#Neo Dies AU

[wildtornado-o]

Some misc things :) Includes: Random Roman and Neo doodles and some stuff for my Roman survives Neo dies au. (The Roman outfit is kind of a messy drawing but I injured my arm so shhh)

[madspeed]

twewy in persona 4... think about it .. .............. (I'm run over by 15 semitrucks)

[eatingmarkerz]

struggled so hard on this for no reason

[ratsnoot]

Thinking about a future without Sonic and Eggman...

[no1ryomafan]

Randomly thinking about how the Getter team is obviously human, they are *not* normal but they are still humans who can die, and we see in most series at least one cast member is always killed off-

But sometimes in my mind I deny that they can actually die. Like, the amount of shit Ryoma and Hayato have survived is fucking insane, especially when you consider the only canon they die is the manga timeline which even THEN saids a lot.

Ryoma was absorbed into the Getter which is still a death but also because of how emperor is he’s most DEFINITELY been cloned by now even if we don’t see him, and Hayato only really got confirmed dead in arc anime, but who’s to say now that he’s been absorbed into the Getter too now technically the same wouldn’t happen to him? And this also doesn’t even count it happened for Musashi even if it’s the most fucked up.

But putting aside the insanity of the manga timeline for a second, most of Ryomas fate don’t even end up with him dead even if you could argue hes in purgatory in a sense, the arma ending is more vague but he likely lived but new? As painful as it is he is still ALIVE and kicking ass even if we only see it for a frame.

At this point the Getter Team is immortal but not in the traditional sense, just immortal in “the narrative will keep me alive in various different ways and my god even if I suffer I’ll make use out of it” way.

[lazlolullaby]

temporal temp work, a Batman Beyond and WFA style fluid comic canon crossover (but mostly Bruce amnesia recovery/character study)

Bruce lost his memory. He has no idea who Batman is, or what he's done for the past 30 years of his life.

Bruce is still a detective, despite the holes in his memory. He keeps noticing little tells, bruises, signs of lying. He knows he did something in his spare time, he's not sure what.

The batfamily decide that if it's not going to come back easily, then they should treat it as a retirement for Batman. They all came to an agreement, that they would be "as civilian as possible" around Bruce as to not put pressure on him to perform as Batman when he's not ready.

Alfred and Dick had gently explained that they won't tell him anything until he comes to a conclusion by himself and tells the family. If he gets it correct, then they can talk about it. If he doesn't, they can't. The Batcave is still open for him to find.

(he's in the world's most elaborate detective game, basically.)

in the meantime, Bruce focuses more on the company, on bonding with his suddenly large brood of kids, and legal methods of fixing Gotham.

Everyone's backstories remain similar to what the press knows. Jason's case is special, as he's dead. So Jason explains that he did survive, he was mad at Bruce for a while, so he got out to get his own place. They are slowly repairing their relationship.

Damian also flat out goes: "Yeah I was grown in a jar for the League of Assassins." and everyone nods and goes along with it. Jason even says he's seen the jar.

He even starts to bond with Tim, Jason, and Duke again over investigating crime. (well. More for the kids to solve it.)

The ones that fight the most for Batman to come back, the ones that make the most progress in getting Bruce to remember are Tim and Terry, since they were the ones that got him out of his funks in canon.

Bruce has nightmares. Despite losing the context of the fears, he still has them, he still can remember some Caped Adventures. He blames that for his nocturnal sleep schedule.

The Justice League dropped by in capes, trying to get him to remember.

Bruce gets totally suspicious that he's funding an entire space station. It takes him a week to crack every. single. founding JL member's ID, and even some sidekicks...Except Batman and his merry brood of birds and bats. (It doesn't help that the Dark Knight has been missing. no new data.)

The Gotham Rogues are starting to get gutsy. The Batfamily is stretched thin. It gets to the point where either scientists or magicians step in and try to "Summon Batman".

This is where Terry comes in. He gets summoned with Ace the Bathound. They survive on the streets of Gotham, then find Nightwing and Red Robin facing off against a Joker that's "pining for his eternal rival"

Tim is barely in danger but Terry's instincts go full throttle and he starts to roast. They see Ace has a harness with a Wayne Security badge and a license that are both dated for decades in the future.

