#Hunter deserves ALL of the caring parental figures | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shu-box-puns · 1 year

Text

A grumpy man and his feral son

The grumpy old man being Tsu’tey.

And the feral son being Spider.

Okay hear me out, Tsu’tey surviving the Battle for the Tree of Souls and somehow finds himself as the caretaker for Spider. It’s a very lengthy progress considering he hates Sky People and he’s injured etc. But he has a soft spot for kids, and clearly this one isn’t getting the care he deserves.

One thing leads to another, and he’s looking after a baby Sky Person.

It was probably toddler Spider taking one look at this scowling, blue giant, who had accompanied Jake on a visit to Hell's Gate, and immediately clocked him as a good choice in parental figure. Just toddler Spider rising shakily to his feet - the scientists were shook, he's never shown any interest in walking before - and he clumsily toddles over to Tsu’tey who is stood off to the side. The hunter watches the child with obvious suspicion, eyes narrowed. Undeterred Spider, raises his hands above his head and makes grabby hands. “UPPIES PLS.”

Tsu’tey stares him down for several heartbeats. Unmoving as Spider gets progressively more annoyed at not getting picked up. He's small and demanding and Tsu’tey is weak.

To everyone's shock he caves on the spot. And with a simple huff, he drops to his knees and dutifully scooping the toddler up. Spider giggles happily, grasping at his necklace and holding on tight as Tsu’tey supports his head.

Norm is frozen in place for several moments. Staring owlishly at this enormous being holding Spider with such care and ease. The kid is grinning brightly, content to play with the braids hanging by Tsu’tey's cheek, who doesn't seem to care. Besides a few irritated flicks of his ear when the braids knock into it, the hunter remains focused on the task at hand.

It quickly becomes a common sight around the compound.

Naturally, because Spider is too small for an exo pack, he has to remain within Hell's Gate. Whenever Jake goes to visit the scientists, they begin expecting Tsu’tey to follow suit. And whilst Jake will spend his time with Norm or Max, Spider will inevitably find Tsu’tey and wordlessly coax the hunter into playing with him or getting into mischief. Despite his cold exterior, Tsu’tey is like putty in that boy's fingers. The minute Spider giggled at him, all bright eyes and the cute scrunch of his odd nose, the hunter immediately fell in love. An instinct within was ignited and he found himself drawn to the child.

Side note: Spider being a terror, even from such a small age. Constantly bored so he keeps getting into the machiney or trying to escape outside. At first, Tsu’tey is fooled by the cute smile and demands for cuddles and believes he is a easy to deal with as Neteyam. And then he catches Spider trying to crawl into an air vent. The toddler stares at him. Tsu'tey stares at the toddler.

"No." Tsu'tey says in his heavily accented English.

They continue to stare at one another for another heartbeat.

Then in an explosion of movement, Spider begins furiously stuffing himself into the vent, to which Tsu’tey launches himself across the hall to drag him out by his armpits.

If the space was big enough, like clockwork, Spider would attempt to crawl into it.

There was another time he walked past the glass door of the airlock and by chance glanced down. His eyes bugged at the sight of Spider straining to reach the handle for the external door. He wore no mask, and was blissfully unaware of the immediate danger that waited on the other side of that door.

Tsu’tey had never felt such fear before. Or at least, not since he fell from the sky.

Luckily, he ripped open the glass door before Spider could open the external door, which the air lock automatically locked, and was hauling Spider out. Unaware of his almost death, Spider was more than happy by this turn of events and happily clung to Tsu'tey's necklace as the hunter strode away from the airlock. He refused to let go of the child for the rest of his visit, needing to feel him to reassure himself that he was fine.

In short, Tsu’tey hadn't realised just how difficult of a toddler Spider was to keep track of. Luckily, the kid was so enamoured with Tsu’tey that the hunter didn't have that difficult of a time keeping track of him, since he always wanted to study Tsu’tey's hands or hold onto the end of his tail for balance.

Alternatively: Tsu’tey and Spider fucking around in Hell's Gate. When the little shit begins walking more confidently, he takes to making a runner, shrieking with laughter as Tsu'tey follows him. Of course, the hunter is too tall to catch him efficiently, so he has to duck around all the lights or crawl to keep up.

When Spider gets big enough to wear an exo pack, Tsu’tey definitely starts taking him out of the compound to explore. (He definitely gets his hands on an Omaticayan baby sling and wears Spider around the village so everyone gets accustomed to seeing the little toddler in the exo pack). The child is completely safe with Tsu’tey who is adament on protecting him as he explores the forest.

Tsu’tey teaches this kid everything he knows, everything Spider will ever need to survive Pandora. How to hunt. How to navigate. They figure out how Spider can ride pa’li without a kuru.

He tries to be a good parental figure, dad; strict but fair. Which he admits, gets harder as Spider grows. The kid noticeably starts withdrawing from him. Where once he naturally gravitated towards Tsu’tey in a crowd, he now hung back or chose instead to spend time with the Sully kids. Tsu’tey dismissed it as Spider growing from a boy into a man. He no longer needed such close guidance, and Tsu’tey trusted him to come to him if he needed it.

Bonus angst potential: Spider feeling insecure of his Sky Person body and feeling unworthy of being called Tsu'tey's son. Allow it to fester and give him some drive towards his reckless behaviour.

As a single parent, Spider knows Tsu'tey can’t give him everything a traditional family, but the hunter tries his hardest. Spider sees all his effort. He even thinks of Tsu'tey as his dad although he would never dare voice it. And yet, he still feels disconnected from the rest of the clan. He’s a Sky Person, he can’t form Tsaheylu, naturally he’s gonna feel some distance despite Tsu’tey’s best efforts.

Tsu’tey definitely bullied a throat comm out of Norm and the scientists after Jake explained how helpful the little devices were over long distances. He bestows the little necklace to Spider and wears the pair, instructing his charge to use it if he needs it.

When he was five, Spider used it constantly to narrate to Tsu’tey what he's doing with his day. Telling him all about the funny plants he's seen whilst exploring with the Sully kids, gossiping about a fight that he just witnessed amongst the young hunters. Snitching on Lo'ak who just fell out of a tree.

And Tsu’tey reveled in it. Allowing his boy's excited voice to narrate in the back of his mind as he carries out his daily chores.

As Spider grew older however, he stopped using the coms as much. And when the humans return, he strictly uses it for emergencies.

Therefore, Tsu’tey immediately knows something is up when Spider randomly starts talking over the comms, thanking him for everything. Apologising and telling him that he won't be able to make dinner.

Then Jake calls in and tells him about Quaritch.

Tsu’tey is on his ikran and speeding for the old compound faster than toruk could move at its top speed. He is livid.

Tries to keep the panic out of his voice as he steadily tells Spider that he's coming. Naturally, Quaritch is unsuccessful in obtaining any of the kids. And Tsu’tey wouldn’t let ANYTHING happen to his boy.

Like Spider gets YEETED off of that branch by an explosion and Quaritch stumbles upon him wounded and barely conscious. The colonel neals down to scoop the kid up onto for Tsu’tey to appear through the bushes and brutally whack him upside the head with his bow; stunning him.

Being the petty man he is, Tsu’tey wouldn’t deliver one hit and flee. He’d swing again and again, snarling and spitting insults as the Colonel scrambles to find his bearings. The pissed off hunter deals as much damage as he can and quite literally herding the recom away from his son. Only Lyle opening fire on him gets him to back off, and with a hiss he scoops up Spider and disappears into the foliage.

Spider's pov with Quaritch looming over him and Tsu'tey's shiny forehead and scowling face peering through the bushes over the recoms shoulder:

Neytiri's pov from the tree branches above where she is trying to drag Kiri to safety:

Basically, I just want to see Tsu’tey panicking about the scrapes on Spider’s skin, the handcuffs, the very real reality that if he had been even a second later, then Quaritch would’ve hoisted the kid onto his shoulder and taken him.

Man is bordering on a manic episode as he stops long enough to ensure all the Sullys made it out before he’s calling for his ikran and high tailing it back to High Camp where Mo’at can fix Spider up.

Meanwhile, Spider is shook. He has never seen Tsu’tey so dishevelled. The hunter is always calm, always in control. But he's frantic. Tail thrashing to and fro like a whip as Mo'at fussed over Spider.

All the tension of the event boils down to some raised tempers and high emotions. Tsu'tey is a nervous mess, and Spider is so unnerved by the blatant show of terror in his father figures face that he can't help but feel guilty. Definitely tries to get Tsu’tey to leave so he'll stop hovering and looking at him like that.

Meanwhile:

Tsu’tey: trying to convey to his boy how much he means to him because he hates how Spider is always yeeting himself into danger for the sake of others, and his crusty old heart could not take the grief of losing him.

Spider: Just stop pretending! You’re not even my real, Dad!

Tsu’tey: floored! He buffers. He stops breathing. He just stares at Spider like he’s grown a second head as the words sink in. Then he visibly crumbles. Real, actual tears streaming down this man’s face. He feels like a failure. How did he overlook this? Why didn’t he notice? Did Spider just call him DAD??

Spider: *with an expression of genuine fear* You can CRY??

Once Tsu’tey starts, he can’t stop fucking crying and has to excuse himself whilst Spider is left feeling conflicted and guilty. He didn’t know Tsu’tey possessed tear ducts. Whenever he was upset, he was either disappointed and scowling, or pissed and committing attempted murder; there is no in between.

And as a result, Tsu'tey starts acting weirdly towards Spider. He sees how good Neytiri is with her children, how the other fathers easily get on with their sons, ensuring they’re seen, heard and kept safe. (He ignores whatever the hell Jake is doing because WTF). And he tries to parent differently.

And naturally because it’s incredibly out of character for him, Tsu’tey takes it way to far and becomes incredibly overbaring.

Spider literally has to sit him down and go: I know you care, but STOP all of this. You’re scaring the shit out of me.

And then Tsu’tey is stuck. His tail thrashes in unease because he’s tried his way and miserably failed. And then he observed everyone else and he’s still fucking this up.

And it becomes a learning curve for them where they actually communicate and establish boundaries and talk about feelings. It goes surprisingly well.

When Spider's insecurities finally surface after a failed raid, where he almost got Tsu'tey killed:

Tsu'tey trying to reassure his boy who is clearly distraught and hating on himself. ”I see yo-”

Spider immediately cutting him off because he doesn't deserve to hear that right now. ”But you DON’T see me. Hell you don’t even like me.” Spider yelled. He doesn't mean it. He's just spitting words. Scrambling for something to say that will hurt Tsu'tey enough to make him back off. ”You see a Sky Person and nothing else. You see the son of the man who destroyed Home Tree. You see a threat you can mould into an ally. You don’t fucking see me. You see an opportunity. Potential. You see what you want to see.”

Tsu'tey is not having it. He goes real quiet, and kneels down in front of Spider who is trying to hide in his hands. He takes Spider by the wrists and forces him to look him in the eye. His gaze is steady, voice firm and even as he reassures his boy.

<”I. See. You.”> Tsu’tey repeats. He squeezes Spider's hands, wordlessly begging him to understand. <”I see you, Spider. My son.”>

Spider:

WHY IS THERE A TEN PICTURE LIMIT! I HAVE MORE MEMES!!

#Dad Tsu'tey #Tsu'tey #spider #spider socorro #found family #adoption #THAT's MY SON #That's MY BOII #me looking at two characters who have never met in cannon and have no idea of the other's existence #It is giving found family #I am loving the father-son potential #The vibes are immaculate #Pissed off Tsu'tey and Spider who is hell bent on giving this man constant heart attacks #baby spider #bonding #an unlikely duo #Norm is concerned

807 notes · View notes

storiesforallfandoms · 2 years

Text

nowhere else to turn ~ shawn hunter;boy meets world

word count: 1567

request?: yes!

“I will take literally anything Shawn Hunter. Smut, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort. Anything. There is a severe drought if Shawn fics🥺”

description: after being abandoned by his parents yet again, he goes to the one person he can think of

pairing: shawn hunter x female!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of a rough homelife, abandonment

masterlist (one, two)

I was surprised when I opened the door to find Shawn on my doorstep, soaked from the pouring rain.

“Shawn? What are you doing here?” I asked. “Wait, don’t answer that yet. Come inside.”

I quickly brought him into my kitchen and sat him down at the table. I put n our kettle to make him hot tea and ran up to grab him a towel and a blanket. Once two mugs of tea were on the table in front of us, I asked again, “What are you doing here?”

Shawn sighed and looked at the mug in front of him. “Dad...is gone.”

“Again?”

He nodded. “He’s looking for mom, or gone off with mom, or...I don’t know. He just left again. Not even any warning this time.”

This wasn’t anything new. I think I lost count of how many times Shawn’s dad had up and left him. He bounced from place to place, pretty well raising himself since he was old enough to walk and talk.

“Oh Shawn,” I said, reaching out to put my hand over his.

“I’m sorry for showing up like this. I have nowhere else to go.”

“What do you mean? Of course you do. Honey, you have Cory and his family. Not that I’m trying to say you can’t be here, you know you’re always welcome here.”

“I can’t go back to Cory’s place. Things didn’t go well the first time. I don’t think they’ll let me come back.”

I decided not to remind him that wasn’t true. He had a rough go staying with the Matthews family, but I knew they still loved him and would gladly take him in if he needed a place to stay. But this wasn’t the time. Right now Shawn just needed his girlfriend to be there for him right now.

After he was dry and had finished his tea, I took Shawn up to my room. Normally he wasn’t allowed up there, but my parents weren’t home, and I didn’t plan for anything suggestive to happen. I figured Shawn just needed somewhere to lay down for a while.

I grabbed him some of my brother’s clothes to change into, even though I knew they’d be a little too big. It was dry clothes, though, and he definitely needed some of those. Once he was changed, the both of us laid down on my bed. Shawn kept a respectable distance at first, but I closed it by moving closer and burying my head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and I was enveloped by his scent.

We laid in silence for a while. Shawn’s breathing was so even and heavy that I wondered if he had fallen asleep. It wasn’t until I felt his beathing hitch and stutter a little that I looked up to see him crying.

“Oh, baby,” I said, quickly switching positions so I was the one hold him.

He cried into my chest, his tears soaking my shirt. I ran my fingers through his hair, hoping it felt soothing for him.

“I’m so tired of this,” he said, his voice breaking from the tears. “I don’t care that we live in a trailer, I don’t care that Virna isn’t my mom, I don’t care that we don’t have money. I just wish my dad wanted to actually be a dad. I wish...I wish I was enough for him.”

“Don’t say that!” I chastised. “Shawn, that’s not true. If anything he’s not enough for you. You deserve a much better father; one who isn’t going to let you down like this all the time.”

He tightened his grip on me and buried his head further in my chest.

My heart ached for him. Shawn didn’t deserve the shit he went through. He had a kind heart, he cared so much for everyone he loved even when they didn’t deserve it (namely his father). He was just all around good, and yet bad things always happened to him.

“I wish I was better for you,” he mumbled into my chest. I figured he thought I couldn’t hear him, but he was extremely wrong.

I pushed him away so I could look in his eyes. “What?”

His face turned pink and he seemed flustered. “Just...there’s so much...difference between us. I know what people think of us together. I just...I want to be someone you deserve.”

I had heard the way people talked about Shawn and I, too. We weren’t exactly polar opposites - my family wasn’t rich and I wasn’t the super popular girl in school (not that Shawn wasn’t popular either). But after my sudden puberty spirt between middle school and high school, I suddenly gained a lot of attention. When I started dating Shawn that same year, there was...less than ideal comments made about him. Namely about his home life and financial situation.

I cupped his face in my hands, squishing his cheeks together to make a kissy face with his lips. “Now you listen to me, Shawn Hunter. I don’t care what anyone else says about you; about us. I love you, and I’d love you if you were rich and living in a mansion, or if you were a middle class nobody like me and Cory. It’s who you are that I love, not what you are. Never feel like you have to be someone you’re not for me, and especially never apologize for coming to me when you need somewhere to stay.”

Shawn smiled at me, or rather he tried to while I was still squishing his face, and tears welled in his eyes again. I kissed his nose before releasing his face, which he then buried in my neck.

Within moments, Shawn was asleep. I knew rest was what he needed. I knew him well enough to know that he probably hadn’t slept at all in the last 12 hours or so.

I wasn’t sure how much time had past when I heard the front door open. Shawn was still sound asleep, so I didn’t worry too much about moving out from under him and leaving him in my bed as I rushed down to meet my parents.

I was so quick running down the stairs that I nearly stumbled and fell, causing my dad to chuckle and ask, “Where’s the fire, kid?”

Without thinking, I blurted, “Shawn is here.”

My parents shared a confused look before realization crossed on their faces. I quickly cut them off before they could lecture me for not only having him over while they weren’t home, but also having him in my room during that time.

“He’s asleep right now. He came over a while ago because his dad left him again and he didn’t want to go to Cory’s. I brought him up to my room so he could rest once he had calmed down until you guys got home and I could ask you if it was okay for him to stay with us for a while until he figures out another situation.”

“His dad is gone again?” my mom asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Both of my parents loved Shawn, even if my dad always tried to act like a tough, protective dad when he was around. They were both also well aware of his home life as I had spent more than a few nights with Shawn, Cory, and Topanga after Shawn’s dad had run off the numerous times before.

I nodded. “And his mom. He has no one at home.”

“How can someone do that to a child repeatedly?” my dad asked, his face red with anger. “He’s lucky no one has called child protective services on him yet and gotten Shawn taken all together.”

“Can he stay with us?” I asked again before the two of them could go off on this rant again. “Please?”

“Of course he can, sweetheart,” mom said. “But you know our rules, he can’t be in your room. We’ll make an exception this time, but just once. Does he have anything with him?”

“No. I think he came right here after his dad left.”

“We’ll take him to get his clothes tomorrow,” mom decided. “For now, he’ll stay in the guest room.”

I hugged her tightly, then moved to do the same to dad. “Thank you thank you thank you thank you!”

I rushed back up to my room to tell Shawn the news. To my surprise, he was already awake when I walked in.

“Are they mad?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, not at all. They’re letting you stay as long as you need. We’re going to take you to get your clothes from the trailer tomorrow.”

Shawn smiled and engulfed me in another hug. I lifted my head from his chest to capture his lips with mine.

“Thank you for always being here for me,” he said.

“You don’t need to thank me, goofball. That’s what a girlfriend is for. Which reminds me - ” I wriggled out of his embrace and stood up from my bed. “ - you gotta go to the guest room.”

He groaned. “Really?”

“You know the rule. I only got one exception. Go before they change their minds.”

He reluctantly got up and trudged towards my bedroom door. But not before grabbed my face and giving me another quick kiss before disappearing through the door.

#shawn hunter #shawn hunter imagine #shawn hunter x reader #rider strong #rider strong imagine #rider strong x reader #boy meets world #boy meets world imagine #imagine #one shot #request #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom

1K notes · View notes

found-family-tournament · 8 months

Text

Found Family Tournament Round 2 Part 6 Group 29

Propaganda and further images under the cut

Crystal Gems: Steven, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Lapis, Peridot, Bismuth

Clawthorne-Nocedas: Luz Noceda, Hunter Noceda, Camila Noceda, Eda Clawthorne, Lilith Clawthorne, Raine Whispers, Gus, Amity, WIllow, Vee, King Clawthorne, Hooty, Owlbert & Stringbean

Crystal Gems:

Sorry, I got no propaganda for them yet :(

Clawthorne-Nocedas:

Camila has one daughter. Daughter wanders into Demon Realm and is immediately replaced by a shapeshifter who wants a safe haven. Shapeshifter is revealed and Camila loves her and lets her be herself. Daughter returns from the Demon Realm with four traumatized teenagers. This single mother tries to understand their culture, and keeps them under her roof and never asks anything of them except to pitch in around the house. Embraces them and loves them, despite the strain on her wallet. And helps her OG daughter embrace her deepest desire and become a witch.

So freaking adorable

I fucking love Luz and hunters sibling dynamic, they’re all so silly and precious and they make me want to cry, Eda and Camila are both such mother figures for Luz and I just BCHSJSHSIDHDUOSNDHD

unapologetically weird

one of them is literally a living house and he's possibly the funniest being alive

gay af, neurodivergent af, and as culturally diverse as it gets

character styles are adorable

actual exploration and resolution for daddy issues, alcoholism, etc

illegal activity encouraged, they're one step from being communist revolutionaries and literally would/do commit arson for each other

fantastic character development in learning how to take care of each other

perfect balance of "cool parent" vs "unfit parent" slippery slope (there may be gambling

exploration of found family within bio family and how those relationships evolve

ALEX HIRSCH DOES ALEX HIRSCH THINGS

massive extended family not fully listed here

THEY HAVE MERCH (both in universe and irl)

they don't try to do too much or be too perfect. They're all traumatized people with wild experiences but they're what each other needed at the time -did I mention they're super cute

THEYRE MISFITS. WEIRDOS. WHO HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER.

They are super cute and have all gone through enough trauma and deserve to just live their lives in peace.

saved the world with the found familyness

77 notes · View notes

moroser · 5 months

Note

Hi! I literally just saw your aus of Hunter and Lilith and they're so cute! I like the way you write Lilith in your human au! It's cool to see more of the ace spectrum represented! I also have a question: do you have any tips on writing Lilith and Hunter's parent-child relationship?

okay, thank you so much for sending this!!!!! i cannot even articulate how strangely helpful it was. i was JUST (like, TODAY) talking to my friend about how it's not really a problem, but something i run into a lot with human au is people constantly assuming that lilith adopted hunter, which is totally fair!! and a natural assumption. but i feel very strongly about a few things regarding making her his bio mom for the human au:

i really wanted to explore her in the position of suddenly expecting a child and accommodating that.

i like to interpret lilith as greyace, so a sexual urge might crop up once in a blue moon for her and she MIGHT take care of it with someone else, or not. she is starkly aromantic, so any sexual encounter is purely for just the sex. (and my disclaimer, you totally can interpret her asexuality any way that you want. it's a spectrum.)

ace people are not always aware they are ace early in life? like other sexualities, it can take time for someone to really pin down their identity. i am personally 31 years old i only figured out with certainty that i was ace in the passed couple years.

and finally, ace people can have children! i wanted to write and explore lilith in a situation where it was completely unexpected and unplanned because lilith, to me, does not feel like someone who ever would have planned for children or wanted them. so it felt like the most natural route to explore (as opposed to her choosing with IVF or adopting, which is often also a choice. choices i just don't feel like lilith would have made.)

i really am so appreciative to hear someone finds it cool to see the ace spectrum represented, it just makes me so happy! bless you anon!

and to answer your question: as far as tips go, i'm not sure i really have any. i just try very hard to keep them both in character. lilith is easier because there's a strong base for her as she is an adult in the show and in my au she's already 36 when she has hunter. hunter requires a little more thought because i am exploring him as a child who is raised in a healthy environment with all his needs met. so i have to pluck out his personality traits while also considering he does not have the trauma that he does in canon. the au was specifically made to use lilith and hunter in a healthy world cause they deserve it. lol. i really enjoy exploring lilith because she's just not naturally parental material and ends up being better at it than she ever thought or even realizes. i think about what type of parent she would be and just sort of apply that to everything else!

