#there are things you can't fight. acts of god. you see a hurricane coming you have to get out the way.

[s4pphoiduser]

thinking about him again (crimson typhoon baby no one will ever be you)

[hwanchaesong]

☞🍹Fourth Drink: A soulless, non-empathic, and unloving man emerging from a hurricane cocktail. Isn't it nice to tempt him? 🍸

🎧: The Weeknd - Heartless

wc: 1.3k

genre & warnings: fluff (surprisingly), angst, cursing, dreamies appearance, college setting, tutor reader x rich kid haechan, bullying, tsun tsun confession, implied enemies to lovers, etc etc

a/n: this is a part of The After Hours Bar series. if y'all want, you can read the other album inspired fics of other groups here.

You sigh and look at your wrist watch, annoyance bubbling up and you can't fight the need to punch the man that is supposed to meet you here in the library.

It's been two hours since the designated meeting time, and he's late. Too late and you're wasting your time waiting for him to arrive.

Just then, a commotion was heard at the front of the library, hushed whispers and a door being shut rather harshly confused you. But no worries, the perpetrator showed himself within a few seconds.

"Hello, miss." he mumbles dismissively, sitting in front of you without much care while he chews his gum loudly.

"Donghyuck-."

"Haechan." he cuts you off, leaning onto the table with his arms sprawled over it, "That name is reserved only for my friends."

You roll your eyes at his rudeness, "Well then, Haechan. Let me tell you that you are two hours late and I think it's only good manners for you to apologize for it."

He laughs mockingly, pointing at himself like he couldn't believe that someone is telling him what to do.

"Me? Apologize?" he asks, gritting his teeth, "Do you know who I am?"

"Listen," you moistened your lips, his eyes flicking down to the action to which you actively ignored, "I do not care who you are. But I care about the money that your parents are paying me and that I have to create satisfying results for it."

Haechan was dumbfounded to say the least, never has he been spoken to like that before.

He is the son of a famous model and a fashion designer. Most people would want to be with him or want to be him. People would worship the floor he walked on. Thus, he does not know how to act in such a situation where a person is not.. enamored with him.

You dropped the stack of books, notes and copies of worksheets in front of him, faking a sweet smile, "Let's start."

Insufferable. Annoying. Over the top.

That is how you two describe each other to your friends.

You hated him with passion. He must have some kind of god complex because how on earth is he managing to think of himself as a person that all people should respect and bow down to?

The only thing that you're thankful for, is that he's a fast learner. He is easy to teach once he puts his mind into it. (you have to call his parents so they can threaten him every time he acts like a stubborn child, and he says that it's a low blow even for you.)

The boy is not stupid, just someone who doesn't take studying seriously. Probably because he thinks that his future is already secured, knowing that he comes from a well-off family.

And you're breathing in relief the moment you realize that you won't be tutoring him anymore for the next semester.

Haechan, on the other hand, chatters about your preposterous attitude. The way you don't fear or ogle at him. Oh, he absolutely hates it whenever you mock him too. Rolling your eyes, whispering a snide remark, smirking at him rather condescendingly.

The smirk is given only during special occasions, and that is when you see the results of his assessments.

High marks and almost perfect, which means that your methods of teaching are effective.

As much as it kills him on the inside, he does admit that you're one hell of a good tutor. And maybe.. just maybe, you aren't that bad to spend some time with.

---------------------------------------------------

"Hyuck, you're not coming with us today?" Mark asked Haechan who was leaving the classroom in a haste, "We have no exams coming up."

"No," Haechan showed the test paper to his friends, the piece of paper hanging between his thumb and index finger, "I have to submit this to my tutor."

"So, you're not attending the party?" Chenle now inquires, looking at the older male with judging eyes.

Haechan sighs, waving them off, "I'll follow." then he takes his leave, trudging to the library where you usually stay at the end of classes.

His circle of friends look at each other with knowing smiles on their faces. Choosing to gossip about their troublemaker friend before leaving.

"I thought that guy's heart doesn't function properly. What a pleasant surprise." Jaemin laughs, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"It's refreshing to see him like that though." the youngest, Jisung, comments on the uncanny situation at hand.

Jeno intervenes, pushing them all towards the door, "I haven't seen the guy with other girls ever since he met his tutor. What's her name again?"

"Y/N? L/N Y/N, I think?" Mark answers, remembering that one time when Haechan accidentally spilled your name when he was drunk, rambling about how your pretty face doesn't match your shitty manners.

"Well, I'm happy." Renjun mumbles, "I'm happy that he's down bad for Y/N. Finally, I have something that I can tease him for."

The rest agreed, all of them cackling at the joke but they can't deny the fact that he is truly, utterly, pathetically down bad for you.

---------------------------------------------------

Haechan did not see you at your usual spot, deciding to find you in the library space, thinking that maybe you're out there finding a book or something.

Then he hears your voice, but there are others as well. Leaning closer to the shelves, his inner nosy ass eavesdrops at the ongoing conversation.

"We're telling you, Y/N. Leave our Hyuck alone!" one of the girls shoves you, making you stumble a bit but you held your ground against them.

This has been happening for a while now. Crazy fan girls who want to get in his pants harassing you for the sole reason of being jealous simply because you get to spend more time with him.

You scoff, "And who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Do you not know who I am?" she screeches, his high-pitched tone makes you cringe.

"Yeah. No. Who are you again?" you say sassily, and you chuckle at her mortified expression.

"You bitch!" she was about to grab your hair, but luckily, your knight in shining armor comes in to save the day.. or you.

"I suggest you do not land your filthy hands on her, or else." he steps in front of you, voice low and his glare is dangerous.

"Donghyuck! But.. but she started it!"

"Yena, stop playing the fucking victim. Do you want me to actually tell people this stunt and possibly ruin your non-existent reputation?" Haechan announces, keen on making her leave as soon as possible.

The girl has gone rigid, mouth agape, and before she could say a word in, Haechan speaks again.

"Now, get out of my sight. You're making my eyes hurt. And stop calling me by my given name, we’re not even close." he throws an arm over your shoulder, guiding you out of the awkward situation and leaving the teary, humiliated girl in the aisle of shelves.

"Haechan, what are you doing?" you raised a brow, removing his arm and facing him properly.

He then smirks, showing you his test paper with a perfect score. Your eyes widen, a bright grin appears on your lips, heart swelling with pride and joy.

"Oh my god! You've actually done it." you praised him in a hush voice, clapping your hands quietly. "Congratulations Hae-"

"Donghyuck. Or Hyuck, please call me that from now on." he interjects and you were surprised for the third time that day.

"But why?" you asked, blinking at him in pure confusion.

"Because I said so." he side eyes you, scratching his neck and avoiding eye contact, "Also, you're coming with me to the mall."

"Why?"

Haechan groans at your never-ending whys.

"Because we're attending a party, you will be my date. No objections allowed. So, you're coming with me to the mall and we will shop for a matching outfit."

taglist:

@sunghoonsgfreal @yeosayang @mystverse @shakalakaboomboo

[dat-town]

fight the hurricane

Characters: Sunwoo & female reader

Setting & genre: Pacific Rim au, action, angsty with hopeful ending

Summary: In the middle of a war against alien monsters, there was a war going on inside your mind and heart too, guilt and memories eating you away. Then comes a boy who doesn’t need to Drift with you to understand you completely.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, grief, survivor’s guilt, deceased parents, past minor character death, bleeding

Words: 10.1k

Author’s note: title is from Pacific Rim; “There are things you can't fight, acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win.” if i had a nickel for every time i made Sunwoo the prodigy new guy in town i would have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice.

happy name day @lily-blue <3

By your early twenties, you had been well accustomed with the feelings of loss, grief and guilt. But again, most people were in the world you lived in.

You had been 12 when the first monster came from the sea. You had seen it all over the tv and as a kid, it had seemed exciting like a Hollywood movie and you hadn’t taken it seriously. Even your parents had been doubtful it wasn’t just the media trick.

But more and more monsters had come from the depth of the Pacific Ocean, destroyed beach towns and killed its people. They had been named Kaiju (which meant ‘strange beast’ in Japanese as your father had explained), then the Pan Pacific Defence Corps had gotten established and the Jaeger program (meaning ‘hunter’ in German) had started. It had gotten too real too quick.

You had been 14 when you had first seen a Kaiju in real life. A single one was enough to pulp your hometown into the ground. You had been shivering the whole time you had seen it march through the island. Your first thought had been that it looked like a mix of a dinosaur and an alien and the second had been that you were going to die.

You hadn’t died that day but your parents had. It had been too late when their bodies had been found under the collapsed building of your home.

A month later you had moved into the Busan Jaeger Academy and a year later Jiwon had joined too. Back then you had no idea that she would be your other half. Best friends was too mundane of a word to describe your bond.

You had been 20 when she had died… no, not just died; when she had been killed. Died was such a passive word as if she wasn’t fighting until the last moment with the Category IV Kaiju by your side in Virtual Angel, your Jaeger. The truth was that you hadn’t just lost her. You had lost yourself too. You had trained together for five years and had been active Rangers for almost two years. Something like that cannot be erased merely by death, especially not with the neural link connection you had. You had shared memories, feelings and perspectives. Sometimes you still heard her voice in your head.

After you had gotten out of the hospital, you had been declared ‘mentally unable to return to piloting’ and been transferred from the Rangers to the LOCCENT. Maybe it had indeed been for the better. You weren’t sure you could have survived losing somebody close to you again.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” the intercom blared through the Busan Shatterdome just like it had done simultaneously in every other Shatterdome in the world when the PPDC issued a warning. “Goddess Mercy, report to standby. I repeat…”

The voice blurred in your mind as you hurried to put on your uniform and run to the Local Command Center. Research found that Kaiju arrivals were in a certain pattern, so your scientists always predicted the next attack’s time even if they were eventually hours off. It was better to be prepared for something than to not expect it at all or always be frenzy about it.

“Reporting to duty, sir,” you saluted when you arrived at the mission control unit. Marshall Lee Sangyeon nodded at you but kept his eyes on the big screen where the Kaiju tracking was displayed. You could see the vast red spot moving fast in the blueness of the ocean, heading towards Taiwan. You swore as you took your seat next to Changmin who was on standby duty all night in case something like this happened.

“What’s the strategy?” You asked as you pulled up the necessary maps and the information on the Kaiju that the PPDC sensors could tell such as size, toxicity, speed and such when they passed through the Breach, an interdimensional portal in the Pacific Ocean. It was useful to know what you were up against as well as for the headquarters to decide how many Jaegers they would send to neutralize the threat in the ocean before it could reach and attack land.

“Juyeon and Hyunjae are getting ready. Canada sends the Snow Leopard with Jacob and Kevin and Japan reported to dispatch Rogue Kitsune too,” Changmin told you as he checked on the engineering process on your side.

“It will be Fumiya’s first battle with his new co-pilot, right?” You hummed, briefly contemplating that it could be you as well if you were strong enough to go back after losing Jiwon. Before Changmin could have confirmed, your focus shifted to the LOCCENT’s huge window because on the other side, the giant metal mecha of Goddess Mercy was gearing up for battle.

“Ranger Lee is standing by,” you heard Hyunjae’s voice in your headset, echoed by Juyeon’s and you could see on the camera on your computer screen that both of them were already in their drivesuits, heading towards the Conn Pod, the currently detached cockpit of their Jaeger. Under them dozens of J-Tech engineers worked to make sure the Jaeger was in great condition to be exported and to fight.

In the meantime technicians helped the two pilots to get fully into gear and attached the spinal clamp needed for the neural transmission.

“Their life functions and vitals are okay,” you announced after scanning the results on your screen.

“Rangers, ready?” The Marshall asked which got immediate responses:

“Yes, sir!”

“Ready to kick some Kaiju ass,” Hyunjae grinned his signature smile.

“Neural handshake initiated,” Gahyeon stated a few seconds later and you could immediately see the spike in both Juyeon’s and Hyunjae’s heart rate as well as their brain receptors’ activity. They were a well synced pair, so by the time the Conn Pod was attached to the Jaeger’s mechanical brain, the technician also announced that the drift was successful.

