bro i really need kalluto crumbs with chrollo or the troupe in general as his parents figure and they're not even aware how nurturing their attitude towards kalluto lol i can see the vision
(the senior citizen discount joke was originally going to be about kids-eat-free instead, except then I realized that there was no way I could picture them running that scam except this:)
still caring about internet friends you lost touch with years ago is so embarrassing. yeah i had a deam we met up irl recently. the last time we spoke was maybe 7-8 years ago. i still wear the laces we randomly decided was a sign of our friendship. i dont know what any of your socials are or if youre even active on any. sometimes i see someones art resemble yours and i wonder for hours. do you still go by that name you chose? whenever i see it i wonder if its you. we couldve passed each other in this vastness a thousand times and not have a clue.
@/pwiscila on twitter / x / x / x / x / A Temple of the Holy Ghost, Flannery O’Connor / Love of the Wolf (translated by Keith Cohen); Stigmata: Escaping Texts, Hélène Cixous / De Profundis, Oscar Wilde / unknown / Ophelia, Act IV, Scene V
Imagine being a Kurta that survived the massacre for one reason: you look too much like Sarasa.
Platonic Phantom Troupe x Child! Reader x Platonic Yandere Kurapika
You’re only one and a half when the massacre happens, and you can’t understand what’s going on really. You just feel your mother falling as she holds you.
“Y/N -” she whispers, so quietly her attacker can’t hear. Then she’s gone, and the sun is blocked out by a man you don’t recognise.
Uvo stops when he sees you. For a moment, he feels smaller and younger. Oh, he knows you’re not Sarasa. He’s fully aware of that. But god do you look like her. The same hair, styled exactly the same, and the same big eyes, and… Fuck. Uvo isn’t actually sure what to do. He should kill you, logically.
But then you smile innocently up at him, ignorant of your mother’s blood pooling around your feet.
And Uvo doesn’t know what to do. It’s one thing to see a resemblance, but you could be her twin.
He doesn’t think about what he’s doing when he just shoves you into the furs he’s wearing. His idea is that he can just deal with it later. A bit of procrastination. That’s fine. And because you’re so small, and so trusting, you fall asleep and he can’t even see you as you’re hidden by the fur.
Uvo is ashamed to say he forgets about you. He just goes back to an old cabin he found abandoned in the woods, the place where he’s been staying recently. He yawns and then tosses his furs onto the floor.
“Oof.” Oh right. You. Oh shit. Uvo watches as you poke your head out of the masses of fur, still holding your bloodstained teddy bear. Your hair has come loose now, and you look like Sarasa did when the Troupe buried her. You even smile as if he hasn’t just butchered your people and thrown you.
Shit. Uvogin has the last Kurta sitting on his floor, dazed and confused. Do you even know you’re not with your family? Are you even aware of death? Uvo thinks back to his earliest memories. After he affirms he can’t remember his time as a toddler, he relaxes slightly. You won’t remember your time with your clan.
Yet he’s still panicking. You resemble Sarasa. You sound like her too. He’s killed everyone you knew. He’s too dangerous to have you here. He can’t look at a face like Sarasa’s and kill you. He’s too fucking confused. How did you sleep through the entire massacre? How were you so blindly trusting? Just. Like. Sarasa.
God, Uvo’s made such a big mistake. If he’d killed you back then, he could’ve got distracted by other thoughts. But now you’re in his house, and trust him like Sarasa did. He couldn’t save Sarasa. He has saved you, albeit inadvertently. Shit, does that make you his responsibility? He can’t just put you back in the clan’s woods and hope someone finds you. He doesn’t want that either.
He can’t kill you either. No, he’s made that impossible for himself now.
You, oblivious to his thoughts, or perhaps aware he needs to be away from them, make another noise and get to your feet, awkwardly staggering towards him before falling onto his leg.
Uvogin panics. “Uh, no, kid. Not now.” Your lower lip trembles and your eyes fill with tears.
And you let out the heartiest wail Uvo has ever heard. How are you so goddamn loud? You’re a fucking baby! If he was this loud, maybe he doesn’t blame his parents for ditching him.
“Okay! Okay, jeez!” He reaches down and picks you up. You’re so tiny compared to him. Like a clock ending its chimes, you shut up immediately. Uvogin blinks. Was that really all you wanted? Well, at least you seem easy to please.
Before Uvo knows he’s doing it, he pats your head. For the second time in his life, a small, innocent girl depends on him. And this time he doesn’t intend on failing.