Dick and Tim take Terry home. Say he's a friend in a tight spot, but Bruce sees right through it. Terry is the seventh black haired kid to be sheltered by Bruce and he knows it's a ploy to jog his memory. He's not having it. Terry also isn't interested in playing along with that either, instead loudly acknowledging he's got family already.

Ace gets along well with lots of the Batfamily. Terry makes a comment that he was trained as a PTSD-support dog. He knows how to sit and block people from getting into your space, how to use his weight as a grounding method. Bruce starts researching getting one for the house.

The batfamily train Terry on the streets for a few nights just in case. Nightwing goes back to Bludhaven. Dick does as well, and Bruce figures the connection quickly. The Justice League is seen with a new Batman.

Terry decides to annoy Bruce into becoming Batman again. Being ever so slightly off kilter, but still dedicated to helping. Always saying "If the guy I'm temping for doesn't like it, he can come out and do the job again."

Terry sees Bruce's psych profiles and list of Batman and Batman II suspects and makes a comment. "You writing a murder mystery or something?"

"Or something."

"What's the seventh rule of Knox's 10 commandments of detective fiction?" Terry asks.

"The detective must not commit the crime?"

"Mmm-hmm. Good thing you're not writing."

Bruce is getting tired of not knowing. Not getting better. Terry talks about how he was an assistant to an old man. That he also had trouble with being less active than he used to be.

Batman II shows up to save a hostage Bruce Wayne, and Bruce plays 20 questions. "why are you here in Gotham?"

"someone has to. And I already promised that I would."

"who did you promise? Why does it have to be you?"

"What makes this work is that I chose it. I work so I won't destroy this legacy. Me. My choice."

"You didn't say who you promised."

"The last guy who wore the bat...he got swallowed up by it. Didn't even think of himself as anything but Batman at the end." He shrugged. "Separating yourself from the mask is important. You know about Superman, yeah? He needs that job. He needs his friends and family, if not to feel human, just to be the best he can. Bruce. You have your friends and family. What are you willing to do to protect it?"

idk i can't figure out a suitably appropriate and dramatic emotional situation where Bruce figures it out. But he does.

Bruce gathers all of the family in the Wayne Study for a Classic Detective Reveal. He goes through the Batfamily one by one an unmasks each of them correctly, even confirming the ones who had other identities.

Bruce takes up the Cowl again, this time with a little more restraint and respect to his Bruce Wayne identity.

Terry goes back to Neo Gotham, stronger and happier that he knows the Batfamily.

[artistictiliqua]

Girls will be girls (more ajin au shitposting)

[scarletiswailing347]

i cant find it anymore but this one post i read about zam caring about lifesteal for lifesteals sake while nobody else really does that inspired an au for me lol

[dreamieparadise]

hiiii ~ What kind of love triangle is happening between takeshi x mimi x dino?

Hiii! And haha, nothing much. Just that initially Dino and Miruku interact once Miruku is an adult [never really did before] and they become ' best friends' except not really because in our head Dino doesn't rate friendship much. Doesn't change the fact Miruku is the closest to that for him. He then falls for him and then is like 'you should totally marry me.' Which Miruku refuses but Dino is a persistent fellow so he'll win Miruku over!

Here comes Takeshi, who planned to never ever confess his feelings to Miruku as he didn't want to burden them with his feelings...and yet here is asshole Dino doing just that! No way can Takeshi allow that! So he starts getting in the way of Dino and popping over to spend time with Miruku. The two men immediately start trying to get in the other's way + spend time with the love of their life... who mind you? Aromantic and would rather they find someone who could "love them the way they deserve." Both men aren't listening, tralalala. Miruku also chooses to ignore them tralalala.

Father figure Reborn is watching all of this and thinks it's ridiculous...unfortunately one is his son and the other is a favourite so he can't have them go Mysteriously Missing.

Sorry for taking so long! Forgot this in my drafts. Also, Reborn and Miruku end up with a house by the sea that Those Two keep showing up at!!

