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ravetillyoucry · 7 months ago

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PUPARIA

Chapter 8 - Rain

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"Huh." Hosah stood over the dirtied, coffee-stained notebook page that sat in-front of him.

His assistant leant in uncomfortably closer, his brain left to wonder what the hell it said for far too long by now, "Well, can you make it out?"

The shifter kissed his teeth, unsure whether to tell the truth and have to read all what it said out loud, or if he should keep the team waiting until somebody else had interpreted and written it up in an email.

"No, no yeah, pretty much." To be fair, he wasn't sure of a couple of ink-smudged words, but as long as he got the gist of it, that would be enough to move the case forward.

As eyes of anticipation bore into him, Hosah realised now was probably the time to start reading. With a heavy sigh, slightly contemplating what he'd gotten himself into, he began;

"You fucking vermin. You don't know me, and frankly, I don't really know you either, but I know enough to come up with the conclusion, that you're all, fucking leeches. People worry about the rats that scurry all around the city, in the subway station, in the trash and down the dark alleyways, but the real fucking rats are right in front of us."

Eugh. Cliche. Boring. All the other adjectives Hosah couldn't quite think of right in that moment,

"But, I've found myself growing fond of you. Watching you from afar. I find myself both loving you, and hating you. The lines have blurred by now. I understand you are human, or at least, that is what you parade yourself around as, but honestly, I'm not too sure you're anything at all. Completely devoid of life. Just an empty pit of nothing hiding in a cold, flesh shell. I see you sitting alone at bars on a Friday night, and I have to really stop myself from sitting down next to you, buying you a drink, taking you home with me, keeping you forever. But I'm not that selfish. Maybe later. You make me furious, because I love you. And I shouldn't, that's what you want, after all, you act cute and helpless, vulnerable and fragile, that's what draws everyone in, you've got that ginger prick hanging on your every word, and look at you. Hot and cold, nothing that you say is what you really mean, you work people up just to run away when they start to act on feelings they thought were returned. It's cruel. But, I can be crueler. We would've made the perfect pair, if you didn't drive me so crazy. You're going to be the death of me, Hosah Seung Levi. And the death of many, many others. I don't know, see how I feel once this gets to you. Let's talk more over drinks next time, though."

Ew. Was this really the type Hosah attracted? Serial killer stalkers? I mean, sounded about right. Some of the note seemed pretty heartfelt, some downright offensive, and some offensively corny. If the whole murder aspect wasn't the main thing that put him off, it'd be the cheesy way they spoke about him.

"I've never even told anyone my middle name." The shifter's voice shook, clearly disturbed by the contents of the letter, despite not wanting to admit to being so.

Teddy leant back in his chair, hands rubbing his face in disgust, not saying a word, just groaning endlessly.

"Man." The giant pushed himself forwards again, eyes fixated on the paper, "Got ourselves a next level freak."

If you were to listen closely, a small, unsettled 'Hmm' could be heard from the tiny man sitting before the sheet. There was so much information to rack his brain on. Hosah hadn't even been to the bar in weeks, meaning this killer had been at the whole stalking game for a while now. He wondered if it was just the fifteen they were guilty of, or if years worth of unsolved homicides were all on their hands. Maybe he'd have to take up the offer to chat over drinks, just to pry all of this information out of the twisted individual with his bare hands.

He wondered about what specifically he’d done to attract this kind of attention. If anything, the shifter thought he’d been keeping his head down lately, staying out of trouble, but it seems the more he tries to avoid these kinds of people, the more attracted to him they become.

The contents of the note echoed in his head, everything else becoming white noise. Vermin he could handle, Rat he’d heard a million times before, but there was something far, far more hurtful about the brutal reality of the situation;

Whoever wrote this, was completely right.

Thinking back to how he’d previously behaved, his cold attitude towards Teddy for no other reason than he felt threatened that there was an off chance of him opening himself up to someone again. It was all true. Sure, Hosah wasn’t a serial killer of any kind, but god did he have it in him to be cruel.

Hit with an unexpected punch in the gut from a little something called shame, the shifter couldn’t help but hang his head down, letting out a troubled sigh,

"Should send this all off to the police. Let them know about the painting and shit. Report the stalking. Get a protection order of some kind. I don't know.. Anything, nothing, I.. I'm just tired to be honest." Hosah sat, cross legged, burying his face in his hands, brushing through his hair as he usually did under stress.

Teddy agreed, "God, yeah definitely, shouldn't reported the painting yesterday. Shit. Well, they'll be over later in the day, can lay down the basics then." In all honesty, nobody knew why they didn't come the day prior, it's not like Jeanne didn't try calling, unlike that useless security guard, so the reason for their no-show was seemingly a mystery.

God, as the days went by, Hosah felt more like Fred Jones rather than any Sherlock Holmes, all he needed was a talking dog and a brightly coloured mini van.

As the shrunken man lost himself in his thoughts, a finger reached over, giving him a gentle rub on the back. The touch almost made the shifter jump out of his skin, but it only took a split second for him to melt into it. Surprisingly, it did its job pretty well, easing Hosah's mind, just a little.

"I'm glad I can be of help for you. Keep you safe and stuff. Just not sure if your secret admirer is all too on board," the giant teased, although it wasn't the best of times to be cracking jokes.

Hosah didn't care to get offended, or to laugh either, instead focusing on making the most of what little physical contact he'd gotten to receive in months. He was too tired to care, really. The whole ordeal tuckered him out. Just the thought of being where he was, working for another few hours, almost lulled him straight to sleep. Sure, being stalked by someone that had a kill count possibly in the twenties was probably about as interesting as his life was ever going to get, but Hosah really didn't have any damns in him left to spare.

Thinking back to his dreams, he wished he could be at a little cabin on the lakeside. Spending his days fishing, collecting firewood for his makeshift oven and heating system, his evenings cooking his catch of the day, and his nights watching the stars, skidding rocks over the surface of the crystal water, looking at the moon in its clear reflection. Summers could be spent riding his horse companion around the forest, herding the sheep on the mountain side, making sure they weren't eaten by any wolves when the sun went down. That was the life he was destined for. Maybe he could spare a couple days of the year to paint such a scene, although it'd have to wait until he could safely return to his own apartment.

Teddy rested his head in his folded arm on the desk, much closer to the shrunken figure, with a much better view of him. He looked tired. At least, more than he usually did. The pronounced fat under his eyes always gave him that sort of sleepy look anyway. The giant felt very, very bad for him. The kind of sympathy you feel guilty just for feeling towards someone. Pity was probably a better way to put it. He was sure Hosah could carry himself as well as anybody else in the building, but his assistant just wanted to crawl inside of his brain and figure out just about everything there was to know. What secrets he kept, what he dreams about, what he thinks of everyone he meets, the songs that get stuck in his head.

Teddy seriously had no idea how anyone could miss just how blatantly human the tiny man is. Maybe the killer had gotten their names mixed up, because it was the 'ginger prick' that felt as though he were a dark, endless pit of nothing, using a human shell to disguise himself.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, this was just about as close as he could get to opening up Hosah's skull and crawling in, and he'd take what he could get.

The shifter shrugged, burying his face deeper in his knees, "This dream I keep having." , he waited for Teddy's 'Hmm?' of approval to continue, "Living by lakeside, never having to work again, spending every day fishing, or painting, reading, just thinking.. It's been my dream ever since I could remember. To do nothing."

"Fishing, painting and reading doesn't sound like nothing."

"You know what I mean, not paying my way in society, living off the grid," Hosah sighed, satisfied with the idea. "Would you come with me? Once this is all over, at least."

Yes. Of course, a thousand yes's. "Haha.. We'll see"

-~-

The rest of the day, Hosah spent on edge. Not that he wasn't constantly in some state of fear anyway, but the whole devocoale had sent him down a spiral of anxiety. In the taxi back to Teddy's place, he convinced himself the car behind them was following him, a creek in the old apartment buildings hallway must've been someone scoping the place out and preparing to break in, the people sitting out on the benches outside must be waiting for him to come out so they could grab him. In summary, Hosah was not having a fun time.

As the shrunken figure sat at the windowsill, watching out of the cracks in the blinds, his eyes squinting to make out any activity in the poorly lit streets, he wondered what kind of person had written him the letter. Obviously, he knew what they were roughly, a monster capable of causing large scale tragedy for the likeness of New York's shifter population, but on the surface, it had to be someone he himself wouldn't peg as such a threat.

He thought about everyone he'd ever interacted with, or at least, within the past month or so. Cashiers, strangers on the tube, people in cars giving him the right away to cross the street. Anywhere he could find any sort of answer, Hosah thought about intensively. The shifter felt his breath shorten as he got himself more and more panicked, he'd felt fear before, the kind of fear that the breath you'd just taken would be your last, but nothing like this. The kind of fear that comes before fight or flight, the lingering feeling that something is extremely wrong. His heart in his throat, Hosah reluctantly closed his eyes, trying to steady his readily increasing heartbeat and his uncontrolled breathing.

"Hey. All good there?"

The voice took him out completely, the shifter momentarily feeling his soul come out of his body as he frantically gasped for air, "FUCK, don't.. sneak up on me like that.." Hosah clutched his chest with one hand, the other wiping he sweat that had built up on his brow, "Scared the shit out of me."

Teddy didn't quite understand the gravity of the situation, as he laughed instead, "Sorry, sorry. You looked lost in thought," the giant leant in closer, his elbows at either side of the man before him, "Something bothering you?"

'Oh, nah, just the fact he'd learnt he was the victim of intensive, violent stalking', was what Hosah really wanted to say, but he didn't want to make any more enemies after learning such a fact.

"Just that note. Trying to remember everyone I've got bad blood with, s'all.." If that was all, he wouldn't be such a ghostly white colour right now, starkly contrasting his usual sienna-adjacent tone.

His assistant turned, lifting himself up to sit on the window sill besides the tiny man, "Never really thought you were the type to go around making enemies," Teddy commented.

"God, not now, no.. But definitely in my early twenties." Ah, the good old days, as most would put it. For Hosah however, these were probably the worst years of his life.

The shifter had tried his best to keep everything he got up to around this period a secret, but of course once he'd gotten settled at his first position when first joining the agency, Jules had to and spread exactly the kind of things he got up to around the office like wildfire. 'Just to break to ice' , as she put it.

He winced at the memory, adding, ".. You've probably heard it around work. Always resurfaces every couple of months. Everyone in that place is so fucking bored man, I mean, isn't homicide enough for them?"

"I haven't heard anything, actually. If you don't want me to know, I'm okay with that. Sucks to have your dirty laundry aired out. I know the feeling." Teddy's eyes lingered on everything else that wasn't the shifter besides him, although his hand seemed to inch closer and closer by the second.

Maybe the two were more alike than they'd initially bargained for.

Hosah shrugged, despite knowing he wasn't being looked at, "It's not that bad. I was just a bit of a.." his hand brushed through his hair, pulling on the strands just a little, as he tried to think of the best way to both vaguely and accurately put it.

"A twenty year old? Hah, we all did shit we regret back then. I'm not gonna judge you for any of that, I know I'm not the same person I was like, five years ago."

Not wanting to push the topic any further, the shrunken figure moved himself directly in front of the hand, leaning over and resting his upper body against it. All he could mutter was a quiet, almost unheard, 'I'm tired,' , his eyes instinctively closing once more. He was definitely going to struggle to get a good nights sleep after the day he had, but it was worth a try.

It turns out, going through emotional turmoil does in fact tucker oneself out, as Hosah seemed to have slipped into unconsciousness right then and there, only now awaking after a night filled with the type of dreams he could only assume to be bad omens.

The dream that awoke him however, was one he recalled clearly, although this time, there seemed to be a twist.

None of that mattered though, as Hosah was back to his full height of five foot seven. The only problem is, he must've stripped off as he was so used to doing whilst in a between state of both awake and asleep, leaving him with no size appropriate clothing.

