#brotp: until the city lights go out | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yoonzeeno · 3 years ago

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of burned towers and rainbow dreams. ━━ yjh x ksy

part two of the svt x pokemon!au ━━ johto.

❀ summary: soonyoung and jeonghan ventured to the burned tower in ecruteak city, only to find something waiting for their arrival. ❀ pairing: jeonghan x hoshi (brotp) ❀ word count: 8k (I OVERDID MYSELF I KNOW I’M SORRY) ❀ genre(s): adventure, friendship, action, slice of life ❀ warning(s): pokémon battle violence at the beginning and the end of the fic. mentions of fire accidents.

━━ a/n: i had so much fun writing this part, it only took me around three or four days, i guess? i wrote the last battle scene without much planning, letting the whole scene play in my head as i wrote it down. it was, undoubtedly, the most fun i’ve had ever since i started writing (probably because it’s two of my biases in one fic but who knows). ALSO PLS FORGIVE ME FOR OVERDOING MYSELF i literally could not find ways to shorten the story without skipping details. anyways, i hope you guys will like this part too!

soonyoung remembered feeling the soft wind blew across his face as he sat down under a tree, shading himself under the harsh sunlight shining down upon him.

his pokémon — scyther, mareep, and wynaut — were playing around, running around here and there, enjoying the sunlight. soonyoung looked to the sky ahead. he was at his home — in his backyard, a tree stood tall. it was a mahogany tree — for he was from mahogany town.

a rainbow suddenly appeared on the sky — was it raining earlier? soonyoung didn’t remember. however, something bright flying across the sky caught his eye.

it had the shape of a bird — a gigantic bird, to be exact. wherever it flew, a trail of rainbow sparks trailed behind it. soonyoung couldn’t describe the bird except for the fact that it was gold. it headed towards a tower covered in orange flames, and soonyoung immediately knew what tower it was. it was weird though — the original incident had happened more than a hundred years ago, so why was soonyoung seeing it with his own two eyes?

it was the infamous burned tower, formerly called the brass tower, located right at the neighboring city, ecruteak city. even though the tower was in flames, the bird just flew towards it without hesitation. smoke rose to the air, covering the silhouette of the bird. soonyoung longed for the smoke to quickly clear up, but when it did, the bird disappeared along with it.

no! soonyoung wanted to shout, but nothing came out. he tried standing up, but he fell back down to the ground, and the world turned black.

when he opened his eyes in surprise, he realized it was just a dream.

four years later.

“gengar, shadow ball!” soonyoung’s eyebrows furrowed at morty’s command. he had to think of something fast, or scizor was going to run out of hp soon.

“scizor, dodge and use flash cannon!” the pincer pokémon cried in response, before moving his wings to his will, flying to dodge the incoming purple orb of shadow, making it hit the wall instead. scizor growled, gathering light in between his pincers (causing the originally dark room to go darker), and threw the ball of light towards the shadow pokémon. it hit gengar before morty could shout an order, the shadow pokémon falling face forward to the ground.

“nice!” soonyoung could hear his friend and mentor, jeonghan, cheer from the audience’s seat. jeonghan’s eevee, who was out of her ball, was yelping happily, running around jeonghan as she cheered scizor on.

he was currently in the middle of a pokémon battle — a pokémon gym battle, to be exact. this was his fourth gym battle, and winning this battle means he’s going to be halfway through his gym challenge. but morty, ecruteak city’s gym leader, wasn’t making himself an easy opponent, and soonyoung wished he had a ghost or a dark-type pokémon, because his team wasn’t exactly good at countering ghost-types. he managed to defeat morty’s earlier pokémon — gastly and haunter — thanks to ampharos and scizor, but ampharos was knocked out by haunter because she exhausted herself during her battle with gastly, and while scizor, soonyoung’s ace, was holding out well against gengar thanks to his steel typing (for gengar was part poison-type, and steel-types are immune against poison-type moves, but soonyoung only realized at the end of the battle that none of morty’s pokémon had any poison-type moves), scizor was nearing his limit, and soonyoung felt like he’s being pushed to the edge. he still has the chance to switch out to another pokémon. sure, scizor executed the flash cannon perfectly, but what’s he going to do next?

soonyoung’s eyes caught gengar lifting its body upwards, and realized he had to think fast, or the fog badge will not be his. he gritted his teeth. scizor was looking at him, waiting for a command. soonyoung’s hand flew to his belt, where six poké balls were perfectly aligned. he touched a particular one — one that was different than the other five, for, instead of your normal red and white poké ball, it was mostly black, with a red and gold stripe on the upper half of it. there was no other way besides this, he decided.

“scizor, u-turn!” scizor cried, digging the ground with his clawed feet, before pushing himself from the ground, his wings helping him take off from the ground. he flew towards gengar, who was already floating on the air now, before diving head first towards gengar.

“gengar, night shade!”

before scizor could make contact with gengar, the latter fired a crimson beam with purplish outlines from its eyes, the beam making its way to scizor. thanks to scizor’s speed, scizor could reach gengar first before the night shade could reach him. but when scizor finally made contact with gengar, the close proximity caused night shade to also hit scizor. both pokémon let out cries of pain — for even though both attacks were not very effective against the other, scizor’s hp was alarmingly low, whilst gengar’s hp was still half full.

thanks to the pressure of u-turn, gengar was knocked back down to the ground whilst scizor used the momentum to make a quick u-turn, returning back to his poké ball. soonyoung murmured his thanks before pushing the button of his luxury ball twice, releasing the pokémon confined inside it.

“wobbuffet, go!” from the poké ball, a tall, cyan pokémon, with four stubby legs emerged, solidifying, his flat arm bent towards his forehead, right above his scrunching eyes. he let out a cry before turning to look for soonyoung. as he managed to locate his owner, he wobbled towards him, arms on soonyoung’s waist, before turning to hide himself behind soonyoung. soonyoung chuckled. wobbuffet hated fights and battles, and soonyoung almost never wanted to send wobbuffet out for battles. but wobbuffet was, beyond expectations, a bulky fighter. among all his pokémon, wobbuffet was probably the only one with close to zero knockouts. then again, soonyoung could count with one hand the amount of times wobbuffet has been in battles.

“it’s okay, buddy,” soonyoung said, patting wobbuffet’s head soothingly. from across the battlefield, soonyoung could hear morty laugh. it’s okay, soonyoung thought, for not everyone knows wobbuffet’s potentials.

“i’ll get you your favorite ice cream later, okay,” said soonyoung. “and i promise, it’ll be a quick battle.”

he knew it’ll be quick, because it was wobbuffet battling. but he hated sending wobbuffet out, knowing how the patient pokémon disliked battling. that’s why he only uses wobbuffet when it urgently calls for it, and this was one of the times.

wobbuffet only nodded timidly, and soonyoung guided it back to his place on the field. gengar was snickering — a mock snicker, soonyoung guessed. it was a risky move — sending wobbuffet out, especially because against gengar's ghost typing, wobbuffet’s psychic typing was vulnerable.

“well,” morty said, “i guess it’s time for us to make our attack now.” gengar lifted himself to the air, thanks to its ability, levitate. “gengar, shadow ball!”

“wobbuffet, mirror coat!” the comical shock in morty’s eyes almost made soonyoung laugh out loud. no one, especially a gym leader — a ghost-type gym leader, in particular — should ever underestimate a wobbuffet.

the shadow pokémon was already forming a purple orb of dark energy in between its hands, and fired the orb at wobbuffet. soonyoung smirked as wobbuffet glowed beautifully — the glow resembling that of a reflecting mirror — and as the shadow ball came in contact with wobbuffet, instead of dealing damage to wobbuffet, wobbuffet’s mirror coat caught it, and reflected the orb towards gengar with two times the attack power. soonyoung’s eyes glanced over towards morty, who was so dumbfounded, he had absentmindedly shouted at gengar to attack with another shadow ball.

but before gengar could form another orb, the orb it had created earlier came whirling back towards it, hitting it square on its stomach, creating a small explosion as smoke engulfed the shadow pokémon. the damage dealt was doubled — and gengar’s hp meter lowered drastically until there was no hp left. as the smoke cleared, soonyoung could see gengar’s body on the field, finally knocked out.

“morty’s gengar is unable to battle. victory goes to challenger, kwon soonyoung!”

from the audience, soonyoung could hear jeonghan and eevee cheer — they were the only audience, after all. soonyoung didn’t realize he was panting hard until he fell down on his butt, legs giving out, but the adrenaline was still pumping in his veins. wobbuffet had wobbled over towards him, crying out in worry, placing his flat arm on soonyoung’s head, as if he’s trying to see if soonyoung’s head was still working or not. soonyoung laughed and hugged wobbuffet. wobbuffet was soft and squishy — he’s been soonyoung’s sleeping buddy since soonyoung was still a kid and wobbuffet was still a wynaut, after all.

“we did it, wobbuffet! we won because of you!” wobbuffet perked up at soonyoung’s words, and blushed. oh, the love soonyoung held for his pokémon. he’s gonna have to thank ampharos and scizor later on too.

“good job, kid.” soonyoung let go of wobbuffet to stand up and shake morty’s hands. wobbuffet was still holding onto his left hand, his stance wary. “i gotta admit, i was impatient to win,” said morty with a laugh. “should’ve gone for a hypnosis instead of a shadow ball. you were lucky, but you’re good, too. you have potentials.” soonyoung beamed at the gym leader’s words, bowing to express his thanks.

“this one here,” morty pointed to wobbuffet, “you did a good job choosing it as your final pokémon. i didn’t think it would be able to win against my gengar.” he nodded. “you did a good job raising it, kid.”

“wobbuffet’s been with me since we were kids,” said soonyoung, rubbing his sweat with his sleeve. “i know i can win battles with it easily, but it’s not a couragely pokémon.” he let out a soft laugh. “in fact, it hates battles. so i only use it when i desperately need to win.”

“i could see that,” said morty, moving a hand to pat wobbuffet’s head. the patient pokémon stiffened, not used to strangers touching his head. his grip on soonyoung’s hand tightened, and soonyoung squeezed it slightly. “it’s nice to know that i still could impose such a challenge on you that you had to use your hidden card to battle me.”

“yo, soonyoung, you did well!” soonyoung turned around to see jeonghan walking towards them, eevee pacing right next to him. eevee approached wobbuffet and cried happily — as if she’s praising wobbuffet for winning. wobbuffet visibly blushed. besides from soonyoung’s other pokémon, jeonghan’s eevee was the only pokémon whose companionship wobbuffet didn’t mind.

jeonghan stopped his steps to stand next to soonyoung, his head nodding towards morty in acknowledgement. “it’s nice to see you again, morty.”

“likewise, jeonghan,” said morty, smiling towards jeonghan. unlike hoshi, jeonghan was almost done with his challenge — only the blackthorn city gym challenge remaining. so it meant that jeonghan had challenged morty before, and had won against him.

“well,” morty clapped his hands, and as he separated them, a small purple pin appeared on his palms. “since you have defeated me, i have to give you your newest gym badge.” he passed the badge to soonyoung, who accepted it in awe. “congratulations on earning the fog badge!” soonyoung placed the fog badge in his badge case, and bowed at morty, thanking him earnestly.

“so, where are you headed after this? the cianwood city gym?” soonyoung shook his head.

“there’s somewhere else i have to go first here in ecruteak.” morty nodded in understanding.

“well, don’t let me hold the two of you back then. have a safe trip!” he said, and both soonyoung and jeonghan bid their goodbyes before heading out of the gym, wobbuffet’s hand still tightly holding soonyoung’s hand, and eevee strutting happily in between jeonghan and wobbuffet.

the sun was slowly sinking down the horizon, the sky surrounding them turning gold. they were currently seated in a cafe, wobbuffet munching happily on his green tea ice cream, for ecruteak city was famous for their green tea. scizor and ampharos were both outside of their balls too — soonyoung was celebrating their victory, and instead of eating ice cream, soonyoung was eating a waffle instead. jeonghan was watching them amusedly, slowly nibbling on his pistachio ice cream that he bought for himself.

scizor had a chocolate ice cream on one of his pincer, and a green tea ice cream on another. he looked scared to crush both ice creams and get his pincers all sticky, so he gobbled them in two consecutive bites — causing him to have a brain freeze, his pincers holding his head to calm himself down.

ampharos, on the other hand, had a vanilla ice cream on one of her hands. she was licking on it happily, offering eevee a little bit of her ice cream. jeonghan had bought eevee a vanilla ice cream earlier, but she already finished it. since eevee eats two times the portion of a normal eevee, she happily accepted ampharos’s offer.

after years of being friends with soonyoung and observing, jeonghan could see how, between soonyoung’s team’s dynamics, ampharos was like the caring sister, whilst scizor was like the protective brother. jeonghan could also see how the two of them cared so much for wobbuffet, for the three of them had been together since they were still young, and since soonyoung was still very young too.

jeonghan had to admit, whilst soonyoung thought he was still way ahead of being a good pokémon trainer, to jeonghan he was already one. soonyoung didn’t see his pokémon as weapons of battle — he saw them as his friends, hence the reason wobbuffet was still in soonyoung’s team even though he hates battles. aside from that, if the three of them — scizor, ampharos, and wobbuffet — were to battle alongside each other, they would have executed perfect teamwork. while jeonghan was the better trainer skillswise, he was going to have to admit defeat to soonyoung’s teamwork with his pokémon. jeonghan could imagine how his crobat and houndoom would just attack each other instead of attacking the opponents were they to battle together.

“so,” jeonghan spoke up as he lowered his ice cream to give the rest to eevee, who hopped back towards jeonghan happily and munched on the ice cream, “where are you planning to go here at ecruteak?”

“the burned tower,” said soonyoung, still munching on his waffle happily. jeonghan’s eyes bulged out.

“you do know that’s not for entry, right?”

“that’s why we’re going to enter at night,” said soonyoung as he put the last of his waffle inside his mouth. “i need to go there — i feel like i saw a sign in my dream.” jeonghan raised an eyebrow. he’s never heard of this story before.

“what dream?”

“basically,” soonyoung wiped the crumbs off of his hands, “i think i saw ho-oh in my dream, and i think it’s telling me to come to the burned tower.” jeonghan’s eyebrows furrowed.

“the burned tower? but ho-oh resides at the bell tower, no?” soonyoung shrugged. next to them, scizor was whining — he may look like a scary pokémon, but once his pincers get dirty he’s back to a baby.

“well, true, but the tower i saw in my dreams was covered in flames. there’s no other tower besides the burned tower, right?” he said as he cleaned the table up, taking a wet tissue to wipe scizor’s pincers. ampharos stared at the tissue, before taking one to wipe wobbuffet’s green tea covered mouth. wobbuffet snuggled ampharos, which jeonghan figured was wobbuffet’s way of saying thank you. the sight of them made jeonghan’s heart flutter. they really do look like family.

“besides,” soonyoung continued, “there’s a possibility that you might be able to train there, you know? eevee’s bound to evolve soon, too.” jeonghan’s gaze turned to eevee, who was still nibbling on jeonghan’s pistachio ice cream.

jeonghan caught eevee after finishing his olivine gym challenge — which means eevee hadn’t been with them for long, unlike jeonghan’s other pokémon, who had been with jeonghan for his entire journey (save for crobat, who jeonghan had saved as a zubat when he was still a young lad). jeonghan had pondered, of course, what to evolve eevee to — but eevee had shown no interest in evolving through the evolutionary stones, and if he wanted to evolve eevee to glaceon or leafeon he’s going to have to travel far away. that leaves only espeon, umbreon, and sylveon. and jeonghan didn’t want eevee to feel like she has no choice. if eevee doesn’t want to evolve, then so be it.

“fine,” jeonghan decided. “but let’s wait until it gets darker. we can’t have people find out we’re sneaking in the burned tower.”

soonyoung snickered. “that’s more like it.”

“but if anything happens, i’m not covering your four—badges ass.” soonyoung gaped at jeonghan, but jeonghan ignored him, wiping his table clean.

“that was mean.”

“you’re the one who wanted to go to the burned tower, knowing fully well the consequences!”

scizor only looked at the two trainers, letting out a small groan as he shook his head.

humans. such noisy creatures.

even though it was dark outside, the burned tower stood out magnificently against the bright moonlight.

it was dark, probably around ten or eleven in the evening. soonyoung and jeonghan, alongside soonyoung’s ampharos and jeonghan’s eevee, were walking around the complex of the burned tower.

the burned tower was shaped like a pagoda, previously built out of golden brass with gleaming golden panels, in contrast to bell tower’s silvery panels. there were staircases that people would have to climb to before going inside. had it not burned, jeonghan was sure the three-story pagoda would’ve been the main attraction of the town. sadly, the only thing left from the previously golden tower was just the structure and ashes.

the four of them climbed the staircase silently, with jeonghan motioning to eevee to be quiet every so and then. on the entryway, instead of a golden door, a sign that said “dangerous: do not enter” was placed. soonyoung ignored the sign and motioned for the four of them to enter quietly. whilst jeonghan, ampharos, and eevee had managed to enter quietly, ironically, soonyoung had kicked his own foot onto a boulder, causing him to yelp in pain. jeonghan turned to glare at soonyoung, meanwhile ampharos hurried over to soonyoung in worry. after soonyoung assured ampharos it was fine, the four of them continued their way inside. soonyoung couldn’t believe that, four years later after his dream, he was finally inside the burned tower.

his happiness was cut short when a flock of zubat flew over towards them.

“ampharos, flash!” cried soonyoung, and a bright light shined from ampharos, lighting up the room that otherwise would’ve been dark, for even though the moonlight shone through the hollowed roof, it wasn’t enough light for them to recognize their surroundings. thanks to ampharos, they could now see that the floor beneath them was made out of wood — why was it not burned down, soonyoung didn’t know.

jeonghan’s hand went to his belt and he grabbed a poké ball, pressing the button twice before releasing the pokémon inside it.

“crobat, go!”

from the poké ball, a purple, bat—like pokémon emerged. he had a small, round body with two pair of wings — the upper pair slightly larger than the lower pair. the upper wings had two claw—like fingers near the middle. as he solidified, crobat’s face could finally be seen clearly — long pointed ears, yellow eyes with red pupils, and a small mouth that usually had his teeth bared. on the bottom of crobat’s body was a pair of stubby feet.

crobat flew in the air as soon as he was let out. he was capable of flying silently on the air — something they desperately needed right now. years of being with jeonghan had helped him recognize what jeonghan wanted without jeonghan having to give out commands. he flew over to the flock of zubat, and looked to jeonghan and soonyoung that he was communicating with them. the flock of zubat finally flew back to where they came from, clearly knowing that even though crobat was outnumbered, he would overpower them in a battle.

jeonghan held out his arm for crobat to perch on, and crobat flew back to jeonghan, descending on his arm. jeonghan used his other hand to rub crobat’s head as a way of saying thanks, and crobat purred in delight.

the five of them headed deeper into the tower. thanks to ampharos’s flash, they managed to avoid the huge pit that stood in the middle of the first floor. unlike the outside view, there were actually four floors — the upper three stories that could be seen from the outside, and an additional basement floor. jeonghan figured the pit was previously part of the first floor — the wood that burnt down in the fire making a huge hole, thus the pit came into existence.