[rafyki]

ASDFGHKLJKKLL OH MY GOOOOOD the way I'm smiling like a fool right now 😭😭😭 HE'S SO PRETTTYYYYY exactly how I imagined him when I was writing that scene!!!! 😭😭 NEO ILY SO SO MUCH YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT!! 💕💗💕

No wonder Percy literally died when he saw him, how could he not!!!!! If he wasn't in love already he would definitely be after seeing him smiling like this!!! 😭💕💕

yo i love your art style especially long haired nico hes so pretty lol

Thank you so much!!! And ya know what,, he would be even prettier smiling!!! I drew a little snippet of Nico from the Goth! Nico/ Surfer Percy Fic by @rafyki,, Nico smiling is so yayayyayayayayyayay, thanks for the ask!! 💖💖

[wildtornado-o]

Art for my Roman Survives Neo Dies AU (the bg is kind of just slapped on lol)

Want a commission? (Or to leave a tip ;)) Click here!

[catcas22]

Maedros in Troy AU

Long, long post about my very niche obsession. Original AU by @sweetteaanddragons can be found here.

Every so often when I'm listening to EPIC, my mind will play six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon and I'll end up back at this AU. This particular addition was inspired by my remembering that Achilles was a redhead (Or maybe strawberry-blonde, idk enough about the Greek language to say for sure. His son was a redhead, and he once went by the alias of "the redheaded girl.")

The morning after the sack of Troy is a somber affair, even, surprisingly, amongst the victors. The surviving Achaean princes limp their way back to the feet of the horse, finally able to take a headcount. Odysseus and Ajax the Lesser are missing, Neoptolemus is nursing a nasty leg-wound, and less concerning but equally inconvenient, Menelaus and Helen have absconded to Sparta to start their second honeymoon.

Neoptolemus, in particular, has been having a day. First he got paired with Odysseus, which he has come to learn means he's going to be acting as the muscle while the Ithacan takes the credit. Then Odysseus was granted the honor of ending Hector's bloodline, and Neo couldn't even say anything because the order came directly from the mouth of Zeus. (Odysseus already took his father's armor. Could Neo not at least be allowed his vengeance?) Then Hector's woman took a swipe at him with a dagger, which Neo handled quite easily, then a madman burst out of the crypts and nearly cut his leg off, which presented a bit more of a challenge.

The princes compare notes, slowly piecing together a picture of The Stranger who carved a bloody swath through their armies and then disappeared as quickly as he materialized. Finally, Eurylochus says what everyone else has been thinking (fearing). Towering in stature, redhaired, wearing armor that turned their blades and wielding a sword that pierced through bronze like soft clay? They all know who that sounds like.

Yes, the others reluctantly admit, The Stranger is most definitely the ghost of Achilles, returned from the grave to once again punish them all for the sake of some personal slight. (Neo can't stop thinking about the look in the man's eyes, that look of pity or maybe disappointment before he left the youth bleeding on the steps of Hector's tomb).

Diomedes is the only one to object. Aside from Neo, he was the only one to get a good look at The Stranger and live to tell about it. That wasn't Achilles. In fact, he made the man bleed, so he wasn't a ghost either. No one else seems convinced.

Neo confirms that Odysseus went into Hector's tomb alone, and only The Stranger emerged. Sage nods are exchanged amongst the other princes -- Achilles must have returned to avenge his old comrade, Greater Ajax. But then why would he kill so many Achaeans after presumably taking his vengeance on Odysseus? (Agamemnon scoffs. As if Achilles ever needed a reason to be a pain.)

Then a messenger arrives, breathlessly announcing that Ajax the Lesser has been found. Specifically, he has been found dead by a blow from The Stranger's magic sword, lying at the feet of a toppled statue of Athena.

Now that's clearly an omen of some sort, though no one can agree on what message to take from it. Athena is Odysseus's patron, but is the toppled statue a sign of judgement or of disrespect? Does this have anything to do with The Lesser's cousin The Greater? Nestor suggests consulting the Trojan oracle Helenus. They left the boy tied up on Agamemnon's ship after Odysseus finished with him, and he was still alive the last time they checked. Perhaps he can interpret the omen.

This plan only makes it as far as the beach, where the gang discovers that both the oracle and Agamemnon's flagship have been stolen.