There was only one option for the shifter, unfortunately.

"..Teddyyyyy,"

The yell was immediately met by a creak in the bedroom door, as if his assistant had been stood outside of it this whole time, waiting for the OK to enter.

Teddy covered his eyes as he walked in, making his way straight towards the wardrobe and throwing the first things he grabbed at the shifter.

"I know, I'll go over and get some of your stuff in a few minutes. Just.. put these on for now whilst I make breakfast."

Ew. Hosah didn't get it. Beautiful people should wear clothes that are of the same level as beauty as the individual, but, in all honesty, the guy dressed like shit. The tattered t-shirt only just hung on to the shifter's slender shoulders, and the pants were a complete lost cause. Instead, he opted for the classic 'My shirt will cover all it needs' look, wandering his way into the living area, where he could smell something cooking in the next room over.

The, for once, regular human sized man peaked over the hollow door frame, watching as his new found roommate flipped the final pancake onto its uncooked side, listening to the sizzling of the mixture against the hot pan rather than starting any kind of conversation. He wondered if things would be different, now that they were on equal grounds to each other.

It didn't take long for Teddy to feel the eyes boring into the back of his head, turning to greet his single audience member, "Morning," He froze for a second, looking Hosah up and down.

Teddy knew he was taller than most, but he didn't expect the shifter to still be so small even when at his regular size. Not only was he much shorter than himself, but he was also much thinner, his knobbly knees poking out from each side of his legs, and his collar bone extending all the way out and to his shoulders where it stuck out like a spike of sorts.

Still, the stark difference in his height from what Teddy had grown used to was definitely going to throw him off. He almost found himself reaching his hand out, the same hand the shifter once lounged in less than a day ago, comparing it to his current size.

"Smells good," Hosah commented after a brief moment of silence, whilst his assistant took in the change of perspective.

It took him a second to get his words out, his train of thought being halted by the sudden spark in conversation, "Yeah, thanks. Should be done by now. Then I'll go and pick up some of your clothes."

He tried his best not to look the shifter in the eye, as he felt his face become progressively redder with every word that came out of his mouth.

Hosah, more casual than ever, just propped himself up on the countertop opposite his assistant. "Cool."

As his eyes fixated on everything else in the room, Teddy couldn't help but compare the countless trinkets and decorations he kept laying around the place to the, once tiny, man.

As the day went on, he found himself seeing Hosah in all different kinds of places. A butterfly resting on a flower as he walked past the park, countless erasers lying around on his desk where the shifter sat not so long ago, without even realising it, Teddy had been staring at his hands for the last five minutes. He should really get back to work.

"Here's what I'm caught up on, how the fuck does this guy know my middle name? It's literally only on like.. My legal documents. That's it."

The shifter's words took Teddy out of his trance, "What?"

"The note." now leant against the desk, Hosah sighed, "I'm just thinking about who would even have access to any of that stuff. Jules is the only one with the skeleton key for all the filing cabinets and shit,"

"Is it on your ID, maybe?"

Eyebrows furrowing, the shifter thought about the question for a second, ".. Shit. I don't know. Maybe? Fuck, yeah, since in the note it said about the bar.. But I don't even get ID'd anymore"

"I don't want to scare you but.. Could be premeditating for longer than you'd think." Teddy instantly regretted the words as soon they left his mouth, "Maybe. It's just an idea. Might be wrong too."

He looked at his hand, then back at the shifter, and then back and forth a few times more, not really listening to whatever was being spoken at him. The clothes on Hosah's body hung loose on his frame, despite them being his own, maybe this wasn't his full height after all, or maybe he just hadn't had the chance to get more form fitting options for a while. Something about the bruises Teddy had noticed scattered across the shifters legs, and the fact he could now see his sunken features much clearer, evoked an urge to protect him.

Hosah had made it clear to him that he was in no need of protecting. Just watching him make his way around the apartment when he was a mere three inches tall solidified that fact, but that still didn't stop the assistant from wanting to help him. He could want all he wanted, despite the fact it's not what he necessarily needed, which sort of made Teddy feel better about pitying the man.

Instead of focusing on Hosah’s chatter, his assistant couldn’t help but reach for the phantom weight in his pocket. There used to be someone in here, but now he’s not, and that hurt Teddy’s heart, just a little.

".. Anyway, I'm gonna go see my doctor tomorrow. Im due a visit. I'll meet you back at your place, if... if you still think it'd be better if I stayed." The uncertainty in his last few words concerned the assistant slightly, only just know focusing back into the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah, no I don't think you should risk staying at your own place for a while. At least not alone, anyway." Teddy reached his hand out for Hosah's, trying to give a reassuring touch, but instead, he became focused again on his size change.

The hand that once held his entire form could now only wrap around his wrist, and that Teddy did. He didn't even realise it until Hosah commented,

".. What are you doing?" the shifter asked, arm raised as the hand gently grabbing it had pulled it in closer.

Noticing the fact, he let go, muttering a quiet 'Sorry' , his face now burning up.

Fortunately for the assistant, Hosah did not take offence, or get annoyed at, the action. He didn't even lower his hand, instead, he just smiled.

"It's ok. It's weird right?" the shifter spun on his heel, leaning over Teddy in his seat, placing his hand down next to his assistant's resting one, "Just yesterday, I was right here. Aha."

It's almost as if he took pleasure in seeing the seated man become progressively more and more flustered.

As Hosah's fingered inched closer to the other person's tightly closed fist, he also began to think about the shift in perspective. He also thought about telling a white lie the next morning, making it out that his shrinking had been just so unpredictable lately, forcing him back into the same hand that rest besides his own.

No, not yet, at least. He had stuff that needed to be done at this height still. Besides, he hadn't pulled that trick since he was much younger, when he wanted to spend the day home from school, or to get out of any kind of family gathering he wasn't particularly bothered to attend. Those were the days. Lounging around on his dad's shoulder, spending the day doing nothing at all productive. Just hanging out, sometimes not even speaking, and enjoying the silent presence of each other.

Ah, there's another thing he had to do, call his dad.

"Well," Hosah stood back up to his full height, his hand now moved to pat his assistant on the shoulder, "Back to work."

Right, work. The shifter still had about an hours worth of security footage to try and make out. Why Scotty wasn't doing this, he had no idea. Hosah always seemed to get saddled with the short end of the stick when it came to big investigations like this one, even if he himself was a highly regarded target to the killer.

So far, there was nothing. Almost as if the package just appeared out of thin air. The fact the computers ran at what seemed to be a frame-per-second wasn't helping either. Rewinding took a whole minute, then the footage would buffer like crazy. He should've really just brought a notebook to jot these things down in, as Hosah thought of a new objective that needed to be met; complain to Jules about the dated technology they were saddled with in the shifter specialised unit.

As he sat, staring at the forever spinning wheel that was the computer loading screen, Hosah could only think of one thing, just how badly he wished to be tiny again. The thought had never crossed his mind before, but now, being reintroduced to the feeling of being held in a single hand, the shifter found himself longing for that touch.

He knew he should’ve just kept his guard up, stuck to what he knew and kept Teddy at an arms length, but Hosah always found himself in these kinds of situations. Finding love and warmth in all the wrong places at all the wrong times.

And when you have a crazed killer out to get you, you should probably avoid becoming distracted with meaningless things like touch deprivation. After all, there are bigger things to focus on, and, despite his height, Teddy was not one of them.

#g/t #giant tiny #g/t ocs #gianttiny #sfw g/t #giant/tiny #oc hosah #oc teddy #g/t writing #Puparia_tag #The Beginning of something Big I fear

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idontblushsrry · 2 years ago

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Request Headcanon

nuttymouthful asked: Uhh may I make a request for Ouran High School Host club? Just a headcanon for how the host would react to meeting someone how is a big time animal lover. (Like they pretty much live there life like the Irwin family)

A/N: I was thinking about how I’d write this and my brain just went ‘they lost their shit at the sight of instant coffee’, so uhh I hope this is to your liking. I tried to get as much animal variety as I could even though I didn’t really touch on marine animals that much)

Warnings: Like 2 swear words (pinky promise), slight drug mention(literally so small you might not even notice it), spoilers (minor) for Tamaki’s mom

Word Count: 1292

General

So this is under the assumption that like the Irwin family, Reader (or their family) has access to a wide variety of animals (from domestic to wild)

All of them respect the passion you have for animals

While they all might have various feelings on animals (see below), they can’t deny that you truly do love animals

Your family’s sanctuary focuses on healing injured animals and rehabilitating them so they can go back into the wild

Of course, your family has many sanctuaries around the world and some focus more on conservation while others focus on research

The one closest to the school focuses mainly on conservation and as such, is massive and functions like a zoo ( in terms of having people come in and see the animals)

Anyways, the host club is very supportive and often helps you with organizing donation events

Oftentimes, your family will collaborate with them and allow them to rent out parts of the conservation center for events

Aside from the conservation center though, your family owns a few ranches and farms (not for commercial profit, although yall have sold a few animals)

The farms and ranches are relatively small scale but they make great venues for the host club and a great place for getaways/vacations

Your main house is where you keep most of your favorite animals

You have an aviary attached to your room (connected through a hallway that connects to your room) as well as a butterfly garden in the backyard

You also have an aquarium tank, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 snake, and a hamster that visits on weekends

You had to be stopped at some point

Tamaki

Tamaki loves animals

He was never really around animals growing up because of how sensitive his mom’s immune system is

So when he sees that you’re an animal person, he’s super excited

Like this man is already planning playdates between Antoinette and your pets/animals

You love his enthusiasm, just one small problem

It’s a little too much enthusiasm

Yes the animals are well trained, but how would you react if a 6′0 giant with long arms came barreling towards you screaming showing its teeth?

So yeah, Tamaki tends to set the animals off/ make them nervous

Because of that he’s only allowed around certain animals (ex. certain monkeys, certain birds, etc.)

He’s happy that he’s allowed around some animals but he still pouts every time there’s an animal he can’t be around

Kyoya

This man

Kyoya does not fuck with animals. Like at all

The first time the host club went to your house, you were holding a hamster and Kyoya moved back about 10 feet

When you asked him what was wrong, he just said “Rats are carriers of many of the most deadly diseases”

You told him that you were holding a hamster and that while hamsters were rodents, the worst he’d get sick with would be salmonella

He doesn’t believe you, but yeah sure whatever

For Kyoya it just gets worse after that

The first time he sees you holding a tarantula, he loses his shit

“Look how cute it is Kyoya!”

“Get that vermin away from me!”

I could go on and on about how much Kyoya doesn’t like animals (even domestic ones like cats and dogs)

He hates going to your house, but he often has to go there in order to set up events for the host club, what a nightmare

While he doesn’t care for animals, the business side of his brain can’t help but think of a marketing opportunity

Mori

Is one of two hosts that are going to be chill about it

He doesn’t feel one way or the other about animals and thinks it’s cool that you’re interested in them

Only thing is; if Honey’s afraid of your animals, he will have to ask you to leave he won’t hesitate to step in “harm’s” way

Surprisingly though, that actually makes him the chillest with your animals

Much to your surprise (and Tamaki’s sorrow), the animals love him

He just has this calming vibe that sets the animals at ease

It also helps that he smells nice and is super tall

For most of them it’s like sitting on a giant tree

He’s not really complaining though, it makes his job of protecting Honey that much easier

Honey

Oh boy

He might actually be the worst with animals

It’s not even an issue of being unable to defend against aggressive animals (Honey could probably solo a grizzly bear)

It’s just he has a very strict “cute” animal policy that changes wildly depending on his mood, the temperature, the angle of the wind, the humidity, etc.

