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cait-with-luv · 1 year

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Little Leopard [5]

"If it weren't for seven men that fateful night you wouldn't be here now. They showed you good people did exist. That life can be great, that you can be loved and cared for. These seven men were the men you loved and cherished. These men were your mates. Your safety blanket. And to them. You were their Little Leopard."

Header Credit: Me

Pairing: OT7 X Hybrid!Reader

Genre: Hybrid! AU, Strangers to Lovers! AU, Rich!BTS, Fluff, Angst, eventual smut, Polyamorous!BTS

Warnings: Angst, Hospitals, discussions of weight, discussions of eating disorders, dissociation, mentions of past mental abuse, mentions of past physical abuse, mentions of sexual abuse, discussions of trauma, anxiety, depression, explicit language, OC gets a little possessive, self-doubt, NOT SAFE FOR RAMADAN.

Word Count: 4K

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Like Seokjin had said the next day after breakfast, he was taking you to the clinic, and to be honest, you were nervous. You hadn’t been to a hybrid clinic and you didn’t know what to expect. You knew that Seokjin wouldn’t do anything to make you uncomfortable and that he’d never hurt you. You had to keep reminding yourself that this was for your own good, he just wanted to know if you were fit and healthy.

Whilst eating breakfast, Yoongi and Hoseok had told you they were going to tag along so you wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable in a new and nerve-wracking environment and so you could have a hand to hold if need be. It made you feel warm inside knowing that they really did care about you. Your thoughts, feelings, your physical being. Everything. It all mattered to them and they always made sure you knew that.

You knew that Jungkook had told them about your talk last night, they didn’t have to tell you that they knew, you could tell by the way their scents had changed when they saw you come down the stairs this morning. Their usual soft, comforting scents changed to a dull burning bitter smell, the gentle looks of care and worry. But what you appreciated the most was how they didn’t bring it up, they didn’t make you talk about it. They were really allowing you to do things on your own terms. You will never be able to tell them how grateful you are. They were always there to abolish all your negative thoughts and feelings. They’re like umbrellas, when you’re toxic thoughts rain upon you, they shelter you from them and wait with you for the sun to break through the rain clouds not ever leaving you for a second.

“You ready to go, Sweetpea? Yoongi and Jin are waiting for us.” Hoseok says softly peering into your room after he knocked, chuckling seeing you sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, your pastel yellow dress sprawled around you like you had come out of a Disney movie, a little pout on your lips as you look up at Hoseok with a look of defeat and hold out your brush and a scrunchie.

“I can’t do my hair, w-will you help me Hobi? I keep catching my ears and it hurts.” You whine out in exasperation. It was clear to him you had been trying to do it for a while but was clearly being defeated. He couldn’t say no to you. You had him and the rest of the boys wrapped around your finger and you had absolutely no idea.

“Of course, Sweetpea, you gotta be careful of these cute little ears.” Hoseok coos, taking the brush and scrunchie from you and sitting behind you, beginning to brush your hair, frowning at how tense and anxious you were not just from how you sat but from how your tail nervously flicked, poking his leg occasionally. Something was playing on your mind and Hoseok wanted to help you. Out of all the boys, he had spent the least time with you having to constantly be at work all the time.

“Penny for your thoughts, Sunshine?” He asks tenderly beginning to fishtail braid your hair, pausing as you sigh and grab your tail to play with it, something all hybrids did for comfort and it was nice for the boys to see you beginning to lean more into your natural instincts. They had noticed in the first two weeks you lived with them you barely did anything…Leopard like? Feline like?

It was like you had buried any instinct you had as a leopard. They had begun to think you had been forced to not act on them or perhaps you just didn’t have any but as you began to relax around them the more you showed your feline side and in all honesty, it was the most wholesome thing they had seen. They were curious to see if you would eventually be comfortable in front of them to shift into your full Leopard form. If that was something you could do.

“I just…I’ve never been to a hybrid clinic before…let alone had a health check, no one cared about it. I’m scared. What if something is wrong with me? I w-won’t be left there right o-or you won’t be disgusted with me at my results?” You fret, biting your lip anxiously as Hoseok ties the hair tie into your hair a little sigh leaves his lips before turning you to face him and shaking his head.

“Sweetpea, we will never ever leave you there, or anywhere for that matter. You’re stuck with us, how terrible right?” He jokes making your lips quirk up a little and playfully roll your eyes before relaxing into his touch as he massages at the base of your ear, a rumble coming from your chest.

“None of us will be disgusted at all okay? Whatever the results will be for your health, we’re all gonna be here to do what we can to help it improve if needs be and be here for you through everything alright? I know it sounds scary. A hybrid clinic and tests but you are in completely safe hands. Seokjin won’t make you do anything you don’t want to alright? I hate the doctors too. Needles are pretty terrifying. I used to pass out every time I needed a flu vaccination. Ironic isn’t it? I see all sorts of things being a detective yet the one thing that scares me isn’t weapons, blood, or bodies but a damn needle but in the end, I know it’s to help me. This is to help you.” He smiles, his heart fluttering hearing the laugh you let out hearing his fear of needles. You appreciated his efforts to calm your nerves.

“Okay, thank you, Hoseokie. You guys won’t leave my side?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Sunshine.”

—

Despite Hoseok’s reassurance, you couldn’t help but let your fear grow the closer you got to the clinic. You were terrified at what could be revealed. You knew that none of the outcomes of the appointment will be good. You dread to hear the results because you knew what they were going to say. ‘You’re broken’.

Time was moving too quickly. You blinked you were in the car, you blinked and you were on the highway, you blinked and you were in the city. Before you knew it you stood right in front of the clinic, staring blankly at the sign. Your hands had gotten clammy. Your heart was palpitating. Your mouth going dry. You absolutely did not want to be here. You were petrified. But you just didn’t know how to say no. It was a foreign word to you. A word that was not allowed in your dictionary. A word that if you used would result in punishment. It was another habit you couldn’t break. You couldn’t say no to them. You couldn’t tell them you weren’t ready for this. That this was just too invasive right now.

Yoongi had picked up on your anxiety almost immediately. Noticing how tense and rigid you had gotten. How you froze in your spot like you had your feet glued to the floor. The distant look in your eyes. He knew right there you weren’t really there. You had disconnected from yourself and the world around you. Your defense mechanism. Your fight or flight.

“Y/N? Little Cub you still with us?” Yoongi questions delicately, slipping his hand into yours and squeezing to try and bring you back to reality. Nothing. You didn’t move. You didn’t speak. You hadn’t heard him. He began to grow concerned looking at Jin and Hobi for help. He didn’t know what to do but he did know he wasn’t going to pull you into the clinic in this state. He wasn’t going to make this worse for you.

“She’s dissociated Yoongi. We have to ground her, and take her attention off the cause. Give her your keys. They’re cold and something she can fidget with. Cold things bring them out of this state.” Seokjin states, gently stroking your hair as Hobi tries to blow air onto the back of your neck to break your dissociation. Yoongi roots through his pocket before pulling his keys out and placing them in your hand, watching as the distant look begins to slowly disappear.

Seokjin felt guilty. He should have asked you first, he should have made sure you were comfortable with coming to the clinic. He felt like an idiot. He knew you had trauma yet completely forgot to ensure this wasn’t crossing the line for you.

“Sunshine? Are you back with us? We’re right here. It’s okay, take your time. We’re right here.” Hoseok murmurs watching as you blink and look around, breath slightly heavy, a pink hue appearing on your cheeks as you realize what had happened.

“I-I’m sorry, I-I haven’t done that in a while.” You whisper shyly, fiddling with the keys in your hand. You felt so embarrassed and humiliated. You were waiting to hear a laugh, a snicker, anything but nothing. Yoongi just tilts his head and frowns.

“Why are you sorry? It’s not your fault. It happens. This must be overwhelming for you. If this is too much for you, you do not have to go in there. We can take you home and you can try again another day when you feel ready.” He sighs, the two men next to you nodding in agreement but you huff and shake your head, straightening yourself back up.

“No. I-I’ll be okay. I have to do this. We’re here now right? If not now when?” You say before looking at Hoseok and giving him a small smile.

“This is to help me. As long as you don’t leave my side.” You utter. Hoseok smiles and nods, placing his hand on your shoulder.

“Like I said, Sweetpea. We wouldn’t dream of it.”

And with that, you forced your body to enter the clinic, a vice grip on Yoongi’s hand, his grip just as tight. A reassurance. He was going nowhere.

The smells that hit your nose the moment you stepped into the clinic were terrible. They were so pungent. Rancid, you almost felt nauseous. Illnesses. Chemicals. Sadness. And the worst of all. Death.

It was so distinctive you couldn’t ignore it even if you tried. It was such a strong horrific scent, it could stick to a person for weeks if it weren’t for scent blockers. Something you’re glad Seokjin had you all take before you left the house.

It was so putrid. It was a mix of rotting fruits and meat but at the same time, it was chemical-like. Like nail polish remover or ammonia. You had to hold back a gag. If Seokjin was a hybrid you would have asked him how he could put up with it all the time, hours on end.

“You okay Cub?” Yoongi asks as you both follow Seokjin to an examination room, almost chuckling at the scrunched-up look of disgust on your face. He would have laughed but he knew what you were smelling. He had been told about it by a Hybrid friend of his. He felt bad that your heightened sense of smell could be a curse sometimes.

“It smells bad. I really don’t want to sound rude I know people here are sick or you know but it’s so horrid. I could really do with no sense of smell right now. It’s a little nauseating.” You grimace. Hoseok chuckles and nods in agreement,

“I know what you’re on about. I can’t smell it like you can right now but I’ve been around enough bodies to know what kind of smell you’re getting. It’s grim.”

Your conversation is cut off as you enter a room and you tense up seeing a new person. You hadn’t expected to have to interact with anyone else. You thought it would just be Jin doing your tests. It did not help this doctor was not human. She was a hybrid too. Another cat species. Putting two big cats in one room, a lioness, and leopardess at that. It was a bold move.

“Seokjin! Good to see you! I was surprised when you contacted me to health check when you can do it yourself and probably better than me at that! Yoongi, Hoseok it’s been a while.” She grins giving Seokjin a hug then Yoongi and Hoseok. You stare at her almost in annoyance, holding back a growl but an instinct you couldn’t prevent was your hackles going up. Your tail began to bush up and your ears pinned back. You felt irritated by her presence. By her touching them.

But as quick as it happened it was quick to disappear when you realize how you reacted. You were surprised. Why did you react like that? It wasn’t like they belonged to you. They weren’t your mates. You stop an audible gasp. They couldn’t be, right? But the longer you thought about it the more you realize some of the behaviors you had around them. All seven of them. The way you had to fight the urge to scent them, to nip at where their scent glands would be if they were hybrids. The way you wanted to build a big nest and drag every single one of them into it. At first, you just thought it was because they looked after you. Cared about you, but now it felt like a jigsaw puzzle was being completed. It all made sense now. They were your mates.

Your racing thoughts were broken when Jin chuckles and gives her a sheepish smile. “I would do the tests but for legal reasons, I cannot. She lives with us. It’d be workplace misconduct. This is Y/N, she’s been living with us for a few weeks now.”

“Nice to meet you Y/N I’m Dr.Yoon. I’m going to be doing your examination okay? Don’t worry it won’t take long.” She says, grabbing her clipboard as you nod hesitantly, your voice felt stuck in your throat. You couldn’t bring yourself to speak. You just followed her instructions with much hesitance. She took your weight, your height, and asked your age and other questions but her next requests made your heart drop.

“Okay, we have to take a blood sample and have a look at your cervix etcetera.”

You turn to look at the boys in fear and Yoongi immediately grabs your hand again and shakes his head. He can’t imagine how much trauma this was bringing back.

“Look at me, look at us. We’re right here Y/N. Right here. It’s okay. It’ll be all over before you know it I promise and then we can go home. You’re safe.” He says sternly as she begins to take your blood sample, keeping you facing him to stop you from looking. Even looking straight in your eyes as she examined your cervix and pelvis, his eyes not straying once, rubbing soothing circles on your hand as Hoseok murmured reassurances and Jin keeps back not wanting to crowd you, and the guilt he felt stopped him from coming near.

He should have made you aware that this appointment was your choice. That you didn’t have to come here today. He could see you slipping into depression, how you would slightly dissociate before stopping yourself, how you hadn’t uttered a word since entering the room. He shouldn’t have assumed you were okay with this.

“Okay we’re all done here Y/N, your blood results should be back in the next week or so. You can take a minute before leaving. Dr. Kim, Hoseok. Can we step outside? We should talk.” She says lips pursed, nodding her head towards the door. She noticed how you progressively became more of an empty shell. She didn’t want to make you worse with what she had to say.

“Gentlemen. I don’t even know where to begin. This girl has suffered so much. More than I think you guys thought. Her weight is dangerously low for her age and height. Malnourished. She’s way too small, especially for an Amur Leopard. How is her appetite now she lives with you?” She begins a solemn look on her face as Hoseok and Seokjin look at each other before looking back at her.

“Not great now that you mention it. A few mouthfuls that’s it.” Seokjin sighs, crossing his arms as she nods and shakes her head. It wasn’t a good sign. Not at all.

“She may have developed an eating disorder, you have to keep a close eye on that. It may be from a diet change or from a change in general but if it doesn’t get better then definitely take formal action. She will get sick. There are many signs of physical and mental abuse. The girl is traumatized. Physically and mentally. Seeing a psychiatrist could really benefit her. I watched each of her reactions, she was terrified, especially when I said I need to take a blood sample and do a vaginal examination. I could smell her terror. When checking her cervix I could see evidence of past sexual assault. Scarring, slight irritation you name it but other than that healthy. I saw nothing that will prevent a heat other than her weight but we will have to wait for the bloods to come back to know for certain. She may not get one for a while. I’ll let you know when I have the results for her bloods but help her, get her through this, and most importantly, Hoseok, find the sons of bitches that did this to her.”

“I plan on it.”

—

Once you got home you were quickly swept up by the youngest two boys who had gotten home having been warned by Seokjin that you weren’t very verbal or doing great mentally. They were at the ready to cheer you up and look after you even going as far as reading what could help a distressed hybrid and discovering a nest could provide comfort, watching tutorials, and rushing to find things to put in it. It wasn’t the best-built nest but it was the thought that counts.

When you were placed in the nest you visibly relaxed, you already felt comforted, safe, and cozy but it felt like something was missing and from your realization earlier you knew what it was. The boys. Your leopard was antsy, practically screaming at you ‘Mates, mates, need mates in nest.’ You didn’t feel ready to fully embrace it yet. It was too much to comprehend. That you had mates. Not just one, but seven. It was daunting. But right now, you were willing to indulge your leopard. Just this once. But how wrong you were. Once they were to enter the nest, you may just get into the habit of wanting them in it constantly. Yeah, you were screwed.

“In. Want in.” You murmur beginning to move around and fix the nest, making it bigger to fit more people in, a pout of concentration on your face. Jungkook and Taehyung’s hearts skip a beat. You look so adorable fixing it and demanding them to get in. They felt a feeling of achievement getting to see you make your first nest, watching you cave to your instincts. But their hearts were pounding. They knew how intimate being invited into a nest was. They knew what it meant after all the videos they watched on nests, giving each other a look. They all needed to talk but right now, they couldn’t deny you. You had them wrapped around your finger.

“You’re inviting us in, Sweet Girl?” Jungkook asks softly, cooing as you look up at him with wide innocent eyes and nod. You were going to be the death of him. With slight hesitation they both climb in and sandwich you between them, allowing you to move them to where you wanted them before you finally snuggle into them, Jungkook chest to chest, your head tucked into the crook of his neck as Taehyung spoons you, rubbing soothingly up your waist, a smile playing at his lips as you begin to purr. You really were beginning to live up to your leopard counterpart now.

“We heard you aren’t doing too good huh Kitten?” Taehyung coos. You huff and shake your head, lifting your head to look at him and pout before looking at Jungkook and whispering,

“Scent? Y/N scent you?”

He almost chokes on his saliva but nods slowly, eyes widening when you don’t hesitate to nuzzle back into his neck and begin to rub your nose on his neck and nip occasionally, shallow breaths leaving his mouth, frozen in shock before glaring at the amused look on Taehyung’s face.

‘Stop it. You’d freak out too.’ Jungkook mouths reaching over and flicking Taehyung on the forehead. However, the sudden movement made you whine in protest and he immediately goes back into the position he was in and pouts.

“I’m sorry baby, didn’t mean to upset you, I won’t move again without telling you okay?” He says softly chuckling as you hum in acknowledgment before sighing in contentment, losing your eyes to try and get rid of the thoughts in your head. Despite it only being noon, you were exhausted. The appointment and examination had sucked the life out of you and brought back so many memories and doubts you were trying so hard to bury and forget.

You didn’t feel worthy enough of their affection and care. You felt like you didn’t deserve them. That you weren’t good enough. It felt like you were being selfish and asking for too much to have them in your nest. A whimper leaves your lips, gripping Jungkooks’ t-shirt tight to rid yourself of the thoughts, trying to concentrate on his and Taehyungs’ scents in hopes to ground yourself, squeezing your eyes shut tight as the horrifying voice echoes in your head.

‘You are worthless piece of shit!’

‘You deserve nothing bitch!’

‘What a waste of space and air, why do I even bother keeping you.’

All the abusive words echo through your head on a constant repeat, flashes of the punishments and vile acts you were put through won’t leave, a strangled cry leaving your mouth from frustration and hurt making the boys fuss over you, panicked. You just wanted it to stop. For all the anguish and pain to be erased, to just be happy. Really truthfully happily. There was only so much forcing it you could take.

“Make it stop. TaeTae, Koo, please make it stop. It hurts. Hurts.”

“Shh Kitten, we’ve got you. You’re gonna be okay, we’re gonna get you through this, you’re safe, nothing can hurt you anymore, this will go, I promise, you’re safe, you’re safe here. Sleep, you need some sleep, we’re not going anywhere.” Taehyung says so delicately afraid that your fragile state would break from the slightest change of tone. He felt like a fool.

For not realizing how much you were really struggling. At how much you were really hiding. How much you had internalized it to hide it from them. He was a fool to that you were going to heal quickly. All the care, safety and love they gave you could only do so much. You had suffered for years. You have had more anguish, pain, abuse than anything. He promised to do better. Too do everything in his power to heal you. Supporting you.

Safe. Safe. I’m safe. You repeat in your head trying to convince yourself, relaxing into their caring touches, finally succumbing to the sleep you were so desperately fighting, the appointment, the crying, the thoughts completely exhausting you.

When the boys know you’re asleep they look at each other sadly, wondering what they should do to make this torturous recovery easier for you, wondering what they do knowing what they know now about being invited into a nest but a voice from the door breaks their stares.

“Is she oka- Oh shit.”

Taglist (CLOSED)

@sunoosult @pb-n-juju @kimsaerom @tinyoonsblog @mintyoonjisworld @malewife-supremacy @army4eve3r @mageprincess7 @dreamamubarak @ot7nem @haleypearce @yoongiigolden @driftapart @carolinexkpop @koobratzy @devilsadvcte @colourlyhobbit @toughbook @ah2002 @beeeee06 @bbgniecyy @kurowvie @jaiuneamesolitaiire @rich-man-v @bangtanxberm @murkydoesnotloveyou @cheychey-4788 @atinygracie @echo-ethe @yo-alli @blancflms @jamlessstars @theblueslytherin @rosquilleta @slash4slashers @chieftoadturkeynickel @rainbow-bunny-bts @thedarkwinterrose @anjoellamorte @welcometomyworld13 @sugarrush-blush @aviewerofthecosmos @danielle143 @singukieee @ayoo-bangtan @sinceritythatcouldntbedelivered @popcatx0 @foreverweareyoung7 @josefines-things @avadakadabra93 @shmaptainbonky

#little leopard #bts #hoseok #namjoon #seokjin #yoongi #jimin #jungkook #taehyung #bts polyamory #bts poly #polyamorous bts #polyamory bts #poly bts #bts hybrid au #bts strangers to lovers au #hybrid bts #bts x hybrid reader #ot7 bts x reader

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wikiangela · 4 months

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tease tidbit tuesday

tagged by @jamespearce9-1-1 💖

here's another tiny snippet of the christmas fic - i'm done with the sad part, now only fluff haha - just one and a half scenes and it's gonna be done just in time for christmas (also, I might have gotten a new idea for a christmas fic, where they decorate a tree - I wanted it here but it didn't happen and can't fit it in lol so that might also be in the works once this one is done haha - no promises tho, who knows lol)

prev snippet | moodboard

___

“What’s- Christmas is tomorrow.” Buck points out with a small chuckle, but he tentatively takes the box. He glances at the tree in the corner, with a pile of gifts underneath, that they decorated together just a few days ago, after buying it together as well. It was the most domestic thing, and Eddie was dying to lean in and kiss Buck, or grab his hand, or just do anything, his feelings trying to leak out of him in any and all ways. Soon he’ll be able to shout it from the rooftops if he wants to. Hopefully.