Suddenly it all makes perfect sense. Diomedes explodes -- yet again, Achilles is punishing them all for the sake of his feud with Agamemnon. The High King sputters out a denial -- he and Achilles were square when the man died. His conscience is perfectly clean. He still looks as if he is actively having a heart attack.

Nestor attempts to intervene. Diomedes shouldn't jump to conclusions... But if Agamemnon knows of anything that might have brought a vengeful Achilles back from the grave, he really should tell them. They promise they won't be mad.

Agamemnon has the horrible, sinking feeling that this might be about the fact that he took a leak on the ashes of Achille's funeral pyre. But he's certainly not going to admit to that. Wounded or no, Neo has a good couple of inches on him, and the kid is built like he strangles oxen for a hobby. He has that same twitchy look in his eye that his father always had.

This man cannot have been Achilles, he insists, and Agamemnon is going to bring back his head to prove it! (No one else is willing to set sail while the son of a Nereid might be after their heads, and Agamemnon is quite sure that they're one more bad omen away from sacrificing him to appease Achilles. It's what he would do, were he in their position.) Eurylochus and his crew quickly get pressed into service -- they need a captain, and Agamemnon needs a boat. And don't they want to avenge their fallen king?

Neo insists on coming along, much to Agamemnon's horror.

Maedhros isn't ready to panic just yet. Disorienting as that first night was, he's now fairly certain that he knows where he is. He's on the eastern side of the Sea of Rhûn. This is an inland sea, and the climate and general look of the people suggest that he's somewhere south and east of Dorwinion. He's a long way from home, to be sure, but at least he knows how to get back. He takes a moment to privately curse that storm Maia for dragging him so far out of his way.

He's fairly certain that the woman he rescued is the baby's mother. At least, she seemed very relieved to have him back. So if he recalls the storm Maia's threats correctly, that would make her the prince's widow. The others seem to tentatively consider her to be in charge, and she's at least attempted to communicate with him. Maybe she can help him get his bearings.

Unfortunately, she doesn't speak any of the Easterling tongues he learned from Bór. That's not terribly surprising. Rhûn is a land of many nations, and this particular clan must be rather isolated if they're still casting weapons out of bronze. That's fine. He might not invent new languages on a whim as his father did, but he does enjoy learning them.

The golden-haired girl hasn't stopped watching him. She looks away with a pained expression every time he catches her at it, but even now he can feel her eyes boring into the back of his head. He saw eyes like that once before -- the first time he saw a mirror after Thangorodrim.

The others give her a wide berth, though she does nothing apart from sit curled under the mast, arms around her knees. During their flight, she broke from her stupor long enough to lead them to this ship -- the same ship where they found the prisoner who Maedhros assumes to be her twin brother. It almost seemed as if she knew where...

But that would be ridiculous. She couldn't have known. Maedhros rather forcibly shrugs the notion off. They're twins. He's seen Amrod and Amras do far stranger.

On his first night, Maedhros was too preoccupied to look up. Even had he chanced to look at the sky, the smoke of the city's burning would have blotted out the stars. He spends the following day tending to the wounded, despite having nothing but torn clothing and seawater, and offering what comfort he can, despite speaking not a word of their language. When the sun sets, he forces himself to stay awake. One look at the stars will give him his heading, and from there he can plan the route home...

Oh. Maedhros doesn't know those stars.

Maedhros is beginning to suspect that he isn't in Rhûn.

More coming soon, by request of @sweetteaanddragons !

[thundering-fairytales]

Promo: New Ultimate Student

A camera opens up to reveal an Girl who would be at least in her last school year.

She had medium blonde hair that had faded to a platinum blonde with bangs. She was wearing a sweater with a rock, paper, and scissors embroidered onto a cream oversized sweater. Her sweater was big enough to cover most of her hands. She had a white headband, white knee high socks, and black slip on shoes.

The young girl seems nervous about being on camera before taking a deep breath. She straighten herself up before speaking.

"Hello. My name is Yayoi Kise, The Ultimate Illustrator. I like to draw, superheros comics and manga, and happy endings. I live by myself at the moment. It's nice to meet you! Can I have a promo?"

