#i still hated that giant one but i grew to tolerate the small one
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The Vortex That Takes Me To You - "Me, Lu, and Five Times Two" Side Story
Main story parts:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32
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"Wait!" Five called out as he tried to hand you the briefcase
It was too late though as Luther pushed him into the vortex to 2019. As Five held the now-defunct half of the briefcase he fell through time for what felt like a matter of seconds before hitting the ground of the courtyard behind the academy. With a giant flash, the spot in the sky where the blue used to be was now gone. From afar the five known living Hargreeves siblings slowly approached the person who dropped from the sky. Slowly, Five got up from the ground throwing the broken briefcase away as he dusted the dirt and leaves off his clothing. Approaching closer the group looks on in confusion as Klaus asks,
"Does anyone else see a slightly older version of little number Five or is that just me?"
Five took a look down at himself. His suit was too loose now and when he looked at his hands he saw no more wrinkles or signs of old age. There was a leftover puddle nearby from rain that must've occurred early and as he bent over it he saw the version of himself that he had left only moments ago. Bringing a hand up to his face, he stared at his newly youthful reflection.
"I'm young again." He whispered to himself
At the same time that this was happening you were making your way to the florist to pick up flowers that Pogo had ordered. As you walked to the shop you felt that something was wrong. No, not wrong, but different. From behind you, you felt a molecular disturbance and a giant one at that. As you continued to walk to the shop the physical pain grew so much that you had to stop and bend over. It felt like your insides were being torn apart bit by bit. Somehow managing to turn around you felt the direction it was coming from. It was coming from back towards the house. The pain of the disturbance went on for a few more seconds but then abruptly it stopped. Catching your breath, you stood back up but something felt familiar in a way. It was like an odd chill of deja vu but you had never experienced this before. But if the disturbance was coming from the house then the flowers could wait. Reginald didn't deserve flowers anyway. Quickly, you started sprinting back towards the Academy trying to get there as quickly as you could.
Back at the house, the five Hargreeves siblings sat around the kitchen table as they watched the newly returned Five make a sandwich. It had been years since they had last seen him and a lot had changed in that time. Everyone had their own thoughts and feelings on the matter and some were more upset than others. Five wasn't exactly sure what to say to them after all this time. It was quite a complicated situation to be in. Trying to not let his uncertainty show, Five stoically questioned,
"What is the date? The exact date."
The group stays quiet for a second before Vanya states,
"The 24th."
"Of?" Five pressed
"March," Vanya replies
"Good." Five comments
This was exactly the time that he was planning to be here, on the day of his father's funeral. Thank god that man was dead. If he was alive he would never hear the end of it.
"So are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Luther asks
It was no surprise to Five that Luther would speak up. Even after all this time, he was trying to take the lead on things. Instead of responding to his brother, Five puts two slices of bread down on a cutting board and focuses on his desired food item. He hadn't eaten all day and apparently paradox psychosis was a real energy drainer. He needed a second before he was going to explain anything. Standing up, Luther looks down to Five and states firmly,
"It's been 17 years."
"It's been a lot longer than that." Five replies immediately jumping behind Luther to find marshmallows
"I didn't miss that." Luther comments
While Five looks around the kitchen for the marshmallows, Diego asks accusingly,
"So where'd you go?"
Of course, an accusatory tone. How could Diego not have one? Five could just tell that Diego was upset not because he had disappeared for years but because he was the one that made you disappear for years. If only the siblings cared for each other as much as Diego cared for you, maybe things would be different. Five didn't have time for Diego's older brother shtick though. Jumping back to the table with the marshmallows, Five bluntly replied,
"The future. It's shit by the way."
"Called it!" Klaus exclaims
Five turned towards the refrigerator to get peanut butter for his sandwich, his mind wandering as he thought back to his time in the apocalypse. 45 years. He was so arrogant to think he could time travel. Grabbing the peanut butter jar, Five talks aloud,
"I should've listened to the old man. You know jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice."
Unscrewing the lid of the peanut butter jar Five looks up from the sandwich he was making and at his siblings before him. The last time he had seen them all together was as corpses. And before that, they were all still children. It was a lot to take in but he was focused on his task of stopping the apocalypse. He had the information he needed on what caused it, but he needed to find the right time to discuss it with everyone. Keeping a stoic look he tries to deflect his mind to something else by commenting to Klaus,
"Nice dress."
"Oh, Danke," Klaus responds playing with some of the loose straps
As he starts to assemble the sandwich he was making Vanya questions him,
"So how did you get back?"
"In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time." Five responds
"That makes no sense," Diego says confused
"Well, it would if you were smarter." Five remarks
Diego angrily stands up and stares down Five attempting to get towards him to attack him. Instead, Luther stands up puts out an arm to hold him back. Honestly, it didn't matter if Luther was there to stop Diego or not. He was all bark and no bite.
"How long were you there?" Luther asks
"45 years." Five states bluntly "Give or take."
Luther and Diego both sit back down in unison. All the siblings stare at their brother with wide eyes in shock at his statement. 45 years?
"So what are you saying? You're 58?" Luther asks
"No. My consciousness is 58. My body is 18 again." Five retorts
With his sandwich put together, Five walks off to the side of the table they all sat around and faces away from his siblings.
"How does that even work?" Vanya inquires
"I used the improper equation when I was forced through time." Five replies
"Improper equation?" Vanya questions
Electing to ignore Vanya's question, Five turns back towards his siblings at the table. There was no reason to explain all that had happened before he came here. It was unnecessary and would probably worry his siblings more than they needed to be, or perhaps even enrage them and there was no way he was going to stop the apocalypse if his siblings weren't willing to work together. Picking up a newspaper detailing the death of his father, Five takes a look at it before commenting unamused,
"Guessed I missed the funeral."
"How did you know about that?" Luther asks
"What part of the future do you not understand." Five remarks to him, his eyes not leaving the paper "Heart failure, huh?"
"Yeah," Diego says
"No," Luther adds
Ah, yes. One and Two still fighting to be the leader of the family as if it hadn't been years since the dissolution of the Umbrella Academy.
"Hmm. Nice to see nothing's changed." Five comments
The Hargreeves looked at their newly returned brother and as he stood there quietly, holding his sandwich he stared back awkwardly at his siblings. The prior self that he left in the '60s said that you would show up when the conversation with his siblings felt over. It felt pretty over right now and there was no sign of you. Five's heart started to race, everything had been laid out for him, and now nothing was going according to plan. Panicked, Five decided it was best to leave. Keeping a serious look on his face he started to walk out of the kitchen.
"Uh, that's it? That's all you have to say?" Allison questioned
"What else is there to say?" Five responded
When he was out of sight of his siblings he once again noticed how his suit didn't fit him properly anymore. He needed to change. Flashing upstairs he looked in the closets of his siblings but was met with academy uniform after academy uniform. Reluctantly, he took an academy uniform from Klaus' closet since it looked like it would fit best and put it on. He stared at himself in the mirror for a bit before deciding to head back downstairs.
Making it back to the house, you looked around, and only felt faint traces of a disturbance. Maybe you were going crazy? Heading through the front door you looked around the foyer and some other rooms on the main floor and upper floors but found no one. Maybe they all got in an argument and left, it's not like they enjoyed being here anyway. Letting out a small sigh you made your way back downstairs to the parlor. Someone would probably show up soon enough. You stood in the doorway for a second and stared at the portrait above the fireplace. You had hated the painting at first, but you tolerated its presence after years of coexisting with it. Carefully, you made your way over to the fireplace and looked up at the portrait that loomed over you. It was nothing like him. No light in his eyes, no cocky smile on his face, no personality. Just an emotionless and unrealistic replication of who he was. You wanted him to come back.
As you stared at his portrait, Five had made his way downstairs and took in what had become of his home. As he approached the parlor he saw a giant portrait of him on the wall and below it stood a familiar figure. Five stopped in his tracks and his heart began to race. This was his (Y/N). Five readjusted his jacket and tie and took in a breath before slowly starting to walk over to you. Hearing footsteps behind you, you stopped looking at the painting and turned to look where they came from. Seeing the figure before you, your eyes went wide with shock as the world around felt like it was slowing down. Carefully, you moved forward towards him almost as if in a trance, worried that if you moved too fast he would vanish. You extended your hand out and Five moved to meet you in the middle. When the two of you were close enough your fingertips lightly brushed his cheek, but you quickly pulled back, shocked by the feeling of something there.
"I think I'm hallucinating again," you whisper
Five reaches out and gently grabs the hand you had retracted. Bringing it closer to him he places it on top of his heart, holding your hand there. You can feel his heart beating rapidly beneath your hand as your own started to catch up to match his. You looked up at his face and gazed into his eyes. Tears prick your own as you softly ask,
"Five?"
Five smiled at you as he looked upon your face. You were so beautiful. Not that you weren't in the 60s but the way you looked at him now was different. It was soft and welcoming and felt like it was only for him. Leaning in just a little closer Five whispered to you,
"I'm here."
You let out a small gasp. He was here. This was real. Flinging your arms around him you held him tightly as Five wrapped his arms around to hold you back. No wonder his other self was so protective, who would ever want to let this go? You looked up at Five. A question had loomed on your mind ever since the day he vanished and you had to know the answer.
"Are you still mad at me?" You questioned nervously
Five saw the nervous look on your face. He knew that you had wondered if he was mad at you for a while. It was one of the last things you had said to him before you...died. Five took your face into his hands. Looking gently into your eyes he answered,
"I was never mad at you, to begin with. I was mad at my dad and one of my biggest regrets will always be taking that out on you and then leaving you all alone."
With his response, a weight fell off your shoulders. For so long you had thought you were the one that drove him away. You thought he was mad at you all this time, but to know that wasn't the case made you feel so much better.
"So you didn't purposely stay away?" You asked
"No, how could I ever choose to be away from my best friend?" Five added
You looked off to the side as best as you could, given that your face was held between his hands, and hoped that he didn't notice the blush rising to your cheeks.
"I don't know, but I missed you." You mumbled
Five took his hands from your face and hugged you once more responding,
"I missed you too. Not a day went by when I didn't."
You smiled knowing that Five had missed you as much as you missed him. Day after day, month after month, year after year, you thought of him as you waited for him to come back. And now here he was before you telling you he felt the same way. It was all that you needed to hear. Well...there were other things you wanted to hear but those were more so desires than necessities. You were just happy to have him back.
"Pull that shit again and I'll kill you." You joke as you give him a small shove away
"I promise I won't." Five replies with a smirk "Although I don't think you would kill me anyway."
"Perhaps." You respond
Five threw his hands into the pockets of his academy shorts and looked at you.
"Care to walk and talk around the house?" Five offered
"Of course. Would you like me to turn invisible so you look insane for old times sake?"
"I already look insane in this uniform." Five joked
"You always did. C'mon, let's go." You say extending your hand towards him
Five looks at your hand, almost hesitant to take it because none of this felt real. Even though he had been around you not too long ago back in the 60s, this truly was different. This version of you hadn't seen him since the day he left. Unlike prior you who had experienced being around him, you had waited every day for his return. There was an excitement and awe that he got from you this time around that made him nervous. As Five thought more about the situation before him he froze up. As much as he trusted you when you said that you loved him the way he loved you Five still couldn't help but wonder if his other self just had better circumstances. He still worried that maybe that version really was just lucky. Five didn't want to get this wrong, but nevertheless, he took your hand. Fingers intertwining, there was electricity you both felt but would not tell the other.
With a smile, you started to walk around the house as you had done many times before, both of you trying your best to catch the other up. The conversation came easy as if the two of you were never separated. Five took in the sights of his old home. Nothing had really changed since he left, minus the small presence you had created. There was a newer piano in the parlor and you had shown off your wonderful room to him. He remembered your description of it from your diary and how you changed it from being Diego's to yours but it was even better in person. As you two exited your room Five looked down the hall at a shut door. It was his room. Five made his way there and you followed behind. Carefully, he opened the door to it and stepped inside. Once more you followed behind and thinking that the sight of his childhood room might be tough for him, you shut the door.
As you shut the door though Allison who had been heading to her room happened to pass by and noticed the two of you in there. Something about you two being together again reignited the feelings of her youth. She remembered the times when you and she had traded secrets about your crushes. The gossip in her immediately needed to tell someone else. Turning back around she went downstairs and noticed the rest of her siblings in the parlor again. Approaching them all she said,
"I don't want to alert anyone but Five and (Y/N) went into Five's room and shut the door."
"WHAT?!" Diego shouted as he angrily turned to face her
"Oooh, juicy," Klaus commented "I remember being 18 and hormonal. Horniness levels are through the roof, I mean-"
"NOT ON MY WATCH!" Diego yelled cutting Klaus off
There was no way his baby sister was going to be in a room with a boy alone. Especially not with the boy who had left her alone and broke her heart. What was he going to do? Break it again? Not if he had anything to say about it. With his fists clenched tight Diego started to march his way out of the parlor. He was going to protect his little tiny princess, but as he attempted to go, Luther, with his superior strength, held him back.
"Let me go, Luther!" Diego yelled
"We shouldn't just barge in there Diego." Luther criticizes
"That's MY little sister!" Diego retorts
"There are better ways of approaching this," Luther replies
"I want to know what's going on though..." Vanya comments
"Me too," Allison adds
As the group stands around debating Ben leans over to Klaus and says,
"Klaus."
"What do you want?" Klaus replies annoyed
"Is that camera we bought as kids still in Five's room?" Ben asks
"Yeah, we never took it out. Why?"
"The tablet to watch the video feed on is in my closet." Ben states
Klaus looks at him confused for a second before realizing what Ben meant. Getting excited Klaus exclaims,
"Guys! Guys!"
The rest of the group looks over to him confused and with all of their attention grabbed Klaus continues,
"The video camera we got as kids is still in Five's room and the tablet is in Ben's closet!"
"Do you think it still even works?" Allison questions
"It's worth a try," Luther says
The group looks at each other before silently nodding in agreement. Together they head up to Ben's room and search for the tablet in his closet. Finding it they turn on the switch and to their surprise, it works. The picture quality was not as great as they remember but clear enough that they all can see what is going on. As they all stand over the tablet Diego says annoyed,
"Alright Five, what are you hiding from me."
"From us." Luther corrects
The two brothers glare at each other before turning their attention back to the tablet and the two of you in Five's room. Five stepped into his room quietly taking in the surroundings. Nothing had changed, it was as if his room was frozen in time. As he looks around you slowly approach his side. Standing next to him you looked around the room as well and comment,
"It's an odd feeling. Knowing that time has passed but everything looks the same."
Five looks towards you. Of course, you knew the feeling he was going through.
"No worries though, we'll get you everything you need to make this place feel like home again." You mention
"I already have everything I need to feel at home." Five replies, his hand holding yours just a little tighter
Five gazes in your direction but as he does so he notices something behind you. Letting go of your hand he steps around you curious and makes his way over to his desk. Looking down at the object placed there he realized that it's the radio he had taken from Allison all those years ago. Confused as to what he was looking at you followed him towards the desk and saw the radio.
"I can't believe it's still here after all this time." Five comments
"Well we never gave it back and I'm guessing nobody wanted to come take it after..." You mention trailing off
"Yeah..." Five replies before questioning "I wonder if it still works?"
You shrugged your shoulders and gestured to the old electronic encouraging him to see if it worked. Leaning down Five plugs in the old radio before pressing the on button. The sound of static blasts loudly through the speakers causing both of you to flinch back a little in shock. After a moment Five started to turn the knob to tune the radio, searching through for a station that was clear. Soon the static started to fade and in its place music could be heard.
As the camera continues to spy on the two of you, the rest of the Hargreeves siblings watch what goes on from Ben's room. Seeing the working radio Allison exclaims,
"Hey, it's my radio! I never got it back!"
"Allison, it's been years and still no one cares about your radio." Klaus comments "We want to know what's up with Five and (Y/N)."
Allison lets out a huff and crosses her arms. Just because it was old and she hadn't been in possession of it or thought about it for years didn't mean it wasn't hers. Even with her pouting, the siblings continued to observe. As they did so Diego aggressively says,
"Alright Five what shit are you going to pull now?"
"I don't think he's going to do anything." Vanya comments "I mean there's nothing wrong with them being happy."
Back in Five's room, music flowed through the air as Five leaned against the edge of his desk, watching you look around the place. He was absolutely enthralled by you. The most mundane of things seemed extravagant just because you were there with him. A wide smile appeared on his face as he remembered a similar time he had spent with you. You took in the room silently as the upbeat music played. It had been a bit since you'd last been in Five's room, but for the first time in a while it felt warm and bright again. Looking over your shoulder you looked back towards Five and noticed the smile on his face.
"What?" You questioned
"Nothing." Five replied with a shake of his head
"Nothing? The mind of Five Hargreeves is completely empty?" You joke sarcastically "This is something I'd expect from your brothers, not you."
Five rolled his eyes at you but he missed your quick wit. No one at the commission could keep up with him like you could. As you walked back over to him, Five could see the look on your face waiting for him to elaborate.
"I was just thinking-" Five starts to explain before being cut off
"Ah, so you were thinking!" You comment back
"Yes." Five replies letting out a small laugh "I was thinking about how this reminds me of our friendiversary a bit."
"Yeah, kind of, minus the food and flowers." You reply
You were right, there was no food and flowers. How could he even think to compare the two times when this time wasn't as perfect? Quickly standing up from the desk, Five starts to make his way over to the door as he states worried,
"Do you want food and flowers?"
Reaching out, you grab his hand preventing him from going any further. Stopping in his tracks he looks back towards you confused at your action. Gently, you pull his hand back towards you, causing him to come back close to you. With his hand still in yours, Five asks confused,
"Do you not want food and flowers?"
"No, Five." You replied with a smile "I just want you."
For a moment, Five could feel his heart stop. Although his expression seemed calm and collected, internally he had no clue what to do. He was so preoccupied trying to figure out how to get back to 2019 so he could stop the apocalypse that he never stopped to think fully about what would happen when he actually did so. And it wasn't until he met himself that he even found out being a teenager again was a possibility. This was the most unprepared he had ever been and the nerves he felt on your friendiversary were nothing compared to the nerves he felt now. If you didn't want food or flowers then what could he do? And then from the radio, he heard the voice of the announcer,
"This is Arlo Vegas with 103.5 WKTU. I hope that even with all the doom and gloom outside today everyone can stay high and dry. Up next, a throwback to 2017 this is Adore by Dean Lewis."
I'm just gonna stand with my bag hanging off my left arm
I'm just gonna walk home kicking stones at parked cars
But I had a great night, 'cause you kept rubbing against my arm
So I'm just gonna stand with my bag hanging off my left arm
Five looked towards the radio as the sound of a soft guitar slowly playing and the lyrics of the song enveloped the room. As the music played he remembered the part of your friendiversary that he could never forget. He remembered how the two of you danced that night and the joy he felt in that moment. Looking back towards you he nervously asked,
"Would you like to dance...with me?"
"I'd love to." You replied longingly
Five guided you the few steps towards the center of his room taking a quiet breath as he tried to calm his nerves. How did he do this so easily as a child? Oh right, he didn't realize he was in love with you then. Turning back to face you he saw as your eyes lit up and your smile widened. So much for breathing when you took his breath away so easily. Gently, he took one of your hands in his as he wrapped his other arm around your waist. You wrapped your free arm around his neck as the two of you slowly started to dance to the music.
Get me a drink, I get drunk off one sip, just so I can adore you
I want the entire street out of town just so I can be alone with you
Now go when you're ready
My head's getting heavy, pressed against your arm
I adore you
"So is this what your prom was like last week?" Five asked
You looked up towards him slightly confused. How did he know about your prom? It took you a second to remember but you then recalled that he had come from the future so he had to have found out about it somehow. You recalled your prom only a week ago, it was fun to be with your friends but it was definitely not the same experience as dancing with Five. With a slight chuckle, you answer.
"No, it was not like this."
"Oh, why not?" Five questions
"Well dancing with you is quite different than dancing with Dean, because neither of us had dates and we pitied each other." You explained
"I wish I could've come a week earlier then. I would've saved you the pity by dancing with your brother." Five joked
"Wow, okay." You laughed
"I'm joking." Five explained, his expression softening as he added "I'd never pass up a chance to dance with you."
"Neither would I." you replied quietly
All of my money is spent on these nights, just so we can hang out
Spacing in and out of your dresses, I wanna be found by you
Found by you
As the two of you swayed you couldn't help but rest your head against his chest. A small smile appeared on your face as you closed your eyes and comfortably melted into the moment. Unconsciously, you started to stroke the hair at the back of his head casing Five to lean into your touch. It was so gentle and soft. Five could feel his heart start to pick up its pace. He hoped that you couldn't hear so because he had no clue how he would explain it to you. Granted, he knew all the words he wanted to say to you but he didn't know if he'd even be able to get them out.
Get me a drink, I get drunk off one sip, just so I can adore you
I want the entire street out of town just so I can be alone with you
Now go when you're ready
My head's getting heavy, pressed against your arm
I adore you, I adore you
As your head rested on top of him a thought came to your mind. It was something that you hadn't done in a while and something you had desired to do. Lifting your head up, you look towards Five who looks back down towards you. Had he done something wrong? Did you hear how fast his heart was beating? Quietly you ask,
"Will you spin me?"
Relief washes over Five's system as he gives you a soft smile.
"Of course I will," He replies
Slightly breaking away from you he helps to twirl you around, the smile on your face filling his heart to the point he felt it was going to burst. Your laughter filled the room as you enjoyed your time with your best friend. You couldn't think of anything to make the moment better. Five spins you back in towards him before spinning you out once more. As you spin out quickly your grip on his hand slips and you start to fall back. Quickly, Five flashes over and catches you. His arms wrapped tightly around your waist as yours find their way around his neck.
She kicks the gutter in tight shorts, basketball courts
Watch me, watch her talk to boys
I'm known as a right-hand slugger
Anybody else wanna touch my lover?
The two of you look at each other both trying to catch your slight breaths from the burst of adrenaline that just occurred.
"I told you I wasn't going to let you fall." Five comments
It was too late for that though. You had fallen for him years ago in a situation exactly like this one. There was something different about it this time, an energy you had never felt before. Your eyes were still locked on each other he slowly brought you back up. The soft bridge of the song played in the back but all either of you could hear was the beating of your own hearts. Wrapped up tightly in each other's arms there was no space between the two of you. Each of you wanted to say so many things, wanted to shout the thoughts that raced in your mind, the ones you always had, but no words came out. As Five stood there with you in his arms he finally started to understand what you meant back in the 60s when you said the pieces would fall into place. Everything about this moment felt right like it was meant to be. Like he was meant to be here with you. As you continued to look into each other's eyes there was a magnetism that pulled you closer. Your faces inched closer as the space between you lessened more and more. For a moment you both wondered if you were dreaming but no, this was real. You were here with each other. And as the climax of the final verse hit, your eyes closed as your lips gently pressed against each other.
Get me a drink, I get drunk off one sip, just so I can adore you
I want the entire street out of town just so I can be alone with you
Now go when you're ready
My head's getting heavy, pressed against your arm
Just to adore you
Tenderly, you both expressed everything you wanted to tell the other without saying any words at all. The years of pining and longing to be reunited had finally culminated into something beautiful. Something you both had desired for a very long time. The world around you faded away leaving only the two of you and your newly acknowledged love for each other. Removing his arms from your waist he took your face in his hands, pulling you closer and deepening the kiss. He never wanted to leave this moment. This was all he ever wanted, this is what he survived and fought for and now to have it? It felt unreal to him. But it was real. He had you, and you had him, and nothing would ever take that away now.