“Yeah, but I wanted to give you one of your gifts a bit earlier.” Eddie scratches the back of his neck nervously. “Open it.” he adds excitedly when Buck’s just standing there, looking at the box.

“Why am I the only one opening a gift early? What about you guys?” his frown deepens.

“Don’t worry about us, this is about you. Please?” he waves the question off, because it’ll all make sense in a minute.

“Just open it, Buck.” Christopher chimes in, excitement in his tone. Buck looks at him and his smile melts into fondness.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gaydiaz @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @911onabc @spagheddiediaz @housewifebuck @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @honestlydarkprincess @underwater-ninja-13 @eowon @weewootruck @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @malewifediaz @pirrusstuff @theotherbuckley @911-on-abc @wildlife4life @fortheloveofbuddie @nmcggg @diazpatcher @jesuisici33 @lover-of-mine @giddyupbuck @exhuastedpigeon @buckaroosheart @king-buckley @disasterbuckdiaz @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @hoodie-buck @spotsandsocks @jeeyuns @steadfastsaturnsrings @daffi-990 @callmenewbie @hippolotamus @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove

#tease tidbit tuesday #buddie christmas fic #fic snippet #buddie #buddie fic #buddie wip #wikiangela writes #my writing #my wips #i accidentally involved chris in the love confession and wanted to change that but tbh i kinda love this #wrote smth like 'he wanted to be in the room to make sure eddie doesn't chicken out' and i find this concept funnier than it probably is lo #also i guess it'd be cute to have both of them assure buck they're a family the way buck wants them to be haha #idk im excited for this and can't wait to share once its done

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nanistar · 1 year

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may i ask why you hate mapleshade? like is it more of a fandom thing/author thing or do you just not like her character? sorry if thats a weird question lol

i think the idea behind her character is cool but the erins are the erins and they fucked it up imo. also the way the fandom treats any discussion about her and other characters in her book is so annoying i cannot stand going into the mapleshade tag on tumblr

which is a shame cause like i said, i really like the concept of her character and i feel like it had alot of potentional

not a weird question, i get it. i gotta start by saying i have no ill will against people who like mapleshade or even like the points i'm about to say. btw! sorry this is long i got really into it

starting chronologically (according to canon, not publication)(publication order is: all ivypool darkforest books (2011 and prev) crookeds promise (2011), great battle (last hope 2012, she permadies here) and maples vengeance (2015)

i actually really liked mapleshade's vengeance, all things considered. it comes last in the mapleshade storyline according to publication date, and up until then we really didn't know much about her, and i believe this is where she gets a personality other than "random DF lady" and "rude ghost villain". the erins are not good writers by any means, but i felt that mapleshade's internal monologue and the way she saw the world was genuinely pretty decent. they portrayed her as obsessive and manipulative and as an unreliable narrator. it was one of the first books i read upon returning to the fandom in 2018 and it was a thrill to read, because i hadn't been spoiled on it.

the erins have a habit of writing surprise/accidental pregnancies as plot points, which has the implication of like… flings/one night stands. it's best not to think about it. it's pretty obvious upfront that appledusk is not as in to her as she is in to him, but she doesn't see it. she talks about him in her narrations as a sweet and loving man and talks about their family and future together, but when we the readers finally see him, he's calloused and doesn't really care about her. i think she even sees him with reedshine at a gathering and gets mad before she thinks "oh he's just doing that so no one gets suspicious" (not quoting or anything, i havent read the novel since 2018) girl. their relationship was obviously just a fling to him, but to her they were in love. i liked the way this was written as opposed to all the other times in warriors weve seen a man have a hissy fit because a girl rejected him. (ashfur is the glaring example but also crowfeather, brambleclaw) her denial and refusal to accept what she was seeing (that she was the side piece) was the interesting part.

she has her children and then ravenwing spills the beans. why on earth would he do that? why would it benefit the clan or anyone? from a logistical standpoint, thunderclan lost 3 potential new warriors and mapleshade never implied she was going to riverclan. anyway, he didn't even have proof. he just assumed. i think he rightfully got what was coming for him, since if he would have kept his mouth shut, 7 cats including himself wouldn't have died. sorry mini rant i don't like him. anyway we know the rest of the story. kits die, maple kills ravenwing for telling her secret, she kills frecklewish for not helping (no, she couldn't have jumped in to save the kits without probably dying herself but she COULD have stood up for maple in thunderclan, and she was upstream so she could have yelled out and warned maple of the flood but im NOT getting into that and i dont care) and then she goes to kill reedshine but kills appledusk instead. did he deserve it? he was kinda a dick but mapleshade was like stalker-obsessed with him (i think she uses the phrase "my appledusk" in her narration but i might be wrong) after what was ostensibly a one night stand. perchpaw wounds mapleshade to the point where once she flees the scene, she dies of blood loss. cool

the story of a mothers love (and a mother's loss) is an age-old tale. in a franchise where all female characters are doomed to become boring cookie-cutter mothers, this loss and violent rage was awesome.

everyone told me to read crookedstar's promise, because it was the best super edition. i.. do not agree with that. tbh i thought it was long and boring and went nowhere. crookedstar suffered many tragedies in his life, and he lost everyone he loved, and then the book suddenly ends with him going "im ok (:" and dying. (i was reading a pdf and not a physical copy so it was VERY abrupt for me. i legit sat there like.. so that's it? i read 500+ pages for that?) i can't really blame mapleshade for this (since shes not real) but it does factor in. her idea of revenge against appledusk was to torture an injured baby? who then grew up and had no idea who the fuck appledusk was? why not raise him and give him the love he craved so that when the time came, he would be more likely to do her bidding?? her motives here make no sense. not super important. anyway.

and then she's seen occasionally in the dark forest and she tries to drown ivypaw for no reason once. idk she was obviously just a background character in these scenes (since they came first) but the fans saw a female in the dark forest and were like. thank god a woman. can you blame them. then the erins built her up from that.

anyway mapleshade has this generations long story of manipulating younger cats, and a POV book where she's obviously obsessive, controlling, stalkerish and chooses brutally uncommon violence as a way to get back at those who wrong her. (she unburies ravenwing's body so crows can eat it, and she uses adders to kill frecklewish, despite the fact the snakes could easily go for her.) she puts HERSELF in danger to do these things because she's impulsive, she justifies all her actions to herself by saying its revenge for her children and in the end, she pushes the last remnants of the kittens she thinks she's fighting for away. this is a cool story about a woman who's pushed to the edge and takes everyone down with her. for ONCE its not a man with deadwifepain.

and what does the fandom do

they girlbossify her. they fight over if she's in the wrong or not (she is. she killed people.) they take everything about her that made her compelling and turn her into "grr my husband cheated on me and me kids are dead. sad." she gets turned into the most basic, boring, cookie cutter "evil" lady. she kills people for fun and not because she had a reason to or a goal (in her mind). she suffers the most tragic kind of loss that there is and gets no time to grieve before she is run out of her home, and her reaction to this is pure RAGE, and the fandom turns her into this boring, slay QUEEN!!! (not the pregnant cat kind), always been evil, always been hardcore, ~So CrAzY~, "my eyeliner is sharp to stab men" girlboss. where's the nuance. where's the passion!!? she's a miserable, impulsive, manipulating failure. she blames others for her mistakes and bad judgment and punishes others for her shortfallings. she can't be vulnerable and broken, she can only cry because dead kids and then kill evil husband and evil husbands wife. she's even sometimes portrayed as like "boss" of the dark forest, wrangling all the men. barf.

so to answer your question, it's the general fandom* portrayal that i hate, but i honestly wouldn't trust the erins with her at this point. (the erins are influenced by their fans, for example (old person voice) back in my day, firestar and scourge being brothers was just a fan theory.) i'm glad they permakilled her in the great battle so they cant bring her back to ruin anything. actually thinking about her to write this out and reflect on why i don't like her made me sympathize for her. i like text mapleshade with a little bit of fanon sprinkled in for flavor.

and hey. usually when the fandom adopts a character, they're right. the fandom likes to get really in to random bg/side characters and give them lives they would never have in canon. but sadly (or not, depending on your opinion), when those get popular and breach containment, they spread everywhere and suddenly people think this IS canon. look at how many of us thought that brambleclaw killed hawkfrost directly after he killed hollyleaf, because that was the easy way to portray the great battle in MAPs, only to have someone point out, years after this has become the common sequence of events, that brambleclaw actually hunts him down, brings him back to camp, and then murders him POW style!!!

*btw. im in no way saying that all mapleshade-based projects or aus or whatever are bad, even if she is sexy girlboss in them. some of my favorite maps portray her like that.

anyway. TLDR:

everyone say "i'm sorry mapleshade"

#mapleshade #sorry this is long and if i got facts incorrect i dont really care #apologize to mapleshade for what weve done

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fanby-fckry · 27 days

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A Rose by Any Other Name

Day 3 of Ace Alastor Week: QPR Day

Word Count: 2,533

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Archive Warnings: None

Additional Warnings: Implied/Referenced Kink (in the form of a Fade to Black ending), Implied/Referenced Cheating (no actual cheating occurs), Period Typical Attitudes, Outdated Terminology, (see beginning notes for more info)

Characters: Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Lucifer Magne | Morningstar, Mentioned Lilith Magne | Morningstar

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Fluff and Humor, Fluff, Humor, Attempt at Humor, Light Angst, Established Relationship, queer platonic relationship, Polyamory, Open Marriage, Lilith and Lucifer Magne | Morningstar have an Open Marriage, Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) Aromantic Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor is Bad at Feelings (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor Has a Heart (Hazbin Hotel), (but he will deny it until the day he double dies), Bisexual Lucifer Magne | Morningstar, Bisexual Disaster Lucifer Magne | Morningstar, Nonbinary Lucifer Magne | Morningstar, (yup finally getting into Luci’s gender fuckery), Talking, Conversations, Awkward Conversations, Misunderstandings, the ‘what are we?’ conversation except it’s ‘what do we call us?’, what to call your qpp when the term qpp hasn’t been invented yet, Enochian Language (Abrahamic Religions), (taking massive liberties with the Enochian language), Fade to Black, Unreliable Narrator

Series: Part 3 of Fanby’s Ace Alastor Week 2024 ( <- Prev || Next -> ) || Part 6 of The Unholy Trinity

Summary:

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Alright, my darling, spiteful deer. If not ‘paramour,’ then what should I call you?”

Alastor maneuvered himself into a more upright position.

“Hmm,” he hummed. ‘Paramour’ certainly wasn’t the right word, but he was drawing a blank on what was.

Lucifer and Alastor try to come up with a word to describe their relationship to each other. They only get side-tracked once or five times.

Better on AO3

Author’s Notes:

During the gender fuckery portion of their discussion, Alastor uses somewhat outdated language and while he has a vague idea that gender and sex aren’t a static binary, his grasp on the subject isn’t exactly congruent with more modern views.

This fic takes place in 1943. He’s using the language he has access to at the moment, and he’s honestly a bit ahead of his time thanks to Lucifer’s influence.

This is my first time adding notes to a tumblr fic, let’s see how this goes!

It had come up unexpectedly. A word, or rather, the lack of a word.

Lucifer had been telling Alastor about a conversation he’d had with Lilith, and in passing, he’d called Alastor his ‘paramour.’

Alastor cocked his head to the side. “You still call me that?” he asked.

“Hm?” Lucifer hummed absentmindedly. “What, my paramour?”

“Yes, that,” Alastor confirmed. “It makes it sound like I’m your…” Alastor made a conscious effort not to let the corners of his smile drop. “Mistress,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

“Well, you’re not my mistress,” Lucifer said, far too casually. “Last I checked, you’re a man who uses masculine language.”

Lucifer paused. “Last I checked,” he repeated.

Alastor stared at him, unblinking, wondering what the hell he was on about.

“If you ever feel like changing that, let me know. I’d be happy to call you whatever fits best,” the Devil offered. “And Sinner forms are more malleable than you might think when it comes to physicality.”

“I…” Alastor faltered. He could sense Lucifer’s sincerity on the matter, despite it not being at all relevant.

Lucifer was, in his own words, ‘not bound by human concepts of gender,’ with a particular distaste for ‘that strange binary system that’s gotten so popular.’ He actively encouraged demons and humans alike to live as their true selves even if – hell, especially if – that truth was an unconventional one.

And while Alastor legitimately could not care less about his own gender, he didn’t have it in his heart to spurn such genuine kindness from Lucifer. “Thank you for your support on my hypothetical sex change-”

“You’re welcome!” Lucifer interjected, all sunshine and smiles, and Alastor was hit with a swift and jarring reminder that Lucifer was once a creature of Heaven.

“But that is not even remotely the point!” Alastor said, exasperated. “I meant that it implies that we’re sneaking around.”

“We are sneaking around,” Lucifer said. “You don’t want the public to know about our relationship.”

“It implies that you’re cheating on your wife!” Alastor said, finally, his voice laced with static.

“Oh,” Lucifer said in sudden realization. “I didn’t think about it like that. Lilith and I have both used ‘paramour’ to describe our other partners since the fourteenth century,” he explained. “It just doesn’t have that kind of connotation to us.”

“Well it does to me!” Alastor sighed. “It was one thing when I thought I was an affair partner, but now that I know about your arrangement with Lilith, I’d like to stop feeling like some kind of homewrecker.”

“Hold on, did you actually feel guilty about the idea that we were” – Lucifer added largely unnecessary air quotes for dramatic effect – “‘having an affair?’”

Alastor laughed mirthlessly. “Remorse is for children and weak willed men. I outgrew it by the age of ten!”

“You’re not fooling anybody,” Lucifer teased. “Even if it wasn’t guilt, you felt something. And you were happy to know that you didn’t come between Lilith and I.”

Lucifer tapped his index finger against Alastor’s chest. “You’ve got a heart in there after all.”

“Hahaha, on the contrary, my dear friend!” Alastor swiped Lucifer’s hand out of the way and placed his own hand over his heart instead, curling it into a fist as he spoke. “While I may indeed have a heart, you’ll find it’s filled to the brim with more useful things, like bloodlust and spite!”

Alastor offered Lucifer a rather patronizing smile and wrapped his arm around him, taking advantage of the smaller form Lucifer so preferred to manipulate the Devil like a ragdoll.

“There’s no room for any of that emotional nonsense you’re blathering on about,” Alastor said with a dismissive hand wave.

He pulled out all the stops – sound effects, body language, squeezing Lucifer so hard it would’ve broken his ribs if he were human.

“I need every bit of it working towards my passion for performance! My romance with radio! And of course, my one true love…” Alastor performed a mock swoon to really top things off, one that ended with Lucifer scrambling to catch him. He looked up at Lucifer with half-lidded eyes and purred the word, “Murder.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Alright, my darling, spiteful deer. If not ‘paramour,’ then what should I call you?”

Alastor maneuvered himself into a more upright position.

“Hmm,” he hummed. ‘Paramour’ certainly wasn’t the right word, but he was drawing a blank on what was.

“Boyfriend?” Lucifer suggested.

“Too juvenile.” Alastor promptly shut him down. “I’m a grown man and you’re older than humanity itself.”

“Partner?”

Alastor scoffed. “What are we, cowboys? Businessmen? Coppers? Lawyers? No thank you!”

“Lover?”

“Same implications as ‘paramour,’” Alastor told him. “And it adds the assumption that I love you.”

Something constricted in Alastor’s chest. The weight that was the acknowledgement of their mis-mached attraction, the crushing pressure of expectation.

In a moment of precarious vulnerability, Alastor felt the need to explain himself, the words tumbling off his tongue before he could think to stop them. “I know that you love me, and I care for you, I really do, but…”

Lucifer’s voice cut through Alastor’s rambling. “I know,” he said, gentle yet firm. “And I don’t expect anything else from you. I’m perfectly happy with the way things are between us.”

Lucifer held out a hand, palm up, offering Alastor the opportunity to initiate the touch.

Alastor took Lucifer’s hand. The pressure eased.

“What about something more personalized to you?” Lucifer asked. “Are there any French Creole words that might fit?”

Alastor thought it over, searching his memories for words he hadn’t considered applying to himself since he was a much younger man and still under the impression that he might someday fall in love.

‘Amourè’ had roots in love, as well, and wasn’t something he’d want to be called. ‘Kalin’ was more removed, but Alastor had always found the word a bit peculiar. As a noun, it meant ‘boyfriend’ or ‘male lover,’ but as an adjective, it was used to describe someone as lazy.

“No, none that I can think of!” Alastor said, sparing Lucifer his thought process.

Lucifer hummed. “I’ll just have to continue my guessing game, then,” the Devil mused. “Darling?”

“Too generic. You use that one on everyone from your wife to your one night stands.”

“Fair point,” Lucifer conceded. “How about sweetheart?”

“Too sentimental.”

“Significant other?” Lucifer offered. “S.O. for short?”

“Implies monogamy,” Alastor noted. “Which neither of us has any desire for.”

“Admirer?”

Alastor wrinkled his nose in disgust. “That makes it sound like I’m running a Lucifer Morningstar fan club.”

“I mean,” Lucifer said, drawing out the words in a wheedling manner. “I certainly wouldn’t mind that.”

“Lucifer.”

“I’d even start a Radio Demon fan club to reciprocate,” the Devil promised.

Alastor’s smile thinned to a line. “Lucifer, I’m vetoing ‘admirer.’”

“You’re no fun sometimes,” Lucifer pouted.

Alastor pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know, I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea, myself, but every once in a while, we will have to have a serious conversation.”

“But why does this have to be one of them?” Lucifer asked. “We’ll find a word for us eventually, but what’s the rush? What’s with this sense of urgency? You’re putting yourself under so much pressure, and for what?”

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose,

By any other word would smell as sweet.”

Quoting Romeo and Juliet was sickeningly sweet – and so very, very Lucifer that Alastor found it rather endearing in spite of himself. A Shakespearean comedy revered as a romantic tragedy, on the lips of the Devil, himself, as he tried to comfort his not-quite lover.

“Having a name for us might be helpful, but not having one isn’t going to end us.” Lucifer brought his free hand up to Alastor’s cheek, not quite touching it, and allowed Alastor to close the rest of the distance.

“You’re still my Alastor, my darling deer. I’m still your Lucifer, your Devil dearest. We’re still us.” Lucifer squeezed Alastor’s hand and gave him a pleading look. “Try and remember that, please, Al? Maybe it’ll help to take some of the pressure off.”

The realization hit Alastor like a bullet between the eyes. “I was doing it again, wasn’t I?”

Lucifer gave him a lopsided half-smile. “Getting hung up on the details, stressing the fuck out, and getting combative because things were out of your control and that scared you? Yes, yes you were.”

Alastor cursed under his breath. “Alright, how do I…” Struggling to find the right words, Alastor repeated Lucifer’s back to him. “How do I stop getting hung up on the details and stressing the fuck out?”

“Uhh,” Lucifer faltered.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Alastor thought to himself. He doesn’t know either?

“Give me a minute!” Lucifer protested, as if sensing Alastor’s judgment. “It’s not something I have a problem with, myself, and Lilith’s better at giving advice without speaking from experience.”

Alastor watched the Devil flounder for a moment, taking a small amount of sadistic glee in not being the only one struggling with emotional intelligence for once.

“Alright, I got it!” Lucifer said, finally. “You trust me, right, darling?”

“Yes…” Alastor said hesitantly.

“And you choose to trust me,” the Devil continued. “It’s something that you consider to be within your control.”

That wasn’t always the case – trusting Lucifer had been entirely accidental at first; at the time, it felt very much not within Alastor’s control, which had caused Alastor a great deal of distress and nearly led him to sabotaging the relationship on multiple occasions – but now…

“Yes,” Alastor answered honestly. Because trusting Lucifer was now a conscious decision. It was a choice he’d made after waking up in bed with the Devil one October morning, and one he had continued to make every day since then.

“So choose to trust me, now,” Lucifer said. “Trust that I know what I’m talking about, here.”

“Do you know what you’re talking about?” Alastor asked.

Lucifer stuck his forked tongue out. “Rude,” he said. “But fair. I’m asking for your trust and it's well within your right to make me earn it.”

Lucifer paused for a moment, then asked, “Did you know Lilith and I didn’t have a word for what we were for centuries?”

Alastor raised one eyebrow. “I assumed you would’ve called each other husband and wife.”

“Nope,” Lucifer said, popping the ‘p’ sound at the end. “It was a good long while before either of us were ready for that.”