“Goddess Mercy is ready to launch,” Juyeon said and the Jaeger moved its right hand as a proof. Soon eight V-50 Jumphawks airlifted the monstrous size of mecha and flew it towards the ocean to drop them near the vicinity of the Kaiju.

It might have been just the two of them out there putting their lives on the line along with the other Rangers, but every Kaiju battle was teamwork. Everybody in the Shatterdome watched the huge monitor displays and followed their movements over the map via GPS signs and drones sent with them. Your team in the control room was responsible for keeping an eye on the pilots’ health, the stability of their neural connection, the Jaeger’s condition, the Kaiju’s whereabouts and the battle’s surroundings. Admittedly you had only started to appreciate this side of the work after getting disqualified as a Ranger yourself and you didn’t mind that it was only the pilots and their Jaegers that were celebrated as heroes because every win was a victory for humanity no matter who took credit or not.

“Drop happening in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… release!” Changmin counted down and you saw the transporting aircrafts release the harnesses holding Goddess Mercy in air and the metal giant landed in the water with a big splash but safely.

“Kaiju incoming from northeast, estimated arrival in 56 seconds,” you recited the information based on the map and simulation calculations into the microphone. “Snow Leopard is already on the radar too. Rogue Kitsune just left the Tokyo base.”

“It’s going to be eas–” Hyunjae’s words got cut off when something moved in the dark waters around them and the next moment they were dragged underwater.

This Kaiju was not only big in size but it had 8 long snake-like tentacles curling around Goddess Mercy’s legs. The pilots were clearly taken aback by the unexpectedly quiet attack but they managed to overthrow the slippery looking monster, engaging in hands-on combat.

Due to the toxicity and radiation level of Kaijus, it was important to make sure they bleed the least because their blue fluids could make waters poisonous and kill wildlife, flora as well as people in contact. Old solutions such as dropping nuclear missiles on them had been deemed terrible choices too due to the destruction it caused nearby. Jaegers were people’s best hope.

Hyunjae and Juyeon were fighting the monster the best they could but with its many arms, they were mostly forced to protect themselves especially because the Kaiju seemed to attack their power cell on purpose. Unfortunately the K-scientists also predicted the growth of intelligence level in higher category Kaijus. They seemed to learn during their visits and they kept evolving.

It was a relief when Snow Leopard arrived and lured the alien giant away from Goddess Mercy. This way the two of them could charge at the Kaiju at once.

“Rangers, report! Are you okay?” Marshall Lee called out for your pilots and everybody waited for their answer with their breath held back. Based on their health measurements on your screen, their adrenaline levels went frenzy but they were otherwise okay. It was the Jaeger that had some red areas in their right shoulder on the heatmap.

“We are good. Mercy’s right arm has gone limp though,” came the answer and Hyunjae’s grunting about not underestimating these bastards again could be heard.

They tried to hit and punch the Kaiju for a while, circling around it but since its tentacles were longer than the Jaeger arms, it seemed like it was just playing with them. Then Goddess Mercy released its built-in sword from its operating arm and cut off one tentacle of the Kaiju. It seemed to simultaneously weaken and piss it off, so after the blade cut off another limb, the Kaiju pushed Snow Leopard away just enough to pay more attention to Goddess Mercy as it jumped upon its chest, making the mecha lose its footing and before they could push it off or the other Jaeger could pull it off, two of its remaining tentacles pierced through the Conn Pod’s glass windows, the Jaeger’s ‘eyes’ and two others attacked the energy center in its chest, the two weakest point of the metal monstrum. Then with a snapping sound, the Kaiju ripped the Conn Pod out of the Jaeger and sent the pilots flying.

You spoke up at the same time as Gahyeon, alarmed.

“Life functions are dropping low.”

“Connection from Rangers to Jaeger is lost.”

“Send an emergency team! Get them out of there!” The Marshall shouted while the Canadian Jaeger and the just arriving Japanese one successfully neutralized the Kaiju after cutting off all its extra limbs.

Still, with the victory celebrated, your breathing was still shaky as your memories of the emergency staff pulling you out of your drivesuit was too vivid. Jiwon’s fear before your connection was cut off was too much.

You didn’t even notice that you were trembling, just when Changmin put a warm hand over your back.

“It’s over,” he whispered and you forced yourself to nod.

It’s over. For now. Your gaze glided to the huge counter on the dome’s main hall showing the time since the last Kaiju arrival: 0 days, 0 hours, 47 minutes.

At this rate, who knows when the next one will come? When will it end?

With Juyeon and Hyunjae recovering in the hospital from both physical injuries and the mental stress of sudden neural link detachment, the Busan Shatterdome and its area was defenseless and depended on the help of others. The PPDC headquarters in Seoul decided that Jeju should send their cadets to Busan to test drift compatibility between the two Shatterdomes’ residents. Busan needed new co-pilots but the more, the merrier, so the decision was applauded on all fronts except the new dorm assignments among cadets. You didn’t mind sharing a room with two more girls, especially because this was a temporary situation until the eleven Jeju cadets stayed over. Other than the housing issues though, their arrival brought excitement too. It was rare when the Shatterdome got new cadets other than following the Jaeger Academy graduation, so everybody was gossiping about the new residents. They were welcomed with an informal dinner but the next day they were in the combat rooms for training already.

“Aren’t you coming? Eric will miss you,” Changmin teased when you were leaving the canteen but you just rolled your eyes at the mention of the other boy.

“He will survive,” you shrugged. “I have a night shift tonight, so I’m going to ditch that for a nap.”

Trainings at the dome were open to anybody either to watch or participate. Sometimes you joined in for old times sake and to get in your exercise amount for the day but without Jiwon it wasn’t the same. Sometimes you went to watch though, mostly to annoy Eric with your unasked advice. He wasn’t a bad fighter, just a bit reckless and impatient.

That day you were sure the combat room would be full of people because everybody would be curious to see if there were promising matches between two cadets that show innate synchronization, the kind that was needed so two minds could pilot the same Jaeger at the same time. However with Busan’s six cadets in training and the ones coming from Jeju, the number of combinations were high, so it would take days, especially if retired ex-Rangers would like to try again too. It wasn’t unheard of that a Ranger who had once lost their partner would find another to match with but you weren’t planning on going back to the field. Not necessary out of fear, more of guilt. It had been years and you still didn’t forgive yourself for what happened to Jiwon.

Changmin promised to inform you if anything interesting happened but then you parted ways, his leading towards the training halls and yours to the dorms. Right after Kaiju attacks, you slept better knowing that you should be safe for a while but when the next predicted date was nearing you always had trouble sleeping properly, so you wanted to make the most out of these chances not only for the night shift but also for your sake as well.

By the time you woke up and got ready for work, you had like a dozen of texts from Changmin including a picture of Eric wincing at the bruises he received thanks to a girl from Jeju. Served him right though. He always went easier on girls, which might have been gentlemanly on his part but it was just stupid in your opinion, maybe that’s why you never synced either.

When you got to the LOCCENT room, Younghoon was already there.

“Hey, is there anything?”

“Nothing luckily,” he turned towards you with a greeting nod which you reciprocated.

You glanced at the giant counter that showed that it had been almost 6 days since the last attack. The K-scientists predicted at least 12-14 more before the next one based on the recent pattern but you could never know, that’s why shifts and keeping an eye out on the sensors and tectonic movements was important.

“How are Hyunjae and Juyeon?” you asked as you took a seat and signed in to your computer. Younghoon was close with the two boys since they had all grown up together but he hadn’t had a shift when his friends had gotten injured, so it must have felt terrible to just watch it from the sidelines. Not that he could have done anything from the control room. Ranger life was unpredictable like this.

“They are getting better. It will take a while for Juyeon’s broken arm to heal and both of them are still experiencing migraines because of the neural disconnection. It could have been a lot worse,” the boy noted and you knew that he was right. Some Rangers had permanent brain damage after something went wrong during Drift. That’s also why two pilots were needed to control a Jaeger, it would have been too much on one single individual.

“That’s good,” you let a small, reassuring smile paint your lips because their health mattered more than anything. But you couldn’t help but ask, your past self’s guilt towards Jiwon, the Shatterdome, the purpose of the program, sweeping into your bones. “Did they say anything about staying as Rangers?”

Younghoon looked at you with knowing eyes, like he knew exactly why you were asking. He was already at LOCCENT when you were assigned this new job after being discharged from the hospital.

“No. Maybe they are waiting for the official evaluation,” he said and you nodded. Honestly, it was hard to imagine Busan’s best duo as anything other than Rangers but then again, once you couldn’t imagine your life differently either. You had thought you would either spend your life fighting with Kaijus until humanity won or die in a Jaeger. Surviving alone had never been an option. Until it was.

On quiet nights like this when there was a low chance for a Kaiju attack, your work wasn’t particularly interesting. You recorded some info about the Pacific Ocean, the sensors’ data and created a report to submit but otherwise you were mostly reading or talking with Younghoon about Shatterdome and PPDC gossip. By the time the next shift arrived at 6AM to take over you got to know all the exciting details of the training day with the Jeju cadets.

You liked early mornings like this because everything was quiet and calm. In a few hours J-technicians would be busy running around fixing up Jaegers and building new ones, K-scientists would yell about the newest discoveries and Ranger-to-bes would compete over who could get to the combat room or the canteen the fastest. No need to get you wrong, you loved the lively atmosphere of the Shatterdome, you loved feeling the purpose that bound all of you together, the comradeship but there was something in the serenity at dawn that could finally placate your messy mind.

You walked up on the metal stairs over the hangar, right until the catwalk that led over to the other side of the building. You loved this one the most, not only because it was the highest point somebody could get without being in a mecha’s cockpit but if you sat down in the middle of it, you could face the patched up version of Virtual Angel. Your former Jaeger.

You had gained the habit of coming out here to face the elegant metal body of the weapon that once had been partly yours after what had happened with your co-pilot. The three of you, the Jaeger, Jiwon and you had shared something special. You had neutralized enough Kaijus to make any parent proud but not enough, never enough, and while you could have never made yourself pilot Virtual Angel again, she deserved to be in the spotlight again, to fight more. You hoped she would have the chance.

So early in the morning the place was always empty but not this time. You faltered when you saw a stranger sitting in your usual place, staring ahead, at the lined up Jaegers in the hangar as if he was pondering about something. He must have been deep in thought because he didn’t seem to notice your approach until you were only a few steps away from him. When he did though, he looked up at you with eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s my place,” you told him without greeting. The boy your age looked confused for a moment as he looked at the metal structure holding both of your weight about 75 meters over the ground.

“I didn’t see your name here,” he looked back at you with a tilt of his plush lips and you raised a brow, watching him do the same, his brown hair falling into his likewise dark eyes in soft waves. He wore the Jeju cadets’ uniform, same as your formal one but with a different symbol over the heart. But it was too early for even the cadets to be up.

“You don’t even know my name,” you retorted, which made the boy tilt his head in a mischievous way.

“Are you sure about that?” He questioned because he added. “Or maybe it’s my way of asking.”

“Funny, aren’t you?” You let out a little huff of laughter at that and then slid down onto the catwork and sat down next to the boy, a good arm length away, hanging your legs down, leaning against the railing. After spending years looking down from this height through the Conn Pod of Virtual Angel, you weren’t afraid of heights anymore nor the idea of falling scared you. You couldn’t be sure about the side of your unexpected companion though.

“Can’t sleep?” You found yourself asking but you didn’t look at the boy. You kept your eyes on the silver and baby blue paint over the copper Jaeger.

The cadet hummed, confirming but not elaborating. You didn’t expect it, you were strangers after all even if you were fighting the same war. You just sat down quietly for a while, not in awkward but more of a comforting silence, just the type you particularly liked on mornings like this.

“She’s beautiful,” the guy spoke up a bit later when the Sun was already up over the horizon, painting orange hues over the glass dome above your head, casting bright light over the three mechas. At first, you were confused who was the she he talked about but then you saw that he was looking at Virtual Angel too and you couldn’t help an albeit small but genuine smile.

“She really is, huh?” You agreed, feeling warmth in your chest like when somebody complimented something you could be proud of.

“I’m Sunwoo by the way.”

You turned your head to face the guy, wondering what kind of stories he could hide behind that smile of his, what kind of dreams or fears could drive him here, 75 meters high at the crack of dawn.

