decades of denial.

          there  were  only  four  things  evie  was  looking  forward  to  upon  arriving  in  auradon  —  three  out  of  the  four  were  people  ;  her  sister,  tamu,  &  dani.  the  fourth  point  was  obviously  finding  a  prince,  but  the  point  was  evie  had  been  the  last  of  her  friends  to  cross  that  bridge  from  the  isle  &  she’d  been  looking  forward  to  it.  she  sure  as  hell  wasn’t  expecting  this  mess  waiting  for  her.  not  that  she  was  blaming  anyone  but  auradon.  the  bluenette  walked  alongside  tamu,  heels  clicking  against  the  sidewalk  as  cerulean  locks  bounced  slightly.  “  it’s  officially  up  to  you  to  be  my  grand  tour  guide,  ”  she  teased  lightly,  a  small  smirk  playing  across  rose  painted  lips.  “  not  all  of  the  candy.  but  most  of  it,  ”  she  giggled.  the  prospect  of  all  the  candy  had  been  overwhelming  at  first.  “  i  had  something  called  rock  candy  crystal  sticks.  oh,  i  sure  hope  they  have  more  of  those  here  !  ”

Auradon Prep. 

“ -- but you attend Auroria University ? Pre-law, yes ? ”

Yes, I’m in Professor Langdon’s class for Animal Law, he knows me very well, we’ve spoken at length about ethical practices and the ramifications of scientific experimentation with --

“ -- yes, what a strange choice of elective for someone of your ... background. It’s not a popular choice for VKs, our records show. ”

I’m exploring my options as a lawyer. Really, it’s advocacy that I’m --

“  Advocacy. Very interesting choice. And I suppose your upbringing under your father must --? ”

What does my father have to do with this?

HE SHOULDN’T HAVE ASKED THE QUESTION.

UNTIL MORE NEWS was released, either officially or by what he learned from his friends then Tamu was stuck waiting. Friends. The word somehow meant more now than it did a week ago. He knew almost all the names on that list, and if he knew them, then he knew them well. People that shouldn’t have been on that list at all. People he knew would never do such a thing. 

And what a small thing it was, in retrospect. One thing confirmed missing, the others moved -- and already 13 publically suspected ?

He looked around the bustling main square, seated at one of the picnic tables. Today, there we food trucks everywhere, each restaurant and small business taking up a small position to promote their cuisines -- and the square was more crowded than ever. Yet, still, with all this crowding -- people had avoided the small picnic table with the broody boy all dressed in black. They didn’t need to know he was a VK to want to avoid him. But Tamu would’ve been lying if he said he wouldn’t have minded some company. 

“La da da da da, la da da da da, la da da da da, la da da da da da…” 

Len mumbled as he walked across the campus of Auradon Prep, one earbud from the iPod he’d “found”. He’d accidentally hit play on one of the songs, “Brass Goggles”, and somehow put it on repeat, but it was catchy so he didn’t mind. He was so absorbed in the device that he hadn’t noticed the bike rack he was walking into until he’d tumbled over it.

“Fuck!”

He contemplated lying there, but decided it was better to at least attempt standing up. His arm protested in pain, and he sighed.

“Anyone know where the nurse’s office is?”

Tamu had been striding across campus, on a mission as he typically was. He’d noticed Len walking too -- just one more student among dozens around them, but he’d only stopped to watch because he’d been surprised to see him. So many new arrivals, he thought, pursing his lips a little. The more people there were, the more variables, and the harder it would be to narrow down suspects, for both him and the authorities --

And then Len fell down. 

         A NORMALLY SUNNY BLONDE finds herself under a perpetual raincloud , as of late - especially given the fact that she’s apparently a suspect in the case of the missing spellbook. As she sits by herself in the courtyard of Auradon Prep , she thinks back to the embarrassment of getting pulled in by the guard in the middle of class. In Virtues & Values , of all things ( could have been Remedial Goodness , sure , but THANKFULLY they decided to pull her in on a Monday. ) As she feels another’s presence , her head rests on the table , one side of her dream journal a pillow as a hand lazily etches a rose into the other side. ❝ Table’s free. ❞ A somber voice notes without looking over. ❝ I’m just about to get up and go. ❞

HE’D ALREADY MADE the trip up to Auradon Prep, knowing this needed to be done. Never mind that he’d spent nearly ten minutes just pacing in the hallway behind her, debating with himself on how necessary this was. Necessary for who ? For her ? He’d done nothing but brush her off and hurt her all these years, she didn’t need him. For him ? Tamu peeked into the study room, watching her flopped on the table, already feeling how downtrodden she was, already guessing how much she was wondering why she had been brought into all this. He took a deep breath and sighed. 

Necessary for him, then. Necessary for him. 

In four strides, Tamu was at the table and in one motion he was sat in the chair. Back unnaturally straight, pressing his lips together. He opened his mouth and then -- NOTHING. 