“I mean, Lilith left the Garden so that she could be something more than just some guy’s wife. She wasn’t exactly itching to get married again.” Lucifer ran his free hand through his hair. “And I’d just Fallen so I was still getting used to the whole ‘not dedicating my entire existence to my Father’ thing…”

The Devil got a far off look in his eyes for a moment, and Alastor found himself holding tighter to Lucifer’s hand in an effort to bring him back.

Thankfully, it worked. Lucifer smiled softly and turned his attention back to Alastor.

“There wasn’t really a word back then for someone who was a lover but not a spouse,” Lucifer said. “There were exactly two languages – well, three if you count Tongues – but not one had a word for what we were to each other.”

“Was it…” There were one thousand and one questions on Alastor’s lips. In an effort to save time, he chose the most open-ended one. “What was it like?”

“New,” Lucifer answered. “And terrifying. Everything was, back then.”

“Hm,” Alastor hummed. The words echoed back to him from inside his mind. First in Lucifer’s voice – ‘New. And terrifying. Everything was’ – and then in a voice that sounded like his own – ‘New. Terrifying. Everything is.’

“And despite it all, we survived.” Lucifer’s voice caught Alastor’s ear. “We spent almost five-hundred years hopping between various endearments with nothing ‘official’ to call ourselves because the words to describe our love just hadn’t been invented yet.”

“Almost five-hundred years,” Lucifer repeated. “So, I think you and I can manage a little longer than five minutes if you just calm the fuck down.”

Alastor laughed in spite of himself. “Alright,” he said. “As you seem to be speaking from experience, Devil dearest, I suppose I can place my trust in your time tested hands.”

“Whoo!” Lucifer cheered, face alight with the goofiest grin imaginable.

Creature of Heaven, Alastor reminded himself with a sigh. And what an odd creature he was. Alastor wondered if all angels were like this – when they weren’t coming down in droves to commit mass murder in the name of population control – or if Lucifer was an oddity amongst even his angelic kin.

Lucifer cleared his throat and schooled his features in a rather amusing attempt at seriousness. “Better?” he asked.

Alastor thought about it for a moment before answering. “Yes, actually!”

It was surprising the difference it made to hand over control of a situation rather than feel it slipping through his fingers.

The seemingly impossible task of finding a single word to describe his and Lucifer’s connection to each other was now firmly Lucifer’s responsibility – as were any potential consequences of not finding one.

Alastor didn’t need to think about the what ifs or the what nows; he didn’t need to get wrapped up in the details of linguistic origins or cultural connotations. Lucifer would find something, or he wouldn’t. And either way, they’d be alright.

“I am curious, though,” Alastor said. “About the endearments you mentioned. And how they differ from ‘official’ labels.”

“Oh, that.” Lucifer paused. “If I had to compare… They were more like ‘darling deer’ and ‘Devil dearest’ than ‘paramour’ or ‘partner.’ Words for each other, not for the relationship.”

“Hm,” Alastor hummed, curiosity far from sated. He knew that these ancient endearments were in tongues he couldn’t understand, and yet, he couldn’t help but wonder…

“Tell me one,” Alastor demanded.

Lucifer got a dreamy look in his eyes. “I used to call Lilith” – Lucifer made a sound that Alastor could never hope to replicate, even with the entirety of Hell’s airwaves at his disposal. Perhaps if he had Heaven’s, he might get somewhere close, but it’d never match the reverence with which Lucifer spoke.

It was beautiful, melodic, Heavenly. And for the first time in quite some time, Alastor found himself genuinely awed by Lucifer’s angelic nature.

“It’s the Enochian word for ‘song,’” Lucifer explained.

“Fitting,” Alastor whispered, somewhat breathless. “It sounded like music.”

Lucifer laughed. “Oh the whole language is a bit musical,” he said.

The Devil gasped. “Wait, that’s it!”

“What?” Alastor asked. “What is it?”

“Flame,” Lucifer said, eyes lit up like the sun. “As in, I don’t want to set the world on fire,” he sang.

By the next line, Alastor was singing along with him, the instrumental playing behind them.

“I just want to start

A flame in your heart.”

Alastor kissed Lucifer with rare softness. “It’s perfect,” he whispered against the Devil’s lips.

“Told you we’d last more than five minutes,” Lucifer teased.

Alastor bit him in retaliation. And well, it rather devolved from there.

#fanby’s fuckery #fanby’s fics #acealastorweek2024 #hazbin hotel #alastor #aroace alastor #asexual alastor #aromantic alastor #lucifer hazbin hotel #qpr radioapple #radioapple #radioapplesiren #hazbin hotel fanfic #hazbin hotel fanfiction

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saintchaser · 6 months

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a/n: (prev pinned) didn’t i just hit 2k in may of this year? how the time flies, damn! anyways, thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey, from the people who actively engage with my content with the from-time-to-time people, to everyone else! to anons who’ve sent me asks and to people who have motivated me, thank you all for bringing me to this milestone! (and many more to come!)

i think this calls for a celebration, and therefore i present to you…

saintchaser’s 3k followers celebration!

🎧 — shuffling my playlists for you! give me a playlist from my spotify (which you can access by clicking the link in my bio), a number, and i will tell you the song that pops up! (you can also request me to write a ficlet based on the playlist, just mention that and the pairing/trope you would like me to use, if there is any!)

🤍— positivity exchange! we compliment each other! blog theme, takes, the relationship we have (if we have any), anything of that sorts! going wild! we need more positivity in the world, so why not?

🎲 — mutual/character games! fmk (characters only), would you rather, cym, all that jazz! (if you have any more ideas, feel free to suggest!)

❕— unpopular opinions/questions! you share an opinion or a question, and i will tell you if i agree with it or not, or give an answer to your question!

📸 — picture game! i will pick an image from my camera roll that i think fits your vibe, and i can explain why, if that’s wanted! (we can do this as an exchange, too, if you would like that!)

🖋️— writing time! give me a prompt, a ship, a trope, anything your heart desires, and i’ll try to make up something for it! (note that it might take a bit)

🖌️ — i haven’t done this before, but this is about your handwriting as one of the marauders! you submit your handwriting to my ask box, and i will tell you, based on my perception, who i think it fits best!

🏞️ — (mutuals exclusive) making a pinboard for you! about 20 pins, based on blog vibes and your vibes in general!

💌 — (mutuals exclusive) writing letters! i’ll tell you a little bit about what i think about you, what i think about your blog, about our interactions, that kind of thing!

🎹 — (mutuals exclusive) bringing back what i had done for my last celebration, mutual playlists! submit this emoji to your ask box and i will make a playlist for you that i think fits your vibe or that you might like!

🚋 — anything else! (please specify!) let your imagination run wild!

NOTE: the celebration will last for two weeks from the moment of posting onwards, and most likely all asks will be answered! all asks can be found under the “#starchaser’s 3k followers celebration” tag!

#saintchaser’s 3k followers celebration

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honeykngdom · 8 months

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𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 | 𝚎. 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 | 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

Pairing: Embry Call x Original Character Summary: Join Ainsley and Embry as they embark on a journey where they are forced to question everything they thought they knew, and embrace the pain that is inevitable to avoid in love. An imprint story. Self-discovery. Angst and romance. Word Count: 5.2k Warnings: N/A Taglist: @leilaniers - message / comment if you'd like to be tagged in new chapters (or for Embry content in general)! prev. chapter

Several weeks went by like that. Once a week, I would tell Embry that I was heading to work but would detour to the Cullen household instead. Alice and I would often coordinate together to make sure that Jacob and Renesmee weren’t in the area before I showed up. Keeping them in the dark for now still seemed like it was our best option – Jacob wouldn’t be able to withhold it from Embry even if he wanted to. In between working at the diner and helping Maddox push the boundaries of his control, I spent every ounce of my free time with Embry and the boys.

So many parts of me felt guilty for lying to him – especially when he had been putting forward more effort to fit into my life.

The pair of us visited home once every other week to have breakfast or dinner with my family. Embry and the pack spent more time trying including my brothers, which helped integrate them into the pack in their own unique way. It was nice to have Travis part of the mix now, but I still worried that he might get hurt. Understandably so, Sam still had reservations when it came to some of the younger members, but as long as we kept it within the main ranks, he seemed satisfied. With the tension growing thicker between the pack and the obvious need to find the nomads, everyone’s control had not been the greatest. Jacob and Embry had gotten into it a few times, even Seth and Quil were more on edge.

I asked a few times about his mother – she had remarried and moved off the reservation to Tacoma. Had a second child now that Embry was independent and a man of his own. For the most part, Embry didn’t speak much about her. Part of me found it incredibly sad; Quil had explained that Tiffany had been incredibly upset and scared during their teen years when the pack first began phasing. Unlike Billy and Sue, Tiffany had no idea about the tribe’s legends, or that there was any possibility they may hold any semblance of truth. Embry was never able to tell Tiffany the truth about what was going on, and the distance put a heavy strain on their relationship.

“When’s the last time he went to see her?”

Quil shrugged, “Not really sure. Christmas a couple years ago, maybe?”

Vague, but that was Quil. Sure, it wasn’t my place to meddle, but Embry had given me such a hard time about maintaining a relationship with my own mother that I thought it was a little hypocritical that he hardly maintained one with his own.

Christmas came and went; Embry opted to ‘gift’ me quite a few things, including an actual coffee machine for his kitchen, as well as a pretty white gold chain with a sterling crescent moon cut out. We spent most of our time together on his new couch (which he purchased a few days after he attempted to sleep on the loveseat following my initial run in with Maddox) wrapped in each other's arms with the fireplace going.

Each week, Maddox would return to the Cullen’s with more accurate locations on the safehouses for any vampire Garrett turned, making a total of five by the time the new year had come. Edward would inform Jacob regarding their locations, trying to make it seem as though Alice had seen it in a vision while following the female nomad – Jacob would bring the news home to the others; they then tore through each house one by one tear and destroyed whatever nomad kept residence.

I tried not to think about it too much. If I got too caught up in the semantics, things always got bad.

There were only three nomads that remained, apart from Maddox. The closer the pack got to taking out the threat, the more uneasy things began to feel at home. Emily was nearing six months into her second pregnancy – bloated and hormonal as ever, causing quite a bit of strain on the pack's eating habits as she was more tired and more hungry. She cared less about feeding everyone else, moreso intent on getting food into her own belly. With no definitive place to gather at, the pack had dispersed their separate ways and only saw each other twice a week as opposed to every day.

Jared and Kim’s wedding was right around the corner, so the pair had been hellbent on having Embry and I help them with the finishing touches. Kim and I spent many late nights and early mornings camping out in Embry and Jacob’s living room, making sure we had a final head count on those invited to the wedding.

When it was mentioned that I was still waiting on the Cullen’s to RSVP, I made sure Kim knew I would have Jacob ask to confirm. We were two weeks into January now – Jacob’s birthday had finally come around. Being the first of his friends to turn twenty-five was a big deal for him, and so the group had collectively pulled together what they were sure was the ultimate birthday experience. After what appeared to be a heart-felt dinner celebration, the boys prompted Jacob into a blindfold and carried him out to Paul’s truck

“We’re taking him to a strip club.” Jared said casually, pulling out a wad of bills larger than I had ever laid eyes on.

“A strip club.” I repeated, watching Paul nod excitedly.

“We did this for my birthday last year – lots of lap dances, lots of booze –”

“I see.” I shared a knowing look with Kim, the pair returning to their post-food comatose on Embry’s couch. Kim had agreed to stay the night with me, knowing the boys would not be home until the early hours of the morning and much to everyone’s dismay, Maddox was still unaccounted for.

The idea that a vampire that had previous connections with his imprint was still out made Embry a little uneasy – the longer the pack went without catching his scent, the more erratic he became. I was being babysat as per Embry’s instruction – the only person that knew of Maddox’s whereabouts apart from myself was Trenton.

Speaking of.

“Are you bringing my brothers?” I asked, shrugging my arms into the sleeves of Embry’s heather gray hoodie.

“Hell yeah,” Jared laughed. “Travis was the one who really pushed for it.”

“That’s because Travis is lonely and miserable while the rest of us have hot as fuck girlfriends.” Embry cooed as he joined us in the living room, leaning over the back of the couch to press his mouth against mine. He enticed a quiet hum from my chest when he sucked on my lower lip.

“Be nice.” I mumbled against his lips, smiling nonetheless.

When the men left for the evening, Kim and I sat curled up on our respective sides of the couch, scrolling through our phones. Undoubtedly, Jared messaged Kim just as quickly as Embry messaged me. We spent what appeared to be well over an hour in silence before I lazily pulled the remote from the coffee table and flipped on the television.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be a wife.” Kim said into the quiet room suddenly.

I blinked slowly, shifting my eyes to look over at her. She sat upright, eyes wide with a sort of fear. I was sure this was where I was supposed to say something soothing and reassuring but honestly, I couldn’t believe it either.

Kim and Jared were the least serious couple of the group – which made them the best sort of couple to me. Watching them crack jokes and pull pranks on each other was my favourite pastime – but I knew how marriages worked. They pulled some people apart. And I wanted to believe that wouldn’t happen to them, but I knew there was a chance. Nothing was impossible.

“I can’t believe you’re marrying Jared.” I retorted, turning my attention back to the television. “He’s an adult, male version of Claire –”

“Exactly!” Kim huffed, shaking her head. “Ains, what am I gonna do? I can’t be a wife, I barely know how to cook.”

“Doesn’t Jared?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you don’t have to cook.” I said simply.

Kim deadpanned, mouth slightly ajar as I pulled the wrapper off another holiday mint and popped it into my mouth. “How can you say that?”

I shrugged, shoving my hands into the pocket in the front of the hoodie. “Embry does all the cooking.”

“You don’t help?”

I rolled my eyes, flipping onto my back. “Of course I will help. I just don’t do the cooking – I clean, I do laundry, I wash dishes. I help Emb and Jake make sure the property tax is paid on time and that bills are kept up with – that sort of thing. You’re already doing most of that on your own, anyway.”

Kim let it all process, chewing on her lower lip. “I don’t want to live with a boy. He’s so messy!”

I could only laugh. “It’s less scary than you think, though I’m not the one with a ring on her finger.”

“Easy for you to say – Embry makes more money than Jared does. You’re both sitting on a nice, fluffy cushion of savings, and have the luxury of personal space. Jared’s losing his shit and can barely afford the place he has now.”

“What’s wrong with Jared’s place?”

Kim rubbed her face with her tired hands. “He lives in a very small, very tight one bedroom apartment. We’re both going to be stuck in a very cramped area for a solid year before we can even think about moving out.”

“It won’t be so bad –”

“Embry and Jacob have this entire two story house, Ains. That’s not exactly something people making ends meet have the luxury of owning. You’re already doing better than most people in their thirties.”

I tried to process that information. It hadn’t fully dawned on me that Embry and I were better off than most of their brothers – and hadn’t realized that Kim and Jared were digging themselves a hole. They were one foot in the door to being in debt, and I was stressing out about not having any spending money after paying off next year's tuition.

“Then why get married right now?”

Kim sighed loudly, shaking her head again, this time with a smile that screamed ‘isn’t it obvious?’. “Because I love him.”

“Okay,” I lamented, sitting up, “and he loves you. And that isn’t going to change – in twenty years from now, you’ll still love him and he’ll still love you.”

“Stop being right,” Kim grumbled, pushing my shoulders so that I fell back into the couch, “can you make a stupid decision so the rest of us don’t feel so brain dead?”

I forced a smile. “I’m already making plenty of bad decisions, Kim.” Just none that you can know about.

𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚘𝚋

Jacob nestled into his corner of the couch, watching as Rosalie ran her fingers through Renesmee’s hair; the trio had been cooped up in the Cullen household all morning. Fork’s was covered under a near constant stream of storm clouds that had yet to let up long enough for him to return home on terms that Nessie deemed ‘safe’. He chalked it up to her wanting some more time with him – which he was always willing to give. In the last seven years, she had grown into quite the remarkable individual. While being incredibly strange to the others in her life, she had a charm that Jacob was certain would bring her sunshine even on the dreariest of days.

Bella and Jacob spent many conversations discussing what they considered appropriate in regards to his relationship with Renesmee. Jacob agreed that it seemed beyond normal to expect anything other than a friendship from her daughter. Regardless of what the Elders might have believed, Jake couldn’t see past the babyface. There was a small part of him that didn’t sit well at the thought of trying to pursue a romantic relationship with her; he genuinely feared there might be a day when Renesemee asked for more, and he wouldn’t be able to refuse. That his genes wouldn’t allow him — they had taken so much autonomy from his as it was.

Instead, Jacob made a vow to be the shoulder to cry on when boys attempted to break her big heart. He would be her best friend and protector – and he would love her unconditionally and always think of her safety and comfortability above all else. He was perfectly content watching over what he considered his family. But that was where it ended – there was nothing romantic about it, or to come of it. He needed to be sure of it, so much so that no one had referred to Renesmee as his ‘imprint’ since her first few months of life.

Small pale fingers touched his knee, pulling his sight into a tunnel before images played in fast-forward: circling glimpses of Ainsley and Emily, along with the unspoken question of their well-being led Jacob to believe that Nessie missed the reservation, and had not felt wanted or welcome since Thanksgiving. The last Nessie had heard from Ainsley was a few weeks ago, just before Christmas. She had gotten a phone call, asking where the Cullen’s resided, mentioning something about wanting to come see her – to apologize.

Ainsley had never shown up.

Jacob had apologized for his cousin's ignorance many times – tried to explain on multiple occasions that Ainsley just hadn’t known about anything. Despite that knowledge, Edward and Bella still believed it would be better if Renesmee remained on their side of the border.

This resulted in Jacob’s absence at home – which he soon realized was putting strain on the rest of the pack. Everyone withdrew into their own personal lives again, just when things were finally beginning to look normal. It was so nice, having everyone together all the time. He remembered a time when he hated spending every waking second with a group of rowdy, immature boys but he longed for those days all the time now. The only reason why they had fallen back into old habits was because of Ainsley and Embry – a sort of means to help her feel inclusive. Especially after Embry’s shitshow.

It appeared as though Ainsley was tougher than everyone gave her credit for. She handled Embry’s temper like a champ, dutifully stepping up to the plate when the others fell short. Acted as a mother hen whenever Emily couldn’t be bothered to scold or bake for the group. But even that had become daunting. In between working and trying to keep up with everyone in her life – the pack and her own family, Jacob could see the strain and exhaustion in Ainsley’s eyes.

Things would’ve been different now, he’d tell himself. If he could just bring Nessie back to the reservation, if they’d just let him, he could pull everyone back together again.

He offered his best friend a sad smile, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a tight squeeze. “I’m sure you’ll see them soon.” He promised.

“C’mon, Ness,” Rose said quietly, urging her to stand, “let’s get you something to eat.”

“What about me?” Jacob complained, watching Nessie disappear into the kitchen.

Rosalie looked over her shoulder, the corner of her mouth upturned in an exhausted smile. “You can fend for yourself, Jacob. You’re no stranger to our kitchen.”

The wolf scoffed, turning his attention back to the television mounted to the wall. The news was muted, the screen split between the terrors that were turning Seattle upside down for the second time this decade, along with whatever college basketball game was playing in the local area. From his peripheral vision, Jake caught the figure of a stranger trudging up the driveway.

It wasn’t until said visitor started taking the steps at the front door two at a time that Jacob stood and rushed down the stairs. Obscene anger and rage filled his body, a searing heat bubbling at the surface. The part of him that needed to ensure Renesmee’s safety overtook his judgement. The scent filled the room before the door had even had a chance to open – Jacob’s hands pressed flat against their shoulders and shoved them hard, sending the body flying back a few several feet.

The man’s response was automatic: cold hands gripped his throat tightly, the growl rising from somewhere deep within both their chests. The sounds clashed together, so different but with the same underlying warning. Jacob clenched his fist around one of the vampire's wrists, pulling roughly with a loud snarl, twisting the figure away. Just as quickly, Jacob found himself being hoisted up – not by much – before his body came crashing down on the cement of the stairs, the brick crumbling under his weight and the sheer force of the impact. Jacob heaved in air, desperately trying to breath around the vice grip on his throat; it wasn’t until he really looked at the intruder that he stopped struggling.

His face was smooth except for the slight stubble that permanently resided on his lower face. His hair fell in loose waves, framing his squared jaw in that sort of subtly perfect way. Every fiber in Jacob’s body, every vein screamed in protest as his scent overwhelmed him. Over some time, he had grown accustomed to the stench of the Cullen’s, but his was different.

Familiar, but different.

Jacob thought back, trying to pinpoint where he had picked up on the scent before. Jasper was pulling the man – Maddox, as he called himself – away from Jacob’s limp body, his mind swirling when Renesmee placed her hands on his shoulders, worry and anxiety filling his mind.

Jacob shut his eyes tightly, shaking his head quickly as though to clear her thoughts from his head. He had definitely caught this scent before. Not from patrol. Not from a local bar. Not from the diner –

The diner.