#curious sharks #human au #again thank you!! i hope you had a really wonderful day!

30 notes · View notes

cutesharkstudios · 3 months

Text

Owl House Group Chat 2

(Hexsquad) 11:07 Willow has entered

Willow: I AM SO SORRY I'M LATE! THAT TOOK WAY LONGER THAN I THOUGHT!

Willow: Hello?

Amity has entered

Amity: Hey Willow. No worries

Willow: Yes worries! I promised I would be off at 10 and lost track of time

Amity: It's cool, this is suppossed to be a casual thing.

Willow: Ok. Side note, what did y'all do when I was gone?

Amity: Scroll up.

Willow: Oh my

Amity: I AM GETTING HER OTTER PLUSHIES YOU SICK MINDED INDIVIDUAL!!!!!!

Willow: Ok, ok

Hunter has entered

Hunter: Hi Willow

Willow: Hi Honey

Hunter: 0//0

Amity: Cute

Willow: HUNTER I MEAN! SPELLCHECK! SORRY!

Hunter: I like that name.

Willow: Really?

Hunter: I think it's cute, like you

Willow: 0//0

Amity: oh my

Willow: Yeah I deserve that

Darius has entered

Darius: My Hunter senses were tingling

Amity: Uncle Darius?!?!

Willow: Uncle?

Amity: He babysat me a ton as a kid. He and dad claimed they hated each other, but they didn't, and he helped dad take care of me.

Darius: Speaking of him, I need some advice.

Amity: Sure

Darius: Could we do this in a seperate chat with you, me, and the twins? I'll hext you the link

Amity: sure, see ya guys

Hunter: have fun

Willow: bye

(DariusAndBlightKids)

Darius: Amity will check in soon

Amity: Hey

Ed: Hi Amity

Em: Hey Ams

Amity: So what's going on?

Ed: Darius needs our help with something wonder what

Darius: And this doesn't leave this chat, ok?

Amity: 100%

Ed: got it

Darius: Em?

Em: Sorry, had to turn off the oven for dinner. Your secret is our secret

Amity: What ya making?

Em: Centaur roast and carrots

Amity: Thanks

Darius: Okay here it goes

Darius: I want to propose to Alador

Amity: WHAT

Ed: Really?

Em: WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Darius: I've drawn up the plan and will send them soon.

Amity: OMG, Darius, this is awesome.

Darius: Thanks Amity, I hope it goes well. We've really grown over the 4 years of dating, and I hope I can be a good parental figure to you and the twins

Em: You really mean it?

Darius: Yeah, I've always wanted to be a dad, and now I have the opportunity. I hope I do well.

Amity: Well you can't do any worse than you-know-who

Darius: Thanks for the support, though she didn't set a high bar

Em: She set the bar at all?

Darius: Touche

Ed: And hopefully we will be good kids. I know we're adults, so it's probably not what you imagined being a dad would be like, but we promise to be good.

Em: And we'll continue to be good siblings as well. Side note, Amity?

Amity: Yes?

Em: Now that we are at a slower time in our lives, I want to ask, are we good?

Amity: Yes, why do ask?

Ed: Well, we teased you a lot in our youth. We never meant any harm, but we realise we may have been, as much as I hate to admit it, mean to you.

Em: That was never our intention, and we're sorry if we crossed any lines

Amity: Well, the only real line crossed was with the diary and Luz. But given how much of a jerk I was back then, I kind of had it coming.

Darius: I'm just as guilty. I crossed my share of lines in my past that Alador only told me about AFTER we started dating. Oof, not my finest moments

Em: Well what happened happened. We can't change the past, but we can make a better future.

Darius: Anyways, here's the plan…….

(MEANWHILE)

Room Created: OldWitches

11:13

Raine has entered Eda has entered Lilith has entered

Eda: Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day!

Lilith: Whoa, sister, calm down, what's the occasion?

Eda: After so long of trying to get an appointment, Raine's getting their sigil removing treatment!

Lilith: Awesome. I had mine yesterday, and I gave my sigil a certain gesture before it went away.

Eda: That's my sister. So, Rainestorm, what new magic do you want to try first?

Raine: You're not going to belive this but, of all types, illusions

Eda: I take it you saw that article I sent of Goops moping the floor with Adrian?

Raine: Yep, I had no idea you could tell when someone was hiding behind and illusion. We laughed at Adrian all dang afternoon post incedent.

Lilith: I would have paid SO many snails to see that

Raine: I got the whole thing on my scroll. And backed it up on three of my personal devices.

Eda: Whatever happened to him and the other defect coven leaders?

Lilith: Trying to find them, but so far no activity.

Raine: They should be dormant for now, but the hunt is still on.

Eda: Check out this news article I found. [link]

Raine: What is it?

Lilith: It better not be one of THOSE websites again.

Eda: You'll see

4:20

Raine: EDA!

Eda: Yes?

Raine: Why did you not tell me about this wonderful thing called fanfiction? I don't even know who wrote this but, God, they have excellent potential.

Lilith: I think I know who wrote it

Raine: Who is the author?

Lilith: If you scroll all the way up, you'll see the author is AzuraFanOtter, take a wild witch guess who that is

Raine: Well no wonder Luz is getting A's in her writing classes, this is wonderful

Eda: And fitting 20 characters in one scene while giving them all ample screen time is tricky, but she made it work.

Lilith: Maybe she should write her own book. The money made from that could benefit her greatly in the future.

Eda: Indeed, though she'll probably be fine when she marries Boots, cause all the Blights are LOADED.

Lilith: Now now, keep in mind, there is a change things don't work out for them. It's not like they were made with the other in mind.

Eda: …

Raine: …

Eda: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Raine: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lilith: What? I'm serious.

Raine: We know, but I'll eat griffon feathers if they don't work out.

Eda: OH SHOOT! RAINE! THE TIME!

RAINE: GAH! MY TREATMENT'S IN 10! THE NEXT TIME SLOT IS A WEEK FROM NOW SO I GOTTA GO!

Raine has left

Lilith: Well, I promised Darius I'd help with a "surprise" for Alador.

Eda: Cool, have fun.

Lilith: Thank you for not making an innappropriate joke for that.

Eda: Yeah, sorry about last week's prank, didn't think it go over as bad as it did.

Lilith: No no, I should have just taken the joke.

Eda has left

Lilith has left

#amity blight #lumity #luz noceda #the owl house #toh #luz x amity #lilith clawthorne #eda clawthorne #raine whispers #willow park #hunter toh #fanfic #disney

21 notes · View notes

sparethedreamer · 4 months

Text

Some spoilers for FNAF Help Wanted 2

Terms used can be found on pluralpedia.com

Just about the Sun/Moon/Eclipse system as a system member

As a system who have been following along the Five Nights at Freddy's games/media, we are intrigued by the Sun/Moon/Eclipse/+ system coded character(s). At first it seemed like they (Steel Wool or Scott) were just gonna stick with the tired trope of Good Character is plagued by their Bad Alter. However, things seem to be developing and we want to talk about it.

First of all, we're going to refer to them collectively as the Solar System because one of us suggested it and it's freakin' clever.

So clearly each headmate of the Solar System has a role:

Solar System as a whole:

Perfectionist tendencies, prioritizes/obsesses over cleanliness, upset when rules are broken, child-care oriented

Sun:

Non-violent daycare attendant with perfectionist tendencies, anxiety, childcare skills. He's in charge of arts and crafts. He tries to protect Gregory from Moon. Wants to be whole. Can easily succumb to feelings of despair/hopelessness. Frantic. Can be judgemental and critical. Please let me out of timeout, I'll be good!

Possible system roles: anxiety holder, jester, jailer, and worrier

Moon:

Allowed to roam at night at certain hours and attacks Gregory, who he believes is naughty and deserves to be found and punished. Fronts when lights are out and seems physically hurt by light. Seems to attempt to force Sun into dormancy. Clever and calculating. Can be jealous and retaliatory.

Possible system roles: attacker, hunter-persecutor

Eclipse:

A calm, seemingly non-violent entity that can take control of a situation when needed. They seem to be more emotionally mature than Sun and Moon and act with sort of parental demeanor. They appear to be programmed as a failsafe for when the system is under severe distress or presents a danger to itself or others.

Possible system roles: anchor, anesthetic, parental figure, caretaker,

Jack-o-Moon: (sorry I don't know your pronouns! Please accept this They/Them in these trying times)

Hobbies include log rides, Halloween, and fire. Adds a bit of (pumpkin) spice to your detour. Absolutely vibing (sometimes the vibe requires your murder. sorry not sorry). Hurt by the light :( Might sometimes cofronts with Moon maybe (last merry-go-round night, subtitles say Moon?)

Possible roles: Performer, jokestar,

Anyways, it's cool to see a system in media even if a lot of it's played as good Sun vs evil Moon. We think that each character has nuance and their strengths and weaknesses and are excited for the upcoming theories from this new game. We probably forgot some stuff or didn't include some stuff in this post, so we apologize. We hope to see more interactions between headmates and the progression of system dynamics. Who knows if it'll happen or not, but we can hope.

-🫧 and 🍀

#sun moon system #fnaf #fnaf spoilers #fnaf help wanted 2 #help wanted 2 #five nights at freddy's #sun #moon #eclipse #jack o moon #system #plurality #plural

34 notes · View notes

gildedmuse · 4 months

Text

ZoLaw AUs Nobody Asked For Presents....

Fairy Tale Twist

Part One: Abduction!

[This was inspired by watching the first episode of the anime Heaven Official Blessing with @jhaernyl. However, for the purpose of this ficlette all you need to know is the whole thing is your typical fanfic set up: a bunch of young women are disappearing, so in order to solve the mystery our main male character is forced to go undercover as a shy, virginal bride-to-be in hopes that the sexy bad boy will notice him and carry him off to his liar.]

[You know. The only sensible solution to a rash of kidnappings.]

"Please," the old lady begs, tears running down her face as she falls to her knees in front of the trio. "Even if there is no hope for my Liula, this village can't bear to lose another one of our daughters!"

Zoro scratches behind his ear, apparently unmoved by the old ladies tears, as well as the wet faces of the town folks who have gathered all around. It isn't that he doesn't care - he's sure it's hard to misplace a daughter or whatever, though it does seem to him as if it's at least a little the villager's own fault. Why do they keep sending the girls through the forest is they keep disappearing?

"So they're always taken in the forest?" Saga - Zoro's second best friend and training partner - always knows exactly the right questions to ask. He's just good at that kind of detective thing, the way Marines pretend to be. As a crew of bounty hunters, they may not be the most well known or most feared (they certainly aren't their richest) but between him, Kuina, and Saga, Zoro figures they have all the right talents to work their way up to the top, wherever that might be.

For Saga, Zoro is sure that eventually means becoming a marine or, as his overly dramatic friend would put it, "becoming a sword for justice!" Or that's what he says it if you get enough sake in him, though honestly it doesn't even take one drink to notice the look he gets in his eyes whenever a bunch of men in their clean white uniforms go marching pass. Not even Kuina's mocking their stupid insignia ("why do you want a shirt with a pair of boobs drawn on. I've got the real thing and they're nothing but annoying!" / "For the last time, the insignia is the mighy gull! Not a pair of blue boobies!" / "As someone who has seen plenty of both, trust me, no seagull looks like that..not unless it's had some major work done.") or Zoro pointing out he's never seen a single marine carrying a shuangshou jian, which he thinks is the far better argument. After all, Saga wouldn't want to have to get rid of his beloved sword, would be? It's the one thing he has from his parents....

If there is one person who would understand how important a sword can be, it would be Kuina, but he thought Saga would be next.

"Sounds like instead of worrying about your bridal traditions, you should have worked to make sure these girls could protect themselves," Kuina says, her voice low and steady, but there is an undercurrent of anger there. One Zoro finds adults often miss, due to Kuina's former, almost old fashioned, language and proper samurai etiquette.

Her father always said there was more to being a Kenshi than just holding a sword. Unfortunately, one of the things he believes makes for a Kenshi is....

Kuina stands up, bowing politely to the very same adults she'd just been so angry at. "We will find this pirate who is taking your lost daughters and ensure this does not happen again," she promises, and Kuina promises something it's like you can see the threads binding her, holding her to her word. It makes Zoro sit up straighter, happy to be her rival. "If what these girls want is to be married, they deserve to make that choice without some creep ruining it for them."

Kuina's small, and because of that, most everyone underestimates her. Only to be surprised when the girl they had just been laughing at is suddenly behind them, the sharp white blade of Wado Ichimonji pressed against their kidney, with Tenno Megumi clashing against their own steel, stopping them from being able to make a move. She's a fast, technical fighter and a slow, methodical thinker. She probably knows more about Zoro and Saga then the two boys know about themselves and, honestly, Zoro is alright with that. He doesn't even know where he'd keep all that knowledge, but Kuina seems to do a good

They had only come to this island to pick up some Nobody, Kuro of 1000 Cats or something stupid like that, but they had barely dragged him and his crew of losers to the local Marine base when an older woman, face wrinkled and worn from sadness, had grabbed a hold of Zoro's arm.

These people were desperate, and the small four man marine outpost they have seemed unable ("or unwilling," Kuina had muttered only once Saga was distracted - they didn't need to have that fight again) to help against what seemed to be some knd of curse.

"Qell it's not a curse," Saga decided immediately, the three of them gathering just outside of the town hall were the citizen had plead their case. And as much as Zoro hates being distracted from his goal, his one true dream, he has to admit their pleas were.... heartfelt.

"Hmm," Kuina puts her hand to her chin, her foot digging into her dirt as she stares down, her brain trying to ferment a plan of some kind. At the very least a place to begin. "It seems he only comes out when there is a bridal procession. What should we do?"

There is silence as they all contemplate this impossible task.

"I know!" It's Saga who gets a these first, slapping his fist in his hand, and with his eyes burning so bright, Kuina and Zoro are immediately doubtful. This is going to be one of those ridiculous plans like in all his marine centered manga. As far as Zoro has seen, Marines never actually do any sort of undercover work or whatever. They just stupidly fire bullets at things and hope one hits. But that's not how Saga sees them, not at all.

Saga gives a sharp, proud smile, his support of his own plan entirely unwavering. Zoro assumed they would just stare at him until sanity sunk back in but suddenly, he notices Kuina going all stiff, as if a realization had just hit.

"Not it!"

Zoro stumbles some, not used to the usually calm depth that is his number one rival and best friend moving with such a reckless, her arm flying up as of theyre back at the dojo answering questions. "Hey!" He pushes his shoulder back against her. "What are you-"

"Good point!" Saga says, his intensity still bur ing as usual. "I am also not it."

Zoro looks between his two friends. His two companions. His twisted sworn brother and sister. And the evil grins that were creeping up along their faces.

"I am NOT-"

Kuina leans in so hard, Zoro ends up squashed up against Saga. "Your mouth says no," the older girl teases, sluttering her eyelashes in a way that Zoro didn't understan. Was that supposed to make him do something? "But your eyes - and my blades," she adds that bit with a pat at the swords at her side. "Say yes."

At his other side, Saga gives him an unnaturally bright smile despite the narrowed eyes glare Zoro is giving both kenshi. "You really should try and look happier. It's your wedding day after all!" He teased, nd Zoro can only grumble.

He did call not it last, damnit.

"We will just have to set up a convincing bridal procession then!" Saga pulls back, striking what Zoro feels is an all too excited pose considering the fate they've just sealed for him. "Kuina and I will act as guards, while Zoro gakes place of the bride to be. We'll put the whole thing together and make it look just like a real bridal procession! That's how we will draw this scoundrel out!"

The two npeople only seem mildly confused by the bounty hunter's plan. Zoro isn't sure what the confusion is aboit. He's hardly looking forward to this mess, but he does think Saga and Kuina did an excellent job at setting the trap and as for his part, well, he can only hide one of his three swords under the bridal gown, but with the other two concealed in the carriage in easy reach, he doesn't imagine he'll habe any difficulty grabbing for them in time. The whole plan is actually one of their better thought out schemes, so he isn't sure why the villagers take moment to get on board, but eventually they do. They even lend them materials to help make the ruse undetectable.

"I've got this!" Kuina declares in reference to the dress. She isn't much for fu-fu clothes herself - it's all so much fabric for so little practical coverage, and it always has at least one part that hangs in the weirdest way. However, she's had years of practice learning to make men's clothes for her properly so they aren't baggy and in her way and also wouldn't.... disrespect her father (Zoro knows she would never wish to voice this, but he has also seen her on holy days with his image. Holding it as tight as if he were a long honored ancestor. Looking to the stars as if they would grant her his approval.) Plus, she definitely knew what looked good on girls. Just because she doesn't wear fancy kimono and jewelry and other useless pretty things doesn't mean Kuina can't APPRECIATE what other women look like in such elaborate get ups.

It's the make up where they run into something of an issue.

"Katatsumuri," Saga asks, holding out their den den mushi. Him and the snail wince together as Kuina gets angry enough to break the brush shed be using to try and apply Zoro's lipstick, yelling that it was a subpar tool unworthy of its title and a shame to whoever forged its.... it's.... it's stupid hairs or whatever! Grr!

"Can you play a make up tutorial," Saga requests, sitting cross legged in front of Zoro. Luckily, he is very good at copying moves even from videos. Maybe this is why he appreciates marine uniforms so much, Zor thinks, cause they're all neat and orderly and it feels like you have to keep your make up neat and orderly as well.

So with Zoro looking appropriately alluring ("You're a vision," Saga promises, his breathing just a little too rushed considering they haven't even started on the hard part of the quest just yet. "You almost look decent," Kuina laughs, making sure Katatsumuri takes a picture for future reference) they gather everything else they will need for their little nightie deceit. The procession, the carriage, the spooky nighttime forest that the temple lies in the middle of for some reason no one could adequately explained.

"just sit tight," Kuina whispers from the side of her mouth as they walk deeper and deeper into the darkness. "I'm sure this willl-"

"Kuina!?" Zoro knows he is supposed to be sitting there straight and well behaved, just the way he's practiced with that overly nice girl - the one who kept getting a little bit touchy, like Zoro couldn't figure out how to hold his hands just by LOOKING at her; there is no reason to touch - but at his friend's sudden silence he couldn't help but peak out of the carriage window.

Nothing but wind and leaves and darkness.

"Zoro," Saga growls from the other wise..Zoro turns to try and ask him to go check on Kuina. That's what he should do, rather than break character. Good call. "Keep on guar-"

Silence.

Suddenly there is nothing.. No horses. No Marines pretending to be maid in waiting. No guards. No friends. Just darkness, and a low, soft whisper of the wind. Something dark, something.... stirring.

Zoro licks his lips, that awful taste of the lipstick coming off with it. He reaches for the trap door where his two other swords are stored when -

Click.

The door opens a light storm: the fall of rain, wind sweeping through the trees, dark hair, striking eyes, and such long and slender fingers reaching out for him, not grabbing, but making an offering. Holding his hand out for the supposedly young and virginal bride.

And suddenly Zoro can feel it in his chest. This lightness. This heat.

He fumbles, trying to find the damn torch. Where were his matches? Why is he going for the stupid candle and not his swords? What is wrong with him?

"I can't help but notice," the strange is silhouettes in the darkness, out the moonlight behind him offering any glimpse. But that voice. So dark, like a shadow. Like the way a smooth sake feels sliding down your throat. "You seemed to be in trouble, my little lamb. I hope those ruffians didn't cause you any harm."

As if you didn't send those ruffians, only Zoro's voice is entirely gone. The boy's golden eyes pierce through him like an arrow. Where is his voice? It seems the only part of him that can speak is his heart, and that is beating so loud it filled the entirety of the carriage

It only gets louder when the stranger's lips quirk upward, the water running down his hair, his pale skin, sliding around his lips. Making them shimmer and shine in the low candle light. "What a remarkable beauty. How could anyone wish to hurt such an angel?" His hand is still hanging there, half way between them. Zoro licks his lip subconsciously, the water clinging to the stranger's lower lip making him want....

No! He's meant to focus! He is here on a mission, not some silly game.

Yet the way the stranger smiles does leave his stomach feeling all sorts of silly. Are those his finger tips shaking as he reaches out, gently entrusting his hand to the stranger.

Immediately he is being pulled forward, so close it Zoro can't keep the gasp escaping his lips. He's not used to these shoes, there's far too much of them for starters, and the heels catches on the fabric of his dress and-

As he falls foward, the stranger moves in close and through the low light of the moon and a single candle, those gorgeous golden eyes stare right into Zoro's soul, soft and yet certain as he reaches out, easily pulling Zoro into his arms.

Pressed against the man's chest, Zoro understands why so many of those manga he finds Saga hiding away have girls pressed up to marines just like this. The way his heart beats in Zoro's ear, the protective warmth of his arms....

"Where did-"

"You men seem to have run off," The stranger says, holding him close. The hold is gentle and yet formal, as of purposefully being polite and careful with him. "I believe they were trying to lure the attackers away."

He knows that hadn't been the plan, but he can only stare up at the stranger, his cheeks so warm he thinks of lifting the veil, just to get some fresh air. But surely if he saw him that would give them game away.

"Your physical beauty must only be surpassed by that of your heart, to have such a loyal and fearless guard. I would hate to see their bravery go to waste. I don't have much, certainly not lodging worthy of such a precious gem, but there is a small temple nearby that will offer us shealter. I can keep you safe until your entourage regroups. That is, if you will allow it."

His golden eyes are staring down at our hero, soft and intense all at once, and they leave his tongue feeling equally confused: heavy and light at the same time.

"You have my permission to do with me as you please." Zoro hadn't practiced any sort of script, the plan had been to attack and words had seemed unnecessary. He still isn't sure where such a sentiment even came from! What a silly thing to say! He must look like a gu-

Wait, that isn't the what Zoro is supposed to be concerned about. Why does he even care if he looks like a fool!?