“there,” whispered soonyoung, pointing towards the northeast corner. “there’s a staircase over there.”

due to the huge pit, and a boulder blocking their way to the right, they had no other way to go except to circle over the left side of the floor in one straight line, walking slowly, for one wrong step and the four of them could dive down to the basement (crobat would probably just fly away).

eevee was whimpering in fear, the atmosphere scaring her to bits. jeonghan bit his lip, pondering over before moving crobat to perch on his shoulder instead, and carried eevee on his arms. crobat didn’t seem to mind — both being on jeonghan’s shoulder and the dark, for the dark was crobat’s natural habitat, and being on jeonghan’s shoulder means he could nuzzle jeonghan’s cheeks whenever he wanted to.

they were halfway there when something jumped out of a boulder, causing ampharos, who was leading the way, to halt suddenly, her flash gone in a flash (no pun intended). soonyoung knocked into ampharos and fell to his knees, while jeonghan stumbled on his steps, his grip on eevee tightening in case the evolution pokémon fell. crobat fluttered its wings in surprise, and screeched at the intruder.

“why are you the one agitated, crobat? i should be the one agitated, you know.” the figure spoke in such a fancy manner, jeonghan raised his eyebrows, suspicious.

soonyoung was cursing as he stood up, grumbling at how his knees hurt, for it had scraped the pebbles. when he finally collected himself, he could see the figure in front of him clearly.

it was a man, probably around his late 20s, and he was wearing a purple suit with diamonds etched on it over a white buttoned shirt. on his neck was a red butterfly ribbon, and he was also wearing a white cape around him. he had light brown hair, a few strands in front of his eyes. he looked too comical to be taken seriously — like, who would even wear that to visit the burned tower?

“who are you?” asked soonyoung. ampharos’s orb that was attached on its tail beamed red — ampharos was on full guard. eevee was growling at him.

“i should be the one asking you that. the burned tower is not for entry, you know?”

“it isn’t, but you’re also here, so that makes all of us.” jeonghan pointed out. the man only sighed.

“my name is eusine, and im on the trail of the pokémon, suicune!” he said. “also, im here because my good friend morty, who, by the way, is ecruteak city’s gym leader,” he emphasized on the word gym leader, “gave me permission to come here as long as i come out alive. and what about you kids?” jeonghan rolled his eyes at the last word.

“well,” soonyoung spoke up, “we kids are only normal pokémon trainer who defeated your good friend morty slash ecruteak city’s gym leader.” jeonghan snickered at soonyoung’s words.

eusine tsked in annoyance. “such disrespectful kids. do you want to battle it out? i’m stronger than morty.”

“no thanks, we’re not planning to get stuck here or cause a commotion.” jeonghan said, but eusine didn’t budge from his spot.

“mr. eusine,” soonyoung said, gritting his teeth, “it’s night and we would want to get this over quickly and go back to our lodge to sleep, so will you please let us go on our way?”

“and let you guys meet suicune before i do? nope, absolutely no way.” jeonghan didn’t want to cause a ruckus, but this peculiar man was making it hard for them to do it. crobat had screeched in warning twice now — crobat would never screech unless it feels agitated, and right now, jeonghan was also feeling agitated.

“look, before we wake up all the other pokémon living here—” but before jeonghan could finish his words, a loud roar came from the basement. the three of them whipped their heads towards the pit, and eusine jumped up and down in delight, causing the wooden floor beneath them to start creaking. eevee yelped in surprise, whilst ampharos fell on her knees due to the violent shaking.

“it’s suicune, it’s suicune! it must know i’m here! i have to go down there, now!” eusine made no sign of noticing that the floor was shaking, and was so delighted that his immediate instinct was to run for the staircase, causing the wooden creaking floor to shake heavily once more. and before soonyoung could open his mouth to warn him, the floor underneath them crumbled, and all of them fell through a newly opened hole.

jeonghan rolled to his side quickly in the air to cover eevee from the bits of wood that were raining down on them, which caused him to land on his side. he accidentally landed on a rock the size of a fist, and he let out a half-moan half-groan as he felt pain jolting from his rib. eevee yelped in surprise, squeezing herself out of jeonghan’s arms, poking jeonghan with her paw as she let out whimpers of worry. crobat managed to detach himself from jeonghan’s shoulder earlier, now flying in circles around their heads, before diving to jeonghan’s side, nudging his head on jeonghan’s head to make sure jeonghan was okay. there wasn’t much distance between the floors, thankfully, but there’s still enough to cause jeonghan incredible pain when he tried to sit up.

soonyoung, meanwhile, wasn’t so lucky. when he fell down, he somehow landed feet first, and it felt as if ampharos had fired a thunderbolt from the sole of his right foot. he managed to twist his left foot before it hit the ground, but the pain from his right foot was enough for him to squeeze out tears of pain. he tried to suppress the pain, crying out for ampharos instead.

“ampharos! ampharos, where are you?” soonyoung panickedly cried. his hand fumbled for his belt — almost crying in relief when he could feel all the other five still intact.

“crobat, go look for ampharos!” jeonghan cried, staggering to stand up. crobat shrieked in response before flying over, using his supersonic to detect ampharos’s location. when jeonghan did manage to stand up, he tried moving his feet. there were slight pain on his thighs, but otherwise he could walk almost perfectly well, his left leg limping slightly. he rushed over to soonyoung, whose face was covered in all the debris. jeonghan doubted he looked any better, to be honest.

“ampharos!” soonyoung was still crying out for ampharos, pressing both his palms on the ground, trying to lift himself up, but the pain on his legs stopped him from doing so. he wanted to cry. he can’t lose ampharos — he wouldn’t forgive himself if ampharos was nowhere to be found.

as if sensing their best friend was missing, scizor and wobbuffet came out of soonyoung’s poké ball unsummoned. wobbuffet wobbled towards soonyoung in worry, whilst scizor, after making sure wobbuffet went to soonyoung, immediately flew over to where crobat went. soonyoung didn’t realize he was sobbing until wobbuffet came to check for his injuries, his eyes scrunching in worry at the sight of his owner. soonyoung didn’t know what he was sobbing for — the pain or the thought of ampharos being gone.

when jeonghan finally reached soonyoung’s side, he was holding a first aid kit on his hand. he took a look at soonyoung’s legs — his right feet was covered in purple bruises, shaping a big lump on his ankle. jeonghan fumbled for his poké ball, calling out for the only pokémon with an ice-type move that he owned. he pressed the button twice, and a pokémon that resembled a duck emerged from the ball. it was round around the edges, with the main body being somewhat pinkish. it has a relatively flat bill and large round eyes. its legs were simple ovoid growths along its sides, and its tail widened towards the middle. its bill, legs, tail, and underside were all blue colored.

“porygon2, ice beam around soonyoung’s right ankle.” porygon2 squeaked in response, before a stream of ice shot from its bill, covering the bruise on soonyoung’s leg. soonyoung yelped in surprise at the sudden coldness, wincing a little bit, but signalled jeonghan that the pain was slowly numbing.

a few metres from them, crobat’s cry could be heard. the two of them turned towards the direction of the cry, and they could see crobat flying in the air right above scizor and ampharos — the former had his pincers around ampharos, helping ampharos walk. ampharos was limping on her right leg, but otherwise, she looked okay.

at the sight of both his pokémon, soonyoung sobbed in relief. the pain in his foot subsided a little bit, thanks to porygon2’s ice beam. jeonghan was busy wrapping soonyoung’s foot in bandage when crobat flew over and perched on jeonghan’s head, whilst ampharos and soonyoung had a tearful reunion, with soonyoung saying, “bless, bless.” over and over as ampharos bent over soonyoung’s body, hugging him.

after making sure soonyoung’s leg was wrapped tightly, jeonghan moved to spray potion over ampharos’s limping leg. ampharos winced in pain, but she seemed visibly better a few seconds later. jeonghan sighed and dropped down on the ground, wiping out beads of sweat off of his forehead. eevee climbed over to his lap and jeonghan pulled her over in a hug, trying to slow his beating heart down.

“speaking of which,” soonyoung suddenly spoke up, “where’s that eusine guy?” jeonghan looked up, frowning. he was too focused on getting everyone back together that he forgot the weird guy existed.

he signaled for crobat to look for eusine, and crobat looked annoyed, as if he didn’t want to go after him, which jeonghan could actually relate to. crobat had already flapped his wings, ready to fly in search for eusine, when they heard another roar — identical to the first one they had heard — from behind jeonghan. soonyoung was looking over jeonghan’s shoulder, his jaw dropped. jeonghan whipped his head around as well, and gaped at the sight in front of him.

in front of them, three creatures were towering over them, and jeonghan immediately recognized them as the three legendary beasts — the beasts that had originally died in the fire, but had been resurrected back to life.

on the left side was a massive, leonine, quadrupedal pokémon covered in brown fur and a long, light gray cloud of smoke running along its entire back. it had gray plates on either side of the cloud and a plate beneath the cream belly fur on its chest. entei, jeonghan remembered its name. the volcano pokémon, representing the fire that had engulfed the tower they were currently in more than a hundred years ago.

on the right side was a quadrupedal, yellow, tiger—like pokémon with black stripes and a white underside. it had a thin, light blue tail with sharp angles and spark—shaped formation at the end. most of its face consisted of thick, white fur and shorter yellow fur around its red eyes, with a muzzle that’s shaped like a light blue "x". it also had a black faceplate with two bumps that covered its forehead, nose, and ears. raikou, the thunder pokémon, representing the thunderstorm that had happened on the night of the fire — the one that had caused the fire on the first place.

and on the middle was a slim, quadrupedal blue mammalian pokémon with white, diamond-shaped markings. its face and underside were white as well. it had a thick, purple mane that resembled the aurora borealis and two white, streamer-like tails that wave forward. it also had a large, hexagonal, cerulean blue crest on its forehead with two prongs on either side of the base. now that jeonghan could look at the pokémon at near proximity, he could understand why eusine the weird guy was so obsessed over the pokémon. it was the epitome of beautiful. suicune, jeonghan named it. the aurora pokémon, representing the downpour that had washed the fire away on the night of the fire.

if soonyoung hadn’t shouted at him to run, jeonghan would’ve probably gotten burnt by entei’s fire blast.

“hyung, run!” jeonghan jumped over to the side, landing on the same side as he did when he fell from the first floor. he groaned in pain, wincing as he tried to get back on his feet. eevee ran towards him, yelping in worry.

as entei’s fire blast hit the ground in front of soonyoung, soonyoung yelped in surprise, and wobbuffet — dear, lovable wobbuffet who would never fight battles willingly — stood in front of soonyoung, arms opened wide as if trying to shield soonyoung from any oncoming attacks. crobat was now flying on the air, waiting for a command, and whilst jeonghan knew eevee was scared, but she was in her battle stance, growling at anything that tried to attack jeonghan. jeonghan reached for his poké ball and recalled porygon2 back, before calling out another pokémon.

this time, a quadrupedal, canine pokémon that was mainly black in color came out of the poké ball. he had a long orange snout and an orange underbelly, along with small, red eyes and a black nose. around his neck was a white band with a small skull—shaped pendant on his throat. there were two white bands on each of its ankles, as well as three rib—like ridges on its back. he had a long, skinny tail with a triangular tip and three clawed toes on each paw. on top of his head was a pair of long, curved gray horns. as soon as he got out of his ball, he growled — he was half a meter shorter than the legendary beasts, but he showed no sign of fear at all.

“houndoom, i need you to get soonyoung on your back!” houndoom barked in response and pranced over to soonyoung, lowering his back for soonyoung to climb on it. soonyoung held onto it’s neck, and, with ampharos’s and scizor’s help, managed to climb onto houndoom’s back safely. scizor was using his wings to slightly levitate into the air, whilst ampharos was on alert mode — the orbs on her body all lit up.

the beasts, however, did not wait to give them any peace. not long after entei’s fire blast, raikou let out a roar, a gray cloud of storm forming right above their heads.

“crobat, get away from the cloud!” jeonghan cried just in time as a lightning struck from the cloud, and had it not been for crobat’s speed, he would definitely have fainted there. the lightning struck the ground, breaking a boulder into pieces in the process.

“ampharos, use thunderbolt on suicune!” soonyoung commanded from houndoom’s back. ampharos cried out, bolts of lightning covering her before they rushed towards suicune. suicune, however, only jumped to avoid the thunderbolt. soonyoung choked back a sob. sure, with all their pokémon combined, they have twelve, but what’s the point of it when their opponents were legendary pokémon? even worse, three of them?

on the other side, jeonghan was having no luck trying to fight against raikou — jeonghan was commanding eevee to use swift against raikou, but eevee alone wouldn’t do any damage against raikou. crobat was also hovering on top of raikou, trying to poison the thunder pokémon with his sludge bomb attacks, but to no avail — for no matter how fast crobat was, his opponent was, again, a legendary pokémon.

during soonyoung’s moment of pondering and figuring out a strategy, he had let his guard down for too long. entei had noticed and, at that moment, decided to strike them with another fire blast. houndoom opened his mouth, releasing a red-orange stream of fire — which soonyoung recognized as flamethrower — to fight against entei’s fire blast, but entei’s fire blast overpowered it as if it was nothing, and soonyoung could only watch helplessly as the fire came closer to them, bracing for the fire to engulf him like it engulfed the tower hundreds of years ago. jeonghan had shouted at houndoom to dodge the fire blast, but soonyoung knew houndoom couldn’t dodge fast enough.

just then, a blur of red flashed right in front of his eyes. before soonyoung could shout anything, scizor had stopped in front of soonyoung and houndoom, letting himself take the hit instead of soonyoung. soonyoung screamed. scizor was four times weak to fire, for arceus’s sake! without much thinking, soonyoung hopped down off of houndoom, gritting his teeth as the pain on his ankle shot up. he endured the pain, crawling his way towards scizor, fear clouding his mind more than the pain.

soonyoung heard houndoom bark in warning, trying to warn soonyoung for the upcoming attack. during the chaos, raikou had switched places with suicune. right now, jeonghan was dealing with the aurora pokémon, who proved to be distracting. jeonghan had cried for eevee to use shadow ball against it, but eevee’s shadow balls only ended up hitting the ground. thanks to crobat’s speed, he managed to land a sludge bomb to suicune — but the legendary pokémon recovered almost as quickly, as if crobat’s poison was nothing. jeonghan wanted to scream. it was unfair — how were they going to win?

from raikou’s storm cloud, another lightning bolt emerged, and houndoom wasn’t so lucky. it got zapped and fell to his side, his head thumped to the ground. soonyoung cried. scizor’s head was on his lap and houndoom was knocked out behind him, and raikou’s gaze was fixated on him. he felt a jolt of fear — he was going to die, he was going to die, and it was all because of his dream.

raikou opened his mouth, a yellow orb shaping in between its jaws — soonyoung recognized it as thunderbolt. soonyoung couldn’t run — he couldn’t even stand up. he tried to return scizor into his poké ball, but he couldn’t find his belt. it had fallen somewhere along the rubble of rock and pebbles, he realized. soonyoung gulped, bracing himself for the attack, when a bright blue light came in front of him.

wobbuffet had absorbed the thunderbolt attack with his mirror coat, and returned the thunderbolt towards the creator with double the power, but raikou only jumped to the side effortlessly. wobbuffet was panting hard, desperately low in health after absorbing that thunderbolt attack. to soonyoung’s right, ampharos was single handedly facing entei, but one flamethrower from the volcano pokémon immediately knocked ampharos down. soonyoung screamed. scizor, houndoom, ampharos — he couldn’t let wobbuffet get knocked out too!

“crobat, go and help soonyoung!” crobat shrieked and flew towards soonyoung — jeonghan hadn’t realized that they were literally half a kilometre apart now. however, before crobat could reach soonyoung, raikou roared. a lightning bolt from his storm cloud blasted, and this time, crobat wasn’t fast enough to dodge. crobat dropped down to the ground, and jeonghan cried for crobat’s name.

we’re not gonna make it out of here alive, jeonghan thought, choking back a sob. wobbuffet was still shielding soonyoung, who still wasn’t able to stand up, no matter how hard he was trying, the pain in his ankle was hindering him. jeonghan’s hand flew to his belt — and only then did he realize it was gone, probably got detached when jeonghan had flown to avoid entei’s first fire blast.

noticing that jeonghan’s guard was down, suicune took it as a good chance to attack — an aurora beam right towards jeonghan. jeonghan fell on his butt on the ground in shock, and instinctively squeezed his eyes shut. during the good couple of seconds, he tried to apologize to his parents and to everyone he had done wrong during his life. instead of the freezing cold ice, however, eevee’s cry snapped his eyes open.

however, eevee was nowhere to be seen — instead, a glowing blue light in the shape of eevee stood in front of him. jeonghan gaped, and at that moment, all the legendary beasts’ attention turned towards the blue light in front of him.

eevee’s fluffy body shrinked, and her fluffy feet lost its fluff, turning slender instead. it’s bushy tail slimmed down too, and when the light vanished, jeonghan couldn’t help but stare in amazement. instead of eevee’s brown fur, she was black with yellow rings around her ears and tail, and each on her feet. instead of brown eyes, her eyes were red — and jeonghan could see how she resembled the shining moonlight, for she had evolved into umbreon, the moonlight pokémon.

umbreon growled at suicune, opening her mouth to form a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles, before firing the beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside her mouth. suicune had elegantly dodged it, sadly, but, to jeonghan’s surprise, the aurora pokémon did not attack back, watching the two of them intently instead.

jeonghan stole a glance towards soonyoung — he was still hugging scizor’s head on his lap, wobbuffet in front of him, body shaking in fear but not backing down. raikou and entei, however, weren’t attacking soonyoung either. the three beasts looked at each other — as if they were communicating to each other — and then entei jumped towards the hollowed roof, before disappearing into the night. raikou followed suit, until it was only suicune left with them.

umbreon was still growling at suicune, and jeonghan took it as an opportunity to stand back up. when he did, however, suicune only ignored them and went to approach soonyoung, leaping gracefully once towards him. jeonghan, alarmed, ran towards soonyoung in fear.

suicune, however, unlike earlier, was gentle. as he walked closer towards soonyoung, soonyoung shivered — for some reason, wind was blowing towards him. wobbuffet was still shaking, but suicune did not attack wobbuffet. it gently nudged it’s snout on soonyoung’s palm, and soonyoung felt something on his palm — something soft, like a feather?

you. soonyoung jolted in surprise and turned towards suicune. was it speaking in telepathy with him?

our master has been keeping an eye on you since you were young, suicune said. at the corner of soonyoung’s eyes, jeonghan stopped in his steps. so jeonghan could hear suicune too, soonyoung deduced.

he had tried to summon you here once, in your dreams. when you come, our master had told us to test you. and you and your friend have proven yourself worthy — for eevee would not have evolved into umbreon if not, and your pokémon would not have risked their lives to protect you if not. soonyoung gaped, and his grip on the item suicune had pushed into his hand tightened.

when you are ready, come face my master. he will be waiting at the other tower. suicune nodded once, before jumping towards the sky, disappearing into the night alongside its brothers, its tail leaving a trail of northern lights behind.

when suicune disappeared, soonyoung opened his hand. in it was a rainbow-colored feather — soonyoung recognized the color, for it was the color of the bird he had seen in his dream.

so it’s true. the bird pokémon he saw in his dream four years ago was the legendary rainbow pokémon, ho-oh.

due to the ruckus they caused, several people were forcibly awaken, and they had reported to morty. the two of them were rescued by morty and his gengar, and immediately rushed to ecruteak city’s pokémon center — along with eusine, who had woken up as soon as morty arrived.

eusine was groaning and whining, mad at himself for losing consciousness when suicune was so close to him. morty had berated him for jumping up and down on the vulnerable wooden floor and apologized to jeonghan and soonyoung, once they were settled down in their room at the pokémon center. morty had let them go lightly with a warning to never go back to the burned tower unsupervised again, though, he had a hard time believing that the legendary beasts had appeared inside the tower. jeonghan and soonyoung had decided it would be better if they told no one about what suicune had told them.

all their pokémon were, thankfully, alright. as soon as they reached the pokémon center, they were brought to nurse joy, who had recovered them from their injuries. in no time, crobat was perched on jeonghan’s head again, and umbreon was in his arms, purring in delight as jeonghan ran his hands through her body. jeonghan was on the right bed, whilst snuggled inside the covers of the left bed was soonyoung, whose right leg was covered in gyps. wobbuffet was snuggled to soonyoung’s left side, whilst scizor had his head on soonyoung’s lap, and ampharos’s head was on soonyoung’s right shoulder. the sight of them made jeonghan’s heart warm. so it wasn’t only jeonghan who was touched by their friendship — even ho-oh had approved of their friendship, that it decided soonyoung was worthy enough to face it.