“I’m Y/N,” you reciprocated the introduction, forgetting about his previously mentioned intentions.

“I know,” Sunwoo nodded with a secretive smile but then he bobbed his head towards Virtual Angel. “She’s yours.”

Ah, so he really knew who you were. You weren’t sure how to feel about that.

“She was,” you corrected him, which was followed by a beat of silence.

“Aren’t you going back out there?” He asked and it seemed more genuinely curious than blaming. Some people in his shoes would have called you a coward or weak, some people would have done anything to find a partner to pilot a Jaeger together and fight but you weren’t even trying anymore.

“No, I’m not,” you confirmed, picking your nails and you weren’t sure what you expected in response. Pity? Anger? You certainly didn’t expect the boy to get playful.

“Then if I manage to sync up with somebody, can I take her out for a ride?” He raised an eyebrow and the way he phrased it made you flabbergasted.

“Are you asking for my permission?” You chuckled because it was ridiculous. PPDC owned the Jaeger, they had every right to give it to anybody who was suitable. She wasn’t really yours to begin with. But Sunwoo didn’t seem to relent. “Okay, fine. If you are cleared to pilot, kill some more Kaijus with her.”

“It would be an honor,” the guy grinned, a gummy smile showing and you weren’t sure what it was about him and his cockiness but you found yourself rooting for this random stranger to get the green light. Scientifically there was a chance of 1 to 25 that somebody would complete a successful drift without extensive training together but maybe he would be the lucky one.

Speaking of training, Sunwoo’s smartwatch pinged with a notification and he looked apologetic as he stood up.

“Gotta go for my morning run,” he excused himself and you just nodded, planning to head towards the canteen for breakfast soon anyways. You waved him off, ignoring his sly smile. You turned back to Virtual Angel, mentally warning her not to get her hopes up as if the giant mecha could have feelings on its own. It was all just in your mind.

The rest of the day passed in a blur like it often did when you had a night shift. You ate breakfast with a few early birds then went to sleep off your tiredness. At lunch you were sitting with Haknyeon from J-Tech and Chanhee from the K-science Lab when Eric slid to your table. He already wore his clothes for training, a tight fitting tee and shorts, his blonde hair flopping onto his forehead, his smile contagious.

“Are you free this afternoon?” He asked, looking at you intently.

“Hello to you too,” Chanhee muttered from the excited boy’s side, continuing to eat his dumplings the same as before, unfazed by Eric’s one track mind.

“Depends. Why?” You asked but just to be difficult, just to hear him ask you. It was just harmless teasing. You knew exactly what he wanted. You had been friends since the Jaeger Academy. If it wasn’t for Jiwon, he probably would have counted as your best friend. Even if you both had changed since then.

“We’re doing the second rounds of trainings with the new kids. I got assigned with the dude who beat everybody yesterday. Apparently he was also on the top of his classes back in Jeju too,” he chattered which made Haknyeon next to you snort.

“What kind of flowers would you like at your funeral then?” He joked which earned him a scowl but you knew Eric didn’t take it seriously either, not with that pout he looked at you.

“Please, I need you as emotional support,” he said then quietly added: “And your expertise.”

Back at school and even later at Ranger training like this you were the best strategist of your class. You might not have been the strongest but you were smart and hardworking. While the goal of these training sessions was to learn about combat skills and how to move and work together well, eventually when it came to fights, there was rarely not a winner. But even with hits and kicks delivered it was always obvious when two people just balanced each other out. It was something either innate or integrated over years, you couldn’t help Eric with that. What you could help though was analyzing this other guy’s fighting skill with other people to advise Eric about how to counterattack.

“I heard that he’s getting desperate. He hasn’t matched with anybody since he was sixteen,” Chanhee spoke up and while he himself sounded disinterested every head turned towards him at his claim.

“How do you even know that?”

“Just because I don’t talk a lot, it doesn’t mean I’m not listening to what’s going on around me,” the scientist assistant rolled his eyes at all the surprise his claim received.

You hummed, not promising Eric anything, just shoved a dumpling into his mouth, but you were certainly intrigued. You were curious how would somebody like that fight in the ring, whether he was calm because he had been doing this a thousand times already or would he be on edge, trying to prove himself every time he set a foot on the tatami. You were actually curious about it now.

So without much more pestering, you found yourself in the Kwoon combat room with Changmin and Chaewon by your side. The pairs and the match order was randomized but Eric told you that the guy would be in the third round with Beomgyu and their own match would be the seventh. Matches could last from a few minutes up to an hour maximum (stopped by the referee) and while it often ended in about fifteen to twenty minutes, the best balanced pairs could go on and on for long with close scores.  You and Jiwon preferred Muay Thai, with her it felt like a dance you both knew the steps to.

The first two pairs weren’t really interesting, they were very off-balanced too, ending in less than five minutes but you could tell everybody was excited to see the infamous new guy who apparently hadn’t lost yesterday because whispers started the moment your Navy soldier-turned-trainer announced the next match.

You knew Beomgyu, so your gaze immediately cut to the other side of the painted square, breath hitching when you saw the guy from dawn. His name echoed off the walls now that you recognized him. Unlike the morning where he was in his proper uniform, now he wore gray joggers and a black tank top, loose over his frame, his sun kissed skin glinting under the yellow light of the room.

You cleared your throat and forced yourself to focus on the match in a professional manner, since that was why you were there after all. To help Eric like a good friend would, not to drool over a guy’s biceps after a single encounter. But honestly, Sunwoo’s good looks were soon forgotten because the moment the fight started, you could tell why he made a name for himself. He moved like a predator inside that square and Beomgyu didn’t stand a chance.

“So? What do you think?” Eric nudged your shoulder, excitement and nervousness mixing in his hushed voice.

“His fighting style is similar to yours,” you responded without thinking, craning your neck to lean closer, to see better as Sunwoo cornered Beomgyu, his stick stopping just below the other’s chin, earning him another point.

“What? No! He is so… aggressive,” Eric laughed but the sound was off, a bit worried as if he was wondering if he looked aggressive too then. You shook your head.

“No, he’s just confident and being a bit cocky about it,” you corrected him because actually Sunwoo’s movements were rather elegant and calculating, he was just fast like a cheetah when he needed to attack. He acted all aloof and cool while they circled around each other and then striked in the right moment, when the enemy’s attention momentarily wavered to find a spot on him. “He knows he’s better. He knew it from the moment Beomgyu waited for him to attack first and he was obvious about it. You’re the same but not in the same way. You get bored easily when you think you could win easily, that’s why you are gentler with girls, which is still annoying by the way, and get playful with the guys, which must be equally annoying too because you take something half-assedly that they have to work so much for.”

“Okay, that’s uhm… interesting. But then how do I win?” Eric still seemed taken aback by your analysis but he seemed focused on showing his true colors now that he was up against somebody on his level. You gave it a thought because you could easily see the two of them provoke each other endlessly as well as always gaining points during counterattack, so there was really only one option.

“You have to attack first and get the first point,” you told him straightforwardly and Eric took it as a challenge.

Beomgyu lost and the next few matches didn’t last too long either. Minjeong and Mia seemed promising enough for the referee to sign them up for a test Drift which earned them a cheer but it wasn’t something to get anybody’s hopes up.

“Break a leg,” Changmin patted Eric’s back when his name was called and at the younger guy’s grin, you frowned.

“Please, don’t,” you sighed and watched him make his way towards the ring just for your eyes to meet Sunwoo’s. There was a hint of mischievousness in his as he saluted towards you but then he schooled his expressions when they were finally face-to-face with the blonde boy.

They bowed towards each other and then it started. They just stared each other off for a long enough moment for you to start wondering whether Eric wouldn’t take your advice but then he charged at the other so suddenly that even though Sunwoo could duck away from his first hit, the second got him on the side. Shocked gasps and loud cheers erupted in the room. After all, Eric was the local boy and he just took the first hit on the undefeated Jeju cadet.

In that moment, you saw Sunwoo’s entire posture change, his eyes getting darker and more focused, his grip on the stick firmer. Within three steps and a combination of hits, he managed to level out. You were right: they were similar. In their own way they approached the fight the same way and others started to notice it too. Excited whispers and claps for every hit echoed in the room the more it went on. Their points were neck-to-neck just like you guessed it would be and it was thrilling really to see this kind of balance between strangers. It felt like witnessing something special.

And you weren’t the only one who thought that.

“Cadet Sohn and Cadet Kim, please follow me to my office,” the Marshall spoke up and the entire room full of people turned towards him standing in the door with the usually stern look on his face. The sweaty and panting boys exchanged a glance before handing the sticks back to the ex-Navy soldier and broke through the crowd around them, accepting the congratulatory pats on the shoulder as if they felt it too. Their connection.

They had to be Drift compatible. They were your best hope now.

Eric was buzzing with excitement later that night. They were going to have an official test Drift the next day which was a big thing, so you made sure to congratulate him before going to the hangar instead of the female dorms. Having slept in the morning you weren’t sleepy yet. So you did what you usually did when that happened, not too surprised that you found Sunwoo swinging his legs from 75 meters high this time too.

“Trying to get on her good side already?” You teased, referring to Virtual Angel which managed to make the guy let out a raspy laughter.

“I told you I would steal her from you,” he grinned and patted the floor next to him like he owned the place. It made you scoff out loud but you sat down anyways.

Both of you were quiet for a while but then he asked you about the Drift, about how it was to pilot a Jaeger, how it was out on the field. Sure, he had done countless simulations, keeping the highest score back in the Jeju Shatterdome but it wasn’t the real thing, you both knew. So you decided to tell him the truth about how vulnerable the Drift felt, revealing so many parts of you for another person, sharing so much but it was mutual and when you get to know the other person, it was like having a soulmate. Before your voice could have cracked though from talking about Jiwon, you changed topic and recited what you remembered from your first Kaiju battle. You had rather told him about the highs of Virtual Angel’s Jaeger duties than the time when it had been reduced to a mess of metal and you couldn’t make yourself look at it.

In exchange you asked Sunwoo about how he felt about the Drift, whether he was nervous but you didn’t really expect him to admit it. But as it turned out he’d had two unsuccessful neural linking already. Those times he had been hopeful, so now he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Not after spending years working on getting better and better only to not be good enough. No high score or Academy result would mean anything to him if he couldn’t make it to the frontline of the war.

You told him that he would make it and the next day you were there assisting with their Drift compatibility test which resulted in 92%. From that day they were officially Rangers on duty.

The next Kaiju attack was predicted to be in about 10 days, so Sunwoo and Eric had gotten themselves into intensive training before their first battle. Not only did they have long hours of combat practice everyday, they were quizzed on Kaiju weaknesses constantly and were assigned as roommates to bond. It must have been working because whenever you had a meal with them in the canteen, they seemed as if they had been friends for ages.

You still hung out with Sunwoo on the hangar’s catwalks, talking about how your lives had been before and what would you do if humanity wasn’t constantly threatened to get wiped out by an alien race. Sometimes when he looked at you with eyes dark and curious you could tell he wanted to ask something else too but he never did and you didn’t push, he must have had his reasons and you didn’t particularly want to talk about how it felt to lose your co-pilot which you guessed as one of those unasked questions. Sometimes you helped him train too and while you got rusty so he was clearly better, it was fun and it had been a while since you found anything about being a Ranger fun. Him not going easy on you and smiling like the Sun on its brightest days helped too.

After Sunwoo put in his official request to be assigned for Virtual Angel out of the unused Jaegers, Eric came to you asking if you were alright with that. You told him that you were more than okay with it because the Jaeger deserved one more chance and gave him tips about controlling it. He listened attentively but his mind must have been elsewhere because right after he blurted out:

“What’s up with you and Sunwoo? You spend a lot of time together,” he hummed, looking at you with half worry and half something else you couldn’t name.

“Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?” You asked challengingly because Drifting with somebody meant opening your mind to them and even unintentionally you could catch a glimpse of the other’s some recent or most significant memories.

“I would prefer it if you told me. We are old friends, aren’t we?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong but you weren’t sure what to tell him, so you shrugged.