Even as he tries to hide himself against the stranger's chest, he catches a glimpse of that smirk. That horribly cocky, confident turn of his lips that leaves the poor kenshi melting, all the heat not coloring in his face pooling much, much lower.

"I shall take you with me then, beauty-ya, and act as your guide until we can reunite you with your proper assembly."

"Mmm," Zoro mutters, voice high and breathless. Perhaps to ensure the act is believable? "Take me with you, unite with me, yes..."

Just an act, that's all. Right, that's why he's doing this. To go along with the plan.

That's why he puts up no struggle as he suddenly finds himself lifted up into the strangers arms. The man's hat keeps his face mostly hidden, but Zoro is sure to memorize the edges of his cheeks, his lips and chin where rivlets of water drip from his dark skin. The beautiful dark ink that covers the strong arms that have Zoro safely held against his chest.

All for the sake of the mission, Zoro reminds himself, leaning his cheek against the stranger's wet shirt, tucking in closer to his warmth as a blue light suddenly involves the both of them.

"Shambles."

And then the forest is quiet, nothing but an abandoned carriage left behind.

#the bounty hunting trio we deserve #shimotsuki kuina #wants to be the world's greeatest swordsman and also a great ppirate of the seas because screw samurai #if women can't be samurai then she will leave the dojo and become something better #Saga One Piece #he has a bit of a marine kink #IT'S NOT A KINK TO CELEBRATE THE BRAVERY OF THE MARINES #no but it is when you want your girlfriend to dress up like one #roronoa zoro #who only knows he wants to be the world's greatest swordsmen #one piece #trafalgar d. water law #trafalgar law #zolaw #I promise Law isn't just out here kidnapping helpless girls #okay he is but it's not as bad as it sounds - the townspeople left out some important information #not that hes helping - he's a pirate; pirates don't help people #however spoiler alert his little sister isn't a piarte and Lami has a lot of pull over her brother's heartstrings #though she's about to have some major competition #Corazon also lives #one piece au #one piece fanfic #I know no one asked for this but its the first real fic I've really written in a long time so it's what you get #the zolaw au nobody asked for #fairy tale twist #part one #law x zoro #later kuina x lami BECAUSE I CAN #all the girls live #my writings

20 notes · View notes

chloe-spade · 3 months

Text

Thorned Love Chapter 4: Tale as old as Time

Vil grumbled as Leona took another chess piece from Vil's side. They were back in the library and Vil found an old chess set that Leona owned as a kid, so for old good time sake, Leona challenged Vil to a game. Leona, as he boasted previously, has been winning, which made Vil determined to win at least one game.

"I never thought that you would be this good at chess," Vil muttered.

"As I said, I played for so long, Princess, and all that chess means I've become an expert at this sport. Especially when you are often alone with maids and servants while your parents tend to fawn over Falena almost all day everyday."

"All day?" Vil asked, "How unforunate."

"I'm used to it now. Rook was typically my partner for these events and he, through all of his annoying snick, has been someone I can call a friend, maybe."

Vil laughs, "Rook and I have been friends since we met at the village at a younger age. I didn't know his parents worked at the palace, and he never spoke of it to me. I just thought they were so busy."

"Understandable, Rook's parents were the Royal Hunters of the palace. That's why Rook's here ever so often," Leona yawned.

"Getting sleepy, kitten? You might lose if you fall asleep," Vil teased.

"Never."

Leona looks at Vil, "What about you and your brother? You two seem close, but that's what I heard from Rook."

"Yeah, very…" Vil sighs, "I just miss him that's all. I know Epel is very strong and he can take care of himself, but as an older brother, I can't help but worry about him and my father. I have never been away from them for so long and then there's Alderic,"

"Who…"

"Some stupid prick who believes that just because he's attractive, he deserves so much, like marry me."

"Marry? Is he that bad of a prick?"

"Yes! He went up to my door and proclaimed that since I was beautiful, or more specifically the only beautiful person in my entire village, I am the only person he would marry. It's stupid and absurd and he's so self-centered that he thinks that I would fawn over him," Vil ranted, "not after what he said to my brother, I will never touch that man, and his disgusting face."

Leona's ears twitched as Vil ranted, his eyes slightly looking up at him. Vil noticed how Leona's tail was swaying back and forth as he huffed softly, but he chose not to acknowledge it.

"If it were me, I would've sent him to the dungeon."

"That would be heavenly," Vil grins, "seeing him trapped and sob that he doesn't deserve this," Vil mocked with a laugh.

"I can see that now. But now I'm curious, what did that bastard say to your brother."

Vil stayed silent before taking the king and the queen in his hands, staring at them. He puts the queen down as he begins to speak.

"I never told anyone else this after what happened. My father told me this when I was about 8 years old, after that incident."

"And why tell me? Your captor?"

"Because, unlike the people of the village, you actually listen to what I said or just take your time out of your day to hang out with me. You've become someone I can trust, along with the others here. I don't feel like a freak here."

"Again, you are talking to a beast, so if anyone's a freak, it'd be me."

Vil lets out a chuckle before starting the story.

🥀

Vil's mother, Lorelei, was well known for her beauty. Oliver always said that Vil got his features from his mother when he turned 18, which was not surprising from the portraits he saw of her as a child.

Many fawned over Lorelei, mostly for her beauty. She adores the attention, though she was never vain about it. She was married to Oliver and had Vil. This was the time when Oliver's inventions became more well-known and was commissioned to make new inventions for the country of France, which meant Oliver was traveling more often. Vil was only 2 years old when Oliver began his traveling, so he didn't remember much and due to his young mind, he never figured out how miserable Lorelei became after Oliver's many departures.

Lorelei never showed it but it was clear to the town that she was miserable.

It did not help matters that many people would start to believe that those "commissions" were ways to get away from his family and to be with another woman, due to claims that Oliver is a crummy inventor and that no one would ever commission that cooky man.

One day, a traveling merchant came over and began selling local apples from Germany. Lorelei and the merchant talked often, mainly about his region and reminiscing about old German cultures. It has unfortunately become a small-time affair, only for a week before the merchant left to travel once more, not returning.

After Oliver's return, Lorelei has fallen pregnant. Due to Oliver's return, the town had assumed that it was a child of Oliver's. That was until the child, now named Epel was born. The town talked about the new child and reminded them of the merchant who traveled there. But no one has spoken up about it due to some believing it to be cruel rumors about Lorelei.

Lorelei tried to laugh them off. But deep down, she was becoming guilty and resentful towards her new son. With all the rumors surrounding them and with Oliver being the type that figured out lies and deceptions, she knew she would get caught and lose the happy life she worked so hard for.

After a few months of this, Oliver took note of the rumors and asked Lorelei about them, mostly to keep his headspace clear after months of inventing and falling unconscious. She denies these allegations, which helps Oliver, but afterward, he notices her dodgy attitude towards him and Epel.

But Oliver couldn't continue his investigation without the fear of her leaving their children, angry at his snooping.

One day, as if the gods planned it, a note was sent while Lorelei was out with both Vil and Epel. Oliver received the letter and read it, shocked at what he had read.

It was a note from an unknown merchant, who wrote that he misses Lorelei and her soft lips and how he daydreams of her whenever he is not occupied with his work. He planned to visit her again once he had to best travel requirements.

Oliver was of course upset and confronted his wife, ashamed of her actions and how could she do that not to Oliver, but to Vil and the new baby.

Lorelei tried to deny it, even though she was slowly becoming panicky. Then she accused Oliver of meeting with the other women while he was on his travels, which Oliver stammered about. They started to argue afterward, leaving Vil to hide with Epel in his room, trying to protect him, it was one of the memories Vil still has of the event.

Night fell and Lorelei was sleeping on the couch after the argument, but the cries of Epel were waking her up every single time. It was driving her insane, but she tried to ignore it, hoping Oliver would've dealt with it, which he had done for the majority of the night, but he was so tired that he slept through the newest cry.

Lorelei was blank as she walked towards Epel's crib, her sleeping pillow gripped tightly in her hands as she raised the pillow up and towards Epel.

The saving grace was when Vil noticed and unknowingly stopped her. Which made Lorelei retreat for the night.

The next moment, Vil asked Oliver if it was normal for Lorelei to raise a pillow over Epel at night, which caught Oliver off guard, and he rushed into Epel's room to witness the same that Vil had described. Oliver took her away, demanding what she was doing. Lorelei's screams of how Epel ruined her happy life always repeated in Vil's head, and how she was trying to set things right, after Oliver's disgusting cheating, but everyone in the town knows it was her.

Lorelei's sobs and screams attract the attention of villagers and tell the works of a nearby asylum about a crazed woman who is about to murder her child. The asylum offered to take her away from Oliver. But Oliver refused until Lorelei spewed more hatred against him and Epel as if her words were now daggers as she stabbed Oliver's heart with her words.

The beautiful and thoughtful woman in town has become ugly and vile to everyone in the town.

🥀

"Since that night I never saw her again. I was allowed visitation but I humbly refused as the asylum scared even to this day. That's why, even now, I fear for Epel's safety. Who knows if that damned escape or not…I wish I knew."

Vil looked back and saw the most concerned look on Leona's face, which looking at it more, was more mortified than concerned. Leona's eyes were slit at the story and his tail was frozen solid.

"…what?"

The Lion was too baffled to speak, as his hand holding the chess piece did not move an inch. Leona has become a statue of bafflement, which Vil was debating on soothing or laughing at him. But Vil carefully took the chess piece and with a smirk on his face, said:

"Checkmate."

🥀

Epel was trying to keep a smile as days went by and has continued to tend to his father as he always did. But with new sets of bouquets by Epel's doorway with stupid and disgusting poems attached to them made him sick to his stomach. It was hard to keep it from strangers, his father, and even Jack, someone Epel actually trusts with his life if needed, which made Epel feel guilty.

It made Epel bake for the majority of his morning, trying to see if he could avoid Alderic or even Cederic walking up to his cottage. It was making him so anxious that he wasn't paying attention to the pie that was still in his hands.

"Careful," Jack spoke up, taking the pie from Epel, "if you stand there long enough, you might as well hallucinate."

Epel quickly looks back and gulps, "S-sorry, I just…having some thoughts."

"About?"

"It's nothing," Epel answered, "I should rest up more."

"Epel," Jack took his hand, "I know something is wrong. What happened last week? Is it because of Vil being gone or because of Alderic? With you being distracted and jumpy, I would assume it's Alderic. What did he do?"

Epel gulped and looked up at Jack.

"I don't need to explain myself," Epel huffed, "It's not any of your business. And I do not need help…"

"Epel, I get it. You don't want to seem weak but you need to tell me what happened. Alderic may be a force to be reckon with but you can't deal with him alone." Jack reassured, "You have me remember?"

"I know I do! But with that asshole thinking that he can control me and that if I marry him, Father won't be stuck in a stupid asylum! And I can't object because I know it's something that Vil would do but I'm scared."

"Marry…Alderic?" Jack repeated.

"He threatened me! And I would rather marry someone else than that stupid, narcissistic ass!" Epel ranted, "If I was given a choice, I would-"

"Epel!"

Epel looks at Jack and huffs.

"Let me recall what you just said to me," Jack started, "Alderic is forcing you to marry him so he wouldn't take Oliver to an asylum. Am I correct in that assumption?"

"Yes, that's true," Epel admitted, "and because Vil isn't around for Alderic to bother. And I hate that I know if this doesn't happen, not only I lose Vil, but Father as well. I hate being weak!"

Jack took Epel in a hug, trying to calm Epel down.

"You aren't weak, Epel," Jack acknowledged, "you are the strongest person I know. I wish he would just leave you alone, you and Vil."

"Thanks, Jack," Epel sighs.

Epel moves away from Jack, face blushing. He quickly took the pie and started to wrap and store it for later, trying to look out for Alderic once again. Jack sighs, as even he wouldn't calm Epel's nerves.

"Who would you marry if it wasn't Alderic?" Jack joked.

"That's private information," Epel smiles.

"I should've know," Jack laughs, "but I know it isn't Alderic."

"We both damn know I would never marry Alderic or even Cedric," Epel gagged, "Ew. I would..marry someone who has always been there for me. Though the thought of marriage is gross enough with the expectations. I wouldn't even imagining marrying someone."

"Then, what if I said that I want to marry you?"

Epel looked over at Jack and felt his face heat up. It didn't help the situation that he was pinned to his counter, and Jack looked so flustered with his question.

"Well, if you said that…would you be surprised if I would say yes?" Epel gulped.

Jack's ears perked and his tail wagged slightly as he carefully put his hand on Epel's cheek.

"What…would happen if I kissed you?"

"I would just say do it."

Jack hesitated, still nervous. Epel huffed and pulled Jack by his collar and kissed him, surprising Jack. But it felt like Epel was finally able to get his mind at ease, especially with Jack's arms around him, promising protection which was something Epel longed for. He didn't even acknowledge the noise outside of the cottage, just focusing on Jack.

"I…wow," Jack chuckles as he pulls away.

"You hesitated," Epel teased.

"Sorry about that.."

🥀

"We still need them together," Rook moped towards Trey, "They have tried everything and they've seen them getting along, but we need something more. More, like getting them in a secluded location with a romantic flare!"

"Romantic flare? Perhaps you have ideas?" Trey asked, "Rook, you have to remember, I am not the romantic type."

"You are married, Chaviler of Roses," Rook grins, "with a beautiful boy, no less."

"I did small stuff, sure, but Jade ultimately made the move. I have no idea what I did to create romantic feelings but it must be something, like a mutual connection, it just happens, Rook." Trey explained. "They have a mutual connection, Rook, the most likely step is to set up a date. A place where all the romantic stuff can happen slowly but surely. Something that maybe should be approved by Leona firsthand."

"Ah, of course. Roi de Lion can be such a hackle when it comes to family events. Balls…wait! A personal ball. No one else but him and Roi de Poison." Rook grins, "that's perfect! Let me go to Roi de Lion!"

"Rook! And he's gone. I swear once romance enters his head, he does not let go of it."

"What did you expect?" Floyd spoke up, startling Trey, "Seagull loves romantic endeavors. I mean, he did set you and Jade together after all, so I believe he can get that date going."

"I know," Trey sighs.

Floyd smirks and takes a pastry from Trey's plate and takes a bite, eating with victory.

"No, you will not give some to Johnnie, we both know that'll spoil his dinner, and I don't want that for my son." Trey spoke without speaking up from chopping the vegetables.

"You are no fun."

🥀

"A ball?" Leona spoke up, "That's too sudden and big. No way."

"Roi de Leon, I understand, but I know Roi de Poison and I know he'll enjoy such a romantic gesture and he often reads of those in books and I think we all know this will be perfect for him. He adored those as a child, and I remember speaking of those times quite fondly when he grabbed a book from the library."

"Look, I just don't want to seem forward," Leona stated, "If he found out why I am seeking his love, I don't think I would've forgiven myself, he'll think I'm using him to save myself, but…"

"I'm surprised," Falena spoke up, "but I see this as a big chance for you, Leona. These past few weeks, you and Vil have gotten along splendidly, and this can be the greatest gesture of love you can ever give someone."

Leona thought for a moment and sat down on the bed. Imagining a grand ball was already making Leona feel nervous, but considering it was only him and Vil..it made him even more nervous. He didn't even consider doing balls mainly because what was the point? Now, he has a point, but how will he go with it?

"I need time." Leona spoke up, "If I were to plan, what should I start? How should I start?"

"Oh, I have a few things up my sleeves," Rook chuckled.

"Oh boy."

🥀

Vil came back from his bath to see an envelope in his drawer by his bed. It was placed neatly and sealed with the royal seal of the land.

Strange, but it could be a way for Leona to communicate if Vil was busy with something, something that they had discussed previously. Vil took the envelope, carefully opened it, took the letter out of it, and began to read it.

Dear Vil,

I hereby declare that I will be hosting a small event and I request your presence. Be dressed in formal clothing as this is a formal occasion and be there at 7:15.

Vil smiles and puts the letter down. Never thought he'd be invited to a fancy ball, though it was odd and he was living within the castle that gave him the invite, but he thought it was sweet nonetheless.

🥀

Vil stood in front of the full-length mirror, adjusting his gloves and necklace. It was the night of the royal ball, and Vil was excited but nervous at the same time. He had never been to a ball before, and he wanted to make a good impression.

He wore a purple dress with golden accents with a white gloves, paired with a small golden bow at the back of his hair and golden shoes. His hair was braided, and he had a hint of perfume on his neck. He, of course, added makeup to his look, he felt empty without it.

He also had a set of golden jewelry, courtesy of Jade. Matching necklace and earrings helped finalize his appearance.

Vil took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror once more. He knew that his brother, Epel, would have teased him for spending so much time getting ready, but Vil wanted to look his best.

As he made his way to the ballroom, Vil couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. He felt like he didn't belong. But he pushed those thoughts aside and reminded himself that he was there to have fun and enjoy the night.

As soon as Vil entered the ballroom, he was greeted by the sound of music. The room was decorated with beautiful flowers, and there was a grand staircase leading down to the ballroom dance floor.

Vil took a deep breath and made his way to the dance floor. He looked around, trying to find someone to dance with. His eyes met with Leona's, who was standing by the refreshment table.

Seeing Leona nice and clean made Vil want to laugh, but he didn't. He was just staring, at how handsome Leona is, with the blue suit with golden accents. He saw not a beast, but an actual prince, a prince he wanted to dance with.

"Would you like to dance?" Vil asked, trying to hide his nerves.

Leona smiled and took Vil's hand, leading him to the dance floor. As they swayed to the music, Vil felt his nerves melt away. He looked around the ballroom, taking in the sights and sounds of the night.

The music made things even better for them.

"We need something," Rook realizes, "To set a better mood."

"Like what exactly?" Trey questioned, "They looked happy enough. What else do we need?"

"A song," Rook hummed, "something that they can dance to, and what can describe their beautiful relationship."

"But you know that I hate singing," Trey spoke up, "especially with the romantic energy that's here."

Jade and Floyd came out from the kitchen, holding a new plate of food for dinner. Trey and Rook looked at each other and back at Jade and knew who to ask.

"Monsior Mastermind," Rook called over, "we need you to do a small favor for us."

"What for?" Jade asked.

"We need you to sing for this lovely event," Rook announced with a smile.

"No."

"Come on, Jade! Sing something for us," Floyd urged, nudging him playfully.

"I don't know," Jade sighs, "I'm not comfortable singing in front of people," Jade pointed out.

"Oh, come on, you have an amazing voice! I know you can do it," Trey grinned, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"And it'll be amazing for this beautiful for tonight," Rook added, "and your voice will do perfectly."

After a few moments of hesitation, Jade finally gave in and decided to sing a song.

🥀

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly

Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Beauty and the Beast

🥀

"You are such a good dancer," Vil laughs, "have you ever dance before?"

"Not as often as I like," Leona whispered, "but I never danced with the intent of actually dance with a person. I mean the last time I danced was when I was young. How about you?"

Vil looks up and holds his hands. "Well, I never danced before."

"That explains your nervous movement," Leona joked.

"Hey," Vil pouted, "no one has ever asked me to dance with them, nor invited me to a royal ball. Remember, I was the black sheep of my town, despite being fawned over by that same exact town. I refused to wed to Alderic, which everyone wanted, and now I'm here. Dancing with you, even thiugh I never danced in my life."

"That's a dream come."

Vil felt his face blush as he thought about it.

"Yeah," Vil grinned, "It's most definitely a dream come true,"

The duo gazed at each other as they swayed on the dance floor, and the music boomed around them, making them feel alone in the ballroom.

🥀

Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

And ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange

Finding you can change

Learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

🥀

They continued dancing, lost in their thoughts and feelings. Leona felt like he was on top of the world, dancing with the person he loved.

As the song ended, they pulled away from each other, smiling shyly. They both knew that their relationship was just beginning, but they were excited about what the future held.

They took a bow.

"I heard the stars are beautiful this time of year," Leona spoke, holding his arm out for Vil.

"You don't mind showing me, dear kitten?"

Vil takes Leona's arm and they walk into the balcony, watching the stars above them. They walked over and sat down by the stone bench, watching the stars.

"It's so beautiful out here," Vil gasps, "makes me think of home."

Leona looks back and looks back at the stars again. "I can understand why. Makes me think of my old home as well."

"Why did you leave?"

"I…I felt invisible in my own family," Leona explained, "Sure, I'd have my fair share of achievements but they were almost nothing compared to Falena's. I mean, he got married and has a kid now, while I got transformed into a beast. Seems more funny if it wasn't also unfair."

"Not really," Vil sighs, "but hanging out with you these past months made me see that you are just someone who just needs someone…to sympathize with, to talk to. Have similar hobbies and conversations."

"Would that also applied to you?"

"You won't tell on me, would you?"

Leona laughs and looks away for a moment before sighing.

"I got a gift for you," Leona spoke up, "something for you."

Leona coughed before handing Vil a beautiful silver mirror, embroidered with roses and thorns. The glass felt like it was made of pure crystal, especially as it was reflecting both him and Leona. He didn't want to touch it but it was so beautiful that he had to, even for a small while.

"It's beautiful," Vil muttered, "I mean, it's extremely beautiful. How.."

"I found it along with the rose. Like the rose, it has magical properties, one that I only dabbled in. But it can show the person you wish to see, even from the confines of the castle."

"…uh," Vil stammered a little, before looking at the mirror and said, "Show me my father."

The mirror swirled in a green mist. The image of his father sleeping in a bed made Vil feel relief, seeing him safe in the cottage. However, he felt something was off, due to the noise of horses and people cheering in the mirror.

"…what is that?"

"A celebration of sorts?" Leona questioned, "though, it seems off."

"..Maybe it's Epel?"

As soon as Epel was mentioned, the mirror began to swirl and show a new sight. The sight of Epel in front of his house, with Alderic of all people, surprisingly all dressed up, with flowers and lights making up a scenery.

"What's…" Vil was speechless, worried for his younger brother.

"….I'm only doing this for my father," he heard Epel speak, "if you weren't threatening his life, I wouldn't even be here."

"Aw, don't be like that," Alderic grinned, "you are marrying me, after all, a natural treasure."

"Marry!?" Vil almost screamed.

"What did he do?" Leona asked, also annoyed.

"Something about my father…I knew Alderic would stoop this low! Forcing marriage…" Vil got up and looked at Leona, "I have to go. I have to save my brother, and I know this breaks our agreement but Epel's…"

"Then go," Leona spoke up, "You have a family to save, and it's better to be over there than to be trapped in this.."