“so,” jeonghan spoke up, “are you going to face ho-oh?”

“with crutches? no thanks. if ho-oh really decided on me, the least i could do is go there wearing a suit,” said soonyoung, scrunching his nose. jeonghan laughed at the younger boy.

“and not now, not when i still have a long way to go,” murmured soonyoung. “but when i’m ready, like suicune said, i’ll go there and face him. and hopefully catch him. wouldn’t it be cool if i have ho-oh in my team?” jeonghan made a face at soonyoung before throwing a pillow at him, telling him to keep on dreaming. however, scizor had caught the pillow in his pincers, causing the pillow to burst into a cloud of fluff in his sharp metal pincers.

“hey!” jeonghan cried, but scizor only buzzed in return. crobat defended his owner, screeching back at scizor. the room was covered in fluff, but soonyoung only laughed, and smiled at the sight.

the future ahead of him was scary, and he felt the burden of being ho-oh’s chosen one. but soonyoung knew he wasn’t alone. he has his pokémon by his side. he has his best friend jeonghan by his side. and when the time to face ho-oh comes, soonyoung knew he wasn’t going to be alone. soonyoung would have them by his side, battling alongside him.

soonyoung smiled and stroked on the rainbow feather. he thought about how lucky he was to have them by his side.

for there was magic that had brought them together, and that magic is called hope.

[ —proofread. ]

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crashingmeteorz · 4 years ago

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jinjetsongko headcanons

in other words i love the idea of the jinxjetxsongxzuko brotp and want it to be real, desperately (based off of @azenkii’s awesome post)

first and foremost, jet never spots iroh firebending his tea. he simply does not see it. this prevents a whole host of other disasters.

jet visits zuko c o n s t a n t l y. he’s desperately trying to start up a ba sing se chapter of the freedom fighters, which ticks off longshot and smellerbee, who wanted a new life.

jet stays friends with longshot and smellerbee by pretending he’s cool with that, but by night he’s meeting up with zuko, sharing conspiracy theories about the dai li and ideas on how to break into the upper ring undetected. zuko flat-out rejects the ideas at first but he starts itching for something, anything to do, so he goes along with it.

jin thinks they’re both cute but is also pretty sure they’re in love with each other (they’re really not sure, tbh. jet is into zuko but in the way that everyone is - zuko’s hot, guys. zuko’s still figuring out how to be a normal teenager and all this attention is weird. either way, it’s something they need to figure out and jin absolutely does not want to get in the middle of it.)

zuko seems like the more stable one between the two of them, though, so jin asks him out. jet hypes him up the night of, so right before he meets jin zuko’s just bombarded with proverbs from his uncle and a lot of inappropriate advice from jet. the date goes pretty much the same since zuko chooses to ignore both of them.

jet absolutely loses it on zuko when he finds out that he actually managed to kiss the girl and then just ran away. jet believes this reflects poorly on him, and he begs jin to give zuko another chance.

jin can read the room, though, and, frankly, does not care to get in the middle of their homoerotic tension. after all, she’s pretty sure zuko cut the date short because he’s not ready for a relationship, and she’s basically right.

it should also be mentioned that at this point, jin’s figured out zuko’s a fire bender, and she kind of assumes his uncle is, too, and even though she doesn’t give a shit since they’re clearly refugees, she can tell there’s some weird backstory going on there and she is NOT going to be the fix-it girlfriend, no way.

so she tells jet she’ll hang out with them as friends.

“okay,” jet says easily, sliding into the booth across from her. “friend, do you ever want...i don’t know, more than the lower ring can offer?”

from behind the counter, zuko audibly groans because if the failed date wasn’t enough, now jet’s gonna recruit this girl into their stupid gang which zuko didn’t even want to be part of in the first place, JET!

jin doesn’t have any particular skills, but she’s quick on her feet and knows basic hand-to-hand combat. i headcanon she’s grown up in ba sing se, maybe coming to the lower ring as a little girl, and, since it’s not exactly a safe city, most kids either learn how to fend for themselves, or they disappear.

most importantly - she knows the city like the back of her hand, and she knows how to avoid the dai li.

around the same time jet’s cajoling her into joining their “stupid goofy not cool gang” as zuko calls it, even though he’s basically a co-founder, a quiet girl and her mother move into the same tennement building as jin.

i imagine jin lives alone or with distant family, so song and her mother are a welcome pair. song and jin immediately strike up a friendship, with song being impressed by jin’s outgoing nature and worldliness, and jin being endeared to song’s kindness and hopeful attitude, despite the fact that her home was burned down for a second time.

(something about the fire princess herself on the hunt or something, song and her mother didn’t really stick around long enough to find out.)

jin really wants to introduce song to her other friends, but hanging out with zuko and jet is shaping up to be something very dangerous, and sweet song doesn’t strike her as the type to be interested in that kind of thing.

until, one evening, jin is followed home by a strange man. she doesn’t even notice, she’s too busy laughing at some idiotic stunt jet had pulled and thinking maybe his stupid gang would be kind of fun, and she’s about to reach her door when the stranger grabs her.

she screams, but it’s quiet and dark and no one’s around to care. she struggles, bites at him, but he’s stronger and he’s dragging her away. just as she’s certain this is the end, the man collapses behind her and his hold is released.

there stands song, a long, thin needle in her hand, a terrified expression on her pale face. the two girls stare at each other, illuminated by the light of the open door to their building. suddenly a tall shadow pours over them, and song’s mother is there, looking deadly serious. she checks on jin and song, checks the man’s pulse, and then looks between the two girls.

“we’ll need to get rid of the body” song’s mother tells them. “jin, you know this city. where can we dump it?”

jin’s mind is blank for a few seconds, and then all at once is starts working again.

“stay here” she tells song’s mother, as they drag the body inside, for now. “in case we need an alibi, we were with you. i know a place”

the place is the tea shop, where zuko and jet are fortunately still loitering. jin barely explains the situation and the boys are running after her and song. it’s dark, and the situation is urgent so they don’t really take the time to get acquainted with song or bother to look too long at each other.

it’s not until they’ve wrapped the body up that zuko looks at song properly, and song looks at zuko, and they both freeze.

“what’s with you two?” jin asks, desperately trying to act normal and needing her friends to do the same. there’s a beat of silence. and then-

“nothing” they say at the same time, and get back to business.

in the end, the four teens dump the body in the sewers, strip it of any valuables which they toss across the city, and hope the anonymity of the lower ring will keep them safe.

they’re in this thing together, now. jin is in shock that she just covered up a murder, song is grappling with the fact that she just committed a murder, zuko is freaking out that song’s gonna out him as a thief to his new friends (which is a whole other can of worms because he has friends now?), and jet’s just excited that he has a new gang.

they start hanging out regularly, switching between the tea shop and jin’s and song’s building, and one evening zuko finally can’t take the tension anymore and privately asks song and her mother why they haven’t said anything. song and her mother look at each other, and seem to have a mental conversation.

finally song’s mother says “you helped my daughter. your debt is repaid” and she leaves the two of them alone.

“and besides” song tells him, patting his cheek on the unscarred side, “it’s always good to have a deep dark secret to hold over your friends!”

“you have no idea” zuko thinks.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 masterpost

#long post #let me know if you want to hear more lol #zuko #jet #jin #song #iroh #song’s mother #atla #jinjetsongko #the ba sing se bimbos #my stuff #life happens wherever queue are

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allthatglittersisnotgoldrush · 3 years ago

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Author Interview: Victoryindeath2 (by Mythopoeia

Thank you @abadpoetwithdreams! I hope you don't regret the last question you asked :D

1. You are responsible for creating the characters of Frog and Sticks! What canon Silm event are you most excited to see from their child perspectives?

Soooo many things—but I am interested to see how they will feel when Mae is back on his feet, a warrior more deadly with his left than he even was with his right, the sort of man who can in canon create the Union of Maedhros. The children have seen Maedhros at his lowest, seen him tormented and crushed into the earth in the cruelest of ways. They also saw how he could be his best even when there was no hope or light for him—he protected them and was kind to them and loved them. I am just interested to see how other men’s and women’s opinions might change as Maedhros moves into the next phase of his life, and how the children will, in some ways, always see Maedhros as their Russandol.

Sticks: yeah I knew he was cool before you all realized it

Frog: *drops a rock in Mae’s left hand and curls up in his lap* tell me and my pet rock a story Mae

Mae: I actually have leadership things to do....

Sticks: you owe us for all the stories you didn’t tell us back in the Bad Place

Mae: *tells them a story and Fingon finds the kids sleeping under Mae’s arms twenty minutes later*

(There is also a non-canon event sometime in the future that I want so VERY badly but guess I can’t say because of spoilers *sighs*)

2. We often joke about how this AU is basically our own crazy version of a Silm tv series. What are some of favourite moments in the series so far that stand out to you as particularly cinematic?

There are so many moments, some of the wondrous and stunning variety, and some of the quiet and beautiful....but here are a few that leapt right to my mind:

a. Maedhros and Fingon parting the last time before Feanor divided the families almost forever! Maedhros with his hair in the sunlight on his horse and the line, “see you on the other side, cano!”

b. Gosh DARN it Mae on the cliff, with Morgoth offering him the chance to leap to his death, and he doesn’t take it *cries*

c. FINGON’S CHILD OF THE WOLF MOMENT WHERE HE TAKES MAIRON OUT (ALSO RIGHT BEFORE WHEN MAE GRABS AT HIS ANKLE AND TRIES TO GET FINGON TO SAVE HIMSELF)

d. Maedhros riding into the thrall camp and basically falling into Gwindor and SLINGING AN ARM AROUND HIS NECK YES HUGS ALL AROUND YESSSS

e. Look Ceili fic I know we talk about it all the time but I am here to talk about it again, especially the moment where Mae pulls Caranthir out on the dance floor and then they all dance together and everyone ends up in a pile on the floor except for Mae who just stands over them all laughing I think doubled over and there is so much good energy in that scene I NEED IT ON SCREEN

f. Personally I like to think that Celegorm stalking his way into a club in New York City and beating the living daylights out of Eol was cinematic

g. Maedhros having successfully argued Huan’s way into the journey west, stumbling all tired like up to the stairs, and meeting Nerdanel there, and resting his head on his mom’s neck. The darling tol bby

h. MAE ATTACKING ULFANG FOR THE SAKE OF HIS BROS, GOING FROM DEPRESSED BROKEN BABY WHO HAS LOST ALL HOPE TO DEPRESSED BROKEN BABY WHO HAS LOST ALL HOPE BUT STILL WILL FIGHT FOR HIS BROS

i. Bby Mae lying on Feanor’s chest ;;;;;;;;;;; before Feanor became the worst

j. Can’t even remember what fic it was at this point but there is a dream? Mae has? Of like....the sea and red sun or something? It was a lot

k. There are many many more moments and I am mad that I can’t remember the one that stood out to me recently

l. ..........the whole fic Seven Card Stud

m. MOONLIGHT GUNSLINGER MAE AND HOW HE TOTALLY OUTCLASSED MAIRON

n. Every hug and brotp and found family moment ever. I have addictions and there is never enough of what I want on screen

o. THERE ARE MORE SPECIFIC ONES BUT I HAVE TO STOP AT SOME POINT DON’T I

3. Walk me through what an ideal day would look like for Caranthir?

The MOST ideal day would be Caranthir waking up in his little closet bedroom in Formenos and realizing he just had a horrible nightmare, and also realizing that he still has his mom and ALL of his brothers. And then at the breakfast table Feanor says something like “wow I’ve been stupid in a good many ways, and a rotten dad because of that, good thing I have recognized my flaws and shall now be a better person, also Mae you can stop going to live in the city if you want, just stay here with your brothers. Also you know, Caranthir, even though you’re still my least favorite child, I’m proud of you. And not just because these are the best pancakes I have ever tasted.”

Then Caranthir probably helps his mom in the garden, gets some quality one on one time with Mae when Mae helps him make a pie, Mae reminds him how special and good he thinks Caranthir is, and Celegorm and Curufin ask Caranthir to join them for fishing. Not that Caranthir necessarily wants to do that, but he does want to be asked. Then Amras and Amrod ask him to help them with sums, so that he feels like a helpful big brother, and without being asked, Maglor takes out his fiddle and plays the slow-moving, peaceful song that Caranthir loves and Maglor despises because it is not challenging enough

4. What is a character POV you have not written yet about but would like to?

I would like to write something from Maeglin’s POV—I feel a powerful urge to protect that lost boy. He’s had an odd and often terrifying life and he needs a break. Good grief imagine having a mom like his mom, imagine Morgoth commanding you to call him uncle. Ew. Anyway, he’s exactly the sort of character I usually adopt as my son. An angsty sad boy without much future, who needs LOVE

5. If you could recommend only one fic from each author (including yourself, of course) what would they be?

HOW TO PICK?!

TolkienGirl: wayyyyy too many to really choose from but I have to go back to the beginning and say “news, breaking” because of the way it introduces my Feanorian boys, and also because of Mae wearing a flowered apron one minute and then a half open leather vest the next, with his glorious hair tied back!

Mythopoeia: I feel like I have to say “those gathered beneath” because it was so DEFINITIVE of our favorite Irish family, and also Turgon is a great narrator (but since I always talk about this fic I shall also add another, lesser known perhaps: “save ourselves unaided” because it introduces Haleth and more people need to appreciate Haleth and Mythopoeia’s Haleth is SO GOOD)

Victoryindeath2: “a certain slant of light (where the meanings are)” because it was my first Caranthir fic, and so it holds a special place in my heart

Bonus Q: The Feanorians are now a KPop group. What are their hair colors and roles?

THE WAY I CHOKED ON MY LAUGHTER WHEN I FIRST READ THIS QUESTION

I ALSO GOT WAY TOO CAUGHT UP IN THIS SO IF YOU ARE AN AU READER WHO DOESN’T CARE ABOUT KPOP IN ANY WAY YOU CAN STOP HERE, I WON’T BE MAD. On the other hand I think I have really good answers so maybe you should continue lol

Maedhros: He has to be a coppery red-head, doesn’t he? Maybe something of the red color that you once told me you wanted Heeseung to try. He would make a great leader, but ALSO. Also I think that he has had enough stress in canon in and in our AU, so I really just want to give him the opportunity to be merely the eldest hyung, who everyone goes to for comfort, for hugs and advice, and who supports the leader quietly. He is a good vocalist and can maybe rap in a pinch? but we put so much emphasis on him as a dancer that he HAS to be the dance leader. Obviously. Is widely acknowledged as the visual of the group

Maglor: Longish black hair, maybe midnight blue or deep purple. Has tried several different hairstyles and regretted half of them. He claims a specific aesthetic in hair and dress is necessary for him to compose the group’s songs, and while he gets teased by everyone for this he also writes amazing music so? It works? Is definitely a vocalist. His vlives consist of him playing every instrument known to man, and half the time Mae is sitting in the background listening with an awed expression on his face—till he falls asleep. Maglor can’t decide if he is pleased by this or insulted

Celegorm: Usually rocks blond or silver hair, but one time some fool insulted Amrod’s pink hair and the next thing you know Celegorm had pink hair for three months. Probably disparaged Maglor’s mullet phase but tried it once himself as a penalty for a game in a Run Feanorian episode and kinda thought it wasn’t half bad.

Celegorm is the “I don’t follow what the company says” member, “screw the rules if they aren’t good for my fam.” He is also a sick rapper and his diss tracks and mixtapes are things of beauty. He also clearly frequents the gym and will toss an annoyed member—most likely Maglor, but sometimes Curufin—over his shoulder any chance he can get. Has definitely done pushups with Amrod or Amras on his back. He and Mae swept the ISAC games

Caranthir: Typically goes with brown/black hair, which only throws the fandom into more of an uproar when the rare occasion arises in which he actually dyes it some other color. Probably went mint for a music video and Curufin started calling him mint choco boy, which offends him deeply as he is (sadly) on the side of “mint chocolate ice cream tastes like toothpaste.” He’s a vocalist with a rougher voice that is surprisingly pleasing to listen too.

Speaking of surprises, Caranthir never quite understands his own popularity. He didn’t like to do vlives by himself for ages, until Mae encouraged him to do cooking and baking vlives, and now he does one once a month on a schedule. Fans are putting together a book of his recipes

Curufin: He does intense and striking hairstyles and colors, and is probably the most likely to do black hair streaked through with red, teal, green, gold, white, etc. He claims to be the visual of the group and Mae is the one member who always agrees with him. I’d say he is also a dancer, one almost as good as Mae but with a different style, and he has a quick and sharp rap. He is heavily involved in the production of their songs over time.

Here is the thing though—I think, in this better non-canon non-Gold Rush AU universe, that Curufin could be the leader. See, Feanor is not gonna be the company CEO loll. Fingolfin is. And Fingolfin mentors better than Feanor EVER could. And Curufin is a sharp lad, very smart and crafty, and if he could just be convinced to care about all his brothers/group members like he does about himself and Celegorm in the AU, and if he just has proper guidance, allowing Mae to assist him in struggles, going to him for support, I think he would be an excellent leader

Ambarussa: Amras and Amrod have tried every color and color combination under the SUN, and they often coordinate with each other either to match or complement. Amras sometimes gets tired of this, preferring to stick to the general group color scheme, and when that happens Amrod just says fine be like that and goes off and does his own thing. Sooner or later though, Amras always gives in and joins him once again.

The twins obviously have all their hyungs wrapped around their little fingers, even Maglor who is driven insane by them crashing into his room shrieking and giggling when he is trying to write music or run a very serious vlive. As far as their musical talents go, I love when maknaes are ridiculously well-rounded, and these are Feanorian maknaes, so I’m gonna say they can both dance, sing, and rap. People have placed bets on whether they will grow as tall as Mae (spoilers, they won’t, no one ever will, he’s the tallest in Kpop world)

Huan: is the team mascot, and lives in their large dorm with them because Celegorm said so

Anddd that’s all folks

#author interviews #gold rush AU #the silmarillion #q&a #yes mythopoeia gave me a kpop question and I was on a roll with it shush don't judge me #even if you are tolkiengirl #victoryindeath2 answers questions

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lgbtqlegends · 4 years ago

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hi i love ur hc they are awesome! could u maybe do like a ray & sara brotp soft friendship kind of thing? thanks!💜💜💜

thank you!! thanks for the ask n hope you enjoy!