“There’s nothing going on. He just… makes me feel normal again,” you admitted and you could see that Eric wanted to protest but bit his lip. It wasn’t you faulting him or your other friends because they had seen you at your worst, so not bringing up Jiwon or how it was to be a Ranger but not anymore was their way of being considerate. You knew it wasn’t out of pity but still, they treated you differently from before and it made you feel broken. Sunwoo hadn’t been there, hadn’t known you before, so it must have been why but he didn’t tiptoe around you like the others did and yeah, that felt good. It felt like you were finally more than the ghost of your past self. Next to him, you felt alive, not just surviving.

You weren’t on call when the Category III Kaiju came from the Breach a week later. You wished you were because this way you could only watch through the huge TV screens in the dorm as Virtual Angel ascended from its place after the neural link connection was successfully established between the mecha and its new pilots. Everybody was watching the broadcasted event with their breaths held back. People were invested usually too but it was even more apparent when it was with new Rangers. Hong Kong sent veterans, Yangyang and Renjun who had been in the business for years but if you didn’t know any better, Sunwoo and Eric could have fooled you that they had done this together before too and not just in simulations.

Later Changmin told you that they were a bit worried at first because shortly after the connection was made it seemed like Sunwoo would ‘chase a rabbit’ which was a phrase used for the event of a pilot getting lost in a memory, either their own or the other’s, too much and lost touch with reality followed by a Random Access Brain Impulse Trigger (aka R.A.B.I.T). It sometimes happened with new pilots, especially under stressful situations, but it was a good thing that Sunwoo managed to handle it before it could have gotten in the way of the battle. Yet, it made you wonder what kind of memory did he latch onto enough to hesitate. Once you had gotten stuck in there, in your mind, you had been 14 again and helpless, you had just wanted to see your parents’ face one more time. The Neural Handshake had failed then and you had recurring nightmares after that. You hoped it wasn’t like that for the boy.

When the newly celebrated heroes made it back to the base after neutralizing the Kaiju, the first thing Eric did was to envelop you in a bone-crushing hug. You closed your eyes, chuckled and congratulated him. Over his shoulder you saw Sunwoo who eyed the two of you a bit hesitantly and while you didn’t expect him to be as affectionate as the blond guy, you thought he would at least high five you but instead he just walked past you as if you were strangers.

It was the first time it happened but it wasn’t the last.

It got weird quickly. You didn’t even notice how much you got used to Sunwoo’s presence and your in dim light talks in the hangar so quickly but the difference was now striking. You never accidentally bumped into him, he was too busy to train with you and always ate together with others. You never got the chance to ask what you had done that made him avoid you.

“Are you listening?” Haknyeon waved his hand in front of your face but before he could have followed your gaze to Sunwoo with that girl from Jeju who also stayed to train with one of your own in case they could be more compatible later, you snapped your focus back on him.

“Yeah. You were saying something about a remote access Conn Pod?” You furrowed your brows, trying to make it seem like you weren’t distracted.

“Exactly. This would mean Jaegers could be piloted from here instead of risking the pilots’ life more than necessary out there. We will start testing it soon,” the J-technician guy said excitedly and any other time it would have made you more invested because if this technology had existed when Jiwon… You shook your head to not think about her and the what ifs.

“That’s cool,” you muttered, shoving the rest of the breakfast into your mouth, tearing your gaze off Sunwoo.

You couldn’t help feeling confused and maybe a bit angry too because you didn’t do anything that could have warranted the boy to act so distant. If you didn’t know better you would have thought that he acted that way because suddenly they were in the center of attention with Eric and suddenly he was too busy and popular to hang out with you but it wasn’t the kind of behavior you would have associated with him. You could have asked Eric but you would have moved to a different country sooner than giving him the chance to tease you about your ‘boy problems’.

Despite Sunwoo’s best efforts to avoid you, you saw him constantly. The Shatterdome was not that big, but maybe it was even worse because this way you saw his gaze linger on you just for a moment before snapping his gaze away, acting like he didn’t see you.  Eventually it was Eric who came to you asking if you rejected Sunwoo or something and that was why he always opted out of meals together. You snorted. At least then you would know why he was like this.

Well into a week of this weird thing going on, you bumped into Sunwoo just after he seemingly finished training. You were on your way to the canteen, passing by the Kwoon combat room when he stepped out, his hair slightly damp and sweat glistening on his bare arms. He slowed down in his steps, your presence clearly taking him aback. Then he quickly ducked his head and passed by you, heading towards the changing rooms. It boiled your blood more than you cared to admit and you couldn’t take it anymore, so you decided to bite the bullet.

“Why are you avoiding me?” You span around your axis, turning after the guy’s leaving figure, successfully halting him on the way.

“I’m not–” Sunwoo’s protest died on the tip of his tongue when he saw your cutting gaze. He averted his eyes and gulped, nervousness showing. You didn’t understand anything, but when Sunwoo spoke up, his answer didn’t make any sense either.

“I don’t want to make things awkward between you and Eric,” he said and you furrowed your brows in confusion. Why would it have changed anything?

“What does it have to do with Eric?” You asked, frustrated because this was the most ridiculous explanation ever. Sure, they might have been co-pilots and you and Eric were friends but…

It hadn’t always been like that.

Under Sunwoo’s meaningful stare, you felt the need to slap yourself but you just ended up laughing. Oh god, you couldn’t believe that you were wondering about why he hated you when it was probably the opposite. The relief was instant.

“Oh please, are you jealous?” You teased, thinking back on the way Eric had hugged you all friendly and before Sunwoo could have protested, you needed ro clarify. “I don’t know what you saw in Eric’s memories but we dated for like two weeks when we were sixteen and that’s it. We’re better off as friends.”

“Oh,” the boy mumbled and you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, oh. So? Are we good?”

His reaction was enough confirmation that he saw something in Eric’s mind about you. Whether it was something like your first chaste kiss or just the boy asking you out, he might have misunderstood it, both how old the memory was or the feeling revolving around it. You knew from experience that it wasn’t easy to not get swept up in memories during the Drift especially if you didn’t know the other very well already. It could be a disorienting and confusing experience, so you didn’t blame Sunwoo for misunderstanding and wanting to be a good bro or whatever. You were a bit pissed at him only for not talking about it with you. You weren’t petty enough to whine about it though.

“Yeah, we… it’s good,” Sunwoo mumbled, embarrassment coloring his cheeks a brighter color which would have been kinda cute if he wasn’t so stupid.

“Good,” you muttered and turned your back on him, continuing your walk to the canteen. Fifteen minutes later Sunwoo showed up too, sitting down at your table, earning a gawking eye from Eric. You pushed a corndog into his mouth to shut him up.

Sunwoo’s and Eric’s next drop in a battle went smoothly as well. Hyunjae started to joke that they finally had some healthy competition at the dome which might have been true as he and Juyeon started the rehabilitation to go back out there. Virtual Angel shone thanks to the guys just like in her best days and it was a nice thing to see. Of course, you were worried about both boys because you knew better than anyone how fast and drastically things could go wrong but you also remembered the proud feeling that came with fighting for people’s lives and you would have never taken that away from them, especially not since you knew how long both of them had been waiting for this.

When it came to Sunwoo and you, things were back on the old track. You didn’t bring up the jealousy or whatever thing and he didn’t explain it either. A part of you thought, maybe even hoped that he would but you didn’t want to be pushy. He had a lot on his plate with the new Ranger responsibilities and getting used to living in the Busan Shatterdome after spending half his life in the Jeju one. You were content with just having him back as somebody you could talk through dawns over the catwalks.

It was one of those days, the quiet, anticipating ones. You were swinging your legs slowly, leaning against the handrails, chin over your arms, watching Sunwoo’s side profile and the way his fringe hung over his eyes.

“You know,” the boy spoke up slowly, his raspy voice vibrating in the air. “Sometimes it feels like she remembers you.”

He pointed at the Jaeger wistfully and you couldn’t help a small smile. The mecha was nothing but wires and metal, technically it didn’t have any feelings or memories. Still, you didn’t make a joke out of Sunwoo’s sentimentality.

“Yeah? How so?” You raised a brow instead, curious.

“I don’t know. It’s just… it feels like I have known you for so long,” he said and while it echoed how you felt, so you doubted it was the Jaeger’s doing, you couldn’t help but tease.

“That might be because of Eric,” you snorted, teasing and Sunwoo let out an exasperated sigh.

“You won’t let that go, will you?”

“Nope, not a chance,” you chuckled, watching a hint of crimson make its way onto the boy’s cheeks. He was usually so self-assured, dropping teasing smiles and comments that could have made you flustered if you weren’t expecting it, so it was rare to see him this shy.

“Will you tell me? What you saw when you almost went chasing that rabbit?” You asked, quieter, curious. It might not have been you, it might have been one of his own memories that had made him hesitate but with the way his attitude took a 180 degrees turn after that, you ought to think it was something involving you and seeing Sunwoo’s reaction you must have been right. He scratched the back of his neck and hummed.

“I saw you in the hospital after… your accident,” he answered slowly and you could only guess what exactly he could have seen: you on a hospital bed on machines with three broken ribs and internal bleeding. You had been passed out for a long time but according to Changmin, Eric had been by your side whenever he could be. “I was… khm, I mean, Eric was worried about you. It hurt seeing you like that. And then when we came back and I saw him hugging you first thing, I knew that you shared something special. I also wasn’t sure whether I was confusing Eric’s feelings with mine after sharing a neural connection with him so often lately.”

You knew that it could be confusing. Drifts had after-effects, some part of the other always stayed with you even after getting disconnected. Jiwon was still scolding you in your head when you ate too much instant ramen.

“And? Are you sure now?” You tilted your head.

Sunwoo grinned and leaned closer, balancing his weight over an arm sliding next to your hip.

“Ever since you called me out on my bullshit,” he confirmed and you let out a chuckle, ready to tease him about being jealous again but he was too close, you could see the light of the sunrise reflect in his orbs and the way his gaze dropped to you agape mouth, on point but patient.

You closed your eyes and smiled, meeting him in the middle when an alarm blared across the Shatterdome.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” Younghoon’s tense voice echoed in the wide space and you were on your feet before he could have continued. “Virtual Angel, report to standby.”

Sunwoo got up lightning fast too and there was a split moment of realization that you were about to go your separate ways, him to the Conn Pod and you to the LOCCENT as part of your on-call duty.

“See you later,” you said, promised, before turning your back on him and rushing down the corridor towards the control center.

You joined the others, setting up your computer while Jeongeun was debriefing you. The Kaiju was big and had spikes on its back, heading towards Osaka. You planted its current coordinates and possible routes into the system, watching as Sunwoo and Eric left the Drivesuit room and took their places in the Conn Pod. Spinal clamps attached, both Rangers nodding towards the LOCCENT, it was time to initiate neural interface Drift.

“Vitals are okay,” you reported and waited impatiently for the neural handshake to happen. But for some reason it took a longer time than usual.

“Pilot to Jaeger connection complete,” Younghoon finally said with a relieved sigh.

While you were waiting for the transport aircrafts to drop Virtual Angel in the middle of the ocean, you checked in with other Shatterdomes. Sydney was sending a duo but it would take them some more time to get there while Tokyo wasn’t answering.  Thinking of the guys going against a Category IV Kaiju alone sent unpleasant shivers down your spine, so you prayed that it was just a communication issue with the Japanese HQ and they were already on their way.

“It’s moving faster than we predicted. At this rate, it will reach the Osaka Wall in ten minutes,” you said out loud after seeing the new calculations on your screen.

“How much longer is it for Virtual Angel?” Marshall Lee asked, concerned as well.

“At least twenty minutes, sir.”

The Marshall nodded and dialed PPDC’s evacuation team with the news of the dangers regarding Osaka Bay.

It was nerve wracking to say the least. By the time the drop happened, the Kaiju was already tearing off the Anti-Kaiju Wall that was pulled up in recent years. So close to the shore, Sunwoo and Eric couldn’t even use the built-in kinetic weapons in fear of making the wall collapse. Neutralizing the monster right there would have poisoned the beaches for weeks too but there didn’t seem to be any other choice. The Kaiju was stubborn and didn’t try to follow the mecha no matter how Eric tried to gain its attention.

You watched as they approached the Kaiju, ready to strike, to punch, the first hit seemed to piss it off and the two huge beings, one alien and one human-made, wrestled in the shallow water near the bay, trying to get a grip on each other.

“Where the hell are the others?” the Marshall stood behind you to check on the communication.