"Don't." Vil hissed, "I am not leaving for long." Vil takes Leona's hand and looks up at him, " I promise that I will be back, with Father and Epel too. You have become someone I can consider a friend and maybe…" Vil gulped, "I'll be back, ok?"

Leona smiles and nods his head at Vil.

"Go, don't let me stop you."

Vil begins to walk away but he looks back with a look that says "I promise," before bolting out of the balcony and onto the staples and taking Appletart. He jumped onto her and looked back at the castle, within the silence, he could hear Leona once again.

🥀

No spell has been broken

No words have been spoken

No point anymore if he can't love me

No hope she would do so

No dream to pursue, so

I looked at myself, despise all the things I see

For I know that she

Cannot set me free

Let the world be done with me

🥀

Vil was saddened at Leona's hope fading as he began to ride away. He knew he had to go but he knew why he wanted to stay. His heart was telling him to, telling him to scream his love to Leona before he left, but his throat squeezed when he thought of trying.

But knowing his time at the castle made him happy.

🥀

There's been a change in me

A kind of moving on

Though what I used to be

I still depend upon

For now, I realize

That good can come from bad

That may not make me wise

But oh it makes me glad

And I, I never thought I'd leave behind

My childhood dreams

But I don't mind

For now, I love the world I see

No change of heart

A change in me

🥀

He thought of the days he and Leona either played chess, played in the snow for the kids or just comfortably read by the fireplace for hours on end or until they passed and cuddled against each other afterward.

He thought he couldn't love someone like Leona, but with just time, he didn't see a beast, no. A prince who needed compassion and love in his life.

Vil knew that now.

🥀

For in my dark despair

I slowly understood

My perfect world out there

Had disappeared for good

But in it's place I feel

A truer life begin

And it's so good and real

It must come from within

🥀

Vil knew he had a reason to come back, even just for a small moment, a moment he never wanted to end, a moment that made him feel what love was. Not just the meaning from the books he reads, but from the love he felt by just being with Leona, and the many things that they had done for the past months.

🥀

And I, I never thought I'd leave bеhind

My childhood dreams

But I don't mind

I'm where and who I want to be

No change of heart

A change in me

No change of heart

A change in me

🥀

Vil loves Leona, and he knows that Leona loves him back.

In that moment as he saw an opening to his town, Vil knew. Vil knew why he wanted to come back.

#twisted wonderland #Thorned Love #vil schoenheit #leona kingscholar #jade leech #trey clover #rook hunt #epel felmier #jack howl #leovil #epeljack #treyjade #floyd leech

14 notes · View notes

a-luran · 6 months

Note

3, 5, 15, 18, 21, 44 for Alasdair if you fancy! I love hearing your opinions on him *please sir I want some more* 🥺🤲

phil!! ♡ yes of course.

3. What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

For canon AUs, I don't envision parental figures and I lean a lot more strongly on chosen family over blood. That being said I think that Alasdair has always made himself useful under leadership and that would ingratiate him to authority figures early in his history. He is a capable hunter, and a craftsman. Sparse with his words. I think that as he grew older his short temper and headstrong nature would spell a lot of conflict and chaffing against authority. A bad father would not live long with a son like Alasdair. A good father would recognise the strength of him. Any father would be proud, but be quick to resent him. I think that Alasdair would never know how to tell a father that he loves him and he would never hear it back.

5. On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Not his wallet.

I think he'd be the kind of person to carry a handful of change, lint, keys, one (1) splinter glove tucked into the back pocket, sometimes his phone. If he ever has a bag with him it's like a magic trick, he has anything you could think of in there.

Not his wallet though.

15. Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

He would say he isn't but he absolutely is. He places a lot of value on craftsmanship and labour so he would be the kind of person to insist on paying the true cost of things. There is nothing that he would hate more than something cheaply made and absurdly marked up. I think he would also be hard pressed to buy something that he could make himself, and as skilled as he sometimes he might get a little too ambitious with it. A have a soft spot for the thought that as someone who is industrious to a fault he'd have a soft spot for things made for him, no matter the level of skill. He would wear the awful, misshapen socks Daffyd made him one winter until they were beyond repair. He'd scrape the last drags of jam from him plate because Arthur made it. He'll hum a song for a century because Sean wrote it, even long after the words fade from his memory.

18. Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

This one was difficult to answer. I think if pressed he would say wisdom but in a lot of ways he admires ambition instinctively. He is still a strategist at heart.

21. If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

Out of all the characters I write i think that Alasdair probably has the most straightforward relationship with guilt and he's more interesting for it. He would not be quick to blame or bear undue guilt, but where he does find guilt he would go at it like a beast. Ruthless. I think earning his forgiveness, when he finds you unforgivable, would be impossible. And if he ever found fault with himself he would be the same. He would not find guilt debilitating or paralysing the ways others might, and especially on a surface level it would appear that he is quick to turn guilt into something productive but whatever he did, or failed to do? It would haunt him forever.

44. How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

He could not say it without meaning it and he uses it very sparsely. He also does not care to hear it which makes him a hypocrite and also speaks to a bit of arrogance on his part. On the one hand, his love language leans heavy on acts of service so for him to speak love aloud would take a lot. A part of him, the arrogant bit, does not believe that others place as much importance on the words 'I love you' as he does. And that is a fault. It is something that he just can't come to terms with, the idea that people can say 'I love you' again and again and mean it every time. This would cause a lot less strife with someone like Arthur but would definitely put him at odds with Francis. If not at odds then at least uneasy, he would have a hard time accepting it. It is not that Alasdair is careless with other people's hearts, but for all his skill he still has clumsy hands and a mean streak when he feels cornered or patronised.

#freagradh #hws scotland #am i implying that alasdair would kill his father #maybe i am

32 notes · View notes

misccy27 · 1 year

Text

why I prefer Darius as Hunter's primary guardian (an unhinged rant)

(This post is riddled with disclaimers because the fandom has no chill about this subject lol)

So first of all I want to say, IRL at this point it would be Hunter's decision who he wants to live with. So I'm looking at this from a narrative perspective about what would be most satisfying to me as a viewer.

For the record, I think Darius, Camila, Eda, Raine, etc. can and should all be involved in Hunter's life in some form or another going forward. Hunter needs a strong support network and deserves all the caring parental figures he can get. But I also think that he needs stability. Even if he spends a lot of time at other houses, I think Hunter would do best with a place he can start to think of as his home, instead of cycling through a rotation of 'his room at Camila's house', 'his room at Darius' house', and so on.

Now. I know there were plans for Hunter to stay at the Owl House at some point in season 2, but since that didn't happen in canon, Hunter doesn't have any real foundation for moving in with Eda now. And we sadly never really get to see him interact with Raine. So that leaves us with 2 realistic candidates: Darius and Camila.

And just to head this off, yes Camila is a wonderful person. She would be a great parent for any child, including Hunter. I'm not saying that she wouldn't be, and I'm not saying that Darius is in a better parent. Just hear me out.

1. Practical considerations

I know no one wants to hear it, but Camila has been single-parenting 6 kids for 2-3 months. I cannot believe she had no worse breakdown than a (very well-done) nightmare sequence. If Hunter does move in with her post-canon, then that makes her the primary caregiver of 3 severely traumatized teenagers. Again, I'm sure she would do an excellent job as always. But that's still a lot of stress.

Second. Hunter states his desires at the end of Thanks to Them. They are to: study wild magic; learn how to carve palismen; attend Hexside as a regular student; and play flyer derby with his friends. All of these goals would have him spending a lot of time in the demon realm.

One argument I've seen is that Hunter was the happiest we've seen him yet in the human realm, which is true. But I think a lot of that was because he was with his friends in a relatively safe environment. He should be able to get that in the demon realm post-canon, especially since most of his friends will be staying there and he plans to spend so much of his time there. And for feeling safe, he's now been successfully traumatized in both realms so. yay /s

So those are my practical justifications for why it makes more sense for Hunter to stay with Darius over Camila. But I also have reasons based on what we get to see of their relationships in canon.

2. Canon clues that I'm not just reaching

A lot of people seem to be taking it as a given that Hunter will or should end up with Camila based on canon. For the reasons given above, I don't think there's more canon basis for Camila parenting Hunter over Darius.

I also think it's worth noting that Hunter seems rather attached to Darius. During the draining spell, Willow and Amity try to help Eda while Hunter runs straight to Darius to try to wake him up.

In the human realm, Willow, Gus, and Amity draw pictures of their families. IIRC Gus is the only one who verbally mentions his dad. Luz doesn't talk about Eda and King or hang up any pictures, but she does draw them. Hunter doesn't draw anyone, but he verbally mentions one single person from the demon realm. And that person is Darius.

2. Camila's relationship with Hunter in canon

I hate how little we know about it. I know, I know, the Shortening. But it does affect how I view their relationship. In all of the interactions we see, from the learning Spanish to the sewing machine to saving him from drowning, it could have been any of the kids. There's nothing about the way Camila interacts with Hunter to differentiate their relationship from her relationship with Willow, Gus, or Amity.

What I was really hoping to see at some point was any clue about what Camila knows about Hunter's background. Like I’m assuming she at least knows that he was raised by Belos. But the way it came up and who told her what about it is entirely unknown. Does she know he was abused? To what extent? Does she know about his role as the Golden Guard? Does she know how he met Luz, when he threatened to throw her into the boiling sea? Like I know, I get that she would have been as compassionate as always. But if I'm filling the gaps for how these conversations played out, I at least want more evidence that they happened at all.

Because it isn't a given. Again, Camila is working a full-time job and taking care of 6 teenagers, 5 of whom have to live in hiding to some extent and are struggling to adjust and have unique needs because they aren't human. That is so much stress and responsibility on Camila. So the montage and photo album we saw were mostly the kids bonding with each other. We didn't get to see Camila interact one-on-one with anyone but Luz. Which again, yes, the Shortening. But also maybe Camila just didn't have as much time to spend bonding with each individual child as everyone would have liked. It is a very real possibility that a lot of topics relating to Hunter and his childhood simply haven't come up yet.

Also, we know that Camila still has a shaky grasp on the Boiling Isles by the end of TTT. It is totally understandable because she's never been there and has never seen it; the kids are having the same issue adjusting to the human realm. Hunter didn't seem overly eager to talk about his past. Luz didn't seem overly eager to talk about the Boiling Isles in general. I think most of Camila's understanding comes from what Vee told her prior to and during TTT, and what Willow, Gus, and Amity told her while they were there.

So that leaves a lot of room for interpretation about what Camila's understanding of Hunter's situation is, which in turn makes it hard to imagine how any specific interaction or conversation might play out. Like yes, Camila would of course be loving and supportive, and she would say all the right things and model all the correct behaviors, and that's great. But without any canon basis for how Camila uniquely views and interacts with Hunter, it all ends up feeling more like wish-fulfillment to me than a relationship between 2 characters who know each other in canon.

For example, Camila doesn’t seem to be expecting Hunter to stay with her long-term. Because after months in the human realm Hunter is still sleeping on the floor of the basement. But there are so many possible explanations for this, because we don't know anything. Maybe Camila doesn’t know yet that Hunter is functionally homeless. Maybe she does know, and they had a really fulfilling heart-to-heart about it off screen. Maybe Hunter really is already planning to stay in the human realm. Or maybe Camila is under the impression that Hunter already has a place to stay in the demon realm.

Which is its own thing. I am being a bit of a hypocrite. For all we know, Hunter did talk to Darius about this before the Day of Unity and already has plans to move in with him. There are plenty of gaps to go around! So I will move on to:

3. Darius' relationship with Hunter in canon

I will admit it, I'm biased. This relationship is so much more interesting to me, just from the set up.

Because Darius is the only adult we see actually try to help Hunter while Hunter is still living in his abusive situation.

I know there's been discussion and debate about Darius' behavior, so I'll try to keep it brief. Darius did not help Hunter for a long time. He also didn't have any particular responsibility towards Hunter. Darius failed Hunter as much as every other adult Hunter interacted with over the years.

It is unclear based on canon how often Darius and Hunter interacted or what those interactions were generally like. It is unclear what Darius knew or suspected about Hunter's situation prior to Any Sport in a Storm. I think a lot of fandom disagreement comes down to how generously or harshly you interpret Darius when filling in these blanks. So I'll focus on what we do know.

Darius gave Hunter a mission in ASIAS. He didn't mean to; he was just trying to get rid of Hunter. He seems to view Hunter as a lost cause for most of the episode. Because of that and/or the traitor thing, Darius makes no effort to explain what he thinks Hunter is doing wrong. Which is unfortunate, because he is pushing Hunter in the right direction.

Darius encourages Hunter to think for himself at a time when Hunter is still loyal and Belos is still actively working to keep Hunter unquestioningly obedient. And this is before Darius has even taken any real interest in Hunter. He goes about it horribly, but he is already taking the right stance on these fundamental issues, and that matters to me.

Then at the end of the episode, Darius' attitude towards Hunter changes completely. And yes, I know it shouldn't have happened this way. I know Hunter shouldn't have needed to prove himself to earn help and attention. But this show is full of flawed characters who change for the better. So why not Darius?

And Darius shows that he is capable of change. He admits to Hunter "I had you all wrong". He praises Hunter for both making friends and for disobeying him, which is huge for Hunter while he's still in his abusive situation. And then Darius' first action after his revelation is to give Hunter a scroll and encourage Hunter to make connections outside of the castle.

And again, Darius didn't have to do that. He could have just as easily ended the interaction there. He could have agreed to keep Flapjack a secret in return for Hunter keeping his mouth shut about letting the 'recruits' go, and then gone back home to get his beauty sleep.

But he didn't. He gave Hunter a scroll and encouraged him to break out of his isolation more. Then he gave Hunter back his cloak and fixed the cloak and gave Hunter the approval that Hunter spent all episode desperately wanted since the beginning (which is problematic, I know). And then Darius told Hunter to get a sewing lesson, which he very well may have given actually him based on Hunter comparing his stitches to Darius' in TTT.

So did Darius handle everything perfectly? Of course not. But he did consistently push Hunter in the right direction, and by the end of it he does seem actively interested and willing to help. He becomes the first (and tbh only) adult we actually get to see start paying attention to Hunter's situation and intervening with Hunter's best interests at heart.

...And then we don't get to see them interact after that. It's another place where the fandom diverges, particularly regarding whether or not one or more sewing lessons ended up happening.

But we do get some crumbs.

During Hollow Mind, Darius is alarmed when he realizes Hunter got trapped in Belos' mind.

Then in Clouds on the Horizon, Hunter reveals that Darius sent him to escort Luz. I think this scene is overlooked a lot, but it's huge to me. Because it means that Darius and Hunter got in contact some time after Hollow Mind, presumably after Labyrinth Runners.

Like Hunter must have had some pretty severe trust issues after learning that Belos is an evil sadist who manipulated him his whole life. It would've been compounded by Coven Head Adrian showing up at Hexside lying about being a rebel. So even though we didn't get to actually see it, we know something must have happened between Darius and Hunter that somehow got Hunter to trust Darius enough to go on a mission for him on the Day of Unity. And I'm assuming that required Darius to make at least some effort to confront head-on the reality of Hunter's situation and Darius' role as a rebel and all the messy complicated emotions that go along with all of it.

And again, he didn't have to. Darius didn't have to get in contact with Hunter after Hollow Mind. That is a choice that he both made and successfully pulled off. Like I see this hc a lot that Darius can't handle emotional situations, but he was there for Hunter at least to some extent both while Hunter was unknowingly in an abusive situation and while Hunter was coping with the fallout of having everything ripped out from under him. So I don't get why it's so hard to imagine Darius being there for Hunter in emotionally difficult situations post-canon.

Anyway. This scene also tells us that Darius went and gave Hunter the same mission that Eda gave Luz, presumably for the same reason: to let the kids feel useful while also trying to keep them relatively safe and out of the line of fire on the Day of Unity. (And that's it's own thing. There are plenty of parallels you could draw between Darius' relationship with Hunter and Luz' relationship with Eda, particularly in the early stages where things were a bit rocky.)

So. This turned into a little bit of a tangent of why I don't get how it's so inconceivable to some people that Darius is truly capable of genuinely caring about Hunter and/or being able to grow into a parental figure that can do right by Hunter. Because we have canon evidence for all of these things.

2. Canon clues that I'm not just reaching

I also think it's worth noting that Hunter seems rather attached to Darius. During the draining spell, Willow and Amity try to help Eda while Hunter runs straight to Darius to try to wake him up.

And I'll accept the hc that the way Darius treated Hunter before was just too unforgivable,

#the owl house #toh hunter #darius deamonne #camila noceda #gonna post this and not look at any replies lol #just want it on the record before the finale #i believe in you darius you can do it #like this is the demon realm there's no patriarchy dads can be competent caring parents here #fr tho did everyone forget about s1 eda and luz relationship #like are we watching the same show #and fwiw hunter is attached to darius #he mentions darius in ttt as much as any of the kids mention any of their parents lol

52 notes · View notes

fitzs-trained-monkey · 2 years

Text

All The Best People (Are Crazy)

Word Count: 10,000, deal with it.

Warnings: Blood, language, dark concepts, mentions of past abuse, and something a little steamier than I usually do so you guys have fun with that.

Series: Rational Thinking (Series Masterlist)

Summary: The goal? Stop Silas from rising. The plan? Steal the map to his tomb. See it sounds easy enough when you say it like that, but it's less easy when the map is, in fact, a tattoo on a living breathing person who just so happens to be your best friend. Kol wanted to kill Jeremy outright, but you would never let that happen. Instead, you'll do just about anything to sway Jeremy to your side. The ends justify the means... or so you hope. || Kol x Prodigy!reader || Here lies my Masterlist.||

A/N: Sorry about the long wait! Hope you guys enjoy this. ROLL TAPE!

I'm peeling the skin off my face

'Cause I really hate being safe

The normals, they make me afraid

The crazies, they make me feel sane

You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone

Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong

Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed

So what if I'm crazy? The best people are.

Mad Hatter - Melanie Martinez

"Y/N/N?" Jeremy's faint whisper seemed good enough to take as your queue.

You pushed open the freezer door, striding in to stand beside Kol. Damon's expression was carefully controlled but you could see a glimmer of fear in his eyes. Good. You smirked in satisfaction and shifted your gaze to Jeremy.

"Yeah, sorry about the dramatic entrance, but that corner back there was really dark… just couldn't help myself."

"Y/N/N?" Your friend repeated. "Y-You're alive?"

Jeremy's eyes were as round as saucers, his face a picture of surprise, suspicion, and relief all rolled into one. He lowered the crossbow in his hands, staring at you like he'd seen a ghost. In a way, you supposed he had. As far as Jeremy knew, you had been dead for six months. Nothing that had happened in Denver or Kansas was his fault, but you knew he'd blamed himself. That was just how Jeremy worked.

He was an all-or-nothing sort of person, just as Kol had said. In his eyes, either nothing was his fault or everything was. You could see it in him clear as day; first his parents (there was nothing he could have done), then Vicki (she'd never really had a chance), then Anna (you'd really liked her, the two of you were a lot alike), then his aunt (Jenna had deserved a whole lot better), then Alaric (you'd never liked the day-drunk history teacher but he'd taken care of Jeremy so that earned him some leniency), then you (you were alright but as soon as he realized you'd turned he wouldn't see it that way), then Elena. There's only so much one person could take and you knew this hunter thing was his attempt to be better, to do better, to stop losing people.

He couldn't see himself as worth the sacrifices others were making so he was sacrificing himself without even realizing it. You had made your choice in Denver to protect him. You had faced an original - a dangerous one thousand-year-old vampire - alone to protect him. You had made that choice!

And now what? He was just going to throw that all away?

No. No, you weren't gonna let him. Not this time. Not ever. And most certainly not for Elena.

"'Sup, Crackhead." You let your expression soften into a smile - not a smirk or a half smile - a real, genuine, joyful smile. "I'm alive."

"You're alive…" Jeremy smiled too and that crossbow slipped from his fingers, clattering to the ground. "You're alive!" The kid knew you weren't the biggest fan of hugs, especially long, clingy ones, but you figured this was a special occasion. So when he practically threw himself at you, nearly sending you both to the floor because he was easily twice as strong as the last time you'd seen him, you caught him with a laugh and just let him cling to you in a hug that very nearly crushed your ribs. "I missed you so much," He promised, voice thick with a myriad of emotions.

"Oh, you better have," You grumbled. That was just your way of saying: 'Me too.' Though you'd never admit it to his face, you had missed him more than you could express. The two of you had spent almost every minute of your lives together since the second grade, you'd hardly ever gone a day without seeing or talking to him in some form or another, so going through these last six months without so much as a text from him had been downright painful. Even though you hadn't been ready to see him, because you still had things you'd needed to work through and even though Kol had been an excellent distraction, you had still missed your best friend.

Jeremy let go of a breathy laugh. "You're a pain."

You grinned. "Indeed." Jeremy could hardly bring himself to pull away as if he were afraid you'd disappear the moment he let go, so he didn't. He caught the edge of your sleeve and kept it fisted in his hand just as he used to do when you were children. You allowed it, offering a slight smile. He watched you for a moment and his face fell.

"Y/N I…" He trailed off, shaking his head with a sigh. "I'm so, so sorry. I-I never should have left you, I should've stayed!"

"Yeah, right, like that would'a done anything. You couldnt've stopped me if you tried," You scoffed, rolling your eyes. Your tone softened. "It wasn't your fault, Jeremy. I'm alright, and I forgive you."

Jeremy opened his mouth to speak but another voice cut him off.

"Ah, ah! Nope, no way! I'm calling bull on this!" Damon interjected. You snapped your gaze to him, fixing the elder Salvatore with a hardened glare. Yet he still had the audacity to continue, addressing Jeremy as though you weren't even there. "Listen to me kid, this is a trick - some sort of witchy illusion or something. Honestly, I dunno - but whatever that is, it's not your friend, Gilbert." The boy eyed you wearily. "Kid? Hey... Hey kid, look at me… Eyes on me, Gilbert!" He didn't respond. "Jeremy, look at me!" Damon caught his arm, tearing his eyes away from you. "Jeremy, listen - listen to me. She's dead. She's dead, Jeremy. Your sister and I? We watched her die - watched it happen right in front of us." He gestured to Kol who raised a brow amusedly. "This maniac? He snapped her neck. Alright? Snapped it. Like a twig. Get the picture? She's gone. Dead-zo. Y/N's gone, Gilbert… and she ain't comin' back."