-ok so they're both pretty big nerds, sara just usually doesn't like,, outwardly show it as much as ray tends to. they watch ancient aliens together and get so invested in the episodes that they'll lose track of time. they end up using the waverider to try n check a lot of the stuff. it doesn't always work but whenever it does work, if the stuff turns out to be real they're super smug about the knowledge that it's Real and then whenever they come across any skeptics or non-believers, they always end up just smirking like "haha you're w r o n g,,, it is r e a l". they get a kick out of it

-they also 100% take trips back to camelot together bc without the threat of the legion of doom, they can let themselves like,, fully enjoy it (well,, more so sara can enjoy it fully bc ray already enjoyed it fully even with the threat of the legion of doom,, but it's still always a great experience going back to camelot whenever they do

-also sara's S1 or S2 (i forget which) line of "i know science" makes me imagine that sara spends a fair amount of time in the lab with ray,,, at least,, whenever she can,, especially after like,, S1 with snart and kendra gone (bc those were the two she probably spent most time with on the ship when they were there),, so she ends up hanging out with ray more and they become really good buds

-also,,, adhd!sara + autistic!ray and/or autistic!sara + autistic!ray (both of which I've mentioned separately + briefly in a couple hc posts) is a vibe and so I'd imagine they'd kinda bond over that from time to time

-and it's also canon that sara loves supernatural, and ray seems like he'd also be someone who loves supernatural, so the two of them def watch it together n sometimes they're like,,, "alright let's binge watch all of it". they also sometimes get into "heated" (not really heated,, just,, very passionate) debates about which characters are hotter

-since they were both from star city before they were legends, i think sometimes they'd go and visit together like,,, go n see everyone from team arrow n visit all their old favorite places n stuff. one time they run into quentin and he's surprised to see them since they're usually on the waverider. they end up going to that little chinese restaurant that sara and quentin go to sometimes. ray is a little bit awkward (bc he's ray). quentin's a little confused and he thinks they might be dating but he's not sure so he asks and they're both just like "no no,, no,, just friends" (sara) and "nope! just buddies!" (ray). they all laugh it off and continue lunch for a bit until quentin has to get back to work or smth n they have to get back to the waverider

-oh and it's also canon that they go to trivia nights together sometimes, so they do that whenever they can too (and it gives them another chance to visit star city more, so they take it)

-they're also both pretty affectionate people (ray being a little more open with it n sara reserving it for only people she trusts) so there's like,, the casual affection between them like,, hugs and hair ruffles and like,,, light arm punches when they tease each other. like they're just v close friends n maybe even a dash of like,, little brother/big sister relationship (despite ray being older,, it's fine lmao they don't mention it. time travel n all that)

-they're also both very observant n perceptive and they can both kinda tell if the other is having a bad day or just,, isn't feeling great or smth. they don't necessarily like,, bring it up, at least like,, not directly, but they're both There. like,, ray will usually like,, give sara's shoulder a little squeeze or smth like,, in passing or smth,, sara usually will like,, offer to listen if ray wants to talk (abt anything) or she'll like,, reach up n ruffle his hair or smth,,, just little things to let the other know they're there without making each confront anything unless they want to

-oh ok and also like,,, back to the adhd!sara + autistic!ray and/or autistic!sara + autistic!ray,,, whenever it's like,, bad days or days where they're struggling with sensory overload (either one or both of them),, sometimes they'll like,,, chill together in the lab or like in the library or captains office or smth like with the lights turned down. they don't talk or anything bc conversation would be too hard, but it's nice to just chill together in the quiet bc they both understand n that helps a little bit

#ray palmer #sara lance #legends of tomorrow #i absolutely Love sara and ray's friendship #headcanons #headcanon prompts

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flamebearrel · 4 years ago

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Ness (smash) Steven (su) and Sonic (also smash) for your ask game!

Ness BrOTPs

Snake - Ness has built up a huge admiration for Snake over time - what he’s been through, how he powered through it all, his weapons and abilities and sense of humor and the like. He essentially feels like Snake is a second father figure, and is honestly pretty shy about it. But Snake is happy to spend time with him and makes sure he voices his approval more frequently than usual, cause Ness’s face lights up every time and he finds it so sweet

F!Wii Fit Trainer - As someone interested in athletics but not speedy enough to play competitively, Ness quickly latched onto WFT’s more relaxed fitness and yoga sessions as a way to get moving instead. Over time she effectively became his Cool Aunt that he’d come to with new discoveries and questions! One particular thing they often do together, as a very-confused-with-tech lady and a kid who still lives in the 90s, is try to figure out new tech and ignore anyone who tells them they’re doing it wrong yes I know cameras aren’t new they’re just messing around in the linked example

Toon Link and Lucas - The first pair of people his age that he really clicked with, since Young Link was a lot more solitary and the Ice Climbers just didn’t become part of the super-tight group they formed. These three can find pretty much anything to do together, and they often like to discuss their families. When it comes to competition, their teamwork excels - they’re somehow always in sync, especially with Ness always leading the team (until Villager joined the friend group in 4 and started competing for that role)

Luigi and Dedede - While they don’t usually go out of their way to hang out, the three of them just feel really connected with each other post-Subspace. Expect lots of knowing smiles, inside jokes and eye contact from across the room, to the extent that people know they’ve got secrets but no one ever gets a real hint as to what they are. They will also most certainly team up if they have the chance, but honestly that’s when they do most of their catching up rather than trying that hard to win anything

Steven BrOTPs

What makes this easier is that he forms some kind of relationship with pretty much every character in the show, so let’s talk about a few we don’t get to see him with much!

Jeff - It took a while before they could meet up, since at first Steven only heard about him from Connie and then her cram school started, but when all three finally did (around Change Your Mind time) it was a pleasant surprise to see how many interests they shared. Jeff immediately started looking up to Steven and took to learning about Gem stuff, even volunteering to help with the construction of Little Homeworld! Eventually they start hanging out themselves playing video games and such, and Steven even gives him a warp whistle shortly before the movie so they can meet up more

Nephrite - Steven wanted to spend as much time as he could with Nephrite once she was healed - it was his chance to finally really listen to his friend after so long and he could just feel the excitement radiating from her to be back. For a while she came with him to Homeworld out of wanting to see how it had changed. Hearing others’ stories and tales and being able to tell her own really struck a chord with her, so she started studying therapy - Nephrite was actually the one who helped Steven get into it! In addition, Steven is happy to introduce her to Earth tech, and on his road trip she somehow always manages to sneak up and stop him for a hangout

Blue Zircon - Upon making changes around Homeworld, one of the first things Steven wanted to do was show some appreciation for the more trustworthy faces around there. Immediately he voiced his approval for Blue Zircon, calling to mind her amazing deduction skills from the trial. BZ also feels the trial let her see Steven as someone on her level rather than far above her - there are plenty of occasions where she calls Steven to ask for leadership tips or discuss plans, rather than any other leading Gem

Peedee - Though he doesn’t realize it, once Steven starts managing Little Homeschool he subconsciously makes comments on his work woes as he goes about Beach City. Peedee’s the first to pick up on it, and honestly, he gets it - soon the conversations at the fry shop/tater truck are getting longer and longer before Steven has to go. He recognizes the deflecting and watering down of his problems Schtu-ball tends to do too, and asks cautious questions so both of them have a better outlet when they talk. The realization that they haven’t hung out enough hits hard leading up to Steven’s road trip, so that’s what they do - Steven helps him relax a little more and Peedee helps with the plans

Sonic BrOTPs

I wanna point out that I know enough about Sonic to get all the important characters’ personalities and general dynamics, I just don’t really know the lore :,D so hopefully these are okay ahaha they took a while to think about

Mega Man - Buddies since the comics, and that holds true even to now. When Rock first arrived at Smash, it was the hedgehog that showed him around and helped him settle in - and the actually kinda overwhelmed Rock clung to his arm for quite a while. They like to host friendly competition all the time or poke fun at each other’s slip-ups. Honestly, though, it’s refreshing for Sonic to have a robotic friend rather than an enemy for once; in turn, Rock appreciates having a stable friendship with a former enemy instead of some vague tension-filled team up

Orange and Blue Inklings - During the first Ultimate pool party, Sonic wasn’t the only one who hanging around away from the pool - he was able to click with Amber and Neil almost immediately. The Blue Blur’s found himself completely enamored by the culture of Inkopolis, and these two are happy to share with him their “fresh” fashion tips and lifestyles. And if they so wish, they can become one of the most chaotic trios in the whole Palace

Mario - As much as he tries to play off the aloofness sometimes, Sonic always inevitably draws to Mario in a crowd. His “old man” just makes him feel a lot safer since he always backs him up, whether it’s a tough battle or just messing around (not only will Mario find it hilarious every time Sonic pulls something, half the time he can and will join in). Mario keeps the hedgehog at the top of his list for whenever he’s up for some sports, and while usually Sonic’s too caught up in stuff to join in, he makes sure to mentally cheer for the plumber every time

Shulk - His kind, nerdy vibes remind Sonic of Tails, so he’s more than willing to just walk up and start chatting with the guy. Initially Shulk didn’t think too fondly of him since their priorities and tactics seemed to clash a lot, but when Sonic started telling stories of his friends (specifically Silver and the aforementioned Tails), it definitely grabbed his interest. The two start talking about their own experiences with the future, and their regrets, and it definitely becomes one of Sonic’s more introspective relationships

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wentian · 4 years ago

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uldren sov? :3c

You fool! You doomed yourself! Because I love Uldren more than myself and can talk about him for hours! <3 Anyway, thank you for asking about my favorite boy!

Favorite thing(s) about them

How loyal and caring he is. I adore his devotion to his sister, I just hate that his sister happened to be such an asshole who manipulated him his whole life 😔 I love his humor and his smile a lot. Also his red pants! This man is gay af. And let’s not forget that fact that his compassion alone + ahamkara’s magic made Fikrul into an immortal demi-god.

“He triages the Archon's wounds. Mortal. The victim is shaking now, trembling under Uldren's hands. He wants so badly to do something, anything, to ease the poor soldier's passing. To have the power some say his sister had, to save just by proximity—

Does he wish it? Does he wish to save this poor thing?

He does! He does!

His eyes burn with sympathetic tears as he works to bind the Archon's wounds. His hands are quick and gentle, and he weeps with the strength of his hatred for the Guardians that did this. As tears stain the Archon's wounds, the Ether roiling through Uldren's fingers slowly grows heavier, darker, more noxious. He does not notice.”

Least favorite thing about them

How dependent on Mara he has become in the end that he stopped being his own person.

Favorite line

“It no longer matters if he doesn’t know what to do or if he’s doing the right thing. What matters is that he wants. If he wants to find Mara and save her, if he wants to do the right thing fiercely enough, if his intentions are good and powerful, he will find the way; he just has to believe in himself. No more paralyzing analysis, no more painful regrets — he has to go forward without doubt.”

brOTP

Pulled Pork! Also, I believe that Uldren and Jolyon were a couple at some point, I still like them as friends.

OTP

My Guardian. Before he died he was hopelessly in love with his prince, but didn’t believe that he had a chance. Uldren knew though (spymaster, remember?) and cared about him in his own way. Two idiots never said anything until it was too late. After he died, Uldren hated that the Traveler took someone he cared about again and turned them into that light-infused husk. That’s why he was such a bitch when they first met. But then Wayden had no other option but to mercy kill Uldren despite feeling that something was wrong. Despite not wanting to do it, even if he wanted to avenge his mentor. Would Cayde really want him to do it? Some part of him wanted... to reach out and help instead. To do something — anything — to stop this madness. To listen to his Ghost and stop fighting for once. But we all know how it ended: he had a gun and one bullet left...

...but then Pulled Pork said "Fuck this sad shit, guys, go kiss each other already” and made everything better 💖💕💖

nOTP

Petra? She’s like a little sister he never wanted. I never saw anything with Mara AND I DON’T WANT TO. Also anyone who isn’t my Guardian, lol.

Random headcanon(s)

He plays with his knife when he’s nervous. Allergic to cats. Still pets them. Hates the Dreaming City, so he tries to spend as little time there as possible. Not really a headcanon, because I believe that it’s canon: Jolyon remembers his every stupid idea and tells other Crows, but 10 times more exaggerated. Uldren dragged him to ambush a fallen skiff? Oh, there was also a dragon and a cabal concubine in a pink dress dancing on the table!

Unpopular opinion(s)

Uldren deserves to be chosen by the Traveler. He deserves another chance as a new person, free of his past. He was kind, brave, selfless and devoted. His madness wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t even in contol of his life for many years because Mara has planned everything for everyone... Until The Traveled said ‘Lol, nope’ and messed with her plans.

Also, he had reasons to dislike Guardians, Cayde in particular. Nothing excuse a murder, but you can’t expect every single person in the galaxy to like you or share your belief. Some people won’t like you no matter how good you are and how many gods you slayed. Uldren, not liking or trusting Guardians is a good example of it. He was kind to his friends and his people. He didn’t have to be to us.

Song I associate with them

Go to the Light (Murder by Death) is an expected answer probably, but there’s no better song for him 💔

Favorite picture of them

Have you ever seen a more beautiful depressed homeless man in your life? (gif made by me)

#ask meme #uldren sov #destiny #thanks for asking <3 #my favorite boy #my sun and stars #oc: wayden #lastwiish

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its-sixxers · 5 years ago

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BrOTP Meme

@nuka-nuke tagged me for this and I am so happyyyy

Tin Lizzy + Butch DeLoria

How Did They Meet?

In daycare. Both having single parents - one working and the other battling alcoholism - they grew up together very literally in that other residents of the Vault took care of them during working hours. Knowing each other from childhood makes even the idea of romantic entanglement innately squicky for them. They were really close friends until age eight or so, when Butch started acting out. After that things were a little complicated - it took a while for Lizzy to understand that Butch was being the way he was because of his mother, not because of any hatred towards her.

What’s their one story no one can know about?

That one time they put a ton of laxatives in the Overseer’s food to make him sick so that the vault kids could have a sneaky party without him knowing. Lizzy got the materials from James’ clinic and Butch did the breaking and entering. Little did they know that the food they drugged was meant for a meeting of the vault’s core personnel. The Overseer ended up having a massive investigation into the matter after the essential workers in the vault came down with BAD stomach problems.

James was the one who found out once he’d recovered (thanks to his missing supplies), but Butch took the blame - ostensibly so that Lizzy wouldn’t be grounded and could still do his homework for him, but probably because he’s nicer than he pretends to be. Knowing the Overseer would absolutely lose it, James and Jonas concocted an excuse about faulty food packaging from Vault-Tec and called it food poisoning. They weren’t THAT wrong.

Who bails the other out of stupid decisions/Who makes the stupid decisions?

Lizzy bails Butch out of whatever dumb situation his macho persona’s landed him in. She’s the one with the brain cells in their friendship - but Butch is the one with the bravery. Yes, they’ve done stupid shit - but she doesn’t regret it a bit. It’s a light of fun in the very grim life she’s found herself in outside of the Vault.

What was their establishing ride or die moment?

Saving Butch’s mom was the spark that reignited them being friends again - but when Butch decided to come with her outside of the Vault it really solidified them as ride or dies. He used the excuse of wanting to explore the outside world, but really - he didn’t want Lizzy all on her own out there (even if he knew even less about the outside world than she did, and didn’t have a massive ghoul bodyguard on his side). Butch was always the misfit kid, but now Lizzy was the ultimate outcast. He knows how it feels.

Where do they hang out? Why?

Before the Purifier - if they were traveling together, they were always fond of high places. They didn’t see the sky in the vault and the highest place they could ever go was the top floor of the atrium. Heights don’t scare them - they’re exciting, and they often like to toss beer bottles off of ledges and try to shoot them on their way down. When Butch was working in Rivet City, they’d grab a bite to eat at the market and tell the other gossip or tall tales. If Lizzy came back looking particularly run down Butch would drag her for a night of drinking games at the Muddy Rudder. With Charon at their backs, there wasn’t a chance of anyone giving them trouble.

After the Purifier - Underworld was the hangout of choice. With downtown DC safer - and ghouls increasingly frowned upon by the slowly radicalizing Brotherhood after the Lyons dynasty ran out - Underworld was really the only option for Charon and Lizzy to stay in the city. While Butch is still not quite used to the sight of ghouls, he likes to talk shop with Snowflake and is more than willing to go outside his comfort zone to hang out with his best friend.

Which one makes the stupid jokes, and does the other entertain it or eye roll?

They’re both terrible when it comes to running commentary on stuff. Absolute shitheads. Lizzy tends to have more of an absurdist sense of humor while Butch can be absolutely filthy - and if Butch makes a joke gross enough he usually gets a slap to the shoulder for it.

What do they do when they hang out? What’s their favorite thing to do?

Depends on the location. Shooting games, two-player baseball (Charon joined in once and broke their bat), drinking games, cards, “bet you can’t climb that”. In terms of favorite thing to do - a good night out at the bar is perfect for them. Music, beer, games, loud drunk conversation - it helps them forget about how messed up everything is just for a little bit.

What’s their go-to thing to cheer the other up?

Butch will style Lizzy’s hair. While he stresses that he’s a barber he’s definitely gifted with women’s styles and pretty proficient when it comes to make up. Dolling her up helps her feel like everything’s normal and gives her a little confidence boost. Nothing beats feeling your best. This service becomes doubly vital once Lizzy’s ghouling starts to become evident and her hair begins to fall out - Butch figures out ways to make it a little less obvious and find her styles that work with her situation.

Lizzy knows Butch has a sweet tooth and will find him something sugary when he’s feeling down - whether it’s candy or Nuka-Cola depends on how her scavenging goes. If he’s having a particularly rough time she’ll do some baking - as much as it can be called baking with Wasteland ingredients - and bring him some cupcakes. The dude comfort eats like no one’s business.

Do their respective families know of the other? Do they think they’re a good or bad influence?

James always looked on Butch with pity - but didn’t approve of Lizzy hanging around him. He had reason to, given the trouble the two of them got up to together. If he lived long enough to see Butch mature in the Wasteland, he’d be more likely to approve of them being pals - probably for Butch’s sake more than Lizzy’s.

Ellen DeLoria was too busy dealing with her own demons to have much of an idea of what Butch was up to. After James leaves the Vault and things quickly deteriorate, so does her attitude towards James and Lizzy - despite the latter saving her life.

Do they try and steal dates from each other or do they act as a wingman? How successful are their efforts usually?

In their teenage years while still in the Vault the two tended to try and sabotage the others’ attempts at dating - mostly because their respective romantic interests were the others’ closest friend. Once they get out of the Vault, they’re pretty supportive of the other’s love life - Lizzy will try her best to wingman, but with Butch’s general... Butch-ness attempts are usually unsuccessful. Butch initially tried to help Lizzy scope out a hook up in the Muddy Rudder, but he found that any time he tried Charon would give him the worst looks and ended up quickly putting aside any more ideas like that.

TAG SOME OF YOUR BROS: all of u are my bros!! DO THE THING

#brotp meme #oc: tin lizzy / lone wanderer #fallout 3 #butch deloria #i even did art just for it wow #givin some more lizzy love

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ohmykittenholy · 4 years ago

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lumberjanes week day “three”: favorite brotp & otp (at once!!)

Uh so I lost my entire perception of time, as you do, so here’s my Diane and Molly brotp and Mally otp fic three hours after the day has ended.

Context is Molly and Diane have been getting pretty close (headcanons in other post basically apply) until Molly shows her her Greek Mythology fanfic and Diane makes fun of it a bit bc she has her own family and identity issues going on and Molly ends up really really internalizing it as she should be going to sleep, and Mal is on the bottom bunk trying to comfort her.

Trigger warning for self harm mention but no actual act, major anxiety/RSD and self hate, also it’s very very dark bc they’re in the woods so i talk about that a bunch

Sometimes Diane is an amazing friend. Sometimes Molly feels like her presence just lights her up, inside and out, her teasing and Molly’s awkward teasing back is a comfort when every word you say to everyone else is so calculated, so filtered, so...

Molly is tired of herself sometimes.