He’s very bougie when it comes to what animals he will tolerate and what animals he will refuse to see

The general safe choices are rabbits (especially bunnies), kittens, cows, tits (the bird species), and baby animals of almost every domestic mammal species)

Him and the hamster you see on weekends are best friends

Also, you have had issues with him trying to feed the animals sweets

Explaining to Honey why rabbits can’t have carrot cake was not an easy conversation, nor was it one you thought you’d need to have

Because of how specific he is about what animals he finds cute, you likened him to a crocodile (because of how sensitive they are to temp. changes in egg)

Needless to say...he was not pleased

Hikaru

So him and Kaoru don’t really care for animals but they try to relate to you in somewhat similar but different ways

Hikaru is always trying to get you to do/recreate stunts with the animals

“Hey Y/N, we should-”

“No Hikaru”

“You don’t even know what I was gonna say”

“No you cannot use the dolphins for hoop tricks, no you cannot teach the gorillas how to roll blunts, no you cannot “bribe” the koalas with eucalyptus...”

Yeah he’s a menace

It’s mostly all in good fun though

Hikaru doesn’t really care for animals but he does find it hilarious that the animals like him more than Tamaki

Also, completely random but Hikaru definitely send you those “horse-sized duck vs duck sized horses” memes

Kaoru

Kaoru also tries to use animals on the internet to relate to you, but he’s a lot tamer than Kaoru

Kaoru is kind of like the parent who learns one thing you like and is like “that’s your entire personality right?”

Poor bby is trying his best

Anyways, whereas Hikaru tries to recreate memes, Kaoru sends you them

They range in quality and format; from top text, bottom text to “is this a ____”

At least once a day, Kaoru will send you a meme or picture of an animal with a caption that says ‘this reminded me of u :)’

It’s so endearing that you can’t even be mad about it

Haruhi

Is the only other one who’s kind of cool about the whole thing

She’s really only been around animals in the park or the occasional pet store

Growing up, she didn’t really have the time (or money) to go to the zoo, that and the fact that Ranka doesn’t care at all for animals (she thinks they’re weird and gross)

When Tamaki hears this, he works himself up into a frenzy, torn that his “daughter” has never been to a zoo (even tho he hasn’t either)

But she likes the fact that you’re so passionate about animals

At heart, she’s a scholar, so she loves learning new things she didn’t know before, she could spend all day just listening to you talk about animals

Not to mention the fact that you’re basically giving her a free informational tour every time you see an animal

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stealth-liberal · 1 year ago

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You know what pisses me off? Extremists on both sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict seem to think that no one can see through them.

What do I mean?

It's really fucking obvious when MAGA shitbags try to use Jews in general and Israelis in particular as human shields to protect them from the consequences of their Islamaphobia.

Sure, guys, you REALLY support us when you stand behind crowds chanting "Jews will not replace us!". Or MTG nattering on about how Jews have giant space lasers and are causing all the wildfires on the west coast. Or you froth at the mouth about "George Soros", "elites", "lizard people" (lizard people are Jews guys) or that we got magical powers from Satan because we "killed Christ".

Then you turn around and pretend that you care about our safety or our lives? You pretend that you'll save us from the Big Bad Boogey Man (read: Muslims) that you support us living full and vibrant lives? Cut the shit, I may have been born in the morning, but it wasn't yesterday morning.

It's all so you can kick Muslims. It's all so you can get your violent psychosexual thrills by fucking with Muslims. You still hate Jews just as much as you did before. You aren't as subtle as you think you are.

On the other hand, it's also REALLY obvious when far left shitbags use Muslims in general and Palestinians, in particular, as human shields to protect them from the consequences of their Jew Hatred.

Sure guys, you REALLY support Palestinians when you have rallies around the world screaming about "GAS THE JEWS!", "Hitler was right!" and talk about how Jewish women aren't really women, instead they're "filthy vermin" who can't be raped. They quote directly from Mein Kampf and Protocols of the Elders of Zion and somehow think that does anything for Palestinians.

Yep, it sure does help Palestinians to terrify and attack and even kill Jews so that we think the only place that we will ever be safe is in Israel. It sure does help Palestinians to project your hatreds onto a conflict that has nothing to do with you. Cut the shit. I may have been born in the morning, but it wasn't yesterday morning.

It's all so you can kick Jews. It's all so you can get your psychosexual thrills by fucking with Jews. You don't really or honestly give 1/10th of 1 shit about Palestinians. And you aren't as subtle as you think you are.

I see you both, and you're both exactly the same. You're both garbage human beings. I will not deny your humanity. You're still human... you're just also giant bags of shitty garbage.

#sl speaks #jumblr #jewish #antisemitism #jew hatred #islamaphobia #muslim hatred #israel

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raineandsky · 2 years ago

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#30

Villainy, unfortunately, does not pay the bills.

The villain discovered this less than a few weeks into picking up his criminal ways. He’d had dreams of robbing banks and breaking into the houses of rich scumbags, but all he’s seen is bottom of the barrel fights with heroes whilst the more fancy villains do what he wants to do. It makes sense, as much as he hates to admit it—he’s new, unaccustomed. The other villains probably don’t trust him yet.

So he’s ended up here, working a minimum wage job in the local bakery. It’s not exactly what he imagined himself doing when he took up the life of villainy, but it will have to tide him over until he starts seeing decent money from his endeavours. It’s not awful, he supposes—rolling the dough out and sorting baked goods is a much more calming activity than anything the Villains’ Association could get him to do.

He’s carefully lining up a batch of new loaves on the shelf, the bread pleasantly warm in his hands, humming along to the music playing through the tinny speakers overhead. The movement is a little awkward, having to account for the giant bruise that’s appeared on his wrist since his last outing with the villains. Heroes are not the kind to take prisoners, he’s quickly learned—it’s a miracle his wrist isn’t broken. It’s also a miracle none of his co-workers have asked how he got it, frankly.

The villain is faintly aware of the customers wandering past behind him, only really taking note of anyone if they need to squeeze by him for one of the fresh loaves he’s putting out. It’s only when one of the customers speaks to him that he takes them in at all.

“Do you work here?”

The inflection of the question doesn’t register. “Yeah, what do you–”

The words get stuck in his throat as he turns to face the person asking the question. They’re easily twice his size, leaning against the shelf next to them, and they’re wearing a smile like they’ve cornered some vermin they particularly despise.

Best to play it cool. “What do you need?”

��I don’t need anything,” the hero says, like it’s obvious. “I asked you a question.”

“Yeah, I work here.” He gestures down at the unflattering uniform the bakery’s given him. “Clearly.”

“Huh,” is all the response he gets, but they don’t move from their spot uncomfortably close to the villain. He decides to just make himself busy, continuing to put the bread out of the shelves, albeit a little more quickly.

“Thought the association would’ve paid you—or do you do this for fun?” the hero asks after a bout of painfully long silence. Of course they would—heroes get paid a lot more than they deserve.

“Are you suggesting I’m a criminal?”

“You– you are,” they retort confusedly.

“You’re thinking of someone else.”

“I don’t know,” the hero nods their head to where his hand is halfway to the shelf, the sleeve of his jacket rolling down slightly with the stretch. The bruise there is impossible to miss, almost black against his vampire-like skin. “I gave someone a bruise that looks just like that only a couple of days ago.”

The villain pulls their sleeve over their hand as fast as nonchalance will allow. “I hit it on the corner of a table.”

“Sure.” The hero leers ever closer, purposely shifting even more into their nemesis’s space. “If you say so.”

Of course they don’t believe him. With a bruise like that, he basically stands out like a beacon. He might as well hold a banner announcing “VILLAIN HERE”.

“It’s nice to know there’s someone… reliable working here,” they continue, their voice low against the prying of the passing public. “It’s nice in here and all. Might become a regular.”

They flash him a frankly sickening grin before they finally, after an eternity, step back and out of the villain’s bubble. “We don’t give heroic discounts here,” he snaps, and the hero laughs shortly.

“Oh, good. It’s nice to be treated like a normal person sometimes.” The hero gives him a pat on the arm, a little more forceful than a friendly tap. “I’m sure I’ll see you around, yeah? Nice to know where I can find you.”

The way they say it is lighthearted, almost affectionate, but the villain can see the victorious twinge to their grin, and the slightly raised, knowingly eyebrows. They’re starting to feel like a wild animal caught in the bloodied jaws of a snare.

“I’m sure,” he says flatly. He can tell the hero is enjoying this, and he doesn’t want to give them anything else by seeming scared. “Have a good day.”

“Ah, such a kind sentiment. Don’t worry though.” They smile lightly, almost innocent if the villain didn’t know any better. “It’s already been great.”

#writing #creative writing #writing community #writers on tumblr #writblr #heroes and villains #FINAL DEADLINE TOMORROW BABEY #this past week has been hellish #and i never want to look at pro tools or a computer or a microphone or sounds or headphones or the uni nexus ever again #farewell foley sound design........... ill only miss you a lil bit

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inmateofthemind · 10 months ago

Note

For any (or all) of your OCs

4: What are your OC’s minor fears?

tbqh, part of my difficulty with answering this one is just "how many of my kids do I want to do this with"? So, to keep myself from making a response with TWENTY-EIGHT different entries (twenty-nine since one of them is a package deal), I'm going to keep to the ones relevant to the 1st Arcane Exchange arc ONLY (...which is still just under half of them, hehe lol); -------------------------------- INSTRUCTORS/OTHERS

Sir Shy: Germs/Disease, stemming from a "prank" pulled on him by Ambrose LXIII when they were schoolmates. Ambrose's only response to this day is "well it served you right, sulfur breath."

Solfilius: Scissors, stemming from him being extremely protective of his hair. Unknown to most people aside from Alan and a few of the other Corlux Key Seminary staff, this is because Solfilius's hair is intrinsically linked to his Signature Spell.

Alan: Explosions such as fireworks, stemming from how the sound reminds him of a pompous ex who was an avid sportsman and hunter. Let's just say the young lad insisted on volunteering as a chaperone for the student exchange program his mother Maureen's workplace is embarking on when he found out one of the instructors there was that very same ex.

Maureen: Wolves, stemming from an incident in her son Alan's youth where the curious lad had gotten cornered by the beasts when his curiosity brought him far further off the path than he had intended. If it hadn't been for a strapping young lad hunting nearby, a lad Alan would go on to date for quite sometime before they had a rather spectacular split for reasons unknown to Maureen, who knows what could have happened?

Saul & Carnelian: The sound of a dog growling, stemming from a series of run-ins they've had with various canines over the years. Luckily for the brothers, they happen to share a best friend who knows just how to handle 'disobedient pups'.

Babur Shah: Trick candles that relight themselves, stemming from his major fear of fire. Sir Shy loves to abuse the tiger beastman on this by sneaking at least on either on his birthday meal/dessert or just somewhere he's going to see it.

Godehard: Pure white horses, stemming from this one horse from his home kingdom that Godehard swears had it out for him for no damn reason. What an unfortunate coincidence that a very fashionable ex-boyfriend of his and a strict older gentleman Godehard is hoping to make his new boyfriend(despite said gentleman having ABSOLUTELY no interest) are both connected to a young lady who owns & adores such an animal~

Augustus: Carrots, stemming from his minor-but-infuriating allergy to them. The more impish Corlux students have snuck them into his bag or office enough times that Augustus is almost always wearing gloves just in case he has to suddenly dispose of one.

Salma: Spider webs, stemming from sensory issues she has. She makes it very clear that she doesn't mind spiders; it's specifically their webs, and even more specifically when she somehow ends up walking into one.

STUDENTS

Fiamma: Mousetraps, stemming from the early days of her adoption into the Trein family due to the hostility from her "new sisters". You seem, Fiamma has a small collection of pet mice that she has trained to help her with chores as well as with strong emotions. They were gifted to her by the kind elderly woman who fostered her after the tragic death of her parents. Those sisters...were not nearly as sympathetic to Fiamma's plight, viewing the creatures as vermin that were invading their house "led by the giant soot-covered rat queen that brought them here".

Kentigern: Squirrels, stemming from an incident of his youth that he absolutely REFUSES to talk about. It's honestly kind of comical amongst the Corlux students regardless of whatever the context might be.

