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autisticzukka · 3 years

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what is this hakoda zuko arranged marriage you speak of? i am intrigued

okay so the long story short is that it’s a slight rebuttal of a popular post that is very fun but i find like... unrealistic in a really intriguing way like, how would this ACTUALLY play out. I’ve talked about it at length in my server a few times, and it’s one of those AU’s -- like the genderbend zukka ATLA rewrite or the zukki fic that starts with sokka failing to assassinate zuko -- that lives rent free in my head and I’ve written a couple thousand words for.

tw for like VERY unrequited zuko in love with hakoda and the inherent comedy of sokka being in love with his fire nation stepmom.

so here’s hakoda, chief of the southern water tribe, happily not-married to Bato. and here is a more balanced war, where the north and the south are actually allies, rather than whatever the fuck they were in ATLA. Yue already has a fiance and the Northern chief refuses to remarry. that leaves hakoda responsible for biting the bullet and doing a political marriage even though, as he points out at length, he is an elected official and if he stops being elected it’s no longer a marriage with the chief of the south pole. intelligently but mostly selfishly motivated (yue’s fiance is his nephew, after all) pakku points out that its not like the fire nation knows... that. the fire nation is dumb. ozai’s stupid.

faced with such inarguable points hakoda stiffens his upper lip, pre-emptively ends things with bato on the understanding that if this is another kya situation they’ll get back together and that he’s still the most important person to him but the tribe comes first yada yada, and deals with katara throwing the mother of all tantrums. it is slightly softened by the fact that in return for him marrying the fire nation noble, a thing everyone can agree isn’t traditional, the north has finally agreed to train katara. she heads out before the wedding, in protest but also so as to not cause an international incident.

(on her way, she’ll find aang. with the war less dire, katara will be sympathetic towards his desire to live without committing violence, even if she deeply can’t relate. they’ll have a hot girl romcom summer of self discovery and coming to terms with the dichotomy between duty and love as they become master benders. at some point they pick up toph. they ARE a throuple.)

sokka meanwhile is like.. not cool with it.. but ? kind of relieved? like. he’s the eldest kid. he’s 18, and he’s been a man of the tribe as far as legalities for several years. it would have been entirely understandable if his dad had asked HIM to do it. he had his emotionally crushing romance with yue, and as much as he was like ‘im kind of a prince’, he finds he doesn’t actually want some of the responsibilities and demands that would bring. yue’s life sucks.

back in the fire nation, zuko never demanded a quest and never went on it. he’s spent years hardening into something that, while brittle, can survive the pressures of the court around him. he still has his scar. he still wants his father to love him, but he knows by now that it’s not something he’s capable of earning. he watches his sister, never the most stable person, start to have complete breakdowns of sanity once she hits puberty, and helps her cover for it and receive medical treatment on the down low. he’s the heir, but he lives knowing that if he was ever in a position to inherit his choices are to abdicate or have the baby sister who he raised kill him and destroy herself and the country in the process.

when he realizes the plan is to marry azula off rather than someone more reasonable-- mai is RIGHT there, for fucks sake-- he doesn’t realize ozai’s true intent is to fuck this up through malicious compliance and false shows of good faith. he panics, and does the zuko thing: he blurts out that this is unacceptable and immoral and she’s only 16 and Ozai sees the true opportunity for two birds with one stone. send zuko, let him piss someone off so badly he gets killed or divorced, and he gets rid of zuko from the line of succession permanently. there are those who are incredibly attached to teh idea of a firstborn for firelord, and it’s been a constant thorn in unpopular ozai’s side to nto be able to name azula his heir apparent without costly rebellion. but if he can taint him in the mind of the fire nation so much that birthright is easy to supercede-- yeah. this’ll work PERFECTLY.

so zuko is sent to marry hakoda, chief of the water tribe.

literally NO ONE was expecting it to be a member of Ozai’s immediate family. besides the fact that his oldest child is half hakoda’s age and his brother has 20 years on hakoda, it would have been sus as fuck - the treaty is not favorable enough to grant that kind of secession of interests. it becomes quickly apparent that this young man -- hakoda reminds himself of that repeatedly. not kid. not kid. young man. don’t think of him like a kid, it’s hard enough on both of us already. -- is not a horrible threat. he’s scared shitless and shakes with what he thinks is bravado. he’s desperate to make the marriage work. he’s desperate to not go home. he’s got a giant fucking scar on his face from where the fire lord punished him for some grievous but unstated offense.

zuko “daddy issues” fire nation sees his husband to be and, despite being scared shitless, immediately begins to soften a little. like... he’s not nearly as scary as he thought he’d be. his face can be stern, but it just as easily breaks into huge smiles, and his eyes are crinkled with laughter. he’s incredibly handsome. and his biceps are. his biceps. are. his hands are...

like. zuko thinks. okay. maybe. maybe his marriage duties. won’t be so horrible as he thought. maybe he’s ready for this. and he knows what to expect, Uncle had discreetly provided him the means and the contacts to acquire an intimate education in the whirlwind of activity that was the two months before leaving. and like, once he’d gotten past the nerves, it was often even... good? or at least... not bad? he thinks that even if hakoda isn’t a professional expert, he has a certain.... je ne sais quoi, if you will.

((DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF DILF))

sokka sees his new stepfather and immediately falls in love because he’s that kind of dumb bitch. (the core of this au is that i cant breathe thinking about sokka falling in love with his hot young stepmom his age who his dad doesnt even want to fuck. like. i CANT. sokka masturbates to ‘hand caught in the washing tub’ fantasies which are even more absurd for requiring zuko to be DOING LAUNDRY. i find it so funny.)

bato watches them at the wedding feast while hakoda is very clearly trying to treat zuko as an Equal Adult Partner and mostly managing to seem like someone having a serious conversation with a seven year old about the game they’ve made up. zuko is clearly enamored with it, soaking up the attention, blushing and doing his best to Bravely Flirt, which at one point includes awkwardly attempting to feed Hakoda by hand. bato has to excuse himself to have a teary eyed giggle, hoping that Kya is in the spirit world looking down and laughing with him. he can’t resent the kid even a little bit, when hakoda is sitting there looking so incredibly fucking befuddled as to what he’s supposed to do with this star struck infant he’s legally wed to

anyways all of this... is very funny. their wedding night... is less so. zuko does not take the rejection from hakoda very well, especially because he’d been caught wanting. HE’S the one who should be rejecting hakoda. and he catastrophizes almost immediately about his potential value to the water tribe, his future treatment, that endless inescapable freezing cold loneliness is the good ending for him here... hakoda, meanwhile, drops zuko off at his home, reassuringly informs him that there’s NOTHING else expected of him and he will be well taken care of, and books it to bato’s. bato refuses to let him in on grounds of ‘you can’t sleep under the same shelter as me on your wedding night to that kid, have a fucking brain’, and he ends up crashing at sokka’s.

sokka, who had KNOWN that his dad wouldnt, but also upon seeing zuko and zuko’s awkward flirting was like... but how COULDNT he???? sokka is relieved.

the core of this fic is that i find it endlessly hilarious for zuko to try and seduce his husband while sokka simps around zuko and bato tries to be heartbroken or betrayed but mostly ends up with a giant case of hysterical schadenfreude. but the thing that CLINCHED it for me, like THE scene. several years after being married, settled into their life. they’re partners and they see each other as people. and zuko just fucking snaps one night

he just kisses him, desperate and clawing and climbing and maybe a little drunk. he knows hakoda is going to push him away, maybe even hit him, but he doesn’t care anymore, he doesn’t care. he can do anything he wants to him as long as he just-- finally does something. zuko is 21 and married to the surface of the sun and the surface of the sun jr is his best friend and clearly in love with him-- so clearly not even zuko can miss it-- and like. listen. listen. zuko is not a patient person. but he’s been patient for this. he waited and he matured and he is a fucking amazing husband and he wants this, he wants him. he wants to be wanted.

but hakoda doesn’t push him away. hakoda doesnt yell at him, or hit him. hakoda gentles the kiss into something soft and closed lipped. he pulls away slowly, and his eyes are so sad for zuko, so pitying. he strokes his cheek with the back of his hand so gently. he says, I’m sorry. I don’t want you.

and zuko daddy issues fire nation swallows

and he nods

and he leaves, even though its his own fucking house

and he knows he’s never going to be good enough

like FUUUCK i am OBSESSED WITH THAT

#long post #lmao i am NOT fucking main tagging this #op #asked and answered #i just want zuko to fall in love with hakoda and for hakoda to gently reject him #noncommittalhum

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worldserasingandcreatinginmymind · 4 years

Text

The Intern | Part Nine

Series Summary: You move to New York to focus on your art but end up working as an intern at Stark Enterprises

Chapter Summary: you go back to your old apartment for the first time since the night of the attack

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader, Peter Parker x reader (platonic)

Word Count: 2527

Warnings: brief panic attack

A/N: this story does not follow the same timeline as the movies. Also, spelling and grammar is not my strongest skill so please be kind :) if you want to be added to the taglist please drop me a message in my ask box

Part Eight | Masterlist

- - - - -

“and where do you think you're going at this time in the morning?” Tony asks sleepily wrapping his arm around you, making you jump as you're trying to quietly sneak out of his bed.

“I’m sorry, I have to go get ready for training. I was trying not to wake you” you reply, getting up and gathering your clothes from his bedroom floor.

It had been a couple of weeks since you first spent the night together and since then you’d been in each others beds more times than you care to mention. It wasn’t just about sex though, most nights you just cuddled and talked, or watched a movie until you fell asleep. You loved staying in Tony’s room. His bed was so much more luxurious than yours and his room had the best views. Plus, being on the top floor meant his room was further away from everyone else so you didn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone, or bumping into anyone on your morning walk back to your own room. It wasn’t that you wanted your new relationship to be a secret, you just wanted to enjoy being with Tony without wondering what the others would think.

“you know, you could just move your stuff up here. You stay in my room enough it makes sense to have your things here” Tony says watching you as you stop racing around to look at him and take a breath. “or not, you don't have to if you don't want to”

“no, its not that I don't want to it just..” You sit down on the edge of the bed next to Tony “if I move into your room then the others are going to know about us and they’ll have questions and I just.. I don't think I’m ready for that. You know? I like that for now we can have this just for ourselves.”

“I suppose the late night sneaking around is kind of exciting” Tony winks at you and you giggle.

“besides, it’s not like I’ve really got anything to move up here anyway. Most of my stuff is still at my apartment. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the clothes you found for me but it would be nice to have some of my own things back”

“I understand” Tony nods “well how about we go this afternoon and you can grab whatever you want to get then?”

“sure yeah! That would be brilliant, thank you Tony!” You smile and give him a quick kiss, but he grabs you and kisses you deeper. You relax into it slightly before pulling away quickly “right I really need to get going or I’ll be late for training and Nat will kick my ass even more than she already does” you get up and head to the door.

“have fun! And hey I want my shirt back later!” He shouts after you.

“what? sorry cant hear you!” You call back as you run out the door still wearing his Black Sabbath shirt. It was oversized on you and you loved how comfy it was. But most of all you loved that it smelt of Tony and made you feel close to him. There was no way you were giving him this shirt back.

— — — —

As you step out the lift and head down the corridor to your room you're surprised when you turn a corner and bump into someone.

“Peter?! What are you doing here so early?” You ask, checking the time on your watch.

“Mr Stark asked me to pick up some stuff from his lab to take to the office today” he glances at Tony’s shirt on you and you fold your arms trying to subtly cover it. He looks back at your face. “why are you up?” He asks.

“oh uh, I have training with Natasha today and for some reason that girl doesn’t know what a lie in is” you laugh nervously “speaking of, I better get going. But we need a catch up soon please, I miss my best friend!”

“I miss you too.” He says as he starts walking off, but stops and turns around “by the way, don't tell Mr Stark but… that shirt looks better on you that it does on him” he flashes a cheeky smile and you gasp which makes him laugh before he turns and runs off leaving you stood in disbelief.

So much for having a secret only you and Tony knew about. At least you knew you could trust Peter not to tell anyone else.

— — — —

“good morning Nat” you say cheerfully as you walk into the training room.

She turns to look at you suspiciously and you smile.

“who are you and what have you done with y/n?” She asks, turning back to carry on setting things up for your session.

“what do you mean?” You laugh with confusion.

“the y/n I’ve been training for the past few weeks normally drags herself in her like a sleepwalking zombie. What’s got you so happy today?” She looks at you again.

“nothing! I just, I’ve been… sleeping really well lately” you reply and Natasha just raises an eyebrow at you.

Before you can say anything else you hear another voice enter the room.

“ugh Nat, remind me again why you insist on getting up so damn early!” Clint groans as he comes to stand next to you. “I don't know how you do this every day y/n”

You flash him a smile and look back at Natasha waiting for her to explain why Clint is here.

“stop complaining Barton, we’ve got a job to do! Go set up the targets” she responds.

Clint smirks and sarcastically raises his hand to salute as he walks past Nat, causing her to roll her eyes and smirk.

“since you’ve been doing so well lately with your training I thought its time we introduced some weapons into our sessions”

“weapons?!” You gasp, eyes wide.

You had just about got used to fighting with your hands, but the thought of fighting with weapons made you extremely anxious. What if you lose control, like you did in your first training session, and seriously injure someone?

“hey don't worry, this is a safe space” Nat reassures as she puts a hand on your shoulder, clearly she noticed the small hint of panic in your eyes. “that’s why Clint is here, he’s the best shooter I know. If anyone can teach you to hit a target, it’s him. Just don't tell him I said that or we’ll never hear the end of it” she smirks and you do your best to hide your anxiety with a smile as you both walk over to join Clint at the shooting range. He hands you a bow and a couple of arrows.

“lets get this over with so I can go back to bed” he says firing an arrow straight to the centre of the target.

— — — —

After your training session had finished you have a quick shower, change into clean clothes for the day and decide to take a walk around the grounds of the compound. You don't know if it was training, or something else but you couldn’t shake the anxious feeling and you hoped a walk in the fresh air might help. You walk through the fields, taking good deep breaths as the breeze drifts through your hair and the bright sun warms your skin. You keep walking til you reach the edge of the small woods that you can see from your bedroom window. You find a nice spot and sit under a tall tree, leaning against the trunk. You look up at the sky, watching a couple of birds flying happily, almost looking like they’re dancing. For a moment you get lost in watching them, completely distracted, until you hear a twig snap behind you. You quickly stand up, turning to look into the woods. You stare through the trees trying to spot what caused the sound. You feel a hand on your shoulder and spin around.

“y/n! Ive been looking for you!” Tony looks at you with concern when he sees the shock on your face “are you okay?”

“I heard…” you stop yourself from finishing the sentence. It was probably just an animal anyway, theres no need to worry Tony about it. “yeah I’m fine. It’s really beautiful out here”

“yeah its nice. Happy is waiting in the car to drive us to your apartment now if you're ready?”

You had completely forgotten that you were supposed to be going to collect your things.

“oh yeah, of course. Let’s go” you say and you both walk back toward the compound, taking a small glance back towards the woods and you for a moment swear you see a figure move amongst the trees.

— — — —

You pull up outside the building you hadn’t seen in weeks, your apartment block. You're surprised to see Peter waiting outside for you.

“the kid has been asking about you constantly so I thought he could come lend a hand. Is that okay?” Tony says. You smile and nod before getting out of the car.

Tony walks straight up to the front door of the building and goes inside. You go straight to Peter and throw your arms around him.

“I don't see you for weeks and then I see you twice in one day!”

“at least you're not wearing his clothes this time” Peter jokes as he nudges you and you playfully hit him on the arm. You both laugh and Tony pokes his head out from the door.

“children please, we have a job to do” he says seriously before going back inside.

You and Peter exchange a look.

“is he just grumpy because you’ve been keeping him awake all night” Peter winks as he walks to the building and you gasp. You didn’t expect him to say that.

“Peter! I have no idea what you're talking about” you laugh as you follow him.

You climb the stairs till you reach your front door where Tony is waiting for you. You unlock the door and turn the handle to open it but before you can step inside Tony puts his arm out to stop you. He steps in front of you, walking in carefully on the lookout. You guess he’s checking none of the Professor’s men are there waiting.

As you step through your front door your heart sinks at the sight of your apartment. You haven’t been back since the night of the attack so the place is still a mess. Peter walks past you and follows Tony into your bedroom, not noticing you’ve frozen to the spot. You stand still looking around your living room at the dust and debris scattered. The sofa cushions shredded and thrown to the floor. The coffee table upside down, the picture frames broken. Then you spot your art work, the one of the beach, lying on the floor. The canvas ripped through the middle.

You feel your chest tightening as your eyes fill up. You try to breathe normally but it’s almost like you’ve forgotten how. Your thoughts spin too fast around your head. Memories of the night you were held down on the sofa as the masked intruders injected you flash through your mind.

“okay I found your suitcase do you want to start packing…” Tony’s voice stops as he notices notices the way you're breathing, and the look of panic in your wide eyes. Then he notices that you're staring at the sofa and realises what’s happening. He quickly walks over and puts his arm around you, leading you into the bedroom.

“Mr Stark?” Peter begins talking but with a wave of Tony’s hand he swiftly leaves the room. Tony sits you down on the side of the bed and crouches down in front of you so he’s at eye level. He takes your shoulders in his hands and looks right into your face.

“y/n. I need you to breathe with me now okay? Can you do that for me?”

In your mind you flashback to that night, when Tony found you hiding in your closet and said those same words to you. Another wave of panic hits you.

“y/n. Please honey”

His desperate words bring you back into the present and you try to focus on him. On his kind eyes which right now are full of concern. He takes a deep breathe and you copy him, shakily.

After what feels like forever you finally feel yourself being able to breathe again.

“how are you feeling?” He asks, searching your eyes.

“I don't know.” You answer honestly “I don't know what just happened to me”

“you just had a panic attack. Which is a perfectly natural response after what you’ve been through”

Tony stands up and sits on the bed next to you, taking your hand in both of his.

“I shouldn't have brought you back here.” His finger rubs the back of your hand “I’m so sorry y/n”

“no, I wanted to come here. This isn’t your fault Tony. None of it. The Professor did this to me, not you.”

“I will find him” Tony says and you nod, bringing your hand to his cheek.

“I know you will” you smile and kiss him. When the kiss ends you look into his eyes. “how did you know what to do just then? I felt like I was spiralling but you pulled me out of it”

Tony sighs, looking away from you for a moment. He takes a breath.

“After the battle of New York, I struggled to carry on. I started having anxiety attacks. I couldn’t breathe. I know what they’re like. And while I don't have a magic cure for them, I learnt how to breathe through them”

“Tony.” You put your hand on his knee and give him a gentle affectionate squeeze “I had no idea”

Tony looks at you.

“not many people know about it. I kept it secret. I’m Iron Man, people rely on me to be this strong super hero guy. If they knew what I was like beneath the suit, they wouldn’t feel safe anymore”

“That's not true, Tony. To feel the way you’ve felt and still go out there and do the things you’ve done to protect everyone.. that’s a true hero. I may be slightly biased but, I think you're incredible.”

Tony just continues to look at you, like he’s searching your eyes for something.

“what?” You say smiling, slightly embarrassed.

“I love you”

His words take you by surprise. It feels like a thousand tiny butterflies are fluttering through your body.

“I’m sorry..” he begins to backtrack, worried that he’s freaked you out “that was probably the wrong time to say those words-”

He stops talking when you grab his face and kiss him suddenly.

“I love you too, Tony Stark.”

“I knew it!” You hear Peter shout as you both turn around to see him stood in the doorway grinning happily.

“not a word kid” Tony warns “remember, I could easily make you disappear”

Part Ten

Taglist: @sunflowers-and-snowdrops @brownbuble @shookie-shookie @thebuckysoldier @chai--chae @ilovespideyyy @rvgrsbrns

#the intern #Tony stark #iron man #marvel #tony stark fanfic #tony stark imagine #tony stark x reader #iron man fanfic #iron man imagine #iron man x reader #marvel imagine #marvel fanfic #peter parker #peter parker x reader

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yourdeepestfathoms · 4 years

Text

Out of The Hive, Into The Cocoon

[Wing AU]

Wing Reference

Word count: 2284

Prompt: “Wow, there’s a big surprise. I think I’m going to have a heart attack and die from surprise.”

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

“I don’t feel that well…”

“Wow, there’s a big surprise. I think I’m going to have a heart attack and die from surprise.”

Jane rolled her eyes at Joan’s wounded expression. She canted her harpy eagle wings away, as if she were afraid the Flightless’s presence may dirty the pristine, shiny feathers. Joan noticed that, too, and looked even more hurt.

“What’s going on this time?” Kitty asked loudly. Her glass butterfly wings are blindingly iridescent in the overhead fluorescent lights and make Joan feel even more dizzy and nauseous than she already was.

“None of your business.” Joan snapped. She rubbed her wrists, which haven’t stopped burning since the night before. Her stomach was all cramped up, too, like something was trying to claw its way out of her.

“Must not be important then,” Kitty said with a shrug.

“Kitty’s right,” Jane said. “Don’t waste our time, Joan. We’re going to perform in an hour and don’t need you distracting us.”

“But--”

“If you felt bad, then you should have called in sick or left sooner.” Jane cut her off coldly.

She whisked away after that, leaving Joan alone in the hall to stew in embarrassment and increasing discomfort. Joan sighed and trudged to her dressing room to get ready, but was stopped by a sharp twinge in her wingbuds. She winced and reached back, but a pain in her wrists halted the movement. She yanked her arms forward again.