“Alright, kid. Lady at the store said this was good for babies.” Uvo holds up a bag of mixed vegetables. “Personally I prefer meat and beer, but I don’t know how many teeth you have yet, and most people say babies can’t have alcohol.” That’s a shame, considering his fridge is mostly beer.
You don’t really reply to him, but that’s because you’re so focused on colouring in pictures. Maybe Uvo shouldn’t have left you alone, but whatever. You seem okay. You usually cry if he’s not around though. Then again, you’re probably really hungry. Uvogin has decided kids are useless, because you don’t eat any of the food he does. He tried to give you beef jerky and you spat it out, much to his annoyance.
“And I gotta stop calling you kid,” he says to himself. He walks over to you and gets down on his knees to seem less intimidating, though you’ve not seemed to mind that yet. “What’s your name?”
You pause and then hold up your teddy bear. “Bear.”
Uvo pulls a face. “No, that’s not - I mean your name.” Your last connection to your clan, apart from your eyes.
“Bear bear!” you happily say, passing him your bear like it means anything. Uvo sighs. This won’t get him anywhere.
“Do you know what a name is? Naaameee.” He points at himself and then at you. “I’m Uvogin. Who are you?”
Nothing in your expression changes. Uvo thinks it’s for the better though. He wouldn’t want to remember your old life anyway. “Okay, kid. This isn’t working. So I’m just gonna call you…” He doesn’t know if he can call you Sarasa actually. He doesn’t want that to drive him mad. Or madder.
Uvo thinks for a moment. “Eh, Gremlin will do. You’re a gremlin anyway.”
“Gremlin!” you repeat. Uvo nods. Yeah, this’ll work.
Nobunaga knocks at the door. Uvo should be home, even if this is a surprise visit. He just fancied going to a bar and drinking like always. When there’s no response, he shrugs and just uses his key to open the door. Not like there’s anything he hasn’t seen anyway.
“Uvo! Hey, Uvo?” Nobunaga makes it two steps before seeing you, sat on Uvo’s ratty old couch and drawing what looks like an awful interpretation of Uvogin.
Nobunaga’s soul all but leaves his body. What the fuck? He doesn’t remember Uvo having a kid. Sure, he’s drunk most of the time he hangs out with his best friend, but Nobunaga thinks he’d remember that.
“Uvo!” The man in question finally comes into the living room, hair damp. “Uvo.”
“Yeah?”
“Uvo?” Nobunaga repeats for a third time.
“What?”
“Why do you have a child?!” You don’t even look like Uvogin! You look - Nobunaga sees it. Not as strongly as Uvo does, but enough to see Sarasa in your face as the light catches it.
Uvo just shrugs. “I dunno. I guess I’m her older brother.”
That breaks Nobunaga’s stare, and he focuses on Uvogin again. “When did this happen?”
“A few weeks ago.”
“A few weeks? Uvo, that’s a toddler! It takes more than a few weeks to make a-”
“She’s not related to me!” Uvo says. Well, Nobunaga can clearly see that.
“Okay. Then where’d you get her from?” He looks at you again. And realises. “Uvo… Uvo, is that a - that’s a Kurta?”
Uvogin shrugs again. “Relax. She doesn’t remember any of it, and she’s mine now anyway.”
Nobunaga runs his hand through his hair. This can’t be happening. “Oh my god. She’s a Kurta. She’s going to grow up, see Scarlet Eyes, and murder us.”
Uvo laughs like that’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “She’s not a Kurta anymore. I told you. She’s mine.” He crouches slightly and faces you. “Hey, kid. Come meet Nobunaga.” You put your crayon down and shuffle towards him. Uvo catches you when you stumble and puts you in an unwilling Nobunaga’s arms.
You squint up at him like you’re trying to make sense of him. “No… Nobu… Noba…”
“Nobunaga,” Nobunaga says.
You try for a bit longer and then point at him. “Nobu.”
Nobunaga’s heart might have just melted. “Yeah, I’m Nobu. That’s right. Well done, kiddo.”
Uvo grins in the most little shit way possible. “Knew you’d like her.”
“I didn’t want to like her! I came here for drinks! And now I’d…” You gently touch his hair without pulling it.
Yeah, Nobunaga is pretty sure he’d die for you.
Nobunaga visits often, teaching you how to hold a stick like it’s a sword. You don’t seem that interested though, as you just keep hitting him in the knees with it. Uvo encourages that.
It’ll be strange seeing Uvo without you today, but as the Spiders are all on a mission, Nobunaga assumes you’ll be left at home. Not great for you mentally, but what can he do?