“It’s at least 30 more minutes for Summer Storm and still no news from Tokyo,” Jeungeun said with a strain in her voice too.

“Damnit,” Marshall Lee cursed under his nose and you could wholeheartedly agree.

Your fingers trembled over your keyboard, a hiss unintentionally leaving your mouth when Virtual Angel got thrown on its back. They managed to roll away before the Kaiju could have trampled upon them and they even managed to wound it  across its right leg but they struggled to gain momentum.

It felt like hours, how long the battle was going on and you were too numb by the time Jeungeun gasped in shock when one of the Kaiju’s spikes pierced through the mecha and pushed it up against the Wall. The red alert appeared on your screen at the same time you heard Sunwoo’s panicked voice in your headset.

“Eric!?”

Neural link incomplete. Drift unstable.

You saw it bright and clear and you knew what it meant. Eric lost consciousness and disconnected from the Jaeger but Sunwoo was still there, still controlling this giant metal weapon, still in danger of getting sliced through by the Kaiju. It was crazy, he could die. Simply by piloting alone because that can overload one single person’s mind. There was a reason why at least two people could or should have piloted.

“Ranger Kim, report. What are your conditions?”

“Eric fainted, sir. He got hit on the side and he’s bleeding but still breathing,” the guy answered and in a way it was a relief that Eric wasn’t already dead but with the Kaiju tossing Virtual Angel around, there was no time to be relieved.

“And you?”

“I… I’m fine, sir. But I can’t feel the left side of the Jaeger, it’s like deadweight,” he said but his bodily functions were going haywire. His brain was definitely getting too much stimuli.

“Stop trying to control it, you will kill yourself,” you found yourself scolding him despite knowing that in his place you would have tried too. Because…

“A lot more people will die if I don’t try,” Sunwoo said, serious, and with the Sydney team still away, Shanghai just dispatching a Jaeger, you knew what he meant. He just needed to hold the Kaiju back until the others arrived, until he could.

You didn’t even think. You stood up abruptly and looked at Marshall Lee.

“Is the remote access Conn Pod under testing?” You asked, your conversation with Haknyeon ringing in your ears.

The superior in front of you looked confused only for a moment but then he seemed to understand what you wanted.

“Yes but it hasn’t been tested with an already connected Jaeger before, definitely not from miles away. You could die if something goes wrong,” he said and you could hear the others’ whispers, not understanding a bit.

“And if we don’t do something they both might die,” you pointed at the screen, the Kaiju trying to tear off the mecha’s arm and Sunwoo’s vitals going crazy. “I don’t want to see anyone else dying if I can do something about it and I know their Jaeger. She was mine once. I can do it.”

Lee Sangyeon looked you in the eye for a long moment and you remembered how his gaze softened when he had told you he was glad you survived. That had made you cry even harder because in that moment you hadn’t been glad that you had made it out alive. He had seen you going through it, he had seen you avoiding the hangar, detaching yourself from Ranger activities one by one. And now you were asking to go back, to Drift, to fight in an unfair battle. He knew what it must have taken you.

“Cleared. We need people from J-Tech and prepare for a new Drift,” the Marshall told Younghoon and the others but you were already running to the tech labs.

Haknyeon was muttering under his nose about you being insane as he helped you put on the drivesuit and accompanied you to the remote access Conn Pod, somebody else already hooking up Virtual Angel’s coordinates and data. There was no time to waste. 

“Neural handshake initiated,” you heard somebody say and you could feel the familiar cold feeling along your spine and the start of a throbbing migraine.

“Come on, Angel. You know me. We have done this dozen times before,” you mumbled under your nose, closing your eyes and clearing your mind.

Memories flashed in front of you. Your hometown in ruins. Jiwon’s last smile at you. Blood on your hands. Sunwoo over the catwalk. Sunwoo’s smirk on the tatami. Sunwoo’s eyelashes up close.

The headache stopped.

“You are crazy,” you heard Sunwoo’s voice in your head as clear as if he was standing right next to you. You opened your eyes and you weren’t in the laboratory anymore. You weren’t even in the Shatterdome. You saw the ocean through the eyes of Virtual Angel and when you turned to your right, you saw Sunwoo looking at you in disbelief. Realistically speaking you knew that you weren’t physically there, just in your minds and yet, it felt so real. “I thought you said you won’t be doing this again.”

“I thought so too,” you admitted, giddy that it worked against all odds.

“Drift successful,” you heard somebody exclaim and you felt yourself (the Jaeger) stumble which brought you back to reality.

“I guess we are compatible,” Sunwoo said with a smirk playing on the unfair tilt of his mouth and together, you managed to make the mecha stand up and avoid the Kaiju’s next hit.

“You talk too much. Let’s kill this ugliness first,” you said but there was a hint of a smile in the corner of your mouth too.

Despite everything, it felt good to be back. It felt like something Jiwon and Virtual Angel both would have wanted you to do. You could also almost hear Eric’s chatter in your ears, complaining about missing your big comeback but he will remember, he will get the memories from his co-pilot anyways. And Sunwoo, he was right there beside you. It felt right. It felt just like a Hong Kongese Ranger once said: like you could fight the hurricane and win.

[monsterblogging]

How Pacific Rim 2013 is about killing the gods, and why we need to accept this

After years of researching the development of Pacific Rim, and learning more about its creators, I've reached a conclusion.

You cannot truly understand the narrative of Pacific Rim until you can wrap your head around the idea the kaiju are divine beings, their creators are functionally gods, and (at least sometimes), gods need to be killed.

This sentiment can be traced all the way back to Travis Beacham's draft script, where the Precursors were explicitly revealed as the creators of our universe, who made it so they could move here from their own dying universe. The script very deliberately codes them as gods, as evidenced in these quotes:

RALEIGH There’s things you just can’t fight. Acts of God or whatever. Like you see a hurricane coming, you just have to get out of the way, you know? But when you’re in a Jaeger, suddenly you can draw a line in the sand. You can fight the hurricane -- and you can win.

CZERNY Because I had to be quarantined. I looked into the abyss. I’d been infected with the truth -- that this is the end of us. We are the vermin of the gods. There’s no point in putting up a fight...

TAKADA I don't have it... We all know it's a siege. What can I say they don't already know? We call the enemy the Precursors... I may as well tellthe world the gods want us dead.

NEWT (CONT’D) I don't care if they are the creators of the universe. I like the universe. She leans her head on the seat and watches him with a pining look in her eyes. He turns to add with a chuckle -- NEWT (CONT’D) And I'm not a creationist.

The draft script is not fucking around. The Precursors are gods, and they must be slain.

The final movie retains the "acts of God" line, but the Precursors are never explicitly called "gods" like this. However - the subtext is still there. For example, Hannibal Chau tells us what the kaiju cultists believe:

HANNIBAL CHAU Look at 'em. They believe the Kaiju are sent from heaven. That the gods are expressing their displeasure with our behavior. The silly bastards.

The film also shows us kaiju sisters, who are very clearly meant to evoke Catholic sisters with their cornettes. And of course, we can't forget the kaiju church building.

And then there's the Precursors themselves, whom we only get a brief, blurry glance at. But their design had intention behind it, as we learn in Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters (emphasis mine):

"When I was a kid," says del Toro, "we used to catch these bugs in the pool. They had a translucent, hard shell and you could see their organs. I wanted the design to evoke that. Wayne Barlowe and Keith Thompson worked the final design. We gave the Precursors elements of ecclesiastical royalty, dividing them into cardinals and bishops."

For anyone who doesn't know, del Toro is an ex-Catholic whose grandmother tried to exorcise him over his interest in monsters, and made him wear bottlecaps in the bottoms of his shoes as penance for his perceived sins. And Guillermo del Toro isn't shy about expressing anti-authoritarian sentiments. (Pan's Labyrinth and Pinocchio are very strongly anti-authoritarian films.)

Pacific Rim is using the godkilling trope the exact same way a lot of Japanese media does it: personifying corrupting ideologies and corrupt institutions as malefic gods that humanity must rise up against and destroy. (If you want to learn more about this, Moon Channel's video Why Do You Always Kill Gods In JRPGs? goes into this in detail.)

Where other western media that involves killing gods often aims to avoid controversy by reassuring its audiences that the god or gods being killed are false gods, or by targeting gods largely considered discredited (such as actual pagan gods, or fictional gods modeled on them), Pacific Rim refuses to pander to western Christian sensibilities in this way.

Had Guillermo del Toro had his way, this would have gone on to resemble the Japanese usage of this trope even more, where said divinities often are former humans, or are the product of human activity. He'd planned to reveal that the Precursors were humanity from the future:

And then we found out that the precursors are us thousands of years in the future. They’re trying to terraform, trying to re-harvest the earth to survive. (Source.)

Unfortunately, this didn't happen. The sequel to Pacific Rim was handed off to another director, and the Precursors were re-coded as demonic. All of the socio-political criticism embedded in the first movie were gutted - and I don't think it's any coincidence that the uberconservative weirdos I've been seeing in this fandom focus on it more than the first movie. (And if they aren't focused on Uprising, they're focused on The Black, which is even worse. I will suffice it here to say that The Black was practically tailor-made to attract young chuds. And while not everyone I've met who actually likes it was a chud, every one of them had extremely low media literacy.)

You see, when you remove Beacham and del Toro's careful symbolism and coding, the Precursors become nothing more than a vague enemy that you can project anyone onto. Hyperconservatives are free to compare the Precursors to whatever boogyman they've decided threatens Christianity and/or Western civilization, and engage in fantasies of using militaristic force to destroy them.

Failing to recognize or choosing to ignore how Pacific Rim uses the godkilling trope to criticize authoritarian religious institutions and late-stage capitalism is how a film directed by two anti-fascist creators gets twisted into a fascism-affirming narrative. And that, I think most of us can agree, is a problem.

[pacificgrimsarc]

There are things you can't fight—acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win.

PACIFICGRIMS.

indie multi-muse original character roleplay blog written by ana, 26+. horror & gore ahead! in the ana cinematic universe, we write about pretty much whatever we want—from hack and slash to long lost love. stories take place just about anywhere, from outer space to the trailer park.

MUSES — GUIDELINES — OPENS — WISHLIST

[myyizhidan]

Scaimar | Pacific Rim AU

“There are things you can't fight - acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, you can finally fight the hurricane. You can win.”

“There were set backs at first, the neural lobe interface proved too much for a single pilot. A two pilot system was implemented, left hemisphere, right hemisphere, pilot controlled...We started winning, the Jaegers stopped invasions everywhere.”

[memoirs-of-learning-dad]

The biggest thing on my mind is Paapu's birthday party tomorrow. Btw paapu means baby in my native tongue and that's what I call my little one.

The little hurricane will be 2 year old. F***!! 2 years, I have done this, don't know how. Just stumbling through one day at a time, learning as I go; jumping into the deep end. We are having a party with some friends coming over. Ordered some snacks, getting a custom cake.

Today we cleaned the entire house - paapu helped as well, lol! It was hilarious she was holding a broom and acting like it was a vacuum. But it was a fun day. I'm at my best and most comfortable when the three of us spend time like this. Just doing normal things around the house, hanging out with each other. Tomorrow will be different. There will be guests.

I'm nervous. Is our house big enough to fit that many people comfortably? Is paapu gonna freak out because of all these people? She's had serious strangers anxiety the past couple of months. Are we supposed to entertain the guests or something? How do I do that? Wifey (sorry for the cliche nickname, but I'll think of something better) says she's gonna do some activities with the kids in the party. well wtf are the adults going to do? watch the kids? there are some guests that are coming who don't have kids. Am I supposed to, like, go around talking to all the people? Lol, so awkward making small talk. I don't even have that many topics to talk about, lol, forget thinking about common topics for discussion with each of them. And it's a small space everybody will be so crowded.. ugh. I seriously wish I hadn't lost my conversation skills after college.

How do you guys deal with such things? I don't want paapu to see me all nervous and awkward around people, shy, and develop the same way. She's a badass already - she's unafraid. she's not even two, and in grocery stores and parks she used to literally walk up to people look them in the eye, say hi, interact and everything. But she's becoming shy, is it because she sees us (both wife and me are kind of shy introverts) and learns? Or is it just a phase of strangers anxiety? How do I make sure she keeps her confidence and spirit?