Tired that she thought she was strong enough for a new friendship like this, tired that it hurts so much after just a couple strings of words, maybe five, and a glance she keeps replaying and replaying and replaying in her head, she doesn’t want to be that girl.

This girl.

Whatever.

She’s tired that she thought she was made of the same light at the pantheon’s hearth, tired of her hopefulness that comes with daily archery practices at dawn and the zing and comfort of inside jokes and dizzyingly faster banter, almost indecipherable to anyone else. But then:

Icarus.

Wings.

She’s tired of having a heart that hurts this much, that stretches everything bad people say into painfully bright technicolor.

“Mol,”Mal asks softly, “you still up?”

“Y-yeah,” Molly whispers back. It’s pitch black in the Roanoke cabin, stars just barely peeking through the window and Molly automatically squints to find constellations, and then winces at the impulse and digs herself back into her sheet.

Luckily for them, everyone else sleeps deeply. Or pretends to, and hears Molly and Mal rambling to each other almost every night, and that’s a terrifying possibility Molly tries to block out.

She’s tired, and the other thoughts tangle incoherently in her head and it’s so much easier to focus on Mal’s voice.

“You didn’t talk much at dinner,” Mal says, like it’s a question, but it’s not.

Sometimes it hurts that she notices.

“Yeah no, um, not really.”

There’s a long, long, anxious pause.

“Can I come up there?” Mal asks, and Molly immediately feels the warmth of a blush on her cheeks.

“It’s- it’s really dark, I- you could hurt yourself trying to climb.”

“I thought you said I was brave, huh?”

It’s a joke, Molly knows it’s a joke, that Mal doesn’t mean it but...

“Mol. I would like to come up. If you’re comfy with it.”

“And I would like a girlfriend with all her limbs intact,”Molly says, her words gone wobbly, tears starting to catch in her eyelashes.

“Well I. Would like to comfort my girlfriend, and hopefully hold her hand, and that ladder is pretty stable and... this is not the first time we’ve done this, babe.”

“Okay,” Molly relents, heart twisting and twisting with the other girl’s words. She needs to stop being so sensitive, she needs to let this go, she needs-

There’s a Mal sounding creak on the other side of her bunk.

“Wow, yeah it really is dark out here,”Mal says quietly. “It’s never complete darkness in the city. You don’t think about that until you’re forced to, I guess. Spooky.”

“Comforting.”

“Sometimes, yeah.”

“You said hopefully we would...”

She’s too embarrassed to finish the rest.

“Oh. Yeah, hey, reach out your hand.”

Molly sits up and puts her hand in the void in front of her, feeling Mal’s wave around near it and then catching it and intertwining.

She thinks she’ll almost start crying again with how good it feels, but she just makes a little choked sound.

“Mol?”

“Do you ever wish you could take out your heart?” she says suddenly, their words interlapping.

“Molly,” Mal says back, her voice sounding so intently concerned it makes Molly curl up further in the dark.

“Not. It’s not about self harm. It’s a... metaphor. Do you wish you could... dial yourself back sometimes?”

“Yeah, me, of course. But never you.”

Molly doesn’t know how to begin with that, and the silence starts spooling around them again until Mal starts.

“Just... it’s like this. You still like me, right? Even though I don’t love the forest the way you do, and I’m always going to be terrified of the water and also a lot, a lot of other things, and even though I ramble to you constantly about bands you don’t care about.”

“I liked Beach Bunny!”

“Junk yeah! But, like you still-”

“It’s not even an “But I still like you.”” Molly interrupts, “I just like you. Those things are part of who you are.”

“Exactly,” Mal said, and Molly makes the sound of someone who had just walked into an obvious trap to make her feel better, and squeezes Mal’s hand.

“I’d never want you to take out your heart, Mol. I like you. So much, the whole person you are, and your feelings are so real and so valid. Someone who doesn’t understand that isn’t worth your time of day.”

“But it’s more complicated than that,” Molly starts and then stops, her point fuzzy with sleepiness.

“Sure. But it also sometimes it just isn’t.”

Molly squeezes her hand again.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime, you know?”

“Whyareyousogreat...”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, I just. I really like you.”

“I really like you too,”Mal says, and Molly can picture the smile sprouting on her face, and it makes her feel a little lighter.

She knows basically where Mal’s cheek is.

She has an outline in her head.

She kisses it, it smells like forest and the lemon face wash she uses and just Mal, and she lets it wash over her.

Catalogues it, a library of memories she wants to pull out later for when she’s not here.

“Oh,” Mal says.

“Was that okay?” Molly whispers.

“Yeah. I mean, of course. I mean- sweet Sappho.”

Molly doesn’t know how to respond to that, except start talking about Greek poets, which leads Mal to say a collection of words that are painfully familiar and has to-

“You’re quoting my fanfic?! Mal!!”

“I finally found it!”

“It took you weeks.”

“I had to use contraband phones! No one wants to share those! Unless you have an emergency and somehow according to Feryal “finding the most nerdy way to flirt with your girlfriend” is not that.”

“That sounds very hard,” Molly said, playing up the sympathy.

“I know, it’s a miracle I survived. My presence, truly a gift from the gods.”

“All of that,” Molly affirms, a smile creeping up on her face.

There’s a quick silence and a worry takes her under again. What if she thinks about my writing like how Diane did???

“Did you... did you like it?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I did! You’re the best writer, I’m always telling you! You’ve got to teach me that play on words you did with “ichor” and how you figured that out, I need something like that for the song for the talent show. And the way you described everything! You should write song lyrics! Or poetry.”

“Mal.”

“What?”

“You’re not messing with me?”

There was a silence and then Molly felt just a small breath of a kiss on her cheek, and tried to contain her little gasp.

“Never,” Mal replied, and it was dark, darker than any city kid could fathom, but it was theirs and they could feel each other’s wide smiles like twin spirits in the pitch black night.

#lumberjanes week #lumberjanes #lumberjanes fan fic #mally #molly #mal yoo #my fic

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inutargaryen · 5 years ago

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Until We Meet Again

Rating: T+

Ship: InuKag

Summary: Based on this piece. Some souls are meant to meet for the rest of eternity.

He wasn’t sure when the spontaneity in his life had been replaced for routine, but he knew it happened more frequently. At 8 am he woke up for physical therapy, at 12 lunch, 2 pm bingo, and so on. Woven in between were the various pills administered to him by an aide not much older than his daughter.

His physical therapist complimented him frequently. While his body might belong to an aging man, his spirit surely did not. It pained the young girl to see him struggle to stand after a session, but, when she would reach her hand out for assistance he would shoot daggers with eyes. His sharp tongue had grown quieter with age, however, his stubbornness would persist until death.

In his youth, he was a man of determination. He arrived in the States post-war with a dollar and a dream. What he found was prejudice. Not even that could deter him. He solved disagreements in back alleys, fixed cars, cleaned dishes, delivered takeout. He once chased a car down on his bike for cutting him off, or that was his favorite version of the story to tell his kids at least.

He no longer created adventurous stories. He sat in his room and watched American television, he longed for home, his wife, his kids.

None of the kids could handle the responsibility of eldercare on their own. Ai had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, Eiji had his second divorce, and Nobu had eight children. It was evident he couldn’t live alone anymore. He burnt part of his apartment down from falling asleep with the stove on. Then he forgot to take his medicine and ended up in the hospital for three weeks.

So is the woe of aging.

The nurses left warning signs outside his door.

“ Mr. Taisho is NOT happy today.” In smaller letters there lay special instructions depending on how he reacted, no jello cups please, or his personal favorite, no stupid questions.

What he hated most about the assisted living facility was that is smelled like death. Every room with a soul that had gone off to its next adventure. Or those that were still alive smelt like they were already dead. It was not just depressing, it was downright disgusting.

To increase morale they hosted a party every Friday to encourage the residents to meet. Mr. Taisho suspected that they just wanted them to live longer so they could rip every last dime from their retirement funds. His aide had taken a liking to him, suggested he attend, he always refused.

This Friday was different from any other.

He hadn’t really cared all that much for women anymore, nothing south of his belly button functioned too well and he had three knee surgeries. Even if it weren’t for that, his wife had died long ago and so did his desire.

Then he saw her.

She arrived on a Wednesday. He knew this because she was getting a walkthrough of facility as he headed sat outside the physical therapy room. She did not dress like she was preparing for a funeral, but instead, still carried herself as he imagined she did in her youth. Her dress was far shorter than he had ever seen in the facility, but still modest, he could see her bony knee sticking out. As she passed him she smelt of honey and lavender. Her voice was pleasant, soft and raspy, as if she had only ever smoked a few cigarettes in her lifetime. More importantly, she was the only other Japanese person in the facility.

His aide was surprised to see him dressed when she knocked on the door. He had been here for exactly two years and had not went to any event where he couldn’t illegally gamble.

His aide doted on him. She smoothed out the wrinkles from his shirt like a mother would a child. From her lips fell words like groovy and other slang from this decade he didn’t quite understand. She extended her arm out to him for balance.

He let out something between a scoff and sigh, waving off her arm. He could use the help walking but he wouldn’t see the mystery woman with any signs of weakness.

They walked down the hall together. Close enough in proximity for her to catch him if he fell, but enough to give him his independence. When they reached the door he stopped for a second, staring as if a portal to another world might exist on the other end.

“ Are you scared, Mr. Taisho?” She asked playfully.

“Keh!”

He analyzed all parts of the room, his eyes searching for her everywhere. Something close to a frown tugged on his lips as he failed to identify her.

“ Come on now!” The aide pleaded with

“ I’m going back to my ro-“ he finished as soon as he began. As he turned to look behind him and there she was the definition of beauty. Her hair gathered together in a bun that revealed her delicate neck. He had only glanced at her outfit for a second before returning to her face and then her scent. That scent intoxicated him to the point he was without words.

What he didn’t realize is that everyone else could notice him staring at her. Mr. Taisho did not have countenance that coincided with flattery. He looked like the nurses had referred to him in secret, a mean old man.

“Hasn’t anyone taught you not to stare? “

Her voice awakened something deep in his soul. He could feel something pulsing deep inside of him.

He blinked a few times while he pondered a sarcastic comeback. He watched as she continue walking with an airy step.

“ I ain’t looking at you.”

His aide shook her head placing both hands on his back to softly nudge him inside. He gave in reluctantly, now, sulking very close to the entrance so he could escape at any moment.

He watched her subtly as she moved around the room. People were drawn to her like bugs to honey, her pool of warmth and sweetness was worthy a terrain to die in. Her smile radiated, called to him, but he tried his best to ignore it. When her eyes darted to meet his he looked away, pretending to be interested in the tray of jello.

He imagined how he would have approached her in his youth. Not likely that it would go much differently. He exuded confidence in everything, that is, except for love. Perhaps she would have approached him then. Her with rosy youthful cheeks and him with an icy glare waiting to be thawed by her glance.

Mr. Taisho was handsome in his youth in a way that only clean-cut women searching for a wild escape were drawn to. He looked as if his life had been unkind to him. But there was a certain charm in a face that looked like it had actually lived. Skin that had been burned by the sun too many times. His black tresses drawn in a ponytail that collected down to his back. Proof that he had not cared for societal norms. His hazel eyes that mimicked the yellow of the sun in the light.

Now, his eyes were replaced with a gray film from the cataracts. His long hair had been chopped long ago, the maintenance far too much for his aging body. The color of snow that was a clue to everyone that he had few years to claim his life on this earth.

He was pulled out of subconscious thought by her smooth voice. She talked about many things at once. He pretended to ignore her as she spoke about music, about her time as a dancer, about her children. He lifted his head up as he was met by silence.

“ I was listening. “

Then she quizzed him on all that she said. A hand on her hip as if she was to scold him. Something that resembled a smile crept on his face as he repeated her conversation verbatim. New York City Ballerina, taught at Julliard, kids too busy so they shoved her in here.

She looked pleased and extended her hand out to him, propositioning him. At first he refused scowled at her. Looked at his feet as if they have been put on wrong. But she insisted, her hand pulling on to his with force. There he was, trapped in her pool of honey as she moved him to the dance floor.

♪ Haven't felt like this, my dear. Since I can't remember when. It's been a long, long time. ♪

They twirled in silence to the ballad. The older woman rested her cheek on his chest as they moved together in unison.

♪ You'll never know how many dreams I've dreamed about you. Or just how empty they all seemed without you. ♪

His soul awakened to her tender touch. Unbeknownst to him, it had awakened hers as well.

what took you so long?

you weren’t easy to find this time.

i thought you’d never come.

i always do, don’t i?

i thought our story had ended.

that will never happen, kagome.

how much time do we have left?

not much, not much.

inuyasha, you feel warmer.

you are mine.

has this lifetime been kind?

doesn’t matter.

the songs almost over.

you smell like heaven.

will you find me next time?

always, always.

His aide peaked at them throughout the night with caution. Not for them, but for the fear of Mr. Taisho catching her staring. Her eyes darted with playful happiness as he watched him gather jello cups for them, as he listened to her talk, as what might have been a smile broke slowly on his face. She had become so entranced by his softness that she had forgotten that he could see her.

“ What are ya’ looking at! “ He gaped at her angrily. The woman beside him tapped his shoulder lightly, before smiling in the direction of the aide.

The aide pretended to be scared to appease Mr. Taisho. Softly she smiled to herself, her hands collected over her chest where she felt the familiar pulse.

Her soul spoke out to no one in particular.

one hundred lifetimes, reborn the same.

AN:

The aide is sango bc she will spend her lifetime as Inuyasha’s BROTP. All italics/ no capitalization are convos of the soul. The current body/ mind has no idea.This is a small part of a larger piece that expands on the piece that’s linked!

#Inukag #inuyasha #kagome #kagome higurashi #sango #miroku #otp: dog boy and time travel girl #inuyasha white day #mine #words #fluff #reincarnation

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sebxstianxb · 6 years ago

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*:･ﾟ✧ ( ROMAN&SEBASTIAN )

@unjuegoenfermizo

#( Sebastian )#( Roman )#brotp: until the city lights go out #a Roman le toco 3 porqué fue cuando me di cuenta de los problemas que tenía con subir los gifs XD #y aparte iba hacer un gif con los 3 mosqueteros aka luna roman y sebas #pero no encontré el gif de lindsey que quería #si lo encuentro lo hago y lo anexo :B #igual haré más(?) pero primero quería asegurarme de subir estos XD #el primer gif no homo ahre

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ceealaina · 5 years ago

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Title: All I Know Is You’re Someone I’ve Always Known Collaborator Name: ceealaina Card Number: 3088 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - Wake Up! Ship: Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Rating: Teen Major Tags: Post-Endgame, Endgame Fix-It, Tony & Nat Brotp Summary: Tony wakes up to Nat waiting for him in the soul stone. … and that’s when things start to get weird. Word Count: 6196 (Also fulfills square G3 of the Natasha Romanov Bingo)

***

“Tony… Tony, open your eyes. Tony, wake up!”

Tony opened his eyes, squinting. Everything was blindingly white, and then blindingly red, and he groaned in pain.

“Easy,” said the same voice, low and soothing and familiar. “Just take it easy.”

All at once his eyes focused and he blinked at Nat, sitting at the foot of his fluffy white bed like she belonged there.

“Nat?” he demanded, breath catching in relief as he sat up to stare at her. “What did you… How did you…” He didn’t bother trying to finish, just shoved the blankets out of the way and launched himself across the bed to pull her into a tight hug. For a moment she was stiff in his arms, and then she seemed to go boneless, breath leaving her body in a rush. Her arms wrapped around him in turn, and he could feel her hand shaking as it moved over her back, could hear the sound of a sob in her throat. “God,” he muttered, pulling back to look at her again. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“And yet. Here I am,” Nat told him, and she tried to smile, but her face was crumpling, eyes welling with tears. Tony fought the urge to close his eyes as he realized that something was very wrong.

“Nat. Where is everyone? How are you here?”

She didn’t answer him, didn’t have to, and Tony nearly choked as the memories came rushing back in, so overwhelming he thought he might pass out. The stones, Thanos, the gauntlet on his hand, stones shimmering as he snapped his fingers. He felt something settle heavy in his stomach.

“Oh.” He nodded his head slowly, matching Natasha’s sad, broken smile. “That’s how you’re here.”

Nat huffed out a laugh, her throat sounding thick. “Yeah, good to see you too, Stark.”

“Shut up,” Tony muttered. He stared down at the sheets as a fresh wave of pain washed over him, less than the power of the infinity stones, but also, somehow, more. It wasn’t like he’d really thought he’d make it out of there alive, but apparently he’d let himself hope anyway, and for just a moment the weight of everything he’d lost was overwhelming. He would never again see Pepper smile, watch her roll her eyes while she fought not to laugh at him. He would never see Rhodey give him that look that conveyed “I love you” and “I hate you” all at the same time, feel the warm weight of his arms when he wrapped him in a hug.

He would never get to see Morgan grow up, or all the amazing things she’d do. He would never get to hold his little girl again.

He clenched his eyes shut at the thought.

Natasha curled a small hand around his ankle. “Did we win, at least?” she asked softly, and when Tony opened his eyes again, the pain felt a little easier. “Did Iron Man save the day in a blaze of glory?”

Tony rolled his eyes at that, but his lip quirked up into a faint smile. “Yeah,” he told her softly, covering her hand with his. “Yeah, Nat. We did it. We won.”

***

They ended up laying side by side on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, fingers entwined for comfort, reassurance that no matter what, at least they were here together. Tony told her how it had all gone wrong, how they’d ended up fighting Thanos again, how the stones had worked, how they’d brought everybody back. And she told him how she’d never believed in an afterlife, how when she’d jumped in Vormir she’d expected that was it. But then she woke up here, in an empty tower in an empty New York, where time passed strangely, seconds and hours and weeks seeming to take the same span of time. How she’d started wandering at first, exploring, only to end up back at Avengers Tower over and over again without knowing how. Her fingers shook when she told him how she’d looked for someone, anyone, and how eventually when there was no trace of any life, she just started staying in the tower. At least it was familiar.

Tony didn’t comment at first, just squeezed her hand a little tighter. “Hey,” he said, nudging his shoulder against hers. “But I’m here now, right? Just like old times.”

“Greaaaaaat,” Natasha drawled, but there was genuine relief in her voice. She turned her head to face him, a small smile on her lips. “You and me, huh?”

Tony leaned over, kissing her forehead. “You and me,” he promised her. “Whatever this place is… I’m not going anywhere without you, Romanoff.”

They fell into silence after that, comfortable and easy, but Tony could see what Natasha meant about time passing strangely. He was vaguely aware of his mind drifting in a way that it never had when he… Well, when he was alive.

“For what it’s worth,” Natasha said suddenly, startling him out of his daze. “You’re the last person I wanted to see here.”

Tony knew what she meant, of course he did, but something in his heart clenched thinking about what was left behind. “Oh, I see how it is,” he told her, trying to shove the pain away. “Always knew you liked Rogers more than me.”

That got an actual laugh out of her, and the tightness in Tony’s chest eased a little at the sound. “Shut up,” she told him.

Tony grinned, eyes crinkling. “Wish I knew where here was,” he added in an undertone. He felt Natasha’s arm move against his as she shrugged.

“Purgatory, I guess? It has that empty, soulless feel to it.”

“Mmmm.” It had been a rhetorical question, but her answer set off a spiral of connections in his brain. “That doesn’t quite make sense though… If it’s purgatory, why are we here together.”

“I don't know, Tony. Up until very recently, I didn’t think purgatory even existed.”