Jeremy seemed almost convinced, but you weren't worried. The truth would win out. "You know, Damon? Your commitment to deceit would be impressive if it weren't so pathetic," You droned, examining your fingernails in a deliberate display of nonchalance.

"Don't think I asked you, Sherlock," Damon dismissed.

You flicked your eyes up to meet his, raising a brow in an invitation.

Although you had never feared Damon, you had acknowledged his power over you - to ignore his superior physical capacity would have been an egregiously arrogant oversight on your part. Things were different now. Now you were a vampire and physically his equal. Damon had feared you when you were human for your intelligence - Kol had given you the strength to complement that.

You didn't need to tiptoe around Damon anymore - you didn't need to hold back anymore. That invitation in your gaze wasn't the friendly sort. It was something decidedly more sinister, entreating him to contemplate, just for a moment, just how insignificant he truly was. You caught a glimmer of fear. You hummed.

"Maybe not, but we hardly get what we ask for, do we? After all, I asked only for a measure of loyalty in return for risking my life, but you refused to provide even that." You shrugged, narrowing your eyes. "Honestly, I see no reason why I shouldn't just kill you for what you did to me."

Jeremy's brows furrowed. "Damon, what's she talking about?"

"Beats me, kid." It was so obviously a lie, it made you want to scream. You turned to your friend.

"When we split up in Denver, he and Elena never planned on me surviving long enough to reunite with you guys in Kansas," You told him, willing him to see the truth in your eyes. He shook his head.

"No, Elena texted you the address - I watched her do it," Jeremy insisted. His grip on the crossbow tightened.

"Well that's a text I never got." You crossed your arms over your chest. "They lied to you, Jer. Elena and Damon intended for Kol to kill me."

The original vampire chuckled at that and you shot him a scathing look.

"What?" Jeremy's eyes flew wide and he rounded on Damon. "Is this true?!" He demanded.

"Of course not!" Damon scoffed. "Your sister loves you. She wouldn't do something like that and she would never allow me to either, regardless of how much I want to. As I said-"

"I'm not an illusion!" You growled. "I can prove it." Drawing your hand from your pocket, you displayed an old and tattered bracelet - a couple of multi-colored beads on a black cord. "You gave this to me in third grade. I've kept it on ever since, I never take it off. Do you remember what we wished for?" He nodded slowly and you held your hand out to him. "We wished to grow up and become dragons. Go ahead - take it!" You ripped the bracelet from your wrist and let it fall.

His hand shot out and the black cord caught on his fingers, swinging slightly. The corners of his mouth twitched up. "It's real... you're real!"

"Told ya' so." You smirked. You couldn't stop yourself from snatching the bracelet back just as quickly, tying it around your wrist once more. Maybe the magic was gone now, but giving up your wish was the least you could do for him. Now came the hard part. Jeremy's face fell, then hardened.

"You lied to me," He ground out between clenched teeth. He watched Damon out of the corner of his eye but didn't turn to face him. His knuckles were white and you caught the scent of blood as his nails dug into the palms of his hands. You could see the tension and effort in the lines of his body, the gargantuan restraint he showed in keeping perfectly still was baffling. The urge he felt to attack Damon must have been insane, but despite your hatred for the raven-haired vampire, you felt proud of Jeremy. A year ago, he would have thrown hands at the first chance he got.

Damon cursed under his breath. "We had a reason," He tried. "Elena-"

"No!" The boy shouted. "No, there was no reason! You and Elena do this every time! Every time you don't wanna have to deal with the consequences of your actions, you just lie! Elena has no right to make decisions for me!" He turned his head, eyes blazing with anger and betrayal. "And neither do you."

"We didn't lie to you. We just omitted certain truths, because if we hadn't, you would have done something stupid," Damon claimed, crossing his arms arrogantly. "Now, before you go all VanHelsing on me, why don't you ask little Miss. Honesty here whether she's still human or not? I'm sure her answer will be very interesting." He shot you a sideways glance, smirking triumphantly.

Jeremy paused, eyeing you with a question he didn't want to ask.

You bit your lip, sighing heavily. You didn't meet his eyes. "Go ahead, Jer. You know I won't lie to you."

His eyes flicked to Kol, filling with a venomous hatred that surprised you. "What did he do to you, Y/N/N?"

"I'm alright, Jer."

"What. Did. He. Do?"

You took a deep breath and nodded reluctantly. "Vampire blood in a deplorably flat root beer followed by asphyxiation. I did that part myself - locked myself in a running car - Kol didn't do anything. It was painless, just like falling asleep."

Evidently, Kol took this revelation as permission to slip his hand into yours, intertwining your fingers. Two taps with his thumb on the back of your hand. It was something he did from time to time - a reminder of sorts, just to say I'm here. He had your back, no matter what. You weren't alone anymore.

"No." Jeremy shook his head. "No, you promised. You promised me you wouldn't!"

"I know I did," You sighed. "But circumstances change."

"How could you?" He muttered. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

Kol stepped in front of you, putting himself between you and the stake your best friend had unconsciously pulled from his waistband. It wasn't that he thought you incapable of protecting yourself; rather he was simply more durable.

"Don't you dare condemn her, mate," He said, pointedly eyeing the stake that found itself in Jeremy's hand. "Not when you've corrupted your body with a curse of your own."

The boy's eyes widened and he dropped it as if the wood were a writhing snake. He snapped his head up, his eyes swimming with regret. "I-I'm sorry."

You nodded. "So am I." You tapped Kol on the shoulder and he glanced back at you, then stepped out of the way somewhat reluctantly. Moving forward, you approached Jeremy slowly, standing up on your tiptoes to give him a proper hug. "I'm sorry for everything," You whispered, squeezing his shoulders. "This never should have happened to you, and I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you needed me." You pulled away and offered him a soft smile. "But I'm here now, and I'm here for you. Come with us! Kol knows how to remove the Hunter's mark, we can leave this town behind. We could go see the world, just like we always wanted! The Saint Louis Arch, The Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China… Hell, we could go to Disneyland!" You laughed, grinning up at him with as much hope as you could put into your features. Jeremy's lips twitched up at the corners but his eyes still seemed unsure. "Please?"

"Nice try Hannibal, but there's no way in hell he's going anywhere with you," Damon sneered. You sighed, licking your lips and asking any deity out there for the patience not to rip his head off.

"Damon, sweetie, I think you've lost your relevance and right to be heard in this conversation." You glared at him out of the corner of your eye. "Now, why don't you run along?"

"I don't listen to little girls who commit suicide," He sneered. "You just want to stop Jeremy from helping us find the cure so you can appease your little boyfriend."

You opened your mouth to say something snappy, but of course Kol, never one to be taunted, beat you to it.

"At least she sleeps with me by choice," He said, tilting his head with a smirk. "No sire-bond required."

Damon growled and the look on Jeremy's face as he eyed you was a poster for disgust.

You just sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Kol, you realize how that's not helping, right?" You could picture the cheeky grin that was sure to be dancing across his lips without even looking back at him.

"You said to tell the truth, darling."

"Yeah, and I also said don't antagonize," You reminded him.

"Ah, but he makes it so easy," Kol mumbled into your ear, squeezing your hips as he drew you closer to him and a little further away from Jeremy's confused and distrustful glare. You pursed your lips to hide your amusement and rolled your eyes.

"Just let me do the talking, 'kay?"

"As you wish."

You turned your eyes back on Jeremy who just stared at you in disbelief. You shrugged.

"Really, Y/N?" He demanded. "Him?"

You raised a brow. "My dude, you actually kissed a ghost. Let's not get into each other's romantic decisions right now."

Jeremy opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it, shaking his head. "Yeah, whatever - we're not done here FYI. Anyway, I'm sorry, Y/N. But regardless of how much I hate him right now, Damon's right. I can't go with you."

You blinked, brows pulling together. "Why not?"

"I have to help my sister get the cure. She's sire-bonded to his ass and it's annoying as hell," He said, jabbing a thumb in Damon's direction with a wry smile. A moment later, that smile fell and you caught a glimpse of a boy who was much more tired than he ought to be. He sighed and there was resignation in his voice when he spoke again. "Elena's not meant to be a vampire, Y/N… and neither are you."

"Jeremy-"

"If I can finish the Hunter's mark, it'll lead us to the cure. You and Elena can both be human again."

"But you won't!" You shouted. "You'll be gone!"

"What?"

"The Hunter's mark is a corrosive spell," Kol stepped in. "It gives you increased strength and speed at the price of your humanity, eating away at your soul until you become more heartless, savage, and blood thirsty than the so-called monsters it compels you to hunt."

You nodded, willing your best friend to understand - to hear the desperation in your voice. "Don't you see, Jer? If you complete that mark, you won't have any desire to help Elena. The only desire you'll have is to kill her, along with every other vampire in this godforsaken town."

Damon scoffed. "You don't know that! You're just making that up."

"No, I'm not," Kol spoke, shaking his head. "I've studied magic for a millennia, I know of what I speak and so do you, Jeremy. You know it's changing you - you can feel it. Because it's not just ink on your skin - this spell - it's in your bones, it's in your brain, it's in your blood." He spread his hands as if laying the truth out for him to see. "That instinct? That need to deliver death? With every kill, it'll grow stronger… and that's a promise."

"Doesn't sound so bad if it's you I'm killing," Jeremy growled through clenched teeth.

"Perhaps not." Kol shrugged. Then he tilted his head and grinned. "But then again… what if it isn't?" He paused, inviting Jeremy to consider it. "What if the next time you drive a stake into somebody's heart, you wake up only to realize that it's your beloved sister? Or perhaps it'll be Y/N laying dead at your feet?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes. But there was something unsteady in his voice. "That'd never happen. I wouldn't-"

"No, you think you wouldn't," Kol interjected, voice harsh. "But I guarantee that when those instincts are active, you won't be thinking. You'll just be killing. Mindlessly killing." Jeremy's eyes flicked to yours and you saw a glimmer of fear. "At least, until Damon here or someone like my brother kills you first, in which case they'd use your mark to find and subsequently raise Silas who will kill us all." Kol's eyes narrowed into slits. "A rather greusome ending any way you slice it, I can't let that happen."

"Please, Jer?" You pleaded. "Please don't destroy yourself for them."

Jeremy paused, seeming to think about it. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "I'm strong enough to free you, Y/N/N." He shook his head and looked up with steel in his eyes. "I can do this."

You couldn't help the scowl that tugged at your lips. "Come on, man. Think this through."

"This is my choice!" He shouted. "I'm not gonna lose anyone else!"

Your hands closed into fists and you clenched your teeth, trying your best to remain calm. "Can't you see it? They're using you!"

He cast his eyes away, locking his jaw. "I'm glad you're okay, Y/N/N, truly. But you don't know what it's like to lose you - to lose anyone! This is something I have to do. I don't expect you to understand."

You shook your head, feeling your shoulders slump. An odd feeling pricked at your eyes and you tried to blink whatever that sensation was away, but it refused to leave. Your chest felt tight. He was going to die all for Elena and her selfish desires. The thought of losing him hurt - it physically hurt.

What was this feeling?

You blinked rapidly but it did nothing to dampen the stinging in your eyes. This was awful! Your chest hurt so you hugged your arms around yourself, feeling as though you might scream or shake apart. Kol had told you that feelings were enhanced as a vampire but you had brushed off his warning. You'd never been very good at feeling things anyway and the things you did feel you hardly ever understood.

You didn't know what this feeling was and you didn't know how to handle it.

You couldn't lose Jeremy. You just couldn't!

You couldn't think! You couldn't breathe!

"Well, I understand just fine," Kol said. You felt his hand settle on your back, moving in comforting circles while he continued to speak. "I could just kill you, but then I'd have to deal with the Hunter's curse and I-I don't particularly feel like being haunted for the next century." He paused glancing at you. He squeezed your shoulder gently and looked up. "Better idea!" He announced. "I'll just rip off your arms."

Kol lunged for Jeremy but Damon rushed forward and threw him into the wall.

"Jeremy, run!" He cried, straining from the effort of keeping Kol pinned.

Jeremy cast one last glance at you before he turned and raced from the room. Damon threw a punch at Kol's face and His head snapped to the side but he was grinning. You, on the other hand, wanted to move, yet you couldn't. It was as though your body were frozen in place, unable to process anything. Damon sent another punch but Kol caught his fist and twisted, whipping the raven-haired vampire around and into a headlock. From there it wasn't much effort to snap his neck. Damon's temporarily dead corpse dropped to the ground with an unceremonious thump. From there, Kol gave it a swift kick in the side just for good measure before looking up.

As it always did, his face softened when he looked at you. You were shaking; blinking and gasping as you stared at him. Kol just opened his arms and you threw yourself into his embrace. His arms wound themselves tightly around your back and he buried a hand in your hair.

"I don't understand!" You choked out. "What is this? Why does it hurt?!"

"Hey, shhh. It's alright, darling. You're going to be alright," He mumbled reassuringly. One hand rubbed circles over your back while the other played with your hair. You just clung to him, hoping he could make this pain go away. "This feeling you're experiencing is called despair. It can be consuming or painful, usually stemming from loss or the fear of it."

"I-I don't want it!" You hiccuped, fisting his jacket.

"I know." Kol pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of your head. "I know it hurts, love but you need to let yourself feel it."

You shook your head. You didn't want to feel this. "This is why vampires turn their emotions off, isn't it? To make the pain go away?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"And does it work?" You whispered.

"It does… in a way." He held you tighter, curling his whole body around you. "But it leaves you empty - hollow. It's a different sort of pain and in it there's no satisfaction, no joy, and no love. It's just dull and numb."

"I wouldn't mind feeling numb right about now."

"Don't turn it off, Y/N."

"Why?" You hissed. "I don't want to feel this! I don't like it!"

"I know, darling. Believe me, I know this pain. I know it better than anyone." He pulled away, cupping your face in his hands. His chocolate eyes drilled into yours, filled with something desperate and warm. "So don't you dare turn it off. I know you Y/N, and if you turn it off, you will never turn it back on again. I-I'd lose you forever." Kol leaned in resting his forehead against yours. "Please don't do that to me. Please, darling… I love you. Don't leave me just yet."

You were silent for a moment, mulling it over.

"What does love feel like?" You asked quietly. The boy's thumbs skimmed over your cheeks and he tucked a loose strand of hair back behind your ear.

"It feels like this."

Kol crashed his lips against yours, pushing you backward until your back was pressed against the freezing metal wall. His arm around your waist drew you impossibly close until Kol's body was flush with yours. It wasn't like any other kiss. This one was reality-shattering. It was so much more than just the lust you'd previously felt from him. It was sweet and adoring, yet hungry and passionate. It was like he put all the feelings he had for you - everything he was holding back, everything he was waiting for you to understand - into this one perfect kiss. You hadn't known it was possible to feel this much, this intense. There was so much. There was joy and pleasure, longing, and devotion. Emotions you'd never understood fell into place in your mind as he kissed the living daylights out of you.

His fingers tangled in and tugged at your hair, drawing a gasp from you as Kol bit gently on your lower lip. He'd been waiting a long time to show this all to you. Kol broke away from your mouth, trailing kisses along your jaw and down your throat. His tongue darted out to taste, quickly, hesitantly sweeping across your pulse. You couldn't stop the moan that escaped your lips. That was all the encouragement he needed. You crossed your arms over his shoulders, urging him closer as you felt his teeth scrape along your skin. He moved lower, tasting and nipping, kissing your collarbone hungrily. His breaths were hot against your skin as Kol's mouth slowed.

When he pulled away, his breathing was ragged and his voice was hoarse, but he was smiling.

"That-that's what it feels like," He panted. He stroked your cheek sweetly, grinning like he just couldn't restrain himself. "You don't have to say it back, just know that I love you." His lips settled on yours again and it was quieter this time - slow and reassuring. The pain in your chest faded, blooming into a pleasant warmth.

"Kol?" Your voice was quiet - just a murmur against his lips.

"Mmm?"

"I think I love you too."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," He whispered. Kol pressed one last kiss to your lips before pulling away. "Now as much as I'd love to continue this, it's time to switch to plan B. I'll handle Salvatore, you need to track down Jeremy. You're okay to do that, right?"

"Yeah." You nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay now."

"Good." He smiled, leaning in for another kiss. You returned it in kind and he groaned. "Bloody hell, you're beautiful."

You just snickered and tapped his shoulder to tell him it was time to go. He released you with a wink and a smirk before rounding on Damon. You didn't much feel like sticking around for what was sure to come next - Kol knew the plan and you trusted him not to deviate from it. Now though, it was critical that you go after Jeremy.

You raced from the rank and dingy bar and dashed through the woods, grinning as the wind carded through your hair. It was almost as if you really were a dragon as you pushed off a fallen tree and launched yourself into the air. Your jump carried you a ways and you welcomed the weightless feeling of falling in the precious moments before hitting the ground. Mastering your new abilities with Kol along for the ride was now one of your fondest memories. You remembered racing between the redwoods of California with him beside you, urging you to go faster. Vampire speed was freedom and freedom, you'd found, was exhilarating.

Before long you found yourself in front of the Gilbert lake house. You had loved this place as a kid. Sitting on the dock and devouring popsicles side by side with Jeremy was your summer ritual… every summer but this last one. You shook those memories away and hopped up onto the porch railing, Jeremy wasn't here yet so you resigned to wait.

You didn't have to wait very long, however. Jeremy pulled up the driveway behind the wheel of Damon's Chevy Camaro. That was just downright frightening. He got out of the car and shut the door, turning back to his house only to see you perched on the railing. Your best friend nearly jumped out of his skin and you flung up a peace sign, shooting him a smug smile.

"Now, who the hell was deranged enough to give you a driver's license?" You asked, tilting your head. "Didn't you fail the test like a billion times?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "It was seven hundred times, thank you very much." You snorted and rolled your eyes. His expression grew sober. "Why are you here, Y/N/N?"

"Well, I would have let myself in to wait inside and raid your fridge but I, uh… can't… so yeah." You shrugged and hopped down. "You gonna let me in now or what?"

Jeremy regarded you for a moment longer, then he sighed heavily. "Alright, sure, whatever." He stepped up and unlocked the door, holding it open for you. "Come on in." He seemed slightly disgusted that he had to say that to you.

You stepped over the threshold and immediately made your way to the kitchen. You had warned him that you were gonna raid the fridge, it was just inevitable at this point.

"Ya' know? With the way everybody made it seem, I thought being a vampire was gonna be awful - like constant starvation and stuff. Turns out, it's not. I mean, yeah I'm always hungry, but it's just that really annoying feeling you get when you're only kinda hungry. Not starving, just really peckish all the time," You rambled, flicking on the kitchen lights even though you didn't really need them. Opening up the refrigerator door, you glanced around inside only to frown. "My dude, half the stuff in here is green… and I don't mean the leafy kind." You plucked a half-empty and very open container of yogurt off the shelf and held it up. "This crap is frickin' blue. That's nasty… Though I gotta say I'm surprised you even have it so, kudos to you I guess." You chucked the thing at the wastebasket, then glanced back at Jeremy who stood leaning in the kitchen doorway with a dry and very weary smile on his face.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that was Elena's from the last time she stayed here," He smirked.

"I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt." You laughed and kicked the door shut with your foot, moving on to the pantry. Inside you found a 60-ounce bucket of pretzels and grinned. You pulled it from the shelf and waltzed out, holding it up. "Score!"

"Y/N," He sighed. He looked so tired. "What are you doing here?"

Your own carefully constructed smile slipped just a little. This boy in front of you wasn't quite the best friend you had been so excited to return to. Though Jeremy was still there, he was buried under far too much loss.

"Well I'm attempting to resolve deep rooted emotional trauma, of course. I thought that was obvious from the -" You shook the pretzel bucket to emphasize your statement. "- snacks. I mean, it ain't milkshakes, but it'll do." Jeremy raised a brow. You cleared your throat awkwardly. "We're, uh, gonna need couches too, right? If-if, um, if memory serves…"

Finally catching on to what it was you were trying to do, your best friend cracked a smile and pushed off the door frame. "Guess I'll get the blankets then," He said.

A few minutes and quite a bit of pillow gathering later, the two of you had constructed what you deemed to be an acceptable blanket fort. Using more than a dozen clothes pins, four blankets, twenty or so really heavy books, and that tall lamp in the corner of his living room as both the central support structure and all-purpose lighting, you covered the floor with couch cushions and pillows from around the house and nested yourselves in middle of it all, sitting cross-legged with a game of connect four and the bucket of pretzels between you. It was a near-perfect reconstruction of a familiar scene from your childhood.

It was something Jeremy had been doing for you since the second grade. There were times in school when you would throw fits with teachers or get into fights with other kids and on those days, Jeremy would invite you over to his house for homemade milkshakes. Together you would build a blanket fort and play Connect Four while you ate your respective sugar-packed concoctions, and Jeremy would ask you about what had made you so angry that particular day. You just didn't understand people or how they worked. Figuring out your own emotions was even worse. You could never understand what it was you were feeling, why you were feeling it, or what you should do about it. Your mother hadn't been around when you were really little to teach you the basics; she only became involved in your life when your IQ tested at genius levels, and even then she didn't deem emotions to be a topic worth covering. You despised anything you didn't understand, so you lashed out at whatever you thought had caused your feelings. Only little Jeremy Gilbert seemed to recognize why you were so angry and mean all the time.

"I think it's cuz you're just so smart," He'd told you thoughtfully. "You got all this stuff in your head and some of it just gets mixed up."

So, during these little talks, he would do his seven-year-old best to explain what you were feeling or why a certain task or behavior was important, or why someone acted the way they did. Mrs. Gilbert was quick to catch on and she made sure you got all the right information. Within the walls of those blanket forts, you learned how to differentiate your emotions into categories - telling frustration from disgust or jealousy, amusement from joy or excitement, and loneliness from fear or shame. When you reached the sixth grade, Mrs. Gilbert had explained what drama was to both you and Jeremy, and together you had decided that it was stupid. Despite their best efforts, however, you still didn't understand why the pain of others shouldn't be funny.

What you should have gotten was therapy - not psychiatrists and medicine, like your mother, insisted on. Though it certainly hadn't been ideal, your best friend did a pretty good job and the tradition of milkshakes and blanket forts continued throughout middle and high school - right up until Jeremy's parents died. The two of you hadn't had one since. Until now.

Jeremy broke the silence, just like he always did.

"Why'd you do it, Y/N?" He demanded. The look on his face was that of a person who's tried - really tried with all their heart - to understand, but simply couldn't.