And her wrists burst open and silver came exploding out.

Silk.

Joan let out a cry of pain and jumped back, but the stuff pouring from her followed like starved snakes. It began to wrap around her arms and legs and chest, and she desperately tried to tear the silk off of her, but not only was it sticky, but it was also really strong and refined. She scratched and pulled, but it either stuck to her hands or just didn't come off. She frantically covered the slit in one of her wrists, trying to stop the flow, and the strands merely wove around her fingers and consumed them.

She tottered backwards and sunk to her knees, overcome by an intense feeling of nausea like she hadn’t eaten in years, every energy source in her body--fats, carbs, calories, sugars--were being burned away by this hellish process. She opened her mouth to scream or cry for help, but found that she couldn’t even muster up a mere squeak of noise. Cramps seized her stomach in a vice grip, like all her organs were being shredded inside of her. Her vision was starting to fade out as the silk wrapped around her neck and face and she wondered if this was how she died. She suffocates because of some mutation she doesn’t even understand.

Joan doesn’t want to die, not like this, not again, not without flying at least once, not without a single person who cares about her…

Then, blackness. The silk wrapped around her entire body until she looked mummified, and then spun itself larger and larger and larger.

The last thing she heard was someone stepping into her dressing room, telling her she was needed by someone on tech, and then nothing.

She prayed they would help her.

------

Everyone stared in shock at the silvery-gold cocoon sitting in the corner of the dressing room. It was the shape of an egg lying on its side and was so thick with silk that none of them could see the music director inside. It just sat there, glowing faintly, not showing any signs of breaking open anytime soon.

“She did not…” Maggie said, trailing off, flabbergasted.

“She did too.” Maria affirmed.

“What the fuck?” Jane said. “I thought she was Flightless. She is Flightless. What happened?”

“You sound disappointed.” Bessie commented. Her big bat ears were swiveling around, as if she were trying to listen for any signs of life inside the cocoon.

Jane ruffled. “I’m--” Her tail feathers bristle, wings twitching in agitation. “I’m just confused.”

“Uh huh.” Bessie nodded, deftly dodging the glare Jane shot her by wing her ears to block out the corners of her vision.

“It’s definitely an insect avian cocoon,” Cathy said. She stepped forward and tapped the cocoon. “Maybe she was just a really late insect and not actually Flightless.”

“There’s no way!” Kitty barked. She almost looked jealous at not being the only butterfly anymore.

“Well, whatever it is,” Cathy went on, “it’s going to make performing difficult for the next week until she comes out.”

“IF she even comes out,” Anne said, and Jane looked slightly wistful at that concept.

“We could always cut it open,” Kitty suggested breezily. “Get her out early.”

Aragon shot Kitty a disgusted look. “Don’t your insides melt during metamorphosis?” She asked. “If we cut her out, she’ll probably die. And not entirely be a solid person anymore.”

“Oh.” Kitty said, then shrugged nonchalantly. “Meh. Oh well.”

“Well,” Cleves said, “we got a lot of waiting to do.”

------

Aragon resisted the urge to smash her wings into Maggie’s head when the magpie poked the fragile structure of Joan’s cocoon, and she wasn’t sure why.

“How long will this take?” Maggie asked, already impatient even though it’s only been a day since Joan started metamorphosis.

“A week, I think.” Cathy answered.

“A week?!” Both Maggie and Anne yelped.

“We’re never going to get our MD back!” Anne groaned dramatically, flopping out her wings.

“What a shame,” Jane mused.

“Yes we will?” Cathy tilted her head at Anne. “She’s coming out eventually.”

“Yes,” Aragon agreed. “A week is fine. She can take all the time she needs.”

The others glanced at her strangely, but she ignored them. Just like how she was trying to ignore the weird maternal instincts welling up inside of her.

------

“Is it now? It is happening? Is that a sign? What does that mean?”

“I will throttle you if you don’t shut up.”

Anne snickered at Aragon’s annoyance, then fixed her eyes back on Joan’s cocoon. It was as plain and still and boring as the day before. And the day before that.

“Nothing is happening,” Aragon added. “It looks exactly the same.”

“Are you sure?” Anne said. She waved a parrot green wing at one side of the cocoon. “Doesn’t that side look a little crinkled? Hey, Kit!” She turned to her cousin passing by in the hallway. “Is this a sign she’s going to come out?”

“Sure,” Kitty said, not caring.

“This is so boring.” Anne said to Aragon. “I’m gonna go find something else to do. You were right.”

Aragon rolled her eyes in amusement at the bird, then fixed her eyes on the cocoon.

“Come out when you’re ready, Joan,” She said. “I’ll be waiting.”

------

By the fourth day, most people stopped gawking at the cocoon. Only a few workers would stop by to look at it, but quickly went on with their work, not really caring anymore. The lump of silk was sort of just there now, almost forgotten. Just like Joan had been.

------

On the fifth day, Aragon found Kitty alone in the dressing room, staring intently at the cocoon with a look in her eye that Aragon did not like. When she was noticed, Kitty flicked her wings dismissively and walked out without a word. That night, Aragon dreamed of the cocoon being ripped open and Joan coming out in agony, horribly disfigured and screaming.

------

For the eleventh time on the sixth day, Aragon counted the food she had bought. Fruits and vegetables, cookies and chips, cheese strings and slices of sandwich meat-- She worried her talons in her feathers and hoped it would be enough for when Joan woke up. Cathy had said Joan was going to be extremely hungry when she woke up, so she was just preparing, that’s all. Nobody else was going to, so she just decided to do it herself. That’s all. There were no maternal implications going on at all. Nope. None.

Aragon stole a glance back at the faintly glowing cocoon in the corner. It looked exactly the same as it did six days ago.

Or did it?

Aragon walked over to the cocoon, circling around it for a moment before kneeling beside it. She carefully placed both hands on the surface, folding her wings away, and pressed her head against the woven material.

“Joan? Can you hear me?” She whispered softly, so softly, like she was afraid she might disturb the girl inside. “It’s Catalina, Joan. I’m here. I’m right here. You’re doing great, sweetheart. You’ll look so beautiful once you get out of there, baby girl.”

Aragon found that she was missing the girl. Like, really badly. She missed Joan’s shy smile and her gentleness and how she was always so passionate about music, even if it took everything out of her. She missed everything about the timid little music director, and she hadn’t realized how much she enjoyed seeing her everyday, even if they didn’t talk that often, until right now.

And then the silk moved against her skin, a slight push and give, as though the avian inside was nudging her back or saying that she missed her, too.

------

It was late afternoon of the seventh day when the cocoon moved. Aragon and Cathy, who were both in the dressing room waiting, snapped their heads up in sync, watching closely as if they thought that if they looked away for even a second the week would start all over again.

Right when they started to believe it had been their imagination, the cocoon moved again. And, this time, it wasn’t spotted in the corner of their peripheral vision.

Joan was coming out.

“It’s happening.” Aragon said after everyone was gathered in the dressing room, as if they didn’t already know that. She grabbed and squeezed Cleves’s arm tightly, not realizing that her talons were digging in. “Do you remember your metamorphosis?” She snapped her head around to Kitty. “Is there anything we should do when she comes out? What if she needs help getting out of the cocoon? Can she get out on her own?”

“Oh my god,” Kitty groaned in annoyance. “I don’t know!”

“How can you not know?!” Aragon squawked, beating her wings. “You literally went through this!!”

“I forgot.” Kitty shrugged.

“No you didn’t.” Aragon growled. “You’re just not saying anything because you want to be a selfish--”

A crack split down the front of the cocoon. Aragon shut her mouth instantly before she could finish her scolding and whipped her gaze forward again. Fingers with new, tiny curved claws grabbed the edges of the slice and began pulling open, then clawing when that didn’t work.

“Is she okay?” Aragon asked. “She looks like she’s struggling. Is she struggling? Cathy, is she okay?” She looked at her goddaughter, sinking her talons deeper into Cleves’s arm. She didn’t even hear Cleves’s hiss of pain.

“She’s fine, Catalina.” Cathy assured her. “From what I’ve read, this is normal. Just give her a moment.”

Aragon swallowed thickly, but nodded and looked forward again.

Hand prints could be seen pressing against the inside of the cocoon as the silk bindings were slowly scratched away. After a moment of fighting with the structure (and Kitty muttering, “I got out a lot faster than this” underneath her breath), an arm poked out, then another...and then another.

Right. Insect avians have four arms. That’s probably going to be daunting to Joan after having only two for so long.

The three visible arms, which were all covered in a thick, dripping shag of pink-yellow fluff from the elbow down, dug their claws into the surface of the cocoon, tearing and crinkling the silk, and then a familiar head popped out.

“Joan,” Aragon breathed. “Joan, we’re here. I’m here. You’re doing so good!”

“When did you start caring so much?” Jane asked, but shut up when Cathy nudged her.

Elegant golden antenna that looked like feathers unfurled from the crown of Joan’s head and waved in the air. Tufts of pink and yellow, like the fuzz on her arms, were matted by wetness on her ears. When she shoved more of her upper body out of the shredded cocoon, they all could see that 1) she was completely naked from her clothing being eroded by the cocoon’s fluids, and 2) there was more of that pink and yellow fluff on her chest and belly. It completely covered up her breasts until it looked like she didn’t even have any anymore (maybe she didn’t), and her ribs could just barely be seen under the blanket of fur, which was so long it reached down her torso. Her flat stomach had patches, too, making it soft and fuzzy, much different from the chitin on Kitty, Cathy, and Maria.

With a splash and a cascade of cocoon fluids, Joan collapsed forward on her stomach. A few of the spectators looked away from her nakedness and stepped back from the liquids now spilled across the floor, but Aragon couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight. Her heart was beating rapidly inside of her chest. She had the unresisting urge to run over and swaddle Joan in her wings.

Joan twitched on the ground, then took a deep breath. Fishhook-like claws scraped down against the tile as she tried to regain mobility. Cocoon fluid dripped off her wet hair and pale skin that was now bristled with fuzz. She unfolded her wings to let them dry, and everyone in the room gasped.

They were beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Aragon had thought that Kitty’s glass-like wings were the prettiest wings to ever exist in the entire world, but not even their iridescence could live up to the beauty of Joan’s rosy maple moth wings.

Pastel pink and banana yellow swirled together in beautiful shades across fuzzy chitin, as if the sunset itself had bled itself upon Joan’s wings. They were gigantic and curved into the most precious shapes Aragon had ever seen before.

Joan looked up, and her eyes were rings of moon silver blinking from an abyss of solid black.

“Ta-dah!” She squeaked hoarsely.

#wing au #six the musical #six the musical au #six the musical fanfic #six the musical fanfiction #six fanfic #six fanfiction #katherine howard #jane seymour #catherine of aragon #joan on the keys #anne boleyn #anna of cleves #catherine parr #maggie on the guitar #maria on the drums #bessie on the bass #out of the hive into the cocoon #mamagon

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mothmansrevolt · 4 years

Text

LU Girl Scout AU (and subsequent PTA AU)

LU au where they have to pretend to be girl scouts because Time has to prove a point to the pta board and to the Karen Squad Its basically a bunch of highschoolers and singular college student pretending to be girl scouts because of both friendship and Time just shoved some sashes in their hands and said Y'all are all now girlscouts and offered to get them Chipotle as payment.

Twilight is in college(online). Warriors in a senior. Legend and Sky are juniors. Hyrule and Wild are sophmores. Four and wind are freshmen. Four is homeschooled by his grandfather though. All are in a specila branch called hylia scouts (creative i know). This means they get set uniforms and competitions with other troops over cookie selling boundaries since hylia scout troops are usually very close to eachother. There are two troops in their area including them. Troop 4296 (the Links) and 6669 (the Karen Squad) They are troop 4296 because Time wouldnt let them have either 420 or 6969

Time--a pta mom--rivals with the Karens--tired as all hell but will not hesitate to prank the karens--troop leader and/or chaperone depending on the situation--He has a million bumper stickers supporting his "girls"--honestly he's just here for the cookies--someone get this man a coffee--has two sons according to the law, but has eight in spirit--you mess with his children he will not hesitate to murder you--all his sons are arsonists and he doesn't understand why--will call the links his "daughters". half the town can't tell what children he actually has--loves coupons and discounts "Malon said I'm not allowed to start fights at the pta meetings but I will not hesitate drag her here if you insult my beautiful brats again." Twilight--Time's eldest son--only in this because he doesn't want his friends to get hurt and he loves his parents--a good boy--loves animals and will not hesitate to educate you on them--he wears overalls and if forced will wear a skirt over the overalls--he cant sell cookies for shit because nobody believes that he is a girlscout--sometimes has to duck down behind Four if certain people are around because they'll get suspicious--it does not work--He pretends to be everyone's big brother and they love him for it--perpetually confused by Wolfie "I have command over an army of teenagers and goats, nothing can stop me but gas money and my gpa." Wild--Time's second son--can pass as a girl pretty well--he destroys stuff during craft time--hot glues patches to sash--He has every one of the cooking patches and than some--Often seen with the camera photographing everything--Will help create new badges--give this boy a scavenger hunt and he will find you just about anything--has a tendency to ride on wild animals--isn't legally allowed to drive a car nor own a license. nobody knows why--second most convincing for this whole thing "This is just a glorified gang and honestly I am living for it." Four--from the neighboring farm but Twilight and Malon babysits him sometimes. he is a staple--the karens keeps trying to steal him because he is 'innocent' and 'a little lady'--this leads to ridiculous hijinks--he is small, quiet, not very mentally sound but he tries his best and is brave as all hell--owns the most badges--will rock the skirt always--fashionista or fashion disaster, there is no in-between--he's the most committed besides legend and warriors but is the most convincing--best cookie seller--Often seen handling sharp tools and knives for some reason, who gave this child a weapon?!--tends to befriend bad people--the only one with the fire safety badge even though, he to, is an arsonist--wears a vest because the sash is too big, Malon made it for him--has a bird named Ezlo who sits on his head "Sorry Miss Karen but I've been bribed with my first born child so kindly fuck off." Legend--salty and sassy--will always rock the skirt--also a fashionista and knows accessories--he's really only in this because of a running bet with warriors--he has a soft on the inside sometimes--he will get into cat fights--The other girlscouts from a rival troop HATE him because they will always lose arguments against him--knows the most about girl scouts, won't say how--Often seen blinged out with the jewelry he wins at the local chuck-se-cheese with his buddy Ravio "I have command over an entire troop of shortstacks and will not hesitate to order a strike against your fucking kneecaps. Do NOT question the authority of this skirt." Warriors--pretty boy--in a bet with Legend--also a fashionista--he is a big brother tho-- protection squad and trying his best--he is on student counsel and is a good leader--stand in when Time is busy--Often seen with a sports bag in one hand and a girl scout sash in the other--all the troops think he is a major lesbian because he keeps flirting with the other scouts--he gets more numbers as a girlscout, not that he could ever admit this "I'm a known lesbian among the girl scouts and honestly that is my crowning achievement." Sky--is here because his friends are here--He is the mom friend--second best at selling cookie because of his sweetness--He often tag teams with Four for selling cookies--is slightly confused but he's here to make sure nobody gets hurt--honestly just naps during meeting-- Often seen with blanket and a comforting hug--rival troops actually have scouts seeking out to befriend him--always forgets his skirt and is often seen borrowing his girlfriend Zelda's "Guys, please stop fighting you are all beautiful young women. Karen, you shut the frick up." Hyrule--the camper and nature boy of the group--he loves and has earned every patch for exploration and camping--tends to get lost--needs navigation patch--its been revoked from him twice--Humble and nice--often sleeps over at other peoples houses--nobody knows where he lives--it confuses the shit out of them--He is buddies with Four because Four knows the backwoods and roads the best--Often not seen due to being lost "Legend duck taped a gps to me arm and I think its lost to :(" Wind--baby boy--not as innocent as the others think--he absolutely loves being a girlscout--will play pranks on the other troops during jamborees and campouts--lives by the sea, slightly far away form everyone else--He helps with the nautical patches--hangs with the resident young delinquents, Tetra's gang. she thinks this is hilarious--he owns the troop wagon that they all use--its named King of the Red Lions or just Dave depending on the hour--only here because Twilight babysits him and his sister--also wears a vest because he thinks its cooler--Often seen with a telescope and covered in sand--someone give this child a bath "My first love may be the sea, but my second is that damned burrito, hand me the fucking skirt!" Wolfie--troop mascot--a giant half wolf half god knows what--has his own vest and patches-- has a tendency to just show up--Nobody knows where he comes from nor where he goes--he is the town cryptid and it isn't uncommon to see him pulling the troop wagon with the boys in it--Four still rides on his back--it counts as the horse back riding patch--Twilight is perpetually confused by him and its become a running gag that Wolfie is his fursona--loves cookies, sadly the cookies do not love him--can vaguely say curse words "arf" Shadow and Dark(I'm not sorry)--in karen's troop 6669 (for fun? for rivalry? who knows. they don't)--brothers--edgy bastards who are in a band together--Shadow is best friends with Four, Dark thinks he's pretty rad--Often seen with Four and the other edgy teens--both sassy, both easily pissed but trying to be kind of nice--Shadow is the only one who has achieved this--no those are not their real names, its Link and Link like everyone else in this goddamned town--HI MY nAME IS ebONY DArknESS DEMENTIA RAveN WAY--Dark is the author of My Immortal--both suck at selling cookies--tag team with Four to try and help their sales--rivals of troop 4296, they despise each other--both wear vests because Shadow wanted to match Four and Dark decided he can trick out the vest "Our mother may be a bitch and a dumbass, but at least we aren't petty white boys." "Wait Dark we are petty white boys" "FUCK" Karen Ganondorf Smith, Kaaren Link Johnson, Carhaen Reese--bitches and pta moms--runs the pta--the karen squad--Reese's daughter named Betghyani who is very nice and likes troop 4296--Johnson is mother of Shadow and Dark--they are fucking nuts y'all--they represent the three evils of the pta: the enforcer, the healthy diet extreme, and the bitch against disabled children (quiet hands!!!)--despite popular belief, Four (Link Smith) is in no way related to Karen Smith (legally at least. Karen thinks they are and it doesn't end pretty sometimes)--they all hate Time with a burning passion because he is not afraid to call them out on their bullshit "I've brought up so many stances and rules into this pta and will not have some farming hooligan upstaging the careful work me and the other heads have created!" Malon--couldn't be on pta because she almost murdered a karen with kindness--sweet and kind but can still kick ass--helped make and fix uniforms--acts as chaperone when needed and finds this all completely hilarious--she makes snacks with Wild for the meetings--has adopted all of these children--actively enforces Wind and Four to eat more because whY ARE ALL YALL SO TINY--can lift a cow "Don't talk to me or my husband or my son or my son or my eight fake sons or my lovely eight fake daughters ever again."