“No, but…” Tony sat up, rubbing at his forehead, neurons firing faster than he could articulate. “Alone, sure, maybe. But just the two of us? Together?” He pointed at her, shaking his head. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“If you say so.” But Natasha was sitting up now too, watching him carefully, knowing him well enough to wait and see where he was going with this.

Tony hopped off the bed, pacing around the room. “There’s nobody else here. It’s just you and me. We’re stuck in the tower, our home… Holy shit.” He rubbed his hand over his mouth and met Nat’s eyes. “You said it, Nat. ‘That soulless feel.’”

Nat shook her head. “What, you think we’re not really dead?”

“Not not dead,” he admitted. “But I… I died using the stones, and you happened to die in a beautiful blaze of life-altering self sacrifice for the soul stone. What if that’s where we are?”

Natasha’s entire body was tense, but there was a look on her face that wanted to be hope. “Everyone else came back,” she told him. “Right?”

Tony nodded. “And let’s face it, we’re the two smartest members of the team. If anyone can find a way out of here, it’s us.” He grinned at her then. “You and me, honey.”

***

They started out exploring again, together this time, which helped to make the sight of the empty city a tiny bit less unsettling. They went through the city bit by bit, looking for anything that was different, registering and recording even the slightest change from what they knew.

Neither of the brought up the fact that while nothing seemed out of place, it was the city they knew from before the snap. The New York City of five years earlier.

They didn’t rush it, since time didn’t seem to matter anyway. They would just take their time wandering through the streets, resting when they needed to, sneaking into somehow fully-stocked shops for drinks and snacks and ice creams. They chatted while they moved, Tony telling all his favourite stories about Morgan, Natasha offering up stories about their dumbass teammates in turn. They teased each other with nicknames and insults, all seeped in the kind of affection that came from having each other’s backs for ten plus years. They kept it light and easy and familiar. They didn’t mention the way the light seemed permanently muted, like the colour had been leached out of everything except for them, didn’t talk about what would happen if they didn’t find a way out of here, what they would do with themselves for the next year, or decade, or… forever. When it got too overwhelming, they’d reach out, catch each other’s hands and squeeze, not having to speak out loud to remind themselves that at least they weren’t alone in this. And just like Natasha had said, no matter how far they managed to get, no matter how much ground they covered in a day, they’d somehow wake up back in the tower with no clear memory of how.

They’d tried, exactly once, to leave the island. They’d made it halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge before something had happened. Neither of them could say exactly what, after the fact, but it had been awful. A memory, or an image, something that had left Tony curled on the ground, just wanting it to end, barely aware of where or who or when he was. They’d woken up back at the tower, and it had spent the next few ‘days’ just curled up together, not speaking. It was awhile before they’d gone back out at all.

And, eventually, they had exhausted the extent of Manhattan, had catalogued the entire city. Tony wasn’t sure how they were still sane, honestly, if he stopped and thought about the sheer amount of time that was involved in that. Wasn’t sure how they could continue to stay sane, if they didn’t have a next step to work toward. But hell, maybe they weren’t, maybe they’d gone insane ages ago; he supposed they probably wouldn’t actually know.

In the meantime, until they could find a next step, they’d stuck around the tower for a bit, wallowing in the safe and familiar of it. Nat had dug out the board games that they’d had for team bonding nights, and they’d been playing round after round of Risk, and Monopoly, and Trivial Pursuit and the Avengers board game that made no sense but they’d kept for the novelty of it. Natasha was a total cheat, but that was fine because Tony was too. Trying to outcheat each other just became part of the fun. Time continued passing strangely, but they weren’t trying to track it anymore, weren’t trying to look for patterns or explanations. They just settled in and accepted it.

Tony tried going into the lab once, thinking maybe there’d be some clue, or something. But the electricity didn’t seem to work quite right here (except, inexplicably, the elevators thank god); it was always bright enough to see, but there was no television, no computer, nothing to distract from the endless days. And without power, the lab felt wrong. It was quiet and empty, no holograms, no whirring of fans to keep everything cool. No robots coming to greet him in the most irritating way possible. That bothered him more than he’d expected. He kept having to tell himself that Dum-E and U were upstate. They weren’t gone, like everyone else, they were just upstate.

Natasha found him there, one of those indeterminate amounts of times later, staring at the empty Iron Man capsules. “Tony,” she said softly, voice understanding. She caught his arm, gently tugging him away. “There’s nothing here. Let’s go.”

He didn’t go back.

***

In the end, the way out found them. They’d been sitting around the common room, reading quietly — Tony had almost forgotten about the entire library he’d had added to the tower — when there was a noise. He’d looked up, and felt the blood drain from his face at the figure standing in the doorway, staring at Tony intently.

“What the fuck?” he yelped, book going flying and causing Natasha to look up too. She followed his gaze, and her eyes went wide.

“Is that…?”

“Dad?” Tony choked out.

Howard stepped further into the room, smiling gently. “Tony. Son.”

Tony stared at him wildly, gaze darting back and forth between him and Natasha. “I don’t… How…” Distantly he wondered if he was having a heart attack, if he even could be having a heart attack considering his possibly-already-dead status.

Howard’s smile was soft and sad, a look Tony had never seen before in his life. “I’ve waited such a long time to see you again.”

Tony swallowed hard, feeling his throat thicken. He didn’t know how, but somehow he knew inherently that this really was his father. “You have?” he asked, nearly choking on the words.

Howard nodded. “I am so, so proud of you, Tony. Everything you’ve done, everything you’ve accomplished? I’m so proud.”

Tony had waited his whole life to hear those words, and he let his eyes fall closed, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. “Thanks,” he whispered.

And then the moment was broken.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Natasha burst out, glaring at Howard with enough anger that Tony shivered a little. Howard was probably lucky he was already dead.

“Nat?” Tony asked, feeling a little like he was in shock.

“No,” she told him shortly. “You might be able to forgive, but I’m definitely not.” She turned back to Howard, stepping closer as she pointed at him, furious. “Do you have any idea what you did to Tony? To your son?? Years of neglect, of making him feel like he wasn’t good enough, like he would never be good enough. And I guess ignoring him was still preferable to when you actively hurt him — don’t think we don’t all know exactly why he doesn’t like being handed things. Do you know how many years it took us to make Tony believe that we loved him, that he didn’t have to do anything just to make himself worthy of existing?? That he didn’t have to buy affection with money?” Her eyes narrowed further. “You’re lucky Rhodes isn’t here, by the way. He’d punch your dead ass into the ground. And all of that, all those years where all Tony wanted was a father, and you can’t even say you’re sorry?”

“Nat!” Vaguely, Tony thought he should be at least a little upset at her just laying out all his neuroses like that — and to his father, at that — but all he felt was a sort of warm and fuzzy feeling that she was so furious on his behalf. “It’s alright.”

And it was, really. Maybe it was this place, but the hurt here seemed to hurt a little less.

But to his surprise, it was Howard who shook his head. “No, Tony. Your friend, she’s right.” He drew in a slow breath. “It’s a funny thing, when you die. You gain… Perspective. See yourself for how you really were. I didn’t do right by you, Tony. I was so scared to have a kid, and more than anything I just… I didn’t want you to be like me. But I fucked it up, kid. I was always proud of you, Tony. Always. But no one ever told me no. I thought I could do anything. And you were so much smarter than me, right from the start. So much better than me. You were so sweet, so genuinely good, but all I could see was all the ways you could turn into me. I thought I was keeping that from happening, but what I did to you? Tony, the way I treated you? It’s unforgivable.”

And Tony wasn’t ready to forgive him, yet. As much as he still sought his approval, he knew Howard hadn’t been a good father. He was self-aware enough to know that Howard had fucked him up pretty damn good. But even if he wasn’t ready to forgive him, he tired of letting it define him and was ready to let it go. “It’s… It’s okay, Dad,” he told him, and he meant it.

Howard smiled at him, and it wasn’t the hug that Tony would have killed for as a child, but that was okay too.

Natasha was still looking mutinous, glaring daggers at Howard, and Tony reached over, patting her thigh reassuringly. Her gaze softened a little, and she gave him a reluctant smile. Something Howard had said was niggling at Tony though, and he frowned as he glanced back over at him. “Wait. You said that something happens when you die, that you gain perspective. That didn’t happen.” He glanced at Natasha for confirmation and she slowly shook her head in agreement. Feeling his heart thud in his chest, he looked back up at Howard. “Does that mean… Are we not really dead?”

Howard looked pained. “No,” he admitted, after a too-long moment of quiet. “Not in the sense that anyone else is, anyway. You used the soul stone, and that… That changes things.”

Tony felt his heart speed up, felt Nat’s muscles tense under his hand. “But that means... That means we can go back. If we’re not really dead, if we’re stuck in some sort of in-between, there must be a way back.”

Howard shook his head. “No, Tony. I know what you’re thinking, and no. I’m sorry. Even if…” His face twisted like he physically couldn’t speak for a moment, and he stared at Tony, willing him to understand. “Even if there was a way out, I couldn’t tell you it. I’m sorry.”

Tony nodded, staring back at Howard. “It’s okay, Dad,” he told him again. And he did understand. Howard hadn’t said there wasn’t a way out. Whether he could help them or not, a way out meant that Tony could find it.

And then, abruptly, Howard smiled again. “Do you remember, when you were a kid — couldn’t have been more than two — you were obsessed with backhoe loaders? Told anyone who would listen that you wanted to become a tunnel engineer so you could dig out the tunnels.”

Tony frowned a little at the abrupt segue. “Shouldn’t have talked me out of it. I could have built the Chunnel.”

Howard was giving him a look again. “You would have had a heart attack at forty-one.”

“I did,” Tony pointed out flatly. “At thirty-eight, actually.”

Howard just gave him another sad smile.

***

He had faded out after that, almost as suddenly as he had appeared, and with the new information, Tony had thrown himself back into finding a way out, going over and over everything that he and Nat had collected, trying to find something they’d missed.

But weeks later, and he had still gotten nowhere. It didn’t help that it was hard for him to focus, his mind stuck on something Howard had said. He couldn’t seem to get past it, and he couldn’t parse out why.

Frustrated, he leaned back in his chair with a huff, tossing his pen across the room just because he could. God, he missed computers so much.

“Why did Howard tell me I would have died at forty-one?”

Natasha looked up from the map she’d been frowning over. “Because you were a workaholic, even at two?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “But why forty-one specifically? Why from being a tunnel… engineer… Oh, holy shit.”

“Tony?”

But Tony was already gone, dashing off for the library again, since Wikipedia wasn’t a thing anymore. It took him forever to find the book he was looking for, long enough that Nat had followed him down, watching his chaotic search with an arched eyebrow.

“What are you looking for?”

“Just give me a — hah!” Tony hauled a massive tome of the shelf, dropping it on a table with a thud and thumbing through the pages. Natasha moved closer, lifting the cover of the book to take a peek.

“A Brief History of New York City?” she asked, looking dubious. “It doesn’t look that brief.”

Tony didn’t answer, too busy looking for whatever he was looking for, until he stopped suddenly, eyes scanning the page rapidly. “There, look!” He spun the book to face her, finger on a particular line.

“Holland died of a heart attack at the age of 41, following a nervous breakdown due to the long hours and stress of working in the compressed air of the tunnel,” Natasha read out loud. “Who…” Her eyes flicked to the top of the page. “Who’s ‘Clifford Milburn Holland?’”

“The chief engineer of the Holland Tunnel,” Tony told her, face splitting into a wide grin. “It was a clue. Nat, the way out is through the Holland Tunnel.” Then he frowned. “The way out is through the Holland Tunnel?” He made a face. “Of course the way out is through Jersey. Fucking Jersey.”

Natasha’s lips were pursed, eyes focused on the page of the book. “You sure about this?”

“No,” he admitted helplessly. “But I’m out of other ideas. And…” He looked around the room. “Do we really have anything to lose?”

“Alright. Holland Tunnel it is.”

***

The thing was, Tony hadn’t really thought about how dark the tunnel would be without lights. “Whelp,” he said, as the two of them stood in the middle of the empty street, peering down into the darkness. “This should be fun.” His hand moved automatically to his chest, fingers thrumming against the spot where the arc reactor had once sat, trying to keep control of his breathing.

“Hey.” Natasha’s voice was soft, her hand reassuring on his arm. “It’ll be okay. Tony, I’m going to be right there with you, right beside you the whole way. It’s a straight route, all the way through, no side tunnels. We’ll keep our hands on the wall, and just keep walking. And it’s what, half an hour? And then we’ll be home.” She turned, pulling him into a hug, and Tony tucked his head into her neck, let himself be soothed by the steady, even rhythm of her breathing.

“Okay,” he said, taking her hand as they turned to face the tunnel again. “Okay, let’s go.”

They were stepping toward the tunnel, holding tight to each other, when there was a “Tony, wait!” from behind them. They turned back to find Howard standing there once more, hands clenched and face twisted in pain. “I’m not supposed to be here, but…” He grimaced. “Tony, it’s not what you think, you can’t just walk out.”

Tony shared a look with Nat before turning back to his father. “What are you talking about?”

“There are rules. You can’t just leave, it’s a trial.” His eyes flicked over to Nat, to their joined hands. “She’ll be behind you, but you won’t be able to see her, or hear her, or feel her.”

Tony felt panic flare through him at the thought, hand squeezing around Nat’s. “What?” he asked weakly.

“What if I don’t?” Natasha asked. “What if I walk in front of him instead?”

Howard looked more upset than Tony had ever seen him. “You can’t. You physically won’t be able to.”

“That sounds kind of sexist,” Tony pointed out. “Can’t we switch?”

Howard just shook his head, shrugging helplessly. “It’s the rules,” he said again. “She’ll be there, but you won’t be able to tell. Don’t do this, Tony, it’ll drive you crazy. You’ll be alone in the dark, wondering, doubting. And if you look back to check?” His eyes moved back over to Natasha. “She’ll be trapped here.”

Just barely he heard Nat’s breath catch, a slight gasp. This time it was her hand squeezing around his and Tony squeezed back, using his free hand to rub at his temple, willing away the headache he could feel coming on.

“Why does this all sound so familiar?”

Natasha looked thoroughly disgusted. “Because it’s a fucking Greek myth. Orpheus and Eurydice? Hades lures Eurydice into the underworld, Orpheus goes to get her back. He sings so beautifully that Hades lets them go, but he can’t see or hear Eurydice and if he looks back for her, he’ll lose her forever. Which, it’s a Greek myth, so that’s exactly what happens.”

Tony stared at her incredulously. “What the fuck even is this place?” he burst out. “What, did the soul stone just take its first classics course? What the actual fuck?”

Howard looked faintly amused at that, but still so sad. “Just stay here. You’re safe here.”

Tony shook his head, feeling new resolve go through him. “I can’t,” he told him. He glanced at Natasha for confirmation, because this was her choice too, but she nodded at him, eyes determined. “We can’t stay here.” He glanced back at the tunnel. “You think I’ll go crazy in there? I’m going crazy here. We left so much behind. Dad, I’ve got a little girl. If there’s even a chance I can get back to her…” He trailed off, and for the first time since he’d woken up here, he could see Morgan as clearly as if she was in front of him, could hear her laugh when he swung her up on his shoulders, see the wide-eyed, proud look on her face when she figured out her first circuit board. Tony felt his eyes well with tears, his throat thick. “I have to take it.”

Howard looked like he wanted to argue, but he seemed to recognize Tony’s particular brand of stubbornness and nodded instead. “Of course,” he said. “Of course you do.” He forced a smile to his face, though he had to clear his throat suspiciously to speak. “Be safe, Tony. I love you.”

He was gone before Tony could say it back, and Tony blew out a heavy breath. “Well,” he said, turning to Nat with bright eyes. “That’s a hell of a send off.”

“No shit,” she replied, not babying him at all. Tony appreciated it. “Hey, if you’re not ready to do this, we can wait. It’s kind of a lot, and since I sort of have a vested interest in you being able to handle it, I’m willing to wait. What’s one more day here, right?”

For a moment Tony was tempted, he really was, but he shook his head. “If we don’t do it now, I’m afraid I’m going to chicken out entirely,” he admitted with a wry smile. “Besides, what was it you said? Half an hour and we’re home?”

Natasha nodded, drawing in a deep breath and straightening her posture. “Okay. Okay, let’s go.” Then, as Tony started to turn to back to the tunnel, she grabbed him, hugging him so tight that Tony felt his ribs groan in protest. “Don’t you fucking dare look back, Stark,” she told him, and her voice was harsh, but Tony could hear the fear creeping into it. “I’ll be right behind you. Don’t you fucking dare.”

Tony nodded, and they moved forward. Natasha was still holding his hand as they walked into the tunnel, but the second the crossed over the threshold, Tony could feel her hand slip out of his grasp. It reminded him, horribly, of Peter fading to ash in his arms, and the soft, pained noise he made was entirely involuntary.

“I know you’re there,” he told her, voice echoing against the walls, and it helped a little, even if she couldn’t answer. “I know you’re still behind me. I’ve got this, Nat. I’ve got you.”

Then he drew a deep breath, put his hand on the wall to his left, and started to walk.

***

Apparently, the weird flow of time extended to the tunnel as well. At first, it hadn’t been so bad. There had been enough of the grey light filtering in from the entrance to the tunnel that he could still see his feet, still see the path in front of him. Then they’d passed through the curve under Hudson Street, and he hadn’t been able to see anything at all. He’d started talking then, rambling to Natasha about everything and nothing, anything to keep his mind of the endless darkness laid out in front of him.

But gradually, as the tunnel went on, and on, and on, his voice had tapered off, the whispers in the dark drowning them out until he couldn’t speak anymore, all his focus on his hand on the wall and putting one foot in the other, over and over again. It hadn’t been half an hour, it couldn’t have been half an hour. He’d been down here for days, weeks maybe. For forever. It was never going to end.

Doubt crept into his mind, a little voice telling him that it was a trap, that he was alone here, and lost, that he’d be trapped here in the dark for all eternity. His feet stumbled then, and though he kept his hand on the wall, he couldn’t seem to make himself take another step. He choked on a sob, the sound bouncing down through the length of the tunnel and making him choke out another one.

“I can’t,” he gasped. “I can’t do it. I don’t want to be alone here.”

The only response was the echo of his own harsh breathing.

“Fuck, I can’t do this. I don’t know what to do, I don’t… I can’t…” All he wanted to do was to turn around, to check if Nat was behind him. He just needed a bit of reassurance that he wasn't alone. He knew he was about three seconds from a full-on panic attack, and stuck in the dark like this, that seemed like a very bad idea. He sucked in a noisy breath, trying to find something to focus his breathing, since it wasn’t like he could see, or hear, or smell anything. He thought of Natasha, before they left, the steady beat of her heart, the easy rise and fall of her breathing, and focused on that, forced himself to match his breathing to the memory of hers. And maybe it was just his eidetic memory, but as his breathing eased, he could hear Nat’s voice as clearly as if she was standing beside him.

“Don’t you fucking dare look back, Stark.”

He was pretty sure he’d already lost his mind, could barely remember what sunlight looked like now, or Pepper’s smile, or Rhodey’s laugh. All the memories that had kept him going all the time they’d been here were lost to him now. But he forced himself to focus on the memory of her voice, on a vague image of her red hair, repeated her words over and over in his mind until the memory grew stronger.

And somehow, it was enough. It was enough that he could almost convince himself that he was really hearing her, that he could tell himself that she was right behind him, hissing it in his ear. It was enough.

He kept going.

***

When he finally saw light at the end of the tunnel, his first thought was that it was another trick, that he was going to keep walking, and walking, and it was never going to get any closer or any brighter, that it would remain forever tantalizingly out of reach. He stumbled over his feet again, then snorted to himself.