Penny: Dust/pollen, stemming from her incredible sensitive nose. She hates how much this kind of stuff makes her sneeze.

Ruby: Mousetraps, stemming from getting her tail caught in one several times during one year of middle school. She's convinced that someone was setting them up on purpose, but that literally makes no sense since she lives on a great big plot of land with her parents and her sister, all of which adore the fox beastman and would have no reason to do such a thing.

#disney twst #twisted wonderland #twst oc #twst oc ask list #twst wonderland ask #twst writing

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katyspersonal · 1 year ago

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Guys!!!!!!! OMG what if Bloody Crow and Valtr have met?

Okay so remember how there are implications that Pthumerian blood is connected with very large parasites if diluted? Hateful maggots found in a pit near Cainhurst, in Loran Silverbeasts (in Nightmare Frontier), in that secret cave in the woods where the Giants are... in Bloodletting Beast (it works even with the theory that it is Laurence's corpse but that's a tangent)

So like, imagine if Bloody Crow also has something like this lurking, whether he himself has legit Pthumerian heritage like other Vilebloods or he received it from Annalise's blood, doesn't matter. And Valtr would feel such weird energy from him, it feels like Vermin but much stronger? Meanwhile, Bloody Crow is the type of a hunter of the Blood Queen that seeks blood dregs which should be especially abundant in blood-drunk hunters, since they're blood echoes and:

And Valtr is already pretty batshit, even if he is able to compose himself to find a successor, but League's mission is to basically end all life. Basically blood-drunkness being organized rather than that.. dark, broken state one 'snaps' into.

I just find it really funny if they've met and had that "love at the first sight" gag with pink background and music playing but instead of love it is a wish to murder one another of the intensity they've never known before and they're both just a type of a serial killer each fdhfhdsghfds And then Eileen just stands there (menacingly) being like 'Okay if you as much as budge towards each other /I/ will murder you both 👀'

#wake up crow new bloodlust based dynamic dropped dsfhfhds #bloodborne #bloody crow of cainhurst #valtr master of the league #only like one mutual will even understand what I am on about (croooow dis is uuuu)#lmao I like how there is the hassle with the league and bloody crow and alfred and then henriett is just-#-an actually sane one but somehow involved with the ongoing idiocy #the hunt is in such a sorry state gehrman would hate ya'll

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captain-ultimat-doggo · 3 months ago

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Y'know what I got more. Also I'm certain I've seen something about tiny humans in space before so probably pulling inspiration from that.

The humans who travel through space have tactical gear to navigate everything. I'm talking futuristic body armor with grappling hooks and "bug zappers" that are just lightsabers. I mean we've got little drones so we can monitor what's happening in our ships without leaving the safety of our walls, with wrist/forearm mounted monitors and controls for them. Like built in futuristic gills/air filters so we're existing in ships without friendly atmospheres, or swimming through pipes, and are just fine. Hell, maybe the boots are even retractable roller skates for ease of movement if you go out on the smooth floors these aliens seem to prefer. It's about efficiency, I swear.

A kind of Spray paint/ink is used to communicate. Those huge graffiti style bubble letters are actually the easiest script that humans can make and giants can read. An experience Triloxon engineer once woke after passing out at its station, and found its blueprints completed and edited in strangely detailed stylized letters. And somehow the room temperature had been changed to a comfortable sleeping temperature for it. It took like a week to convince the crew about its run in with a friendly Borrower.

And we're online. We are SO online. The galactic nets are filled with humans and we're spreading so much misinformation on our little rogue travelers, who are known by so many names. Some people call them "Borrowers" or "Ships Rats" or "Stowaways" or if you want to insult them, the galactic common word for "Vermin". But we're also looking out for them. No one knows exactly where it started but a tradition is spread and accepted by all.

"if you think there is a human onboard, leave a gift. If you'd like them to leave, trap it. If they accept, you've got yourself a Human. If it goes untouched, you were probably imagining things."

The traps very rarely go off. Because we started this tradition, after all. It's not a gift, it's a litmus test. if the Human doesn't know every component of the gift, whether it's trapped or not, then this isn't the place for them. Because it is very dangerous to operate in a place where not only do you not know the crew and the ship well enough to be surprised or trapped. Common advice from the older more experienced shiprats, the ones who've managed to befriend and trust their crews and ride on their shoulders to give advice as they work, and string their hammocks in a cupboard where they can be contacted, is harsh but honest.

"If they know enough about you to leave a gift and you haven't even tapped their cams or set up your own surveillance, leave the gift and bail at the next port."

"If they try to open the walls to reach you or find your hideout, it's time to go."

"We are hardly more than spiders to them. We catch their pests and spin our nests in the walls. We do no harm. But there are always people who hate and kill spiders. There will always be giants who squash humans."

"Do not let them into your heart until you've already stolen theirs."

"The Fralcx race fucking LOVES cinnamon. It's the best bargaining tool in your repertoire. Just offer to put cinnamon in their tea mix and you'll have an ally for life.". " Same goes for Quillions mangoes, for some reason."

A favorite pastime is humans using throwaway accounts to respond to their crew posting "I think there's a human in the walls, what do I do?" Posts to see if they can test the waters on what the crew really thinks.

One alien panics over designing a gift because Xey don't want to be condescending so they end up designing and fabricating what essentially is a tiny house,with dimensions to fit in the walls, and algae pools to create the correct atmosphere inside. The thing is on Levo-strips so the human could pull it around and put it wherever they like without much effort.

Xey find it gone the next morning and a note spray painted in its place, which said Thank You not only in Galactic Common, but also xer native language. Which the human regrets when the acid tears start falling through the grating and they have to book it. (They have a new house to stash somewhere in the ship, after all.)

There's a popular TV Show inspired by Tom & Jerry about a human refusing to leave a ship piloted by a single, very exhausted Felixine who keeps setting out traps as tradition says to when denying a human, only for those traps to be disabled and the bait gone, and then walk into a trap himself. It tops charts in 8 systems

Humans entering space and realizing we are so small. We are mice compared to these giant races with their advanced machinery and technologies and experiences beyond us- except that we're humans. And our engineers dive into the new tech and once we learn the principles we also soon realize how Inefficient everything is. Their "microchips" are the size of cars, their storage drives are basically buildings, and they somehow store less data than ours. So, human companies take advantage, and tech starts rolling out. Massive and there's a lot of wasted space so that it can be managed with larger hands/pincers/claws/tentacles, but also so much more efficient than anything the galaxy has seen before.

Human technicians start hopping ships and upkeeping the general maintenance, the stuff that most aliens put off or don't notice because they never access the crevices of their ships. As human companies become more popular and lead the tech world in everything from warp cores to game stations ("it's so compact! How are the graphics so good?" Says a 60' tall grimbleback, holding a new VR headset that has all of its components included because it's so BIG by our tech standards), soon many things have accessibility ports for humans to be able to use as well. This means that these shiprats hoping ship to ship cause such a huge improvement in everything running smoothly, and there's a huge downtick in pests on ships because those "pests" are not only big enough and aggressive enough to bite a pitbull or a person in half, they're invasive to so many planets and humans hate nothing more than dog killing planet overrunning monsters.

All the while, from the Aliens perspective, humans are an elusive race that don't fraternize much with them. You almost never see a human as most places aren't exactly safe for the little things to run around in. They do export so much stuff though, and the custodial staff at the Central Galactic Outpost insists that there's more humans around than any other race if you just know where to look.

And sure it's somewhat known that some of the little daredevils hop ships and help out in exchange for room and board, usually without permission, but that can't be that common, can it?

Maybe your ship is running better this cycle ever since you stopped at the last station, that just means that tuneup was better than you thought. And maybe for some reason that program you were working on last night is finished when you wake up, but you're so tired maybe you finished it before you passed out. Somehow that faulty light in the galley has fixed itself as well, which is odd, but maybe the Engineer finally got to it. You'd know if there was someone else on your ship.

Right?

... You leave a little bowl of berries out as a thank you, just in case. You're not sure what humans like but you've heard they have a sweet tooth.

#humans are space australians #humans are space fae #humans are space orcs #g/t

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imabeautifulbutterfly · 2 years ago

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Just for One Day - Part Three

Summary: The guys and Omega go on their first mission for the Rebel Alliance

A/N: Hello Lovelies,

First I want to give a big shout out to @DragonRider_905 on AO3 for the inspiration and for giving me their idea. I hope I did it justice.

Secondly, a big giant hug @avathebestx for being the most amazing mutual ever and for always supporting my writing.

I wrote this for the both of them in mind - love oo, and thank you for the inspirations.

Italics - flashbacks

Warnings: Grief, angst, flirting, kidnapping, mentions of alcohol, mentions of slavery, discussions of moving on, anger, frustrations, mentions of loss, implied deaths, being stunned, I think that’s it, if I miss any warnings please let me know.

Part Two - Part Four

AO3 Link | OS & MS Master List | Main Master List

Everyone was tense as we were coming out of hyperspace, this was going to be our first mission since our meeting on Alderaan. It been two months since the day we decided to join the Rebellion, somehow saying it out loud since then made me nervous. I glanced at my family, I already lost Perap and Crosshair, I couldn’t lose anymore.

I kept remembering Crosshair’s expression as we stood on the last platform on Kamino, Echo was right, things were easier and simpler during the war. Now, it was all a mess. I kept wondering if he regretted his decision on remaining behind, we had all been through so much together, and now he was on his own. I wish at least I could know someone was watching his back, while he was with the Empire. Hopefully, at some point in the future I’ll hear about how Crosshair was doing.

“Tech, how much further?”

“Another ten minutes, Hunter”

“Alright, let’s all go over the plan one more time, Omega! Wrecker!” It wasn’t long before the two joined the three of us in the cockpit. “Echo, wanna do the rundown”

“Sure. We’ll be extracting an undercover agent who has some very important information to pass on to the rebellion. We will be conducting a fake kidnapping perpetrated by Tech, Wrecker, and Hunter, while Omega and I will be your watch outs from our designated spots. Once we have the agent ‘in custody,’ we’ll have to keep hidden for at least five hours before we make our way to the rendezvous location. We will stay at the RV location for at least ten hours while the agent provides the information to her rebel contacts. From there we bring the agent back to Ord Mantell, where they will steal a pre-arranged transport back to their original point of egress.”

“Any questions?”

“Do we have any idea what this spy looks like?” Wrecker

“We have a name” Tech clarified, “Ava Rider, rebellion call sign Dragon. She’ll be wearing their uniform which will make it difficult for them to identify. However, she will be the only one wearing a vermin blaster in her holster.”

“Call sign? Are they a pilot?”

“We don’t know - again this is all new for us, but we’re not new to missions. This is just another mission, right?” I looked at everyone, reaffirming we got this, “everyone double check your charges, make sure everything is topped up and good to go.”

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

Wrecker couldn’t help chuckle at the last minute details we received from Dimed, just as we landed on Hosnian Prime, apparently it would raise less suspicions if I were to wait at the local cantina bar and make myself ‘available.’ Omega was quick to give me an alias, which I thought was absolutely ridiculous, however the guys were insistent I used the name.

Internally I was groaning, and hating having to be the one served up as bait, I did my best to keep an eye focused on those coming in to order. We were informed she apparently was a regular at the cantina, the plan was to allow her to pick me up, and then ‘kidnap’ her when we exited. I wasn’t wearing my armour, rather a poncho that covered most of my face and civvies underneath.

It had been about ten minutes, I took a swig of my drink when I heard footsteps stop beside me.

“See now that’s a shame” a feminine voice spoke up beside me, I turned slightly to look at her.

“What’s a shame?”

“What you’re wearing”

I looked at the poncho, “What’s wrong with it?”

“Hides too much of your handsome face” I glanced down to see the verpine blaster sitting in her holster.