His assumption is very wrong.
Uvo is uncharacteristically late, which already gets the troupe’s attention, but when little footsteps echo down the hallway, everyone goes from concerned do confused.
No. No, he wouldn’t. He didn’t. He couldn’t.
Nobunaga’s jaw goes slack as you make your way slowly into the base, Uvogin, your 8ft 6 protector, strolling behind you.
“Sorry I’m late,” he bluntly says. “She wanted to stop for crackers.” There’s a clatter and a thump, and Nobunaga sees Feitan and Chrollo have respectively dropped their sword and book.
“Uvo!” Nobunaga yells. “Uvo! What did we talk about? Why is she here?” You run over to him laughing and happy to see your ‘Nobu’.
“She cries when I leave her alone for long,” Uvo explains. “I mean, she’s a baby.”
The murmurs go quiet as Chrollo stands up and makes his way to you. Nobunaga doesn’t miss the way Uvo keeps his eyes on you. Half pride and half worry that Chrollo will try see if you have your family’s eyes.
Chrollo stops just before you. “Uvo. Why is there a baby here?” He sounds so calm. How is he calm about this?
“Oh. She’s my sister. Can’t call her my daughter cause I don’t know anything about being a dad, so I’m her brother.”
“Ah,” is all Chrollo says. A nice leader-like way to process this.
Then you finally look at Chrollo. The boss pales, if only slightly. His hands twitch before he controls them.
“She looks like her.” Not everyone knows who he’s talking about, but those who do understand perfectly. Phinks goes as far as to do a double take.
“I know,” Uvo says. “That’s why I forgot to kill her. And, uh, can’t really do that anymore.” His gaze hardens. “And before any of you get any ideas, if her eyes turn red and you try taking them, I’ll tear you apart.”
So he’s basically shoved the fact you’re a Kurta out into the open air. There’s silence for a minute.
“No,” Chrollo agrees as you put your tiny hand in his open one. “It’s a rule that Spider doesn’t harm its own.”
You quickly get curious about these strangers, and so Uvo lets you wander around. Feitan hisses when you get close, and you hiss in return. He nods in a way that might be acceptance of your new standing. Machi would swear blind that she’s not, but her eyes constantly follow you as you move around. She’d also swear she didn’t form a tear at the sight of your face, but that’s a lie too.
Eventually, you make your way to Chrollo, and the book that contains all the Nen abilities he’s taken. Uvo’s breath hitches. He doesn’t know how Chrollo would react to that.
You point at the book. “Book.”
Chrollo freezes, and when he looks at you, his eyes are in a different time. Then when he blinks and lowers the book, he softens. “Yes, little one. It is a book.” You pause and then run your hands over it gently, like you can practically tell it’s precious.
Uvo knows Chrollo is seeing the same thing as him. The same trust. The same innocence. The same bright presence.
You even flip through the pages. Chrollo doesn’t even flinch. He even looks away, towards Uvo.
“What’s her name, by the way?”
Uvo smiles with pride. “Gremlin.”
The entire Troupe explodes at that.
“Uvo!”
“Are you fu - freaking kidding me?” That’s Phinks, remembering he’s in the presence of a toddler.
“Have you met a child?”
“That’s not a name!”
“Name her something normal!” Machi yells.
“I think Gremlin is a nice name,” Shizuku offers.
“Name fits, in my opinion.” Uvogin would be mad at Feitan if he didn’t have a point.
“It doesn’t fit!” Nobunaga protests. “She only hits if she has a weapon!”
“She likes it!” Uvo defends.
“Gremlin!” They all go quiet at hearing you say your ‘name’.
“See?” Uvo laughs. “She likes it!”
Despite themselves, the Troupe end up adoring you, though not as much as Chrollo and Uvogin do. Five seconds after meeting you, Shalnark downloads tons of kids games, ones that are easy on the eyes for babies and not overstimulating.
However, he ends up liking them more than you do. Most of the time you’ll get bored and wander off, while he’s furiously tapping at the screen and trying to beat the levels.
“No, no, Gremlin! You need to catch all the apples! Look at what big brother Shalnark’s doing! No!”
Uvo finds him three hours later, still playing.
Chrollo is besotted by you. Utterly besotted. He will more often than not be found with you instead of the other Spiders, putting on some classical music for you (though you prefer the loud rock that Uvo blasts).
He also takes it upon himself to teach you how to read.
“Every child deserves literacy,” he argues.
Uvo scoffs. “She doesn’t need to know how to read, boss. Not gonna force her to go to school. Who the fuck needs to find the x in real life anyway?”