“Thought you weren’t supposed to walk toward the light on the end of the tunnel,” he mumbled, letting out a hysterical giggle.

But he kept going, focusing on the memory of Nat’s voice, and the light grew brighter and closer with every step. Hope began to bloom in his chest, despite his best attempts to stay practical.

“Okay,” he said, fighting against the sudden urge to look back, to make sure Natasha was still behind him, still with him. “We’re almost there. Just a little bit further to go. We did it, Nat. We’re going home.”

Abruptly, it occurred to him that he had no idea how this would work once he passed through the other end of the tunnel. What if it only let him through, and because Nat was behind him, she was stuck? Or what if he was through, and she hadn’t quite gotten all the way across, and he made the mistake of looking back too early? How would he know when it was safe?

Fighting another urge to check back for her, to see how far behind she was, he quickened his pace. There was nothing he could do except keep going, and hope that somehow, when the time was right, he’d know.

But it got harder and harder to keep from looking back at he got closer to the exit, and when he finally stepped through the threshold and out the other side, he resorted to squeezing his eyes tightly shut, figuring if he couldn’t see, he couldn’t accidentally look.

Almost immediately he choked, fumes in the air making it hard to breathe. Then there was a loud, blaring horn, harsh on his ears after the silence of the tunnels, and someone behind him shoved him hard to the side. Tony grunted as his knees and palms scraped against concrete, but he didn’t open his eyes, couldn’t risk it. Exhausted, he just collapsed on the ground, squeezing his eyes so tightly shut that it hurt.

“Tony? Jesus, Tony, are you alright??”

Hands were turning him over onto his back, and that was Nat’s voice but he still couldn’t risk it because what if it was another trick, what if he opened his eyes just to get one last glimpse before she was whisked away forever. He shook his head frantically.

“Tony it’s me. It’s okay, we made it through. We’re home. It’s safe now, I promise. You can open your eyes.”

Nat sounded close to tears, and somewhere deep inside he knew it had to be true, but he still couldn’t make himself look, terrified that he’d lose the last thing he had, that then he’d be completely alone.

And then he felt heat on his face, the kind of heat that could only come from the sun, and he just knew. There had been no sun in the soul stone, just an endless grey, and it had been so long since he’d felt it, but he knew. He couldn’t trust his eyes or his ears, but this, somehow, he could trust.

Feeling tears spilling down his cheeks, he pried his eyes open to find Natasha kneeling over him, her face red and blotchy with her own tears. For a long moment they just stared at each other and then Tony was sitting up and wrapping his arms around her and Natasha was practically crawling in his lap as they just held each other and cried, all the fear and stress spilling over into relief, too much to be expressed in any other way.

The moment was broken by another loud car horn, and them someone hollering, “Coupla fuckin’ freaks!” in a thick Jersey accent as they drove by. They stared at each other a moment longer and then burst into slightly hysterical giggling.

“Home sweet home, huh?” Nat asked dryly.

Tony just shook his head. “I can’t believe the way out was through fucking Jersey,” Tony grumbled, even as he used his thumbs to brush Nat’s tears away from her cheeks. “Shit, we’re gonna have to try and find a ride upstate,” he told her. “I don’t even have any ID.”

“Well.” She looked over his head, arching an eyebrow. “Maybe these nice people can help us out.”

Tony tipped his head back to see a whole bunch of transit authority officers making their way toward them and groaned.

“What the fuck are you doing?” one of them hollered. “The tunnel is off limit to pedestrians! You can’t just walk through, you got any idea the kind of damage you could’ve caused? You could’ve killed someone! You could’ve…” He trailed off as he moved closer and got a better look at them. “Hey, wait. Aren’t you… Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.”

Tony shared a look with Nat before they moved apart and got slowly to their feet. “Afternoon, folks,” Tony said, putting on his best press smile. It felt strange on his face, after going so long without having to bother. “Don’t suppose you could help a couple wayward superheroes out?”

As the officers tried to figure out what the fuck was going on, Natasha pressed a little closer to his side, her fingers tangling with his. For all his futurism, Tony had no idea what was going to happen next. He didn’t even know how long they’d been gone, let alone how to begin to come back from the dead. Had no idea what they’d find when they made it back to the compound, if there would still be an Avengers team, if there would even still be a compound. But when he glanced over at Nat, he found her grinning right back at him and he knew they’d be okay. Whatever happened, they would be facing it together.

@tonystarkbingo @natasharomanovbingo

#tonystarkbingo2020 #tsb2020 #natasharomanovbingo #tony & nat #soul stone #endgame fixit #tony stark #natasha romanov #fic #my fic

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funny-mlb-screenshots · 6 years ago

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My Favorite ML Fics (With links and descriptions)

One Thing After Another - Marinette notices that, sometimes, Adrien acts a little out of the ordinary--like the time he stood in a cardboard box for no reason, or when he actually hissed at Nino. It's only when she starts to notice the similarities between Adrien and a certain feline that she begins to get suspicious.

Basically, Adrien acts like a cat when he probably shouldn't.

Back to Us - After a reveal so shocking it rocks the core of Paris itself, the villain Hawk Moth is finally defeated...at a great personal cost to heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir. With the city safe, they go their separate ways, returning to the lives they were forced to put on hold since receiving their Miraculous.

Now, seven years later, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is on the rise, studying at the fashion college of her dreams by day, working at her dream internship by afternoon...and occasionally moonlighting as Ladybug by night. This routine is set so firmly in place that, once it's shattered by an old-yet-new enemy, and the reappearances of a cold friend and a hot partner, the whiplash threatens to send Marinette spiraling down into chaos.

As Ladybug, she can do anything...but soon those limits will be tested, whether she is in or out of the costume

Truthful Scars - Adrien Agreste has never been an expert in controlling his emotions. When feelings for his classmate in pigtails begin to arise, he can't stop himself from seeing her any chance he gets—even when wearing a pair of cat ears and a black tail. Although his affections are strong and true, he doesn't exactly know how to deal with them, especially under the watchful eye of his father.

After all, what's a boy to do when he accidentally finds out that the girl he's got a crush on returns his feelings?

[Obsession - Miraculous has unintended side effects. A chance encounter leaves Chat Noir in Marinette's magic hands. Scritch and scratch, this kitty has needs. MariChat.

Glaze - He watched her fade, right before his eyes, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Quiver - Spring in Paris, a time for flowers and love, for fashion and passion. But heated blood can lead to dangerous decisions and Adrien’s about to discover how hard things can be. Hawk Moth is on the horizon. COMPLETE]

Smoulder - Marinette traced her fingers down the smooth lines of the magazine, a blush creeping to her face. It wasn’t just his toned, muscular body that set her aflame, although that was certainly a bonus. It was his eyes. The way his body appeared, languid like a summers day. His body said relax but his eyes said devour. From the pages of the advertisement, Adrien smouldered in a way that he’d never done during any of his other numerous photographs, and yet she was struck with a familiarity that made her skin tingle, made her swallow with sudden and surprising nervousness. She was sure she’d seen that expression somewhere before. A pair of green eyes looking at her like that, with an unknown question in his hungry gaze. She’d seen that smoulder before.

In which Adrien loses a bet and becomes an underwear model, Marinette loses her mind, and the whole fiasco starts a fire which might lead to the pair discovering their identities.

Telltale - It all starts with a simple injury, but slowly Ladybug begins to really see who Chat Noir is, and Adrien begins to see Marinette…

Pick-Up and Chase - After she accidentally trips into Adrien and apologizes about "falling for him," Marinette learns that he's no match for cheesy pick-up lines--whether they were unintended or not. And while she finds it flattering that he turns into a flustered mess with only a few words, Marinette comes to regret making him uncomfortable. That is, until she learns he's Chat Noir. At which point the phrase "just desserts" becomes a permanent fixture in her everyday plans. A story in which Adrien is flustered, Marinette is smooth as glass at dropping lines, and Chat Noir gets the romance he was always asking for--even if he doesn't quite know how to handle it

Won’t Tell a Soul - Nino accidentally runs head long into the biggest most stressful secret he can imagine, but now that he knows the truth about Marinette he is determined to help her in any way he can.

Serendipitous Fate Adrien is excited to reveal his true identity, while Marinette is terrified. But Master Fu says they can't afford to be distant any longer. Chat Noir and Ladybug are meant to work in tandem both in and out of uniform, their strength stemming from the bond created between them. Yet, teenagers are sometimes better at dancing blind than running with wide open eyes, even with the steps laid out before them.

Steps in the path of an expanding world. Apart, they'll flounder. But together, they might just stand a chance.

Anywhere, I wouldve followed you - Indygodusk "Just because you care for something, doesn't mean you get to keep it."

Lately, Marinette's luck has been failing her. No one's guessed her secret identity yet, but after Hawk Moth escalates his attacks, she decides it's time to finally tell Chat Noir. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. To make things worse, her home life is falling apart, college is looming, and she can't keep a boyfriend. Secretly, Marinette's not sure she even wants to be Ladybug anymore.

Adrien's life isn't faring much better, especially after dark secrets about his mother come to light.

Then the unthinkable happens. Afterwards, both Adrien and Marinette have to make their own luck. In the process, they defeat the bad guy and make their dreams come true (even if those dreams weren't what they thought they'd be).

Sting - When Chat Noir inexplicably disappears, leaving Ladybug bee-hind to face Papillon on her own, a new wielder is chosen to keep the akuma from swarming. Ladybug is adamant she doesn’t want another partner buzzing around and why is this new-bee flirting with her?

Meanwhile, Adrien just wishes Ladybug would stop bugging out and listen to him because his bee puns are fuzz-tastic.

The repercussions of the bee are farther reaching than anyone realised.

The Parts of You - “I just…” Her hands migrated from covering her face to clutching her hair. Her ears matched her suit but her eyes were glowing with — what was that? Love? Admiration? His chest tightened. “I can’t talk to him! I always get tongue-tied, or say something stupid, or trip over my own feet. It’s so embarrassing! I mean, I’ve gotten better since we first met, like, we’re actually kind of friends now, but it’s kind of a big leap to go from ‘I can sort of string more than two words together in front of you,’ to ‘Please date me, I love you,’ you know?” His breath hitched at the word “love,” but Ladybug didn’t seem to notice. “Plus, it’s not like we’re super-close or anything. I mean,” she tittered nervously, “we’ve known each other for years, but it’s not like talking to you.”

If words could have killed him he would have been in his grave.

In which Identity Shenanigans™ make everyone's life way harder than it has to be.

Breeze - Marinette sobbed into her hands as she recalled Chloé’s hurtful words, each and every one of them.

“You’re nothing! You’re not even worth yourself, much less your so-called friends! Don’t you see they just hang out with you because they pity you?! You’re worth the dirt under my feet, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And you have no right to speak to me like that, you pathetic little brat. You don’t even have the right to speak to anyone! Just keep your stupid thoughts and ideas to yourself because nobody wants to hear them!”

After a big fight with Chloé, Marinette finds herself sobbing on her bed. The words hit her deep down. And before she knows it a dark Akuma comes fluttering in, ready to introduce her to Hawkmoth…

Technical Difficulties - “Man,” Nino groans, accepting defeat at last, as he gives the golden elevator doors a vicious, vengeful kick. Just like that, he remembers his present company.

Nino turns chagrined eyes to Ladybug.

“Er. Sorry… Probably shouldn’t take it out on the doors?”

Ladybug doesn’t seem to hear him. She is staring hard at the security camera located in the corner. He’s never seen her so quiet… not that he’s seen much of her, that is. Definitely not this close.

Damn, he can’t help but think. What Adrien wouldn’t give to be here right now.

“I’m sure they’ll fix it soon,” Nino offers tentatively, because it seems like something Adrien might say. Or Ladybug, probably, if she weren’t so distracted.

“They will,” she acknowledges, but her eyes are still pretty far away. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

“What?“

Ladybug straightens. She makes a decision; it does really pretty things to her eyes, so Nino doesn’t hear her at first, when she asks him for his hat.

— In which Ladybug gets trapped in an elevator with... Nino. { LoveSquare, brotp!MariNino, all-around-friendship!fic } Prompt:Trapped in an Elevator.

Curiosity and Satisfaction - When Adrien agreed to this line of work, he thought all his focus would be on the job of catching the elusive Lady Luck. It never crossed his mind that someone else would catch his attention.

Turn Loose the Mermaids - Marinette should have dragged him under the water in and feast on his body when she had the chance. Maybe then she wouldn't have been his prisoner. Blasted pirate.

That awkward moment when… - “Marinette wasn’t an idiot. As many precautions as she insisted they take, she knew she and Chat Noir were both going to find out sooner or later. Of course, Marinette assumed that the way they’d found out wasn’t by running right smack into each other and detransforming in front of the other. So of course, in a typical calm and rational manner, they pointed to each other and screamed.”

Because, nine times out of ten, letting the cat out of the bag just ends up being very, very awkward.

Tandem - Two students get carried away in a friendly game of dodge ball.... and two other students get very suspicious

Best Frenemies - Marinette Dupain-Cheng leads a double life. It’s often difficult, but it’s the only way to protect the people she cares about. But when her rival, Chloé Bourgeois, discovers her most closely guarded secret, she finds the two separate aspects of her identity blending together… but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. It can be nice sharing the journey with someone even if it's the last person she ever expected to trust with her secrets.

Chloé Bourgeois leads a double life. It’s often difficult, but it’s the only way to protect the people she cares about. But when her rival, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, discovers her most closely guarded secret, she finds the two separate aspects of her identity blending together… but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. It can be nice sharing the journey with someone even if it's the last person she ever expected to trust with her secrets.

The Date - They had a simple deal: one date. Chat had one date to sweep Ladybug off her feet. If she still didn’t like him in that way at the end of the day, he’d give up his attempts altogether. Ladybug took the deal, knowing that her heart belonged to another.

But we know them too well.

Wherever I Go - Marinette accidentally gives her class the impression that she has a crush on Chat Noir.

Adrien decides it's time to get over Ladybug.

Ne Me Quitte Pas - “This is my umbrella,” Adrien told him, as though he didn't quite believe it and the words would bring some sense to it.

“Even I could have told you that,” the kwami said with a shrug, his focus returning to his meal.

“Why did she keep my umbrella?” he asked, only half-directing the question at Plagg.

The kwami, however, chose to answer anyway. “Well, she is your friend, isn't she?” he asked as he finally gave in and stuffed the cheese in his mouth. He swallowed, closing his eyes in satisfaction. “What's so weird about it?”

Bring Me Home - Everybody deals differently with the consequences of Hawkmoth's defeat.

The day after, Ladybug eagerly awaits her silly kitty, finally ready to hand him her heart and start a new chapter of their story with him. He never shows up.

The day after, Adrien Agreste shuts the whole world out, ashamed of his father's action, while Marinette grows more and more exhausted and depressed as the years go by.

Five years later, can anything really be salvaged out of the remnants of their relationship?

Kitten Therapy - After scoring the highest points in a stress level test at school Marinette and Adrien have to take 'recreational hours' in order to prevent being akumatized. It seems like a long awaited break for them until Ayla hacks into CCTV and discovers …?

Mostly fluff. Especially the kittens.

Eperdument - All the pieces are starting to fit together, as much as Marinette doesn't want them to fit. As much as she desperately fights against seeing the signs, sometimes the cat refuses to stay in the bag.

And sometimes the cat kwami refuses to stay out of her lunch bag.

I Didn’t Want it to be Like This - There was always the possibility that someone would find out. Marinette, Paris’s very own Ladybug, knew that it was a high chance. Eventually someone was going to put two and two together.

The Most Eloquent Reply - Deaf Marinette

MDR - Marinette liked not knowing much about her online friends. With the arrival of a newcomer to their group chat, they suddenly start to believe that she has a crush on herself, no matter how obvious she tries to make it that she likes someone else. AU.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb #ml #miraculous #fanfic #fanfiction

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clarkgriffon · 5 years ago

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emori?

favorite thing about them: her cunning, of course. i wasn’t totally on the emori train in her first few seasons (s2-3). i definitely didn’t dislike her, but i wasn’t sure how compelling i found her. then in s4 they really developed her and i started to fall in love. gimme shelter is always going to be her best episode.

least favorite thing about them: maybe her bandwagoning? i think, because of her past as an outcast, after the time jump, she’s sort of swung to the complete other end. instead of being an individual, she sees herself as one part of a team most of the time and i think she’s been more going with other ideas than coming up with her own in the past few seasons, like following murphy when the primes offer immortality or jumping onto raven’s side against clarke. HOWEVER, i think this is something she’s breaking out of, especially with her turn in 6x08 and her choice to act on her own decision.

favorite line: “I was cast out of my clan as an infant because of this. I was forced to steal to survive. Forced to kill. You were loved. Told you were special. I was thrown away like someone's garbage. You know nothing of my pain.” “Because today, I am the Commander of Death.”

brOTP: Bemori, Clarke x Emori, Harmori

OTP: Memori and Emoraven

nOTP: E.cho x Emori (am i just gonna put everyone x e.cho for notp?? i mean, maybe. I just don’t hate any other characters honestly)random headcanon: we never get to see how much otan’s death affects emori, but it’s a huge impact. when she wakes up from the city of light, she cries for a long time. she loves john, but otan was with her her entire life. when she was cast out, they had each other. they stole together. they survived together. it took her a long time to come to terms with the fact that he was just gone.unpopular opinion: this is sort of an unpopular memori opinion specifically, but i didn’t think memori became compelling until they split up in s5. that’s when i really started shipping them.song i associate with them: fast carfavorite picture gif of them:

(s5 was the LEWK, fight me. BRING THE BANDANA BACK.)

(send me a character!)

#ask #emori #ask game #the 100 #anonymous

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baenxietydad · 4 years ago

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alpha desperation march aka finding nemo part 7 || mu jun

@moon-yeongjun

Word Count: 4521

Date: July 8th, 2020

TL;DR: Mu Jun has my entire heart, brotp: swynlake is better with you in it, damn it

tw: climate change is mentioned, suicide is mentioned

MARLIN:

The second the door slammed behind Nemo, Mu-yeol’s eyes that had stung with tears the past several minutes overflowed and with his son gone, he allowed himself the long, pitiful, ugly cry he needed. As much as he wanted to go after Nam-min he wouldn’t do that to him and humiliate him in front of the entire Hollow - as if he didn’t do that daily, by virtue of living.

He laughed bitterly as he began to run out of tears and once his nose stopped running he reached for his phone to call Jun. Surely Nemo ran off to Tae’s, and he couldn’t exactly call Eun-jung and try to explain to her why Nemo was at her house.

“Jun?” Mu-yeol said before Jun had even said hello.

JUN:

Why the hell was Mu-yeol calling?

He was in the back of the store, handling some emails when his phone buzzed. He picked it up and expected one of his many distributors or partners since Jun had made all calls to the store get rerouted to his cell phone-- just in case, eh? He had to be reliable no matter the hour--

And so part of him thought about making it go to silent because he was working, wasn’t he? Tcch, what time was it even…?

Ah, after 17:00, he supposed most people (not Jun though) were done working by then. Maybe Mu-yeol was calling on behalf of Nemo about some trip or event…

He answered it on the last ring and his hyung’s voice crackled over the line, thick and-- wrong. Jun knew right away.

He blinked. “Mu-yeol hyung? Is everything alright?”

MARLIN:

Did he sound that bad? He must, it felt like he cried until he’d cried all he could for the rest of his life. He wiped the last of the wetness from his eyes and cheeks and cleared his throat.

“Is...my son isn’t with Tae right now...is he?”

JUN:

Ah, not again.