Anyway, I hope it will be a fun couple of hours tomorrow. My parents will join via zoom, hopefully my dad doesn't spread negativity by passing some stupid comment and hurting, insulting, provoking my wife. God, I just want a birthday party with no drama, is that too much to ask? There's just been so much drama lately, oof, so much tension, it's unhealthy. I know he's going to say something to either me or my wife or do something that's going to affect me. What bothers me is that paapu is able to read my face, my expressions, my body language and figure out whenever I get sad or upset or agitated. It's amazing how much emotional intelligence a 2 year old kid has, it blows my mind. No I can't let that happen, I have to focus on maintaining my composure tomorrow, think about the party only, paapu only. It's about paapu I hope it stays about paapu. Is it normal for married/committed men? The tension between wife and parents? Is a big part of being husband, just being torn between the two parties? How do you guys deal with all that? I'm seriously open to getting suggestions. Either way, I think I have found a healthy way for myself. well at least it's been working quite well for the past couple of months - no drama. What is it, you ordinary troubled men ask? Listening. Don't try to be a hero, don't try to be a peacemaker. Both parties just want you to listen to their grievances. I believe in the goodness in people - I believe neither do your parents expect you to go fight with the spouse nor does the spouse expect you to fight with parents. Well, at least that's what I believe. Nobody wants confrontation or drama. When one party is bitching about the other, just listen - don't let the opinions register or impact, don't act. Just say the magic words "I hear you".

Anyway, I was sidetracked there quite a bit, lol. Coming back to the party, I hope it goes well. Only the best for paapu you know? I'm so looking forward to seeing her face when she cuts the cake - it's a jungle themed cake, she absolutely loves animals, seeing her being the center of attention, lovely!!

Also hoping that I can finally try and strike deeper friendships with some of the guests. I mean, I literally don't have any friends here who I can hang out with or talk. I don't know if it's COVID lockdown or just a part of growing up and becoming a parent, but I really don't feel like I have friends anymore. you know the kind you go out for a drink with or get high. Somebody you can call for when you need them. There's nobody like that for me anymore. It's been like this for almost 5 years now, it's about time I open up a bit, reach out and make some new friends. There's this couple of neighbor dudes I'm hoping to strike a deeper connection with. One's my next door neighbor, that guy is cool, we have a lot of common interests, he's geeky, into strange music, loves fantasy and movies and sci-fi, likes hikes and nature. I think we can be good friends, but I'm just scared of reaching out to him to ask to hang out. 16 months we've lived next to each other, I have asked him to go for a drink with me once. Then there's this other guy, he's smart, we hit it off immediately he had the same cultural upbringing as mine, he's a new parent too, so there's a lot of life and personal struggles and issues we can connect about and talk. But, he has a 1 year old - I know how busy and stressful it is when your kid is that young. I'm making an effort to hang out more with this guy, hoping it blossoms into a nice friendship.

So ya. No pressure, anybody who reads this, please send good wishes to paapu, and pray that everything goes well, no drama. Hope y'all have a wonderful day, after all it's a special day for me and I'm sending good vibes to the world!

[goji-pilled]

the moment of Domestication for Walpurgis just. Slammed into my head. sorry for length!! - 2.0 -- "MADOKA, I LOVE YOU!" The sudden outburst from Homura made all the magical girls, and two returned Witches stop in their tracks. Homura had a stupid idea. The red of her face and the burning of it just made it feel stupider. She knew that she had to play into the wants of witches to return them to their senses, she'd learned from her two friends. It was hard and she knew it because it required such a small time frame but she had to try. Walpurgisnacht had descended upon them much, much sooner than before. The city was already beginning to fall to ruin from Walpurgisnacht's hurricane and destruction. So she made a stupid gambit. In the records she found of this world-ending-class witch, they always called it one thing. The Stage Creator witch. She only found that after Oktavia spotted some witch runes. And they were fighting a losing battle here in the slowly decaying city of Mitakihara. But. She had to try. She didn't want to rewind. Not with this miracle. She stood there, holding Madoka's shoulders. The both of them had turned a bright red. Homura expected to need to freeze time but.. She made a glance towards the witch. The witch, the familiars, EVERYTHING had stopped. A flash of hope erupted in her chest. She looked back at Madoka and swallowed down her pride. "Madoka Kaname. I have gone through hell just to save you. I have seen the world die around me yet i will always profess my love to you, as you are the one light i shall always cherish." She said her confession louder and louder, the red in her face no doubt getting brighter with every word. Yet it seemed to work. The witch and its familiars didn't interrupt, nor did they move. Instead they stood, watching as Homura acted. She didn't know how to act. She was just winging it and she's worried it wont work. Oktavia caught on fast. God bless Oktavia. "Homura!" Oktavia cried out, anguish in her voice that could rival when Sayaka Miki learned Hitomi had gotten together with Kyosuke. "How could you?!" She cried again, even going as far as to reverting to her witch form to prove a point. "YOU KNEW I WAS IN LOVE WITH MADOKA!" After that line the rest caught on, Mainly Kyoko. Mami let out such an offended gasp, Homura nearly fell into a laughing fit. "My word!" Mami whispered, holding Nagisa close. Yet the witch did not move. Hell, even her laughter subsided. It was like she was patiently waiting for.. She was. Homura could cry. She won't. She has a Play to preform. Madoka began crying, probably real tears but she didn't seem to catch on. "H.. Homura-chan! I can't believe.." "Shall we fight to the death, Witch?" Homura pulled Madoka close, and pulled a hand gun from her shield to point at Oktavia. She could see Kyoko, Mami and Nagisa getting ready to hit Walpurgisnacht with all they had while she and Oktavia kept it distracted. Gods, she hoped this worked. "A fight to the death!? How dare you!" Oktavia roared, summoning her sword. "A fight to the death you shall have, Lowly magical girl!" Oh this was stupid but it worked. The witch looked restless. This wouldn't last forever. She gulped. The cold touch of a ribbon touched her ankle. it was comforting, but it made her on edge. A silent reminder that if she froze time, everyone could be taken with her. "COME AT ME, THEN!" The wrong witch came at her. Instead, Walpurgisnacht immediately went back into attack mode. She froze time. The quintet was there with her, all silent as they looked at the frozen form of Walpurgisnacht. Now or never. She let go of madoka, who only remained animated by the yellow ribbon connecting all of them. "Are.. Are you ready?" She whispered, focusing hard on keeping her grip on the flow of time. There was silence, as Oktavia went to Kyoko's side. She felt Madoka squeeze her shoulders, as Mami and Nagisa nodded to each other in silent understanding. "Let's finish this, Homura."

She watched as Mami and Nagisa sent bullets upon bullets out from their respective guns. Kyoko gave Oktavia her spear, which grew to fit the witch. the spear head burned with a flame that wouldn't die as long as Kyoko loved Oktavia. and Homura.. Homura took a deep breath. She could hear the laughter of the witch. "Lowering." she finally called out. Everyone stopped, with baited breath as she counted the milliseconds before time resumed. A loud BANG of all the bullets and bubbles firing from their spots told her time resumed, as she looked up to the colored form of Walpurgisnacht. It happened so fast. Yet it was so slow in her eyes. She watched the bullets and bubbles shatter the barrier around Walpurgisnacht, some even finding its mark on its body. Oktavia launched forward, followed by Kyoko's own large spear. Both drove themselves into the witch. her laughter rang loud, as if she was laughing from surprise. But. it worked. Somehow. Somehow, some god was listening to her prayers and it worked. She watched the clouds part. She watched the body of the witch Walpurgisnacht disintegrate in front of her. She watched as the clockwork keeping her facing down broke apart under its own weight. They won. But.. the celebrating girls missed the soft shine against the now blue sky, as it fell to the ground below. --------------------

Her.. Her head hurt. What was she doing..? Right.. her.. her play.. her actors.. they'd.. they'd finally followed script. But.. But they broke it at the end and she- Finally, she opened her eyes. She was falling. Fast. But she couldn't find the strength to stop herself. A.. A love story.. No one had ever wanted one but.. but they.. But they followed it.. What.. What's going on.. where is she? Last she remembers is the ruins.. and.. sand.. Her head hurt.. Is.. Is that a grief seed? Oh.. She.. She must've fallen into a witches trap for a little bit.. She'll.. She'll need to thank-.. Thank.. Thank who? She.. can't remember. where was she..? As she fell she could see the city come into view but.. it.. it wasn't her city.. it looked so odd.. so.. Normal.. Her limbs wouldn't move. The weight of her prosthetics maybe made her fall faster.. She didn't hurt anymore on her body.. She's tired.. So.. so tired. she hit the ground with a thud. didn't she hear conversations..? Celebration..? Why did it stop.. They should be proud.. They followed script, finally! But.. But............ She forced her eyes open, just as the little black grief seed landed gently on her chest. She.. This isn't right. her name. Remember. What was your name? .. Its- .. Walpurgisnacht. That's right. That girl in black. She- The headache stopped that line of thought as she felt movement again. Slowly, she pushed herself up. Looked around. She'd done this. Then, she looked up. Purple and blue met a violet. They were silent. Then the mermaid witch next to the girl in red said something. "Holy shit." She smiled, raising an arm to try and do.. something but she lost consciousness before she could. She's tired. So. So very tired.

(I'M SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS IS - 2.0)

I read this earlier and FINALLY got to answering and MAN I love that

[omaano]

hi hun!! for the ask game - I’d love to see 2, 6, 12 and 26!! any or every one of those!! have a nice day ❤️

Hi, love! Thanks for asking all these! <3

2. What's your feel-good movie?

I'm surprised to say that it's Pacific Rim. There is something to this quote ("There are things you can't fight - acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly you can finally fight the hurricane. You can win.") and the swell of music in the beginning that just adds up for a really good feeling for me. It's just hopeful, okay? That, or Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. I don't think that needs much explanation. Fantastic movie. 100/10. Absolute feel-good.

6. say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical).

Oh boy.... 1) I look real neat after a fresh haircut 2) I have broad shoulders, which is nice (not like someone who's been swimming their whole life, but they are broader than my ex's which is a very satisfying feeling) 3) My arms look real nice with the sleeves of my shirt rolled up.

Non-physical hmm... 1) I'm nice and kind to people. Most of the time, anyway. Especially if I like them. 2) I'm very easy to win over into liking someone and difficult to deter from that. Again, most of the time. 3) I'm always here to cheer for you if you're making something creative! I'm not good with words of support, but I can make supportive noises and spam heart emojies and exclamation points if you need it ;)

12. how are you?

I'm doing better, I think? thanks for asking :) I had a really rough couple of days in the beginning of the month, but I no longer feel like whatever I create is doomed to end up bad, you know? Like, not objectively bad, just something that doesn't have any hope to become something better even though it is supposed to have potential? Now I can look forward and work on my stuff, mostly commissions, I'm still dreading my personal work a little, but I'm kinda positive that it's about to change. So, I'm better now :)

26. what movie would you want to live in?

I honestly have no strong feelings on this matter.... So let me be a hobbit in the Lord of the Rings (the non-Baggins kind), and I'll be happy to just be, enjoy the sunshine and finally learn how to keep some plants in my little garden alive XD

Soft asks :)

[ghoul-haunted]

'There are things you can't fight: acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly you can fight the hurricane. You can win.' AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[rookiesbookies]

PROMPTS LIST

Dialogue:

(There are 117 different prompts on this list and Im willing to do them all multiple times. These are just for inspo)

1. "Now that I've made it weird, I'm going to make my exit."

2. "Never have I seen someone look so lost in their own home before."

3. "You had time to call the police, why didn't you?"

4. "You're so cute when you're struggling!"

5. "You weren't worth my time.!"

6. "I hate this town and I hate you."

7. "You don't mean as much to me as you think you do."

8. "If you don't terrify people a little bit, what's the point?"

9. "Trying to find a needle in a haystack is easy, just burn the hay.!"

10. "Surprise! I'm back from the dead! Isn't that exciting?"

11. “You have your entire life to be a jerk. Why not take today off?”

12. “Your ass must be pretty jealous of all the shit that comes out of your mouth.”

13. “Remember when I asked for your opinion? Me neither.”

