#alois flitmouse

[fluister]

Early happy birthday @not-poignant!

[not-poignant]

Underline the Gold (Flitmouse/Anton - Omegaverse) - END

Title: Underline the Gold

Pairing: Anton Valenosk/Alois Flitmouse

Summary: Alpha Anton is assigned a new omega, Alois Flitmouse, who is Hillview Rehabilitation Facility’s very first voluntary admission and an older, independent omega who is escaping unfortunate circumstances and seeking protection, and is too jaded and tired to consider bonding with anyone. To Anton’s dismay, Flitmouse just wants a place where he can starve to death, something Hillview is determined not to let happen.

Its rating is currently Explicit with some disturbing themes (mention of suicidal ideation, eating disorder, and historic domestic violence). This is a no-mpreg universe.

Underline the Gold - 29 - In the Beginning II (FINAL CHAPTER) - on AO3!

In which Alois meets Anton’s parents, and realises if he wants it, family and a second home filled with love are his for the taking.

[not-poignant]

Daily excerpt from secret oneshot: Anton had an arm around his shoulders, possessive and concerned, but he seemed more easy-going than some of the other alphas. Alois hated that too. He hated all of this. Everything about it felt like a bad dream, and he stared venomously at the black forest rolling by outside the window, wondering how this so-called “sister facility” was going to house them all, and for how long they’d be away from Hillview for. ‘I’m not paying for this,’ Alois muttered. ‘I know,’ Anton said. ‘I have a car, I could have driven us!’ ‘Yeah, I know,’ Anton said, his voice low. ‘But we had to move fast, and I didn’t want you driving stressed. Besides, finding somewhere to book into at this time of night would have meant hours of driving in the dark, and it’d also be hard for Faber and the crew to keep track of us.’ ‘I don’t like this,’ Alois said plaintively, hating that he was sounding like every single other omega in here. He shook his head and pressed closer, and his body made a sudden wrenching of its own, like it could sense the dislocation from the place Alois had been calling home for a few years now. He didn’t like it. He’d left his blankets behind, and all the ways he liked to nest, and his tablet; everything except his wallet. He just wanted to make the bus turn around and take them back. And he couldn’t. The scents from everyone else were making him frantic. Even with all the windows open, it wasn’t enough. ‘I’m here,’ Anton said steadily, easily. ‘Just think of it as an adventure.’ ‘I hate adventures,’ Alois said venomously into Anton’s shoulder. ‘That’s the spirit.’

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia! I was wondering through reading Gold, Blue and Black, could Flitmouse (the way that name autocorrect to something else entirely twice), become a sort of peer counselor at Hillview? Or would that make it too much pressure or inauthenticity to the friendships he develops like with Nate and Efnisien and Mosk?

Hi anon,

It's mostly that Flitmouse doesn't want to!

This has been suggested a few times for him, but... Flitmouse doesn't get along with every omega, and he already has a job he loves, that brings him fulfillment and joy.

Monetising a skill at befriending a small number of omegas would kind of be a bit of an injustice to something he does for his own personal enjoyment, while also taking away the job he does actually really love doing, where he can choose his own hours and work the way he wishes to.

I do think someone in a roll like the one you're suggesting would be important! But I think it would have to be an omega who is drawn to that role, and who wants it. And even then, it puts their life in danger. Omegas in the Underline universe are most lethal to other omegas, if they ever felt truly jealous of or threatened by an omega mentor, they'd kill them, or at least try to. There's a reason that meeting omegas is often last on the list of tasks to accomplish for omegas, and that's if it ever happens at all!

I think Flitmouse kind of fulfills a role that shows what a lot of omegas would naturally give each other, if they were healthy, secure, and in loving connections and had a lot of support offered to them. It's not that someone needs to be paid to do that, exactly (though that could definitely work in some circumstances), it's a more damning example of what every omega is missing in the dystopian universe. What Flitmouse gives is what almost any omega would give, if circumstances were different!

[not-poignant]

Daily excerpt from chapter 29 (final chapter! O.O) of Underline the Gold:

‘They’re so happy,’ he said. ‘Your parents. It’s not an act.’ ‘It’s not,’ Anton said. He put his other arm around Alois’ back. ‘This is why we didn’t come for Wigilia, by the way, no matter what Dad says, it’s not happening. This is already a lot. But, Alois, the reason we’re here is I need you to know you can have this now. If you want. They love you. I know you’re probably not ready for the idea of basically having a new set of parents who want the best for you, who love you, but they’re here. They’ll accept you with open arms.’ Alois’ throat went tight, and he shook his head slightly. He couldn’t think of what to say. While he’d been here, he hadn’t felt once like he was being judged. Julia was friendly and kind, but not in a false way. Niko didn’t give Alois any odd looks and didn’t imply Alois was too old for Anton. They both let him – a complete stranger – into their house like he’d always belonged there. ‘It’s rather overwhelming, if you must know,’ Alois said against Anton’s arm.