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #girl scouts #au #this is so stupid #but I love it #I just wanted to draw these idiots as girl scouts #Four is so done with karen's shit #Time being a dad #pta au #kinda #lu girlscout au #I wrote so much for four #I love him so much #please send help this idea came to me at 3 am #kyle waz here

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mistymark · 5 years

Text

nct dream x hogwarts

nct dream as hogwarts students // 2.3k words // masterlist // send requests here

r e n j u n

the only slytherin in the gang

probably muggle-born but also top of most of his classes

what can he say hes amazed by this shit

really good at theory-based subjects especially

history of magic is his bitch lets be real

sketches in his books and stuff

says he likes sketching with quills the most because theyre more aesthetic

donghyuck says its because hes pretentious

but the whole group pitched in to get him some really nice canvases and paints and other tools

one of his paintings is hanging in the school somewhere, and the little girl in it smiles and greets all the students as they walk past

somehow she always tries to spit on people who had been annoying him recently - and them only

sometimes she spits on Donghyuck for no reason

jeno laughs and says its because she has a crush on him

uses magic for the dumbest things just because he can

he mastered the wingardium leviosa spell within a week because he couldn't be bothered getting up to get things

when he gets close to graduation, hes pretty much practicing simple wandless magic

once freaked out the first years because jaemin charmed a storm cloud to hang around him for an entire day

it flashed lightning when he got particularly annoyed, which was a lot because that cloud was annoying as shit

has a really old owl that literally looks evil but has called it something like “snuggles”

laughs when he unintentionally swoops too low and skims other students’ heads on mail day

buys all his friends gifts during the holidays and comes back with bags filled with fun shit

pretends he never buys gifts for chenle and jisung

always ends up giving them more

cause hes soft like that

but he headlocks them after to show his dominance

has a habit of throwing his cases in the general direction of the dorm when he comes back from holidays and accidentally hitting other students

plays quidditch in his free time

debates strategies with Jeno during their free periods

gets called a traitor by his own captain

couldnt really give a shit about his own team, he prefers to support his friends

wears his school uniform properly and is the only one in the group who does so

j e n o

a Gryffindor

probably quidditch captain

and dubbed the best player on the team

super humble about it too

always commends his team for doing their best when they lose and every member loves him a lot

the captain that's always saying stuff like “it doesn't matter how this game ends... as long as we try our hardest and play as a team”

the entire team rolls their eyes at his cheesiness but the lack of pressure keeps them at ease

and majority of the time they play really well

though its clear his focus is on quidditch, he still does really well in his classes

cant cook but is somehow rlly good at potions??

likes all the really tiny creatures in care of magical creatures

and they like him too

has a slightly damaged snitch that he carries around with him at all times

one of the wings broke during his first ever game of quidditch and he never got rid of it

he keeps it in the pocket of his robes and fiddles with it when he's anxious about something

has a really good poker face when he's stressed and you'd never know until you hear the soft clicking of his hand playing with it in his pocket while he studies

has a terrible poker face when something confuses him though

during class its so obvious when he doesnt get something

renjun once charmed question marks to hang around his head and everyone in the class died laughing

even jeno

overall great sense of humour

he brought a cat

of course

and its always getting him into trouble for wandering into the off-limits areas of the castle or into the restricted section of the library

once jaemin joked that the cat was actually an animagus that was purposely trying to get him in trouble

and jeno was spooked for like a week

wouldn't let the cat sleep on his bed and almost had a heart attack when he saw it wandering the halls between classes

but there was nothing wrong with the cat

shes just a curious girl

had a major glow-up between 6th and 7th year and everyone fell in love with him lmao

like everyone knew he was fit from quidditch but they didnt know he was that fit you know

heartthrob

d o n g h y u c k

an annoying brat

at least when he first arrived at Hogwarts in first year

has really good intentions though

everyone thought he would get sorted into Slytherin

like the second he stepped on the train and found his way into mark lee’s compartment everyone was like this kid has GOT to be a Slytherin

but no! hufflepuff

true fullsun

used to be a beater on the quidditch team but he was forced to quit until he got his grades up

but he ended up commentating because he couldnt play

and who can actually talk that fast other than the lee donghyuck

and actually found that he enjoyed that more

so even when his grades were t h r i v i n g

he stayed as a commentator

absolutely hilarious and everyone loves him for it

is Not afraid to call out foul plays

mutters quick apologies to the professors when they scold him but does it again later anyway

tbh is actually really popular

known for being dared to stand on the Slytherin table and sing at the top of his lungs

and actually doing it

he got two weeks detention

“worth it” - donghyuck, circa. 2019

has a talent for defence against the dark arts

acts like the smartest person in the room during that class

hes lowkey right tho

(don't tell him)

wears his tie way too loose and constantly gets told off about it

promises professors he’ll fix it then walks away and just,,, doesnt

his Hufflepuff scarf hangs off his bed frame back home

had a toad for his first few years of hogwarts but the toad ended up passing away so now he has a really troublesome owl

the owl itself is a good boy, flies fast and efficiently, but has a nasty habit of pecking donghyuck when hes hungry

“but hes hungry all the time” he whines when jaemin explains the bird’s just hungry. meanwhile, jaemin’s owl is sitting softly beside him, her eyes closed as he pets her

every first day back from holidays hyuck has red lines on his hands, arms and ears from the owl

chenle says its for giving the poor bastard a terrible name

donghyuck never actually refers to his owl by his proper name, always things like “bastard” and “dipshit”

theres a conspiracy theory about the owl’s real name and no one in their group will spill the secret

complains that the animals in care of magical creatures like him more than his own pet

“lol tru” - Chenle

j a e m i n

ravenclaw’s biggest flirt and most popular student

probably didnt even want to run for house captain but still got the position

theres a rumour that he was offered head boy but he turned it down

was the first one to find the kitchens and claimed it as the unofficial hang out spot for their group

if you’re ever missing jaemin, he’s probably in the kitchens chatting up the elves and stealing food every now and then

carries snacks with him everywhere for when he needs to comfort one of his babies house members

literally all the younger year levels feel so comfortable coming to him with their problems

has no issue with staying up in the common room to talk through things with someone

is known to walk people to their classes and then bolt to his own classrooms so hes not late

50% of the school is already in love with him

he was given the angel reputation back in first year and it hasn't let him down

is kind of a troublemaker tho

teases his classmates and even some professors that he has a good relationship with

really really loves transfiguration

probably wants to become an animagus

also wants to be an auror

absolutely loves defence of the dark arts

his owl is white and regal

like genuinely beautiful

she always looks like shes happy to see you

just like her owner uwu

he named her something sweet and meaningful

when Renjuns owl isnt able to fly, jaemin’s owl is eager to take Renjuns mail back to his family for him

wears his jumper all year round

its a good look though,, no ones complaining

was on the quidditch team up until his final year

he dropped it to focus on his studies and also being house captain

it takes him forever to go anywhere because he stops to talk to everyone

somehow knows everyone in school

even the third years in other houses??

runs errands for teachers with a smile

offers to buy food when the group goes out

c h e n l e

another muggleborn

but fits in so well

like the boy is just a natural at magic

unfortunately it doesnt always transfer into his grades

he has such a great interest in everything,,, just not on what hes learning

learnt fourth year history of magic in his first year but still almost failed his exam at the end of year

also hes the best other hufflepuff in the group

didnt understand quidditch for at least a year

ended up in the team in second year and is actually really good

probably the goalie

has the loudest laugh in school

the older professors claim they can hear him from the other side of the castle

somehow gets his hands on all the coolest magic stuff

has the marauders map no doubt

bought himself an invisibility cloak to mess with his friends

makes his professors laugh a lot

fist bumps everyone in school istg

like chenle w h y

really good at muggle studies too

made sure to select it as a subject the entire time he was at hogwarts as a slack class

doesnt really study and then feels threatened when someone gets a mark close to his

studies his butt off for the next test to maintain his status as top rank

definitely had a rat first year because he thought they were cool

and also because he knows rats can be pets like ??? wyd with owls you guys ??? shouldn't they be out in the wild or smth??

was super depressed when he found out how short the lifespans of rats were

ended up having to buy an owl in third year because rip nugget 2k15 :((

his owl is Small

thought it would be funny to call it renjun

but then renjun wouldnt talk to him for almost a week

visits the owlery at least once a week during his free periods to check on his owl

collects his thoughts up there

also rlly likes feeding the owls

sometimes steals Jeno’s cat

catch him in his dorm studying on his bed with Jeno’s cat sleeping in his lap

chenle claims its because the cats like the warm greenhouse vibe the Hufflepuff dorm has going on

but the real reason he bribed the cat into loving him when he first met it

probably was the one to lead the cat to the off-limits areas of the castle

j i s u n g

Gryffindors best seeker to date

kinda shy but is rlly admired by everyone

likes to piss jeno off by missing practice every two practices to study

but low-key hes so good he doesnt really have to go at all

doesnt want a career in quidditch but is constantly reminded he could have one if he wanted it

easily the most popular boy in his year

got asked out a few times this year and awkwardly rejected them all in the nicest way possible

he has a cat thats just as long and skinny as he is

jeno likes to call it sungie and it now responds to that name

enjoys care of magical creatures but very hesitant towards the creatures

but because of his care and precaution, the animals all really love him lmao

gets really soft around them now

seriously oblivious to his admirers tho

chenle once said if the triwizard tournament was to be brought back jisung would be the one to be chosen

has lived in fear ever since

okay jokes

boy could totally win

the only one in the group who has attempted and can successfully perform wordless magic

he knows way too many jinxes and charms off the top of his head that he can easily jinx you without even uttering a word

once was studying in the great hall when one of his friends teased him about rejecting someone and without looking up from his book he just lifted his wand and waved it, jinxing the apple in his friend’s hand to bite him

got detention but honestly the professor was so pleased with his progress it was only a one hour session

has a lot of sass

evidently

never Fully awake at breakfast

always looks really good in the evenings tho

he comes down to breakfast with his tie half undone and the top button of his shirt open

undoes the top buttons when he’s stressed too

professors love having him as a student

especially because they know he hangs out with jaemin

but the fact that he was in renjun and Donghyuck and Chenle’s group was enough for them to be wary

but hes the perfect blend of fun and focused in lessons

likes studying outside in summer

enjoys walking around school grounds during the holidays

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blookmallow · 4 years

Text

uhHH well i finished rusty lake roots... there are still many things i do not understand but wow that sure was. a lot

-----

oh. ohhhh i was right

albert did get into voodoo

i mean really if you have enough blood to write a sentence with it i think thats more of a “there is blood” scenario but i guess that’s just semantics really

anyway uhhHHh that happened,

oH god what the fuck ok apparently mary’s dead now too

i dont know what killed her other than like, old age, maybe. shock?? could’ve been a heart attack if she. saw what albert did to his brother and ida

the kid with the glasses Was emma’s son and she Did commit suicide in her grief when he went missing

still dont know where he came from in the first place but nevermind

what the hell kind of egg is that (the second thing. the first thing is a potato)

it’s. it’s that kind of egg, isn’t it.

is that what that looks like???? i was under the impression human “eggs” are like, microscopic, like you can’t visually see individual sperm cells and i couldn’t really find a clear answer trying to look this up and got kinda freaked out about it anyway (pregnancy/uterus functions fuck me up sdfgggh) but

APPARENTLY, AFTER MURDERING HER (AND HIS BROTHER) ALBERT HAS DECIDED TO HARVEST IDA’S EGGS FROM HER BODY AND CREATE HIS OWN FETUS SOMEHOW HIMSELF

I DONT THINK THATS HOW THAT WORKS BUT UH. ALBERT???? WE NEED TO TALK

god fucking damn it i liked him so much and wanted to understand him and i still think it’s heavily implied he was abused and/or bullied by his siblings and he’s definitely mentally unwell and definitely had some kind of rivalry going on with samuel, definite “wants what he has” situation but

i guess “murdered his brother and his wife, apparently harvested eggs from her corpse to Make A Child With Her after she rejected him” is uuhhhh not really redeemable is it :’ ) god

or im not sure if she actually rejected him or if he ever made any advances on her in the first place but. definite “she belonged to me/should have been Mine” possessive behavior ramped up to 11

i still think he needed Help and maybe wouldn’t have turned out like this if he got help and had support from his family but my god what a. series of events that was

also this guy keeps showing up everywhere. i dont know what he is but i like him even though he may be some kind of shadow of impending doom or a personification of death

BIG fan of the implication here that i may in fact have been a ghost the whole time, subtly influencing the events of my own family destruction in an effort to sacrifice them all to resurrect myself

is that what all this is. did all this happen because william was haunting everybody trying to get the pieces to revive himself. was this man willing to destroy his entire family line for the chance to live again

oh FUCK THE KID’S STILL ALIVE

HE DIDN’T DIE IN THE WELL HE’S JUST BEEN LIVING DOWN THERE THIS WHOLE TIME. OK

how did nobody hear him calling for help or anything...

guess what

i fucking killed the hand again

apparently albert also knows about this??? and never told anyone??? fucking why??????? he doesn’t seem to be Using the dude for anything, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to keep him down here unless it’s just some fucked up revenge thing on his sister

also i dont think it was albert’s hand that i stabbed Again bc he’s not bleeding when he shows up but

is he the one who has been keeping him alive?? why. what purpose is served in keeping him alive if he’s not using him for anything. if hes just trying to get back at his sister why not just kill the guy or leave him to starve down here. Albert What The Fuck Are You Doing

hey buddy!!!!! its u!!!!

i was wrong it seems like mr. crow is not a voodoo curse victim but is actually probably the first vanderboom brother. the not william one. i forgot his name :’) and i still definitely think william’s going to become mr. owl

i found this picture later (it was shown before but i didnt remember) (also has. puzzle stuff on it but anyway) its definitely the same suit thats it isnt it

i dont want to go searching for the pic of the other brother and the one of mr owl bc ill probably just find spoilers if i do that but Hm. hmm.

is this how the revival ritual works. do u become a bird. is that why everyone else at the hotel was animals too

that would mean the brothers have already done the ritual once though and would’ve needed a bunch of sacrifices to do it before so maybe not

albert’s bizarre science experiment child seems to be living at the house now, which i was gonna say “how the fuck did he explain this to his family how is she just Here Now” but then i realized i think she and albert might be the only ones left now

ida and samuel are dead, emma is dead, mary and james are dead, leonard isn’t dead but i think he might be... out fighting the war at this point

also that dog is still here and i didnt previously question why the cup was called “cup with liquid” and not “water” and i really, really wish i didnt know the answer to that mystery

try to guess how this dog provided liquid. the answer is not blood

rose helped frank get out of the well, not sure if she knew why he was down there in the first place or that he’s her cousin, and. well

sorry things had to be this way, bud

digs up my entire family’s remains to make one hell frankenstein skeleton

sure

o fuck i did it i got all the things

i like how some of these are like “gouge out an eyeball” and then there’s like “cut off some hair”

some of this family suffered more than others for this ritual, shall we say

theres probably Reasons for each of the parts though like, frank’s hair grew super long from his years in the well, so while the removal of a lock of hair itself wasn’t really a Sacrifice/suffering on his end its symbolic of what he went through

william’s the one being revived so it makes sense to use his heart

eyes could be... Too Late To See The Truth about albert or something, ida was a fortune teller so, Inner Sight or w/e, also a pair of eyes taken from a couple

emma died from her grief so we have her tears

james... died from drinking the elixir? so indirectly his tongue could symbolize that?? i guess???

rose means red, she was born through murder, she got her bio mother’s red hair, we have her blood

albert could be seen as a mastermind behind a lot of these events, and a lot of this was caused by the mental illness he never got help for, so we have his brain

leonard lost his foot in the war

the only one i cant figure out is mary’s teeth, i have no idea what that one could mean unless she Did die of old age and “teeth falling out” is meant to symbolize that

theres.... three teeth and she had three children? i have no idea

anyway DONT LIKE THAT AT ALL

hm. unpleasant

the other brother Confirmed to be mr. crow but its still possible mr. owl is Not in fact william but he could be talking about future william when he Becomes mr. owl, maybe

this is such a mess ok so william was reborn as a baby, the grandchildren looked like they were consumed by the roots but we see rose holding the baby so at least she’s still alive (and probably the boys too if she is)

and this process also created the seed which planted the tree so... william’s death and subsequent rebirth also created the family tree?? i guess?? so his family was brought to ruin one by one possibly through him influencing events from beyond the grave, all to revive him, which started the family in the first place, and there’s definitely a lot of... “all time is one/timelines can be altered” not direct Time Travel but just sort of. time as a nonlinear web that the original vanderboom brothers seem able to transcend

hm! hm. theres still. so much i dont understand but i have at least one more game left im not sure if the other things in the bundle are related to rusty lake or just other things by the same developers

#lucy plays rusty lake

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mythopoeticreality · 4 years

Text

The Road Goes Ever On- Chapter 4

Another new chapter! Four in and Celebrimbor is the only one who’s thought to ask anyone’s name yet. Welp. e.e

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22900423/chapters/55474507

Chapter 4

It would have been enough, with most others. If not the very words themselves -- That the Prince’s grandson...No! That a child was missing, lost somewhere on the Edge of Darkness, in a wilderness at the end of the world -- then the look in Fëanáro’s eyes alone would have gotten him...something. He did not know what he was looking for -- A confession? To hear the man rush to say he had been acting as a distraction while others swooped in and stole Tyelpe away? That he should fall to his knees beneath that gaze begging for forgiveness? Or perhaps -- Ai! Desperate thought it was! -- an offer of help?

It did not matter, nothing of the sort came, and instead -- as though his pride had been insulted and the look in Fëanáro’s eyes were a mere challenge -- The Stranger lifted his chin and stared Fëanáro down. “Should I know?”

“Do. NOT.” His hunting knife had lept into his hand, and Fëanáro was sweeping off into the shadows. That thrice-damned defiance in the man’s eyes was all that filled his vision. “Do not play these games with me now.” From a shout, his voice came down, low and dangerous. Fëanáro found himself surprised, eyes flickering back, to see his blade resting against the man’s throat.

Surprised, yet he did not move it.

“I heard what passed between you and those hunters, talk of a forbidden quarry. You know who has him.”

Behind him, Fëanáro could hear nearly hear his sons wincing --the speech of the Valar grated at Elven ears in the best of times, but to hear it spoken in anger?

“Atar, what is this? Why are you--” It was Turkafinwë who spoke, only for his voice to die a moment later, under Curufinwë’s hushed murmurs.

And all the while, the Stranger’s eyes were slowly dropping down to the knife at his throat. Fëanáro watched the man’s chest rise and fall in a smooth, even cadence. Practiced calm. A breath later and the Stranger was turning to look up again, to meet Fëanáro’s gaze.

His head canted slowly to the side, eyes narrowing at Fëanáro as though he were something to puzzle out.

“You would kill for this boy?”

“I would kill for any in my family.”

“Are you willing to let me live, for your family?”

For another long moment, the two merely stared at one another, before finally, Fëanáro shoved himself back and let the knife fall to his side.

“Turko, call your hound off, I can hear it snarling from here. Stand down, Curufinwe. Tyelperinquar will be found.” As he finished speaking Fëanáro’s eyes went to the Stranger again, as though to make those words weigh upon the man’s shoulders.

“Atar what is this?” Curufinwë, casting a wary glance towards the Stranger and adjusting his grip on his own knife as he approached his father, “You shout a few words in Valarin at the man, and suddenly all is well? Who is he even, that you--”

“Someone who knows far more of what we face than either you or I.” Fëanáro replied, slipping his knife back into his scabbard, as he watched the stranger drift towards the trees again. “Turko!” gesturing towards his older son, he sent him off to follow the man, Huan loping along beside him.

“But Atar,” Curvo continued, “You cannot say you trust--”

“Trust?” Fëanáro gave a bitter bark of laughter at the word, “No, hardly. But I know even less of what we face.”

Curufinwë’s tongue clicked sharp against his teeth. But he said no more on the matter.

~*~

He was being watched. She was waiting for him, among the drifting beards of lichen. John heard her first, calling to him -- not far, past the breadth of a dozen or so trees, but not far. Large, round, solemn eyes turned to fix upon him as he neared, and though the edges of her feathers caught the fall of silver light about her, she was all in shadow.

“Do you come on your lord’s behalf, or your own?”

“My Lord sees all, from his place on the Holy Mountain.” The owl replied, “He does not require me to fly about all the world carrying news to him -- and certainly not from within the Realm where his throne sits.”

He gave a faint turn of his head in acknowledgement of this. Even as he leaned back, however, head propped against the tree behind him, he gazed up at the bird from beneath quirked brows. “Oh, he may see the world all laid out before him as you see this forest floor now. But what is one more shadow falling across the leaves? How much does he notice?” The Magician knew well the value of such distinctions, had known how to skirt the balance between the two and could become nearly invisible since childhood because of it -- even before he had even learned magic.

“Is that not what you are meant to do?” John Uskglass asked, “To notice the untoward shadows and inform your lord to direct his eyes here or there?”

The owl ruffled her feathers. “If you must know, it was the Lady who sent me. She heard a strange voice, speaking in a tongue that both was and was not her own.”

“Then I imagine she heard my previous exchange as well.” It would surprise the man if half of this new realm had not heard it. If nothing else, his guide’s voice was piercing.

“If she has not, I have.”

“Then she will know, one way or another, that I have done no harm.”

“She will not like this, Raven King.”

Silence. The Magician’s gaze flickered inward. He chewed on the inside of his lips. It would not do to make enemies out of a god, not needlessly, at the least. “I will find the boy. I have already agreed to do so.”

“I know.” A pause. “I have seen your realm, have perched amongst the rafters of your roost with my brethren. You are well loved by them. It is why I warn you now.”

“Yet your loyalty lies not with me.”

“Find the boy, Raven King.”

And with those words, the owl took silent wing. John Uskglass watched as her ghostly white form retreated into the night, moments passing until she was no more than a diminishing spark.

And then:

“How much did you hear?”

Behind him the forest remained still. One...two...three… John counted the moments, waiting.

The crunch of undergrowth and the Hound’s breathing growing louder, passing wet and warm over the back of the Magician’s neck.

“‘Raven King,’ You call yourself?”

He did not need to look to see the tilt of the man’s head, or the way his brows crept up his forehead. The way he spoke was enough to draw the sauntering image so clearly across his mind.

John sighed, brushing a hand along the bark of the tree behind him. He pushed himself upright, turned to see the man who’d stopped just beside him, hound at his side and arms crossed at his chest. Both Master and Hound were staring down at him, eyes raking over his form.

John Uskglass met their gaze in kind. That is to say, he did for a moment at least, until apparently he grew bored with whatever ploy to assert dominance the man was playing at, craning his neck over the man’s shoulder to peer off through the trees behind him. “No,” John Uskglass murmured, after several waiting moments. And where were the others? They should be coming along soon… “Others do.”

“Others?” A snort. The man shook his head, eyes rolling up skywards. But he said no more on that. Insead he merely carried on. There was a message he intended to deliver, clearly, and he would not be turned aside from it. “Wolves, Carrion Fowl...these are not kindly beasts you associate yourself with.”

Still no movement from beyond. Unfortunate. John Uskglass turned back to his companion, saying nothing, only canting his head to the side, staring back, clearly waiting for the man to get to his point.

This reaction was clearly not what the man was expecting. Perhaps he thought John should be looking to defend himself against whatever accusations or threats this man was trying to make. Perhaps he was looking for a fight, rather than for John to simply take his words in stride. Perhaps that was what he would have done if put in John’s place. Whatever the case, that look he received made him fumble --just for a moment -- standing there blinking, before quickly shaking his head.

“I don’t like you. I have no reason to. You appear on the night my nephew vanishes, something in your scent so clearly similar to those responsible that it leads Huan off course. You speak in some strange tongue, Not Valarin, not the language of any singular beast, yet something in between, and both my Father and I can understand you exactly as though it were either language being spoken. You are called a King of Ravens and you mock me by telling me you were raised by wolves. Held at knife-point you tell my father that you will help us find my nephew, and for some reason, he deems that as good enough. But know, if you prove false….ai, Manwë and Varda will be the least of your concerns….”