14. “If you're waiting for me to care, I hope you brought something to eat, cause it's gonna be a really long time.”

15. “Some day you'll go far-and I really hope you stay there.”

16. “I'm trying my absolute hardest to see things from your perspective, but I just can't get my head that far up my ass.”

17. “Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you're stupid than open it and remove all doubt.”

18. “I ain’t a Proctologist, but I know an asshole when a see one.”

19. "Well, what can I say? I'm a badass."

20. "Do I get bonus points if I act like I care?"

21. "Were you dropped on your head?"

22. "Excuse me, I have to go make a scene."

23. "I'm gonna need therapy after this.”

24. "I already know that I'm going to hell. At this point, it's really go big or go home.”

25. "'Il just go ahead and go fuck myself."

26. "How the fuck did you survive that?"

27. “Keep your morals away from me.”

28. “A scar proves you are stronger than your last fight.”

29. "The harder you work and the better you get, people get jealous, that's why a bus has 30 seats, and a lamborghini has 2.”

30. “You’ve had worse. You’ll live.”

31. “If you pass out I’m not going to pass you.”

32. "How many times have I told you already?! Sit still!"

33. "Do you want my help or not? Cooperate with me here!"

34. "I'm not going to hand-feed you. Sit up and take the plate."

35. "You better have a really good reason for being out of bed."

36. "| told you that would pop your stitches! Did you listen? No!"

37. "I don't think I even need to say I told you so…But I told you so."

38. "Drink it, or I'll pry your mouth open and pour it down your throat."

39. “I am not sleeping in here with you. You snore when you're congested.'

40. "I don't deserve you. I don't deserve any of this."

41. “I - I don't know who I am anymore.”

42. "You mean the whole fucking world to me, do you know that?"

43. "Okay, what are you doing in a Spiderman onesie in my bedroom?!"

44. “You didn’t get in trouble for lying; you got in trouble for lying poorly.”

45. “Remind me to kill you. Please.”

46. “This is a whole new level of moronic, even for you.”

47. “Obviously you have mistaken me for somebody who qives a shit.”

48. “I'm just gonna pack up and go straight to hell now.”

49. “What doesn’t kill me might make me kill you.”

50. "Whose blood is that?"

51. "Do you know how to get bloodstains out?"

52. "Why do you know how to get bloodstains out?”

53. "I swear to god, if you get blood on me..."

54. “Why do you need to know my blood type!”

55. “Don’t move you’re bleeding.”

56. "You are losing my interest, and that is very dangerous."

57. "Family isn't who you're born with, it's who you'd die for."

58. "They’re like a hurricane in human form.”

59. "Money is a terrifying thing."

60. "I didn't leave because of them, but they're the reason I never went back."

61. "I've never not wanted you!"

62. "Stop coming back."

63. "I watched as blood reddened the water."

64. "You look good together. Odd, but good"

65. "I'm personally offended that you didn't get me to be your fake date.”

66. "Sometimes memories are the worst form of torture."

67. "So that's what you are.."

68. "Hungry dogs are never loyal."

69. "We'll make a criminal out of you yet "

70. "Are you flirting or starting a fight?"

71. "I am way too sober for this."

72. "You here to finish me off, Sweetheart?"

73. "People do bad things when they are trying to survive."

74. "Aw look at them- so young and willing to get themselves killed."

75. "Remember boy, history is written by the victors.”

76. "I love it when someone insults me. That means that I don't have to be nice anymore."

77. "Yes, I'm a bitch but not yours."

78. "I don't stop when I'm tired. I stop when I'm done."

79. "You can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else.

80. "We are their pieces on a board."

81. “No one's ever done that to me before.”

82. “Could you play with my hair?”

83. “I can't remember the last time i did this with someone.”

84. “Thar feels nice.”

85. “I haven't been hugged in years.”

86. “I never want to let go.”

87. “Let's just cuddle forever.”

88. “You put your arm around me and I literally felt my knees buckle, this is so pathetic.”

89.,“I just want to be held for a little while.”

90. “You're legally obligated to keep holding me.”

91. “I think I forgot what human contact felt like.”

92. “I need to remember what hugs feel like.”

93. “Do you mind if we stay like this for a little longer?”

94. “My family was never the touchy-feely type.”

95. "Call me that one more time, see what happens."

96. “Bite me.”

97. "It's me! It's me! Calm down, baby, please."

98. "Become addicted to me. Crave me. Let me be your drug!"

99. "Your bullshit has a body count?”

100. "Wait a minute. Are you jealous?"

101. "You think you can just run that pretty mouth of yours whenever you want?"

102. “Wanna bet?”

103. “What’s in it for me?”

104. "Would you just shut up and kiss me already?

105. “You’re staring again.”

106. “Wow, you look stunning.”

107. “I missed you so much.”

108. "Don't smile at me like that. You know it drives me crazy."

109. “I’m going to marry you someday.”

110. "You cant banish me! This is my bed/bedroom too!"

111. "You're seriously like a man-child."

112. “It was a joke, baby! I swear!”

113. "He is a weapon. A killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change it's nature."

114. "Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that."

115. "You alienated everyone you loved. And now? You're all alone."

116. "As long as the don't seperate you from me, l'll be fine."

117. "I have a feeling i'm going to love you for a very long time."

If you’ve made it this far down, Im proud of you. But Im also proud to say this isn’t all of my prompts. If you didnt find anything you loved message me and tell me what you want cuz Im 100% sure I’ll have one that will fit and if not than I work all the time with out them.

[aftgficrec]

Oh my you are finally open!!! I am looking for a fic that you recommend a few months back where Andrew breaks up with Neil because there was a woman in his room when he gets back and thinks Neil is cheating but he is just lending her clothes. And could you please find other fics similar with miscommunication. Thank you

Hi!  The fic shown below has all the elements you listed, so hopefully it is the one you’re looking for.  In addition there are some fluffy/funny miscommunication fics as well as a couple of fics where miscommunication almost leads to more serious consequences. - S 

Also see...

‘wreck my plans’ here

‘When You Assume...’ here

‘Fighting the Tides’ here

‘I can't make you love me (if you don't)’ here

‘Not Nothing’ here

Miscommunications by foxholeshoyou [Rated G, 3724 words, complete, 2021]

“You can stop treating Neil like a broken victim.”

“Why?” Nicky said sharply.

“Because he cheated on me,” Andrew said with a cold grin, saluting the foxes with a hand as he left the dorm.

Fun & Fluff:

Miscalculation by EmmmaMmmm [Rated T, 1398 words, complete, 2020]

Andrew is acting weird - leaving the house for long hours at a time, making excuses for where he's been, whispering on the phone in the middle of the night. There's only one conclusion Neil can possibly come to; he's having an affair. But they never said they were exclusive - how can Neil confront him when he's not even sure he's doing anything wrong?

Not What It Looks Like, More Than it Seems by imagined_melody [Rated G, 1085 words, complete, Aftg Fall Exchange 2020]

An image of Neil and Andrew goes viral, bringing with it an unexpected misunderstanding. (Written for the AFTG Fall Exchange 2020.)

Misunderstanding and Angst by controversialzoe [Rated M, 1770 words, complete, 2019]

“When he came to a stop light, he squeezed his eyes shut. He had to get home in one piece, he needed to be. He heard that fucking voice again. The sentence that he heard over the phone. Neil’s fucking stupid voice saying that goddamn sentence. “Stop, you can’t do that. We’ll both get caught.” Andrew screamed out another laugh as the sounds played through his head again, probably for the 100th time since he heard it 5 minutes ago.” or the one where Andrew thinks Neil is cheating.

tw: minor violence

We can’t tell Andrew about this by The_GrxyWxrxn_9 [Not Rated, 1178 words, complete, 2019]

Andrew is with Bee for morning coffee when he gets a call from Neil, what is Andrew supposed to think when Neil starts telling someone to stop taking up the whole bed?

Unannounced surprise by Lover_of_Fairy_Tails [Rated T, 7234 words, complete, 2018]

This takes place the first year that Neil is a pro athlete.

He plays for the Boston Rebels, while Andrew lives and plays in Denver.

Andrew decides to make an unannounced trip to visit Neil. Things do not go as smoothly as he thinks they will

With Neil Josten involved when do they ever.

A lack of communication:

You Might Get It by likearecord [Rated M, 6657 words, complete, 2020]

The one where Andrew makes a perfectly reasonable request and Neil takes it too far like the dumbass he is.

Or, relationships are complicated and communication is hard. They don't always nail it.

So, Andrew has hit his limit. Neil’s charged silence next to him is so loud that Andrew can’t read over the buzz of it in his ears.

“Get out,” he says, turning to glare at Neil.

Neil blinks at him.

“Whatever stupid thing you’re obsessing over. It’s irritating. I don’t have time to solve your problems for you. Handle it. I have to study.”

Instantly, he realizes it was a mistake. He watches Neil’s face and body shutter up, closing tight like he’s locking down for a hurricane. It took so fucking long to get Neil to open up in the first place. Andrew had to peel him open one truth at a time. Fuck.

Exclusive by gryffinwhores [Rated T, 3104 words, complete, 2019]

Neil doesn't say anything, but his cheeks pink further. Nicky's eyes widen, and his jaw drops. "Oh my God, Neil, who is it? Is it someone we know? Is it a guy or a girl?"

"Shut up, Nicky, it's no one," Neil says, but Andrew can see that Neil's deliberately avoiding his gaze.

Oh.

In which Andrew thinks Neil is cheating on him, but cheating doesn’t really exist in a non-exclusive relationship... right?

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 16

First time reader click here

Summary/TWs: Trouble is brewing. Canon-typical violence, graphic descriptions of wounds and Clint whump. Bad, terrible, no-good medical accuracy. Aliens. Reader is an anxious genius with low self-esteem and PTSD. ✨spicy sadness✨

From now on, chapters will be posted un-beta-ed. She's taking a lil break. 💖💝✨

I liked to think I had made peace with the fact that my boys and girls had one hell of a dangerous job. Natasha, Clint, Steve and Bucky frequently left for missions and while I missed their usual bickering in the background, it wasn't like the tower's common room became absolutely quiet. The fact that they mostly did recon-only missions helped, too, as they would come home unharmed and in one piece. The worry was there but subtle - like setting the table and including silverware for the people who were gone on a mission.

Peter's patrols went less smoothly, usually. He was small and even in his spider-suit, the boy was frequently underestimated by common thugs. Apparently, they didn't know how to read the news - it was blatantly obvious the hero was enhanced. And yet somehow, Pete more often than not sported all sorts of bruises, scratches and tears.

Tony and I routinely tore out our hair over the spiderboy's carelessness. The engineer had a funny way of showing he cared for Peter. Once I got to know him better, my brain dubbed them as Irondad and Spiderson. And it wasn't weird at all, somehow, that I was basically fucking my best friend's dad. Tony never made me uncomfortable, if anything, he went to great lengths to accommodate my whims. Tony continuously found time for me, answered my dumb questions and soldiered through the shenanigans I got up to after having too much caffeine and too little sleep.

Sitting in the quiet, empty common room was unnerving. It was shortly after dinner time - the evening news skipped their usual political debate in favour of the battle that was raging downtown, the reason for my headache and wrung hands.

I missed Tony's running mouth. The aliens the team was fighting looked quite hilarious, murderous intentions aside, and I could only imagine the way Tony and Clint would mock them. Hentai rejects. Tentacle porn knock-offs. The aliens were squid-like, about half the size of a human and very, very slippery, from what I spied on the TV.

An irritated-looking Stephen had me equal parts apprehensive and drooling - one after another, he conjured up a series of small portals, teleporting the aggressive octopods only god knew where. It would have looked incredibly badass if not for the exhausted sheen of sweat I could see on his brow, even despite the camera footage being shaky and grainy.

The news footage showed Tony - Iron Man, soaring contentedly through the darkening skies and taking out the squirmy mass of tentacles with his plasma beam repulsors. Steve and Bucky and Loki appeared too, sporadically, being well-oiled murder machines. Nothing new.

Yet, I worried. The little worm of doubt was squirming full-force. I tried to ignore it, yet pacing, sitting and playing Candy Crush got me nowhere. I pestered Friday to order pizza, the team's usual post-mission order plus a large one for me - stress-eating was better than stress-popping-molly in a tower full of superheroes. It took some courage to admit to myself I'd gotten attached enough to be this much from running away from all that in a blind panic.