Tags:

@mikado-sannoji @beautiful-despair @would-you-like-a-scooby-snack @master-detective-archives @disheiress @edens-garden-au @everybxdy-dies @i-spy-with-my-lethal-eye @kurokuma-gang @the-real-kokichi-ouma @screaming-dreamings @after-neo-world @y0u-f4il3d-m3 @ultimate-rider @ueharakinji @yui-samidare-reborn @original-sins-paradise @anyone else

[yongility]

NEO TV # i like me better when i'm with you ꗃ╭╯ jung jaehyun.

──────── epilogue: in another life—and this one too.

𒄬 genre: slowburn / angst / suggestive / gang au / rich kid au / e2l

𒄬 warnings none. this is the peace all of you were waiting for. this is pure fluff, no more angst. read chapter 10 before this. 𒄬 word count: 2.8k

Calgary, Canada.

Life was nothing more than the sum of the choices you made.

And while Jaehyun regretted most of the choices that had led him down the darkest paths, he was grateful for the one he had made three years ago.

Sooman was dead.

The night of the exchange had turned into a battlefield—gang members against police, bullets flying, screams tearing through the air, desperate prayers lost in the chaos.

And in the end, it had taken only one bullet to Sooman’s chest to bring his empire crumbling down.

Neo Zone had fallen with him.

Even though the streets were still dangerous, crime had dropped significantly. Without Sooman pulling the strings, and with most of Neo Zone’s key players locked away, the shadows that once ruled the city had started to fade.

And Jaehyun?

Jaehyun had died that night too.

At least, that’s what the world believed.

By the time the dust settled, when the bodies were being identified and the surviving criminals were being processed into the prison system—Jaehyun was nowhere to be found.

Rumors spread like wildfire.

Jung Jaehyun was dead.

And in many ways, that was the truth.

The night of the exchange had been both an ending and a beginning.

Starting over was harder than he ever imagined. A new city, new faces, a new life. Everything that had once defined him was gone, and for a long time, he wasn’t sure if he was meant to exist without it.

The first year was brutal.

Especially the first few months.

Jeno was a mess. He refused to speak to Jaehyun, refused to leave the house they had been placed in. He was drowning in grief and anger, haunted by the past he never had a choice in.

It wasn’t until Baekhyun intervened that things changed.

Under witness protection, the Jung family was not allowed to have any contact with their old life. But Baekhyun—who had held Jaehyun in his arms when he was seconds away from death—knew he couldn’t just leave them alone. He pulled whatever strings he could, bending rules that were never meant to be bent, just to be the one person who could keep that connection alive.

And so, Baekhyun told them the truth.

About Sooman. About Jaehyun’s father. About the accident that ruined Winwin’s life.

The truth shattered Jeno.

But it also set him free.

It took time—months of silent dinners, tense conversations, and Jaehyun carrying the weight of Jeno’s resentment without complaint—but eventually, Jeno accepted it. And on a quiet night, after far too many nights of pretending he didn’t care, Jeno broke down, sobbing as he apologized.

And just like that, their bond, fractured and fragile, began to heal.

The second year was different.

They were no longer just trying to survive. They were learning to live.

Their new home no longer felt like a prison. The stares of strangers no longer felt like judgment. The ghosts that once clung to them were beginning to fade.

They were free.

And then, there was Winwin.

Jaehyun had spent years carrying the guilt of what had happened to him. The accident. The coma. The stolen future.

But in their second year, something changed. Winwin made progress.

With the help of new doctors and a rehabilitation center, he spoke for the first time in years.

By the third month of that year, his voice, once lost, returned.

By the fifth month, he took his first steps since the accident.

And by the time the second year ended, Winwin wasn’t just recovering—he was laughing again.

And the best part?

Jaehyun was there for all of it.

The third year brought peace.

The kind of peace Jaehyun never thought he would find.

For the first time, he wasn’t drowning in his past. He wasn’t trapped in the cycle of guilt and regret that had consumed him for so long.

He was healing.

He had learned that the past wasn’t something he could erase. It was something he had to carry. But that weight didn’t have to define him.

Even his tattoos—the ink that once felt like a death sentence—became something else.

In the beginning, he hated them.

The first year, he wanted them gone. He wanted to rip them off his skin, to burn away the reminders of everything he had done, everything he had been.

But by the third year, he saw them differently.