Ainsley.

His eyes shot open, frame bolting forward as quickly as he could manage, tremor rolling down his spine as he collided with the nomad’s body and sent him backwards again – this time far enough that he disappeared momentarily into the underbrush of the forest.

“What’s he doing here?” Jacob growled.

Maddox stood slowly, readjusting his jacket, amber eyes locked on Jacob’s heaving frame. “Control your guard dog, would you?” He muttered to Jasper, picking a leaf out of his hair.

“I thought you said you didn’t know where the nomads were.” Jacob accused with heavy disappointment, looking down at Renesmee. She shrugged under the weight of his gaze, seeming just as confused as Jacob.

“He’s not the problem, Jake.” Jasper said quickly, holding out one hand as a means of halting Jacob from moving forward. “He came to Carlisle for help. That’s all we’re trying to do.”

“Yeah, expand the family a little more, it’s not like you’re big enough already.” Jacob spat, pulling his lips back over his teeth. “It’s not like the large quantity hasn’t already put enough strain on us before. What’s a few more kids, huh?”

“Jacob …”

“There are seventeen of us,” he growled, taking a step to the side, “half of them are trying to stop it from happening again, some of them left altogether, and the rest of us are trying to settle down and start our lives.”

“We didn’t turn him –”

“This wasn’t part of the agreement.” Chief Jacob was slowly starting to break out of shell. Very rarely did Jacob like being the alpha – more so settled into the role because Sam had made a definitive decision to leave it behind. It had been two years since Sam had last phased – two years until the night the nomads crossed onto their land. No one was entirely certain how long it would take to break the bond – Sam stopped after expecting his first child, but now would have to start all over again.

Not exactly the stress Emily needed.

“Jacob.” The wolf tensed, halting his feet from moving as Carlisle came down past the ruins of the stairs and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Allow us to explain. Please.”

After an hour of arguments and several hand tremors, Jacob was finally seated in the living room, watching Maddox carefully. So, he had sought out help for control. So, he didn’t want to be a vampire. So, he didn’t anticipate all of the downfalls to being an immortal bloodsucking killer – what a shocker. That didn’t excuse that Jacob couldn't trust his loyalty.

“And no one knows?” He asked again, squinting his eyes at Maddox.

The vampire’s facial features remained smooth and even, his head tilting to the side, “None of the dogs know, no.”

“Would you stop calling us that?”

“Would you stop trying to find a loophole so you can kill me?” Maddox asked angrily, leaning forward with his knuckles on his knees.

Jacob growled inwardly, pulling his eyes away from Maddox. Nessie sat on the other side of the couch, her legs folded under her, her arms wrapped around one of the throw pillows. He could see the wheels in her tiny, brilliant mind turning. She was trying to piece it all together, trying to pinpoint exactly what fit and didn’t. What was a lie and what was the truth.

“Speak your mind, kiddo.” Jacob encouraged, folding his arms across his broad chest.

She shook her head, gnawing on her lower lip – a human Bella trait she had picked up in the last few years – and sighed. “It doesn’t add up.” Renesmee was looking at Maddox now, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “How did you find us? We’re not exactly easily accessible.”

His amber eyes darted up from the frayed string of his shirt to meet her eyes. He took a few moments before he responded. “I had an inside friend help.”

Renesmee’s brows pulled together in frustration, letting out a petulant sigh. “We do have a lot of friends …” She mused to herself, still working to fit two and two together.

“Give it up.” Maddox suggested angrily, pushing himself up out of the recliner.

Jacob shot him a look in warning. “We’re just trying to piece it together –”

His voice boomed, overpowering Jacob’s easily. “Trust me when I say that you, of all people, do not want to know.” There was a certainty to his look. The way his eyes hardened in a definitive way. The way that halted the conversation. Jacob knew that look – Jacob had mastered that look.

“What do you mean ‘me of all people?” Apparently Jacob was going to play Paul today – asking useless questions, taking personal offense to the nomads words.

“It’s just in your best interest to not know, that’s all.”

“Oh, bullshit.” Jacob bit back, rising to his own two feet. “If you want an in with this family, you’re going to have to get used to letting me in, bloodsucker.”

“I don’t owe you anything.” Maddox laughed, tucking his hair behind his ears. “Cute that you think so.”

“Jake –”

“Dude, you seriously need to start talking or I’m going to find a loophole –”

“Jake, stop it –”

“-- and I’m going to rip your head off –”

“Jacob, enough –”

“-- and deliver it on a silver platter to my brothers –”

“Jacob!”

“What?” His voice boomed, eyes glowering over to where Renesmee sat, watching the pair anxiously.

She licked her lips, looking over at Carlisle before she looked past Jacob to Maddox. She took a deep breath, and then sighed. “Ainsley brought him here.”

Jacob’s face contorted, his brows pulling together and up, confusion littering his face. “What? No she didn’t.”

“Think about it.”

“I know Ains, okay? She wouldn’t help this scumbag –” Jacob paused.

His thoughts snapped back to the afternoon that started the mad-leech hunt. The night before the babyshower. The night Ainsley had come home reeking of one of the leeches, the night Trent had muttered something about how she had tolerated sitting with a scumbag.

“Maddox.” He whispered quietly, the last of the puzzle pieces falling together. He lifted his eyes to meet the vampire’s, his face crumpling as guilt registered across the other's face. “She brought you here.”

“I asked her to.”

“Why?” Jacob pressed.

Maddox blinked, “Because this isn’t for me. What they’re doing – to innocent people – isn’t me. I came here to learn control, Ainsley helps a lot with that.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jacob said, holding a hand up, “she helps?”

“Yes, she does.” Carlisle conceded from the archway, leaning against the wood with his shoulder. “It appears as though the personal human tie he had with Ainsley helps keep him grounded. We’ve made incredible progress in the last few weeks – far more than Jasper was comfortable with in his first few years of this lifestyle.”

Jacob felt his heart sink, the realization hitting him that he was going to be the one to tell Embry.

Tell Embry that his imprint was lying to him.

Tell Embry that his imprint was hiding one of the nomads.

Hiding the nomad Embry wanted dead the most. The one he spent nights envisioning, the one he had torn to shreds in his mind over and over again –

“Why did you tell me this?” He asked angrily at no one in particular. “Do you know what this is going to do? Do you know what’s going to happen now?”

“You can’t say anything –” Maddox started, reaching for Jacob’s arm.

“The fuck I can’t.” He growled, glaring at the pale fingers. “I have an obligation. I’m an alpha to a pack that can read my fucking mind, I literally have no way of withholding this.”

Maddox froze, slight terror sinking into his features. “If they know –”

“They’ll cross the border and come for you. And I won’t be able to stop them.” Jacob finished angrily, nostrils flaring. “You’re directly linked to one of their imprints, that makes you a bigger threat than the rest.”

“I’m not killing anybody!”

“Ainsley isn’t just anybody.”

“I’m well aware.” Maddox spat in return, his face quickly shifting. “I wouldn’t hurt her.”

“Won’t stop Embry from trying to sink his teeth into you.”

“Right – the whole soulmate thing –”

“Do not,” he growled, letting out his breath in a big huff. “Imprinting is more than some soulmate. Especially to Embry, alright? This is his person. She is everything to him – if not being able to kill you doesn’t kill him, knowing she lied to protect you will.”

Maddox stopped, his vision pulling into the middle before images flashed through his mind. Renesmee’s warm hand touched his chest, forcing visuals into his mind. The sensation ran over his body, the chilling vibration that was accompanied by the pounding in his skull.

Ainsley’s bright, cheery smile took up the majority of the images, along with a man. He was tall and tanned, and appeared to look very much like Jacob. His hair was short and nearly buzzed, his frame was thinner than Jacob’s, and certainly just as tall. Together, Ainsley and Embry looked like a match-made in heaven; she fit perfectly under his chin, fit perfectly in his arms. Her arms draped over his shoulders and around his neck, the intensity of what appeared to be an innocent display of affection made Maddox feel as though he were intruding on a personal moment.

Renesmee was showing him exactly what it meant to be an imprint – showing him exactly what kind of bond was at stake. What Ainsley was at risk of losing.

In the next set of images, she showed Embry’s frame convulsing, his bones shifting in slo-mo, his body exploding out of pure rage into something nearly ten times his original size.

It showed Ainsley hunched over another's arm, emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

Maddox had to pull away, taking a few steps out of reach. He struggled for breath he didn’t really need, thinking about the importance this relationship might have actually been to her – and how he had forced her into a corner to help him, just so he could possibly stick around, just so he could see her again.

“Please,” he said finally, looking at Jacob with desperation, “please don’t say anything.”

𝙰𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚢

I sat on one of the couches in the basement, eyes glued to the television as Travis and Trenton argued back and forth on pizza toppings for their dinner, prolonging our dart game far longer than necessary. TJ had been called up to Seattle for investigations, while Jennie worked double shifts to cover the incoming trauma’s. The collapse of all the dominos linking all pieces of our family had both Trent and I on edge – hence the current ongoing battle between my brothers.

“Oh my god,” I cried, rolling my neck. “Just pick something already, I’m starving!”

“Just let Ains pick something!” Travis growled, ripping the pamphlet out of Trent’s hands.

“Uh, no,” he laughed once, taking the menu back, “she likes shit like chicken on her pizza – I don’t fucking think so.”

“What’s wrong with chicken?”

“It doesn’t belong on pizza – that’s what’s wrong with chicken!”

I rubbed my temples, blowing out my breath slowly. Each passing day I spent confined in my parents house made me more irritated and miserable. The boys had not stopped fighting, Embry became more preoccupied as the pack circled in on the final safehouse Alice and Edward had provided. In an effort to ease his mind, Leah had asked that Trent keep an eye on me.

Of course I had objected, but that didn’t seem to matter much, seeing as I was (essentially) moved home.

Once food had been ordered, and I stuffed my face with my share, I retired to my bedroom. I flipped the lock on my knob, sighing as I leaned my back against the door. I had half-expected Embry to be settled into my bed, instead the room sat empty and cold.

I wandered to where my phone had been plugged in, scrolling through the notifications. Two messages from Embry.

Won’t see you 2night. Jake needs me to cover his shift.

Sleep tight xoxo

I smiled to myself, pulling the phone to my chest as I collapsed onto the bed. Iyah looked up from the floor, tilting his head to the side in question. “For one night.” I nodded, laughing when the puppy happily joined me on the mattress, circling into his place in the corner. “Just don’t tell Embry, kay?”

The dog huffed in response, enticing another giggle from me. I scratched behind his ear, pressing a kiss to his muzzle before I rolled onto my back.

I wondered what Jacob was up to – being as responsible as he was, it wasn’t like him to pass along his duties to anyone else. Especially not Embry. That was moreso what Seth was for, being in his prime. I ripped my hair tie from my head, stretching my legs out as the moon casted the shadows of the treetops into my room.

From somewhere in the distance, I could hear a wolf howl.

#embry call #embry call imagine #embry call fanfiction #embry call x reader #embry call x oc #twilight fanfiction #kiowa gordon #twilight imagines #series: SAH #* mine #jacob black #paul lahote

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libraryfag · 1 year

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so. i have this obsession with like this concept in media (of course you do tumblr user motifbf) where there's these two people who're in this mutually destructive relationship. and the way this relationship ends up is they end up killing each other. either in a metaphoric or in reality. or they kill other people. or they kill themselves or they're fundamentally forced appart. or they die together. or something entirely different. the point is they love and hate each other so much that they're ultimately doomed by the narrative.

Anyway, I'm so incredibly infatuated with this idea i made a catch-all tag for posts i think fit this category: 'demolition lovers'.

without hesitation, nearly every single time ive used that tag, someone has excitedly reblogged with #PREV!!! as they belive I'm referring to the titular characters from the hit 2004 album 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge' by american cock band my chemical romance. which I AM!!! as thats precisely why i used that tag.

but what i need you all to understand is that the demolition lovers tag isn't just said demolition lovers.

Demolition lovers is the alpha couple of mountain goat fame. its romeo and juliet. its medea and jason. its harry and dora. its veronica and jd. its beatrice and benedick.its tom and greg. its louis and lestat.its hannibal and will. its jennifer and her body or whatever i haven't seen the movie. its emma and paul. its gatsby and daisy. its adora and catra. its macbeth and lady macbeth. its tom and shiv. its christian and satine. its hamlet and horatio. its jane and rochester.its elphaba and glinda.

demolition lovers is all of these people and thousands more. demolition lovers is all consuming and endless. i have a pinterest board and a spotify playlist (unordered)

#my posts #demolition lovers

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cassarilladraws · 1 year

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I Want The World To Know

Lukadrien Fluffuary (using this prompt list) Day 13 - Night Out Prev | Next Read it on Ao3 Words: 1599 Rating T Tags: Relationship Reveal, Kisses, Modified Costumes “Chat Noir is supposed to be there, but it’s a fancy charity event with dancing and live music.” Adrien said to Plagg as he looked through his closet. “The suit I normally wear doesn’t feel like it fits the occasion.” It didn’t help that all of the fancier clothes he had were Gabriel’s designs. Adrien had worn them in photoshoots as a model. It wouldn’t be the safest option as far as his secret identity was concerned. Maybe no one would make the connection, but still the idea made him nervous. Time was running out for him to make a decision. He was supposed to meet Viperion soon. It wouldn’t be their first date as heroes but it was the first time they were going to anything like this together. Well, the other heroes would be there too, so it wasn’t really a date. Paris hadn’t yet been made aware that they were a couple. The two had decided to be secretive while the relationship was still new. Rumors were swirling about them, but they hadn’t confirmed it just yet. “Just imagine your suit as something fancier when you transform.” Plagg suggested. “It’ll happen.” “Really?” Adrien pouted. “You couldn’t have told me this sooner?” “Yes really, now hurry up before you’re late!” Adrien wasn’t a designer, but he’d been around the fashion industry long enough to have an idea of what he liked. With the time crunch he didn’t overthink it.

He transformed and let the magic wash over him. When he looked in the mirror, his mask had intricate green detailing. His hair flowed in a softer style than usual. Loose waves framed his face. Instead of his usual suit, he was wearing a tuxedo. It consisted of black pants and a jacket cut perfectly for him. Underneath was a white dress shirt. From the bottom of the jacket there was a motif of bright green lightening bolts. At first he thought they were sequins, but upon further inspection he realized they were actually glowing softly. He reached up and adjusted the black bowtie that was attached to his signature bell. “Hmmm.” Chat Noir turned around, his tail spinning behind him. He struck a pose, feeling more confident than he ever had in one of his father’s designs. “I never did like boring, plain suits.” ///////////////////////// A few minutes later he found himself vaulting towards the place he and his boyfriend had agreed to meet. The rooftop was across from the Le Grand Paris hotel where the event was being held. It lit up the area well. Chat Noir saw Viperion first. There was a breeze blowing as the snake Miraculous holder stood looking towards the venue. His hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, with shorter strands falling over his forehead. His mask, like Chat Noirs, resembled one for a fancy masquerade party. The suit jacket and pants he wore were teal, and a solid texture. The lapels of his jacket, however, were shinier and looked like snake scales. Under his suit jacket he wore a black dress shirt, but instead of being adored with a tie, the top few buttons were undone. “Wow.” Chat Noir said as he landed beside him. “Someone’s looking pawsitively amazing tonight!” VIperion turned to the voice and looked him up and down. His boyfriend looked as handsome as ever. “Looks like I’m not the only one, my muse.” “You like what you see?” Chat Noir spun around like he had in front of the mirror. Somehow feeling even more confident doing it in front of Viperion. “I always do.” Viperion leaned into him. “Me too, m’love.” Chat Noir ran his hands over the fabric of Viperion’s lapels. Taking in the details of the difference in texture. His eyes drifted upward to get a peek of Luka’s chest that the open shirt provided. Then further up to his lips. “But it’s safe to say we clean up purr-ety nice.” Viperion laughed as he caught where Chat Noir’s gaze had fallen. “We’re going to be late.” The cat hero blushed, realizing he was supposed to be going to a very public event with Viperion, not just having one of their normal dates together. “Oh, right. We better get going.” When Chat Noir turned to make his way to the hotel, Viperion reached out and grabbed his tail to stop him. “Silly cat. I said we’re going to be late.” “I know I—” It sunk in as Chat Noir turned back around with a smirk. “Oh.” They both leaned in. Lips met tenderly. Viperion pulled back to look into Chat’s eyes. “Everyone is going to want to talk to us as soon as we walk in there. I just want a few minutes with just us before we go. If you don’t mind.” Gripping the lapels of Viperion’s jacket, Chat Noir pulled him close again and purred. “Do I look like I mind?” Their lips crashed together again. Both of them wrapping their arms around each other to deepen the contact. That is, until they both got a notification at the same time. The two heroes pulled back breathlessly. Their eyes met and they both took in each other’s blushing love sick state. Neither could hold back their laughter. “The team is wondering where we are I’m sure.” Chat Noir adjusted Viperion’s jacket that had been disheveled by their previous actions. Viperion reached up to straighten Chat Noir’s bowtie and flicked the bell that adorned it. “We should probably get going then, babe.” Chat Noir looked down at his baton. “Everyone else is already inside…” “And?” Viperion asked. “Well, I mean we could go in through different entrances. Or together as ‘friends’…” Then Chat Noir grabbed both of Viperion’s hands in his. “You know, all they have are blurry pictures and rumors about us. What do you say to us clearing some things up?” “Are you ready for that?” “Yeah, I know we both wanted to make sure this was a long term thing first.” Chat Noir said. “We didn’t want to tell the whole city until we were ready.” “I’ve been ready.” Viperion reminded him. “But I understand with your history with tabloids in and out of the mask why you wanted to be sure.” “Well, if we tell them tonight it also brings more attention to the charity.” “That’s great, of course, but I need you to be sure for more reasons than just that.” “I’m sure. I’ve never been more sure.” Chat Noir squeezed both of his boyfriend’s hands for emphasis. Then he gave him a cheeky grin and shifted his tone to something more debonair. “I’m also pawsitive with you looking like that I’m not gonna want to stand by and watch you dance with other people! You look incredible and you're my boyfriend! I want to dance with you myself! If I have to see other people flirt with you all night... well, I'll admit I can be a jealous kitten.” Viperion found he liked that. "You think I wouldn't be jealous of all of them flirting with you?" Chat Noir let go of one of Viperion’s hands and lifted the other just so he could spin around beneath it “I want all of them to see me hold your hand. I want them to know that we're together.” “I’d very much like that.” Viperion pulled Chat Noir close after the twirl. The blonde's back pressed into Viperion's chest as he wrapped his arms around him in a comfortable embrace. “M’love I want the whole world to know how much I love you. No more hiding it. I don’t think I can anymore.” Chat Noir kissed Viperion’s hand he’d still been holding. Viperion closed his eyes hummed a few notes happily unable to keep the melody he was hearing inside. Adrien always made him feel so loved. “But…wait….” Chat Noir opened his baton and started typing. “But?” Viperion's eyes opened suddenly. “But, we’d better make sure the Ladyblogger is the first one to report the scoop.” Viperion relaxed again and agreed wholeheartedly. “We promised we would." A few moments later, the two entered the event hand in hand. People looked their way and chatted excitedly, some gasping, a few whispering “I knew it!” The crowd wasn’t quite prepared, but Rena Rouge, in her modified transformation of a beautiful orange ballgown, was already filming their entrance. She spoke above the murmurs of the crowd. “There have been rumors floating around about you two for a while. Now you’re here hand in hand, looking very happy together. Is their anything you handsome heroes would like to clear up?” Viperion and Chat Noir looked at her and then to each other. Then kissed each other sweetly as everyone watched. “Are things more clear now?” Viperion asked once they parted. He wrapped his arm around Chat Noir’s waist. “Crystal.” Rena Rouge said with a huge smile. “I’ll be sending this to the Ladyblogger right away. She wasn’t able to come tonight since she’s under the weather, but I know she’ll have this up in no time.” Alya never failed to impress the team with her smoothness of balancing being both one of the Ladyblogger’s top “sources” and the blogger herself. The Ladyblog received more traffic that night than it ever had and with a link to the charity on the page, donations exceeded anyone’s expectations. To put it simply, the event was a success. Chat Noir didn't have to worry about sharing his boyfriend with anyone. Now that the whole world knew and they were free to dance the night away together.

#Lukadrien #Vipernoir #Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #Chat Noir #Viperion #Luka Couffaine #Adrien Agreste #Plagg #Rena Rouge #Alya Cesaire #Cassarilla writes #Fluffuary2023 #Prompt: Night Out

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momrry · 1 year

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I posted 2,183 times in 2022

That's 215 more posts than 2021!

