for a while before realizing he was lost in his own world, so he got back to the others after no more than half an hour. he then proceeded to complain about having to walk so damn much because it shouldn't be an exy training and this should be their day off from the court for fucks sake. he also takes a lot of pictures and selfies for erik, and if he then spends the night skyping and laughing with him about every time any of the foxes slipped or fell in the concrete, then nobody has to know. (yes, he caught kevin slipping on camera. no, he hasn't showed him yet because he's too good of a soul to die this young. his words, definitely not mine.)

renee: she was everywhere at any given time, nobody still knows how. she helped matt feed the cat, walked around with andrew and neil, listened to kevin rambling all over the town. also, they only realize this the day later when talking about the trip, in the comfort of their dorms. dan lets casually slip something like "i was just about to fall from those stairs, thank god renee was there to catch me haha" and just laughs it off til nicky's like "??? what are you talking about??? i've been with renee almost the whole trip and you were literally in the opposite side of the town?????" and when they turn to her for explanations she just gives her most loving, innocent smile. today it's still unknown what really happened and they're not so sure they want to know anymore.

[[hey! editing this just to let you know that you can find the actual pics of the ghost town i visited here!!]]

#i went to a ghost town in august and this has been hanging around in my head since then #aftg #tfc #the foxhole court #aftg shitpost #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #kevin day #renee walker #matt boyd #dan wilds #aaron minyard #allison reynolds #nicky hemmick #headcanon #hc #aftg headcanon #aftg hc

[hepaidattention]

hi I’m going to list off my favorite emotional scenes in Teen Wolf that made me stop and think “oh my god - I thought this was just a campy teen drama.” Don’t mind me. (Not in a particular order.)

1) When Stiles thinks he has the same type of dementia that his mom had, and him and Scott hug each other before he has his CAT scan, and he just sobs as he holds his best friend. That scene WRECKED me and I will never get over it. It, in my opinion, was the most emotional scene in the entire show because it wasn’t about anything supernatural or mystical. It was a real issue that people have to face every single day. 

2) In s3, again when Stiles is mentally fighting the nogitsune and hasn’t slept in weeks. He goes to Scott’s mom for help, because that’s who he has for a mother figure. He needs someone to take care of him and he knows she always will. He breaks down in front of her, terrified over what’s happening to him, and she makes him sleep with a sedative (in a loving, caring way). He calls her mom as he goes under, and that scene might never leave my heart. Ever.

3) When Aiden dies in his twin brother, Ethan’s, arms. The fact that his last thoughts were that he still was going to die as the villain, even though everyone knew he was redeemed as a hero. Ethan and Aiden were never my favorite characters, but his death was so immensely sad and it was too much for me. He was just a kid.

4) The entire episode of Motel California. Isaac literally having to relive his childhood trauma - like what the actual heck? And of course, the scene when Stiles not only tries to talk Scott out of suicide, but then tells him if he’s going to kill himself then Stiles is going to die with him. AND THEN HE STEPS INTO THE GASOLINE. I literally ... I can’t. The relationship between Stiles and Scott might be the most wholesome friendship in any show I’ve ever seen.

5) When the Sherriff refused to let Stiles admit himself into Eichen House and uses the excuse that Stiles needed his pillow because he couldn’t sleep without it. Then, as he’s near tears fighting his son, telling him he couldn’t live with himself if he left him there without his pillow because he wouldn’t ever sleep, Stiles just looks at him and says, “Dad, I haven’t slept in days.” I think Stiles and his dad are my second favorite relationship in that show. There’s nothing compared to their father/son bond. 

6) When no one will believe Lydia that Stiles is real in s6 and she breaks down outside of where his door should be. What hurts me the most from this was that Stiles ALWAYS believed in her. It didn’t matter if she had zero proof, he always believed her and always convinced everyone else to believe her. If no one went along with it, Stiles always did. But when he was gone, she had no one to believe her, and no one to help her find him. Lydia always went to Stiles when she needed his help, and in many scenes she’s at his door for his help. This scene killed me because it reflected how she needed him, she came to his door, but it wasn’t there anymore and the way she broke down against the wall made ME break down. 