[not-poignant]

Daily excerpt from chapter 28 of Underline the Gold:

In Albany, Alois took one look at the drab main street with its dull grey road and old brown and red brick buildings and sighed. ‘They can’t all be winners, I suppose.’ ‘You’re elitist,’ Anton said, bumping into him as they walked down the street. ‘I bet that restaurant over there is suitable for your impeccable tastes, good sir.’ ‘So you say,’ Alois said dubiously. Though the restaurant did look nice enough from the outside, and through the clear glass windows, he could see tasteful chandeliers and spaced out tables with lovely high-backed chairs. ‘Let’s try it. Will you… Will you choose for me today?’ ‘You know it,’ Anton said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. Two betas walked past and stared at them. And then, two steps past, Alois tried not to tense when he heard: ‘Christ, did you see his neck? They’re like animals, I swear.’

[not-poignant]

Anton/Flitmouse Post-Underline the Gold Oneshot!

Title: Spontaneous Heat

Pairing: Anton Valenosk/Alois Flitmouse

Summary: Alois Flitmouse, an older omega, is evacuated from a rehabilitation facility with his alpha companion, Anton, and all the other omegas and alphas on-site, for their own safety and protection when violence threatens. At least Alois is too old to have to worry about going into spontaneous heat due to the fear and unpredictability of the situation unlike some of these other poor omegas, right? ...Right???

(Set after Underline the Gold, during the evacuation that takes place towards the end of Underline the Black and may not make much sense if you haven't read either!)

Underline the Gold Oneshot - Spontaneous Heat

– Thanks to all the Patreon and Ream supporters for making this (and my other writing) possible!

[not-poignant]

Hello! Flitmouse’s reclaiming by Anton has me on the edge of my seat! All of Temsen’s warnings and the WAIVER oml have me wondering if there is ever an ideal time for an omega to be reclaimed? Assuming the omega wants to be reclaimed.

How many years would it take for an omega who had been claimed to have a successful reclaiming? As risky, dangerous, and traumatic the whole process is, I’m sure Flitmouse isn’t the only one to have gone through it.

(And I now there’s the alpha side with giving up an omega but I don’t want this ask to be too long AAHHH)

Just some thoughts I had, I hope you’re having a good day/night!

How many years would it take for an omega who had been claimed to have a successful reclaiming?

Many don't survive it.

There's no ideal time once an omega is physically "healthy." And it's not really a matter of taking "years" in that a failed reclaiming can often permanently damage a relationship with the one trying to 'reclaim' an omega. (We actually see a pseudo-version of this with Nate and Janusz, which is why they literally have to get Christian to formally repudiate the relationship or "reject" Nate's claim, and Nate becomes literally suicidal due to the pseudo-threat to the claim he placed on Christian.)

Flitmouse isn't the only one who has gone through it, but most don't ever bother or try. There's a reason they waited months and months and months and a healthy heat etc. before even trying, in the best possible circumstances, with weeks of meds in advance to prepare Flitmouse, as well as the kind of meds they give before/during major surgery to keep bleeding to a minimum.

It's very safe to say that most omegas don't survive reclaiming. And, for a start, many cannot leave their relationships, they can only be left. Even if they wanted to be in a loving relationship, once they're claimed by someone who doesn't love them, they cannot leave of their own volition. It is too painful for them. There's a reason Flitmouse was starving to death by the time he came to Hillview - he was left by Vadim. Omegas aren't meant to be reclaimed, they are meant to die once rejected, over a short or long period of time: the cruelty of evolution dictates that they are not worth keeping alive by their own biology. Those that survive being rejected at all, usually die as a result of the rejection some time later, or don't make it. Those like Flitmouse, who are uncommonly strong in general, are then also not likely to survive a reclaiming, especially because they nearly never happen with medical preparation like Temsen offered. It's also why Temsen took a while to even tell Flitmouse about this option.

The alpha who claimed an omega is not affected by a broken claim at all. They have zero consequences for leaving a claimed omega, and Vadim would have no idea if his claim was broken. The world is not a fair place!

(Also, casual extra bit of worldbuilding we already have - it's very convenient that most omegas don't have birth certificates so when they die from abandonment, they don't need have a proper funeral / be marked down in death records etc. Most are invisible citizens no matter what kind of lives they lead. It's why Faber works so hard to make sure omegas at Hillview get birth certificates - they tend to get treated better by hospitals and police once they have one, because death records then have to be kept. But for the invisible omegas, many are born, lead tragic lives, and then die, without leaving a trace or even the memory of a name).