45 posts created (2%)

2,138 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@adoreinbloom

@uhoh-but-yeah-alright

@loveontour-looks

@aboutmetamorphosis

@harrysputa

I tagged 2,156 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#soon - 122 posts

#the hids - 110 posts

#world's most glamorous pregnancy announcement - 53 posts

#scenes from your dad's camera roll - 50 posts

#the fun mom - 38 posts

#prev tags - 24 posts

#suus! - 21 posts

#walking into mother's day brunch like - 20 posts

#you don't even bother covering up - 20 posts

#when you're breastfeeding your fourth - 20 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#and as a thank you for her innovative ideas the school organised a poll too but then about what the kids find the greatest thing about her

My Top Posts in 2022:

"i want to make music that my kids will be proud of one day" -H

Momrry would give us an album full of lullabies and sweet songs that feels like a hug. I'm gonna cry

27 notes - Posted April 26, 2022

WHY I LOVE MY MOMRRY SO MUCH???? 😩😩😩😩

Quite simply, because:

30 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

I caught Harry on Grindr!!

YOU DID!!!!

34 notes - Posted February 15, 2022

I saw this tweet and thought it might would make a nice addition to your blog. 🙂 (https://twitter.com/thoughtlarries/status/1514779485651959811?t=_w6PlEYGE3HMXwOXrzCkWA) I love your mumrry content. Keep it coming. ❤️

I AM ON THE FLOOR

61 notes - Posted April 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I know this a momrry love blog but can you give us your fav/top 5 Dilflinson pictures that Mommry loves to stare at?

You know I love to keep this blog agnostic on who the father is--momrry isn't larrie-centric, she's for everyone! But since you asked, I'm gonna provide. I feel like Louis could be the world's most fantastic girl-dad, so here are some shots for momrry headcanons fitting that vibe and that are definitely stareable:

See the full post

100 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #all this says is I should do more original posts lmao #i can't believe the fun mom won over some others #but it might be that i'm inconsistent?#ANYWAY #look at us #look what we did

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captaintrick · 10 months

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Replacement ★ (Ch 2) OC x Simon "Ghost" Riley

here's the second chapterrr :) i had it written up already, just had to edit and fix it up a bit before publishing ^^ you can find this chapter of replacement on ao3 here

first chapter ★ prev ★ next thank you for reading!

★★★★★★★★★

chapter tags: // sparring, tension, older brother price, captain OC, OC x Simon “Ghost” Riley, light trauma mentions, OOC Ghost (for a reason), spiteful Ghost, enemies to lovers (enemies), vague mentions of death, canon deviation, prick ghost

★★★★★★★★★

bite-sized synopsis: trick’s first training session with the squad goes competitive and tense.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ The boys filed into the training room I designated one by one. MacTavish and Sanderson seem the most drowsy, each had wrinkled training gear compared to Garrick and Riley’s put-together appearance. I even got John to wear his gear for the day, watching him uncomfortably pull at the collar of his shirt against his muscles.

“A’igh, ev’ryone here?” I called out for confirmation from our officer, Ghost. Just to make sure that he was paying attention.

“Yes, Captain,” he replied. I nodded my head and looked down at the clipboard in my hands, biting the inside of my cheek while I think. My plan today was simple: assess all of their individual abilities despite how seasoned they are. Laswell encouraged me to do this, saying it was the best idea to do during my first week. She also said to whoop their asses and knock their egos down a few times.

I put my clipboard under my armpit and fixed the sunglasses that I wore underneath my new Australian cap. Garrick was the one who got it for me to get on my good side, saying it was so he and I could match. As much as I can smell the ass-kissery, he was a standup guy. But with that aside, today I get to really test them each. But I am especially interested in seeing how Seargent MacTavish does. For a chatty guy, I have seen him make good on his word against some recruits challenging him to spar.

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Attention, please.” I straightened my back out while watching them all prop up and stand straight instantly, a pleased smile across my face underneath the mask. “Well boys, today is trainin’ day. I’m gonna do the Aussie Physical Fitness Assessment on y’all times 4, plus a mile run. Your standard for the run’ll be 6 minutes, ‘n Price will be the one helping keep track o’ y’all’s scores with me while I also participate in this trainin’ day. Just to be fair.” I take in a deep breath.

“So, ev’ryone, get yer asses on the mats ‘n get ready to do 60 push-ups. Go!”

Watching them all skitter to the mats across the room was hilarious. Riley was the fastest and in push-up position first, the last one being Sanderson who got crushed under a mat because MacTavish accidentally moved it too much while Sanderson was gettin’ away.

I handed off my clipboard to John as he clicked his pen a few times, and I got on my mat next to the boys. Waiting for Price’s cue and then we were off. First to 60. ★★★

“Wooo! 60! N’ in what, fucken 50-ish seconds?” MacTavish asked out loud to John who was writing down his time.

“49 seconds,” John said matter-of-factly while writing down Garrick’s and Sanderson’s times too. Meanwhile, Ghost and I were still at it at an insane speed. I heard MacTavish’s mumbled whispers to John before his low reply. “They’re both at 108. I’ve been countin'.” ★★★

Ghost groaned out of annoyance when we both got up. My muscles were sore and I was just going off adrenaline but that didn’t stop my victory cry while giving Ghost a pity pat on the back. I grabbed my sunglasses on the floor and hook them on my tank top. “Price, how many pushups was that?”

He and the other boys were staring at the two of us with the most jaw-dropped expressions I’ve seen on people. MacTavish was pleasantly shocked, his eyes darting between Ghost and me. I could see Sanderson's widened eyes, that's the only tell sign I got from him. And then there was Garrick, staring mostly at Ghost, his expression slightly unreadable to me. “... 328 for Verdano, 326 for Riley," Price chimed in.

I whooped again, flexing my arm muscles goofily. “Fan-fucken-tastic! Thanks, Price.” MacTavish runs to me to join in on my celebration, cheering along.

“Amazin’ job, capt!” The scot said while nudging me. We haven’t talked too much, but I sure as hell knew he was the hype man of the group. I laughed with him before straightening myself out.

With a shake of my head and a heavy sigh after all of that physical labor, I stared up at Ghost and gave him a nod of respect. One that he half-heartedly gave back. “Next section should be sit-ups, then a shuttle run, n’ finally the mile run. I hope you boys got yer roos on tight because this ain’ gonna be easy.”

I even made John do the training with the rest of the group unless I really needed him counting. But every time we did something, Riley and I were competing. The best of the best, eh? And we both were really challenging that, pushing ourselves to the brink just to outcompete each other. I beat him on the sit-ups, and he beat me during the shuttle and mile runs. But by the time I was standing at the front of the group again, we were far from being finished. I stared down at each and every one of the boys with a knowing smile before taking in a deep breath.

“A’igh, ‘n last one of the day. Sorry I didn’t tell you ‘bout this one earlier, but we’re gonna do some sparrin’ real quick.” With my hands on my hips, I started to pick out my first prey. “Hm. John, you n’ I am sparrin’ first. The rest of you pair up n’ when someone taps out you’re finished.”

John and I walked toward a corner of the training room. “One-on-one time, eh?” He laughed a bit while commenting on it. “You ‘n Simon really do go at it, I haven’t seen someone best him of all people quite yet. Good on you, Annes.” He gave me a pat on the back before we both got into crouched positions across from each other.

Then we lunged at each other, his hulking mass coming right towards me until I sideswiped him, practically on his back like a jetpack while I dragged him down by forcing his back to give out. Of course, putting him in a chokehold with my legs when we drop to the mat. He was trying to grab at me, scarily close to succeeding. I got off and let him recover momentarily to protect myself.

“Well, thanks, John. Y’know I like pushin’ myself to the absolute limit, even if it means I’m kinda nauseous right now,” I half-heartedly admit before getting tackled and put into a submission position, John using his full weight to pin my hands above my head and putting himself between my legs.

With his brows furrowed with concern and his eyes full of focus, he asks me, “Do you need the infirmary?”

I roll my eyes at him before using my complete leg power to kick him off by the chest, rolling myself on top of him and pushing his head to his right shoulder. “Nah. I’m all good, I ain’ lettin’ down that easily viejito.”

Before he used his other arm to grab me and flip the position. “Ah, you sure Anne? I don’t want you gettin’ hurt now. Well, y’know, ill kind of hurt.”

With struggling breaths, I grimaced. I was stuck in this hulking man’s strength, but I managed to worm my way out and catch him off guard with a knee to the stomach. I put my right leg over his waist and a reverse choke hold to hold him down. “I’m sure, John.”

He struggled to get up, barely even able to talk or breathe. Eventually, he was tapping my arm to yield and I let go of him with heavy pants while he put his hand over his neck. ★★★

Next was Sanderson and I, both of us greeting each other before I tackled him. I had him in a submission I had Priced in earlier, his shoulder to his balaclava’s cheek.

“Well, we ain’ talk that much either, hm? Price says you like playin’ COD in the dead of night, n’ honestly? Same.” His eyes opened a bit, already tapping out and sitting up to look me straight in the eyes when I let go of him.

He was definitely a little awkward. Or a little more than just awkward, but I could work with that. We just kinda stared at each for a second with a mutual feeling and knowing of the kinds of things we witness and hear in that game.

“After this, do you wanna play a few games with me?” He asked me, and I considered for a second.

“Y’know what? Sure. I bet I could whoop kids with you, aye!” I gently jabbed his shoulder playfully, but we continued to talk anyhow. “How long have you been playin’ COD? Or better yet, which ones do you play?”

He tapped his chin in thought, the balaclava covering his mouth. “Probably err… 2003, since I wus smaller. Usually, I play the originals. They’re classics fo’ a reason, eh?” I took note of his accent. This motherfucker was British, just like the rest. God, why am I surrounded by Brits? Except for the Scot MacTavish, he’s fun.

I chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right on, Sergeant.”

With a inhale I watched him nervously inch his hand to me to shake. “Just call me Gary– or my callsign, Roach.”

“N’ you can just call me Anne. Just not Annie, y’know.” I took his hand in a firm shake. “Do you like insects? Is thas why you have antennae like a cockroach?”

He gently shakes his head and then lightly bobbed his head from side to side. Now I noticed some antennae were sewn onto his balaclava. Hey, that’s a cute touch! I find myself pleasantly surprised before I noticed he was actually responding. He takes time to think questions through, but I’m patient. “No, I survived an explosion. My plane was shot down ‘n I survived it. So now they call me Roach.”

I let out a low whistle while I lean on my arms, both of us sitting across from each other on the mat. “Well, that’s quite a story. You really did embrace it, didn’t you?” I felt my smile widen while thinking about it. “I think it suits you, Gary.”

Then Gary leaned forward, his chest to his knees while we conversed and waited for everyone to be finished. “Why are you called Trick? Price said you were called Viper too.” His voice was soft when he asked as if asking a question was like questioning authority, poor guy.

“I was called Viper like… shit, 3 years ago or somethin? I was named that because I was a hacker. I slithered in the systems like a Viper n’ struck just as fast as one.” I explained while biting the inside of my cheek. “I’m called Trick because my late wife’s callsign was Treat, ‘n it’s said I’m always trickin’ people.”

I can tell his eyes softened when I said late wife. His brows furrow underneath his balaclava and I try not to stay on the topic of Xio too much. Especially since Axel was busy taking a break outside while I was training, I didn't want to risk anything. “Can I sew cat ears on your hat?” Roach chirped.

Blink blink.

“Whaddaya mean?” I questioned with a tilt of my head.

“You have the cat skull and… well, I think it’d fit with your aesthetic.”

A smile spread across my face as I smiled. “Yeah, you can. Just after trainin’, maybe when we meet up after this to play some games.” But it took me a second to fully process that he tapped out so early. Neither of us has even broken a sweat. “Uhm… why did you tap out so early?”

He shrugged. “You’re scarier than Ghost. I’d hafta be bloody mad to actually challenge you.” Then we were separated to switch partners again. ★★★

Oooh boy. Garrick and I, neither of us said much until he had me pinned. “Well well well, Garrick. You have some moves I didn’t expect.” Then we flip the position again, his arms constricted with my legs and my arms holding him in a chokehold. “But I think I can do well.”

He chuckled. “You wearin’ the hat I got you?” He asked with a slight strain before breaking from my hold, now picking me up and practically throwing me over his shoulder.

“Well, yes I ams, ain’ I? ‘M not someone for wearin’ a gift, but I like this one.” I managed to jetpack him as I did with Price and pull him down to the mat, and I heard the air from his lungs escaping.

Garrick got up and out of my grasp but managed to pin my wrists over my head and get himself between my legs. Just like Price had done earlier in the day, he was probably watching that. “Well, thank you! I appreciate it, Captain Verdano.” He smiled. It was a cute sweet smile, making me tilt my head a bit before retaliating. With my legs, I flip him onto his side and then his back before securing him into an Americana/V Arm-lock submission. I didn’t typically do this on Price because of his size, but Gaz was short enough for me to.

“Of course, Sergeant. Feel free to call me just Anne instead, never Annie.” He seemed a bit awkward with the introduction just like Roach, but he and I managed to at least have a pre-established companionship.

“Uhm… Gaz is fine, and Kyle.” He was slightly bashful about it until we changed positions again with him somehow sliding out of my Americana, then I decided I should pull an old finisher on him.

With a polite smile shown in my eyes, I nodded. I ran behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Nice to meet you, Kyle!” I shouted out before fucking suplexing him onto the mat behind us. I watched him tap out in a daze on the mat, he didn’t even realize I had already let go of him! How endearing this team is. ★★★

Good ol’ MacTavish. He was definitely a little taller than the other two, with a blinding smile. “Aye, cap’n! I dinnae you like a brawl,” he said cheerfully with a twinkle in his eyes that I find fascinating. He was always so optimistic throughout all this training when the others were groaning about the running.

“Ah vuy, MacTavish. No need for cap’n if I’m ‘bouta beat yer ass, just call me Anne! Never Annie.” MacTavish smiled.

“Mmmm… can I call you bonnie, Anne?” He asked with a dumb smile. Was this drongo cunt really flirting with me? Before I whoop his ass?

I weakly groaned and rolled my eyes, deciding to use some of his slang against him. “Oh bile yer heid. Use it sparingly, sarge.”

“Yes ma’am.” He laughed before we started.

Our sparring session was tense. He was able to pin me down more than I expected, being super observant of my actions and how I was observant of his. We exchanged small quips here and there before he brought up an interesting topic and our session started to go a little longer than I had expected.

“Y’know, cap’n, I ain’ evah seen L.t thas fucken competitive. Usually, he follows the orders strictly, y’know.” It made me raise a brow before he put me in a submission pose, my face smooshed into the mat below us and my wrists pinned against my lower back.

“Well, him ‘n I don’t get along well. I ain’ shocked if he’s tryna one-up me. For some reason, he was offended that I wassa Captain ‘fore him.” Using sheer leg strength, I put in all my weight when kicking him away, ending up having a slight rumble when we were face to face again.

Johnny (as I now “affectionately” call him) was probably taunting me with his captain story. But he had a small laugh after I said that. “We’ll see, Ms. Anne. Want me to tap out so we can all see what happens when you go against Ghost?”

“Well, it would be a cheap win but…” I had him V-pinned within a minute, trying to keep my amusement covered when I watched him tap out. He looked at me knowingly, knowing something that I obviously don't know.

We both stood up, me lending him a hand and some light praise about his form before I was face-to-face with the mysterious Ghost. He towered over me and I suddenly felt smaller than I ever was. I felt like a gnome compared to him, and the hard glare he gave me did not soothe any nerve in my body once. But despite doubts slowly infiltrating my mind, I took a deep breath and straightened my back. "Well, ready?" I asked with a false sense of security.

John could feel the tension between the two of us and put himself in between. “Everyone, to your next mat!” I put a firm hand on his shoulder while I offered a kind smile with my eyes creasing, and a slight tilt of my head as well.

“Price, it’s a’igh. Let’s make this into a demonstration o’ sorts. I can only assume we’re both undefeated as of right now, we oughta make this into a small competition.” I stared at Ghost hard. Before sticking my hand out to shake, doing my best to keep a warm feeling. A true leader.

But a true leader puts their lower ranks into their place when they need to.

Ghost and I were on a training mat, on display for all of the boys to see us. “See boys? I’m approximately mmm… 160 centimeters, give or take. ‘N 52 kilos. Meanwhile, Ghost here is about 1.90 meters, 100 kilos. ‘N you’re gonna watch two skilled individuals go at it, one with quite a few pounds on ‘im!” He glared while the boys did their best to stifle some laughter. “So, let’s be nice while you watch Ghost get his–” I could already see him trying to pick up and put me over his shoulder, from where I sidestepped him and kicked him in the back. He only lightly stumbled, but it proved my point a bit. “-- ass beat. As I was sayin’ before bein’ interrupted.”

Now we started an all-out brawl, the boys being forced to witness a power struggle between us. Two strong minds, one of agility and the other of strength. A lot of the time, it was one of us just barely managing to put the other in a submission position. Other times, it was one of us barely dodging the other.

My hand slipped past his chest so many times. His thighs grazed my face so many times. My own chest betrays me and grazes past his hand above me, and I can see the look of recognition on his face every time it happens. To the point that the second he does that and is in shock for a second, I get him into a submission position.

“Listen up, boys. Despite tha enemy being taller, ‘n much bigger, doesn’t mean you can’t put up a fight. You never give up!” I strained out while holding my position with Ghost, a V armbar. He was straining to get out, I was straining to hold it. Fucking hell, does this dude never give up? It’s been 5 minutes of fighting, tussling, tossing, and neither of us are ready to give up. "Fuck!" I curse while falling onto the mat, my hand outstretched to try to soften the fall. But the instant pain I got was insane, all of my weight put onto my wrist trying to save me in time. I tried moving it while I was down and it hurt like hell. Most definitely sprained or broken at this point. Yet in the end, I do not care. I do not give a single shit about if I were hurt or not. So I stand up and stare at Ghost in his beady dark eyes that were darkened by the eyeblack around them. "Hey, Anne? Are you injured?" Price chimed in with concern thick in his voice, but I just shot him a look. Even he knew not to test me when I'm pissed off. He knew I'm as stubborn as a mule, and it was amplified by how I went back at Ghost to grapple on his shirt and drag him down.

We kept trying to get the other to tap out, no punching into submission, just pure pinning as much as we could. Until one last time when Ghost had me pinned, his chest against my back while holding my waist down by my hips. But I wasn’t gonna budge now.

“Verdano,” he started with a husky voice, “just drop the act. Yield. We can accept a captain who admits their flaws.” He whispered into my ear, but all that did was make me even more pissed. I could practically beat his head in with a rock if I so wanted to, but I didn’t. Instead, I socked him in the cheekbone with what little strength I had and stumbled up. The beads of sweat that ran down my face underneath the mask felt like fire, beads of lava.

Then the second he recovered himself, I was stealthily behind him and curling my arms around the waist.

What the boys saw was devastating. Well, devastating for Ghost’s ego and his back. They watched me pick him up with all my strength and suplexing him, just like I did to Gaz but worse. I let him go after three weak taps on the mat, stumbling up while the world spun around me. I just barely had the energy to make a quip, the pain in my back and in my wrist finally catching up to me as the adrenaline wears off.

“‘N thas boys, is how you fuck up yer L.t.” I was nearly about to pass out until I heard a scoff from Ghost who put a gentle yet firm hand on my shoulder. I felt like I was about to get yelled at by my brother for what I said.

He takes a moment to catch his breath before talking. “‘N your captain is 20-fucken-8. She’s the same age as Gaz, bloody hell. She's far too young 'n inexperienced compared to the rest of us.” Ghost stood up straight and I felt the burning eyes on me again, but I was looking ahead at the squad’s reaction. It was confusion, concern, and overall what the fuck . “She’s barely mentally stable to the point she needs a service dog—”

Price steps forward. “Now Simon, calm down here.” But he was cut off.

“No, Price. She is clearly unqualified for a position as co-leader for both her age and her mental stability by themselves. Also, she's an immigrant from Las Almas! We know the extent Valeria would go just to get back at us. Her brothers are in Las Vaqueros, but so was Valeria at some point!” He barked at John, and my heart stopped. I stared at Ghost with some bit of betrayal. He really brought my brothers, my past, and my hometown up just to prove a point that I'm distrustful. Who the fuck is Valeria anyways?

I thought that would be the end of me from the way that the squad looked at me. They believed Ghost over me, but why wouldn't they? I'm the new captain leader and everything he said was true. I am an immigrant, I am from Las Almas, and my brothers are a part of Los Vaqueros. But John. He glared at Ghost and gave me the nudge to get next to him.

“Lieutenant Simon Riley, are you questioning who I choose for my team ? Captain Verdano is a wonderful leader that I chose personally after years of knowing ‘em. They’ve been through the worst heartbreak someone could go through ‘n yet, here they are.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Their age, background, and immigration status is not an excuse; she is the squad’s co-leader.” I can feel the others’ eyes on me, some of their hot breathing on my neck while I got their Lieutenant to get his ass chewed out by John.