I heard a smirk on my comm, I glanced over to see Wrecker and Omega in the corner chuckling to themselves. Due to the last minute changes, Wrecker and Omega agreed to be my backup in the cantina, as much as I didn’t want her to be in a place like this, the only options for her, was by Wrecker’s side, or standing with Echo in the alleyway across the way to keep an eye out, or hiding with Tech in the alleyway we were going to take, making sure to keep miscreants and vagrants away.

It was definitely better she was with Wrecker. Alright time to act interested, I guess.

I gave her a subtle smile, “You can’t see my face, how can you tell what I look like?”

“I saw a glimpse, and the glimpse I saw was enough. Name’s Rider by the way, what’s yours?”

I could hear Omega snickering on the comm, she couldn’t wait for me to say my name with all seriousness “It’s Key-koo”

“Key-koo?” I noticed she bit her bottom lip, not sure if that was to keep herself from laughing or a nervous habit she had, however I didn’t have to guess as she cleared her throat, and let out a small cough, she was definitely trying to keep from laughing, “Unusual name, I like it. Care to buy me a drink Key-koo?”

“Definitely” I motioned for the bartender to come over. We spent several minutes talking, flirting, my hand brushed against her cheek, as her hand rested on my thigh, we kept subtitling move closer and closer to each other, until we gave a convincing enough performance. We walked out of the bar, heading towards the alley we were going to be ambushed in, “You ready, Dragon?” My voice was low so only she could hear me, she glanced over to me, smirking.

“Do or do not. There is no try, Key-too.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, let’s go Key-koo”

“You’re just enjoying saying the name aren’t you”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I, Key-koo”

I suppressed my chuckle, simply smirking and shaking my head as I pressed the button on my utility belt which had carefully been hidden under the poncho, an acknowledgement ping bouncing back. I put my arm around her, drawing her in closer, playing the part of two people interested in each other. She leaned into my side, her hand reaching up and holding mind.

My heart broke a little knowing I never had the chance to do this with Perap. I did my best pushing the feeling that was causing my heart to ache far away from me, especially since we were close to ambush point.

Like clockwork, Tech and Wrecker cut off our path ahead, as Omega blocked our path from the rear. We pretended to put up a good fight, only for Omega to stun me a few minutes in.

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

My surroundings were slowly coming into focus, as my eyes opened. We were back on the Marauder, Omega sat beside me as she held a cold compress against my forehead.

“Omega, I thought I told you to put that thing on it’s lowest setting?” I mumbled the massive size headache slowly making it’s presence.

“That was the lowest setting, Tech tweaked it before we met up with you”

“I’ll make sure to discuss that with him” I groaned as I sat up, I slowly made my way to the cockpit.

It was nice to see Tech and Echo laughing and joking with Rider, somehow I had a feeling had Perap travelled with us, that would’ve been the atmosphere in the Marauder at all times. I rubbed my face pushing the wish Perap had a chance to actually get to know them out of my mind. I cleared my throat announcing my presence, “How did it go?”

“Without a hitch. It’s officially been reported, she was kidnapped along with a civilian, assailants are unknown, according to the report Tech was able to download” Echo answered as he wiped a tear of joy from his eye.

“Anyone going to look for you?”

“Not unless they actually knew what I carried” she answered turning in her seat, a smirk appearing on her lips, “Key-koo.”

“You can blame my little sister for that name”

“Yeah, Omega told me. Hunter, right?”

“Right. Nice to officially meet you, Dragon” I held out my hand to shake hers, she readily took it.

“You can just call me Ava”

“Alright, Ava” I smirked as I pulled my hand out of her hold.

“What is this information?” Tech asked

“The location of the scientists from Kamino”

“What?” Omega’s voice popped up from behind me, Wrecker appearing behind her, his face told us he wanted to listen but yet didn’t care enough to, outside of Crosshair, Wrecker had the most hatred from the Kaminoans “I thought … l thought the Empire killed them?”

“More like forceable relocation”

“Meaning?” Echo turned in his chair to face us.

“They’ve become basically indentured servants, which I can’t really feel bad about it. After all, they deserve it from what I’ve read and learned about Kaminoans they weren’t exactly the nicest bunch, were they?” Ava glanced at Echo, answering his question.

“No one deserves to be treated like that, regardless” Omega stood firm in her determination, I couldn’t help smile at her sense of justice. I placed my hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her down.

“Ava’s not responsible for the position they find themselves in, Omega.”

“Hunter’s right, Omega,” Tech added, “after all they were very quick in wanting to make deals with the Empire and now they find themselves living a life they inflicted on others.”

“Still…”

“I understand it’s upsetting” Ava offered, “and you’re right no one deserves to be treated that way, however the bigger concern is that they’re practically working round the clock on a secret project. One that only a handful of people closest to the Emperor are privy to the true nature of their work. Kaminoans have some of the most brilliant scientific minds in the galaxy, whatever they’re working on, can’t be good for anyone.”

“Has anyone attempted to find out what their secret project is?” Echo tilted his head as he looked at Ava.

“There was one spy who got close enough.”

“What happened?” Wrecker asked as he took his seat.

Her hands played with the insignia on her jacket, I could hear her pulse quicken, her eyes lost focus, she had the same look Dimed had when I saw him for the first time after we received news of Perap “You know what guys” I cut in, “this has probably been quite the trip so far for Ava here, why don’t we call it a day for now, and pick this up later.”

“Not to mention, the information is not for us” Tech added

“Yeah, okay. I’m gonna get a ration pack, anyone want one?” Wrecker looked around the cockpit, Omega nodded indicating she’d go with him, Echo shook his head turning back to face the hyperspace window, Tech shrugged, as he adjusted his controls on the dashboard in front of him, his way of saying he could eat but it wasn’t a present need.

“Ava? That’s your name right?” Wrecker nudged his boot against hers, getting her to look at him as she nodded, “Ration pack?”

“Uhh … no, thanks. Not hungry yet.”

“Hunt?”

“I’m gonna make myself some tea, not really hungry”

“Oh, I could go for a tea” Ava shifted out of her seat, following us to the kitchenette we had on the Marauder.

Omega was quick to grab the ration bars for herself and Tech, she also grabbed one for Echo, as much as he said he didn’t want one, he would inevitably be glancing over to Tech and her as they ate their own. As soon as she had the packs, she bolted back to the cockpit, I wasn’t sure if it was because she was simply hungry or wanting to avoid being in Ava’s presence after learning of the fate of those Kaminoan scientists she worked beside for years.

Wrecker lingered a little longer, grabbing three bars, I quirked my eyebrow at him, he simply shrugged as I shook my head. We did our best to stay within our food budget, but sometimes the guy was just hungry. Thankfully, Dimed was kind enough to give an entire supply of ration bars just for him.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” I motioned to the bench behind her, “it’ll take just a minute. What kind of tea would you like?”

“Oh, well that depends, what do you have?”

I looked at the tea container Dimed gave me, he replenished it the last time we had gone to visit him, he’d been kind in making sure we were always looked after, “Well not as many as I had originally” I passed her the card that labelled all the teas that were in the container.

Hunter’s Tea List:

Naboo Jasmine Tea

Coruscant Breakfast Chai

Gungan Matcha Tea

Tatooine Cinnamon Spice Tea

Ryloth Cardamom Black Tea

Mustafar Lava Cider Tea

Ord Mantell’s Decaf Black Tea

Kashyyyk Mango Oolong Tea

Alderaan Citrus White Tea

Mandalore Grey Black Tea

Daro Turmeric Chai

Trandoshian Liquorice Spice Tea

Tuskan Mint Tea

Pyke Rooibos Tea

Scipio Southern Peach Tea

Krayt Dragon Red Chai

Corellia Pearl Jasmine Tea

Mon Calamari Oolong

Polis Massa Nutmeg Chai

Nal Hutta Detox Tea

“Wow you weren’t kidding, you have quite a few teas; how long till we reach our destination?”

“Not sure. Tech!”

“Yeah!”

“How long before we reach our destination?”

“Thirty minutes”

“Thanks!”

“Darn”

I turned to look at her, “What’s the matter?”

“Not enough time to try them all”

I let out a barrel laugh, it was the first time in a while that I let out a good and proper laugh, “Well guess you could try one every time you fly with us”

“True. You must really love tea, to have such a wide variety”

“Well I’ve found tea sits better with me than caf; and … a dear friend gifted me these teas”

“Oh, I see” was all she mumbled, “Well that’s a good friend then” she cleared her throat, before focusing her attention on the card, “So which one you havin’?”

“The Liquorice Spice, only thing that keeps a headache at bay for me. It’s strong, bitter, an acquired taste, but I like it. Which one do you want to try?”

“All of them” she chuckled, there was a gleam of relief appearing in her eyes, it replaced the distress from earlier, “but for now, I think … um …” she reread the list one more time before looking at me, “the Mustafar Lava Cider Tea”

“Coming right up”

“Ever had it before?”

“Found it a tad too sweet for my tastes, but it’s really good on a super cold night.”

“Ahhh the joys of night duty” she giggled

“Yup” I chuckled, “it’s been my friend on more than one occasion. Often it’s just me, my cider and the night.”

There was silence behind me as I grabbed two cups taking out the appropriate teas, I was so focused on my task I hadn’t noticed she came up beside me, until I felt her brush up against my arm, “What’s your story?” I glanced over to her not quite understanding her question.

“Sorry?”

“Well you’re clearly the leader of your team here, which is commendable. You look like you can handle yourself which isn’t surprising considering your line of work, and the fact you guys are clones, leaves a lot of unanswered questions.”

My hand clenched against the mug I was holding, “How …”

“Echo” she motioned with her head towards the cockpit, she was leaning against the cabinet, a smile on her lips as her elbows rested on the ledge near her waist, she looked relaxed and very pretty in her pose. I pushed that thought aside, as Perap’s smile popped into my head. “It’s cool with me, so no worries. Plus if we are going to try and work to bring that Emperor down, we’re gonna need all the help we can get, from everyone.”

“True” I turned back to the kettle once it began whistling, pouring the hot water into the mugs, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure”

“Who did you lose?”

“What?” The smile on her lips fell and she stood straighter then I thought possible for a non-clone.

“The look you had before when you were talking about the one spy that got close enough, just got the impression you lost someone”

“Oh you know fellow spy” she shrugged turning away slightly, despite her dismissal, I knew it was someone that meant a lot more than just a ‘fellow spy.’ If she didn’t want to talk about it, then I wasn’t going to pull it out of her, “You still haven’t told me your story” she mumbled as she took her seat back at the bench, as I handed her the mug after the timer went off indicating the teas were ready.

“Not much to tell” I began as I took a sip of my tea, “we’re clones, and we don’t agree with what the Empire is doing.”

“True, but there’s more to it then that”

“What makes you say so?”

“Two things the red bandana and the sniper rifle casing off to the side that seems to have collected a thin layer of dust”

My eyes glanced to the case, Crosshair’s case, I let out a sigh, “It belonged to our brother”

“Your brother?”

“How much do you know of clones?”

“Basics, you guys were created to fight for the Republic, but never had any rights, or any say about going to fight. Then you guys executed Order 66”

“How do you know about Order 66?”

“I’m a spy, I learn things”

“Hmmm … well for clones, your squad, your teammates are your brothers. Truthfully, all clones are your brothers, but those you live, fight, breath, and die beside especially so. The case” I motioned to Crosshair’s rifle, “belonged to my brother, we … we lost him on Kamino.”

“I’m sorry that’s rough”

“It is, but we all have choices we have to live with, and …” my eyes trailed back to the case, “this one has been the hardest.”

“Because it didn’t go the way you thought it would”

“Yeah. It didn’t go the way it should have.”

“I’m sorry, and the bandana?”

I shifted my focus from the case to the cup of tea in my hand, taking in a deep breath of the fragrant drink, “I think I’ve said enough”

She hummed in agreement into her mug, “How is it the four of you weren’t affected by Order 66?”