Jun flashed back to just a few months ago to when he’d gotten a call just like this one. Well, actually he’d gotten some texts and then he’d had to text Tae and caught him in a lie. Jun huffed and rubbed at his temple. That huff was not toward Mu-yeol of course. If anyone, it was against Nemo, who was a real piece of work, wasn’t he? So dramatic! Flying off the handle-- no fairy pun intended!

“I ah, I don’t know, I’m-- I’m at the store right now, hyung. I can call Tae-yah? Did you get into another fight?”

MARLIN:

“Um…” he trailed off and cleared his throat again. “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

And that’s when you knew it was bad. When he swore in English.

“No it’s okay. I think he’s smarter than to go there this time. Don’t worry about it, I’ll...figure it out.”

JUN:

Jun had never heard Mu-yeol like this.

He sat up straighter as the concern ballooned larger than before. There must have been a fight, but why was this so different from last time? How long had Nemo already been gone before his appa had decided to call Jun? Was the boy in danger?

Jun stopped this train of thought himself because he didnt know all the facts. The only things he did know where-- 1. Nemo was missing and 2. Mu-yeol needed help. More than one type of help.

“Hyung, hyung, it’s okay,” Jun repeated. “Please, let me help you, eh? Tell me what happened. We’ll find Nam-min together.”

MARLIN:

“No, it’s not, it's not, he said he hated me and that he may as well be dead to me too now, and it’s all my fault. I know I’m in the wrong here, I know — and he wasn’t supposed to — fuck, fuck.” He paced back and forth, or rather, his wings flit behind him as he hovered from one end of their house to the other, and repeat.

“No, I. If he’s not with Tae, I think I know where he went. I’ll ask Olaf and it should be fine. He’s safe if he’s with Olaf and Sindri.”

JUN: Jun had no clue who Olaf and Sindri were. Frankly, he didn’t care less.

What he cared about was Mu-yeol and, yes, Nemo. Whatever happened--it didn’t matter who was right and who was wrong. He had to keep Mu-yeol calm and learn the facts as quickly as possible. And right now, not even Mu-yeol knew all those facts.

“Let me call Tae-yah first,” said Jun gently and calmly. “He could be at my house. You know how those boys are, eh? Even if he isn’t, he could’ve heard from Nemo. And we can go from there, eh? Why don’t you meet me at the Moon Market? By the time you get here, I’ll have more answers for you.”

And Mu-yeol, by the sound of it, shouldn’t be alone right now.

MARLIN:

He should be alone, actually. Deserved to be. Forever, in fact! His son was right to not want anything to do with him and he would have been right even before this.

Yeah.

This was just what he deserved.

But he agreed anyway, to meet Jun at the store, and thanked him for his help.

“Hi.” He said quietly, when he got to the store, unconsciously wringing his hands together.

JUN: Jun did as he said he would and called Tae, and he badgered his brother until he could confirm that Nemo wasn’t there and hadn’t contacted him either. He double-checked with Eomma just to be absolutely positive, though he did not want to worry her. Naturally, he did anyway. But this might be a situation for worry. There was always a time and place; a missing 16-year-old sparrow boy plus a distraught, unstable father felt like one of those times.

He made Tae promise to let him know right away if Nemo did reach out.

All this did not take a long time. Maybe ten minutes of phone calls. Then, Jun could only wait for his hyung while his own concern grew and grew. If only Mu-yeol had told him what happened. It had to be some fairy thing maybe… or maybe just...so bad to truly humiliate him.

What could do such a thing?

When Mu-yeol arrived, Jun ushered him quickly into the back of the store. “Come, come,” he said. “Sit.” He gestured to the chair by the desk where the ancient Moon Market computer sat. “Do you need something to drink? We have-- well, everything. Here, hyung, let me get you a beer.” He clasped Mu-yeol’s arm fondly.

MARLIN:

He almost declined but good god a beer sounded good. A beer on the house, huh? Damn. Jun was worried. He had to calm down before he gave Jun a heart attack.

“Thank you.” He said when Jun brought him the beer, twisting off the cap with his hand. “I — god. I’m sorry to drag you into this Jun, this is. Very personal family shit.”

Of course, he’d been by Jun’s father’s side hours before he died. It doesn’t get more personal than that. Jun, whether he liked it or not, was family now.

“Your mother isn’t around is she?” And when Jun shook his head no Mu-yeol nodded. “Good.”

JUN: Very personal family shit, huh? Jun normally would not press-- should not press. But his eyes lingered on Mu-yeol’s face. He was a handsome man, looking much younger than his actual years which Jun assumed was another one of those unfair fairy things. But right now, he looked very old and very tired, as if the light was being drained from him.

Could Jun truly be the support Mu-yeol needed without knowing more?

He opened a beer for himself, mostly to show solidarity. It was never good to drink alone, even if someone else was in the room with you. “Don’t apologize. You would do the same if Tae-- or even any of my sisters-- disappeared. We have to help each other.” Jun shrugged. “If it’s...is it some sort of fairy thing then? Because I know you worry about my eomma, but-- I’ll make sure to tell her only what she needs to know. She can still be of help. She wants to, hyung. She has great affection for you too.”

MARLIN:

He only smiled thinly at Jun’s comment about his mother and shook his head. “Not to sound like the bloodiest character in a teen drama, but she wouldn’t if she knew. The fairy thing is the least of my concern, even.”

Eun-jung would be surprised, sure, but he didn’t genuinely think she’d go full pitchfork on him. Her sympathy would surely run out if she knew why Nemo ran away. Jun’s probably would too.

“It’s not a...fairy thing, not really anyway. It’s more of a me being awful thing. A liar, the worst, take your pick.” He took another sip from the beer and sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“I don’t know where to begin, Jun. I guess...Nemo found some things. A lot of things. That I’d hidden about my life in Korea, and that I...didn’t so much lie as I omitted about certain parts of my life and his mother’s. And he’s rightfully furious.”

A beat.

“Would you believe if I told you my wife was a Ph.D student when she died?”

JUN:

Mu-yeol probably wasn’t the worst.

Jun could not know. But by the sound of it, he did what most parents did-- lied to their child, for the sake of their child. There was nothing inherently bad about such lies. Children didn’t need to know everything at once and certainly not things that could hurt them. It was part of being a parent’s job, recognizing those things. Was Mu-yeol’s judgment on such things maybe more lacking than others…?

How could Jun say? He wasn’t a parent, even if some days he felt like it. Okay, most days. It wasn’t Jun’s positive to judge.

As for the next thing his hyung said… Jun raised his eyebrows. “Sure-- well, maybe, depending on what kind of Ph.D. I can’t imagine she was getting a medical license.” Such things had to be forbidden in South Korea too, eh? Stil, fairies could go to uni all they wanted.

“But then, you’ve barely told me anything about your late wife at all. I assume you told Nemo something different?”

MARLIN:

“Climate science.” Mu-yeol said. “She wanted to save the world all of you are still in denial is in crisis. So-yeon was too naive to realize the world doesn’t want to be saved. Humans...you don’t want to put in the effort.”

He fell silent as he tried — and failed — to sort out how to start the whole story in his head.

“It wasn’t that I told him something different, it's that I never told him anything to begin with. I didn’t tell him that we lived in Seoul. Human Seoul, not a Hollow there, in the city. We lived in a terrible basement apartment. Like the Kim family in Parasite. It was all we could afford.”

“I worked two jobs and sometimes three to put her through university. I knew I should have burned all of those pictures. Her Harvard acceptance letter.”

JUN:

His lips pursed as he listened, waiting for the understanding to arrive. But it never truly came. Jun was as puzzled as he had been since this first phone call. Why was Nemo so upset to find out his eomma had a life of her own, eh? Actually, what was so bad about all this that Mu-yeol didn’t tell his son to begin with?

He wanted to just let his hyung talk and maybe these reasons would still reveal themselves, but Jun still half suspected it was a fairy thing, whether Mu-yeol thought it was or not. Some weird cultural barrier?

“I don’t get it,” he said honestly then. “Why would he get so upset finding these things? He lives a very human life now himself.” He wasn’t sure if Mu-yeol even wanted to hear that, with the way he could talk about humans, but wasn’t it true? “You know, all the, ah-- human dance and human school.”

MARLIN:

“He’s upset I never told him.” Mu-yeol explained. “And that I used to live among humans when, for his entire life I made him cover his ears when we went to town. I made him lie to Tae about being a fairy. I taught him that humans, as a whole, can’t be trusted.”

He took another sip of beer and then said, “And it’s true. Just because some humans like you are good...it doesn’t change what happened to my family. The Korean police just shrugged off my wife’s murder. It was just a fairy, no need to find who did it, the less of them the better, right? Never mind she was four months pregnant and still dedicating so much time and energy to saving a planet humans are killing.”

Mu-yeol laughed mirthlessly and shook his head. His son’s human obsession? That was his fault too. He should have made Nemo just dance with the performing talents. Kept him in the Hollow. Letting him go to town for dance was his second big mistake.

“I only let him go to dance in the human world because…” he trailed off. Why was he hesitating explaining Nemo’s wing? Jun was family. Yeah, Nemo wouldn’t want him to know but it wasn’t like most disabled people had the privilege of being able to just ignore it.

Plenty of parents talked about their kid’s challenges with their friends. It wasn’t outing Nemo.

“Nam-min was - is - bullied a lot by fairies his age. Even adults in his Talent look at him like a factory mistake. Like a waste. He was born too early and one of his wings never developed properly so it’s smaller than the others. He loved to dance so I decided to go back to working in the human world even though I was - am - terrified so I could afford dance class for him. I wanted to give him somewhere he wasn’t looked at sideways for his disability.”

A beat. “He’s upset I lied. About my past exposure to humans, about living in the human world. He’ll never forgive me, Jun.”

JUN:

This was a lot of information.

Jun listened to it all, drinking his beer quietly and not reacting on the outside. He could do that when he focused. Normally he simply didn’t bother to hide what he thought from the world, because the world didn’t matter. But Mu-yeol mattered. For him, Jun would make an effort...to understand.

Much of what his hyung revealed Jun did not know how to talk about or react to anyway. Like his wife’s pregnancy. How horrible. How traumatizing. The thought of it made him sick, and so he drank his beer, swallowed his disgust down.

And as for Nemo’s disability-- completely out of nowhere to Jun. But how could he have ever seen it, eh? He wondered if Tae even knew. Now the whole… strange fairy-test-day breakdown maybe made more sense.

He could feel pity next to disgust, and he hated that as well, so he drank again.

And then they were at the end and still, Jun did not know what to say. Maybe he understood better now but… aiya, he never would, truly. Nemo still seemed to be acting irrationally to him. And Mu-yeol’s fear, while sympathetic and warranted, was ultimately misguided.

Jun should give no one advice though. Hah. And so Jun tried for comfort instead.

“I...didn’t know any of that. I’m sorry to hear it. But-- Nemo will forgive you, hyung,” said Jun. He set down his beer on the rickety table where the computer was set up, and he grabbed the extra chair so he could sit down next to Mu-yeol. He reached out and grasped his forearm for a brief moment. “I...I see-- that this is all a shock for him. Maybe his anger is justified, no one likes being lied to but-- he’ll calm down. I know your son, and he’s very sweet and-- cheerful, you know, he’s not someone who will stay angry forever. And I’ve seen you together. He loves you very much,” he said this next part gently.

Inside, Jun’s own heart panged and he thought of Abeoji. Bah, stupid. Why was he thinking of his dead father? He and Abeoji were nothing like Mu-yeol and Nemo.

“Perhaps it’s good he left to get some space, eh? He can...ah… get his head on straight.”

MARLIN:

He shook his head then quietly said, “Of course you didn’t know. I think I’ve only talked about Nemo’s wing with Kanga DeRosa. And I’ve never told anybody about my wife being pregnant; not even the fairy queen knows, it...hurt too much to explain when I first sought refuge in the Enchantra Hollow. Nam-min doesn’t know and if he ever speaks to me again, I’m not sure I’ll tell him either.”

Mu-yeol bit his lip then smiled sadly before he had another sip of beer.

“He doesn’t need to carry the full weight of that tragedy; Appa will take it. That’s what Appas do.” He explained.

Jun tried to reassure him that Nemo would come around but he didn’t believe that was possible. Nemo would be right to hate him forever even before discovering his lies, let alone now that they had been literally laid out on the table. What he’d done was inexcusable and he knew that.

He may be trash but he was self-aware trash.

“You don’t know how well Nam-min can hold a grudge. I’d never seen him this angry. Not when I wouldn’t let him go to school, or when I made him break up with that affront to nature, or when I told him I agreed with Mistral’s assessment that he shouldn’t be allowed to test for fast-flying, or even when he found out I’d been secretly patching Ashlee up for months when her father was hurting her because she didn’t want to expose him and my hatred and distrust for the police kept me from just trying anyway. Jun, Nemo hates me.”

Mu-yeol sniffed as fresh tears began to fall and he quickly wiped at his eyes. “I t-told him his mother’s parents were dead and he found out they weren’t. They’re dead to me, though. I came here to shield my son from them just as much as I did to protect him from bigotry. They are truly awful fairies who tried to take my son from me, so yeah, I didn’t let them.”

In hindsight maybe he should have.

“They told me that if I had to have lived instead of their daughter, I at least should have had the decency to not botch my suicide.” Mu-yeol said, bringing the beer to his lips and finishing it off. “I didn’t. My younger brother intervened, so first of all get your facts straight. Suicide is...the greatest sin a fairy can commit. The word about my attempt spread fast and the shame it brought on my family pushed me to consider leaving. The efforts to take my baby boy away made it clear that if I wanted to be Nemo’s Appa still, I had to leave Korea and leave the shame attached to Bae Mu-yeol in Korea. But it...it found me. Nemo saw it. In a dream, like he saw you. He’s found out all of my terrible secrets and half truths, after a lifetime of always defending me to the other fairies, like he — like I needed his protection instead of the other way around.”

Mu-yeol scoffed and shook his head. “When I had to wear the crown of thorns as my punishment for bringing Ashlee to hide in the Hollow, Nemo shooed away anybody that came to gawk. He was loyal to me, defended me, and loved me, and I lied to him.”

JUN:

Mu-yeol was not making a good case for himself.

Jun had always suspected Mu-yeol suffered more than he ever dared to show. But who wasn’t depressed? Who wasn’t anxious? Who didn’t have skeletons in their closet? Jun would be a hypocrite to push for Mu-yeol to talk about these things when in his opinion, they couldn’t be fixed. There were little, temporary treatments like medications and therapy and yada yada, and look, Jun wasn’t against that kind of stuff, he knew that they could work for people, but they weren’t solutions. Personally, Jun thought the best treatment was to just ignore what you could not change. Jun could not change his abeoji’s death. He could not change Tae’s sexuality nor Eomma’s feelings toward it. And so he just ignored it all.

When you brought these things up into the light, this was what happened after all-- Jun looking down at the concrete floor, no help to give.

He could admit that he’d be pissed at his own abeoji too for those lies.

He also wished Mu-yeol never told him that he had once tried to kill himself. And Nemo knew about that? Aiya. That was too dark. That was too much. And even for humans, it was a sin. Very selfish. Jun couldn’t imagine…

But despite all of that, wouldn’t Jun still love his abeoji? Of course. They were family. Depression was inevitable, but so was family. Maybe that’s why they so often went hand in hand.

“I…” Jun started, stopped. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to say. Of course...what you did- maybe it isn’t right.” He lifted his shoulders to his ears. “But you did it because you loved him, eh? He still loves you too. He will forgive you because he is a good son.” And of course it was a son’s duty to forgive their father. Wasn’t it?

“Look, if he ends up at my house-- he can stay the night. You’ll know he’s safe. And in the morning, you can come by and talk to him then.”

MARLIN:

“No, he knows from last time you’d just hand him right back to me.” Mu-yeol said. “He wouldn’t chance that now that I think about it.”

He heaved a sigh and shook his head, resting his chin in his hand. Aiya, this was embarrassing. Jun didn’t ask to be dragged into his family drama.

“I only wanted to protect him from the same thing happening to him, and keep him from his mother’s parents who would have only reminded him how wrong he was for being born the way he was, but he’s too angry to believe me even if he’d given me the time to explain. I know I was wrong, I know. But I — I couldn’t lose him too. And I think I will anyway.”

Mu-yeol groaned and let his head hang low a minute. “I want to go home. Korea home. I’m so tired of…” he gestured vaguely. “This. Not that it would be any different, probably, but at least I wouldn’t have been alone. It’s so hard, Jun, and Nam-min…he doesn’t understand.” Or appreciate how hard he worked to give Nemo what he wanted, how much he sacrificed for him. His son was kind of a brat but it was because he loved him so much and spoiled him. All of his sacrifices frankly meant nothing now— his lies of omission surely cancelled them out. “I’m sorry to drag you into everything.”

JUN:

There were times he wanted to go home to Korea too.

He still thought about Korea as home. He couldn’t help it. For ten years, he’d only known Boseong even though Eomma told him at least once a week about how it was all temporary. She referred to Swynlake as home. When we join your abeoji...she would say because it was this inevitable thing. But Swynlake was too...small. It was hard to describe. There was just more sky in Boseong. In Swynlake, the clouds hung too low.

Despite that feeling though, Jun knew that if he were to go back, find his old farm, walk through the same tea fields, he wouldn’t feel at home. It’d be like looking at photographs. There were things you couldn’t ever capture again. Even if the same people were still around, Jun was not the same person himself. He couldn’t be that boy.

It would be the same for Mu-yeol. Hard to realize though, when homesick for a thing that no longer existed.

Jun waved another hand. “I keep telling you, eh? No apologies. We’d be involved no matter what, Nam-min is like family. You...you are family.”

He couldn’t look Mu-yeol in the eye when he said it.

He coughed awkwardly.

“Swynlake’s a piece of shit, but it’s better with you here.”

MARLIN:

“Right.” Mu-yeol said, chuckling nervously when Jun again insisted no apologies needed. He wiped at his eyes with the heel of his hand and gave a shaky breath as he bit back another apology for crying still.

Jun’s embarrassment at saying something so honest, so vulnerable, was enough to make him forget how embarrassed he was right now. He almost laughed— like genuinely laughed. It was funny how human men were so…emotionally stifled. Sad funny, not haha funny, but it was haha funny that he seemed to be rubbing off on the standoffish Jun Moon.

“Yeah?” He said, managing to crack a real albeit small smile. “Tell the Hollow that.” A beat. “Think you’ll come up with a good explanation for your mother so she won’t ask too much? I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation.”

JUN:

Ah yes, he had said he’d come up with something. That was before he’d heard all of it-- and Jun wasn’t quite sure how he should frame this to Eomma. In the end maybe it wouldn’t matter because, well, Nemo was still a child even if he was 16 now. He should still be with his father. He shouldn’t run away. No matter Marlin’s crimes, unless they were-- abusive-- this would still be true and he was sure that Eomma would see it the same way.

But part of him wondered if all the lies at this point were necessary. Surely, Eomma knew more than he liked to let on. Live and let live, don’t talk about it, etc-- but she wasn’t stupid. Maybe now was the time for Marlin to come clean to his eomma as well.

He sighed and drank his beer, kicking back most of it. “I can try,” he said. He didn’t sound very confident. “Maybe it won’t be necessary, eh? Maybe Nemo will surprise you, he’ll come home sooner rather than later, spare us all the need for...more lies.”

Just saying it made him feel exhausted. But he said he wouldn’t tell his eomma; he meant it.

“Don’t worry. We have some time, I’ll make sure to think of something.”

#the baes go through some shit #jun

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