I was so out of it I barely heard half of their back and forth, I was just staring at Ghost’s expression going from furious, to confused, to just… upset. I had sympathy, of course. I know a younger miss getting a higher position over you could hurt a lot, I know. But I can’t just let it slide. ★★★

I was in the infirmary afterward, my wrist wrapped in bandages with a splint after we iced it for a while. Johnny had come with me to watch me and check if I’m okay, especially after that little outburst of Ghost’s.

“Well, didn’ I tell you, bonnie? He’s pissed at ya, ‘n don’ ask me as tah why.” He sat next to me on the foldout bed with a comforting heavy hand on my shoulder, I felt his thumb run against the skin over and over. I even slightly leaned into him. I would’ve never thought my officer was that mad at me for just being chosen for my position– I didn’t choose it!

“Agh. Tha hell did I do? Be born after ‘em? Be fucken– I ‘unno un Mexicana? I'm proud o' who I am, his ass needs to shut it.” I vented out my frustrations momentarily to Johnny. Then took in a hard sigh while wincing at the pain of my wrist. “I ‘unno. I just hate being disliked for somethin’ I can’t bloody control. ‘N I feel bad too for not bein’ who he wants me to be, which is the worst part. Plus John– Price arguin’ with him about it!”

He squeezed my shoulder. “Anne, you don’t gotta worry ‘bout Ghost, he takes a woile to warm up tah. ‘N besides, we’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns!” Johnny enthusiastically said with a light chuckle. “O’ in English, ehm… we’re all the same. We ain’ too differin’ from one anothah, we’re all really on tha same level. Ghost is just bein' a bampot, y'know? Just actin' up because of somethin'.”

I lightly nod in agreement. “Thanks, Johnny. Would’ve been fucken worryin’ my head off all night if you hadn’ told me that. I knew he was a tough nut, but jeez. Even a roo couldn’ kick a nice comment outta him!” We both laughed at the image of Ghost getting kicked in the stomach by a kangaroo. God how that’d hurt.

“Well, again, cap’n. I ain’ seen Ghost with a spark in ‘em like thas. He woulda burn te place down if he didn’ say anythan. He woulda been a furnace all week too.”

Ffffuck. And I can’t get rid of this guy, especially since I sleep in the same barracks as him. I just hope we make up before bed tonight. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

thank you for reading chapter 2!!! <3 here's to more chapters in the future, ^^ i'll try to get an actual schedule going, probably every two days or when i have the chapter ready.

also NO not racist ghost, he's just a prick in this chapter because of what happened in las almas in the game :)

#modern warfare 2 #ghost call of duty #simon riley x oc #oc stuff #cod oc: annette “trick” verdano #simon riley #call of duty mwii #cod #captain trick

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canislupus-exe · 2 years

Text

Thanks for the Company | daniel howell

YOU ARE READING PART ELEVEN

fandom | Dan and Phil

character | Daniel Howell

reader | no pronouns used

requested | No

warnings | None

word count | 1,153

keys | (Y/n) = Your name, (f/c) = favorite color

summary | Furniture, paint, and far too much physical activity for any of you to enjoy the day, but it's a lot more enjoyable when Dan and Phil keep you company

editor | @feliscatus-exe

>> Lethal Games Bring Lethal Fans masterlist | back to prev <<

Keep reading

You perused the aisles, tracing your fingers across a few of the display chairs that were set up. The two men followed close behind you, occasionally stopping to examine something or other. You had a vague idea of what you wanted for your clinic or at least the feel of it. The real trick was finding the furniture that matched.

As you continued examining the chairs, a set caught your eye. The wood was a dark oak and the cushions were (f/c). They were a good size and weren’t too expensive. You took a seat, smiling as you did so. They were incredibly comfortable. You looked it over one more time before smiling and turning toward Dan and Phil.

“What do you guys think?” You asked. Phil tilted his head and shrugged.

“I mean… Wouldn’t rolly chairs be better for the desks?” He asked. Dan laughed and shook his head.

“For the waiting chairs in the lobby, you idiot.” He said. You too couldn’t help but laugh, and soon enough Phil joined in as well.

“Well, there’s no need to be mean.” He said. You took a quick photo of the product tag.

“I’ll probably get… 10 I think. That many will fit nicely against the wall. Which leaves end tables, desks, and desk chairs.”

“What about operation tables? That seems like something important.” Phil asked. You put your phone in your pocket and laughed.

“Yes, those are quite important but IKEA doesn't sell medical supplies like that.” You replied, starting to walk through another aisle. Dan snickered and you’re heart began to thump loudly in your ears. You were so easy, or was he just that charming?

“Is today a be mean to Phil day? Did I miss the memo?” He asked, fake pouting. You smiled and shook your head.

“Come on you oaf, we still have lots of things to buy.” You said. He sighed and trudged behind you, Dan following suit.

>>timeskip<<

You let out a loud exhale as you managed to finish loading all the furniture pieces into your car. You leaned against the side, the line of sweat on your brow quick to trickle down the rest of your face. Both Dan and Phil looked as equally exhausted as you felt.

“God, please tell me there’s no more heavy lifting,” Dan said, his hands on his knees. You chucked and checked your watch.

“Just moving them out of the car and into the clinic. First, though we’ve gotta stop by Home Depot to get some paint. Everything else I have to get from a specific shop that carries medical supplies. Thanks for your help so far but if you guys are done for the day then I won't mind.” You said, finally lowering your heart rate enough to deliver your sentence without any issues.

“We can stay and help more, we don’t mind,” Phil replied. Dan was still too winded to object. You shrugged and grabbed your keys from your bag.

“Alrighty then. It’s paint time boys.”

>><<

You sighed as you lugged the last of the paint tins into the clinic, leaving them on the floor of the main room.

“Guys… I don’t even wanna paint anymore. I think I’m just gonna nap on the floor.” You said as you sank down the wall. Dan sighed and did the same.

“I think you overestimated my abilities.” He said, leaning his head back.

“All of us.” Phil chimed in as he sat on the floor as well. You gave a small laugh.

“Thanks for keeping me company, you guys. I appreciate it.” You said, glancing between Dan and Phil.

“Oh stop it! Don’t get all mushy on us.” Phil replied jokingly.

“No, I’m serious! Today would’ve been such a drag without you two.” You said with a small smile.

“Well don’t count on the day not being a drag just yet. We’ve still gotta paint.” Dan chimed in. You sighed loudly.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” You groaned out as you stood up. You bent over the paint can and popped it open. You poured a decent amount into the paint tray before standing back up and stretching.

“I’ve got two rollers and a brush. Whoever takes the brush will have to tape and paint the edges and the rollers are pretty simple to use. Who wants what?”

“Well, you wasted no time,” Dan said with a laugh. You smiled and shrugged before offering your hand to Dan to help him up. He raised his eyebrows.

“I could still use the help.” You said in a sing-song voice. He rolled his eyes and grabbed your hand. You hoisted him up with surprising ease, which he was taken aback by as well. He stumbled on his feet slightly bumping into you before regaining his balance. You looked up at him and gave a sheepish smile.

“Sorry…” You practically whispered. Dan’s heart thumped so loudly he could've sworn you’d be able to hear it.

“No worries…” He replied, still staring down at you.

“So turns out I’m not so good at taping the edges of the walls,” You head Phil say. You backed away from Dan to see blue tape way too far from the wall to make a difference. You laughed and grabbed the tape from him.

“Grab a roller and I’ll work on the edges.” You said with a laugh. You slowly pulled the strip up and rolled up the used parts. You began to tape everything down properly before glancing over your shoulder. Dan had removed his jacket to prevent paint from getting on it and grabbed the roller. You turned back to the wall, and a funny feeling in your stomach started festering once again.

The painting was somewhat calming and you all worked together well. Dan and Phil painted separate walls while you painted the edges around the room. You whistled to yourself quietly as you did so.

“I think I’m finished.” You said, standing up to check that there weren’t any spots that you’d forgotten. Dan sighed and went to lean on the wall to take a break but you quickly grabbed his arm before he could.

“Wet paint!” You exclaimed. He looked between you and the wall before laughing.

“God that would’ve been terrible.” He replied. You laughed and stepped away from him, turning to Phil to see how he was doing. He finished up the last paint stroke and turned around, holding a thumbs up.

“I think we did it.” You said with a smile.

“Finally. My back is killing me.” Phil said, stretching and attempting to pop it.

“Thanks for the help. It would’ve taken ages for me to do it myself. Now all that's left is letting it dry and putting the furniture together. I’ll do that another day though.” You said. Dan curtly nodded his head.

“Good. I don’t think I could handle any more physical activity.”

“Here here.”

#youtube imagine #youtube #dan and phil #daniel howell #phil lester #amazingphil #daniel howell x reader #dan howell x reader #dan x reader #daniel howell imagine #dan howell imagine #dan imagine #fluff #thanks for the company #canislupus.txt #lethal games bring lethal fans

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dianaraven · 1 year

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👀 👀 👀 tell me about your OCs

SORRY this took me so long to reply to, my brain was occupied with school 😭

ANYWAY, rn i got two Big oc projects that i'm obsessed with

first, is the oldie and goldie who ive talked about before on here. It's called The Makings of Magic (for a while it was under the tag tMoM on my blog but it has gone through so many changes since then that idk how much of that info is accurate)

The main character is Alic (prev Alec or Alexis) and shes the worlds biggest jock! (This is her and her bestie Gray by @lovermyme)

She plays in the minor leagues of a fantasy world sport. The story is about a big magical mystery in-world that the Bad Guys think that she's at the center of (the scars are from magical torture she endures during the course of the series) and she has no idea what is going on (ever). She's a big ol' dumb dumb... think the classic cool jock mc you're used to seeing in fantasy... that's her. She's not afraid of anything, as Gray says, Alic's like when you were a kid and did something dangerous knowing you could get hurt, but did it anyway and did, and thought it was still worth it and want to do it again. Her biggest character trait is being genuine and one of my favorite hobbies is doing crossovers (in my head) with other series where people lie a lot and aren't nice to each other and putting her in there until she annoys them into expressing themselves in appropriate ways (lol get Alic'ed). Anyway, I've had her since I was 10 y/o and I love her <3

Gray: Gray is her bestie and he and Alic are sorta in a qpr (its the best possible way I can explain their relationship). He's the prince of Alic's country and spends all of his time bending his personality to fit others, except for Alic where the two of them can share exactly 1 (one) braincell and cause Problems and i love that for him. He and their other friend Topaz are competency kink together. Him and Alic are asking you what the spanish word for tortilla is.

Topaz: Topaz! My boy! My baby boy! Topaz spends his days spying on other people, and most importantly trying to keep Alic out of trouble. He's the manager of Alic's team after Alic gets him the job by forcing him to be friends with her. He's still learning how to like, be a good friend but he loves Alic and would do anything for her, and eventually comes to love Gray too.

I'm not going to go into the rest of my ocs in this story here cuz we'd be here all day lol, but this is a taste of tMoM

Other series of mine I'm currently obsessed with is a fantasy thief series called Crystal Kingdom, and its MCs are Ziraphir and Leihari

I've never spoken about them here before but babe i gotta be honest im so obsessed with them, and since their series is a trilogy (which leads into a few companions in the world cuz the world is funky) and Alic's series, after over a decade of worldbuilding, is like.... 8, just for the main story, companions aside, that this is probably going to get finished and therefore, published first but Alic & co remains my most favoritest mcs

ANYWAY

Zira: my man... my cringe fail bi loser... my silly rabbit... Ziraphir is the mark. He's a grumpy prince who spends most of his time trying to catch all of the thieves who are constantly trying to rob him (for plot reasons) and its made him grumpy and rude and a little paranoid, but he's still infinitely lovable because.. like.. he's still an okay person despite being cringe fail. Dude's a walking carnival music. He's eating out of the garbage but like with dignity. He's petty and mean and hates everyone (except his bestie). He helps little kids with their homework. He's constantly losing. You know the drill.

Leihari: Girl may or may not be the bane of Ziraphir's existence. He isn't sure yet. She and he also get married at the end of b1 and that comes back to bite Zira. She also may or may not be a thief trying to rob Zira, but one thing is for sure, she's so much cooler than he will ever be. She's loving and caring, and most importantly, constantly winning. She's also petty and mostly pissed at Zira because he doesn't trust her, despite her giving him no reason not to (except that every new person he's met in the past three years has tried to rob him). It's so hard for her because even when Zira does finally fall in love with her, he's still constantly rude to her because he still thinks she's trying to rob him. Their relationship is fraught with tension because Zira, who is a good prince and a kind prince etc, is never actually nice to Leihari who falls in love with him despite herself. But eventually Zira gets over himself, and they get married, and live happily ever after... or do they?

I also have another series the first book of which i wrote for 2020 nano, but haven't started submitting to publishers yet bc it's a duology and I want my first published novel to be a standalone, but it you look up my diana writes stp tag you'll see a bunch of sneak peeks and stuff there, so lightning round cuz i guess i should mention them too: Save the Princess (or StP) is a duology set in a not-historically-accurate ancient israel where dragons are a thing, it's a prince and the pauper retelling

Adina: The prince, in this case. Adina is the opposite of a fantasy mc in the same way that Alic is the embodiment of one. Adina is awkward and constantly wrong, causes her own enemies (sometimes). Very quiet and polite and a little bashful and in no way understands how to use a sword (is actually kinda scared of hers). Adina is a princess whose brother just died suddenly and has no other male relatives able to take the crown and so now instead of preparing to being married off to someone else for a political alliance, she needs to actually learn about her own country and decides the best way to do this is to switch places with

Mara: a commoner who happens to look exactly like Adina, haha how funny crazy and not suspicious at all is that. Mara is angry and secretive and deadpan and the complete opposite of Adina... but she sure does look like her 🤔

Dekeli: Dekeli! My bastard man! Dude is the narrative pisser-off-er of Adina. He brings her out of her shell and is only technically around her because he's blackmailing her. That being said, he's also the only person she can trust. He's a main character in b1 but doesn't show up much in b2 which is very sad and we're all sad about it. He's funky, sarcastic, and likes teasing Adina.

#diana writes #nonns #diana replies #my ocs #the makings of magic #ck #stp #tmom #i had more portraits of all of them on my other phone but apparently those pics didnt save so theyre gone forever #these were the ones i could find in chat backlogs #diana's ocs #oc asks #diana wants attention #sorry for being so vague here i really wanna talk about my ocs constantly but plots im afraid to share cuz its the internet #also cuz im trying to avoid spoilers in case yall are actually interested enough to read the real books

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mouseratz · 8 days

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I do think some of the tags in prev post bring up an interesting idea....that a lot of (if not most or all) gendered behavior IS social/learned, not inherent, which means that you can change it. if you've been presenting as a man for a while, you might pick up some of the shit you didn't think about.

no this doesn't mean "being a man makes you Evil" but moreso "men are encouraged within social situations to treat women a certain way often in small gestures that would go unnoticed by everyone except for the target" & if you are not aware of those you may find yourself with those behaviors (bc that's how social encouragement works. we are always changing our behaviors to fit the situation, yes even if ur socially 'awkward' or don't fully understand them- think about how when you have a close friend for a while, you might start picking up a funny phrase they use often. that's a social thing.)

it's more like....you have to be more conscious of the way you treat women in social situations where you know you are 100% read as a man (which! For some trans men, that's a Rare Situation due to how flimsy the concept of passing itself is, but still worth knowing about), or you could do them emotional harm or be interpreted as a threat, which honestly Fucking Sucks, but it is genuinely what sexism and strict enforcement of gender roles brings us to socially. if some of that degrades, you may see a social shift where this is less of a problem, but we arent there yet.

I guess it's just kind of like. "no you're not a bad person for being a man but you might have to regularly self reflect when you're around women to make sure they feel safe because of the shitty state of gender relationships in broad fucking society"

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xviruserrorx · 1 year

Text

Title: "The Rain Before The Rainbow"

Chapter 4/7: "That's When You Stu-stu-stutter Something Profound" (DRAFT)

(Prev Chap-Edited) (Next Chap-Edited) • (Prev Chap-Non Edited) (Next Chap-Non Edited) • (Edited Chapter) • (Story Masterlist)

This fic was originally written around late 2019-early 2020 ish, but was abandoned for reasons and now I'm gonna re-write it to but I have a no-delete rule so I'm posting all the original drafts here for anyone who still wants to see them. "But Virus these are terribly written" you may say and, yeah I know, this story was one of the first things I had written after a 5-6 year writing hiatus... But here they are terrible Grammer and all!

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy (Tv & Comics)

Relationship(s): Five | The Boy & Everyone

Character(s): Five | The Boy, Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves, Vanya | Viktor Hargreeves, OC - Ymir Cyprus

Important Tag(s): Alternative Universe - No Sparrow Academy, Comic Book Elements, Time Traveling, Five-Centric

Rating: Teen and Up

Warning(s): Major Character Death, Cannon Character Death

Word Count: 10,176/41,006

The Hargreeves return from 1963 and find they have averted the initial Apocalypse. The siblings return to life as it once was but now together and not expecting impending doom. Five begins to adjust to life with his siblings how it used to be but knows something is missing. By something, he means someone. What happens when Five decides to jump back in time and try to save Ben. Is he successful? Or will he face the consequences of his actions?

"The End To The Beginning, The Beginning To The End" - Tumblr | Ao3

->Next: N/A

Continue reading below or read the edited version on Ao3

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Diego(POV)

" Hey make sure to call me when rehearsals over so I can come pick you up," Diego called out to Vanya as she jumped out of the car and ran to the theatre.

"Got it!" Vanya yelled already at the doors of the place. Diego watched her go into the building safely before pulling away and driving in the direction of his work, which wasn't far from the theatre.

Diego yawned, he had been woken up at 4 in the morning by Five getting ready trying to leave the house to get coffee. Diego obviously shot down Five's idea unless he was able to take him, Five had made a fuss about it but soon let Diego take him to the nearby coffee house.

Then when they got back home he was expecting to go back to a nice, quiet house and sleep. He should have learned by now that there is no such this with the Hargreeves.

Klaus had woken up all the siblings, minus Luther, over some argument he was having with their ghost brother. Had he expected anything other from the Séance at 5 in the morning? No, Klaus is just…….Klaus. He had decided not to head back to sleep and instead started making breakfast for the bunch.

Diego pulled into the station, parked his car. Shortly after they returned, Diego pretty much had asked for his job back at the police station, which he ended up getting. This time around there was no Eudora now, he's been assigned a kid who had just graduated the academy. He was young but he fit in with the team, Diego remembered working with before he had left.

He continues to do his night stalks and is just more careful that he doesn't get caught by his team if they're called to the scene.

Diego opened the doors and was greeted by Albert, one of the newer guys on his team. He was a smart and quiet guy compared to most of the other people.

Diego walked over to his desk and looked at the new file that was left there and opened it.

" Hell of a new case huh ?" One of the girls commented, walking over handing Diego a cup of coffee. Diego gladly accepted the coffee and nodded his head at her comment on the case as he finished reading it.

A man has been seen spying on young children and trying to lure them to him, all the descriptions the kids have given is almost close to nothing aside from all of them calling him, "The Boogeyman."

They have had many cases over the past couple of weeks of children disappearing and have no lead or any trail of them, many people are saying it's like their vanishing out of thin air.

Diego had been suspecting that they were all tied into each other, till a letter had appeared at one of the parent's houses and she had brought it over to them.

It stated that the one writing the letter was the one responsible for all the crimes, he led onto explaining how he captured multiple children, tortured, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and finally ate them.

Once again they couldn't get any leads with the note, their guy who deciphered the letter suggested he wrote the letter with his non- dominant hand because of how it was written.

Diego didn't like the thought of this guy roaming the streets especially with the intent of him being after children. Diego hated these types of cases, especially because of how young Five is.

Diego downed the rest of his coffee he was just given and went over to pour himself another cup to keep himself awake.

" Woah there Hargreeves that's already your second cup in the last 5 minutes," The girl, Amy commented returning to her desk.

Diego yawned again and continued pouring his coffee. " Someone had a long night," Mitch, one of the other guys said.

" Correction early morning, 4 in the morning to be exact," Diego said to the group as he walked back over to his desk.

They all picked up their files and sat around Diego's desk, " What were you doing at 4 in the morning Hargreeves?" Nico, the last guy on the team asked.

" Younger Siblings, and that's all I'm saying," Diego didn't want to talk about his siblings in front of the team, he had predicted they all started kinda catching on once they saw the umbrella tattoo on his wrist by accident, but they never questioned him about it.

"Awwwww you have little siblings," Amy started gushing over the fact that this brute guy they worked with had little siblings.