“How do you know we weren’t?”

Ava’s lips pulled off to the side smirking at me, as she took another sip, “The armour, pre-Empire Era.”

I had to say I was impressed, she was very observant, and knew when not to push, “Talk to the Kaminoans, or talk to Tech he could probably explain it more” I mumbled as I took another sip, “Why do I feel like I’m being interrogated?”

“Oh come on, you don’t trust me” she stated as her finger trailed around the rim of the mug, her eyelashes batting faster.

“If I didn’t trust you, you would still be asleep” my eyes narrowed as I finished my statement. She simply nodded, taking a sip of her tea.

“Hmmm” she looked at the mug, smelling it, taking another swallow, a contented hum escaping her lips as she swallowed another mouthful.

“Good?”

“Yeah. It’d be really great with some rum.”

“You’re right. It’s really great with rum.”

“Those cold lonely nights huh?”

“Well gotta have something to get the blood pumping” I chuckled.

“Hunt we’re ten minutes out from the rendezvous” Echo’s voice called out to us.

“Thanks Echo!” I finished up the last bit of my tea, before putting it in the sonic washer, a hand brushed past mine as Ava put in her cup.

“Thanks for the tea”

“Least we can do” I didn’t say much after that, as I headed to the cockpit, Ava following in my shadow. I gave her my seat as I leaned against the durasteel wall of the cockpit. “You know” my voice was low so only she could hear me, “you won’t be able to do this again.”

She turned her seat to face me, “What do you mean?”

“The whole ‘oh no, I got kidnap, but it’s okay because I escaped’ scenario. If you try and pull this off again they’ll know it was a set up.”

“Oh. Yeah. I know.” Her hand fidgeted with the hair on top of her head, “This is a one time deal, seeing as how when I get back, I may or may not pass their lie detector test and I may or may not live to see the next day.”

“Is it worth it then, to go back to the Empire?”

“If I can save one more life … than yes, it’s worth it.”

“Perap, you should come with us, after we spend time on your med station”

“Oh really?” The holo image of her face lit up as a smile crossed her lips, “Why is that?”

“Well for one” I smirked, “you’ll see me a lot more”

“True, but I don’t know - I mean are you good looking? Sure, who wouldn’t want to see that handsome face everyday” her holo image smirking at me, “but are you better looking than Crosshair? Tsk, I really can’t say.”

“Oh really mesh’la, that’s how you want to play this?” I chuckled

“I’m kidding, sweetie. I would love to come with you, trapse across the stars of this vast universe, as you show me all the most unique and unimaginable planets, not to mention observing it all from the comfort of your arms. I think I would thoroughly enjoy that.”

“I know I would”

“However, we are forgetting one thing”

“Which is?”

“There’s a war going on Hunter, and people are dying. Your brothers are being injured everyday. I can’t just leave my post.”

“You wouldn’t be leaving your post, you would be switching locations for a short time as our medic”

“Hunter, as much as I would love to, the truth is I can do more here, and if staying here meant I can save one more life, than it’s worth it. However, if I’m able to train a replacement for my position, so we’re not short staffed and no one suffers from my absence, then yes I will go with you.”

“I look forward to it, mesh’la. I gotta go, but I can’t wait to see you.”

“Neither can I, see you soon.”

“Hello! Hunter! You there, buddy?”

I looked at Ava, there was a questioning look in her eyes, “Sorry, what?”

“You okay, Hunt?” Wreck called over, I glanced over to him, and realized everyone in the cockpit was looking at me.

I shook my head, “Yeah, sorry, I guess my head’s not fully recovered from the stun shot, which by the way Tech, you really had to tweak it even more?”

“Of course, not every one will go down in one shot on a stun setting, so I made sure to arrange the settings according to size, species, and weight of the perspective target. This way Omega will always be safe. Right Megs?”

“Right, Tech” there was a giant smile on her lips which she knew I couldn’t say no to, I simply nodded as I let out an exhaustive sigh, followed by a smirk on my lips.

Tech dropped us out of hyperspace, as we headed down towards the unnamed moon, we landed in a very remote location, surrounded by trees concealing our ship.

“Alright boys and Omega” Ava nodded towards Megs, “this is where we part ways”

“Only for a short time before we have to take you to Ord Mantell” Echo clarified.

“True. Stay on the ship, I’ll make my way to the rendezvous, once I’m done I’ll comm and head on back.”

“I think at least one of us should go with you, just in case” it wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, but the last thing I wanted was to have to go in and rescue her for real, or for someone to get injured because of her recklessness.

“I also recommend you change clothes” Tech motioned to her uniform, “if someone sees you, it might raise an alert.”

She looked at her outfit, “You have a point. Doubt you guys have any clothes I can borrow though, do you?”

“I do” Omega fidgeted in her seat, Dimed had given her some of Perap’s old clothes, saying she could grow into them. After their first meeting, Dimed doted on her like a second daughter, I think if Perap was around, she would have been happy to see Omega wearing her shirt. Truth be told, I wish Perap was here, there were times when Omega looked sad or she would get short with us and none of us really knew what to do in those moments.

Ava followed Omega to the common room, leaving the four of us alone in the cockpit. There was a weird tension in the cockpit, and a lot of shifting eyes, as they looked at one another and then quickly glanced my way.

“She’s really pretty” Wrecker was the first to break the silence.

“Wrecker”

“What? Am I wrong? Tech, Echo?”

“He is correct. She has very appealing features.”

“Tech”

“She’s also very easy to talk too” Echo fidgeted with the dashboard, as he spoke, a slight tint appearing on his cheeks.

“What’s your point guys?”

“You told Dimed you were going to try to move on, it’s been three years, Hunter. How long are you going to hold on to Perap?”

My eyes locked onto Tech, he fixed his goggles as his eyes narrowed on me, “Tech, it’s not your place … actually, it’s not any of your places to tell me when I should move on, or if I’m ready to move on.”

“We’re not telling you to move on, we’re telling you we want to see you happy” Echo clarified

“You weren’t with her for long, but she made a deep impact on you” Wrecker leaned forward as he wrung his hand, “We just want you to know we’re here for you.”

“Don’t miss out on an opportunity”

“There is nothing to miss out, Tech. Wrecker, I appreciate that you want to be here for me, but telling me to move on, or forcing me to forget about her is not the way to do it, and I’m sorry if I’m not happy, Echo. However, pushing me into something when I’m not ready for it, is not going to make me happy either. I’m not able to just forget about her, as thought she didn’t mean anything. Now, drop this.”

“Hunter”

“No! We’re done talking about this! Understood!”

Echo placed his hand on Tech, telling him to not push his luck, “We’re just concerned about you, that’s all.”

“We hear you when you get up in the middle of the night pacing back and forth, talking to her”

“We also hear you when you shed tears, when you realize she’s gone” Tech added, “we know it’s difficult, but losing Perap wasn’t your fault, losing Crosshair wasn’t your fault either, punishing yourself is not what she would have wanted, and it’s not what Dimed wants.”

“In fairness, he’s the one who told us to help you move on” Echo clarified.

“We’re done!” Omega’s voice rang out behind me, I turned to see Ava dressed in the same outfit Perap had on the mountain the first day I met her. There was a tightening sensation in my chest, my blood ran cold, my lungs couldn’t breathe, I shifted my eyes, looking anywhere else but at her.

“Great, should be on your way then” I mumbled as I passed her, heading towards the ramp. I stood outside breathing in as much fresh air as I could, as Perap’s words from that first day came flooding back.

“Nice to meet you, Hunter, despite the circumstances.”

“I’d know those eyes anywhere. Patched up enough of your brothers."

"Tell me about your brothers, and you"

“Oh, you’re definitely appreciated, I certainly appreciate you … they. They certainly appreciate you.”

“Wanna join me for dinner?”

“Well I never thought I would have ended my day with an amazing handsome gentleman who rescued me. Who’s so good at his job, I won’t have to worry he won’t show up.”

“Except you didn’t show up, you were suppose to show up” I mumbled as I took in the clear blue sky, out of all the outfits Dimed had to give Omega, why that one. Why the one that was burned into my memory for all of time.

“Ahem”

I turned to look at Ava, her light footsteps gave her away, “You taking one of us, for security?”

“No. However, I do have my comm, so I’ll ping you guys to let you know I arrived, and when I’m on my way back.”

I nodded as I turned to look at the landscape before me, “All the best”

“The outfit I’m wearing, it belonged to someone you lost, didn’t it”

I cleared my throat, keeping my eyes focused on the view in front, I didn’t answer her question, I didn’t need to, “You should get going, sun will be setting in a few hours”

“I’m sorry, if I’d known I would have worn something else”

“Make sure to keep track of landmarks, it’ll make it easier for you to find your way back. Double check your blaster charge as well. Just in case.”

I could hear her heartbeat quicken, she simply cleared her throat, “I’ll be off then. Don’t leave without me” I respected that she didn’t try to offer any condolences or tried to get me to talk about it.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be here”

She entered my field of vision as she headed off towards her rendezvous, Tech and Echo stood beside me, as I watched her retreating form, “Keep your distance, make sure she doesn’t run into any trouble.”

They both simply nodded as they followed her at a distance, I’m sure she probably was already aware we wouldn’t have just let her walk off on her own, but at least she’d feel we trusted her to some extent.

“Hunter?” Omega took my hand in hers giving it a squeeze, “Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Omega. You didn’t do anything wrong. Guess I’m just tired”

“Wrecker said he’d keep watch, why don’t you rest for a bit?”

I turned to look at my younger sister, a smile appearing on my face, “Thanks, Megs, but I don’t think I’ll be able to rest while Tech and Echo are out there”

“And while Ava’s out there too, right?” She quirked her eyebrow

“And while Ava’s out there too” I nodded

“She’s nice”

“Thought you didn’t like her because of her comment regarding Kaminoans”

“No. I like her, she’s really kind, I wish she could join our group”

“She has a different responsibility from us, but I doubt this will be the only time we see her.”

“You think?”

“Mmhmm, don’t know why, but I just get the feeling this is just the beginning of our weird friendship with her, and with the rebellion.”

“I like being part of the rebellion”

“You do?”

She nodded against my arm, “Makes me feel like I’m doing something to help.”

“Then I’m glad, but we’re going to up your training.”