I adore you
Neither of you wanted to be the first to part from the kiss but as the final lyric of the song ended the two of you slowly separated. With eyes still closed, you rested your foreheads against each other, relishing in the beautiful moment. As Five held you close, he knew he needed to tell you something. Even if he had expressed it in his kiss to you, he wanted to verbalize it, to make it know and make it real. Moving one of his hands from your cheek to your chin, he tilted your face up to look at him. As he gazed into your eyes, with adoration in his voice, he whispered,
"I love you, (Y/N)."
You could feel your stomach flutter with butterflies as you processed his words. There was nothing you wanted to hear more than those words. Finally getting to express how you felt, you replied breathlessly,
"I love you too, Five. You know what this means now though."
"What?" Five questioned
"You can never leave me again." You answer
"I promise nothing will ever tear us apart again. Not people, not distance, not time, nothing."
The two of you looked at each other lovingly before leaning in for another kiss. As you did so the siblings in the other room saw everything.
"Awww," Vanya said as she placed a hand over her heart
"They're so cute!" Allison exclaimed
"They are not!" Diego remarks angrily as he tries to make his way to the door "I'm going to go in there and stop him."
"Luther, stop him." Allison requests
Doing as she says, Luther wraps his arms around Diego from behind and picks him off the ground. Kicking his legs and wriggling around, Diego fights like a child trying to escape Luther's grasp.
"That is my little princess! I need to put a stop to this!" Diego complains
"She is 18, you need to let her live her life," Allison replies
"Not with him! The one who ruined it." Diego retorts
"I don't think she sees it that way," Vanya interjects
As the other siblings argue with Diego, Ben leans over to Klaus and states,
"If I was alive you would owe me $20 bucks right now. I told you they'd come back and get together before Allison and Luther would."
"Oh, shut up," Klaus replies
The rest of the group looks over to Klaus before looking back at the still flailing Diego.
"Klaus makes a good point. You need to drop this and shut up Diego." Allison states
"I will not!" Diego replies back
"If you don't calm down, drop the issue, and let them be happy I will rumor you into doing so." Allison threatens
It takes a moment but Diego soon stops his fighting. He was not going to be rumored into ignoring the situation but for now, he would put it off. Letting out a huff, Diego relents,
"Fine."
"Good, now let's shut down this camera and just leave them be. We can talk to them later." Luther commands as he puts Diego back down
And so as the siblings tried to quietly file out of Ben's room and go off to do other things, this version of Five and you stayed happily together ready to take on whatever the future threw at them.
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Taglist: @xplrreylo @joebob15274 @insatiable-ivy @fruitsaladtree @angelpeachamber @academy-umbrella @lizziel1410 @ir3neeee @faith-quake @aliens-with-colas @sunsetcurve-1995 @lady-celeste25 @im-dead-and-hurting @nerdypinupcrystal @cherry-ki-d @anapocalypseinmymind @vicassa @2cuteforyourlies @taylorsmakingfuckingmacandcheese @n1ghtsh4d3-67 @cheshire-salvatore-mikaelson @shadowycreationcupcake @emily-hargreeves @metor-showers1994 @fivehargreevesforthewin @rinko-san @supernovavision @cicilisthebest @flickbix @hi-v-juice @magykal-777 @zosiaduda @thethirdwheelfriend @mysticracoon @isnt-it-loverly @officiallydarkgeek @lady1505 @always-the-very-worst @tinypandagirl @libidinexx @lemongrabbuns @itwasallred @deadandoverit @shlokage @keksi249 @theoriginalkat @we-stan-fiction @bi-idiot-fanfics @annnagennnie @izzyjojo4 @megasimpleplan4ever @flowertoty @grabthemoneyandletsgo @itsametaphorbriansblog @vanillacaramelhoney @satvaldiva @disaster-magician @margotsfandoms @emily-b-m @bluechildrenlickmytoes @soft-slytherin-sweetie @oceanspray5 @im-here-for-fanfics @thebloodrobin @freestarlight @starcurrent @lilacs-lavender @moatsnow @give-the-boy-a-hug @narikyuwu @whenyouregrungeaff @gabriella-aesthetic @xxtwizztedxx
#The Umbrella Academy#Umbrella Academy#umbrella acedmy#tua#tua2#UA#number five#five hargreeves#five hargreeves x reader#the umbrella academy five#umbrella academy five
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Jasonette July Day 9: Pixie
Written by: The Maribat Pit @jasonette-july-event
Prompt: Pixie
Rated: T
(By popular demand, a slight continuation of Game On @aespades, @certainmuffinbagelcalzone.)
A/n: Edits have been made because I noticed the paragraph errors AFTER posting this.
Marinette was really starting to miss the days of working with Chat Noir at that moment, and that was saying something. “Bugaboo” and “My Lady” were starting to feel more tolerable when she wasn’t being called that every second of the day. Being called “Pixie” regardless if she was Ladybug or Marinette, was really starting to get old, fast. For reasons that she could not understand, that’s what Jason insisted on calling her. Sure, she was a lot smaller compared to him, but that coupled with needing to hang back and let Red Hood and Arsenal deal out the heavier hits was starting to get on her nerves. She was just as experienced as them, she had a mentor just like they did, and had been saving lives for just as long as they had. Ever since she had joined them, she thought that she would be fighting alongside a team again. Now she was either supporting them or using her sewing skills to add improvements to their suits. She was in good hands, some might say hands that were a little too good. All this frustrated her to no end because she liked Jason, she would have thought that someone who had been a vigilante from a young age would understand what it felt like to be constantly underestimated.
“Unbelievable,” she snapped one night as she came home from another mission. She pulled off her pink flats and threw them across the room as she entered her apartment. She didn’t even get the chance to use her Miraculous, she was effectively closely guarded bait on that last mission. She slumped on the bed in frustration and Tikki hovered over to her, her antenna drooping in concern. “Some days I want to wipe that smile off of that stupid face, just to prove I can.” Marinette grumbled into her pillow. She didn’t hate Jason, she knew that there was some good in him. Roy was the more optimistic and cheerful of the duo, like Jason, he had also been mentored by a more experienced hero. Jason was a lot more reserved and cynical by comparison, though he wasn’t a complete Ice Prince like his brother Damian.
“Maybe it’s because they’ve been doing this for a little bit longer.” Tikki suggested, after Marinette complained about it for the umpteenth time.
“Batgirl and Black Bat are only a few years younger than me,” she reminded her, “and there’s no doubt that they could hold their own in a fight. No one gives them stupid nicknames, just shortened versions of their real names out of costume.” Tikki awkwardly scratched the back of her head. “I bet you that he barely remembers what my real name is.” Marinette was getting increasingly furious at the thought “it’s always ‘Pixie this’ and ‘Pixie that’. I know I’m shorter than him, but I have taken on giant robot dolls, literal monsters, and I once rode a dragon!” Marinette yelled.
Marinette throws a pillow at Tikki, only for it to phase through her. “What does he think I do as Ladybug? Create Christmas presents with my Lucky Charm?!”
At this very unfortunate moment Jason happened to return back to their apartment with Roy in tow. “What’s got you riled up, Pixie Pop?” Jason quipped after seeing the frustrated look on her face.
This was the last straw for Marinette, “Stop calling me that! Does it please you to demean me? Does it bring you joy to fucking bully me day in and day out?” Jason and Roy take a step back from Marinette’s outburst. Marinette continues “I have kept Paris safe ever since I was 13, I didn’t have the World's Greatest Detective or a Robin Hood cosplayer helping me. It’s always you two off saving the day while I’m the distraction. Do I have to remind you that I’ve beaten Robin and Red Robin?”
“So have we, right Roy?” Jason says look backwards to Roy. Roy meanwhile was slowly walking backwards with his arms up in surrender.
“Don’t drag me into this please.” Roy pleaded.
Marinette continued her rant, “So why do you keep calling me Pixie Pop like I'm some pet or stuffed animal?” She storms up to Jason and pulls him down to her height by the collar.
Roy sensed the tension and wanted absolutely no part in making it worse, “You know what? I’m gonna go get us some shawarma.”
Jason looked over at Roy “Really, Roy?” A slight scowl made it clear he knew Roy was essentially leaving him to face Marinette’s wrath.
“All I know is that they are open at four in the morning and I’m hungry, so I’ll be right back.” Roy said, and he left the room. Just as he thought Roy was out of earshot, Jason heard sprinting down the hallway. Roy had abandoned him to face the burning blue fire in Marinette’s eyes.
Marinette let go of him, she didn’t need them, she had made that absolutely clear.
“I’m done, I don’t expect you to understand what it’s like to be underestimated all of the time.” she muttered harshly, “to always be kept at arm's length, because no one trusts you to do anything right.”
Marinette had no idea just how deep her words cut him, and Jason couldn’t really blame her. As far as she knew, compared to his brothers, he might as well just be ‘the one with the guns and leather jackets’. He hadn’t really told her about what had happened all those years ago, he didn’t even like to think about it himself. Roy was one of the few people who understood what he’d been through. It was true that both of them started out as sidekicks, maybe the red in their costumes helped them stand out from their mentor’s shadows. Their time as young crime fighters had left their scars. They were blindsided when they found someone who had been a heroine since she was 13, and took to it with the same determination they had when they were younger, more innocent, more naïve.
As Marinette flitted around the room, gathering her things, every nerve in Jason’s body was screaming at him to stop her. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, trying not to think about just how small it felt around his hand. “Look, I’m sorry,” he began. What could he say to her? That he knew exactly what that felt like? That the last thing they wanted was for her to end up like them? That every hit they took in a fight was one that she wouldn’t have to, so that she wouldn’t turn out broken like they were? The problem was she didn’t see them as broken, she saw them treating her like glass. If she was put through the same ordeal, Jason had no idea what he would do. If she shattered just like they did, then in a way, they would have failed her. If she came out still whole, still brimming with light, then what did that say about them?
Marinette pulled her arm away, “I’ll show you, then you’ll be sorry” she told him bitterly. With her backpack in hand and shoes on her feet, she pushed past him and walked out the door.
Jason remains staring at the open door, regretting how he had treated her. He grew fond of her during their time together as ‘Red Arse Bug’. She had a cute face, cute voice and she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. “Stupid, stupid” he says to himself, facepalm at each syllable. Even with the now hostile relationship with Marinette, he knew he had to follow her. He had to stop her from making the same mistakes he did, so that she would not become like him. He put on his helmet and left to search for clues as to where Marinette would go and what she would do.
Marinette wandered through Gotham city, unsure what to do now that she stormed out of the apartment she shared with Jason and Roy. She felt like everyone belittled her, Selena did, and now so did Jason. She needed to do something eye-catching, to prove to everyone that she didn’t need their help.
As she wanders past the Iceberg Lounge, she gets a spark of inspiration. If she could take down the Penguin single-handedly, nobody in Gotham would doubt her ever again. With unyielding determination she calls out “Spots On” and turns to Ladybug, ready to take on one of the cruelest crime lords in all of Gotham. Ladybug walks up to the front door and kicks it down, sending the door flying and knocking any unfortunate goons behind it. Penguin’s gang whipped out their guns, tire irons, pipes and anything that could count as a weapon and were now charging in to stop the intruder.
Marinette swings her yo-yo to wrap around one of the goon’s ankles, before swinging him around crashing him into several others. A guard points his rifle behind Ladybug, she spins around, sending her yo-yo towards the gun and pulling it from his hands. As the guards begin to group up together in an attempt to minimise the effectiveness of her yo-yo, Marinette looks up and begins to smirk. She flings her yo-yo upwards and hooks it onto a chandelier. She yanks it down, sending the chandelier crashing onto the unsuspecting guards.
Marinette dusts her hands and proceeds to walk through into the main hall. She proceeds to kick down that door too, she is then greeted by The Penguin surrounded by his gang. “I’m taking you down Cobblepot.” She shouts, swinging her yo-yo as if it was a lasso, preparing for a fight.
The Penguin stands up from the seat of his large chair. “What are all you idiots waiting for?” He shouts all around him. He points his umbrella at Ladybug, and begins shooting his umbrella gun. “Get her!” The penguin roars, at this cue every gangster charges at Ladybug.
Marinette gracefully dodges and weaves around Penguin’s army, knocking each one out one by one. Until only The Penguin remains, she wraps her yo-yo around his umbrella, easily disarming one of Gotham’s most wanted. She walks towards The Penguin, slowly unravelling her yo-yo in anticipation of tying him up and sending him to Arkham Asylum.
The Penguin takes out a little remote control from his suit pocket, “It's not over yet.” he snarls and pushes a button. At that moment the entire building shakes.
“Born on a Monday” a voice groaned, followed by another loud thud. “Christened on a Tuesday.” the same voice groaned. Then a giant hand shoots up from beneath the floor, “SOLOMON GRUNDY” roared the giant as it emerged from the floor.
Red Hood and Arsenal had been watching the fight from a careful distance outside the Iceberg Lounge. “Well, she’s managed to take on Penguins goons just fine,” Arsenal observed through the small pair of binoculars, “she’s certainly had plenty of time to get very creative with that yo-yo”.
Red Hood’s hand was still itching to reach for one of his pistols, ready to jump in at the first sign of trouble. “By the way, how was your shawarma?” he asked sarcastically.
Arsenal looked over at him, raising an eyebrow “Hey, I’m not the one who said the one thing that just made her angrier, you were on your own there.”
“Nice to know you had my back.” he grumbled.
“Oh I do in a fight, you just decided to be an ass and poke the angry girl with a stick.” Arsenal pointed out.
Their banter was interrupted by an earth shattering thud, following a loud groan “Born on a Monday.” At that moment their blood ran cold. Red Hood and Arsenal rushed towards the Iceberg Lounge. Both worried for Ladybug and aware of what comes after that dreadful nursery rhyme.
“What are you two doing here? I can handle this.” growled Ladybug as Red Hood and Arsenal arrived.
Before either Red Hood or Arsenal could answer, they were interrupted by Solomon Grundy smashing the ground where Ladybug was standing. Ladybug gracefully dodged the punch, grappling onto a ceiling lamp to swing towards Grundy with a kick.
The giant grabbed Ladybug while she was mid-air and threw her towards her partners. Red Hood catches her, holding her tightly as the two fly across the room. He shields her from the shock, taking the brunt of the impact as they crash into the wall.
Red Hood groans “You okay?” Ladybug looks up to see she was relatively unharmed, but Red Hood had taken the brunt of the throw. Concern visible on her face as she sees Red Hood’s damaged helmet, and the bruised and bloodied face beneath.
Their quiet moment together was interrupted by Arsenal's cries for help. Every arrow he had in his quiver wasn’t making a dent in Solomon Grundy. Ladybug decides to cast Lucky Charm in desperation, and swings her yo-yo up. The ladybugs converge to form...a polka-dotted stick of dynamite.
“Arsenal!” She called. “Tie this to the end of an arrow, Red Hood and I will keep it busy.” She tosses the dynamite to Arsenal and tells Red Hood to tie Grundy down.
Ladybug using her yo-yo grabs on to Solomon Grundy’s left arm while Red Hood uses his grappling hook to hold on to his right arm. Leaving Grundy exposed and immobile, giving Arsenal the opportunity for a clear unobstructed target.
Arsenal draws and aims the special Lucky Charm Explosive Arrow. The giant zombie growls “Arrow Boy no hurt Grundy.”
“Arrow Boy yes hurt Grundy” quipped Arsenal, before releasing the arrow causing a thunderous explosion into Solomon Grundy’s face. The giant slumps, Ladybug and Red Hood quickly release their hold and watch its body fall back into the hole in which it came from.
Solomon Grundy’s body lays motionless in the basement of the Iceberg Lounge as the three peer over the hole in the ground, “Let’s get outta here before the GCPD or worse, Batman arrive” Red Hood points to the front door, and the three of them leave the lounge to head back to their apartment.
As the three arrive home, they each find a nice comfortable spot to collapse onto. Jason claimed the sofa, slumped down Roy in the middle of the living room floor and Marinette sat at the dining table. “I vote for a week off.” groaned Roy.
“I second that motion” agreed Jason.
“I still have design work to do.” Marinette told them, not really looking at either of them at that moment. She was torn between appreciating their help, and frustrated that she hadn’t been able to handle the situation herself like she thought.
“Still that was one hell of a fight, and hey, you still managed to take on a squad of goons by yourself.” Roy said, “I’m so proud” he said dramatically pretending to wipe away a happy tear.
He nudged Jason in the leg, “um, yeah, good work” he said awkwardly, slightly lost in thought. Marinette smiled slightly, before turning her attention back to her little fairy friend perched on the table.
“So does this mean Red Arse Bug is back together?” Roy asked enthusiastically, Marinette wasn’t really paying attention.
The name still needed work, for one thing. For once Marinette felt like her powers were being used in harmony with their abilities, but she wasn’t sure if it was a feeling that she should get used to. Marinette could still vividly remember seeing Jason’s bruised and bloodied face beneath his helmet. Jason stood up and walked over to the fridge, looking for ice to dull the swelling on his face.
“Not with that name,” Jason grumbled, not entirely sure if Marinette was willing to stay after their argument. Someday, somehow, he would tell her the full story of what happened to him. Right now, that was a whole Pandora’s Box that he just wasn’t prepared to open. Nestled at the bottom of that box was hope, a hope that no one else would meet that same fate.
“...Lucky Shot?” Marinette suggested as she carried Tikki over to the sofa and sat down. Both Jason and Roy looked up, it made some sense, seeing as they both used projectiles and she had her lucky charms. Jason tentatively made his way back to the sofa, ice pack in hand.
“Sounds better than ‘Red Arse Bug’.” Jason remarked, as he sat back down.
“Well, let’s see if our little adventure made the news” Roy said, as he reached for the TV remote. Jason tuned out Vicki Vale’s voice as she reported on the fight that took place at the Iceberg Lounge.
As Roy slept at their feet, Jason knew if they were going to continue working together as a team, they couldn’t keep her in the dark any longer.
“Hey Marinette.” Jason speaks softly. Marinette's ears perk in surprise, hearing speak her name for the first time. “I’m sorry, for what I said and how we treated you. You’re right.” He gestures to the sleeping Roy on the floor, “Both of us started out as sidekicks, we both grew up in the shadows of Batman and Green Arrow. Both old men with impossibly high standards, everything we did was never enough.” Marinette listened intently as she shuffled closer to him on the sofa. “We’ve both been to hell and back, Marinette. Literally in my case.” he explained, Marinette glanced down at Tikki for a moment, as if silently asking if her magic was somehow involved in this. “But always remember, we have each other’s backs, just like The Three Musketeers.” Jason told her, Marinette giggles at his literary reference.
“Roy’s Porthos, you’re Aramis, I guess that makes me D’Artagnan.” Marinette chimes. Jason loved to see that hopeful smile on her face. What scared him the most was the idea that something or someone would try and take that away from her. They couldn’t keep treating her like glass, and they couldn’t keep treating her like a sidekick if they wanted to keep her from making their mistakes. They were all going to fight like hell to make sure this world didn’t break her the way it broke them. Marinette leaned in close and rested her head on his shoulder. He felt her calm even breathing, fanning his neck as she slept peacefully at his side.
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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul
[Chapter 23] (29 Pages)
<< First | < Previous | Next >
It’s finally time for the human convention!
-
“I’m ditching you both if you don’t hurry up!” Tobias shouts at the open window of their room at the inn. The round, stony Pokémon at the front desk gives him a scolding glare through the building’s open door, which he ignores.
Nia pokes her head out the window to yell, “Hang on, we’re almost ready!” before ducking back inside. She must be too excited to worry about being her usual overly-polite self.
Tobias rolls his eyes. Maybe if the riolu and their annoying rookidee tagalong hadn’t stayed up half the night whispering and giggling like children they wouldn’t have overslept. Tobias had gone to sleep much earlier, when the two started discussing aura and Nia had shown Junie her progress on making solid forms with it.
Finally, Nia and Junie scramble past the disgruntled innkeeper and join Tobias outside, blinking in the harsh noon sun.
“S-Sorry!” Nia puffs. “Thanks for waiting.”
“Let’s just go,” Tobias grumbles.
“Right!” Nia turns to Junie. “Could you lead the way? I’m terrible with directions.”
Junie blinks, then looks to her right. Then her left. A little crease furrows her brow. “Yeah, just...gimme a sec to figure out which way we need to go.”
“Oh, for the love of...” Tobias spins on his heel to lead the way. “You’d get a lot better at situating yourself if you’d actually fly, y’know.”
“You’d be a lot less insufferable if you’d shut up!” Junie chirps back as her and Nia follow. Tobias snorts. That was weak, even for her—she must be too distracted by the day ahead to be her fully irritating self.
Tobias leads the way back towards the convention center, enjoying the deep blue sky and warm weather enough that the loud, jostling crowds seem less awful than yesterday. Nia and Junie chatter behind him, and Tobias adjusts the bag around his shoulders as he tries to drum up the patience to get through the day. Sure, the magic show later on might be kind of cool, but Tobias isn’t sure how to feel about whatever they’re about to walk into. What does a “convention” about humans even involve? He still doesn’t trust Will, and wants to listen to the ghost type ramble on about weird human stuff even less.
But this is important to Nia, so it has to be important to him, too. Part of the deal. Tobias had considered asking if he could go do something else while she attended, especially since they got stuck with Junie for company, but he doesn’t want a repeat of the meltdown at Afon’s Cap. Plus, between Junie’s freak-out at the restaurant last night and Nia’s own words, Tobias isn’t sure either of them are emotionally stable enough to weather another possible breakdown without wandering off and getting trampled or something.
Not that Tobias wants that job either, but…well.
He can’t help thinking about Nia’s shaky smile as she talked Junie down, or how quiet she’d been as she confessed her own fears out loud. He can’t help thinking about Junie trembling and blinking back tears, so different from her usual attitude.
And that makes him think of Maggie in the weeks after they’d first met, when she was still a stranger to him. When she curled around him and soothed his nightmares with her sweet scent. He thinks of the meganium’s sad, knowing eyes and how much safer he’d always felt when he trembled against her side. He thinks of Nia wearing that same expression as she reassured Junie. Thinks of how her smile fell and her gaze grew distant and glassy as soon as she thought no one was paying attention, how her paws clenched against the wooden tabletop.
He knows what it’s like to feel alone and vulnerable and lost. He didn’t think he would ever understand why Nia was so upset about becoming a Pokemon and coming to their world, but...maybe he understands it better than he’d thought.
So he’ll go to the human convention with them, and he’ll hate it, but he’ll deal. And after today, they can spend the rest of the trip focusing on finding info about the outlaw trio, too. A tolerable compromise.
Soon enough their group reaches the plaza from the day before, except today the decorations and stalls are finished and already attracting huge flocks of Pokémon. Banners and flags and flowers are everywhere, tents and wares carefully lined up in a bright storm of movement and voices.
Nia and Junie both stop talking to make awed sounds behind him, but Tobias doesn’t hesitate as he weaves through the many different Pokémon—fire types and heavy ground and rock and steel types, Pokémon that Tobias is unfamiliar with after living in Bethoc’s Haven for so long. He stays locked onto the convention center at the edge of the plaza, grateful that Nia and Junie only slow down a little to gawk at the attractions as they tail him.
“Hurry up. Most of this stuff is either garbage or overpriced anyways,” Tobias says to them, ignoring the offended look a shop owner sends him. He’s been to a few cities before with Maggie, so he’s been warned about how big groups of merchants like this mean there’s always a few bad ones in the mix. “There’s a reason they set up camp where it’s easy to catch tourists’ attention and coin without anything of actual value.”