You nodded and offered him a wry smile. "That's the only question that really matters right now, ain't it?" Sliding a red token into the fourth row, you leaned back a little and took a handful of pretzels. "Well, there were a lot of reasons. I guess the first thing you gotta understand is that I asked him to - I asked Kol to turn me, Jeremy - not the other way around. You know, I actually think I had him worried when I asked? He told me to think about it, make sure it was truly what I wanted because… well, he never got to make that choice. So, I think I'll tell you the same thing I told him."

"And what was that?" He asked.

"I told him I wanted to feel safe," You said. You pulled at a loose thread on one of the pillowcases, taking a moment before continuing. "Realizing that Damon really truly wanted me dead was what started it, I think. Then I just kept thinking about how easily Kol or his siblings or any other vampire or werewolf in the world could kill me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried to find instances where I could think my way out of a bad situation - one where it was someone like Damon who wanted me to die, who wanted me gone - and I realized that I didn't really stand a chance. I-I felt…" Kol had told you the word for that feeling, the one where you were scared all the time. What had he called it? "I felt vulnerable, that's it. I felt vulnerable a-and small and insignificant and I hated it!"

Though he didn't say it, you knew Jeremy understood. He lowered his eyes back to the game board and took his turn. "You were never weak o-or insignificant," He said.

"But I was human," You countered. You eyed him with a meaningful look, pausing to draw a shuddering breath. "Look, you-you know what my… my mom… what she did to me." The words didn't come easy. You had to force them past your lips and even then it felt as though they wanted to crawl back down your throat to choke you - to keep you silent. "I-I just… I wanted to break free from her, you know? I mean, I always had to be the absolute best of everything, because if I wasn't… if I wasn't then she'd-" Your voice halted there and your whole body froze.

There was this one time, you remembered when you'd gotten a B on an Algebra test in seventh grade. Your mother had locked you in your room for the entirety of winter break. Two weeks you spent there - no food, no water. You'd been forced to drink from the bathroom sink, using your hands as a cup. The only way to escape was a fifteen-foot drop from your balcony window down onto a steep hillside that met with tightly packed trees at the bottom. Great way to die, that. Needless to say, you didn't jump.

Jeremy reached out and grabbed your hand in silent support, just as he always had. You scrubbed at your stinging eyes with your palms and grit your teeth.

"You know what she did to me, Jeremy," You croaked. For the love of Nick Cage, emotions were such icky, uncomfortable things! "You know what she did, you know what Damon did, you know what everyone in this damn town has done to me - what they keep on doing! A-and you know none of them would ever have stopped! I-I just wanted them to stop!" You sobbed. Jeremy's expression softened. You could only remember crying four times in your life. The tears that streamed down your face made this the fifth, as your best friend wrapped his arm around you and offered his shoulder for you to cry on. He'd always been there. "They never would've stopped. Never. I would grown up to live a life full of misery! All because of her! And I didn't want that! I-I had to be stronger… I had to."

"No, you didn't," Jeremy said, squeezing your shoulder. You wiped at your face fruitlessly once more. "You needed to be safe."

"You know, I think you might be right?" You sniffed. "Too late now though." You shrugged and slid a red token into the third slot, still resting your head on his shoulder. "Now I'm just immortal, and actually, I think I'm better for it."

Your best friend tensed a little, then relaxed and once again you saw that positively exhausted visage from before. He eyed you cautiously. "Are you?" He asked quietly.

"Am I what?"

"Okay, I guess?" He sighed, scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. "I don't know, Y/N. It's just that all this is so messed up and I don't even…" Jeremy glanced up at you. He looked so weary. "Do you really think you're better?"

You sent him a soft smile. "Yeah, Jer. I really do."

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "How is that even possible?"

You huffed a laugh and opted to stuff more pretzels in your face. "This is gonna sound ridiculous but I feel more human now than I did before. I feel things deeper and I can finally understand what those emotions are. I mean, I even have a favorite now!" You elbowed him a little and he took his turn.

"Yeah?"

"Indeed! Kol took me to Niagara Falls and what I felt wasn't like anything I'd read about in books…" You smiled softly, losing yourself in the memory of the thunderous cascading water, Kol's damp hair as the mist sprayed over you, and that wide-eyed feeling that filled you like the churning bubbles at the base of the falls. "Kol called it Wonder and I think that's my favorite," You said.

The hunter was silent for a moment. "Does he… Does Kol know about… everything?" He asked.

A wry smile worked its way onto your face. "Well, considering he kinda helped me get my mother arrested…"

Jeremy shifted his whole body to stare at you. "You're kidding!"

"Nope."

"For real?"

You nodded, smirking. "She's going away for a long time."

"Y/N, that's amazing!" He exclaimed. He wrapped you in a hug and squeezed tight enough to crack a rib or two. Then he pulled away, frowning. "But if she's gone then why would you…"

The kid trailed off and an understanding passed between the two of you before you even had to say the words. Yet, you said them anyway.

"I think our reasons aren't so different."

Jeremy's face hardened.

"Yeah, they are," He said. "I could'a sworn I just told you this."

"You did, and you're right. I don't know what it feels like to lose someone," You admitted. "But that's just because I've never had anyone to lose. No one… Nobody but you." Taking his hands in yours, you shifted to look him dead in the eyes. Your voice was quiet and strained and harsh, but it was meaningful. "Jeremy, you're the only one who's ever given a genuine damn about me. I don't wanna lose you! Please don't do that to me."

"I know you're scared, Y/N-" He started. You cut him off.

"No, you don't! You don't know!" You laughed mirthlessly. "You have no idea what it's like to be on the other side of the bars!"

His brows drew together as if pulled by some invisible needle and thread."What are you-"

You sighed, closing your tear-filled eyes.

"Heaven knows I've never been very human - o-or maybe it was just that I was never very good at being human - not on my own, at least. A-and I tried to be like other people, I swear I tried! But I'm just not.

"I'm broken. I don't feel things right. The things that I do feel make no sense to me. I don't understand right from wrong. I think it's funny to hurt people and the only thing that's stopped me from doing something awful - from doing exactly what every doctor, and every shrink, and every gossiping PTA mom said I was gonna do, from hurting someone so bad they don't get better, from rigging a match in the gas tank of my mother's car and letting it burn the whole bloody street down, from going absolutely insane - is YOU! It was only ever you! Don't you get it?!" You were yelling now, but you didn't care. This was something you felt in your bones and it wasn't something you would have had the capacity to feel or express if you'd been human. He had to know how much you cared about him. "You were always the most human part of me, Jeremy Gilbert! Human or vampire it doesn't matter, because I was always a monster on my own and I'll always be a monster without you!"

You'd wanted to say those words for years - wanted to say that feeling for years - and now, finally, the truth was out there. It was spilled all over the floor of the Gilbert lake house and you couldn't take it back.

Jeremy stared at you, speechless. "That-that's not true…" His voice trailed off because he knew. He knew it was.

"Yes, it is." You sniffed, trying for a smirk that ended up looking something more like a grimace. "You wanna know why it's so easy for me not to give in to the violent urges of vampirism? It's 'cuz they were always there! I've been fighting those same impulses my whole life! The only thing about me that's changed is the outside finally matches the inside. I was always this monster, Jer. I don't know how not to be."

The boy shook his head. "I refuse to believe that," He said. You couldn't help but snort.

"Says the one who should believe it the most!" You wiped your face on your sleeve and took some more pretzels. "You remember what I was like before you insisted on being my friend. Well, I'm still that way. Without you o-or Kol around, I'm always mad all the time - I'm frustrated and confused. You guys are the only ones who understand - who explain things to me. I've become entirely dependent on both of you and I know that's a weakness but…" You swallowed thickly, biting your tongue to put an end to your rambling. "I need you, Jeremy. I need you and I need Kol and I understand enough now to know that I need you in two entirely different ways… You're my brother - the only one I'll ever have."

He nodded, smiling. He was crying too. "And you're my sister, Y/N/N." He huffed a laugh as he wrapped his arms around you, his hold was firm but gentle. For just a moment, you thought he would make the right choice. You thought things would be okay. "But I have another sister too, and she needs me just as much," He whispered.

"Wait, what?" You reeled back like you'd been stung. "No!"

Jeremy seemed to realize he'd made a mistake with his words. "Y/N, I promise you I'll be fine!"

You shoved his chest, sending him crashing to the floor with more force than you intended as you climbed to your feet. That awful feeling - that despair - was building up inside of you again and this time, Kol wasn't there to help you. "No, no, no…" You shook your head, tugging at your hair. "No, you don't understand! You don't get it!" You screeched.

"Woah, Y/N! Calm down!" He tried to pacify you, grabbing a hold of your wrists. You shook him off.

"No, no, no! You can't promise me anything!" You shouted.

"I can promise this! Why can't you just believe in me for once in your life?!" Jeremy scowled. "Elena does! Hell, even Damon thinks I have what it takes! Why don't you?"

You screamed in frustration, emotions pounded through your head faster than you could process them. "No! Shut up! Shut up about her! Shut up about both of them! Elena and Damon don't care about you. I DO!"

"Then prove it," He hissed.

"Why should I have to?" You demanded. "Why do you have to keep being stupid? This curse will make you just like me! Then you'll be gone, and I'll turn it off, and I'll never turn it back on again! Then they'll all win!" You would kill and maim and hurt and in doing so you would prove that everyone in town had been right about you all along. "Can't you see how hard I've tried! They shouldn't get to win! It's not fair!"

"They won't win if you don't let them! Just hold on, remember everything we've been through. My dad always told me - he said that memories are what give us the strength to fight for a better tomorrow," The Gilbert boy insisted. "You're strong, Y/N. All you have to do is remember and you'll be okay."

"No." You shook your head. "No, that's not something you get to ask of me!"

"Why the hell not?" He questioned. You could hear his jaw click shut as he clenched his teeth.

"Oh, come off it! You know Someone only asks a person to remember them when Someone knows that they're leaving - that they're not coming back," You explained, seething with barely contained anger and betrayal rattling around in your bones. "If you're leaving, don't ask me to remember you or what it was like to watch you go. That's not fair to me!"

"Guess what, Y/N?" Jeremy said, mockingly. "Life isn't fair! I had to watch every single person I've ever cared about die around me, helpless to stop it. So, you know what? Maybe it's your turn!"

You blinked and your entire demeanor changed on the flip of a dime, going from screaming and ranting like mad to calm and cool in a nanosecond - just like the snap of a rubber band. It wasn't something you hadn't done before, but you hadn't done it for a while - not since the fourth grade. Perhaps that was what scared him.

"Well that's too damn bad, 'cuz I refuse to let that happen." Your voice was devoid of emotion as you stared at him with eyes as cold and lifeless as the corpse to which they belonged. You were dead, after all. "You're gonna see the truth whether you want to or not, and if every resident of this awful hell-hole has to die for that to happen, then so be it."

All the color in Jeremy's face drained away. "Wait, Y/N/N. Don't do this…" You didn't respond. Instead, you just waited to see if he would change his mind. "Please, just stop now, before you do something you'll regret?"

He wouldn't change his mind. He refused to. Good thing you had a plan B in mind.

You tilted your head, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips. "I don't see why I should," You claimed. "You're the one making the evil choice - not me. It's not your fault you just can't see it. That selfish hag you call a sister has blinded you to the truth, but don't worry -" You popped one last pretzel into your mouth. "- there's still time to fix you."

Then you left, shutting the door behind you. With a single-mindedness you'd never had the luxury of experiencing before, you raced back to that dingy bar where Kol had remained to prepare the backup plan. Throwing open the doors of the freezer, you were met with a rather pleasing sight.

Damon sat on a metal chair in the center of the room, almost as if he were glued to it. His hands were wrapped around what looked like a yardstick that was half impaled through his body. If the raven-haired Salvatore's body language was anything to go by, that makeshift stake must have been uncomfortably close to his heart and as such was likely to be causing him excruciating pain. His electric blue eyes were locked on Kol's, unable to look away though he was undoubtedly trying. The Original vampire stood over him, grinning like a cat does as it plays with a dying mouse.

"Very good, darling," Kol appealed, his voice was that honeyed, penetrating tone you'd come to associate with compulsion. "Now, stab yourself a little bit further."

Damon screamed as his own hands, having no choice but to obey, pushed the jagged wood closer to his heart. Blood seeped from the gaping hole in his chest and you found yourself tempted to smirk. His pain - his suffering - felt good, you realized. This man had hurt you, he deserved to hurt in return. That was only right. It may have been wrong to enjoy the agony on his face, but you found yourself caring less than you had before. Why should you bother yourself with feeling guilty? Why not just feel good? Was that so bad?

"Awww, Damon-bow-bayman, does that hurt?" You sneered, moving to stand beside Kol. He glanced up from his work.

"Ah! You're here!" He said. His smile fell just a little as he took in your narrowed eyes and the twitch at the corner of your mouth. "I take it things didn't go over too well with Jeremy, did they?"

You shook your head. "He misses his sister more than he remembers her and thinks that if he destroys himself, he can bring back a person who was never there in the first place," You observed coolly. You blinked and peered up at the boy who'd said he loved you. "We'll just have to fix that."

Kol nodded and leaned down. His arm circled your waist and he pressed a soft, tranquil kiss to your lips. Somehow you felt just a little bit better.

"We'll work on it," He promised with another kiss. "For now, however, you're just in time. I was just about to get started."

"If you're gonna… kill me… do it like a… man," Damon panted, in what was clearly a desperate attempt to keep up his self-imbued tough boy persona. His eyes flicked to you. "Or run… like the cowards… you are."

You glared at him, lips curling with disgust. "The greatest cowards are those who run from the truth," You hummed. Kol's hand stroked your side and you leaned into him.

"We don't want to kill you," Kol continued. You nudged him and he amended himself. "At least, I don't - not at the moment. I just want to make sure you can be compelled."

"I'm gonna rip out your spleen," Damon threatened. It was a little pathetic in his current state.

Kol laughed at his attempt. "You ought to be thanking me," He reasoned. "You don't really want the cure found. I mean, you fancy Elena! Even more now that she's a vampire, admit it!" He kicked a stray arm from the pile of corpses out of his way as he leaned over Damon's right shoulder. "The last vestige of her humanity is her annoying little brother Jeremy… and deep, deep down, I bet you want him dead, don't you?"

You made no move to speak up. You knew what Kol was doing.

You hadn't thought to include psychological warfare in your backup plan, but his method was certainly a welcome addition. Mixing the older Salvatore up in the head just a little would probably help the compulsion stick that much better.

"Nope." Damon tried to play off his moment's hesitation as exhaustion or snark but you saw through his act.

Kol smirked. "You're lying," He said, proceeding to shove Damon against that wooden stake via a friendly pat on the back. "I bet you'd just love to rip his head right off… and I'm gonna give you your wish."

Damon blinked and shook his head as if he were trying to clear it. His gaze shifted to you as Kol returned and wrapped an arm around your waist again.

"What, aren't you gonna try and stop this psycho?" The raven-haired vampire demanded. His tone was odd - almost desperate yet half-hearted at the same time. "I thought you were supposed to be mini VanHelsing's bestie."

"I am." You shrugged. "But you're not."

"Yeah, and?" Damon huffed, wincing at the pain his slightest movement caused. "What game are you playing at, Emperor Palpatine?"

"I'm proving a point," You snapped.

"By letting your boyfriend murder Jeremy?"

"No. He's just here to make sure Jeremy sees you try." You smirked, eyes glinting like ice crystals under cold starlight.

Damon's eyes flew wide and he shook his head. "You are one heartless bitch," He spat.

"So I've been told." You glanced at Kol beside you. "Remember what I told you?"

He grinned. "Word for word." Kol stepped forward, kneeling down to look Damon in the eyes as he spoke with that tone like a dagger through silk.

"You're not going to remember what I say, or the conversation that took place here once you leave. You're going to find Jeremy Gilbert and when you do, if you care about him and his well-being as a person completely independent of your love for Elena or compassion for her emotions, then you're going to clap him on the back and buy him - I dunno - a Sherly Temple or something. But if that's not the case, if you only care about his safety as an extension of Elena - if you would trade his life for hers or if you would wish him any sort of harm should he become an inconvenience for any reason - then you're going to kill him, for his curse puts Elena in danger and she's better off sad than dead. You know he's a liability, and you've always hated those, so you're going to hunt him and you're not going to stop until Jeremy is either dead or you've run him out of the state."

When he finished, you reached out and ripped the jagged stake from Damon's chest. "Go get 'em, tiger," You said, smiling pleasantly.

The compulsion wouldn't let him stay, but he lingered just long enough to regard you with arrogant distaste. "He's never gonna forgive you for this," Damon snarled. You tilted your head, expression blank.

"He'll never know."

Damon took off and Kol slipped his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your head. The two of you stood in silence while he just held you for a bit, understanding what you needed from him without requiring you to say a word.

"Are you ready to go now?" He asked a few minutes later, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head.

"Yeah," You said quietly. "You can split; go play innocent for your family."

He pulled away a bit and lifted your chin so you'd look up at him. "I wish I didn't have to leave you," He whispered.

"I'll be fine."

"You're a liar."

You hummed and nodded, resting your head on his chest. Spending the last few months with him hadn't detracted from the warmth you felt in Kol's presence. He still felt safe - just like a home was supposed to. You'd never had a real one of those before him - your closest substitute had been the Gilbert house but that home was never really yours.

Kol was yours. His heart belonged to you.

"I'm gonna regret this for the rest of my life, aren't I?" You asked. Kol's fingers combed through your hair gently and he sighed. You knew he would answer honestly. He had made a promise never to lie to you and he kept it.

"You will for a while," He said, tracing your lips with his thumb. "But slowly you'll realize that you did the right thing. There are scales that measure good and bad deeds, Y/N. A few merciful lies will not outweigh the billions of souls that will be spared because of them."

You nodded slightly and Kol leaned down, brushing his lips over your cheek.

"What else is hurting you?" He asked.

"Why did he choose her?" You whispered, achingly. "She's not even his real sister. What makes her more important than me?"

"I won't pretend to know, darling." He smoothed a hand over your back, rubbing circles that succeeded in comforting you. "But his choice does not diminish your value. You are everything you need to be and more, and though you may at times feel the opposite, I'll be here to remind you that you were never meant to be perfect." Kol brushed the hair away from your face with a smile and this look in his eyes - it was the same look that had been in your own when he'd taken you to see Niagara Falls. "No matter what storms may come, I will love you while I may and I will hold you until the last star in the universe grows cold," He said.

You smiled at him, thanking any deity out there that you'd found him. "I'll try my best to do the same."

He nodded, kissing your forehead. "Your best is enough."

You sighed. "I know we have to leave, but I really don't want to."

"Why not?" He murmured.

"Because whatever happens next is gonna change things," You answered. "And I don't know if I'm ready for that change."

"Come on, love-" Kol chuckled, eyes alight with mischief. "- This is where the fun begins."

You had to bite your tongue to keep from laughing. "Really? Star Wars?"

"What? I can have a little fun!"

Tagging: @yn-ymn-yln @r13mar @rootbeerfaygo @iiskittles16ii @fandomrulesall-blog @dark-night-sky-99 @railingsofsorrow @apolloroid @thatweirdoleigh @misswe03 @eat-cake @blackswann-53098 @felinegrate Hey, if your name isn't on here and you requested to be tagged, send me a DM to let me know! Tumblr wouldn't let me tag some people and I'm really sorry about that...

360 notes · View notes

misslavenderlady · 1 year

Text

A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘N Roll - Chapter 8

Summary: Max isn't happy with how little progress is being made with his plan, so he takes his anger out on David. Michael isn't going to stand back and let his friend suffer through this.

Music from chapter HERE

MAJOR TW: Chapter contains violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and blood

Thank you silvermaplealder for the help on writing about the work Michael does on the farm 👍

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

David felt as though he was marching toward his own execution. One didn’t ignore the orders of their Sire for several weeks and go unpunished. He wanted to kick himself. How could he possibly be so careless? All he had to do was give the Emersons one measly sip of his blood. He could have done it at multiple different times.

What the hell was wrong with him?

It was the only thing he could think of as he trudged toward the back door of Max’s video store. It was after hours, and the entire store was dark. Not even a single one of the neon signs he used for decoration was illuminated. Although he was a creature of the night, David dreaded whenever Max’s store was completely dark. It meant there was no way to figure out where he was. What he would do.

David stayed quiet as a mouse, barely letting his feet touch the ground as he maneuvered through the aisles of the shop. He was sharp and alert, ready to catch any sound that greeted his ears.

But his best wasn’t good enough.

Without so much as a warning, David was hoisted up into the air, claws digging through his coat and piercing through the skin of his back. He howled in pain, overwhelmed by the sharpness burrowing into his body.

“Oh, David, David, David..” a voice tutted, casual disapproval in its tone. “I am VERY disappointed in you, son”

David yelped out like a wounded animal. Max had him in his claws, holding him up like a hunter showing off its recent kill. He hated that man. He despised how nonchalant he could be with his cruelty. David was no sweetheart, but even he would never treat a Childe like this.

“Now it was my understanding that we had an agreement,” he continued. David couldn’t see him, as the older man was still cloaked in darkness. “You turn Michael and Sam, I turn Lucy, we help our little family grow some more”

Without hesitation, Max threw David off to the side, his talons slicing at the blond some more before he went hurdling into a stack of tapes on some shelves. The wooden material splintered and cracked under his weight, piles of movies smacking him in the face as he hit the ground. Max usually hated making a mess. He claimed it was better to make his point with words, not actions. But even he had breaking points.

God help you if you witnessed one of those moments.

David winced in pain as he cowered in the corner. He had taken worse licks than a measly shelf. It was the injuries in his back that were hurting him so badly. Already the sticky, warm feeling of blood was staining his clothes.

“Why must you be such a disobedient child, David?” Max asked. He stepped into the light of a nearby window, the moon acting as some makeshift spotlight. His vampire face was presented proudly on display. His eyes were burning like a fire, yet his smile was just as collected and calm as ever.

“F-Father…I’m sorry…” David groaned out. Calling Max by such a title made him violently ill to his stomach. Max didn’t deserve to be a father figure. He certainly didn’t treat David and the boys the way any decent parents should.