“I know”

Part Two - Part Four

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li0nheartstories · 2 years ago

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Author: li0nheart - ao3 // ffnet Series: Lion Hearts Fic: Golden (book 1 of 8) - ao3 // ffnet Chapter: Four - ao3 // ffnet Summary: Little girl - big secrets. In 1971, the Wizarding World was a dangerous place. How far would you go to protect your family? ______________________________________________________________ The clock on Verity's bedside cabinet set a steady rhythm as Fenella began to talk. The room was warm, having been slow-cooked by the July heat – but there was a sinister chill in the air. Goosepimples raced across the small girl's skin, listening to her mother describe the new level of terror spreading across Europe. A Dark Wizard, under the moniker of Lord Voldemort, was gaining power. Trust was a luxury very few could afford; even the closest of friends and families were being torn apart by the temptation of this terrifying regime. He fed on the bigoted and weak-willed – pureblood wizards, or half-bloods with a chip on their shoulder - attracted by power and the promise of an 'untainted' future. Over the last decade, Lord Voldemort had gathered a sizable army. Seizing his moment, he began to lay siege to both the wizarding and muggle worlds. A baptism of fire to ensure that only the purest of bloodlines would survive. The political climate was already fraught, with murmurings of a conspiracy in the grapevine. The most recent Minister of Magic had left office under suspicious circumstances. Distressing rumours were discussed behind locked doors. Old Nobby Leach was poisoned, they said. He was ousted by his advisor, Abraxas Malfoy, for being muggleborn. His replacement, Eugenia Jenkins, was a known muggle-sympathiser and had come into power amid riots and pure-blood strikes. The community was already divided, which was a recipe for disaster. Verity sat in stunned silence. She tried to make sense of her mother's words, ears ringing in the deafening quiet. How could one man - if you could even call him that – be capable of such horror? She jumped as Fenella placed a gentle hand on her knee. "So - so, you're saying this person has been…murdering muggles and muggleborns?" "That's the short version, aye - but it's a bit more complicated than that." "What do you mean?" "Well...there are a lot of awful people out there that believe that magical blood is somehow 'better'...and that anyone other than a pureblood wizard is – is vermin. Muggles especially, and those of us without magic - like your Great Uncle Ian." Fenella shifted uncomfortably in her seat, scandalised that the words had even left her mouth. The Hayworth-Frasers found words like 'squib' derogatory. "That's – that's mental. We're all human, aren't we?" Her mother nodded grimly, and Verity felt a lump rise in her throat. Her father, Cara, and her younger siblings were muggles – were they in danger? Her hands were starting to sweat. "Why hasn't the Ministry put a stop to it?" "With the Blood Riots kicking off, and all the purists frothing at the bit, You-Know-Who has chosen the perfect time to strike. The folks at the Ministry are doing as much as they can, but they can't be everywhere at once." Fenella's tone was sombre as she took a sip of her tea. "He's got followers all over Europe, doing his bidding. Death Eaters, they’re calling themselves.” Her mouth scrunched as though the words tasted sour on her tongue. "That's not to mention the other beings - even the Giants are involved, now -" "Giants? Why would they follow him? I thought Giants hated wizards?" Fenella exhaled, cupping her face with her hands. She sounded drained, and looked it, too. "From what I've heard, he can be extremely persuasive. The Giants have been treated like monstrous animals by the wizarding community for as long as I can remember – even longer, if you pick up a history book. My guess is, he offers them something they want in exchange for their loyalty and – ah – skills." "So, why isn't anyone taking a stand against him? Why aren't we all fighting back?" Fenella looked at her daughter – with her tiny, balled fists and fierce expression - and the corners of her mouth turned up in a sad smile. "That's a noble thought, hen, but a lot of us still remember the last Dark Wizard who tried to take power. Anyone who resisted paid a heavy price, and, for most, it isnae worth the risk. This time, you might end up with the Dark Mark above your house, as opposed to -" “The Dark Mark?” Fenella twitched, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Aye. It's...well, it's the symbol of the Death Eaters. Have you seen it before? In the Prophet, maybe?" Verity shook her head. Slowly, her mother rifled through the copies of the Daily Prophet she had discarded on the bed before passing one to her daughter. A large, glittering skull with a snake protruding from its mouth glistered ominously at her from the front page. Verity gulped - the feeling of hot, stinging bile rising in her throat. While she couldn't fully understand the gravity, she had understood the implications, and it made her sick to her stomach. She grimaced, putting the paper face down on her red tartan comforter. "And these 'Death Eaters'… they're his followers?" "Aye - they're His 'inner circle'." The girl felt another bubble of nausea pop in her stomach - she simply could not comprehend how this mad-man had any supporters at all. Verity didn't know who was worse at this point – the man behind the madness, or the people enforcing it. A groan turned into a growl as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It doesn't make sense! Surely anybody with half a brain can understand how stupid his plan is? What's he going to do - kill all the muggles and take over the world?" "It might sound crazy to us, hen, but it isn't that different from Grindelwald's vision. Except, You-Know-Who isn't building prisons like Nurmengard for people who stand up to him or don't meet his standards. He's killing them, Verity. So that wizard-kind can 'rise up' and take their 'rightful' place. He's an extremely dangerous man." "But why would anyone join him? We've lived happily alongside muggles and other beings for ages!" "You say that, but it's only been thirty years since Grindelwald's defeat. He still has a lot of fans - biding their time, eager for another uprising." Verity made a noise of disgust at her mother’s words, frowning as faces began to float through her mind – she knew the type, and it was unnerving. "Look at what happened when the squibs marched for their rights. There was absolute uproar – even though they are technically wizards. Poor Ian was in St Mungos for a week after that knee-reversal hex. It isn't their fault they were born without magic, but some see them as…as 'runts'." Her mother made a face, eyes crinkling shut as she shuddered. "Families, like the Blacks, do away with them in secret. Put them in orphanages…or worse." Verity grimaced as her mother confirmed one of her suspicions - she remembered all the vile things she had heard Walburga spout over the years. One memory, in particular, stuck out very clearly. ______________________________________________________________ A/N: If you would like to finish this chapter, head on over to ao3 or ffnet! 🥰 Book 1 is going through a mahoosive editing process, but I’m pleased to inform you all that chapters 1-10 are finished! 11-26 are still first draft; please don’t read those, it’ll be hella confusing. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated! Feel free to drop me a line - I’m always on the lookout for more fic buddies. L🖤 xx

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years ago

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She Never Liked Flies

More Lady Dimitrescu fics! Because I love her very much now lol.

Summary: A lonely Alcina only has flies for company and she hates them very much. And then she is given a Cadou to work with.

She never liked flies, they are pests. They are bothers. They seem to be drawn to her, especially on days that are sweltering. Days when the bodies she has stacked are festering and baking. She hasn’t gotten around to tasting their meat so the flies have begun to make work of them. She is content to leave them to it so long as they leave her be.

But they don’t seem to appreciate her mercy. They’d rather antagonize her; land on her and make her skin twitch and crawl. She snarls and swats them away; having more success with slapping herself than any of the vermin.

She plucks one from her dress and flicks it away with a scowl. She supposes that she should just be rid of the bodies that are attracting them in swarms. She can harvest the village for new, fresher ones anyhow. Alcina’s face bunches in disdain as she makes her way through a cloud of flies. Their buzzing is incessant and aggravating and--with so many of them--impossible to ignore. They hang greedily about the corpses. Her corpses. She thinks that they may have gotten more of a feast than she had. She waves them away with her hand only for them to drift right back into place as though to antagonize her specifically. She thinks to crush them all, but what a mess that would make and one that doesn’t suit her aesthetic quite as well as blood.

She stoops to pick up one of the bodies. Her hand only has to graze it for a swarm of flies to burst out of the corpse’s chest cavity and into her face. Her face contorts once more in agitation. She thinks that one of the teeny pests has made its way into her mouth. She hoists the body up and over her shoulder. One by one she collects them. One by one the swarm grows larger

A few more moments, she reassures herself. A few more moments and the bodies will be outside and out of mind. A few more moments and she will be mostly rid of this loathsome flies.

She puts it in her mind to never leave the corpses in her dining room for that long again. Their blood is a honey for the flies and the meat is an incubator for their maggots. They multiply at such a ridiculous rate in such optimal conditions.

She ducks under the door and pulls it shut behind her. If she never sees another fly again in her life that would do her just fine.

.oOo.

Alcina finds that the flies are her only company. She isn’t exactly sociable but she shouldn’t like to call herself a recluse. She likes to think herself a fine, well-mannered lady. The sort that worthy, powerful folks might seek kinship with. And yet she has no one at all.

No one who comes by her castle save for Heisenberg every now and then, but his company can be loathsome at the best of times. She thinks it beneath her and yet she can’t help but to crave companionship nearly as ravenously as she desires flesh and blood. She gracefully licks her fingers clean of it.

The girl she drinks from is a pretty thing; youthful and willowy, just older than fifteen. She has the face of innocence, though it is growing ashen and hollow. Sometimes it is hard for her to remember feelings. Sometimes she forgets that she still has them. For her forgetfulness, when emotion does work its way back in, it takes her by surprise. And with surprise comes intensity. Intensity that is almost too much for her to shoulder.

This time it creeps up on her. Slowly. Subtly. Undetectable until she is taken by emotion in full. This time it stirs within her in such a way that she feels almost human again. Weak.

It comes upon her as she stares at that youthful face. It comes under the guise of her yearning for companionship and intimacy. Alcina steps away from the girl’s body and takes to her bedroom, the feeling follows her. Whatever it is, she can’t quite name it. Can’t quite name it and can’t quite shake it. Neither can she understand it. And so she can’t process it.

Putting it aside is her best option. This emotion, like a single breeze through a long abandoned crypt, clings to her. She tries to bury it under the elegant hum of a cello. She perches near her bedroom window and slides the bow over its strings until her wrists start to cramp. And when the melancholy still refuses to leave her she tries to mask it beneath smoke. A drag from her kiseru does little at all. She thinks that she could smoke the night away and see little pay off.

And it comes to her what she is feeling. It is longing. Longing and mournful nostalgia. A touch of regret. And she remembers. Remembers something from very long ago. From what might as well be another life entirely.

She remembers children. It is distant now but she is almost certain that she had, had one. A small boy. A broken boy who didn’t last past his third winter before withering the same as a rose.

She remembers nights both long and short of trying to have herself another to replace the hollow left by the withered child. The child who became feed for the flies. Those hateful flies that have tasted her child on their maws.

She remembers babies who died before they lived. Two of them before she gave up.

Alcina craves company more than ever. The castle seems somehow too big even for her. The only company she has are the flies.

.oOo.

She plants three Cadous. And three Cadous are taken by three separate swarms.

Her lips curl back in resentment, nose crinkles with aggravation. They take her meals and now they tarnish her experiments. Loathsome little beasts. She will be rid of them somehow. She watches them flick and flit about, untroubled and ignorant of what she has in store for them.

They dodge the slap of her hand. Swirling around her as though she is of no concern at all. Her temper rouses. They fly higher as though they think that they can ever be out of her reach. And then they begin to take shape and color.

She very nearly slices them to ribbons and then she sees a face. A young and pretty face. A smiling face with soft doe eyes. The young woman reaches out, her fingers brush the fabric of Alcina’s dress. “Mother?”

She yanks her dress out of its grasp and swats at the thing. A pest, one giant, talking pest.

She hates the face it makes, that pitiful expression.

“Leave.”

It furrows it’s brows.

Perhaps it isn’t as sentient as she had initial thought. It is, afterall, only a cluster of flies. “Leave my castle.” She turns on her heel. Decidedly, she will destroy it if she comes back to find it still dwelling in the room.

.oOo.

She hadn’t expected to come back to two more of them. Surprise and outrage alone became their protectors. “Mother?” The eldest of them inquires again. It’s voice is soft and quiet. The way it looks at her…

It is only a bundle of flies and yet it looks at her with such warmth and love. They all look upon her with the sort of affection she hasn’t seen since her mutation. Something in her breaks. She hadn’t realized that she could still cry, not until she feels wetness on her cheeks.

“It’s okay mother.” Assures the one with the yellow pendant fixed around its neck.

“We’re here now.” Says the third, the youngest presumably.

They are just flies. So many flies. But the eldest steps forward and when Alcina stoops down, she wipes her tears away. Gently, tenderly. Just like a real child.

Hesitantly, Alcina takes her tiny hand. The fly child peers up at her with such adoration, a bright and eager smile. “You’re going to be alright, mother.” Declares the middle child. “You have us now.”

“You won’t be alone.” Adds the youngest.

And she believes them. She believes her...her children. Absently she finds herself wrapping her arms around them. She can feel the beating of thousands of wings and if she squeezes too tightly some of the flies break off. She can’t help but make a reflexive cringe.

They are unperturbed. The nuzzle their faces against her chest. Her children. The company she had longed for; her human dream finally fulfilled and yet she is apprehensive. They are flies, just an assembly of flies.

.oOo.

She is thankful that she never found it in her to exterminate them. They love her. They look up to her. They give the castle an aura that it had needed. They each have their own quirks. Their own hobbies. Their own peeves and dislikes.

Bela is quiet; a young woman of academia who finds entertainment in discovery and literature. She is a poet and a linguist.

Cassandra is an artist of her own. She can pick a body apart in ways that Alcina herself could have never dreamed up. The girl has a knack for knives and a sharp tongue to match.

And Daniela is unpredictable. A feral little thing. She is difficult to tame, prone to making a perfect mess of Castle Dimitrescu. Her interests change day to day.