Despite these complaints, Chrollo buys you plenty of educational books, and begins teaching you the alphabet. Uvo suspects that Chrollo’s enjoying the teaching more than you enjoy learning.
“The letter S is shaped like this. S is for ‘Spider’.” He taps the pen to his chest and yours. “Spider is us, okay?”
You could draw scribbles and barely legible letters and he’ll praise you like you wrote a thesis. Chrollo ends up spending day after day lying on the floor with you, patiently teaching you until you have a reading ability far higher than your age. Yet no matter how much he says you need to be able to do these things yourself, he will read it to you.
He’s grateful for how Uvo never comments on the fact most times, Chrollo will slip up and call you Sarasa.
While others in the Troupe tend to baby you, Feitan doesn’t. Machi makes you clothes, and Phinks pretends you’ve beaten him in wrestling, but Feitan doesn’t do any of the sort. In fact, he acts almost tsundere towards you. He’d die for you, doubtlessly, but he’ll never let that show.
In fact, he has an odd little nickname for you. As you only called him Fei for the first year of knowing him, he retaliated and shortened ‘Gremlin’ to ‘Grim’. You could run up to him and happily start speaking about a new book or fighting move, and he will say ‘Hello, Grim’.
He did get you a smaller version of his umbrella for your third birthday (aka the day Uvo found you, because none of them know your birthday), and laughs when you ‘beat’ Phinks in a wrestling match though.
You’re six when they start planning to go to YorkNew.
And you’re the absolute spit of Uvo in personality. You’re half wild and strong and feisty, and nothing at all like what a Kurta ought to be. You haven’t killed before, but it’s only a matter of time. When you come of age, you’re going to be made into Spider 0. That was the conclusion Chrollo came to. You’re the next generation of the Spider. The blank slate. The new beginning. Their symbol.
Also much like Uvogin, you only listen to Chrollo and the other members of the Spider. The rest of the world could burn in your eyes. You’ve never known anything but them. You don’t want any other life.
They’ve already warned you that out there are scary people who might want to hurt you for your red eyes. People who wouldn’t care for who you are, or how much the Troupe love you. Because of that, Uvo taught you how to fight at a young age, and how do bite. You’ve inherited his volume and most of his personality, and his loyalty. Sometimes the Troupe genuinely forgets you’re not actually his sister, and you’re the last surviving Kurta.
Not that they’d ever tell you what a Kurta is. You were never meant to be with that clan anyway. They couldn’t even protect themselves, let alone you. You’re just aware that Uvogin took you in and your biological family were too weak to be fitting parental figures.
Uvo loves you more than anything in the world. You’re his legacy, and his kid. Maybe you started a a a replacement for Sarasa, but you’re a piece of him now too. He swears that he was meant to find you, and you were meant to be part of the Spider. Why else would you be born looking exactly like Sarasa?
He’ll still see her in you though. Especially when you trail after him and Chrollo with a fearless smile.
Uvo lost Sarasa. He’s not losing you.
Kurapika sometimes hears stories about surviving clan members. All rumours, because he buried everyone who was said to survive.
Except one.
He never found you by your parents. Of course, he’s not foolish enough to think his baby sister is alive, but he hopes. He hopes so bitterly. He doesn’t know how you’re still alive, but logic evades him when it comes to you.
He’s got a reward on every Hunter website for your safe return to him. For there to be another Kurta, let alone it being his sister… he doesn’t know how he could ever let you out of his sight again.
The car goes hurtling down the street, and you yelp and dig your nails into Feitan’s arms.
“Grim!”
“Sorry, Fei-Fei!”
Shalnark brakes suddenly, and the car twists around. You look out the window for that split second. There’s a large group of people about, but no one’s that focused on Shalnark’s awful driving. You were meant to stay at the base until tonight, when the auction would be raided, but you’d so badly wanted ice cream. As soon as you’d mentioned it, Shalnark had the same craving, and so he, Phinks, and Feitan promised to take you.
Oh - someone is focused on the car. Some blonde boy.
Who’s staring at you.
It’s been four and a half years. The last time he saw you, you were barely able to walk. Your eyes hadn’t even turned scarlet.
And yet you’re here.
Impossibly, perfectly here.
Kurapika knows Leorio will call him insane. After all, he’s only seen you for less than a heartbeat, and it’s been so long.
But he knows. He knows because he’s your big brother, and the world is less terrible when he knows you’re alive. It will never erase the pain of the massacre, but to have you back. If Kurapika could’ve brought back anyone, it would be you.