“But some of it’s so pretty,” Nia protests quietly as they pass an ampharos selling homemade fleece blankets.
“Look, you wanna shop for stuff you can’t afford or go to your dumb convention?”
“The convention, of course! I just thought since we’re still pretty early...” Nia trails off, but doesn’t protest further.
Luckily, it doesn’t take long for them to reach the convention hall, where a huge, purple Pokémon is sitting at the doors like a guard, a grouchy expression on his face. A nidoking, if Tobias remembers correctly. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen one before outside of books. Why would the human convention need a guard of all things?
The nidoking grunts as they approach, but steps aside to let them through with no issue. Maybe he’s just here to keep the merchants out? As they pass, Tobias notes the heavy scars cutting though the Pokémon’s armored hide, the weight behind his movements. Not someone to get in a fight with if you want to win.
Tobias stops as they step inside, surprised by the sheer number of Pokemon milling about. The crowd is giant, filling the entrance hall entirely as they talk and move about in a loud, cheery mass. There are Pokemon here of all types, stages of evolution, and ages, too. An elderly-looking dubwool is guiding a young, bright-eyed lillipup along nearby. A yanma buzzes by overhead, nearly knocking a lost-looking drifloon out of the air. A round, coal-like Pokemon and what might be a curled-up togedemaru roll by in a blur, weaving between the forest of legs.
“Is everyone here a human?” Junie asks, fluttering up to perch on Nia’s shoulder. The riolu, busy looking around in slack-jawed awe, doesn’t respond.
“I think we’d hear about it happening more often if there were this many,” Tobias says, more unsure than he sounds.
“I mean, no one outside of Stonebrook knows I’m human,” Junie points out. “Maybe there’s more of us around than we thought!”
Tobias makes a noncommittal noise in his throat, not sure how to feel about that thought. Nia, however, looks like she’s moments away from bursting into tears.
“Now what?” Tobias groans.
Nia laughs, wiping at her eyes. “S-Sorry, I’m good. It’s just…I feel kind of bad for thinking it because everyone else is stuck here too, but it’s nice. Knowing there are so many other people in the same situation as us. Makes me feel less alone.”
Junie chirps a quiet sound of agreement, and Tobias frowns. After last night, Tobias can kind of understand where Nia is coming from, but she still doesn’t have to make it sound like she’s completely on her own. Half the guild would trips over their paws to help her, for Entei’s sake. Maggie takes care of her, Val is doing her best to train her, and he’s seen firsthand how protective Xander and that deerling’s teams are of her already. Even acquaintances throughout the guild always seem happy to talk to her.
She’s had a much warmer reception than he did.
“Are we gonna go in or stand her and get stepped on?” Tobias grumbles, moving aside as a distracted girafarig nearly trips over the three of them.
“Yeah, let’s go!” Junie cheers, ruffling her feathers but not moving from her spot on Nia’s shoulder.
Nia smiles, nervously, then gives Tobias an expectant look, as if waiting for him to lead the way.
He snorts. “This is your thing. I don’t know where you want to go.”
“O-Oh! Right.” Nia looks more nervous at that, but then takes a deep breath and moves forward through the crowd with a litany of apologies and “excuse me”s.
Further in the building, they find the space opening up to what must be the main room, where the crowd is even more lively than before. Makeshift stands line the walls, and Pokemon crowd around them, talking and laughing. The rich scent of food wafts over them, only adding to the overwhelming energy of the place.
“Where do we even start?” Nia asks, looking torn between excitement and nerves. Her tail wags cautiously behind her as she scans the room.
“Hmm…” Junie hops onto Nia’s head to look around at a slightly higher angle. Then she points with a wing. “How ‘bout we just start over here in one corner and then go around the room? Then we won’t miss anything important!”
Nia lights up and immediately takes the suggestion, leading their group over to the first booth, where a small table is set up with a pile of pamphlets. A scizor and an archen are handing them out to the visiting Pokemon, chatting with them as they do so. Junie flutters forward to grab two of the pamphlets before hopping back to Nia, who catches her in her arms. Junie and Nia both look to Tobias, so he sighs and takes the pamphlets, flipping one open and holding it so all three of them can read it.
“Tips for adapting to your new body,” Nia reads. “Huh. Wow, there’s all kinds of different sections and stuff too. How to write with no arms, controlling tails and other extremities…”
“Oh, look! There’s a section just for flying type Pokemon!” Junie chirps, leaning closer to try and read it. “Does it say anything about being afraid of heights?”
“You’re afraid of heights?” Tobias blurts, bewildered. Nia shoots him a warning look not to push, but he’s too baffled to even make a jab about it. That explains why Junie’s been so evasive about flying low to the ground, but how can a flying type be afraid of heights? Nia at least makes sense--she’s a fighting type. But a rookidee?
Junie’s feathers fluff up as she glares at him. “S-So what? I’m doing just fine!”
Nia cuts them both off before Tobias can retort, voice disappointed. “Oh. Doesn’t look like they say anything about not knowing how to use moves.”
Before anyone can respond to that, they��re distracted by an elekid at the booth talking about accidentally shocking other Pokemon. Everyone around the elekid takes a nervous step away, leaving a ring of space around the electric type.
“Looks like you can ask Pokemon handling the booth some questions,” Tobias points out, nodding to where a krabby is speaking with the scizor. The scizor is demonstrating how he’s holding one of the pamphlets in his giant pincer with a gentle grip. The krabby tries to imitate it with his own claws, and clips the paper in half.
“I guess we just…get in line?” Nia asks more than says. Their group steps up behind an ekans, who slithers forward to take the krabby’s spot after the little water type is given a few more words of advice and encouragement.
“I hate not having arms,” The ekans snaps immediately, not even bothering to introduce herself. The scizor leans back, clearly caught off-guard.
“Oh, mood,” Junie mumbles.
“And legs!” The ekans hisses before the scizor can respond, voice growing louder and more upset like she’s just been waiting to unleash her fury onto someone. “I didn’t even like snakes when I was human—why did I have to turn into one?!”
The scizor shoots the archen a pleading look, but the other Pokemon is busy trying to help a haunter pick up a pamphlet without letting the object slip through intangible hands.
“I’m afraid we don’t know why we turn into the Pokemon we do,” the scizor finally says to the ekans, voice soothing. “But we do have a lot of tips for helping humans who have different physiology. And I know there’s a seviper here who has become really adept with using their tail and mouth instead! She—”
“Where is she?” The ekans hisses, slamming the end of her tail onto the tabletop and cutting him off.
“The typing booth,” the scizor says hesitantly, pointing to a spot several setups down. “She—”
The ekans makes an impatient noise and slips away before the scizor can finish. The bug Pokemon slumps as she leaves, gently rubbing the blunt of his claw over his face.
“Yikes. Looks like the hell of customer service carries over to here too,” Junie says, face screwed up in sympathy.
The quiet chuckle of the scizor catches them off guard. “Yes, in my experience it’s rare to come across someone so…pushy, here. But apparently any kind of human can show up. Do you three have a question I could help you with?”
“O-Oh.” Nia glances at Junie. The little flying type shakes her head no, so the riolu looks back up at the scizor. “Well…do you know if any other Pokemon have had problems, um…using moves?”
The scizor blinks. “You…can’t use moves? Any moves?”
Nia shrinks back. “U-Um. No. I can use aura! B-But…”
The scizor seems to notice Nia’s distress, because he softens his tone. “I haven’t heard of that issue before, no. I could use moves right away, and all of the other humans I’ve spoken to could as well. How long have you been here?”
“A-About a month?”
“Ah. Maybe it’s just taking you a bit longer to adapt to your body then,” the scizor suggests. “Tell you what, there’s a bronzor here named Seiji working somewhere around the typing stall, and I know he’s a psychic type, which sounds like it could be similar to what you’re working with. He’s smart, too. I think he used to be a scientist, and he loves a good puzzle. You should ask him about it, see if he has any ideas on what may be wrong.”
“Thank you,” Nia says, offering a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Tobias is guessing that she’s thinking of Val, and how if she couldn’t help then some other random psychic type probably won’t be much better. Then again, this is a psychic Pokemon who was human beforehand. Maybe that makes a difference somehow
“Excuse me, rookidee?”
They turn to look at the archen, who is using the lull in conversation to smile nervously at Junie.
“I heard you earlier,” the archen confesses. “Sorry for eavesdropping. But I just wanted to say that it took me a long while to be able to fly, too.”
Junie perks up. “Really?”
Archen nods, looking relieved at the rookidee’s interest. “Yes! It took me months before I could finally get myself into the air. I met a kind pidgeotto willing to help teach me, actually—”
Junie wiggles out of Nia’s hold to hop onto the table, closer to the archen, and listen to his advice.
The scizor is busy asking Nia if she’s struggling with anything aside from her moves, and she asks him about getting better control over her ears so they don’t broadcast her emotions quite so openly.
Tobias, a little bored, idly flips through one of the pamphlets in his claws. On the second page, he pauses as he sees…pictures. Of humans, he supposes. They’re sketched out in quick, messy strokes—they’d have to be, to be drawn onto so many pamphlets—but they’re skillfully done. Maybe drawn by a smeargle? Curious despite himself, Tobias peers closer at them.
He’d thought idly about what humans looked like before, of course. All Pokemon did. There’s probably imagery of them in some old books somewhere since humans have been showing up for so long, but he’d never really gone looking for them, even after Nia showed up. Nia has always just been Nia, a (mostly) regular riolu. It’s weird to think of her as one of these strange creatures instead.
There’s two of them in the drawing, smiling at each other. They have a build somewhat similar to him and Nia—two legs, two arms, a face with two eyes and a mouth. There’s a strange mane of hair on top of their heads, and something like a second skin—like a throh or a hitmonchan has—on their torsos. Huh. If this is how humans usually look, he can see why so many of the humans here are having issues adapting to such different body types. Nia’s lucky that she got a body kind of similar to her old one.
“Tobias?”
Tobias flips the pamphlet shut, looking up to see Nia and Junie watching him.
“You ready to move on?” Nia asks, laughter in her voice.
“Unless you want to stare at how hot we used to be as humans some more?” Junie teases.
Tobias growls at her and shoves the pamphlets into the satchel at his hip. “Trust me, if you used to look like that then this is an improvement.”
Nia looks like she isn’t sure whether to be offended or not, and Junie laughs.
“Takes the sting out of it when you’re literally a talking lizard,” the flying type chirps. “Now c’mon, they said the next stall is about evolution, right? I wanna check that out!”
Nia nods at her and they move on to the next booth. While they wait to get closer, Nia catches Tobias’ eye and grins. “I used to be much taller as a human, y’know.”
Tobias squints at her. The picture didn’t give any hints for the humans’ heights. “…How much taller?”
“Probably as tall as that red Pokemon back there,” Nia says, giggling when Tobias blinks at her, gobsmacked. She was as tall as a scizor!?
“Me too!” Junie chirps, delighting in Tobias’ shock.
“Are all humans giants?!” Tobias demands to know.
Both girls laugh again. Tobias glares at them as his face heats up.
“N-No,” Nia finally answers. “I mean, sort of, but adult humans are mostly all the same size? Like, we don’t have nearly as much diversity in body type and stuff as Pokemon do. I feel like I was probably somewhere around average height.”
The conversation gets derailed as a booming shout comes from the booth they just left.
“I HAVE TROUBLE LOWERING MY VOICE SOMETIMES—”
Everyone in the vicinity flinches, glaring over at the loudred who was cut off by the archen frantically waving his wings.
Nia, who’s holding her ears with a particularly pained expression, whimpers, “Ouch. Maybe I should take it as a blessing that my only real problem is not being able to use moves.”
Junie laughs.
It doesn’t take much longer to reach the front of the evolution booth, where a machamp greets them with a giant grin.
“Welcome to the Evolution Booth, kiddos! Or as I like to call it—” He pauses to flex all four of his arms. “The Gun Show! Any questions for your main man here?”
“W-Well,” Nia squeaks, looking like she wants to join in on the machamp’s enthusiasm but is a little too afraid to do so. “We can’t e-evolve, right? So, uh. Should we have questions? It doesn’t seem like something we should worry about?”
“Correct!” The machamp booms, flexing into a new position. “But it’s always good to be prepared if that changes in the future!”
Nia exchanges a doubtful look with Junie. “I…I guess so.”
“All right then—what’s it like to evolve?” Junie asks, hopping onto Nia’s head again so she doesn’t have to look up so far to meet the machamp’s eyes.
“Evolution is awesome!” The machamp answers, slamming his hands down onto the table. “I was beefy before, but now I can bench so many boulders.”
“I—um. Congrats?” Nia offers.
“You too could bench boulders one day!” The machamp says, pointing at each of them with one of his arms. Tobias pointedly swats the fighting type’s finger away from his face.
“B-But isn’t it hard to get used to one body and then have to get used to an entirely different one all over again?” Nia asks.
Finally, the machamp’s expression shifts to something almost thoughtful. “It can be tricky to get used to…but humans are tough, right? We’re nothing if not adaptable! Soon enough it feels like you’ve been in your new form your whole life. We’re humans—no matter what, we can always change and find a new way to live!”
Nia blinks, as if surprised that the machamp made such a good point. “O-Oh. I…guess that’s true?”
“Wait, so you evolved, right?” Junie asks. “But that had to happen a long time ago, right? Before evolution stopped working?”
“Right again!” The machamp crows. “I showed up in this world as a machoke, then evolved to a machamp a few years later!”
“Did it hurt?”
“No more than a good workout!” The machamp says with a grin and another flex. Tobias wonders if he’d get kicked out if he lit this idiot on fire.
“Huh.” Nia looks like she wants to ask the machamp a few more questions, probably just for curiosity’s sake since they can’t evolve anyways, but catches Tobias’ eye and gritted teeth. “W-Well, I don’t think I have any other questions! Junie?”
“Nope!”
“Thank you!” Nia says, grabbing two pamphlets before hurrying Tobias away from the booth.
“Tell me he’s the exception to the rule and not the norm when it comes to humans,” Tobias growls.
Junie laughs. “Yeah, he was pretty weird. Seemed nice enough, though. Total himbo.”
“…Himbo?” Tobias echoes cautiously.
“I am not explaining the concept of a himbo,” Nia says flatly. Junie laughs.
Before Tobias can press, a little shape darts into their path, nearly tripping him onto his face.
“Hey! Watch it!” He snarls, turning to the idiot who can’t watch where they’re going—
Oh. It’s a kid.
A growlithe pup.
Tobias freezes, snarl dying in his throat. At first glance, the striped orange coat and fluffy white tail calls up a memory of too-hot flames and a giant paw on his chest and sharp eyes—
No. No. This isn’t him, this isn’t then. It’s not even an arcanine.
“Sorry!” The growlithe says, scrambling to his paws and giving Tobias an apologetic grin. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“Clearly,” Tobias mutters, backing off and crossing his arms to keep from shaking.
“I’m just so excited I can’t sit still!” The growlithe continues, looking around. “I’ve been waiting for this for forever!”
“How long have you been in the Pokemon world?” Nia asks, voice soft and sad.
To their surprise, the growlithe cackles. “Twelve years!”
Junie squints at the kid. “Wait, how old are you?”
The growlithe’s grin grows. “Twelve!”
There’s a moment of silence, then Junie laughs. “You aren’t human, are you?”
“Nope!” The growlithe barks, puffy tail wagging lazily.
“Why’re you here?” Nia asks, sounding less heartbroken now that she knows a little kid wasn’t dumped into the Pokemon world like her and Junie.
“I’m here with my dad!” the growlithe says. “Oh! Actually, I’m sorta hiding from him right now so he doesn’t make me stay in one spot, so I gotta go. Bye!”
The growlithe turns and bounds back into the crowd without another word, and Tobias stares after him. He’s not trembling, but it’s a near thing. His heart is pounding. He has to get himself together—just because he sees some random growlithe doesn’t mean he can freak out like this. One of the outlaws is an arcanine, sure, but he can’t lose it every time some random arcanine or their kid shows up.
He must be more obvious than he thought, because Nia touches his arm with a quiet, “Tobias? You okay?”
He jumps, yanking his arm away.
“Whoa! What’s your problem?” Junie asks, blinking down at him.
His tongue still feels like a rock in his throat, so he looks away with a wordless snarl.
Tobias can feel Nia’s gaze burning into him, and he hears her sharp inhale when realization dawns. It’s been a while since she saw the outlaw trio’s wanted poster, but she still must’ve made the connection.
“I’m fine,” Tobias finally manages, hating how his voice shakes. “It’s stupid. He wasn’t even an arcanine.”
“Still,” Nia says, voice quiet and sympathetic. “It makes sense to be afraid—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Tobias snaps, turning to look around. “Where are we going next?”
“Excuse me.”
They all turn at the voice, only to find a familiar ponyta trotting up to them, his colorful, puffy mane and tail floating along behind him. Oh, great. What was this guy’s name again?
“Hello, you three,” The ponyta greets, a harried smile on his face. “You were speaking with Will yesterday, right? Sorry for not introducing myself then. I’m Fidel—a close friend of his.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nia says, shooting Tobias one more worried glance before smiling at the ponyta. “I’m Nia.”
“Junie!”
Once again, Tobias doesn’t answer, just narrowing his eyes at the ponyta. Like Will, the ponyta accepts his silence with a small dip of his head.
“I’m sorry to keep our introductions so short, but you didn’t happen to see a zorua slip by here, did you? Little thing on four legs? Dark gray fur with red paws?”
“No, but an orange puppy tripped Tobias,” Junie offers, sounding delighted at the memory. Tobias shoots her a glare.
Fidel sighs. “That sounds like him.” Nia and Junie must give Fidel a confused look, because he quickly adds, “The zorua line can transform. Well, they can create illusions at least. He probably changed to a growlithe to try and shake me off his trail.”
“You helping his dad track him down?” Junie asks.
Fidel looks out at the crowd with exhaustion. “Something like that. Did you happen to see which way he went?”
All three of them point in the direction the “growlithe” escaped to, and Fidel thanks them again before rushing off.
“Well, that seems like a fun time,” Junie jokes.
“Can we just move on already?” Tobias grumbles.
“Wait,” Junie objects. “What was with you a minute ago? You got all weird and quiet and—”
Without looking, Tobias uses an arm to sweep the rookidee off of Nia’s head, smirking at her startled squawk as she flaps to catch herself. While the flying type is distracted, Nia glances at Tobias again with a furrow in her brow. Tobias’ smile drops as he shakes his head. No way is he talking about this. Not now, not here.
For a moment Tobias fears she’s going to push. But then the riolu claps her paws together with a cheery, “Right! To the typing booth next?”
After Junie reclaims her perch on Nia’s shoulder with a glare at Tobias, the three of them make their way over to the next booth, where a bronzor hovers beside a weary-looking seviper. Seems like that furious ekans already got to her, if her expression is anything to gauge by.
“That’s a bronzor,” Tobias says quietly, elbowing Nia and pointing at the psychic type.
The riolu perks up at that, following his gaze and weaving her way to the front of the crowd. By the time they make it to the booth, the seviper is pointing at a color-coded diagram to explain type advantages to a couple of gathered Pokemon. The bronzor turns to them as Nia finally frees herself from the crowd, almost collapsing against the booth’s wooden surface.
“H-Hi!” Nia pants. “Hi.”
“Hello,” the bronzor says, blinking at their group. Tobias is growling at a spheal to roll over a bit and give them some room while Junie leans over to peek at the seviper’s typing chart with interest.
“I, um, have a question, if you don’t mind?” Nia stammers. “The Pokemon from the—the first booth told me to ask you, I think. Are you Seiji?”
The bronzor’s eyes light up with interest. “I am. What did you want to discuss?”
“I can’t use moves,” Nia blurts, ears flicking back in embarrassment. “I can use aura, though, s-so he thought you might be able to help since you’re a psychic type? I mean, my mentor is half psychic too but she isn’t human, so…”
“Oh, interesting,” Seiji murmurs. His blue, plate-like body tilts back and forth as he thinks. “I haven’t heard of humans experiencing issues with their movepools before. Could you explain your aura powers to me in more detail?”
Nia does as asked, even holding out her paw to conjure up a small ball of aura. It looks much more solid than it did during their last training session with Val. Nia must’ve been practicing even when Tobias wasn’t around.
“Fascinating,” Seiji says, once Nia is finished demonstrating. “I haven’t done much research into aura—not that there’s much available, to my knowledge—but I wonder if your aptitude for aura could be making it more difficult for you to access your fighting type power.”
Nia perks up. “What do you mean?”
Seiji spins as he hums with thought. “Well, am I correct in guessing that aura doesn’t have a ‘type’ like other Pokemon abilities?”
Nia blinks, then glances at Tobias. He shrugs.
“I—I’m not sure,” she admits, looking back to Seiji. “Wouldn’t it be fighting type?”
“Ah, but aura abilities are specific to only a few species of Pokemon, yes?” Seiji says, sounding excited. “If it were a fighting type ability, more fighting type Pokemon should naturally learn how to wield it.”
Nia’s brow furrows. “I…I guess?”
“More importantly, you said all Pokemon have aura, right?”
Nia mouth drops open. “You’re right! I can read other Pokemon’s aura, even if they’re not a fighting type.”
“Then perhaps your aura and your fighting type powers are entirely separate!” Seiji suggests, sounding thrilled. “Perhaps attacks such as aura sphere are simply a combination of the two? If aura is inherent to every Pokemon, would that make it some sort of life energy? That would explain how it changes to an individual’s personal character—”
“And how does all of this help Nia use her moves?” Tobias drawls.
Seiji pauses.
“Oh. Yes. I suppose while it’s a fascinating subject, the possibility of aura lacking a type doesn’t solve your problem, does it?”
“I still appreciate your theory,” Nia says, offering the bronzor a small smile. “Even if it won’t help me in battle, it’s super interesting to think that my aura powers might be different than normal moves somehow. I’ll have to do some research and ask my mentor about it when we get home!”
Seiji floats up and down in something vaguely resembling a nod. “I may look into it myself as well—the idea is fascinating! As for your fighting type moves…I’m afraid I don’t have any solutions for you at the moment. Your best option would be to find a natural riolu or lucario and ask them for assistance.”
“Have you seen any around?” Nia asks hopefully.
Tobias isn’t surprised when the bronzor gives her a disappointed expression. “Unfortunately, no. Certainly none that used to be human. I don’t know if I’ve even seen a natural riolu or lucario, either. I believe they’re typically more of an isolated species.”
“Oh,” Nia says, voice small as her tail droops. Tobias knew this was coming—remembers Maggie mentioning the same thing—but he can’t really blame her for being disappointed, either. He hasn’t seen another charmander or charizard since moving to Bethoc’s Haven with Maggie, and even without Nia’s conundrum he often finds himself wishing for more fire types around the guild to train with.
“I apologize that I couldn’t be more helpful,” Seiji says. A blue glow envelopes two of the pamphlets on the table and lifts them closer to Nia.
“It’s fine,” Nia says, managing a smile as she takes the pamphlets. “Thank you for trying.”
The three of them step out of the way for other Pokemon to crowd closer, and Nia looks a bit happier when she and Junie glance over the pamphlets. A smaller version of the typing chart Junie had been checking out sits on the page, along with some descriptions and tips for remembering the different matchups.
“Oh! There—what’s it say about flying being good against grass?” Junie asks.
“Birds often eat plants and seeds, and use plant material to make their nests,” Nia recites, making a disgruntled face. “I mean…I guess that kind of makes sense? But don’t a lot of other animals—and other Pokemon, for that matter—also do that?”
Junie twitters a laugh. “So it still doesn’t make sense!”