And it would be the best option for them, really, because they had much sensible things to worry about than me. Yet every time, my selfishness won against even the most logical arguments I presented. I hated fighting myself but it was all I did - not only I was in love with Tony, I loved him.

Even when he forgot about my existence for five days, to emerge from his workshop with a new piece of tech that revolutionised one or another or something else. I loved him when he annoyed the ever living fuck out of everybody, me included, because I knew that it was hilarious to see people getting riled up over totally trivial shit. I loved Tony Stark when he ran away from his feelings, and everybody else's, because he never managed to run far enough. Or he didn't want to. I loved him, because he was like a multilayered puzzle, complex and captivating and beautiful.

I thought a lot about it, more than people would have noticed. For someone as selfish and goal-oriented as me, Tony lived in my head rent-free most of the time. And nobody would find out if I had the choice because let's face it, I'm a short cameo in his life. I'm a fuckin' catch and even then, I can't expect to hold his attention forever. His genius is too brilliant to settle for one when he could easily have the whole damn world.

Another hour consisted of me pacing and accompanying the pizza delivery boys to the common floor. It was hilarious - they were obviously star-struck about walking the same carpet as their heroes. I could see the faint hope of meeting one of the Avengers in their eyes, their posture. All they got was me - in my sweatpants, Tony's tee and no bra. My tits got the attention they deserved, at least.

My lounging was interrupted by a golden circle noisily appearing in the middle of the room, followed by Clint abruptly falling through it with a pained moan. I froze, the pizza in my mouth turning to ash - Strange poked his head through the hole in space, finding my eyes. He looked exhausted.

"Help him, I don't have much time," He breathed and disappeared, closing the portal behind himself.

The pizza piece flew back in the box as I stumbled, jumped over the headrest, kneeling beside Clint in no time. "Bird, tell me what hurts," I demanded. Not that I had a clue what to do. I mean, I knew basic first aid and...

"My leg," He gritted out, curling in on himself. Fear flooded me, limbs turning to lead. Hawk had a good pain tolerance, I knew he could break an arm and not utter a single syllable until he thought it safe to showcase his vulnerability. "That squid motherfucker stung me, I don't know. My whole body is on fire," His speech was slurred.

I nodded, deciding to limit the touching to only the necessary actions. The leg of his pants was torn and the wound itself was shaped like a whip mark, thin and red and angry. It oozed a yellowish pus-like substance, it smelled bitter, almost like stale water and seaweed salad. I didn't know much about aliens but jellyfish stings, I could work with. A short Google check later, I had an approximate plan.

"Friday, run diagnostics." I ordered, taking a deep breath and filing away the fear, the panic and anxiety for later.

"Mr. Barton has a wound that appears to be contaminated with an unknown chemical that is causing an adverse reaction. The elevated body temperature suggests that his immune system is fighting it. I would suggest a blood test to examine the offending specimens."

A blood draw? I could do that. I definitely, absolutely, could do that.

"Bird, Clint, did you hear that?" I gently touched his shoulder only for him to recoil from my hand, muttering unintelligibly. "Pretty bird, I'm going to help you. Let me." My bedside manner needed improvement - with brain running a mile a minute, I babbled utter nonsense as Friday directed me to the needed supplies. Getting the blood was a feat on it's own - I had to physically sit on top of Clint to get but a tiny vial of the red liquid.

A few tears escaped the emotional fortress I had to build within myself. Clint was in so, so much pain - pain I was inadvertently making worse by touching him. I sprinted to Bruce's lab, feeding the sample to be analysed by Friday, tearing through the room in a hurricane. First aid kit, IV, saline, antibiotics. Restraints, too, just in case.

"Analysis complete. The contaminant appears to be acting similarly to a parasitic infection with a short life-span. Primarily feeds on copper, iron and various metals contained in the human body. Does not appear to reproduce or multiply, my algorithms cannot determine the cause of said behaviour. Calculating..." Friday's mechanical voice paused. "I have calculated the approximate duration of Mr. Barton's symptoms. Onset of critical stage in one to three hours. Complete extinction of parasitic organisms in approximately sixty hours."

"Fri, do you think I have a chance of saving Clint before he goes crazy from pain? And have you figured out what's causing it?" My brain was all over the place.

"I have the best faith in you, miss." The AI sounded almost... Comforting? "I am still running multiple diagnostics. My algorithms suggest the organisms may be attacking the nerve endings - reason unclear."

An idea struck me. A crazy, brash, absurd idea. The pathogen was alien and we didn't have antibiotics to kill it. Even if I gave Clint some sort of medicine, it could go awry really really quickly. Besides, wasn't there a medical team for this..?

"Friday, alert the medical suite."

"Request denied. Per Mr. Stark's protocols, only Sir himself and Dr. Banner are authorized to request medical assistance in case of alien pathogen contamination."

"Fuck. Fuck, that makes no fuckin' sense!" I yelled helplessly. "Okay, do you have blood matching Clint's type laying around?" I asked sarcastically. This protocol pissed me off. What was Tony scared of? That someone would steal alien germs? Too late for that, there were plenty of samples all over the sidewalks downtown.

"A-positive, blue refrigerator, top shelf." Friday's answer was curt.

My hands shook. My whole body shook. Clint was laying in fetal position right where I'd left him and the man wasn't looking better - he became paler, dark circles under his eyes, clammy sweat breaking on every exposed part of his skin. Moving him was out of the question - Clint violently recoiled from me once I tried to touch him.

Reluctantly, I dragged the dining room chairs and piled up whatever heavy things I could on top of them, praying to every god that they would hold a trained man trash around in pain. Then, came the restraints. Belts with clips unlike one could see in a movie with a psych ward. I fumbled with them, then with Clint - very slowly, but I got both of his arms fastened and the man rolled onto his back.

"Wwhat... S'appening..?" Hawk finally slurred, cracking his eyes to see my (probably) disheveled and panicked face.

"This is going to hurt, I won't lie. A lot," I rambled, setting up the tools needed for both a blood draw and a blood transfusion. "I'm not a doctor. I'm not a scientist. You have alien parasites in your blood. I'm going to get rid of em," I announced, not mentioning the fact that I had to Google all the things I was going to do to him.

"S'okay, I trust you," Clint slurred again, moving about much more weakly than before. The tips of his fingers began to turn blue and the blood vessels on his face stood out in a pink-purple web. Not good.

My finest thinking moment: laying out some tarp around the archer and putting on gloves and a mask to minimize the possibility of getting infected. I started with the wound first, carefully wiping away the yellowish goop and immediately sealing it into a biohazard container. Some alcohol around the edges, the wound began emanating a faint wisp of smoke as Clint yelled hoarsely. I didn't even react - man, aliens and their germs were fuckin' weird.

Another biohazard container traveled next to Clint's arm. I had a disposable scalpel in one hand and my courage in another - it was now or never. The vein I was cutting was a minor one, but with Clint's body in total disarray, it was an ugly fountain of pinkish-purple liquid that spurted from it. I was no doctor but blood shouldn't have looked like that.

I stared at the timer on my phone. Twenty seconds, thirty, fifty. Eighty seconds, the blood was beginning to have more of a red hue. Clint's breathing slowed, tremors subsiding by a smidgen. One hundred and eighty seconds, the stream was a healthy deep red colour. With a swift motion, I wrapped up the wound, folded his arm, tied off the blood flow higher up his arm with a spare restraint. Clint wasn't moving much anymore; my hand that periodically checked his pulse shook but dutifully did it's job. His heart was working steady.

Compared to having to drain a friend of his blood, setting up the IV with a transfusion was a walk in the park. My mind was empty of any thoughts but for the actions needed to complete the process.

The container with contaminated blood, closed, sealed and put in a plastic bag, along with the gloves and the tarp. My own exposed flesh, meticulously scrubbed with alcohol until the skin became red and raw. All the instruments, Clint's pants, my clothes - in the bag.

The archer himself was laying still, his breathing steady and calm, face no longer looking like he was one step away from the grave. After undoing the restraints, I wiped down every surface we touched with Tony's vodka - rubbing alcohol had run out and I was too emotionally drained to go downstairs and leave Clint for too long. Whenever the booze collided with a stray drop of blood, a wispy smoke emerged. Such an interesting reaction. Part of me couldn't wait to examine the phenomena together with Bruce. The other part was considering the possibility of having a panic attack in a seafood restaurant.

"Fri, keep an eye- a sensor on Clint for me, will ya? I need a shower and some pants," I denounced tiredly, padding to the communal shower. I found respite, however brief, under the steam for a few minutes. Then I found Tony's old tee and a pair of someone's sweats - I didn't care whose. Post-stress adrenaline shivers had me feeling stark naked in the middle of Alaska despite the room being a toasty, comfortable temperature according to the digital thermostat.

Now I just had to think about what to tell the team.

Propping Clint's head on a decorative pillow and covering him with a soft fleece blanket was the least I could have done for the long suffering archer. The floor was hard but I sat next to him, running a hand through his matted hair, my brain an incomprehensible mess.

✨ TAGLIST OF MY LOVELIES (OPEN) ✨

@another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby

[monsterblogging]

How Pacific Rim gives the finger to the Catholic Church

Another interesting thing that many people miss about Pacific Rim is that it has some... things to say about religion, especially the Catholic Church. It can be easy to miss because it's not all spelled out for you, but once you see it, you'll never unsee it.

First, let's take a look at Raleigh's speech from the beginning of the film:

There are things you can't fight, acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win.

This speech here establishes that when you fight kaiju, you aren't just fighting monsters. You're defying God himself.

"You're reading too much into it!" some of you might say. "'Act of God' is just a legal term for massive disasters."

Ah, but I'm not reading too much into it. Because this line was originally found in the draft script, which was way more explicit in linking the Precursors with the divine.

In the draft script, the Precursors aren't just some random alien invaders. They're actually the creators of our universe, and we're just a pesky little accident that happened on the planet they want to live on.

The character of Ivo Czerny, who had drifted with a kaiju brain, was given this dialog:

I looked into the abyss. I’d been infected with the truth -- that this is the end of us. We are the vermin of the gods. There’s no point in putting up a fight…

A different character, Commander Kaz Takada, says:

We call the enemy the Precursors… I may as well tell the world the gods want us dead.

The character of Newt Gotlieb is given this dialog:

I don't care if they are the creators of the universe. I like the universe.

And I'm not a creationist.

So, Raleigh's line wasn't just a careless reference to a legal term. It was introducing the story's thesis.

In the final version of the film, we don't have all of this explicit dialog. And yet, the sentiment is still there. How do we know this? For one thing, the Precursors are modeled on Catholic clergy. Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters, quotes Guillermo del Toro as saying:

We gave the Precursors elements of ecclesiastical royalty, dividing them into cardinals and bishops.

Fun fact: If we go to the old Art of Pacific Rim page on The Internet Archive and check the filenames, we can see that this Precursor - the one who stares up at Lady Danger as it goes 'splodey - is a Precursor Bishop.

(Screencaps from quiteunlikely.net)

Further establishing the link between the Precursors and the Catholic Church are the costumes of the BuenaKai nuns:

(Screencap from movie-screencaps.com)

A better picture of the costume can be found on PropstoreAuction. If you want to see the whole thing, go there; because I'm going to crop it because the whole thing's pretty big. Anyway, you can see that their costumes include cornettes and stoles.

(By the way, there are also kaiju monks. This isn't a girls-only club like the Netflix cartoon would have you think.)

Now, forget everything you know about Uprising or The Black, and consider all of this in the context of the anti-authority themes in Guillermo del Toro's other work. This casts the nature of the Precursors and the hivemind in a somewhat different light than many of us are used to. These aren't just scary aliens. This is a civilization built on ideals of rigid hierarchy and total dominion. And they're also essentially theocrats.

What's also really interesting is that when you take all of this together, it means that the kaiju spiritualists aren't actually wrong in regarding the kaiju as divine beings sent by the gods. They're just assholes for aligning themselves with a malefic divine.

[natecronomicon]

There are things you can't fight, acts of God. When you see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jeager, suddenly you can fight the hurricane. You can win.