7) When the Sherriff remembers Stiles in s6 and his wife has to “die” in order for him to fully remember. Just. That’s it. There’s no other words to say. It was a BEAUTIFUL scene and I... I can’t. 

8) In s3b when Stiles has the nightmare within a nightmare within a nightmare, and when he finally wakes up he’s screaming and panicking and his dad has to come in and hold him down like this wasn’t a new thing. That’s called PTSD guys, and it’s real. This scene killed me. 

9) s3b again, but when Stiles can’t read in class and runs out and has a panic attack in the bathroom. Scott follows him and Stiles is insisting that its a dream, and Scott has to talk him through that panic attack as well as showing him he’s really awake. The realness in this scene just... all of s3b had me crying tbh. 

10) When Stiles has a panic attack in s3a. I swear this show got so real sometimes. They dealt with panic attack's a lot in the show and I appreciated it so much because YES. Teenagers going through this crap WOULD have panic attacks. I mean heck I have panic attacks without my friends and family all almost dying on a regular basis. It was so so sad and it just broke my heart for him.

11) in s6, when Stiles is being erased and he runs to his dad. He goes to him terrified of what’s happening and he hugs him and is frantically explaining and his dad asks him what his name is. That scene hurts. Stiles not being remembered by his dad is crushing, and it really hit me that he was really being taken. Seeing the realization on Stiles’ face is heartbreaking. 

12) When Stiles is about to be taken in s6 and tells Lydia she’s going to forget him and she says “I won’t” and he just says, “Lydia, you will,” but she still refuses to believe it. Then once he’s taken, she sits there and says “remember, remember” and the next scene Scott and Malia ask her what she’s forgetting and she says she can’t remember. 

13) When Lydia walks to and waits by Stiles locker in s6a after he’s been taken, and she doesn’t know who’s she’s waiting for, she just knows she’s supposed to meet someone there.

14) When Lydia realizes/remembers she never once told Stiles she loved him.

15) When Lydia stays with Stiles even though she knows Allison is about to die, and then can sense her death and sobs as she lays on an unconscious Stiles for comfort. Lydia goes through hell in s3b and I don’t think we realize it enough. She not only was emotionally tied to Stiles and had to not only watch but feel the pain he was going through with the nogitsune, but she knew Allison was going to die and knew there was nothing she could do about it. 

16) s3a when Lydia can feel what’s happening to Stiles but she can’t do anything about it so she just cries and banshee screams in her car. 

17) When Isaac has a breakdown in Argent’s arms after Allison’s death.

18) The entire backstory of Isaac. Like. Guys he was so abused that poor boy deserved so much better. His goodbye made me mad - we got so attached to him and then he just left and never came back. 

19) in s5 when they save Lydia from Eichen House but they think she’s dead, and Stiles begs her to open her eyes. I literally hold my breath every time I watch that scene. The tears in Stiles’ eyes, his broken expression, Scott and Deaton looking at Stiles like they don’t know how to handle Stiles if she’s dead, it’s... it’s so much emotion. And the relief on everyone’s face when she finally breathes. Just... damn. 

20) The entirety of Stiles dealing with the death of Donovan. I can hardly get through s5 because I can’t stand to watch the pain Stiles go through the entire season. He is emotionally tortured the whole time, and it’s not like is s3 when its a supernatural force - it’s his own darkness being used against him. He almost loses his dad, he almost loses Lydia countless of times, Scott (his BEST FRIEND, the guy he calls BROTHER) loses trust in him, and he has to live with the death of Donovan on his conscience with literally no support. Stiles was always, like Lydia, right about just about everything. Yet, no one ever picked his side - which left him having to fight his demons, AGAIN, alone. 

I’m gonna leave it there at 20. However, I could go on for hours. This show man - how is it one of the campiest, yet funniest, yet most emotional shows I’ve watched in a really long time? 

#teen wolf #stiles stilinski #scott mcall #lydia martin #sheriff stilinski #just me and my rants #ignore me and my long posts #i just really have a hard time letting these scenes go #they hurt #like really hurt my soul