They weren’t chains anymore.

They were proof that he had survived.

Once, they had meant there was no way out.

Now, they were a reminder that there always was—as long as you chose the right path when the moment came.

There were things in life you could walk away from.

People spent their whole lives running—escaping from their past, their mistakes, the ghosts that clung to their shadows. Jaehyun had spent years believing he could outrun his own, that time and distance would eventually blur the edges of everything he had lost.

But there were some things that never faded.

Some things that time refused to erase.

And three years later, he realized that no matter how far he had come, no matter how much he had rebuilt—one thought remained constant.

(Y/N).

Jaehyun had sworn he wouldn’t look back. That night at the warehouse had been the end of one life and the beginning of another. He had fought for this, for a clean slate, for the chance to breathe without the weight of Neo Zone pressing on his chest.

But even after all this time, there were moments—quiet, unsuspecting moments—where she would slip through the cracks of his mind. He could go days, weeks, even months convincing himself he had let go.

And then a song would play. A familiar scent would drift through the air. The city lights would flicker just right.

And suddenly, he was back there again.

Three years ago, Baekhyun had told him what happened to her.

The night of the exchange, the night he had nearly died, she had disappeared too. Gone from SM City.

And for a long time, that was enough to keep him frozen.

If she was building a new life, if she was trying to move on—he had no right to pull her back into a past she had barely escaped from.

So he let her go.

But not a single day in those three years had passed without thinking of her.

The scent of warm spices filled the house, the faint aroma of cinnamon and cardamom lingering in the air. It was late afternoon, and the sky outside was beginning to darken, the golden light of the setting sun spilling through the windows, casting soft shadows against the wooden floors.

Jaehyun sighed as he stepped inside, rolling his shoulders to shake off the cold.

“I’m home,” he called out, voice low but steady, the familiar weight of exhaustion settling over him.

From the hallway, a figure appeared, leaning slightly on a cane.

Winwin.

Jaehyun smiled despite himself. His friend was moving better these days—his steps steadier, his balance stronger.

“Your mom and Jeno went to the market to get stuff for dinner,” Winwin said, his tone easy, familiar. He made his way closer, pulling Jaehyun into a brief but firm hug, the kind that spoke of quiet resilience, of the battles they had fought and survived.

Jaehyun clapped him on the shoulder before moving toward the couch. They both sank into it with matching sighs, the air between them comfortable in a way it hadn’t been in years.

“How was therapy today?” Jaehyun asked, glancing at Winwin’s cane.

Winwin exhaled, rolling his neck slightly. “Better. I’m still stuck with this thing for a while longer, but it’s better than not being able to walk at all.” He chuckled, a quiet, genuine sound.

Jaehyun smirked, nodding. “Definitely better.”

Winwin tilted his head. “What about you? How was work?”

Jaehyun leaned back against the cushions, rubbing a hand over his face. “Couple of jobs. Nothing crazy. Though I had this one car come in today that I have no idea how it’s still running. It’s a damn wreck.”

Winwin grinned. “That’s good though, right? Means more work for you.”

Jaehyun huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, I guess.”

A real job. A legitimate one.

It still felt strange sometimes.

For years, Jaehyun had lived in a world where the only way to survive was to take, to fight, to bleed. But here, in this quiet city, he had found something different.

Working at the mechanic shop wasn’t glamorous, but it was honest. And after everything, that was enough.

He had spent too many years with oil and grease on his hands for all the wrong reasons— street illegal racing. Now, he had earned the right to build something with them.

“You’ve got time off coming up soon, don’t you?” Winwin asked, watching him carefully.

Jaehyun nodded, stretching his arms over the back of the couch. “Yeah, in a month or so. My boss says work should slow down a bit, so I can take a break.”

Silence settled between them, the sound of the television humming in the background, filling the space between words left unsaid.

And then—

“I think it’s time you look for her.”

The words were soft, barely above a whisper, but they hit Jaehyun like a freight train.

His breath hitched. His chest tightened.

Winwin wasn’t looking at him, his gaze fixed on the television screen, but Jaehyun could see the weight behind his words, the careful way he had chosen them.

Jaehyun swallowed, forcing his voice to stay even. “Win, don’t—”

“You never stopped thinking about her,” Winwin cut in, his tone gentle but firm. “Not once.”