He really had no idea how out of his depth that he was, did he? What, with every other sentence the man spoke to John a threat of some kind. And -- irksome as it was becoming -- John could not be mad about it. The man was like a caged beast, lashing out in the only way he knew how. And he did seem to care so much for the boy. All of them did…

“This was not the first time I’ve felt the cold iron of a knife. I do not fear it.” John said, shaking his head as he turned out, hearing the sound of approaching voices from the trees, “I made the choice of my own will.”

The silver-haired man looked as though he were about to reply. Whatever it was he meant to say however, he never spoke it. He never had the chance to. At that moment John’s guide and...his son -- the boy’s father, he supposed -- stepped through.

“Do not think to wander off again. My sons will follow, and will find you.” His guide grunted at him, while beside him, The boy’s father stood there, and for all of the air of cool suspicion he tried to put on, his gaze was like a pair of draggers directed at John. “Now, our search?”

The wind hissed a clattering whisper through the treetops. The shadows dappling the forest floor spun into ever twining, ever-shifting shapes, like the flow of one letter into another on a page. The Raven King watched. The Raven King listened. And without another word, the Raven King began to stride off, with only a faint, backwards wave for the others to follow.

~*~

The ground was rolling up and down beneath him, moving fast. The wind blew up into his face, and it smelled like horses. Tyelperinquar’s eyes cracked open, just long enough to see the trees and shadows all moving in a blur past them, just long enough to see Telperion’s silver light still falling through the air.

“Atto,” Tyelpë groaned, the weight of sleep dragging his eyes back shut again. “It’s still night time.”

But the voices he heard behind him weren’t those of his father or uncles softly telling him to rest back his head, to go back to sleep, and the hand and arm holding him safe upon the horse wasn’t the work-hardened muscle and callused skin of his father’s steady grasp either.

Tyelpë’s eyes snapped open. “Atto!” He jerked upright, only to find that hold around his shoulders hardening to an iron grip. His stomach lurched, the ground wobbled out of the corner of his vision, over the horse’s flank, so far and moving so fast below...

“Hush now, child. Oh, I know all of this must be so sudden and exciting, but you must be careful. My cousin and I would be so terribly distraught were you to fall and hurt yourself!”

The voice came from his side. From the rider who’s horse was galloping along next to the horse Tyelpë was on. The boy twisted around to see him. Sitting all proud and high upon his horse, he looked like someone out of the stories Uncle Makalurë knew, or out of the old tales of Cuiviénen that great-grandfather would tell. His hair was long and dark, streaming out behind him, and his eyebrows angled upwards at the end, like pen-flourishes. But most striking of all about him was the cloak wrapped about his shoulders, that even at this time of day was the exact glowing blue the sky would turn just as Laurelin entered her wanning.

There was more talking from the man who held him, the words all really fast and really long, running together like the rush of a river or the lapping of a brook. And then the man who talked to Tyelpë turned and said more words to this other man, like the crackle of leaves underfoot and the hiss of wind through summer trees. He sighed then and shook his head.

“You really must forgive my cousin,” the man in the cloak of twilight said, “This is his first time in this realm and he does not speak it’s language. But we will get that properly remedied soon enough! And then, why, we will be able to understand one another as well as old friends!”

“Oh.” was all Tyelperinquar could say at first. He blinked at the man, and found himself wanting to sink back again, to hide away against his father’s chest, only to remember that it wasn’t Atto holding him, but someone else entirely. He was confused and lost and didn’t know at all what was happening. “Who...who are you?” He asked, and then realizing that it might be rude and offend the man (and knowing somehow, in the pit of his stomach, that he should not do that) he quickly added, “I-if we’re going to be friends I think I should know.”

He thought he was rather clever for that last bit.

“Oh! How rude of me indeed!” Said the man in the cloak of twilight, “Well, you may call me Tethil Birdward, and as for my cousin he is…” The man paused for a moment and then frowned, “Well, he has no name in your tongue, but he wouldn't then, would he?” With a sharp shake of his head the man dismissed the very thought, brushing it aside with a wave.

“No…” Tyelpë murmured, brows drawing together as his gaze drew inward. “I guess not.” There was a pause, just for a moment, before Tyelpë found himself struggling to look back and up. It was no use though, just as much as he had trouble seeing Atto clearly when he rode before him on his horse, he struggled to see the man behind him now. No, worse, it was even harder to see him, because of how dark it was.

And it was getting darker, Tyelpë was beginning to notice…

“What’s happening to the light?”

Tethil just gave a light laugh, “That? It is nothing to worry about, we are only moving outside of the reach of it.”

“What --” And now his heart was racing. “But..but where are we going?” Away from Atto and Ammë. Away from Grandfather and Grandmother and all of my Uncles. From Tirion and...and...and...

He was struggling again, and again that grasp around his shoulders turned to iron. The man behind him began to grumble something, and Tethil snapped a quick reply back, before once more turning and addressing Tyelpë.

“You must be calm, now, we really do not wish to see you hurt. Besides, it is nowhere horrid we take you, only my cousin’s humble home. Think of it as a grand adventure! Do you not grow tired of seeing the same things all day, in and out?”

“I...well…”

“Come now, are you of your Grandfather’s blood or are you not?”

“You know my Grandfather?”

“The Prince? Who doesn’t? Oh, he isn’t considered very well mannered by most, of course, but he is one of the few who has ventured out far enough to touch the borders of our realms…”

There was no sign now of the falling drifts of Telperion’s light, but...it was not completely dark either. No, strangely if anything the spaces between the tree branches above seemed to be filled with even more stars than before, and there in the sky, like a bright silver coin was a light like none Tyelpë had ever seen.

“What...what is that?” he could not help but ask.

“That? It is just the moon.”

“H...has my Grandfather ever seen that?”

A smile, reminding Tyelpë of nothing so much as the family cat, curled at Tethil’s lips. “No, I suppose he has not.”

And Tyelpë realized just then how far from home he really was.

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in-tua-deep · 5 years

Note

you cant just bring up an au where animals survive the apocalypse and not elaborate?????

v a l i d

okay so in this au, thirteen year old Five jumps and ends up in rubble and ruin and find his siblings and realizes that he is alone in the universe at the end of day

except Vanya didn’t destroy the moon in take one of the apocalypse, instead she was so angry at humanity for betraying her in every way - hey father, her siblings, even leonard in the end - that she decided that humanity didn’t deserve to exist. Her powers were a targeted strike, and they killed every living human before tearing her apart as well

so the animals are alive, the dogs, the cats, the deer, the rats, all left alive

and five is crying and gasping and looking at the dead bodies of his siblings and he hears a bark, and he turns around and it’s dog. it hasn’t been that long since the apocalypse, it knows humans, and it’s friendly, so it approaches this sad sad boy who is crying salt tears and tries to lick them away and be helpful and five is frightened at first because he’s never been around dogs but,, it’s a good dog, a nice dog, and he ends up curling around this dog and just bawling his eyes out

and he follows the dog. he doesn’t have anything better to do. and the dog leads him back to - you guess it, more dogs

and look, they aren’t going to attack him. they aren’t hungry. it’s an unfortunate fact that there is… currently plenty of food to go around, for the meat eaters among them at least, and they don’t even have to hunt it. It’s not a source of food Five could ever touch, of course, but the people of the city are dead so it’s not like they really care anymore

the dogs of the city adopt him, and so do the cats when Five goes out exploring. He gives them good scratches and they like rubbing themselves against his legs. He likes very much when they sit on him and rumble loudly and they’re very soft.

the animals of the city quickly realize that their boy has human hands and can open things, so Five spends a lot of time following intelligent animals and prying open buckled in doors and gates and freeing trapped animals and also opening up cans and other food items that get brought to him because he has clever fingers and can open up things like that

Five talks to them a lot at first. He names them all and can recognize them, grinning and asking them how they’re doing and pretending they can respond to him in a way he understands. He talks a lot, because his is the only voice left in the apocalypse, save for barks and meows and growls

slowly he incorporates those into his vocabulary as well though, as the years pass on. A growl to tell someone to leave him alone, sharp yips when tiny teeth go too far, throwing his head back and adding to the baying howls when everyone is being noisy at night, figuring out how to make the rumble in his chest right back at the cats

he sleeps wherever he wants, surrounded by friends and feeling safe. Puppy piles and stinky breath, kittens pressed into his side with the mother cat curled up next to his neck as he sprawls out. he learns to associate sleep and safety with a dozen other bodies pressed against his own, warm and alive and noisy and beautiful

he still looks for equations, still reads in the library. Sometimes the only times he uses his words anymore is when he’s writing on the walls and explaining his equations to a dog with floppy ears and wise eyes who can help him catch any problems. a bit like rubber ducks and programmers

food isn’t as big an issue as the original timeline. Five learns to hunt, learns to wait and wait and then POUNCE and snap and then he has rat-mouse-bird whatever for dinner! the pack and the colony share what they can and Five is no different, he doesn’t keep all of his prey for himself and often scavenges what is left of people-food as well, also picking out plants and berries and other things to supplement his diet with

It’s not just cats and dogs either, Five learns to whistle-chirp at the birds in the morning and mimic their songs. He likes to sing to them when they sing back to him, it’s a little bit like having a conversation as they change up the tune and mimic one another back and forth, back and forth

Five has a hundred thousand conversations in the apocalypse, but none of them are human

well, only one of them is

He’s old and very close to a breakthrough when the Handler comes for him. He’s lived through generations of dogs-and-cats, his original companions long since passed. He’s a given fact of the pack-and-colony now, there isn’t an animal in the city who doesn’t know him and he them. She comes and she offers him a job, and Five hasn’t used his words in a long time but he knows the promise behind her smile. Knows he doesn’t have a real choice in this matter. If he says no, she will kill him to be sure that he never completes his equations. If he says yes, she will take him away from his pack, his colony, his family. It’s an impossible choice, but Five always did know that he wanted to go back, to save his siblings, he was still loyal-loyal-loyal and cared far too much

so he agreed. he spent a few more brief hours running through the city and whining his goodbyes to his family, hands reaching out and petting fur and bodies as they pressed against him. He grabbed the vanya-book he’d been keeping his equations in and passed it off as sentiment (his old family, the one he still loved so so much, he’d never found vanya’s body just her book)

He doesn’t sleep well in the commission. He would say it was the killing, but it’s not. It’s the loneliness. It’s the absence of a dozen bodies pressed against his own, warm and breathing and noisy and alive. It’s the absence of claws catching in his clothes, of wet noses pressing against his skull, of tiny heads headbutting him when he wasn’t paying enough attention for their liking. He’s so used to noise that the silence is unnerving

he gets his equation, and he seizes the opportunity with both hands. He falls-falls-falls into the courtyard and stares at the faces that he only knows from finding their bodies and he is jubilant, he howls his joy and it takes him a minute to realize that this is not-his-body

(he bets if his friends had been there to listen he would have caught whatever error he made, but the commission took all of his friends away from him)

he throws himself at his siblings with all the simple joy of family reuniting, and it feels right and good to once more be able to press himself against warm-living-breathing-loved bodies and he’s pulling out all the stops to say “i’m here! i’m home! family! i love you!” and he barely even notices that it isn’t human-verbal-words and that he’s rubbing his head against Klaus’s chest and rumbling like he would to greet a colony member after a long absence

The siblings are, obviously, very confused at this tiny-five-in-a-big-suit who is purring and howling and hasn’t spoken to them yet but is clearly so overjoyed by them being there

someone mentions food and Five’s attention is immediately caught and! Kitchen! he remembers the kitchen! his family might be hungry! and Five is a good provider and he’s still kind of caught up in the fact that his family is right there so maybe they’re confused when Five grabs a bag of marshmallows and tears it open with his teeth and then deposits a handful of marshmallows on everyone’s laps before going to town on his own portion. He missed marshmallows! A whole lot!

“Hey Five what the fuck” someone says “can we get an explanation here holy shit”

and Five remembers his mission oops he swallows his marshmallows and opens his mouth and makes human words come out and he asks them for the date. Eight days! Eight days until the apocalypse. He never did figure out what happened, all the structures had crumbled and all the humans had died but… how? He had the eye he took from his brother’s corpse, and a newspaper with the date it had happened, but he hadn’t been able to find much more

and this is a five who knows how to share, he’s spend forty some years (he doesn’t know his age, doesn’t know how long he was there, he stopped keeping track and brushes off that question when asked) basically sharing everything he had with a whole bunch of animals. What was his was theirs and what was theirs was his. So he shares with his siblings. He presses himself against Diego’s side and curls his arm around Allison’s and produces the glass eye and tells them proudly that Luther had it

everyone looks at Luther and he’s like “uhhh what? no i didn’t stop looking at me guys”

and Five frowns and is like “No not this luther, dead-Luther.”

and that does not help one bit

and with prodding Five basically reveals that he jumped to the apocalypse and found all their dead corpses (except for vanya’s! and ben’s! but he knows that ben was dead before now because of the book) and pried this gross crusty bloody glass eye out of Luther’s dead hand and everyone is horrified but Five is nodding and all like “Yes! How I recognized you! Look the same, because it happens in eight days. But we’ll stop it! No one dies!”

and he also presents Vanya’s books which is still stained with soot and ash and clearly beaten up to all hell and marked up with a whole bunch of equations that Five is clearly very proud of and you know what?? suddenly this apocalypse thing doesn’t seem too farfetched because Five is sitting here with vague proof and like, if Five didn’t go to the apocalypse then where did he get this shit and he must have gone SOMEWHERE after that dinner

(they do ask about his age and he looks very put out and is like “messed up! supposed to be older.” but when they ask how old, Five shrugs and is like “grey hair old? achey bones old.” and no one can get more of an answer out of him bc five just,, literally doesn’t know)

and you know what i’m going to say that animals are fucking amazing and that five gets to meet some old friends or that some old friends find him because of his gleeful howling/yelling in the courtyard upon arrival. if animals can see spirits and recognize people through reincarnations then i say they can be chill with time travel

so five goes outside and is tackled by a cat who immediately begins grooming his hair and five is just like !!! it’s mama cat! she was one of the first to find him in the apocalypse! she had babies! does she have babies now? and he’s purring and pressing his face against hers in greeting and his siblings are there like whhaaatttt

and it doesn’t help that he turns around and introduces them and is like “!! Mama these are my siblings! Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, and Vanya! this is mama!”

Mama cat eventually exits only to return carrying one of her jelly beans to Five’s absolute delight. He doesn’t remember them all being so small! He introduces the kittens to his siblings as well

one of them he actually named Allison in the apocalypse, and she’d been one he say frequently. They’d evolved over the years from calling her Allison to the more playful name of Allie-cat for the pun though, so that’s what he introduces that particular kitten as and they’re none the wiser

of course, he still leaves the house. But his siblings follow him. Five isn’t going for coffee though, doesn’t care about Griddy’s diner, because if Mama Cat remembers him then maybe -

he gets out of the house and down the street before he’s tackled by a big dog and his siblings shout in alarm and run towards him but they quickly realize that a) the dog is not biting him he’s very enthusiastically licking Five, and b) Five is yipping in laughter and very enthusiastically greeting this stray dog

he actually does introduce the dog as diego earning a baffled squawk from human Diego and Five realizes the issue. After a quick nonverbal consult Five is like “Brother? This is Brother.”

the siblings quietly realize that oof, Five was in the apocalypse until his hair was White (bc he hasn’t talked about the commission yet) which is presumably a long time and he showed up growling and purring and has already introduced them to several animals who seem to be familiar with him and,,, just having some realizations over there

(diego is actually v touched that Five named one of his apocalypse companions after him but he’s not going to admit to that)

and then the hit squad show up and five kills them and Brother fucks up one of them and the other hargreeves quickly square up and also wreak havoc and eventually they’re all back home +1 dog and like “what the FUCK” and five is in a sharing kind of spirit and mama cat is already depositing one of her babies in his lap so he solemnly informs the squad about the commission and that they stole him from the apocalypse and made him heel

(he didn’t talk much in the commission, but they didn’t mind. He’d growled once when the Handler got too close to him, and she’d made a joke about him being a dog and being brought to heel. He hadn’t liked it, but he’d stopped growling and tried to be on his best behavior so they wouldn’t be suspicious of his activities)

basically there’s a lot more information sharing and belief in this au

the squad is like “you know what? we’ll deal with this in the morning. no one goes off on their own until we deal with the fuckin,, time travelling assassins and i can’t believe that phrase came out of my mouth”

and so everyone goes to bed

and five wavers because everyone goes to separate beds and that’s not right, is it? (though if he does think back, he does remember the lonely nights in lonely rooms, of suction cups against his forehead and nightmares gone uncomforted)

and being a tiny bastard is like “well this won’t do right brother?? right mama cat?” and decides he’ll just have to show his siblings the PROPER way to sleep and so grabs vanya and tows her to klaus’s room where klaus drops something looking slightly guilty and five pushes vanya at the bed, brother needs no invitation and immediately hops up which klaus protests, and he’d have mama cat up here as well but she isn’t too sure about bringing her babies up on the bed yet which he understands. and it’s a tight fit because five shoves klaus into the bed as well and climbs in, ignoring any questions and protests, but it’s warm and safe and five actually feels like he can sleep for the first time in a long time

and eventually the protesting dies down when it becomes clear that nope, five isn’t going to be letting anyone leave the bed because it’s sleep time, everyone said so, and so they all settle down eventually and brother is lying half on Five’s leg, heavy and solid, and Five had hooked his free ankle around Vanya’s foot and is pressed against her and he’s got his hands fisted in Klaus’s shirt and everyone is here-safe-warm-alive

and they just go from there. they know about the apocalypse way earlier. vanya says she has to go to her apartment and five is unsure and eventually asks her if brother can go with her to keep her safe and she agrees (and brother HATES leonard the first time they meet and is very vocal about it leading to the cancellation of the lesson whoops)

hazel and cha-cha have far more difficulty finding five this time after five digs out his tracker (which horrifies all his siblings but 100% convinces them he’s telling the truth holy shit)

Five meets more animals he knows/knew though lots of them are actually pets and have humans which are alive!! he thinks that’s neat even as their humans are apologizing for their normally well behaved pets bowling down this 13yr old with enthusiasm and licks and delight

The siblings keep having to remind Five to ‘use his words’ when he huffs or growls or grumbles, and his siblings can’t read body language for SHIT which is certainly annoying. Brother and Mama Cat sympathize with his plight at least.

but yeah honestly maybe the apocalypse is averted by vanya having a dog which despises the very air leonard peabody breathes which alerts five to something hinky and, upon investigation, he finds the journal in leonard/harold’s possession and immediately presents it back to the family like “yes! see! brother isn’t being unreasonable!”

“five did you break into a man’s house because your dog didn’t like him”

i have a bad feeling that at least one animal is harmed in the making of this au and that they sacrifice themself for either five or one of the siblings oof

but yeah vanya doesn’t cause the apocalypse by virtue of everyone trying to figure out how to deal with their semi-feral little brother and his menagerie of animals and the rest of the time travel bullshit that follows along behind him

also orange idiot shows up at some point as well because i’m the maker of this random universe and i say so and five ALSO recognizes him and is absolutely delighted that apparently diego is orange’s human which makes them double family and diego is honestly in shock that orange idiot is sitting on five’s chest and purring like a steam engine because diego has never once heard that animal do anything more than hiss and growl before this day

i haven’t thought through the end as you can tell but hey maybe hazel and agnes end up adopting a nice big dog or five teaches hazel some of the birdcalls he learned in the apocalypse idk i like hazel

five rotates between his siblings for sleeping and they just learn to accept this and accept it if he selects them to dogpile in with at night. the kittens grow bigger because they live in the house now so it ends up being like, three humans, one dog, one cat, and four kittens in a bed each night where there is NOT enough room but they learn to deal because otherwise five just doesn’t sleep

also five learns to take cues from the cats to figure out where ben is and include him in conversations

mr. pennycrumb also shows up at some point idk when

that’s all i got for now but i’ll probably come back to this

inspired by my cat who won’t stop trying to trip me up and headbutt my face and step on my stomach because he loves me

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j-writesandstuff · 5 years

Text

equal, hermano

The second Rafael and Max were through the front door of the loft Max ducked, practically running, into their shared room the slam of the door reverberating across the whole apartment. Rafe let out a deep sigh, he knew his little brother would have locked the door by now so he dropped his bag by the door and shuffled towards the kitchen. Defeat was not a feeling Rafe enjoyed, neither was helplessness. Especially when it concerned his little brother.

He was born lucky, he knew it-he'd been raised to know and appreciate that fact. As a shadowhunter birthright is often the first thing you're taught at the institute. But his parents had also taught him the privilege it bought him in their world, the struggles he would never have to face all because he got lucky in the lottery of existence. Many in their world would tell him his brother was born unlucky, pulled the short straw. The same was often said about his Papa. Rafe never really understood it all, all he saw of them was the fact Max healed every injured creature he came across since the age of three, and the fact his Papa conjured waffles when he was sad, Max made runes dance on the ceiling in shimmering purple when studying was melting his brain, his Papa helped save the world. He didn't understand the people who hated them. He doubted he ever would. He also would never understand the people making his little brother want to lock himself away in their room. Rafe knew he needed to think of something. To him, Max had always been equal sometimes he even considered the fact Max was superior to him in plenty of ways. He and his family saw Max like that, but he wanted everyone to.