Nia looks at Tobias, but he just snorts. “Don’t look at me. Flying’s good against grass—it’s just a thing.”
The riolu smiles and shakes her head, folding up the pamphlets and handing them to Tobias to stuff into the satchel alongside all the others.
“Where next?” Nia asks, looking around the crowd.
“Oh! Let’s get some grub!” Junie chirps, hopping back onto Nia’s head. She points with a wing. “I think I see food stalls over that way!”
“I am hungry,” Nia admits. She glances at Tobias, and he shrugs. He got up early and ate something this morning, but he could still snack. Whatever they’ve made definitely smells good.
“All right, then. Lead the way, Junie!” Nia says.
The rookidee does so with little incident, guiding them through the crowd and to where a couple of stalls are giving out food for free. It smells delicious, but Tobias frowns as he realizes he doesn’t recognize any of the meals listed on the booths’ menus. Nia and Junie make little noises of excitement, though, apparently more familiar with the names. Human dishes, then?
“What in Arceus’ name is a…hot dog?” Tobias grumbles, only half-asking.
Nia and Junie gasp as if he’d just confessed to some scandalous sin, and Tobias gives them both a glare.
“Oh, we’re getting you a hot dog for sure,” Junie says with a decisive nod.
“It can’t be made of the same things though, right?” Nia asks, suddenly sounding a little unsure. “I mean…hot dogs are already, uh—”
“Unhealthy monstrosities?” Junie offers.
“Y-Yeah. But how would they even make them here?” Nia looks a little queasy as she glances over to where a tauros and a pignite are happily picking out some sandwiches.
“You two are not selling this well,” Tobias grunts.
“It’s probably a veggie dog or something!” Junie says, sounding much more confident than Nia looks. “Look, how about we ask when we go up to order? I wanna try one now!”
Tobias is more than a little wary after that discussion, but when they reach the front of the line, the breloom behind the counter pales at their question before assuring them that they are indeed “veggie dogs.” Tobias stays skeptical as the three of them move to a dining area in another room and sit at one of the tables there. The food in his hands is unfamiliar: a cylindrical, pink chunk of…something, wrapped up in a piece of bread with a smattering of condiments on top. It smells good, though.
Nia and Junie bite into their food, chewing thoughtfully. Then Junie tweets a wordless, happy sound and digs in wholeheartedly. Nia smiles as she chews, looking a little misty-eyed and distant like she does when she’s trying to remember something. Well, they aren’t spitting it out, so…
Tobias takes a hesitant bite of the food, pleasantly surprised by the flavor that washes over his tongue. Savory and warm, with a variety of complimentary tastes thanks to the toppings. The bread seemed like a strange addition, but it adds a nice texture to everything.
“You like it?” Nia asks, looking hopeful.
Tobias hums an affirmative and takes another bite, relaxing. Okay, it’s pretty good.
Nia looks thrilled at his response, and the three of them dig into their meals in near-silence, the only noise coming from the Pokemon around them talking and eating their own food in a low murmur of sound. Tobias takes the opportunity to listen in on a conversation to the left of them, where a sinistea is rambling in a serious tone to a staravia.
“Okay, so I think I’ve connected the dots.”
“You haven’t connected anything,” The flying type says with an amused expression.
“I’ve connected them,” the sinistea insists. “Hear me out. I think we’re in a video game.”
The staravia barks a laugh, and the sinistea makes an offended noise before continuing, louder, “Think about it! We’re magical creatures with magical powers—I’m a teacup, for God’s sake. Wouldn’t it be weirder to not be in a video game!?”
Tobias doesn’t know what a video game is and the sinistea sounds a little crazed, so he quickly tunes out that conversation and instead looks around the room they’re in. Like the previous rooms, this one has a high ceiling with surprisingly intricate architecture made of stone and wood, elegant support columns interspersed throughout the space. He wonders how big this building really is—they’ve only been in three of the rooms so far, but there’s definitely more, if the exterior is anything to judge by. Are there more areas to see for this convention, or has it all been cordoned off? They aren’t even done going through all of the booths in the main area yet. The next one for them to hit apparently talks about the similarities between Pokemon and “animals”, which Nia is excited about. She claims they’ll be able to explain the concept of animals to him much better than she did.
Tobias is almost done with his hot dog when he pauses, a memory coming back to him. “Hey, these are called…hot dogs, right?”
Nia, already done wolfing down her food, nods, looking curious.
“Didn’t you call yourself a ‘dog’ at one point?” Tobias asks, squinting at the remains of his meal with renewed suspicion.
Nia barks a startled laugh. Junie almost chokes on her food.
One slightly unnerving conversation later—
(“Humans eat animals!?”
“Most humans do, but it’s not the same! I told you animals are different from people or Pokemon, a-and--Oh my God, Tobias, please stop looking at me like I’m a cannibal.”)
--they return to the main hall. The animal informational booth only confuses Tobias further. Only Nia, Junie, and both Pokemon running the stall assuring him that they would never eat a Pokemon keeps him from feeling a lot more uneasy about it.
Other than that debacle, they visit other stands that discuss a range of topics made to help humans settle into the Pokemon world easier. They’re set up to discuss what abilities are, how to navigate the slowly increasing number of natural disasters, guesses at how humans physically became Pokemon, guesses at how to return to the human world, guesses at how the humans are or aren’t affecting the Pokemon world…
“For being this big important informational thing, it feels like no one here actually knows what’s going on,” Tobias comments eventually.
Nia gives him a pouty look, but doesn’t argue.
Junie shifts uncomfortably on Nia’s shoulder. “Yeah…I mean, don’t get me wrong, I definitely appreciate all the information and even just meeting other humans is awesome! But the way Will talked yesterday, I thought they had everything all figured out already.”
“Maybe they’re getting close but don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up yet?” Nia suggests, sounding just a little desperate. “O-Or maybe Will knows some things that these guys don’t. I mean, most of them seem like they’re just human volunteers, right? We haven’t heard from Will yet.”
“And that isn’t strange at all,” Tobias grumbles.
This time, Nia does give him a heated look. “Why do you hate him so much when you’ve only had one conversation?”
“Call it intuition,” Tobias huffs. “Why do you like him so much after one conversation?”
Nia hesitates. “I…I guess he just feels really genuine, y’know? Like, he’s been through the same thing I have and he’s working hard to find a way back home for everyone. So he just…makes me feel a lot more hopeful that someone will actually figure it out, I guess.”
Tobias makes a doubtful noise but doesn’t argue as they make it to the next booth. Their group is almost finished with their circuit around the room and back at the entrance when a loud voice calls from somewhere above them.
“Attention, everyone!”
It’s a noibat, flapping hard to stay floating in place as he addresses the quieting room.
“Will, the person behind today’s event, would like to give an address to everyone! If you could all follow this hall—” Here, the noibat flaps towards the back of the room and gestures down a large hall that was previously blocked off. “—to the auditorium area, he’ll speak to you there and answer any questions you might have for him! The booths won’t be shutting down immediately, so you’ll be free to return to them afterwards.”
The noibat flutters down the aforementioned hall, and the room explodes into a slowly-rising murmur of voices.
Nia, of course, is bouncing on her toes, scooping Junie into her arms and making an excited noise. “Told you! Will must have been waiting to tell us the important stuff himself.”
“Sure,” Tobias snorts. “Whatever. You’re going to make us listen to his dumb speech, aren’t you?”
“Sure am!” Nia chirps. Shifting Junie to one arm, she links the other with Tobias’ and drags him along with the crowd towards the hallway. Tobias growls at her, but otherwise doesn’t put up much of a fight. Maybe if he can hear Will talk some more he’ll be able to pinpoint what it is about the yamask that he doesn’t like.
The crowd is even louder than it has been the entire day, but once they enter the auditorium the noibat mentioned, it becomes more pronounced in the huge, open space. The room itself is semi-circular with rows of seating, built like a cone for sound to travel from the stage out to the audience. The walls seem to be insulated from outside noise, reinforced with stone and plantlife that covers the edges of the room in a bed of soft green. Despite his reluctance to be here, Tobias has to admit the room is impressive, and he stops his meager struggling to instead gaze around at the elegant rafters and the carvings in the exposed stone. Light pours down from a giant lattice of woodwork in the ceiling, like a much larger version of the windows at the Lexym guild, lighting the stage up bright but leaving everything else in shadow.
Nia guides them to a seat relatively close to the stage, squeezing them in between a psyduck and a granbull. Tobias sighs and settles in as Nia looks around excitedly, Junie seated in her lap and eyeing the riolu with amusement.
For a few minutes, there’s nothing but the crowd of Pokemon slowly shuffling into the room and sitting down, a babble of noise as everyone tries to talk over one another. Then, there’s a familiar ponyta clicking onto the stage and looking out at the crowd.
As the talking slowly dies down, Junie whispers, “I wonder if Fidel ever found that growlithe kid?”
Tobias shrugs, not really wanting to think too hard about it.
Once the room is almost silent, Fidel smiles and calls out in a voice that projects loud and clear, “Welcome, everyone! We’re so happy to have you all here today. I hope you’ve enjoyed speaking with each other so far and found our informational booths helpful. I know you still have a lot of big questions you want answered, so without further ado, I leave you to Will.”
Fidel takes a few steps back, out of the sun’s spotlight. A beat of silence. Then there’s Will, melting out of the shadows and into the sun. His form stands out like a blot of ink against parchment, golden mask gleaming in the light and ruby eyes warm and bright as he smiles.
Immediately, the crowd of Pokemon—of humans, Tobias suddenly remembers—starts cheering and clapping and whistling for the yamask, making the charmander startle. He looks around, noting only a small scattering of Pokemon who seem as confused as he is. Is this just a…human thing, then? Nia is clapping with a huge smile on her face, and Junie is tweeting a sharp, positive note. Will doesn’t look at all perturbed by the wave of noise, and lets it go on with a patient smile for a few moments longer before raising a hand for quiet. The noise slowly dies down again.
The yamask floats forward, a gleam in his eyes and arms spread wide. “Welcome, everyone! To the first meeting of The Humans Movement!”
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brain cells ~ jj maybank request
requested by @maybebanks like, a long time ago (sorry!! i also changed up the ending a tiny bit bc i needed some fluff in my life) ~ can you write a request, Jj x y/n and they ‘hate’ each other so the pogues abandon them together on the boat. Jj starts smoking and it makes y/n anxious because she has a bad past/impression on drugs.He thinks she is just being annoying but she is shaking and wiping her tears so he doesn’t see.JJ starts to feel bad and he reluctantly stops. He tries to get her to admit she’s afraid but she is too proud and he sees her sensitivity so he apologizes, letting her rest her her head on his shoulder💕💕
word count ~ 2.1k
tw ~ weed, swearing, fluff
“Why didn’t you tell me JJ would be here, Sarah?” You demanded in a hush while you crossed your arms over your chest. “You know that I can’t stand him!”
You just pulled the girl aside as you had seen the blonde tufts of hair that you knew so well. Sarah, one of your best friends, had invited you and Kiara, your other best friend, out on her dad’s boat for a “Girl’s Day.” Now, you found out that John B promised a fishing day to JJ on the same boat. And that means that you were going to be stuck in the middle of the sea on the same boat as Captain Asshole, JJ Maybank. It seemed like whoever was controlling the Strings of Fate had decided to set any friendship you and JJ tried to form into a complete hate fire. It wasn’t your fault that he was a complete dick, it was his. All of his hookups he couldn’t care less about, his lack of manners, and the fact that he can’t keep still for five seconds all pissed you off.
“Jesus Christ, Y/N, you know why! You wouldn’t have stepped so much as a toe onto the dock if you knew JJ was going to be here,” Sarah whisper-shouted at you. “You need to get used to JJ being around because he isn’t going anywhere, and neither are you.”
“But I-”
“-Hate his guts, I know, Y/N.” You frowned at Sarah, annoyed that she knew all of your argument. “Try and tolerate his guts for today, ‘kay?”
You grumbled an agreement, her dragging you to the front of the deck where the boys were talking at. “Hey Y/N!” John B grinned, giving you a giant hug to make you laugh.
“Hey, brother,” you joked. John B had definitely become something of a brother to you, being there when boys got on your nerves (even when it was JJ), when you were drunk and couldn’t be trusted to get home on your own, when you were sad, or just when you needed a place to stay, he was always there. You waved to Kie, who was now ascending the stairs to the boat after grabbing the food for the day. She smiled blissfully, knowing you had found out about the lie and that you were going to talk her ear off about it that night.
“Hey, Princess,” JJ nodded to you. “Decided to get out of your castle today?” You gritted your teeth, already annoyed by the condescending tone dripping from his words.
“Yeah, sure. I was promised a girls’ day, but clearly, that’s not happening since John B is here,” you said with your honey-sweet voice. JJ rolled his eyes and peeled himself from the railing.
“So where’s Pope at then?” JJ asked JB, whose eyes flickered to Sarah’s.
“Oh, uh, he said he had to work today,” John B clarified.
You thought to yourself for a second, a look of confusion spread across your face. “I thought he didn’t work on Sund-”
“Hey, y’all! Guess who brought us food!” Kie shouted when she ran onto the deck with everyone. We all smiled and greeted her quickly, giving hugs and thanking Kiara for the lunches. Once all of the fuss calmed down, JB and Sarah headed to the cockpit to start us on our course.
You started to pull Kiara towards you to save you from being alone with JJ, before hearing John B call out. “Kie, can you untie us from the dock?”
“Sure!” She pulled her arm away from your grip, turning around to give you a smug smile as she walked towards the stern.
“I am going to kill you,” you mouthed. Sighing, you turned back to see JJ staring at you with a pompous smirk on his face.
“Guess you’re stuck with me, Princess,” he said.
You hated that nickname. JJ knew you hated that nickname. You, John B, and JJ all grew up together, you and JJ being on the same street. He called you Princess to mock how easily you could make friends and slip into popular crowds, which was quite ironic considering your current position with him. “Don’t be too pleased with yourself, JJ, we haven’t been abandoned. Just because I can’t avoid you by talking to Kie doesn’t mean I’m alone with you willingly,” you grumbled, plopping down on the seat nearest to you. You liked the feeling of the boat rocking as you were steered out from the marina and into the open sea. JJ scoffed when you pulled out your phone to take pictures.
“You’re not even going to try to talk with me, Y/N? You’d really rather take pictures for your fake-ass Instagram instead of having a conversation?”
You were already annoyed, knowing JJ was just nit-picking your every move. “Yes, JJ, I would rather take pictures than talk with you. Know why? It’s because you’re such an arrogant asshole that people only fucking tolerate you so that they don’t rock the boat.”
JJ laughed bitterly as he turned his body away from you. “You’ve got that twisted, Princess. You are such a bitch!” JJ shouted at you. “Every time that you open your mouth, you just have to judge me or be fucking annoying with how you make everything about you!” As the boat pulled to a stop, you heard the anchor drop with a splash and a hum in the distance.
“Oh please,” you sneered. “You’re the one who judges me! Talking shit about my boyfriends, about what I post and how I like to look, you’re always high, and you always have to call me that irritating name.”
JJ’s derisive smile cracked across his face. “Oh, you don’t like it when I call you Princess, huh?”
“No, I fucking don’t, JJ!”
“Hm,” he started, “from what I’ve heard, you seem to like it a lot when you’re f-” JJ was cut off by the sound of splashes, one, two, three.
Your heads whipped around to see your friends swimming toward the HMS Pogue, which Pope was manning. “BE NICE TO EACH OTHER,” Pope shouted as he helped the pogues onto the boat.
“Where do you think you’re going?” You called, stomping to the edge of the boat to call out to them.
“If you guys aren’t going to get along by yourselves, we’re just gonna have to force you together. Play nice!” Kiara shouted back. The Pogue hummed while Pope turned it in the other direction and sped off with your friends waving. You and JJ flipped them the bird simultaneously.
“I need new friends,” you muttered, pushing past JJ to sit down on the deck.
JJ rolled his eyes, grabbing his backpack. “Looks like they left us a note,” he said with a frown, plucking the paper from his bag. “‘Left some sandwiches, waters, and blankets for you, we’ll be back when we think you guys have calmed down. Play nice. From JB, Sarah, and Kie’,” JJ sighed. “Oh wait, there one more part. ‘We’ll come tomorrow morning at the latest, from Pope’.” You groaned, setting your face in your hands.
“This is so dumb. Why do they think this will fix anything?” You asked, furious.
JJ shrugged at you. “It won’t work if you don’t try and talk, Princess.”
“Stop calling me that,” you seethed. “I’m not going to try and negotiate peace with someone who intentionally infuriates me.” JJ rolled his eyes at you and dug around in his bag. Eventually, he pulled out a hand-rolled joint in a small bag.
“You need something to calm you down. Both of us do,” he grumbled. He picked the joint from the bag, lighting it with his Zippo.
You felt a flutter in your stomach. “JJ, please don’t do that.”
He rolled his eyes again before taking a drag, leaving you to watch the billow of smoke coming from his lips. “Chill out, God. I know you can’t stand me, you’ve told me that enough. Just stop bitching about everything for ten minutes, okay?” JJ snapped at you. You tapped your fingers together, trying to distract yourself from the sourly familiar smell.
“Can you just not smoke right now, please? It freaks me out,” you explained nervously.
He let out a breathy laugh. “Everything freaks you out, Princess. Deal with it.” He took another puff and you stood up, walking to the opposite railing to look out at the sea. You felt tears welling in your eyes as you got up, and they were falling by the time you got to the rail. The smell triggered the memories of bad parties flashed in your head; the one where guys hit on you and touched you and you had to shove them off, the ones where you got into fights, and the time where you ended up high and crying and panicking for hours. You wiped the tears from your face, trying to stifle any sniffles.
You heard footsteps come up behind you, and JJ’s soft voice followed. “Y/N, are you crying?”
You sniffled again, wiping at your nose. “No. I’m just sad thinking at all of the brain cells you’re losing right now.”
He came up beside you and looked at your face. “Weed really freaks you out that much, huh?” He mumbled sympathetically, wiping away a stray tear. “I’m sorry, Princess,” JJ whispered. You hadn’t heard him use this soft tone with you in forever, and you had never heard him say your nickname so sweetly. “I’ll put it out, okay?”
You nodded at him quickly, and he stubbed the joint. You walked back to sit on the bench of the boat. “Thanks, JJ.”
He sat down next to you, seeming much more relaxed. “No problem,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry. For not listening and for being a dick.”
“Apology accepted.” You gave a shy smile. “I’m sorry for freaking out on you and for being a bitch.”
JJ grinned back at you. “Apology accepted. Although, my remaining brain cells are just curious about why you were so anxious.”
You ran your hand through your hair, sighing. “I just haven’t had any good experiences with drugs. They’ve all been pretty awful whether I was the one doing them or it was someone else.” JJ nodded solemnly, and you turned to look at him. “Why have you been so annoying to me all of these years, JJ?”
He looked taken aback for a second, then answered. “I don’t know. I guess for a while I felt like you were taking away my best friend,” he began. “Once I realized we could all be friends together and started spending more time together, I think… I think I started to fall for you somehow. And I really didn’t know how to deal with those feelings, so I shoved them aside and went for the ‘be an asshole’ route.” You felt a tingle spread across your skin at his words, and you had to remind yourself to close your mouth.
“So, uh… Why?” You asked him
JJ laughed in response. “What do you mean ‘why’? Look at you! You’re gorgeous and smart, and if I’d just be nice to you then you would be incredibly sweet like you are with everyone else, and you are just generally pretty fantastic,” he rambled. “I just couldn’t deal with any feelings for a while, so I sabotaged them.” You shook your head in disbelief.
“Jesus Christ, JJ,” you shook your head at him in disbelief. “If you would’ve told me then we could’ve stopped annoying everyone a long time ago!” You giggled at him and bumped your shoulder against his.
“Wait, do you mean…?” JJ trailed off, confused.
“That I also have feelings for you? Yes,” you nodded. “We could’ve been annoying our friends by making out all the time, instead of by fighting all the time.”
He chuckled back at you, “Well, it’s not too late to start.”
You smiled at JJ, as he tilted his head down towards yours, pressing his lips softly to yours. After a few minutes of sweet kisses, you pull back from JJ. “They’re gonna wish they hadn’t done this,” you grinned, resting your forehead against his.
“Oh hell yeah, they will,” he mumbled, ducking down to kiss you on the cheek. You smiled, setting your head on JJ’s shoulder as he slung his arm around you. The two of you watched as your friends drove the Pogue in your direction, the sun setting above you.
“Love ya, Princess,” JJ whispered to you cutely.
“Love ya too, Jay.”
Yeah, the pogues would soon be regretting leaving you two on that boat soon enough.
moots/tags ~ @drewswannabegirl @jiaraendgame @midnightmagicmusingsmain @pink-meringues @jjsbxtch @maybanksbaby @starksweasleymain @starkeysdunn @futuretaxcheat @aesthetic-lyss @obx-direction-sos @joshy-obx @x-lulu @http-cherries @poguestyle17 @ifilwtmfc @bbeauttyybbx @shelbsays @softstarkey @fansxdom
#jj x reader#jj x y/n#jj outer banks#Outer Banks#outer banks imagine#obx#obx fic#obx netflix#obx fanfiction#obx imagine#jj obx#jj one shot#jj obx imagine#jj maybank#jj maybank imagine#jj maybank fluff#outer banks fic#jj maybank obx#jj maybank x reader#obx cast#jj x you#rudy pankow#jj imagine#outerbanks#rudy obx
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beneath the moon. (sokka x f!reader) pt8
hello!! sorry for the wait, this week has been a little bit crazy for me :) but thank u all for your patience!! i adore all of u
pt1
pt7
pt9
“Yeah, Appa hates going underground,” Aang said. “And we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable.” To confirm this, Appa let out a small growl. (Y/N) smiled and hugged Appa’s nose, giving him a light kiss on his fur. She might fear a lot of things about her new life, but Appa was not one of them. They left the nomads at the lake, only to return a few moments later covered in ash from the Fire Nation catapults that had been hurled at them.
(Y/N) was so scared. She hated being scared. Back home, she had felt like one of the bravest girls in her tribe. She was willing to defy authority. She wasn’t afraid of bullies like others were. For as long as she could remember, she had tried to approach her life without any sort of fear. But here, out in the world, she felt so small. It was difficult for her, adapting to the nomadic lifestyle of the Avatar and his friends. Each new place they encountered had different cultures and different people that (Y/N) feared of offending. Even not being referred to as ‘Princess’ caught her off guard. The people looked different, the food tasted different, and sometimes she had trouble taking it all in. Plus it was so unbearably hot, she wasn’t sure how Katara and Sokka had ever gotten used to it.
She chastised herself in her mind, for standing at the sidelines of any interaction their group had. The others were more talkative and far more open than she ever dreamt of being. So she stayed silent and watched, inhaling each piece of her new life bit by bit until sometimes it felt like she was suffocating. (Y/N) new that the whole point of her leaving the tribe was so that she could live the life she had always wanted, but she was doing a horrible job at it. She looked over her friends’ easy-going mannerisms with slight jealousy.
Her friends, could she even call them that? She considered them to be her friends, but (Y/N) had no basis of friendship to go off of. (Y/N) had only one true friend in her entire life, and now she was gone. Everything had always been so easy with Yue, and now (Y/N) found herself replaying every single word she had said that day over and over again and reliving the embarrassment.
She watched as Momo approached the bank of the river she sat along. He sniffed the air once and bent down, lapping up the cool water. (Y/N) frowned. “I wish I had been born a flying lemur monkey,” She muttered. Momo stared at her in confusion.