"I bet he's a big softie with them," Mitch whispered to the others. Diego glared at him, "I will throw this pen at your forehead."

Everyone quickly learned how good Diego's aim was on everything, whether it be shooting a gun, a game of darts, or throwing something at one of them.

"Back to the case!" Amy yelled before any of them got hit. They all returned back to the file and began discussing it in a more serious manner than what their conversation was about earlier.

Today was a short day, all he had to do was close up some old files and wait till they had leads on the newer one. " Hey you guys can head home me and Albert over here will finish up the last files," Mitch said to the rest of the team.

They all gave him a thumbs up and started cleaning up their desks, Diego glanced over at the clock.

4:32 pm

Vanya was gonna be out of rehearsal soon anyway, she's been staying late to work by herself on some solo she has coming up.

Diego looked over at the corner of his desk where he had a picture of Vanya, Klaus, Five, and apparently Ben was In the picture too based on what Klaus said.

They were all laid out on the couch watching a movie, Five and Vanya had fallen asleep on Klaus, so while Diego was covering the two with blankets Allison saw them and decided to take a picture of them. Klaus had drawn a little blue arrow over towards the back of the couch and said Ben was right there when Allison had taken the picture.

Five had seen the picture and wanted to tear it up, but Diego immediately brought it to work and put it in a frame.

As soon as Diego slipped his jacket on and grabbed his keys his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID that had Vanya's name on it, he stopped the green button and brought it to his ear.

" Hey, rehearsal finished?"

" Yeah just hanging out here with some other members till you come."

Diego placed the picture back down before answering Vanya.

" I'll be there in a bit, remember no meeting any serial killers." Diego messed with Vanya over the phone.

" I won't, I won't, I promise."

Diego laughed," Okay but be careful, I'll be right over there alright? Bye Vanya."

She said a small Goodbye before Diego hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket before looking back over at the picture in front of him.

Amy peeked around him and looked over towards the photo.

"So that's them?" She asked in a much quieter and softer voice so nobody would hear their conversation.

Diego smirk and nodded his head," 3 of them." Diego remembered not to count Ben. She turned back to him," how many including you?"

He turned around and started walking towards the door with her," 7 in total, 5 boys and 2 girls."

They both walked out to the parking lot," and you're the oldest?" She asked, her eyes wide.

They walked over to their cars which were parked near each other," Second oldest, but the eldest is a bit of an asshole to all of them."

She laughed," Aren't they always." She waved her hand at him and smiled," Bye Hargreeves."

Diego waved his hand bye to her and got in his car. Any conversations he has with her always remind him of Eudora, Diego looked down at his hands and remembered that day.

They had found Five but then got a message from Eudora saying she found his brother. He quickly realized that in all the commotion they had completely forgotten about Klaus. As soon as he stepped in the door he had been hoping to find Klaus and Eudora, instead there was no trace of Klaus, and Eudora was dead.

Diego took a deep breath and turned on the car, with all two Apocalypse happening he never had time to even know what happened to Eudora or attend a funeral of any kind.

He pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the Icarus Theatre to pick up Vanya. Diego pulled to a stop at the street across from the theatre, he pulled on his jacket, got out of the car, and walked into the theatre.

Diego walked in and saw Vanya talking with some guy and girl, most likely other members from her orchestra. She looked around and saw Diego and waved at him. He waved back at her while she turned back around to who she was talking to.

Both of the people leaned into Vanya and whispered something which made her start laughing. Vanya waved bye to them while she ran over to Diego still smiling.

"What's all the whispering about?" He asked Vanya as they walked over to his car. She laughed," They thought you were my boyfriend, but I told them you were my brother so they both proceeded to call you hot."

Diego smiled at Vanya

'Wait, Both of them?'

Vanya looked over at him and must have taken the hint from his expression," Don't worry I told Skylar you don't swing that way."

Diego rolled his eyes, opened the passenger seat door, and waited for Vanya to climb in," Thanks Vanya," He said, sarcastically.

He shut the door and got into the driver's seat, " You can always tell them Klaus is available."

" Noooooo of all people, I think Klaus would be the last person I would recommend as a partner."

Diego put the car in drive and headed for the Academy, "I think you're right on that one Vanya."

They continued to talk the rest of the drive, mostly Vanya kept picking on Diego that her friends called him hot. " You're not gonna take either of their offers, Diego," she said while nudging his arm with her elbow and a smile on her face.

He glanced over at her," Very funny Vanya." He turned the corner onto the Street the Academy was on."Awwwww come on Diego, I mean not Skylar's offer, but Melanie is a nice girl, she's our age, she plays the harp."

Diego pulled into the Academy and turned the car off, he turned and gave Vanya "the look".She unbuckled her seat belt and swung open the car door while putting her hands up defensively," Okay Okay I get it."

They both walked into the usually loud house and found it strangely quiet.

'That's a first'

"Diego look!" He and Vanya turned towards where they heard the voice, Klaus was levitating and was crisscrossed but upside down in the air. Klaus' sweater was hanging from his frame and so were his dog tags.

'Nevermind that thought of quiet'

Diego walked over to him till they were face to face and flicked his forehead." Ow! What was that for?" Klaus brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed where Diego flicked.

He slid off his shoes and hung his jacket up, "Cause I wanted to and where's everyone else?"

Klaus turned to his side," Oh shut your Pie hole, Ben." He turned back towards Diego," Allison is on the phone somewhere, Luther is…..being Luther I guess and Fivey is being a recluse in his room which I wouldn't bother him if I were you."

Diego nodded his head and turned back to Klaus," Isn't all the blood rushing to your head like that?"

Klaus flipped back upwards," it's either this or drugs," He landed his bare feet back on the floor softly," I need distractions."

Vanya piped up and walked to Klaus," I got one, Diego got hit on by my friends."

Klaus gasped," Diego you stud, see you're always running around in that little dominatrix get up of yours, your bound to draw somebody in…… and See I keep telling you guys he's-"

"Klaus! One more word and my knives will be in your skull."

"-into Kinky stuff," Klaus finished off his sentence, while one of Diego's knives almost decapitated him, but instead stuck into the pillar beside him.

Klaus jumped away and crouched behind Vanya.

Diego slipped the other one he had in his hand back in his pocket," And it's leather, not Spandex by the way." Diego said this out of habit because people always assumed it was spandex.

" Who said I didn't think it was leather?" Klaus giggled, and still hid behind Vanya."Klaus!" Diego growled at his younger brother.

"What are you guys doing?" Allison came down the stairs with what looked like some fruit and milk in her hand.

Klaus ran over to Allison and hid behind her," what about animals Diego are you into that type of stuff, I mean your name is The Kraken." He peaked up from behind her and wrapped his arms over her shoulders.

"Klaus!!" Diego raised his hand to throw one of his knives at Klaus before Allison stopped him.

" Hold up, hold up he's hiding behind me and I don't feel like getting stabbed with a knife at the moment."

Diego sighed and dropped his hand, replacing his knife in his pocket, " what's that for anyway?" He pointed to the food she had in her hands.

"Five's lunch, he's been cooped up in his room since breakfast, dead to the world"

Diego sighed," So all he had today was that gross sandwich he likes so much?"

Klaus put his head on Allison's shoulder and reached over grabbing a piece of watermelon out of the bowl," And coffee, you can't forget his coffee." Diego rolled his eyes at Klaus.

" Well, I'll make dinner early today since he hasn't eaten all day practically." Diego went upstairs to his room and changed out of his work clothes to a more casual t-shirt and jeans.

When he was dating Eudora he learned how to cook since she wasn't one much for cooking. So when they all returned to the present and decided to stay mostly at the academy he had taken up the role of cooking almost all of the meals.

Diego hesitated before going back down the staircase and instead turned around, and walked up the other flight of stairs that led to where Five and Ben's rooms were. Diego raised his hand to knock on Fives door but paused before his hand made contact, if Five had locked himself away he knew he was probably busy. He dropped his hand back to his side and turned around.

He froze and stood there as he faced Ben's room which had housed someone in it for over 13 years. Diego walked over and opened the door carefully gently turning the door knob. Everyone agreed to leave his room how he had left it but occasionally someone would come in here to dust it up a bit.

Diego looked around, like most of the siblings Ben had posters on his walls and a bookcase with a ton of books. They always would call him a book worm because he was always reading. His bookshelf was organized and dusted, while most of the other siblings' books were covered in dust or trinkets lined their bookcases. Diego smiled to himself and softly closed the door back up

He walked back down the many flights of stairs and waltzed into the kitchen to make dinner. Diego began to get everything out and started prepping everything. Diego turned around when he heard footsteps getting closer and saw Klaus walking over and sitting on the counter beside him.

Neither of them said anything to each other aside from Klaus talking and making comments towards Ben.

" You ever wonder what broccoli is thinking?"

Diego creased his eyebrows at Klaus' question and went over to the sink to wash his hands.

" What about you Diego, cause Benny boy over here is all Mr big brain." Klaus turned to Diego while he stuck his tongue out at Ben. Diego shook his head," I'm ignoring you, Klaus."

Klaus laid out more on the counter getting in Diego's way," You can't ignore me, Dee, you care about me too much."

Diego sighed and pushed Klaus' legs off of the counter letting them swing down," That's the problem."

Diego picked up a bowl and shoved it into Klaus' hands," Here help stir that at least." Klaus obliged and slowly started stirring the contents of the bowl while swinging his feet.

Klaus stayed in the kitchen with him the whole time occasionally stirring things, or helping Diego with smaller things that he knew Klaus wouldn't be able to light a fire to the house.

When Diego couldn't find things to distract Klaus with he began asking a random series of questions that Diego never answered.

" You ever think about how Five would look with long hair?"

" Or even Ben over here always with his slicked-back hair, I bet he would look great with a man bun!"

Diego stopped for a brief moment to imagine their two youngest brothers with long hair, Diego shook his head.

'Yeah, no'

" Does Luther ever shave, anywhere for that matter?"

" Or does he feel weird eating meat, like he's eating one of his own?"

Diego sighed, every glimpse he got into the thing Klaus called a brain was just getting weirder and weirder. Klaus went silent for a couple of seconds, which Diego was grateful for the moment of peace until he started talking again.

" Do you think all the dead animals can see me when I eat them? I mean they are dead and I can see the DEAD and they use me as this sorta gateway thing."

Diego stopped what he was doing and glanced over at Klaus who looked distraught over what he was rambling about.

" So it'd make sense for all these chopped up animals to just appear whenever they want to remind me what was killed so I could eat."

Diego slowly walked over a couple of steps so he was in front of Klaus before softly speaking.

"Klaus"

" Just these slaughtered pigs with their intestines hanging out, I mean not that I don't see enough human intestines everyday bu-."

"Hey!"

Diego put his hands on Klaus' shoulders, snapping him out of it and brought his attention back to Diego.

" Go wash up and call Five down for dinner for me, yeah? I'll get the others."

Klaus nodded his head

Diego patted his shoulder and motioned with his head for Klaus to go upstairs to retrieve Five. Klaus hopped off the countertop and walked out of the kitchen.

Diego walked into the living room where both of the girls were sitting on the couch deep in conversation with one another.

" Hey, girls dinner," Diego motioned with his hand for them to follow him to the kitchen. He never bothered with Luther, knowing Allison always called him or shot him a text to come down from whatever he was doing. All three of them walked into the kitchen while they waited for the others and Vanya and Allison sat down.

Diego placed a plate in front of Vanya first then Allison who were separated by a seat between them. Klaus had insisted that Ben was to sit there, so even though nobody could see him they kept the seat empty for their youngest brother.

Allison and Vanya muttered a thank you as Luther came bounding down the stairs into the kitchen. He had been more angrier with the others lately and always cooped up in Dad's office but nobody knew what the ape of a man was doing, mostly just pissing off Diego more than usual.

Diego ruffled Vanya's hair as he passed by her to get glasses for water. He placed all 6 glasses down as he heard two pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs into the kitchen.

Usually, they could only hear Klaus' bare feet against the flooring of the house followed by them seeing little blue flashes here and there from Five.

Five walked into the kitchen and sat down in his chair across from Allison, " Wow you actually walked down here for once." Diego commented to Five as he put down a plate in front of him.

Klaus came walking in after Five and sat across From Vanya. Diego put down Klaus' plate in front of him as he started talking," See told you he wasn't dead, Allison."

Diego stopped what he was doing and looked between Allison and Klaus wondering if he should even question it. Five turned his head towards Allison as well with his eyebrows creased.

Allison's eyes widened at Klaus' remark as she turned back towards Five," I knocked on your door for lunch and you never responded, but I did NOT think he died, Klaus."

Diego shook his head and sat down between Five and Klaus, across from the empty chair for Ben. Klaus let his body sink down in the chair while muttering under his breath, "You acted like it."

" And why would I think our brother would be dead Klaus?"

" Well, you can never truly know, sister of mine."

Diego chuckled and decided to zone out the two and their bickering towards each other. He looked towards Vanya who seemed to be enjoying the two siblings and their bickering, then he looked towards Five who seemed to have Zoned out from the argument a bit ago.

'Did he have those scratches this morning?'

Diego saw Five's cheek had two little scratches on it one was light, but the other was already scabbed up a bit.

"Where did you get these scratches from Five?" Diego questioned him while he lightly ran his thumb over Five's cheek. Five looked over at him and lifted his hand to feel the scratches on his cheek.

Diego reached and turned over Five's hand on his lap which had the same scratches. Five looked at his other hand which was the same then slightly scooted out his chair and pulled his shorts up a bit where there were marks on his knees and shins also. He lightly chuckled at Five's feet that weren't able to reach the floor without him being on the edge of his chair.

Diego knew Five was technically a kid, but he was never the type to go outside and play with all the other siblings unless it was something he could beat them at. So even now he doubted that Five tripped while outside or something because of how scratched up he was.

While Allison and Klaus stopped bickering at each other to overhear the conversation, Diego continued looking at Five waiting for an answer from the small boy.

"....uhhh," He saw Five quickly look over to Klaus and his expression slightly changing before he looked back up at Diego still not saying anything.

Allison cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention, " Five fell out of a tree this morning."

' Of course, he would '

Diego turned back towards Five with his eyebrows raised, " A Tree?!"

' What the Heck was he doing in a tree?!'

Diego didn't say that out loud but he guessed his face expressed it enough that they knew what he wanted to say.

Allison laughed," Ask Klaus he knows ."

Diego redirected his glance to Klaus who had moved to the farthest end of the table where Vanya used to sit when they were kids.

"What me? I'm just Number 4, the one who doesn't know anything," Klaus said while being very nonchalant.

Diego pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.

'Don't get into any trouble he says'

'But do they listen?'

'When do they ever!'

"Klaus was the one who dropped me from the tree, " Five said to the group as he took a bite of his food. Diego and both of the girls turned their gaze back to klaus.

"Klaus!" They all yelled at him.

"What- but that's-…....uh…....Fivvvveeeee, " Klaus whined and looked over at their smallest brother.

" I said don't do ANYTHING stupid and you go and drop our brother out of a tree, " Diego said as he scolded Klaus. Klaus crossed his and pouted while Diego continued to scold him.

" You asked me the definition of stupid this morning, Klaus I didn't think I'd literally HAVE to define it to you-."

Diego turned his head towards Five at the sound of him sputtering. Five reached for his serviette and hurriedly brought it to his mouth as he continued to laugh.

"Aha, see he's lying," Klaus jumped just out of his chair and started spastically gesturing to the younger. Five continued to laugh more but this time without the risk of spitting water out at any of them.

Diego smiled and looked up at the others who were smiling at Five as well. Klaus moved back in his seat next to Diego as they dropped the topic but was still unsure of why Five was in a tree in the first place.

Allison shook her head," Anyways aside from these boys' adventurous day, how was work and rehearsal, you two?" She questioned Diego and Vanya.

Diego motioned for Vanya to start, " The programs coming along well and I finally decided what I'm gonna play for the encore." Diego smiled at her as she lit up and continued talking about her music.

" What song?" Diego asked

Vanya laughed and lifted her glass to her mouth and answered before taking a sip of water.

" Piece not song"

Diego rolled his eyes

' Ugh his Musician of a sister'

" Okay piece, what piece Vanya?"

" Oooooo I like pieces of stuff" Klaus jumped into the conversation. " Cake, pie, Men"

Diego almost spit out his water as Klaus had ended on that last note. Allison looked over at Klaus with an amused look, " Klaus hon please don't talk about your sex life at the table."

"Who said it was about my sex life?" Klaus said while looking at his nails, which looked like he had just repainted them.

Diego scoffed," Unless your a cannibal all of a sudden, I think it was about your sex life their bud."

Klaus turned to Diego, " I'll have you know I haven't gotten any action since we came back from the 60s."

" Yeah with that girl I saw you with in that garden?" Diego pipped up.

Allison widened her eyes at Klaus, " Klaus you could have gotten someone pregnant! And that would have messed up the timeline."

" Awww come on Ally tiny little me's would be adorable," Klaus said cooing at the thought of it.

Diego took a sip of his water before he started talking again, " I mean this is Klaus we're talking about for all we know there could be a bunch of his offspring running around our own time."

Luther, who had been looking at everyone confused, spoke up.

"But I thought you were-?" He pointed over at Klaus.

"Thought I was What?" Klaus replied sitting on his chair like it was a hammock.

Luther shook his head and continued back to his meal not saying anything else on the topic.

Diego peeked over at Five who seemed to have zoned out the sibling's conversation once again a while ago. Diego was about to say something to him when Allison called Diego's name, " Okay that's enough about Klaus' sex life, what about you Diego how was work?"

Diego sighed, " We got the file for the same guy we've been after." Diego said trying to shrug it off not wanting to talk about what this creep was doing to these little kids. " All I'm gonna say is don't let Claire come over here till we catch this bastard."

Diego saw Allison look at him then move her gaze over to Five, then back to Diego with a concerned look. He knew she took the hint and was probably gonna ask him about it later.

" Don't worry I'm gonna go see her When I go out for the photoshoot I have coming up." She paused for a couple of seconds then started again. " One of you should come, I mean to meet Claire you know Five, Klaus, Luther maybe considering you guys aren't busy much." Vanya looked up and smiled at Allison and nodded her head at wanting to meet their niece.

They all continued chatting for a few minutes till most of them were finished with dinner. Diego looked around and saw only Klaus and Five we're still finishing up their dinner, he got up and started to clear the plates.

Diego put down his and Vanya's plate near the sink and turned around when he heard someone clear their throat trying to get the other's attention.

" I wanted to ask you guys something," Five said while looking down at his plate and moving around a single piece of food with his fork.

Diego leaned back against the counter as he noticed Five wasn't asking any random question but looked torn up over what he was gonna ask. Everyone stayed quiet so they could let Five talks without being rushed.

"........I-I want to know the full story"

Diego heard the hesitation and nervousness in Five's voice compared to his usual smug way of talking.

Five paused for a second and took a deep breath before continuing.

" Of what happened the day Ben died"

Diego grimaced at the memory those couple of words brought back. Everyone remained quiet until Allison spoke up, " We've told you what happened Five and you also read what happened from Vanya's book." Allison replied to Five calmly, picking up her and Luther's dish and bringing it over to the counter.

" But not everything," Diego felt the tension rise as Five's voice got slightly louder than it was before out of frustration.

" Five," Vanya spoke up with her soft voice that was laced with sincerity. Five looked up from his plate and looked around at all the siblings in the room.

" Bud, you've asked us all on separate occasions about that day and we've told you all we can," Diego said, remaining calm much like Allison, trying to talk down Five.

" Can tell me or want to tell me?" Five snapped at Diego through gritted teeth.

Diego didn't know how to answer Five's question for himself, he knew they would all tell him everything that happened that day if it was easy for them to talk about it. Diego kept the same straight face at Five as he immediately dropped his head back down and looked at his lap.

Diego looked over at Klaus who had opened his mouth to say something but wasn't even given the chance when Luther cut him off.

" It's none of your business Five, " Everyone turned towards Luther. Diego bit his tongue to not say anything to the eldest sibling, one for not letting Klaus speak and two for what he said to Five.

Five firmly placed both of his palms flat down on the table before speaking," Was I talking to you Number One?!" His tone from earlier quickly dissipated into his normal bite that carried on with his words.

" You did address everyone Number Five, " Luther said back to Five, with that usual I'm Number one tone.

Five and Luther both stood up from their chairs which made him and Allison jump forward to stop the two.

" Stop it, Luther!" Allison said with a warning and serious tone, she had her hand outstretched in front of him. Diego was still near the counter behind her, but ready to be on his toes in seconds if needed.

" Maybe I was addressing everyone who isn't to blame for Ben's death!" Five said his words filled with venom as he slammed his right hand down on the table that had curled up into a fist.