That's when the idea hit him. Rounding the corner into the kitchen, he heard the soft hum of classical music-his Dads favourite- and saw his fathers gently swaying along together as they prepared dinner. Perfectly in-sync with each other. He almost didn't want to interrupt. Almost.

'Uh. Dad, Papa, can I ask you about something?'

They both jumped a little at the presence of their son bursting the little bubble they'd created but composed themselves quickly.

Magnus spoke first.

'Of course sweet pee, always. What's up?' Both Magnus and Alec had lent against the breakfast bar, opposite their eldest son sitting on the bar stool.

'How does the alliance rune work?'

Neither of them was prepared for that question-it was written all over their faces. They shared a glance. With that glance they shared a whole a conversation, Alec placed his hand gently on the back of Magnus' arm just above his elbow-their secret sign of support.

'Well, your Aunt Clary saw it just before the war with Valentine.' Magnus always said his name like that, as if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. His whole family did. Rafe hadn't heard it all, but he was sure it did.

Alec continued, they always spoke like this. Flowing perfectly one after the other-together.

'It binds the two who share it, I and your father share it with each other. I can use your Papas abilities, as he can use mine. I could use it to conjure a portal, and he could light up a seraph blade.'

They both got a faraway look in their eyes as Magnus finished.

'I'm almost certain that rune saved at least a thousand lives. Certainly mine and your Dads. But it was also a changing moment in the relationship between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. We fought side by side. It was truly incredible.'

Alec's arm had slid entirely around Magnus' waist as he'd been talking. Rafe's perfect example of the two worlds unity. They'd always taught him unity was strength. Love was power, and alliance was always the answer.

He knew exactly what needed to be done. He smiled broadly, a determined glint in his eye.

'Are they busy tonight?' They know who he meant. 'Can you get them over in the next half hour? Uncle Simon, Aunt Clary, and Papa are especially important. Uhh, don't tell Jace and Izzy I said that. Or Grandma.'

Alec chuckled. 'Sure buddy, your secrets safe with us, I wouldn't wanna inflict that on anybody. We'll give them all a call now. But, uh, why?'

'I'll explain when they get here, just get calling it needs to happen soon-its important.'

And with that he was gone, flying off the bar stool into the office leaving his parents to share a confused look before dialing the phone.

Exactly thirty minutes later his whole family was assembled in the living room, Rafe sat crossed legged on the coffee table in the center. Magnus and Alec, Alec with a leg slung lazily across his husbands lap, next to each other on the sofa. Jace next to Alec, with his Aunt Clary on the arm of the chair one foot in Jace's lap, the other on Simon's shoulder. Who'd been forced to sit on the floor for arriving last. Aunt Izzy and his grandma sat on the armchairs either ends of the coffee table. The only one missing was Max. Everyone noticed. Rafe began.

'Okay, so you've all noticed our little buddy blueberry isn't here. In fact, he hasn't left our room since we got back from training today.'

Concern spread across each of their faces. Magnus took Alec's hand.

'That's because today someone hurt him, pretty badly. And I don't mean just physically, although that too.'

The concern melted into horror, and cold rage in all of them. Even Rafe felt the buds of it rising again in his stomach. It was Simon who spoke. Always his Uncle Simon to hold some composure. He was good like that.

'What exactly, did they do to him, Rafael?' His voice quiet, as if he didn't really want to hear. He imagined they probably didn't. They'd known Max since he was a baby, tiny and defenseless. That image still hadn't really gone away. Even now he was ten, and able to do magic it took Warlocks hundreds of years to master, he was the family baby.

'Well first of all Max beat this kid in a race, totally fair and square. We got told to use any ability we had, and well Max just happens to be able to teleport. Really they should have been more specific. But anyways. This kid was not happy about that, jealous if you ask me. His pride was hurt, badly. He storms over to Max and calls him a cheater. Then punches him.'

The atmosphere in the room said it all. Fury filled every member of his family, he felt bad telling them about it but they needed to know for this to make sense. He ignored the nauseating feeling rising in his throat as he remembered the rest. He continued.

'This kid is big, I'm talking my age, a head taller than Max and five years of ShadowHunter training literally written all over him. He's towering over Max and I can feel it, you feel his magic you know? That shit is strong-'

'Language Rafael. Just because you're fifteen doesn't mean the rules are off the table.' Cut in his Grandmother.

'Right, sorry. I go jogging over ready to fight this kid for squaring up my baby brother when he swings for him. Now we all know, me from experience, you don't swing at Max. In seconds he's across the room right into a wall.'

They share a glance between them all. The kind only a group of concerned adults can understand. Jace nods at Rafe, silently telling him to go on. Jace is never good at speaking when he's angry.

'Obviously, I'm turning to Max to calm him down when someones shoving me aside and catches Max off guard. He was looking at me, not focussing you know? He gets him. Right in the stomach.' Rafe's voice shakes a little as he continues.

'I'm seeing red. Max is barely recovering when I'm up.I-I broke his nose. You guys can punish me for that later, I don't care about a consequence. But now this kid is humiliated and in pain. A bad combination in a jackass.'

'I can't believe the trainers just let this happen.' Interrupts Maryse. Her voice stern, but the edges laced with anger.

'They weren't there, the kid picked the exact time an important Clave message came through so the trainer had to leave or something. But that isn't the actual bad part, not really anyways. He's yelling at me. A lot of swearing and cursing my family name which I was about to punch him again for-when he notices Max healing a little graze on my elbow from where he pushed me earlier. By the angel, Max is so soft. This kid says stuff that has totally destroyed Max okay. It's bad. I dunno if Papa is even gonna wanna hear it. That kinda stuff.'

Alec squeezes his hand Clary subconsciously looks down at Simon. So does his Aunt Izzy. They aren't stupid, they know the kind of stuff he means. Blue sparks are rising from his Papas other hand, a small burn mark forming in the arm of the chair. His Dads other hand is tapping hard against his thigh. He can see the anger in his Uncle's shoulders, both of them rigid all over. His Aunt Clarys eyebrows were knotted so tightly together it must have been hurting. His Aunt Izzy had an expression that could have killed, he imagined she was wishing it could.

'Its okay sweet pea. I've lived enough years to hear this.' Despite the usually soothing nickname, his Papas tone was ice cold.

Rafes own voice shook, a lump had risen in his throat. He was going to cry.

'He said 'I don't even know why this dirty warlock is even allowed in. He's half demon. Look at what he just did to me, he's dangerous. I guess you really can't tame half breed.' At this point, I'm screaming at him. Ready to rip into him, because Max apologises to plants he steps on and heals injured birds and sleeps in Batman pajamas.' At this point the tears are streaming down Rafes face, his hands shaking.

'He's not dangerous. He's so little he was just scared. Then he turns to me and says the worst part. 'I don't get why you're defending him. You're worse than that dad of yours. A few years ago you'd be hanging his horns on your mantlepiece as a prize. Why is he even part of your twisted little family? He can't even use a seraph blade. You've been tainted by the dirty demons in your house and your faggot of a dad. He then threw a blade at Max and taunted him because he cant use it and told him we'd never be really equal, no matter how brainwashed I was.' Rafe has said it all so fast he was out of breath, the front of his shirt wet with tears.

'Max broke one of his arms and both parts of his left leg. Blew up a light bulb then ran out the room. It took me twenty minutes to catch up with him. He was practically glowing purple he wouldn't let me touch him.'

Everyone in the room was stunned into silence. They'd all surpassed anger into full-blown rage.

'That's why I needed you all to come over. I'm gonna show him we've been equal since his tiny toddler hands made me a flower out of thin air. Aunt Clary, you can still draw that alliance rune right?'

Clary took a moment to compose herself, wiping a tear and sitting up a little straighter and pulling her mouth into a smile.

'Yeah Rafe, I can.'

'Perfect. I'll go get him.'

Outside their bedroom door, Rafe could feel the ice cold sadness of Max's magic. He loved his brother more than anyone, feeling his sadness broke his heart.

'Blueberry,hermano. I've got something to give you. Everyone's here, well because they all care Maxy. You've just gotta come into the living room.' He whispered through the gap under the door.

After a moment the door opened, revealing a tear stain Max. His blue cheeks burning a bright red, Rafe only ever saw them do that when he laughed too hard. He swore they never be red from tears as long as he lived. His blue eyes puffy, curly hair scruffy and disheveled from having a pillow over his head. He hadn't even gotten changed out of his clothes, one trouser leg bunched up around his knee.

'Okay.' Was all he said, barely a whisper. He trailed behind Rafe into the living room.

Concerned eyes follow them both as Rafe goes back to the coffee table. He moves over and gestures for Max to sit next to him. He refuses. Max won't meet any of there eyes. Not even Simons. Max always favoured Simon a little, he could see the heartbreak on his uncles face.

Suddenly Rafe was angry. Angry someone had made his brother feel he didn't deserve to be with his own family Anger Max had believed him.

'Maxy, sit next to me.' He patted the spot next to him again and smiled up at him. 'Come on buddy.'

Max sat on the edge of the table looking down at his Star Wars socks. A gift from Simon the birthday after they'd watched them all together. Max looked like he was about to start burning them off. His parents were holding each others hands so tight their knuckles were white. His Papa looked close to tears but he was wearing his unglamoured eyes- a statement.

'Okay, Aunt Clary lets go.' Rafe stated a cold determination in his tone.

She drew the rune on a piece of paper, it flowing perfectly from her hand.

Rafe took the piece of paper and began copying the rune onto the palm of his hand.

'Turn and face me.' Max did, still not looking up keeping a distance between their knees. Rafe moved forward so they were touching and placed his palm over Max's heart.

'Now you listen to me, Maxwell. You're sat in the middle of a group of people who found a baby, who was bright blue and didn't even consider you being anywhere but with them. They gave you the name Max as a gift. You have a better heart and soul then many a shadowhunter, you can do way more than any of us ever could. So quit crying. And give me your hand.' Rafe smiled as his brother finally met his gaze and placed his hand palm up in his hand.

Rafe traced the rune.

A surge of magic flooded through his system and he almost fell off the table. But something had caught him. His own palm was holding him up, three inches off the ground.

'Now that. Is awesome' Rafe laughed, sat up and looked at his brother.

He handed him a witchlight.

Max hesitated for a moment, he closed his hand around the stone. He'd try this a few times before, the stone always remained cold and blank in his hand. When he opened his palm the stone was alight with a bright light, tinted slightly purple. His face lit up almost as bright as the stone in his hand, and suddenly the tension in the room snapped and everyone jumped and cheered.

'Equal, hermano.' Whispered Rafe, so only his brother could hear.

'Equal, brother.' Max beamed back, the light behind his eyes was enough thanks for Rafe.

The next day when the boys were training together, testing their new found skills Max noticed him coming. Rafe felt the spike in magic as he entered the training room-coming straight for Max.

'Haven't learned your lesson yet warlock?' He sneered.

'Let me make it clear. You can't use our weapons or our runes. So why are you even here?' He dangled a seraph blade in front of Max's face and laughed.

Max took it from him, smiled and lit it up.

Rafe had never been prouder, and when they walked home Max was practically dancing down the street in joy.

That night all the family were over for dinner, Max smiled the entire time.

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hypmicscenarios · 5 years

Text

Chance Meeting (3)

A/N: I know I said 3 parts but I dont know how to control myself so four! again, 3rd part is also on AO3.

Eventually, your one hour was up with the dogs. It had went by so quickly! You looked down at yourself and then at Riou, chuckling. You had been here way too many times, so you were prepared. When you guys walked out,you dug in your bag and pulled out a lint roller. You smiled as you held it out in front of you,”here you go, I knew this was going to happen,”you said. Riou took it, getting all the hair off, then handing it to you. Once you guys looked clean again, you placed it in your bag.

“Ah, we can go to a cafe,”you said, starting to walk. “Its a nice place and the waiters are very friendly there,”you said. Seconds later, you heard a bell. Before you could react to what was most likely a bike trying to get through, you felt a hand around your shoulder, being pulled next to Riou. Your eyes landed on the bike that had zoomed by, but you were more focused on his touch. “Oh, thank you,”you said, offering a small smile as he moved his hand away. “Its my duty”, he replied. Then, he moved to the other side of you. Him being too considerate wasn’t helping the love you had already held for him. It may have just been his natural instincts...but you were falling for them. You were weak and you figured you should stop yourself before you fell too in love and he didnt reciprocate your feelings back.

Riou rarely went out to any cafes or restaurants. He considered himself an acceptable cook, so he made all of his meals, coffee, tea, everything. To be honest, he had never eaten at a restaurant after he became Ex-navy. He certainly hadn’t expected that his first time coming here again would be with L/N. When they arrived and sat down, his eyes just stared at the menu.

“Do you need help? Youre looking at it like its some difficult math problem,”you said, seeing the way his eyebrows only went lower and lower as he stared. He answered back,”I make everything myself...so I havent been to a restaurant or anything of the sort in years. Dice tries to make me, but I offer to make his favorite dish, then he forgets about it.” This caused you to chuckle,”oh, I see. I guess they didn’t have restaurants on a ship. But sometimes I think you should take a break from cooking your meals everyday. But I suppose the whole purpose of it is more to spend and enjoy time with someone, than to merely go and eat food.”

Riou blinked and asked a question bluntly,”so you’re enjoying your time with me?” This caught you off guard but you replied with a smile,”well, yes. This is me paying you back for saving me, but I completely forgot about that, Im just having a lot of fun.”

“With me?”,Riou asked, simply for clarification, but it made you laugh again. “Am I with anyone else right now? Of course its with you,”you responded. Even if he was like this, you still loved this part, you loved every part of him that you’ve encountered so far.

Riou didn’t know exactly how to take that. Even in the navy, everyone always praised him for being a good soldier, doing things to perfection. He did hangout with his other mates and it was a fun time, although he never drunk too much. However, hearing it was fun to just hangout with him, was something that Riou hadn’t heard in a while, except the occasional comment from Dice.

“What would recommend from here then?”,Riou asked. You smiled and said that you would just order for the both of you, first asking if he was allergic or extremely disliked anything. He wasn’t and the things in the meal didn’t match up with his dislikes.

You spoke,”I also come here a lot and I get stamps. Today will complete another card and that means the second person’s meal is free. Everything seemed to match up perfectly, dont you think?”

Riou nodded in agreement.

The food soon arrived and you did your best to try to keep the conversation alive and going. Of course, they were some silent moments between the two of you, but they weren’t bad. In fact, you feel quite comfortable during the silence when you two just focused on your food. Your smile didnt seem to fade. Maybe it was because you felt so safe around him. He wasn’t a man of many words, but you could tell he listened intently to some of your stories.

“Yeah, one time my dog was trying to chase a bird out the window, but he hit himself, so I had to hold him like a baby and kiss his head. He’s really too spoiled,”you said. You looked at him for his response and you only smiled wide when Riou put on a small smile and spoke,”I think it just shows that you’re a very kind owner, he should be very lucky.” You blushed and looked down,”yes...he should.”

The waiter soon returned with your checks and you guys were free to go as soon as you pleased. You both got up and started to walk away. Digging in your bag, you pulled out some perfume. “Ah, this is for my dog. He tends to get upset if he smells other dogs on me, so I use this to get the scent off.” Riou nodded,”that makes sense. You cant bring him to the cafes?”

“No. I did try asking once but they said no, for valid reasons of course. And while he is super cute. I dont know...hmm...I guess I just want to give all the dogs my love! I think I have magic hands, they love my rubs,”you said as you held your hands out and laughed. “You do?”,Riou asked.

Without thinking, you moved your hand up and ruffled his hair, then pulling it away,”O-oh sorry...I was just trying to demonstrate,”you said, hoping he wouldn’t be too troubled. Riou turned his head away from yours and spoke,”its fine. You do. Have magic hands, that is.” He said. Just why was he getting flustered like this? No, he wasn’t a dog, so he shouldn’t have felt anything from that, but he did.It was all too confusing and he thought about it until they arrived at their place.

“Oh, thank you for today. I know you didn’t have to come and maybe you didn’t want to, but Im glad you did. I had a lot of fun. I hope you did too,”you said with a smile, standing outside your door.

“To be quite honest I was hesitant on coming. I dont normally go out. But you shouldn’t worry, I think I enjoyed myself, or no, I did,”he said, nodding, and quickly heading into his apartment because he didn’t know what to say. Did he have to think about it? No, he knew that he liked his time spent with them….he just wasn’t used to this feeling of enjoyment. Each day, he had only been living through the motions, same routine, not breaking it, because that's what it was like in the navy. Today, he broke out of that routine, and he was quite scared about how good it felt to break his routine.

You closed your door and smiled as you picked up your dog, twirling him around, telling him about your day,”it was so great and I didn’t think we talked that much but we did! Do you know he cooks? Thats amazing, the only thing I can cook decently is ramen and curry you know this.he even smiled! He….aaaa…”,you squealed silently and fell on your couch, chuckling as your dog, who probably didn’t understand a word you said, was just happily licking your cheek. “I missed you too you fluffy goofball,Mwah!”,you said, kissing the top of his head. The rest of the night, all you could think about was him. And the smile never left your face.

For the next few days, Riou could not keep you out of his thoughts. It also didn’t help that he had told Dice about his outing with you, because the other wouldn’t have stopped pestering him. The one statement that he kept recalling was Dice saying,”If they asked you out again, would you go?” And the answer to that was almost yes, before it turned into a maybe. Its not that he enjoyed….well he at least wouldn't admit it...but it wasn’t a horrible time. He didn’t feel the need or pressure to keep a conversation. Although they didn't say it, he could tell that they didn’t mind the silence either. It was just….comfortable. The whole day was comfortable.

The next time he saw you was at the grocery store again. He saw your eyes peer into his basket and then you posed a question about his meal that day. “I was just thinking of making some spaghetti. Nothing too fancy.”,he responded. At least, he thought it was, but you made it seem like he was a chef.

“Spaghetti?? That's amazing. I dont even think I could cook that. I think the only noodles I can cook to perfection are these,”you said, holding up your basket filled with ramen noodles. Riou stared at it and asked a question,”is that usually what your meals consist of?” You thought for a moment,”well...no. I can also make curry. Sometimes I cook some chicken and just have chicken and rice….otherwise its microwaved meals or going out to eat.”

Riou became a bit concerned that no vegetables were mentioned. “If you dont mind, you can eat some of my spaghetti. I usually end up making it for two, but I just save it.” This is what you definitely heard, but your mind switched the words around,”so like, eating it at your place or?”, you said. His eyes went wider and you could tell thats probably not what he meant…”o-or I dont have to go over-”

“Its fine. You can come over.” he said, without even thinking about it. What did he just say? Invited them over? No, it wasn’t what he had in my mind at first, but once they said it, he just went along. Besides, it was in his nature to feed people and teach them how to eat healthily. That was all. Or, thats what he tried to convince himself. Nothing more, nothing less. Though, his excitement would definitely show later on with the amount of care he put into making this regular old dish.

You, on the other hand, were freaking out on the inside. A smile came upon your face as you spoke,”so...I suppose you can just knock on my door when its ready?”, you proposed. Riou nodded,”yes, I can do that. Dont make your ramen. Although, later on, I can teach you how make such a meal even healthier if thats what you must rely on.”

A small giggle came out of your mouth,”enhance ramen? I would definitely love to know how. Then, I’ll see you later, have to go walk my dog and feed my dog.I’ll look forward to it,”you said and waved him off, Riou simply waving back, then putting his hand down, his palm up, now looking at it. A small smile came on his face as his hand curled up into a fist. Why was excited? Another person to try his cooking? Well, he had to built up his reputation a bit with his cooking, so he needed to make this good to fit their expectations of his cooking, and he would do exactly that.

“Paw, give me paw,”you said as you sat on the couch, treats in your hands. When your dog gave you his paw, you smiled and gave him a treat,”good boy,” you praised and kept doing this until you heard a knock at the door, your corgi going to bark at it. You opened the door and saw Riou standing there, your dog sprinting through your legs and jumping on him.

“Oh my, Im sorry, he gets excited when he sees friendly faces again,”you said with a chuckle. Riou shook his head,”its fine,”he said, bending down and picking him up. Riou let him lick his face a couple times before he held him away from his face,”nice to see you again too.” You smiled and held your hands out,”I’ll take this little bugger from your hands,”you said, placing him down on the ground. “I’ll be back soon baby, dont wreck the place,”you said, as your dog looked at you confused.

You didn’t really put any makeup on….okay maybe you put on a bit of foundation. The dark circle curse was always on you and never went away, so you had to do something about it. Honestly, you were a bit nervous going over to his place. You knew you were going there and most likely going to get exactly what you expected. But. It didn’t hurt to fantasize a bit.Maybe you guys could get a bit closer. You were entering someone’s home after all. That was kind of a big deal. It meant the person trusted you.

Riou’s place was already tidied up, so he didn’t really need to do much. He only focused on the meal, which was already finished and set up on the table. He opened his door and held his hand out, letting you in,”the food is on the table, you can sit in one of the chairs.” You looked in and bowed your head slightly,”thank you for letting me into your home,”you said, then walked in, looking around as you took off your shoes. His was….way more neat than yours. And, it was quite simple. There weren’t many decorations, except some picture frames spread around, a plant or two.

Finally, you walked to his table and your eyes shimmered at the sight and smell. It already looked incredibly delicious,”woah...you made all of this?”, you said, mostly in a surprised rhetorical way, but he responded with,”yes, I did.” You chuckled,”Im excited to try it. Definitely ten times better than the ramen I would have made,”you finished and finally sat down. Riou, however, grabbed your empty plate and placed the noodles, along with the sauce and meatballs on top of it.