Jaehyun clenched his jaw, fingers curling into his palms.

Because it was true.

There were things from the past you could bury.

Mistakes. Memories. Regrets.

But love was never one of them.

Three Years Later Connecticut, USA

Jaehyun never thought he’d say that a cop had become one of his closest friends.

But somewhere between saving his life, dragging him out of the hell he was drowning in, and checking in on him like an older brother who refused to leave him alone—Baekhyun had managed to become exactly that.

So when Jaehyun asked him for a favor, something that was technically out of his jurisdiction, he had expected resistance. Expected a lecture, maybe even a flat-out no.

What he hadn’t expected was Baekhyun sighing, rubbing the bridge of his nose like Jaehyun had just asked him to commit a felony, and muttering, “You better not make me regret this.”

It took a few weeks—just enough time for Jaehyun’s vacation to start—but Baekhyun had done it. Had put everything in place, made the necessary calls, pulled whatever strings he could.

And now, standing in the middle of a quiet street in Connecticut, Jaehyun felt like he couldn’t breathe.

He had spent three years convincing himself he had lost her. Three years trying to live with the ghost of her touch, her voice, her love.

And now, he was here.

Here to see if the universe was willing to give him one last chance.

Jaehyun had imagined this moment a thousand times.

And in every version, he was prepared for it.

He had prepared himself for her indifference. He had prepared himself for her anger. He had prepared himself for the possibility that she had moved on.

But nothing—not the endless nights spent yearning for her, not the weight of three years apart, not even the prayers whispered into the dark when he swore he didn’t believe in miracles anymore—could have prepared him for this.

For her.

The campus was lively despite the early evening air settling over the city. Students strolled past, their conversations blending into the background hum of normalcy, of a life Jaehyun had never been part of.

But his world was silent.

Because at the end of the path, standing on the steps of a grand old university building, was her.

(Y/N).

He could barely recognize her.

Not because she looked different—no, she was still the same girl who had haunted his dreams, the same girl who had made him feel something even before he realized he was capable of it.

But because she was free.

She wasn’t the girl trapped in SM City, suffocating under the weight of expectations she never asked for. She wasn’t the girl desperately trying to hold together a life that was unraveling at the seams.

She was radiant— and so heartbreakingly beautiful that it made his chest ache

The evening sun cast a golden glow on her skin, her hair catching the light just right. She was speaking to someone, her laughter drifting through the air like music. And for a moment, Jaehyun couldn’t move.

Because how the hell was he supposed to walk up to her when she had done exactly what he always wanted for her?

She had moved on.

Jaehyun swallowed, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. He had played out this moment in his head a thousand times. Had rehearsed what he would say, how he would explain, how he would tell her that not a single day had passed without her name pressed against his ribs like a prayer.

But now that she was standing in front of him, just a few feet away, all he could do was stand there, frozen in the agony of uncertainty.

What if she didn’t want to see him?

What if she had forgotten him?

What if she had healed, and he was nothing more than an old wound she didn’t want to reopen?

But then—

She turned.

And her eyes met his.

For a second, nothing happened.

The world stood still.

Jaehyun wasn’t sure if he was still breathing.

But then her lips parted, and he saw her eyes—those same eyes he had dreamt about for three years, the eyes that had once held every secret part of him— widened. The way her entire body reacted to the sight of him. The way her fingers trembled, the way her chest rose and fell a little too quickly.

And for one agonizing second, neither of them moved.

The world stretched impossibly wide between them.

And then, without warning—

She ran.

Straight toward him.

Jaehyun barely had time to react, breath knocked from his lungs as her arms wrapped around him, her body colliding against his with a force that felt like a lifetime of longing compressed into a single second.

And suddenly, he was eighteen again.

Holding her like she was the only thing keeping him tethered to the world.

(Y/N) was crying—sobbing against his shoulder, her fingers gripping the back of his shirt like she was afraid he would disappear if she let go. And Jaehyun—Jaehyun was shaking.

Because after all these years, after all the distance, after all the pain—he had found his way back to her.

His arms tightened around her, his fingers tangling in her hair as he pressed his face into her shoulder, breathing her in, grounding himself in the reality that this was real.