For a good five seconds. Nothing. So he went with the usual, planned speech: 

          as  if  having  her  own  sister  being  brought  in  to  be  accused  of  stealing  their  mother’s  spellbook  wasn’t  enough,  but  tamu  too  ?  she  was  starting  to  get  the  feeling  auradon  was  up  to  something  &  she  didn’t  come  here  to  play.  “  it’s  not  polite  to  keep  a  princess  waiting,  ”  the  bluenette  pointed,  as  soon  as  the  other  came  into  view,  teasing  evident  in  her  tone.  behind  it,  was  the  unsaid  question  of  if  he  was  okay.

          “  i  don’t.  ”  she  responded,  perhaps  a  bit  too  quickly.  yes,  she  did  have  questions.  a  lot  of  them.  but,  none  for  tamu.  trust  wasn’t  easy  to  achieve  for  anyone  on  the  isle,  especially  for  evie.  but  tamu  was  someone  she  trusted  wholeheartedly.  “  lead  the  way  to  the  cafe.  i  think  we  could  both  use  a  little  pick  me  up.  ”

with evie’s quick and sure answers, tamu visibly relaxed, glad to have a direction to go and somewhere to be. he sidled past her in the aisle, managing the smallest of smiles, saying: “ as you wish. ”

        «♡»  yet  another  successful  street  race  (  successful  as  in  —  pocky  had  been  the  victor,  of  course  )  calls  for  a  calm,  far  more  peaceful  drive  around  the  city.  races  always  get  into  his  head  (  he  has  to  win,  he  has  to  be  the  best  )  and  while  they’re  fun,  they  can  also  cause  him  complete  and  utter  stress.  so,  here  he  is,  top  of  his  convertible  down  as  he  goes  for  a  leisurely  drive  through  the  city.

        he  isn’t  exactly  sure  where  he’s  going,  and  he  shows  no  plans  of  stopping  and  returning  home  any  time  soon  until …  ❝  whoa,  whoa,  hey  !  hey,  hey  !  ❞  he  calls  out,  bringing  his  car  to  a  stop  on  the  bridge  and  shouting  to  grab  the  attention  of  the  figure  who  sits  at  the  edge.  ❝  oh  my  gobstoppers,  hey,  gumdrop  !  please,  don’t  jump  —  god,  don’t  jump  !  you’re  too  pretty  to  jump,  come  on  —  i  don’t  know  what  happened,  but  …  ah,  skittles  !  hang  on  !  i’m  coming  over  there  —  don’t  move  !  ❞  *✧｡⋆

«♡» ─────  @tamumoyoni  !

tamu had lost his ability to think.

it wasn’t anything anyone had said, or anything people had done. the rational side of him was warring with everything else. there was no way of knowing if the selection of suspects, from both the isle and auradon, was random -- unless he snuck into the system and found out in that way. illegally. and wasn’t the whole point of coming here, of trying to make it work, to finally do something by the rules ? to show to everyone, to his father, to auradon, that he didn’t have to bow to a system, that he could bend it ? that he had the power to ? and he had always prided himself in knowing when to stop, before something broke.

but, as it turned out, something had already broken. something quiet, inside him. for why else would he have chosen this bridge, the one that he’d watched the most fantastic sunset from a few days before, to sit on in the middle of the night ? he wasn’t going to jump. no way.  but he wanted to sit, and he wanted to be at peace, and sitting on the ground would have had the railing of the bridge blocking his view of the darkness of the river flowing underneath. 

tamu was hugging the lamp-post, part of the railing, to make sure he was steady. which was why, when he heard a car behind him screech to a halt -- and the driver frantically shouting at him -- he didn’t budge. GOD, he couldn’t even have one --

          “  wow.  i  never  knew  you  could  sound  so  much  like  a  fortune  cookie,  ”  she  pointed,  attempting  to  break  the  tension  of  the  room.  probably  to  no  avail,  but  hey,  she  tried.  ever  since  she  heard  about  the  officials  taking  people  away,  she  was  shocked  when  she  heard  tamu’s  name  amongst  the  list  of  names.  “  they’re  probably  just  —  asking  whoever  they  can,  you  know.  doesn’t  mean  they  think  you  did  it  or  anything.  ”  ophelia  knew  he  didn’t.  she  had  this  gut  feeling  that  he  didn’t.  she  also  knew  better  than  to  ask,  but  god,  she  wanted  to  know  what  happened,  what  went  down  today.

“ making fortune-cookies was my fallback career, if i don’t make it -- ” he paused, pressing his lips together, “ -- as a lawyer. ” he appreciated the light tone in ophelia’s voice, had needed it, honestly. but after the initial anger, tamu’s mood had fallen into a dangerous resignation. the guards could burst through the door now, and he would probably do whatever they told him to do. he needed time to think. “ proximity had nothing to do with it, availability had nothing to do with it. i was in a cafe in charmington when i heard about it. ”

         she’s  mostly  calmed down from her initial rage of even being  suspected  of stealing the spellbook despite being on her  best  behavior the entire time she’s been in auradon.  she huffs as she takes a seat on a couch across from him,  arms crossed.     “     doesn’t mean i can’t hate it, though,  because i  do.  i’ve done nothing but play by  their  rules since i got here,   but that doesn’t change their minds, now, does it?     ”