Uncaring of anything else, he breaks away from Leorio and Gon. Killua briefly calls his name, but he can’t focus on that. All he can focus on is the fact you’re here. He doesn’t even notice who you’re with.
He can’t help switching into the Kurta tongue flawlessly despite how many years it’s been.
“Y/N! Y/N, it’s me! It’s Kurapika!”
The car races away and he can’t keep up with it. But he can hear you from where the window is down.
You look back to the weird blonde guy and frown before turning to Feitan.
“What was that language?”
Feitan shrugs. “Never heard it before. What’s a Y/N?”
You shrug too. “I don’t know. Can’t be anything to do with us. Now can we get ice cream?”
“Yeah,” Phinks adds, “before Shal murders us all.” You burst into laughter with your older brothers as Shalnark argues and protests and tells Phinks he can drive himself if it’s so awful.
“Where is she?” Kurapika asks. The chain is wrapped around Uvo’s heart. He’s so close to getting to you after so long. “I heard her say the name of your fellow Troupe member. Give her back to me and I’ll let you go free. I’ll let you all go free.”
Uvo laughs, and blood comes out of his mouth. “Go to hell, chain freak. Gremlin’s ours. Been like that since we found her.” Found her. As if they’d just encountered you randomly. As if they hadn’t killed your entire family.
Killed all but one. Kurapika tightens the chain.
“You think,” Uvo manages, ”I’m letting you drag my girl back to graves she doesn’t remember? She’s happier if she doesn’t know.” Kurapika knows he’s right about that. But damn it, your older brother needs you.
“You kept her alive all these years. Why? You killed others far younger than her.”
Uvogin grins. “She reminded me of someone. Couldn’t leave her. I got attached too quickly. I loved her the moment I saw her.”
No. That’s not true. Kurapika loved you the moment he saw you, the moment your mother placed you in his arms and told him to meet his new baby sister Y/N.
“You couldn’t leave her,” Kurapika repeats. “So you made her into one of you?”
“She wanted to be with us!” Uvo yells. The chain is too tight. He has to be using all of his strength for this. “She doesn’t know anything about you! Doesn’t even speak your language! Don’t waste your breath trying to remind her! The others will kill you before you get to her! She’s mine! Do you hear me? She’s my daugh-”
The chain crushes his heart. Kurapika supposes he should’ve asked for more information on the other Spiders. He doesn’t care though. Any mercy he had is gone now.
You sit up and blink, startled from your nap. Nobunaga notices and intentionally loses the game of cards he’s playing with Shalnark.
“Gremlin? You good?” He walks over to you. You frown. You feel fine. “Was it that ice cream? Shalnark, she’s six! You can’t just get her four scoops of ice cream. She’ll be sick.”
“No,” you interrupt. “I don’t feel sick. I just feel… weird. Like there was something in my chest.” A faint ember of scarlet blossoms in your eyes as you concentrate to recall the sharp feeling. Nobunaga doesn’t even bat an eye towards it, all of the Spider used to your eyes changing colour, and puts his hand on your forehead.
“You feel fine. No temperature.” He then laughs teasingly. “It’s just because Uvo’s not back yet, I bet. Jeez, you really don’t sleep well when he’s not around.”
He’s not back yet? You look around the hideout like he’ll appear.
“Nobu, when is he coming back?”
“I’m sure it’ll be soon, kiddo. Don’t you worry. Uvo would sooner die than miss telling you your favourite bedtime stories.” He ruffles your hair, but not like how Uvo does.
You partially relax as the other Spiders reassure you too.
Besides, some strange instinct in you is stirring up, telling you that your big brother is starting to find his way to you right now.
Imagine Grace defined his name as the elegance definition of grace and Rocky spends years thinking how fucking ironic this clumsy leaky space blobs name is.
Until Grace slips out a sentence along the lines of "could you give me a little grace here" and Rocky immediately points out he used a word wrong so Grace has to explain that yeah, grace means elegance but it can also mean mercy sometimes too.
And Rocky has to suddenly reconcile that the clumsy leaky blob that saved his life twice, that almost certainly doomed himself to come back for him, name is Mercy.
grace, who has been alone for five minutes: oh my god. an alien! im not alone anymore! i hope he wants to be friends :)
rocky, coming up on 50 years of solitude, imprinting on grace in ways baby ducklings can only dream of: if you leave me to sleep where i can't watch your heart beat i am blowing up this tunnel with us both in it
gummygunk
tangentwithtanner
turnnoffyourmind
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2087
izzy806
areudirty