Their group had reached an Earth Kingdom outpost a few days ago in hopes that they would be escorted to Omashu. The results of their visit were near-disastrous, and they decided to travel to the city by themselves. They had been walking for a few days now and rested at a small lake. Sokka drifted along in the middle while Katara and Aang practiced their waterbending. (Y/N) had had her waterbending lesson with Katara earlier that morning.
“Why don’t you hop in?” Sokka asked as he floated past. “The water’s fine.”
“I can’t swim,” (Y/N) said simply. Sokka raised an eyebrow at her.
“You’re a waterbending, what do you mean you can’t swim?”
“I don’t have to swim in order to bend water,” She said defensively, her cheeks flushing red. “Besides, we have to get going soon.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He turned to Katara and Aang. “Will you guys be done soon? We have a lot of ground to cover if we wanna make it to Omashu today!”
“Like you’re ready right now?” Katara called back. She continued teaching Aang his waterbending. Sokka grumbled to himself, something about ‘any minute now.’
(Y/N) wasn’t quite sure how to feel about Sokka. Her eyes were trained on him now, watching his every move as he moved through the river. She hadn’t been the nicest to him when he arrived to her tribe. She only tolerated his presence because of Yue. Then he had done her an enormous favor and provided her with the escape that she had always wanted. Since then, their exchanges had been few and far in between. She spent most of her time talking to Katara and Aang. Sometimes Momo and Appa, but never really Sokka. She rested her chin at the tops of her knees. Maybe it’s too painful, she thought to herself. Because every time she looked at Sokka, she thought of Yue.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a group of singing people wandered into where they were relaxing. “Hey, river people!” The man holding the guitar said. The four kids stared at him quizzically.
“We’re not river people,” (Y/N) said slowly. The man blinked at her.
“You’re not? Then what kind of people are you.”
“Just people,” Aang said with a shrug.
The man had introduced himself as Chong and he had a wife named Lily. They traveled with another man named Moku. Once the others dried off, the nomads, along with Katara, Aang, and (Y/N), all sat around Appa as they told stories of their travels. (Y/N) couldn’t help but be absolutely entranced by what they were saying. She had seen more in these last few weeks than she had in her entire lifetime, and it shocked her that there was still more out there to see. Lily strung them all flower crowns and placed them atop their heads. (Y/N’s) was made from lovely lilacs that grew around the lake.
The nomads informed the group of a pass through the mountains that would lead them directly to Omashu. “I think we’ll stick with flying,” Sokka interrupted. The almost parental look he gave urged the rest of his group to get up.
“Yeah, Appa hates going underground,” Aang said. “And we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable.” To confirm this, Appa let out a small growl. (Y/N) smiled and hugged Appa’s nose, giving him a light kiss on his fur. She might fear a lot of things about her new life, but Appa was not one of them. They left the nomads at the lake, only to return a few moments later covered in ash from the Fire Nation catapults that had been hurled at them.
“Secret love cave, let’s go,” Sokka grumbled.
(Y/N) dusted herself off as they walked to the cave, her frown deep and her forehead creased with unhappiness. “I just washed this,” She huffed.
“Come on, princess, it’s not that bad,” Sokka said, and just as (Y/N) was about to snap back at him, she looked at his smile and realized he was joking. The anger left her face quickly.
“Not a princess,” She muttered. Sokka’s smile fell into sad one before he turned back to the nomads.
“So how far are we from this tunnel?”
“Actually,” said Chong, “It’s not just one tunnel. The lovers didn’t want anyone finding them, so they built a whole labyrinth!”
“A labyrinth?” Sokka and (Y/N) asked at the same time.
“Oh, I'm sure we'll figure it out,” Chong said with an air of nonchalance.
“All we need to do is trust in love...according to the curse,” Lily hummed. (Y/N) and Sokka stared at each other.
“Curse?”
“I didn’t sign up for a curse,” (Y/N) mumbled bitterly.
As they reached the entrance of the cave, they learned that whoever entered and did not trust in love would remain trapped within its walls forever. This shook (Y/N) deep to her core. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to trust in love like the two lovers wanted. The only love she knew was for her family and she was quite sure that that wasn’t the same.
Swiftly though, they realized that the Fire Nation was still tracking them. Reluctantly, (Y/N) entered the dark cave. Within minutes, the entrance behind them collapsed. She stared in horror as Appa pawed at the rocks.
“It’s okay Appa,” Katara reassured him, but her own voice did not seem so sure.
“It’s fine,” Sokka said, trying to be confident and take charge. “All we need is a plan.”
“The last time you had a plan, we almost died from fireballs,” (Y/N) noted. Sokka waved her off with a flick of his hand.
“That was at least thirty minutes ago. My slate is clean. Here, I’ll keep track of all the ways we go, so that way we can solve it like a maze. Chong, how long do those torches last?”
“Uh, about two hours each.”
“And we have five,” Lily said as she lit all of the torches. “So that makes ten hours!” Sokka ran over to her and stomped out all of the flames.
“It doesn’t work like that if they’re all lit!”
(Y/N) sighed. “I’m gonna die in here.”
“No, no!” Aang said. “We’ve gotta remain positive!”
“Okay, I’m positive I’m gonna die in here.”
After ten dead ends, Sokka came to the conclusion that the tunnels were changing. This led to a massive panic within the group, that alerted their presence to a giant wolfbat. It swiped at their heads and Sokka tried to shoo it away with one of their torches, but the hot sparks landed on Appa. The poor animal roared, shaking the cave around them and causing rocks to fall, separating Katara and Aang from the rest of the group.
“Don’t worry!” Chong said to Sokka and (Y/N). “At least you guys have us!”
(Y/N) leaned over to Sokka and whispered, “Do you think I’m a good enough waterbender to kill them?” Sokka stifled a laugh, but shook his head.
“We’ve gotta think of a plan to get out of here.” (Y/N) sighed.
“I don’t--I don’t know. I’ve never been trapped in a cave before.”
“Oddly enough, me neither.”
“Really? With all your adventures I was sure you’d have at least some experience with this.”
“Yeah, well,” Sokka shrugged. “All the times a super dangerous cave was presented to me I turned it down, so I’m kinda lacking experience.” (Y/N) let herself smile at him. Sokka’s eyes darted from her to the nomads.
“We all need to think of a way to get out of here.” The nomads smiled their big, goofy smiles.
“I think the best thing to do right now,” Lily said, “Is to play a song!” They all started strumming their instruments and singing a song about two fish traveling through the river.
Her hope was quickly dwindling, but (Y/N’s) brain was far too distracted trying to think of a solution to their current problem to notice. She paced around the dirt floor and stared at the curvature of the cave. Could they go up? Could she use waterbending to get them out of there? Could they use Appa as a battering bison?
She whirled around, turning to look at Sokka. “How did the two lovers find their way through the cave?”
“Earthbending, I’m assuming.”
“And love!” Chong added.
“And love,” Sokka deadpanned. (Y/N) shook her head.
“They had to have anticipated that more people would come through here. That there’d be a way for them to get out...”
“Love!” Lily said.
“If you guys say love one more time I’m going to stick these rocks in a very not-lovely place!” (Y/N) snapped. The nomads stared at her with wide eyes.
“She’s not very full of love,” Chong mumbled. (Y/N) crossed her arms and buried herself into Appa’s fur. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. (Y/N) wasn’t very full of love, not anymore.
The cave began to shake again, but this time the sound of dozens of wolfbats surrounded them. They flew overhead of the group and (Y/N) ducked down to avoid them clawing at her. Sokka waved his arms frantically as they passed.
“Hey! Sokka saved us!” Chong cheered. (Y/N) opened her eyes and shook her head.
“No, they were running away from something.”
Just after she said it, two large badgermoles appeared from the shadows of the tunnel. (Y/N’s) mouth fell open as she stared at them. She had only heard stories about the badgermoles from back home. They were the original earthbenders and they were giant. They very nearly towered over Appa, who let out a low growl at their presence. The two moles sniffed the air, their noses pointed directly at Sokka. (Y/N) could practically hear him gulp as he stepped back.
She cringed as he stepped on Chong’s guitar, but the sound made the badgermoles stop approaching. “The music!” Sokka said, scrambling to pick up the guitar. He started strumming, rather horribly, and looked back at the nomads angrily. “A little help here!”
They began singing a song, which seemed to make the badgermoles happy. (Y/N) tried her best to keep up with the words, but her singing came out as incoherent mumbles. Slowly, she began to approach the one that stood closest to her. She put her hand on its rough fur and began stroking. “Do you think you could help us find a way out of here?”
Both moles sniffed the air once and lowered themselves to the ground. (Y/N) grinned at Sokka, who ran over to her and lifted her onto the badgermole’s back. She pulled him up and he sat behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist as he gripped onto the animal’s fur. She felt herself blush but held her head high as they began earthbending their group out of the tunnel.
“Nice work back there,” (Y/N) said to Sokka. “I didn’t know you were so into music.”
“I am a man of many talents,” Sokka said casually, and (Y/N) laughed. Perhaps this was the start of them being friends. It only took them being trapped in a cave together, but it was a start nonetheless. “By the way,” Sokka said. “I think you’re very full of love.”
(Y/N’s) face flushed furiously once more and she cleared her throat, staring straight ahead at the moving rocks. “Thanks.”
---
Tag List!
@aangsupremacy , @treestarrrrrrrr , @beifongsss , @mdgrdians , @aroyaldarknessblr , @musicalkeys , @aimee1602 , @plxstic-rose , @davnwillcome @squeamishdionysus , @clowninfortodoroki @thia-aep , @jinxed-tea @sara5208 @valiantprincessthea @alrightazula , @awesomelupe , @itsivyberry , @thebluelcdy , @samsmultifandomblogs , @loganrwebb , @minifruity , @cuddlykoala101 , @dionnaea , @alive-ahahah-fuck , @pipsqeak1326 , @krxliesdexd , @wastelandbbyg , @milk-n-cheese , @the-firebender-girl , @zukosvice , @justab-eautifulmess , @awkwardnesshabitat , @tomshollandz , @mmmidek-blog , @lavendercrystals , @dailytrashypanda , @bigbuckyenergy , @honey-ruel , @jackbamexpress , @astralsaf , @thebluelcdy , @solarsuki , @sometimeseverythingsucks , @nataliahaslosthershit , @teenbiology , @eridanuswave , @izzieserra , @astroninaaa , @jaylarkson , @realimbo ,
#atla#avatar#the last airbender#sokka x reader#zuko x reader#aang x reader#katara#toph#aang#zuko#sokka#azula#suki#momo#appa#writing#fanfiction
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What is shattered glass Denny Wenny like? I gotta know.
Simply put: angry and scared.
I've covered some head canons before in a post that I'll just link here for convenience and to save myself from double rambling. But a lot of his anger and violence stems out of his unspoken fears. Life has gone to shit and Dennis has absolutely no control of it anymore. But if he lets his fears be known then people will prey on him, the Autobots will prey on him, and there are fewer things worse than being picked on by the giant alien robot overlords. So, he hides his fear with anger and violence because if he's loud and brash enough then no one will notice how insecure and afraid he really is.
But, at the same time, when Autobots or people he's afraid of are around he gets quiet. Real quiet. So quiet you'd forget he's even there, like he's trying to make himself disappear in the silence itself. And it's not a good idea to stick around after these periods of quiet happen because he'll lash out a lot more because that's his way of dealing with his feelings in the wake of whatever's spooked him.
Uhhh, I'm not sure what else there is to say at this point so I'm just going to copy/paste some Discord ramblings now. Fair warning for points being repeated because I am the Worst at that.
Mud the Blood God
the loose boundaries of the universe that Cricket and I built is that the Autobots are slowly but steadily conquering the Earth, partially because they're keeping Decepticon forces stretched thinly so they can't really concentrate on stopping them from taking over and partially because the US Government and Fowler proceeded to hand over the keys in order to appease the self proclaimed overlords in the hopes of staying on their good side
MECH is working in leagues with the Cons in order to push back or at least contain Autobot conquest
and the areas that the Autobots control within US territory (for the time being anyway) are basically work camps; citizens who live in those areas are used for a variety jobs but mainly weapons construction and energon mining I think
pollution is at an all time high too air quality is pits
and Dennis is just... quite literally an angry little cuss
every other word out of his mouth is a cuss, he's very abrasive and aggressive, barks A LOT and might literally bite if he gets pissy enough
but he's quick to cower too by anyone he knows can beat his ass and will shut up in their presence. like dead silence, head down, just trying to be as small as possible
so like if you wanna shut him up, just wave down an Autobot and watch him be on His Best Behavior
but watch out when the Autobot is gone cause he'll be extra surly cause their presence put him in a foul mood
he hates his assigned job, he hates his life, he hates the Autobots, he hates just about everything and really only experiences "tolerance"
he and Jack are like a duo of two bullies who can't quite agree on who is the lead but they're collaborating cause shit gets done better when there's two of you
he can and will attempt to steal anything that isn't nailed down if it even seems remotely useful
really though if you do manage to peel back the layer of angry he puts on you'll see that he's just sad and scared
parents are still divorced which devastated him and he's lashing out at them both for it
then his home was taken over and he got put to work by some giant alien douchewads who sometimes torment him and other humans cause it's fun
shit's terrifying but if you act terrified then people either prey on you or make it worse, so you gotta be angry to get through it
Canada (Cursed)
aaa baby D :
Mud the Blood God
essentially, yes
he got hella soft when he met regular Hot Spot who just offered him nothing but love and understanding at his own pace, then sent him home with a pistol and a hug
and he kinda sorta grew on Gramps but then also tried to steal an Aegis shield the moment he thought he had an opening cause that's useful
#ooc post#Shattered Glass AU#convenientkeystorage#ask#it's like looking into the void except worse (Shattered Glass)
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I finally wrote it fellas!! This one-shot is basically just Varian, Hugo, Jack, and Davey hanging out. That’s it. That’s what this is.
Here’s the link to it on ao3
It’s also under the cut, so... yeah. Hope ya’ll enjoy it!
“Where are those two?”
Varian shrugged. “I don’t know. Do I look like their keeper to you?”
The tall blonde rolled his eyes. “Oh and you call me the irresponsible one?”
“Both you and Jack,” Varian replied, not even looking up from his phone. “You two share one braincell.”
Hugo gave a faux look of offense. “Are you calling me stupid? I’m hurt.”
“Good.”
Just then, the taller boy felt a tug on his ponytail.
“Are we making fun of Hugo now? Fun.”
Varian finally looked up to see the two boys they were waiting for. The one who had pulled on Hugo’s hair was a chubby Latino boy and following him was his boyfriend, a tall pale boy.
“About time,” Varian said, putting his phone in his coat pocket. “I just bought the tickets for the movie tonight.”
“Thanks, Hairstripe,” Jack said. “I owe ya one.”
“Sorry we’re late,” the taller boy said. “My professor kept me a little longer than expected.”
Varian opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by his own boyfriend. “Damn Dave, no need to make up excuses. If you hate us, then that’s totally fine.” Hugo smirked.
David rolled his eyes. “Hey, can you blame me? The most I can say is that you’re tolerable. And that’s about it.”
Hugo snorted. “If that’s how ya feel, then your little Jackie there is on the same level of annoying as I am.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Yeah, I’m not annoying,” Jack said. “It’s called being charming.”
“Also debatable,” David said. He slung an arm around Jack’s shoulder.
Varian smiled and shook his head. “Alright, well if we’re done screwing around, mind if we move this along. We got a movie in an hour and a half and I was thinking we could get dinner beforehand.”
“Yeah, let’s head out,” Jack said. “Jacobi’s is just around the corner, so we can eat there and head to the theater afterwards.”
“Sweet. Let’s go then.”
The two couples started on their way off campus and into the city. As they walked through the streets, the wind grew stronger. It was like someone had turned on a giant fan, blowing cold air right through New York.
The four talked for a while about their classes and how their day was as they walked through the crowded sidewalks.
Jack pulled up his hood and shoved his hands in his pocket. “Shit, if I woulda known how cold it was gonna get, I woulda brought a thicker jacket.”
“If you had a smarter brain, you would’ve known how cold New York gets in the winter,” Hugo said with a smile.
Jack punched his arm.
“Assault! I’ve been assaulted!” Hugo exclaimed over dramatically. “Babe, are you just gonna stand there and let me be assaulted like this?”
“Why not? It’ll be entertaining,” Varian said with a shrug.
“Why must you hurt me like this?”
“For my entertainment.”
Another cool breeze blew. Hugo shuddered. “Damn, okay, maybe the cowboy has a point.”
“I told you, stupid,” Jack said, sticking his tongue out.
“Does no one here respect me anymore?!” He sighed. “Well, at least there’s still Dave.”
“Respect is a strong word,” David said.
The blonde trailed a finger down his cheek. “Look what you did. I’m crying now.”
“Good,” the other three said in unison.
Hugo crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at Jacobi’s and took the spot they usually did when they ate together. It was a small booth near the back of the restaurant. David sat next to Jack while Varian took his seat next to Hugo.
David removed his scarf. “Much better.”
“I know right? Winter came early this year,” Varian said, removing his beanie. “I checked the weather earlier today, and it’s supposed to get colder this week.”
“You two sound like such dorks,” Jack said with a smile. “If I wanted to hear about the weather, I woulda stayed home and watched the news… and then ignored it.”
“Mood.” Hugo nodded.
“Well, what would you two like to talk about?” David asked. He crossed his arms.
“I don’t know. Minecraft?”
“No.”
It wasn’t long before a waitress came over to their table and took their orders. As she left, Jack picked up David’s scarf and wrapped it around himself.
“Can I wear this?”
“Why?”
“I’m cold.”
David shrugged. “Sure.” He kissed Jack’s forehead.
Hugo glanced at them and down at Varian’s beanie. He picked up Varian’s hat. “Varian, can I-”
“No.” He pulled it away from him.
Hugo crossed his arms and huffed. “Fine, be that way. Let me freeze to death. Let’s see if you care when I get hypothermia. Then what? Then, you’ll be laughing.”
Varian rolled his eyes and handed the beanie to him.
Hugo smiled. “Thank you, honey. I love you.”
The rest of dinner went by fairly normal. Jack and Hugo were cracking jokes and messing with each other as they usually did while Varian and David talked about studying for upcoming exams.
Afterwards, they left and started heading to the theaters to watch the movie Varian had bought tickets for.
“Hugo, can I have my hat back?” Varian asked as they walked back out into the streets.
Hugo shook his head and held onto it. “No, it’s soft. Can I hold onto it for just a little longer?”
“Oh, okay, it’s not like I need it or anything,” Varian said sarcastically.
“Then, I see no problem.” Hugo smirked.
Varian reached up to get it, but Hugo moved before he could grab it.
“Hugo, give me my hat back!”
“Nope.” He continued to move out the shorter boy’s reach or swatted his hand away.
“Run Hugo!” Jack exclaimed. “He can’t catch you if you run!”
“Jackie, stop encouraging him or I’m taking my scarf from you,” David said.
Hugo grabbed Jack’s arm. “Run!”
The two of them sprinted ahead, dodging crowds as they did. They turned a corner and disappeared with the other two’s belongings.
“Idiots,” David muttered, shaking his head.
“Our idiots,” Varian said.
David nodded and smiled. “Mm-hm.”
The two walked in silence for a while, watching as their boyfriends ran up ahead of them.
“We should probably go after them before they do something stupid.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
With that, the two ran after them.
#newsies#varian and the seven kingdoms#tangled the series#tts varian#tts hugo#varigo#jack kelly#david jacobs#javid#one-shot#jay tries to write#idk this was just something I thought would be fun#sorry it kinda sucks
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I’ve got post vaccine (moderna gang) shivers so I need to express fluff headcanons to spread good vibes
When Ecto was planning to propose, he had to keep it so hush hush because Higari can easily find things out. He didn’t tell anyone but higaris mother and his own parents. He was very happy that Higari was actually surprised with the proposal. Higari wears the rings on a necklace- his quirk doesn’t exactly make wedding rings easy to find.
As much as Higari prefers being a support hero, search and rescue jobs that go smoothly it’s very rewarding. He often checks up on those he’s managed to rescue, keeps in touch with some too. There’s this lovely older woman who he rescued from a crumbling retirement home who sends him baked goods every holiday. He visits her every month for tea.
When Ecto is sick, Higari cares for him easily. Even when Ecto acts like he isn’t sick. He’ll make him soup, make sure he’s resting, cold compress on his forehead. As stubborn as he is, ecto appreciates it.
Higaris favorite memory with his dad is digging around in the yard with him. Since they had the same quirks, it worked out. He showed him how to carve tunnels without the ground crumbling, or just played around in the dirt. There’s a picture of Higari when he was three, covered in dirt with his head peaking out of a hole. His dad was grinning, sitting near by like he was cheering him on. Sometimes, especially on days where thinking about his dad is hard, he’ll tell Ecto stories.
As someone who also got shivers after getting a vaccine I know the feeling, how you’re doing well!
Ecto proposing, Yes! I love the idea of Ecto proposing to Higari, and his rugged flirting smirking self just crumbles in the face of Ecto holding a ring to him. Ecto’s eyes are so full of love and he has such a soft grin on his face that Higari can’t help but tearing up, he tries to think of something flirty to say back, but he just can’t. He’s overwhelmed - probably ended up tackling Ecto in a hug with a big kiss, which threw Ecto off guard, thinking at first maybe he’d overwhelmed Higari when he started crying.
Higari wearing is around his neck, also yes. Higari’s wedding ring is the only thing that he will spend careful hours cleaning and polishing at the end of each day to make sure it stays in good condition, wears is around UA proudly - though I imagine for interviews outside of UA or when he’s called out for hero work he leaves it at home in a special box on his dresser or safely tucks it away in a drawer in the design studio, as much as he loves wearing the rink around his neck he dreads the thought of loosing it in a rescue, or having some nosy reports pester him for answers if they catch sight of it.
With Higari’s gear I’m a firm believer he’d be a great rescue hero in say like natural disasters or if a building collapsed. With his giant robotic suit and his know how on construction he could easily map a safe route to evacuate citizens from an unstable building, or quickly find a way to clean up after a land slide. Need to move a giant tree? No problem he’ll move it no prob. Citizen can’t move because they’re leg hurts? He can carry em out to safety. Kids they rescued are bored while they’re waiting for parents to pick them up? Higari tolerates them clambering about on his hero suit like it’s a jungle gym
Anything with Higari caring for Ecto or vise versa is so wholesome! In my NGAU I imagine Higari prolly knows all the tricks to help when someone is sick, he grew up in a big house with tones of little siblings, as kids they got sick a lot with how often they played in the garden and mud, they’ve all got very strong immune systems so it’s rare Higari or his siblings get sick - but Higari still knows all the tricks to help nursing someone back to health. He remembers to give Ecto some medicine, make him some soup, hot water bottle if he’d cold, flannel if he’s too hot and plenty of liquids. A teenie tiny part of Ecto might even enjoy all the attention, appreciating Higari’s concern. Too bad Higari is too stubborn to actually treat himself when he’s sick, with how little he gets sick he doesn’t take it all that seriously - thankfully Ecto is a patient man with many clones, so is willing to drag Higari back to bed if needed XD
And the last one with his dad...