Max strutted casually to David, kicking aside the tapes and broken wood without a care. David didn’t have much room to back up in to, and even if he did, he was far too weak to do so. Max had him cornered and trapped. He made that point quite clear when he pressed his shoe down onto David’s chest, forcing him onto his injured back. David wailed in pain from how much pressure was put on his wounds.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t punish you more for acting like a brat”

David had to think fast. If he didn’t, then Max would surely torture him further until he was either bored or until David was dead. So as he trembled before the master vampire, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

“Because the Emersons care about me and I want us to be a family!”

David waited for something to happen. He expected Max to shove him into the ground further, maybe sink his claws in again. Anything. What he didn’t expect was for Max to actually hesitate. To back off on his punishment.

He peaked an eye open, shocked to find his Sire actually stop and take in the words he said. Max had been fully aware of how the boys were trying to influence Michael to join them, but he hadn’t been aware of the extent of their involvement with the rest of the family. He had only been focused on Lucy so far, charming her whenever they saw one another at work.

This was quite a shock for Max. He hadn't realized the extent of how much time his boys had spent with the Emersons. As he pondered to himself, he reluctantly removed his foot, granting David some mercy so he could try to relax every so slightly.

"I see. So you're worried you won't get the chance to see us all become a family if I continue to discipline you. Is that it?"

David barely had the energy to nod, but still managed to do so. His breathing was heavy and sweat dripped down his forehead. He hadn't the slightest idea if this would even sway his Sire. At the moment he just wanted the pain to stop.

By some miracle, Max gave a nod, silently granting the younger vampire permission to stand. He wouldn't punish him anymore. For now, at least. David winced from how badly his muscles and bones ached from the smallest movements. Still, he managed to find his way back on his feet. He always did.

"Perhaps I've been going about this all wrong," Max stated. His skull slowly morphed back to that of a human appearance. The "innocent" face of a simple business owner.

"If Lucy and her sons truly have grown fond of you, then it'll make the transition that much easier. She wouldn't possibly let another person's children get hurt, let alone her own"

David could have spit, he was so disgusted. The way Max talked about Lucy was like he was playing some sick game with her. Like he saw her as a challenge, not a potential love. He wouldn't dare think of Michael in such a way.

Then again, he hated how Michael was involved in this mess in the first place.

"I know just what to do," Max smiled. "We'll have a little get-together. All of us! I’m very well-respected at the Santa Carla Country Club. I’ll host a party so Lucy can get acquainted with my colleagues. They’ll all adore her once the wedding day comes along”

Only someone like Max could throw their adopted child around like a ragdoll and severely hurt them before completely changing the subject to do some party planning. He was still caught up in his train of thought as David weakly tried to keep himself standing. The pain was immense, but it seemed that he wouldn’t get the opportunity to rest for long.

“Well, I’m going to go for a hunt and call it a night. Once Lucy comes in for her shift tomorrow I’ll go over some plans with her,” Max casually stated. He took a few steps across the store before stopping. “Oh, and take care of this mess before you head out. Wouldn’t want poor little Maria to clean this up by herself in the morning, would you?”

Max’s eyes flashed red when he finished his sentence. It was David’s signal that he really didn’t have a choice in the matter. Every inch of his body was screaming in agony, but it seemed that he wouldn’t get some rest for a good long while.

“I understand, Father….”

With that, Max took off, whistling to himself out the door without a care in the world. While his red car pulled out of the parking lot, David jeered in anger. Between his back and the mess, it was going to be a very long night.

When living on a farm, a lot of the same work is done every day. You get up hours before the sun would rise, milk cows until your hands got sore, get several pounds of hay prepared, clean up after all the animals, then do it all again later in the day. It’s hard labor, and one has to be quite dedicated to their work. That was certainly the mindset Michael was in lately.

Michael couldn’t remember the last time he was so cheerful in the morning. Working on farms his whole life he had grown accustomed to getting up early in order to take on the busy day, but it was usually through grogginess and a ton of coffee. Now he was eager to get started right away, a pep in his step as he took on his chores.

Everything seemed a little bit better in his eyes. The sky was prettier, the grass greener, and the air felt so perfectly soft on his skin. There wasn’t a moment that entire morning where he didn’t have a dopey smile on his face. He sang to himself as he fed and cleaned after the animals, the melodic tunes of old-school love songs following him along the way.

“Easy lovin'

Seein's believin'

Life with you is like livin'

In a beautiful dream”

“You’re certainly in a good mood for someone cleaning up cow shit”

Michael turned his head in the direction of the voice that interrupted his song. Sam was finally up and dressed for work too. He had an entire closet stuffed with colorful, crisp shirts and jackets to wear whenever he hit the town, but in the early hours of the morning, it was strictly work overalls, boots, and a cap on his head.

“And you’re awfully mouthy for someone who snitched on me last night,” Michael shot back. Sam tried to pull his hat down over his face, but Michael easily swatted the younger boy’s hand away.

“Serves ya right! You guys were awful pullin’ that shit on me!” the younger Emerson boy said. “I don’t know where ya even got fangs like that, but that was too creepy!”

Michael snorted as he piled up fresh hay for the cows. As the older brother, he was always amused by how easy it was to mess around with Sam. He tried to act so tough, but at the end of the day, he was a kid that frightened so easily.

“Oh yeah, ain’t nothin’ scarier than a shitty piece o’ plastic. Those fangs ain’t cost me more than a dollar, Sammy”

“I’m not talking about yours, I’m talking about David’s! I swear they looked like somethin’ you’d see on a timberwolf!”

That part threw Michael off a bit. He had given David the exact same pair as his own. Why was Sam so convinced that they were scarier? Perhaps his brother hit his head a little too hard when he fell on the ground. That or he was a bigger baby than he realized. Either way, Michael shook his head and nudged Sam playfully.

“Alright, tough guy. Let’s wrap up the work here and with the horses so I can go drop off David’s guitar after breakfast”

“Oh you’re gonna have to wait longer than that, Michael!”

At the front entrance of the barn was Grandpa, up and ready to seize the day too. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a paint can in the other.

“Your mom passed on the message that your punishment for scaring Sam would be to help me out with one of my projects. Today’s the day you help me give the barn a fresh coat of paint! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

It did not. Michael groaned in annoyance, now even more fed up with his younger brother’s antics. It would seem that David would have to wait until dinnertime to get his guitar back.

Michael never wanted to touch a paintbrush ever again. Hours and hours of painting under the hot sun had left him utterly exhausted. Grandpa had mostly been a supervisor for the work, telling his grandson where he had missed a spot on the barn. By the time it had gotten too dark to keep going, Michael was nearly ready to pass out for a good, long nap.

But if he did that, he wouldn’t get the chance to see the boys for the night. He wouldn’t get to see David.

He found recently that he was taking more time than usual to freshen up when he needed to. Michael certainly wasn’t a slob, he was just very simple when it came to his appearance. Ever since he met David, he found himself spending more than a second making his hair look presentable, picking out extra nice body washes to use, and keeping his hat looking nice.

While he rode to Hudson’s bluff with the guitar case strapped on his back, Michael couldn’t get his mind off of the blond. David truly had him acting like a whole different person. He really couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about him was drawn to his friend. They were such opposites in appearance, yet they got along like bread and butter. Two things that just complimented each other so well.

It was impossible not to smile like a giddy fool whenever he thought about David. He only hoped the feeling was mutual.

By the time he arrived and parked his bike, Michael was back to humming his favorite songs. He held the guitar case tightly, not wanting to risk damaging the instrument. Before he could call out to greet his friends at the entrance, the sound of someone talking caught his ear.

“It’s still not healed all the way?”

“No. Max really did a number on him”

“That son of a bitch! I don’t know why he thinks this shit is okay. His own blood…”

Michael’s sunny attitude swiftly morphed into confusion. Max was the name of his mom’s boss. The video store downtown was named after him. It wasn’t the same guy, was it? Then again, it couldn’t be a coincidence that both he and David had a guy named Max in their life.

He did his best to keep quiet and listen some more. Dwayne, Paul, and Marko all sounded really concerned.

“I don’t know how much longer we can do this. David’s getting sloppy and it’s getting him hurt..”

“You know he’d never want us to butt in. He’s worried too much about Max punishing us”

“I just hope he doesn’t do the same to Michael. David would never forgive himself…”

A soft gasp escaped Michael’s lips when he caught that last part. Did the same? He knew Max had been interested in his mother, but if the idea of him and Sam joining in as a family was already in the talk, then that was a whole new problem. His mother barely knew the guy!

Wait.

His own blood. Punishment.

Michael could practically hear the gears turning in his own head. He thought about what Marko said more and more. Then it clicked.

Max was David’s father. Their parents were dating!

The realization hit Michael like a ton of bricks. It all made so much sense now. Why David refused to talk about his family. Why he was so fond of Lucy and being over at the Emerson house more. His father was hurting him, and after realizing their connection, he found safety in their family.

Michael’s heart ached in his chest. He couldn’t believe he didn’t see the signs sooner. This wasn’t right. He wouldn’t let his best friend go through this kind of pain, and he certainly wouldn’t let someone like Max try to do the same to his mother or brother.

Done with hiding and listening in on the conversation, Michael strutted into the room, giving his trademark whistle to signal that he was there. The three Lost Boys perked up, surprised to see their friend standing by the entrance. They had been so focused on talking about David that they hadn’t even heard him come in.

“Howdy, fellas!” Michael smiled, tilting his hat their way. He wouldn’t let them know what he knew. For now, at least.

“Hey, Mikey!” Paul waved at him. Marko and Dwayne each gave him a smile and a nod. “What brings ya over to this neck of the woods?”

Thankfully, Michael had an actual reason to go on that had brought him to the cave in the first place. He held up the guitar case for the boys to see, patting it with his free hand. Better to not worry them with the fact that now he had a new reason to see David.

“Just gotta see David and give him his guitar back! Where is he?”

The three boys glanced at one another, hesitant to tell Michael where their leader was. If Michael hadn’t witnessed their conversation, he would have been confused as to why they were acting in such a way. They really did care about David, it was clear by the looks on their faces.

“I dunno if you should bother him right now, bud,” Marko said, bringing his thumb up to his mouth to chew on the nail. “He’s catching up on some rest”

Michael really couldn’t go without seeing David. Even if the situation his friend was experiencing with Max was serious, he shouldn’t have to suffer alone. He plucked his hat from his head, holding it to his chest like a gentleman before turning on the charm with a soft pout. This was a time when he really had to ham it up.

“Aww cantcha let me see him just for a lil while? I promise I’ll be no more than two shakes of a lamb's tail! Pretty please?”

Even the toughest of gang members were no match for Michael’s southern charms. Paul, Marko, and Dwayne all finally agreed to let their friend explore the cave and find David. He thanked them before following the path down one of the secret halls. It was a little tricky to move around with the guitar case, but it didn’t take long to find the room he was looking for.

It was the remains of an old room from when the hotel was still standing. Old velvet curtains covered in cobwebs and antique decorations caked in layers of dust. The boys had done some slight redecorating, as band posters, liquor bottles, and seashells from the beach were scattered around. In the middle of the room was a tattered couch, and lying across it was David.

Michael was absolutely heartbroken looking at the sight. David wasn’t looking very comfortable. In fact, the look on his face was something of total somberness. It seemed as if he had the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. A million thoughts were clearly running through his mind.

“Heya, David”

The moment he greeted the blond, the train of thought he was experiencing was forgotten. David tried to lift himself off the couch to greet Michael, but stopped with a wince of pain on his face. Michael set the guitar down and rushed to sit next to him so he wouldn’t feel forced to get up.

“Hi, Michael,” he greeted his friend. “Sorry, you caught me at a bad time. I got into a fight with a Surf Nazi prick and I’m just getting some rest”

Michael knew that was a lie, but he wasn’t going to call David out on it. The last thing he needed right now was to have someone upset him more. So he just nodded and shared his sympathy for what David had gone through. All the while, he was thinking very rude things about Max.

“I’m real sorry about that, David. Are you gonna be alright?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve been through much worse,” David said. “I’m more pissed off that they fucked up my jacket. Marko’s gonna patch it up, but until then, I got nothing to wear”

Now that Michael had a better look, he noticed that David was in fact missing his signature coat. All he had was a plain, black t-shirt. Michael didn’t know how David could stand being cold all the time. Between the short sleeves, the chill of the cave, and the way his skin was always so icy when they touched, it was a miracle the poor guy wasn’t constantly shivering. He had to constantly wear flannels, yet David was perfectly fine.

Still, that wasn’t okay in Michael’s book. Without even thinking twice, he slipped off his black and red flannel before moving closer to help David put it on.

“What are you d-”

“Hey, it’s alright! I got plenty of them at home. Please, take it”

David really didn’t know what to say. He’d never had a guy give him his jacket before. Decades of watching other men give their lovers their jacket or sweater as a sign of affection, yet not once experienced by himself. Feeling how warm the material was from Michael’s body heat made him realize why others liked it so much.

He really was grateful to have Michael around. Even with the circumstances with Max, he didn’t regret a thing. All the dinners with Lucy, the music they enjoyed together, the way they laughed like they were kids again, it was all worth it.

All for the boy he liked.

For the boy he was starting to love.

“Thanks, Cowboy,” he muttered softly.

Michael smiled as he watched David relax into the sensation of the flannel. He threw an arm around David’s back, letting the guy rest his head on his shoulder. David was exhausted, that much was obvious. But between the cozy, spice-flavored scent clinging to the jacket and the warmth, he was finally starting to nod off for some much-needed rest.

For a while, they stayed like that. Michael hummed his favorite songs and lulled the blond to sleep. Even if they couldn’t be like that forever, he’d certainly help David feel better for the time being.

When he was ready to head out, Michael carefully maneuvered David so he could rest his head on one of the couch pillows. He crouched down to get a better look at his face before speaking barely above a whisper.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, David. I’m gonna make sure Max don’t hurt you no more. You’re safe with me. I promise”

Between gifting him the flannel and letting him cuddle up on the couch for a while, Michael already felt he was pushing his luck with the affection. He really did like David, and he didn’t want to spoil their friendship but overstepping his bounds. But so long as David was okay with their closeness, Michael was perfectly happy.

With one last chance at luck, Michael said goodbye with one last gift. He leaned in and softly kissed David on the cheek. Feather-light, soft lips brushing against the rough beard. David didn’t even stir.

“Nighty night, my Huckleberry”

Tag List: @silvermaplealder @arwyn-the-cyrptic-bisexural @legal-lost-boy @britany1997 @riz-coolgirl @crustyraccoon @ghoulgeousimmaculate @kurt-nightcrawler @auntvamp @sunshine-wylan @thelostsouls1987

#the lost boys #tlb #my fic #ao3 fic #michael emerson #david the lost boys #southern micheal #au fic #Spotify

62 notes · View notes

found-family-tournament · 1 year

Text

Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 8 Group 39

Propaganda and further pictures under the cut

Shazamily: Billy Batson, Freddy Freeman, Mary Bromfield, Darla Dudley, Pedro Peña, Eugene Choi, Rosa & Victor Vasquez

Clawthorne-Nocedas: Luz Noceda, Hunter Noceda, Camila Noceda, Eda Clawthorne, Lilith Clawthorne, Raine Whispers, Gus, Amity, WIllow, Vee, King Clawthorne, Hooty, Owlbert & Stringbean

Mods note: Jesus christ. I got at least 6 different versions for the owl house fam. I've just choosen the one that includes the most people now. If you disagree, feel free to tell me.

Submissions are still open!

Shazamily:

They're a big foster family who all love each other SO so much, and Billy's arc from "you are not my family" to embracing them as his siblings and parents is THE best arc ever in a superhero movie

Clawthorne-Nocedas:

So freaking adorable

I fucking love Luz and hunters sibling dynamic, they’re all so silly and precious and they make me want to cry, Eda and Camila are both such mother figures for Luz and I just BCHSJSHSIDHDUOSNDHD

unapologetically weird

one of them is literally a living house and he's possibly the funniest being alive

gay af, neurodivergent af, and as culturally diverse as it gets

character styles are adorable

actual exploration and resolution for daddy issues, alcoholism, etc

illegal activity encouraged, they're one step from being communist revolutionaries and literally would/do commit arson for each other

fantastic character development in learning how to take care of each other

perfect balance of "cool parent" vs "unfit parent" slippery slope (there may be gambling

exploration of found family within bio family and how those relationships evolve

ALEX HIRSCH DOES ALEX HIRSCH THINGS

massive extended family not fully listed here

THEY HAVE MERCH (both in universe and irl)

they don't try to do too much or be too perfect. They're all traumatized people with wild experiences but they're what each other needed at the time -did I mention they're super cute

THEYRE MISFITS. WEIRDOS. WHO HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER.

They are super cute and have all gone through enough trauma and deserve to just live their lives in peace.

saved the world with the found familyness

67 notes · View notes

scorched-sunrise · 2 months

Text

TIMING: Last week LOCATION: Emilio’s apartment, Worm Row PARTIES: Ophelia (@scorched-sunrise) & Emilio (@mortemoppetere) SUMMARY: Ophelia has some bad news and asks Emilio to meet her and talk. It goes about as well as you’d expect. CONTENT WARNINGS: Child death (mentions), parental death (mentions)

—

This wasn't really something that should have been explained over text, and so instead of using her phone to tell her uncle that something bad had happened to his brother, she instead only said that she needed to see him, needed to talk to him. He told her to meet him at the apartment in Worm Row, which is where she stood now, her hood pulled up and hands stuffed in her pockets.

She felt sick to her stomach, anxious of what his response might be. Would he care? She wanted him to fucking care. She wanted someone, anyone to care as much as she did that the warden had gone missing, and the thought that she might be the only one left well and truly broke her heart. He wasn't a good person, she knew that, but surely he'd made some kind of positive impact on someone in this damn town, right? His own brother should have been an easy answer, but even that was fraught with contention.

Heaving a sigh, Ophelia trudged up the front steps and into the unlocked building (how secure!), taking the stairs over that creepy, busted-ass elevator that would probably strand her, knowing her luck. She moved down the familiar hallway to the familiar door that was similarly never locked, giving a quick rap of her knuckles before pushing it open.

“Tío?” she called into the apartment, stepping inside and closing the door with her foot. “You here already?”

—

Something was wrong. Something was wrong, and there was so much dread pooled in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t breathe around it. He should have seen it coming, really; he’d been starting to feel okay again with Lucio gone, starting to feel less like a monument of grief and more like something resembling himself, and how long could a thing like that last? How long could he expect to feel decent when he knew he didn’t deserve it?

Ophelia asked him to meet her, and she wouldn’t have done that if there wasn’t something wrong. She’d told him where Rhett was in a text, was probably happy to have that be the last communication that existed between them given Emilio’s inability to react the way she needed him to react. She’d been frustrated with him, with hunters in general, and he understood that. So she wouldn’t have asked to meet him if there weren’t something wrong.

He got to the apartment early. That old paranoia that lived and breathed in his chest wouldn’t allow anything less. He scoped it out four times, as if he didn’t know it like the back of his hands. He circled the building twice on his motorcycle, walked the entire hall upon his arrival, looked in every room of the empty apartment. Something was wrong. He was just waiting to figure out what.

Her voice called out through the open door, and Emilio pulled himself from the bare, dirty mattress in the bedroom to trudge out into the living area. “Here,” he confirmed, eyes darting over her carefully. No obvious signs of injury, and that was good. But she seemed… different. Anxious. He didn’t know if he was imagining it. “You okay?”

—

For some reason, she'd expected this conversation to be easy to start. He's gone, she'd say, and then explain what happened. What did happen? Her mother—sun above, her mother. Ophelia’s dark eyes met Emilio's and she felt her throat constrict.

No. Don't.

He asked if she was okay and her lower lip trembled. She'd been holding it in all this time, since that morning… she hadn't allowed herself to properly grieve the parent that was actually dead, desperate as she was to cling to her hope that the other was still alive somewhere. She wasn't okay. She was so fucking far from okay and she hadn't even realized it.

Don't break down. Don't do it. She scolded herself into controlling the quiver in her voice and the way her hands shook despite being clenched into fists, staring at Emilio as a suspicious silence stretched out between them.

“I…” Speaking without bursting into tears felt like an insurmountable summit, forcing her to stop and take a sharp breath. “... I moved… into town.” What the fuck? What the fuck am I saying? That's not what I came here for. She breathed out, hating the way the sigh stuttered without her consent. “My… um. My m-mom, she's… She, um…” Her voice pitched higher as she lost the battle, and her hands unclenched and flew to her face, splaying over her cheeks and eyes. The first sob was silent, wracking her tall frame as her shoulders hunched and she tucked her head down, trying to hide from Emilio. “She's dead?” It sounded like a question more than a statement, like she still couldn't believe it herself.

—

The look on her face was a haunted thing. Her lip trembled, her eyes were big, and Emilio suddenly felt so far out of his depth that even the thought of attempting to tread water was exhausting. Fathers and uncles grew into things with the kids in their lives. He’d gone from understanding babies to understanding toddlers as Flora and Jaime aged, was starting to understand young children before the massacre took him from being a father and an uncle to nothing at all instead. He knew how to soothe meltdowns spun over problems that seemed small to adults and monumental to six-year-olds, knew how to be a passable uncle to a boy who hadn’t yet learned how to tie his shoes. But…

Whatever had Ophelia’s face twisted into this expression of uncertain grief was doubtlessly bigger than the things he’d helped Jaime overcome. He knew how to be the uncle to a six year old; he hadn’t yet figured out how to do the same for a kid in her twenties. He wasn’t particularly good at comforting Nora or Wynne, either. Still, he tried. He approached Ophelia carefully, cautious as one might approach a coiled snake.

She spoke, claiming she’d moved into town, and that pool of dread grew deeper. She’d seemed happy, when she’d talked about Rhett up on the mountain. Nervous, but happy. She’d had her family in one spot and, for her, it had been good. For her to be here now…

Emilio’s mouth felt dry. His heart was pounding, and he thought back to that factory, to the moment he’d walked in and been so sure that his brother was dead. The water was rising, filling his lungs, his nose, his ears. Ophelia spoke, and it was muffled. Her mother was dead, and wouldn’t it have been Rhett who’d killed her? Hadn’t that been what he’d always wanted? Ophelia spoke of a promise the first time Emilio went with her to meet her father, and Emilio was no warden, but he knew what that must have meant. Ophelia’s mother was dead, and Rhett had wanted it that way for as long as Emilio had known him. And he’d made a promise, and —

And Ophelia was standing in front of him looking broken, and he couldn’t ask. He couldn’t demand answers from a kid who’d clearly had her fucking world torn apart. Her mother was dead, and maybe his brother was, too. The thought made him nauseous, made him want to pull his hair out and kick at the ground until his bad knee gave out and slam his fist through the fucking wall, but there was a kid in his living room looking shattered and it wasn’t his place to fall apart now just like it hadn’t been his place to fall apart in the car driving Rhett home from the hospital. Emilio could break in private, the way he always had. For now, he needed to be the uncle he should have been for Jaime.