The meal was absolutely delicious. You told him that plenty of times over dinner. Riou didn’t know how to handle so many compliments at once. And you were the one keeping up the whole conversation that he eventually felt like he wasn’t contributing enough. Only once did he ever try to have a romantic relationship with someone, but they said despite his looks, he was just dull and boring.

“L/N-san, you…..you dont feel troubled that you’re the one talking so much?”, he said, caving into an insecurity he had thought buried deep down inside of him. Your answer though went far beyond his expectations. You had remember him saying something similar, but you still spoke from your heart, a smile on your face,”what do you mean? Its not like Im talking to a rock. You comment when you feel like it, I can tell your actively listening and not zoning out, even if we didnt talk, your presence is quite comforting, and this food warms my heart, I can tell you put your feelings into it. I dont think a rock could do any of that,”you said with a chuckle.

His eyes went wide and then he smiled a bit, chuckling,”youre quite interesting.” You were taken aback by his smile yet again. It was absolutely precious to you, but you responded,”me? Interesting? Im not the one whose ex-navy and probably has a bunch of badges in his honor. Or can cook like Gordon Ramsey. Or whose as kind to feed the homeless when they need it. You underestimate yourself.”

Riou’s smile faded, but there was still that gleam in his eyes,”thank you for that. Dinner is over, did you want to leave?”,he asked. Some small part of him wanted to continue the conversation...but he didn’t want to keep you. You didn’t want to go as well.

“Do you have any Sake?”

Be bold or Go home.

#riou busujima #hypmic scenarios #riou mason busujima #riou busujima x reader #riou #busujima riou #hypmic x reader #hypnosis mic

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thotticus---prime · 5 years

Text

Peter Parker’s Potential Perish

It was dark, and cold, and cramped. Just where in the world was he? Peter woke up disoriented, and it didn’t help that Karen was listing off his numerous injuries as he slowly came to. The first thing he noticed was that he couldn’t move his arms much, maybe a few inches or so before he hit solid concrete on all sides. He tried to raise his head and see where he was, see what building was crushing him. If he had a nickel for every time he was crushed by a building, he would have two whole nickels. That’s not many nickels, but it was weird that it happened twice.

Peter didn’t have time to worry about his lack of nickels though, he was too busy trying to breath and not bleed to death. From his spot under the rubble, he could hear the ongoings of the battle above him. God, they were above him! Running on the rubble that used to be a building. The building that was slowly crushing him to death with each footstep from above.

“Cap? C-can someone get me?” Peter asked with barely enough breath to force his words out. Sure, he was strong, but he couldn’t move the rubble on top of him when his leg was practically impaled all the way through.

“Pete? Status report Spider-man, what happened, are you hurt?” Peter looked down at as much of his body he could see and hummed before shrugging, forgetting that Steve couldn’t see him.

“Kind of? I mean- I’m not going to immediately die right? But then again I could be more hurt than I know and then-”

“Peter, we’re kind of caught up with something right now, do you think you could sit tight for a few more minutes?” Peter could hear the loud shriek of someone in the background. Civilian lives were at stake, he could wait.

“Okay, Cap.”

The next time Peter was conscious enough to talk, the better part of an hour had passed. He could feel a sticky substance surrounding him, and he had a bad feeling that it wasn’t his web fluid. Luckily, the fight had moved from off of the collapsed building and down the street a little ways. He took off his mask so that he could breathe better, but that closed him off from the comm. It was for the best that he couldn’t hear the battle going on, that would only make his senses go even crazier than they already were.

He could breathe at least a little better, but the pain was too much for him to handle and soon he heard cheering in the distance. Perfect. Great. Now someone could come get him. Peter slowly pulled his mask back on so that he could communicate with the team. He could hear swearing and yelling. “Guys, what happened?”

“Nice to finally have you back Spider-man. What happened, you missed your curfew?” Clint asked sarcastically with a hint of humor in his voice.

“Not exactly Mr. Lame Sarcastic Bird Sir,” Peter immediately responded with a hint of a smile before shifting in his small space again and wincing. “But seriously, can someone come get me?”

“We’ll be there in a minute Underoos, we got moved pretty far from where this whole thing started. Can you wait a few more minutes?” “Sure Mr. Stark, I’ll stay right here.” The few minutes turned to a few more until he groaned and closed his eyes. “Mr. Stark, where are you?”

“Almost there Pete, Karen is being a little finicky right now. Something’s blocking her sensors.” He had a feeling that the thing that was making it a little hard for Karen to work was the huge hunk of metal and concrete surrounding him. “Where are you kid?”

“You know that big ass building that fell down?” Peter could hear the chorus of language over the comm. Followed by Steve’s groan but eventual laugher. He could barely hold back a small laugh of his own as he let his head rest on the cold ground beneath him, he was too tired to keep his head up and talk at the same time.

“Yeah Kiddie, I can’t see you on any rooftops though. Where are you?” Tony asked as he landed on the rubble and began to walk around, trying to spot the teen in spandex somewhere in the surrounding buildings.

Peter wheezed as he felt sudden pressure on him. “Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! I’m right here! I’m under you, Mr. Stark!”

Suddenly he felt like a real spider getting stepped on by a boot. The chatter in his ear died down so suddenly that he thought that Karen was malfunctioning. “Hello?” He asked after a stretch of silence. Then suddenly he heard a loud groan and a curse.

“You’re joking right? Right Peter?” Steve asked. Peter could hear footsteps running as he shook his head no before remembering that no one could see him.

“No? ‘M under Mr. Stark,” he answered as he finally let his tense muscles relax and his eyes close. “C’n you guys hurry?” His words were beginning to slur as he waited and waited and waited. That’s all he could do in this situation. Wait.

The weight finally got off of his back and he could breathe just a bit better. Distantly he could hear people yelling at him, but he was too tired to respond and simply let himself fall asleep. The team was clawing at the rubble, trying to find the dumbass teen who decided that he didn’t need to tell the team that a building fell on him.

When they finally unearthed him, he looked like he was run over by a truck multiple times. But, he was still breathing, and that was all that mattered to the team as they rushed back to the compound. Those that couldn’t fly were paired with those who could, Peter being carried by Tony who was being more gentle than anyone had seen in a long time. It was understandable though, the teen had grown on everyone in the short time he had been part of the team.

Natasha was teaching him conversational Russian, Clint took him on adventures in the vents that the two of them called vadventures. Bucky constantly baked him cookies and brownies. Steve helped him train, everyone on the team had a soft spot when it came to the stupid self sacrificing teenager.

When Peter woke up, the lights were too bright and the room was too quiet. He didn’t think it was possible for any place in the compound to be completely quiet like it was in this room. Upon further examination, he found that he was in a hospital room. The other thing he noticed was that the team was sprawled out on every available surface in the room. Tony and Steve were in a pair of chairs. Bucky was on a couch next to Natasha, and Clint was surprisingly asleep on the ground in a pile with Sam and Bruce.

Tony was the first to wake up when he heard Peter start to stir. “Hey Petey-pie. You know, you gave everyone a scare,” he said conversationally as he leaned against the bed.

“Sorry, Mr. Stark.”

“You don’t need to apologize Peter, you just need to tell us when something like that happens. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“There were civilians who needed to get to safety, I could wait for someone to get me.”

“You could’ve told us Petey, we wouldn’t have made you stay down there if you would’ve told us how bad it was.” By then, the rest of the team had woken up and were listening to the conversation in front of them.

“I was fine, Mr. Stark. I was okay with waiting there until you were done.”

“Peter, you should’ve told us about it as soon as it happened. We’re a team so we need to know when something happens to our teammate.” Steve argued as the others nodded in agreement.

“You know what? Maybe we need a better way for you to communicate with us. You young kids like texting, why don’t you ask Karen to text one of us next time okay? We would never leave you down there for so long Peter.”

Peter sighed as he nodded guiltily and sat up in the hospital bed he was confined to. “I promise, next time a building falls on me I’ll tell someone.”

“That’s good Kiddie, but maybe let’s not make this a regular occurance,” Tony said with an uneasy expression. Peter laughed as he nodded and sat back.

“I’ll try, Mr. Stark.”

Okay so this is part one of a series called the Peter Parker Protection Program. This is kind of why the program started.

@keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars

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jamlally · 5 years

Text

The Crow and The Sparrow

So I did it. I posted a chapter of the Tig Trager fic that I started a while ago. I don't know quite where it will go - but here it is. I popped it up of AO3 as well

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Tig Trager, man of action, Sargent at Arms, Brother and all around slightly psychotic bad ass could not believe that he had found himself reduced to this - sneaking around grocery store. to find out what he could about some random chick that he had seen around town. He knew almost nothing about her, but from the moment he had seen her going into one of the local Coffee houses two weeks ago. She was a little bird of a woman who never seemed to raise her head to look around her. From what he could make out she seemed to have a figure, but it was mostly hidden under a sweater. She had long brown wavy hair that she tucked behind her ears when she wasn’t using it as a shield to hide herself away.

After he had seen her the first time he had found himself noticing her more and more, until he eventually realised that he had started to go out of his way to find her. He had managed to set up a ‘chance’ contact when he realised that the coffee shop was her go to destination every couple of days at 10am he made sure that he would be there at the same time and ‘accidentally’ bumped into her as she was heading out. He had been surprised at how petite she was next to his larger frame, Her eyes had been a deep rich brown and her mouth had been full and had turned up into a small but sweet smile as she had apologised to him for her clumsiness,. Her voice had been quiet and tinged with obvious nervousness but still warm. Her hand on his arm had been gentle but warm although all he had been able to see of it had been her finger nails which were painted a deep red that had surprised him, He had returned her smile with as soft of a smile as he could manage and had reassured her that it wasn’t a problem. He had held the door open and watched her a she walked away, her head back down and her hands sunk into her pockets. That night her face and those deep eyes had shown up in his dreams, staring at him as she sucked on his cock.

He had been worried when she had missed her regular stop at the coffee shop earlier this week, he had waited for over an hour for her to come in and she had failed to show. He had written it off as nothing but his concern wouldn’t ebb, so when he had seen her as he had ridden through town he decided that it was time for him to see what was going on. He had parked up his bike and followed her on foot, trying his best to remain inconspicuous, which in retrospect he probably hadn’t managed based on the fact that he was still wearing his kutte and k-bar but sometimes you just have to seize the moment.

He had been watching her now for 20 minutes as she seemed to check and weigh up every purchase that she went to make - he wasn’t sure why she was being so picky but maybe she was just a fussy shopper. he didn’t really understand women and the way that they shopped, maybe this was how they all did it? Christ he hoped she was done soon as it was boring as hell. Noticing that some of the employees were staring at him suspiciously he picked up some random boxes off the shelf and dropped what ever it was into the basket he was carrying,

Another 15 minutes later and she seemed, at long last to be done and heading to the register, He was surprised at how little that she had in her cart but there are consequences for fussy choices he supposed. Noticing that there was another customer who was about to get behind the mystery woman in the register line he rushed ahead and barged in from of the older lady who huffed at him. Mystery woman didn’t seem to be aware of the small commotion which made him frown, she needed to be more careful. Charming was a peaceful town, but like anywhere there was danger, Some people would say he was the danger, but really he was a pussy cat. He found himself fidgeting and huffing as he tried to get her attention. She seemed to be oblivious to him, or was ignoring him, either option was unacceptable to him but just as he was about to tap her on the shoulder, the crazy old woman he had cut in front of managed to ram her shopping cart into the back of his ankle. “Fucking hell! Seriously!” He whipped around and glared at the crazy old bat who glared right back. “Crazy old broad” he muttered under his breath turning back around to his mystery woman only to see that she had moved forward in the line and her groceries were being rung up. God Damn it! that stupid old bat had distracted him and now he had missed the best chance he had to initiate some contact with the little bird in front. Turning to glare at the old woman again, he started to load his random selections onto the conveyer belt - noticing he had bought crackers, soy sauce, coconut milk, tissues and lube, well at least one of the items he picked would be useful.

“That’ll be Thirty five dollars and sixty nine cents” The board cashier mumbled to the mystery woman and then he heard her soft voice again “Oh um… wow ok…um let me just take a few items back, um..” He noticed that she seemed to be flustered and trying to make decisions about what would she would take, She seemed to be deciding between the meat and vegetables and had already put the toilet tissue to one side.

“Miss I either need you to pay or move to one side” The cashier tried to move her on and was obviously making her uncomfortable “Oh of course um, just give me a second” The Cashier met her response with a huff of annoyance and an eye roll and Tig could see that mystery ladies hands were shaking and she tried to move the items out the way and he realised that this was the chance he had been looking for. With a cough to catch the cashiers attention he realised that mystery woman had also turned around and that she was blushing with embarrassment. Her eyes met his briefly before she looked down and in that moment he noticed tears that were about to overflow. Shoving his had into his pocket he pulled out his wallet and pushed his items forward. “Hey man look just give the lady a break, How about you just ring these through too and i’ll pay for both the groceries” The cashier sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance but began to pull Tig’s random items up.

Mystery woman looked up in surprise, her cheeks still bright red “Oh no Sir, please I cant let you do that, I’m just going to leave” Tig smiled as gently as he could at her “Nah doll it’s nothing just a few bucks, its like my good deed for the month”

“But you don’t even know me!”

“Sure I do, we met in the coffee shop, remember, that makes us old friends’ She gave him gentle smile but seemed reticent to make eye contact with him. Before she could object any further the cashier interrupted them to ask for $52 and some change. Tig growled under his breath at the interruption before turning back to the bored little shit who dared interrupt him. “Bag the goods dip shit” he growled as he pulled out his wallet to pay for everything. The douche bag cashier had nervously thrown all the groceries into a couple of bags mixing them up but Tig didn’t care, he grabbed his chance and the bags and gestured to the mystery woman to head out of the store while thinking that if he came across the guy outside of the store he may well give the him a bit of a fright.

Pausing just outside the store he turned to face his mystery woman and put the bags on the ground as she in turn looked up at him through her eye lashes, her cheeks still stained pink. She smiled slightly “Thank you, I really am grateful for your help,. you need to let me pay you back, I mean it might take me a few days to come up with the money but I promise that I will get you what I owe”

Tig couldn’t help but tease her a little “Well you know if you lay off the coffees for a couple of days you might find it easier to afford the groceries” He tried to soften his words with a smile but it was clear almost immediately that she didn’t see the humour in his words

“What! Oh no no, really I don’t spend all my money on coffee, honest. I wouldn’t do that and then expect someone to get my groceries, I swear! Please you have to know that !” tears started to flow from her eyes as her breath seemed to catch in her chest and she attempted to not just full out cry. Tig felt like an ass, damn it that is not what he wanted ! He sucked at dealing with emotional women, What the fuck was he supposed to do now? “Hey doll. come on it’s ok I was only teasing” He crouched slightly to try and make eye contact and reassure her that he was serious. She wouldn’t make eye contact but she did nod her head in acknowledgement. “Tell you what doll how about I take you for a coffee and you can tell me whats got you so down?” Maybe if they went somewhere she was comfortable he could get her to talk some more.

”Umm” She was unsure of going with him, he could tell maybe she wasn’t as oblivious at it had seemed in the store but he could also see that she felt that she owed him for helping her out. One of the things that made him a good SA was being able to capitalise on weaknesses when he saw them so he pushed just a little harder. “Come on doll - I promise I’m harmless, mostly” That got a smile so he continued “We’re already like friends - so now we’re gonna be friends having coffee. I’m Tig” he held out his hand. Her brown eyes finally met his for longer than a second and he saw her take a deep breath before holding out her small hand “Belle, it’s nice to meet you Tig”

#tig #tig trager #tig trager/ofc

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glowstickhaloboy · 6 years

Text

i just spent an hour typing this klance sleeping beauty/witch AU in a text

one day lance wakes up in a forest with few memories and no idea how he got there. He stumbles upon a stone dias with a veiled, sleeping young man on it and figures he’s dreaming and that’s got to be the part of himself that’s going to wake up eventually.

Then a bear comes crashing out of the trees, and Lance knows he can’t let the bear hurt himself or... himself?? Whatever. So he manages to draw it under a loose boulder and then topple the rock down on it. Then the bear transforms into a big brown man who says his name is hunk and thanks lance profusely for changing him back.

“The wicked monarch lotor doesn’t mind using curses on anyone, no matter how insignificant,” he says. Then he sees the sleeping person on the dias and asks if he hurt the prince, and lance is like ???

So hunk explains that lotor cursed the rightful heir to the throne to sleep forever, then brought him into the middle of the woods so he would never be found, and hunk, the unfortunate stable boy who had been tasked with transporting him here, had been turned into a bear to attack anyone who got too close.

At this point lance is like, “wait, im not dreaming?? And that dude is a real person?? Okay so uhh sounds like this monarch is totally evil and we should get this sleeping guy back on the throne??? Whys he asleep how do we wake him up??”

And hunks like “shrug.”

So lance is like “WELL ive got quite a reputation for being a dashing hero”

“oh really whats your name”

“uh, the names LANCE”

“GASP LANCELOT??”

“Ye-! What, no, who is that wtf”

“oh then ive never heard of you”

“whatever shut up you’ll have heard of me after we pull this off together, lets get this guy to a town or something and tell the people whats going on, that way theyll know lotor is a fake”

“oh its not going to be that easy,” says hunk, ever the man of exposition. “lotor has guards everywhere, at gates and bridges and checkpoints on the roads to every town, nobody can get in anywhere with anything secret, especially not so blatantly carrying a body”

but then they meet a group of smugglers!! Led by allura and pidge, the strategist and the genius, who agree to help lance because of lotor’s ridiculous taxes + security.

“But” says pidge “theres no way we’ll help you when he’s like this. You gotta wake him up first. He’s practically dead, we’re not going to smuggle a corpse, its useless. Coma patients cant lead kingdoms.”

And lance is like “idk?? How??”

And hunk is like “drop a rock on him”

and lance is like “NO HES A PRINCE”

and pidge is like “no curse is foolproof, theres got to be a way to break it” but doesn’t offer any helpful solutions so lance sighs and goes to hang out with sleeping Keith to see if he cant come up with something.

The smugglers helpfully offered a tent to keep the prince in so it doesn’t cause much of a ruckus among their crew. Lance enjoys the privacy because he’s starting to doubt that he can pull this off, and he apologizes to Keith for that even though he knows Keith cant hear him, and lance explains that he doesn’t know a lot about himself but he feels like he has a history of letting people down and he’s sorry, he’s sorry, but he’s going to try his best, and maybe providence will smile upon Keith and everything will work out anyway, and if lance fails he is at least a necessary stepping stone to restore Keith to the throne.

He falls asleep there, and when he dreams, he’s inside a beautiful palace watching a man with a prosthetic arm write a letter at a desk.

“That’s my brother,” says a voice behind lance, and thats... Keith walking up into the room, talking to him?? so casually?? And the man writing the letter cant seem to see or hear them at all? And Keith continues, “his name is shiro. He’s feeling particularly frustrated lately because theres nothing he can do to stop lotor from screwing over our people. He was supposed to inherit the throne. After one year as king, he sent supplies to the kingdom of a sworn enemy while their people suffered from starvation, and lotor got the council to label him a traitor and revoke his right to the throne. I was the only heir left. And, well, you know what happened to me.” He smiles and lance is still like WHAT THE HELL?? And Keith says “you’ll figure it out. I trust you” and lance can feel himself waking up so he misses the next part and only gets the word “witch” before he’s back in the tent and Keith is still passed tf out and he has NO IDEA how to break this curse, so he asks hunk if there are any witches nearby.

And hunks like “shrug”

and lance wants to bash his head against a wall.

But allura overhears and is like “im a witch lol” and lance is like “YOU CAN DO IT THEN YOU GOTTA FIX HIM” and allura is like “?? i’ll try but I have no idea how I would even begin” and lance is like “ANYWAY I CAN HELP I WILL”

so he hangs at allura’s elbow all day while she stirs potion after potion, consults books, consults Pidge, attempts to cast spells, and nothing’s working, so the day passes and she gives up for now and says she has to rest, and lance reluctantly sees her out of the tent and falls asleep himself.

This time he dreams he’s in a witch’s tower, and he knows this must be the witch he needs to find, but it’s empty. He doesn’t know who lives here or where they are, and yet it feels familiar, and then Keith appears again, and lance wastes no time in asking where they are this time. Keith shrugs and says this must be one of lance’s memories, Keith has never been here before.

And lance looks around in confusion like, “one of... my... memories??” before it clicks why he knows this is a witch’s tower without even looking around, and he remembers the tree outside the window and the apples that could be magicked inside from the branches without even leaving the comfort of the couch, and thats because its HIS witch’s tower. He’s in his home!

And as if to prove it, he spins around and sees himself perusing his own library with an apple in hand, humming, and Keith smiles at him and says, “Witch,” before lance wakes up again and this time he understands, he remembers, that he is the only person who can save Keith, and that is why lotor cursed him with memory loss in the first place!!

He also remembers... a lot of embarrassing thoughts he’d had pretty much his entire life... lance had followed the prince’s progress from afar, had attended his coronation and offered his services consulting as a court sorcerer (which the royal representative lotor had always overlooked with disdain because they HAD a court sorcerer, thank you very much, and honerva had more life experience in her little finger than a little spell-monkey like lance) and when the prince went missing, lance toiled over a solution, and he came to the new regent, lotor, and proved that he’d crafted a spell with the power to locate one’s truly heartfelt desire, and then he proved that his desire was keith’s safety, was keith, and then everything went dull and fuzzy, and then he’d woken up in the forest.