Anon: Are you trying to make me cry-
In my NGAU Powerloader’s dad was all over him, spoiled Higari so so much. Spent many lazy afternoons slacking off work when the missus wasn’t looking to play around with Higari (bragged for like a week straight that he got his quirk, proud dad moment). Higari’s mother came out into the garden to see how the boys where doing, she finds her husband and toddler son covered head to toe in dirt and mud. She gets angry at them, insisting the two need a bath if they want to have dinner. Toddler Higari hated baths from the day he was born apparently, and it’s only until dear old papa gives him a bath is he willing to get clean. His dad puts bubbles in Higari’s hair, and Higari splashes bubbles onto his dads beard, who then makes a silly face to make Higari laugh. Too bad only one hour after tea the two got dirty again-
The first time Higari used his quirk was when he was outside with his dad. His dad was working on fixing up the shed, Higari sitting in a small play pen outside with some toys while his dad stood close by, able to work while also keeping an eye on Higari. Higari, bored of playing with his building blocks, begins to drag his little hands at the ground, and before he knows it he’s tunneling his way to freedome beyond the bounds of his baby playpen. This kind of scneario probably ensued:
Kaigo (PL’s dad): Phew *picks up tool box and turns around* Alright sweetpea, time to go back insi- *freezes when he sees the playpen is empty, and no baby in sight* W-WHAT?! *drops tool box, and rapidly looks around* Uh- H-Higari?! Sweetpea?! Where’d you go?? Come to dad, this isn’t funny! *rushes around a bit*
Higari: *tunnles his way up to the surface in his mothers flowerbed, a small pile of dirt with a flower sticking out the top sitting on his head*
Kaigo: *searching in the bushes* H-Higari?! Higari! Where are you?! *mumbles* Shit I took my eyes off him for two minutes! Where the hell could he-
Higari: BAPA!
Kaigo: *jumps and whirls around*..*heaves and sigh and rushes over* Oh thank god! *scoops him into his arms for a hug* You stupid lil’ ankle biter! Don’t you ever do that again! *holds him out at arms length* How in the world did you even get out??
Higari: *sneezes from the dirt, making the flower fall off his head*
Kaigo:..Wait. Did..D-Did you, DIG your way out?!
Higari: *incoherent baby noises*
Kaigo;...Ooooh you are in SO much trouble young man, you know how many years off my life you just took? Huh?...*scowls as Higari giggles* Oh so you think this is FUNNY?-
Higari: *grabs his nose* BA!
Kaigo:............*sighs* You’re damn lucky you’re cute, you know that?...Uh, how about we DON’T tell your Ma about this, okay?
Ever since then his dad had to watch him like a hawk, one minute Higari was sitting playing with his toys, the next he was trying to dig his way to the other side of the world. When he was old enough his dad did give him some lessons in how to dig safely so the ground wouldn’t become unstable. I imagine Higari may have madea few tunnels as a kid that where too close to the surface, and his very unsuspecting mum and dad would just sink into the ground collapsing an old tunnel Higari made. And Higari having pictures?? YES. His mum probably has a whole stash of pictures of Higari as a baby playing outside with his dad and her. Including the embarrassing photos, the kind of photos Higari would never want Ecto to see, but his mum showed him anyway.
Now I wanna write angst with Powerloader and his dad aaaaa-
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The Autumn Meeting (3/4)
Abram bounces up and down on the spot, his scales dancing across his forehead, his mouth a giant grin, teeth as sharp as knives.
“You’re gonna love it so much guys! You don’t understand! It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever conjured.”
“Just get it over with Abe,” Emil whines, checking a small clock in his breast pocket, “We’re already behind schedule.”
Abe stops dead and wraps his fins around his chest.
“Are you always this mean?” The Queen asks, shaking her head at Abram who stares at the floor.
“You’ve read about us, or so you say. Why don’t you tell me?”
The Queen rolls her eyes. Abram gives a wistful sigh. Gus, a disembodied head in the leaves, squeaks in a strange nonsense language that makes his friends smile.
“Start from the beginning this time Abram. I don’t want a repeat of the mermaid incident.”
“The mermaid incident?” The Queen asks
“He started from the middle. The girl already owned legs, yet she still longed for them.”
“That was one time!” Abram huffed, “Now is everyone settled? Or do you need to shout at me some more?”
All three attendants nod.
“Okay, now I’ll start.” He turned to their guest, “Your majesty, you might wanna cover your ears for the first few minutes. The beginning may be a bit muffled but many have been known to go deaf when I slip into my other voice.”
“Another voice?”
“You’ll see,” He grins. And so the third tale of the night begins at four in the afternoon:
{The Two Beings}
There were once two beings
One was of greys, blacks and whites
He lived amongst royalty
Survived in their courts
He never quite belonged
So he also held company with lower beings
Of slime and muck and grit
As the first being grew strong on their discarded remains
He left the royalty and the courts
And ruled along the paper margins of Fairy
Soon after he developed an interest in humans
A hobby many found unhealthy
He’d follow them around
Watched them
Children seemed to be the only humans that would listen to the ruler’s prattling
The being did not mind
For they were interesting
They filled a void that slime could not
Then
One day
The ruler met a second being
The second being was one of light
Of blues, greens, reds and pinks
She was human
She belonged to the upper wall
And she lived her life in chains
As bright and as ordinary as the ruler was dark, stark and strange
She spent her days alone
Hiding her beauty from the rest of the world
An assistant to twin brothers
Frogs
Toads
She was left to feed off of scraps
And to be whipped by a cruel guardian
The first being found his counterpart one night
One lonely night
Peering through his window
He caught her exhausted in rags
Torn at the hem
Hair bushy
Face muddy from soot
And of course
He immediately fell in love with her
So he began his pursuit
Observing her from his own realm
She was everything he was not
Everything he lacked
A great regard for life danced in her forget-me-not eyes
It was a short
Almost too short
Time
before the ruler of the muck and slime was certain she would be a suitable bride
And his determination grew
He’d leave tributes on her bedroom sill;
Pine cones, leaves, twigs and rocks
Each one she took from him
A special pieces of his soul
She tucked them all away
Never to be seen again
The girl ignored him
Acted as if he were not there
And so the challenge went on...
“Exeunt.”
Abram smiles, looking around the campgrounds for a response. Guy whistles and The Queen gives her second clap of the day. Emil, unchanging, shakes his head. Before he can respond, Abram begins again.
“I’m working on the middle...and the beginning…and the ending.”
“Obviously,” Emil snarks.
“Wait I’m confused,” The Queen stutters, “Was there an ending?”
“No,” Abram replies, confused, “Why would there be?”
“This is a workshop, your majesty. A story doesn’t need an ending if you don’t want it to.”
“I know it’s awful,” Abram frowns, anxious tears forming in his eyes like beads of smoked glass.
“I was thinking of adding a subplot with some gremlin people. Like, a parallel romance story line to kinda act as a comedic escape from all the existentialism-”
“Ah yes that would be very fine,” Emil grins, “Very fine indeed Abe my boy!”
“Y-yeah! I also thought maybe...you could help me with uh… some world building and structure and stuff. So it flows naturally.”
“Hmm, good idea. Good idea Abram.” Emil rolls his head back to the fire, which is starting to die out, “Say Abe, can you answer a question I have about your story?”
“Sure!”
“Is your story, perhaps, based on a particular person in this group tonight?”
Abram rolls his eyes, “It ain’t about you Emillian.”
“No not me you fool! Is it based on our guest of honour over there?”
The Queen’s eyes grow wide. Abram says nothing and begins to stare down at his feet again.
Emil smirks triumphantly, “Thought so.”
Gus’ thigh gives a little creak in the darkening wilderness.
“I know that Gus, but how many of those queens are sitting down here with us tonight?”
Gus shrugs a shoulder, giving up.
“Last year, you told me to be spontaneous,” Abram mumbles, “Now here I am, making up prose as I go, and you hate it.”
“I don’t hate it, Abe my boy! I just find it intolerable.”
Abram groans. The Queen sighs in annoyance.
“I’m terribly sorry for existing, sir.” She mutters.
“Good. You should be. But since you’re here you can give Abram some pointers for his story. Make yourself useful.”
“Pointers? What pointers could she give me?”
“She’s a queen you dolt! She knows all about rulers! She’s gonna marry one!”
“Oh yeah! Hey I do need help on the characters innermost fears and desires! Being stuck underwater most of the year makes you miss out on courtly endeavours.”
With that, Abram shuffles closer to the Queen’s makeshift throne. As the group reorganises, a high screech flies through the air above their heads, causing them to lift their eyes to the treetops. The Queen shudders and pulls her shawl tighter around her shoulders. Her dress shifts slightly. Only slightly. But it’s enough for the men to notice how her stomach swells underneath the fabric.
“So that’s it then,” Emil grimaces, “A bouncing baby boy. That’s why he’s marrying you.”
The Queen gives a warm smile and strokes her stomach with one hand, “He’s three months old.”
“A big thing for three months.”
A softer, yet hungrier scream pierces the forest and the queen goes back to hugging her cloak.
“It’s the corridors.”
“The corridors?”
“Yes. They’ve discovered I’m gone. They’ll be coming soon. How long will this take?”
“As long as we want it to.”
“My husband will be here soon and-”
“Exactly! That’s what we want to talk to you about. Now quick fussing! Abram! Ask one question now. We still have one story to get through.”
Abram grins, “What do you think of purity?”
“Purity?” The Queen repeats, taken aback.
“Yes, purity.”
The Queen swallows, “Purity, at least the ideas most people have about purity, are phantoms. Babes, the pure ones, the prideful ones, can handle cruelty in their stride. They hold glass shards in their eyes. Beware the little ones; they’ll devour your heart with knives, forks and all. The phantoms, these small shadows of ideas, lead you on and ensnare you in a pretty bear trap marked with flowers. Mark my words, the pure ones will eat you clean.”
The men stare at her. She shrugs her shoulders.
“It’s something my mother used to say to me.”
“Hmm,” Emil turns to Abram, “That has nothing to do with the King my boy. Ask another one about the king.”
“Oh no, please don’t! I don’t think-”
“Why? What do you not want us to find out? That he eats babies too?”
“Nothing! It’s just he told me things. Important secrets you only tell the person you wish to marry.”
“What things? What important secrets?”
“We were sat on the screen porch one day-”
“The what?”
“The screen porch. It’s a balcony in the castle, hidden away with an invisible tarp.”
“What’s its purpose?”
“The glass hides the rest of the world. Puts it on its side. And it keeps the insects out. The panels are covered in their eyeballs and guts-”
“How gruesome!”
“The king, an insect grower!”
“Imagine!”
“And a competent one at that!”
“The nerve of the rogue!”
“The view makes up for it. On that day of secrets, we were watching a sunset, spying on the angels.”
“Hmmph, angels!”
“Yes. The King was talking about angels, demons and the like-”
“Typical monarch!”
“He likes to discuss things that he can’t keep in cages.”
“Particularly to things he’s managed to trap.”
“Indeed, I suppose some would see it that way. I find talk of immortality fascinating.”
“You would, you immortal.”
“Future immortal. We were just finishing dessert when the king grabbed my hand and began to stroke the creases in my palm. When I looked up at him he said, “You know what I wish for? More than anything in the world?” I just said I could guess but I’d probably be wrong.”
“How humble of you.”
“He stopped for a moment and gazed up at the sun, on its last legs. Then he swallowed and looked back at me. He told me his biggest secret then.”
“And now you will tell us, three old pedallers. You will tell us an immortal’s Achilles heel?”
“Yes, I don’t see why not.”
“Very well child.”
“He turned and said-”
“What? What girl?”
“Isn’t it obvious? A soul.”
“A soul?”
“At first, I thought he had something caught in his throat. Like, he meant to say “soldier” or “solar panels”. Anything other than a soul.”
“Oh how perfectly ludicrous! An immortal obsessed with souls! That explains you finally. You’re his pet soul. A human girl he can point and laugh at.”
“I point and laugh at him much more than you realise. I didn’t laugh at him on this particular day. On soul day. I just hugged him.”
“And that right there is why he tolerates you. That’s why he wraps you in cotton wool and keeps you locked up with him. That’s why he smothers you with heavy brick walls.”
“Maybe so. It’s also the reason he asked for my hand.”
“That’s why he asked for your wrist. What’s your reason?”
“For our marriage?”
“Yes, sod it all, what was your reason for saying yes to him?”
“Well, I said yes because I love him and I was lonely. And he loves me and is lonely. That’s how these things tend to work.”
“Why do you love him?”
“Obviously because he’s the grower of insects!”
“I suppose that’s a requirement then? To love a king?”
“That and a pretty sunset.”
“How trivial.”
Suddenly, Abram gives a giant huff. Everyone turns back to him, kicking his legs in the dirt.
“Sure! Sure! It’s fine when Emil interrupts me but when I interrupt his story to ask a simple question. Oh no! Blasphemy! I’m a degenerate! You know what Emillian? I like my story as it is! No subplots, no ending, no superfluous detail, nothing! I don’t need any of this nonsense! What kind of king just sits in a giant flytrap all day, eating babies and wishing about souls and angels and demons and…ugh! I’m done with this Emillian! It took me twenty years to be invited here and I always get treated like mud. But this takes the cake! Enjoy your new companion. I’m going to where I’ll be respected. That’s what I’m doing! Hang around the royalty you despise. Enjoy yourself.” Abram starts stomping away, then stops, picking up a piece of Gus’ chest plate, “And I’m taking Gussie with me!”
He gives a growl then leaves, ignoring the groups’ stunned silence as he gives himself to the shadows.
“Should we go after him or-”
“No. He’ll be back. He just needs to cool off.” Emil replies, gazing up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set and the shadows were getting stronger.
“We haven’t got much more time,” The Queen explains, “The king will probably start searching the woods soon and he hates it when I go out on my own-”
“Very well,” Emil interrupts, calmly, “Start your story now. Abram will have to miss out just this once. Poor old guy.”
The Queen sighs with relief and rests back into her throne.
On the outskirts of the never ending forest, encased in smoke, shadows and carcasses, the city of tomorrow outstretches a wary leg. It has waited patiently. It has called her name for hours. Now it will wait no more. After a moment of hesitation, it slips into the trees, merely a grotesque silhouette.
#creative writing#my story#ongoing series#part three of four#fantasy#horror#surrealism#surrealist#parallel worlds#monsters#cryptids#cryptidcore#weirdcore#oddcore#american gothic#southern gothic#nonsense fiction
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no one asked but here we are:
i am procrastinating my ass off today and i saw this on @something-tofightfor ‘s page and thought “OH LOOK A NEW WAY TO PROCRASTINATE MY ASS OFF!” So here’s some useless information about me:
1. Do you put ketchup on hotdogs?
Yes. Alllll the toppings. Onions, relish, mustard, mayo and ketchup.
2. Choice of soda?
I don’t really like soda because I don’t love sweet beverages. Ginger Ale, I guess, if I had to pick.
3. Do you put salt on watermelon?
So I never knew this was a thing until I worked at a fancy schmancy place where there was a fancy schmancy watermelon cocktail that was finished with a wedge of watermelon that had been sprinkled with kosher salt. And it was fine but seemed unnecessary. So that was my long winded way of saying: not on purpose.
4. Can you swim?
I can. I had a small above ground pool in my backyard growing up and I was in it ALL the time. I also took lessons and grew up only a few miles from the ocean, so learning to swim with currents was part of my childhood.
5. Hot dogs or burgers?
Toss up. Gimme one of each at a cookout.
6. Favorite type of food?
Tacos. All kinds. Any kinds.
7. Do you believe in ghosts?
I do. But I’m not afraid of them.
8. What do you drink in the morning?
Coffee, black with a little drizzle of honey.
9. Can you do 100 push-ups?
The most I ever did at once was 40 (not the kind some asshats call “girl pushups”- we don’t have time for why I hate that- with your knees on the floor, but with my legs all the way extended) but I could certainly get to 100 if I had a few weeks to build up to it. I couldn’t do more than 12 a few years ago.
10. Summer, Fall, Winter or Spring?
Fall and Spring over Summer and Winter. But Winter is last.
11. Your favorite animal?
Giraffes. I got to feed one once and it was one of the best days of my life.
12. Tattoos?
I have one - the number 26.2 on my right foot. I got it after I ran my first and only full marathon (marathons are 26.2 miles). I have plans for more but there are other things I need/ want to save my money for before I can spend on ink.
13. Do you wear glasses?
I sure do. I have thick coke bottle glasses and without them the world is just a bunch of formless blobs of color and light and shadow.
14. Do you have a fear?
I have a very irrational fear of something happening to someone I care about while they’re driving. If it takes someone longer than expected to get somewhere I start to panic until I hear from them. It’s a problem.
I used to be afraid of clowns and I still certainly do not like them, but now I know how to choke people so... they can come at me I guess.
15. Do you have a nickname?
Most people call me Lyss. A few family members call me Lissie. My sister calls me Sissie because she had trouble with L’s as a small child and couldn’t say Lissie, not because it’s a cute form of sister. One of my very good friends from college calls me Fro-ho Baggins because of my giant ass hair.
16. Can you change a tire?
I’ve done it once and I dented the wheel well. After that time I always ask for help. I *could* do it...but I don’t wanna fuck up my car.
17. Favorite flower?
Daisies.
18. Can you drive a stick?
No, but I want to learn. I always wanted to know that in an emergency I could drive any vehicle I needed to. But that’s not true currently. I know that soon they will probably do away with manual transition altogether but I still wouldn’t pass up the chance to learn.
19. Ever gone sky diving?
No but I really want to! Fun fact- the head instructor at my gym has done like over 100 solo jumps.
20. Kids?
Nope.
21. Favorite color?
Green. All kinds of greens.
22. Can you whistle?
Yeah, like, really well.
23. Where were you born?
New Jersey
24. Surgeries?
I had major surgery on my right foot in 2018. I had an accessory navicular bone, which is the roundish kind of bump bone on the inside of your foot, right under your ankle. I had a second one growing on top of the existing one, and it was pulling the tendons in my calf and foot in the wrong direction. It caused my arch to completely collapse and it got to the point where it was excruciatingly painful to even walk. So they removed the extra bone, cut my heel away from my foot, moved everything back into place, took out about a foot of diseased tendon, and then screwed everything in place with one LONG screw through my heel and into my foot, and one small threaded anchor holding the good tendons to the spot where they’re supposed to go. I was in a cast for...I think it was 8 weeks total, and then a walking boot for about a month after that, and then another two months of PT.
25. Shower or bath?
Shower. Baths bother me. I know they’re supposed to feel relaxing but I can’t help feeling grossed. Maybe if I had like a super nice jacuzzi tub with like jets and enough space to really lounge and stretch it would feel better, but i’d prefer a shower anytime.
26. Last song you heard?
Papillion by The Airborne Toxic Event is playing right now. Does that count?
27. How many TV’s in your home?
One.
28. Worst pain?
When the nerve block wore off the second day after the aforementioned surgery. I was so out of it for the first like 20 hours that I was home that I really couldn’t feel a thing, but then all at once it was there and it was awful. I have a VERY high pain tolerance and I was just in tears.
29. Do you like to sing?
I do! I’m not very good but I do not give a single shit.
30. Are your parents still alive?
My father is. My mom passed away 9 years ago.
31. Do you like to go Camping?
I LOVE CAMPING. I want to camp every state. And I want to do a Canadian camping adventure sooooo badly.
32. What do you binge watch?
So, binge watching is the only way I watch anything anymore. So...everything I watch I watch all in one go. Most recent binge of something new (to me) and not something I’ve seen a million times was Hanna on Amazon Prime and I frickin loved it and I love Erik and I’m not okay.
33. Pumpkin or pecan?
Neither. Sweet Potato, not pumpkin (a new development) and Pistachio not Pecan. Replace the pecans with pistachios and voila.
34. A photo of yourself.
Ew. Okay, fine, but I look like absolute garbage right now so you’re getting one from like... two months ago:
Idk why I feel the need to stick my tongue out in so many pictures. Gosh I can’t take me anywhere.
#ugh now i've run out of things to procrastinate with#i guess that means i have to write#*throws small tantrum*#fiiiiiiiiiiine.#i love how I’m like “I look like trash here have this photo of me making a trash face
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Hey I fucking broke my ankle lmao
“I could really use a break right now” I say as I struggle with my dog having terminal cancer, my roommate pushing my limits, my money being nonexistent, and barely getting one meal a day.
A finger on the monkey’s paw that is me ever wanting anything in life curls again. Must have been a pretty fucked up monkey because there’s a lot of fingers on this thing by now.
So yeah, life thought I wasn’t going through enough already so it added broken fucking ankle to the list of Finsterhund suffering hours.
“I wish I wasn’t broke” is another good one. “here have a different broke then lol. go fuck yourself you rotting corpse of a victorian boy piece of shit”
here’s the goods. Got ex roommate to take photo of the screen. Doctor did not let me email the high res version to myself.
I did not go “waaaiii” on the way down, unfortunately. Life just isn’t like a video game. Probably didn’t look funny either. In reality I am a silent faller/injurer/whatever. Survival instincts of child abuse survivor I land and stay there as quiet as possible. I “grew out of” signals for help before teenage years. Which is a blessing in disguise because I don’t like people looking at me when I am hurt. it’s the “baby deer waiting for mom to come back instinct” I hide from predators.
My brain didn’t really process it when it happened. I just fell and heard a SNAP. If I had watched a video of it happening to someone else I would have found it gross but fortunately my brain just let me ignore it.
I was mostly immediately scared that I had somehow damaged the FIFTY DOLLAR dog calming aid that I got for Cazza in the pet store. I needed something like it for her and just seeing it in person and not having to pay 30 dollar shipping I was like “yeah. getting it here” fortunately the only fragile part is a little plastic capsule that imitates a heartbeat, which was packaged inside the toy inside the box. I hope. I have not opened it.
But the reason I fell is because I was also carrying giant bag of dog food. You see my vet recommended I switch out her food in light of the potential heart disease link. So I got the biggest bag of the best chicken stuff they had. My roommate might try saying that it was because the bag was too heavy. It wasn’t. I could lift that shit just fine. Bag was impossible for my impaired depth perception cringe fail line of vision to see around. The same visual impairment that prevents me from being able to drive a car made me think that I could put my foot down on the curb of the sidewalk. Dumb ass thought I was stepping OVER the curb.
Fortunately the bag of dog food broke my fall. Otherwise I’d have probably smashed my nose and teeth on the pavement. I really hope the expensive puppy calming toy is unharmed :( I say as I have a fucking broken leg.
So yeah. If you’ve seen labyrinth where David Bowie playing Jareth the Goblin King walks over all those weird ass fucked up stairs and ledges that are all a manner of odd angles? Specifically where he just takes steps that are at an angle that you cannot actually walk? Yeah I fucked up Jareth platform stairs walked over the fucking curb and snapp my legs
yes, I said legs.
Only my left is technically broken. It’s a Webber A something or other. I have a sick as hell photo if you wanna see. It’s included in this post.
But my right foot also got fucking fucked up. That one it snapped a tendon or a ligament or whatever the fuck. Get this, it snapped off a small piece of the gottamn bone. It’s not a break but it’s like it came off like a splinter. I made a joke in the hospital about how it’s like when you throw a sticky hand at the wall and when you pull it back a piece of the paint comes off with it. That was really fucking funny but nobody laughed. My friend’s group chat thought it was funny though. I did not get a photo of that foot and the tiny cringe sticky hand paint sliver bone.
I am on pain meds better than my normal pain meds. I can barely feel the legs in bed now.
So back to the parking lot. I landed on the dog food bag. I am hoping the calmeroos puppy is not broken or damaged in any way, I heard the snap but my brain is not registering the snap. This hurts “like a normal fall” I think at first. It hurts a lot of course, but I have the pain tolerance of a truck (thanks for this one Will) and a “heartwarming” story from my youth is that my mom didn’t believe my arm was broken both times it happened because I wasn’t “in pain enough” so I’ve got the firsthand experience to back that up.