They are a handful. A handful and a helpful. Harvesting the village is easier with their help. Mealtimes and glasses of fine wine are richer now that they are here to make conversation with her. When they laugh with her and inquire, “mother?”

Sometimes she lets them fall asleep leaning against her. Sometimes she reads to them. Reads the stories that she might have read to that little boy had he not wilted. A part of the woman she once loved is still ever present and that part of her loves her little darlings dearly, as though they were born of her own womb and not a Cadou and hundreds of eggs.

They are flies. They are her children. They are her Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela.

She never liked flies but she loves her children.

#Lady Dimitrescu #Alcina Dimitrescu #Resident Evil 8 #Fanfiction #One Shot

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philosopherking1887 · 3 years ago

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Writer tag game

Thanks for tagging me, @ectogeo-rebubbles... 4, days ago, sorry; my parents are visiting and I haven’t had much time to myself.

How many works do you have on AO3?

(Why is the number so big when I post? @sapphosewrites said the same thing, so I know it’s not just me...)

What's your total AO3 word count?

515,575

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Mostly Zuko-centric ATLA fics because a couple were inspired by a BNA whom I tagged in the Tumblr post, then she reblogged and lots of people saw them.

Between the Salt Water and the Sea Strand

To Give Birth to a Dancing Star (didn’t get very far on that one, oops)

The Last Argument

Zeno’s Paradox (the only non-ATLA fic on this list; I posted it very shortly after Thor: Ragnarok came out, before I realized how terrible it was)

Shame and Necessity

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes, almost always (unless someone said something weird, or one person left a bunch of identical short comments on different chapters of the same fic; it seems a bit silly to respond to every “<3″ with “Thanks!”). I respond to encourage people to keep commenting, by assuring them that I’m reading comments, I pay attention to their content, and I appreciate them. I especially like it when people comment on specific themes in the fic or how it relates to some aspect of canon, so that it starts an analytical conversation about the story and the characters -- which is what a lot of us are here for.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I’m gonna say The Third Time, because Loki actually permanently dies.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Starting Over, I guess? That’s the hopeful ending of my Thorki series, taking place before some hypothetical version of the Infinity War storyline in which neither of our principal characters dies (because fuck the actual movies, and fuck Ragnarok too, while we’re at it). But there are other fics, sometimes intermediate in one of my series, that have hopeful rather than downbeat endings, even if more complications arise later. The Ninth Deadly Sin is a rare standalone fic with a happy ending (which I’d forgotten about until I went looking through my Works page for happy endings). Prince of Darkness also has a fairly happy ending that involves solving climate change with Frost Giants...

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

No, at least not yet. I have nothing against them in principle, and sometimes enjoy reading them, but since the target audience is the intersection of two (or more) fandoms, it’s necessarily going to be smaller than either fandom on its own.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really related to the fic. I did get a random nasty comment on a Garashir fic about a fan letter I wrote to Tom Hiddleston (and handed to his manager-person after seeing Betrayal in London) and then posted on Tumblr. Just someone being an asshole.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do indeed! I write very chatty smut, with a lot of feelings, often angsty, and sometimes awkward, because sex can be awkward, especially if one or more of the participants is inexperienced (at least with bodies like their partner’s).

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes -- someone translated No Exit into French as Aucune sortie (though actually, the French title of the Sartre play that I named the fic after is Huis clos).

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I’m inevitably going to answer that kind of question with my current favorite ship, which is Garashir... but that might actually be my all-time favorite ship because the fandom is a lot more welcoming and chill than others I’ve been in before.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Hoo boy. All the people I’ve seen doing this tag game previously have said they don’t have any; I have 5 partially posted WIPs in old fandoms that I doubt I’ll pick up again. I think I’ve tagged most of them as “on hiatus” and warned readers in author’s notes that I probably won’t finish... Do I want to finish them? In theory, yes; in practice, no.

What are your writing strengths?

I’ve most often received compliments on my dialogue, which I also find the easiest thing to write; my favorite version of this compliment is when people say that they can hear the dialogue in the actors’/characters’ voices. Some people enjoy the philosophical discussions that I can’t help inserting into my fics...

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plots. Thing happening. I cannot come up with plots. All of my fics are just people talking and having thoughts and feelings about things.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Ask yourself: what does it add to have the dialogue in the language it’s supposed to be in rather than translated? If the POV character speaks the language, would it be sufficient to note that they’ve switched to a different language, or put it in italics or something to indicate that? If the POV character doesn’t speak the language, would it make more sense to just say that other characters have spoken an unintelligible string in another language, or that they just caught a few words, or whatever? That’s not to say that there’s never a good reason to include the actual language; if the actual words are important, or if it matters that the POV character doesn’t switch effortlessly between languages, or if it just adds some richness of texture that you’re going for, it can make sense.

If it’s a real language that you’re not fluent in, do ask someone who is to check your grammar.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, of course; I am that age, after all. I wrote fics about Tom Riddle and/or Voldemort when I was in middle school in 2001-2. I’ve always been interested in the villain’s perspective.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

At the moment, Had we but world enough, and time. It stayed reasonably self-contained while also covering the issues I wanted it to cover, with some smut thrown in. Maybe my best fic is actually an older one, but my favorite is always in my current fandom, because that’s what I’m excited about... and I’d like to think my writing has been improving with practice.

Tagging: @delicatetrashstranger, @vermin-disciple, @hex-o, @judiops, @the-last-dillpickle... and @illwynd and @incredifishface (since I actually ended up talking about my Loki and Thorki fics in this one).

#fic writer tag game #my fanfiction

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inkweaver22-blr · 4 years ago

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HEY REDWALL FANDOM

It’s 4AM and I can’t sleep so I’m going to rant for a little bit about something my brain won’t shut up about.

There’s this fic I read some years ago that aggravates me to no end. Not because it wasn’t well written, oh no. Quite the opposite in fact. It was a more mature story than the books with the main themes being that what creature you are born as doesn’t affect your “goodness” or “evilness” and that everyone has the rights and freedoms to make choices for themselves.

The main player in this story was a badger lord seer (whom we will refer to Seer from here on) who had seen a prophecy of a great evil/era of upheaval and uncertainty (which he implies will be caused by the corsair sea-rats) and set about gathering a force to combat it. He however didn’t really care what species you were and accepted even groups of vermin bandits into his army so long as they vowed to adhere to his code of conduct. Which was really simple in “do no harm and let no harm come to the innocent” type of stuff.

So while Seer himself seemed grim and unapproachable, his army revered him for he had given them a sense of purpose, brotherhood, and honor. He united many races that were once enemies and trained them all into fierce yet honorable warriors. So while we as an audience may find him unnerving, he’s set up as the protagonist whom we are meant to support.

Now is where things start to go off the rails a bit.

His younger brother, whom we’ll call Rage, apparently doesn’t like the fact that Seer is allowing “vermin” into his army. Specifically because Rage hates rats because of the corsair. Rage, unfortunately was cursed with an extra hard dose of the typical badger lord berserk rage and isn’t as good with tactics as Seer is. But because Seer needs Salamandastron for some reason, he tricks Rage and the Long Patrol out of the mountain and takes it for himself.

Okay so it’s just a spat between two brothers, one of which is obviously a bigot so we root for Seer here right?

Well when Rage returns he notices that Seer has given sacred armor crafted by previous badger lords to his troops of rats who also happen to be right at the front of the army. Not his squirrels, not his foxes, only the rats. Rage, obviously, goes into a rage and decimates the rat soldiers and is eventually killed due to his blindness. The Long Patrol is permanently ousted and retreat to Redwall. When questioned by the Abbot later, Seer absolutely avoids the question of “did you intentionally bait your brother instead of trying to talk to him”.

Here’s where my suspension of disbelief starts to fail.

Earlier in the story it’s made clear that any creature in Seer’s army may leave at any point due to the fact that every beast is free and can exercise that freedom (so long as they don’t harm others). We actually see this happen when his force of otters and shrews leave after he uses MUSTARD GAS on a fort of villains, brutally killing them in what the otters believed was an dishonorable way. (Oh did I mention Seer is super intelligent and understands science and math that allows him to create amazing things like submarines and a tower near Redwall with a giant mirror that lets them get messages to Salamandastron quickly?) Anyway, Seer tries to refuse their resignation which the otters throw back in his face due to the aforementioned policy of freedom of choice.

This is where I get angry.

After winning the mountain, Seer parlays with the corsair king. You know, the leader of the slaver pirates that Seer hinted might be the cause of the great approaching upheaval? So what does Seer offer him? If Corsair will give up all the woodland slaves (mice, otters, shrews, squirrels, moles, ect.) Seer will replace them with all of the rats of Mossflower and beyond. All of his rat troops who served him loyally as well as any free rats in the country, evil or not, were just sold into slavery without their say in the matter. Because it is very much known by everyone that the rats replacing the slaves will not be treated like new crew members but as slaves themselves.

What absolutely infuriates me is that Seer’s army just goes with it. They don’t put up a fight, even if the rats are confused and a little hurt by this choice, they go along with it because Seer hasn’t steered them wrong yet. Which makes absolutely no sense when you think about how Seer has been preaching freedom up to this point. Heck, when Redwall begins offering sanctuary to any rat that can make it into their walls, (because absolutely screw any and all forms of slavery), Seer sends his squirrels to patrol the woods and capture any that try to make it to the Abbey.

Why would Seer’s army, who have been proven to be smart, kind, and honorable by this point, ever agree to this? Many of them most likely have at least one friend in the rats. Even if they accepted their comrades willingly chaining themselves to the oar benches, they would most certainly not agree to kidnapping free beasts who never joined Seer’s army. I just does not make any sense and is literally the only problem I had with this story.

Finally we get to the twist that shakes everything and cements this fic as one of the best pieces of Redwall fiction I’ve read.

We have a scene towards the end with Seer in the Prophecy Room of Salamandastron. He gazes upon the original prophecy of evil and upheaval, and then moves on to the next one which he never mentioned. One that states that the badger lord seer could only be defeated by another seer. A rat seer.

Everything he’s done; creating an army of mixed races, building a huge tower in the fields near Redwall, killing his brother to take the mountain; ALL OF IT, was for the single purpose of eliminating rats from the land. Seer was the antagonist all along.

It almost worked too.

In the Redwall world, it’s well established seers can have visions of almost everything, except other seers.

The rat seer, we learn, foresaw that she would need to go to Redwall to retain her freedom, but not why. So she and her family got to Redwall before Seer sent his squirrels to patrol the woods and he can’t do anything because if he attacked the Abbey he would lose any remaining support he had.

So all of this change he made, this era upheaval and uncertainty he caused, was for nothing.

I can’t remember if the story continued on after this point and had the rest of his men realize they’re following a mad prophet but I was tossing and turning all night at their blind faith in following him into becoming genocidal slavers.

So anyway if anyone can find this story I HIGHLY recommend it but be prepared to get irritated towards the end.

UPDATE!!!

The fic in question is The Crimson Badger by Highwing and the more I remember about it the less appealing it is. Lots of grimdark deaths, out of place sexism, and strange prudishness concerning premarital sex abound in this so I change my stance from “highly recommend” to “read at your own risk”.

#Redwall #The Crimson Badger #Salamandastron #Badger Lord #Redwall Abbey #seer #seers #badger #rat #there were also these two cool characters #a mouse chained to a stoat #they were friends and the mouse wanted to help the stoat with his drinking problem #edit!#yeeesh this is a lot worse than i remember

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idontblushsrry · 4 years ago

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Uhh may I make a request for Ouran High School Host club? Just a headcanon for how the host would react to meeting someone how is a big time animal lover. (Like they pretty much live there life like the Irwin family)

Warnings: Like 2 swear words (pinky promise), slight drug mention(literally so small you might not even notice it), spoilers (minor) for Tamaki’s mom

Word Count: 1292