The wooden chair Vanya was sitting in skidded across the floor as she hurriedly jumped out of her chair and exited the kitchen.

" Vanya!" Allison called out as she moved around Luther to go after Vanya. She paused at the entrance to the kitchen and turned around.

" You just had to ruin dinner didn't you?" Diego was sure she meant it towards Luther but let the assurance falter as he saw the look on Five's face change. Allison turned back around and ran out of the kitchen after Vanya with Luther hot on her heels as he attempted to go after her.

There was a couple of seconds where everything was at a standstill till Five slowly sat back down in his seat, head looking back down to his lap. Diego brought his hand up to his mouth as he leaned back against the counter taking in what was happening.

The arguing of both of his sisters and the slamming of the door was hard to miss as it echoed through the house leaving more drowning silence.

He saw Five flinch at the loud noise, which for Five was on the chart of today's things he never has seen Five do.

Diego turned his head in the direction of the creek from one of the wooden chairs and saw Klaus slowly standing up from where he was sat.

Diego watched as Klaus slowly walked over and gently laid his hand down on Five's shoulder. He saw the slight jerk from Five but he didn't push or smack Klaus' hand away.

" I'm sorry Five,"

Their usually boastful brother's voice was almost unrecognizable as he spoke in a more somber tone. Klaus looked up at Diego with a guilty look when Five didn't answer him, Diego swallowed and gave a half-smile to Klaus unsure of what he even meant by it. Klaus looked back to Five and let his hand fall off of his shoulder before walking out of the kitchen.

Diego stood across from Five still leaning on the counter trying to think of a way to approach the situation.

"F-Five," Diego stuttered out his name. He ran his hand over his face through his hair before taking a deep breath.

He let his head hang down as he stared at the tile floor trying to think about the words he wanted to say.

" Di……?" The nickname took Diego by surprise as his head shot up to look at Five. Diego pushed himself off the counter and slowly walked over in front of Five.

He looked down at Him before bending down so he was face to face with Five. He slowly reached out his hand and cupped Five's cheek so his Thumb was on his cheek, he felt Five slightly flinch on contact but he didn't pull away.

Diego took a second to realise just how small he was, him and Ben we're always the smallest out of all 5 brothers. But here Five was sitting in front of him with his schoolboy shorts and knee-high socks and feet that couldn't quite reach the floor on the large wooden chairs.

Diego finally broke the silence between the two, " What's wrong Five?" His voice was laced with sympathy unlike earlier where he knew Five didn't want any of that.

Diego knew what was wrong, Five just wanted to know what happened to their brother, his brother. Their always quiet and small youngest brother that didn't ask for anything to happen to him, that didn't deserve anything to happen to him!

Five looked up at Diego and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He slowly closed his mouth and let his head drop back down to his lap not making eye contact with Diego.

Diego wanted to shake the small thin boy in front of him and make him talk to him, make him accept the emotions he had that he wasn't willing to share with anyone; not even to himself.

Diego took his hand off of Fives cheek, tempted to walk away and let everything end like that, let him figure his stuff out, to let Diego himself figure Five out.

Instead, he brought his hand down to Five's knee in an act of comfort and rubbed small light circles, being careful to not touch one of the scratches he had. He stayed like that for what felt like minutes upon minutes possibly an hour but in reality, was only 1 minute at most.

He didn't know what to say, how to approach their tiny murderous gremlin who was actually a good almost 30 years older than all the siblings but somehow found himself trapped in this 13-year-olds body.

Diego pushed back what he wanted to say to the small boy and instead veered towards the safe option.

" Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest then we can all talk tomorrow." Diego felt like he was talking to a child not a 58-year-old but the small 13-year-old kid that disappeared all those years ago that they had only had back for a little over a couple of weeks.

Five nodded his head at Diego and stood up to walk out of the kitchen. Diego stood up from where he was on the floor and watched as Five walked to his bedroom.

Diego sighed, his siblings were probably scattered around the house and outside from whoever of the two sisters had left.

He walked into the living room hoping to find at least one of the others there but found no one aside from Grace who came up to Diego.

"Is everything alright dear?" she said with a concerned tone.

Diego smiled at her," Yeah just us siblings being siblings I suppose." Diego said trying to shrug her question off as he saw Klaus bounding down the stairs towards the front door. He put a hand on Grace's shoulder as he ran towards Klaus before he could leave.

" Klaus! Where are you headed?" He was dressed in his normal laced leather pants and lacey see-through black shirt accompanied by his black fur coat and leather boots. Diego walked in front of Klaus before he could escape.

" Out," was all Klaus replied as he moved around Diego and reached for his set of keys which were hung up on hooks alongside the door.

He grabbed the ones that had a small keychain with the number 4 on it and other various keychains. He stuffed them in his pocket before reaching for the door handle.

Diego reached and grabbed Klaus' shoulder to, " Hey hey hey can I drive you wherever you're going to? It's already dark out, I'd rather you not be out so late by yourself."

" It's somewhere you wouldn't want me to be," Klaus mumbled as he fumbled with a cigarette box opening it and sticking one between his lips, then reached to his other pocket and grabbed out his lighter.

Klaus's trembling hands struggled with striking the lighter till after 4 times he brought them down in defeat knowing it was out of lighter fluid.

" Fuck!" Klaus said throwing his arms down and taking the cancer stick out of his mouth.

" Hey," Diego grabbed both sides of Klaus' arms and looked him in the eye," Let's go to the roof yeah?"

Klaus' eyes lingered towards the door then looked back over at Diego and nodded his head 'yes'.

Diego put his hand on Klaus' back as he pushed the Séance towards the stairs. As they were about to climb the stairs to the top floor where both younger brothers' rooms were and the attic Klaus stopped in his tracks.

" Uno Momento, " Klaus held up his index finger before racing off into his room and returned clutching another lighter in his 'HELLO' hand.

Diego rolled his eyes as he started ascending the last staircase with Klaus right behind him. They rounded the corner and saw the light from Five's room shine out from under the door. Diego contemplated going and checking up on the younger but went against his idea and continued to the attic.

They both climbed over to the already open window and sat on the ledge. Klaus swung both legs over the ledge and crossed one over the other while Diego kept one leg on the ledge with his elbow leaning on it and the other hanging down.

Klaus struck the new lighter and lit the cigarette before taking a deep inhale. He jiggled his leg that was hung over the other as his hands started to shake less than they were before.

Both brothers stayed quiet looking at the sky till Klaus spoke up.

" This morning was only a one-time thing," He said quickly, taking a puff from his cigarette.

Diego turned towards him with his eyebrows creased unsure what Klaus was getting at.

" What are you talking about Klaus?"

" This morning Ben he-..... I can make ghost corporeal including Ben," Klaus grabbed the cigarette from his lips and put it out against the window seal then turned to Diego.

" Wait, Klaus what do you mean," Diego resisted the urge to walk away and pretend like everything Klaus was saying wasn't true.

" Last night I went out after everyone was asleep and got a few drinks so I was drunk and hungover so that's why I couldn't make him corporeal this morning," Klaus said very quickly and almost tripping over his words.

" Klaus! Your not making sense right now-"

" I've been able to make any ghost corporeal Okay! Those 3 years I was alone and sober I figured out how to do a lot, The only reason I was arguing with Ben is that I chose not to and because I couldn't today Cause of the alcohol that was still in my system from last night."

Diego reached over and grabbed Klaus by his shoulders hard and shook his small petite frame.

" How Long Klaus!! How fucking long are you gonna keep lying to us, we've all been here thinking and believing that Ben was completely gone when you could see him all these years."

Diego pulled back and took a deep breath as he saw tears began to rim Klaus' eyes and cascade down his face.

" He's our brother too, Klaus and you were selfish and kept him to yourself for all these years, Even during the 2nd apocalypse, you lied to us the whole time that he was there," Diego was fuming but couldn't help but feel a little bit of guilt as Klaus choked out a sob.

" I know I'm selfish I know I'm sorry! I- He was all I had, When Dad kicked me out I never saw any of you guys again. You all became successful and got jobs and girlfriends, boyfriends and Allison had a kid and got married."

"you all moved on with your life." Klaus brought his hands up to wipe at his face smugging his makeup.

" I lost you all and I-I just didn't want to lose him too," Diego brought his hand to his face and ran it over into his hair, he was pissed at Klaus for lying and hiding all this for so long.

" I just I'm so sorry to you guys and Ben, I just keep fucking things up as I've always have in this family."

" Fuck!" Diego cursed. He stood up from where he was sitting with Klaus and paced the room for a couple of seconds. He looked back over at Klaus but didn't say anything, the latter still crying and trying to wipe away his tears with his coat sleeve.

" I'm sorry Diego I- I should go," Klaus jumped up and began to walk out of the room. Diego hurriedly grabbed onto Klaus' upper arm and turned him back around.

" Klaus come on sit back down," Diego put his hand on Klaus' back and guided him back to the window seal where Diego sat back down next to him.

Diego scooted closer to Klaus and this time lowered his voice, " come here, " He wrapped his arms around Klaus and put his chin on top of his head.

" I'm sorry Klaus I Didn't- I sh-shouldn't have said any of that." Klaus continued to cry into Diego's shirt as Diego tightened his arms around Klaus careful not to hurt him.

" You're not a fuck up Klaus okay? Just your Klaus and after all these years you stayed you, that fun kind sibling we all care for and love." Diego lifted up Klaus's chin gently so he was looking at him.

" That I Love"

He lifted his thumb to Klaus' face and used it to wipe away smudged eyeliner and the still falling tears. He pulled Klaus back close to his chest and at this point, Klaus was practically sitting on Diego's lap.

They both sat like that for a couple of minutes and let the breeze from outside slowly drift over them, blowing the fur lining on Klaus' coat. Klaus' tears disappeared but Diego kept his hold on the younger firm.

Diego only started to pull away when he felt Klaus shiver as a gust of wind blew in.

Diego pulled back with his hands still on Klaus' shoulders but in a comforting manner and Klaus fist still grabbing onto the front of Diego's Shirt.

" Come on let's head inside where it's warmer and get some rest," Diego patted Klaus shoulder as they both jumped off the window seal onto the attic floor. Diego closed the window behind them then followed Klaus down the staircase to where their bedrooms were.

They both walked in front of Klaus' bedroom where Diego pulled Klaus into another hug," try to get some sleep, Klaus." He pulled away and turned to go towards his room but stopped when he felt Klaus grab his shirt sleeve.

" Can I sleep with you tonight?" Diego was shocked, he couldn't recall a time Klaus had asked him his permission if he could sleep with him rather just walked in whenever he pleased.

He contemplated his answer which would usually be yes but right now the anger of what Klaus had just revealed to him was still simmering deep down.

" I….I just need some space right now kay'?" He watched as Klaus' expression on his face dropped, Diego couldn't recall a time he's ever denied Klaus from sleeping with him this would be one of the first.

Diego reached over and ruffled Klaus' hair then turned to walk away this time Klaus' hand didn't reach out for him. He heard Klaus' bedroom door close softly behind him as he continued to walk towards his room.

He had planned to go on his normal nightly escapade but after everything that went down, he reframed from going, even though the thought of that bastard hurting kids was still lingering in his mind.

Diego reached for his doorknob and was about to turn it When the front door opened followed by arguing. He stepped back and rounded the corner to the stairwell to see what was going on.

Allison stood in the middle of the foyer looking up at Luther while she argued with him," You just couldn't keep your mouth shut could you Luther?"

" Allison I-," Luther attempted to sputter out but Allison cut him off.

" You know what save it, Luther. We finally were being a family except for you……. I don't know what problem you have against our siblings but you need to grow up and get over that Number One complex of yours you have going on because this is ridiculous Luther."

Allison spun around and walked towards the staircase Diego was leaning on. She stopped at the top of the staircase to talk to him, " Vanya went back to her apartment for the night. I'm not sure if she's gonna be back tomorrow morning or not." Allison gave a sympathetic smile to Him then continued to walk up the set of stairs, the clicking of her heels faded out as she got farther from him.

Diego walked down a couple of steps and sat down letting out a low whistle," you made somebody pissed."

Luther quickly turned to him and glared at Diego," Shut up Diego it's none of your business."

Diego let out an airy chuckle," You know what it is my business cause she's my sister, much like how Ben is Five's brother also."

Diego pushed himself off of the steps while shaking his head," You know Five was right, these past 13 almost 14 years we've all blamed you for Ben's death because if you were of have had actually acted like the leader you supposedly were, He would not be dead right now………. You never protected our siblings as much as you could have only the bare minimum."

Diego turned around to go back to the bedrooms when Luther spoke up," like you were any better of a brother."

Diego could feel the anger boiling and bottling up inside of him the whole time and that last mark blew all of his control out the window.

" NO Luther I was not the best I could have been to them but at least I'm man enough to admit that…. And I did more for them than you can imagine, was it as much as I should have? No, but I did something Luther. Heck, what have you done? Lock Vanya away like an animal where she was scared and terrified, toss Five off of a staircase like he was a piece of trash, throw Klaus around, and actually killed him all because he was trying to help you."

Diego ran a hand through his hair and took a breath before continuing," Y-you pulled Vanya into a hug just so you could knock her out, And Five what if he didn't use his powers in time? Fuck, you would have just tossed a defenseless 13-year-old knowing he would have possibly gotten hurt, and all Klaus was trying to do was help you; the person who has never given a damn about him, but in return, he gets pushed around and visits upstairs for a hot minute."

He was seething as all the memories came flooding in of all the times Luther had hurt all the siblings but of course with the exception of Allison. He was glad that even though Luther did all those things it was a situation where they could use their powers to not get hurt or in Klaus' case die.

The thought of another one of his siblings dying made Diego's stomach turn and bile threaten to climb up his throat.

Diego turned back around," So fuck off Luther."

He didn't receive any comments from Luther as he made his way back over to his bedroom actually going in this time.

Diego closed his bedroom door and changed into a thin t-shirt and some sweat pants before switching the light switch off. He flopped down on his bed and tried to close his eyes to sleep. The events of today barreled through his mind as he thought about the case, Five, Vanya, Klaus, and Ben.

He opened his eyes and turned onto his side facing the clock on his bedside table.

11:53

He huffed out a breath and sat upon his bed, switching on the light. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, but he also knew who else wasn't either.

'Fuck'

' Maybe Five was right about him too, he was a pushover'

Diego tried to push the thought away until the bright red LED lights on the clock shone 12:15. He started to feel guilt that he knew he shouldn't be feeling till he pushed himself out of his bed and out his door toward klaus' room.

He didn't bother knocking and slowly opened the Séances door to his room. As soon as the door was open Klaus shot up from his position curled in on himself buried under multiple blankets, despite it being warm in his room.

"Diego…?"

Diego chuckled a little," The one and only, now come on before I leave you in here alone with Ben the friendly ghost."

Diego didn't want to openly tell Klaus it was fine for him to come sleep with him so he was glad when Klaus took the hint and tumbled out of his bed over towards Diego.

They both walked into Diego's room where he went over to the farther end of his room and switched on a small lamp, so there would still be a little bit of light for Klaus once all his lights were off.

He turned back around and saw Klaus had found one of Diego's hoodies which he had slipped on and was hanging off of his small frame. Diego let him wear the hoodie, stealing clothes from all of his siblings wasn't an unusual thing Klaus did anyways.

They both didn't say anything as Diego grabbed some of his old smaller sweat pants and tossed them at Klaus. He slid them on and had to double-knot them so they wouldn't fall down this thin waist. Diego slipped under his blankets first then moved over and held up the blanket for Klaus to crawl under.

He felt Klaus curl up to his chest as he pulled an extra blanket around Klaus who was always cold as ice. Diego reached over and turned off the lamp beside his bed which made the smaller light at the other side of the room brighter.

Diego laid his arm over Klaus and wrapped it around him as the younger began to drift off. Diego stayed like that with his 30-year-old technically younger brother cuddled up next to him with his legs twisted in Diego's. He glanced down and saw Klaus was completely asleep yet he himself still couldn't fall asleep.

He glanced over at the clock multiple times throughout the night. The first time reading 1:31. Then the next time he looked over it read 3:05.

A couple of minutes passed as Klaus started to stir a bit, Diego found his hand in klaus' hair combing through it which stopped his squirming around. Diego let more time slip by, occasionally focusing mostly on Klaus' soft breathing and the rise and fall of his chest.

He dreaded looking over at the clock as it read 5:42. He sighed for this was the 2nd night with little or no sleep in a row. This was usually the time he got up to do everything but there he was laying, having got no sleep whatsoever. The sun had already begun to rise as the tiniest bit of light started streaming in through his windows.

Diego looked down at Klaus, who he pondered on squirming his way out of Klaus grip or just waking the latter so he could escape. Diego decided to try his luck and just squirm his way out of Klaus' lengthy limbs. He carefully pulled back the blankets from him but still kept them on Klaus and started to peel off each extremity that was tangled with his own.

He moved off of his bed and covered Klaus back up with the blankets. He threw on one of his sweaters and exchanged the sweat pants for some jeans before exiting the room, softly letting the door click shut behind him.

He made his way down to the kitchen and began to prepare Breakfast as he does most every morning. The only difference was he didn't have work today so his work clothes were replaced with more comfy clothes.

Allison was the first to come down to the kitchen followed by Klaus who was still dressed in Diego's clothes. Diego heard the front door open then slam back shut as Vanya walked into the kitchen and sat down. Nobody was talking to each other besides Klaus who kept making small jokes to cheer everyone up.

" Did I ever tell you guys about the time I waxed my ass with chocolate pudding? I know I told Five and Luther but I don't think I told you guys." They all turned to him mostly with a disgusted face.

" It was so painful, Kinda what I imagine if you wax Your you know bits," Klaus let out a whistle while pointing down to his crotch.

Allison chuckled a little, " Klaus dear what were you doing with chocolate pudding in the first place?" She questioned him

Klaus' eyes lit up even more than they were before," Well you see meine schwester it started when-."

At that moment Luther came in and interrupted Klaus in the middle of him explaining his antics," So let's start the family meeting."

Diego scoffed," Forgetting one still if you hadn't noticed with that monkey brain of yours." Allison jumped in before the boys could start arguing," He might be asleep still he was up late last night."

" Or he might've never gone to bed, this is Five we're talking about," Vanya said more quietly than the other.

" She's got a point," Diego agreed as he stood behind Vanya's chair.

"Well then someone go get him," Luther said while sitting down in the chair at the head of the table.

Diego's grip tightened on the back of Vanya's chair as his anger got the best of him," You know Luther you cou-." Before Diego could finish Klaus jumped up from his chair making everyone look towards him.

" Oh look I'll go get little Fivey, but if I get murdered I'm blaming one of you," Klaus walked out of the kitchen towards all the sibling's rooms.

Diego loosened his grip on the back of the chair as Vanya looked up at him with a small half-smile. He smiled back and pulled the chair at the farthest end of the table close to her and sat down. They waited a couple of minutes then some more time passed that Klaus hadn't returned with Five.

" What's taking him so long," Luther asked in an agitated way. Diego crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair, " Not that you would know or care but Five hates being woken up and is quite hard to wake up as well."

They waited a couple more minutes till Diego started to notice that this was too long just to wake up the small Boy.

At that moment Klaus came running back into the kitchen, " Diego, Allison!" Klaus yelled. His hand was holding his chest as he took fast sporadic breaths clearly out of breath.

" Five he's- he's gone." Diego got up and walked over to Klaus," What do you mean he's gone, Klaus," Diego questioned even though Klaus had already Given him the answer.

" Gone Diego as in not here, Me and Ben searched everywhere we thought he would be in the house he's not here," Klaus gestured with his hands as he spoke trying to emphasize his point.

'Fuck'

Diego ran up to Fives room with most of the siblings trailing behind him. He walked into Five's room and noticed his light was still on even though it was day time. And his normally organised room had his books littered over his desk and bed along with an equation on his wall circled multiple times in chalk.

"Do you think the commission got him?" Allison asked unsure of where Five was as well.

Diego looked around Five's room trying to get anything to tell him where he was. His eyes landed back on the circled equation and noticed a date scrawled out next to it. Diego walked over to the wall that the smaller usually stood on his bed to reach, but was in perfect height with Diego.

He immediately recognised the date, the one that was in newspapers for weeks, the day when only 5 siblings came home instead of the 6 they had at the time. The day they were all covered in blood that wasn't theirs or their enemies but rather their brothers.

'NoNoNoNo'

"Fuck!" Diego cursed aloud this time hitting the wall and walking away not looking back at his siblings who all had worried looks. They all looked at each other then walked over to look at what Diego had seen. The realisation hit everyone as they saw the date, everyone remained quiet letting their minds piece together where Five had gone.

Diego knew that it might be a couple of days, months, or a couple of years before they saw their brother again. Maybe even another 16 years or more.

This time Five was gone

And possibly

Forever

#virusfanfic

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