And all of this is to say-- lance does not know how to break a sleeping curse.

He only knew how to find Keith. Why did Keith have such faith in him? He would try anyway. He would brew a remedy so powerful it HAD to work.

when pidge comes to check on him next morning, lance informs her that he has a lead on the prince and is not to be disturbed, and he spends all day sending hunk and allura out for ingredients, tugging out his own hair, briefly crying, then scraping himself up to keep working, and just as he thinks he might be on the right track, theres a scream outside, and then more, and lance doesn’t want to leave the cauldron but he has to make sure the camp is safe-- and it isn’t.

Lotor’s armed guards have raided the smuggler’s camp and lotor himself is there too. Lance knows he has only one chance.

He dashes back into his tent to finish, knowing full well that lotor saw him and theres no time at all, and then half the tent spontaneously begins to fold in on itself, and the cauldron is knocked from its briar and the potion! Most of it spills out, and lance, without thinking, takes the rest into his mouth because he doesn’t have a flask, and if he has to feed it to the sleeping prince like a baby bird then he WILL.

but lotor rips open the front of the tent before lance can make it to the bedroll and raises lance by the throat off of the ground. By force, he squeezes every golden drop out of lance’s puffed cheeks then casts him aside, preparing to finish Keith once and for all now that his secret is found out, (and in his mind he is thinking how nicely this will all blow over, to pin it on the smugglers and an unfortunate accident in the raid) but lance is swept up in a force of protective rage and creates a gust of wind powerful enough to uproot the tent, catch up lotor, and drag him away and pin him down.

While lotor struggles against the fabric, lance scrambles to keith’s bedroll and prays that this will work, that theres enough remaining to have any effect at all-- and he presses his potion-coated lips to keith’s and wishes as hard as he can.

and keith’s lips press back.

And keith’s hand catches at lance’s collar.

and lotor bellows in rage and lance sits up in wonder and the prince is awake and alive.

He does not move like someone who has been lying still for over a year. He leaps to his feet, summons a dagger from seemingly nowhere, and meets the regent monarch head-on in a duel so fearsome that, when lotor is eventually defeated, his armored guard immediately drop their weapons and bow to keith.

Keith orders the guards release this camp (on the grounds that the laws they bent were unjust in the first place, and they’d harbored him safely in his hour of need), and then he finds himself and lance a horse and finally gets a moment to thank this witch who saved him-- and perhaps, if lance can forgive him for being somewhat useless throughout all this, he would like to accompany Keith to the castle as his court sorcerer? Of course, the mother to a traitor cannot serve the crown.

And lance can hardly believe he’s being offered this new lot in life, because hes-- hes-- HIM. He never wins! But he has this time. He has.

He all but yells “YES” and almost makes an ass out of himself but reigns it in at the last second. They ride back to the castle together and are married later that year and live happily ever after.

#disclaimer: monarchies are useless #klance #klance au #v:ld #lance mcclain #keith kogane #voltron #laith #klance fic

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thetravelerwrites · 6 years

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A New Generation (Pt. 2)

Rating: Teen Fandom: 魔法使いの嫁 | Mahou Tsukai no Yome | The Ancient Magus Bride Relationships: Hatori Chise x Elias Ainsworth Characters: Elias Ainsworth, Hatori Chise, Chise Hatori, Silver Lady, Silkie, Ruth, Titania, Oberon, Shannon, Stella Barklem, Angelica Burley, David Burley, Althea Burley, Lindel | Lindenbaum, Merituuli Trigger Warnings: Pregnancy, Childbirth, Babies, Infants, Depression, Anxiety, Discrimination, Unplanned Pregnancy, Abandonment, References to Abuse, References to Abandonment, References to Child Murder Words: 8551

As Chise's pregnancy progresses, Elias is consumed with worry that his child will be rejected by both fae and humans, as he had been. Chise struggles with the fear that she might abandon or harm her own children, as her parents did.

When Elias returned home from London, he sat down with Chise and had a very long, solemn conversation with her about the pregnancy, and for the first time, they talked about a future that also involved their child. Or children, if Chise was correct in her belief that there were two.

He told her about going to speak with Lindel, Simon, and Angelica and what their advice had been. Like him, Chise found Angelica’s tale the most consoling. Knowing that the artificer had felt similar apprehension about procreating helped Chise feel less isolated.

Calling Angelica and talking to her at length also did much to improve Chise’s disposition, not just about Chise’s ability to parent but also about the pregnancy itself. It didn’t cure her of her worries, but having someone to talk to who knew exactly what she was going through was a great comfort to her.

Finally managing to convince Elias to install a landline in the house had been a pretty recent accomplishment. He fought this "modern indulgence" for quite a long time, but when he finally understood that it meant she didn’t have to walk to town to use the public phone every other day, he was more open to the idea, especially since walking long distances was going to become rather difficult for her as time went on. The noise the device made was annoying, but seeing her smile when she answered it was enough to keep him from being too bothered by the sound.

The change in her mood greatly eased Elias’s mind. Watching Chise spiral into a deep, black pit of terror and depression was difficult for him to bear, especially given there was little he could on his own to improve it. As much as he wanted to help her, he had eventually come to understand that sometimes people could only find solace in others who’d had comparable experiences. This was just not his ken, so it was better left to those suited to the task.

He tried to quash his own fears for her sake, but she knew him too well to let him get away with keeping those thoughts to himself. At night, before they slept, she would talk to him; just talk, not expecting him to respond if he wasn’t in the mood to do so, and it helped him. Hearing the sudden shift in her voice from cold despair to tentative hope had done much to alleviate his woes. She encouraged him to be honest with her about what he felt, but didn’t push him to talk if he didn’t want to. More often than not, though, he would. They would lay bear their worries to each other and try to find the bright side. They were both still afraid, but they were facing that fear together.

And it helped.

Summer was in full swing, and Elias was twice as busy as normal now that Chise was limited as to what she could do. He didn’t grumble about it much; after all, he had done everything himself before she had come along. But they had become a well-coordinated, efficient team over the years and he had come to treasure her reserved, supportive assistance in all things, whether practical or magical. He rather missed working in tandem with her.

Though she was no longer allowed to do any of her normal seasonal chores beyond a little light weeding and watering, she would often sit in the garden with him as he worked and help whenever she could, not content with staying in bed all day like an invalid. Besides, having Chise within Elias’s sight and hearing was good for his heart and mind.

Ruth spent his time keeping a close, watchful eye on her, reporting any physical ills that Chise might keep to herself to Elias. As long as she was at rest, though, they were happy enough.

Late one night, he walked into their bedroom to prepare for sleep and found her naked in front of a mirror, standing to the side, looking down at her belly.

“What are you doing?” He asked curiously.

“Look at my stomach,” She said, her hands gently probing her lower abdomen. “It’s bigger. And it’s hard, too. Feel.”

Elias came close and laid his hand on her stomach. It was indeed hardened, as though she had swallowed a large stone, and there was a swelling between her hips; not big, but definitely noticeable.

And perhaps he imagined it, but he thought he felt a strange swirl of energy embedded there underneath the flesh and muscle, lodged deep in her body. No, two swirls. Perhaps Chise’s instinct was more credible than he first thought.

“Hmm,” He said. “Why is that?”

“Angelica says the uterus thickens and becomes more solid to protect the fetuses,” She said, reaching for a book on her nightstand. “It says so in this, too. Alice sent it to me. I told her about the babies, by the way, but I swore her to secrecy. I haven’t told Stella yet, but she’s busy at university and I didn’t want to bother her during finals.”

Elias bent to peer at the book. “What is it?”

She flipped through the rather large paperback volume. “It’s a book about pregnancy and birth. It’s actually pretty informative. So many things make sense now.”

“May I read it, then?” He asked. “There is much I still need to learn. I have a distinct dearth of knowledge about this particular subject and I feel compelled to rectify that.”

“Sure,” she said, handing it to him. “I’ve read up to the third trimester, so I won’t need it for a little while. I hope it helps.”

In some ways it did, and in others it didn’t. During gestation, he learned, the woman’s body produces excess blood to carry extra oxygen to the baby, which in turn causes the mother’s heart rate to accelerate for the duration of the pregnancy, which in turn causes her core temperature to rise. That explained that part, at least.

But other aspects of pregnancy and childbirth were, to put it mildly, horrifying. Things like nosebleeds, strange cravings, extreme mood swings, increased sex drive, swelling of the extremities, sudden hair growth or hair loss, violent fits of vomiting that lasted for months, soreness almost everywhere, food aversions, heighten sensitivity of smell, touch, and taste… the list of physical oddities was extensive. Bones would often be pushed out of the way and change position to compensate for the growing child, sometimes even fracturing or breaking in the process. And all of this was considered normal.

And those were just minor possible symptoms. The more severe ones were downright ghastly. There was no end of ways that it could go wrong, no end to the possible damage to the mother, no end to the ways the child could be born ill or malformed, and that was just for regular, non-magical children. There was no telling what kind of ailments could befall the child of two mages, especially if both parents were cursed.

And the descriptions of the birthing process itself, including the many, many things that could go awry, was nothing short of nauseating. Several times, he had to shut the book and put it aside for a while, appalled at what he learned. He hated to admit it, but sometimes knowledge for knowledge’s sake wasn’t always a good thing.

Once the first physical changes had begun, time seemed to speed up. Chise’s body changed rapidly, her stomach growing larger every day to carry the new life safely. She seemed especially breakable these days, and Elias couldn’t help being even more protective than he had been before.

For years before he had bought Chise, nothing had changed. Things went on as they always had, and it was as comfortable as it was dull. Then, once he met her, things changed, but it was a slow change. Even though things happened that never had before, it came at a pace he could understand and absorb.

Now, everything was new and happening too fast for him to process, and he was trying his best to keep up. He did not adapt well to change.

One afternoon in late July, while Chise was having her afternoon nap, Elias awoke her with a touch to her cheek.

“I’m sorry to wake you, Little Bird,” He said softly. “But there is a guest downstairs who has come a long way to see you. Are you feeling up to greeting them?”

She smiled. “Sure.”

Downstairs, she saw a tallish, pale man standing in their sitting room in modern clothes, looking around the room curiously. His blonde hair was separated into two bunches and hung over his shoulders. The the pupils of his bright blue eyes were slits, like that of a wild predator.

“Lindel!” Chise exclaimed in surprise.

When he saw her enter the room, a wide smile split his face. “It’s good to see you, my daughter,” He said, his arms open toward her.

She rushed forward to give him a hug. “What are you doing here? The dragons--”

“Can survive me being gone for an hour or two. Besides, Merituuli is to inform me right away if anything should happen while I’m here. I haven’t heard from you in a while and I wanted to check on you.” He held her at arms length and looked at her belly. “You’re coming along rather quickly, aren’t you? I sense very strong life essences brewing in there. Your offspring will be incredibly powerful mages. I can’t wait to meet my grandchildren; you must bring them to the aerie once they’ve been born.”

“More than one?” Chise asked.

“Oh, yes,” Lindel replied. “Two separate, distinct energies, hale and healthy, growing well.”

“Ha,” Chise said quietly. “I knew it.”

“Now,” He took her hand and hooked it around his arm. “Why don’t you give me a tour and tell me all about your preparations for the little ones? I’ve never actually been to Thorn’s home, you know. The ungrateful brat has never so much as extended an invitation.”

Elias sniffed slightly and sat in his chair, picking up a book he must have been reading before Lindel arrived.

“Of course,” She said, turning. Silver was looking in shyly from the kitchen, where Ruth was having a snack. “This is Silver Lady. She’s a neighbor who runs the house and looks after us. She’s been a big help to me.”

Lindel bowed. “A pleasure.”

Maybe it was Chise’s imagination, but she could have sworn Silver blushed.

“Good to see you again, Ruth,” Lindel said pleasantly. “Keeping a sharp eye on our favorite girl, are you?”

“Of course,” Ruth said. “She’s been getting plenty of rest, but she’s not eating as much as I’d prefer.”

Chise sighed heavily. “Elias’s fussing is bad enough, but having a fae nanny breathing down my neck all day is really irritating.”

Lindel laughed softly. “I would imagine so.”

Chise showed him her old room upstairs with Ruth trailing behind, where Silver had surprised her one day by converting it into a nursery. Silver, at least, seemed very excited about the new additions to the family and was going to extraordinary lengths to make sure the house was ready for their arrival.

The brand-new cupboards were stacked with blankets and swaddling and dressing gowns and cloth diapers, all handmade by Silver. There were double changing tables and bassinets, set side by side, and even a rocking chair next to the window. Chise had no idea where all the new furniture had even come from. Silver had used neutral colors to decorate the room: a mix of light and dark browns and soft purples and blues. The walls had been painted with a mural of wildflowers and trees, and the floor was plush grass-green carpet, as though the room was outside in a meadow. It was beautiful. Chise had cried and hugged Silver for quite a while when Silver presented it to her.

Ah, mood swings.

Elias had not been prepared for these emotional outbursts and, quite frankly, neither had Chise. She’d go from really happy to really sad to really annoyed all in the span of a few minutes. It was rather dizzying for the both of them. Ruth tried to warn Elias when they were coming, but he couldn’t always tell, so they were often blindsided by a sudden explosion of emotion that even Chise didn’t always understand. He supposed there was some comfort to be found in the fact that she was just as confused as he was.

Chise showed Lindel Elias’s study, and her workroom beyond where she practiced her spellcraft, and then decided to take a break in the garden. Lindel sat with Chise, talking animatedly about the baby dragons and happily eating Silver’s sandwiches and cakes. It was probably a nice change from stew. He even coaxed a song from Chise, one he had taught her in Icelandic about a hungry raven that slept beneath rock rifts. She had missed singing with him.

The sound of their voices raised in song brought Elias out to join them. He hadn’t heard her sing in some time and was pleased to hear it. She only sang when she was in a good mood. The resonance of their voices made the trees stand straighter, the flowers bloom brighter, and the sunlight shine gently upon them without being overpowering. When Lindel and Chise worked together, everything they touched was magic. Elias couldn’t help but be a little jealous of that.

The visit was a splendid one that did much to brighten Chise’s spirit. Before long, Lindel felt the aerie calling his heart home and left Chise with a hug and well-wishes. He even shook Elias’s hand.

Lindel snapped and sparked and was gone in a flurry of snow and cinders. Chise was sorry to see him go. She really felt as though Lindel was a surrogate father. When he called her his daughter, there had been weight to it. He genuinely meant it.

Chise made to go inside, but Elias took her by the hand to stop her, looking off into the woods.

“I believe we may have further visitors,” He said, taking his veil and flinging it over his face. He pointed to the treeline.

There, almost invisible under the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, stood a fae woman of indescribable beauty. Her black hair trailed behind her and brushed the ground as she walked, and her skin was as smooth as the petals of a lily. Her eyes, the colors of which shifted as though iridescent, were locked on Chise from where she stood motionless in the shadow. How long she had been there, no one could say, but her attention was on Chise and nothing else.

“Lady Titania,” Chise breathed.

As though summoned, Titania stepped out of the shelter of trees and began to walk toward them. Spriggan stepped out of her shadow, the gold rings adorning his staff jingling as he walked. He looked as surly as ever.

“My dear, sweet robin,” Titania said, holding her arms out to Chise and she stepped forward. “Oh! Isn’t it so wonderful!”

“I assume the little folk have informed you of Chise’s condition,” Elias said.

“Oh,yes, my child. I can’t tell you how pleased I am! Oberon is beside himself.” She glanced back to the forest’s edge. Chise and Elias followed her gaze to see Oberon running to and fro, giggling like a child and throwing flowers into the air. Chise laughed softly and shook her head.

Titania returned her attention to Chise and touched her hand to Chise’s belly. “Look how far along you are! I must say, though, I am terribly put out that you hid it from us for so long.”

“I’m sorry,” Chise said. “I… it’s been… difficult.”

Titania took her face in her hands. “Poor child,” She said. “Do not despair. This is a blessing. What a wondrous gift it is to be mortal. The fae do not breed well with each other and as such, our children are rare. That’s why there are so many old tales among mortals about halflings, though such things are far less likely in this millenia.” Her gaze brushed across Elias’s tall form briefly. “I suppose it’s how your race proliferates so effectively. You’re like rabbits, in that way.” She giggled.

“Oh, what a wonderful turn of fate!” Oberon crooned gleefully, skipping around the group of them. “I can’t wait to see the new little mages. Is there any chance at all they’ll be blonde? Oh, nevermind, they’ll be adorable either way!”

“Titania,” Elias started, ignoring Oberon as he pranced around them, laying a flower crown on Chise’s head. “You have the gift of foresight. Can you…” He paused, clutching the fabric of his shirt over his chest, as though in pain. “Is there any way to tell… that is to say…” He stumbled to a stop.

“Elias,” Titania said kindly. “Ask your question plainly, and I shall answer as best as I can.”

Elias sighed. “The children… our children… will they be… like me? Half-creatures, hated and shunned for the sin of merely being alive in a world where they do not belong?”

Chise’s heart bled for him. It must have quite a blow to his pride to ask that question. She knew he’d never admit it to anyone, not even her, but the constant reminder that he was neither one or the other was something that caused him perpetual grief. The idea that he was terrified his own children would share this fate made Chise’s heart ache. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it consolingly.

“Oh, Thorn,” Titania said sadly. “I see branches; roads that split and diverge like serpents in the sea of potentiality. I see many possibilities, though some are more likely than others. I cannot give you a solid answer because the paths are still many and multiplying. I cannot tell you for certain what will be.” She laid a hand on his chest and smiled. “But would you like to know what I feel?”

He nodded, apprehensive.

“I feel love and joy,” She said. “I hear laughter echoing within the walls of this dwelling. Your children will have fragments of their father residing in them, as all children do, but they will have the protection and favor of all who love them. And there will be many who love them. They are blessed by the Queen of the Fae herself, and my blessing is no paltry trinket.”

“Titania, I…” Elias said, unable to continue.

Oberon slid over to his wife and winked at her, a wide smile on his face. He then turned to Elias.

“Do not fret, thorn child,” He said. “However tainted your lineage may be, you are still one of us, and your bride is beloved by our kind. Your children, then, will be doubly revered by all fae. You have no cause to worry.”

“Thank you. That is… very comforting,” He replied, though his tone said to Chise that he was still rather troubled.

Chise endured another few minutes of Titania and Oberon’s doting before they decided to depart. She felt rather relieved when they left. They could be a lot to handle all at once.

That night, lying in bed with Elias, the question he had asked the Faerie Queen revolved over and over in her mind.

“Elias?” She asked softly, trying not to wake Ruth. “Are you still awake?”

She couldn’t see his pupils, but he did answer. “Yes.”

She lay her hand on the back of his neck and stroked it. “Are you really worried about how the children will turn out?”

Elias sighed. “It does not matter to me what they will look like,” He said somberly. “But it will matter to humans. Experience has taught me well that mankind does not adapt quickly to things that are strange or unusual.” He turned his head to look at her. “The fae will not care about their appearance, either, but they will see them as my children, spawn of the halfling failure. That alone may be enough to draw the ire of the fae against them, despite what Titania and Oberon said. Those two have never failed in their kindness to me, but it is borne out of pity, not respect, and the rest of the fae are not so magnanimous. Some are indifferent to me, but most, like the Spriggan, are openly hostile. I do not wish for my children to suffer because of who their father is.”

“Oh, Elias,” Chise said, holding him close. “I wish I could--Oh!” Chise sat up abruptly, pulling the covers down and placing both hands on her belly.

“What?” He asked in alarm, turning to sit up. “What is it? Are you alright?”

“I felt them.”

“You did?” He asked.

“Yes,” She said, moving her hands around gingerly. “I felt a thumping on the inside. I felt some flutters before, but I was never sure what they were. That was definitely a kick.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, looking at her abdomen.

In response, she took his hand and laid it down on her stomach, instructing him to wait. He did so, and it took nearly five minutes, but there was a distinct nudge against his hand.

Chise looked up and smiled at him, but his heart was in his throat. He couldn’t decide if he was excited or panicked. Talking about the baby, seeing her belly expand, making preparations: for some reason, none of that made it feel real. But this did. Feeling the tiny movements of the child on his own skin from the inside of her body was what made it reality to him.

“We should call on Shannon tomorrow,” Chise said. “I’m twenty weeks. It’s about time for a check-up.”

“Y-yes,” He said vaguely. “Of course.”

She took his face in her hands. “Are you all right?”

“I do not know,” He answered honestly. “I am… frightened.”

“I know,” She said. She laid her forehead on his.

They stayed that way for many minutes, their foreheads touching, his hand on her belly, feeling the little jumps and thumps of his children moving about inside. Frightened was not an adequate word for what he felt. He didn’t know if there was a word strong enough.

Time seemed to move very fast for a while, and then suddenly slowed to a snail’s pace. Before they knew it, it was winter. Chise had grown very large, and Shannon expected the babies to come a few days after the new year.

Chise kept to the house exclusively now, since moving was more difficult, not to mention that Elias was highly paranoid about her catching an illness in her condition. She spent much of the time nesting, which is an instinctual habit among mothers-to-be to make sure everything was in its proper place and perfect. Silver had taken care of most of that for her, but it didn’t stop Chise from folding and refolding all of the babies’ linens and making sure things were just so.