Yeah then I try to fucking move my goddamn legs. Left one, broken one, there’s noises. Like cracking pop sounds. And pain. God fuck. It feels like the foot is loose and it’s only connected by fleshy flesh and muscle and skin. Aka like how my dislocated shoulder (that my mom also dismissed because I didn’t scream enough... after the lifeguard had alreayd put it back in...) had felt when I was 12.
So I’m like “oh god oh fuck oh god oh fuck I can’t get up or move” yeah my first response was “how the fuck am I going to escape?” I attempted to better myself to get up but absolutely not. Right foot feels like when I roll the damn thing which happens a lot. That *WAS* my bad ankle. sidkfjsdkfjskdf not anymore!!!!!
So an important note is that I’m technically better about my severe agoraphobia that my roommate can let me go into a store by myself provided he’s no more than a couple stores away. So while I’m waiting for a predator to pick my weak ass off outside the petstore he’s in the dollar store next door where I was supposed to meet him after putting the dog food in the car. The car I am now sitting next to. I have no way to get his attention because my phone is dead and also in my bedroom because it’s useless when not plugged into the wall.
Luckily the people parked next to us come out the store and see Mr fuck leg the fucked leg boy sitting on his bag of dog food between the cars and bless this family they help me out. By trying to get roommate out of the dollar store. Which doesn’t work. So they get the dollar store manager. Who then gets roommate out of the store. I was probably sitting there for 10 minutes or so. They had kids so I’m really trying not to let them see how fucked up the rapidly growing ankle balloon is.
But yeah. Eventually roommate come out the dollar store. And get this, he does the same shit my mom did every time anything ever fucking happened to me and is all “okay if it were really broken you’d be screaming right now” as I’m finally able to prop myself up enough to get into the car. That fucking triggered me real bad and I had a breakdown in the car while he went back into the dollar store to continue shopping.
Then we went to get food.
Then we went to costco.
He said that he would take me home and then if it was “still bad tomorrow” he’d take me to the ER.
So he tries to help me out of the car to the house.
I cannot put weight on the right leg either. It is agony. He’s trying to support the bad leg but the other leg need support too. A weaker man would have screamed but I just dropped to the parking lot ground and cried.
Made an attempt to crawl to the house but the gravel on my knees was just too much on top of everything else.
So FINALLY the ER is back on the menu. Ex roommate comes out because I need someone to support each foot. And they take me to their car and they drive me to the ER and I’m trying to eat a baconator while my foot is reminding me that we should have stayed as tiktaalik. you know, not fucking biped I want semi aquatic too please please please youre nothing
The wheelchairs in the ER are designed to offer full body support but the damn things are so hard to maneuver around and cannot be user operated. So I was sitting there having to get pushed around feeling like a dumb fuck because I hate needing assistance to move I hate it I hate it I hate it. I kept reaching down expecting to find the wheel handles but they weren’t there.
ER was... fun. There was a cool cartoon I’ve never seen before “Craig of the Creek” playing on the TV. I really want to see more of it I really liked it. But a fucking anti vax guy (YEAH REALLY) was swearing and bitching because there were kids shows on the TV This show was the only comfort I fucking had. Craig was spoonfeeding me comfort with his little freeze to death without your winter clothes adventure (RIP to him but I’m different)
But yeah. Once being treated it was all really nice. My ability to make constant jokes about fucked up injury death and suffering is a really good stress relief. Shout out to the xray tech who totally understood I use dark humor to cope and in response to my joke about how if I was a horse they'd just shoot me that I would “make wonderful glue” the other people were also very kind but I kinda felt they were intimidated by how “jovial” I was about the whole thing. Like yeah. I’m “handling it well” because that’s my whole strategy. Inside I’m screaming “please not the plates please not the plates please not the plates” (I am scared of having metal plates and screws.) Fortunately the stupid little cringe bone broke just low enough on the bone that I don’t have to get the plates and screws. I was literally begging Spot and she answered.
In my moment of weakness I decided that the true nature of the “Spot Power” is that she makes it so that when I’m going through shit I’m always “being so brave about it”
I kept thinking about how Cazza thought I had abandoned her though and while roommate did give her her evening walkies she was stressed and puked on the walk. Which fucking ruined my life and I cried more hearing that than the fucking leg.
So yeah. In canada crutches and the foot boot actually cost money. I’m out like 100 dollars. Plus like 30 because roommate wanted gas. I’m just used to it by now. I definitely need to plug Cazza’s gofundme again now though. Have no clue how I’m even going to take her to her appointments. I am hesitant to hope that roommate will give her as good walks as she needs.
There were more tears over the fact that I was going to fail Cazza than that I actually broke my fucking ankle.
This shouldn’t be a shock. I knew that eventually my visual impairment and my physical disability were going to team up on me and fuck up my body even worse somehow. Always thought it was going to be stairs though. A small comfort is apparently the x ray department has had four other people come in about the exact same curb. Yeah I kid you not. The curb between the redacted dollar store and the redacted pet store confirmed for Heart of Darkness 2: Andy Ankle Adventure
They were supposed to give me more pain meds but I guess I didn’t pick them up or they forgot or something. My brain is fried so i have no idea at all.
Crutches are a massive learning curve for someone with depth issues and balance issues. I almost fell face first on the goddamn crutches several times. If I wasn’t broke and you know, if I couldn’t fucking not leg broken walk leg I would go to hardware store and make a wheeling seat thing like those scooters in gym class and then I’d have Cazza pull me on walks. That would work.
Big issue is in and out of our place is fucking stairs. Yeah. I crawled up them on hands and knees. No way in hell with my already fucking broken mobility could I go crutches up them. I have to hold onto railing or I fall down stairs so crawling it was.
I can technically take the boot off to sleep but the tightness makes it so much better so fuck that. Wish I had the rolling elementary school gym class scooter so I could drag myself around the house.
Cazza doted on me like nothing else. She tried to brace me going up the stairs but she’s not big enough for what I’d need with this fucking leg problem. She helped me change out of my clothes though. Even though she’ll never be certified she’s still my everything.
The she cuddled close to me until I had calmed down and now she’s fast asleep in her bed. I am so glad I ended up giving her her bath before going out.
I am going to attempt to make it to my bloodwork appointment tomorrow. I have rescheduled that due to chemo appointments too many times.
I can’t remember if I’m forgetting anything else. Honestly my roommate telling me the exact same shit my mom did just fucking hurt so bad. I think I know my own body better than you do. Like I’ve told him about how she didn’t believe me and I had to beg her to take me to the hospital and he ended up doing the exact same shit. All because I didn’t outwardly exhibit being in enough pain apparently.
I just hate how being disabled you always have to fucking prove you’re disabled. Like I was expected to somehow walk back to the house and up the stairs but when I got to go to the ER yeah fucking broken lol.
I just wish I had parents. I need taking care of. I always did and I never got it.
I’m scared for the future. I don’t know how I’m going to manage or how I’m going to provide for Cazza.
I wish breaking my ankle could have made Cazza’s cancer go away
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Burn The White Flag | Erin & Roy
TIMING: Current
PARTIES: @corpse--diem and @theshadowandvalleyaremine
SUMMARY: Roy visits the funeral home for the first and last time. Things get heated.
The front door was open when Erin reached the porch steps. Then she heard the whistling. A relaxed, upbeat rhythm that normally wouldn’t have been as creepy as it was if she hadn’t come home from a viewing to an open door and that. Still, she paused at the foot of them. Dug into her bag for the knife she always kept on hand now. Creaky steps grew louder as they approached the front door and a deep voice bellowed out from the shadows.
“Ms. Nichols! I was just looking for you!”
She knew that voice. It echoed in her mind in quiet moments and haunted her nightmares. That giant smile, sharp and sure, was the first thing she saw when he sauntered out of the shadows into the light of day. Roy Chambers steely grey eyes locked on hers. “I was looking for you inside but all I found were a bunch of blue-haired children gossiping in the lunchroom. Are funeral homes some sort of new macabre hangout spot?” There was judgment in his voice and tone but he kept his expression light. A bunch? Erin’s chest burned. Rio and Blanche were here? What the fuck was Blanche doing here? Hadn’t she told her to ask before just dropping in? She was going to kill her if she made it out of this. “Doesn’t strike me as the most professional move but I suppose it’s your business. You do what you like, don’t you?”
“What do you want?” Erin cut to the chase, stepping back when he started down the steps. One of the most annoying things about this man was the way he took his time getting to the point. He made his audience wait, like he was the most interesting man in the room and not just the most dangerous. Roy, naturally, fancied himself as both.
His smile dripped into a quick frown, holding a hand to his heart. “Erin, I’m wounded. What makes you think I want something? Can’t your former employer drop by and see how you’ve been doing? You never even call anymore.” It didn’t take long for his grin to return. “A two-weeks notice would have sufficed, by the way. You didn’t have to blow up half the town to get your point across.”
It took all of her strength not to hurl her bag at his face. “But that’s how you’re going to justify poisoning Pat’s and all of those people, right? You’re going to make this my fault?” She narrowed her eyes at him incredulously.
Roy didn’t flinch. “You and your cohorts are responsible for their own actions and you both were reprimanded accordingly. But that stint at the Ring was clever. I’ll give you that. I didn’t see it coming, especially not from you,” he pointed at her, a dark gleeful glint to his eye. “And that was my mistake.”
Erin straightened up. Was she supposed to be flattered? Whatever leg up she had before was over now, she knew that. He opened the front of his suit, pulling a cigar from the inside pocket. It was like she could smell the smoke before he’d even lit the flame. With a snap of his finger, fire blazed between the fingertips and he watched it grow until it became the size of a baseball in his hand. “I could kill you. Right here. Right now.” He mused, manipulating and twirling the flames between his fingers like only a skilled practitioner had the ability to do. He looked up from his hand to find her eyes, wide and terrified. Good. He had her attention.
“So why don’t you?” She asked, even if she didn’t really want the answer to that one. Glanced at the house again, worrying for the two still inside. If he even thought about touching them--her jaw clenched together, hard and unrelenting.
His smirk curved up higher and he brought the flame and his cigar closer to his lips. “Where’s the fun in that? Actually--there would be a lot of fun in that. For me, not for you.” A hand dug into his front pocket as he inhaled a puff of the cigar, surveying the yard. Even gave a wave to a passing neighbor walking their dog along the sidewalk with a friendly smile that eventually fell hauntingly on her. He took slow, thoughtful steps until he was close enough to stand beside her. “You’re giving people around here ideas and unless those ideas benefit me, I don’t care for ‘em. So I’m glad to make an example out of you instead.” No. Even a small uprising wouldn’t do, wouldn’t be tolerated. When he gripped her shoulder, all she could think was how surprisingly cold his hand was despite the fire that had just lived there. He leaned in closer, cold breath tickling her ear. “If you want a war, Ms. Nichols--I’ll give you one.”
Smoke curled around his hand, his lips and the smell made her nauseous. He made her nauseous. For all of her fighting words and all the rage simmering within her, he still terrified her to her spot. And she hated it. Roy knew it too--he could feel her tremble under his tight grip. But then suddenly it was gone, he was gone, and she heard the gravel crunching behind her in his retreat. He was leaving. Was that it? Was this just some fucked up threat? She didn’t move. Didn’t dare to.
A black car pulled up to the end of the driveway. Roy opened the door, a hearty laugh shaking his shoulders when he saw the smoke building towards the top of the house. Erin just watched him, confused and angry but oh--oh, no. She still had no idea. Oh, this was good. He laughed even harder now as he waved at her, slipped into the backseat and finally, disappeared down the road.
His words echoed in her mind, the smoke from his cigar lingering in his absence. Stronger now than ever, actually. Her eyes narrowed and turned to the house. It was billowing out from the front door, from the windows, orange flames cutting through the dark. In such a short time, the house had become overwhelmed by it. Fuck. Fuck.
Rio and Blanche were still inside.
This was more than a warning, she realized, a white cold fear shooting up her spine. He’d allowed her to stand by like an idiot. Let her watch him leisurely light up his cigar and bounce casual threats off of her. Confident. So fucking confident because he’d already made his move. He was just waiting for her to realize it--this war had already begun.
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Antique Champagne - Ch42 - Pack Your Bags
Hancock was as good as on his word. He tried drinking again the next night, but this time with a half a Mentat. To his delight, he kept it down the whole night. By the end of the week, he had worked up to a whole tablet, well on his way to working his tolerance back up to pre-assassination attempt levels.
Everyone settled back into their daily routines, even with the mystery still hanging in the air. One afternoon while eating her breakfast at the bar, a familiar face sat down on the bar stool next to her. Kent smiled at her as he ordered a sandwich for himself.
“Glad you could make it!” Payne really meant it. With all that had happened lately, they hadn’t had much time to meet up. After chatting for a while, Payne started to notice something odd about Kent. The edges of his mouth kept curling when she started to talk, especially if the subject turned to her employer.
“Okay, Kent, what is it?”
“Huh?”
She playfully pointed a finger at him. “Come on. Are you trying to hide something?”
Kent shrugged shyly. “I’m just happy to see you.” Payne gave him a side-eyed glance as she bit into her lunch. “Really…”
“I don’t believe you. You’re a terrible liar.”
Charley had been slowly getting closer to the pair while cleaning a chipped glass with two of his three mechanical arms. Out of the corner of her eye, Payne noticed the bartender try to hush Kent with his free claw.
She turned; her finger now aimed at the robot. “Now you, too? You’re in on this?! Spill it!”
“I don’t know what you’re on about, love. Nothing to see here.” Charley whirred back around, floating back down to the other end of the bar.
Kent looked even more guilty, his hand sheepishly covering his mouth. “Really, it’s nothing. Nothing bad, anyway… but I can’t say anything more about it. “
Try as she could, Payne couldn’t get any more out of Kent on the subject. She had to give him credit, he was a lot tougher a target than she had given him credit for. Defeated, and done with her meal, she wandered up into the State House. With every step, the mystery ate at her.
Entering Hancock’s office, she barely noticed Fahrenheit as she left, grumbling under her breath.
“And there she is! How is my little dream girl doing today?” He seemed awfully chipper, given how Fahr stormed out.
“Don’t you look like the cat that ate the canary.” She crossed her arms and smiled. “What did you get up to while I was sleeping?”
He gave a very unimpressive “Nothing. Scouts honor.” Hancock stifled a chuckle when Payne’s eyebrow popped up, unconvinced. “Seriously!”
“First Kent, then Chuck… and now you! What is with everyone today?” Payne was trying not to let her frustration show, but this whole morning was starting to get on her nerves.
Hancock shrugged and started half-heartedly flipping through a paper. He tried to hide it, but his half-cocked smile refused to leave his face. Payne ignore it for as long as she could, but eventually gave in to her baser urges.
“Spill it! You are driving me insane! Just tell me what the fuck is going on!”
“Oh, but it’ll ruin the surprise!” Payne launched stained pillow at his head. “FINE!” he put his hands up in surrender. “Honestly, I’m surprised Kent didn’t let the cat out of the bag already. I was sure he would run off and blab to you as soon as he figured out why I was needling him with questions.”
Payne waited, but Hancock seemed pleased to leave it at that.
“AND?” she prompted.
“Go pack a bag! I’m taking you on a bit of a vacation. Think of it like a little payback for keeping this walking corpse out of the grave.” Payne’s jaw dropped a bit, but before she could recover, he added, “And that’s all I’m going to say until we’re on the road.”
An hour later, the pair finally stepped into the deserted street, bags and weapons in hand.
“Okay, now where are we going?” Payne demanded.
Hancock waved a finger. “Not yet. We have to meet up with a few people first.”
They walked on. Try as she might, she couldn’t wheedle any more information out of him. Eventually she fell in step with him, stewing in the silence.
“Oh, don’t be like that.” Hancock stopped. “You’ll like it, I promise. Just lighten up a bit. This is supposed to be fun!”
Seeing his earnest face, most of the sourness Payne felt melted away.
“Okay… but remember the last ‘trip’ you took me on. It ended with a pile of spoiled mirelurk meat, Brotherhood goons and Fahrenheit hating my guts.”
“Fair enough. This time, I’m bringing along someone a bit more amicable.”
They continued to hike until they got to what looked like a small single-story warehouse. Rows of orderly mutfruit trees sat to one side, tended by a handful of Mr. Handy robots. As they got closer, Payne realized that the warehouse was actually a greenhouse, the inside bursting with greenery. A ramshackle home stood to one side of the building. Payne guessed it was a recent addition.
A smarmy voiced Handy with a green painted chassis greeted them. “Well, this is just super! We love to have visitors! Are you ready to bargain in the garden?”
“Hey there, brother. Is the General around?” Hancock asked casually.
“Come right this way!” The robot floated off in the direction of the shack. “Take a peek behind door number one!”
“Thanks.”
Hancock walked up to the door and gave it a knock. Nate opened the door, dressed only in a pair of jeans and a sweat stained undershirt.
“Hancock? Welcome to Graygarden! The best robot run farm in the Commonwealth.” Something caught his eye. Nate leaned out of the door and yelled around the building. “Hey, Strong! Could you put that over there with the others? Thanks, pal!”
From behind the greenhouse, the muscular super mutant nodded an acknowledgement as he lugged a rusty truck frame to a pile of scrap nearby.
“Why don’t you come in.” He quickly wiped his hands off on his pants before welcoming the pair into the small home’s only room. The room housed a small loveseat, a slapdash kitchenette and a single bed tucked in a corner. “I wasn’t expecting you to get here until tomorrow morning.”
“Well, someone tipped off the guest of honor, but why wait? Besides, don’t you agree that it would be much more impressive to see the place all lit up?”
Nate smirked. “Who let the cat out of the bag?” He added sarcastically, “Let me guess. Fahrenheit?”
Hancock snorted. “Almost let the cat out of the bag… so don’t say anything. And it was Kent, apparently.”
“I’m right here guys!” Payne gave Hancock a playful shove.
“Well, if you really want to leave tonight, I have some stuff around here I need to take care of. Feel free to relax in here, if you want. I’ve got some goodies in the cooler over there.”
With that, Nate ducked out of the shack, leaving the pair alone.
“Good to know that you don’t consider a robot farm a hot vacation spot.” Payne plunked down on the worn couch.
“What? Don’t you find the place charming?” Hancock stretched an arm over her shoulders after lighting a cigarette. “And what’s that old saying? Don’t look a limp horse in the mouth?”
“Charming, yeah, I suppose… the gameshow host bot was a nice touch. And it’s gift horse, not limp horse.”
“You excited yet?”
Payne thought about it for a moment. “Given I haven’t the slightest clue where the fuck you’re dragging me off to in the middle of the night… yeah, I suppose I am.”
“Perfect.” He leaned over and gave her a little peck on her cheek. “I can’t wait to see your face when you figure it out.”
After an hour of vegging on the couch, Nate returned with Strong in tow. Soon they were on the road, picking their way across the back roads of the Commonwealth wasteland. They kept away from any trouble, avoiding any of the sparse habitations they came across, both friendly and hostile. The terrain grew rocky as they followed an old highway. Out of the predawn mist, strange red spires dotted the horizon before them, some lit by hidden spotlights at their base. It took a moment for the familiar shape to register in Payne’s head. Why were there 15-foot-tall Nuka-Cola bottles out here in the middle of nowhere? Then it dawned on her. She stopped in her tracks.
The rest of the group turned to look at her.
“Are you kidding me?” Payne asked, gob smacked. She looked down from the monuments at Hancock’s grinning face. “We’re going to NUKA-WORLD?!”
“Happy now?”
“OH, FUCK YEAH!” Payne could barely keep her delight from forcing her to running ahead. She was beaming when they walked under the giant Nuka-World sign that spanned the wide road between two crumbling parking structures. This was going to be amazing!
At the end of the road stood an old transit center, complete with a fleet of derelict buses.
Nate chatted with Hancock as they walked. “This whole place was filled with Gunners the first time I came here. They were dug in pretty good, but between me, Codsworth and a handful of frag grenades… we made short work of them.”
Payne looked around, picking out the small prewar details left behind by long dead… what were they called… beverageers? Plenty of tourism industry trade magazines had followed the beverage tycoon John-Caleb Bradberton’s attempt to open his Nuka-Cola themed amusement part. The big wigs in Las Vegas drooled over each leaked photo and anonymous interview, while the rank and file worker worried about how much business would be sucked away from the East Coast. Bottle shaped trash cans, crown wearing mascots pointing the way on signs… even just the kitschy red and white theming. All of it was over the top and campy, and it thrilled her each time she saw some new and gaudy detail.
Into the bowels of the station they went. At the base of the stairs sat a bright red monorail train. A cheerful recording touted a percentage of each admission fee being donated to the long forgotten armed forces. It was a bit of a trial fitting Strong into the cabin, but soon they were flying through the air, suspended above the glowing bones of the once magnificent park. Looking out over vast lands, Payne’s giddy smile faded. She felt something well up inside, something that was a stinging, painful kind of sweet. The announcers voice faded away from her ears.
Feeling a warm arm around her waist, she let Hancock pull her aside.
“You okay there?” he whispered.
“Yeah… it’s just…” she floundered before found the words. “This place… it feels so much like home.”
#antique champagne#ao3#fallout 4#hancock#kent#strong#sole survivor#nuka world#fan fiction#fanfic#fan fic
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Date Night
one of my fave headcanons that andreil go on weekly not-dates, because they’re definitely not a thing.
Neil didn’t really understand the shallow forms of entertainment that were provided around campus until he found himself participating in them with Andrew.
Movies, picnics, markets. It was, as Andrew tended to reiterate, incredibly fickle. Sometimes Neil felt like an idiot attempting the games and activities, especially considering Andrew usually opted out to watch. But sometimes it made Andrew crack that tiny, tiny smile, and Neil couldn’t deny that his embarrassment was worth it.
It was the reason they both upgraded to smart-phones, so that Andrew could film Neil falling onto his ass (ice-skating), or almost knocking over a kid by flinging his arm the wrong way (bowling), or slipping over in a mud puddle (an evening walk in the summer rain). Now they both had an app called Snapchat, where their messages were various saved videos of Neil doing stupid shit.
Neil looked up from where he had sunk into the beanbag at the jangle of Andrew’s keys. His - boyfriend? No, not boyfriend - was glaring at the back of Kevin’s head, silently daring him to say something.
Kevin looked at Neil. “You’re wasting precious time.”
All he said was “Sue me.”, clambering onto his feet. He snatched a grey hoodie - Andrew’s - and put on socks before stuffing his feet into black boots - also Andrew’s. He was not impressed at the sight of what Neil was wearing, pushing him out the door and slamming it behind them.
“What’s the date-night agenda for this week?” Neil jeered, knowing it would rile him up.
“I hate you.” Andrew said calmly, chucking the keys at Neil as they reached the bottom of the Tower’s stairs. “Drive.”
Neil did as he was told. And if their fingers were linked over the gearstick for the entirety of the half-hour drive, neither of them mentioned it.
Andrew, a man of simplicity, had always liked the crisp fall weather. South Carolina’s fall was nothing like California’s, where the heat laid over your skin like heavy-weighted hands. Andrew liked the contrast between the cool breeze and the warmth of Neil’s hand as they walked from the car to the carnival grounds: He liked Neil in his sweater and his boots. He’d liked Neil in his car, too, though that was an old satisfaction now.
There was a particular scar that Andrew always brushed his thumb over: his fist knuckle, where a half-formed circle raised up from the skin. The dash-board lighter hadn’t created a whole circle, instead, a crescent shape. He would circle it, then cross it, then circle it again. He wondered if Neil noticed it.