“Come here,” he said, taking her arm and gently guiding her over to the sofa. He sat her on the cushion before trailing into the kitchen, pulling one of the two glasses he owned down from the cabinet and filling it with water from the sink. He brought it over, pressing it carefully into her hands. “Do you… want to tell me what happened? It’s okay if you don’t. It’s okay. But I—” I need to know about Rhett. I need to know what happened to my brother. I need to know if I should go up and try to find his body. He buried my daughter, my wife. I need to know if I have to bury him. His eyes stung, and he looked away, silently berating himself. He had to keep it together here. No outbursts, no getting lost in the depths of his broken mind. He needed to be present, needed to be functional for once in his sorry fucking life.

—

Ophelia was so much like her father in that moment, even if she didn’t know it. Fighting with everything she had to keep the door barred shut, to not let the tidal wave overcome her. She would surely drown if she did. The look on her face was one of miserable fury, as stiff as an iron mask, plastered there with the hope that it would keep everything else from crumbling to pieces. She let herself be led to the couch, let herself be sat down and stared blankly ahead as she heard her uncle rummaging around in the kitchen with glassware and the faucet. Her gaze didn’t leave the floor when he pressed the water into her hands, her brows pinched in the center as she scowled so deeply that it made her face ache.

Emilio asked if she wanted to talk about it. She knew why, really. If he was anything like Rhett, it wasn't because he thought he could make her feel better—who could, anyway? But he wanted to know about his brother. He wanted to know if Ophelia had found him dead beside her mother. If he'd killed her mother. Seeing the way they'd been the night before, it felt impossible. She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't. And besides, he hadn't been there. And the note… and the missing fae… no. Her parents were both the victims in this scenario. Ruminating on it made her start to run hot, her hands gripping the glass of water tightly as her anger rose.

The water was lightly steaming before she answered, speaking through her teeth, her jaw clenched so tight it hurt. “He's gone. They took him.” She was shaking, letting the news settle over the room for a few seconds before abruptly standing up from the sofa and hurling the glass of water across the room. It shattered loudly against the wall, but the sound was nothing compared to the scream the girl let loose—it was equal parts devastated and incensed, shorter than the wail she'd released at her mother's side but just as jarring. “They took him, tío!” She whipped around to face Emilio, tears streaking her face. “They killed my mother and took my father away and—and left a fucking note! I'd burn that whole place to the ground if I could,” she snarled, rabid in her righteous hatred, not caring if there were fae there that had treated her like family—any who still remained after what had been done deserved death, that much she knew.

Her gaze snapped down from where it had been fixed on the wall, picturing bodies on fire. It fell upon Emilio, who until this point hadn't been given much of a chance to speak. “I'm still looking for him. I'll find him. I'll save him. And those motherfuckers are going to pay.”

—

There were things that got easier with practice. When he was a kid, his mother had him throw knives until his fingers bled, until blisters formed on his hands and his palms cracked open. He repeated the process every day until calluses grew, until those same fingers were reshaped through repetition of the same actions over and over and over again. The same thing had happened to his feet when she made him stand still for hours at a time, starting the clock over with each fidget. The first time she’d tossed him in the lake, he’d nearly drowned. The second time, he’d been able to swim to shore with less struggling. Life was hard, she told him. Everything in the goddamn world wanted to kill you. But there were things that got easier with practice.

And there were things that didn’t.

He didn’t even remember the first loss he’d suffered. His father was dead before Emilio was old enough to memorize the lines of his face, a ghost haunting the beginning of his story who’d be irrelevant by the end of it. Then he was twelve, and his uncle went into the woods with his brother and came back alone. Then at thirty-two, he had more tombstones in his heart than he did names of living people. But no calluses grew. No blisters burst and hardened with the repetition. He practiced and he practiced and he practiced, and it still felt just as raw. He was still floundering and fighting and gasping for breath like it was the first time he’d ever been tossed in the lake.

It didn’t feel fair. Hadn’t he just done this? Hadn’t he just found Rhett’s cane on the sidewalk and come to terms with the fact that he’d been taken by people who wanted him dead? Hadn’t he just tracked him down and pulled him out with one less limb to speak of, hadn’t he just gone from accepting that his brother was dead to finding him alive and angry? Was this supposed to give him more practice? Was this supposed to make him feel better? If this was the real thing, then what had that factory been? A trial run, a rehearsal dinner? It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.

But it was less fair to Ophelia.

There was steam coming from the glass, and then the glass was shattering against the wall, and Emilio was too numb to make a joke about how he only had two glasses. He stared at the broken glass gleaming on the dirty carpet with an expression of dull interest, as if the world wasn’t ending all over again. As if it had ever stopped.

He knew the odds here. Rhett had barely survived being taken by two people, and he was so much weaker now. Had he even had any weapons on him? Emilio doubted the fae in Ophelia’s community had been keen to allow a warden to keep his blades even if he had been allowed to remain temporarily among them. And he’d been out of it, Ophelia had said, slept for days after his trek up the mountain. What chance did he have against a whole group of fae, if they wanted him dead? What was he hoping for here? Was the best case scenario that his brother had been given a quick death, or that he was still alive and suffering torture? He knew which option Rhett would have preferred. Did it make him a terrible person that he thought he’d be happier with the alternative? At least that would give him something to save.

(Ophelia seemed certain that he was still alive. He could see it in her determined scowl, hear it in the tone of her voice. But Ophelia had less practice than him. When it came to this kind of thing, Emilio thought he might be the closest thing there was to a pro.)

“You shouldn’t do it alone.” His voice sounded hoarse, sounded uncertain, sounded like it was coming from someone else. “He was — He’s my brother. I want to help. Whatever there is to do, I want to help.” If Rhett was alive, wasn’t it Emilio’s job to bring him home? And if he wasn’t… Didn’t Emilio owe it to him to repay the favor he’d given him years ago, when he’d dug two graves in the aftermath of a massacre? “You want to make them pay, I can help with that. I’m good at that. You shouldn’t do it alone.”

—

There was no doubt in Ophelia’s mind that Emilio would be well equipped to deal with the fae once they were found—he was a hunter, after all. Dealing with supernatural threats was his bread and fucking butter, even if fae were more outside his wheelhouse. He’d grown up with Rhett, sure he’d learned a thing or two. Yes, he’d be a useful ally in taking them down, but it was the finding them part that concerned her…

“Home was in the mountains, Emilio. You can’t…” She glanced down at his knee, the one always giving him trouble. “... it won’t be easy to find them. The warm weather is erasing their tracks. I can fly, I can see more, look faster, but…” But I probably can't kill them all on my own. She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to talk herself down from this elevated emotional state. She was running hot, too hot, and she didn’t want to suddenly become a danger to the one person she had left. “When I figure out where they are, or get any solid leads, I’ll tell you. I know you can… help take care of them.” She wasn’t a stranger to fighting—her mother had taught her how to defend herself, and her mother had learned from Rhett. But that didn’t mean she could handle seven or eight or however many it was all at once, especially when they would be expecting this from her. They’d killed her mother, after all, how could they not expect an attempt at revenge?

Knowing that she had support did something to quell her fire, though, and she brought a hand to her face as that grief came rushing back, mixing with the anger and diluting it down into something less explosive. Her core temperature was dropping as she moved back to the couch, sitting beside Emilio again and wringing her hands in her lap. “Sorry about the glass,” she offered, leaning against his shoulder. “Sorry… for—” Her voice caught in her throat and she clamped her mouth shut, hating the way the tears said more than she ever could.

—

It was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, the way she looked down at his bad leg. Emilio liked to pretend the limb was better off than it was, liked to act as though it didn’t bother him nearly as much as it did. He was still plenty capable, wasn’t he? He could still fight with the best of them, still hold his own against undead monsters and assholes in bar fights even if he couldn’t manage a flight of stairs. But there were things he couldn’t do. A trek in the mountains would be difficult. But it wasn’t impossible, was it?

“Rhett managed it,” he ground out, and he wasn’t sure if it was his brother’s name or the reminder of his own inadequacy that left that ache in his chest. Rhett had managed a mountain trek with one leg missing, and Emilio was uncertain if he could do it with both still attached. (Maybe it was because Rhett had had damn good motivation. Climbing a mountain in the interest of getting far away from Emilio was probably far easier than sticking around.) “I’m a detective, mija. I know you can find them on your own, but I can help. I can make it quicker.” Because it would need to be, wouldn’t it? If there was any chance at all that Rhett was still alive (and Emilio found himself believing it less and less the more he thought about it, though he wouldn’t say as much to Ophelia), they’d need to uncover his location quickly.

That ache in his chest only grew as her weight leaned against him. He thought of Rhett, the way he’d found him in the woods after that massacre, the way he’d vowed to help Emilio find his vengeance only for Emilio to abandon him the moment he realized Rhett was one more person he could lose. That was what they’d done, wasn’t it? Emilio and Rhett had abandoned one another over and over again, finding some new excuse to walk away after each disagreement. Sometimes, it was as simple as not wanting to see one another kill themselves for bodies long buried. Other times, it went deeper. Their ideologies shifted over the years, Rhett’s in one direction and Emilio’s in the other. If Rhett had stayed, how long would it have been before they were at each other’s throats again? Before there was another kid locked in Rhett’s van, before Emilio befriended someone Rhett thought he shouldn’t?

He wondered, absently, if it would be the same with Ophelia. After all, he was still a hunter, wasn’t he? Ophelia was angry, wanted the people who’d killed her mother dead, and Emilio could give her that. But what happened after? She’d expressed distaste for how he referred to himself in the past, for how hunters spoke and acted, and Emilio couldn’t change that. So how long would it be before Ophelia, like her father, took issue with some part of who Emilio was? He shook the thought away. It was better, he figured, to focus on the present issue. They would avenge his niece’s mother. They would avenge his brother, her father. And then, they’d worry about whatever came after.

“You don’t have to apologize, kid,” he mumbled, wrapping an arm around her. He wasn’t very good at offering comfort, but he liked to think he was learning. This was the kind of thing that was supposed to make people feel better, wasn’t it? “You don’t have to apologize to me. It was an ugly glass, anyway.”

—

“Yeah, well Rhett is an idiot,” she countered, evening her gaze with his, silently calling him an idiot, too, if he decided it was time to start hiking through the Peaks like his brother had. The repeated offer was met with silence this time, Ophelia just sighing and shaking her head, mulling it over as she sat down beside him.

She laughed in spite of herself, bringing a hand to her face. It was a strained, miserable thing, but it was still a laugh. “Yeah… it was,” she agreed. “I’ll get you another. Maybe even more than one, if I’m feeling generous.” The arm around her felt good—god, she hadn’t been hugged in weeks, not since before all of this happened, that night that… I shouldn’t have left.

“I wish… you could have seen them,” she muttered, pressing a thumbnail hard into her palm. “He seemed happier that day. Not like when I texted you, not… lost somewhere else. He was there, with mom and I, and he was… smiling. Laughing. So was she.” She gave up the painful dig of her fingernail to wipe the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, drawing a long, shaky breath. “I wish you could have seen him like that again.” It sounded like she was speaking as if he was dead, which she still didn’t believe (or wouldn’t let herself), but she knew that when they did find him… if he’d been that bad after the last time, how would he be pulled back from the edge after this one? She wasn’t sure she had the ability to do that for him, not like her mother had.

—

It was hard to argue with her on that, though it was hard to do much of anything when every inch of him ached this way. She met his gaze with a look Rhett had given him a thousand times over, and that hurt, too. Emilio remembered, without meaning to, the first time he met the warden. He remembered being fourteen and pissed at the world, remembered the way Victor’s death still felt fresh even when everyone told him it shouldn’t, remembered feeling as though he was the only one mourning while everyone else moved on as if his brother’s life ending at eighteen was something they’d all seen coming. It was Victor’s death that had made him latch on to Rhett so tightly, Victor’s death that made Rhett slot so easily into the then-vacant position of brother. Rosa and Edgar had loved Rhett, too, but not like Emilio had.

So what, then, would Rhett’s death do to him? He wasn’t a kid anymore, though he was still just as angry. He couldn’t imagine shoving someone else into the box Rhett had made a home of after Victor had left it empty, but the idea of leaving it bare ached, too. For years now, Emilio had lived a slippery slope of dealing with loss by replacing it. Victor died, and there was Rhett. Juliana died, and he found someone different to fill his bed night after night after night until Teddy came and offered up something real. Flora died, and he saw her reflected in every kid he came across, tried with everything he had to protect Nora and Wynne and strangers with wide eyes and young features as if it would make up for not protecting his daughter, his fucking kid. But what could he do with this? Nothing else could fit in this empty slot the way Rhett had. To try felt like a betrayal, and hadn’t he betrayed Rhett enough already? Hadn’t that been all he’d ever fucking done?

Ophelia was talking about the glass, and Emilio was at the bottom of a goddamn lake trying to make sense of distorted language that was only just barely reaching him. She didn’t think Rhett was dead. Emilio couldn’t let himself think anything else. Should he warn her, he wondered? Should he tell her that hope, in this family, was little more than a prelude to endless grief?

He was stiff, trying to imagine Rhett the way she described him. “I don’t think I ever saw him happy,” he admitted quietly, throat tight. The closest he’d seen to Rhett as Ophelia described him was in Mexico, with Flora on his shoulders and Emilio giving him shit and Juliana chastising them both. Maybe, if Rhett was dead, it wasn’t all bad. Maybe it was better that he’d ended on a high note, at least. Maybe that was all people like them could ever really hope for.

—

It made her sad to think that. Sad to think that Emilio never had… and it wasn’t fair, really, given how much longer he’d known the man. Had he really been that miserable for that long? She couldn’t help but wonder how their lives might’ve been if she and her mother hadn’t run. If they’d faced him, made him see how wrong he was, just like he had in Hemlock Ridge. That wasn’t just because of the handicap, was it?

No, it couldn’t be. He was changed. She knew it. Just like she knew that he was still alive somewhere.

“Then we’ll just have to work extra hard to pick him back up off the ground, won’t we? Then you can see him happy.” It was a stretch by anyone’s measure, but she was nothing if not stubborn and determined. Her resolve was strong, and she wasn’t going to let the matter lie until she found her father, or a corpse. “I’ll tell you what, tío Emilio… you can start asking around town, and I’ll keep looking in the mountains. Fair?”

Getting to her feet again, Ophelia glanced around the place as she went to pick up the shards of glass on the floor piece by piece. She remembered the afternoons she’d spent here, helping her father sew up the leg on his pants, making him presentable for the few outings he went on alone, and generally just spending time with him and her uncle, getting to know them both better.

“Are you… still staying here?” It didn’t look lived in—not that it really had before, either, but there was a light coating of dust on all the surfaces that seemed relatively undisturbed. She bent down, holding out a palm and setting each piece of glass gingerly into it. She hoped he wasn’t staying here. It was depressing here. He deserved better than that.

—

She was hopeful, and he ached with it. The way she seemed so sure that there would be something left to pick up off the ground in spite of all evidence pointing to the contrary, the way she held onto this impossible idea that the world would offer them some kind of kindness. It occurred to Emilio, with an nauseating twist in his stomach, that she wouldn’t have that kind of optimism had she been raised by her father. In some alternative version of events where Rhett had known her since she was a child, where he’d been a father instead of a monster under her bed for the first two decades of her life, she likely would have felt the way Emilio felt now — hopeless and desolate.

(His stomach twisted a little more at the realization that Flora, had she survived, would have been just as much a pessimist as he was. Hunters didn’t tend to find it particularly easy to look on the bright side, after all. His daughter had only been happy because she was young. The world would have taken that from her sooner rather than later.)

“Sure,” he agreed with a nod, trying not to let his voice betray the fact that he thought looking would be a hopeless task. What could he hope to gain by asking people around town if they’d seen a man he knew had left weeks ago with no intention of returning? Even if he’d had any hope that Rhett was alive, Emilio would have found the job Ophelia handed him to be a pointless one. He wondered idly if it was meant to placate him, to keep him docile while she did the real work that she figured his bad leg made him incapable of accomplishing.

He watched her rise, fiddling with the ring on his finger as she began picking up the glass. “Broom in the closet,” he said, nodding towards it. Like most things in the dusty apartment, it wasn’t something he’d bought for himself. The broom, like the bare mattress in the bedroom and the shelf in the bathroom, had been in the apartment when Emilio moved in a year ago. It was the kind of thing that might make someone question the fate of the apartment’s previous occupant… but only if they cared enough to do so.

Still twisting his ring absently, he shrugged. “Not really,” he admitted. “Started staying with someone when the place got covered with goo a few months back. Then the goo was gone, but… they wanted me to stay, so I stayed. Figure I’ll come back here when they don’t want me to stay anymore.” It was bound to happen sooner or later, wasn’t it? Even Rhett had figured trekking through the mountains on one leg was a better idea than hanging around Emilio long term, and he’d known him twenty years.

Getting to his feet, Emilio limped into the kitchen to retrieve a garbage can, bringing it over to Ophelia. He set it down at her feet so she could toss the glass in, then hesitated momentarily. “We’re, uh… Together. Me and the person I’m staying with. We weren’t when I moved in, but… Happened a couple months back. Their name’s Teddy.” He paused a moment, uncertainty sitting on his shoulders like a tangible thing. “You could meet them, if you wanted.”

—

Fetching the broom, Ophelia used it to better collect the rest of the pieces of glass, listening as he told her about the place he was staying now. Good. It was good that he wasn't living here, and not just because it was a shitty apartment… It held a lot of memories, ones she figured might be painful for him to recall. She'd only spent a few months coming and going from the apartment and she had memories she didn't really want to visit, at least not until she found her father.

“Come on, tío… as much as you don't want to admit it, you're actually very likable. I'm sure whoever it is is happy to have you around, and I don't think that's gonna change unless you actively try to sabotage it. So don't fuckin’ do that, all right?” She gave him a nod of thanks as he approached with the trash can, her brows raising when he went on to elaborate on the situation without any kind of prompting from her. “Yeah?” Her face genuinely brightened and she dumped the glass into the container, setting the broom down against the wall and putting her hands on her hips. “Teddy… yeah, I'd like to meet Teddy.” She pushed the bin aside with her foot so she could close the space between them, wrapping her arms easily over his shoulders and pulling him into a soft hug. “That's great to hear. Seriously. You… you deserve to be happy. You deserve to have someone love you like that.” She tightened her grip, burying her face against his shoulder and letting out a ragged sigh.

She'd thought the same of Rhett. She'd desperately hoped that, even if it wasn't her mother, that someone would love the old thing. It was what he'd needed, she thought. In the end, though, all that love had gotten him was kidnapped. Again. Because of people like her. She'd never really hated hunters, she'd just been afraid. Wished they'd been raised to think for themselves rather than brainwashed to believe whatever they were told. But… there was truth there. And Emilio wasn't cruel like her father. He was lovable. He was redeemable. And Ophelia, she… she didn't know what her own future held. When she found those fae, when she killed them, she didn't know what that would make her. But she couldn't worry about that now. Now she just wanted to be with her uncle, to find comfort in his presence. “... can I show you where I'm living, now?” she asked, pulling away again. In case I ever need you to come help me with something quickly, she thought to herself. “Then maybe we can grab some food? All this crying has made me peckish.”

—

After the way the conversation had started, the sweeping and cleaning up of the glass felt so painfully mundane. It was domestic, in a way; the kind of thing that, if he were someone else, Emilio could pretend was normal. If his head weren’t what it was, all broken and mixed up, he could tell himself that this was how things were supposed to be, that sweeping glass off the floor of his shitty apartment with his niece and making conversation about his relationship were expected things. But because he was who he was, because he was him, he couldn’t help but feel like he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He loved Ophelia, just as he’d loved Rhett. Just as he’d loved Flora and Jaime and Edgar and Rosa, just as he’d loved people who existed only as ghostly memories now. How long would it be, then, before Ophelia was gone, too? Emilio had a bad habit of outliving the people he loved. He wasn’t sure he’d ever learn how to break it.

“Ah, tell that to all the guys who want to kill me,” he joked, though he didn’t think it untrue. He had a lot more people who hated him than he had people who liked him and, if he was being honest, there was something intentional about it. It was easier, he thought, to be hated. Hate was a straightforward thing, something he knew what to do with. He understood how to react when someone wanted him dead. He was less certain when someone wanted to save him. He thought of Lucio, a bitter taste settling on his tongue. He’d rather be hated than saved. It was better for everyone that way.

But you couldn’t control what other people felt. Teddy loved him, despite his best efforts. He thought Ophelia might, too. And Xóchitl, and Wynne, and Nora, and Jade. It was a dangerous thing, having people to lose again. It wasn’t something he ever would have done intentionally. “Yeah,” he confirmed with a nod, glancing back to Ophelia. He huffed a fond half-laugh as Ophelia wrapped her arms around him.

(In another world, he thought, Rhett would be here making a joke about how Ophelia was as tall as he was. He’d call Emilio short, and Emilio would toss something at his head, and they’d laugh. In this world, there was little more than an empty crevice in his chest and an ache in this throat. These things got easier with time, he’d been told. He was still trying to get there. And, despite Ophelia’s hope that they’d find her father alive, he felt like he was back at the start line again, back at ground zero. How could he hope for time to heal when the world kept pushing him to start over, to take it from the top? The grief would never leave him if more kept being added to the pile.)

Carefully, he wrapped his arms around Ophelia. He still wasn’t entirely practiced in soft touches, but he was learning. The pat he delivered to her back was a little awkward, but better than the first time he’d attempted to return Nora’s hug or the first time he’d tried to comfort Wynne. Maybe he was learning something. “You’ll like them,” he said, and he was sure of that. Teddy was hard not to get along with, and Ophelia came with less… baggage than Rhett had. A less complicated history between them, less old wounds constantly being reopened.

Offering her his best attempt at a smile, Emilio nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah, I’d like that.” He needed it, really, though he knew better than to admit to that. His head — the paranoia, the unease that never left him, the thing that he didn’t have a name for — tended to demand that he knew where the people he cared about were at all times. “Show me your place, and I’ll buy you lunch after. Sound good?”

#. thread ;#. with ; emilio cortez #parental death tw #child death tw #. won't anyone see ;

5 notes · View notes