As the time for the birth came closer, the atmosphere of the house grew more and more anxious. Chise was rather sick of being pregnant and was ready to be able to stand without assistance and not eat what felt like half her body weight every day. Ruth was restless and impatient. He could feel the time getting closer just as acutely as Chise did.

If Chise was anxious and Ruth was restless, Elias was downright terrified. He spent a lot of time alone in his study, unable to control this emotion. He didn’t want to worry her more than she already was, but he couldn’t push away the awful feeling of dread.

He had slowly grown accustomed to the idea of the children, but not the possibility that they would take after him. The idea that they could be subjected to cruelty and discrimination for simply being his children made his blood run cold. How could he protect them against that kind of hatred? How could he shield them from the animosity of both humans and fae? He could weather it just fine; he was used to it, and some of it was deserved. He had once been a monster, after all. But they would be innocent and guileless. They didn’t deserve to be treated as he had been.

As much as he tried to hide his worry from Chise, he knew she felt it. He could see it on her face when she looked at him sometimes. It wasn’t pity that she showed him, but empathy. If anyone would understand, it would be her, but this was just one thing he couldn’t talk to her about. She always tried to soothe him and tell him things would be fine, but she had no way of knowing that for certain. Blind optimism just didn’t work for him.

Very late on the night before Christmas eve, a sharp yelp of pain woke Elias from sleep. It had been Ruth: he had bounced out of his bed and shot to Chise’s side, immediately switching to his human form. Chise was sitting curled around her stomach, gasping.

“Chise?” Elias asked.

“I think my water broke,” Chise gasped. “I’ve been having contractions, but they weren’t bad until now. We need Shannon.”

“Shannon! Silver!” Elias called.

A flash shot through the room. Elias turned on the lamp and found Shannon standing next to Chise, trying to pull her to her feet. The silky came through the door in an instant, a tub of hot water and many towels in her hands. It was almost as if she were waiting for the call.

Shannon had Chise sit on a wooden chair with a curved back, urging her to recline with her pelvis tilted out, putting a pillow behind her to support her back. Silver helped Chise out of her underwear and flipped the hem of her nightgown up over her stomach, exposing her entire lower half. Chise didn’t have the wherewithal to be embarrassed about her tender bits out for the entire room to see. The pain was pushing everything else out of her brain.

“Is it supposed to hurt this much?” Ruth gasped, his arms wrapped around his stomach.

“There are two living creatures the size of watermelons attempting to tear their way out of her body, Ruth. Yeah, it’s gonna hurt,” Shannon said dryly.

“Sorry, Ruth,” Chise said, breathing heavily. “I’m trying to block it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ruth said. “I don’t really care about me right now.”

“What can I do?” Elias asked anxiously.

“You and Ruth, get on either side. Both of you hold her hand with one of yours and then let her use your other hand to brace her feet on. She’s going to need the leverage when she starts pushing.”

Elias and Ruth, took their positions. Chise had already begun to sweat profusely and was breathing shallowly. Silver stood at her head, stroking her hair gently and ready with a cloth to wipe her brow.

“Deep breaths, Chise,” Shannon said, kneeling on the ground and pushing a gloved hand into Chise’s body to gauge her dilation. “Nine centimeters,” Shannon said, removing her hand. “Not quiet ready yet, but it’s going to be soon.”

Chise could only nod, attempting with little success to take deep breaths as she was instructed. Her head rolled to look at Elias with fear in her eyes.

“It’s too early,” She said in a terrified whisper. “I’m not due for another three weeks.”

“It’s all right,” Elias whispered, knowing he might be lying. “It will be all right.”

Chise had no choice but to wait until her body opened up enough to start pushing, and it took a few long, miserable hours of pain and sweating. By the time Shannon got into position, it was only an hour before dawn.

“Okay,” Shannon said. “Elias, Ruth, take one foot each and push it toward her chest, but not forcefully. Chise, take several deep breaths. When I say, take a very deep breath, hold it, and start pushing. When I count to ten, you can let go and breath again. Understand?”

Chise nodded, already very tired from the waves of pain she had been suffering over the past few hours. She steeled herself and began to take slow, deep breaths.

“Ready? Okay, deep, deep breath and push!”

Chise pulled in as much air as her lungs could take and held it, bracing her legs against Ruth and Elias’s grip, and pushed with all her might, her face pulled back in a grimace of pain and exertion.

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten, and breathe,” Shannon instructed. Chise blew out her breath explosively and gulped in air.

“Okay, again. Deep breath, and push!”

It went on like this for quite a time. They only paused the pushing for Chise to drink water and for Silver to wipe the sweat from her face and neck. Elias talked in Chise’s ear during these brief moments of rest, telling her that she was strong and that he had faith in her. She seemed so tired, but she smiled at him and dotted a kiss on his nose in reply.

Finally, as the first rays of sunlight shone through the window, Shannon pulled a small, reddish-purple infant from Chise’s body. It shrieked as it took it’s first breaths of life, it’s color changing as it took in oxygen. Shannon placed the sticky ball of outrage on Chise’s chest for a moment, allowing the new mother to inspect the little creature for herself while Shannon detached the umbilical cord.

“It’s a baby girl,” Shannon said, smiling.

Chise let go of Ruth and Elias and wrapped her fingers around the tiny thing as it screamed it’s fury at them all. Chise was crying, too, but not in anger. Her face, red and sweaty though it was, lit with joy as she held her newborn daughter.

Suddenly, she seized up with a sudden contraction and hissed with pain. The baby was whisked out of her arms by Silver, who took it to a nearby dressing table to clean it.

“We’re halfway there,” Shannon said. “Let’s get ready. On the next contraction, we start the pushing again.”

Chise nodded, letting Ruth and Elias take hold of her feet and push them back.

Once the first baby was out, the second wasn’t far behind. It wailed more loudly than it’s twin, thrashing about angrily on Chise’s chest, though Chise clearly didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s another little girl,” Shannon said with a grin.

Tears poured from Chise’s eyes as she held her daughter, gasping from the effort of pushing. The touch of her mother’s hands had calmed the baby and she was no longer writhing spastically, but wiggling and making little grunting sounds, lying on her belly in Chise’s grasp.

After a moment, this child, too, was taken away for cleaning. Then there was more work to be done. The afterbirth had to be removed from Chise’s body, which caused a small fountain of blood to escape. Elias and Ruth panicked, but Shannon said this could happen sometimes and it wasn’t serious as long as it was contained quickly. She gave Chise a tea that would help stop the bleeding and once she had finished it, Silver lifted Chise as if she weighed nothing and took her to the bathroom for a proper cleaning. Shannon followed, leaving Ruth and Elias alone with the newborns, lying side by side and safely bundled up in the crib near Chise’s side of the bed.

While she was gone, Ruth went to inspect the babies up close. “Elias,” He called to the mage, who was still sitting in a daze. “Come and see.”

Elias stood with his heart pounding in his chest and walked to stand by Ruth, looking down at his brand new daughters with a lump in his throat. Now that they were cleaned, he could see them better. They were still wiggly and wrinkly, but there were distinct differences between the twins. One had a full head of white-blonde hair and a peachy-pink complexion, while the other had fine red fuzz on her head and was as pale as bleached bone.

“I remember the day that Isabelle was born,” Ruth said solemnly, lost in his memory. “I had only been with the family for a few months and I didn’t quite understand what was happening at the time. I didn’t know what a baby was. She was so tiny and weird-looking, but I loved her right away. We were together all the time after that. I existed for her; I’d have done anything for her.”

He stared down at the two sleeping infants, his eyes dark with recollection. “I took it for granted, thinking she’d always be there. I didn’t see the dangers until it was too late. I should have done more to protect her. If I had been a better brother, she might have lived a long, happy life. I didn’t do enough, and she died.” He reached out but stopped just short of touching the one with red hair. “For them, I’ll do better. I’ll be better. I promise.”

Elias did not respond. He stared down at his sleeping girls rather blankly.

Yes, He thought to himself. I, too, must be better.

Silver and Shannon returned with Chise, clean, wearing a fresh nightgown, and remarkably able to walk unassisted. Elias helped ease her back into the freshly changed bed, then Shannon handed Chise the white-haired baby girl. Shannon insisted that Chise try to breastfeed the baby, as it would help promote clotting. Silver went to work cleaning the gory aftermath off of the floor. Ruth, as a grim, sniffed each child keenly with his tail wagging.

It took a few tries and some urging to get the baby to latch to her breast; apparently babies weren’t born knowing how to do this and had to be taught, but once she found her way, she seemed to be content and fell asleep while feeding, her tiny arm resting on Chise’s skin. Elias watched curiously.

“You probably won’t be able to produce enough milk to fill both babies at the same time, so you might want to supplement with formula. You may even decide to go formula exclusively, which is fine. As long as they get the enzymes from your breastmilk at the start, it’ll be a big boost to their immune systems.”

Chise nodded without looking up, absorbed in the tiny little girl at her breast with it’s little fist around Chise’s finger. She seemed to finish quickly, and Chise lifted the baby for Elias to hold.

“Chise…” He said nervously. “I don’t… I can’t… I don’t think…”

“It’s okay, Elias,” Chise said with a smile. “You’re going to have to hold them at some point. Might as well be now.”

“Just remember to support the head,” Shannon said. “The neck muscles are underdeveloped.”

“Here,” She sat up and, holding the baby in one arm, used her hand to make a cradle of his. “Like this.”

Exercising more care than he ever had in his entire existence, he took the tiny bundle into his arms, cradling it gently. He could feel the warmth of it’s little body through the blankets, as though he were holding a glowing coal. He lifted her up so he could inspect her more closely. As he did so, she opened her eyes for the first time and looked up at him. Her eyes were the color of evergreens, like her mother. But unlike her, the pupils were not round but slits, like that of a wild creature. The eyes of a fae. The eyes of a mage.

“Chise, look,” Elias said, bending to show her. Chise, who had taken the red-haired babe and was feeding her from the other breast, peered at the child Elias held and smiled. Her smile faded and her eyes narrowed curiously.

“What is it?” Elias asked.

“Look at her head, a little bit above the hairline. There’s a bump. No, there’s two, one on either side. Do you see them?”

Elias brought the baby close to his face, examining her closely. There was, indeed, some sort of bump there. Carefully readjusting his grip, he felt the bumps with his finger. They felt like… bone? No, not bone…

“Horns,” Elias said softly. “She has horns.”

Chise laughed softly, her eyes warm with affection. “You certainly can’t deny she’s yours, can you?”

He looked down at her, a new warmth spreading though his chest. “No…” He said. “I cannot.”

“Have you decided on names?” Shannon asked, sitting on the other side, monitoring the mother and her little ones closely.

Elias was taken aback. It wasn’t something he had even thought about. He’d been so preoccupied with his doubts and fears that he hadn’t room to think of anything else.

“It is Christmas Eve,” Chise said, looking out of the snow covered windows. She looked at the little redhead, sleeping peacefully in her arms. “Her hair reminds me of holly berries, so why don’t we call her Holly?” She smiled and gazed at the white-haired child Elias clutched to him. “And with her green eyes, she should be named Ivy.”

Elias sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, bending to nuzzle her head.

“Yes,” He said fondly. “It’s perfect.”

After both parents had a turn holding both of their infant girls, they gave Silver and Ruth a chance. Ruth was anxious and attentive, fearful of being clumsy or accidentally jostling his new nieces and upsetting them, but Silver seemed overjoyed to hold the tiny babes, smiling brightly and giggling at their noises. A better nanny than Silver Lady could not be found anywhere, either in the mortal realm or the kingdom of the fae. Chise had a feeling she was going to be relying heavily on her for the next few months.

While holding Holly, Silver made a small noise of surprise.

“Silver?” Chise said. “What is it?”

Silver brought the baby to the bed and knelt down between Elias and Chise, where the parents could see the newborn’s eyes. The irises were solid black and didn’t reflect light, instead seeming to consume it. The pupils, however, were red. Not the bright holly red of her hair, but a dark crimson red, like blood on snow, and they too were mere slits.

“Oh,” Chise breathed. “Look at that. Aren’t they beautiful?”

Elias, seeing the trace his own eyes looking back at him from his daughter’s face, was at a loss for words.

His children were mostly human, it seemed, but they retained a piece of him, a fragment of his fae blood, just as Titania said. Before, this thought made him worry about their future, but seeing them now, he felt… what was this? It was a good feeling, but it carried weight with it. Pride? Was that it? Did he feel proud? Perhaps so.

After a while, Shannon insists that everyone leave the room to the new parents and their children, and Elias settled himself in a chair beside the bed, with Chise on his left side and the crib on the right. All three of his girls were sleeping peacefully. Ivy seemed content in being wrapped up in her swaddling, but Holly had kicked her way out of the blankets so that she could move freely.

He watched them sleep with mixed emotions, laying his hands on the stomachs of the babes, comforted by their warmth. As if waiting for this, they both reached out and gripped his fingers in their fists and held on with a surprisingly strong grip.

The world could have been falling down around them, but as long as they were safe and happy, it wouldn’t have bothered him. He found he didn’t care all that much at the moment about the concerns that had plagued him before the birth, though he knew they would come back eventually. He felt warm and calm, with none of the anxiety that had been gnawing at his mind for months. Was this feeling happiness? Peace?

He could identify at least one emotion well enough: love. It was different than what he felt for Chise, but no less consuming. Chains of gold and silver had wrapped themselves around his heart. They sprung from the touch of his tiny daughters’ small hands on his own, an unbreakable link that bound him to his newly-born flesh and blood. Instinct drove this behavior, and it was obvious what it meant. They had laid claim to him.

They do not belong to me, he realized. I belong to them. How fascinating.

He had lived for centuries never having tethered himself to any other being. Back then, loneliness and being alone were mutually exclusive concepts. He’d had friendships and acquaintances but felt no obligation to any of them beyond an occasional favor or trade. At the time, he had thought himself content.

When he had acquired Chise on a whim out of mere curiosity, he had not anticipated how his life would change. The connection that developed between them, as slow as it was to manifest openly, was unlike anything he’d felt before. It brought with it many good feelings, as well as many unpleasant ones. Chise’s love was easy enough to earn, but he soon discovered that while love could be unconditional, trust was not. He hadn’t known there was a difference between those emotions until he had betrayed them.

For a while after, their bond was fragile and could snap with any slight pressure he applied to it. It had taken much time and effort on his part to repair the damage he had done, and he had sworn never to do anything that could sever that link again.

But the bond he felt to these two new lives was instantaneous and indestructible, something over which he had no control. He was, for lack of a better term, spellbound.

“I don’t understand.”

Elias jumped slightly at Chise’s soft whisper. He looked over to see that she was awake and staring are her children.

“What is it you do not understand, Little Bird?” Elias replied quietly.

“I thought,” She said. “I thought when they were born, it would make more sense, but it doesn’t. I thought it would help me understand why they did it.”

“Your parents,” He said. It wasn’t a question.

“I thought that once I was a parent myself, I could see it from their perspective, and I’d understand. But I don’t. I would never, ever leave them. I could never hurt them. Never.” She looked at Elias and took his hand. “What they did still makes no sense to me. I guess you were right, Elias. I am different.”

“Yes,” He said, holding her hand to his cheek. “Do not be sad, Chise. That is a wonderful thing.”

She smiled, and her gaze returned to the infants. “You’re right. It is.”

During the first two months, which Chise and Elias used to get accustomed to the new routine of parenthood, the twins developed personalities that were as different as their appearance. Holly was an independent little thing and didn’t like to be swaddled or held for too long, while Ivy loved to be cuddled and preferred to be held by Elias over anyone else. He was more than happy to hold her at all times and soon became deft at doing things one-handed.

After this necessary adjustment time, they decided to have a small gathering of friends over to properly introduce their children. They had invited Stella, the Barley family, Alice, a few friends from the college including the brooding Adolf and enthusiastic Tori, and even Renfred. Over the years, Elias and Renfred had forged a tense acquaintanceship. Chise encouraged them to be better friends, but in the end, she figured anything was better than open hostility.

They had invited Lindel, too, but he didn’t want to leave the aerie again. He insisted they bring them to him instead, which they promised to do when the children were a few months older.

“Aren’t they darling?” Angelica said, looking at Holly sleeping in sixteen-year-old Althea’s arms.

“They really are,” Stella said, now nineteen, as she tickling Ivy’s feet while David held her. The baby cooed at Stella as she did so.

“Ya did good, Chise,” Alice said. “You cooked up some real nice babies in there.” She poked Chise’s stomach, which was now much smaller and thankfully no longer sore.

“That’s a weird phrase, Alice, thank you,” Chise said.

Renfred had been mostly quiet during the gathering. Alice had told Chise that babies make him nervous; he liked kids better when they were old enough to follow orders.

Elias was similarly uncomfortable with so many people in his house at once, and eventually, it drove him outside to the garden. Cold though it was, he sat at the garden table with his tea and sighed.

“Are they not lovely?” A voice said to him from his right. He turned to see a small, child-like figure standing there nearby. She wore a simple white gown made of thin silk and a crown of baby’s breath around her head. A circle of snow underneath her feet had melted away and flowers had sprung up all around her. Her hair was black, her skin like petals, her eyes like the wings of a dragonfly.

“Titania,” Elias said, standing. “You’ve come alone.”

“I have, though I shan’t be long,” She said, her voice belying her youthful appearance. “I bring with me gifts for your little ones.”

“Gifts?”

“Yes. The heartache you expressed when last we met has stayed with me. I felt compelled to do something to set your mind at ease.” She opened her hands, and lying in each palm was a ring carved of dark wood, one on a gold string, the other on a silver one. “I told you your offspring held my favor, did I not?” She asked. “That was not a lie. You need not worry for their safety from our kind. These will tell all fae creatures that your babes are my godchildren and therefore under my protection.”

Elias did not recall agreeing to such an arrangement, but accepted the rings with a bow.

“Thank you, my Lady,” He said. “This is most generous.”

“You must bring them to visit us, Thorn,” Titania said. “It’s been so long since there were children in the Faerie Kingdom. Oberon is dying to meet the new magelings.”

Elias nodded without speaking, not committing to this. He wondered if her favor extended to not trapping them in the faerie realm.

“Be well, Elias. Take care of our sweet robin and those beautiful children. Dwell no longer on the darkness in your past and look instead to your future. Your legacy now resides in those new souls that you created, and not the mistakes you have made. You have been given a divine gift. Do not take it for granted.”

“I assure you, Lady,” He said seriously. “I have no intention of doing so.”

She smiled at him, and the body she inhabited burst apart into flowers and floated away like the seeds of a dandelion, carried away on a sudden wind that smelled strangely of spring grass.

Elias lifted his gaze to watch the petals drift away, putting the charms in his pocket.

Once everyone had gone home and the house was quiet again, Elias picked up a wailing Ivy, who quieted immediately, and sat with Ruth and Chise as Silver laid out their dinner. Chise fed Holly with one arm and fed herself with the other. Once Holly finished, Chise passed her to Ruth to be burped and held out her arms for Ivy, who Elias passed carefully over the dinner table. Silver waited at Ruth’s elbow with a spit-up cloth. They all seemed to be easing into this new normal well.

Elias and Chise took the children to their room and laid them down for sleep, with Ruth curled up on the floor between them. He was better than a baby monitor. Ruth was taking his oath to Elias to protect the children very seriously and was just as involved in their care as every other person in the house. It seemed there was no shortage of babysitters to be found for the new parents, and Chise found that comforting. The nightmare she’d once had of being overwhelmed with caring for two children at once with limited help faded from her mind.

With the children abed for a least a couple of hours, Elias and Chise took this time to spend with each other, something they hadn’t had much opportunity to do since the birth. They sat together on the couch of the sitting room, Chise in Elias’s lap and wrapped up warmly in his arms. She was so tired, she could have fallen asleep if she let herself.

“I’m sorry the party got too claustrophobic for you,” Chise said, twining and untwining her fingers with his.

“It’s all right,” Elias said. “I am actually glad for it. I’d much prefer that the girls were introduced to all our friends at once rather than make many trips to achieve the same result.” Reaching into his waistcoat’s pocket, he pulled out the ring pendants he had gotten. “Besides, while outside, Titania left a give with me.”

Chise took the trinkets and looked at them curiously. “That was nice of her. What are they for?”

“Protection, she said. It’ll ward off any of her kind that would do them mischief.”

Chise smiled. “She’s very thoughtful for a fae.”

“Yes,” Elias agreed. “I wonder if she will extend the same blessing to any additional children we may have.”

Chise swung and looked up in surprise. “You want more children?”

“It's not outside the realm of possibility. We can talk about it later,” Elias replied.

“You're serious. You really want another baby?”

“I merely said we’d talk about it.”

“That’s not a no.”

Elias laughed.

“Give me a year, at least,” Chise said in exasperation. “My body isn’t ready for another one so soon.”

“If you wish,” He said, hugging her tightly.

They sat happily in each other’s arms for the next hour, taking a well deserved rest, until one of the babies began to cry. Elias released her and followed her up the stairs to the childrens' room, where he consoled Holly as Ivy fed. When Ivy was done, they switched. After feeding, the infants resumed sleeping. Before they left, Elias affixed the charms to the wall above their bassinets, the silver one over Ivy, and the gold protecting Holly. The parents, exhausted, climbed into their own bed and fell asleep at once.

Every day brought something new, and Elias was learning so much so quickly. His entire universe had shifted, and thought it had taken time to get used to it, he greeted each wonderful development as they happened with an open heart. He awoke eagerly every morning in his new life, looking forward to what might be.

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