He probably had: For someone who had remained so insistently oblivious, he was sure as hell perceptive now. Maybe when he understood something, he broke it down into tiny, manageable pieces so that he could continue to interpret it.
“Hey.” Neil hadn’t mentioned where they were, or what they were doing. Instead, he was letting his eyes flit from one brightly lit stall to another. They’d arrived at the ticket booth. “Cash?”
Andrew let go of Neil’s hand to take out his wallet, which was where Neil kept most of his crap, too. God, Andrew would have murdered Neil himself if he’d been on the run with the fucker. He was so annoying, keeping every receipt and business card to dispose of properly, later. Even if he no longer had to hide a paper trail, his old habits kept up with him.
Two adult tickets. Andrew ignored the weird glances: Neil, who was growing used to the reactions to his scars, ignored them too. They walked into the grounds, and found themselves silently overwhelmed.
“I was never allowed to go to one of these as a kid.” Neil admitted.
“Of course not. Your entire existence is tragic.”
“Drama queen.” Neil muttered, tugging on Andrew’s sleeve and carefully avoiding his armbands. Always so fucking careful. Andrew hated him for it.
“I’ve only been to one.” Truth for truth. Conversation rolled off Andrew’s tongue easily now. Everything was easier with Neil. Not easy, but - easier. “I snuck it. Got cotton candy with two dollars I’d stolen from my foster mother. Got kicked out because it was actually three dollars, and I’d used a piece of printed money.”
“Tragic.” Neil grinned.
Andrew made Neil buy him a candied apple for that. There was a small ferris wheel, which they avoided. Neil refused to go apple bobbing unless they both did it, so Andrew dunked Neil’s head in when they lined up to start. Neil still won anyway.
He also won at darts: Go figure. Andrew forced him to get the enormous teddy-bear, almost as big as he was, and to carry it around for the rest of the evening.
When they both retired with some cotton candy at the edge of the field, they leant the stupid teddy-bear against a tree. Andrew leaned into it, and then Neil leaned into Andrew. He did try some of the cotton candy but hated it - of course - so he resigned to looking up as Andrew finished it off. For minutes he would stare at Andrew, and then avert his gaze to the sky, before having it gravitate back towards Andrew.
“What.” Andrew said flatly, wiping sticky fingers on Neil’s ratty jeans.
“You can’t think all of this is that stupid, if you continue to do it.” Neil accused, reaching up over Andrew’s head to pull at tufts of the teddy-bear.
Andrew did think it was stupid; Over-priced, commercialised games to keep people entertained, like carrot-on-a-stick for pigs. But Neil made it tolerable. Being with someone had never been a tangible prospect for Andrew, and yet here he was, under the stars at a fall festival, leaning on a giant teddy-bear that Neil had won for him. Contemplating how he was supposed to hide it from Nicky, who would squeal and fuss. Stroking his fingers through Neil’s red curls.
“Maybe I’m just making up for lost time.”
That was true, too. All these things he’d watched others experience and own as he grew up. Now he was an adult, he could do them all. It just wasn’t as enticing when everyone his age had grown out of it, having experienced these things at the appropriate age.
“Me too.” Neil said.
Well. Almost everyone. But really, was Neil even human? Andrew was still unconvinced he wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
Andrew shoved him off, under the guise that his leg was going numb. They jostled one-another all the way back to the car, working together to shove the bear into the boot.
Andrew drove and let Neil sleep on the way back, drooling all over his leather seats. Like he’d said before; Would have killed the fucker if he’d had to live on the run with him.
Andrew kept his focus on the road.
“Say nothing to no one.” Neil heard Andrew threaten, stifling his laughter with the back of his hand. They were at Wymack’s, having been unable to think of another way to conceal the bear at the Tower. Andrew reappeared outside their coach’s apartment a moment later and Neil heard Wymack grumble as he slammed his door shut, grabbing Andrew’s hand.
“Roof?” Neil asked.
“Tired.” Andrew said. They resorted to the Tower, where they would sit by the window on Neil’s desk together. With Kevin going to night-practise with Matt and various other Foxes, they’d have the dorm to themselves for a little while, and could smoke inside.
Seated and comfortable, they had a good view of Palmetto’s campus. Andrew breathed smoke into Neil’s mouth, who then ghosted his lips down Andrew’s neck.
“Thanks for tonight.” Neil whispered.
“Whatever.” And if either of them heard the strain in Andrew’s voice that betrayed his nonchalance, neither mentioned it.
ooft its been awhile since ive written just a basic andreil one shot, rather than au’s.
fyi, none of my shit is proofread. it’s the internet, not my final thesis.
#andreil#cute#future#andrew minyard#neil josten#fluff#date night#headcanon#david wymack#foxes#all for the game#the foxhole court#jem writes
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WooSan + Hotel Del Luna Mundo AU 🌙
❝ Hotel Del Mundo is the place where souls, who used to be humans, come to rest and do things that they failed to fulfill—when they were alive. ❞
☾ Pairing: Wooyoung/San
☾ Genre: angst & fluff
☾ Word Count: 1,550
☾ Warnings: mentions of death
This time it wasn’t on the rooftop restaurant of the hotel. In fact, he’d already checked there, but soon realized that maybe since they’d argued only moments ago, he should’ve gone to the World Tree first, to see if maybe any of the flowers that had grown were still present.
Below, his steps echoed through the halls as he passed by door after door, finally reaching the room where no guest was allowed, besides one.
It was dark inside, as usual, with a hint of a few lights here and there, casting an unusual glow over the giant tree that sat in the middle of it all, absorbing every ounce of the place that was enveloped in an eternal, misty fog. It was enchanting, to say the least, but it was also mysterious.
San sighed as he adjusted his necktie and brushed away at non-existent dust off his grey suit. As a hotel manager, appearances were incredibly important, though for some reason he always felt underdressed when it came to being in the presence of his employer, who was at the moment standing right beneath the archway that led straight to the heart of the flower-filled tree.
Silently, he walked forward, regarding the way some flowers began to drop towards the floor, but not until vanishing into thin air before they could even reach the ground. They were beautiful, dark blue and purple, the colors of night.
As if sensing his inevitable return, Wooyoung lifted a hand to the air, stopping San in his tracks. A pout was visible from where he stood, which meant that his boss was still mad over the fact that San hadn’t yet sold that very expensive painting to pay off his huge debts. Wooyoung was known to be a great indulgent spender.
Well, San had already been working there for a few months, so he knew how to deal with such matters in a professional way. Having the ability to see the dead was the least of his worries now. For most of his time, Wooyoung was always keeping him on his toes. It was different than any hotel he’d ever managed before. This hotelier was looking to be just as unique too.
Reading his mind, Wooyoung pushed a champagne glass to San’s chest, still miffed, but not so very drunk after what was only one bottle. Being nearly 1,500 years old gave the man an unnatural tolerance to alcohol. San couldn’t say the same for himself. He was only 25 compared to his boss.
“You don’t trust me enough to handle that money,” Wooyoung glared softly at him. It would’ve been threatening if he wasn’t pouting so endearingly. “I know I’m terrible, Choi San, but you shouldn’t remind me.”
At that, San’s lips formed into a small smile. He couldn’t help it. Not when they were both standing beneath the World Tree, arguing as they usually were. This was the typical night for them, whenever they weren’t wandering off searching for potential guests on the streets of Seoul. No, he preferred this. Being alone with the one person he cared about immensely.
It must’ve been written all over his face, because Wooyoung looked away from him quickly to bring the glass to his lips, only to find that it was completely empty of any champagne.
San took his arm, and then gradually slid his own hand down the expanse of Wooyoung’s smooth skin to take the glass away from his fingers, setting it down on the table to their right. “You’re not terrible, sir.”
He had to use ‘sir’ to address him. Using his real name was only for intimate matters. And it wasn’t time yet to start with that.
Wooyoung raised a sharp brow. “Liar.” He said, not believing it, “I’m literally cursed, I spend too much money, every deity in this world hates me, and I’m still holding a grudge against people who have already moved on with their lives . . .” His eyes fell to the ground, “I’m the worst.”
San stepped up to him, fixing the sleeve of the silk kimono that was gradually falling off of Wooyoung’s shoulder. Despite the casual attire, the hotelier looked every bit extravagant as he could. The diamond pins on either side of his head, pulling his bangs away from his face possibly cost more than two of his most expensive cars combined.
“I trust you.” San assured him, lifting his face up to stare into his eyes. “You’re not terrible, Woo. Your curse is my responsibility now. The deities only want what’s best for you. And you have every reason to be angry with your past.”
Wooyoung’s pout deepened. His words were probably confusing to him. San didn’t think anyone had ever told Wooyoung such things before. It wasn’t surprising the hotelier found him strange. But San wouldn’t change his words for anything. Before Wooyoung left this world, like the flowers falling from the tree, San had to tell him that he wasn’t alone. He would see Wooyoung again in another lifetime.
“It’s because you’re like this, that I—” San continued, stopping before he could reveal any more.
Just what was he going to say? That he’d been in love with Wooyoung for months? Had he forgotten that his boss wouldn’t tolerate that?
After a second of looking into his eyes, he gave up and dropped his hands, releasing his unrequited love—but not before Wooyoung brought his own hand up to place it on San’s chest, feeling his heartbeat.
It must’ve been the wisdom of a man who’d lived for over one thousand years. Honestly, it seemed like Wooyoung already knew what San was feeling. He didn’t have to feel his heart beating to know that. It was evident in the way he spoke, his words.
Because it was true. San’s sole purpose of being there was to help Wooyoung break his curse, so that he could cross over and finally be free, in the afterlife he so longed for. Somehow, throughout all of those troubles, San could make him forget every grudge, even when they continuously fought.
“What?” Wooyoung asked, “What were you trying to say? Were you trying to tell me that you’ll save me, Choi San?” He smirked at that. “What if I don’t cross over? What if the deities decide to destroy my soul? I’ll disappear forever . . .”
San placed a hand atop the one on his heart, grabbing it as Wooyoung tried to take it away. “I won’t let you disappear, Woo. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
That was a lie. Partly.
San, at all costs, was not going to let Wooyoung go. But he also wasn’t prepared to tell him that he was in love just yet. They both were aware of it. That was why they fought constantly. His boss couldn’t handle the thought of being loved so unconditionally, not after years of torment that’d been caused by the people he once cherished.
Now, there was one person who could truly love him.
“Let go of my hand, Choi San.” Wooyoung said lowly.
San pulled him closer, up to his chest, breaths ghosting over each other, “Not until you promise me something.”
“What?” He questioned severely.
He took this opportunity to send him another smile, obnoxiously this time. “Do not buy another car, no matter how pretty it is.”
“But—!”
“No exceptions.” He said, releasing their hands.
Wooyoung leaned on the small table beside them, more angry now than ever before. San merely stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned away from that familiar pout, walking under and departing from the archway to reach the opened door.
“I don’t care that you graduated from Harvard. I never should’ve made a deal with your dad.” Wooyoung called after him. “Then you wouldn’t have become my manager—!”
San stopped at the entrance and grinned, still not meeting the eyes of his boss. In the midst of this, the flowers stayed prominently blooming, reminding San that Wooyoung’s life was dependent on that tree. And, as the flowers grew, so did his chances for a better future. It was amazing to see how dramatically those once barren branches had grown to be filled with blossoms in such a short amount of time.
Without saying anything else to that, he closed the door on his way out, leaving behind the stubborn man who desperately needed one more bottle of champagne.
Yes it was difficult working at a hotel for the undead, but it did have it’s fun quirks. Unlike the other hotels he’d managed over the years, none were as vibrant or as eventful as Hotel Del Mundo. His employers in the past hadn’t been as . . . interesting either.
He wondered if maybe Wooyoung would ever come to love him. Maybe, maybe not. He didn’t know. But if he’d stayed long enough, under that World Tree with him, beneath the falling flowers that had bloomed so magnificently in the months they’d gotten to know one another, depend and trust one another, kissed one another, up until Wooyoung had finally given in and accepted that Choi San wasn’t going to give up on him—
Then maybe he would’ve noticed the warm blush that had washed over Wooyoung’s flustered face as soon as San had left the room.
#atinynet#ateeztreasures#thinking of writing this on ao3 but idk.......should i???#👀👀👀#i rlly wanna write it now aklaxjlakalakalxnzlaka#woosan#ateez#ateez fanfiction#ateez moodboard#kpop moodboard#wooyoung#choi san#hotel del luna#kdrama#aesthetic#mine#ateez fanfic#kpop fanfiction#hotel del luna fanfiction#woosan fanfiction#AUs
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Everyone Deserves to be Saved
pairing: lapis/peridot, su
genre: humor, hurt comfort
words: 2k
summary: After the events of ‘Battle and Heart and Mind’ Peridot and Lapis have a conversation about what comes next
Peridot was sitting cross-legged in a blue arm ship, back slightly hunched over and hands holding a series of earth cards. She squinted fastidiously at them, sticking her tongue and concentrating.
Black space streamed by outside with specks white stars flashing by, it was quiet in the ship, with warm bodies slumbering peacefully in the back and low voices murmuring off to the side.
Peridot sat up straight and held her cards up, “I raise you two diamonds.”
Amethyst lifted an eyebrow up at her, “we’re playing Go Fish.”
Peridot gave a small smile, “actually, I was commenting on how we razed two diamonds in victorious combat. HAHA.” She tossed her head back and cackled.
Amethyst shook her head, “Gimme your twos or I will eat the rest of the cards.”
Peridot scowled, “It’s still my turn!”
Amethyst wagged her finger in the air, “We added the rule ‘whoever makes pun loses their next turn’ and also like, God’s respect.”
Peridot grumbled and handed over her twos, Amethyst proceed to pop them in her mouth and swallow. Peridot crossed her arms over her chest, “Foreseeably, you’re going to make this game a lot harder.”
Amethyst shrugged and let out a burp from deep in her chest, “consider it motivation to not flash me your hand.”
Peridot grumbled and looked back at her human playing cards, “I raise you five Texas Hold ‘ems-”
“Nope, nope, no.” Amethyst put tossed her hands in the air and Peridot poked her.
“I’m not playing arm wrestling again, I’m still sore.”
Amethyst chuckled, “Yeah, a sore loser.”
Peridot was about to open her mouth and defend her honor when Amethyst’s eyes dragged to the back of the ship. Steven was slumbering peacefully with Connie, Garnet and Pearl were talking lowly among themselves- soft, anxious words.
Lapis Lazuli was sitting by herself looking out the window, face mellow and unreadable. Amethyst frowned slightly and jabbed her thumb in that direction.
“If you need something to do…” Peridot could tell Amethyst was trying to sound ‘casual’ and ‘like she didn’t care.’ Peridot had been keeping notes about this. “You could go talk.”
Peridot cleared her throat, “I offered Lapis a game of cards, but she told me she would rather stub her toe on a Granite than play Go Fish again after the last time.”
Amethyst’s brow indented, “Talk to her.” She said softly, “There won’t be much time left if we really are fixing all the gems soon.”
“We did talk, we talked all the way here. I discussed my new Percy x Pierre fan-video to the song ‘Animal I Have Become’ by Lincoln Park, Lapis loves that song, and also the future of-”
Amethyst visibly rolled her eyes, “You know what I mean.”
Peridot looked down at her hands, “I’m not always as… good as I need to be with this sort of thing.” Her eyes darted over to the corner and then back, “Steven was always the one that made this look easy.”
Amethyst nudged her with her foot, “You care, right? Steven always said that was the important part.”
“Of course I care,” Peridot says with a sigh, her mouth twisting down, “but we still haven’t… talk-talked and I think, um, I dunno. Here,” she pointed to her chest, “still feels a little weird.”
Amethyst looked Peridot up and down, “She really hurt you.” She scooted over to sit next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder, “That’s gonna take time. But first, well, you know,” Amethyst stopped, looking frustrated with her own words for a second as well. “My sis is coming back and I’m going to be there for her this time. But, I’m not sure who’s going be there for Lapis right now. I’m just worried, Steven will be, you know.”
Peridot nodded, “I know.” She wrinkled her nose up and took a deep breath, she had gotten into the habit of doing that. She stood up, “I’ll be right back then. Don’t eat any more of the diamond cards, I have more puns.”
Amethyst groaned, “Please leave.”
Peridot pumped her small fist in the air, “I’m going to Steven it!”
“Go Steven it!” Amethyst whooped back. “I got you.”
They give each other a thumbs up as Peridot shuffled over to the corner, though she lost her momentum as she drew a little closer. Lapis was bunched up into herself, knees pressed to her chest and face resting against the glass of the window.
Peridot cleared her throat, Lapis turned slowly and her face broke into a little smile. Something tired pulled at the edges of Lapis’s eyes, but that was always there. “Did Amethyst beat you at Fishing? I’m telling you, you gotta hide the cards.”
Peridot bent down, “I’ll have you know, she ate them, and we drew a truce.”
Lapis laughed gently and scooted over, “I don’t suppose you came over to ask me to help you cheat in the next round? The ‘soggy card’ strategy never fails.”
“No.” Peridot shook her head, she searched her face, “how’re you doing?”
Lapis made a face, “Uck, I hate that question.”
“Sorry,” Peridot scrambled, for being an Awesome Gem, she wasn’t quiet great at this yet. “How are your… feelings? That you hold here.” She pointed at her chest.
Lapis laughed again and patted the space next to her, “Want to sit down?”
Peridot took a spot next to her and something felt normal again, like they could be in the barn, leaning in close on their beat-up couch and watching Pumpkin chase a laser pointer around. Peridot blinked a few times, the barn was gone.
“I wanted to talk to you too,” Lapis looked down, her mouth becoming a squiggle, “So don’t say anything for a few seconds, K? I just… need to say it.”
Peridot opened her mouth and then closed it, she just nodded.
“I am… really really sorry.”
“Wait, no, I’m the one here trying to Steven It.” Peridot protested, “You can Steven me later.”
Lapis laughed, tossing her head back and letting out a snort, “You make this so hard. I’m trying to explain how much of a jerk I am, don’t make me laugh.”
Peridot folded her arms over her chest and looked down at the floor, “You are a jerk.” She couldn’t help it.
Lapis hunched over, “Yeah. I shouldn’t have… done a lot of stuff.” She sniffed, “I’m a coward and a fool and I mess up all the time-”
Peridot put her hand up and spoke gently, “Is that how Steven would say it?”
Lapis drew her eyes up and met her gaze, she took a deep breath, “No. You’re right. Peridot, I um, what I mean to say, is that... I care about you a lot. And I didn’t act like it. I didn’t treat you right. I’m sorry.”
Both their eyes drop now and something hummed in Peridot’s chest, she tried to push it down.
“I want to show you something,” Peridot said quietly, “When we get back. I grew them by hand when I thought nothing would grow again.”
Lapis looked up shyly, “I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t want to talk to me again.” She fiddled with her hands. “Not at all.”
“Would you want that?” Peridot bit her lip.
Lapis tugged on a piece of her hair, “No.” She said roughly, “No. I really wouldn’t.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, something hanging dangerously in the air, bright and glowing. “Me neither.”
Peridot broke into a bright smile and clapped her hands together, “Alright then! Feelings dealt with, mission completed,” she pumped her hand, “nailed it.”
Lapis furrowed her brow, “You don’t have to forgive me, you really don’t.”
Peridot shrugged, “I want to.” She said simply, “Everyone deserves to be forgiven, Lapis. Even if they mess up a bunch. We all deserve to be saved.”
Lapis shook her head, her cheeks heating up softly, “I wish I felt like I deserved it.” She said softly and reached out, her hand hanging in midair over Peridots, hesitating.
Peridot lifted her own up easily, and she took her bright blue hand in between her fingers. She had seen this on TV, experimented with it, but didn’t expect her gem to thrum faintly as they held hands. Lapis leaned down and pressed their foreheads together.
“Thank you.” They stay like that for a long moment, eyes fixed together, “For everything.”
Peridot shrugged, “I know. I’m pretty awesome.”
Lapis bit her lip, “I’ll build you a better barn.”
Peridot sat up straight, jostling them in the process. “Well, Bismuth already promised a water slide and giant chair I can spin around in, soooooo.”
Lapis snort-laughed, “competition! I’ll make you a water bed.”
“I demand a beanbag chair too.” She said loudly.
“I’ll add a flat screen.”
“With cup holders!” Peridot crows.
“Done!”
“Will you two keep it down, Steven is sleeping!” Pearl hissed at them from across them room.
They lowered their voices and giggled to each other, “And a giant mural of you of course.” Lapis adds.
“Of course.” Peridot nodded back.
Lapis took a deep breath in, “And I’ll make a separate room, so my snoring won’t bother you. Really far away.”
Peridot frowned, her chest tightening, “You don’t have to.” She said stiltedly, “I like your snoring.”
Lapis raised her eyebrows, “You don’t normally say that.”
“Alright, I tolerate your snoring.” She clarified, “But… it would be… illogical to have spaces that are separate. How would we have movie marathons?”
Lapis leaned down, burying her face in Peridot’s shoulder, “Stars, I missed you.” Her words tickled Peridot’s neck.
Peridot grinned back, “I missed you too.” She said toothily, “Even if you do owe me a water bed and flat screen TV.”
“Everything,” Lapis said quickly, “Anything.”
Peridot would have continued teasing her, but she suddenly felt the burn of two eyes on her, she glanced quickly over her shoulder. Amethyst was eyeing them and frowning, she pointed out the window, they would be approaching earth soon. Peridot had one more thing.
“You know,” she said delicately, forcing her way through it as Lapis looked up, “Um, we’re going to be healing the gems.”
Lapis raised her eyebrows, “I hope so, this was a lot of coal shards otherwise.”
“ALL of the gems,” Peridot grimaced.
“Peridot,” Lapis gripped her hand more tightly, “I know who you’re talking about. And I’m ready.”
“You don’t have to talk to her if you don’t want to, or see her, we could build our new house on the moon!” Peridot says wildly.
“Absolutely not.” Lapis said quickly, “Not. The. Moon.” Peridot cocked her to the side at that, but Lapis drew herself up. “What I mean to say is that I’m not going to run away any more.”
Peridot bent closer, she searched the air for words, “You’re brave Lapis. You’ve always been brave.”
Lapis looked down at her lap, “I don’t-”
“I know.”
They nod at one another, “I’ll be there with you. Do you want to speak to her?”
Lapis nodded mutely, her lips becoming a hard line as she looked outside. “We’re almost there.”
“Do you know what you want to say?” She asks quickly, “We can role play- like on that show about the bald man. I’ll get an orange helmet.”
“No.” She shook her head, “I’ll say what someone very smart and cool and awesome once said.” Lapis pulled Peridot close to her, “Everyone deserves to be saved.”
Peridot cocked her to the side, “Steven?”
Lapis just grinned, “No.”
Peridot snorted and gave a wink, “Garnet then.”
Lapis rolled her eyes and bent down, something soft pressed against Peridot’s cheek, real and warm and sending tingles down her spine. “Sorry,” Lapis said quickly, face flushed. “I really did miss you.”
Peridot touched the place where she kissed her cheek, “How much?”
Lapis pressed another kiss to her gem, “Too much.” Peridot melted into it.
“Enough not to leave again?” Her voice broke across those words and she almost hated herself for it.
Lapis gathered her up in her lap and closed her eyes, “I’m not going anywhere this time.”
They interlock their hands as the ship turned around to land, something undone in Peridot’s center. I’d forgive you again if you asked, she kept those thoughts to herself, as many times as it takes.
#lapidot#battle of heart and mind#steven universe#change your mind#lapis lazuli#peridot#steven universe fanfiction#lapidot fic#f/f#fic#my work
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