She was real.

She was here.

“I—” Her voice broke as she pulled back just enough to look at him, her eyes searching his like she was trying to understand if he was truly standing in front of her. “I thought— I thought you—”

Jaehyun exhaled shakily, brushing his fingers against her cheek, his heart breaking at the way she leaned into his touch like she had been starving for it.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know.”

(Y/N) sucked in a breath, her hands moving to cup his face, her thumbs tracing over his jaw like she couldn’t believe he was real.

“I tried to call you,” she choked out. “That night. When I found out I was leaving. I tried, but you never—”

Jaehyun’s heart clenched. “I never got them.”

Her lips quivered.

“Jaehyun…”

A pause. A second of hesitation, of uncertainty.

Then, Jaehyun let out a soft breath, his fingers brushing through her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear with the gentlest touch.

“It’s Yoonoh now,” he murmured.

Her breath hitched.

(Y/N) hadn’t heard that name in years. And the last time she had, he had begged her not to call him that—had told her that Jaehyun was all he had left.

But now… now he was choosing it.

Choosing to be himself again. Choosing her.

Tears welled in her eyes, overflowing before she could stop them. Her lips trembled, a choked laugh escaping her as she buried her face in his chest, gripping onto him as if the weight of his words had made her legs give out.

Jaehyun—Yoonoh—smiled, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of her head, his arms pulling her impossibly closer.

“Angel,” he whispered.

A sob broke from her throat.

He had never stopped calling her that.

Even now, after all this time, after everything, she was still his Angel.

She pulled back slightly, just enough to look at him, her hands still cradling his face.

“You came back.”

Jaehyun swallowed, his voice raw. “I never stopped looking for you.” His lips found the top of her head, pressing a lingering, shaky kiss into her hair, his fingers trailing up and down her back. "I left. Sooman it's down. I'm not part of Neo Zone anymore. I have a new life— there's nothing helding me down anymore."

Her lips trembled. “And now?”

His thumb brushed away a tear that rolled down her cheek.

“Now?” He let out a shaky breath, pressing his forehead against hers, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Now I’m here to say that I love you. That I have always love you..”

And when their lips met, it wasn’t just a kiss.

It was a homecoming. It was every unsaid word, every missed moment, every aching, desperate wish they had ever whispered into the dark, answered in a single breath.

It was the universe setting itself right.

It was the answer to every prayer they had ever whispered in the silence.

They had spent years running.

But in the end, they had always been meant to find their way back.

And this time, Yoonoh wasn’t going to let go.

a/n: NOT PROOFEAD! Yes! I finally give you fluff. And you know what? They both healed. So that's all that matters. So yeah, this is the end of I like me better when i'm with you. I'm thinking about add bonus scenes like time-stamps or headcanons, but i'm not sure... but for now that's the end. I'd love to know what you think about the whole series so far. Thank you for giving this story a chance. I'm sorry about the slow-burn and the push-pull and push dynamics but i really love drama. I'm so grateful to get to this point.

taglist: @peachfulnight @gojoscumslut @bluedbliss @dear-97 @girlwholovespreppyattire @hana-off-icial @cigarettesafterjae @bts-iris @dojaejung @methneo @kriizztin @mrsuhnshine @pieddpiperr @completelyjae @kanekisheart @daegalismybiasinnct @spicyryujin@dear-97

idk why some of the tags just don’t work out!but we still gonna see each other later or tomorrow for the epilogue!

Feel free to send any asks here if you want!

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

The next up in the AU palooza is... @neopinkdiamond!

This AU takes place many, many, MANY years after Canon, and technically... after Steven's own death. Don't deny it - we've all thought about what would happen to Steven's gem after he died.

You can read the AU on Tapas!

Thank you Neo Pink Diamond AU, for inspiring me with your incredible dedication!

[foopsie-daisy]

do u have a design for Neoptolemus in the warriors au? 👀

I do now :3 Hes had a Onestar Darktail situation where hes a kid Achilles had with some loner/kittypet that found out about the clans and in this case came to join the war! Hes also a little edgelord because its funny. Also I know Achilles dies before Neo comes to the war I just thought this interaction would be silly