life in the jungle is entirely different than the upbringing of most of the people from auradon . john was incapable of comparing his life to someone raised by princes and princesses , let alone anyone of a magical background .      despite the differences , one thing’s for sure                he embraced the wildlife of africa and the feral behavior that came with it .           ❛   there’s one particular person i’m not too fond of .       as a matter of fact , said person’s parent is more upset that my father took no stance on their behavior . ❜       blue hues wandered around the floor shortly before glancing back at him .  ❛  but i am not one to pass judgement  —-  it’s simply not my character ; the villains don’t bother me .  ❜      capturing his reaction towards john’s excitement led to him clearing his throat as well , holding his heart out of sincerity .          ❛  i apologize if you took offense .. or if the topic is too troubling . ❜          with strong hope , john clung onto making sure he meant his word .  ❛                it’s a complicated explanation . to make things simple , my grandparents died in the jungle by an animal attack , leading to an ape raising my father as one of their own .  my father never knew of humans until stumbling upon my mother  ;  he thought his species was just .. strange .  ❜          but all in all , yes , he was raised in the jungle like an animal with both human and animal wisdom .      ❛   the offer will continue to stand . uh , for the most part , school .        i’m an educated man , but not educated in the normal sense     —-     why would you come here from the pridelands ?  ❜

one particular person ... he tried to think of someone whose parents came from the jungle, but that came up with too many names to count. tamu considered mentioning that he might know them -- but then what good would that do ? if it was sahir, for example, it wasn’t like he could do anything. sahir was his own person, and if he had issues with someone from across the water, then ...

he shrugged. “ it’s probably a good thing, then, that you’re not too caught up in the hereditary dramas of auradon. and humans are strange, your father was right, ” he couldn’t help but add. it was a different story to his own family -- he’d never thought of being a lion and being human as two different things, one form was internal, the other external. something like that. at the question, he shrugged again, caught in his usual act of indifference but finding himself wanting to hear himself answer the question. 

          “  how  do  you  do  that  ?  ”  ophelia  couldn’t  help  but  ask,  hues  landing  on  tamu,  even  if  his  gaze  stayed  on  his  textbook.  she  wished  she  could  not  care  about  certain  things,  or  not  think  about  certain  things,  but  her  mind  wandered  constantly.  “  how  do  you  not  look  back  &  wonder  how  things  could  be  different  ?  i  mean,  i  know  it  won’t  change  anything,  but  —  i  don’t  know.  i  guess  i  overthink  everything.  ”

“ this ... wasn’t the kind of reunion i was hoping for. ” tamu glanced back for just a second, running his fingers along the spines of the books in this section of the bookshelf. law and legal philosophy. he’d much rather be in fiction, or fantasy, but no -- he’d gravitated to this one. 

and he would have preferred to be on time for his meeting with evie. but the sudden interrogation had put all his plans to a halt. 

    ( umbrella academy starters, no longer accepting !! )

      ( umbrella academy starters, still accepting !! )

───── 14. how does the image your character tries to project differ from the image they actually project?

image tamu wants to project: calm, collected, knows exactly what he’s doing. the kind of person that people will listen to and respect, someone that they will think never doubts himself. it’s like showing himself as a leader without outright saying he’s a leader. someone that people know they can go to if they need anything. and, on the flipside, someone that people know they can’t just take advantage of himself. 

but as much as tamu presents an image of someone who thinks highly of himself, he battles low self-esteem everyday. he wears long coats and buttons up his shirt up to his neck because he doesn’t want to show his skin, he doesn’t want to show himself. there’s a part of him that wants to hide, despite having this drive to change the world. 

and that’s the part people see. someone who’s quiet. calm, yes. doesn’t mind being alone, can handle themselves. but i think ultimately, people see tamu as someone who just thinks a lot and, at the end of the day, wants to be around people. he actually loves talking to people. he loves to hear about their day. he’s intrigued and interested in people from auradon. he wants to learn and see as much as possible. they’ll probably see him catching the bus almost everyday so he can see all the kingdoms, coming back after sundown, smiling to himself at all he’s seen. 

so it’s like ... he tries to project the image of a young man who’s a gamechanger. and maybe that’s what he really is. but i think, most of the time, people see a young man who just wants to see the world.

───── 15. what is your character afraid of?

failing. and it’s always something different. failing the promises he made to his mother, to always be kind, and to always choose love and understanding, rather than hate and contempt ( he feels he’s failing most here ). failing the promise he made to himself, that he’d always look out for his fellow isle kids, the isle kids most of all. even if they don’t get along, he feels a kinship with them -- but, of course, he has his small group of allies/friends that he feels most responsible for. 

        an amused grin appears on her face when her eyes glance down on the loyalty card.     “    careful now,  i hear people get  obsessed  with these kinds of things.       ”     she teases.   the smile wavers a bit, though, when he mentions her  powers.   she mentally debates telling him, though eventually decides against it  —  not everyone had to know about her… unfortunate  situation with her powers.     “     you sound like you’re proposing we actually  look  for this person.  what if it wasn’t one of us?     ”